Spring Break

Spring break is almost over and we've had a very relaxing time. It seems like the first week was spent doing things around the house and we're left with a second week for pure relaxation (well, almost!). Our last day of classes was the 14th and I had become so wrapped up in report cards that I completely neglected to make any birthday plans. So, on Saturday we popped out to The Vault with Kelly and Allison to see Wes play a solo show. Afterwards we went to Jared's house party where Charles got to try his hand at Guitar Hero before we headed home. On Sunday we were at Mom and Dad's for a birthday dinner with Chris and Cristi and on Monday we went to Dublin Crossing for St. Patrick's Day. We arrived just as Kelly, who had been waiting in line, reached the door so we were able to pop right in. We arrived around 3:30 and only had to wait a short time for a table. We enjoyed the various bands, the Irish Dancers, and, of course, the Guinness for many hours! After one evening in, we were out again on Wednesday night for dinner with parents of one of the students that Charles and I share. They wanted to take us, as well as others from their son's support team, out for a meal. Caleb accompanied us on this one and he had a great time at The Keg and was definitely the star of the evening. We were so proud of how well-behaved he was! In the first week we also purchased a new patio set and barbecue in preparation for some sunny weather...
On Sunday Mom and I went out with Cristi and Laura to look at wedding dresses. Of course she looked fantastic in everything, but I'm pretty sure she's narrowed it down to one or two. It was kind of like being at a fashion show! After a few shops we went for lunch at Burgoo in Lonsdale. Today we took Caleb to the Aquarium. He showed a lot more interest in the Belugas and Dolphins than last time, but was a little intimidated by the prehistoric looking fish! I've added some photos in the March folder. Aside from that, we've pretty much stayed in and rented some movies in the evenings this week. We've also been having a lot of fun with the new Karaoke game that we got after my students got me hooked on it! Charles has been spending some time helping out Rina and Carl with getting their new place ready which has allowed me to have quite a bit of one-on-one time with Caleb. I've also started a Bellydancing class. The Cardio-Pilates class that I usually take on Sundays was cancelled so my instructor suggested the Bellydancing class. I love it! I don't have quite as large a dancing wardrobe as some of the veterans, but I'm getting there! I was also encouraged to get my Pilates instructor certification, so I'm looking into that as well.
Tomorrow we're going to see The Little Brother Band at the Railway Club and on Saturday we're going to Eric and Lisa's for dinner. Ahhh...I wish Spring Break could be never-ending!

Well, just when you think the craziness is over a whole new insanity begins! We've finished the basketball season and there seems to be a lull in the number of workshops that I've signed up for; however, ultimate season starts the week after Spring Break so we need to begin practices now and my student teacher is a couple of weeks into her practicum so the workload only increases from here on out (for both her and for me!).
We managed to complete our quest to see all of the Best-Picture nominated films prior to the Oscars as we took in both Juno (absolutely hilarious and touching at the same time) and There Will Be Blood (Daniel-Day Lewis was fantastic and completely deserving of the best-actor award!) just before the awards show. We also had Mom, Dad, David, Cristi, and Chris over for David's birthday before Mom and Dad left for Hawaii. I prepared a childhood favourite of his, Beefy-Cheesy Casserole and Dad's Caesar Salad. The meal was followed, naturally, by an Ice-Cream Cake (another of Dave's faves). Today we headed out to the Wired Monk and the Athletic Park with Rina, Carl, and Mattias. They've been so busy lately that it seems like ages since all of us were together, so it was really nice for the boys to play and to catch up.
Well, the next couple of weeks will probably be filled with report cards and mentoring my student teacher, Amy. Before we know it, we'll be into our two-week Spring Break!!

Busy Times!

Well, January is just flying by. Between coaching basketball, the many workshops that I seem to have signed up for, and trying to get to the gym as regularly as possible, the month is rapidly disappearing. Charles is coaching the boys and Kelly and I are coaching the girls so at least one of us has a practice or game pretty much every day of the week. I also attended a workshop on the new Math 7 curriculum and the corresponding resources. The afternoon was informative if not exactly captivating. The second workshop was on teaching reading comprehension strategies for non-fiction writing which was a fantastic presentation - lots of usable and practical ideas that I can use in my classroom right away. On Friday evening, Rina and I went out to see Atonement which I've been dying to see for ages. After battling the crazy line-ups at Colossus (45 minutes - there went our plan to grab a coffee before the movie) the movie was fantastic. It's so nice to see how well a novel can translate into film. On Saturday we went out with Mandy and Kevin to CinCin for their Dine Out menu. We had amazing, attentive (but not overly so) service and we all thoroughly enjoyed our meals. My favourite was the Goat Cheese Ravioli and Roasted Veal Terrine appetizer that all four of us ordered. After dinner we went back to Mandy and Kevin's for some wii. Thanks to Charles's initial attempt at the sandwich delivery game (I forget the name) in Mario Party, I laughed so hard that I cried. I haven't done that in a long, long time! Well, now we're into another week that looks just as busy as this one - if this keeps up I'll really be in need of our two-week Spring Break!

Update

Okay so to summarize, we had a fantastic Christmas break and are now entering into our third week back at school. We worked up until the 21st of December so Christmas really snuck up on us but it was really nice to have the week off after New Year's. We spent a lot of time with family and friends and Caleb had a great time being the 'elf' and opening his own gifts. We did a Christmas Eve brunch at our house as Cristi was leaving the next morning (yes, Christmas Day) for Winnipeg. Then we were at Mom and Dad's for Christmas morning and back again for dinner where we were joined by Uncle Glen, Barb, and Aunt Nan. On Boxing Day (after shopping!) we went to the Jungclaus's for dinner. Later that week we had an Open House for friends where we enjoyed appies, drinks, Cranium and great company! On the 30th we went to see The Nutcracker with Cristi and Chris (a Christmas gift from Mom and Dad) and had dinner at Cru beforehand (Mom and I did the exact same thing last year!) We had a quiet New Year's fondue at home with Kris, Claudine, and Rob. The following week we saw a couple of movies - No Country for Old Men with Kris and Claudine and The Golden Compass with Kelly. It was a very relaxing week following the craziness of Christmas! I've added some photos of Christmas/New Year's and, well, pictures speak louder...
Getting back into work-mode was pretty tough. It was so great to have two weeks of being with Caleb all day, every day that it was quite an adjustment to return to the work day. We're also both coaching basketball this year so we're kept pretty busy with that. Last weekend we went out with Rina, Carl and friends to celebrate Rina's completion of her Master's - what an accomplishment! Then we had Mom, Dad and David over for Mom and Dad's birthday dinner which turned out great. We did beef tenderloin with shallot, bacon and port sauce accompanied by goat cheese souffles and asparagus - definitely a meal I'll make again! This weekend we went to Sip for their Dine Out Vancouver menu with Kris and Claudine. The food was great and I have to say that my favourite course was the dessert - their cheesecake had the most unbelievable texture! Then we headed out to Tinseltown to see Cloverfield. We really enjoyed it, but were left wanting to see what happened next - that would have ruined the whole 'camcorder' effect though. Sometimes it's nice to be left wanting more.
We'll be going out for part two of our Dine Out series this weekend with Mandy and Kevin. We're going to CinCin - none of us have been before although we've wanted to go for quite some time. It should be a lot of fun.

I'm Back!

Where does the time go? It's been so long since I updated that I'm just going to mention some highlights from the past month or so. The weekend after our Victoria get-away we went to see The Wars at the Playhouse. We were able to make good use of my parents' tickets since they were out of town and couldn't make it. We started the evening by going the Gotham Steakhouse which we've been meaning to try for ages. It was well worth the wait! The steak was fabulous (the best I've had in a restaurant) and the ambience and service definitely made it an experience to appreciate (and repeat!) The play was also fantastic. I'm always so impressed by how a very simple set can transport you between places and times so effectively. We enjoyed it so much we even considered getting season's tickets ourselves; maybe after we recover financially from my year of mat leave!
A couple weeks later we were off to see Maroon 5 with Kris and Claudine. We saw them the last time they were here and they've only become more popular since then. We went to Samba for dinner and opted for the all-you-can-eat menu and did we ever! As the servers came around to offer the varying meats (veal, bison, ostrich, elk, steak, chicken...) we just couldn't say no. Then we headed to the Coliseum for the concert. The opening band was The Hives and they were so entertaining that we are some of their newest fans. Maroon 5 didn't disappoint either. They were so effective at involving the audience and the set list flowed really well. They were so energetic that, despite how full we all were, we pretty much danced the entire show.
The next weekend was also pretty busy. It was Charles's birthday on the Friday but we opted to stay in as we had a busy couple of days ahead. We spent a quiet evening at home and watched a couple of movies after Caleb went down (we love this 7:30 bed-time thing!). On Saturday we were next door at Eric and Lisa's for dinner. Lisa prepared a great lasagne and Caleb had a blast playing with Keira before and after dinner. We ended the evening with a delicious cheesecake (another first for Caleb!)
On Sunday we were off to Mattias's birthday party. Rina and Carl held it in the amenity room of Carl's mom's building and it was the perfect location. There was a lot of room for all the little ones to run around. We had such a great time watching the kids have so much fun together. After the playing, pizza, and presents all the kids (and their parents) were exhausted! I added a few photos from the party.
Last weekend we were at Mom and Dad's for the Charles/Cristi birthday dinner. As usual, Dad prepared a fantastic meal which was made even more delicious with the addition of foie gras, wine, and chocolates from their trip to France. We were all pretty tired (our household had just recovered from the flu and Cristi wasn't feeling well) and so we headed home pretty early for a good sleep!
This past week has been pretty intense. We're looking forward to an evening out with Mandy and Kevin tomorrow, but that's about it for this weekend. Then we'll be working like crazy on report cards next week. It seems like there's so much to do and so little time; Christmas vacation will be here before we know it.

Mini-Vacation

On Friday I received a fantastic surprise. While I was in the library with the grade sevens one of Charles's students arrived with an 'Urgent' envelope for me. When I opened it I found an invitation from Charles to join him and Caleb for a weekend in Victoria. I had been dying to see the Titanic exhibit at the Royal BC Museum and Charles had arranged for us to go this weekend (the final weekend of the exhibit!). We left early Saturday morning and had some time for lunch (at Sam's Deli - a favourite of ours) and to check in at the hotel before heading to the museum for 3:00. The exhibit was spectacular. It was so fascinating to see the wide variety of objects that have been salvaged from the shipwreck - from clothing to suitcases to vials still containing perfume. I've always been so interested in the tragedy, and learning so many personal details about many of the passengers really made it seem like it was not so long ago.
After the exhibit we continued on to the Natural History part of the museum to share some of my favourites with Caleb. He loved seeing the Mammoth (which he woke up just in time for) and the Coastal Forest display. We spent a long time at the Water Fowl section as he kept pointing at everything and wanting to go right up to the glass to get a closer look.
We took a little walk along the harbour on the way back to the hotel and stopped to see one of the street performers (it wasn't Red the Juggler, a regular who I remember from when I was a kid, but he was very entertaining!) Then we headed back to the hotel for dinner only to find that the restaurant was completely booked for the entire evening. So, we decided on room service instead and made reservations for Sunday morning brunch. We spent a cozy evening playing with Caleb in the room before putting him to bed and watching a movie.
On Sunday morning we walked through town to have a light breakfast. It was so peaceful as there weren't too many people walking around at 8 in the morning! When we returned to the hotel we all went for a little swim before going for brunch. Caleb had his first taste of french toast (Peaches 'n' Cream French Toast, in fact). After eating we spent a few hours doing some shopping in Victoria before leaving for the ferry. We love how they keep so much of the original architecture - it really gives the city a distinct feel. On the way home, Caleb had a great time playing with all the little kids on the slide; it tired him right out. We arrived home just in time to put him to bed.
It was a fantastic weekend for us all; what a great little family I have!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow - after the week we had at school we sure needed this long weekend! Luckily, we had a great weekend which helped to fade the memory of last week. On Friday we went to the pub with our staff to say goodbye to our head secretary who is leaving to go to a school closer to her home. I really don't know what we'll do without her expertise. When we got home we packed Caleb up and headed to Kris's parents' house for the evening. Kris and Claudine prepared a fantastic seafood pasta and we brought along a Caesar Salad. After dinner we put the kids down and then indulged in a fantastic dessert created by Claudine. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the hot tub visiting with a few drinks. It turned into a late night (especially for a Friday when we're so exhausted) but we really needed it.
On Saturday I had my reformer pilates class; it's a great way to start the day as I always feel so good afterwards. In the early afternoon we headed out to the Alibi Room to celebrate Cristi and Chris's engagement. They had a really good turn out and everyone had a good time visiting over appies and cocktails. We headed home just after five so we could be at home for Caleb's dinner and bedtime routines. After watching a bit of tv we turned in early.
Sunday started pretty early as we wanted to get out to Metrotown for some shopping before heading over to Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving dinner. The shopping trip was very successful (I love it when I find exactly what I'm looking for) and we got home just in time to prepare the potatoes and get over to Mom and Dad's. We were joined by Aunt Nan, David, Cristi, Chris and Chris's parents who are visiting from Manitoba. She's a special ed teacher and he is an ex-NHL player (very interesting people!). Caleb was the centre of attention and he enjoyed playing with everyone. As usual, Mom and Dad made a fantastic dinner (complemented by my now-famous potatoes) and Cristi provided a delicious pumpkin chiffon pie for dessert. We had an early dinner and were home in time to put Caleb to bed around 7:30. (I'll add some photos soon.)
Today we may take in a matinee (it feels like ages since we've been to a movie) or we may just take advantage of a day with no plans to relax and prepare for another school week. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!