July 21, 2007 Finally, we've had some summer weather. Thursday John went to Abey's birthday party, but John was not well behaved. He was very non-grateful for his prize bag, so I took it away from him and grounded him for the rest of the day. Yesterday we went to Ghost Lake from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. John did some kayaking with Derek and lots of swimming and minnow catching. He really likes skipping rocks and of course has begun a rock collection as well. He also had fun playing catch with Mom and Dad while in the lake. Today at Best Western, John really did some excellent swimming. He can keep his face in the water much longer now and is starting to swim under water somewhat. He was very excited with his successes. The water fountain at Kinsman park is finally fixed so we should get there a few times during the hot weather we are supposed to get this week. He is really enjoying riding his bike lately as well. I think we'll have to cave and buy him a new one soon. July 12, 2007 If I were Noah, I’d be building an ark! It’s been ridiculously cold and rainy this week, which makes it very difficult to entertain a 4 ½ year old. Sunday was the teddy bear picnic at Sandy Beach Park. John really enjoyed the animals at the petting zoo, until a he got a little too close to the goat and got bumped. He was screaming with a little blood gathering on his lip. He didn’t want to go on a pony ride and wasn’t much interested in the other activities. We also went to toy library a few times this week. He made some nice crafts and enjoyed playing with the marbleworks toy which we borrowed. We’ve been swimming at Best Western quite a bit as well as it’s too cold to go to the beach. We tried the beach once this week. We got out there and then it got really cloudy and the thunder started. I told John we could swim in the rain, but not in the thunderstorms. The other day, we made a tent in the living room. John thought it was very funny when mommy used the vacuum cleaner as a tent pole. We had a little picnic of crackers and cheese inside the tent. We also made goop on that day (cornstarch and water). I’m praying for sunny days! John has been kayaking with Derek twice now. He really loves it. He also went on a four-wheeler ride with Derek at the airport. He wore noise reducing headphones, so the noise was ok this time. June 29th, 2007 This morning I packed up the truck with the kayak, all the gear I take, Wendy and John and headed out to Ghost Lake. For the first time, I took someone in the kayak with me. I took John. He had a blast! Of course I wouldn't let him in without warning him on what NOT to do while in the boat (like rock it!) as I didn't want us to go for a swim! I would have him sit in front of me but scooted way up so I would have room to paddle without hitting him with it. I wish we had taken a camera so that Wendy could have taken our picture. While I paddled, he would drag his hands in the water (which of course slows us down) but he did have a great time. He didn't want to stop! We did end up rescuing some beach toys for the one other family that was there though. We didn't stay long as John was starting to feel a little chilled and because he was still a little sick (he was on anti-biotics now thought from his visit to the doctors yesterday. I had to tell John that Mom would be getting worried about us so that maybe we should get back to the beach. Later on in the afternoon, John and I went out to the backyard so he could play with his basketball. He seemed to get tired easily but I'm assuming that this was due to him being sick still. He did say he was feeling better today though. June 28, 2007 Summer holidays are here! On Saturday, John and I went to Johnson’s Beach. John loved catching minnows and playing in the sand. Sunday was the church picnic. John had lots of fun playing with the kids there, although it was very, very hot. We went to Kinsmen Park afterwards and John played with Laura and Christopher from church and school. Friday night, we had a pool party at Nat’s house. The water was great, although the storms moved in for most of this week. Monday, John woke up with a temperature. He’s been sick ever since. He seems ok in the morning and then when we try to do something, the temperature kicks up again and he wants to nap. We took him to the doctor’s office today and it was quite the ordeal. She swabbed his throat for a strep test and he gagged and puked. Then we had to go over the hospital for a blood test. It took Derek and I both to hold him down. It was cute when he was done, he wanted to see the blood. We ended up taking him to the Little Toy Box to buy a prize afterwards. He picked a toy four-wheeler like dad uses at the airport. I hope the amoxicillin works fast! It’s not a fun way to start summer vacation. Dr. Mazurski suspects strep as he has swollen glands and tonsils. She’s thorough, however, and ordered a urinalysis, CBC and swab. John’s been sleeping a lot too, which is totally out of character. This had better be done NOW. I want to do stuff! June 15, 2007 Yesterday was John’s JK graduation! He had originally told me he was going to be scared with all the clapping and singing loudly and he would cry. He certainly did not! The first little song, all the JK’s walked into the classroom carrying a little light and singing “This little light of mine”. Very cute! John was a little distracted with the pencil sharpener and had to be told by Mrs. Smith to leave it alone! The Kindergarten class recited a very cute poem about kindergarten. John and Brooke held the letter T and said "T is for treats that we sometimes get". He spoke up nice and loudly and enjoyed prompting all the other kids. He’s bossy like his mommy (dad’s a bit bossy too LOL). They sang a very cute song to the tune of the Adam’s Family all about JK and ended it with I’m a graduate, after which they threw their hats into the air. John liked the lunch the best. He pigged out on all sorts of goodies. The teachers all got emotional when Mrs. Smith started to cry. Then Ms. Fenton started to cry and then we were all crying and wiping our eyes. Our little babies are growing up so fast. It’s hard to believe that he’s put one year in at school already. He’s grown so much this year, socially and maturity wise. He’s really not that shy anymore and usually speaks to adults when they speak to him. At the beginning of the year, if a teacher said hello to him in the hall, he would bury his face in my leg. He’s made lots of friends and certainly does enjoy socializing with them. Mom and Dad are very proud of John! Some photos of his graduation can be found under the 'Photo Galleries', then move your mouse pointer to 'People' and then look for the 'Johns JK Grad' button: click on that. June 10, 2007 School is starting to wind up. We had our Romeo and Juliet performance last weekend and it was a great success. I’m glad it’s over though, as it’s very time-consuming and mind-consuming too. This weekend, John went to a bowling birthday party. He had a really good time. He was a bowling maniac. When the kids got called to eat their hotdog, he wouldn’t eat, only wanted to bowl. He did manage to come around when it was cake time though. Today John played with the neighbour’s little grandson. It sure would be nice if we had some little kids around our house that he could go to by himself like that. They must have played together for about four hours, until John fell off his bike and into the neighbour’s hedge. That was the end of that and I had to drag him home, crying. May 30, 2007 It’s been very wet and rainy. Last week was the Shrine Circus. This was John’s first experience at the circus. He loved the cotton candy and the slushies and all the glow in the dark stuff they were trying to hustle. He enjoyed the experience until the clown act. The clown had an old car that backfired and John got so scared, he screamed and I had to take him out. He was actually shaking, it scared him so much. He also didn’t like the noisy motorcycles at the end. We also went to the Ukranian festival on the weekend. John liked decorating eggs and he liked watching the different musical instruments. He also loved eating the perogies (that’s my boy and the cheesecake too) He made a dinosaur fossil at school and is very proud of it. June 14 is his JK graduation. It’s onwards and upwards to SK French Immersion next year. That teacher is certainly going to have her hands full! May 20, 2007 Well, the weather during the May long weekend was cold as usual. Dad went to Kenora on Friday and bought his new kayak. John likes to sit in it on the ground! He’s waiting the day when he will inherit it! Mrs. Smith is now John’s teacher. He has transitioned very easily and doesn’t seem to have any difficulties with her. He’s really starting to read well now. He read me a whole book tonight, in a nice big voice, which he’s never done before. He’s really good at addition too! We play Junior Monopoly and he can add the two dice amounts really accurately. He told me he knows 5+6 is 11 because 6+6 is 12 and five is one less. Tomorrow we’re going to the Shrine Circus. We’ll see what happens with that. They are supposed to have tigers and elephants, acrobats and clowns. Mom bought John a set of junior golf clubs. He’s outside practicing as much as he can. May 5, 2007 This is my first post as a forty year old mom! It was my fortieth this week and I’d like to thank everyone for the lovely wishes, presents, cards etc. It seems just like yesterday that I was 20. This is John’s last week with Ms. Fenton. Mrs. Smith is finished her maternity leave and will be taking over the class as of May 14. I’m taking Friday off work as a personal day to attend the mother’s day picnic at Kinsman park. Hopefully the weather will be cooperative so that we can have a great day. John wanted me to have my birthday party at Best Western. We ended up just going to Dairy Queen that day. The weather has been pretty decent and today John and I did some work in the garden. He dug up worms and I dug up grass and weeds from the perennial bed. This is the first year I’ve felt like gardening for a while. Last weekend we went to the Hart’s house for a bonfire. John had a great time playing with the kids. It was his first bonfire and he was very afraid of getting burned. At least he didn’t make me nervous going to close to it. Top © 2007 Derek Kennedy