Back to the Maritimes....

Well, here we are back in Dartmouth, finally feeling like we are getting settled in to our new house....still missing life in Ontario with friends and grandparents and wondering what life almost was if we had gone to Nanaimo after all......

It`s a bit surreal really....wandering back into your old life while it has been carrying on without you there....some things have changed, some for the better, people are a little older (most noticeable with kids, obviously), some are gone and new faces are all around....but it takes a minute to remember that you can`t just drop by to see _________or go to a certain store to pick up ________ because they are actually in a different province now!!!

It has been a joy but also time-consuming to be able to organize our lives within the new house with so much space and within the new community....trying out new things, meeting new people, following our passions....if only daddy could find one that didn`t take up half a day each time!

It is much easier to do this in a place we`ve already made a life before and with more space to do it in, although I think I could write a book on how to reinvent your life with children in a new place after having moved three times in three years!!

I am going to update our top ten lists to reflect what we`re up to now and will add some pics to the other blog where there will soon be a pic a day from the Flannagan household....we`ll see!

Cheers!

lisa

Never gonna catch up....not gonna try....

Well, I'm throwing in the towel on the: I must catch up the time I missed blogging about before I can say anything about today, routine....I will not wait or punish myself any longer!!??!!

So, suffice it to say, it's been a busy year! Danica was born, we are moving AGAIN at the end of August and we are definitely straddling the gap, between our lives at the moment - anyone who has moved a few times KNOWS of which I speak.

I am coping but not well, at times. Had a good day at Canada's Wonderland today - might not have happened though, as the downpour scared us off initially but back we went!

I still LOVE rollercoasters but am not nearly as brave as my youngerself but Bailey is fearless for a 6 year old!

Had a great time in Splashworks with the boys and Danica and Sé survived the day.

Pics to follow, must sleep.

Impetus for blogging....just found out radical unschoolers get together on Salt Spring Island and we had no idea! I am missing Nanaimo again - were supposed to be moving there but are now off the Halifax again....maybe someday....

lisa

December 2007

Well, December was taken up by surviving a Daddy business trip and recovering from the last one......lucky for us the two week trip in January has been cancelled....sorry Ian :-(

The other two major occurences that delayed Christmas preparations significantly were Bailey's Party (see below) and the boys' first Christmas Pageant with the Kingston Home Learners group. It was our first foray into activities with that group and I think by all accounts a great success!

The boys were very courageous, considering they had no idea what they were getting themselves into and volunteered for everything from acting in two plays, reciting monologues, singing with the group in many instances and Jaxon even sang a solo verse for one song!

Some grandparents even made it to the shows! That is definitely a novelty for us, since we've never lived close enough for that to happen before.

I made red bird costumes for Bailey and Se, adding to my sewing portfolio this fall, ha ha - oh yeah, I'm not sure I posted about making the grand Pokemon costume for Bailey for Halloween - he was Charzard - and they each had three costume changes, except for Se with just the one walk-on role! It was definitely busy but great fun.

Pics to follow. And I am going to work on a slideshow.....wish me luck!...it's a new function on blogger.

TTFN!

November.....the ULTRASOUND results are in.......

and.....it's a GIRRRRRRLLLLLLL!!!!!!


No, none of us can believe it, but as of sometime near April (probably the end of March), I will no longer be able to sign anything Lisa & the boyz! Pumpkin, as she is currently named by the clan, will have made her debut, thereby altering our collective lives and signatures forever!!

We are very blessed!

Fall 2007

We enjoyed frog (LOTS) and turtle watching off the dock in our backyard during the early part of the fall as the weather was quite mild for awhile! This turtle was named "Turtles". Turtles was quite small, compared to the size of the lily pads - this is a real close-up photo off the dock. We aren't sure where turtles came from or if it was a hatchling from this year or not.

We never did get to see any babies born from the mother that dug a nest for her eggs in the front lawn - we are pretty sure the racoons got to it right away.....we know what to do next year to protect the nests, as we learned all about it at Keji.

We also enjoyed visiting what we called "Turtle Rock", a short paddle in the kayaks around through the canal and around the corner in the river....but you had to sneak up on it or they would all slip in to the water before we even got close!

This fall was very active, once we returned from our September vacation. We especially enjoyed connecting with the Brockville Home Learners group. The boys got involved in an all-boys - homeschoolers - gymnastics class on Wednesdays, which was quite a workout! We also got together with that group for a tour of the local newspaper plant and for a bookclub. Other fun with that group included a sports day at the Brockville Y, tobogganing, a bonfire night and lots of fun at Jaxon and Bailey's birthday parties.

Jaxon had a Pokemon party at our house: DS, GameCube and Gameboy Pokemon action, a Pokemon tournament, pizza, snacks, cupcakes, 'swamp water' drinks and a Pokeball Pinata outside provided loads of entertainment for the group of 6 boys.

Bailey wanted to have a Pokemon party too, but other activities became the main focus: a session at the gymnastics academy playing many fun games, pizza, cupcakes, cake, snacks, presents and goodie bags in their party room onsite and then a couple of hours on the huge local toboggan hill!! Well, we had a pokemon video on in the party room and they talked about their cards a bit....but not a full-fledged pokemon party....which was fine!

Jaxon continued his involvement with his YuGiOh club in Kingston, ending the season with a second place finish in their tournament - a big thrill for him, considering he didn't win any matches for the first 8 months or so!

Bailey took swimming lessons for part of the fall - he just enjoys being in the water no matter what.

We joined the Y as a family, so we spent a couple of afternoons each week either participating in activities such as the kids' cyclefit class, a kids' sports class in the gym, a Pilates class for me (until I couldn't lay on the back and breathe at the same time any longer!!), Aquafit classes, free swim sessions, meeting up with friends in the gym to play hockey, soccer and basketball.....and most of all, playing the Dance Revolution game outside the gym - Jaxon especially loved that.

The boys were excited to see the snow arrive again - tobogganing heaven!


Lisa

Summer 2007

It would be impossible to recap everything about the wonderful summer we had but here are some of the highlights:

*soccer, baseball and t-ball

* Friday nights or carload Tuesdays at the Kingston drive-in - a great family night for all and a date for mom and dad after kids fell asleep before the second feature!!



* Friday night ladies summer soccer for mummy!!!

*YuGiOh club extended through the summer by popular demand

*long, lazy days at our favourite beaches: Charleston Lake, Kendrick's Park, Grass Creek Park and Dunes Beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park

*two weeks of swimming each day at Landon Bay campground outdoor pool with free swim after, meeting new friends and neighbours that live close by!

* the 143rd Lansdowne Fair - we all entered something and won a lot of ribbons: crafts, photography, woodworking, flowers, decorated bike and rider in parade (Bailey) and toddler with the biggest dimples in Lansdowne!!

- other highlights at the fair were the ride-all-day bracelets on Saturday, demolition derby, lawnmower races, kids' pig wrestling, midway games, Ray's Reptiles and Birds of Prey

* kayaking on the river - see pic to follow of the family flotilla in action

* Homeschooling campout 2007 at Charleston Lake - medieval knight treasure hunt, tye-dyeing t-shirts, campfire games and songs, midnight Password games for the 'big kids', gourmet dining by the Paquettes, sharing the field with our new friends Lynn, Reid, Sam and Isaac, beach afternoon, blazing hot soccer game, clapping games with Kathy, parachute games with Kathy.

* a visit from our new friends from Quebec City: Julie, Patrick, Benjamin and Leo - they also joined us at the campout!

* sing and swim days at the Bibic 'resort'

* Jaxon's robotics workshop

*Werry picnic revival (displayed photos from Cornwall Trip in Aug 2006)

* ice cream and corn on the cob....many and often!!!

* Wettlaufer family reunion at Aunt Debbie's - great pool party and bbq - great day with cousins Joe, Megan and Alyssa and dog soccer with Cassie and Flintstone

* Thousand Islands playhouse theatre with Uncle Scott: "Anne and Gilbert"!!


* Festival of the Islands in Gan with Uncle Scott - too many concerts to count!

* narrowly missing the entire Rickard picnic reunion due to fun on the 401!

* two week holiday to Nova Scotia: Not Back to School Camping Trip 2007 at Kejimikujik National Park and camping at Shubie in Dartmouth, visiting old friends and checking on our house......especially Ian's 50 km bike climb and yoga/swim for moms by the water in the am!

* dahlias finally blooming but alas, not being organized enough to dig them out in time :-(

Ah, yes,....summer in the Thousand Islands beside the Blue Heron marina!!! The Blue Herons would visit us multiple times in a day and we caught them fishing close up - expert zen-like stillness...amazing!

Circus Camp and other pics.....

We got some photos sent to us from the camp Bailey and Jaxon attended - Bailey was there every day, so Jaxon must have missed the day the photographer came:(

Here are the boys at Stone Soup - the gym at the Kingston Military Family Resource Centre:

This is the outdoor area near the gym where we spend our late Tuesday afternoons until Beavers and Cubs - Jaxon starts Cubs next week and Bailey just got a temporary little vest for Beavers last night - wow, was he proud! BTW, if anyone comes across second hand Beaver or Cub uniforms, please let us know! Thx!

Also,.....Bailey's design that he was very proud of and wanted to share! Our favourite puzzle blocks from England www.myriadonline.co.uk ...thanks to a generous donation from G & G Werry at the time!!

Our spring snowfall has all but melted/washed away now, so we're hoping to dry up soon! Then it will be time to tackle the worshop and build the shed! We are also hoping to build either a treehouse or clubhouse and create a campfire pit here. The bike path is pretty much dry and clear so we hope to get out scooting and biking soon.

Both boys start ball hockey soon, so we are looking for hockey gloves and jocks!!..maybe a taller stick for Jaxon. His legs have been aching lately after a big day out, so I've been wondering about a growth spurt again!?

Oh yeah, and if anyone has any great astronomy/space facts for Jaxon (he's looking for a great one for every week of his course), put them in our comments section or email them to Jaxon at jaxonflannagan@gmail.com !

That's all for now folks!

So, the squirrels have eaten through the plastic to get to the seed in the feeder that they knocked to the ground, even though it was hanging by wire! We have tried to baffle them with a pole mounted (baffle included) structure but the pole was faulty and wouldn't stand up straight, so I'm very sad to be missing my bird entertainment.

We also tried to (but didn't) get some pictures of the squirrels that were hanging upside down by their feet on the string that was holding up our pop bottle feeder - they finally brought that down after emptying in a day (once they had perfected their acrobatics)!

Now I'm hoping Canadian Tire can salvage my bird feeding woes with a proper pole or two - we'll see!

But I think I did see two Robins yesterday.....although it looked like they were having some kind of a rooster fight on the ground, hopping up in the air and scrapping away at each other - quite funny! And the crows are collecting to build nests....got get the feeders up so maybe the Jays or Cardinals will nest nearby! Must get to Can Tire today....after we play hockey outside (Jaxon's request!) and before my Woodworking class tonight!

Look for a cute pic of Sé in his new wellies from www.muddypuddles.co.uk and his one-piece waterproof outfit - coming soon! Really fun, until he did a face plant twice in the mud outside yesterday and now looks like he got in a barfight with scrapes on his nose and a fat lip.....not enough practice in the world for what Jaxon aptly called the 'outdoor terrain'!!!

Negotiating the new schedule.....

Well, we had our first week of two days out of the house for different activities - it was supposed to be three but I had no energy after a bout of flu over the weekend - and we survived! Once again, one of the main problems about any drive was Sé's distaste for van movement! This makes me taking the kids out either traumatic or skillfully timed around his potential naps - the trauma comes when he cries until we either pull over or he vomits, making it very difficult to get anywhere very fast!

Luckily, our Thursday trip to Gatineau works out well because we leave the house at 7am with Ian, so I can sit beside Sé. So, we met a lot of nice people - and lots of boys in the 5-10 year old range - at the Chelsea Community Centre and are really going to enjoy hanging out there on Thursdays in the spring.

Bailey and Jaxon both did a yoga class - although Jaxon has opted for a French class instead - and Jaxon LOVED his astronomy class! They had Lego on the floor to build with in a spare room and there were some foam sword/lightsabres floating about, so Bailey had no trouble fitting in and playing with some of the boys during Jaxon's class - he played outside in the playground (they have a big backyard property) for over an hour.

When the weather gets warmer, they all go down to a spot by the river nearby and hang out, so we are looking forward to that. Less than 5 minutes down the road is a ski hill and woods everywhere - quite a beautiful spot!

It makes me want to try out the Kingston group that has more organized activities and classes - I didn't think the kids would like it but it turns out Bailey wants it and if it is something Jaxon is interested in, he may try it too. We always thought it would be a good way to meet some more kids but didn't know if we could take on what would be involved - it works as a kind of co-op.

We did enjoy our own new version of Stone Soup - like what we used to do in Dartmouth - we have rented out (at no charge) a big gymnasium as the Kingston Military Family Resource Centre (Batoche Gym) on Tuesday afternoons from 12-3 and had a great time with our cousins and Aunt Crystal. Although we couldn't get the sports equipment onsite, we have found out that Ian can sign out sports equipment from the Kingston Military Community Sports Centre, so it will be fine, just inconvenient dragging the stuff around. Now we just have to advertise more widely than the Learning in Community group, as no one else has been able to make it so far.

We also went to the big Kingston area Recreation Fair yesterday and found out about clubs, sports organizations and every kind of summer camp you could imagine, so we've got plenty of choice. We're thinking about trying to keep driving to evening activities to a minimum in the summer, so we're weighing our options. So far, we've got Bailey signed up for outdoor ball hockey for the spring to try it out. Jaxon wants to play too but it conflicts with his chess club for a few weeks, so he is going to wait until another session.

I was going to put Bailey in swim lessons - and may still, if we join the YMCA in Brockville, as it is included in the membership - but yesterday he was resembling a full-fledged swimmer! He was motivated to try to pass the 'swim test' which allows you to go on the great big water slide at the Kingston Military Community Sports Centre (KMCSC) - we paid $35 for a family membership 'til August. Great pool set up, lousy hours for family swims and kids can't go in the hot tub:(

All in all, lots of options to choose from - including the Gananoque Recreation Registration event this coming Saturday - somehow we will work out the balance for everyone.....

....meanwhile, things are just getting interesting here in the woods.....we did have two more bouts of snow - one even stayed for a couple of days until the rains came, so here comes spring!