Did You Register?

Today was registration day for the Mega Crop Weekend and true to form, there was a line up at the door when Linda arrived early.  She was planning on having them all registered and on their merry way before I arrived and then saying to me, wonder why no-one is registering this morning!  Naughty girl......I arrived early too and put an end to that idea...LOL!

It was lovely though to pull into the parking lot and see one of our customers who was thrilled to be first in the line to register.  She told us she had never been first for anything before.   She had her small daughter sitting on her lawn chair patiently waiting for one of us to arrive.  What was so lovely from my point of view though, was that she had aleady booked in to participate in a half marathon in Niagara Falls telling us just this week that she couldn't join us this year.   However the lovely part for me was that she had opted out of the marathon to join us and all the lovely ladies at the Mega Crop!  It wouldn't have been the same without you Birgit.

Another customer was backed up to the door with the back door of her van open so that her children could sit and play while she waited to be registered.  What great commitment, thanks Tara.

But that's just two stories, there were many others and each and every person registered is important to us.  We are now 3/4 full, so if you're thinking about joining us, don't wait too long.

One of the registrants has told us that she has a spare bedroom if any of you "out of towners" need a place to stay and don't mind a short drive to her cottage.  Contact us if that would be helpful to you, we will link you together.

This afternoon Linda and I were deep into more of the planning for the Mega Crop Weekend as well as the Christmas Card Class.  Both are coming together well and we're sure you'll be happy with the content we will present to you.

On a totally different note, I'd like to share some photos with you that my sister sent to me last night.  If you know our family at all, you'll know we are very proud of Brian who represented Canada in the 2008 Olympics and brought home a GOLD medal for Canada.  He is now on the journey again hoping to bring another medal home to Canada in 2012. 

                             

Presently he is in Slovenia at the 2011 Worlds Championship and yesterday the team was on the podium having come in third.  Not a bad placement at all given that they were less than three seconds behind the first place winners and with almost a year to go lots of time to improve and come together as a team. 

Brian is the short one on the team and is the coxswain.  His job is to direct and encourage the rowers.   

We often don't think about the athletes that represent our country as they train for many months and years prior to their few minutes of competition.  My sister keeps our family up to date as Brian and his team mates train and compete all over the world.   Many other athletes are striving toward the same goal in their chosen sport, keep them in mind now and again as they maybe are caused to spend time away from their families and home.  Brian has a lovely wife Robbi who keeps the home fires burning in Victoria B.C. for their two beautiful girls, Brianna and Peyton.

Now for all the children as they return to school, we wish you a happy and succesful year in whichever academic level you are at.  For those going away to other cities, we urge you to remember your roots.  Stay grounded in the values your parents have instilled in you.  For the parents, don't jump up and down for joy too much as your children leave the family home, you may break a bone!

For all of you, but particularly the younger ones, we encourage you to read.  We are a family of readers.  I can recall Rachel (Linda's oldest daughter) walking around the house with her book in her hand reading.  Our family all have our e-readers, be they Kindles or Kobo's or ipods with books downloaded to make for easy reading (have to get them loaded for our vacation).  For those children that want to keep a record of the books they've read, I found this free printable reading kit that can be downloaded here.  Enjoy!

Lilian