March 2020

 It's been a hard month. It started off much like most winter months start but it ended differently than we ever could have imagined. It's hard to write this right now to be honest, tears are falling. But I'll try to re-cap it as this is a space I want to be able to re-visit in years to come and I want to get it down. 

Reese and I started the month in Lacombe for the Raptors U10 Step 3 Black Gold League wind-up. We had a blast with the team and they skated away with many memories and smiles! I also enjoyed catching up with a friend from Stony Plain and wife, as their daughter played on the Spruce Grove team. 

On March 12th Blake and the Peewee AA Lancers played their last hockey game of the season. However, they did not know this would be their last game. Prior to the game we found out that due to the ongoing concerns over COVID19, hockey would be cancelled for the remainder of the season. It was actually during warmup that I learned this news. I chose not to tell the coaches or the team but man was it hard to know this was the end of the season. The boys played their hearts out, winning the game vs CAC in 1on1 OT. They all thought this meant they would proceed in playoffs but after the game the coaches broke the news to them - season is over. There were many tears, of course a lot of confusion and anger. This was such a great group of kids, coaches and families, we're sad to not be able to finish the season off as I think they had potential to go all the way.

Now, everything feels like it is falling apart :( The kids are online learning due to the pandemic. My office has been shut down and I am relocated to a health unit in Fort Saskatchewan with just my laptop and cell phone and really, no clear direction. We don't know what is happening with our jobs. Sports and activities are cancelled and the most heart-breaking of all, our Disneyland trip is postponed. We really held out hope that we could still go but this is turning in to a long, drawn out thing and travel is not recommended. I am so unbelievably sad for the kids, we've planned for this and saved for so long, my heart breaks but I know we have to stay safe and we can go again one day. It just sucks. Taking down our "Countdown to Disneyland" sign was a real stab in the heart. 

The last few weeks of March have been spent at home, of course. Quinn turned 2 on the 15th and is loving having us home :) We've watched a lot of movies and played board games. Thank god for Facetime as the kids have been able to keep in touch with their friends. I'm pretty much the only one leaving the house, as I go to work 3 days a week. 

So ending on a sad note but honestly, I am sad and scared and worried. So surreal to go from living our normal lives to this. Stay safe everyone, please just follow the recommendation and restrictions so we can get through this together. 

Birthday Month!

February is birthday month in the Cameron/Stecyk/Smith households! And I'd be lying if I didn't say, the other birthday months may feel slightly ripped off because the February birthday's get a lot of attention ... lol! Kidding but we do have fun celebrating a month of some of our favorite people, including Cal, Emerson, Mom, Jeremy, Connor and Mason! And it's also Gerry's birthday in Feb. :) 

But we started out February with tournaments!! Cal, Blake and I headed up to Grande Prairie with the Lancers via chartered bus. A fun experience for everyone!! We had a fantastic 3 days at the Peewee AA classic and the team brought home bronze after some very hard-fought and close games. A lot of our GP family came out to cheer the team on, Cal's Aunts and Uncles, Mom, Sister, Brother-in-Law, nieces, nephews, cousins and most specially, Grandma and Grandpa Alstad. So special to have Grandpa A watch one of Blake's game - he has been a huge supporter of hockey in Grande Prairie for many, many years. It was a tiring weekend for me but so rewarding as I planned all the travel, meals, activities, etc. This is such a great group of people, I just feel blessed to be able to help them and watch them play the game they love!!

While we were in Grande Prairie, Emerson and Grandma were in Hinton for a ringette tournament! This tournament was a last minute entry, we had all planned on going to GP but Em's coach decided that instead of doing the playdown weekend, they would attend a tournament instead. Luckily Grandma was able to bring Emerson and by all accounts, they had a really great time!! Emerson and Grandma both said they had fun and they enjoyed spending time with the team and even found a new Mexican restaurant to try!! Reese stayed with Grandpa and they drove to Hinton to cheer on the Devils for a day!! 

Cal was away for work in Calgary on his actual birthday so when he was back on the 14th we celebrated with dinner and a delicious apple pie :)

On the 15th Emerson celebrated her upcoming birthday at the trampoline park with a group of friends. They had a blast, running around and jumping and laughing! To see her smiling and having so much fun with her friends, was just heart warming!!! Loved it! She wanted a "sloth" cake so I had a photo of a baby sloth screened onto a DQ ice cream cake for her, it was so cute. Happy 11th birthday to our Em the gem! We love you so much and are so proud of the young lady you are growing up to be - smart, strong, loyal and so committed to everything you do! Love you to the moon and back :) 

On the 22nd we attended Family Fun Night for Veeteretz Ukrainian Dance! It was a great evening raising money for the dance club and having fun together. The kids love the Ukrainian food and the girls love to dance when the DJ comes on :) As parents, we love to watch all the groups perform and have a beverage or two! This year Berlyn and Christa joined us, which was extra fun!!

On the 27th Blake's basketball season ended with a tight game, they lost in OT 47-46! It was the best game we've seen them play all year, so it was nice for them to go out that way!

I haven't been feeling well since the beginning of the month and turns out I have pneumonia. I've missed quite a few days of work, trying to get better and am on medication. Definitely feeling better than I was, I had a rough few days in bed, don't remember ever feeling that sick in my life!! But like I said, feeling better and hopefully March will be even better ... because we have a trip at the end of March!!!! EEK!!! M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!!!!

January 2020

 Here are some highlights of our 01/20 ...

Silver Ring - The Raptors and Devils took part in our home tourney and had so much fun! Tournament weekends are the best :) They of course bought new hoodies! Reese's says, " If we lose I was never here" and Em's says, "If you think my attitude stinks you should smell my equipment bag" lol!!! Reese's team won silver in the tournament and we had a blast cheering on the coaches at the coaches game :) 

Basketball - We cheered on ESMMY and Blake in their games this month!

Blake's PD Day - Blake spent a PD day with Grandma and Grandpa D, they went snowmobiling out at the Stecyk cabin!

Those were the highlights for the start of 2020!! Talk to you in Feb :)

Happy 2020

 Happy New Year everyone!! 2020! I read a meme the other day that said something along the lines of, "When I think of 20 years ago, I think of 1980 but 20 years ago was the year 2000 ... now I feel old!" and boy oh boy do I feel that!!! Time flies. I'm sure that's a common theme of this blog. I still remember celebrating the year 2000 and everyone wondering about Y2K and the computer systems, etc. Hard to believe that was 20 years ago!!

We rang in the New Year with the Bucci's, Mauro's and some of the Bucci's neighbour hood kids, lol!! We had a yummy pot luck, a variety of beverages and tons of laughs! Always a great time when we get together, love those families aka framily!!! 

January 2nd the girls and I headed to Red Deer for the Friends on Ice ringette tournament! Emerson and the Devils were ready to battle!! We had such a fantastic time! We planned a 'Christmas' party for the girls at the hotel and they all received matching onsesies! They happend to have a lot of time between games and everyone took in a movie together. We watched Little Women and thought it was amazing!! This group of girls is so close and has so much fun together, it was a fantastic weekend. There was some ringette played too but we all know the memories we will hold close to our hearts are the ones in between games - bonding and having fun with the team! Grandma and Grandpa D even made their way down for a game and dinner, we're so lucky to have such supportive and awesome grandparents in our lives :)

While the girls and I were away, the Lancers had a few practices, games and a bottle drive! The Coutts family has hosted our bottle drives this year and they have had such a great time at them! A bottle drive is much more than a fundraiser - it's a chance to come together as a team, work towards a goal and to share some fun and laughs too!! 

More on our January adventures to come ... Happy New Year everyone!!

Last month of 2019!

What were the Cameron 5 up to in December?? Well, much of the usual - ringette, hockey, dance, Girl Guides, work, eat, sleep, repeat!! Oh and school, duh. Here's some of the highlights (minus Christmas because Christmas deserves its own post!!)

1st: Girls and I attended Ringette night at the Oil Kings game! An annual event and always a lot of fun with our ringette friends!

2nd: Deck the Cameron Halls was completed!! aka Christmas explosion in our house!

3rd: Reese and Emerson's 1st ski day field trip at Sunridge!

6th: Emerson and her Devils teammates made 100+ pies as a team fundraiser! This happened at Simply Supper and was simply (see what I did there?!) an awesome and fun fundraiser. The pies sold like hotcakes (thanks everyone!) and they were also delicious!

6th to 8th: Blake tried out for an Alberta Winter Games team. He had a really good weekend, 

13th: Reese and her Girl Guides unit attended a movie at Landmark Cinema in St. Albert for their Christmas Party. And I had a night out with my friend Shelley! We had an absolute blast at the River Cree Resort and Casino!! We had supper at the buffet (DELICIOUS!! and it was seafood night!), attended a Bon Jovi cover band concert and enjoyed a few bevvies at the pub after the concert! It was a ton of fun! 

14th: Reese and the Raptors had their Christmas Party at the Derick Winter Club. Some of her teammates families are members at the club. It was a lot of fun for the team - they went swimming and had a gift exchange and dinner. The gift exchange theme was 'Spa and Stuffies'! The adults enjoyed a beverage and appys in the lounge while the kids were swimming (they were supervised, don't worry!) 

16th: We met my parents and the Stecyk's at WEM for our Santa by Appointment visit! The Santa changed this year which was a little disappointing but it was still a magical visit :) The atmosphere and time spent is so special vs the regular mall Santa visit!!

17th: Blake's 1st band concert! We really enjoyed the music and talent!! Blake plays the trombone.

18th: Ski trip field trip day #2 for Em and Reese and I volunteered this time! Lots of fun at Sunridge, I love skiing!! And this evening, Cal and I attended a dinner at Sabor, hosted by a vendor he works with. It was an unbelievable meal. I'd say the best I've ever had and the person who was hosting us knew what kind of wine to pair with each course and what to drink with dessert - it was phenomenal!!! Very nice evening out!!

19th: STAR WARS day for Cal, Blake, Emerson and the Mauro boys!!! The new movie came out today and we pre-bought tickets :)

21st: A nice evening at the Parenteau's! It's so nice to have them close by again!! Their new home in St. Albert is gorgeous.

22nd: Another fun evening, this time at the Bucci's! Always a blast when we all get together! Bucci's, Mauro's, Chorney's, Scott's and Cameron's - a lot of kids but we all had a blast!

28th: We met the Anderson's at Rabbit Hill for a day of skiing! And that evening I hit the town with my friends Sam and Jen! A late night of dancing, we always have the best time!!

30th: We caught one of Connor's hockey games as he was in what we called the 'Christmas tournament' aka Confederation Hockey tournament. It was great to see one of his games!!

31st: We spent the day sledding with the Stony Plain Cameron's! It was a gorgeous day outside and we ended it with a DQ ice cream :) We spent the evening and late into the New Year at the Bucci's! Lots of fun ringing in the New Year!!

Coming up ... 2020!!! 

xoxo

2019 Christmas Letter and Photo Card

*Photo card to come!!

The holiday season is upon us! We are all really looking forward to a few days of rest and family time. 2019 has been a great year, with a few changes - mostly the growth of the munchkins and the dog! 

Blake started jr. high this year which brought a change of schools. He’s in St. Albert now which means a coordinated car pool schedule! Blake is really enjoying the independence of jr high, I didn’t really realize how ready he was to move on from elementary school but it is evident now. He is in pre-AP classes & still in French immersion. He’s enjoying every extra curricular activity - participating on the cross-country running team, the jr. volleyball team & now the jr. basketball team. He also started band & is learning to play the trombone. His practice sessions at home are interesting - his sisters complain & the dog doesn’t seem to be a fan of the ‘noise’!! Looking forward to his first concert ;) Blake’s playing hockey again & made the Peewee AA Lancers for the winter season. This spring he played spring hockey & lacrosse. He played on the zone A lacrosse team which was challenging but he loved it. Blake is now taller than me & close to Cal! We predict he will be taller than Cal after summer, summer seems to be a huge growth time, maybe it’s all the lake water and sunshine :) 

Emerson is in grade 5 this year and takes her studies very seriously. She really puts a lot of pressure on herself which can be tricky to manage as a parent but the girl is driven!!! Em is enjoying ringette this year, she moved up to U12 & is splitting her time between goalie & forward. She’s not sure if she’ll play goalie next season, she’s enjoying putting the ring in the net ;) Emerson is Ukrainian Dancing again this year. Her group has been together for a few years now which is great. Their character dance is a favorite & we’re looking forward to this years version! Emerson is also playing volleyball this season & has been practicing two mornings a week before school. She can’t wait for their first tournament!

Reese is in grade 4 this year & enjoying her teachers and friends. Reese is the comedian in our family, she is just so darn funny!!! She is playing ringette again & is in her last year of U10. She splits her time between goalie & player but would tell you that goalie is her favorite. Cal & I would tell you that being a goalie parent is definitely the most stressful position on any team!! This spring she had a lot of fun playing 3 on 3 ringette. Reese has moved on from Brownies and is in her 1st year of Girl Guides. At the beginning of September she attended a two night camp. It was the coldest weekend in September and they were in tents with no other shelter but she had a blast and is looking forward to another Girl Guide camp in June!

We started summer 2019 at the Cameron family reunion in Namao. It was a great gathering and wonderful to visit with so many of the Cameron clan! The following weekend Cal was off to Crow’s Nest Pass for his Sin7 race. His team did well but as is often the case, the weather provided some challenges. This year in the form of mud, rain and slippery mountain trails! The next weekend was lacrosse provincials in Calgary, which happened to be the same weekend as our Campbell family reunion :( Then in mid July we were off on our summer vacation road trip! This year was spent between Vernon, Penticton & the Coeur d'Alene area. The Okanogan weather never disappoints and thankfully this summer there were no fires. We enjoyed our annual Penticton visit with Cal’s Aunt Sharon! We met up with my parents, sister & her family in Idaho. Probably our favorite day of this vacation was when we rented a pontoon boat & spent the day on Lake Coeur d'aLene. Swimming, suntanning and tubing on a gorgeous lake - doesn’t get much better! Silverwood and Boulder Beach were also a lot of fun!! We used our trailer less than previous summers, which I think is a sign of the times as the kids are getting older. We did not camp on May long weekend this year due to a lacrosse tournament & the rest of the summer other than our 3 week road-trip, was spent with ringette & hockey camps & lots of downtime at home and around Edmonton with friends.

We rang in February of this year with a 40th birthday party for Cal. Unfortunately the weather ruined our plans for outdoor skating & shinny but we still enjoyed ourselves indoors! Cal traveled to Florida for a conference this June and has made his usual BC & Calgary trips. In September he was promoted to a  Senior Design Specialist, a role he has been working so hard for & we are so proud of him! Cal was excited to coach Blake’s team this spring & is back in his happy place behind the bench this winter! Cal’s other hobbies include his Friday afternoon hockey games with his teacher buddies and Friday morning workouts with the November Project crew, followed by what they call “Old Man Coffee” at the nearest McDonalds!! He says they are gearing up for retirement!

I am working a .52 FTE this school year. That translates to approx. 3 days a week although I spread those hours over 4 days. I love my job and especially enjoy that I am never in one place for too long, as I travel from school to school around the city. When needed, I am on the ice/bench with Reese’s team but my main role is managing the team. I am a co-manager on Em’s team and manager on Blake’s team as well.I love these volunteer roles. It really is like a hobby but more of a full-time job kind of hobby!! I enjoy the planning & organizing & helping to ensure all the players have a fun season. The rest of my spare ‘fun’ time usually includes a late night tea/coffee date with friends or a Saturday night out dancing!!

Quinn the wonder dog is full grown & approx. 60 lbs. She is the smartest & most loyal dog but unfortunately we can not seem to convince her that we don’t need a guard dog. She loves us dearly & thinks she’s a lap dog, it’s quite comical at times!! Her cuddles are the absolute best :) We love our adventures with Quinn, our favorite is the local dog park. 

That brings us to the end of 2019. My how time flies!! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas filled with friends, family and love. Merry Christmas and all the best in the 2020! 

xoxo 

Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese

Merry Christmas ~ 2019

Merry Christmas everyone!! We enjoyed celebrating Christmas with our 'Cameron' and 'Smith' families! For the first time ever, Cal's mom stayed with us over the Christmas break! The kids were super excited to have Grandma Bev here!!  We enjoyed having Bev with us on our annual Christmas Eve Church, take out and lights extravaganza ;) We got in our comfy jamies and enjoyed the evening!! I love this tradition and look forward to it every Christmas. The weather was nice enough to walk along Candy Cane Lane this year, which was extra nice. Bev slept in Blake's bed, Blake slept in Em's bed and Em and Reese slept in Reese's bed, it all worked out quite well and I think the kids enjoyed being in the same room on Christmas Eve. 

Christmas morning we woke up, opened gifts and enjoyed our traditional Christmas morning wife-saver!! Yum yum!! We headed to the Stony Plain Cameron house mid-morning for a delicious brunch and visit. The kids loved Auntie Lesley's homemade waffle bar!! It's always great to get together as our kids are so close in age and get along so well :)

Later that afternoon we left Bev with Gerry & Lesley and headed to my parents in Stony Plain for our Christmas Day celebrations! It was a great afternoon of gifts, cousins, visiting and again, yummy food!! This year Will and Kristy Campbell (and kids) joined us for dinner. It was really nice to see them and their 3 kids got along very well with our 3 and my nephews! 

We had a great Christmas Day and are so blessed to have family close by and time to create these wonderful memories! Boxing Day will be for relaxing and leftovers ;) 

Merry Christmas everyone!! xoxo