Christmas Celebrations!

Christmas Eve brought our annual PJ Service at St. Albert United Church, followed by a fast food dinner in the van and driving around, looking at Christmas lights :) Our favorite spots to visit are Candy Cane Lane and Bob's Christmas House! It was an awesome evening, again one of my most favorite Christmas traditions! On the way home our friends the Bucci's texted us and asked us to come over, so we rushed home, changed out of our pj's and stopped by for a visit. The kids were quite concerned we were out so late on Christmas Eve ;) I think we got home around midnight but would have stayed longer had the kids not been concerned about Santa's visit!!!

We awoke Christmas morning to Santa's magic! I popped the Christmas wife saver in the oven and we enjoyed our new gifts :) Mom and Dad stopped by for a visit and dinner (appetizers as requested by the kids!). It was a quite but very enjoyable day at home.

On Boxing Day we were off to Stony Plain to celebrate with all the 'Smith' family! We had a great day at Mom and Dad's and came home late that evening with full hearts and full bellies :)

On the 27th we were out of the house early to drop Quinn off at the kennel and head to Grande Prairie to visit Cal's family! His brother and family were leaving G.P. that evening so we wanted to get there early in the afternoon to enjoy dinner together and open gifts! We spent 2 nights in Grande Prairie and had a great time catching up with all the Cameron family. We visited Cal's grandpa at the long term care centre he lives at and his Grandma came by for a visit as well. It was great to see everyone and thankfully the roads were great on the way up and pretty good on the way home!

We had an awesome few days with family and feel so blessed!! Merry Christmas everyone!!

xoxo
The Cameron's

2018 Christmas Letter and Card

Hello everyone! ‘tis the season!! The season for last minute letter writing, cookie baking and Christmas shopping J Or at least that’s the case in our household!! We are spending a quiet Christmas day at home this year. On Boxing Day we will be in Stony Plain to celebrate with our Smith/Stecyk family and on the 27^th we are heading to Grande Prairie to visit Cal’s side of the family. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone!

I had a bit of trouble starting this letter this year. We lost my Grandpa Art in September and I feel like it’s hard to celebrate all the good in 2018 with the loss of such an important man in our lives. We were glad to be in SK with our immediate and extended family during this time. We miss him dearly but are glad he is no longer suffering. We will hold close all our wonderful memories, especially at this time of year as I remember the 20+ years I spent with him at Christmas time.

A little update on the kiddo’s in 2018 … Blake is 11 and in grade 6, hard to believe he’ll be off to junior high next year! We’re enjoying this last year of having all 3 kids in the same school. He played lacrosse this spring and brought home a silver medal from provincials in Calgary! He’s still obsessed with hockey and this year is working really hard on his slap shot. He’s decided to play spring hockey this spring and Cal will be coaching. Blake’s missing his favorite coach behind the bench this winter season. He tried a new sport this year when he joined the school volleyball team and enjoyed himself! I’ve also heard rumblings of playing school basketball, so we’ll see how he’ll fit all this in. He’s not still for long, unless he’s playing FortNite!!

Emerson is 9 and in grade 4! She is Ukrainian dancing again this year and playing ringette. She has chosen to split the goalie position in ringette this year and is doing very well. We may have a goalie on our hands, although league rules do not allow a player to play goalie 100% of the time until U12A. I am an assistant coach on her ringette team. Emerson was in guitar lessons until the end of June and is still practicing most weeks. She joined the school choir this year and is slightly annoyed her sister was old enough to also join!! Em is the best little helper I have, always willing to help with chores, cooking, walking the dog, etc.

Reese is 8 and in grade 3! She loves school and loves to read but her favorite subject is Math. Reese joined Brownies this fall and is having such a great time with her bestie! She had her first overnight Brownie camp and it was also her first time away from home for 2 nights (other than Grandma and Grandpa’s house)! I was a bit worried but she did great and had a blast. She’s looking forward to another Brownie camp in the spring. Reese is also playing ringette this winter and I am co-coaching her team. She is having a great season and is glad to finally be in U10 and playing regular league games. Like her sister, she enjoys playing goalie! Reese was in piano lessons until the end of June and would like to start lessons again. She still enjoys music and art and is quite the little artist J

We enjoyed our annual summer vacation road trip this year, visiting two new towns (Revelstoke and Golden) and our old favorite, Wright’s Beach in Penticton. We camped near Cal’s brother and family while in Penticton and had a great time. The weather was HOT!! We had a nice visit with Cal’s Aunt Sharon and Aunt Madeleine and were happy to also visit my great Aunt Gwen and great Uncle Frank! We embarked on the river float this year which scared the heck out of all of us when our tubes got caught up at a bridge. Lesson learned and the second float down the river was much less terrifying!! We absolutely loved Revelstoke and Golden. In Revelstoke we stayed at a campground on Upper Arrow Lake, it was gorgeous and the girls made new friends from Vernon, Germany and St. Lucia! Golden was also a surprise, we really enjoyed the Grizzly Bear refuge at Kicking Horse and the municipal campground was surprisingly nice and not a ‘parking lot’ as we anticipated.

In other news we added a new member to our family at the end of May when we adopted a puppy from a local rescue. We really missed having a dog in our lives and spent some time looking for what we hoped was the right fit! We wanted a larger breed, hoping to have a pal to hike, run and walk with us!! Quinn Jasper Cameron is her name but she was originally named Debbie by the rescue! We considered keeping Debbie (I had visions of yelling, “Debbie!! Get inside! or Debbie, it’s time for supper!!” lol!) but the family wasn’t quite on board and finally settled on Quinn, which suits her just fine J Jasper was also a front runner but some of us felt it was a more masculine name. One of our favorite places is Jasper and she has the coloring of Jasper the bear, so it was decided it would be her middle name! We love her so much and are working hard to train her. House and crate training were a breeze, she’s a very smart pup and she’s awesome with us but protective when strangers come to the house, which has proven challenging (tips are welcomed!). She loves the dog park, doggy daycare and lots and lots of exercise!! At almost 9 months she is 60 lbs and most closely resembles a border collie/lab cross but we’d love to do a doggy DNA test to see what breeds come back! She had so much fun with us on holidays this summer, loving the water and all the walks. We had fun with her at the doggy beach in Penticton, where she could swim with the kids! There’s nothing like the unconditional love of a dog J  

 Cal and I are still at our same jobs. I’ve upped my FTE a touch this year and have been picking up some casual hours. We’re living the rink life this winter and loving it, although Cal misses coaching hockey but is happy to be planning for the spring season!! Cal ran in the Sin7 Ultra race this summer with his November Project friends. When Quinn is a bit older, he hopes she will be his new running buddy!

Take care everyone, wishing you a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!

All our love,

The Cameron family

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!

December has been so much fun!! We kicked the month off with our annual trip to the private Santa at WEM :) Mom and Dad have been taking the grandkids for the past few years and it's one of our favorite Christmas time memories. Santa is so awesome with the kids and takes so much time with them!! It was a great way to start the month of December!!

We decked the Cameron halls on December 3rd! We weren't sure how Quinn would feel about the decorations and were concerned with how she'd treat the Christmas tree, but so far so good!! What a good pup ;)

On December 6th Reese had her holiday party at Brownie's! She came home with a bag full of Christmas crafts and treats and even brought home her very own Grinch tree, it was so cute :)

On December 6th Emerson and I headed to Cochrane for a ringette tournament, Blake and Cal headed to Stettler on the 8th for a hockey tournament and Reese headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for a sleepover :) We all had a great weekend. Em and the Panthers did win on the scoreboard but had an awesome weekend of team bonding and a ton of fun! Emerson and I stayed with the Parenteau's on the 6th and it was great to catch up with them and visit! On the 7th we stayed with the Panthers at the hotel. On the 8th we headed to Stettler to catch some of Blake's games and cheer on the Spartans! Then home on the 9th to reunite with our Reesey! Reese had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa :)

I caught a winter cold/sinus infection and felt like crap for a few weeks but started to recover around the 16th, just in time to volunteer for a field trip to Sunridge Ski Hill with the kids and their school! We love skiing so much, I really need to make more time for it. We had a great day on the hill, Blake and Em basically ski with their friends all day and Reese and I ski with her friends!

On the 21st we all helped to construct and decorate a gingerbread village! It was a lot of fun and I love how the kids are now very particular about their decorating vs just eating the candy, lol! It's become one of my most favorite Christmas traditions!!

Somewhere in December we wrote our annual Santa letters and did a pile of baking!! Of course our sugar cookies were a must, a Christmas staple in the Cameron house and so delicious!! We also baked peanut butter marshmallow squares, whipped shortbread and Christmas crack! Yummmmmy!! We were able to gift quite a bit of our baking to the girls ringette coaches and all the teachers :)

Next up ... Christmas Day and beyond!!

October/November 2018

Lots of fun was had in Oct/Nov!! Here are a few highlights :)

- Our 14th wedding anniversary on October 9th! 14 years of marriage but many more together!! Hard to believe it's been 14 years. We are so blessed and are looking forward to many more years!
- Blake scored his 1st goal in Beaumont on October 14th!! He was SO excited and so were we!! And it was awesome to see his teammates and some of his coaches also happy for him :)
- Blake and Cal attended the Oilers home opener vs the Bruins on the 18th! I was happy to give him my seat for the game, so he could watch his favorite two teams ;) The game even went to OT, with the Oilers coming out on top!!
- Reese and the Ice Queens attended a tournament in Beaumont on the Oct. 19 weekend! They had a lot of fun :)
- We celebrated my Dad's 62nd birthday in Stony Plain with my sister and her family and my mom's famous carrot cake :)
- Reese kicked off Halloween celebrations with a party at Brownie's on the 25th!
- Cal, Reese and I met Olivia Hren on Nov. 1!! Blake and Emerson were sick so stayed home. She's adorable!!
- On Nov. 4th Emerson and I took a road trip to Red Deer for a league game!
- On the 10th I had a super fun night out with some fellow hockey moms. Dinner and dancing, it's great for the soul ;)
- I turned 38 on the 14th and enjoyed a yummy Mt. Fuji dinner and delicious cake with my family and mom and dad :)
- Blake attended his first volleyball tournament on Nov. 15th. He had a blast!
- Blake had a blast on a school field trip to the Grey Cup Festival on Nov. 22!
- I drove Reese and Alexa out to a two night brownie camp on Nov. 23. She was hesitant to go and i was nervous to let her go but it all turned out just fine and she had a BLAST!!

And now we get ready for the Christmas season!! Can't wait! Talk to you all soon :)

xo
Tracy

Reese turns 8!!

Our baby is 8 years old!! We love our little Reecey piecey so much! She brings so many laughs, smiles and the best hugs into our lives! She is an easy-going, happy little girl :) She loves life, loves her family is the happiest gal around (who can also turn on the waterworks at the drop of a pin, lol!! Reese is growing up so fast, it's hard to believe she is already 8 years old. Reese loves to draw, write stories, play with her LOL dolls and barbies (she's now into cutting her Barbie doll's hair and making them clothes out of old socks), loves ringette and especially playing goalie and is really enjoying Brownies! Her favorite subject in school in Math! She is very creative and loves to craft and make everything - from baking, Barbie clothes, slime creations, cards, crafts and anything else she can think of! She's always up for the outdoor rink or going skating!

Reese enjoyed her 8th birthday party at Colour Me Mine in West Edmonton Mall. She wanted a 'Winnie the Pooh' theme and everyone painted a Winnie the Pooh mug :) She had a blast at her party and was so happy to spend time with her closest friends! On the 19th (her actual birthday), we had my family over for cake and spaghetti, Reese's favorite meal :)

Love ya to the moon and back, Reese!! Can't wait to see how much fun you have being 8!!

xoxo

Halloween 2018

Another year of Halloween festivities is in the book! We had a delicious potluck at work and then I took a few hours off to catch the Halloween parade at the kids school and spend some time in each of their classrooms! Halloween night we took our annual photos at our house and then drove over to the Bucci's for a night of fun with the Bucci's and Mauro's! The weather was okay, not too cold but not too warm either and the kids got SO much candy!! Hope everyone had a great Halloween :)

Reese - Cuddle Team Leader (from Fortnite), Emerson - Scary Scarecrow, Blake - Black Knight (from Fortnite) and Quinn - a taco!!

Reese is a Brownie!

Reese's best friend Alexa left Bishop Savaryn school this year. They were both very upset that they wouldn't be in the same school this year so Alexa's mom and I decided we should sign them up for an extracurricular activity so they'd still get to see each other each week!! We tossed around the idea of indoor soccer, karate and settled on Brownies! And I'm sure glad we chose Brownies!! It's been a wonderful program and super affordable. They're having a lot of fun, have already attended a day camp outside and earned two badges :) They're in the thick of cookie sales right now but they sure aren't a hard sell! People are crazy for these mint chocolate girl guide cookies, Reese sold 2 cases within 40 minutes at Blake's hockey game!! Reese is deciding whether or not she wants to go to an overnight camp in November. She says she only sleeps over at Grandma and Grandpa's but I can tell that she is seriously considering going! I think she knows how much fun it will be :) We'll keep you posted on whether or not she goes!

MAIL FROM HER BROWNIE LEADERS!!

REESE LOVED RECEIVING THIS IN THE MAIL, PRIOR TO HER FIRST BROWNIE MEETING :)