Cadet Annual Review

This past weekend our two older boys Colt and Dane, had their Annual Review for Cadets. This is when they have an officer from another Corp come and inspect them. There are dignitaries that visit - the Mayor, and other important people, and the Cadets have a chance to show some of their Drill and Ceremony.

This is also the day that the awards are given out for the year. I was going to be on the Road Trip during this Annual Review, but a call from the Captain made it sure that I would be home in time for the big day. She told me that the boys were going to get some pretty big awards and could I be there. Of course!

If you recall from our Road Trip, I showed how at the RCMP Academy, the guy in charge of all the troops was the position Colt was hoping to hold. At the time of my writing, there were three Warrants working hard for the position of RSM. This person is in charge of all the Cadets, including the CSM. The CSM is in charge of the troop, and the other Warrant is a backup.

If there were 5 or 10 troops the RSM is in charge of all of those troops, including their leaders (CSM's). So you can see that it is a position to be striven for! Colt worked very hard, and from what I could see it was a given that he would earn it. He did not once show that he felt he had the promotion - he always showed amazing character and did everything he could to more than meet the expectations of his Officers.

The Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corp

Waiting For the Reviewing Officer (RO) to Come On the Parade Square

March Past - Eyes Right Respecting the Reviewing Officer (A Major)

When they began calling out the awards for the day I was so surprised to hear the awards our boys received!! They have worked hard for three years, but there is so much competition for each award that it is very hard to be the recipient of one of the trophies.

Top Silver Star

To receive any of the Top Star Awards the cadets have to meet the following criteria:

Individual cadet that shows a high level of achievement in all aspects of star level training, and continually demonstrates an above average consistency in deportment and dress. He also shows a willingness and ability to work with others, and demonstrates some leadership ability.

Dane was fortunate to tie for this award with his best friend, Ian.

Top Gold Star

Saluting Before Receiving His Award

Most Improved NCM (Non Commissioned Member)

This award is to provide recognition for individual endeavors in the areas of citizenship in meeting and enhancing the aims and objectives of the Cadet organization.

Royal Canadian Legion Cadet Medal of Excellence (Cadet Medal)

Lord Strathcona Medal (Military Medal)

The Strathcona Medal is granted in recognition of a high performance in physical and military training. One medal and a Certificate of Merit are awarded by the Strathcona Trust Provincial Committee to one deserving cadet in each Corps annually.

Commanding Officers Award of Merit

The CO's Award of Merit is given to a cadet that has striven to better the world around him and the cadet corps he belongs to.

General Salute

Warrant Officer Lafreniere Leaving the Parade (RSM: Regimental Seargant Major)

He has now left the CSM (Company Seargent Major) in charge of the parade.

Proud Dane Leading the Parade

After the parade the cadets had a competition. The four senior cadets (including Colt) had to put up a 10 man tent, while the eleven junior cadets (including Dane) had to put up a 5 man tent. The race was on and they had a very close race! When it was all said and done the Reviewing Officer inspected the tents. The Junior Cadets finished first (by a minute or so), but the Senior Cadets had their tent perfect. There was only *one* small difference between the two set of cadets - one small string was not put away on the Junior's tent. Overall, both teams did fantastic!

After that was done 2nd Left Tenant Bacchmeier explained to interested adults about the IMP's. These are meals, ready to eat, that the Cadets get when they go on exercises. I have always been very *suspicious* of these, not wanting the boys to eat their left over packages when they come home from their weekends away. I was sure these foods were packaged in some kind of nasty preservatives. I mean, after all, these food containers are the same ones the military use, and they are stored for a long time!!!

My boys *love* this stuff. I will come in their rooms and they will be sitting there eating beef stew out of a tinfoil ziploc baggie!! *laugh* Each of these meals comes with coffee, tea, chocolate, cookies, main course, dessert, drink, bread etc! And it all fits in a 6"x7"x2" box!!

Well, the Left Tenant had us try this suspicious food. I have to confess it was really quite good! And it seems that they are not loaded with preservatives - it is the packaging that makes them store well! (Even my dad had a try of them!) The little boys cleaned up at the end of the demonstration - do you think any adults wanted to take the leftovers home? Well, those little boys finally had their own IMP's!! *grin*

Proud Grandparents with the Boys

The Corp

Briton and 2nd Left Tenant Bacchmeier

I have a similar picture to this of Colt when he was six weeks old! He was in Vernon, at the Cadet Camp where he will be teaching this coming summer. He was wearing a cadet beret and being held by the Chaplain, who just happened to be his cousin from Winnipeg!

Warrant Lafreniere and Corporal Lafreniere

Buddies (but still in competition)

Dane and His Friend, Ian

I am very proud of Dane and Colt. This post will show you why it will be such a hard decision for Colt if our trip to Africa crosses the 2 months that he is to be teaching in Vernon! Vernon is so important to him, as the RSM: it is part of the package of being chosen as RSM of his own Corp. We can only pray that it will all fall into place where it is supposed to.

December 4, 2008, just happens to be a Thursday night. That is the day that Cassidy turns 12 years old. He has great intentions on attending his very first Cadet night with his brothers on his birthday. He is very excited to join the ranks!!

Driving Home - Day 18

Wednesday was our last day. We were up early and gone by 10:00 am. We had an amazing road trip and it was so great to finish it with new friends. Friends who feel like we have been friends forever.

Austin Thinks the World of Caity

The kids have kept up there contact. Caity had a blog and harrassed Dane into creating his own. Cassidy already had a blog, but now he had good reason to keep it updated. And now the older ones are emailing silly messages back and forth.

In two short weeks, Corrie and her tribe, (as she calls them; I call them lunatics,) will be travelling our way for a five day visit. Our kids are starting their planning already and have some fun ideas in mind.

And then hopefully it won't be many more weeks before we send four boys back their way for a two week visit, while we go and get the girls. By then I am sure they will be sick of us!! LOL!

The sites on the way home were amazing. Near Revelstoke there is so much to see. I am planning to head back that way next summer. Hopefully I will have bought a small RV by then, so our two families can do some camping. I am thinking that Rambling Road Trip #3 is not in the plans for next year. Not with the girls being so new to us and all. A nice, relaxed camping trip might be more in order.





When we got to Cache Creek the boys all bought a milkshake with their spending money. Shortly later, while I was enjoying my strawberry shake, Cooper began to cry. He said he had spilled his milkshake. I pulled the car over, turned around in my seat, and then realized he had not spilled his shake. He had puked! ICK! Poor guy!! He had been fighting a bug for the last couple days and then I think the milkshake hit his stomach too hard. He was fine after that!

What a way to spend the next 1.5 hours!!! First we did our best cleaning out the car, and then we drove with our windows open the rest of the way home!

Briton Enjoying His Shake

(after ten hours in the carseat)

You would never know that this little boy, who doesn't like being in a carseat for the five hour trip to the coast, could happily withstand 2 1/2 weeks in the car, driving 5000 km!! NEVER a fuss!

Day 14 - Visiting Friends and then on Home

We had a blast visiting our friends in Cranbrook. The kids continued to get along so well. So well in fact, that they have offered to keep four of our children while we go to Ethiopia. God is good. He takes care of all the details. Who would have known when we signed up for this adoption that our family would meet another likeminded, Christian family, with children similar ages. A family that we would connect with so well.

We Visited Fort Steele


Taking a Quiet Stroll Through the Long Grass, While...

A Mad Man Came Bearing Down On Us!

(Check out his maniac face - what an actor)

Watching the Black Smith At Work

Panning For Gold

Proud of His Gold That He Panned

Riding a Tractor Bearing His Name

The Whole Crazy Bunch

These two did dishes most evenings. They are a couple of nutcases!! Branflake and Cornflake is what they answer to. Two peas in a pod, for sure! Lots of laughs were had with everyone, but especially those two!

One day Corrie's oldest daughter offered to take the kids for a ride up to the lake. The idea was to do hotdogs, or some such thing. The older four kids joined Courtney in her car and headed for the lake. We came up about an hour later, only to find that the kids had gone 'four by fouring' up a rocky mountain road, and the car refused to drive and there was oil everywhere. There was a problem. Oooopppss!

After calling a friend the problem was resolved and the truck was able to run again.

Cassidy Having Riding Lessons From Caity.

Who's the Crazy Lady in the Weird Hat?

Piano Lessons With Caity

ATV Rides With Stunt Man Brycen

The Laundry Man Cooper

Cooper loved this washing line and was always hanging up anything that he could find. Corrie kept having a conniption, thinking he was going to fall. I reminded her that if she gets boys (as she wants) in her referral, she better get used to this! Boy do not do boring things. They live daring!

During the course of our visit these are few of the things that happened (boy related):

1) Austin, in his curiousity, stuck a spider trap to the wall. I have never seen these things before. They stick like crazy glue!

2) Dane decided to fix the problem, and removed the spider trap... and half the wall!

3) The piano lid was removed and when I left it was sitting on the floor - still not repaired.

4) The sliding french doors in the livingroom were hanging by one hinge?

(Disclaimer: I am *certain* the french doors and piano lid *must* have had problem before we arrived! LOL!!)

5) Austin, having realized the power in the spider traps (and not having learned his lesson!!) decided to take the cover off a new one and *chase* Caity through the house with his open sticky pad! Caity in her mad dash to keep away from him nearly broke her toe on a door!

I asked Corrie after this was all done if she was SURE she still wanted a referral for boys specifically?! She said she was still interested! Ha! I can't wait to see her get 2 boys!! LOL!!! Good thing we are friends and she is so understanding. I was *mortified* when I had to confess the FIRST incident!! Thankfully, she took it with laughter and proceeded to tell me about her son's incidents.

Briton Loved Sadie

Cooper thought he had the dogs trained because he would say words and they would obey. He had no idea that they were highly trained before we arrived. It was cute to see his pride.

Cooper Loved Bruce

When Cooper first met Bruce, he said, "Nice name". He would hang out with Bruce and chat. One day he was almost in tears because he was 'supposed to go to work with Bruce,' and Bruce got held up on a situation. Cooper is a very loving little boy. I am sure Bruce had tired ears by the time we left! But he was a good sport through all the chattering and noise!

And even during the honey/icecream fight that certain people decided to have one evening! Can you imagine? What kind of uncivilized people would do that!?! *laugh*

Road Trip Day 13 - Calgary to Banff and On

Today was our last day. We packed up our rooms and headed to Corrie's. She headed down South and I head West, to Banff. I used to work in Banff when I was 19 years old, and our children have heard stories for years of my life there. They have always wanted to see it, so I thought it was a good time to take them.

This is in Calgary. It is for the 2010 Olympics. Dane says they are ski jumps!

Beautiful Distant Rockie Mountains

The hotel has grown by about 125% at least, since I was there last. Where I used to live (the first time I worked there) was torn down and they then (in 1989ish) built new rooms for the hotel. This is joined onto the hotel and from the inside it is hard to tell where the old building leaves off and the addition connects! I do know that it was very easy to get disoriented while in there! I had to find the old part of the hotel to know which end was up.

The buildings up ahead used to be where the old staff accommodation was. They ripped them down and rebuilt them to look very similar to the old staff accomm. Now they are guest rooms.

Dane told me the hotel was way beyond what he was expecting to see. It truly is a remarkable hotel. When I worked there I felt very privileged as people paid big bucks to be in that hotel, and I got to live there!

I used to clean this man's house in Banff town. He is the General Manager of the Banff Springs. This was one of my many jobs at the hotel. I worked in a gift shop, was a chambermaid for the hotel, cleaned staff rooms, worked at Harvey's restaurant, babysat guest children, and cleaned for the GM. That is how I got to Europe that year.

This was one of the main areas I cleaned. From this upper galley hallway I could see down to the left. In the lower hall they would have real medieval feasts and such. I could sit on the hall chairs late at night when I was working and observe the guests festivities. Being a public areas maid was so much more fun than being a chambermaid! The uniforms were even cuter.


This is the staircase that leads down to the main floor where the feasts took place.

This is a piece of period furniture in the Medieval Hall.

This is the staff accommodation that was built in time for my second year of working for Banff. We had little rooms that we shared with one roommate. The other staff accommodation could have as much as four people in a room. For those that were partiers that was probably great. For me, as a girl with a goal, I was happy to have a private room. That way I could focus on my money making endeavors and sleep when I could get it.

This is a view from the 9th floor. I used to clean the rooms up here sometimes. The rooms are tiny and the ceilings sloped and I had to lug the cleaning supplies up the stairs to the last few rooms way up in the points of the hotel.

Right ahead and to the right are the new staff accommodations. Actually, they are no longer new. About 23 years old now! Time flies.

After we left the hotel we headed up to the Banff Cave and Basin. It is where the first hot springs were discovered in BC. It was the beginning of the Rocky Mountain National Park. The boys weren't impressed with the smell of sulpher. The water comes down over Sulpher Mountain and seeps into the earth and then heats up by the inner core, and then bubbles up into the Hot Springs.

We took the trails up to the mountain to the look out point.

Leaving Banff

The beautiful waters on the way through the Rockies. The waters were a bright turquoise blue.

The Distant Mountains

After leaving Banff we headed to Cranbrook for a visit with our friends. We have been here now for 2 days and the kids get along so well. They tease and joke, do chores together, play together and get along so well. It has been such a pleasure to get to know Corrie's family. Dane is already making sure we have their address for when we go home.