Ahhhhh.....Summer!!!

Hello dear friends and family,

Summer is almost upon us, and it has been so beautiful here in Vancouver, BC that it feels as if it has already been here for 2 weeks. We have been experiencing the most gorgeous days. It isn't too hot, about 25 degrees Celsius (that's about 77 degrees Farenheit for my "south of the border" friends), sunny with blue skies, but with a refreshing breeze. Truly, the are not many places that are as beautiful as Vancouver in the summer.

So...the kids had their Sports Day last week. I LOVED Sports Day as a kid. I think I looked forward to that day the entire school year. It helped that I was quite athletic. I'm sure some kids dreaded that day. You know, those unfortunate kids that just had no athletic ability at all...the ones that always got picked last for teams? I was never in that situation. Sports Day was the day for those kids, like me, who were fleet of foot and competitive to the extreme. We ran as fast as we could, we jumped as high and as far as we could, we climbed ropes, threw bean bags, tried to pop balloons, clambered through obstacle courses, and literally jumped through hoops. Our coveted prize? Those strips of ribbon, red for first place, blue for second, and yellow for third (or some alternative). At each station, you had the chance to win one of those ribbons. And at the end of the day...you counted them up and compared them to your friends/competition. What a spectacular tradition....

...but wait a second...what is this? This...this is Sports Day? NO!!!! This is not what I remember, this is nothing like what we did as kids. What happened to the competition? What happened to the fierce determination of kids to beat their classmates? What happened to the ribbons? I don't get it. This is not Sports Day...this is more like...I don't know....Cooperation Day...or Everyone Wins Day. This does not work for me. Ok...I understand that some kids and parents (probably parents more than kids) would oppose competition. They would be uncomfortable with the notion that someone might get their feelings hurt, or feel discouraged if they didn't win...but seriously...COME ON!!!! Since when is winning a bad thing? When did talent turn into something that had to be restrained? When did we think that kids shouldn't learn how to lose at something? When I was a kid, we knew who was going to win the race, we also knew who was going to ace the math test. You don't see parents asking schools to make sure everyone gets the same grade, do you? COME ON people...real life doesn't make these concessions, kids don't need to be protected, they need to be exposed to that reality. I want my kids to learn to be competitive. I want them to learn how it feels to win, to be victorious, to earn a "ribbon". I want them to hunger for that feeling. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying "win at all costs" and that "winning is everything", most of you know me better than that...but you know what...winning is pretty important. Letting kids compete at sports will not scar them forever. Losing the foot race in grade 3 does not make them a loser in life. A little competition makes things exciting. Who agrees with me?

Anyways, my kids did have fun at their Sports Day. The teachers and volunteers came up with some inventive games, like the "race to put together the computer" game (kinda cool, and Frank thought was fabulous). I did like how the entire school was divided into 4 different colored teams, all the grades mixed up, and the older kids were expected to help the younger kids. That was awesome. But I missed the thrill of the race. Don't judge me.



On a different subject...but also to do with summertime...

We went camping again. Our friends, Mitch and Michelle and their two girls invited us to go camping with them at Alice Lake (near Squamish).

Here are some pictures of our drive along the Sea to Sky Highway. This is the highway that is being redone to accomodate all the traffic that is sure to come with the 2010 Winter Olympics that are taking place in Vancouver and Whistler. Squamish is smack dab, right between the two cities.



The trip is beautiful, it winds along sea cliffs. It is very twisty in some places, kinda reminded me of driving in WV. Frank took the wheel so I could enjoy the view.

He he he...Frank didn't know I was taking his picture as I was taking scenery pictures.

Here are my brats, Tuck had to share the backseat with them, and we only heard, "how much longer?" about 3 or 4 times. Not bad.

I don't know what they were doing. Aislinn doesn't usually look this stunned.



Ohhhhh! This is "the Stawamus Chief". It is reported to be the second largest monolith in the world. Don't ask me what a monolith is. Actually, do...I looked it up. I'm geeky like that. Here it is...plagarized right from Wikipedia...

A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are most often made of very hard and solid metamorphic or igneous rock.

It's pretty impressive, whatever it is called. I'll have to tell you about the time Frank and I climbed to the top of that monolith. In flipflops, with no water, slightly unprepared and hurting because of it.


Here it is closer up. It is much more impressive in real life. It is situated right above Squamish. What a sight to see every day huh?

So, I didn't take many pictures of us camping. Michelle had a much better camera than me, and I am going to get her to send me some. We did have a blast though, the campsite was so clean and quiet and well maintained, and expensive, but worth it. We haven't paid for camping for years. We're spoiled. The place was paved and the kids brought their bikes, so the four girls were gone most of the time. It was great. There was this little lake, that was warm enough to swim in, so we spent the entire day on the beach. Frank even swam to the other side and back. Impressive. And no, I am not going to post any pictures of myself in my bathing suit. But here are some of other people in theirs! He he he...

I think Mackendra has discovered a new passion. She borrowed the snorkle gear and spent the entire day "snorkl-ing" around.

That's Michelle and Frank and some of our kids soaking up the rays. It was sunny, but there was a strong wind, and as a result, when you came out of the water, it was chilly.


My daughter is gorgeous. Did I ever tell you that? Shhhh...don't tell her though.


Here is a beautiful picture that Aislinn took early one morning.


So, I will leave you with one more picture....


And say it all together...."Awwwwwww..."

Talk to you later.