A day at the beach

Packing has commenced and we are living amongst boxes and piles to sort through, pack up, throw out or give away. With our moving date just over a week away it seems absurd to take the day off and head to the beach, but that is exactly what we did today - and it turned out to be a well needed day off from reality.

One of Robin's former students very generously offered to host us for an afternoon out at their cottage at Victoria Beach on Lake Winnipeg. We'd heard much about the beautiful white sand beaches of Lake Winnipeg as popular cottage country for many Manitobans.

Although the water wasn't quite warm enough for swimming, it was a beautiful day to spend it walking along the shore looking for beach treasures and playing in the sand dunes. Many thanks to Peter and Daria for a wonderful day and meal.

Sneak Peak

When we first rolled into town last summer late one August evening, we discovered a major landmark was being built just a stones throw away from our house - 'Peg Stadium' a.k.a. Investors Group Field was well underway and seemed enormous, towering over the University of Manitoba campus.

We watched the construction workers toil away all winter long, and when winter seemed to hang on unexpectedly this spring, we watched them toil a little harder, and then when winter finally did break, we watched them panic. There were plenty of rumours that it wouldn't be finished in time.

But seems like they are going to meet their target date after all, since we received an invitation to neighbourhood residents to come out for a viewing. Mostly an act of goodwill extended likely out of how the closest neighbours will be affected by traffic on game days, a nice gesture nonetheless to have a close look at the finished stadium.

We headed over later in the evening, and there were only a couple hundred people milling about. The kids loved it - running up and down the stairs and aisles, in fact circling the entire stadium on foot - twice!

We even ventured up to the nosebleeds for a look at the field from the highest vantage point. Although not a football fan, it was fun to check out the Bombers new digs. Looks like we'll be pulling out of town before the season opener, so we won't have to worry about the traffic woes!

Teddy Bears' Picnic

The much anticipated Teddy Bears' Picnic was today at Assiniboine Park. We'd heard about the annual event when we moved here - that it was a must 'do' with the kids while we were living here.

The annual event is a fundraiser and opportunity to raise the profile of the Winnipeg Children's Hospital, with all funds raised going towards the Children's Hospital Foundation. The main attraction being the Dr. Goodbear Clinic for which we waited nearly 45 minutes in line to admit our beloved 'maggie doll' as a patient alongside thousands of other children with their cherished stuffies.

Once inside the clinic we were ushered through the examination room, X-ray, surgery, recovery and pharmacy. Maggie was very well taken care of, and the kids learned a ton about caring for their sickies. At the MASH unit, Maggie got stitched up by a volunteer surgeon from the 17 Wing Field Ambulance unit and casted by another compassionate volunteer. Isla even got to gown up for a little intravenous lesson.

There were plenty of other tents and live music and food vendors and various entertainment booths for the kids and I practically had to coax them out of there dragging their little exhausted feet behind them.

The Craftastics

At age 5 and 7, my children already have a running tally of exhibition openings under their belts. They have learned the art of reception table mingling, grown accustomed to weaving carefully through people and plinths and have heard the 'look with your eyes' warning from me a thousand times over. But tonight's exhibition took them a bit by surprise when we arrived at the opening for The Craftastics: Agents for Social Change.

Our good friend Jennie O (aka the Matriart and superhero and lead facilitator of this visual art project) inspired and collaborated with a group of teenage girls to create a public art project aimed at inspiring and empowering other teens to become creative agents of social change in their communities. Addressing issues like gender discrimination, stereotyping, body-issues, depression, anxiety, gossip, peer pressure and bullying - Jennie led the girls through an art project that helped give this group of girls a voice to express their views, experiences and opinions. 

The final work on exhibition was a series of fabricated costumes and sculpted clay and cloth dolls and corresponding superhero posters, with a deck of artist trading cards to showcase the superhero creations. 

Congratulations to Jennie and all the grrlz from the Valley Gardens Middle School Grrlz Club. What an amazing project and a great opportunity for my kids. I believe in taking my kids to exhibitions for more reasons than just the lame excuse of lack of childcare - I do it to provide exposure. I want them to grow up forming their own opinions about art and culture and learn to decide for themselves what resonates and what doesn't.

Thanks for the invite Jennie. Congrats!

Flood Watch

I don't want to jinx it, but I hear spring is actually just around the corner. They are forecasting warm weather next week and we, alongside of everyone else in Winnipeg, are looking forward to seeing the dirty piles of snow melt away. But not too fast. Because then it might flood. Sigh!

The kids and I went for a walk down to the river to see what it looks like before the annual flooding begins here. As the Red River interestingly flows north instead of south, Manitobans look to their neighbors to the south in North Dakota to help predict flood levels.

They've already been sandbagging down south and the big fear is with ice dams since there is still quite a big of ice on the river.

The river is predicted to go up 12 feet in the next couple days! We figured we better a closer look at what the river is like now because it'll look a whole lot different after the weekend.

A Walk in the Park

It was a beautiful evening tonight and Isla and I walked down to King's Park to get our blood moving after supper. We have been so lucky with our little house here in Winnipeg, couldn't have asked for a better location.

The fields and trails that we biked in the fall and XC skied this winter are still covered in snow and ice, but the weather seems a little milder and a little more hospitable each day.

The sun was just starting to set and cast an interesting light on the park on our walk tonight.

I am so impressed with Isla's enthusiasm for getting out, she is always up for some exercise and adventure, especially when it delays her bedtime!

The Spring 'Break'

Our Spring Break has come and gone. And although the word 'Spring' doesn't come to mind to describe our week off of school, there was in fact a 'Break' - an unfortunate one!

Our poor little friend Eden and I now have another thing in common (other than our name). We both broke our leg downhill skiing at a young age! Little Eden landed herself in a cast after a very unfortunate dismount off the towrope on a day that was meant to be the kickstarter to a fantastic week of spring break adventures with our two families.

Carmen and I managed to re-think our initial plans and came up with a variety of outings that included some fun places, all equipped with public wheelchairs. I was amazed at Eden's spirit and Isla's need to nurture her little friend made for some memorable times.

We hit the aisles of IKEA and the Manitoba Museum, not to mention several indoor playdates that involved picnics, painting toes and craft making sessions.

Spring keeps promising to arrive, and hopefully before we know it we'll be saying, 'remember the winter that never ended......and when Eden broke her leg?????'