Bye bye Zia

Zia (Pete's sister Sue) came to Saskatoon this past weekend for a final farewell before she departs on her amazing world adventure (Arlene and Aldo also made the trek for a quick pre-Christmas visit). Sue has opted to take a leave of absence from her busy working life and, in her words, is off on a "6 month sabbatical to get lost and found". She will be spending approximately 4 months in Africa (volunteering at an orphanage) which she'll follow up with 2 months in Italy. Needless to say we are all very excited for her and look forward to living vicariously through her (hopefully) regular updates.

We've taken the opportunity to teach the kids more about Africa. We asked them to go through the playroom and each pick a toy that they wanted to send with Zia to the orphanage. Josh spent a good 10 minutes trying to pick something. He first offered up his beloved "Bumblebee Transformer" and said with tears in his eyes that he'd always remember it and still has his Hallowe'en costume he can put on if he really misses it. I suggested that he think about his decision for a couple of days (he takes that toy everywhere with him!) and told him I would still be proud of him if he wanted to pick something else. He remained convinced that Bumblebee should go to Africa but then shyly asked to make a switch the day before Zia arrived. Another 10 minutes spent in the playroom and Josh came up with his beloved fighter jet (a very specifically requested and sought after toy a few months ago). I asked if he was sure and with some more tears in his eyes he said that he could only be sure the kids over in Africa would love his choice if it was something he also really loved. (insert heart swelling moment here)

Ethan's turn in the playroom lasted all of 5 seconds. He came right back upstairs with a huge grin on his face and a toy that he found in the "give away" pile. A lecture ensued and he found himself back downstairs to try again. He emerged with one of our mini soccer balls that we have in duplicate. I was about to get on his case again but gave him the benefit of the doubt when he explained his rationale and said he tried to find something that he knew they'd really like... "they play a lot of soccer in Africa Mom!". Ok ok. Sigh.

Leah was let off the hook when she tried to bring our entire play kitchen up the stairs.

The kids and I had a ball making a shirt for Zia to wear on her trip. The front reads: "This is our Zia" and the back reads: "if lost please return to" with 3 hand prints underneath and the kids' names in their respective hand prints.




Our weekend of visitors was filled with hockey, hockey and more hockey - 4 games between the 2 boys. They witnessed goals scored by both of them and even caught the game where Josh won his first ever "Super Sport" player of the game.



To our amazingly-awesome-courageous Zia. We love you and wish you a fabulous adventure.