Emma's First Relay

I told Mom that I'd post a pic of our front garden.  Last summer I had a landscape friend design it and this is the first year that everything is coming up without me having to do anything . . . and I LOVE it!!!  The day lilies started flowering a few days ago and the phlox was in bloom a couple weeks ago.  I love seeing it each time when I drive up to the house and I still think that it is the best front yard on the street!!!

Today was Emma's first time at the Hudson Sargeant Relay.  Yep, she made the team and was so excited about it.  She was the only grade 4 that made it so it was exciting and a bit nerve-wracking for her.  She was a bit scared about dropping the baton, but we told her that she'd do fine!

She got to the school at 8am to catch the bus to the site.  Unfortunately both Brade and I had other commitments in the morning, but I planned on going to see her when Navia got home from school.  When she did we took off to the relay site and it took a while to find Emma, but while I was looking for her I realized that everyone there looked kinda old - it really didn't look like there were 10 year olds there.  I kept looking and finally found her on the grass hanging out with a friend.  

I guess we missed her relays - she placed 2nd and 3rd in them, but they were the first races of the day.  I felt bad, but she was okay with it and just excited that they did well and she didn't have to go back to school for the entire day, but instead could hang out and cheer on her team-mates.  While I was talking to her I realized something - there weren't any grade 5 relays . . . nope . . . this was a Relay Meet for Grades 6,7 & 8's!!!  I knew that she was the only grade 4 but didn't know that she was running with grade 6's!!!  Yep, we have quite an athlete in her!  

So I convinced her to take a picture, even though it isn't of her running (and no, Navia isn't drinking Coke Zero . . . she's pretending to be 'cool' . . . oh what are we going to do?!?!?)

After saying good-bye to Emma, Navia and I walked down to the beach (just beside the race site) and we hung out for a few minutes - Navia was just upset that she didn't bring her bathing suit!

And that was our day . . . now to run (okay . . . walk!) to school to go pick up Kaleb and then get Emma later so that we can go to the first of 5 baseball games this week . . . it's a busy one!

MYC Spring Recital 2011

On Sunday, May 15th I had my annual Spring Music for Young Children Recital.  I had 2 different recitals so that they wouldn't go so long, with 21 students playing in the first one and 22 in the second.  Everyone brought a plate of goodies so we were able to hang out and have refreshments after each one.  

My students did an amazing job with each one going up and they looked so confident as they played - even playing through any mistakes as if they never happened!  Needless to say I'm very proud of each one of them.

The three students that would stick out to you, though, would be Emma, Kaleb and Navia . . . and they each did incredibly well!

Navia played at the first recital as song called "Measles".  She was in Sunshine One and is really excited about going into her second year of piano!

Her class also played a rhythm ensemble - "Are You Sleeping?"

Kaleb is in his 3rd year, and just completed Sunbeams Three.  He played "On Top of Spaghetti" and did a great job - he is a really strong player!

And then his class did a rhythm ensemble - "Over the River and Through the Woods".

Emma played at the second recital and this is her very last year with me as her teacher.  She graduated Moonbeams Three this year and will be going on with a private instructor next year.  Yes, it's kinda sad because I really enjoy teaching her, but I know that she'll enjoy her new teacher!

She played "Barkey's Boogie" from the Conservatory Canada Grade One repertoire.  

Instead of doing a rhythm ensemble like the other classes, the Moonbeams Three class did a chime ensemble of "Pachelbel's Canon", which sounds amazing!

 I had to have a picture of my graduation class - check out their medals!!!  Yep,  you don't have to be an athlete in order to get a really cool medal engraved with your name!

  

 The recital was a success and it was another great year of teaching!  Here are the students from 2010/2011, minus a few of them.  Can you find the smiling Bailey children???

Castle Project - Blogged by Daddy!!!

Emma had a medieval project to do for school - choose a tool or building from that period and recreate it - as close as you could to the real thing.  They then would be presenting it, along with a poster board of pictures and other research done, to the their grade 4 class.

This was not a project for Mom, but right down Daddy's lane, and so Emma spent a long time designing it, figuring out all the dimensions, etc and then they took a trip to Home Depot to  decide what to make it out of . . . this is Daddy's account of the fun that they had together . . . .  

"Made a castle with Emma for a school project. 

Lots of kids made it with Popsicle sticks or cardboard, but we went BIG. 2 big 1.5x12 inch rough fir timbers, 4 archer posts lookouts, crenel and merlins along all the walls, and the grand entrance - all designed by Emma. 

Had to cart it in on a big rolling tray cause it was so heavy. 

I hoped the other kids at school would love it - but i will confess that i secretly hoped no one had a bigger one even more...:)


Found out some stupid kid brought a 3' working catapult that shot tennis balls. I hate him and his dad. - jk!"

This project won't be lost on Emma, because she LOVES medieval things and has been collecting various figures and this entire castle was based upon their measurements so that she'll be able to play with her version of a 'doll house'!

Emma's First Basketball Game

Emma made the Grade 4/5/6 Basketball team this year - on the 'B' team.  She was really really excited about it and every Wednesday she would go to school extra early to practice and then have another practice every Thursday.  She loved it!  The best part was that she wasn't discouraged that she wouldn't be playing this year - she was the only Grade 4 that made the team so she thought that itself was pretty special and couldn't wait until next year when she was hoping that she'd make the 'A' Team (the travelling team).

Emma ended up getting her wish a little earlier than expected!!!  A starter on the 'A' Team wasn't able to make it and her sub was also away so Emma came home with a note from her coach saying that Emma had been working really hard at basketball and deserved a chance to play the Finals with the 'A' Team!  Emma was soooo excited - and of course we said she could go.  She got to take the afternoon off of school and travel to another school for the finals.  Brade was able to take time off of work so she had her Mom, Dad and even Navia there cheering her on!

She's wearing the blue #4, with the blond, low ponytail.

    

    

Emma had a lot of playing time and was a great guard and teammate.  She knew who the accurate shooters were and got them the ball incredibly fast.  It was awesome watching her and cheering her on!!!

Their team, the Stars, tied for 3rd place in the Finals and they were all excited about going back to school the next day and hearing their names on the school announcements for placing.  Our little girl stood her own against a ton of older and taller girls and she did great!!!  

So, basketball season is now officially over, and baseball is just beginning - but this time for all THREE of the kids: Emma is in her second year as a Mite, Kaleb in his second year in 5-pitch and Navia is starting her first year in T-Ball (oh, and her team is the "Music for Young Children" team - yep - I sponsored her team so I'll definitely be posting their adorable pictures of them in all yellow MYC shirts!!!)

The Last One - On Her Own . . .

Saturday was a happy and sad day for us (and tired for Daddy!!!).  The weather was gorgeous out and we decided that Navia was going to start the season off without training wheels - which made her VERY excited!!!  So Daddy went and got his runners on (having been through this 2 times before he remembers the exercise that it is for him - hehehe!)  Navia found the "gear" so that she wouldn't cry so much (knee pads, elbow pads & even gloves to cover the bottom of her hand and magically make every fall stone-free!).  They got ready and off they went - over and over again!!!

So not every try was a perfect one . . . 

But there were some that she would just keep pedaling and pedaling!!!

I don't know what we'd do without those gloves . . . they saved her hands over and over again . . .

But there were sometimes that the bike wasn't necessarily her friend - it was hard not to laugh - but she'd get back up and try again and again!

So - a few (or an afternoon of) bike riding and Navia is pretty successful at riding her bike - with a few falls and still learning how to stop but she's doing well and having a lot of fun too!!!  Can't wait until Daddy comes home so that I don't have to do the running . . . he's just soooo much better than Mommy!!!!

Snowball & an Afternoon of Photography

March Break wasn't the most enjoyable for our kids . . . sickness started with Navia's 105F fever and 3 days later she was better, but then Emma was sick - ug!  So much for our day trip plans . . . but there was a bright light for the kids . . . Snowball!!!

Emma had agreed to dog-sit her friends dog, Snowball, for 5 days during break.  This was fun for her because she enjoyed the morning & evening walks (usually with Daddy tagging along) and she had a friend to play with all day long.  Navia and Kaleb had fin with her too - and overall it was a great way to have March Break - if we couldn't go anywhere.

This past week Braden found a used Nikon D5000 body - which could share lenses with my D90.  He purchased it and I can't wait to see the pictures he takes of London next week with it (work is sending him to London, England for a quick trip . . . kinda like the Paris one a couple weeks ago).

Yesterday, while Emma was at a friend's - Snowball's owner - the rest of us went to Hog's Back Falls - just a 10 minute drive from our house, to take pictures.  Yep . . . Navia was using Emma's camera, Kaleb on his camera, me on my camera with the 50mm lens & Braden on his camera with the 18-105mm lens.  It was a lot of fun experimenting with shots and the kids had fun too.  It was neat watching them try to catch their favorite shots . . . Kaleb has numerous shots of dogs walking by & was trying so hard to run after the squirrels to take pictures of them - so cute!

So these are a few shots from Brade's and my camera that kinda captured the spring thaw happening at Hog's Back Falls. . . 

The kids were both taking pictures of 2 little dogs out for a walk - the owners thought it was adorable!