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

November

On the 1st Reese had a fun night a the waterpark with her friend Alexa! It was a fundraiser for Alexa's soccer club. Whenever those two are together, they have a blast!!

Blake started off November with another volleyball tournament. He's really enjoying playing volleyball and we enjoy watching and cheering! He's made new friends on the team which is awesome! Emerson has affiliated with the A team a few more times and is enjoying that :) 

On the 6th was Blake's first ever parent teacher interviews for jr high! They went very well and I left feeling very proud of him and how well he seems to be adjusting to jr high life and school :)

Over the past few months I've been involved in hiring a new minister for our Church. It has been a really intersting process, I am glad I was asked to sit on the committee. I feel bad because we are rarely able to attend Church, it seems every Sunday morning we have ringette. But I am grateful to be involved and we selected a really awesome candidate so hopefully we will make it there soon!! Her convenating service was on the 3rd.

Emerson and I were very excited for her first bus trip with her ringette team but sadly it was cancelled due to the weather :( I am a co-manager on her team so we were sad the trip was cancelled and also sad that all our hard work was cancelled!! We coordinated meals and the bus ride with the other Edmonton 12B team. So instead of getting up at 4 am and riding to Fort Mac for 2 ringette games, we slept in and spent some time at the dog park with the fam!! We love our dog park visits, Quinn has so much fun, you can't help but smile and love the experience!!

On the 11th we paid respect to those who have served and are serving our country. Reese's Girl Guide unit participated in a Remembrance Day ceremony at Greishbach. We were all able to attend and although it was a cold day, we were so glad we could show are thanks and respect by participating in the ceremony.

On the 14th we celebrated my birthday with cake before bed as it was game day for Blake and Emerson!!

On the 15th Reese and I headed to Lacombe for a ringette tournament. We stayed at the hotel in Red Deer with her team on Friday night and drove back home for Saturday night. Sunday the played in final, later in the day so we were able to drive down without leaving Edmonton too early! Reese had so much fun with her team and they played so well!! And this weekend was the debut of their team mascot - a dinosaur!! Some of the older sisters on the team dressed up in one of those blow up dinosaur costumes, it was so funny and awesome!!

Blake began basketball tryouts on the 19th, which more importanly was Reese's 9th birthday!! Luckily, Reese had a field trip to TWOS and Grandma D was able to volunteer :) They had fun and Grandma even brought Reese Subway for a birthday lunch!! 

On the 22nd Reese and 3 of her friends all wore the same outfit for 'Twin' Day at school! There were super cute with their matching tshirts, scrunchies and leggings!! That evening was Reese's 9th birthday party. We attended a movie (Frozen 2 - so good!), had dinner at BP's and then she had two friends sleep over :) They had so much fun, of course little sleep was had!!

On the 24th was the Lancers Christmas Party. They mini-golfed, had a pizza party at a teammates parents pub (Sherlock Holmes in WEM) and exchanged gifts. They did a funky tie and funky sock exchange, which was a lot of fun! Before the party started, the team met at London Drugs to hand in their 'Stocking Stuffers for Seniors' gift bags. Thanks to the Lancers generosity, 17 seniors will have a gift to open on Christmas morning!

On the 27th we got our flu shots - not so fun but necessary IMO :)

On the 28th I volunteered at the book fair at the girls school and they had demo of learning that evening. This is always such a treat to have them show us their classrooms and what they have been working. We always leave so proud of them and the students they are working hard to be.

And that was our November!! We're excited to start decorating for Christmas and really looking forward to the Christmas break!! Talk to ya in December!!

October

October was a great month! It started with Emerson getting her hair streaked :) She's been asking to dye her hair for awhile now and I finally arranged it! A mom of her school friend is a hair stylist so we arranged for a play date/salon date! She's super excited about her streaks and they look great! I find it easier to update in point form, so I'm going to stick to that this month! Here's what we were up to in October:

5th - Reese's team had a blast at Clip n' Climb, followed by a practice!
6th - Celebrated Thanksgiving at my parents house with a delicious turkey dinner
8th-9th - Cal in Calgary for work
11th-13th - Turkey Ring in St. Albert. Reese's team participated and Emerson affiliated to a U12A team!
12th - I had dinner with friends Christa and Audrey! Christa and I met Audrey at St. Albert United Church. We had a nice evening, visiting and shopping. It was a reminder that we need to make time to do this more often!!
17th - Cal took a day trip to Calgary for the day!
17th-19th - Blake had a volleyball tournament in Spruce Grove
18th-19th - Emerson's team competed in the Brass Ring (games in Beaumont and Leduc)
18th- Family Movie Night at the girls school! This is such a fun event! The kids bring blankets and stuffies and enjoy hanging out with friends on the gym floor! The concession is open and the kids have a blast.
19th - Reese's 1st road trip! We took a short trip down the QEII to play Red Deer.
21st - Blake's 1st team training at ATHX. He really enjoyed this and the team has more sessions booked throughout the hockey season.
22nd - Emerson was looking forward to this day for month's! She won an opportunity to attend WE Day at Rogers Place. Typically this event is for grade 6 students in our school but there were a few spots open so the grade 5's were given an opportunity to write an essay to attend. Emerson put a lot of time into her essay and she was chosen to attend. We're so proud of her!! She had a blast at the event!
23rd - Emerson began volleyball practices at school! Her practices are in the mornings before school starts :) She's excited to try a new sport!!
24th - We had a birthday tea and donuts with my Dad before going to practices!!
25th-27th - The Lancers were in Camrose for a tournament. Blake and Cal stayed with the Bucci's on the Friday night, Reese had a game early in the morning on Saturday so after the game Reese and I headed to Camrose and Emerson went with my parents for a sleepover so she didn't have to miss any of her ringette!
31st - Halloween! We love Halloween and our annual date with the Bucci's and Mauro's! Mom and Dad came over for a quick visit and their annual photo and then we headed to the Bucci's for pizza and trick-or-treating! This year Blake chose to wear the same FortNite costume from last year (it fit better this year, last year it was huge!), Reese wore a bunny onesie trick or treating and a huge panda head to school and Emerson was a black cat!

Quinn spent the 26th while we were in Camrose at the kennel and Halloween night. She loves it there, thankfully!!

Emerson is really enjoying her volleyball practices and can't wait for their tournament in December!!

xo

September updates!

September was back to it 'all'!! Hockey, ringette, dance, girl guides, work, school, etc :) Here's some highlights of our month:

1st - Celebrated the end of summer with a visit to Stony Plain! We had lunch at my mom and dad's and dinner at Gerry and Lesley's! Great visit with everyone :)

2nd - KC tryouts started for Blake!

3rd - Back to school and Blake started volleyball tryouts! No time to waste, they started tryouts the first day of school!

7th - Emerson and Reese each had a prep skate before ringette evaluations started and I was invited to my friend Jen's house for her mom's surprise 60th birthday party!

8th - Blake's 1st volleyball tournament at the Saville Community Sports Centre! So fun watching him compete in a new sport!

10th - Cal took a trip to Calgary for work. Back on the 11th! He will be in Calgary a lot more this winter.

11th - ESSMY welcome  back BBQ, KC tryouts and Emerson had a goalie evaluation! Thankfully Cal was back from Calgary in time to take Blake to tryouts while Reese, Em and I headed to the Meadows for her goalie eval :)

12th - Reese's first Girl Guide meeting! She has moved from Brownie's to Girl Guides and her meetings are at Lago Lindo Hall this year. Her bff Alexa is still in her troop and she was so excited to see her!!

19th - Blake had his first PD day on the 20th so he had a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's!

20th-22nd - Blake had a few hockey games this weekend ... 6 to be exact! At the last minute they were invited to participate in a tournament in Spruce Grove as a team had dropped out. They had an awesome weekend, bringing home a silver medal! They also had their first game of the Peewee AA EFHL pre season tournament, which they won, which means they advance to round 2!!

25th - Blake competed in the district cross country run!

27th-29th - Reese's 1st Girl Guides camp of the year! It was super cold this weekend but they persevered and tented!! She said she was quite cold but had a lot of fun!

29th - We were invited to attend the Oil Kings game with a friend who's company has a suite! We wondered if this was a good idea, being that Reese would likely be exhausted after a weekend of camp but she persevered and we had fun with some hockey friends!!

Kids are all set on their teams now - Emerson made a U12B team, they've called themselves the Devils! Reese made U10S3, they'll be the Raptors and Blake made the Peewee AA Lancers! They're all excited with where they landed and will have a great season, I anticipate!! I am managing all 3 teams and Cal is an assistant coach on Blake's team. So here we go ... buckle up for a fun and busy winter season!! Looking forward to it :)

xo

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 :)