Time is flying by… Claire & Rhys are now in Grade 3!
Tag: Rhys
Summer in Sooke
Towards the end of our summer vacation we organized a trip to Sooke. Every summer we spend a weekend with Wendy, Chris & Senna out at their home in Sooke. There is so much to do and see. Jimmy wasn’t with us this year as he had a skate board event in Port Alberni. While he had his fun we had some as well.
So the kids & I packed up and went on a mini adventure! We had such a fun time in Sooke…making delicious homemade ice cream, playing with Senna’s old toys, visiting the Sheringham lighthouse, camping out on the back porch, hitting a fun playground, walking Whiffen Spit. I cannot forget our epic movie marathon once Claire & Rhys went to sleep… the cheesiest but oh so good vampire movies–> The Twilight Saga. Getting called out by my niece for using my phone was pretty funny too!
We did SO much in just two days. I am so grateful to have such a great sister-in-law, brother-in-law and niece so close by. We always have a good time.
Ice cream- Yum!:
Sheringham Lighthouse:
Playmobil/ Lego & playground fun:
Camping out:
Whiffen Spit:
Another successful Pedalheads summer camp!
Claire & Rhys have been doing Pedalheads summer camps for the past three summers & they always have a great time! Their biking skills improve so much over one week.
Claire was in level 4 this year and she was able to bike on the road with her group- Wow! Jimmy drove to pick up the kids and passed Claire with her group. She sure is growing up & is so independent.
Rhys was in level 3 and did awesome. He no longer jumps off his bike to stop 😉 He learned all his hand signals and is so confident on his bike.
On the last day they have a bike rodeo where they get to dress up like princess’ or pirates. Parents get to come watch them bike a circuit. Always a fun time and we love seeing how proud they are of their own successes.
Click on links to watch:
Art camp with Sandi
Several years ago when we first moved back to Victoria from South Africa we had registered the kids in a children’s art class at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. The kids had a wonderful instructor who they adored. Her name was Sandi Henrich and she is a wonderful art teacher.
Claire & Rhys love art and this summer we enrolled them into a summer art camp at Poppet Creative. The week long class was taught by Sandi 🙂 The kids were so excited and they had a great week!
Learn to Fish at Elk Lake
I enjoyed fishing when I was a kid (I even won a trophy for a fishing derby in Sooke that my Dad’s work put on) so when I saw that there was a free learn-to-fish night for kids I signed us up!
The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC runs free two hour sessions throughout BC. They stock lakes throughout the province with fish for fishing purposes so teaching children & adults the rules and how to properly handle fish makes sense.
On a sunny evening at Elk Lake we gathered with several other families to learn to fish. We learned about different types of fish, how to hold a fish, types of bait, fishing rules and then we had over an hour to use fishing rods to test out our new skills. The rods were pretty large so Rhys struggled a bit. There were so many kids in a row at the lakes edge that fishing lines were getting tangled etc. The bait was worms which was a gross factor for the kids. Rhys went for a walk with Jimmy to the nearby dock to take a break. Claire had her sights set on catching a fish. Those who were positioned nearby the reeds kept catching fish so Claire walked over and somehow found a spot there as well 🙂 The instructor called out last fish of the night and Claire caught a fish on her very last try! She caught a Bass fry.
Not sure if we will fish again anytime soon but we had fun on the lake that evening!
Can you spot the little fish?
Summer swim class
This summer we signed up for less activities/ camps for the kids. They work so hard during the school year that it is nice to have some unscheduled play. Free-range kids 🙂
One of the few things we did sign up for was swimming lessons- 30 minutes per day for two weeks. Perfect! We ended up with a very nice instructor who was strict but made it fun for the kids. Claire & Rhys did really well this time around. They are like fish in the water although Rhys sinks so easily!
Slip’n’slide summer fun!
We had a really great hot summer this year! Some days were unbearable especially for sun sensitive Claire & Jimmy. Early on in the summer Jimmy ventured out to get a slip’n’slide for us to have some fun and to cool us down on those crazy hot days. It was so fun! and provided us with some good laughs.
Click on videos to play:
Last day of Grade 2!
So bitter sweet the passing of time especially when you mark it with your kids growing like weeds! I cannot believe Claire & Rhys are now finished grade 2. They were in a split class this year and they did so awesome both socially and academically. There were some hiccups along the way and they both handled themselves so well. We are so proud of these twinadoes 🙂
Our annual last day of school tradition is to go out for dinner somewhere fun. They love these ice cream volcanoes at Milestones!
