Sad to see the end of August

The remaining weeks of August were great.  

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!!

On the 23rd Cal and the kids participated in the Chicakoo Lake 5 Peaks Race.  Cal ran the enduro race - 14 km and the kids ran in the Kid's Challenge - 1 km.  They all did awesome!!  Cal ran his best time and Blake, Em and Reese rocked the 1 k ;)  Blake and Em came across the finish line near the front of the pack and Reese came in running for her life!!  Her little legs were going so fast, I wasn't sure her body could keep up - it was awesome to watch!  So proud of them all!  Christa and Berlyn also joined us and Christa also ran the enduro, and B the 1 k!

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