Wednesday, December 24, 2014

2014 Christmas Letter


Christmas greetings from the Cameron family!  It’s been a happy, busy year here in our house!

The Cameron kids are all doing well in school and according to their teachers, they reserve their ‘best’ (cough, cough) behaviour for home!!  Blake is in grade 2 and loves school, especially science, math, social studies, art, DPA (daily physical activity, what us old folks call gym class!), Daily 5, music class … never mind, he loves it all!!  He is reading well in both French and English.  Emerson is in kindergarten this year, her first year of French immersion.  She is picking it up so fast, we love to hear the new words and phrases she learns and she loves to share what she’s learned at school, which is very nice.   Reese loves preschool and has told us she does not want to go to Kindergarten next year.  Hopefully she changes her mind by next fall!  Reese has made new friends at preschool and isn’t nearly as shy as last year!  We are so proud of all three kids and enjoy volunteering in their classrooms whenever we can!

Our kids keep very active and would probably try every sport in the book, if they could!!  Blake and Em played organized soccer for the first time this spring and had a great season.  Coach Dad stepped up once again and with a friend, took on coaching both teams.  Blake loves novice hockey!  He’s a solid D-man and sees the value in an assist!  Emerson and Reese are playing ringette this winter, with Coach Mom on the ice!  We’re having fun and the girls are doing fantastic!  It is more of a learn-to-play program, no organized games quite yet.  Reese is in her very first dance class and is quite the little dancer – we see many examples of what she calls her ‘moves’, all of which bring a smile to our faces!!  Em is also in dance again and enjoying herself.  And all three kids are keeping up with their swimming lessons.  Three little fishes, they are!  We really love cheering on and coaching our kids in their various sports and activities.  Emerson has mentioned trying Tae Kwon Do and Blake wants to play the guitar and/or the drums … so these activities might be up next on the list!

This fall Cal and I celebrated ten years of marriage.  It is amazing how much has changed in ten years and how fast those ten years have passed!  I commented to Cal that it sure didn’t feel like ten years had passed … he replied that he felt like it was twenty … funny guy, isn’t he?!  In September Cal accepted a new role within Telus.  He moved from Access Engineering to the ATOPS team, as the Access Engineering Design Specialist.  He is in charge of standards for Access Engineering in Telus.  He’s enjoying his new role and keeping very busy!  He still technically works from home but with the little ones around the house, it’s hard for him to work from home, so he spends most of his day at the Telus central office down the road but still enjoys the flexibility of a work-at-home employee.  Cal began attending November Project workouts this year and is really enjoying the exercise, vibe and community that are November Project!  Cal and the kids participated in a trail run this summer, Cal ran the enduro course (15 km) and set a personal best!  The kids ran in the 1K race and did fabulous. Cal is also playing men’s hockey once a week.  I am doing well and still enjoying my ‘Domestic Engineer’ position!!  This fall I took on two new volunteer roles - preschool president and secretary of Blake and Emerson’s school council.  These positions (especially the preschool president) have been more time-consuming than I anticipated but I am enjoying the work and the opportunity to use some of my skills.  I am still running my online consignment store and picked up a little side job helping a turkey farmer sell turkey’s this Christmas!!  Hey, every penny counts ;)  I’m finding that as the kids get older, we all get busier! 
 
This summer we enjoyed a two week break, travelling Alberta with our truck and trailer and visiting some of our favorite places and finding new favorites.  Mt Kidd in Kananaskis was a highlight and a spot we will visit again!  We had such a great time at the interpretive programs in both Kananaskis and Jasper.  We really found that the kids are all getting to the age where we can enjoy these sorts of activities as a family, stretching bed time a little later and sleeping in, in the morning!  As sad as it is to see the kids grow up so fast, this is one of the perks!  The remainder of our summer was spent camping with friends and family and all three kids enjoyed a Pedalheads bike camp and Blake played some 3 on 3 hockey.  I was lucky enough to get away on a girls weekend at the end of May, meeting two of my best friends in Jasper.  It was a very nice break and great to spend time with some of my closest friends.  Cal’s first week of his new job was spent in Vancouver.  Although there were meetings, there was also team building activities, which included zip lining on Grouse Mountain!!  He had a blast!

We are celebrating Christmas Day with some of our Cameron family and Boxing Day with our Smith family and hope to hear from and see many of you over the holidays!  From our family to yours – wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2015!!

Love,

Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese

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