Ouch

Today we went over to Coquitlam to watch Kyle play a game of football against the Coquitlam Chargers. We drove and Kyle went on a bus with his team. They have an hour of warm up before the game and we were early so we went across the Lougheed Highway to the Ikea store.

Let me tell you, if we had more than twenty minutes to look around before the game started, we really could have done some damage. Enough said. What a huge store!

Back to the game we went and our boys put up a good fight. They did not win but they are playing more like a team and are improving with every game.

We got quite a jolt though at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Kyle was running around, trying to get to the ball on a kick return. Someone on the other team clothes-lined him and he went down like a load of bricks. Everyone in the crowd groaned at the sight and the sound of the hit. Luckily Kyle was unconscious so he didn't feel a thing.

I had to stop myself from running out onto the field and so did Susan. It was so hard to watch. He got up much too quickly for that kind of hit but he is okay. Now he just has a big scrape on his cheek and a headache.

Another Sunday of football under our belt. A little more experienced to deal with the game, both from the players point of view and from the parents. It is a rough sport and sometimes kids get hurt. I'm just glad that Kyle is fine now. In a week he will be ready to go out and play again and we will be on the sidelines, cheering him on.

Viola

Laura has decided to play the Viola in her school orchestra this year. She always wanted to play the violin but changed her mind. Last year she heard a demonstration of the stringed instruments and liked the sound of the viola much more. What is nice about that is if she decides to go to the violin, it is quite easy to switch.

She is actually playing on a violin tuned as a viola. They told us that the size of the instrument is too much for a beginner but she will eventually move up to a real viola.

Laura is very excited about playing. We are listening to classical music and watching orchestras on TV. She told me though, that she just can't understand what the purpose of the conductor is.

I really like her teacher. He is very passionate about his music. That should get Laura off to a good musical start. Now she just needs to practice, practice, practice.

Football

We are in the second season of football with Kyle. He is number 47 in the picture, about to make a tackle. We are so proud of him, he has really found himself in the game. He is an incredible player and plays for the Colwood Warriors as Slot back although he does play some other positions very well.

I go to all of his practices to watch. It is so exciting. Games are on Sundays and they have played two so far. Their third is this week against Vancouver and next week they travel over to Coquitlam.

They have not won a game yet but they are a good team, they just have to come together. All of them except for three are first year players so they have that against them. Kyle does not care, he just loves to play. With a little more experience they will be unstoppable.

Graveyard Shift

It's 3:00pm and I just woke up! I do not work today but I did last night from midnight until 8:00am. What an unnatural way to live. I cannot believe that I used to live that way for so many years. Okay, I'll stop whinning now. I just got a little cranky this morning. I only have two more shifts, Sat. and Sun. and then I will be back to the land of the living.

I do love the work though of the baking graveyard shift. Dough mixing is my favorite baking task. I wish that we could do that during the day shift more often but that is impractical.

I have a lot of news to post but I have been so busy. I will try to get it all out in the next couple of days.

Saanich Fair

Summer wrap up once again for the Aird family. Every year we have a tradition of going to the Saanich Fair on the Labour Day long weekend. We tour the fairgrounds, eating and playing games. It is the last family activity of the Summer.

We visited the rabbits, our favorite animals. We love the Flemish Giants and the English Lops. We also visited the birds. Saw some baby African Greys which were very "baby bird" looking; bald spots, big eyes and pin feathers all over. I love the birds though, one day I'll have a parrot of my own.

We don't go on the rides, no one is interested in our family. We just go for the atmosphere. It is a really fun time. One thing that we always have to get is the mini donuts, it's tradition.

Now it's back to school and the beginning of another year. Time to start the cycle all over again. I can't believe how fast the years go by.