Faith cemented her love of all things horse on Friday when she entered the horse show at my hometown fair. More precisely, her Grampa entered her in the Fair, and she enthusiastically went along for the ride.
Her first class was the carriage driving class for the under 12 set. She was the youngest one in the class, driving the biggest carriage, and the biggest horse (Sheba). My dad rode along (they had to be accompanied by an adult).
And, yes I'm biased, but it was pretty impressive watching her drive around the ring so quickly (not like Calgary Stampede fast, but fast enough!). She was extremely serious as she concentrated on her driving, while Grampa gave her a few pointers along the way.
When she pulled into the first spot for the class, we were totally ecstatic (including the Great-grands, and Great-Aunt Marg, who were all in the cheering section). My Dad, in his usual way, showed his happiness by shedding tears (yes...multiple tears, in succession, which he later denied).
Faith also entered a costume class (for fun), a riding class, and a lead line class. She ended up with 3 red ribbons, and one third, and $70 worth of prizes. On our way home she stated that she wanted to win more red ribbons next year. She is definitely addicted.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Up to code
Update: Yes, we did have a fire alarm start beeping at 1:30 in the morning. I heard it first, while George snored on. So, I shook him awake so we could suffer together. . He "fixed" it and we went back to bed. Uggh.
We now have all our new fire alarms/carbon monoxide detectors installed and working.
We now have all our new fire alarms/carbon monoxide detectors installed and working.
Monday, August 31, 2009
The torture of beeps
When I walked into the house this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. with the kids, Faith heard this strange beeping noise. Because it wasn't 4:00 a.m., the normal time when these things happen, it took me awhile to figure out that it was the fire alarm upstairs beeping every 10 seconds or so.
Must be low battery backup, I figured, so I tried to find a 9 volt to stick in the thing. After grabbing one from an extra fire alarm, then pilfering one from Blake's remote control car, I figured either all my batteries were done, or I was too short to actually get the battery into the right slot in the stupid alarm. I'm just tall enough to unhook the thing from the ceiling and pop open the battery compartment while standing on our kitchen stool. But, beyond that it's all touch and go until I lose feeling in my arms.
So, after 20 minutes of incessant beeping I gave up. I figured I'd pick up new batteries when I took Faith to horseback riding and George could fix it when we got home.
Ahh....the best laid plans. Once George actually got home, and could read the back of the smoke alarm, he figured out that the beep signalled an "alarm malfunction". And, because the darn thing is wired into the house (and has a battery backup), it was going to keep beeping. Arrghhh.
So....to the Internet! And yes, after 7 years, the alarms spontaneously start beeping so you are driven mad until you replace them. Great safety feature unless you're trying to get your kids to bed and not lose your mind.
But, I had a brilliant idea that all the fire alarms are probably on the same circuit, so we could turn off the breaker and then, no more beeping! George was skeptical. But, and to quote him, "You were right." (I'll repeat that...I was right!)
So, we now have our backup fire alarm sitting on the bookshelf upstairs, the wired fire alarms on the main floor and basement working on battery backup, and the grating beeps are silent. (Also, no lights in the basement, but, you can't have everything.)
Tomorrow, it's a trip to Crappy Tire for 3 new alarms. Here's hoping the other two don't start beeping tonight.
Must be low battery backup, I figured, so I tried to find a 9 volt to stick in the thing. After grabbing one from an extra fire alarm, then pilfering one from Blake's remote control car, I figured either all my batteries were done, or I was too short to actually get the battery into the right slot in the stupid alarm. I'm just tall enough to unhook the thing from the ceiling and pop open the battery compartment while standing on our kitchen stool. But, beyond that it's all touch and go until I lose feeling in my arms.
So, after 20 minutes of incessant beeping I gave up. I figured I'd pick up new batteries when I took Faith to horseback riding and George could fix it when we got home.
Ahh....the best laid plans. Once George actually got home, and could read the back of the smoke alarm, he figured out that the beep signalled an "alarm malfunction". And, because the darn thing is wired into the house (and has a battery backup), it was going to keep beeping. Arrghhh.
So....to the Internet! And yes, after 7 years, the alarms spontaneously start beeping so you are driven mad until you replace them. Great safety feature unless you're trying to get your kids to bed and not lose your mind.
But, I had a brilliant idea that all the fire alarms are probably on the same circuit, so we could turn off the breaker and then, no more beeping! George was skeptical. But, and to quote him, "You were right." (I'll repeat that...I was right!)
So, we now have our backup fire alarm sitting on the bookshelf upstairs, the wired fire alarms on the main floor and basement working on battery backup, and the grating beeps are silent. (Also, no lights in the basement, but, you can't have everything.)
Tomorrow, it's a trip to Crappy Tire for 3 new alarms. Here's hoping the other two don't start beeping tonight.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Climbing feats
On the last day of our trip, we stopped in Kingston to see my brother, who is an avid climber. We met him at The Boulder Room for a little climbing action. Faith was a champ! She made it to the top of 3 routes!
Here's her second one, with a small cameo by her brother, who decided he'd like to free climb the wall in bare feet.
The video's a little long, but I wanted to film until she touched the top beam. She was a total trooper...and Duncan's the one belaying her and calling out directions up the route.
Here's her second one, with a small cameo by her brother, who decided he'd like to free climb the wall in bare feet.
The video's a little long, but I wanted to film until she touched the top beam. She was a total trooper...and Duncan's the one belaying her and calling out directions up the route.
15 and counting....
Fifteen years, two kids, four cars, three homes, and numerous gray hairs later. Happy Anniversary to us.
Dazzling & other military facts
At one time in your life, I'd recommend going to the Canadian War Museum. The building itself is a cement, steel and glass creation that evokes tanks, war ships, and fighter plans all at the same time.
And, the information in the exhibits is fantastic. We, admittedly, raced through the museum (mostly chasing a certain boy), but what we did see was informative, moving, sickening, scary, horrible, fantastic...you name it.
It's really not a "kid" museum in the sense that we did have to speed them on through some of the exhibits due to either graphic content or loud noises (they'd recreated certain types of war conditions throughout). But, they did enjoy the camouflage exhibit, building decoy trucks out of blocks and learning how the military "dazzled" ships...think black and white diva war paint in the name of confusing the enemy.
The strangest thing, though, was Blake. He was in the exhibits not 5 minutes when he suddenly stopped and turned around in a circle yelling "fight, fight, fight" and punching the air with his fists. What the? I mean, this was in the bows and arrows section!
Faith thought the best exhibit was the WW III simulation. Just like that old movie, War Games, complete with the giant map of the world projected on a screen showing the world gradually being blown to bits. OK.
The icing on the cake for me though was the World Press Photo exhibit in the lobby. I sent the kids off with George so I could do a quick tour of the best photos in the world for 2008-2009. Amazing...untll I had to chase Blake across the whole lobby and hold my breath as he ran under the photo exhibits...hoping that he didn't knock the whole thing down like dominoes. I wore running shoes most of the time for a reason.
And, the information in the exhibits is fantastic. We, admittedly, raced through the museum (mostly chasing a certain boy), but what we did see was informative, moving, sickening, scary, horrible, fantastic...you name it.
It's really not a "kid" museum in the sense that we did have to speed them on through some of the exhibits due to either graphic content or loud noises (they'd recreated certain types of war conditions throughout). But, they did enjoy the camouflage exhibit, building decoy trucks out of blocks and learning how the military "dazzled" ships...think black and white diva war paint in the name of confusing the enemy.
The strangest thing, though, was Blake. He was in the exhibits not 5 minutes when he suddenly stopped and turned around in a circle yelling "fight, fight, fight" and punching the air with his fists. What the? I mean, this was in the bows and arrows section!
Faith thought the best exhibit was the WW III simulation. Just like that old movie, War Games, complete with the giant map of the world projected on a screen showing the world gradually being blown to bits. OK.
The icing on the cake for me though was the World Press Photo exhibit in the lobby. I sent the kids off with George so I could do a quick tour of the best photos in the world for 2008-2009. Amazing...untll I had to chase Blake across the whole lobby and hold my breath as he ran under the photo exhibits...hoping that he didn't knock the whole thing down like dominoes. I wore running shoes most of the time for a reason.
Dragons!
The Museum of Civilization had a "Mythical Creatures" exhibit on while we were in Ottawa. This translated to DRAGONS!, so we hit the museum on our second day. What an awesome place...if you're in Ottawa, you have to go.
The highlights:
>> A Children's Museum where everything was a make believe place that kids can play in "for real", including a pyramid, clothing factory, a fancy bus from India and more. It was a madhouse for a Tuesday, so I shudder to think what it's like on Saturdays.
>> We learned what happens when you touch an exhibit that says "Don't touch"...yes, an alarm goes off! Blake's quicker than he looks, so I found this out the hard way.
>> We saw some really interesting "first stamps" from Africa, made more interesting because they all featured old white guys from Europe.
>> Accept the fact that unless you're planning on bringing your own lunch, you'll have to sell a kidney to eat in the cafeteria. Ouch!
>> Make sure you go outside and look across at the Parliament Buildings....a unique view.
The highlights:
>> A Children's Museum where everything was a make believe place that kids can play in "for real", including a pyramid, clothing factory, a fancy bus from India and more. It was a madhouse for a Tuesday, so I shudder to think what it's like on Saturdays.
>> We learned what happens when you touch an exhibit that says "Don't touch"...yes, an alarm goes off! Blake's quicker than he looks, so I found this out the hard way.
>> We saw some really interesting "first stamps" from Africa, made more interesting because they all featured old white guys from Europe.
>> Accept the fact that unless you're planning on bringing your own lunch, you'll have to sell a kidney to eat in the cafeteria. Ouch!
>> Make sure you go outside and look across at the Parliament Buildings....a unique view.
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