Beginning of July!

After the Cameron Family Reunion we took Canada Day off to rest and relax! Happy Canada Day everyone, very thankful for the country we live in and our rights and freedoms.

The next morning we headed to the small town of Calahoo to see the Stanley Cup! The coach of the St. Louis Blues is from Calahoo and was bringing the cup home!! We lined up and made it in to see the cup ... apparently they cut the line off at some point so I was very thankful we actually got to see the cup and didn't wait in line only to be sent home. Anyways, it was very cool to touch the Stanley Cup and have our photo taken with it :) Fun experience!!

On the 5th Cal headed to Crowsnest Pass with friends to run in the Sinister 7 race. He had a fun weekend and a successful run! The weather was much better this year, thankfully.

On the 9th Emerson finally had her hair cut!! 9" to be exact. She has wanted to chop her hair for a long time and we finally scheduled the appointment. She was so excited and happy!! It was hard for mom to embrace but it's just hair ;) Reese also had a few inches cut off but not quite as much! Both girls look so cute with their new hair-do's and a bit older too.

On the 11th we headed to Calgary for lacrosse provincials. They won 2, lost 2 but battled hard and had some really great games. The team had a lot of fun in between games, taking a trip to Olympic park to try the bobsleigh track!! Blake said it was a lot of fun!! They also had their wind-up party at the hotel, enjoying a pizza party and a hilarious game of musical chairs!! Seriously, we never thought musical chairs would be that huge of a hit with this age of boys but it was and they played like lacrosse players - elbows up and full contact ... lol!!!! It was a great season of lacrosse for Blake, he learned a lot and made some new friends too! Time for an organized sports break :) But already looking forward to next season!! He's hoping to make Bantam A as a first year player :)

This week we had some awesome play dates before we head off on vacacy! First up was a super fun day with the Stecyk's at their beach club!! We always love a day at the beach with Linds and the boys! The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to visit and catch up! The next day we hung out at the McArthur's and the kids had a fabulous idea to do a Kool-Aid stand at Lake Beumaris! They each made some pocket change and had some fun :) We ended the week with a pool date with the Bucci's!! We checked out Borden park pool and soaked up some sun!!

We're getting so close to summer vacation we can taste it!! That will be its own blog post!! See you all soon, I hope summer is off to a great start for you!

Cameron Family Reunion

This weekend we attended the Cameron family reunion! It was a short 10 min drive to Namao, AB! These Cameron's really know how to put on a great event!! Cal's cousins, Aunts and Uncles organized a wonderful event. We rarely get to see everyone and almost every one of his Aunts, Uncles and cousins attended! It was fabulous! Many delicious meals and beverages were shared, a long with a lot of laughs! There were games for the kids, a super fun family trivia night and an organzied bus tour that took us around the countryside - highlighting the original homestead in St. Albert, AB and various other sites, Churchs and homesteads that tell the story of the Cameron family. We ended the tour at the Busby cemetery where many of our Cameron relatives have been laid to rest. The Cameron clan enjoys a good cemetery tour and low and behold it was a really nice afternoon! The kids completed a cemetary scavenger hunt and we had a nice picnic lunch. We enjoyed a bon fire in the evening and lots of visiting. Thank you to everyone who organized the event, we enjoyed ourselves immensely and were so happy to see everyone!

More June fun!

We were happy to support Reese's friend Jordan, in her journey to raise money towards her fight with Giant Axonal Neuropahty. Jordan has been in either Reese or Emerson's class since kindergarten and has undergone so many medical treatments and trials over the course of her short life, yet she still remains positive and upbeat!! She is so smiley and kind to all her classmates and friends, just a real sweetheart! Reese enjoyed visiting with Jordan at the Save-On-Foods fundraiser! I'm so glad we were able to stop by :)

Brownies wrapped up for Reese on June 6th with a year end ceremony and celebration! Reese had so much fun at Brownies this year, we were very impressed with the program. They learned, explored and had a blast! Thank you so much to her leaders who put so much time into organizing these fantastic activities! Reese will be moving on to Girl Guides next year!

Emerson had an awesome weekend with her friend Lueca for her 10th birthday!! Lueca's mom took Emerson, Lueca and another friend to Calgary for a one night sleepover in a hotel!! They shopped, swam at the hotel and visited the Calgary Zoo! Em had a blast :)

Blake's spring hockey season ended on June 9th with a final tournament. They had some really exciting games but didn't come away with a medal. Overall we had a really great experience with spring hockey and Blake is glad he played! He continued to develop his skills and killed it as a dman!! We made some new friends and had a lot of fun. Now we're all ready for a break from the rinks and I think Blake's body will be glad to have a rest from hockey.

On the 15th Blake finally got to celebrate his birthday with a friends party! He had a sleepover with 5 of his closest friends. They hung out in the basement for the most part and stayed up all night. Literally ALL night!!! The next day Blake was pretty good until the early evening when he crashed! The affects of the all-nighter hit him ;) He had a lot of fun though and would like another sleepover next year!

My friend and former co-worker, Jean, hosted a girls night at her house. She usually plans these nights once a year and goes all out! This years theme was Taco Tuesday! She is such an amazing party planner and host, we always have so much fun!! This year was no different! She made authentic Mexican cuisine, right down to the drinks and dessert!

On the 20th I picked Emerson up from school early and we headed to Legal! Emerson joined her Ukrainian dance friend Chloe for a performance at Chloe's school talent show!! It was so much fun to bring the girls together and Em and I really enjoyed the country drive :)

On the 22nd I had my first sleepover in my 30's ... lol! Even though one of my best friends lives just 40 min away, I rarely get to see her. So we planned a girls night and I spent the night at her house :) It was so much fun and so nice to spend some time together.

And I am now officially on summer vacation! So excited for a few months off and some sunny weather :)

School's Out for the Summer!

We're outta here!!! No more teachers, no more books ... nevermind. There will be books! Lots of books!! Anyways, school is out for the summer and we couldn't be more excited :) Grade 6 for Blake - check! Grade 4 for Emerson - check! Grade 3 for Reese - check! They've all had great years and progressed through their grades quite well! Emerson always feels a touch nervous about summer break as she really enjoys the routine of school and sports but she's feeling great right now! I am sad that all the kids won't be at the same school next school year but these past few years all together have been wonderful. Time to enjoy our summer!! Bring on the sun :)

Blake's Grade 6 Farewell

Today Blake said farewell to grade 6 and Ecole Bishop Savaryn. His school celebrated with a year end mass at St. Charles Church. My parents were able to attend and it was a nice ceremony! And of course the girls were there, as the entire school was bussed to St. Charles for the ceremony. After the Church ceremony they had a short get together in a banquet room with coffee, juice and Timbits. That evening I organized a dinner for his grade 6 class. We all met at Boston Pizza and had a great time reminiscing and visiting! He has attended Ecole Bishop Savaryn since kindergarten and all his best friends have also been there since kindergarten! We've become a very close-knit group and some are moving on to other schools next year so it was a touch sad to know that these years are ending but we will definitley all keep in touch! I'm so thankful for this group of mom's who have supported eachother over the years. We've had some ups and downs and a lot of fun too! Many playdates on early dismissal days - lunch at McDonald's, library dates where the kids played Pokemon, park dates, house playdates, etc :) We've been blessed with a wonderful group of families! It's hard to believe our baby boy is headed to junior high next year but we know he will continue to soar and excel!! I know he is more than ready to move on to this next chapter of his life!

Cal takes on Florida!

Cal was lucky enough to attend a work conference in Florida from June 1st to 5th! The kids and I were jealous of his close proximity to Disney World and then our jaws dropped when we saw the resort he was staying at! Check it out here: Gaylord Palms!

He enjoyed the conference and networking with suppliers. His trip home was a bit of a nightmare with missed flights and being stranded at he Calgary airport at midnight!! Thankfully he was able to secure a hotel and in the end, received some flight discounts for future flights. Most importantly, he arrived home safe and sound, just a day late :)

Woah .. MAY!!

May has been intense ;) But fun!!

May started out with the Crusher Cup! Cal and Mom decided to make their weekends busier by volunteering to time keep! I guess I shouldn't say "volunteering" as they were paid! The Outriders had a good tourney, bringing home a silver medal on Blake's 12th birthday!! We were lucky enough to fit in a family lunch to celebrate his birthday. We met the Stecyk's and G&G at Red Robin's before the gold medal game! This weekend was also the Veeteretz Year End recital. Thankfully Cal and Blake were able to attend, as Blake's game wasn't until the evening on the 4th! Sometimes the timing works out in our favor ;) At first I wasn't happy about an 8:15 pm game but, turns out it was a blessing! Em had a fantastic season of dance! Each year she grows and learns and advances! It's such a joy to watch her perform and she has made some great friends with her teammates. Looking forward to next season!!

Some of our other May highlights were:
- a date with my sister-in-law Lesley ;) We met up at Moxie's for dinner before going to the Thomas Rhett concert at Rogers Place!! It was such a fun night and so great to catch up with Lesley!!
- Reese attended a Brownies Rally Day! We dropped her off at Walmart where they took a bus to Hawrelak Park for the day! She had a blast :)
- Blake finished the Babysitting Course! He attended classes hosted by his school, which was really nice as they were on early dismissal Thursday's so didn't take any of his evening or weekend time :)
- Grandma Marg visisted!! We're so lucky to have her in our lives and that she is healthy enough to spend time out west with us!!
- Emerson and her group performed for the last time this dance season, at UFest in Borden park. Such a fun event!! We enjoyed some perogies afterwards, of course ;) Later that day Blake's spring team had an exhibition game in Penhold. We've never been to the Penhold rec facility and were quite surprised by how nice it was!!
- We met up with Bev, Katie and Greyson for lunch one afternoon as they were in town for a taekwondo tournament!
- I was lucky enough to take a day off work to volunteer with Blake's class at their field trip to the Bennett Centre. It was a bit emotional for me as this is likely the last field trip I'll be able to volunteer for with Blake as he moves on to grade 7 next year. Crazy!!

And May ended with a busy day on the 28th, as Blake and Cal attended grade 6 camp at Camp Yowochas. They had an awesome day and evening!! I'm so glad Cal could take the day off to attend with Blake! The same day, I went out for dinner and to the Carrie Underwood concert with my sister and friends Adriana and Steph. It was so much fun and man, can that lady put on a performance!!

May 31st was my parents 39th wedding anniversary - Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! Love you guys!!

Our May long weekend was very different than our usual but I'll write a seperate post on that :) Talk to you all soon!!