September

Hard to believe September has been and gone.

The leaves are starting to change colour and there was frost on the car the other morning. brrrr

September began with our WONDERFUL friends Jenny and Glen welcoming baby John William into the world...he is sooo cute! Holding him makes me even more excited about holding Blister (baby lLister) when he/she is born in March.

Jenna started Grade 1 in the 2nd week of September and she is loving it, she has a great teacher again this year - well this term anyway - we are leaving after term 1. She is doing really well with her reading and I love sitting with her listening to her read ME a story for a change!

1st day of school.

Jenna also started Ice skating again and is now in level 3 which is all about skating backwards, she is doing really well at that as well and can skate backwards and do a jump!

The girls officially became Canadian citizens this month - dont you just love their mug shots!

We had Fun getting lost with the Georges at the Lesters Farm Corn Maze. Abby was obsessed with the Corn and wanted to take it all home with us.

Abby is getting so big, I cant believe she will be 4 in a few months, and believe me she is getting an attitiude to match! We have fun just the 2 of us while Jenna is at school, I think her starting school in February will be harder than when Jenna started...might be a few tears I think - from me not her - she cant wait!

Jenna finally decided she wanted to get her ears peirced - because I told her she wasnt allowed to - gotta love reverse psychology.

September 21st bought with it Hurricane Igor. He did huge amounts of damage throughout the Province and isolated over 50 communities from the rest of the island. I must admit that when I first heard school was being cancelled because there was going to be strong winds - I was a little annoyed, I was quite vocal in saying "Come-on people toughen up it is just a bit of wind and rain" . Let me tell you that when Igor arrived I was bloody glad that I didn't have to go to school to pick up Jenna. We lost our power at 3pm on Tuesday and didnt get it back until about 9pm Wednesday - not fun. When you dont have power it makes you really aware of how reliant we are on it, we had no stove, no hot water, no lights (obviously), all the traffic lights were gone and became 4 way stop signs and of coure there are idiots out there who just dont get how 4 way stop signs work. It was really cold as well and we had no heat - by Wednesday afternoon it was actually warmer outside the house than it was inside the house so we went up SignalHill with coffees and hot chocolates and waited for the sun to go down, then went home to the dark house - I realised it would have been a good idea to get the kids pj's out before it was completely dark in the house...that would have just been too smart. The photos below are of our evening at Signal Hill adn some of the destruction around town. It was amazing to see these huge trees lying on their side...they have such shallow root systems because the ground here is always so wet they dont have to go deep like the trees at home to get to the water. A week and a half later there are still trees down allover the place and aparently it will take till Christmas to clear them all away. Alot of people around the bays lost so much, we were really lucky - all we lost was the power and the phone and the basement had about 2 inches of water in it (but that is nothing unusual)

So now October is here, the girls are super excited about Halloween and already have their costumes picked out! Jenna is going to be a withch and Abby is going to be a unicorn. I cant wait to go trick-or-treating - it will be my first time as well!

I cant believe I am actually going to say this, but I am actually looking forward to the cold weather and I hope we get heaps of SNOW (I am ducking now) because I want the girls to be able to play in it heaps before we go...so let it snow let it snow let it snow!!!

And here is August...

Here is a movie of some of our July adventures

Summer is Over

Well it appears we have had our 3 weeks of summer, it was so cold this morning.... I am not ready to face the freezing temperatures again, I feel like I just thawed out.
I will just have to think of the 40+ degrees I will be heading back to in January and the cold wont seem so bad.
For those who don't know, we are heading back to Perth in January 2011.
We have loved our time in Canada but a few things have not worked out for us as planned and we feel it is best for our family to move back to Australia.
Cathy (Noels sister) and her partner Marco are coming for Christmas so we decided to stay till after Christmas and head back in time for the kids to start school in February.
We are excited about returning home but also really looking forward to the rest of our time in Canada.
At the moment there are whales everywhere off the coast - they are amazing to watch.
It is almost blueberry season and we are enjoying a few more camping trips before the camping season closes for the year.
The summer went really fast. This last week Jenna has been doing a summer camp at the YMCA and she has loved it - she is mad she is not going back next week, and every other week. Next week she is actually going to another camp at a friends church so she is looking forward to that one as well. Abby and I have enjoyed the quiet around the house and in true sisterly style as soon as they see each other they are at it again...aah the love!
Jenna starts grade 1 in a few weeks, she ended the year of school a bit anxious and basically 'over it' as she had been in school since January 2009 without more than 2 weeks break, so hopefully she will enjoy going back to school in September. For the first half of the holidays we weren't even allowed to mention the word 'school' with out her freaking out...but she is actually looking forward to it now, I think going to camp has helped.
We have seen some beautiful parts of the Avalon and some of Eastern Newfoundland while we have been here and hopefully we will get a chance to drive further across the island and see some more.

well that is all for now

Some Summer Fun

The Socceroos in Newfoundland

The girls have started soccer and they LOVE it!
just thought I would share some of the first couple of games
I know my family will get a 'kick' out of it!

We love Abby's little jump kick and Jenna gets in there after the ball every time - no matter who is in her way. It was absolutely freezing during these games - dont be fooled by people in the background in shorts and t-shirts - they are Newfies!

Summer!

Well summer has officially started - some one just forgot to tell Mother Nature.

We had our first camping trip last weekend - it was awesome. We were only 30 minutes from St John's yet we were in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. We only went for one night - just to try it out and make sure we had everything we would need. It was a huge success and we cant wait to go again. We bought 2 tent sets from Canadian Tyre for $45 a set, and they came with a 4 man tent (good luck fitting 4 in them) two chairs, two sleeping bags and a cooler. Jenna and Abby wanted to share a tent so they slept in one and we slept in another with our doors facing each other and about 40cm between them. Abby was exhausted after an afternoon of exploring and asked to go to bed after sausages and baked potato on the campfire, but not before she had had a few toasted marshmallows and a few smores, which are toasted marshmallows sandwiched between 2 biscuits with a piece of chocolate that melts into the marshmallow - yes they are very good!

Jenna was so excited to be able to stay up late and she was great - she is always good when she has one on one time. She and I went for a walk and threw sticks in streams rushing under bridges and ran to the other side to see whose came out first. She always won because she always chose the biggest stick and gave me the little twig. When she did finally crash, she crashed and they both slept like babies in the great outdoors, they even snuggled together.

Noel and I enjoyed a bottle of wine by the fire as the temperature dropped quickly, it got down to about 6 degrees so it wasn't too bad. Thankfully we took lots of extra blankets. It has been years since I slept on an air mattress in a sleeping bag and it was surprisingly comfortable, wouldn't want to do it for weeks on end but a couple of nights here and there will be fine.

The night we went was the night before the Summer solstice in the northern hemisphere (winter solstice for you lot down under) so the sun did not set till after 9pm and it was still twilight till after 10pm and then the sun was up at 5 so it was getting light from about 4 - so that is only really 6 hours of darkness. Anyway late sunsets make star gazing difficult. I have seen pictures and heard that the stars are amazing from where we were, and we had a rare clear night (in the last 70 days, we have had 7 days of sun - yes that is right - 7 and that was spring), so I was looking forward to some stargazing but the fresh air knocked the good out of me and I had to sleep. We did stay up long enough for Noel to see his first satellite which he thought was pretty cool.

Noel rose before 5 the next morning and did his best to climb over me and quietly open the zip and get out - needless to say that was me up for the day as well, Abby woke up and couldn't see Jenna who had rolled off the side of her airmatterss - luckily I had put warm blankets on the floor next to her. Noel and Abby got the fire going and Jenna woke up not long after to a bird sitting on the top of her tent. It was Fathers Day, the girls gave Noel a 'Best Dad Ever' Hat.

We had breaky and then went exploring , we went off the track and found ourselves in a few muddy and rocky predicaments but we made it through relatively unscathed.

We packed up not long after we got back - meanwhile the rest of the campers were just starting to stir - and headed to the wildlife park. We saw Moose, Caribou, a lynx, owls, a woodchuck, canada geese and many more animals. By this time the girls were thoroughly exhausted and fell asleep within minutes of getting in the car so we took the long way home and they had a good snooze.

So camping was great, cant wait to do more!

Jenna had her last day of school today - she is well and truly ready for a break from school. We are really proud of her and how well she did at school this year, her report card was sensational and her teacher called her 'a dream student' - GREAT JOB JENNA!

Jenna starts grade 1 in September - full time school (did you hear my woohoo).

I have the weather on my desktop for here, Perth and Darwin (for Shani) and I am sorry to say but I have loved seeing that Perth has been having near zero temperatures...sorry everyone but it was time for someone other than me to be in freezing temperatures like that., and well to Shani in Darwin - I am not even going to mention your perfect weather at the moment!

Anyway that is enough for me today, stay warm everyone!

Vanessa

Jenna's Graduation

Well after a few very anxious days and 'freaking out' moments Jenna managed to summons up the courage and participate in her Kindy graduation concert - and she was so glad she did.
Here is a movie of the concert she wanted Nanna to be able to see it when she woke up!

Spring Has Sprung

Finally we are getting some warm weather. Today was 23 degrees - blowing a bit of a gale but still lovely - I actually got a bit sun burnt. Ahhhh vitamin D welcome back.

The trees are almost in full bloom and the flowers around town look beautiful, there are tulips everywhere and yellow dandy lions by the millions (weed). The mood in town has changed, people were very sick of winter - me being one of them, in fact I was sick of it enough for about 10 people! Now people are out and about and soaking in every last bit of sun they can because you never know - it could snow tomorrow - we are in Newfoundland!

Nan bought the girls a new sandpit today, I know where Abby is going to be every moment she can! We even had our first dinner in the backyard tonight - it was so nice. We needed sweaters by the end but it was still lovely.

Jenna had her school sports day today. It was great - she had a great time. Very different to sports days as I know them from when I was growing up but it was great o see all the kiddies out and running around, it was the first time they have been outside to play at school since we got here in November. Jenna won both her races - the sack race and the running race...way to go Jenna. Abby joined in as well. They were on the Water Rats team - I made them shirts saying 'Water Rats' - a bit over the top maybe but you know me!

I even went in the Parents Sack Race and didn't do too badly if I may say so myself (definitely no video of that!)

School finishes for Jenna in 2 weeks (did you hear me scream as I typed that?) I am hoping to fill the holidays with lots of fun FREE things. She is booked in to do 1 week of 'summer camp' at the YMCA - just day camp not over night, when I told her she was going to camp she was a bit worried we were shipping her off for a week - day and night!

We have bought some camping gear and are getting ready for our first camping trip in a few weeks - I cant wait - open fire, steaks on the bbq, hiking, toasting marshmallows, swimming (brrr) - good old fashioned family fun, oh and did I mention the mosquitoes - they are pretty bad here apparently, and did I also mention that some campsites come with bear poles - yes that is right bear poles - mmm sounds a bit scary.

Here is a movie of Spring So far...enjoy!

Abby has loved her gymnastics and continues to love going to the YMCA with me most days, she is such a funny character and is slowly but surely developing 'ATTITUDE' but she is still oh so cute and she still loves to cuddle! She is doing this very annoying thing at dinner where she chews her mouthful until it is just a big ball of yuck and then forgets how to swallow it - dinner times are a bit painful with her at the moment.

Jenna already has the 'ATTITUDE' but she has calmed down ever so slightly and is a bit more bareable at the moment. She has some stupid OCD issues at the moment but they seem to be just phases and she gets over them. Her reading is coming along great - I wrote a story for her to read yesterday and she read it first time no worries, only needed help with one word. We are so proud of her. She really wants to be good enough to read the fairy stories to Nanna that Nanna reads the her, when we get back to Australia, I think she will be pretty close to being able to do it. I really hope she keeps this love of reading (like her Aunty Andrea).

Well I have had alot to say today, hope I haven't bored you.

have a great day

Vanessa

May already

Wow I cant believe it is the middle of May already - I have been a slack blogger!
Aparently it is Spring now but this is no spring!
It is still cold here in Newfoundland- and I thought snow on May 1st was bad - then it snowed today - what the hell is with that??? Most days the weather is RDF = rain drizzle fog...yuck!!!
We are all doing really well. Noel is enjoying his job and is especially enjoying his new work truck. He is loving all the Ice Hockey that is on at the moment!

Jenna is still going great at school and still giving us a hard time at home - but hey she is a strong willed almost 6 year old! She lost her first tooth on the 10th May - she swallowed it - Tooth Fairy still came! She is doing really well with her skating and loves her tae kwon do.

Both girls are playing soccer this summer they are very excited - Abby is on the Fifiandthe flowertots team and Jenna is on the Purple power Puffs. That starts in June.

Abby is great - she is such a joy at the moment. She has started gymnastics which she loves and she still loves going to 'her school' at my gym. Today we actually had to take her to the emergency department she has a bad vomiting bug and had to be given fluids. Hopefully she will be better in the morning.

We are looking forward to the sommer finally arriving...we have booked camping trips and are keeping track of the icebergs that are on their way down the coast. We look forward to being able to play outside without winter coats and without freezing and there are lots of fun festivals on that we will partake of.

So all is good for the Byrnes in Canada - hope all is good for you

March Movie

This is a video of a few things we have done in March, mainly wanted to show you Jennas Ice Show!

Wow - another month is gone.

I cant believe how fast time is going. We have been here over 4 months now and we are well and truly settled in.

It is still freezing cold (literally) and I cant believe I find a high of 2 degrees C mild, back in Australia I would be comatosed at 2 degrees, I definitely wouldn't be taking the kids to the park to enjoy the nice weather.

Apparently we were lucky and had a mild winter - mild meaning not much snow - personally I would have liked some more snow.

Jenna is great - she is still doing really well at school and loving Taekwondo. She has her Ice Show this weekend - she has to wear all yellow as she is part of the yellow Olympic ring.

Abby is growing up every day - I am not coping well with my baby not being a baby anymore...but she told me today I could still call her my baby - but only I can...too cute!


We have just had a visit from Jane, the girls were so excited to see her and did so much while she was here. Poor thing though had the trip from hell getting back to Perth, it was taking 41 hours to get home....yuck!



Noel has started a new job with an aluminium window company here , so similar to what he was doing back in Perth. He is enjoying it and learning new skills. Unfortunately the university back in Australia stuffed up Noels enrolment so he had to defer this semester and will start his degree next semester...he is very annoyed.

I am doing well, I have been getting out and meeting people and an loving the gym (me time) and I cant believe I am saying this - I love the SPIN class! The bags are coming along, I had a break while Jane was here - gotta get back into it.

We were shocked to see the damage the storm caused in Perth and hope everyone got through it ok. Apparently Mum and Dad had a bit of damage at their place, nothing compared to others though.

I bought a new camera while Jane was here so she could help me choose - so lots of cool pics to come.

Miss you all
xxx

Movie Time

Hereis a movie with a few bit from the last couple of months.

FEBRUARY HAS FLOWN!

February has flown by here in Newfoundland!
It is hard to believe we have been here over 3 months already.

We are doing well.

Noel was working for an Anerican company based here as warehouse manager but they turned out to be a really dodgy company and he felt it best to get out before it got too bad.

Jenna is still doing great at school, her reading is coming along nicely and she even won a prize at school for a drawing she did about bullying for the schools anti bullying campaign. Her prize is happening this Friday - it is lunch and then some stuff with a police man - she gets to ride in a police car - hopefully it will be the only time she has to do it!!!!!
She hasn't been told she won yet, they want it to be a surprise...she will be sooo excited!
Jennas skating is going well, she is getting more confident and sure on her feet, she is still loveing taekwondo as well.

Abby is great - she is a real little characer now who wont take any shit from Jenna, and she knows what she wants and when she wants it. The other morning she came into the kitchen and announced " I want my breakfast right at this very moment". God help us!!
Abby loves going to the childcare at the gym, she calls it her school.

I am doing well, I have started sewing bags again and I am actually doing some kids clothes as well, we think they will be popular here - if not my kids will look great!!

I was lucky enough to go to London England for 5 days and spend the time with my Jane and Mark (sister and bro inlaw) who were there for Marks work. I have been back a week now. We had an awesome time and did so much in the 5 days I was there..all the top tourist things. What a place...I found it hard to fathom the age of the buildings, eg Westminster Abbey, built in 1026...what the???
My favourite part of the trip......time to myself...a rarity in my life!

We are very excited that Jane is coming here for a visit on her way back to London, she will be here about the 15th of March, the girls are counting down the days...about 5 times a day.

We are a bit over the cold, we probably should have had a bit of summer before we came and we have at least 3 or 4 months left of it I am told....brrrr. The hardest part is just not being able to go to the park for a picnic and having to rug up just to go for a play on the swings which usually only lasts 10 minutes because we all get too cold and have to go home for a hot chocolate (or to Tim Hortons...mmm timbits) I will be sure to enjoy every bit of warmish weather we have during the warmer months.

Anyway that is all for now

bye for now

January 2010

We have had a great January here in Canada, a very cold one but great none the less.

We have done lots of sliding and exploring.Jenna has started ice skating lessons and Taikwondo and Abby has started going to her school...which is actually just the childcare at the gym.

Today was Abbys Birthday, she turned 3...and when she woke up thismorning, she had the attitude to match!

Noel started his new job today, he is the warehouse manager for an American company that imports fresh produce to Newfoundland. He said his first day went well.


The temperature here is hovering around the -10 celcius - so it is very cold, and when the wind picks up, which is usually all the time it gets as low as -20 - way too cold - it hurts! ( it is -12 right now while I am writing this) The sun plays tricks on you, today it was beautiful and sunny and from inside the house it looked so warm and inviting outside, yet you open the door and it is freezing.

I will ad some pictures of the last month...

The girls at the Christmas tree drop off, playing at the beach and Jenna at Taikwondo

Jenna learning to skate and walking home from school with Nan



Sliding, and at Cape Spear, the most Eeasterly point of North America.

The girls castle ( ie bunk beds with cubbies)