KEEPING IN TOUCH

Just a little note to let everyone know that we are having a great holiday. The weather has been somewhat lousy, but on the plus side, no one has had heatstroke yet. We had a quick visit with my sister and her family in Burns Lake which was busy, but fun. Then we headed off to Kamloops for a couple of days. Again very busy. Life is pretty hectic when you are working hard to beat Sonya at a couple of games. Settlers and golf just to name a couple. LOL. We are currently in Kelowna and will head out for the States tomorrow. Hopefully they will let Brian in! We have been having a great time here too. Last night my brother and his wife and son came for supper, along with Jeremy. It is always great to visit with everyone. I will try to keep in some sort of contact over the next month, but no promises. Hope everyone has a great July.

Grade 10 grad

Today was Naomi's big day. Since our school only goes up to grade 10 we have a little celebration for them. There are only 4 grads this year:

They were spoiled too. They got a very nice pen set from the school, the Kaska teachers made each of them a pack sack, and the Dena council (native band) gave them each $150. Naomi was so shy about being in front of everyone that all her pictures ended up being her walking away. But I did get this one of her and one of her best friends, Victoria. They plan on rooming together next year in Whitehorse.

One of our fellow teachers was trying out our new camera and took this picture of Brian and I.

As usual, my kids proved that they take after me. They walked away with a ton of awards. They all received an award for Kaska language (and numerous compliments about how great they are). They all also received the academic award for their grade, which they really had to work for this year. Quite something for Josh who is actually a year ahead. Hannah also received an attendance award. She had the second best attendance in the whole school. She received a camera/printer set.

Afterwards the teachers went to the restaurant for lunch. We had chicken, etc (believe me you don't want a picture.lol) and there was pie for dessert. It was so funny because they have all seen that I have lost weight. One of the teachers was watching me and exclaimed, "Ann's having dessert!" It was kind of embarrassing, but after that other women got up and got some pie too. I didn't even know I was being watched so closely. Maybe I will inspire someone.

So, now I've said all that - we are off on holidays tomorrow. I will try to post something, but no guarantees. I might just leave you hanging until the middle of August. Keep checking though because you never know. Have a great summer, I know I will down in California.

SWEET 16

16 years old!!! Can you believe it? I remember when Naomi was born and we were so nervous because we had this brand new baby. Remember how shy she was - wouldn't talk to anyone. Here she is at her 5th birthday.Now that has all passed and she is a confident, beautiful young lady. We are so proud of her. She has made parenting teenagers a very rewarding and pleasant experience. I can't say enough good things about her. She is such a joy to have in our lives. Our little baby grew into such a beautiful, amazing person.

She has her grade 10 graduation on Friday. Then we are off to Whitehorse where she will receive her presents for these two events. We are buying her a digital camera for her birthday and a cell phone for her grad.

Happy Birthday Naomi! We love you lots, baby girl.

ANOTHER ABSOLUTELY INSANE BIRTHDAY PARTY

It's Naomi's 16th birthday on Thursday, so last night we had her party. She had 4 friends sleep over and believe me, it was crazy. We decided to make it a spa night. Well, these girls decided it was more like makeover night, and took it to the max. They started with colouring hair. Check out Hannah's before and after - they used a bleach blond colour: They wanted to bleach it some more, but we decided it wasn't a good idea because it dried her hair out so much.

Then they decided to give each other "masks":

Of course there is the present opening ceremony. Josh gave Naomi this beautiful rock he painted. It's hard to see, but it is a fox, curled up.

Oscar is never one to miss out on a party.

A PICNIC AT LAPIE CANYON

Yesterday the older kids at school got to spend the day at Lapie Canyon. It is about 12 km out of town. They had a gorgeous day for the picnic. Josh was one of the kids who rode his bike there and back. Brian was the teacher designated to ride his bike along with them. The trip out has 3 brutal hills to climb, but other than that it is a great ride. The rest of the kids rode in the school van. While there they had a big bonfire, roasted hotdogs, marshmallows, and apparently, oranges. The river was pretty high and extremely cold. The ice only came off a few weeks ago. But wouldn't you know it, the teacher's kids (our 3, plus one more) were the ones who just had to cross to the little island. Only 2 other kids were crazy enough to brave the water. Can you believe Naomi was one of the first to cross. I'm not sure what came over her - some form of maniacal craziness. They had a rope to hang on to and teachers were ready to go into rescue mode. I'm glad I wasn't there because just seeing the pictures was scary enough for me. I hate the thought of my kids doing crazy stunts like this. I always tell them - you are the only one of you there is, I can't replace you, so please be careful. They just smile sweetly and say "yes, Mom."

This is Hannah and Tyrone (her boyfriend) crossing. He was really scared to come back after this fall. His teacher had to really coax him across.

Naomi's teacher, Mr. Keating, is giving her a hand back out of the water.

What absolute craziness. Still sends shivers up my spine.