Jamie's First Concert

It's been a busy weekend for Jamie!

On Saturday, he had a volleyball tournament - held at St. Charles (the old Nickel District - for you absentee Sudburians). Their St. John's team has a great coach this year - it's the principal of the school - and she knows her volleyball! Starting at 10:30 am, Jamie's team played their first game against St. Anne and they tied (each team won a set). They had a short break and then played six more games in a row! The guys were exhausted by that last game - but they won a couple more games and there were a couple of really close games - lost by only a couple of points. The guys played really well!

Tonight - we (Corrie, Jamie and I) went to the INXS concert at the Sudbury Arena. It was amazing! They put on a great show! The band played a good mix of old and new songs - and Jamie even sang along during a couple of the songs. Jamie's favourite part was when they played "Pretty Vegas" - his favourite song by the group. JD was really good.

The part Jamie liked the least was - waiting in line to get in to the arena (it was windy and cold) and then when we got in where it was warm - we still had to wait till the show started - in Jamie's words - "It was boring." You can only watch people trying to find their seats for so long.

We had really good seats about 7 rows up and to the right side of the stage. If you've been to the arena, we were just up from the players' bench. Jamie could see everything, even though he thought the "light show" was a little bright! And, of course, he wore his ear plugs the entire time. We all know how much Jamie hates loud noises!

What a good first concert experience! And to think - he almost didn't even get to go! Jennifer was supposed to go, but she decided against it - not sure why exactly. Anyhow, I asked Jamie to go in her place.

When we were driving back in the car tonight, Jamie said - "That's the dumbest smart decision she has ever made!"

Hallowe'en

The wonderful thing about all-girls schools is that they know how to celebrate holidays and have fun . . . and yet somehow, still get school work done during class time.

For Hallowe'en this year, both Meghan and Jennifer dressed up for the day at school. As you can see from the picture, Meghan was a pirate. She paid attention to the details. If you look closely, you can see her dangling earring, her sword, and her wonderful boots!

Jennifer decided to be "Rowan Hood" - a close relative to Robin Hood. She definitely gives to the poor - "in spirit" that is. She made her own arrows (non-pointy) and a quiver for the arrows. The cape is the one that I made for Jamie when he was Robin Hood about 6 years ago.

Both girls had a great day! Meghan went trick-or-treating with a couple of friends, but I insisted that Jennifer stay home and hand out the "treats". It was a good year for costumes!

Terrific Kids

At the end of each month, St. John school holds a "Terrific Kids" assembly. Every month, each teacher selects a student to recognize at the assembly. The "Terrific Kid" is acknowledged in front of the school and is awarded a certificate. The interesting thing about this whole idea is that there is a theme for each month. September was the first letter in terrific. The letter "T" recognized a student who is "thoughtful". October was "E" - which recognized "enthusiasm".

About a week before the assembly, Jennifer answered the phone and took a message from Jamie's teacher, Mrs. Folino. The message was simply to call the school. When I received the message, I promptly asked Jamie what happened at school that day. I asked if he got in to trouble, if he didn't complete his homework, if he "bombed" a test or assignment, or even if he was bugging the girls. All his answers were "no".

When I finally returned the teacher's call, I found out that Jamie was receiving the award for his Grade 8 class. Cool! Family was invited to the event. Luckily, Pierre was in town and went to the school to surprise Jamie and watch him get his award. Way to go, Jamie!

It's taken Jamie more than a week to remember to bring his certificate home! He finally brought it home today, so I quickly took a picture and am posting it before he can lose it.

More Junior Vees Basketball

Today we brought the digital camera to basketball practice! There are a couple of pictures of Jamie - one of the action shots looks pretty good.

He had a good day today! Jamie was shooting more accurately, and he understood the drills much better. The coach has some pretty creative drills - they are constantly moving and shooting and handling the ball. When you first watch the guys with a new drill, you wonder if they'll ever catch on - or at least catch on before they run into each other! When someone told me that basketball was a thinking game, I didn't realize that you needed your brain in good working order just to practice!

Junior Vees Basketball

This afternoon Jamie had his first workout / practice with the Junior Vees basketball program. He was a little tentative at first, but by the end of the session, he was giving me the "thumbs up" sign. For Jamie, that's like jumping up and down and yelling!

I found the advertisement for this program sitting on a display table in the mall this summer. I read the information, talked to Jamie about it, and called the phone number in the reading material. The woman I spoke to ensured me that the emphasis of the program was skills of the game including dribbling, passing, shooting, and play-making. The boys are divided by age group, and Jamie would be playing with other grade 8's and some grade 9's and perhaps, Grades 10's. I was most worried that the kids would have a lot more experience with organized basketball than Jamie - I was assured that he would fit in. Jamie and I talked - he decided to give it a try.

The first session started on October 1st. It was a disaster! I was given the incorrect time - we were late. When we approached the registration table, the first thing we were asked was - "Did you bring your own basketball?" We had no idea we had to bring anything. I didn't find this out till after we had filled in all the forms, written the cheque, and sat in the gym watching everyone else playing for about 15 minutes. Then Jamie and I finally looked at each other and said, "Those guys are good! They look like they're in Grades 8 & 9. Isn't that the group you're supposed to be in??" Sure enough - it was. It was too late for him to join that day. Then, we met the coach - he asked about Jamie's shoes - apparently, he has to buy "basketball" shoes - they're only about $70.00 (for the cheap ones). By the time we left the gym that day, both Jamie and I were discouraged - planning on never coming back again!

We spent two weeks thinking about it - in the end, I convinced Jamie to give it another try. That was today! AND TODAY - WHAT A DIFFERENT STORY !

To make sure that we wouldn't arrive at the wrong time, we showed up about 20 minutes early - new Nike basketball shoes, new Reebok basketball, gym clothes, and water bottle - ready to play. We introduced ourselves, and the woman in charge today listened to our sad, frustrating story about our first day, and introduced Jamie to two of the junior coaches. Jamie spent about 10 minutes of one-on-one practice going over some of the skills that the rest of the guys had been working on for the last two weeks! Yeah!

When the official practice started, there were about 30 guys! Some of them definitely had been playing basketball a lot and knew what they were doing. There were also some (like Jamie) who loved the game, but had never had the opportunity to learn and practice. There were a couple of boys who were shorter than Jamie, but there were many who were taller - one of the kids had to be at least 6' 4" and looked like he couldn't be more than 15 years old. His lay-up was more like a roll-in since his hand was level with the rim when he jumped.

The guys did ball control drills for at least 20 minutes! Then they switched to some cardio-vascular exercises, and for another 20 minutes, the coach split them in to two groups to practice shooting drills. The last 20 minutes - they did this cool three-on-two-on-three drill. I wish I could explain it to you, but it took me five minutes of watching to figure out how it worked. Suffice if to say, it was like a mini-game where the guys were on and off the court quickly - in minutes. Wow! No wonder the guys love the sessions!

The final result - Jamie wants to go back next week! He had fun and learned a whole lot too! At the end of the practice, the coach complimented Jamie on his style and his effort. Let me tell you - Mommy is happy too!

Meghan's School Picture

Now that Meghan has started at Marymount, school pictures are taken early in the year to create photo student cards. This photo is the one that will be used in the yearbook as well.

Although Meghan doesn't like this picture (for reasons unknown), I think it's one of the best she has ever taken. She's smiling; her eyes are open - she's not squinting; her bangs look exactly the way she likes them! It's a great background too.

What do you think? Send her your comments.

Thanksgiving Rituals

Well, it's Thanksgiving day and I can smell the turkey cooking throughout the entire house. We're set to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner this evening - including pumpkin pie! And for those of us who don't like pumpkin, we have apple pie and ice cream.

It's a clear, cool Sunday - the perfect time for cleaning the backyard and doing that traditional chore - raking leaves! Jennifer has been spared since she is working till 5pm today. Jamie, Meghan, and Corrie are outside raking leaves - actually, Jamie and Meghan are raking a little, messing up each other's pile of leaves a little, jumping in the leaves a little, having sword fights with rakes, and generally, having a good time!

I just looked out the window in to the backyard - they've accomplished their task - the leaves are raked and placed in plastic bags! But by the look of the trees, we'll be raking again next weekend.

Jennifer's not a Trainee Anymore!

Hey, its Jen here! As most of you know, I have been working at M&M Meat Shops for about 4 months. To work at M&Ms, there is a crazy amount of both online and in-store training that has to be done. You must know about all of the products, how to handle customers and they even give you tips on how to sell merchandise. It is interesting, yet long . . . very long.

I am finally finished all of my training. Yay! I finally am going to be getting my own name tag that says "Jen" instead of "Trainee." It is all very exciting! The other day Jocelyne (one of the owners) brought me in to the office and said, "I got a big envelope with your name on it." In it was this certificate and a letter saying congratulations and that I had finished my training. I also got a pin that said "M&Ms Commitment to Excellence." The whole thing made me really happy and excited. I love my job!

So, to celebrate I bought myself mini cream puffs . . . and the whole household ended up 'celebrating' with me. Oh well.

Mom's Note: I know that Jen would appreciate you sending her your congratulations! It will take some of the pressure off me; I've said it too many times already!