We had 17 people (16 kids, 1 adult, thanks Casey!) at Laser Tag: one public game and one exclusive game… RATHER wild. Then we all came back for Mexican food, and fun and games (oh, and prezzies, of course). It was quite the fracas!
16 December 2009
Merry Christmas to all!
Yes, I am too lazy to send cards… or too cheap… or too busy… you choose the excuse! But this is what you get if you have the dubious advantage of being computer literate… (see, I WILL have to send out some cards.., I have, for example, an ex-colleague in Ireland who refuses to own a computer now that he is retired… ). For the rest of you, this is what has happened in our lives in 2009…
Geoff: was laid off from Kodak in March-April, but with a decent severance package… He is now working at a start-up, which will give him gainful employment until the end of January, perhaps farther… one never knows with these companies… If worse comes to worst, we might have to move, but neither of us fancy that option… although I must say that moving to Australia is looking RATHER fine given the weather here these days! But that was not on the list as far as I know….
Karyn: continues to LOVE working at SFU, but isn’t editing much at the moment… other than the most spectacular novel about 2012 by a friend… which I must get back to once grades are in… Two kids, two dogs, one job are generally enough, even WITH a helpful husband! I TRY to keep the house together, and still get dinner on the table (although the alimentary quality in The Hotel Huenemann has dropped significantly, at Geoff’s request), and tries to hold it all together. Thank God for friends! (You know who you are!!!)
Clara: is doing spectacularly at Nootka Elementary, although she is no longer in the Fine Arts programme, as it is too chaotic for her. She still has a full-time aid to keep her on track and functioning, but needs to leave the classroom for sensory breaks far less often this year. She will likely not need full-time support by high school. She is working really hard at self-sufficiency, and doing amazingly well. We let her go down to Donald’s or Mr. Pets on Commercial Drive on her own now, and she has even taken the bus to Leona’s with Leona after school. MAJOR step!
Rio: is a goofus… and we love him for it! He is doing much better at his new school (Norquay), where he is not being bullied nor having to write in French. He is almost 100% certain to be admitted into the GOLD (Gifted Learning Disabled) high school program at David Thompson High School, which will be great, as he already has a friend who is going to go there. Rio is excited about that, as there are a lot of kids there who play D&D in their spare time, or Lord of the Rings table games, or chess… Quite the strategist, is our Rio.
In terms of travel, there were no China trips this year, but Rio and I went up to Penticton, and then over to Calgary together (last year, Clara go the Rockies trip). The whole family went to Calgary for Christmas… the attraction there, of course, is Steven, his wife Heloisa, and their spectacularly wonderful 2 year old, Rachel. Both children love her, and keep asking to visit. They came to see us over Thanksgiving (and my birthday), which was equally wonderful, although we didn’t get out to as many parks as we do in Calgary…. I don’t think we can convince them to move here (especially as Steven has tenure at Mount Royal University), and I don’t think I fancy Calgary, under any circumstances, so visit as often as possible we must! Thank God for Airmiles, too!
Rio and I are planning to pop down to Arizona in February to avoid the Olympics–I can only really take one child–but will return in time for me to attend the Women’s Bronze Curling finals — Yipee!!!! I have two tickets, and think I might just take my husband… heh heh heh… unless any curling fanatics out there want to come (Geoff not being the curling buff that I am….)
Other than that, it has been a quiet year, hanging in there through the economic crises… All will be well, but I must say that the kids are starting to ask when we are going to visit foreign places again… maybe we shouldn’t have taken them to Costa Rica!!! They had forgotten how much fun travel is….
Well, some day again, God willing, we will become world travellers with children… and then we will show up on the doorsteps of our dear friends in England, France, Finland, and Australia! Until then, we can only wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS, and the happiest and most rewarding of New Years.
Karyn, Geoff, Rio, Clara, and the poodle-and-a-half
15 December 2009
Like last year, two of my favourite students came over to build gingerbread houses with the kids… It’s like having a big family, really, only without the nasty early years!
14 December 2009
Spot the nervous lad… Clara was fine, except for the broken, but-as-yet-unxrayed wrist… She really wanted to play, and managed quite well with her right hand… let’s see how the whole building of gingerbread houses goes!
12 December 2009
Well, it’s not the most dramatic of performances–those happen at home–but here is Rio in his class Christmas concert (1:41)…
(the other lad I pan to is our friend Russell Copley)
8 December 2009
We were down in Seattle a few weeks ago,. and it turns out that Seattle is actually built, not only on a mud-flat, but on a reinforced mud-flat… go figure…
The Seattle Underground tour was fascinating! Who would’a thunk that people would have rebuilt on a completely burnt out city with drainage and sewage problems because of the ground and water levels?!? But they did… Rather Monty Pythonesque, really:
“I built this kingdom up from nuthin’. When I started here, all of this was swamp! Other kings said it was DAFT to build a castle in a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show ‘em! It sank into the swamp. SO, I built a second one! That sank into the swamp. So I built a THIRD one. That burned down, fell over, THEN sank into the swamp. But the fourth one… stayed up. And that’s what you’re gonna get, lad…”
A city built on sewage and relocated rocks… But the tour was great. Here are the photos:
25 November 2009
So I’m a bit slow off the mark… but here are some photos of Hallowe’en in Vancouver… we didn’t get too many.
25 October 2009
I can’t believe how long it’s been since we’ve played with my god-children, Beth and Nick! And their father, Casey, of course! So yesterday afternoon we all went to Pumpkin Patch together — which seems to be becoming an annual event (not the Pumpkin Patch — that already was — I’m talking about the “together” part…). Rio stayed home and hacked and coughed… so Geoff stayed with him as he is really tired of being alone and left out of things. But here are the photos of the rest of us at Aldor Acres (home of Big Bob, for all of you PNE old-timers):
Almost-as-big-as Bob
Can I have a bunny, Mom? Please?
My bunny!
His teeth aren't sharp -- really!
Can I have a goat, Mom? Please?
The gang: Nick, Casey, Beth, Clara
I - can - do - it!
The most sincere pumpkin patch in the Lower Mainland
The old farmhouse
Wait! Those aren't my kids! Damn. Must have left Clara under a pumpkin leaf...
19 October 2009
For my birthday, Clara and I biked down to Stanley Park and around the seawall. 11.6 miles (that’s 18.7 km!). Took us 5 hours, but that’s because we went slowly… with MANY snack stops for Clara — she’s about to grow, I am sure. And tree-climbing stops. And a picnic lunch. And of course a rather long “build-your-own-inukshuk” stop…
Here’s the route:
Bike route
And some photos:
Life imitating art
Lost Lagoon
The best climbing tree in the world
Siwash Rock
Clara builds an inukshuk
Chilly! Had to steal Mom's jacket...
15 October 2009
My favourite holiday of the year (not only because it is also my birthday!). We had a lot to give thanks for — Steven and Heloisa and Rachel came to visit, and we had a marvellous weekend. We spent time in Stanley Park, Gastown, and at the Aquarium. And hanging around our home visiting, of course.
Rachel and Clara's bird, Sol
Gassy Jack
The steam clock in Gastown
Granville Island
Chasing pigeons at Granville Island -- a favourite Vancouver pastime
Tally and Sol, best friends, too
Clara and Leona at the Aquarium
All aboard!
Jellyfish
Prospect Point
Clara and Leona at Prospect Point Lookout
