Summer is near!!

I can't believe it has been almost 1 month since my last blog post?!  Wow, that is unlike me!!

Cal and I took Blake to his kindergarten orientation on Tuesday morning.  It was fun seeing him head off with the teacher and some of his new classmates!  He came back excited and bearing a craft :)  He will start kindergarten on September 4th.  The days and hours are M, Tu, W and Fri from 8:22 to 11:20 am.  I am excited for Blake to embark upon this new chapter in his life.  He is more then ready for kindergarten!!!

We also found out that Emerson does not qualify for funding for the 100 Voices preschool program at Ecole Bishop Savaryn.  After her assessment the O.T., P.T. and S.L.P. told me they did not find any areas in which we should be concerned so we were expecting she wouldn't be funded!!  If we were to pay for her to attend, the cost is $300/month.  I think it would have been good for her but the Lago Lindo preschool will also be great!  She will go on Tu and Th from 8:30 to 11:15 am.  I was looking at the class calendar and they have a lot of awesome field trips planned (Mutart, Prairie Gardens, Art Gallery, and more!).  I know she will have a blast, as she LOVES her once a week class that she is attending currently!!!  She is always asking if she has school today and then on Thursday morning she is ready to go early and quite impatient ;)

I am not sure how I will juggle dropping off and picking up Blake and Em ... the schools are approx. a 10 minute drive apart.  But that doesn't take into account parking, walking into the school, etc.  Blake does qualify for free busing (and the bus would pick him up at our door and drop him off at our door!).  We filled out the transportation application and will hopefully hear what the route is like and the pick-up and drop-off times soon!  But if the bus will be picking him up really early, I would prefer to drive him!!

Wednesday was parents day at Blake's swimming lessons and we are very excited to share that he has passed Gliders and is moving on to Divers!!  He's been in Gliders a few times now and was also VERY excited to hear that he's moved on to Divers :)  Divers is all in the deep end of the pool ... with no life jackets ... this worries me but I did see him swim approx. 12 ft in the deep end with no life jacket so I guess he's okay with it?!  He'll start Divers in the fall!

Emerson passed her first lesson after one try but will be in Floaters again in the fall!  Reese will be moving on up to Bubblers, as she is over 18 months now!  Hopefully we can fit her parented lessons into our schedule ... hockey will be Saturdays and Sundays in the fall and Emerson would like to try a dance class (she says Ballet but I'd like her to try Ukrainian dancing, as I Ukrainian danced as a kid and it incorporates ballet!!).

Blake and Emerson had their year end preschool party on Thursday.  It was circus themed and a lot of fun!  They had various circus games and crafts and a pot-luck lunch.  A lot of their friends were there and we all had a great time, Reese included!!  She was dancing around and really enjoyed the popcorn ;)

After the party, we headed to Fort McMurray!  Cal and my Dad left Thursday afternoon for a fishing/quadding trip (more on that later) and my Mom came up with the kids and I on Friday afternoon.  I find the drive very long, not like driving to Calgary or Grande Prairie!  Lots of interruptions on this highway and it seems like people are either driving too fast or too slow!!!  But the company at the end of the drive makes it worth while :)  We stayed at Jeremy and Lindsay's for 3 nights.  We had a good time and got lots of visiting in, visiting my cousins and an Aunt who was visiting from Saskatchewan.  We made a few trips to the park and went swimming at Mac Island, which is an amazing facility!!!  Thank you Lindsay and Connor for allowing us to take over your house ;)  We loved spending time with you and you too Mom!!

Cal, Dad, Jeremy and 4 others embarked on their northern quadding and fishing trip on Friday morning!  They drove approx. 1 1/2 hrs north of Fort McMurray to a staging area where they unloaded the quads and 2 trailers.  From the staging area they quadded approx. 3 hours (@ around 35 km/hr) to Herb lake, where they set up camp.  They fished Herb lake and from there quadded to Jackson Lake, Keith Lake and Six Lakes.  When Cal was heading back to Fort McMurray and had cell service again, I texted him and asked how the trip was.  In his words, "Pretty cool - lots of quadding, a little fishing and good company!"  I'm so glad he had a great time, he deserves some fun and a break from the 'real world' ;)  We missed him like crazy though!!!  The kids were super excited to see him and mauled him for awhile when he walked in the door :)

This week is the last week of preschool and I'm actually quite excited!!  I can't wait for school and swimming lessons to be over!  I look forward to fun play dates, visit's to the park, bike rides, visiting the zoo, spending time with Cal on his week days off and just going with the flow :)  No need to be out the door at a certain time!!!  And I'll be taking most of July and some of August off of Cameron's Closet, which will be really nice!  I'll still have to do the odd thing but not near as much time will be spent on it!

The kids are doing well!  Reese continues to chat away and learn new words every day :)  She's a smart little cookie too and SUCH a parrot!  Emerson had to stop on the side of the road for a bathroom break today, on route home from Fort McMurray.  We had the van door open, helping Em and Reese pipes up, "Pee!!  Pee!!!"  Cal asked her, "Do you have to go pee, Reese?"  To which she replied (and grabbed her diaper at the same time!), "Uh huh!"  LOL!  It was soooo funny!!!!

Have a great week :)

xo
Tracy