It's really been awhile!

Hello! And by awhile, I mean over 2 years! Clearly things have been a bit busy around here. I wanted to start up the blog again because, as most of you know, our family is headed off to China for this next year. I thought this blog would be the best way of keeping everyone in touch with what we're up to. Please stay tuned as our adventure is nearing...

Birthdays, barbeques and big news

July is always a bit of a blur in this family. There are an abundance of birthdays, our infamous pig roast and endless barbeques. All fabulously fun, but it leaves me a bit exhausted from all of the goodness. This July has seemed especially busy because I'm finishing up my teaching degree with a full load of classes. So here's a few highlights so far with some pictures to go along.

1. I am officially in my mid thirties. 35 is here and it's proving to be a great year already. My incredibly generous husband surprised me with the most beautiful mountain bike. Funny, I never would have thought 3 years ago when we moved here that I'd get into mountain biking. But there are several of my neighbours that ride and we've started a weekly group ride that I am loving. There are so many great trails literally in our bike yard and it's been a blast figuring them out on my super cute and super awesome bike.

2. The month started off with a phone call in regards to my interview for a TOC position here in Squamish. TOC (teacher-on-call) is the new lingo for substitute teacher. I am officially hired on for TOC work starting this fall. Fantastic news and a huge relief to know that I'll be putting all of this hard work to good use. I'm thrilled to be able to be in the classroom and at the same time have a little bit of a break from all of the crazy work load I've been immersed in for the past 3 years. I'm looking forward to a 6 hour work day that doesn't come home with me :)

3. The 8th Annual Kubin family pig roast was a huge success. It seems to get better and better every year and this year was no exception. Our neighbourhood band The Cherry Overdrivers is unbelievable and consistently impresses the crowd. It was a great time had by all.

4. Our baby girls turned 10! A full decade has FLOWN by and has given Travis and I an immeasurable amount of blessings in the amazing girls we get to call our daughters. They are beautiful, smart, funny, kind, passionate, resourceful and absolutely fantastic. We could not be more proud of the lovely young ladies they are becoming.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer. I'll try to be a bit better at posting more often. Thank you to our faithful checkers. I'm working on getting on here a little more regularly.

Checking in...

It's been a while, I know! So great to have some time off in April, but I'm back at it in full swing. I'm in the middle of my LAST!!!!!! semester of school and it's proving to be a doozy. Super interesting stuff, just A LOT of it. Here's a quick recap of what's been going on...

*Both the girls are in a production of Charlotte's Web at school. Kendra is Charlotte and Jenna is the rat (normally known as Templeton, but for this little rendition, it's Tina!). The play is tonight so I'll post some pics as soon as I get a chance

*Kendra's Rememberance Day poem (I posted it earlier this year) went on to the semi finals and then finals. Her poem got 3rd place in all of British Columbia and the Yukon! We are so proud of her!

*Had to purchase some "Growing up and your body is changing" books for the girls. Still not sure how I feel about that, although they've devoured them!!!

*Planning an insane summer. Birthdays up the ying-yang! All of us have birthdays in the next month along with tons of extended family birthday shin digs as well.

*Took down our swingset/playhouse and gave it to the neighbors. Had a minor melt down at the rapid growing up of my girls. When our neighbors asked to offer something as a thank you for giving it to their daughters, the girls requested money. They've officially moved on from toys to money. Oh dear.

*Officially 2 weeks of school left for the girls. Can't wait for sleeping in and no more packing lunches!

*I turned in a bunch of applications for the fall. Everything from Substitute teaching and Kindergarten up to Grade 8 jobs. We'll see....

I'll try to be better about posting some pictures soon.

Hope you are all enjoying this BEAUTIFUL sunshine!!!

I wanna be a cowgirl...

For the long weekend we headed up to Clinton, BC to hang out at our friends Bob and Dori's ranch. I'm telling you, ranch life is for me. At least for one weekend a year! It was calving season and it was our job to herd the cattle into the "shoot", shave them, brand them, give them some shots and then let them out onto the range after a long winter. Totally fell in love with my husband the cowboy hearing him with his "Who-ya"s and "Git"s. And fell deeper in love with my daughters seeing them having the time of their lives. They groomed, fed and rode the horses, and made fast friends with them all. We had a blast target shooting. Is there a better sound than the little "ping!" of the bullet hitting the metal animal targets? The girls and I learned how to make a good home meal with fresh ingredients from the farm. Travis caught fresh trout from the lake for lunch. We packed it all in!


"Babe"...The new man in our lives.


Have you ever seen a cuter cowgirl???

Bringing in the herd...

Cowboy Bob

"Got it!"

My cowboy!

The Fruits of their labor...

I posted previously about the money making opportunities of both of our children. These little businesses all came about because both Jenna and Kendra desperately want Lulu lemon jackets. For those of you not familiar, Lulu lemon is a brand that makes all sorts of yoga wear but they are the "it" thing to have these days for the female gender ages 8 to 88. They're great jackets and a high quality product that is accompanied by a high price tag as well. The jackets Jenna and Kendra want are just over $100. So, because they are nine I told them they could have a jacket if they paid for it themselves....hence the job opportunities posted prior.

Well, the wait is over and the girls are proud owners of very cute Lulu lemon jackets. Jenna purchased hers about 2 weeks ago and was proud as punch. She slept with hers on for the first 4 nights she had it! Kendra was a little slower in saving her money and it was heart breaking to see her watching Jenna trying on all of the jackets and wanting so desperately to buy one for herself. Well, her patience paid off big time! Two days later I was at a great consignment shop here in Squamish and I saw a Lulu jacket shining from the racks. I quickly checked it out to find that it had been worn ONCE, was Kendra's size and was 50% off the original price. I surprised Kendra at lunch and brought her down to the shop to see if she liked this one. Of course she did and she headed back to school with a huge grin and a spring her step. Needless to say Jenna was a little less enthusiastic at Kendra's bargain :)

Here's a picture of Jenna in her new jacket. The previous post about Kendra and the phone call home from school features Kendra wearing her jacket.

As proud as I am of these girls, this whole experience has come with a tinge of sadness. I think the days of Walmart shopping may be coming to an end. Conversations of what brand of shoes they want to buy next and creating a whole Lulu lemon wardrobe are replacing ones about stuffed animals and tea parties. How in the world this happened so quickly I still can't wrap my mind around...

Got a phone call home from Kendra's teacher...

I've learned to be a bit nervous when I see Valleycliffe Elementary across the caller ID on our phone. So when I saw that today, I anxiously answered to hear Mrs. L'Hirondelle (super fantastic teacher by the way!) say hello and that she wanted to chat with me about Kendra. Oh dear. I've had a few of these calls this year and all of them have ended with me in tears. Sweet Kenny has had some trouble this year with friends and finding her path.
Well this phone call also ended in teary eyes. However, they were tears of sweet pride this time. Teacher called to just let me know how fantastic Kendra has been doing. Her school work has hugely improved, her attitude is much more positive, she noted that she seems more confident and just much more happy in general.
I'll take more of those phone calls home for sure!

And note to self...
As a perspective teacher myself, follow Mrs. L'Hirondelle's example. It's important to call home with praise as well as concerns.

I need another tissue...

Mrs. Kubin says goodbye...for now!

Well I finally finished up my student teaching here in Squamish. This crew was quite a challenge, but with great challenge comes great reward. Here's a little slideshow I put together for the class. It kind of captures these last few months for me...