Eight Grade Graduation

A holding his graduation certificate. 

My son is now finished with Middle School. He also leaves the only school that he has known. He attended it for eight years.

Wednesday morning was a Commissioning Breakfast where the faculty prayed over the students after we heard speeches from three alumni (who are now high school seniors) and there was a special speaker.

faculty on stage and parents laying hands on students.

The repeated advice (for high school) from the speakers to the graduates was: get involved, sign up for things, and try new things. We've been stressing that to our son so it was quite ironic. On display at the breakfast were the posters the kids created about themselves. The posters included their life verse, photos, and schoolwork they chose to show off.

Above is A's poster. His name is the heading (not shown).

I admit that I cried a little at the breakfast. I am pretty sad that his time at his school is over. His school has been a tremendous blessing in his life and in ours. I think choosing it was one of the best family decisions we have made.

Tuesday night was graduation. The students gathered for a formal group photo first. The ceremony included singing by the advanced choir, a speech from a parent, a speech from a student (selected by the faculty), award presentation of valedictorian and presidential academic acheivement awards (which my son received), and a slide show of the kids with a baby/toddler photo followed by a current photo. There was a stand up reception afterwards. On the tables were photos all the graduates.

The graduation program listed all the names with the high school they will be attending and the reference for the student's life verse. His six grade teacher (no longer at the school) came for the event. A student teacher was very popular with the boys was also there.

the student teacher is the one in shorts. :)

Here is A with a friend.

We went out for "FroYo" afterwards. (That's frozen yogurt.)

The next evening was the parent-sponsored graduation party from 4 pm to 9 pm. It was held at a farm with a large barn (very fancy inside) in Snohomish. The most popular activity for my son was the human foosball. There was also dancing, laser tag, fire pits and smores, a dunk tank, and a photo booth. My husband said the food was delicious. It was BBQ sandwiches.

My hubby chaperoned. I came just for the final event. A parent bought Chinese lanterns for all the kids and the idea was to say a prayer for your child and then light it with them and send them off into the sky.

boys with their lanterns

the barn is in the background

It was pretty beautiful seeing them all float away. We said goodbye to his friends and headed home.

A friend took a photo of us as a family at graduation but she hasn't sent it to me yet.


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Springtime in Victoria

Spring Break often means a family trip to Victoria where my parent live. We left late Thursday night to avoid a wind storm forecast for Friday afternoon. We stayed at a motel near the Tsawwassen Ferry.

First thing in the morning we caught the ferry (above is the view from the back of the ferry) and arrived in time to WATCH the storm along Dallas Road in Victoria - the best place for seeing waves. The ferries were cancelled that afternoon due to the high winds.

Here is C being buffeted by the wind.

We stayed in the beautiful hotel we stayed at last time - Oak Bay Beach hotel. This is the view from the dining room. We enjoy the outdoor pool and hot tub that are open late.

Friday night we had dinner at Swiss Chalet. Later the boys and Grandpa played crockinole. Don't know what crockinole is? Here's my explanation. My mom was sufffering with bronchitis so we didn't do many outings.  We did make sure to get some photos taken.

On Saturday afternoon, just the boys, my hubby, and I travelled to the Sooke Regional Potholes park.

The most interesting part of the park was the ruins with elaborate stone work.

At the nearby visitor centre we asked and found out that there was a lodge planned for the area. Construction started but the mortgage fell through and the resort wasn't completed. I think it is a shame that it hasn't been replaced or at least completely demolished. The graffiti isn't very appealing. There is a large fence surrounding the ruins with barbed wire at the top and many signs that say "No Trespassing." We were surprised by how many adults were inside since we only found a small hole that a child could climb through.

Here's a link to some great photos of the ruins. I found this great video (taken by a drone) which gives a fantastic view.



There is a lighthouse at the nearby Sooke Museum and Visitor Centre. It was originally located at Triangle Island which is 29 miles north of the tip of Vancouver Island.

On Sunday morning we had breakast at the Village Restaurant (in Estevan Village) which has become a tradition. We attended my parents' church and were blessed by a fantastic sermon. We caught the 1 pm ferry back to the mainland. There was a killer whale sighting during the ferry ride.

At our customary stop at Tim Horton's (in White Rock) before we cross the border, we ran into an old, old friend of mine (ha ha!) who recently moved to Vancouver - Stephen Robb. He's like a brother to me. His sister was my best friend for many years.

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Spring Blossoms

The cherry blossoms at the University of Washington campus are something that I had long wanted to take in. We hoped to go there on my birthday but that day was rainy and the blossoms weren't completely out. We found some time on Saturday April 1st.

We weren't the only ones there. That's an understatement. The place was packed! The funny thing was that the majority of the people were Indian or Asian.

With so many people there it had the atmosphere of a festival. Lots of people dressed up to take family photos. My son climbed up a tree. Later we saw a sign that said "don't climb the trees." Oops.

We found this beautiful magnolia tree at UW with HUGE blossoms -  the largest I've ever seen.

I took this photo of a tree outside the public library.

Spring is definitely here, at last.

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Spring Mantle 2017

I did a bird theme for this year's mantle. Can you tell? The only new item that I used is the poster in the middle. Everthing else I found in my stash of decor items.

Here's a close up view of the right side:

Left side:

Close up of the poster:

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A Celebration of the big 5 oh.

Please note the tiara I am wearing!

Yes, I celebrated a big milestone birthday last weekend. It is a bit hard to believe. I don't feel 50, that's for sure.

To kick off the celebrating last Friday I went to do one of my favourite things:  antique shopping in Snohomish. On Saturday I got a mani pedi. That evening my hubby and I went out on a double date with some good friends to Chandlers Crabhouse. I had Dungeness Crab.

On Sunday (my actual birthday) the boys, my hubby and I went out for afternoon tea (a birthday tradition) to The Secret Garden Tea Room in Sumner. It is a lovely spot. I had the full spread.

The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. They had lots of fun garden art which I would've photographed but it was pouring rain that day.

Birthday cake!

I received a new camera as my gift. It is mirror less so it is much lighter than my Canon.  I used it today to take photos of cherry blossoms. I'll share those photos later.

My hubby made me a giant birthday card. He wants to put some finishing touches on it before I photograph it.

I'm grateful for the 50 years God has given me so far and I hope to live 50 more!


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Succulent Wreath

I made this clay pot wreath a few years ago. I knew what I wanted to add to it eventually. I found a lot of realistic looking faux succulents at Michael's so I added them to my wreath.

I hot glued small pieces of styrofoam at the bottom of the pots. They I glued the stems of succulents inside.



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NW Flower and Garden Show 2017

Vintage glass garden art

The Garden Show is one of my favourite events. I looked up in my diary and this is my 7th time attending the Garden show! Wow! The night before I had trouble sleeping because I was so excited.
You can read about other years here:
2016
2014

2011

The theme this year was A Taste of Spring. As you enter the show there is a floral arranging competition. This one was my favourite:

There were twenty one display gardens. I love whimsy like this croquet game using tea cups.

This wall/hedge made of succulents was amazing. 

Wooden spoons were used as plant markers here:

Lots of fun garden art in this display garden which was titled "Bugs Abode."

Old springs are mixed in within the plants.

Trumpet plant? I'm not sure what is called but I like it.

This display garden was fun. Its title is "Be Prepared to Camp" - Old Scouts Don't Stop, they Glamp.

Check out these old crock pots used to grow herbs.

I love clever plant containers. Here baby/toddler shoes are used:

Egg shells with succulents:

There was a cake display as well. This one was truly amazing since everything is edible.

There are so many things to look at and maybe buy. :) I took this photo for my friends Mary and Elizabeth who like mushrooms.

Here is what I brought home with me:

- Limelight Sedum
- a pruner designed for women
- "Dig It" tool that Cisco recommends
- an old muffin tin that I will put succulents into
- sweet pea seeds
- a dahlia tuber.

I also found a vintage Boy Scout plaque that I plan to put in my son's room.

If you'd like to see professional photos of the show - go here.


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