Callie's New High School

This year Callie is in grade 7. That means that next year Callie will be in high school. I'm okay with it but I think it will drive Kerry mad. She's pretty much been within 100 ft of Callie her entire life with the exception of dance which is 4 blocks away. High school is only 2k but it might as well be another planet if you talk to Kerry.

In January we had an opportunity to go check out the high school Callie will be going to. Since Kerry is a grade 7 teacher she does this every year but it was the first time I've ever been. I had heard some bad things about North Surrey from work colleagues however I've discovered that was all old news.

The high school was rebuilt in the early 90's so anyone that had gone to North Surrey before that time had been in a rickety old wooden building. The new building was much more modern and way more than what I was expecting. There is a great art studio, wide open cafeteria, lot's of computer labs, two gyms, a band room and even a stage with seating. What impressed me the most however was the woodworking and machinery area. They've got an enormous wood shop and a separate machine shop as well as an automotive area with two car lifts. Apparently the school offers first year apprenticeships to several trades. As much as university has worked out for myself and Kerry it may not end up being the best direction for our kids. Hands on capabilities are disappearing and the trades may have the best job opportunities. Still a few more years left before they have to decide but it's good to know they will have options.

Sledding at Cypres

We don't get a lot of snow in Vancouver however we are only a 30 minute drive to the local ski hills so we try to go at least once per year. We attempted a trip last year but were a bit late getting on the road and the mountain was full by the time we got there. This year we were much more careful about understanding what time the mountain opened. The mountain wasn't technically full last year however there was no more parking up top which meant we would have had to shuttle up which is a bit of pain with smaller kids and your sleds.

Our annual tradition is to go with the Kilden's. Ryan isn't a big kid but I'm pretty amazed at how long he lasts walking up and down. This year he outlasted both Callie and Carter who got a bit bored and went to the snack shack early. (I was there too.) Next year I want to do tubing instead. I've never been and neither have the kids and I think if we bring some of their friends they will last a lot longer. The tube parks are great because they include a lift and the tubes are much more comfortable.

Gingerbread House Extravaganza 2017

We continued our on again, off again tradition of making gingerbread houses again this year. It's a fairly involved process to create all the parts and I refuse to purchase a kit so it seems we've been doing it every second year lately. This year the plan was for each of the kids to invite two friends. I make all of the parts using a form from Lee Valley. One year I think I'll try just doing parts by cutting them out because I think it's a lot easier. I like the form because the parts come out very consistently sized and are designed to fit together. They also have imprints of the doors, windows etc. so it's a bit easier to decorate.

The last time we had kids over we had their parents over as well which I think was a bit to hectic. We had to visit with the parents and the parents felt inclined to help put together the houses which was a bit of a disaster. It was much easier for the kids to decorate themselves and have me put them together. I don't have any specific trick other than using soup cans and lot's of icing. I made one at a work function this year and we only had teacups instead of soup cans. It worked but I think we left one of the cups in the house.

We did the party like a grown up party with appetizers and non alcoholic beverages. Callie and her friends are the first picture and Carter and his friends the second picture. Not a huge difference in overall house quality however Callie and her friends had a lot of fun decorating the yards. I think they made each house a theme from a book series they are reading. I have no idea which one so I don't quite understand them. Everyone had a lot of fun and I really enjoyed eating the roof off of Callie's which was solid peppermint chocolate wafers.

Carter's Field Trip to Britannia Mine

In early December Carter and I went on a field trip with his class to Britannia Mine. I came here two years ago with Callie and was lucky enough to be picked as one of the four parent volunteers for Carter's trip too. I'm quite impressed with what they've done with this historic site. BC isn't very old so we don't have a lot of interesting historic sights in comparison to places I've been in the US or eastern Canada. This mine closed in the mid 70's and sat empty for many years before being turned into a historic site and they did some major upgrades a few years ago.

We broken into groups and Carter's group was the first one to get to go on the mine train. The mine goes 1.5 km down but the mine train is at the top and goes just a short distance into the mountain. The train travels a few hundred meters and stops at a dead end where the guide shows you the various types of mining equipment including pick and shovel, various types of air tools and the first kinds of mechanized equipment. All very small scale compared to some of the equipment they show outside the mine including a mine truck and a much bigger mechanized shovel.

We finished off with a bit of gold mining. Apparently the mine seeds their mining area with about $25k of gold dust each year and gives you the opportunity to pan for gold. I'm glad they heat the water because it was only about 2 degrees and cold water would not have been fun. I've been gold panning a few times now so I knew what technique to use. I found a few flakes and then helped Carter with his. He managed to find four flakes, some pyrite and some other rare minerals. He was very excited. Gold Fever!

Christmas Tree Hunt

We had to get our tree in late November this year because I was going to Prince George for the first weekend of December. This meant heading to the Christmas Tree farm on the first day that it was open. We've been going to the Dogwood Christmas Tree Farm the past couple of years. It's quite scenic and they continually grow trees, planting new ones when old ones are cut down. This seems like the most environmentally friendly option since we don't even have to have our tree trucked in from out of town. Our favourite tree is the Noble Fir. It looks, smells and feels like a tree and the needles last a long time.

Last year we just grabbed one of the trees they have already cut down. They seem to know what they're doing and they're at the front of the lot. We still get the atmosphere of cutting our own tree without having to get on the ground. I had my shop pants and jacket on though and for some reason we decided we didn't like the trees they had cut down so after the tree guy brought out a saw for us I got in the dirt and started cutting. There wasn't a lot of room to so I was glad I wasn't wearing nice clothes. It was still pretty dry and they have lots of wood chips on the ground so it wasn't too messy. We got our tree down and got it all the way home before realizing it was crooked in about 3 directions. I think it was on a bit of a hill and seemed straighter before we cut it down. We still like it and it has since been named 'Noble' with a heavy French accent. (Noblaaay) I usually make something out of the trunk after Christmas. Perhaps a French woodworking tool of some kind.

Leaf Pictures

We almost didn't get to do leaf pictures this year. The leaves stayed on pretty late and the first batch came down after it had started raining. Usually when it starts raining in Surrey it doesn't stop until next summer but we got lucky this year. After we had cleaned up the wet leaves the rest of the leaves came down during a nice dry spell. I was able to get Carter out immediately. His technique for leaf pictures continues to improve. If it was a sport, this would be his sport.

Callie took a bit longer to get outside. The obvious trick of course is to indicate that we're taking Oliver out to play in the leaves. She moved pretty quickly when she realized she might miss throwing Oliver in the leaves. Our leaves are in the front yard so we had to have his leash on. It was great fun last year in Prince George at my parents house because their leaves are in the back yard and he could run around in them. We still got him running through the pile and a few good shots of him 'jumping' out of Callie's arms.

Pumpkin Patch

It was a very warm October day when we went to the pumpkin patch this year. We went in the second week of October which may seem early but by that time they've already removed all of the pumpkins from the vines and they are just sitting in the fields. If you wait much longer you risk wetter weather settling in which just results in a lot of mud and rotting pumpkins. I suppose the one draw back of going so early is that many of the bigger pumpkins are still available which are much more expensive and of course are the ones that Carter wants.

The selection of animals this year was pretty good though perhaps there weren't quite as many bunnies. The poor bunnies get picked up and dropped on hay bales all day so I'm thinking they may have had some of them in the back resting. They did have more pens of bigger bunnies so it's also possible that the bunnies were just earlier this year. Another drawback of global warming perhaps? :)

There were also too types of pigs again. One is the animated singing pig that Carter and Kristen are finally not scared of. The other was the baby pigs. Not many kids take the time to get in the pen with them but Callie is an exception. She spent time with every type of animal including pigs, chicks and baby goats.