Sassah!!!

For as long as she can remember, Sarah has had long hair. Last summer, she trimmed off 7 inches, and here's how long it grew:


Not any more!

Time for a change for Sarah. She decided she'd trim off enough that she'd be able to donate some hair to a worthy cause. The salon we frequent donates hair to Kids for Cancer, and they require a minimum donation of 8 inches of hair.


Sarah went bigger. Today she cut off 14 inches of hair - almost half the length of her entire head of hair.





Doesn't she look great? Shorter is sassier - or to adapt her name for herself when she was learning to speak - Sassah-i-er!

Yee-haw

Summer is slipping by quickly. Sarah's camera died and she has no pictures to show from her trip to Mount Hood, Oregon. We have to take her word for it that the skiing was fun and the team had a great time together.

Alison went off to Fairmont for a visit that included cliff-jumping. I'm still waiting on photographic descriptions on that one.

I do have some pictures of Alison at Stampede, though. Sarah went with another friend and her mom, so it was just me and Mook at the grounds. We checked out lots of stuff and Alison even got to milk a fake cow. Fun!

Yahoo!

Stampede has returned!


Alison and I braved the crowds to check out this year's parade. Doesn't she look great?

The parade had a zillion horses and marching bands and floats and the shriners and all the other things that make parades parades. I snapped a photo of the University of Calgary Solar Car because it's really cool.


Afterwards, we walked through downtown Calgary and Alison got a balloon hat to wear on her cowboy hat. Cute.


This is her reaction to hearing how those branding marks got onto the horses behinds. I waited to click the camera until I said, "and then they take the hot iron and burn the mark onto the animal's skin." Yeah, we love the enthusiasm of the Stampede, but really don't support the way the animals are treated.

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):