Kace!

It was a big weekend at our house. Rustle got to meet a true dog person and remarkable friend.

Yes, it's true, Karen came to town. Rustle's girls were a bit foggy in their memories of her - it has been almost four years and they were pretty little back then. Rest assured, it didn't take long for the girls to get right into the swing of things. It's a wonder Karen's ears weren't completely talked off!

Here is a group photo, plus a bonus of Kace and her new good buddy, Rustle.

Travel Fair

Besides soccer, soccer all the time, the girls have also been attending school. Sarah was working very hard, researching and writing about China for a huge Travel Fair held at her school. Students worked alone or with a partner (Sarah worked with her friend Mikayla) and then the three grade five classes presented their displays in the gym. Parents were invited because this was a HUGE event. I knew Sarah had done a lot of work, but when I saw the over 40 displays that covered all areas of the globe, complete with costumes and food samples, I was impressed.

Also, as promised, a shot of Alison's haircut...

Big News

Turn your back for a second, and a girl turns into a tiger! I'll have to get a picture of the new haircut, too, if I can get her to slow down long enough...

In other big news, the household mom got herself a new and exciting job for September. It's called an "AISI Learning Leader" but what it means is that I'll be supporting teachers at a few different schools in developing programs to enhance literacy learning using technology. I'm very excited. Since I don't know which particular schools I'll be working at, I can't tell if it is closer to home than my current job, but it's a leadership role and a step in a whole new direction. Big news, indeed!

Photo Booth

The girls have taken some recent portraits.....

Happy Mother's Day

Rustle's Girls

"Hey, Rustle, go see Alison."

Rustle doesn't move, just looks at me funny.

"Go get Alison."

Still no action.

"Go see Dinner."

Rustle immediately dashes over to Alison.


You know, when I scheduled the girls to feed their dog (Sarah does breakfast, Alison does dinner), I was hoping that Rustle would grow attached to them. I figured it would help him realize who they were. I wasn't expecting him to change their names!

Are You Smarter than a Snowboarder?

Alison and her ski buddy Janice made up this little game at one of Sarah's races. Clearly, they were witnessing the finest of snowboarding brains on this day!

Are you smarter than a snowboarder?

1. Where do you wear your helmet?
a. On your back
b. On your bottom
c. On your feet
d. On your head

Answer: On your back. Snowboarders were wearing their helmets strapped around their necks, but dangling down their backs.

2. Where do you stand when you are snowboarding?
a. On your hands
b. On your bottom
c. On your feet
d. On a bench

Answer: On your feet. This may seem obvious, but snowboarders were heard shouting this advice to each other from the chair lift to the hill.

3. What do you do when you are on a chair lift?
a. Throw snowballs at your friends
b. Talk to your friends
c. Sit
d. Scream

Answer: Throw snowballs at your friends. They scooped up the snow from their snowboards and threw it at their friends on the chair ahead.

4. How do you act when you are snowboarding?
a. Like a monkey
b. Out of control
c. In control
d. Like a giraffe in the summer

Answer: Out of control. Snowboarders crash into people who are just standing there.

Ski Season Finale

We celebrated our final ski weekend of the season with a big party at the Chateau Lake Louise and a fun race and fun day on Sunday.

Here's Alison being silly....

Sarah and her fabulous coach, Walter....


Alison had a fun race against a teammate named Jamie...




And a huge event: Sarah vs. her Dad!



Mom learned just how fragile her old self really is when she caught some surprise air and jammed her shoulder. It was not the most dramatic event of the day, however. Sarah, who was going for the big air, got WAYYYYY bigger air than she'd anticipated. She had a big crash, but managed to ski back to the front of the mountain because she is an amazing young athlete. A little scary at the time, but just less than a week later, she's okay and it's the old mom who is feeling the pain still.

Spring Break Part Two

We had a great trip to South Carolina for spring break.

We got to see Gramma and Grampa...


We got to play in the waves....



We got to play in the sand...



We even saw some cool animals that we'd never see at home.





Sure, the weather wasn't always the best, but we made the most of it. It's always fun to get away for spring break.

Spring Break 2008 - Part One

We just got back from a fun and relaxing vacation. We've got lots to share, but let's start with a couple of shots from our side trip to North Carolina to visit with Lisa and Matthew and the delightful Linden and Jemma.

How could anyone be crabby when you get together with friends?