A Day at the Stecyk Cabin

After a stressful weekend with hockey tryouts, I was really looking forward to this day at the Stecyk cabin. And it ended up being a great day! We visited, Quinn LOVED the wide open space and running free in the woods and the kids loved the quad rides!! The weather was gorgeous and we had fun spending time with family and friends :) My parents were camped there for the weekend and Phil was as well. Phil's girlfriend Amanda and her son also visited for the day. Hard to believe school starts tomorrow but what a great way to end summer 2018!! Thanks for having us, Stecyk's :) :)

Other Summer 2018 Highlights

Besides are summer vacation, we had many other great summer days!!

We kicked the summer off with a July long weekend camping trip to Cross Lake Provincial Park with my parents! It was Quinn's first camping trip and she did quite well :) The weather wasn't the greatest but we did get in some tubing, fishing and lots of baseball!! One day Blake caught a jack fish, while out fishing with my Dad. He was so excited when he got back to the trailer! He told me all about it and how they released it and then said, "I'm so happy! I love camping!" It almost made me cry to hear him say that!! There's just nothing better than hearing that from one of your kids :) Thanks Mom and Dad for a great weekend!!

 
On the 5th we got picked up in the Bucci bus and headed to the Legislature grounds to cool off in the fountains :) Great day with one of our favorite families!! Love those Bucci's!!

On the weekend of July 7, Cal headed down south to race in the Sin 7 race and Emerson went to a friends cabin for 2 nights. So it was just Blake, Reese and I at home which was weird but fun! We took Quinn for lots of walks and to the park! Cal had a great time at Sin 7. His team did not get disqualified this year, the weather was better than last year and they rented a house this time instead of camping in a field!! So no ant bites this year, lol! He ran leg 4 again this year and was back in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon, just in time to rescue me as I had locked my keys in the van at the library!! Emerson had fun at her friends cabin but found that 2 nights away felt a bit long.

 

On July 8 we had Colby and Jenna over for a sleepover. The kids had a great time and loved having their cousins over!! We took a long bike ride to the park and enjoyed the sun :)

On the 11th we picked up Blake's friend Gavin and headed to the Summerside beach for a beach day with the Stecyk's! The weather was great, my shoulders burned and we all had fun!! On the way home we stopped in at 7-11 for free slurpee day! A great way to end the day :) Thanks for having us, Stecyk's!! Always a great time!!

 

On the 13th it was off to Calgary for lax provincials!! We had a great weekend with our lax family and even snuck in a visit with the Parenteau's!! We watched a lot of great lax, Blake played so well and the team left Calgary with a silver medal! They were so close to coming back in the gold medal game but should be very proud of themselves for bringing home silver! A great weekend and experience!!

And now it's August and the days of summer are dwindling :( But we still have a few weeks left, so here's to making the most of it!! Our weather has been so good, we've been very lucky! Hope it continues into September!!

Cheers,

Tracy

Summer Vacation

Summer vacay ... 2018 edition!!

We had another wonderful summer road trip!! This year we stayed in Canada but kind of regretted not being able to visit a Target during this road trip ... lol!! We visited some new places this time and loved them all :) Here's a re-cap of our favorites!!

Our first stop was just outside Kananaskis! We parked in a casino parking lot for the night, just to break up the drive to BC! A quick supper and games night in the trailer and we were off to sleep and up early the next morning, ready and excited to hit the road. It's funny how these little 1 nighters in a parking lot can be fun but the kids do seem to get a kick out of them!!

Stop two was Revelstoke, BC. We LOVED the little campground we stayed at, Williamson Lake Campground. Our site was small but right on the playground and the lake was beautiful. The kids enjoyed the water and meeting new friends! The girls met a girl from Vernon who they played with for a few days, until she had to leave and another friend from St. Lucia!! They also played with a girl from Germany and I really enjoyed listening and watching them as they tried to learn a little bit of German and tried to teach their new friend a little bit of English! It was getting late one evening when they were playing but Cal and I decided we'd allow them to stay up later as they were having so much fun and the 'international relations' were fun to watch ;) In Revelstoke we also visited the Giant Cedars Boardwalk and did some walking around town and geocaching. We played a lot of cards and enjoyed the warm weather!! It was a nice, relaxing stop!!

Stop three was one of our faves - Wright's Beach Campground in Penticton, BC. We visited for the first time last year and had to go back this year!! Gerry and Lesley and kids also camped with us again this year. We had a great time! We looooove Penticton!! So much to do and see and the weather is perfect :) Soooo hot but it doesn't matter when you can jump into beautiful Okanogan Lake or Skaha Lake!! We enjoyed beach days, 2 floats down the river, a visit to the Wibit and lots of walking and ice cream!! Oh and tons of hours in the pool!! The kids just love the pool. The adults enjoyed adult beverages and crib games at night while the kids were in bed!! We visited the Penticton sign this year as well and enjoyed a visit from the Parenteau's for 1 night! We all had dinner at Auntie Sharon's again this year and this time Auntie Madeleine joined us as well! It was great to see them. Cal, the kids and I also popped in to visit my Great Aunt Gwen and Great Uncle Frank. They are looking fantastic and have a very nice condo in a great spot in downtown Penticton! We parked there and then walked to the Farmer's Market downtown. We also visited Cannery Brewing this summer and fell in love with it!! The Tyson's had recommended it and we're so glad we went, can't wait to go back! Cal is now on the hunt for a Growler ;) And we let the kids enjoy a treat from the Peach this year ... the milkshakes are like a meal!! So fun! Again we did some geocaching in Penticton and one adventure Cal and Blake went on, had me driving to pick them up as they'd walked many km's from the campground!! We had a lot of fun with Quinn. She loved the water and there was even a dog beach we could take her too and swim with her!! She loved swimming and loved digging in the sand :) She met a few doggy friends as well, who she enjoyed wrestling with!! While we were on vacation she outgrew her kennel and ended up sleeping with us!

The final stop on this summer's journey was Golden. We'd only seen Golden from the highway and were quite surprised by how nice it was!! It's a great little town! The campground was on a river and very nice and the town pool was a short walk away! The kids had a blast at the pool one day and we also took a drive up to Kicking Horse Resort and decided to take a chair lift up to the Grizzly Bear Refuge on the mountain!!! We all loved this experience and learned so much! We actually got to see Boo the bear and the kids thought it was pretty cool!! We'd go back for sure!

It was a fabulous vacation. The weather was amazing and the time together was priceless. I'm so grateful for these camping experiences and memories, there's nothing like them!

We're home now and ready for a fun August!! I'll have to update you on the beginning of July as well :) Talk to you soon!!

Jeepers ... it's June?!

Blake and his Pewee C lax team participated in the Baggataway lax tournament on the weekend of June 8. They played hard and came away with a silver medal! Their coaches are involved with the Miners lax club and they got to use the Miners dressing room all weekend, which is a cool perk ;)

I was lucky enough to take some time off to attend a field trip with Blake and his grade 5 class. We explored Lois Hole Provincial Park and learned all about the Wetlands from Ducks Unlimited Canada. It was an excellent field trip and I can't believe we haven't been to Lois Hole Provincial Park, it's beautiful out there! Lots of walking trails and you really feel as though you're in the country but you're only 5 minutes from the city :) We'll have to take Quinn for a walk there one day soon!!

On the weekend of June 16th Blake and friends participated in the Top Shelf 3 on 3 street hockey tournament! They went undefeated and came home with the gold!! The North side Kings dominated!! It was a fun weekend with friends, watching our boys kick some butt!!

On June 21st the girls had their music recitals. Each at different locations but scheduled so we could make both :) Reese played her piano piece beautifully and then we enjoyed hearing Em on the guitar :) This wraps up their music lessons for the summer. They might start again in the fall!

From June 25-27 I was on jury duty! I could not believe I was selected and quite honestly, this was not the time I wanted to be selected as those are the only dates I had off, all to myself, before the kids were off school!! My last day of work until September 1st was June 22. But it did all work out and I actually enjoyed the process. It was a tough case but I found the entire process to be very interesting and I am glad I had the learning experience. Now next time, I hope it's only work I have to miss and not 3 days of freedom ... lol!!

And suddenly, it was the last day of school!! Oh how the time flies! Our grade 5, 3 and 2 graduates were excited for summer vacation and we kicked it off with our annual spray park play date with friends :) The sun was out and we all had a great time!

We're looking forward to our summer vacation time, can't wait to get back to Penticton!!

Talk to you soon,

Tracy

Introducing .. Quinn Jasper Cameron

We are pawsitively smitten with our new addition!! It felt like it took forever to get her but she is finally home and we love her to death! Quinn was adopted from a local rescue - h.a.r.t. Edmonton. They rescue dogs from reservations around the Edmonton area. Quinn's mom was rescued at the beginning of March and had 9 puppies while in foster care! Quinn's birth date is March 15 and we adopted her officially on May 24th. She began her life as Debbie but after much deliberation, we all agreed on Quinn! Her FULL name is Quinn Jasper Cameron :) Quinn is a border collie/lab cross, with a possibility of other breeds!! I'd love to do a doggie dna test on her one day!! She is adorable, so soft and cute with her white nose, chest, feet and white on the tip of her tail!! She's quite shy right now but attached to me quite quickly! On Victoria Day when Cal and I went to meet the puppies, we had to give the rescue our top 2 choices. They then called us to let us know which puppy they thought would be the best match for our family (prior to this I had submitted an application and then did a phone interview). A volunteer from h.a.r.t then brought Quinn over to spend a day with us. Before she left, she did a home inspection. They are very thorough!! We loved having Quinn and she did wonderful, it was very hard to see her leave that evening, we just wanted to keep her! After some more paperwork and a spay appointment she was finally ours and home to stay :) Her first days with us were a bit hectic, with Blake being in the the Parkland Lacrosse Tournament!! She spent some time at my mom and dad's and hanging outside the arena in Beaumont!! But she did great! She seems to struggle a bit with meeting new people, especially men, but I'm sure as the days pass she will learn to trust more. She sleeps okay at night but her foster mom got all the puppies up at 5:30 am so I'm working on changing her wake up time!! The first night we had her, we weren't sure where she'd sleep so I lifted her up on to our bed and she immediately started chewing on my hair and arms and licking me like crazy!! So I thought, "NOPE!!" lol! And put her in her kennel. She fell fast asleep ... and is sleeping in her kennel! Which is actually very nice! Cal works from home most days and will try to work from home for all of June. Then I am off for the summer, so that will hopefully give us a good head start on training! She has had a few accidents in the house, but we take her out quite often and I think she's picking up on house training! Fingers crossed!!! It's so nice to have a dog in the house again but a lot of work ;) We really want to work hard with Quinn to train her well, especially considering she will be quite a large dog! Here are a few cute photo's to tide you over until the next post ;) Enjoy!! Love you so much Quinn, glad we found you!!

Adoption Photo!!

Quinn (Debbie) and her D litter, litter mates!!

Hey May - where'd ya go?!

Blake's 11th birthday was May 5th! The girls and I had a long day planned in Fort Saskatchewan for Emerson's year end dance recital and Blake and Cal went to Blake's lacrosse game. After dance and lacrosse, we celebrated our birthday boy with DQ ice cream cake! The next day we met the Stecyk's and G&G D at Soda Jerks for a birthday dinner and came back to our house for Grandma D's famous carrot cake (birthday boys request!!) Blake wanted to see the new Star Wars movie (SOLO) for his birthday so we waited until yesterday (June 1) to have his birthday party. He had Dante, Brogin, Max and Gavin over for tacos and Fortnite and then we took all the kids to the movie. He had a blast and we all loved the movie!!

Em's year end dance recital was fabulous!! It was a long, busy day but she did so well in the welcome dance and in her group dances :) She was invited to be a part of the welcome dance this year, which meant extra rehearsals and being at the theater extra early. But she did so well and loved it and we just LOVE watching her dance!! Another dance year is over and she has grown and learned so much, we're so proud of her! She seemed to love dance more this year, which is awesome. She definitely bonded more with her group, which makes a big difference!

Our May weekends and evenings seemed a bit slower for us and we all enjoyed our down time, which often led into bike rides, slurpee runs, street hockey, lacrosse and baseball!! But also more iPad time, X-box time and iPhone time (lets be honest). Loved it though and really appreciated a less 'scheduled' calendar :)

On May 12 we headed to the horse races after Blake's lax practice! It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun. We didn't bet much, so we didn't win much but we enjoyed hanging out at the track, seeing the horses and cheering on our favorites!! Cal and I used to go to the horse races a lot pre-kids and we've been a few times with the kids when they were little but haven't been in awhile! If we win the lotto, we're buying a horse!!! lol! We will try to go back every summer, we all enjoyed it :)

Our year end Church BBQ seems to always fall on Mother's Day which makes me slightly grumpy but by the end of the day, my mood has always turned around ;) I help plan and cook for the BBQ so it is a busy morning! We had a nice BBQ at my parents house that evening :)

May long weekend was a great first camping trip of the year!! We left Friday after work and had pretty good weather! Can't complain! The kids got out on the tube, Reese also kneeboarded and they all fished as well! The Scott's and Streadwick's weren't with us this year but the Pasko's and Stagg's were and we had a great time. On holiday Monday Cal and I packed up and left the kids with Mom and Dad, as we had an appointment to meet some puppies from H.A.R.T. Edmonton!!! (more on that to come!)

On the weekend of the 25th, Blake and the Wizards played in the Parkland Spring Classic lax tournament. They came in 3rd place and fought hard all weekend. I try very hard not to complain about officials but they were sure questionable this weekend :( Blake and team came in 3rd. Emerson also had her first birthday sleepover that weekend and had a lot of fun but very little sleep!!! A right of passage, I suppose ;)

That pretty much wraps up May! There was a lot of excitement at the end of the month but I will share that in a separate post!!

Wrapping up April

~ Blake and the KC Cougars were lucky enough to win a spot in the Ford Drills & Skills Train Like A Pro day at Rogers Place! Thank you to everyone who voted, this is an amazing opportunity for these young hockey players :) They had a great day experiencing a day in the life of a pro hockey player! 

~ Despite the cold, windy weather, we went ahead with a photo shoot for Emerson and Reese and boy oh boy am I ever glad we did!! Their photos turned out beautiful :)

~ lax started and we had our first bottle drive! We seem to be bottle drive pro's by now ;) Many people don't enjoy bottle drives and it's not that we really 'love' bottle drives but it is a great way to raise some money for a team and the kids have fun doing it!! So win-win - team bonding and raising funds for the expense of youth sports!!

~ We had a nice dinner with our niece Kourtney and great-niece Aurora! Aurora just turned 1 and is such a sweetheart!!

~ We got some great news towards the end of the month, when I logged on to Class Dojo and saw two amazing messages!! One from Emerson's teacher, letting me know that the bake sale her and a friend planned raised $401.05. All funds were donated to the Stollery Children's Hospital :) The second message was from Reese's teacher. She wanted to let us know that Reese's reading has improved dramatically and she has gone up about 6 reading levels!! Very, very proud parent moment! Way to go girls, we are soooooo proud of you both!

~ At the end of April my mom picked Emerson and I up for a quick day trip to North Battleford, SK! Emerson has in a dance competition! Thank you so much to my mom for driving us, it made the road trip that much better!! Em's group did amazing, earning two golds! We also had a nice visit with my mom's cousin and her husband. She was very close to my Grandma Kelley and it was nice to get a visit in :)