Calgary Murders

When I heard about the recent murders in Calgary and their connection with Guelph I knew in my heart that I was going to know the victims. Sure enough, today I found out that the mom was my childhood best friend's sister, Alison (formerly Fisher). I grew up with this family through school and church and although I haven't seen them in years it was a huge shock. I couldn't go without acknowledging this tragedy.

Our hearts and prayers are with the family and their friends. No words are sufficient.

Zoo Trip

Today was our trip to the zoo with our co-op group. We had a great time. Highlights included; the children's area, jellyfish, touching the stingrays, playing with caterpillars during snack time, pinata fun (for a friend's birthday), running through the forest, watching monkeys play, and many more. More photos are below.

Happy 5th Birthday Mason

I can't believe my little guy has turned 5. How time flies. We had a few birthday celebrations. These photos are from his party with his friends at an indoor playground. The kids were running around so much so that it was very difficult to capture any photos! These are the few I got. They played for 5 straight hours with a quick break for lunch. They had a blast.

We also had a birthday celebration with Grannie, one with Oma & Opa and a quick visit with Uncle Steve and Aunt Rose.

I am...

Originally when I first started this blog my intentions were to focus on homeschooling. Well we have survived our first year and are thrilled with our decision. However, homeschooling does not define me. I am much more than this.
I am.....

• a mom, wife, daughter, sister and friend
• a life long learner
• a teacher
• an entrepreneur and business owner
• a used-to-be and hope-to-be-again-soon runner!
• a person who deals with being celiac every day
• a-wanna-be artist
• a singer and dancer in front of my kids and husband
• a hope-to-be-done-soon renovator (and so does Heinrich!)
• a road tripper
• a hiker
  
• a traveller
• many things!

Anyhow, the point to all of this, is that from now on this blog will not just be about homeschooling and our journey, it will be about the many facets of our life. My wonderful husband is also a big part of this picture but due to the nature of his job, we keep posts about him to a minimum!

Gee....does this photo look like anyone you know?
Have a great long weekend everyone!

What Is A Friend?

Over the last few years I've been struggling with the definition of a friend and what makes a good friend. I'm not a friend collector as I simply don't have the time for a lot of friends. I believe in having a few quality friendships. I'm always interested in meeting new people and making new friendships but then I worry that I won't be able to give the friendship the attention it deserves. When I use the word friend, I don't mean the casual friendships that one has with colleagues at work, or neighbours, etc... but rather, the people you connect with and want to confide in.

My mother has always been a role model for me in this regard. Her friendships date back to her childhood years. They have really stood the test of time. All of her friends are close friends and they would do anything for her and she for them. Friendships with our generation seem to be more difficult...more complicated. As I approach my forties (o.k. a few more years yet!) I realize that I am losing patience with the nonsense. When friendships are one sided, sometimes it's time to let them go.

If I could sum up a good friend for my children this is what I would tell them;

• friendships take time
• talking is essential between friends. In a friendship in which both parties are satisfied, both friends TALK and both friends LISTEN.
• friends acknowledge each other
• friends focus during conversation
• friends pay attention to details
• friends show empathy
• friends are there ALWAYS not just when they have the time
• friends are loyal and trustworthy
• friends reveal their feelings
• friends can be themselves
• friendships shouldn't be difficult
• you should want to be with (or talk to) your friend
• when something good happens, you should want to share it with your friend
• when something bad happens, you should want to share it with your friend
• you must be prepared to drop everything for a friend!

Around the World Expo

So the Around the World Expo which I feel like I've been planning FOREVER, finally took place today. We had 30 countries represented with ~ 85 student participants. Overall we probably had close to 150 people attend.

Mason and I chose to study Peru and have been working on it over the past 4 months or so. It was the perfect choice for him because we were able to focus on the rainforest which he really enjoyed. We also visited an alpaca farm which was another highlight.

He was an absolute trooper today. We were there two and a half hours before the event even started just to set up and he managed to survive until the end!

Everyone put an amazing amount of work into their exhibits. Each participant was given a passport which included maps and questions (3 or 4 from each country) and they were able to get them stamped at each country. One of the highlights was of course the snacks from every country. Yummy!


It was so wonderful to connect with so many homeschoolers under one roof. We made a lot of new friends and new connections and can't wait for next year! We'll have a break first though!! We need to get back to the basics...reading and math!

A Trip to Daddy's Work

A Trip to Mapleton Ice Cream Farm