Blades 3- PASSED!

Kimi and Kenzo was working on their levels and until the last day, only Kimi passed which was not surprising as Kenzo was having a hard time following instructions during this set.

Kimi passed BLADES 3 which is a program for ages 6-12. Kimi came from Gliders 4 but since she already turned 5, it as converted to Blades which was equivalent to Blades Level 3.

What do you need to complete to pass Blades Level 3?

T-pushwith one foot glide three counts

T-push to inside edge

Forward sculling

Backward sculling

Forward stopping (10/10 times)

Backward stopping (8/10 times)

One foot glide inside edge, three counts

* * * * *

BLADES 3

Bill Copeland

Burnaby, B.C.

Tobogganing Year 2

This is our second year tobogganing and this time around, I was happy that Kimi can finally go with Kenzo instead of us going down every time with Kenzo and having to come up which was really tiring… Sign of old age :( hehe!

Kimi and Kenzo

Kimi also got more adventure this time around, finally trying going down the slope on her stomach...

Kimi

Kenzo, on the other hand, has finally agreed to going down the slope by himself. It was a bit of time before he agreed and when he finally tried it, he was screeching from delight and wanted to do in again and again...

Kenzo

* * * * *

TOBOGGANING YEAR 2

Mt. Seymour

North Vancouver, B.C.

Intro to Gliders and Gliders 4 Passed!

For the skating lesson, we decided to continue them at Bill Copeland, Burnaby.

One of the reason is LOCATION. Killarney is quite a drive from Kimi's new school. Kalen is on the Child class while Kimi was still in the Pre School age group so they are now on different classes.

As for the TIME, I found a same time class for both Kimi and Kenzo which works well for me.

DAYS, I have an issue with though, it is 2x a week compared to Killarney's 1x a week but we made it through...

COMPLETE ATTENDANCE :)

and...

* They go up to the next level- YEY!

* * * * *

INTRO TO GLIDERS

GLIDER 4

Bill Copeland

Burnaby, B.C.

Daniel's Soccer Birthday Party

This was the first invite we got for a Boy's Themed Party. 

Thanks to Kimmee (Daniel's mom), we were able to catch a glimpse of a boy's party which was a world of difference from the girl's party we have attended. 

* Kimi doing soccer for the first time

The first part of the party was spent on the field with a game of free play...

* Kimi in action

* Dads as goalie

Then teams were formed for a friendly game of soccer.

* Red Team :)

The girls decided that it was too much for them and decided to stay on the sidelines for a breath of fresh air.

* Avril, Kimi and Natalia

* Pretending to be spiders in a web ;)

* Uhmm... trying out their spider senses

* Group Picture

Snacks were served inside. Pizzas, chips, juice and more to feed the tired players.

The main event was the unveiling of the cake. A big expectation since Daniel's mom is a cake instructor :)

* Fondant with the ball made up of cake all through

* Lemon flavoured cake for the base and chocolate cake for the ball

* Daniel with Mom and Dad

* * * * *

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY

DANIEL

Tobogganing at Mt. Seymour 2013

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. It does takes awhile but now I learned to enjoy the 4 season that we have here in Vancouver, Canada. We do have our favourite but there is a certain excitement in waiting for the next one to arrive and to prepare the kids in their next adventure for the season.

Winter. It is still quite cold here but not snowy and the mommies decided to give the kids a nice surprise by planning a Winter Tobogganing Event right at the beginning of February at Mt Seymour. We kept everything under wrap for the reason that we wanted our sanity intact before the event and I don't think the kids can contain the excitement once they found out what is waiting for them. One more reason was that a few weeks before our event, kids are coming down with fever coughs and colds and we were keeping our fingers crossed that we will make it in time without anyone missing the fun or having to cancel the whole plan. Lucky me, Kenzo got fever 4 days before and Kimi 2 days before and I was actually thinking that we might be left behind... BUT, we were there and everyone was COMPLETE! (Double Hooray!)

* Getting comfortable sitting on the snow

It was my first time to do Tobogganing and I was more scared excited than scared until I saw the slope that we were going to slide from and the oversize plastic folder that were available for rent to rest our butt in as we go down the icy slide... Now, it was too late to make an excuse and I had to be brave especially since the Kimi and Kenzo saw their playmates and were quite excited at the prospect of sliding like their friends were doing.... Talk about good peer pressure.

I found a sturdier mat (Thanks Jo!) and with a bit of encouragement, I got Kimi to go the first slide with me and I actually went straight for the Starting flag with a loud Thump.... Oooh my pride hurt more than anything and I went up with a sigh and turned to find everyone looking at my nice start. I decided to sit it out a bit and sulk pretend nothing happened out of the ordinary hehe!

Picture taking seems like a good idea so, 

* Eron, Hubby and Kenzo

Hubby decided to finally try it with Kenzo and he actually did a whole lot better than me (Hmph!)

  

* Eron, Kenzo and Kimi

I finally got the courage as soon as I saw kids half my size doing it on their own. 

* Mel and Kenzo

I got Kenzo which was wiggling all the way down. I was holding onto him and screaming all the way down hoping that I can stay in the mat without holding anything except an overzealous toddler... and I DID! (Pat on the back)

Several more slides and I was getting more confident but the hike up was really tiring me down and Kenzo wanted me to carry him every time it was uphill (Double Sigh)

Kimi finally got the confidence and decided to try it be herself... 

* Kimi's First Attempt by Herself...

She did tumble on the second attempt but she went on as if nothing happened (Atta Girl!)

Uncle Warren and Rex was going up and down the hill fetching the kids and sliding with them...I don't know where they got the stamina. Uncle Charlie and Steve held on to their cameras in between slides to make sure they got everything captured. I was so glad Eron was there to help with Kenzo as well. 

* Uncle Warren, Ryker and Justin

* Uncle Rex and Kenzo

* Papa Karl and Kimi

* Kenzo pouting over waiting for his turn...

...more picture taking in between slides

* A Bit of relaxation

* Group Picture

...and last but not the least,

* Picture with my favourite girls...

...must be the age, my back is still hurting from all the activity that Saturday... BUT Totally Worth it and would definitely do it again! Cheers to the next event ;)

* * * * *

TOBOGGANING 2013

Mt. Seymour @ North Vancouver

Paradise Fun Park

It was unplanned. Actually, what we planned to do was to spend a bit of our time at a nearby golf park beside Tigh-Na-Mara called Riptide Lagoon but we went to take a quick lunch at McDonald's and I saw a Big shoe house further down and asked hubby to drive there just so I can check if it's something that we can take a picture of.

* If the shoe fits...

 

Turns out that there was another kids attraction there and I decided to try this one instead upon seeing their brochure.

Paradise Fun Park has 2 World Famous Mini Golf courses, Bumper boats with cannons built in into them and apparently Oceanside camping and Games Pavilion, or more famous as arcade. It was 2 for 1 for that day so I am all for fun and a great deal. I got 1 course and a bumper boat ride for us 2 at $11++

We were just in time for it's opening. Early March to October.

* Me and Mini Me's Golf Putter

Kimi chose pink for her golf ball and I chose purple for mine.

Suddenly, out of nowhere the nice weather suddenly reversed and a bit of snow showed up right when we were about to start our game :(. Off we went inside the gift shop to wait it out a bit...

* I heart Canada!

* Yep! That's me. 

I am included in the trip, by the way. Hubby isn't good with photo role reversals. I take your picture and you take mine he he! So I finally told him to take a picture with me included. So this is my one and only picture from the trip.

Finally, the snow stopped and we braved the cold and started out mini golf game. Hubby stayed inside with Kenzo just to keep little guy warm and comfortable.

* Kenzo concentrating on his gadget

The golf course was so nice...and I love the little putter for Kimi. It was just right for her size. She was able to put the ball in one shot on some of the course... She was so ecstatic and forgot that her hands were freezing.

* Braving the cold

* Course One: 

The Old Water Wheel

The Lighthouse, 

The Windmill

The Village Church

The Victorian Mansion

I can see why this is considered one of the nicest Mini Gold around the World...

 

* Course One

One of the things I like about playing with someone short is that I don't need to go down to pick my balls. Kimi gladly did it for me :)

* My Little Ball Picker

Play we did, hole after hole til we reach the 18th

* Last hole for Course One: The Victorian Mansion

I was so happy to reach the last one, it was getting windier as we progress and I couldn't feel my fingers but Kimi was so happy I decided to finish up the game despite the cold.

* No 18 Hole

* Kimi's not a quitter :) Finish Line

I hope we can try this Summer time... I am actually excited to see if there are nice ones in Vancouver we could try so that we don't need to ride a ferry just for a mini golf ;)

At the farther side of the park is the Mini Golf Course 2

* Kimi couldn't reach the Punishment decor for a photo

 * Course Two

The Old Woman's Shoe

The Pirate Cannon

The Whale's Pool

The Bavarian Clock

The Pirate Ship

The Pirate Treasure Cave

* The Pirate Cannon Course

* Pirate's Ledge

It was finally time for the Bumper Boat. I was a bit hesitant about letting Kimi try this especially since this has cannon built in which meant that other boats might try shooting her with water. I think we were the only one crazy enough to do bumper boat so Kimi had a fun time shooting the plant with water.

  

* Kimi and Papa

* Nice Summery Colors

  

* Calm waters

...five minutes of floating around

* Done :)

Kimi had her fun and she was in such a high mood while riding the ferry back to Vancouver.

Kenzo was happy wherever he is so he was happy as well.

Happy kids = Happy parents

Win Win Situation :)

* * * * *

PARADISE FUN PARK

Parksville, B.C. 

Skating with more confidence

This is the 3rd skating lesson for both Kimi and Kalen...

* Early for a little photo shoot :)

Top and Shorts: Joe but Superstore; Leggings: Carters

Leather Vest: Europe from Uncle Eric

* Kimi does her dainty little pose

* Quesadillas and Hot Chocolate for snacks

...Kimi does her big eye look for the camera :)

You know that the kids are progressing inside the rink when the mommies started talking more and watching the kids less. It doesn't mean that we are not as interested as before but we are more confident that the kids can finally balance and we can finally let out a sigh of relief and get our guards down.

Progress are not as fast but every lesson has something added to help kids learn without letting them realize that they are learning. 

The best thing is that Kimi is looking forward to ice skating classes even if she is tired and must come straight from school to the lessons.

* Chummies

* Mommy Glends and Kalen... having her fill of picture for the day