Fiona is 11

Happy Birthday my Fiona! You have had an incredible year of growth this past year. Life with you is so much fun, trying to keep up with you, that is the challenge! We all love you so much. I could not and would not want to imagine our family without you! You made our family complete!

The pictures are backwards... I wanted to start with the beginning, but I guess we're starting with the end, except that the first pic is in the middle-ish? The blowing the dandelion pic is from 2016 and it's the pic I put on Fiona's homemade card. Emily then Jones, now Michelson took the pic from 2016.

Fiona wanted to play a board game, she LOVES playing family games. She chose Happy City.

Ken picked up donuts from Crave in Whitby. Fiona chose a cookies and cream flavour. Ken will make her a cake for her birthday party.

Posing after picking a flower.

We got in a few cuddles after we'd finished eating.

Dinner at Jack Astor's. Fiona really wanted the chicken fingers and fries. Two weeks ago Ken and Kate went to the symphony. I took Alice and Fiona out to dinner. Fiona was still recovering from a minor cold and couldn't actually taste her chicken fingers so she really wanted to go back!

After school pics wearing her new earrings that were her birthday present from me and Ken.

Birthday breakfast!

Wearing the money that Maggie (Egan) Clarke sent her for her birthday. Maggie is the sweetest!

Opening her presents from her sisters.

Opening her gift from me and Ken this morning while I was still in bed.

Reading her card.

The earrings that Uncle Andrew gave her.

The mysterious Amazon Prime package that inspired much curiosity. 

The birthday table all ready for the birthday girl in the morning. 

Saying goodnight to a ten year old!

The Birthday Questions - Fiona - Age 11

1. What is your favourite color?

            Purple

2. What is your favourite toy?

            Our Generation

3. What is your favourite fruit?

            A good ripe strawberry

4. What is your favourite tv show?

            Alex and Katie

5. What is your favourite thing to eat for lunch?

            Pizza

 6. What is your favourite outfit?

            The outfit I’m wearing. (Khaki shorts from the Gap, Light blue top from Urban Outfitters)

7. What is your favourite game?

            Telestrations

8. What is your favourite snack?

            Granola bar

9. What is your favourite animal?

            Bunny

10. What is your favourite song?

            Heart of Stone from Six

11. What is your favourite book?

            Harry Potter and City of Ember

12. Who is your best friend?

            Hazel

13. What is your favourite cereal?

            Rice Krispies

14. What is your favourite thing to do outside?

            Hang out with my friends

15. What is your favourite drink?

            Lemonade and Water

16. What is your favourite holiday?

            Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?

            Jelly Cat Bunnies and Giraffe

18. What is your favourite thing to eat for breakfast?

            Smoothie

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?

            Chicken fingers and fries at Jack Astor’s

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?

            An architect

The Apple Seller

Life is mostly just routine. There are sparkles and glimmers of fun there in the routine, but mostly it just is. My children are part of the routine. But they are anything but routine. They are unpredictable, they are predictable, they are helpful, they are unhelpful, they are delightful, they are not, they are chaos, they are order, they are loud, they are quiet, they are mine. But, they are also magic.  Tonight was magic.

This year at Alice and Fiona's school, Southwood Park, P.S., the staff organized a musical. They chose the production Annie Jr.  based on the movie Annie about a little orphan girl living in an orphanage in New York. Annie was a movie I watched a lot as a kid. The version I watched was made in 1982. I'm pretty sure we owned the VHS tape. 

Fiona auditioned to be one of the orphans. She wanted a part in the musical so very badly. I wanted it for her. She memorized lines and a song and practiced and practiced and practiced. I was already so proud of her dedication to it. We talked about not getting a part, about how she would handle that, but then she got a part. She won the role of the apple seller. She even had a speaking part. 

As rehearsals started and then progressed she was given a second role, the cook Mrs. Pugh. She found out she would sing two songs - as part of an ensemble. We bought costumes, Ken took her to school early for morning practices and as we got closer to opening night, I got more and more nervous. 

(Don't be too angry Fiona!) All I could think about was the last primary presentation. She wanted to do it so badly. So badly. She wrote her talk, she practiced and the Sunday of the presentation she fought hard through her nerves and she did it, but it was so hard and there were so many tears. So with that in my mind, I was afraid.

Tonight when I sat in the audience with Kate I watched my little apple seller march on to the stage with so much poise and so much confidence. She said her lines clearly and with confidence. She was so good. She was so strong and so brave and it was just magic.

I'm so so grateful to be a Mama and to get to see my kids struggle and do amazing things!

Chasing an Eclipse

When exactly planning for the eclipse began, I'm not sure. The path of totality included Niagara Falls, Kingston, Montreal. Ajax and Stouffville were both just outside of totality. A couple of months ago it seems the talk about the eclipse seemed to be coming up more and more and school boards starting moving P.A. Days around, cancelling school, making half days - all because in our area the eclipse would coincide with the end of the school day and people, lots of people were worried about little kids looking up at the sun.

Today there was a large area around us that would experience totality. In 2017 the path of totality went through South Carolina. Today the Niagara area had three and a half minutes of totality. Forty minutes to the east of us in Port Hope there was going to be 55 seconds of totality. After visiting the science centre and talking to an astronomy expert we ordered eclipse glasses. I hoped that I would be allowed to leave school and since the girls had the day off, we started talking about where we would go to watch the eclipse. 

It turned out that I wouldn't be getting to leave early, and would have meetings all afternoon. I told Ken that he needed to take the girls and go find totality. And the easiest place would be Port Hope. So that's what they did. They only thing that none of us counted on today, clouds.

After my staff meeting was over I went outside and caught glimpses of the crescent sun as the clouds passed by. It was neat. I felt sad that I wasn't with Ken and the girls and I felt sad that there was so much cloud cover. It was really neat when it got dark - even if it wasn't completely dark. At recess this morning I took pictures of the sun shining through hole punched cardstock. I was hoping to recreate the cool pictures that I took in 2017 of the eclipse through the colander. But after school it was just too cloudy.

Tonight I asked everyone there thoughts. I know today didn't turn out they way we wanted, but it was still a cool day. One that I hope the girls remember. 

Ken - It's hard not to be disappointed about the clouds, but it was still a cool experience to see the darkness of the eclipse. Also, Port Hope doesn't seem to care too much about people having fires on the beach because there were about 20 fires along the beach. 

Kate - It was pretty cool, but I wish I saw the sun. People were lighting their fires from other people's fires, and some guy asked us for the stick Fiona was dragging along the beach for us to sit on.

Alice - 5/10 might recommend. 

Fiona - It was a real disappointment. 

My pics

Hayley's eclipse pic

Two hours later - beautiful outside!

Ken's pics

My Birthday Weekend

I feel like I need to start with last year... 

Realization... worried about getting old

What did I want?!

Pre-birthday shopping trip

A quiet work day, Choko Moko - apple cake, dosa, cards from Ken and the girls

Original plan - walk, buddha belly, aga khan, riz

What happened - walk by our house, no buddha belly because of surprise visit from Romeila on Friday night with so many treats from bunners, aga khan, riz

Quiet happiness with my favourite people

I still can't say my age out loud so there's still some work to be done, but birthdays aren't the absolute worst...