I have a hard time saying no ... especially when it comes to helping out with anything to do with my children!! Actually, mostly when it comes to volunteering with anything to do with my children!! I can say no quite easily to most anything else, when I come to think about it! Do I get that from you, Mom?!
So that has lead me to quite an interesting volunteer 'career' (seriously, I feel like this is almost a full time job ... on top of my full time job, oh and my part time job!!) ... Including Lago Lindo Preschool President, which also encompasses a position on the Lago Lindo Community League Board, Secretary of the Ecole Bishop Savaryn Parent Council, Scholastic Book Order parent for Em's class, Treasurer for Blake's hockey team and assisting on the ice during Em and Reese's ringette! It's busy, busy, busy but fun and I really enjoy it all!!
The kids are definitely not used to me being away much at bed time but now 3 Tuesdays a month I have board meetings. It was funny, because I didn't expect them to really care but they do ... awww, they really do love me ;) I do think they might be used to it now! Little turkeys!
I had visions of spending 3 mornings a week working out at the YMCA while Reese was in preschool (by mornings, I mean 9-11) but instead I've been volunteering on field trips and doing volunteer work :)
Cal is also a busy, busy man! His new job is busy and he is head coach of Blake's Novice hockey team. I'm speaking for him but from what I can see it's like coaching thirteen 7 & 8 year old's and three 2 year old's ... (you guessed it, the 2 yr old's being parents!!!)! Kidding aside, they have a great hockey team, some wonderful parents, awesome kids and I foresee a lot of growth and a lot of fun this season!! Cal was also recently asked to be a Coach for Bauer's 1st Shift Program, which is a hockey program for 6 to 10 year old's who have always wanted to try hockey but have never played. Bauer outfits the kids and coaches in equipment and host's a 6 week program. Cal is assisting his friend Dale. The sessions run every Saturday afternoon for 6 weeks. It sounds like a great program and I am so proud of Cal for taking on these roles, sharing his love and knowledge of hockey :)
I am extremely grateful for these opportunities and for the time we have to devote to our children's school's and activities! Not complaining at all .... but I really should work so 'me' time in to the schedule somewhere ... oh, and some sleep would be good ... all a work in progress ;)
ttyl!
Tracy
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
More back to school pics because they're just so darn cute!!
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| Emerson was soooo excited to receive a postcard from her Kindergarten teacher a few weeks before school started!! What a great idea! |
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| Emerson at the First Rider's event at Northlands. Learning the ropes of riding the bus ;) |
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| Our cuties, 1st day of school for Blake, staggered entry day for Emerson |
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| I always promise a silly face picture if they give me one 'nice' picture!! |
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| Ready for school! |
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| The girls are in good hands |
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| Staggered Entry day is over, she loved it! |
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| We now have to get used to referring to Bishop Savaryn as Em and Blake's school!! |
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| Rainy day - Em's first full week of Kindergarten |
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| Finding her hook! |
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| Reese's 1st day of preschool! |
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| Goofy kids!! |
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| My baby, all grown up, excited to head into preschool! |
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| Reese loved her 1st day of preschool! |
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| Excited to see Dad at pick up time on her 1st day of preschool! |
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Reese joins in the fun!!
Reese's 1st day of Preschool was September 10th. The poor girl had to endure listening to her siblings talk about how much fun school was for over a week before joining in the fun!! I wasn't sure how Reese would react to being dropped off at preschool - turns out she's a veteran ;) She was so excited and happy and independent!! When I parked at preschool and went to undo her car seat, she said, "Bye Mom!!" I told her I would at least escort her to the school and say good bye in the classroom!! No hesitation from her :s From watching Em at preschool the last few years, she knows the routine quite well! She is loving preschool, loves the crafts, the stories, the lessons, the songs, her teachers and her classmates! It breaks my heart just a little bit, to see her so independent and growing up so fast. But I am very, very proud of her and very, very happy for her! It's fantastic that she now has her own 'school' and friends :) Here are a few photo's of Reese on her first day of Preschool!
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| 2 Thumb's up for Preschool! |
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| Reese did not want to wear a jacket and rubber boots on her first day - darn AB weather ;) |
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| Miss Reese in her classroom :) |
Em's first days of Kindergarten!
Emerson's staggered entry date for Kindergarten was on the 2nd of September! She spent 1 hour in her classroom, with 6 other classmates. She had a blast but was upset that she could not go back until the following Monday! Staggered Entry is a bit of a tease for all the students who are more than ready to start!! Emerson's teacher is Mme. Cena. She is a good friend of a friend of mine and so I've been hearing how fabulous she is ;) Emerson made sure to say "Boujour!" to Mme. Cena and is very interested in learning new French words and even more interested in impressing Mme. Cena ;) Emerson's little buddy, Nathan, is in the same class as her. She was excited to be in the same class as Nathan. Nathan is the younger brother of one of Blake's best friends and Nathan and Emerson played on the same soccer team. The 4 of them are all basically joined at the hip and it was nice that Emerson had a familiar face in her class! Emerson's first full morning of Kindergarten was on the 8th and that was also the first day she rode the bus home from school! We went to the school to watch her get on the bus and then rushed home to wait! She ran off the bus and right in to my arms :) She was very excited to see us!! I love those moments :) She is enjoying school but has asked if she has to take the bus. She finds the ride long and told me, "It's so long before I get to see you Mommy." That really tug on my heart strings :s She does need to take the bus because Reese's preschool is over at 11:15 and she is dismissed from Kindergarten at 11:22. There is an approx. 10 minute drive between the preschool and school, so I would never make it to the school in time for Kindergarten dismissal. Nathan recently started riding the bus and I requested they sit together, so I'm hoping this will help her enjoy the bus ride a little more! As far as school goes, she is loving Kindergarten and learning so much already! She comes home with new French words and many stories every day. She is very excited about their upcoming field trip to Sobey's! We are excited for Em and look forward to seeing her grow during this school year :) Here's a few pics of Em on her first days of Kindergarten!
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| Staggered Entry Day! |
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| Off to her first full morning of Kindergarten! |
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| Found her name! |
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| She's home!! |
Blake's 1st day of Grade 2!
Blake's first day of Grade 2 was the 2nd of September! He was super excited to see all his friends! We managed a few play dates over the summer but he really missed seeing his friends at school. Last year there were two grade 1 FI classes, this year those classes combined to make one grade 2 class! Blake was also excited about this because now all the kids he went to kindergarten with are all in his class. I thought he might miss the small class size but so far so good! Blake's teacher this year is Mlle. Melissa. She comes with raving reviews! She is the technology lead in the school, which means each student in her class has their own iPad and she has iPad mini's as well, which they use for different exercises! Blake says she is quite strict with the iPad use and reassures us that they are strictly for learning ;) The first day of school we all brought Blake to school. His classroom is soooo nice!! Think grade 2 Pinterest classroom and that is what it is! Mlle. Melissa is very creative and has a beautiful classroom! Plus it smells so good in there, I spotted a Scentsy warmer on her desk ;) We are certain Blake will have a fabulous year in Grade 2 and can not wait to enjoy the journey with him! Here are a few photo's of Blake on his first day of Grade 2!
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| We searched high and low for this Guardian's of the Galaxy t! He really wanted one for his 1st day of school :) |
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| In his new classroom! |
Monday, September 22, 2014
Extra curricular activities begin!!
BAM ... back to school, back to hockey/dance/swimming/and possibly ringette!! No easing in ;)
Blake's first ice time was September 3rd. The first 2 ice times were warm-up skates. The next 3 skates were technical skates, where a team of evaluator's evaluated skating skills. The next 3 ice times were evaluation games. And finally, after all of that, the teams were set! Blake's first skate with his team was on the 20th. Cal is the head coach this year. They're off to a great start and are both enjoying themselves! We are KC 054 Storm and can't wait to get our league game schedule and officially start this season!! We had a great parents meeting on Saturday morning, it seems like we have a wonderful group of kids and parents (although some 'strong' personalities ;) )! Reese and Emerson have lots of other siblings to run around and play with, which is always good!! Keeps them happy at the rink :) I can't wait for not only our first game but our first tournament!! Tournaments are so much fun and great for team-building!
Emerson and Reese's 1st day of dance was Wednesday the 10th! Emerson is in Kinderkids (or as we call it, the blue bodysuit!) and Reese is in the Preschool program (aka the red bodysuit!). They both enjoyed their first class. They have the same teacher, Miss Rosslyn. Reese's class is from 4:30 to 5:15 and Em's class is 5:15 to 6 pm. It's great it worked out they are on the same day and we only have to spend 1 evening at the studio!
Emerson and Reese attended a 'Try Ringette' session on the 9th. It was hosted by Ringette Alberta and Emerson came off the ice and told me, "I want to register Mom!" I immediately teared up. I was quite surprised, as she had a hard time at first. She has only skated with a walker and there were no walkers on the ice during this session. I had prepared her for that scenario and she was 100% okay with not using a walker! But she is very afraid of falling and hurting herself and so the first few falls were tough on her and she came off the ice upset. She sat with me for a minute or so and then voluntarily got up and went back on the ice and tried again! I was surprised but sooooo proud of her!! She wanted this so badly and was determined to try over and over! There was a very sweet young girl who was volunteering during the session and she took Em and Reese under her wing! They loved every minute on the ice and in the dressing room afterwards Em said to Reese, "Reese, do you want to register?" Reese said, "Sir!" (which is sure but sounds like sir!). It was adorable and I literally got tears in my eyes .. again! I can't wait for the girls to start ringette, the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend. I volunteered to coach and hope to help the girls and all the other players have a great year and learn many new skills but most of all have fun and fall in love with ringette!! Now to register them and get them equipment ... oh boy, these sports are expensive ;)
The YMCA changed their swimming lessons to a continuous format, so we have been registered in swimming lessons all summer long. But due to vacations and camping weekends, we have missed quite a few. And at first Blake was registered in a later lesson but we finally got him into the same time slot as the girls, so they all swim from 4:30 to 5 on Friday's! The girls really love swimming lessons. We have never once heard them complain about swimming lessons or say they didn't want to go! There have been times with dance class, that Em has said, "Do I have to go today?" But never, ever with swimming!! They really love swimming lessons and are doing awesome in their lessons! Em has to master an unassisted back float and she'll be moving up to the next level! If the instructor helps her onto her back and let's go, she can float forever! But when she throws herself back into the water, she sinks!! She needs to ease into it vs. throwing herself back! lol!! Blake's in the big pool now and is gaining confidence again! He hadn't been in swimming lessons for almost a year and so was a bit nervous to being again! But he's doing great and is swimming quite a distance now, all by himself. Reese is fearless as always and I have a feeling it wont' be long until she is in the same lesson as Emerson! She swims underwater and everything!
So our kids are staying active and having fun :) We enjoy shuttling them around, coaching them and taking it all in!!
~ Tracy
Blake's first ice time was September 3rd. The first 2 ice times were warm-up skates. The next 3 skates were technical skates, where a team of evaluator's evaluated skating skills. The next 3 ice times were evaluation games. And finally, after all of that, the teams were set! Blake's first skate with his team was on the 20th. Cal is the head coach this year. They're off to a great start and are both enjoying themselves! We are KC 054 Storm and can't wait to get our league game schedule and officially start this season!! We had a great parents meeting on Saturday morning, it seems like we have a wonderful group of kids and parents (although some 'strong' personalities ;) )! Reese and Emerson have lots of other siblings to run around and play with, which is always good!! Keeps them happy at the rink :) I can't wait for not only our first game but our first tournament!! Tournaments are so much fun and great for team-building!
Emerson and Reese's 1st day of dance was Wednesday the 10th! Emerson is in Kinderkids (or as we call it, the blue bodysuit!) and Reese is in the Preschool program (aka the red bodysuit!). They both enjoyed their first class. They have the same teacher, Miss Rosslyn. Reese's class is from 4:30 to 5:15 and Em's class is 5:15 to 6 pm. It's great it worked out they are on the same day and we only have to spend 1 evening at the studio!
Emerson and Reese attended a 'Try Ringette' session on the 9th. It was hosted by Ringette Alberta and Emerson came off the ice and told me, "I want to register Mom!" I immediately teared up. I was quite surprised, as she had a hard time at first. She has only skated with a walker and there were no walkers on the ice during this session. I had prepared her for that scenario and she was 100% okay with not using a walker! But she is very afraid of falling and hurting herself and so the first few falls were tough on her and she came off the ice upset. She sat with me for a minute or so and then voluntarily got up and went back on the ice and tried again! I was surprised but sooooo proud of her!! She wanted this so badly and was determined to try over and over! There was a very sweet young girl who was volunteering during the session and she took Em and Reese under her wing! They loved every minute on the ice and in the dressing room afterwards Em said to Reese, "Reese, do you want to register?" Reese said, "Sir!" (which is sure but sounds like sir!). It was adorable and I literally got tears in my eyes .. again! I can't wait for the girls to start ringette, the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend. I volunteered to coach and hope to help the girls and all the other players have a great year and learn many new skills but most of all have fun and fall in love with ringette!! Now to register them and get them equipment ... oh boy, these sports are expensive ;)
The YMCA changed their swimming lessons to a continuous format, so we have been registered in swimming lessons all summer long. But due to vacations and camping weekends, we have missed quite a few. And at first Blake was registered in a later lesson but we finally got him into the same time slot as the girls, so they all swim from 4:30 to 5 on Friday's! The girls really love swimming lessons. We have never once heard them complain about swimming lessons or say they didn't want to go! There have been times with dance class, that Em has said, "Do I have to go today?" But never, ever with swimming!! They really love swimming lessons and are doing awesome in their lessons! Em has to master an unassisted back float and she'll be moving up to the next level! If the instructor helps her onto her back and let's go, she can float forever! But when she throws herself back into the water, she sinks!! She needs to ease into it vs. throwing herself back! lol!! Blake's in the big pool now and is gaining confidence again! He hadn't been in swimming lessons for almost a year and so was a bit nervous to being again! But he's doing great and is swimming quite a distance now, all by himself. Reese is fearless as always and I have a feeling it wont' be long until she is in the same lesson as Emerson! She swims underwater and everything!
So our kids are staying active and having fun :) We enjoy shuttling them around, coaching them and taking it all in!!
~ Tracy
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Sad to see the end of August
The remaining weeks of August were great.
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We had a fabulous camping trip to Carson Pegasus Provincial Park with Cal's brother Gerry, sister Carmen and their families and his Mom and sister Kathy's two children. Since Blake's hockey camp was cancelled (due to his pneumonia) we decided to leave 1 day early and spend Thursday night there by ourselves. The rest of the crew arrived on Friday. It was so great to spend the weekend together! All the 'Cameron' grandkids were together for the very first time!! We got some great photo's :) We hope to make this trip an annual event. The kids loved spending time with their cousins, Aunts, Uncles and Grandma Bev. Reese is quite smitten with Kourtney, it's very cute! And Blake is in love with Dylan :) You can just see the admiration in his eyes!! Emerson had her Kindergarten shots. There was some drama leading up to the shots but in the end she was calm and collected and did fine! I feel so bad for Em, she really doesn't like being in pain ... or being sick ... she's definitely more sensitive to pain then a lot of other children!
On the 20th and 21st the kids had a sleepover at my Mom and Dads! It was nice to have a short break, I'm not ashamed to admit it ;) They were soooo excited to have a sleepover, we had to put off telling them until a few days before because they want to pack as soon as they hear they're going for a sleepover! Cal took Thursday off and we spent the day doing errands! Amazing how much we can get done, by ourselves ;) We also enjoyed dinner out! Thanks Mom and Dad, greatly appreciated!!
That weekend was also a birthday party weekend - Em had 1 on Saturday afternoon and Blake had a birthday party on Sunday afternoon. His birthday party was a street hockey party and then he had 3 on 3. He was very tired by the end of 3 on 3. At this point in time he was still recovering from his pneumonia. I could tell it was a bit much for him but thankfully he had a good rest Sunday night.
On the 25th the kids and I hung out with Connor while Linds and Mason were at the pediatrician. We had fun walking to the park and playing at the park! Connor was so cute as we were walking to park, pointing out every truck, car and 'choo' ;) Em loves mothering Connor and Connor doesn't seem to mind!! That afternoon we met Cal's grandparents and Mom for dinner in Spruce Grove. It was great to see them, we had a nice visit.
I had Preschool Orientation on Tuesday. I do not enjoy public speaking but as the preschool President, it was my job to lead the orientation ... I got through it and everyone keeps telling me how well I did. So I will forget the feeling I had while standing in front of all the preschool parents and take the compliments!! Wednesday brought the First Rider's event for Emerson. Em is taking the kindergarten bus home from school, so we attended First Rider's so she could familiarize herself with bus safety and take a bus ride before the first day of school! She had fun and was answering all the questions ... that's our Em!! Always with her hand up and eager to answer all questions! We didn't need to know a lot of the info because the teacher's aide in Em's class will be leading the bus students to the bus and the bus drops her off at our house ... but it's a good experience and reinforces sitting still, no snacks, listen to the bus driver, etc.
Wednesday evening the Francis clan arrived! They stayed for 2 nights and we packed a lot of fun into that time!! We started out at the Launch Pad on Thursday morning, followed by Chuck E Cheese, some shopping and meeting Lesley, Gerry, Colby and Jenna at Red Robin's that evening! Phew! What a day! Our kids are used to visiting 1 of those spots every 6-12 months, never mind 3 in 1 day ... lol!! I think they felt they hit the jackpot ;) But we had a super fun day and loved both the Launch Pad and Chuck E Cheese! And of course, dinner at one of our favorite family restaurants is always good!
On the 29th Blake got to meet his hockey hero, Taylor Hall!! I had tears in my eyes (surprise, surprise) as Blake posed for a pic with Hall. There was a 3 on 3 hockey camp at the KC arena that week and Cal and Blake had attended earlier in the week. After talking to a friend of mine, I hear that Taylor Hall was going to be there on Friday. So Cal took him over to the arena and the girls and I met them there after my Cameron's Closet meet. There were numerous NHL players there, it was pretty neat for a little hockey-lovin' boy!
Our long weekend was pretty low-key. We spent Saturday at Lindsay and Jeremy's. Cal, Dad, Jeremy and Blake built a shed. Mom took the younger kids to Treehouse for a few hours and Lindsay and I cooked! We made meatloaf, meatballs and Saucy chicken! Stocking up the freezer for Sept :) The guys got the shed up and now Jeremy just has to side and shingle it. Blake enjoyed helping the guys, swinging a hammer and operating the drill! And that brings us to 'Back to School 2014' ... I think that deserves it's own post :)
Talk to ya' soon!
xo
Tracy
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