Raising Kids in This Age of Techology

Today I feel angry.  Today I am mad.  Today I am sad.  Today I am frustrated.  My oldest son is soon to be 9 years old, and the desires and wants he thinks he needs are beyond our means.  For the past year, I've tried to teach my kids that electronics will not bring total happiness, and that Mom and Dad are not made of money.  No, we don't just go out and buy what ever their hearts desire in that moment.  No, money doesn't magically replenish in our bank accounts.  No, we don't need to keep up with the Jones'.  And I thought our lesson was sinking in, and I thought that they were beginning to look beyond those wants, and I believe they were truly living out a childhood with imgaination and play that doesn't require a controller, or a "sleeper", or a boat to be loaded, or a cow to be milked.  Until Friday when I received a letter from the french teacher in school asking for parents to let their children bring in their devices in order to do a project on a specific app. The letter states that their devices would be stored during the school day and only used during french class.

My child has become a minority in school since Friday.  He says he's the only one who hasn't brought anything in.  That everyone else has a tablet or ipod and he has nothing.  Now this may be an exaggeration (I know it is, because I know of at least one other mom who says she doesn't have one).  What's worse is I've heard kids brag about how they got to play their device all day at school, during breaks and recess, again something that my son has pointed out to me as well.  Going against what the letter stated about devices stored away for the day.

My children are not totally deprived.  They do have an iphone that is used only for games (it's my old phone that once my husband got an upgrade, we had no more use for this one, and instead of selling it, we wiped it clean for them to play).  I may be a stick in the mud, but I'm not allowing him to take it to school,  I refuse to jump on this technology bandwagon.  I strongly believe my kids don't need these things to make their little worlds go round.  I'm not saying that those families who have the means to give their kids such wonderful things are spoiling and ruining their child, I'm not saying that. I just wish that those privileges would stay among home life and not cross over into school.

Rant done....

The New School Year has Started.

Here they are.  First day of Grade 2 for Amberly (she's entering a 1/2 split).  First day of SK for Joel, and First day of Grade 4 for Caleb (he's in a 4/5 split)  Both Amberly and Joel cried when the bell rang.  My heart is aching, missing them all.  But I have Dave home today, and had my neighbour pop by for a visit, so I am not dwelling!  Just looking so forward to hearing all about their day when they get home!

Days of Summer #68

Last day of the weekend and of summer vacation.  We left the cottage and sunny Port Elgin behind.  Returned home, labelled and stuffed our school bags, and had a very low key at home.  Bathed and watched Annie before hitting bed a 1/2 hour early.  Sweet dreams my babies, loved every second of summer with you.

Days of Summer #67

 Getting ready for boating adventures with our tube!

 Caleb had no fear, he was the first out on the tube and had no idea what to expect, but that didn't slow him down, he's like his mama!

 He loved every second of it!

 This is the only happy shot of Amberly.  Her turn didn't go so well, the boat didn't take off fast enough which then pulled the tube under water and the rope broke!  Her short ride ended in tears, it scared her.

 This little guy loved the boat, loved being in the boat, loved riding, but had no intention of getting off the boat, no tube, no swim, nothing could talk him into those, he had his seat and that was it!

 Sunday night, met up with Deb and Shaun and family to watch the fireworks together.  Loved how the kids just reconnected even if it was over a year they've seen each other!

The happy bunch!

Days of Summer #66

Oh Labour Day Weekend, the last long weekend of summer.  Normally this can be a weekend of mixed emotions, but for us, it's an exciting weekend because we spend it at our friend's cottage in Port Elgin.    Arrived Saturday afternoon, and first activity was a boat ride!  Super FUN!!!

Days of Summer #64

Again, another hot day!  Again, spent the day in a pool.  Actually in 2 different pools!  We had a trip to Waterloo and ventured to Moses Springer outdoor pool.  There we met up with a load of friends and had a blast.  It even rained, and we kept swimming.  How often can you say you went "swimming in the rain"?  I did however forget to take a picture, sad I know.  But a friend did get one of a few of the kids before leaving!

Days of Summer #63

Wow these days are packed with heat.  High 30.  Spent lots of time in the pool today, and had loads of fun!

And my baby boy started the day off with a crash.  Poor guy.  Love him to bits.

Days of Summer #62

The date on the calendar says September 1st.  But the weather doesn't reflect that, so we shall continue on as if Summer will keep going.  Enjoyed the cool water at the splash pad today!  Love watching kids be kids!

Also made friends with ducks.

Here's the crew enjoying a swing ride.

And what's better then an ice cream cone on a HOT day!?!?!?

Days of Summer #61

Kittens.  Can't get much sweeter then that!

Days of Summer #60

We had some new friends over after church today.  It's been a long while since just hanging with friends after church.  They brought happiness over today and left evidence of that today.

Days of Summer #59

Baseball coming to an end....

Days of Summer#57

Had a day off from babysitting.  Indulged in a lazy morning, took a trip to the library, and then a trip to Mapleton's dairy with my parents and brothers for an ice cream treat.  I love that place!

Days of Summer #55

These past few days have been cold and wet and grey.  Today gave a glimpse of the coming change in seasons.  Although autumn and winter are favourites of mine, summer is only here for a short period of time, and I feel as though it's slipped away so fast.  Wanting to take in every ounce of what is left.

Staying fun indoors with a game of Sorry!

Days of Summer #54

It's been an incredibly long day, with lots of fighting, arguing, crying, timeouts, and this mama is just tired.  But how could I not smile at this moment, where they all played happily together, laughing, giggling together....

Days of Summer #51

Caleb has been attending Conestoga Bible Camp for the past 2 weeks.  Today was the final day, a day where in order to earn points for your team, you could dress up like an Egyptian.  Check out these Pharos!!!

Days of Summer #50

We took the training wheels off, he refused to try and ride his bike.  We put the training wheels back on, he refused to try and ride his bike.  But tonight we gave him no choice.  And all it took was a trip to the school and back to find his confidence and joy of riding!

Days of Summer #48-#49

Little girl sleep overs.  Fun, giggles, dolls, house, bracelet making and more!  These two first fell asleep together, side by side on a crib mattress on the floor, but I didn't get to capture it in pictures.  But I did catch them in their "Fort/bed" they created.

Days of Summer #47

It's so very hot today.  Thankful for kind, generous neighbour's who let us use their pool.

Days of Summer #46

The water was so beautiful on this day.  I didn't want to leave.  We had a fabulous weekend here, I love this park.  Glad we went and now happy to have everything put away in it's place for next summer.  (The boys do have one more trip planned, but they don't need much)

Days of Summer #45

We crammed so much into this one day, that I was so grateful for this moment.  The time we actually could sit down around the fire and relax.  

The day's events consisted of 2 scavenger hunts, learning about reptiles in the park and meeting a water snake, a few hours at the beach, the amazing race which took us almost 2 hours on bikes, cray fishing, and making meals in between.  It doesn't look like much, but the whole day was just go go go.

We went to bed and slept like bears hibernating!

Days of Summer #44

Inverhuron Provincial Park.  Our last camping trip of the season as a family.  Spending it with Steve, Sally, Krista, Brooke and Benji.

Days of Summer #43

Today we spent the morning at the library and was entertained by a great magician.    In the afternoon we visited Dairy Queen and indulged in blizzards for Miracle Treat Day.  Yummy!!

Days of Summer #41

We always look forward to having Mom and Dad over for a visit.  Today we explored the St.Jacob's market.  Afterwards hung out at home and just enjoyed one another.  

Also received a phone all (which is sadly in this day and age is a rare occurance in our house) from a florist wanting to deliver flowers to me!  Such a nice surprise.  I love my Davey.  Had a rough couple of days, and he did this to help make me feel better.  It worked!

Days of Summer #39

Joel has come such a long way this summer, overcoming his fear of water and becoming quite the fish.  This afternoon we spent at The Acre and had the chance to swim in the neighbour's pool.  Joel jumped off the diving board and used the slide countless times.  It's amazing!!

Days of Summer #37

Amberly spent 4 days at Camp Wyoka.  On Friday they had a showcase, and I got the chance to see where they've been hanging out.  I'm so glad we had the opportunity to sign Amberly up, and was thrilled to see the experiences she got to have.

Days of Summer #36

What a blessing friends are.  My good friend Beth had us over for a farm fun filled morning.

Days of Summer #35

Having a routine return which includes having our friends back for the day.  So great to see these little buddies play in the sandbox with monster trucks!

And returning to Katrina and Owen's pool  for a swim.  I'm just amazed at how far Joel has come since July.  He was so afraid of the water, and now he's jumping in the pool, no hesitations!

Days of Summer #33

Spending the day cleaning up after a week of camping!

Days of Summer #26-32

It took a good 3 days of prep work to get ready for our big trip north to Agawa Bay - Lake Superior Provincial Park.  We packed in such a way that everything was ready to go, all we had to do was wake up and crawl into the van.  So at 4:50am on Sunday morning we did just that, and hit the road at 5am.  It took a good 10.5 hours to reach our final destination.  The kids were amazing in the van.  That was such a pleasant surprise.  We pulled into the park around 3:30pm and started right away to get every unloaded and set up, and once that was done, vacation began!  Here are a bunch of moments captured on these days of summer....

Day 26 - arriving safe and sound and swimming in the lake, taking in all the sites!

Day 27 -  new adventure to Bathtub Island, and enjoying the sandy beach all day long.

Day 28 - staying at Agawa, and watching the boys jump from the cliffs into the waters below.  

Amazing how my son's courage took over and how he could do something that I couldn't!

Mmm making pizza in our pie irons!

Day 29 - a trip up to Wawa, for groceries and lunch out, and of course the goose!

Stopping on the way home, for a hike and views of Old Woman Bay.

Day 30 - waking up to a lake full of powerful waves.  Chilly weather.  A visit from Grandma and Grandpa Snyder

Day 31 - hiking the Sand River trail.

Day 32 - Our last full day here.  Enjoyed every last minute we had!

Our journey home was a wet one.  We got up early and packed up in the rain.  Our drive home was a bit longer, took us about 11 hours, and it rained almost the whole way there.  The kids did well again, not as fabulous as on the way up, but still surprisingly well.  Looking at all these pictures makes me miss it terribly, and because it all went so great, we think we may have to go again next year instead of skipping a summer!