Highlights, in pictures, of our time in Canada

After our time in DC, we drove up to Ontario, Canada...just over the border from Buffalo, NY.  We got to spend some time with my old college friend, and maid of honor at our wedding, Steph Waugh, and her (and her husband's) family!

During our time there, we got to take some walks to see the houses, flowers, and a local lighthouse.  We also got to go sailing with her and her husband, Pascal, at the Buffalo Canoe Club.  We took a trip north to see the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and then on to Fort Erie to see some of the local history of the area from the War of 1812.

It was a full trip...full of activity, food, fun, friends, and memories.  We plan to go back for more at some point.  We are so thankful for friends that "adopt" us as their own.  What a wonderful feeling to be a part of so many families!

The house we got to stay in, thanks to Steve and Kate for their hospitality!

View from the house

I really liked this sign

It was so peaceful and pleasant out on the Point

What a wonderful yard and the flowers here were gorgeous

My girl

Most of the houses had both Canadian and American flags flying

Another shot of the shore

Finding rocks and sticks

Sissi really enjoyed all the flowers to look at and take pictures of on our walks

We got to go to the Buffalo Canoe Club and try out some sailing

The boys on the beach

Jumping in the sky, they were so excited and got along super well

The view of the Canoe Club from under the walkway

Mac, playing in the mud

Indy and Pascal

The water is super shallow for a long way from the shore.  The boys had free reign to run and play.

Sissi and Ila making mud pies

The lighthouse just up the street from where we stayed

The history of the lighthouse

Straight on shot of the lighthouse

I really got into taking a bunch of flower shots on this trip, hope you enjoy them

Thomas and Gwangi

Indy, out on the boat

Steph, showing the girls how a life jacket works

Sissi, talking to Steph about being safe on the boat

The girls, waiting for us to pull away.  Pascal let all of the kids get a chance to steer the boat!

Trip to Niagara Falls

Some amazing shots of the falls were just too good to pass up

And, the gardens around the falls were very well maintained

Really liked this spot, I would have loved to have sat and read a book here

Family shot, thanks Kate!

The boys

A view of the American side of the Falls, we stayed on the Canadian side

My boy, Krypto

Another view of the American side of the falls

Boys, playing in the tree as we ate our picnic lunch after viewing Niagara

Ila and Sissi had their own tree to play in

Ila, what a sweet girl

Thomas, he and Nathan became fast friends

Mac, reading with her Aunt Sandy while Uncle Jeff took a nap

Thomas and Pascal

Droke, what a camera ham

Cute boy

Last trip of the day was Fort Erie

Have to get shots of Gwangi and cannons

The Commander's Quarters

Where the commander would have slept

His desk

Where the rest of the soldiers would have hung out, eaten, and played games

I love these old desks

One of the reenactors

Doing some shooting for the Fort's guests

The National Zoo

Our first blog post in a month and our first since we've returned to the US...has it really already been two weeks?!  

We've been trying to take it easy, we've been tired, Gwangi has been fighting a cough since we returned and Sissi has been a bit emotional.  So, for our first "field" trip beyond seeing a friend for a play date or a run to the store, we picked the National Zoo.  I'm thankful that our new phone's navigation system (that we've called "Rosie" after Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons) was able to get us there with only a small detour or two ;).

Here are a few pictures from our "safari" in Washington D.C.

My little girl, looking at all the water animals of the Amazon.

We were careful not to stand under the "not house trained" monkey.

I loved this plant, all throughout the Amazon forest.

With our friend Inna and her daughter, Lexie.

The girls, sharing a stroller.

We've seen a few of these elsewhere, lol...

The main reason we came to the zoo...to see the pandas.

Krypto was literally hugging the glass trying to talk to the Nautilus.  My guy just loves his sea creatures.

We were so far away from the lions...our view while at Mikumi was much closer, but this was probably safer.

On the sidewalk, I think he was a runaway and there was a lot of screaming going on as we walked past.  You wouldn't know that we were at a ZOO, aren't there supposed to be wild animals here?!

Thoughts During the Last Week of School

Wow!  The 2012-2013 school year is complete, I officially have a 5th, 3rd, and 1st grader and I can hardly believe it!  The kids asked if we could have chocolate cake for lunch on the last day of school..in AFRICA...so, I said YES!  

I feel like we've had a beautiful two year run here...lots of memories and projects completed at HOPAC, with the Sala Sala Kids' Club, with The Ocean, within our own family, and with our schooling.  

Tomorrow, we can officially say we're going back to the US "this month"...it's just 12 more days!

There are a lot of conflicting emotions and feelings going on right now.  There are things about reverse culture shock that I'm not sure that I'm ready for, that will surprise me, no matter how much I read about it or how much I pray.  I've been working hard to set things up in the States for us, housing, finances, school things, training for Indy and I... plus, there is the packing and giving away of stuff here in Dar as well.  Yesterday, I had some time where I literally laid in bed and felt like I was going to completely shut down and just wanted it all to go away, it was just too much to handle!

I'm excited about the end of this race, and the new beginning that we can see emerging as well!

Life, when we walk with our Lord, is always an adventure!

The "Dragon Son" that Gwangi made from his Legos.

Working on some school work.

Final 50 States "fill in the blank" quiz.

The boys did well, there were just a few that they needed prodding on to remember.  I probably should have quizzed them a month ago, we haven't reviewed it in about that many weeks, lol.

Sala Sala Field Day

Our Physical Education Teacher at HOPAC, Rose, had a team come out and help put on FOUR Field Days...one each for the Primary and Secondary students at HOPAC and then 2 for the Sala Sala kids that we work with on Monday and Tuesdays each week.  They brought out t-shirts, ribbons, certificates, and purchased snacks and WATER FILTERS for the families that we love from the Sala Sala rock quarry behind HOPAC.  What a huge blessing they were!  It's always so awesome when you can share your vision with those from home.

Showing up, getting their shirts, some water and a banana, and getting ready for the events.

Jackson and Shaun letting the kids know what is going to happen.

They're listening.

Jennifer Wickham, all ready for the events to begin.

Krypto

My group of girls started off with the softball throw.

They had been working on this skill for the past couple of months on Mondays.

And, there she goes, the ball is away.

Gavin, Gwangi, and Indy were measuring the distances.

They all wanted to see how far they had thrown the softball.

Then, the long jump.

Those girls could get some air.

And, she landed.

Another one is flying.

Lucy was excited and watching some of the younger girls jump.

Gwangi

The running events...200, 400, and 800 meters.

Checking on the times.

The boys, coming around the corner.

The girls, cheering on the boys.

We got some ribbons, and they were so happy!

And certificates, too.

The girls going up to get their ribbons and certificates.

Another ribbon!

The view of the moon as we were leaving after the kids had gone and we had cleaned up the field.  Whew!  What a day!  So glad Rose's team also brought GLO STICKS for the kids that helped, my kids were thrilled!  Thanks, Rose!

Krypto's Final 4th Grade Paper

This was Krypto's final paper for the school year.  He read a book about Marie Curie, outlined it on his own, and wrote a rough draft with no help.  I made some grammar and spelling corrections with him looking on, so we could discuss it and learn where his errors were, and he then made those changes to his paper.  This is his final draft.

I am very happy with all the effort that he has put into his writing this year.

Happy End of 4th Grade, Krypto!!!

*********************

Marie Curie was born on November 7, 1868. She was the last of five children, her family was poor and their house was an apartment, there were four girls, and one boy.  Though her family had no money to send her to school, she was very bright, and her mother taught them to read and write. She proved how bright she was when her eldest sister, who was ten at the time, stuttered with a book. Marie, who was five, read the sentence her sister couldn’t read with perfect clarity. Unfortunately, Marie’s mother died of tuberculosis when Marie was only seven.

Without her mother to teach her and because she had a burning desire to learn, she taught herself from the books around her house.  But, she was still too poor to go to school, so the moment she was old enough, she took a job as a governess. It took three years to save up enough to go to the college of her dreams, the Sorbonne, which was a very well respected French college. Nobody thought she could pass, but she did, with a diploma in Chemistry. At the time, Uranium was the only known radioactive substance, and all that people knew about it was that it sent out waves. When Marie worked with some Uranium she discovered that some of it wasn’t Uranium! By testing, she discovered that one percent of the rock that she was holding was four times more radioactive than uranium, so she called it Radium. She also discovered radioactivity could kill cancer and that it also causes cancer.

During the time she was working with Uranium, she also got married and had two children. Unfortunately, her husband died by being crushed under the wheels of a carriage. She and her daughters were very sad. A few years later she fell in love again. But, the guy was already married and the newspapers attacked her because of this. Other papers claimed that she hadn’t actually discovered radium, but had stolen the papers from another professor. She tried hard to defend herself, but it was actually her government friends that saved her.

During World War I she helped soldiers using the new X-ray invented and inspired by her work on radioactivity. She helped save 30,000 people from dying. After that she went to America and met President Harding, hundreds of newspaper reporters, and even Thomas Edison! 

Marie Curie died on July 4, 1937.  No one really knows how she died, but many think she died of radioactive poisoning.  She won 2 Nobel honors, and greatly advanced the fields of Medicine and Chemistry.