Thursday, July 3, 2014

Too cute not to share!

Lago Lindo Preschool graduate!  May 2014 (from Emerson's preschool yearbook)

Canada Day Long Weekend 2014

Canada Day fell on a Tuesday, so we took off the Monday to make it an extra long, long weekend ;)
Happy Birthday Canada!!
We met friends, John, Jenna and Clint and Chris, Sharla, Ty and Madison at Cross Lake Provincial Park.  The weather was great, except for approx 4 hrs of pounding rain and hail!!  Other than that rain, we had a lot of sun and were grateful for a shaded campsite.  The kids loved playing on the beach, swimming in the lake, tubing, bike riding, playing baseball, bocce ball, water balloon fights and just being free!!  We love the Cross Lake campground and they know their way around and were free to bike to the park and back by themselves.

Reese went for her first tube ride and did great!  Blake and Em spent hours on the tube!!  They have no fear and at one point after a tube ride they both decided to jump in the lake for a swim!  Scared the heck out of me but they were having a blast ;)  Crazy kids!!  They wanted to go faster and faster every time and on the last day Blake was whipped off the tube and thought it was the greatest thing ever!  lol!
Fun on the boat and tubing!!
The boys went fishing and caught a few but threw them all back.

It was another great long weekend and a great way to start off our summer!!  We're now looking forward to our 2 week holiday, starting this weekend!  Three nights at Ol McDonald's farm with my family, then we are by ourselves, spending 2 nights at the Calaway Park campground, 3 nights at Mount Kidd RV Resort and 4 nights at Whistler's Campground near Jasper.  Then we're back home for Blake's power skating camp!

Talk to you when we're back :)

xo Tracy

There went June ...

June is over!  Say what?!

What a month!!!  Again, a quick breakdown, so as to avoid a novel ;)

- June started with our last Play On street hockey game, followed by a family friends birthday party at one of our favorite spots - Jumpy Things!!
The Bobcats after their last PlayOn game!
- Then it was dentist appointments, baking for Bishop Savaryn's Teacher Appreciation lunch, Cameron's Closet meets, Cal volunteering in Blake's class with 3 other Dad's (apparently it was the men's turn to volunteer ;)) and then I attended a super fun 80's themed 30th birthday party!  Shopping for that was fun, Em and I had a blast together and I realized I really love 80's clothes and accessories ;)
- The next week brought a field trip to Fort Edmonton Park with Blake's class, the usual 4 nights of soccer, plus it was finale week at Power House Dance, which meant 2 extra practices for Em and learning a grande finale dance!  Then on the Friday the girls and I, along with Lindsay, Connor and Mason, met Blake's class at the St. Albert Spray Park!  Tons of fun.
Blake and a few of his classmates at Fort Edmonton Park
- Birthday party palooza began on Saturday the 13th, with Blake's friends party that night at Launch Pad.  But before that, Em's year end recital that morning!!!  So cute and I always enjoy watching all the other routines, as well.  Her group did so well, it was just awesome.  I love watching her smile and perform!  She was feeling a bit tired of dance leading up to finale week but when I went up to collect her off the stage, she jumped into my arms and said, "I want to dance next year!!"
Ready to perform!

After the recital, in her grande finale t!

Family photo after the recital :)
- Father's Day was the 15th and we had a great day and so did Cal :)  We spent the morning/afternoon at the Parenteau's, with the kids in the pool and a delicious BBQ!  Afterwards we all went to watch Blake play some 3 on 3 hockey!  Pretty much the perfect ending to Father's Day for Cal!!  Blake did great at 3 on 3.  He is typically a very defensive hockey player but after the game he told us, "I scored a few games and didn't play as much defense because, well, the puck was just there.  Easy to get!"  lol!
- The following week brought 3 birthday parties for Em and 1 for Blake!!  1 of those parties was at Galaxyland and included Em and her siblings, which was so nice of them.  The kids all had a blast at all the parties!  I have to say I breathed a sign of relief when they were all over, it was a busy party time ;)
- On the 22nd I drove off to Jasper to meet my 2 bestie's for a few days and nights of R&R!!  We had a fabulous time, it was so great to spend uninterrupted time with these 2 ladies, whom I love so much but rarely get to see!!  They're 2 of the best friends a girl could ask for and I'm so blessed to have them in my life - no matter how many miles we are apart, we are so close and for that I am incredibly grateful.
Candace, Lindsey and I
- The 25th was Blake's Fun Day at school and the girls and I went to school a little bit early to watch the talent show, which capped off the day!  Later that night at dinner, Cal asked Blake what he would do for the talent show, if he was to participate.  Blake said, "Well sports.  Sports are my talent."  I said that maybe by that time he'd be playing an instrument or could sing, dance, you never know.  He said, "No, I think I'd do something to do with baseball."  We thought that was pretty cute!
- The 25th was also Emerson's last soccer game of the season.  She had so much fun playing soccer!  Scored a few goals and did a lot of 'coaching' on the field ... so funny!!  I would often see her telling a teammate, "There it is, go get it!"  lol!  Meanwhile, while she was 'coaching' she could have kicked the ball herself ;)  She had a smile on her face the entire time she was on the field, she really loved it!!!  After the game the coaches gave out trophies and pictures and DQ Dilly Bars!
Em's last soccer game of the season!
- The 26th was Blake's last soccer game of the season!  He also enjoyed himself but is quite a bit more competitive than Emerson ;)  After the game, the coaches gave out trophies, photos and Dilly Bars!  Fun wrap up and we've met some great people this soccer season!
Blake's last soccer game of the season, with Coach Cal and teammate/classmate/friend Ryan and his Dad, Coach Dale!
- The 27th was Blake's last day of school and report card day!  I picked him up after school and thanked his teacher for a wonderful year.  As we were walking out of the school, Blake's shoulders slumped and he said, "Awww."  I asked him what was wrong and he replied, "I won't be in the same classroom next year."  He looked teary-eyed and we stopped and I gave him a little hug in the hallway and told him that no, he wouldn't be in the same classroom but he would see his old classroom and Mme. Khair and he would have many of the same classmates.  He recovered quickly but it was a sweet moment :)  After school (it was a 1/2 day), I ran home to grab the girls and Blake's Pokemon cards and then we met some of his buddies and their families at DQ for lunch and ice cream and Pokemon card trading!!  I love Blake's class and our Bishop Savaryn 'community'!!  We'll miss them over the summer but will see a lot of them at birthday parties and play dates!

And that's our June in a nutshell ;)  The girls also had swimming lessons every Friday evening.

I know Reese hasn't been mentioned a lot but she is the happy little sister who never complains about attending any of her siblings events.  She loves her swimming lessons and is doing amazing in unparented lessons!  It was a seamless transition and she is a little fish :)  She never complained about being drug to all those soccer games, although the later bedtimes were hard on her some days, poor girl.  She's still our little cuddle bug and I still attribute that to the fact that she spent pretty much her first 4 months in my arms and literally attached to me!!!  She's a smart little cookie and impresses us often with her vocabulary and comprehension!  She says she wants to dance and go to preschool when she's a little bit older ... we're hoping in September she'll feel she's old enough ;)  We shall see!!  She has come out of her shell a bit more and isn't quite as shy, although she can still shoot daggers at anyone she doesn't feel comfortable talking too ;)

On the 27th after lunch out with friends, we loaded the trailer and truck and drove off to Cross Lake for 4 nights!  More on that in July's post :)

Happy Summer everyone, enjoy the heat and hopefully some more 'free' time!!

xo Tracy