Adult Code!

Today I got to go shopping for my niece's birthday present with my sister Selena! Curtis stayed with both kids so we could have some sister time and keep Nora from seeing what we were buying as gifts. Well, in the car afterwards Selena was trying to fill Curtis in on what she had bought and what I had bought. So our "code" consisted of quickly spelling all the words and abbreviating some specific brands of items. As we were talking, we kept spelling all the words we could, as quickly as we could and I commented to Selena and Curtis that in a few more years we would have to come up with a better code because Nora and Levi would be spelling more and more words! But for now, spelling it all works and gives the adults lots of fun as well!

Tuesday of VBS

We had a few more kids at VBS today, went up to 102 from 84! My class grew, technically, by one although I had some that were there yesterday and not there today! The kids are really learning to love some of the songs we sing in our general assembly time, and I am going to try to take a video of that, although I am not sure how well it will turn out!

After lunch today we were given the opportunity to go out and see a place known as a 'buffalo jump'. For those who are not aware, a buffalo jump is a location where the hills are steep enough that the Native Indians could force the buffalo off and cause them to die. Since buffalo were one of their main sources of food, clothing, and various other things this was an efficient and effective way of causing a great number of buffalo to perish while probably not endangering any of their own tribe members!

The hill we walked down was very steep indeed, and had to walk carefully to avoid both horse(well you can imagine), and falling and rolling down the hill. At the very bottom of the hill was a variety of bones scattered about where they had been left for who knows how many years! I nearly stepped on one shortly after getting down the hill! My aunt was fortunate enough to find two arrow heads, the orange looking one of which actually still felt quite sharp!

After slowly climbing back up the hill, I found what looked like a teepee ring, and just to the side of that the circle of rocks you see pictured above. Perhaps it is just my wild imagination, but to me it looks like it could be a firepit circle!

Hard to believe that this was a short half hour drive from Weyburn, SK where we are teaching VBS!

Weyburn VBS

After all these months of planning, and thinking and perhaps even some fretting, the VBS is finally here. The trip here was pretty uneventful, with the exception of a wild turkey darting out of the grass in the ditch along the Sask. highway! Didn't move much else, just came out of the grass!

I am teaching the youngest class of students at the VBS, the four-year-olds, and had 14 kids in my group today! They are all pretty excited about being at VBS, which is a very good thing!

All together we had 84 kids at the VBS today, and it will be interesting to see how the numbers for attendance are the rest of the week!

And If You Give a Kid a Playstructure

They explore and play, but tend not to wander away too far from their safety net!

If You Give an Adult a Playstructure.....

Hmmm, I wonder about the example these adults gave to the children they were with!!

Well, actually I know that the children loved the time at the playstructure and watching the adults in their lives get going on the thing as well. Nora specifically asked her Auntie Stacy if she needed help when the going got a little rough for Stacy, but she managed just fine!

Have Finally Seen It

*sigh* After completely falling in love with the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" and seeing it's sequel, I have now finally seen "At World's End". There have been many mixed reviews to this movie, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story as well as the tying up of loose ends, not to mention the fine visual effects and visual story-telling in it! Again, at the end of the movie I made a promise to myself that the day it comes out on DVD I will be buying it! There are few movies that I say that after, and when I promise that to myself afterwards, I make a point of doing just that!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

Okay, so the whole day here is beautiful, as was yesterday, but the song came to mind when I started thinking about the past couple of days here. Yesterday I even decided to walk to my errands instead of bussing it, and in doing so got a pleasant surprise. I was able to walk by a calm Canadian goose who was sitting just off the bike path that cuts through the greenspace behind my apartment building. It didn't seem to mind the people who were walking or biking by it, and just sat there calmly taking it all in. I guess it was people watching, as people often go bird-watching!

Today was our day to celebrate the achievements of those in our congregation who are graduating from high school or post-secondary education. It was a surprise to me some of the high school graduates because I still think of them as children, but here they are graduating from high school. And in just a few weeks when we have our children's program windup I will hopefully see my niece up front with her class, and yet it still seems that she is just a little child, but in a couple of months she will be three years old already. I remember driving out to Steinbach the day she was born and holding her when she was just four hours old!

So, in addition to reminiscing, and being caught off guard for how old some people are, I am busy with preparing for the Vacation Bible School that I am helping to teach at my parent's congregation, keeping busy with my work, my crafting, and my writing.