What else do you do in Sudbury???

Made the Family Trip to the great white Sudbury last weekend for a race and some northern fun... Spent the day at Science North visiting with Bumblebee, giant snails, atlas beetles, skunks and the worlds tallest man before checking out the Big Nickel... "But its still only worth 5 cents" says Jake.... Got to cool off on the Jumping Rock at the lake too... Good times...

Here for a Good Time...

Got the chance to spend the first 10 days of summer celebrating Canada Day and our Freedom at the cottage. Always a good time .... Jumping. Splashing. Playing. Making friends with Wildlife. And being tires at the end of the day...

And the Winners are...

As we begin this journey, let's make sure you / we are clear about our Goals and Aspirations for this time together.... and apart...

Sue - after almost 20 years in education about about 10 in administration, she is sitting on the Principal's list and hopes to return to her own school.  Goals for this year are to enjoy having time to do the things that we never have time to do... life always turns out to be a race after school to get as much done as possible and then throw the kids in bed.  Quality Time with the kids and with Jon are important for long term happiness.  I also will be Volunteering at Markham Stouffville Hospital in the Ronald McDonald Room at the NICU - a place that helped Luke out so much when he first arrived.  There is always the goal of gaining fitness and being more active in a very active household.

Jon - after 12 years of teaching and enjoying all of them, there is nothing like spending time with your OWN kids rather than someone else's.  Family Goals include working with both Jake and Luke at different sports to improve their fitness and long term enjoyment of sport, and helping them experience the parts of life and the world that interests them.  Personal Goals include getting a coach to fully prepare me as the Young Person in the Old Man Category and go hard-core with the racing, heading to the US and Master World Champs in Norway next fall.  I also plan to spend more time skiing with Sue, playing hockey with the kids, and maybe getting back into Volleyball or Badminton for a while...  Time is something that no amount of money can buy, so I plan to use this chance and make the most of it while i'm still "young"...

Luke - at almost 10 years old, he's a busy guy with a nack for making friends.  Anywhere we go, he knows someone or becomes friends with someone - it's amazing.  He really wants to see Disney because he has heard so many great things about it, and we might include a Disney Cruise into the Disney Trip for him.  He also wants to learn more about badminton and volleyball so he can make the school teams, and spend lots of time on the ski hills.  The Spotlight will follow him where-ever he goes...

Jake - at almost 8 years old, he is the little Entimologist.  Anything related to bugs, nature, animals and discovery are what makes him the happiest, and the collection of Bug Containers in the garage can attest to his love for all things Creepy-Crawly.  He is dying to see a real life Rain Forest and spend some time looking around and discovering new and exciting living things - although we may have to instill a "Don't Pick Everything Up" rule for safety reasons!!!  He is also looking forward to joing the Cross Country Team at school, getting back into hockey and skiing, and living up to his nickname of the "Beast."

So that is Us in a nutshell.  A crazy cross section of excited, casual, fun-loving, organized, hyper, daring and optomistic.  It promises to be a great year!!!

Let's Get This Thing Started....

Hello.
the purpose of this Blog is many.... and will be used as often as possible.  As a couple of teachers in Toronto with a couple of busy kids, we have created a position for ourselves where we are embarking on a "4-over-5" year... meaning that the school board has taken 4 years of our salaries and stretched it out over 5 years - but we don't have to work that 5th year!!!
we are on the brink of that year off, and will use this Blog to document and record our adventures, to inform and entertain our friends and families, and to ensure that we are making the most of our "Selfish Pursuit of Family Fun"...
we will update this blog as often as possible and from as many exotic / interesting places as we can... please keep posted and read regularily!!!