Canada Day

Happy Canada Day, a little late, everyone! We had to celebrate without Sarah this year while she was at ski camp, so the rest of us went to Prince's Island in downtown Calgary to check out the festivities. Here we are enjoying a picnic lunch.


And check out Alison's fingernails! (Did them myself, I really did!)

Honour Roll

Sarah had a great year in grade 7. Not only did she have a great time skiing, learned how to play the clarinet, and caught the bus every day when she was on her own (except once), she did all that and made the honour roll too. I am extremely proud of how she managed all those different things when we were so very busy.

Here she is receiving her medal at the Awards Assembly:

Button

Alison got dressed up for her friend's "Mad Hatter" birthday party.

I thought she looked pretty cute. This is the dialogue that followed:


Me: You are cuter than most buttons!

Alison: The only thing cuter than me right now is a button with a picture of me right now.


I couldn't make this stuff up.

Cupcakes

And the girls wonder why I'm so reluctant to bake with them...

Concert

Sarah's final Band Concert for Grade 7 was a huge success. The girl actually practiced at home (her dog was terrified!) and it was worth the hard work. Even if Rustle had no idea what that sound was all about!


That's Sarah just to the left of the Band Teacher. I'm told by people who know this stuff that being First Clarinet is really good. I'll have to take Sarah's word for it!

Beauty, the Beast and Alison

It's Musical Time at École Banff Trail, and our intrepid drama queen Alison has played a big part in putting on the show. For months, we were regaled with tales of how the back stage was coming along, how she needed to know all the songs and parts of the play, and what props were going to be placed where on the lower stage.

Then, just mere weeks ago, a change.

Alison was needed in 2 critical, dramatic scenes. In scene 2, three wolves terrorize Belle's father. Later, Belle is attacked and the Beast is wounded, trying to defend her. Even though the narrators tell, the directors decided it would be better to show. Alison and her friends Logan and Amanda were pulled from their backstage duties and put into costumes. Ladies and gentlemen, we have WOLVES!

Alison took on the role of Howl #3 in the first appearance of the wolves. I was quaking in my boots, it was so spooky. I feared for the life of poor Gaston!

In the Beast scene, I was sure there would be blood gushing from the wound Ali-wolf inflicted on his arm. The whole gym was fraught with the tension.

She loved it. It was a great performance.

I did video the 2 hour show and set Sarah to task on taking some still photos. Unfortunately, we only got to see one performance and had an obstructed view of the lower stage, where the dramatic scene unfolded. Here's our best efforts:




Congratulations Alison and the rest of the cast and crew of Beauty and the Beast.

Track Athlete

So all that training in skiing and soccer isn't quite enough for our Sarah - she went out for the track team at school, too. She competed in the 300m and was anchor for her relay team. She came home elated with a 4th place in the 300 and 2nd in the relay. Way to go! Here she is in her Branton Tigers uniform (and inappropriate footwear):

Superstar

Alison does enjoy the drama. Here is her ensemble for Superstar day at school.

Timberrr!!

The weather in Calgary has been horrid lately. We had an incredibly dry winter until 2 big snowstorms with excessive wind on April 27 and May 5. Wind speeds at Canada Olympic Park were clocked at 94 km per hour.

We got a taste of how powerful weather can be in that April storm. I met our new neighbour when she came over to tell me that our tree was in her backyard. We were very lucky that it didn't land on the house or any furniture and just took out a small piece of the lattice on the top of the fence.

The lady from the tree company suggested that the reason so many spruce trees in Calgary fell during the storm was because after a long, dry winter, the tree roots were too shallow to anchor them in the big winds. I believe it.

Ski Season Finale 2010

In case anyone was wondering, I did in fact, beat Sarah in the fun race. So what if her coach held her back until I was 3 gates from the finish? I still crossed the line first!

Sarah disagrees with the overall fairness of this.

In the picture above, Sarah "Pyjama Girl" is on the green course and Alison "Shiny Wig" is on the yellow