Stepping back in time

Upper Canada in the 1860's - a step back in time. Will got an opportunity to experience this at Upper Canada Village with our home school group in September. For 2 days and 2 nights he and 20 other children lived as they would have in the 1860's. They dressed the part, did chores, attended a one-room schoolhouse, square-danced and more.
While I could not personally be there to witness all this, my dear friends and chaperone's of the trip did an excellent job in the photos that they took.
I just love the photo of the girls twirling in their dresses! Their straw hats were precious. They were taught much about the difficult kitchen work over a fire, preparing for winter and storing seeds for spring. They combed out wool and did some hand sewing. All the kids fed the animals, milked the cows and pumped water. The boys were taught to work with tin and made a candle sconce to hang on the wall. They also make a candle holder at the blacksmith. All children attended the one room schoolhouse. There they had to memorize and recite lessons, have spelling and math bees and follow the "rules" of the schoolroom minus the whipping they would have received if in trouble!

The children were challenged and much was expected of them and yet there was such a sense of innocence to it all. I enjoyed the images captured of the girls holding hands as they walked through the village, the kids playing games, the fun on the tire swing; the boys taking hostage a toad and observing it in their hat! What a wonderful experience with many memories made!

Autumn - the most wonderful time of the year!

Some of you may be aware of my, let's say, slight obsession with the season of Fall. It's back I couldn't be more thrilled. I've hauled up the 6 boxes of Fall decorations from the basement and carefully placed the items throughout my house. Fall is upon us. AHHHHHHH.......
One of my favorite Fall activities is our yearly trip to the apple orchard. We went to one this year with a corn maze that the kids had fun in until we got lost, hot (because remember it's still hot) and Will had a melt down because he wanted to lead and Daddy took over so we could get out of what was starting to feel like a rat maze. Next year maybe we'll just stick with the apples.

BTS - why rush it?

A big issue around here this year was when to start school. With Labour Day being so late it was a toss up with the school board as to whether to start after as they usually do or before. The final decision was before. After such an unusually rainy and cool summer it was when the children returned to school that the sun came out. As a home educator we made the not difficult choice to delay bts (back to school) and go outside to play. We finally made it to the beach the first week of September on a hot, sunny Friday. Will spent the whole time trying to catch some minnows that were swimming in the shallow area. The fact that an hour and a half went past and no catch was made did not deter him from continuing to try. God bless his persistence!
Another reason for the delay was a brief visit by my parents. They were en route to the UK to visit sister Bekah and her husband Tom (said with a British accent). They flew out of Ottawa but spent a few days with us before taking off. It was fun to have a visit with Opa and Oma!

OK, so we finally did get back to business and Will started grade 4. Now that we're back into the swing of things I was pleased that we transitioned from summer so well.

Back to school - 09

After having crossed off most of the items on Will's Summer Bucket List (things he wanted to do before summer kicked the bucket) it was time for some back to school photos to capture this brief moment of their lives - ages 3 and 9.

A fellow homeschool mom with a talent for photo taking met us at an apple orchard for this new school year right of passage. They turned out beautifully and I'd post them if I didn't feel funny about putting someone else's work on here but I thought these photo's captured the unique personality of both my children taken as they waited for the other to finish.
Will chooses to chase poor helpless chickens around the yard while my sweet girl uses it as another chance for a photo op.

Vacation fun!

Yeah, that's right. That's me on the go-cart. The kids can't have all the fun, can they?
Gramma and Will on the ferris wheel at Heritage Park.
Celebrating a happy occasion! The boys and their folks.

Caffe Crema

Looking at these pictures doesn't it make you crave a rich, flavorful latte and cozy up on the couch while the kiddie's take a seat at the coloring corner? If you are in the Calgary area - you're in luck! Welcome to Caffe Crema - a coffee house that offers French pressed coffee made from high quality coffee beans. It also shares a space with my brother-in-law's mission church.

It's here that the Halldo family hosted the matriarch and patriarch's 40th wedding anniversary. Our families flew in for the occasion to celebrate. The cousins had a blast playing together and the coffee house had its coming out party!

40 years is certainly something to celebrate and I appreciate the Christian legacy that they've passed on to their sons and now a new generation of little Halldos. What a blessing it is to have that common denominator among us binding us together for eternity!

Oh Lord, How Majestic is your Name!

Wayne's family is from Calgary and we get the awesome opportunity usually once a year to go back and visit. A highlight for us all is a trip out to the mountains. I have fond memories of first "discovering" the Canadian rockies on my first trip to Calgary to visit my then boyfriend. Now my beloved and I take our children to witness this incredible marvel of God's creation. I can't help but sing in my head an old Sandi Patti song I liked as a child "Oh Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth." However, I must admit other things were going through my head as we all ascended the mountain in a tiny gondola. It was more like "I'm gonna die, I can't breathe, are we almost to the top?" I think I liked the Sandi Patti song better!