End of the School Year

There's only one week left in the school year and both Elise and Pam (!) are counting the days until  summer vacation starts. We had a recent visit from Elise's cousins, which was quickly followed by a visit from Grandma Bourdon and "Ahnie" (Great Aunt Anne). Needless to say, the last few weeks have been full of activities.

Sports day at school was sunny and warm, perfect conditions for playing in the schoolyard. The kids had a great time participating in various races and games. Elise and I did well in the water balloon toss; we got second place!

Next came the school bike rally followed by a trip to Vancouver to participate in the children's festival. Elise made a sock puppet, the highlight of the day.

Elise's good friend, Josie, turned seven this spring, and the party was at the local art school. The kids had a grand time and spent a couple of hours doing artwork together.

She's had a number of sleepovers in the past few weeks, including her first "slumber party", a night with four of her friends who are boys (note that I didn't use the term "boyfriends?"). Here she is with Aidan at the Smoke Bluffs. We took them climbing after dinner to tire them out before bed.

Elise did her second 5.10a clean on a top-rope, a popular climb called Flying Circus. She did it on her third try. After she climbed through the hard section on her successful ascent, she looked down at us and said, "Have I done the hard part yet?". We laughed. They got gelato afterward, of course.

We received some climbing gear in the mail that came in a big box.  Elise made a "play house" in her room, complete with an attic, bed and bookcase. She's very creative, we think. Afterward, she fell asleep inside.

We took the cousins climbing in the Bluffs and hiking up the Chief. Here they all are on the bridge over Olesen Creek. From left to right: Elena, Jason, Elise and AJ. It was a nice visit and there were a number of hotly contested games of croquet.

 

Elise and Elena on the First Peak. They get along really well. Kind of like sisters. It's cute...

All that visiting tired Elise out. Here she is asleep with her "Jasmin" cat stuffy across her face.

I had a very nice Father's Day and Elise made me this note the night before all on her own. It says: "Dear Dad, You are the best. You are awesome and awesome because you are the best. Love Elise". That's a positive endorsement, I'd say ;)

Finally, we've been doing lots of outdoor activities (as usual) and rode the Sea to Sky Trail from Whistler to Brandywine Falls one weekend on our mountain bikes. We encountered a very aggressive grouse on the trail, likely guarding a nest. We left it behind, but, amazingly, it followed us and caught up to Elise. This is what happened (despite Pam's posturing, we can assure you the grouse was not harmed).