This is me (Sarah) in Grade 9, Baby

We have been at school for over a week now (since Sept. 1) and so far Sarah still doesn't have a blue and red adidas bag or a humongous binder but she is in Grade 9. In Alberta, she is the oldest grade in Junior High, so no problems being a minor niner.

Alison is in grade 6 now (no song lyrics for joke fodder when you are in grade 6), so this means she is Boss at her school too and gets the back seats of the bus.

Rustle still hasn't learned any new tricks.

{If you don't get the reference, you can watch the Barenaked Ladies perform "Grade 9" here}

Jam-packed Summer Fun, Part 2

Now for the Lake of the Wood shots:

Bob on the laser.

Alison the Wakeboarder.


Alison the Kayaker.
Everyone loves tubing.
Nothing beats the hot tub after wakeboarding.


I think they had fun.

Jam-packed Summer Fun, Part 1

I can not believe that summer is over and school starts for Rustle's girls tomorrow. We were so busy having fun that we didn't even notice the time slip away.

So, a very picture-heavy post to help describe where the time has gone... I present: Part One - Cape Breton Adventures.

We had a magical visit:


We ate a lot:

We didn't eat the fish that Alison caught, even though she named it Dinner

but it didn't make us that grumpy. We also made some sweet stuff:


And we spent a lot of time exploring.



We took a road trip around the Cabot Trail:




and went whale watching in Pleasant Bay: (Alison was extremely excited)

The whales came pretty close to our zodiac:

And there is always time to read Calvin and Hobbes:

Spot the Puppy

The exciting part about taking Rustle for a walk through the dog park at this time of year is that the grass is extremely tall. It gets very exciting when you are riding your bike and he rushes towards you, but you don't see him until he is RIGHT THERE. It can sometimes be a challenge to find him when he is off frolicking in the grass. Let me show you:

Here he is, just entering his playground.

He has been swallowed up by the grasses. I try to keep my eye on his swishy, bushy tail. It wags non-stop when we are at the park.

Good thing he comes running when I call!

Pixie!

I have mentioned before that Alison has a cute little pixie face. Now she has the haircut to go with it!

It was a bit too long.

Alison planned this for over a month.

First snips - so excited!

Almost there - but it is taking a long time. Still excited, though!

She loves it!

Kelowna

Sarah was invited to play in a soccer tournament on Canada Day weekend in Kelowna. It was a great excuse to get the girls to the Okanagan so they could check out a really neat place.

Sarah's team played some very competitive soccer and bonded together over movies and popcorn during their off time. We were staying at the UBC Okanagan campus, which gave the girls a lot of opportunities to bond. In fact, we hardly saw Sarah at all over the whole weekend.



Since we were going there anyway, Alison competed in a track meet. It was very different from her first experience, since it was hot and sunny in Kelowna. In fact, she ran 600 meters in 31 degree heat. Trooper! She managed to score a few personal bests and improved her technique in several events.



We did get to enjoy a bit of Kelowna too. We spent Canada Day at the waterfront, listening to bands and snacking on Kettle Corn. Yum. We drove up a hill into a rather plush neighbourhood of Kelowna to watch the fireworks at night so we could see everything and it was amazing having the backdrop of a lake and mountains.

We also got to the beach. There was a zip line in the water that got a lot of attention from Alison. She looked, but there was no sign of Ogopogo.

Sports Day

It was a beautiful day for École Banff Trail's annual Sports Day, which I appreciated because I was volunteering for the first time in six years. Alison had a grand time. It is all about the fun.

Rustle Goes to School

Alison was Star of the Week for the last full week of school and was able to bring in whatever she wanted to share. She wanted to share her favourite dog, and he was more than happy to oblige. He always wants to come to school, and this day we actually let him into the car.

As all who know Rustle can imagine, he was a big hit. He loves the attention and the children were lavishing it on him. It was a great day to be Rustle.

If you would like to hear the story from the dog's perspective (supported by me), check out Rustle's blog: http://3mst.zapd.co/

All Sports One Day

Alison participated in an interesting Calgary event this year. All Sport One Day opens up recreation facilities around the city to kids under 12 so they can try out different sports. We registered too late to try things like archery, but she did get to try out field hockey and orienteering. It was interesting to watch how she picked up her skill level in these sports in a 45 minute outing and was amazing to hear how enthusiastic she was about both sports she tried out. It was a very great day!

High Honours

On top of being an awesome ski racer, attending the Amis Du Monde meetings and conference featuring Craig Keilburger and playing two instruments in band, Sarah also managed to earn top marks at school. They get very excited about marks at her school and gave her a plaque.

I have a hard time expressing in words how proud I am of her accomplishments this year. She has learned how to organize her time and prioritize her schedule so that she can accomplish all these things that are so important to her. She has learned how to do things that so many adults still can not figure out. My heart is just bursting.