Summer '17 - the beginning

We kicked off summer in a similar style to last year - a spray park bash with Bishop Savaryn friends!  This was our second annual 'Schools Out' party and it was another great day in the sun :) Ice cream, water, park and friends, what more can you ask for :)

Next up was Canada Day long weekend! We debated going camping for the weekend but decided that with our big road trip coming up, we'd stay home and enjoy being around home. We headed to the Legislature grounds to take in the celebrations. It's always fun to see everything going on at the Legislature - stage shows, music, the Canada Day road race, pancake breakfast (which we missed!), dipping the kids toes in the fountains, bouncy castles, etc, etc!!  Fun to see all of the patriosim and everyone celebrating our wonderful countries birthday :) After the leg, we decided to visit Whyte Ave for lunch and some window shopping. It was a beautiful day and we found ourselves doing more than window shopping at the Wee Book Inn. Lots of books and DVD's purchased! After leaving the book store we came across Sand on Whyte and enjoyed seeing all the cool sand sculptures. We contimplated going to the fireworks but were all pretty tuckered out so we relaxed at home and went to bed at our usual times :) It was a great Canada Day!

#canada150 #albertalegislature

#sandonwhyte #canadadaycuties

On July 2nd we headed to the lake for some boating, tubing and kneeboarding with my Mom and Dad!!  It was a gorgeous day! We found the Stecyk's at their friends cabin and the kids played in the water for awhile and then we headed to their cabin for dinner. There's nothing we love more than a day on the water!!

Boating!

Dinner at the Stecyk cabin!

July 5th was the last day of soccer. We didn't make every week but we made a few and the girls always love it!!  On the last day their friends Ava and Berlyn also able to make it, so it was extra fun!!

Pedalheads bike camp started on July 4th. We usually do the morning camp but couldn't get in to the morning session this year, so had to do the afternoon session which in the end actually turned out better! It was nice not to have to rush out of the house in the morning, instead we were able to sleep in and take our time getting out of the house. The kids love bike camp although Blake was a bit disappointed that he couldn't ride to the river valley from this years location.  We'll have to go back to the other location next year where they get to ride the river valley!

On the morning of Friday the 7th Cal and I headed to his Sin7 race in Crowsnest Pass. We didn't get far ... after a few hours of various stops in Nisku, we were told that our trailer axels were bent and would need replacing. We had friends who were staying in our trailer so after a few phone calls, a stop in Red Deer for some food and a cooler, we arrived in Crowsnest Pass, planning to sleep in our friends tent! A few hours later Cal receives a text ... our friends truck broke down and they needed Cal to pull their trailer. So off we went! We had to miss the dinner but we got the trailer to the campsite and were offered a bed in that trailer!  Bonus ... I wasn't a fan of tenting in the first place, lol! If you're keeping track, the group was down one trailer and one truck. The race began at 7 am Saturday morning. It was a grueling, HOT, HOT day. Runners were dropping out left, right and centre. We could see helicopters circling over the mountains, landing and flying back out with what we could only assume were injured runners (this was later confirmed). Two of Cal's teammates had a really tough time, taking hours longer than planned on their leg. One of the teams runners said she laid in a dried up creek bed for hours. Crazy, crazy conditions for such a long run. Long story short, Cal's team ran out of time and were disqualified.  Cal still completed his leg of the race, which makes me so proud of him. 24 km in the mountains, most of it in the dark. I was so glad to see him cross his finish line (well, it was pitch black so I couldn't see him but I could see head lamps and when I figured out it was his head lamp I was very happy!!)! Now to add one more loss to this odd weekend, our friends tent was destroyed. The tent pole went right through the middle and made a big hole!  What a weekend!!  Despite all the set backs, we had fun with Cal's NP and OMC friends - a lot of laughs and a lot of stories we will never forget!!!  Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids :)

This brings us to our biggest vacation yet!!  22 days on the road - I may have to break this trip into separate post's ... stay tuned :)

xo
Tracy

Jam packed June!

It's officially summer vacation time and I couldn't be more excited!!!  Here's a quick recap of June. It was awesome for the most part but let's be honest, I just want to enjoy summer :)

Blake's lax team was in the JRM Baggataway Memorial tournament on June 10. They won 1 game, I think but had some close ones and had a lot of fun together!

Reese's grade 1 class participated in a Christmas concert this year and Blake and Em's classes participated in a spring concert on June 14. Their music teacher is so talented and produces such great concerts, it's always a pleasure to watch.

Reese lost her1st lost tooth on June 16 but she actually lost two ... she had a tooth that was actually 2 teeth fused into 1!  She she really lost her first 2 teeth :)

We celebrated Father's Day on June 18th!

June 21st was Make Music Day, an event that was held in numerous locations across North America!  Dominelli Music decided this would be a great day to have a recital and Reese decided to participate. She played The Lion Sleeps Tonight at the Naked Cyber Cafe :)

June 24th brought Blake's last lax game for the season. They played in Sherwood Park and after wards had fun at the cool park near the arena and then at BP's with some teammates. It was a good season but had we been in a tier more suitable to us, we would have won a few more games!!

On June 24th Grandma and Grandpa took the kids for a sleepover and some boat/lake time!! They had fun trying out the new kneeboard and tubing!

Blake has played 3 on 3 hockey in the summer for a few years now but this year we didn't sign him up, as we'd be away for most of the games. But we just happened to be home on the 25th and so he was lucky enough to get to play with Ryan and Max, 2 of his best buds.  He hadn't skated in a few months and was happy to be back on the ice.

My vacation began on June 26th ... let the good time roll!!  lol!  I am totally enjoying my vacation time and will do a summer re-cap at the end of it all but in the mean time I plan to try to enjoy every minute!

The last week of school was fun, with games day on the 26th. Always a fun day and for some reason the organizers get lucky and it's always a sunny, hot day!!  I volunteered again this year but there were so many volunteers, they didn't need me the entire day.

On June 28th Emerson got her ears pierced!!  She was so brave but teared up when they actually pierced the ears, more out of the thought of it then anything!  She says it didn't hurt ;) Grandma and Grandpa came to watch and then we went out for a celebratory Starbucks before heading to the last soccer of the season!

On the last day of school (June 29th) we met Berlyn at Marble Slab and then spent the evening at the park.  It was a gorgeous day and a great way to kick off summer!!

Speaking of kicking off summer, we had our 2nd annual 'Schools Out' spray park day with school friends today!  Another warm day and a great day with friends :)

I won't be posting this summer, as we won't be home much but hopefully I'll get to a "Our summer was the best!" post in September!!  Have a wonderful summer!!! Talk to you in September :)

PlayOn 2017!

This was the 3rd time Cal and Blake put a team together for Hockey Night in Canada's PlayOn street hockey tournament.  This years team was awesome and did very well, making the gold medal game and winning silver. We all had a lot of fun, soaking up the sun and watching some great street hockey!  The girls slept over at my parents on Friday night, which was really nice for them as they didn't have to watch allll the games and best of all they attended the Stony Plain Farmers Days parade and went to the fair grounds too!

Blake and teammates, hanging out on the sidelines between games

Brody, Brogin, Fernando, Blake, Dante and Cameron - the Northside Kings!

Warming up for the Gold Medal game!!!

Silver medalists, super proud of these boys!!

Blake bringing the ball up :)

Coach Cal (aka Dad) and Blake 

May was marvelous!!

We've had a marvelous May!  Here's some highlights because as per my usual, I am behind :)

~ We surprised Blake with a ticket to a playoff game on May 3rd!  The Oilers lost in OT but they had a great time and Blake loooooved the Playoff Hockey experience!!

The boys - off to Blake's 1st playoff game!!  An early birthday surprise :)

All 3 kiddo's - wearing their Oilers jersey's to school!  Playoffs were a blast :) 

~ the 3rd annual pasta dinner and silent auction night at Bishop Savaryn School (also happened to be Blake's birthday, so before school was out I showed up to Blake's class with popsicles for the class :) Mom and Dad also came to the dinner with us and Cal had a little mishap that night - he took a puck to the eye while playing hockey :( Took a few days of healing, eye drops and two visits to the optometrist but it healed fine and he is now wearing a 1/2 visor!)

~ Reese attended her first soccer night in St. Albert!  She was so excited, at dinner that night she said, "I've been waiting for this day allll year!" We love the little soccer program our friend Audrey puts on :) 

~ Mother's Day - was a busy day! Blake had a lacrosse game that morning and I was helping throw a BBQ at Church for Celebration Sunday (the end of the Sunday school program and celebrating all the volunteers and kids accomplishments!). So the girls and I were at Church early, prepping for the BBQ after the service. It was a great morning and afterwards we made a stop at Starbucks for a celebratory frappe ;) The rest of the day was pretty chill, I had a nap which was nice ;) 

A nice treat on Mother's Day :) 

~ the kids started golf lessons at Fort In View golf course - every Monday with their friends Aubrey and Noah :) 

~ I made two visits to Fort Edmonton Park for field trips - 1 with Reese and 1 with Blake :)

~ We had a spent the long weekend at Cross Lake, the weather and company were fabulous as usual and it was a great start to the camping season!!

Great weather on May long - the kids had fun tubing!

~ Em finished up her 3 on 3 spring ringette season on the 23rd!  She had a blast and wants to play next year :)

Em's #1!!!

~ Reese and Emerson joined their friend Giora at her dance studio for bring a friend night. They now want to do alllll the dances in the fall ;)

~ We travelled to North Battleford on the 27th to celebrate the life of my Grandma Kelley. I'm really glad we were able to go and enjoyed visiting with many relatives I haven't seen in 15+ years!

~ Blake and the Bishop Savaryn Running club participated in the Run for Pie race, benefiting the Stollery Children's Hospital and Em and Reese joined him!! They did so well, we were so proud of them!

~ My Mom, Sister and I celebrated Lindsay's birthday with a movie night out :) 

And that's the highlights (some of them, anyways!!) June's coming at ya soon, hope you're enjoying these warmer days!!!

Double Digits?!

Say it ain't so. Unbelievable. I can't believe our boy has reached double digits. The past 10 years have gone by so incredibly fast, I can't imagine how fast the next 10 will go. Happy 10th birthday to the boy who changed our world and made us parents! We are so proud of Blake and at times I am in awe of this boy! He is kind, smart, handsome, funny at times and serious most often but then he's goofy around his friends :) He's so gentle and caring with his younger cousins and the siblings of his friends, he has a big heart and can be a gentle giant of sorts! He loves his sports, his family and his friends. He is loyal and loving. He's never afraid to try something new and always gives 110% in anything he does.  He's competitive and wants to succeed and do his best in all the sports and activities he tries. We just love him to the moon and back and I really don't want him to grow up so fast!!  We had a great time celebrating Blake's 10th year with a friends birthday party and a family BBQ! One of Blake's amazing traits is his gratefulness. He is always so grateful for everything, from the small stuff to the big stuff and his birthday celebrations were no exception :) We are looking forward to what the next 10 years will bring for our boy! 

An early birthday surprise - attending an Oilers playoff game with Dad!!

The Stecyks and G&G came over for a BBQ and to watch a playoff game :)

Blake's 10th birthday invite!

Blake's buddies celebrating his birthday with him!

Blake loooooved his cake!!

Some of his best buds came over to carry on the party after the party ;) 

April was awesome!

And there goes April ... which I suppose is okay as that means we are 1 more month closer to summer vacation!!!  Here's some highlights from this April:

- lacrosse season officially started and Blake is playing with some teammates from last season and some hockey friends! I am the team manager and looking forward to a great season!

- We had one more hockey event, a Crusaders parents night! We went to Brewsters for dinner, drinks and an Oilers game!  It was a lot of fun and we'll miss these parents!!

- On the 14th Cal and I went to an Oilers playoff game and oh my goodness was it EVER good!!!  So much fun, the arena was LOUD and PROUD!  So glad we had that experience!

2017 Playoffs!!!

- Emerson had her last Ukrainian dance performance at St. Michael's extendicare. She performed her Hutzul dance for the first time and we loved it!

- the lacrosse team attended their first tournament of the year, the Icebreaker tournament at Servus Place (April 21 to 23). Because Blake's coaches are involved with the Jr. Miners, the team got to use their dressing room for the weekend, which was really cool for the team! They had their own stalls and left their equipment there all weekend.

Blake thought it was pretty cool to have his own stall!

Icebreaker tournament - 2017

- On the 24th Emerson's dance group competed at the Veeteretz Ukrainian dance festival. The did great, taking home gold and most promising ribbon for Poltavski Melodiyi and bronze for Hutzulski Deetchoky. It was a fun day with Em and I'm so glad I took the day off to spend with her :)

Emerson with her medals :)

-  Emerson started 3 on 3 ringette on April 25th! After the first game, as she skated off the ice, she said to Cal, "Can I play 3 on 3 next year??" So she's obviously loving it!! The teams seem quite uneven which has made for a few losses but she's not discouraged!!

- Reese began piano lessons again and is enjoying herself although I am having to heavily 'encourage' her to practice at home ;)

- Blake and Emerson began guitar lessons at the end of the month!!  And they are also loving their music lessons but requiring 'encouragment' to practice at home, lol!

- On the 28th the kids and I met the Mauro's at Rogers Place for an Oiler's playoff game viewing party!  We had a BLAST!! The atmosphere was insane, considering we were all just watching an away game on the big screen ;) Friends of ours were were in a suite and invited us up.  It was pretty cool to experience the suite-life!!

- To wrap of April we were very excited to welcome back my Mom and Dad to Alberta!!  We met the Stecyk's in Stony Plain for a welcome back brunch at Mom and Dad's :) 

And that is April in a nutshell!!  Bring on Spring and the sooner Summer arrives the better!!!

xoxo

Tracy

Marmot Basin

On the chairlift

Ski bunnies!!

On  Thursday the 13th, we let the kids play hooky, Cal took the day off work and we headed to Jasper for a day of skiing!  The roads were terrible, we contemplated turning back but realized we were closer to Jasper than to Edmonton so we kept on trucking!  We arrived at Marmot Basin at 9:30 am. We checked in, got our equipment and were on the hill at 10 for our lessons!  The kids had their own instructor and Cal and I were in a group with another couple and an instructor. We all really benefited from the 2 hr lesson and were glad we booked it!  After the lesson we had a great day skiing together and trying different hills. I scared the kids when I suggested we try the express chair lift.  I had no idea it went so fast!!  But in the end all was good and everyone actually wanted to try it again ;) It was an awesome day!  The snow was perfect, new snow was falling as we were skiing and the hill wasn't very busy. I love that we all enjoyed ourselves and hope to get to the mountains a few more times next year!! Before heading home to Edmonton, we had to make a stop at the Bear Paw Bakery in town and take a photo with Jasper the bear :) I'd love to do a multi day ski trip one of these years, another day on the hill would have been perfect! I'm really glad we all enjoyed ourselves and can't wait for more skiing adventures next winter!