Prom and Grad

Prom and Grad. Short simple words that are anything but that when it comes to execution.
Prom is the year-end celebration for Grade 12 grads - and their dates. Carson has been attending prom since Grade 9. This year - her prom - was going to be the best.
The dresses were discussed and purchased months ago. The girls created a site - on Facebook? - where they posted pix of their dresses. No embarrassing situations where 2 of them wore the same thing.

Carson's dress was purchased in Buffalo during March Break. That was dress 2. The first one, costing twice as much - was deemed too casual.

Shoe shopping started in Mississauga, then to Burlington and eventually we found success in Hamilton. Gramma and Grampa were the lucky recipients of a fashion show (and fries) as we checked in to their place on our way home.

Carson - after much encouragement - decided to do her own hair. Too many experiences of her paying big $ at a hairdressers to come home and redo it herself (in a fury of tears no less). Omi helped out and the result was stunning.




The day before, Auntie Michelle treated Carson to a manicure and pedicure. That was the day Carson had to buy and prepare the food for my baseball post-game party. That was also the day that the grads found out that the post-prom party had been cancelled. I didn't quite understand the angst but apparently it was a big deal.

Prom was on Wednesday. The parents were invited to a student's home to ooh and aah over our beautiful children. Rob managed to get away from work early to take pix (and marvel at the beautifully landscaped backyard - there were some pix of the fencing, decking and outdoor living room amongst the prom kids).



At the graduation ceremony, the principal cheerfully remarked on our extremely well-behaved group of students at the prom. Uh oh. Even I know that means it was pretty boring.
And when we finally saw Carson at grad - not having seen her since pre-prom the day before, she expressed "disappointment" (not her words) at the boring event.

SIGH.

As for Grad, all I could think about was that it felt like just yesterday when we were watching her graduate from Grade 8.

SIGH.

Oh well, at least we got some nice pictures.

Congrats Carson for coming through some of the most challenging years you will ever face with exuberance, resolve, dignity and grace. We have no doubt that you will find success in everything you do.

Here's a Story...of a Lovely Wedding

Everyone agreed that it was a perfect day! Congrats to Dwayne and Janice for throwing a fabulous party and squeezing in time to get married.

Everyone waiting for Dwayne to arrive




A heartwarming ceremony


followed immediately by champagne:

Friendly paparazzi:

There were almost 200 family and friends in attendance - at least 50 of them were kids. There were goats and cows, bubbles and babies, horses and cowboys, food and fun.








Janice and her sisters:

Dwayne and his siblings (seems my brothers had to clean my face for the picture)

Dining al fresco


Dancing on the deck



The evening ended with a fireworks show from the cornfield. And the agreement that we would return every year to celebrate love, friendship and family.

Victoria Day

Beautiful sunny day here. Breezy and a bit cool, but a perfect day to be outside.

I joked to my family that I did a triathlon this morning while they all slept. My version of a triathlon went like this:
15 minute jog, immediately followed by a...
25 minute bike ride, followed almost immediately (upon preparation of coffee, toast, yogurt and gathering of newspapers and search and find of reading glasses)by...
10 minutes in the hot tub
Ahhhh! I'm sure Dara would approve.

Once I got that out of the way, I started laundry, made breakfast and tidied up.

Carol stayed over last night - we were up late watching Moonstruck. Ev and Leah weren't impressed with the New York accents but we all loved Cher.

Carol kept me company today and helped out with the tidy up. The younger girls still aren't feeling that great. Some kind of weird bug going around.

In between hanging laundry outside on the line, Carol and I read the paper on the deck, made lunch and watched the girls in the hot tub. At 2:30 I got a call on my cell from C - up in her bedroom, needing help getting out of bed!

Her surgery was last Tuesday - she is healing beautifully, but probably overdid it last night when she had friends over for dinner, then hot tub. C was out and about with us today - got a few looks but I think people are used to seeing anything these days.

We finally managed to get cleaned up and out of the house @4:00 (!) for a visit to see Gramma and Grandpa. Some pix from our afternoon:
In our front yard waiting for the big girls

In Gramma's back yard



The drive back home was via a few old haunts - places I went with my parents oh so many years ago.

Stoney Creek Dairy (we proclaimed today to be an Eat Dessert First Day)


Then back up the mountain, along the escarpment to the Devil's Punchbowl. At least, that's what it was called when I was growing up. The Devil seems to have disappeared - probably a politically correct omission. The girls and Carol were impressed.




And finally, Leah trying to clean up the residue from her bubblegum ice cream.


Gonna go tuck in Leah, then get my stuff ready for tomorrow. C and I had beauty plans, but they will have to wait another day. Need to have an early start tomorrow. Busy day at work, and have to leave at a decent time in order to meet mom to attend the Leonard Cohen concert. Can't wait!

Last weekend, this weekend

Cheer competition:
C with her fellow captains leading the team onto the stage


Ev showing off top right:


Installing the hot tub:



Hugs goodbye to Gramma and Grandpa


Cleaning up the gardens

First day in the hot tub!


and at 11:00 tonight, we enjoyed a delicious free-form strawberry pie made by Ev

WWDD?

What would Dara do?

I know nothing about this woman except that she is 42 and has a killer body. Not surprising as she is an Olympic swimmer - and silver medalist.

Rob discovered her first in a full-length ad in USA Today - hooray for business trips. He ever so thoughtfully left the paper open to her picture the week that I decided to kick-start a new exercise regime - biking two mornings a week - to be combined with some other cardio on the weekends. I don't know why, but that picture was the push I needed to stick with this.

There are a few other motivators:
Getting out of bed to be on my bike at 6:15 a.m. is made easier knowing that a colleague is at the gym at the same time. Sharing the pain seems to keep me from hitting the snooze button more than once.
Also, I'm back playing slow-pitch and need to know that if I get a good hit I might be able to turn a double into a triple instead of wondering where the hell the piano on my back came from as I drag my butt up to first.

But it is Dara's thighs that have inspired me - I remember having legs like those. I sure as hell don't recognize the ones I have now.

So in addition to a basic 3 times a week workout, I'm also adjusting some lifestyle/eating habits. So what would Dara do? She's whispered a few things to me from the poster:

Dara would have a scotch before dinner, but decline a snack of chips. She will only eat 3 strips of bacon instead of 6 or 7. And she definitely eats only half the fries that come with the cheeseburger at lunch.

Dara drinks lots of water and remembers to stretch before and after exercise. She is a good role model for her children. Her husband is just happy to be in the same room with her.

I think that this is start of a beautiful relationship.

Catching up

Activities that have been keeping us happy and busy the past few weeks:

Hockey Championship
Leah charging into the spotlight


Leah had the largest cheering section, and played her heart out, but the team lost. We were very proud of the girls - it was a great season.


Kremer Cousin Party
I got the best dessert - Tasha's toes:


And where do we find Tanya and Lisa after dinner? Playing Rock Band with the "other" kids.


Day after Good Friday Hike
Mom hosted a brunch - it was great to see all the aunties, uncles and cousins from out of town (that includes you cousin Larry from way out in Stoney Creek - sweet Harley dude!)

Auntie and Uncles

Some of the boys: