Happy Birthday to Emerson!!

On the 16th Em turned 7!!  7?!  That seems wrong some how ... how is she 7?  My goodness, my teeny little 6lb 11 oz baby girl is 7.  February is a whirl wind of activity in our house but we made sure to fit in a special dinner for Em on her birthday!  My parents and the Stecyk's joined us for dinner at Montanna's in St. Albert.  We met right after school, before hockey practice and Ukrainian dancing ;)  Em got to wear the traditional Montanna's horns and remarked that they felt very heavy!!  

On the 19th, a few of Emerson's closest friends and cousins helped her celebrate her birthday at the Edmonton Humane Society.  The kids spent the majority of the time visiting with various animals - puppies, cats, a snake, a bunny, a ferret and a bearded dragon!  Em loved every minute, she is such an animal lover!!  The puppies were her favorite and one in particular really took a liking to her, curling up in her lap :)  It was so cute!!  Thank you to everyone who joined Em at her party, she loves all her gifts and was so happy to spend time with her friends and cousins!  I'll share a few photo's below.

Happy Birthday, Em the gem!!  We love you beyond words and are so very proud of you.  You are one smart, hard working, helpful and loving girl!  We can always count on you to help in any and every situation, whether it be dusting around the house, washing dishes, helping your little sister, cleaning your brother's room (what a lucky boy to have a sister like you!!), etc, etc, you are so helpful and we greatly appreciate that trait :) You gift us with beautiful drawings every day, often titled "I Love You Mom/Dad".  You bring big smiles to our faces and we love you beyond words!!  xoxo

Opening gifts the morning of her birthday :)

Dinner at Montanna's and gifts from the Stecky's and G&G!

The Montanna's horns and birthday song!!

Craft time at the Humane Society!

So much fun in the puppy room :)

Lovin' the puppy kisses!!!

I adore this photo - pure joy :)

Blowing out her candles on her birthday ice cream sundae (which she requested, as she doesn't like cake!)!!

The party-goers!

Em and Tickles, the snake ;)

Holding the bearded dragon!

A quick family photo at home, after the party :)

Tournament long weekend!!

Phew, this family day long weekend was a 'tad' busy ;)  Blake and the Saints were in the Stollery Family Day Classic, Emerson and the blue blizzard and Reese and the purple panda's were in the Sweetheart Ringette Tournament.  I will admit, I was crossing my fingers that I'd make it to Monday evening.  Good news is, I made it!!  WE made it!  And we all enjoyed ourselves ;)  Sending a HUGE thank you to all of our friends and family who supported Blake and the Stollery Children's Foundation.  Cal, Blake and I all appreciate your support of this wonderful cause.  To date the Stollery Family Day Classic has raised over 1.5 million dollars!  Blake had fun in the Stollery tournament.  They didn't come away with a medal but had very close games and fun as a team!  

We all enjoyed the Sweetheart Tournament, it was fun to not only watch Reese and Emerson and their teams play but to catch one of my sister's games, catch up with a few players from my past, watch my niece Jenna's team play and spend time with the Stony Plain Cameron's and my parents!  The girls also loved the photo booth ;)  They were very proud of their medals and had a fabulous weekend!

We capped the long weekend off with lunch and a visit in Stony Plain!  It was nice to slow down and relax :)  I want to send a big thank you to my parents who helped us get Reese to her game on Friday, volunteered to time keep and were the kids' biggest cheer leaders!!  Thank you, thank you!!  

Here's a few photo's from our awesome weekend:

My favorite hockey player, ready for the Stollery tournament!!

Emerson, Reese and Jenna - Ringette cousins!!

Proud of my girls!

Cal and the girls :)