School's out...almost

Danielle's last day of exams at Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's school (June 2009). Prep time, ten minutes.

We have always taken photos on the first and last days of school, and it's amazing to see the difference from beginning to end. This year of course was particularly different considering both kids started the year in Naperville and will complete the year in Montreal. Danielle finished writing exams (that's how finals are referred to here) last week. Louis' official last day is June 23rd, making for a long school year and short summer.

Danielle has become a huge fan of the uniform. So has mom. She can literally get up and out of the house in ten minutes if need be. Her school has lots of rules, which we actually like. No make-up, no nail polish, only natural colored hair, very limited jewelry and of course specific shoes, socks and the works. It limits morning drama...it doesn't eliminate all of it though, as many parents of teenagers can appreciate.

We continue to have those wow, life is different from a year ago moments as we get closer to our first summer in Montreal.

Danielle's first day at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville (August 2008). Prep time, 45 minutes.

Dog of many names

Louis has renamed our dog. He's now known as Duke Urlacher Gretzky Crosby. No hyphens. Photo by Danielle.

Timbits!

One of our favourite weekend places is Tim Horton's. Okay, sometimes we go there during the week too. For those of you who have visited us, you know that there's nothing that Louis likes more than Timbits. They are donut holes, but let's just say they kick as$ over Dunkin' Donuts. And the coffee is quite good, and much more affordable than Starbucks around here. And a lot more convenient. Finding a Tim Horton's in Canada is like finding a Starbucks or McDonald's in the US -- they are everywhere. Here's a link to an interesting news feature story about Tim Horton's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4LKFvOGx_c

And speaking of Tim Horton...hockey season comes to a close tonight. We're watching the game right now so we obviously don't know the outcome. In honour of our Pittsburgh friends the Kirstein's, we're of course cheering for the Penguins. And Crosby is well-liked in Canada, obviously. Tim Horton's is a big sponsor of youth hockey programs in Canada. Crosby has a natural connection to Timbits Hockey and at the age of 5, in 1993, played for the Cole Harbour Timbits in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. Standing at 3' 11" Sidney wore jersey # 8 and played centre, clearly a sign of things to come. We thought this was a great video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTmUBATgNSE

Now to cheer for baseball...before we know it will be football season.

Bon Appetit

Montreal is home to some fantastic restaurants. This place, however, doesn't seem so appetizing. It's a real restaurant downtown near the Science Center. Yum.

Times have changed

A couple of weeks ago Danielle's water polo team participated in the U16 Water Polo Championships here in Quebec. Fortunately for our checkbook, the tournament was in Montreal this year, rather than Vancouver. Incidentally, the Quebec government is serious about this level of sporting event. Danielle had a letter from the government to give to her school excusing her absence from school. Athletes traveled from all over Canada to play in the championships. This photo of the different provinces made us have one of those "wow, last year at this time we didn't think we would be seeing this" kind of moments.

That would be Danielle #9 plowing over her opponent to get to the ball.

Heavy Metal

It was a busy weekend for the Pisani family. On Friday, Kish and Louis attended a party celebrating the Special Olympics ski season. As we found out, Louis DID win a medal at the Provincial Championships in March. The organizers did not print out the last page of results – imagine that! So, Louis won a silver medal for his age group in the Giant Slalom and he received his metal at the party instead. We’re so proud of him, especially considering the fact that in December he could barely stand up on skis. At the same time, Paul was attending the GMAA (Greater Montreal Athletic Association) championship rugby game. Danielle’s school (ECS) defeated Royal West Academy to win the Gold metal and the championship. It was an exciting series and only the second rugby season for ECS. These girls can play. We decided to make sure one of us was at the game after watching two ambulances drive on the field the game before. Kish keeps reminding herself that moms of platform divers must have a more difficult time watching. Danielle has really taken to rugby and loves the game and will play with a club this summer as well. Although, Paul is frustrated because he has to learn the rules of her sports of choice – rugby and water polo. "You keep picking sports I know nothing about," he has mentioned more than once. When asked about the championship game he said, “she looked like Mike Singletary out there.”  Wow…that makes a mom oh so proud.

Danielle, not to be confused with Mike Singletary, at a game earlier this season