Happy Holidays!!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Fall 2007

Tempus fugit! The last blog I wrote was in September, and now Christmas is just over two weeks away. The fall was filled with lots of fun for us. Alec and Dana got settled into their new school, as did Kim! Dave started judo and dragged Alec and Dana along with him. Now Dave and Alec are participating in a judo tournament on 15 December! Dana would be participating as well, but she has a jazz dance class recital on the same day - whew! Alec also took up basketball in a Saturday recreation group, and both Alec and Dana went through another round of swimming lessons.

While Dave, Alec and Dana were recreating, I was holding down the fort (Dave is still away one week of every month) and remembering how to be a full-time academic. I still have assignments due to my professors and final exams to mark for my students, but all in all, I have to say I am SO glad to be living my dream. I'm enjoying it immensely, and I am slowly learning how to balance a rather hectic academic schedule with family. In January 08, I plan to add my own recreation into the mix. I'm not sure how yet or with what, but I will scout the area over the holidays to see what is available. . . .maybe I can find a good ballroom dance studio!

We have lots of plans to get together with family over the holiday season, and hopefully will be able to meet up with friends as well. We wish all our family and friends a happy holiday season and a healthy and joyful year ahead!!

Happy Holidays!!

School Days

The start of school was a monumental occasion at our house this year, as it marked a few firsts. It was Alec and Dana's first day at their new French Public School in Hamilton. The fact that they are attending this school is a little funny, in an insane way, not a comedic way. They had attended a French Public School in Moose Jaw, but when we tried to contact the F.P.S. here, we got no feedback. So we had decided to sign them up for a French Immersion school, which we visited a week before school began, only to discover that Alec and Dana speak French far too well for the immersion program here. So we were back to contacting the F.P.S. As it turns out, the principal is new (the old one had ignored us) and we found our children what seems to be a good academic home. . . .once they get there.

What does that last bit mean? Well, Kim spent the first week of school driving the kids back and forth, because the bus service could not be coordinated until the second week. Last Monday, Alec and Dana were supposed to be picked up at the end of our new street. The bus didn't come. When Kim dropped the kids off, she asked the school secretary and Dana's teacher to ensure the children were placed on the correct bus for their return home that afternoon. After this, chaos ensued. The kids were put on the wrong bus, and it took them 2.15 hours to get home that evening. Had it not been for a very nice bus driver who ignored the instructions of his dispatcher to drop Alec and Dana off in the middle of the city, and who placated an overwrought mother on the other end of Alec and Dana's cell phone as they were all travelling through Hamilton on the bus route, Alec and Dana may not have been allowed to take the bus ever again. As it turns out, that same bus driver insisted on adding them to his route, and now we all feel secure and sure that the kids will make it to school and back home every day on the bus. Whew!

The second 'first' was Kim's first days of her doctoral program at McMaster. She is still sorting out admin, paperwork and scheduling (to a lesser extent), but her doctoral program is now underway, and she is enjoying herself immensely, even with all the reading, writing, and presenting.

The third 'first' was recreational. Everyone in our family has signed up for a recreational activity in the area this fall. Dave found the Japanese cultural centre in the area, and signed up the entire family for judo (we'll see if Kim has time)!! Alec and Dana are also signed up for swimming, basketball (Alec) and jazz dance (Dana), and Kim is going to try pilates :) We are all looking forward to our new activities, and we are growing to love our new home and our new community more and more every day. All the best to you and yours, from Dave, Kim, Alec and Dana.

Home At Last

We made it, and we're even unpacked (mostly). We drove away from Moose Jaw on 1 August, and we got the keys to our new home on 8 August. Furniture, etc. was unloaded on 9 August, and Kim has been unpacking and organizing ever since. The house is gorgeous, yet there are a few last little things to be finished or changed. Utilities are set up and all is functioning. Kim is trying to figure out routes to get the kids and herself to school, and we are preparing to sign up for extra-curricular activities in our new neighbourhood, which is great, by the way!! Dave is not ecstatic abouthis commute to work, but a new connector ramp/highway opens up on 1 November which should cut some time from his daily drive. Alec and Dana have already made friends in the neighbourhood, and Dave's brother Steve and his family have just moved into their new home next door, so we even have relatives nearby!

Kim would like to send a special thank-you to all of her family and friends in Ontario who have been patient and waiting for her to say that she is ready for visitors and/or visits. Let the reconnecting begin!!!

All in all, we are exceedingly happy to be home at last. Check out the pictures, and be sure to take down the new address and phone number (all email addresses remain the same):

Kimberly Beek and David Prodger

Alec Prodger and Dana Prodger

48 Silverspring Crescent

R.R. 2 Hannon, ON L0R 1P0

1-905-692-3270

Hugs to all,

Kim, Dave, Alec and Dana

July is Blurring By!

Only one week and one day until we move! It's all becoming a blur now. On June 30th, the kids had a going away party and invited all of their closest friends for a stay-over. Nobody slept, but they all had tons of fun. July started with a freak hail storm that left us with hail damage on our SUV - like we have time to fix that before leaving - ack! Kim and Dana travelled to Calgary to visit with "Auntie" Laura for the 6-7 of July. The following weekend, the band ShAk'n performed one last time with Kim, and Dana even got up to sing a song with her 'rocker Mom.' Alec and Dana have spent all of July in a summer fun day camp program that has them worn out and smiling by the end of a day. They come home with the wildest stories of their adventures, and sometimes a little face-paint as well, as modeled in the photo by Alec.

Kim is essentially finished at work, and her last official day in the military is this Friday, 27 July 07. She has been presented with way too many certificates, a Wing Coin, public kudos and appreciation, etc. Saying good-bye takes a long time in the Air Force.

Dave comes home in two days and the entire family will hope to never live apart again. What a challenge it has been. We can't wait to get to Stoney Creek!!! The next blog post will be pictures of us in our new home. Until then, take care.

Nostalgia is setting in.....

We have only 35 days left until we drive out of Moose Jaw, SK toward our new home and new lives in Ontario. Alec and Dana finished school today, and as I unpacked their backpacks this evening for the last time I found not only good-bye cards from their friends, but entire booklets made by their classes to say good-bye and to state how much they will be missed. I had to choke back the tears.

Things are truly coming to a close for this portion of our lives. I have started to clear out of my own office at work, and I have also been organizing one last 'gig' with the band ShAk'n on 14 July. In an effort to say good-bye to the guys properly, I have used the photo in this blog to make band posters for them. I am not sure how I will adjust to the creative void left by not being a part of ShAk'n when we move.

Lots of people have asked about the ShAk'n web site lately. It will come down as of the end of July, but in the mean time, I think I will try to put up as many of our recorded songs as possible. We'll see how it goes. You can check out the tunes at http://members.shaw.ca/ShAkn *Sigh* Nostalgia is setting in. . . . .

Hammock Season

Well, it's Father's Day, and it's also Hammock season. Kim would like to claim the hammock as her own, but she rarely gets to use it alone. The kids love the hammock, and have had tons of fun in it over the last few weekends while Dave and Kim have gardened and begun the laborious task of cleaning out the garage before the move. Six weeks to go, and while things are getting crossed off of the "Move To Do" list, it can feel a bit overwhelming. Still, 45 days and counting is nothing to sneeze at, and we had better enjoy the hammock as much as possible here, because the new house won't have trees for a year or so. Bring on the summer!!!

New Home

So this is our new home. It should be finished by 8 August, and we are so excited about the move, the new house, and the new lifestyle, especially for Dave and Kim, who will have to decide what to wear every day (no more military uniforms!) and get used to driving in a real city. The kids are excited about living next to relatives and having even more relatives close by. Most of all, we are looking forward to simple things, like being in one place long enough to watch plants mature in a garden. Life is good!!!

Good-bye Sophie Cat

We had to say good-bye to Sophie at the beginning of May. She was 18 years old, and she was the last of our original pets. She was a sweet little cat with a quiet demeanour. We miss her so much.