Judo Nationals Tournament

Years of planning culminated in the Judo Nationals tournament held in Lethbridge and hosted by our club. Although Stasha is too young to even qualify to compete, she and the younger judoka took part in the opening ceremonies. At Tim's request, she got to hoist the Saskatchewan flag:

and nothing says pomp like red serge. Since it would shave off some dignity to wear jodhpurs with bare feet (and Stetson), he was the only person on the mat with footwear.

even the littlest kids managed to stand at attention through the lengthy welcoming speeches, though it's asking too much for them not to look bored.

and by the end of all that, it was time for Theo to put on his game face and fight.

Mrs. Senda and the boys at the Nationals

via www.flickr.com

all the U15 boys from Lethbridge with their bronze medals, and Mrs. Senda with her honorary set of medals. These were struck with a memorial to Sensei Senda on the back, making them all the more special.

Stasha's turn

Stasha didn't have a day off exactly, but much like Theo, she declined the chance to go to the outdoor pool. Since the morning would thus be full of busy work completing projects that she had already completed, we went out for coffee while Theo wrote his science test.

then lunch at Joey's.  Now we don't need to eat till the following week.

Bloom

At last, we're getting some semblance of spring and summer, and the few flowers we have that bravely survived the snow, rain, and hail are showing their faces. 

Columbines - I'm always kind of surprised that they emerge, because the foliage is usually buried under a pile of faster-growing plants

some sort of daisy - I don't know the name, but I sure wish we had more. And of course, the bleeding hearts are blooming prolifically. I look forward to these every year.

the back spurs of a columbine, in macro:

Exam week

It's exam week for Theo, but the first two days of the week are either busywork/fun days - a trip to Henderson Lake pool, and then the Movie Mill. Since the weather is still horrendous, the outdoor pool is likely a no-go (and in any case both kids hate it for the crowding and messiness), Theo elected to skip both days, with his teacher's permission.

Since I have my doubts about his ability to actually study at home without us around, I brought him to the lab with me.

 

 After a good morning's start, I turned around and saw this...

to be fair, his judo schedule right now is slaying him - three times a week, and now that he's bumped up into the big kids class and preparing for the Nationals, he's really really tired. So I let him sleep.

(His butt isn't really that big, btw. His jeans are just too big for him, and poofy)

Hey, wasn't he supposed to be working on math?

inside, looking in

inside, looking out, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

I haven't touched my camera in nearly a week. Could be because of the incredibly depressing weather? Why yes, yes it could.

The early winter with its blizzards, followed by late spring with blizzards, has now turned to constant rain. We're used to rain in June, but not quite this much, and not quite with this depressing temperatures.

Till I can get out into the coulees, it's a good time to look at some interior landscapes - these are from inside the student union building at university.

I've always wondered what the point was to these binoculars. Who exactly are we supposed be looking at? Fellow students studying in the library? People walking up the hill from U Hall? 

also, they do not work worth a crap.

Sami in disgrace

Sami has a sense of entitlement unlike any dog I have ever owned. Tassie used to sneak up on the couch when we left the house, and at least had the decency to look guilty if we came in and caught her. Sami, on the other hand, not only climbs on the couch with a "don't worry! I'll be right here!" look on her face, but she has taken to appropriating any other soft surface in the house.

We have previously found dog hair and suspicious drool marks on Stasha's bed, but this is the first time we've gotten solid evidence, from Theo.

However, notice that her tail never stops wagging. No sense of guilt, I tell you!