Awards All Around

June is over. Came and gone like a blur! Now the lazy, hazy days of summer are upon us. They are as welcome to us as the first sliver of light in the morning after a bad dream. Don't get me wrong - June was not a bad dream. More like a roller coaster that keeps going and going when you think it needs to stop.

But so many good things happened - some of which were Award Ceremonies. We are so proud of our kids (righteous pride of course...) They have all had some great accomplishments.

Matt was awarded his Chief Scout Award at a Stake Awards Night. Our stake gives these boys buck knives with their name engraved on them so Matt was excited to get that in time for Helaman's Encampment which is a province wide scout camp being held this week at Camp Impeesa near Pincher Creek.
Next, was Matt again. He completed Grade 8 - with honours. In Alberta, this is when you move on to high school from Middle school. In addition, he was honoured to receive the Male Athlete of the Year award and the Most Improved Award for basketball. It was a really neat awards ceremony and we were proud of all his hard work. We are positive that hard work ethic will be transferred to his efforts in the back yard and garden over the summer. :)
Sara will also switch schools in the fall. She graduated from Grade 5 at Lakeview and will move on to Gilbert Paterson Middle School. Lakeview is such a fantastic school and she will miss it but she is very excited about all the new clubs, choirs and mostly the sports offered at GPMS. She loved her teacher this past year - Ms. Porter. Ms. Porter is also leaving Lakeview with all the budget cuts. So, it was a bittersweet day for both. Great job Sara!
Lastly, but not leastly, Parker was awarded his bronze level of the Duke of Edinburgh Award by Lethbridge's mayor, Rajko Dodic. Parker has been working on his award since turning 14. The gold level is presented by a member of the royal family when they are in Canada, the silver level is presented by the Lieutenant Governor of the province and the bronze level is presented by a person of local importance determined by the recipient. Parker wanted to meet the mayor, so it was arranged. Mayor Dodic was very gracious and did a nice job. It was very neat. Parker is working on the silver level now.

As an honourable mention we need to mention that Hannah also completed her year at school. She will enter Grade 4 in the fall. Man, that makes us feel OLD! She barely passed...:)

She will now be one of the "bigger" kids at Lakeview. We're glad to still have her there. It will be a very sad day for us when there are no more Stewarts at Lakeview Elementary.
So, on with July and all it's adventures. Congrats on a great year everyone!