I’m happy to be joining Ruth Ayres @ ruth ayres writes and others to celebrate and appreciate the goodness of the past week(s). I have many things to celebrate so far this summer!
Surfing in Tofino
A highlight of my summer so far was a family holiday in beautiful Tofino. There is much to celebrate about this extraordinary place on the west coast of British Columbia. My husband and I used to go camping on Long Beach before our kids were born and have many fond memories of this special place. This was a first for my boys to experience the beauty and expanse of the endless miles beach and crashing waves. We brought our visitor from England and joined friends on Chesterman Beach for 4 days filled with walks on the beach, exploring, campfires on the beach and many hours of surfing and boogie boarding! Even our dog got on the surf board!
The boys and their boards!
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Quite a change from the streets of Manchester for our visitor!
Even our dog, Bailey, wanted to try out the surfboard!
Reading Power for BC Offshore Teachers
Several months ago I was contacted by Ryan Silverthorne, a B.C. teacher/administrator from a large B.C. Offshore School in Qatar. He explained that many of the teachers who taught at his school have been implementing Reading Power into their literacy programs and were interested in attending a professional development session during the summer, when many of them return home for the holidays. Professional development opportunities in many of these offshore schools are rather limited. After several email exchanges, Ryan decided to organize a full day workshop and invite offshore teachers from several different campuses including Thailand, Korea and China. The workshop was held at Trinity Western Campus on July 25th – with a full house of nearly 100 teachers. I was thrilled to be sharing my work with B.C. teachers, both locally and from around the globe and exciting to know that Reading Power will be reaching students in classrooms around the world! The day went extremely well and the teachers were excited and enthusiastic about learning. Ryan was a pleasure to work with! He was exceptionally organized and took care of every detail. I am confident that this was the first of many workshops we will do together!
Sharing a photo of the Reading Power book bins in my school library.
Me (center) with Ryan Silverthorn (tie) with some of his staff from the B.C. School in Qatar.
Baseball season ends
My eldest played his last baseball game of the season. It was a challenging season with ongoing controversy with coaches and parents (and I thought hockey was bad!) but the team stuck together and in the end were a stronger group of young men. I was very proud of all of them for playing through the politics and ending the season with a great win.
Vancouver Cannons Jr. Team (my son is beside the coach)
Visiting Family in Kelowna –
My husband grew up in the Okanagan so we always spend time there every summer visiting his family and friends. We enjoy Bocce in the back yard, card games, outdoor barbeques, swimming in the lake – time to relax and enjoy spending time with cousins, uncles, aunts and grandma. Added fun this summer was a day spent on an inflated floating water park at Kelowna City Park Beach.
Inflatable floating water park in Kelowna.
Cousins enjoying the floating water park.
Bocce in the back yard!
Skipping stones at the lakeshore.
I am grateful for the many things I have to celebrate this summer. What are you celebrating this week?
Adrienne Gear - Reading Power Ltd. 
This celebration is filled with FUN! I love the floating water park. My son would love both the surfing (although he has never been) and the park. I had to chuckle when reading about the baseball controversy between coaches and parents. I have a family of coaches and they say coaching sports would be so much better without the parents! I haven’t been blogging or commenting most of the summer, so it was good to “see” you again! Have a great weekend!
Thanks, Leigh Anne! I haven’t been consistent with my blogging this summer either – too busy enjoying my family and relaxing! Yes – parents and sports are often a toxic mix! My boys had never been surfing either – but the waves here are mild enough that it makes it a perfect place for beginners. Thanks for stopping by and happy to “see” you again, too!
Oh my, we just returned from our beach vacation and your time made me miss it even more. That plus the lake time sounds marvelous, Adrienne. What a nice summer with family you’ve had! Congrats on your pd time too. I imagine the teachers loved every bit of that day! And congrats on them including your books/ideas in their curriculum. Love seeing your baseball-playing son-sorry for the conflicts-it shouldn’t be, should it? Nice to hear from you again!
Thanks, Linda! Yes – vacations with water are the best, aren’t they? I like the ocean and my husband prefers the lake – so we try to spend time at each place! The PD day was amazing – the teachers were so excited and enthusiastic! It was a great day! As for the sports teams – just when I think I’ve seen it all when it comes to parents and politics – I haven’t! Just let them play is what I say!
A lovely post full of happy summer things Adrienne. So pleased to see all of these photos here and know that you are enjoying your holiday with your family. We are off on another family trip tomorrow and I look forward to slow time, the ocean and memory making. Congratulations on your training! I imagine it must have felt great to work when we can’t be working in usual ways . . . Looks like a fantastic session.
Thanks Carrie! Yes, it did feel good to be sharing lessons and books with enthusiastic teachers. I am trying to be optimistic that we will be back where we belong in September! Enjoy your family holiday! Where are you going?
Enjoyed your photos! What fun your family has had over the summer!
I like how you celebrated the young men growing stronger through the challenging baseball season.
No doubt the teachers learned a lot from you at the workshop!
Thanks, Loralee! Yes, it has been a fun-filled summer with lots of happy memories. I agree – it’s always challenging with sports and politics – not a great mix! But our boys certainly played through it all. Thanks for stopping by!
So much fun is described here. Time spent with family and friends is always the best, especially when the beach is involved. I enjoyed seeing all the photos too. I can tell you had fun just by looking at all those smiling faces.
Yes it’s been a lot of fun. During the school year we are always so busy with work, school and sports – I love having time to just enjoy my family and have together. I’m lucky to have a job that allows me to have this time with my kids!