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

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer!!

Our time has been filled with soccer!!  We've had a few rain outs but not many!  Blake and Emerson are really enjoying playing soccer this Spring, we are glad we registered them.  BUT ... Cal coaching both teams and soccer 4 nights a weeks is a bit much for these parents!!!!  We've had our, "OMG, is the season over yet?!" moments, that is for sure!  But all in all, it has been great, certainly a learning experience, but tons of fun and some really great moments for all!!  We've loved bike riding to games, spending the nice-weather evenings outside with friends and the best part of all is seeing how much the kids are enjoying it!  Emerson absolutely loves soccer and I think if she had to choose between dance and soccer, soccer would win hands down :)  We are wondering if we should register her in indoor soccer.  She smiles the entire time she is on the field, it is so awesome to watch!!  Running with a huge grin, it's just the best :)  Emerson and Reese can play on the same team next year, which would be really fun!  We'll see if Reese wants to play!  Blake's loving it as well and has improved so much during the short season!

Since we're in the middle of June already and I don't feel like typing out a novel, here's a quick point-by-point rundown of our May:

-Linds, my Mom and I had a big cook at Lindsay's house!  Super successful, we will be planning more of these in the future :)
- I attended a Mother's Day tea at Emerson's preschool.  I was brought to tears when she ran out of the classroom to bring me into the tea - she was so unbelievably excited, handing me a flower and leading me by my hand to a table.  She served me iced tea and a cookie, we potted a sunflower seed, played games, etc.  It was a wonderful morning :)
- I accompanied Blake and his class on a field trip to the Winnspear.  It was a beautiful production, I really really enjoyed the music and so did Blake!
- Emerson participated in her first ever dance competition!  It was a crazy busy morning doing her hair and makeup and trying to find a parking spot at McEwan!!  And the boys were rushing over to the competition from ball hockey!!  But we made it (thanks Mom for parking my van!!!) and it was all worth it to see her huge grin on stage :)
- Mother's Day was great!  After Church we had my parents over for brunch and then spent the day playing board games and hanging out.  I chose to have taco's for supper ;)
- My Mom treated Lindsay and I to the Luke Bryan concert for Mother's Day!!!  It was AMAZING!  The best concert I have ever been too.  SOOOOOO good, that man can perform (and shake it ;))  Thank you so much Mom, best Mother's Day present ever!
- We had our first camping trip of 2014 on May long weekend!  The annual Cross Lake event!!  Tons of fun, great weather, great friends and family, couldn't ask for more :)  Still in love with our trailer, can't wait for the next trip on July long weekend!
- I went to Fort Edmonton Park with Emerson's preschool.  We had fun and learned a lot about Edmonton's history!  Unfortunately it rained the majority of the field trip, but it sure didn't bother the kids ;)
- We celebrated Emerson's preschool graduation with a fun party and ceremony!  The kids loved the bouncy houses and face painting!  Emerson will certainly miss Lago Lindo Preschool and Mrs. York and Mrs. Chong, who are absolutely fabulous.  She is jealous that Reese will be in Preschool next year!  She's had an awesome 2 years at Lago Lindo and I am glad we aren't saying goodbye quite yet ;)  1 more year for Reese!
- Cal and I attended Emerson's kindergarten orientation with her.  It was nice to see her classroom and meet the new Kindergarten teacher.  Emerson was excited and enjoyed every minute!  She is going to do so well in Kindergarten and is very ready for a new challenge!!
- Cal and Blake put a team together and participated in the CBC Play On street hockey tournament at WEM.  They played 4 games and had a lot of fun.  It was a fantastic event, tons of games going on at once, music, fun and sun!!  Thank goodness for the good weather!  Being the first year we've entered this tournament, it was a learning experience!  But everyone looks forward to putting another team together next year (we'll just make sure we have an actual goalie!!)!
- And last but not least, we celebrated my sister's 30th birthday at the end of May (which also happened to be my parents 34th wedding anniversary!)!!  Jeremy, my Mom and I planned a catered party at Jeremy and Lindsay's.  We had a lot of fun and most importantly, so did the birthday girl :)  I can't believe my baby sister is 30!!  I clearly remember visiting her in the hospital in St. Paul.  Admittedly, my memory is kind of poor, but I do have so many great memories of Lindsay as a baby and little girl!  I look back on photo's and can't believe how adorable she was, with her pinchable cheeks and always with a cute hair cut/style!!  I'm sure there were days, months and even years where we did not get along or weren't the best of friends, but now as adults, she is one of my best friends and I don't know what I would do with out her!!  Thanks Mom and Dad, for giving me a sister :)  One of God's greatest gifts!  Love ya' Linds!

And so that wrap's up May!  Now June is almost 1/2 over and it's already been a very eventful month!!  Looking forward to many more exciting times in June and then ... SUMMER BREAK!!  I can.not.wait.  Seriously, bring on July :)  But we'll update you on June first ... in a few days!

Talk to you soon!

~Tracy

Celebrating Blake's 7th birthday!

Blake had a wonderful birthday - a full 3 day event ;)  Saturday May 3rd was his birthday party at the ACT center.  We rented the gymnasium for an hour and a half of floor hockey fun and then moved in to the Atrium room for an hour of air hockey, late lunch, cake, tattoo's and mini-stick decorating!  Blake had a blast and was so happy to celebrate with many of his classmates and friends and family :)  The kids were certainly tuckered out and hungry after all that floor hockey, I was glad I brought more food than I had originally planned!!  And Blake was excited for the ice cream cake!  He requested an ice cream cake this year, the first one we've ever purchased!  This year we decided to try something different for Blake's birthday party gifts.  We talked about a charity we would like to donate to, in lieu of large birthday gifts.  It worked quite well, we welcomed small gifts and asked for a donation to KidSport as well.  Blake raised $150 for Kidsport!  We're very excited to meet with the folks at KidSport Edmonton and pass over the donation!

On Sunday May 4th we celebrated Blake's birthday with my parents and sister and her family. Everyone came over for dinner and Grandma's home made carrot cake (also requested by Blake!)!!  We had a great dinner and visit :)

And that brings us to Monday May 5th - Blake's actual birth day!!!  Blake brought cupcakes to school for his classmates.  He was also on BBC Kids in the a.m. - Bishop Savaryn's student-ran broadcasting channel!  When it is your birthday you have the option of being on BBC.  I was a bit surprised when Blake told me he was going to go on BBC the morning of his birthday.  Surprised because in the past he has been to shy to go on BBC and was also quite worried a few months ago when he had to say the morning prayer on BBC.  So I was glad he made the decision to go on BBC :)  And he was too!  They gave him a cool 'Happy Birthday' bracelet, which he loved! Monday evening Emerson had dance followed by her first soccer game, so my Mom came in and visited with Blake for awhile and came to dance and soccer with us :)  Blake enjoyed visiting with one of his besties at soccer, while their siblings played :)

Can't wait to see what Blake's 7th year brings!!  Love you buddy!

~Tracy

Blake is 7!

Happy 7th birthday to our baby boy!!  He will forever be our baby boy, irregardless of how old or tall he is ;)  As it is, I feel like he is almost as tall as me :s  He grew up so fast ... literally!!  Such a tall boy for his age.  But I still cuddle him up in my lap and he still enjoys sitting in my lap from time to time.  I'm soaking it up every opportunity I get.

Blake, you bring so much joy to our lives, we love you to pieces!!  You are an awesome big brother to your little sisters and an amazing son, grandson, nephew, classmate and friend :)

You are doing so well in school, making us so very proud!  You are doing fabulous with reading in French and have recently started reading in English!  You've picked up English all on your own and have surprised not only your Dad and I but also yourself.  We often praise you in one thing or another and you shrug it off or act embarrassed and want us to stop but when you read your first English book, we could tell you were really proud of yourself.  As you should be!  You thought that because you were learning French, you would not be able to read in English until it was actually taught to you, but low and behold (and as any French Immersion educator will tell you happens), you picked up on English!  You love math and science and art and DPA (daily physical activity - I believe this is what we old folks called 'Gym'!!).  You enjoy school and love all your friends!  Your love for sports continues - hockey, soccer, baseball, basketball, ball hockey, etc, etc!  You're playing organized soccer for the first time this year and loving every minute!

Thank you so much Blake for bring a smile to our faces and a putting a song in our heart, each and every day.  Every minute is a blessing with you and every day we thank our lucky stars for bringing YOU to us.

xoxo
Mom and Dad

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful 4 day weekend!  It started with a very low-key Friday, standing at the window, watching that icky white stuff fall from sky :s  lol!  We had a nice day at home, despite the weather.  Sometimes these days are greatly needed and most often, greatly appreciated.  We did go out Friday evening, as we planned an impromptu dinner date with the Stony Plain Cameron's!  We had a nice visit and enjoyed catching up.

Saturday afternoon I dropped Blake off a school friends house for a play date with his best buds, Max and James.  And then I headed to Sculpt Barre in Sherwood Park to meet my sister for a fundraiser, "Sculpt for Sight."  A college friend invited me to the event, which was a fundraiser for the CNIB.  Her youngest daughter was born with albinism.  A common affect of albinism is eye sight problems and her family has used many resources at the CNIB and wanted to give back.  It was an awesome class, when they say a 1 lb weight can feel like a 10 lb weight, they aren't kidding! Their tag line is, "Pulse, Shake, Sculpt!" and did I ever shake!!  I loved the class and would like to try it again.  Our class was featured on CTV Edmonton 6 pm news a few days after the event!  I'm not too keen on being on camera, but the editing was excellent ;)  After the class Lindsay and I decided to go for a quick bite to eat and discovered an amazing sushi restaurant that we can't wait to get back too!!

I zipped home to shower and change and pick up Cal and the girls.  We picked up Blake from his play date and went back to Sherwood Park, this time to the Streadwick's house for Easter dinner.  We had a fun evening, as we always do!  We love getting together with them but it doesn't happen often enough with all our busy schedules.  Can't wait to camp with them on May long weekend :)

Saturday night was a very late night for our kiddo's and they sure were tired on Sunday!  They slept in a little bit, but were excited to see what the Easter Bunny brought them when they did rise!!  Sunday morning we attended Church and then came home for the day.  I made a small turkey dinner (turkey roast), which was delicious and it was early to bed for the kid's (trying to make up for the late Saturday night!!)!

Monday we met Christa, Berlyn, Lindsay, Connor and Mason at Prairie Gardens.  Considering it was snowing on Friday, it is almost hard to believe that it was +16 on Monday!!!  I say almost hard to believe because who are we kidding, it's northern AB ... anything is possible when it comes to our weather!  It was a gorgeous day outside and we all had a great time!  There was a petting zoo, egg hunt, puppet show, magic show, train ride, crafts, and more!  I was very glad the weather cooperated and we were able to go :)

We hope you had a great Easter too!!

xo 

Tracy

Dessert Sunday ...

Sunday is always 'dessert Sunday' in our house, which means supper is followed by dessert.  But now we might be adding 'Joke Sunday' to our Sunday tradition ;)

I'm still laughing at Blake, Em and Reese's joke telling!!  The kids have really been into telling jokes lately and tonight at dinner they started in on it!  They went around the table telling jokes.  It was hilarious!!!!  Cal had a great idea, for every joke they told, they had to take 'x' number of bites of supper.  By the end they we were all laughing the hardest we'd laughed in awhile and Blake, Em and Reese's plates were almost empty!  They were all soooo funny!! Their facial expressions, hand gestures and how funny they thought they were, it was awesome!  And a fabulous way to end the weekend, everyone laughing so hard and having a great time :)

Reese and Emerson started swimming lessons on Friday afternoon.  They were extremely excited and spent the afternoon trying on swimsuits and packing their swimming bags!  Blake was disappointed he wasn't in lessons but he'll be quite busy with soccer 3 times a week and ball hockey once a week!  Reese did amazing in her first ever unparented lesson, we're so proud of her!!  She's a little fish and was doing bob's, and trying out assisted-front and back floats with no problem at all :)  During the game "Chop, chop, timber" the instructor asked Reese what kind of tree she was, to which she replied, "A Princess tree."  lol!  Em was unbelievably happy to start again.  When Emerson is happy, you have never seen a happier child in all your life!!  It is amazing.  Of course when she is angry, you've never seen an angrier child in all your life.  When she is sad, you've never seen a sadder child.  Etc, etc, etc.  That's our Em, nothing is half-assed!!!  But back to swimming, she was so, so happy about swimming lessons.  We didn't know who her instructor was but once we got Reese in the right meeting spot, we went in search of Em's group.  I spotted Deanna who has taught all the kids at one point in the past.  I said to Em, "I think Deanna is your instructor, Em!  She's right there."  Em piped up, "OH!  Yeah, I hope she is!  There she is!  She's the best, I love her.  I had her in Bobbers and probably when I was with Dad."  And on and on and on until we reached Deanna and found out that yes, Em is in her class!!  Em was smiling the entire time, like huge ear to ear grin!  And every time we made eye contact, she'd give us the thumb's up!  So sweet :)  We also caught her trying to say hi to Reese from across the pool!

Saturday morning brought Blake's first ball hockey game.  And guess what ... Cal is helping Coach.  Surprise, surprise.  Not enough volunteer's!  Of course we are not surprised, as we come across this EVERYWHERE!!!  Sports, Parent Council, Preschool Board, there are never enough volunteers!  But Cal is glad to help out as secretly, I know he wanted to :)  Blake had a blast and it looks like it will be a fun season!  2 of his school mates are also on his team, which he is excited about!

After ball hockey, we were off to the Edge's 24 hr charity challenge.  Blake was slotted to play in the pre-novice age division from 12 to 1.  We went a bit earlier to register, drop off Blake's pledge's, check out the silent auction and participate in the airplane toss (closest paper airplane to centre ice wins a prize).  This was an excellent event, very well organized and 100% of the donations went to the Matt Cook Foundation.  You can read more about the foundation here: http://www.mattcookfoundation.com/.  Thank you so much to everyone who sponsored Blake.  He had a very hard time speaking to some of his family members but we hope he is learning a valuable lesson about fundraising for charity and the difference he can make in the community.

After Blake's game, we went to BP's for pizza and then home to relax after a pretty busy day :)

Today was Church, yard clean-up and playing outside.  The weather has been okay, a bit on the windy side, but nice enough to be out in hoodies!

Hope you had a great weekend :)

Tracy