Easter, March break, and sports galore!

Yay long weekend! A few weeks ago I was happy it was March break, and I'm happy to have another few days off to put my feet up a bit and let go of the mental mania that drives our everyday busy routine. Steve booked a last minute spring break trip to the Caribbean, and it did not disappoint. He set the bar high with the Cayman Islands a few years ago, and this year he picked Turks & Caicos and an Airbnb in a quiet, more suburban (but low-key) area far away from Grace Bay, the main tourist hot spot on Providenciales. It was amazing to feel the heat of the sun for six days, and the same goes for all of the great beaches we visited, the sea turtles we swam with, and more. We spent most days at a beach or hanging out by the pool, exploring parts of the island and its beautiful scenery, and swimming, eating, and relaxing. We rented a car, had some good tips on what beaches and grocery stores to go to, and enjoyed daily paddle boarding from the dock (on a tidal lagoon - it was full of sea turtles, fish, birds), outdoor coffee/meals and a break from the go-go-go pace of this winter and spring. This weekend has been great for that too - it's always nice to spend time with family and get some chill out / relaxation time. Here are some vacay photos!

We stayed near Thompson Cover Beach; Grace Bay is where most of the big resorts are, and our favourite beach was Taylor Bay! The kids loved the big waves at Grace Bay.

a morning paddle from the dock

Taylor Bay beach

Lunch at Omar's - a beauty spot right on the water!

love this photo! an action shot on a rainy day. big waves and big fun at Grace Bay...

my favourite moment : fun in the waves on a sunny day... the best!

exploring Chalk Sound

the view from the porch

this jet ski tour was also a highlight - it was so fun! and Hendrik has his own :)

Back at home things are the same as they were the last time I posted (I think); the kids are full swing with their sports with the exception of Jordan who finished his hockey season last weekend. Alana and Hendrik have about a month left of the club volleyball, and then it will be into beach season for Alana and a first season of no baseball for H. I'm guessing he'll stay busy with umping and working out, but we'll see... he's doing one night of beach so might get into that too. I will enjoy some time off of coaching before really getting into planning more for next year - something that is hard to avoid doing too early on! I'm coaching some volleyball this summer, but aside from a few weeks of camps this will be my first summer of no coaching soccer in 10 years maybe? Yikes! No I never played soccer but yes I somehow always got roped into coaching. With Alana not playing it's a definite no-go!

And I'm officially the second shortest person in our family; Alana is taller than me! We did an unofficial kitchen measure and my bun wouldn't even help me out. I might be shrinking, but she is definitely growing. Hendrik still has a ways to go to catch Steve - we'll see what happens there. I need to do a separate update post on the attic renovation - I have no photos, and I know that's what people want to see! I'm hoping anyone reading this is enjoying the warmer (ish) weather wherever you are! :) 

Mid-Feb already!

 As usual, I made a list of things to try to get to over the weekend, and blogging was one of them; it's the 11th hour (ish) and I'm doing it! I had a pretty low key weekend for once, and it was great to be at home and enjoy a slower pace with fewer activities especially with the extra day off (today - Family Day!). Steve and Jordan were out of town for Jordan's first ever away hockey tournament (Jordan had a blast), and Hendrik and Alana just had volleyball practice on Sunday; other than that, there wasn't much going on. I read a book (that I loved : The Correspondent), exercised a few times, and then had more time to tackle the usual laundry-groceries-cleaning trifecta. 

So what's new since I last posted? The days are long and filled with many things, but it's much of the same (I think). Hendrik and Alana both picked their courses for next year; they'll be back to being at the same school in the fall, and Jordan will be the only one in elementary school - !! Seems just wild. All three kids are growing like crazy, and people will usually ask if they've grown since yesterday. Alana is almost as tall as me, Hendrik measure 6'5" with his shoes on and tells me I'm short, and Jordan is stretching out too. They're growing out of their clothes left right and centre and I need a tall person store more readily available please. It really is a wonder that there isn't more out there for taller people, and I know there's more than there used to be, but really, buying long-enough pants shouldn't be such a hassle. I found some for Alana, but getting Hendrik what he wants is a bit more challenging. Anyways, doesn't matter! What matters is we made it through the long month of January and everyone is off to a good start in term 2 of school / the back end of winter. It has been nice and mild the last few days here, so people are hopeful that winter is on the outs, but I know it's a false sense of spring. I'll take the sunshine and above-zero temps though! 

Everyone except Jordan has been keeping quite busy with volleyball. Alana has school and club volleyball happening, and the club ball keeps us busy 3-4 times a week I'd say. We have had quite a few tournaments, and a big one coming up this weekend. Our team also had professional photos taken which was so fun, and funny to think about how a boys team would approach things. I only have our team photo and some head shots for now, but will share more when I get them. Our team (grade 8) has improved SO much, and I'm very proud of the girls. They have so much potential, and I'm really hoping we can put a few more aspects of our game together in time for the season finale of Provincials and Nationals at the end of April / beginning of May. It certainly keeps us busy. Steve and Hendrik's team has been doing very well, competing in top divisions in their age group and the year above as well. I need to figure out how to see them play; somehow we are always in different places on the same days! Hopefully before the year is out I can get out to see something, somehow. 

Jordan is loving his hockey and is getting geared up for baseball season already too. Indoor workouts started a few weeks ago, and he seems excited about it. There's no baseball for Hendrik this summer, so hopefully he won't miss it and will find something else to fill his time with! He applied to one of the Team Ontario programs (Alana too), so hopefully that works out! Hoping for another post soon - maybe there will be less snow next time... fingers crossed!

not the best resolution but here's Hendrik and Steve's team

Maddie and Alana played in an indoor beach tourney a few weeks ago and won!

trying on grad dresses!

Happy holidays & a shortie...

Here I go, playing catch up again! There is just so little free time for anything, so writing here takes the back burner to the rest of it: work, kids' sports, coaching, feeding people etc. Ha! But really, life has been quite busy and we are all SO happy that winter break is here. We're in Bowmanville for a few weeks with a mid-vacay trip back to London for some volleyball (of course). When we're here we really do get to slow down and put our feet up a bit, and of course we appreciate that immensely. The kids are over the MOON to be here; they love spending the holidays in B-ville, especially when the Calgary crew is also here - which is the case again this Christmas. We arrived Monday, and Alana and Jordan quickly unpacked their stuff and then waited at the front window for the cousins (and their parents) to arrive. Since then, they've been together constantly! I've exercised twice in two days (record setting), and Steve and I worked on a puzzle and slept in - bliss! We don't have too many other plans while we're here other than the regular Christmas dinner and family time family time family time! 

The last few months has been busy with school, work (me at school, Steve in the attic or at reno jobs), and kids' activities (H volleyball, A volleyball, J hockey). I'll sift through my camera roll and get some pics up - I can't even remember what I missed! Alana had a few high school visit nights and is mostly decided on joining Hendrik at Central SS; we enjoyed the holiday concert at their school this last week - Alana's last one! We cut our own tree down this year instead of buying it at a local church, and it was great! The kids took turns with the saw, and we enjoyed some hot chocolate around the fire before heading home with it. I think that was at the end of November; since then we've had a few heavy snow days - unfortunately no school cancellations for us city folk though! Hendrik turned 15 at the end of November, and is in full teen mode. He's loving volleyball and doing well, yay. Alana is also loving volleyball, and gets to enjoy the more abundant training opportunities (for girls) around the city; she's also doing a Volleyball Canada camp thing in early January, so hopefully she likes that! Jordan is loving hockey and consistenly works hard and hustles out there, so its fun to watch him. Better get some photos up and this blog posted before it's too late - it's almost dinner time. Happy holidays to all!

big icicles!!

clearly thrilled to have his photo taken

happy holidays! tree decorating day...

hauling out the tree!

look at these big kids!!

happy 15th!

with his "sad nuggies" (google it if you don't know) - he loves them!

the start of the candy belt: Halloween haul

Halloween haul!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Sunny long weekends are the BEST, and we've enjoyed this one very much. We had a great dinner at our place last night with Steve's parents and Liz, and then a beautiful walk out in Exeter at the Morrison Dam Conservation area, a walk we will definitely do again; the fall colours were beautiful! Everyone was more than happy to have an extra day off school (me especially), and it was nice to have a break from all the to and fro of sports and activities. Hendrik (grade 10) is playing club and school volleyball right now, so has a pretty full schedule. Alana has some school sports just getting going (basketball) and I coach her club team - that keeps us both busy with 2-3 practices/sessions a week plus tournaments. Jordan is playing house league hockey for a new (to him) team, and is loving it so far. That's just getting going too, but with his baseball tryouts just wrapping up he'll only have that one thing going on for the fall at least. After five years of playing rep baseball for the Talons, Hendrik is hanging up his cleats. He'll still play school ball and umpire, so he's not totally out of the game, but he wants to focus on volleyball and is ready to move on from the team. We support it fully, but I'll miss watching him play for sure! 

School has been so far so good too. It's hard to believe that Alana will be joining Hendrik at high school next year - it's her last year at St George's! Then it will just be Jordan. He's in grade 4, Alana grade 8 and Hendrik grade 10. I'm at the same school doing the same job, and it works for me for now; eventually it might be nice to switch to a school with a gentler clientele, but for now it's the devil I know so I'll take it. 

I realize I missed the end of the summer, Alana's birthday and probably a bunch of other stuff. So, random updates - Alana got a pet for her birthday (it was the only thing she wanted), so we now have a gerbil in the house... eek! She named her Misty, and she's grown on all of us (a little), but we are still aware that there is a rodent-pet and it has taken a bit of getting used to. We had a GREAT visit this summer with cousins from Calgary, and the kids spent almost two straight weeks visiting in London, Bowmanville and at the cottage. Alana and her beach volleyball partner Maddie finished their season strong by winning a bronze medal at provincials in Toronto on one of the hottest weekends of the summer. They did so well! I had a few fun nights out with friends this fall (yay) and am still playing basketball and women's league volleyball, and am loving them both! I'm very thankful I can still run and move and that I find/make the time and energy to do so. Anyways, it's beautiful outside so I'm going to get some photos up and get out there!

June and July

Finally, an update! I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. Safe to say it's been a busy few months, especially those last weeks of school in June. The kids were all happy to wrap up the school year and start summer holidays, especially with a trip out to BC to see my parents and the beautiful coast. We left almost as soon as we could, and enjoyed five days on the island split between Comox and Thetis, getting our fill of ocean and nature without the crowds. It was great to spend time with my mom and dad, and the weather was incredible! Highlights were a waterfall walk and (chilly) swim, ocean swims and nature walks on Thetis, and great meals together with family. We took the float plane over to Vancouver (thanks to a mishap with cars - this included an early morning run in PJs and Hendrik's Crocs for me), and Hendrik literally got a front row seat! Lucky. Views over the Island are just spectacular. We bunked up with Rod and Colleen and family in the city, but the bad news about the Vancouver leg of the trip was me getting very, very sick. We arrived Thursday evening and had a great meal chez the Tukkers, but I woke up feeling a bit off on Friday. We met my youngest sister Claire and her family in Deep Cove for a hike (still felt so-so) and lunch and donuts in the village after (the fare at Honey Donuts was delish), and enjoyed some afternoon down time at the house before heading down to Spanish Banks for a cousin reunion in the early evening. It was great to see cousins from my mom's side that I never see! Claire and I got to spend more time together (along with the kids - it was the first time they'd met each other), but I was still not feeling great. That night I had all of the bad feelings - fever, chills, body aches, wonky heart rate, no sleeping, etc. so I went to the hospital early Saturday morning and was diagnosed with pneumonia! Ugh. Longer story short, I had to go back to the hospital and was lucky to be able to fly home a few days later. I don't think I've ever felt so sick! I had a little cry while at VGH, and the nurse thought it was because I wasn't feeling good, but the real reason was that I wouldn't be able to see my best friend from high school Lindsey (in town from Perth)! Ugh, so sad! No one else got sick, and it took me three weeks to feel fully recovered. It was horrible! Anyways, the first five days were great, so let's just focus on that (photos below). 

The rest of July had been busy, but great. Hendrik has had a lot of baseball, done three camps (sailing camp at Fanshawe, a volleyball camp, and Bronze Cross this week), and is staying busy with a few nights of umping and a night of beach volleyball every week. Alana is busy with camps too; she's doing her second volleyball camp this week and has a horseback riding camp next week, and evening activities of soccer and beach volleyball keep us on our toes with logistical challenges (two parents, three kids' schedules). She has beach provincials in Toronto this weekend, and her and her partner Maddie are coming off of a big silver medal at a 14U tournament! As 13U players who struggled to win a set earlier in the summer, this is a big deal! They've improved so much. Jordan did one week of camp at Spencer Lodge (a YMCA outdoor camp), and five days was enough for him. This week he's been tiring Steve out with activities and jobs galore while I'm coaching a volleyball camp. With full days and evening activities, this week has been a reminder to really enjoy the rest of the summer holidays - schedules will be busy when September rolls around.

Steve has been putting time in upstairs in the attic, and will hopefully get to put the pedal to the metal in September when he has more time to dedicate to finishing the bathroom and closet. A move-in date isn't in the near future yet for us, but he's working on it! Here are some photos - this has to be short and sweet, that's all there is time for!