Tuesday, September 3, 2019

1st day of school!

And work ... for me! The kids and I are BACK! And Cal's back to working from home in peace and quiet :)

Reese is in grade 4 this year and has Mme. Melissa as her teacher. Mme. Melissa taught Blake and Emerson in grade 2 and taught Reese for a few months of grade 2 before she took her maternity leave. Reese's class is a grade 3/4 split.

Emerson is in grade 5 this year and has Mme. Khair as her teacher. Mme. Khair taught all 3 kids grade 1 but last school year she moved to teaching grade 5! Em's class is a grade 4/5 split.

And Blake has moved on to jr. high and grade 7! His home room teacher is Mme. Gamester and he has Kyle in his homeroom class. He's gone to school with Kyle from k-gr. 6. His friends Max and Gavin are also at ESSMY, although not in the same homeroom. Blake's already told us he'll be trying out for volleyball this week, so that will be interesting!

We hope everyone has a wonderful first day back to school :)

Sunday, September 1, 2019

August at home!

Most of August was spent at home! I sometimes wonder if we should spend more time at home in the summer but I think that as the kids get older we may be forced to spend more time at home in the summer as they might have summer jobs and may not want to be away from home for so long!

The weather has not been great in Edmonton this summer :( Lots of rain!! Thank goodness we got away! But to combat the dreary weather, we spent some time at a few of the indoor play gyms! On the 7th we met the Mauro's and Bucci's at Amazone and I picked up Reese's bestie, Alexa, to join us! On the 13th we met the Bucci's and Mauro's again, this time at Jump n' Play. Jump n' Play was not up my kids alley!! They're not big into stunting and flipping, lol! They like a little jumping but it was not worth the money. But we got out of the house and we all got to visit with friends, so that was good!

Thankfully on the 14th we saw the sun and got to spend the day with the Stecyk's at the Summerside beach club! Lots of fun, we're lucky the Stecyk's can invite us to join them :)

On the 16th Reese spent the night with her bff Alexa and her family at their cabin. By all reports she had a BLAST!! I enjoyed a girls night out at the Melting Pot that same night. Yummmmy!!

Rep conditioning camp started for Blake on the 17th. If it's going to rain, we might as well be in the rink!! Blake's excited to start again and is trying really hard to make the Peewee AA rep team! We think he was a great chance :)

On the 18th the girls and I drove out to Stony Plain to help my mom at the Cowboy Poetry event. Turned out they had more than enough volunteers but it was nice to take in some of the event and we ended up going for breakfast with my Dad!

The kids all had camps the week of the 19th to the 23rd. Blake in a 4 day Quantum power skating camp at the Meadows, which ran in the afternoons and consisted of 1 hr of dryland and 1 hour of on ice and the girls at the University Ringette Camp which was out of Servus Place. Blake enjoys Quantum and the girls love their ringette camp. They spend all day at Servus Place and made new friends, seen some of their teammates and enjoy friends from previous years camps!!

The kids finally had time for a grandparent sleepover at he end of August! A much needed break for Cal and I and some grandma and grandpa time for the kids, which is always awesome :) They stayed for 2 nights and had fun fishing, quadding and spending time together.

On the 29th Blake had his grade 7 orientation at ESSMY! We were both nervous but excited for this new adventure! Blake was assigned his lock and locker, received most of his textbooks, put his supplies in his locker and found all his classrooms. The idea of this orientation is to help the new students feel more comfortable on their first day of school :) 

On the 31st we were invited to what we call 'the Bucci block party'!! Our good friends the Bucci's live in a large crescent that is FULL of young families!! They have a yearly block party and often invite the Mauro's and the Cameron's, as we spend a lot of time there and the kids all know each other :) It's a lot of fun as the kids run around from yard to yard and play basketball and hockey in the crescent while the adults sit around the fire in the driveway and visit, eat and drink! A great way to wrap up summer :)

School's back in soon, summer flew by but it was a great one!!

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Summer Vacay 2019

And we're off!!! Here's a re-cap of our awesome summer vacation :)

July 18th we left Edmonton and over-nighted in the casino parking lot just out side of Canmore. Seems to be our usual 1st night stop! Not too exciting but a great spot to stop and break up the trip to BC!!

From the 19th to the 21st we were camped in Vernon. This was our first stop in Vernon but hopefully not the last time we'll visit! We really enjoyed the area! Some of the highlights were Davison Orchards (so fun, tons of fresh fruit, veggies, fudge and treats!), a day hike to a beautiful point of Kalamalka Lake (I need to find a spot on this lake to camp ... or win the lotto and buy a cabin!!), a stop at the Log Barn (you have to see and feed the goats!!) and the Starlight Drive-In (so awesome the kids got to experience a drive-in on a gorgeous summer night!)! SO fun!! Such a gorgeous part of BC. And of course the kids loved the swimming pool at the campground!!

From Vernon we drove the short drive to Wright's Beach in Penticton. Feels like home ;) We love Wright's Beach and that feeling we get as we drive in to the campground reminds me of when we'd drive in to Marean Lake when I was a kid!! We were at Wright's Beach from the 21st to the 27th. We did all our favorites - the float down the channel, multiple visits to Tickleberry's, the Peach for fancy ice cream and milkshakes, dinner at Salty's, a visit to our favorite brewery - the Cannery, lots of beach days at Wright's, the Wibit, dinner out with Auntie Sharon, outdoor movie nights at Wright's, a visit to the dog beach and the catered Sunday dinner at Wright's!! We visited our favorite book store too! I love, love, love this area and hope we get to visit for many more summers to come!! The weather was fabulous and we had the tans (and some sunburns) to prove it :) We also met a really nice family during our last few days at Wright's. They were camped beside us for the last 3 nights of our stay. The girls hit it off with their daughter, who was also named Reese! It was nice for them to have someone to play with for a few days! Cal and I had a great visit with Ryan and Shauna too and even stayed up way too late one night and drank wayyyy too much, lol!! They live in Calgary but are originally from Texas. It was neat to hear about their impressions of Canada and the US! We really hit it off and plan to keep in touch :)

From Penticton we crossed the border at Osoyoos to spend the 28th to August 3rd at Farragut State Park with my parents and the Stecyk's! It was an interesting drive from BC to Farragut ... we trusted Google Maps and it took us on a very round about, kind of  backwoods, route!! But we saw some gorgeous countryside and made it in one piece ;) Farragut State Park is so beautiful and the campground itself is very nice! Nice campsites, shower facilities and all the roads are paved. Somehow I miscalculated when we'd arrive and we had to spend one night in overflow! Thankfully my mom was able to secure us a spot! The next day we moved to our site, next to Lindsay and Jeremy and my parents. Cal had an important work meeting in Vancouver while we were in Idaho, so he flew out of Spokane to Vancouver for a few nights. But we made sure he was home for all the fun!! We spent 2 days at Silverwood and Boulder Beach and a day on Lake Coeur d'alene on a pontoon boat! We had a blast!! The pontoon boat was awesome and the lake is gorgeous! We swam, the kids tubed and somehow the day flew by. It was my favorite day of the holiday!! Of course Silverwood and Boulder Beach are awesome as well! Poor Quinn had to spend most of her days at a local kennel as towards the end of our stay in Penticton she started getting anxious when alone in the trailer and tried to dig her way out ... hence ruining some of the flooring in the trailer :( Poor girl and poor us too, lol. We'll have to repair that at some point and figure out what we'll do with her next summer when we're camping and/or on vacation. While at Farragut State Park we also spent some time at the local beach. It was absolutely gorgeous but the water was so cold!!! The kids complained a bit but got used to it after awhile and had fun floating around on the cool floaties Grandma D bought!! It was a great holiday with my family and I can't wait to visit again, maybe in a few years!

On August 3rd we headed to Fairmont, BC for a few nights to wrap up our summer vacation road trip. We had never been to Fairmont before so wanted to check it out. We try to explore at least one or two new spots every summer! Fairmont was nice, we stayed in a campground that had a pool, which really is all the kids seem to need!! We checked out the hot springs but didn't go in. They looked nice though and maybe next stop we will 'take the plunge' so to speak ;) We enjoyed a hike that took us up and behind the hot springs and then headed home on August 5th. We are so thankful for the beautiful weather we had over the past 18 days. It's been HOT and not a spot of rain!!

Another great summer vacation in the books! I adore these moments and am so thankful we can take this large chunk of time off to spend together. So many great memories to hold on to for life!

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

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!


Sunday, June 30, 2019

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!

Saturday, June 29, 2019

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 :)

Friday, June 28, 2019

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 :)