living like a local: 2025

Sunday, March 16, 2025

I love March break!

Well, this year's March break wasn't quite as tropical or sun-baked as last year's trip to the Cayman Islands, but it was just what we needed - a slower, more relaxing week free from work and the usual after-school, pre-activity time crunch. And there was no hockey! Jordan's ice time is at 7:00 on Saturdays and 7 or 8 on Sundays, so it was incredible to actually sleep in a little bit and enjoy the weekend. He only has a few weeks of hockey left, and while he's had a good experience, it may be the end of the Ice Dawgs for us. We'll see! We are back to the usual today (Sunday), with volleyball practice for both big kids - and back to reality tomorrow. We tried to do something organized every day, and made it skating, to the sugar shack (we went to Fort Rose in Coldstream) where we enjoyed a delicious all-you-can-eat pancaked breakfast smorgasbord, did some beach volleyball, Alana did a clinic at Western, and all the kids had sleepovers. I went out for dinner with friends, Alana and I went to Crock-a-doodle (so fun), there was friend time for the kids, and Steve and I carried 70 sheets of drywall up to the attic; that was the victory of the week! We took two days to do it and did two at a time... I was (and still am) proud of us. We are inching towards attic completion, though need to make decisions about flooring, bathroom finishes, lighting and more. Decision-fatigue is real! It would be nice to have someone just do it for us... ha! That's what people pay for I guess.

Since my last post we've had lots of snow, and then the big melt! It definitely feels like spring is here, but I know that the warmer weather can take its time to be here for good, and there's almost ALWAYS another cold spell. So I'm resisting the temptation to pack up all of the winter stuff. Plus, I have enough on the to-do list anyways! Alana and I also had a volleyball tournament recently (we got bronze, and had a few special fans!), and a few coming up next weekend. The end is sort of in sight: Hendrik and Steve have provincials in Waterloo on Easter weekend, and Alana and I have provincials the following weekend in Ottawa. And then it will be full speed into summer sports! The boys are doing baseball, and Alana is doing soccer and beach volleyball. We have plans to go out to BC where we'll visit my parents on the island and then spend a few days in Vancouver to see my sister, my best friend from Australia and a few other friends (hopefully) - we don't get out there enough! I wish we had time to do the full tour - everyone would love to go back to Fernie, and Alana won't stop talking about going to Calgary. If only we could do it all! Alright, here are some photos and then I'm going to try to get out for a run before the day gets away from me.

Sunday, February 9, 2025

Catching up

We're well into the thick of the new year and I realize I never wrote about our holidays over winter break / Christmas. Most of us spent the majority of the break in Bowmanville with Steve's parents and the Calgary crew, and the kids loved cousin time, Christmas and its usual trimmings, and of course all of the meals and sweets and treats. It was the best! We did our best to get out and about every day, and enjoyed a walk by the water (even Steve and I got into the ice breaking games), went swimming a few times, skating in Orono (thanks to Hugh Pops), some baseball, and outside play. There was also lots of puzzling, games and arts and crafts. I was the only one to get sick, and instead of waiting in ridiculously long urgent care lines in town, Steve and I came back to London for a few nights where I was able to see my doctor and get antibiotics for pneumonia - ew! Because of the potential for contagion, I stayed home and enjoyed four days of quiet while Steve motored back to Bowmanville to ring in the new year with the rest of the extended family. I missed out on the New Year's day gathering and goodies, but am glad I didn't end up getting anyone else sick. And to be honest, I really did enjoy having some time by myself, even though I wasn't feeling great!

It's been about a month of the back-to-usual, and everyone is settled into their school, work and sports routines. Hendrik started a new semester and is taking French, English, Science and Tech, and seems to be liking his new schedule (but missing gym class). Volleyball is his extra-curricular right now, and he's loving it! They played in a few 16U tournaments and have done well (bronze last weekend), and have just a few more regular tourneys before provincials in early April. Alana's team is also gearing up for their (/our) last few tournaments, but because our final event is almost a month later than the first one, we get to fill several more weeks with practice and play. She's also loving it, which is great! Their spring/summer sports are going to get rolling soon - Hendrik has indoor baseball workouts once a week, and I just signed Alana up for summer rec soccer. Jordan is still playing hockey, and we like almost everything about it; the 7:00 starts on the weekend are definitely not our favourite, but once he's out on the ice it's all good. He has indoor baseball as well, so we're all keeping busy enough!

Steve has been getting the job DONE up in the attic, and we're basically ready to haul a lot of drywall up there to get going on the next phase of the project. We need to figure out bathroom design and get that ball rolling, but he's done so much up there and the progress is exciting for everyone. He's also been installing flooring for our friends, so is definitely keeping busy. Work has been mostly good for me, though there are some days where I question my choice to be a Core French teacher! Ha. I'd probably be doing the same no matter where I was teaching... it can be so challenging! I'll add a few photos and then get to some of these other things on my Sunday list: clean the kitchen floor and register kids for summer camp. Maybe I should add a nap to the list... :)