Well, we haven't written any updates on here for a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd check in again. Finally, we are experiencing a bit of a thaw after what seems like an eternity of freezing weather. It is unusual, even for here, for the weather to stay so cold for such a long time, with an average down in the minus 20's for most of the time over the last few weeks. It is certainly a relief to feel a little warmer at last and the temperature has been above zero again for the last few days. After such a freeze, it feels positively warm and Jake and Jaz arrived home from school on Monday in just their t-shirts, proclaiming they were 'hot'! Everything is relative I guess, so for them it felt like a summers day!
We've been continuing with our weekly ice-skating practice but Neil and I are both suffering from skating injuries. I hurt my knee while getting a little over confident with my turns a few weeks back, and turned it a beautiful shade of black and blue. It is still tender and I'm having to treat the ice with a little more respect at the moment. Neil took a tumble last weekend and ended up at the 'Urgent care' centre in Okotoks, with a suspected broken thumb. After a load of xrays, it turned out to be a bad sprain, so he is also suffering.
The children have made a confident start to their new terms in school. Jasmine is really throwing herself into her new topic of 'spies'. She came home with a new 'secret' identity and has been learning surveillance techniques, investigations and observations. Jake is thrilled to be studying 'hockey' as his topic this term, and is learning the rules of the game fast. He has developed a passion for the Calgary Flames hockey team since we arrived, and has favourite players. He follows the team closely and can often be found watching NHL games in the evening.
Both of the children seem very 'at home' here now and are thoroughly adjusted to the Canadian way of life. When you listen in on Jaz's conversations with her schoolfriends, she sounds totally Canadian now with a very authentic accent, although it disappears when she gets home. Both children are picking up the intonation though, and have adopted Canadian terms for everyday things such as 'candy', 'cookies','pants', etc. Give them a few more months and I think their English accents will be well on the way to disappearing altogether.
We are looking forward to welcoming our first family visitor in April. Neil's mum will be joining us for 3 weeks, and my mum will be coming out for a 3 week visit in June. We are already looking at activities and excursions to take while they visit.
Neil took his first real estate exam earlier this week and scored 98%! Very impressive. He is trying to find some part time evening and weekend work to supplement our income until his training is complete. I am continuing to enjoy my work with Raya and Samuel. I am now working 20 hours a week and enjoying the challenges that come with working with little people. I particularly enjoy the days I spend with Raya at preschool, and am thinking that maybe I would like to pursue a job in a preschool next academic year. For now though, I am really enjoying the work and look forward to each day. It's lovely to come home a little earlier in the day and spend time with Jake, Jaz and Neil in the evenings without the shadow of marking or planning hanging over me. Weekends are also a lot freer and I feel happier and healthier as a result. I definitely feel as if I have a better quality of life at the moment, although there is a part of me that misses the classroom a little. I am still pursuing teaching certification, but Alberta is demanding so many extra information that it is going to take a few more months at least before I know where I stand re: my options for teaching here.