Yesterday (Saturday) was Ben's last T-Ball function. We went to the main ball field and had the league picnic and awards ceremony. Everyone was assigned a dish to bring based on the level of ball your child was playing (t-ballers brought desserts). The weather really co-operated-not raining, but not too hot either- so the afternoon was very enjoyable.

After lunch, each of the team coaches was given the team trophies to hand out (each kid got one...cause you know, that REALLY teaches them real life values!) and Ben was thrilled with his. I believe he has it stashed in a safe place in his room but I can't guarantee that for sure (it may be under his pillow!).

Ben really wants to join up next year so that will give him something to look forward to next spring.

Ben has taken a real shine to 'Gwampa' as he calls Dad. Ben follows Dad around all day asking if he wants to play a game of one sort or another (Ben is a real game afficianado!). I think Dad is looking forward to going home in a week and a half so that he can get some rest! hahaha....

We are headed out for dinner tonight- Kings Wok Buffet - all you can eat Chinese/American fare. The kids love it as they can each get exactly what they like and we love it because it is cheap..especially tonight as Dad is buying! hahaa.....

Hugs to you all,
Jaye

Yesterday was kindergarden graduation! Ben recieved an award for having read 60 books this year (yes, he is officially a reader now!) as well as getting his Kindergarden Graduation certificate....Ben is now a First Grader....where does the time go?

Sam is finished with grade 10 and did really well, especially in Japanese (93% on his final exam). Before we know it we will be attending his graduation from High school...

Shelby is headed into grade 8! She also did VERY VERY well on her report card. We are SOOOOOO proud of her!!

Paige just finished grade 2 and will be moving into 'tree pod' (Kinder, 1st and 2nd is mountain pod at Green Mountain), so all the kids are moving onto bigger and better things!

Dad arrived last night and so we are having fun dragging him around to all our events etc....

Hugs,
Jaye

Yesterday (Wednesday) was 'Field Day' at Ben and Paiges school. In Canada we used to call this 'sports day'. The morning kindergarden and 4th-6th graders participated in their events in the morning and the 1st-3rd graders had theirs in the afternoon. I spent the whole morning in the kindergarden room cleaning and getting the room ready for next year. With three schools in the area closing, the remaining area schools are getting ready for an influx of students and some classes are having to now share a room (am and pm kindergarden will now share instead of each having their own room). Shelby helped me out until Mark came to the school. He was a little late as he had to check out of his current command. He is now NO LONGER a crewmember aboard the USS Alabama!!!! WHEEEEEEEEEEEE......

In the afternoon, Mark and Shelby helped out with the sporting events while I remained in the kindergarden room trying to fit two classes worth of 'stuff' into one room. I think we've about got it done!

Hug
Jaye

I am quite behind in updating my blog as it is now summer and we get busy doing all sorts of fun things. Blogging once a week or so works in the winter, but certainly not in the summer!

On Sunday (fathers Day) we took the kids to see a play after Church. The play was "Robin Hood" and it was at our local 'Forest Theatre'. The plays are actually put on in an ampitheatre in the forest! Thankfully the rain had stopped by the time it was time to go to the play. We packed a backpack of snacks and drinks and took blankets to sit on (the seats are the forest floor!). It was really neat to watch a scene take place in 'Sherwood Forest' and have real birds and butterflies in the air and the trees all around us. Quite the experience! We all had such great time that we are planning on heading back to this same theatre to see 'The Fantastiks' in August!

After the play we came home and had 'surf and turf' for dinner - steaks and salmon on the bbq. After dinner we had some friends come over for a bonfire but by the time we got it lit and had eaten our first 'smore' the rain had come back and we escaped to the warmth of the house and ended up playing phase 10.

Mark recieved some nice gifts for Fathers Day....a down hunting jacket for the fall...a radio built for when he is doing jobs and projects outside (it is a worksite stereo)....a bag of air freshners for his car as he is nuts about having a fresh one in there at all times. It seems that every time I get into his car he has a new air freshner so we bought him a whole bag full so that he has a nice selection! :)

The kids all made cards for their dad which was really nice as they were from the heart. Thankfully Shelby is with us now on Fathers Day otherwise Mark wouldn't hear from her as she has never acknowledged him on Fathers Day (nor any other holiday for that matter) in years past when she hasn't been here. It is a very frustrating situation, but there is really nothing we can do about it other than to accept what we get from her when she isn't here and enjoy watching her love her Dad the way she does when she is here. Sigh.

Hugs to all,
Jaye

I was going to post this yesterday, but held off until today for reasons that will soon become obvious....

Let me start by saying a big 'Happy Birthday' to my little brother. Ok..he isn't littler anymore..he is taller...but still younger. I have to figure out how to change THAT! :)

So having said Happy Birthday to Aaron, let me now say "Happy Fathers Day" to three really great men I happen to know and Love.

First there is Mark. He is a great Dad. Having a blended family can at times present awkward situations like how to introduce ALL the kids when you go out. Mark has always said 'These are my kids. My son Sam, My daughter Shelby' etc etc (we have five so the list gets a bit long!). He has never said 'these ones are YOUR kids and this one is MINE and these ones are OURS'. He loves them all. He parents them all. He is also the kind of Dad who will take the kids fishing and spend all day tying lures and untaggling hooks and fish and kids and come home having never put his own rod near the water and say 'THAT was the best day of fishing ever'. There is nothing sexier than a man who takes being a father seriously. Mark is the ace of fatherhood!

Secondly is Marks Dad. Mark had to learn to parent from someone didn't he? Skip as he is known to all, did a masterful job of turning a little boy into a kind and loving man. He gets points for being a good father himself...but if parenting were a gameshow, he'd get bonus points for the kind of person his son turned out to be. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree the saying goes...and in this case it's certainly true (although it may be more of a nut tree! hehehe)....

And thirdly is my aforementioned brother (birthday boy!). Our own biological father is a waste of space on this planet to say the least. We grew up with two adults who had no clue how to be parents and who knew even less about loving children. So it is a source of awe to watch how my brother parents his own son. He does it with more grace and love and understanding than alot of kids who HAD decent parents parent! His son will not grow up with the legacy that we did and THAT is the best gift any parent of a dysfunctional home can give their children...

So Happy Fathers Day...and Happy Birthday....

You guys all rock!

Hugs
Jaye

We went to our neighbors, Scott and Linda's the other night to talk to their two cats about birth control! There is a total of nine kittens at their house now, which makes it a popular destination for our kids! One mama cat has five kittens about a month old and the other mama cat has four kittens about a week old. The older ones are at the age where they 'dog pile' (pardon the irony!) on anything that sits still long enough-as evidenced by the picture of Shelby and Paige above!

Hugs
Jaye

Today was crazy hair day at school. Paige has earned the reputation of having the best 'do's' on this day and this year is no exception! She always sits so still while I do her hair...this year it took us about 35 minutes! I put her hair in a pony tail high up on top of her head and then seperated it into about 12 or so little sections, then wound pipe cleaners around the base of the pony tail and incorporated one into each braid that I made! This made each braid 'bendable' and Paige can mold them into any shape. I saw her at school this morning when I picked Ben up from Kindergarden and she is having the time of her life with her crazy hair!

Hugs
Jaye

Shelby arrived on Saturday and we have been keeping her busy! The three kids that are with us full time (Sam,Paige,Ben) are still in school for another week and a bit so Shelby has been coming with me to their school when I volunteer and also went on Bens kindergarden field trip to the zoo (pics above!). Next week Shelby will come with me to Paige's field trip to the beach...should be fun!

Mark has been able to have a few days off so far to spend with Shelby doing things. Next week he starts a two week leave period before he goes to his new command! He is counting down the days he has left on the boat and will NOT be sad to leave it! Time to move on to better things and other adventures!!

Hugs
Jaye

We spent this past weekend up at Whidbey Island visiting with our dear friends, Peggy and Gordon. As always it was wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable. We headed up Saturday morning as Mark had duty Friday. Unfortunately for us, there had been a slight incident with a dock piling and a ferry (no explanations needed I assume!) and so the crossing between Port Townsend and Keystone (the route we take to get to Whidbey) was down to just one ferry vs the usual two. What this meant for us was that every other ferry was cancelled AND with it being a weekend, waits could get a bit long. Saturday morning we pulled up to the ferry terminal just in time to see the ferry pull away which gave us the perfect excuse to go out for a nice breakfast. We found this 'mom and pop' type diner which was quite entertaining. We placed our order but the waitress kept making changes to it as she saw fit! Ben wanted two pancakes, she said "oh no, they are big, one will do". Hahahahaha....we had fun going around the table waiting to see if we'd each get what we actually wanted. Nothing like playing Russian Roulette with your breakfast order! :)

Once up at Peggy and Gordons, we snacked and watched movies most of Saturday. We had pizza for dinner (the theme of the weekend was LITTLE to NO work!). Sunday we all headed to the exchange (you military people out there need no explanation, the rest of you can look it up online!) where Mark found a bunch of great work out gear on sale. I found a couple pairs of sandals for the summer which were greatly needed as the ones I had been fiercly hanging onto had really seen better days!

After a lovely weekend, we headed home and yup...more waiting at the ferry. We were prepared for it this time (no stores or restaurants anywhere near this area!) and had stopped and picked up snacks for the kids and a magazine for me. Fortunately, the beach at this terminal is RIGHT beside the parking lot and is a nice play to play, so the kids played on the beach for an hour and a bit. As you can see above, Mark joined them when they all started skipping rocks!

We are back into the swing of a busy week. Will post pictures of Bens t-ball game this weekend.

Hugs
Jaye

I had to post this picture for my friend Mim's son Levi! He's not the only one who has a tatoo! :)

Ben wanted a 'tatoo' over the weekend and so we found these really neat 'armband' type rub on tatoos. After a few baths it's almost gone, but we bought a few more for when he gets the urge to be a tough guy!

Hugs
Jaye