Back to school & routines recap 2024

first day of high school!

swimming pool fun

It's already the end of September, and I'm happy to say that the transition to back to school has been a relatively easy one (phew!). Hendrik started high school and is liking it so far; he loves the more independent style of daily student life and the more rigorous academic challenge that high school courses bring. We were wondering how the earlier start would go (he leaves to walk to school at 7:45), but he's been great at being mostly ready to get to school on time. He's walking with a friend that lives in the neighbourhood, has four classes every day (art, math, physical education and geography this term) and is finished at 2:30. He made the school volleyball team, so has a busy schedule with practices and games (and club volleyball)! He made the B team with Forest City, and has a great crew of coaches - and a good team too! - to grow and learn with this year. 

A and J on their first day : grade 7 and grade 3

It's hard to believe that Alana is in grade 7 this year - eek! She's had a great start to the year too, and we're very happy with her teacher and class (and a smooth day one of the school year). She played on the co-ed school soccer team, a season that has already come and gone! Basketball is the next school sport starting up, and we're trying to encourage her to rally the troops and find some other girls to play; hopefully there will be a coach that might come forward too. She's also playing club volleyball, and there's a great group of girls on the team (and coaches too, ha!). We're practicing three times a week this year, so balancing it all with the other kids' activities might be a challenge, but we're only double-booked on Thursdays, so it shouldn't be too bad. We did a team building evening on Thursday and the girls had a great time - great photos too!

Team Evergreen : Beach vball / team building!

new bike same colours! :)

riding!

And Jordan is off to a great start in grade 3... at least I think he is! We have meet the teacher next week so I'll get some more info then; the kids don't tell us too much about what they do during the day. We're very happy with his teacher and the class he's in, so that's positive, and his extra-curriculars are just getting rolling. He's playing hockey on Saturdays and Sundays (with the Ice Dawgs), and doing basketball with a few friends on Monday evenings. Baseball tryouts for next summer are this weekend, so he has his first session this afternoon. He's swimming a lot (still - the weather has been great!) and is following his big brother's footsteps with his love of Archie comics; I think he's going to be Jughead for Halloween - !! Love it. He also loves watching sports with Steve, which is the cutest.

fancy snack platter with one of Jordan's besties

What's new with me and Steve? Steve has been busy with neighbourhood odd jobs - building fences, doing minor repairs for friends, painting etc., so has been filling his days no problem-o. He's helping coach Hendrik's club team which is a different group this year, so I think despite having mixed feeling initially, he's excited to be involved and learn with and from a new group of coaches and kids. I haven't signed him up for anything, so he's not playing hockey or doing any extra-curriculars :). On the other hand, I signed myself up for women's league volleyball and a weekly basketball run, so I'm getting my fix, thank goodness! These two weekly activities also keep me motivated to exercise (otherwise I am not my best), and I want to be able to keep feeling at least moderately capable when on the court! My school schedule has been similar to last year - I'm teaching two grade 6 classes and 4 grade 7/8 classes daily, with a sprinkling of grade 1 gym here and there. I think overall things are going to be a bit easier this year; there are fewer challenging students behaviour-wise (I think), but the range of attitudes and abilities is so great and so all over the place that it will continue to be a fairly challenging endeavour (teaching core French - I'm the French teacher in an English public school). I'm coaching the girl's basketball team at school with another teacher who is great, so we'll have fun together for sure. And I'm coaching Alana's club team, so with three practices a week that will keep that schedule nice and full. I was definitely stretched a bit too thin during the first two weeks of school as it was back to school routines (overload) and club volleyball tryouts... ugh! That's all behind us thank goodness, and I'm already finding practice planning a lot easier than last year (last year I had to figure out how to keep 19 kids actively involved on one court). So there you go! Life is full and busy. Thank goodness for the weekend! ps. I haven't forgotten about Holland photos - I'll get them up here some time!

Europe: Adventures in Switzerland

We are back from an incredible trip to Europe, and I'm finally going to write about it! I was very motivated to share photos and an itinerary when we returned, but the days have been busy. I've been wondering how I do what I'm doing now - taking care of kids, the house, etc - with a full-time job... but there's at least a month left before I'm forced to remember, thank goodness! 

The view from our Airbnb in Grindelwald - incredible!

We piggybacked a trip to Switzerland on to the Brinkman family Holland holiday, and it was fantastic. We took an overnight flight from Toronto to Amsterdam and then connected to Basel, Switzerland where we picked up our rental car on the French side at the airport, which saved us a big chunk of money (as opposed to renting from the Swiss side). Next up was a two(ish)-hour drive to Grindelwald, and we were all ready to arrive after what felt like a long (but smooth) day of travel. The Airbnb we stayed in was great - the views were almost unreal, it was next to a beauty outdoor pool, and we were able to walk everywhere. The afternoon we arrived we walked up to the grocery store and stocked up on breakfast and lunch goods, and then picked up a roast chicken and some potatoes from a street stall on the way back. We were just talking about how good that meal was (yesterday maybe) - Steve thinks it might be his favourite of the whole trip! Thanks to the chicken vendor guy on the main street leading up to town. I did quite a bit of research on what activities we should do with two full days here, and I was definitely second-guessing myself after reading about how touristy and busy it is in Grindelwald, but this isn't what we experienced. Maybe it's because we didn't stay in a hotel, and we decided against some of the popular activities at Grindelwald First; we had a great experience here! On our first full day there we took to gondola up to Grindelwald First (no lineups) and some of us did the big thrill walk, while others were quite happy to stay on solid ground! The walk to Bachalpsee Lake was uphill and a bit busy (just a bit), so we had to deal with some complaining and grumpiness, but it all evaporated as we continued on with a walk towards the second station (Bort - I think). This walk was probably the highlight of the Swiss part of our trip - there were waterfalls, incredible views, wildflowers and no one complained. We walked down to one of the intermediate stations where the kids had a great time at the playground. I don't really remember the rest of the day, but we had great meals at the Airbnb and everyone was happy to put their feet up after a long-ish walk down the mountain. Our second full day was quite cloudy, so after some indecision we decided to proceed with plans to head up to Mannlichen where the views were completely obscured by thick clouds BUT the silver lining was another incredible playground that entertained all of our kids for close to 2 hours (and we had to pry them away). The playgrounds put our plastic and predictable structures to shame (there were even in-ground mini-trampolines... so fun!). We made it to a second playground with a fun flying fox and then got in another walk and another put-your-feet-up evening before our last night in Grindelwald. The next morning Alana and Jordan swam at the picturesque outdoor pool before we hit the road for Gruyeres. 

At the playground at Mannlichen

We took some secondary roads (route here) to get to Gruyeres and the views were spectacular. The kids fought like crazy, so that spoiled things a bit, but we made it! We checked into a hotel right in the centre of the old town and met up with Steve's cousin Anita and her son Samuel to check out the castle. We went to Moleson that evening where we devoured a cheese board and some salami before hitting up the mountain coaster for some non-stop fun. Everyone slept well that night in our top-floor family room, and we had a delicious breakfast at the hotel restaurant the next morning: fresh croissants and pain au chocolat, fresh bread, a selection of cheeses, fruit, yogurt... it was deLISH!! And then, the reason we went to Gruyeres - the cheese! We went to La Maison du Gruyeres where we watched the first parts of the cheesemaking process and learned all about one of our favourite cheeses! When we signed in they handed us a little tray of old, medium, and young cheese, so got to nibble away as we watched and then wandered through the museum. We enjoyed fondue on the patio after our tour, and then made our way back up to Basel for a visit to a very busy outdoor pool complex in the city before heading across the border to Germany for dinner. We relied heavily on Google Translate to help us with the menu, but nothing could help us with the stoic and borderline unfriendly (typical?) demeanor of our German server. She was defintely not impressed with me buying water from the gas station instead of ordering a fourth bottle of overpriced water (ha!). Anyways, we overnighted close to the airport in France and had a smooth flight back up to Amsterdam the next morning where we were greeted by Gramps at arrivals. Yay! Hoping I can get to a Holland post soon!

fondue at La Maison du Gruyeres - yum!

watching the cheesemaking process :)

on the walls of the old town in Gruyeres

arches into Gruyeres

views from the castle - so beautiful

eating at Moleson - we were so hungry!

in the castle - the kitchen :)

one of the only family photos of the trip

We went for a walk through a gorge on our way to Gruyeres - it was beautiful!

random stop on our way to Gruyeres

so many walking options and routes!

harmony & a break from driving

Just in time June

We are officially on summer holidays! The last month or so went by quickly, but it was jam-packed full of activities and planning. I think I'll organize this post by family member - otherwise it might be a very random assortment of updates and happenings. We'll start with Hendrik!

He got a new Chromebook, some $, and a golf pass for graduation :)

All dressed up! With some of his friends from school

This was art he did for a school "big head" project - love it! 

Big news for our oldest - he's a high schooler! He graduated from elementary school after 10 years at St George's, and will join friends and classmates at Central Secondary School. There was a bit of a debate between Lucas (more sports-oriented and out of area) and Central, but in the end the closer, in-area school won out, and I'm sure it will be a great fit for him. He can walk, scoot, bike or bus there, and could even go with neighbourhood friends. His last report card was great, and he's happy and excited to be moving on. The graduation ceremony was in the last week of school, and wasn't without some drama! We had a storm that downed quite a few trees across the city, and the power was out for most of graduation day at school, causing a bit of stress and uncertainty for all. The admin team was assured that it would be on in time for the ceremony at 6:00, and it happened just in time! It meant that there had been no AC on all day, so it was a bit toasty in the gymnasium with all of the families and grads, but it happened and it was such a nice event. Because St George's is a smaller school, grads were recognized individually - students shared their favourite subject (gym), favourite memories (he forgets and the video is on Steve's phone), and where they're going in the fall for year one of high school (Central). There was a small reception, a dance for the grade 7s and 8s, and then bowling and pizza at Palasad (organized by me). It was a late but great night! In other life news, he's been loving baseball and doing SO well. He's been playing first base (after years at right field) and just doing such an awesome job. He's been staying busy by umping too, and just started working out with a friend's son who will do some work with him over the summer. Life has been busy, but great! 

This is the only recent photo I have of Alana - I need some more! In the pool with her friends...

Next up, this beauty! Alana has been staying busy with baseball and soccer, and has been loving both. She's also doing so well - especially with baseball being 13U; she's up against older pitchers and players, and has been holding her own. There are three other girls on her team which is great, and after a bit of flip-flopping with coaches, has a great set of positive leaders to help her and her teammates learn and improve on the field. I'm her soccer coach, and we've been having fun too. This summer we're team RED (for the first time), and I can't say much because we've had so many cancellations in the last two weeks for rain and weather (and graduation for me) - but we're having fun and it's a great group of girls. And she's going into grade 7 next year - !! I can't believe it. A friend from school organized a year-end sleepover on Thursday night, and she went and had a blast (and is still recovering her sleep). All around good news for her!

at a London Majors game with his team

8U Talons - in the field!

Jordan is also busy with baseball, probably busier than his older siblings - the schedule has been bananas! I guess it's because there are more teams in his age group, but after today he will have had 5 games this week alone! Thank goodness he's loving it. He's also doing well; he won the MVP chain after one of this week's games! (I think coaches pick a criteria or an outstanding player and award them with the solid gold, classy necklace - love it!) They're in Sarnia today for a double header, and if the other two hadn't have had activities too, we all would have gone to watch. His year was also pretty successful, and he's moving on to grade 3 in the fall. He had a year end field trip to Storybook Gardens and had a great time running around with friends.

All dressed up for the FCVC Banquet

I should have taken some pictures of Steve working in the attic yesterday! After doing some home improvement jobs for friends, he finally has some time to get the ball rolling upstairs at home. Sub-flooring is almost all down up there, and I forget what next steps are (but there are a lot - !). In order to get everyone their own room, we need to get the attic converted to our room, and Steve is hoping to do most of the work up there. He's also coaching Jordan's baseball team, so has stayed busy with planning and prep for that! 

And updates for me? I'm SO happy to be finished school! It was definitely a challenging year; there are so many behaviours, such little accountability for students, and such a range of interest, engagement and ability. So I surprise myself when I ask for the same thing next year! But there are lots of positives too (number one being the summer break); I only spend 40 minutes a day with each class, I have less planning and preparation to do than homeroom teachers (I think), and I have so much freedom in what and how I teach, so I definitely appreciate those things. I also love the staff at my school AND the days go by quickly. So I'll keep doing what I'm doing until some of these things change. I'm still playing basketball, though had to take most of the last month of because of a back injury. I hurt it doing nothing, which is something that happens as you get older apparently. Thank goodness for my physio friend Alison - she literally straightened me out! I'm just getting back to running, and it's a so far so good scenario. Fingers crossed I keep feeling good. 

I think that's a wrap! I just booked us in for a Canada Day skate tomorrow, and Alana and Henrik are playing and umping tomorrow night, so we won't go too far for any celebrations. Lots of baseball coming up - hopefully I get another post up soon!