I got to go on a Field Trip to my Daddy’s Apple Store. I loved it!
He said
As I was telling Danielle today, while last week with the still summer-like weather I was still spending a lot of time in my mind trying to plan just one more trip out camping. I was even bemoaning the end. We have a trailer capable of later season camping in Wolfie Too but it also takes campers willing to go later in the season. We have one trip for sure planned out, but there was the thought of just one more trip sitting there in my craw. But, this week, the temps turned much more fall like and with that I became surprisingly at ease with the notion of just one more trip and that our camping season was coming to a close.
We went from having the windows open all day long and enjoying the fresh crisp air this week, to getting the point of having to actually close them because it was getting a bit too nippy in the house. We’ve even discussed the notion of turning on *gasp* the furnace! (Editor’s Note: It has since been turned on!) It’s clear that summer is over and fall is in full swing. While that means that Wolfie Too goes into storage for the winter and we have already booked getting the winter tires on Danielle’s car, it also means I will have more time for editing the Bonne Fires videos from camping this summer that I am behind on. As much as we love camping and camping season, it makes me appreciate it all the more when the season is over and we’re waiting for the next one to come along.
This week, after 4 years of pestering Emelia’s teachers, we finally had her class visit the store for a Field Trip. It was priceless as we were approaching the trip because Emelia was getting defensive about it with her classmates that seemed less than excited about it than she was. While I appreciate her pride in my job and what Apple stands for, we had to explain to her that not everyone would have the same connection she did to the trip and that was okay. And that we also knew that when they got to the store their tune might change and the kids who thought it would be boring, would have fun. And they did! But, the single best moment was when I came out onto the floor and there was Emelia beaming, looking to her friends with the, ‘that’s my father’ look she had and then the run up to me hug I got. She was beaming and it made me so happy.
The rest of the week was a blur of work and activities that brought me to all done work Saturday at 6pm and Sunday off with my ladies. Last night, we had a quiet night at home after Emelia’s trip to the Ilderton Fair with Norma, Reece and Presley was cut short by an upset tummy for Emelia. We enjoyed the quiet night together and enjoyed the sleep in today even more! We lazed around until it was time to get Emelia to gymnastics. Danielle & I adjusted our grocery getting so that we could see Emelia’s gymnastics and more specifically working on the uneven bars as neither of us have seen that in a while and she’s gotten way better at her Kips according to her coach Alex. And boy is she ever right! She blew us away at how far she has come in a short time with Alex. She is unrecognizable from the girl she was last year on the bars! So much more confidence! We watched for a good hour in amazement at how she is doing and like a proud Daddy I snapped pics and took videos like crazy.
We snuck off and got the groceries done and then made it back to watch a bit more of her practice including seeing some their beam work which we were also surprised by. Her level of comfort both with her coach and elements has grown so much in the year and we’re just beyond delighted to see the confidence and growth this year. We have her list of three competitions and while disappointingly they’re not competing in London, the locations and months of her competitions work out pretty well for us. So with camping season coming to an almost end, our focus will shift to gymnastics. And planning for more camping next year. Oh, an editing our camp videos too, I guess.
She said
This week was a complete mix bag of well every. The week started a bit ahead actually on Sunday. I cannot remember if we talked about this at all in last weeks blog but we started out Sunday by bringing Emelia to training walking in and walking out. We assumed at first that Emelia was catching a bit of a cold and that moving around at training might help. John and I both had the day off so we told her coach we would stick around just in case. As Emelia got her things off to head to the floor she looked at me and said I really don’t feel good. For anyone who knows Emelia and gymnastics those are words we rarely hear. So we took her home, got her a shower, in her pjs and set in for a quiet afternoon and early night.
By the next day this ‘cold’ really didn’t evolve and it was more a burning sore throat and feeling like a bag of crap. I contacted the school to say she wouldn’t be at school, messaged her teacher and coach to say school and gymnastics wouldn’t be happening. She got set up in our bedroom and rested for the day. By the end of the day she continued with only the symptom of a horrible sore throat. When John got home I said we need to bring her in to the clinic. Something wasn’t right. Well gut instinct was right and she had strep throat. That would explain the lack of cold symptoms and the sudden burning throat. She was on medication that night and with one more day home to recover she was back to herself.
She was upset she missed so much gymnastics and also her dance classes but the rest was needed and she was excited to get back to school to see her friends.
The rest of the week was busy, Thursday she had her school field trip to the Apple Store. Emelia was so excited for this trip, she couldn’t wait to see her daddy at work and to show her friends what he did at work. By all accounts the kids had a great time and learned a lot. I love that the Apple store offers these free educational classes for students and the teachers really love it too.
Friday was a PD day and that meant I got to have my favourite helper home for the day. Emelia helped me with the kids bringing them to a park. By the time we got home one of her closest friends came running down and the girls were off to play for early afternoon. By 3:00 Emelia was home and got ready for her next fun adventure. She had been invited to the belated birthday of one of her best friends Evelyn. Thanks to Poppa she was able to go and not be late waiting for me to get off work. The girls went to the Rec Room and she had an absolute blast.
Saturday was another busy day. After getting some errands done, her tutoring done she and I packed up and headed to the Ilderton Fair. We had planned our annual trip with Norma and the kids. They had a great time to start and then Emelia had a stomach flare up and we had to head home. One thing we havent really talked about is something that Emelia has been battling for months. Back in May Emelia got a very bad virus, her stomach has never really recovered. She has repeated stomach aches, sometimes just minor, sometimes they are really bad. We have been to the doctors and they are trying a few approaches to see what is causing it.
We are almost done the first regiment of meds (they haven’t worked) and now we have to move to the next test which is removing all dairy from her diet (fun). So things like leaving early from the fair has been something that has happened a fair bit in the last few months, her stomach flares up and she needs to get home. God I hope we figure out the answers soon. With the new challenge of removing dairy from Emelia’s diet it has meant a lot of research to figure out alternatives to our cheese, milk, yogurt loving athlete. I picked up a variety of choices for her to try this week. Hoping this will give us some of the answers she really needs.
To end the week it is now a highlight for us is going to see her train at the gym. With such long training sessions and the timing of her sessions we do not get to see her often but I do love seeing her on Sundays. The gym is quiet, there are only the competitive girls there and this means that she gets lots of time on each apparatus and lots of individual training from her coach. We are really loving her coach this season. Emelia has been beyond fortunate to have some of the most amazing coaches, all are so supported and invested in her success. They each gave her such amazing foundation to where she is today.
It has been a long week so I am going to sign off and try and enjoy the last few minutes of the weekend.