2017 Christmas Photo Card and Letter

The holiday season is upon us and as I sit down to type our annual letter, I think back over 2017 and all that the year has brought.

My Grandma Kelley passed away in February. We were very lucky to have her in Edmonton for the past few years and are grateful we got to spend a lot of time together, most especially during the holidays. We miss her dearly but know she is in a better place, no longer suffering from any pain. Although hard to say goodbye, we were glad to attend Grandma’s celebration of life in the spring. Many hilarious and wonderful memories were shared and it was great to see our extended family.

In November we had to say goodbye to our beloved Heidi. As anyone who has had a dog knows, they become family members. Heidi was twelve years old and the loss was quite unexpected. It’s been hard adjusting to no longer having our fluffy friend around and I’m not sure we’ll ever really get used it. The kids have learned a lot about loss this year which is always hard but unfortunately part of life. Emerson cheered us up a bit when she commented that she thinks Heidi is keeping Jazz (our cat who we lost last year) and Grandma Kelley company in heaven. Sometimes kids just know the right thing to say.

Together with the sad times there have also been wonderful memories in 2017. The top of our list would be our summer vacation. We visited many spots in AB, BC and the USA and loved every minute! We had such a fabulous time, I think we could have stayed ‘on the road’ for another few weeks! Throughout our vacation we camped with my parents, with Cal’s brother and his family and visited friends and Cal’s Aunt and cousin while we were in Penticton. Some other highlights of our 3 weeks away were: Silverwood Theme Park and Boulder Beach in Idaho, watching the Seattle Mariners play and the kids running the bases and beach days in Penticton! I could go on and on, it was just such a fabulous trip! I swear we didn’t see a day below +28 until the last few days of our holiday when we were back in Alberta.

We took on downhill skiing as a family this year, getting Reese on skis and Cal back on ski’s after a long hiatus!! Blake took some ski lessons this year and has decided he will ski and snowboard! We all loved our trip to Jasper and look forward to more mountain skiing in our future!!

We visited Tisdale, SK this fall for my cousins wedding and were so happy to see our Smith family. We hadn’t been to Tisdale in a few years so it was a long overdue trip and great to visit my Grandpa, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles and cousins. 

The kids are all growing and changing! Still in the French Immersion program at the same school, Blake is in the double digits now, in grade 5 and almost taller than both his grandmas!! Emerson is in grade 3 and 8 years old and Reese is in grade 2 and 7 years old. They all love their teachers, Blake and Reese are in split classes this year and Blake actually has three teachers which is different for him but he is enjoying the change of scenery throughout the day. Blake is filling his spare time right now with hockey and guitar lessons. He loves his sports games on his Xbox and hanging out with his hockey and school buds. Emerson is currently filling her spare time with ringette, guitar lessons and Ukrainian dance. She loves her cooking and baking shows and lots of crafting and reading as well!!  Reese is keeping busy with ringette and piano lessons and still loves her Lego, American Girl doll and lots of art work and drawing!

Cal and I are good, still at our same careers. I’m still working part-time and Cal is still working from home on most days. Cal ran in the Sinister 7 Race again this year but took the year off from marathons. He’s playing hockey once a week and is head coach of Blake’s Atom AA hockey team. I am co-managing Blake’s team and assistant coach on Reese’s ringette team and head cheer leader on Emerson’s ringette team J Obviously we enjoy the rinks in the winters!!! Blake played lacrosse again this spring and Emerson played 3 on 3 ringette, so we were in the rinks for the spring too!

Our schedules are crazy but we try to stay very organized! It takes a village and we are very lucky to have great help from my parents and school and sports friends.

Christmas holidays will be here before we know it and we’re looking forward to the slower pace for a few weeks and all being home together. We hope this letter finds you all in good health and spirits. We are sending lots of love and wishing you a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2018! 

Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese

Poor Em :(

I felt so bad for Emerson this week :( She's been so sick and has had to miss dance, ringette, choir and the long awaited choir performance at City Hall. She wasn't the biggest fan of choir but had the end in sight and was toughing it out so she could sing at City Hall and now she's had to miss it. Poor girl :( Thankfully she is on antibiotics now (ear infection) and is starting to feel better.

We're getting ready for Christmas. I've done a lot of online shopping and plan to finish up next week. Cal and I both had Friday off and our plan was to watch Em sing and then finish off the Christmas shopping but instead Cal worked and I stayed home with Em. We also plan to start our baking this week, which I always enjoy! The baking plan for this year includes, salted caramel pretzels, sugar cookies, peanut butter marshmallow squares, Christmas crack and butter tarts! And Cal will be making his cheesecakes :)

Talk to you soon!

~Tracy

An unusual E.R. visit

Well, we can now say we've had to visit the Stollery for one of the oddest reasons. Before I tell the story, can I just say that I am not surprised in the least that this occurred in our family!!!

On Sunday afternoon I washed the girls hair, as Blake had a late hockey game and I didn't want to keep them up any later than we needed to. When they got out of the bathtub, I decided to clean their earrings. And that is when I noticed that something was wrong with Reese's earrings. Upon further inspection, the back of her earrings had grown into her ear??  Not sure how to put it but I think you get the idea. She started to cry a little bit and ask what was wrong and I was pretty surprised but tried to play around with her ears a little bit to see if I could get the backs off. By holding the back and pulling on the front of one of her earrings, I was able to get the back off but on the other side it appeared to be more stuck or grown into the ear. I called Cal in to look and we weren't sure what to do but everyone was getting pretty 'excited' sort to speak ... so I cleared the bathroom and calmed Reese down before trying to pull the back off with tweezers.  I literally pulled as hard as I could and I couldn't get the back off. So off to the Stollery we went! My gosh, like how does this crap happen???!! I felt so bad for Reese, she was very upset but you want to know why she was most upset??  Because she would have to miss Blake's hockey game, miss playing with her bff Gioia and she was also upset that Em was going to the game and would get to play with Gioia!!  lol!!  She cried the whole way to the hospital and kept asking, "Will we be able to go to the game?" I told her maybe we'd make it, maybe if the wait was short. Of course the wait was super long and we didn't make the game :( But she calmed down a bit and was happy to enjoy a pop and 2 bags of chips during the 4 hour wait!!  The extraction was not pretty, when she saw the needle the dr. had to use to freeze her ear she was VERY upset. I tried to hold her down but she managed to get a hand free and the dr. had to remove the needle before her ear was entirely frozen. They tried emla gel but that did not numb the area enough so they tried another kind of topical gel, apparently way stronger than emla and that combined with the freezing was enough that she didn't scream out in pain while the dr. removed the earring back. It was still uncomfortable (and there was a lot of blood) but she managed. He used tweezers to slowly work it free, to protect the skin. We got home at 9:30pm and boy was I ever glad to be home! Poor Reese :( I don't know how that happened but she did tell me that she was scared to lose an earring (a few months ago she lost a favorite earring) so every day she pushed harder and harder on the backs so the earring would be in tight ... I'm guessing that combined with fairly new piercings contributed to the problem. Just another day in the adventures of our home!!

November

My Mom and Dad brought my Grandma Marg home with them from Tiffany's wedding!!  We're so glad she is able to do this, as she got to see all 3 kids play ringette and hockey and we got to spend some extra time with her :)

Reese got glasses!!! In September Reese told me that the board at school was blurry. I told her to maybe try sitting closer, as she had just had her eyes checked in August and all was well!! Then again in October she said the same thing. So we decided we better get her eyes checked again and sure enough, she needed glasses. Seeing as she's been wearing 'fashion' glasses off and on for a year, she had no problem accepting that she needed glasses ;) She picked out a super cute purple pair and has had no problem transitioning into wearing glasses!!  We will have to take her in to have her eyes checked every 6 months as the dr. thinks her prescription will change frequently for the first year or so and then hopefully stabilize. 

The glasses Reese picked out :)

We travelled to Jasper for a hockey tournament and had an absolute blast!!! We left Thursday afternoon after early dismissal and got home Sunday night. The Cougars played 5 games over 3 days and did quite well, although didn't bring home a medal. They had many close games and played really well together. We had a lot of fun with the team and the parents had a lot of fun in the evenings :) My Dad came for a night as well and took Em back to her ringette game on Saturday which was so awesome! Thank goodness she was able to go as they were down quite a few players. 

Team photo at Pyramid Lake

My favorite hockey players ;)

Cougars hockey mom's!!

Girls table :) So awesome the girls have friends to play with at hockey!!

I celebrated my 37th birthday! We had my favorite - Mt. Fugi and chocolate cake ;) Hard to believe I'm only a few years away from 40!!  

And we also celebrated Reese turning 7!!!  (see Reese's birthday post!!)

We're getting excited for December and the holiday season!!  Can't wait to get the house decorated and all the Christmas fun!!

xo

Tracy

Happy 7th Birthday, Reese!!

We had a wonderful time celebrating our little Reesey!!! I'm not so sure how long we'll be able to call her our 'little Reesey' but I'm sticking with it as long as I can ;) Reese is such a sweet girl! She's an awesome little sister, daughter and friend. She loves to draw and sing and loves playing ringette! She aksed me the other day if she can play basketball ;) She also loves her piano lessons and her big brother and sister. She never tires of playing with them but it doesn't always work both ways! She should probably be an actress, as she turns on the waterworks quite easily in my opinion, lol! She's sensitive to others feelings and some what emotional as well. She loves to cuddle and has a heart of gold! We can't imagine life without her and are so glad we decided to 'have one more', she completes our family :)

Reese had her birthday party at the American Girl doll store in West Edmonton Mall Chapters. She invited 4 friends to join her in a spa date for their dolls, followed by dinner and cake at BP's bourbon street. I think I've often said this in the past but this was such an awesome birthday party!!  The girls had a blast, the whole experience at AG was awesome. The AG staff are amazing and made the girls feel so special! Reese had a great time :) Her party was on the 18th and then on the 19th she had quite the day - a ringette practice, followed by a team builder at Jump 360, followed by dinner and cake with my Mom and Dad, the Stecyk cousins and Auntie Lindsay and the Stony Plain Cameron's! Thank you to everyone who made Reese's 7th birthday so amazing!!

Ready for her party at the American Girl store!

Their dolls have been pampered and are almost ready to go for dinner ;) 

So cute!

Love this scrunchy face :)

Happy Birthday, Reese!

Jump 360 with her ringette team!

Birthday dinner with cousins!

October and Thanksgiving

October started off with Em's first ringette game of the season! She was so excited and had a great game :) She's pretty excited to also be affiliated to a Step 3 team! We're so proud of her :)

On the 9th we celebrated Thanksgiving and it was also our 13th wedding anniversary! We had dinner at Mom and Dad's and took some quick family photo's, which turned out awesome!!

On the 14th it was double date night with Lindsay and Jeremy :) We went to Japanese Village and then to the Oilers game! It was a great night!! While we were watching the Oilers lose, Emerson was at a WAM game with her ringette team! She had so much fun! They went to the game and then the BP's.

Reese had her first ringette practice on the 15th! She was SOOOOO excited, it was awesome to see :) She had so much fun and was very happy that her friend Ava is on her team this year! She is all smiles at the ringette, it's awesome :)

On the weekend of the 29th we travelled to Tisdale, SK for my cousins wedding. We had such a great weekend, I'm so glad we were able to go! We missed 3 ringette practices, 1 ringette game and a hockey practice but it was worth it :) We got to visit with all my aunts and uncles and cousins and cousins kids, my grandma and grandpa and saw my mom's sister and 1 of her daughters! We rented a 2 bedroom condo in my grandma's building and it was perfect! We hadn't been to visit my grandpa since he moved into a long term care centre so it was really nice to be able to do that. Tiffany's wedding was fun, the girls enjoyed tearing up the dance floor!!

Grandma Marg with most of her great grandchildren!

Where did September go?!

It's already October and I can't believe how fast September went. It feels like it was tumultuous month. I miss Heidi so much I can't even think about her without my heart aching. But in way we haven't had a lot of time to sit and think about her, which maybe is a good thing? I miss her the most in the evenings and when I walk in the door after a long day :(

Blake's hockey team was formed at the beginning of the month. He made an Atom AA team. His team is the KC Cougars this year and Cal was selected to coach! I volunteered to be a co-manager, so we're busy, busy as usual ;) We all love it though and the girls are super happy their friend Gioia's brother is on the same team as Blake again this year! They just love spending time together and lucky for Cal and I, they look forward to hockey because they get to play with Gioia! So we've had a bottle drive already, tons of practices and an exhibition game and we hosted a tournament! First time for Cal and I but with the help of tons of volunteers, we pulled it off!! It was an absolutely exhausting weekend but we actually had fun and felt quite successful after the last game was played ;) The Cougars brought home a bronze medal, which was awesome!! Tiring but fun weekend :) The Cougars mom's (we're going to have fun with this, this year - lol!) had a fun night out on the 29th and got to know each other a little better!

KC Atom AA Cougars - successful bottle drive!!

Em's ringette team is also now formed and she is playing on a U10, Step 2 team this year! Their name is the Ice Queens :) They've had a few practices and have their first game on October 8! She's super excited for the season and happy to be playing with a few of her teammates from last year! And Emerson and Cal had a father/daughter date night on the 25th, taking in a pre-season Oilers game!!

We're all getting back in to the swing of things and Reese is looking forward to her first ice time on October 15th :)

~Tracy

Heidi Anne Cameron

We said so long to our beloved Heidi on Sunday, September 10th. This was one of the hardest days of my life thus far. I need to write this all out, it's sort of part therapeutic/part I don't want to forget even though it is horrible to think about.

When I woke up on Sunday morning I didn't see Heidi right away. I asked the kids and Cal where she was and Cal said he let her outside. I opened the back door and called for her. She didn't come. I spotted her laying in the grass and called, "Heidi want a treat?" This ALWAYS has her running!!!  She loved her food and treats ;) She didn't move. My heart sank. I literally felt my heart drop to my stomach. I ran out to her and she was just laying in the grass, kind of panting. I knew immediately that something was wrong :( I picked her up and brought her inside. She couldn't really walk. She'd stand and stumble a few steps and then sit again. She eventually made her way downstairs and laid on the tile by the fireplace. I watched her and tried to bring her food and water but she wouldn't eat or drink anything. She seemed to be uncomfortable. It was so sad. I sat on the floor near her and she laid her head in my lap. I was torn as to what to do. Our vet isn't open on Sundays, we had hockey practice and a hockey meeting coming up. But I knew I had to take her in, I could not leave her at home alone like this. So after driving around somewhat in distress with Heidi in the passengers seat, I finally found a vet that was open. I was worried about her suffering, worried about the vet cost, worried about being the team manager and missing the hockey meeting, worried about the kids because they weren't supposed to be at the meeting and Cal was the head coach, etc, etc. I walked in the vet carrying Heidi and couldn't even talk, I was a blubbering mess. Thankfully the waiting room was full and a sweet lady volunteered to fill out the paperwork for me. Heidi was uncomfortable and didn't want to sit in my lap, so I laid her on the floor. I knew she was very sick because she didn't even budge with all the other dogs in there. Typically she would be chomping at the bit to run up to them and greet them. She was taken to the back to be examined and then I was called into a room to talk to the dr. That's when he told me that she was very sick. She was full of blood inside, bleeding internally and most likely had a mass on her spleen or liver. He said he could perform surgery but nothing was certain. She was in shock and severely dehydrated. I knew we had to put her down, as much as I loved her, I knew we really didn't have a choice. The vet started an IV line and gave her fluids and pain medication. She was brought into the room with me and was feeling a little better which was really nice. I called Cal and the kids and they came in to see her. We hugged her, kissed her, the kids held her and I took a pic (of course. you know me!). We didn't think the kids should see her falling asleep so after hugs and some tears, they left. I spent more time with her. She laid in my lap and I talked to her. I've never seen an animal put to sleep before but it was actually very peaceful. I continued to hold her for some time after she fell asleep. I know a dog is just a dog but if you have a pet or have had a pet in the past, you know this is only partially true. A dog is a family member, not 'just' a dog. I loved Heidi so much. She was like a child in a way. Having the sick sense of humour I sometimes have, I would joke that she was my handicapped grade 1'er. Sorry, these are my memories so just being honest, not trying to offend anyone. She was my faithful side kick, always under my feet and by my side. I think she really got me. I'm not much of a cuddler and she gave me my space but was always close by. Every time I'd move, she'd look up at me. In the kitchen she literally was always under my feet but at those times she was more after the scraps I would throw her than anything else ;) Heidi was so cute. We always remarked at how she never lost her puppy cuteness!! You know how some dogs grow up and just aren't quite what they were when they were puppies?!  Heidi never did that! She was a best friend and probably saw more tears from me than anyone else in my life. The kids arrived after Heidi and she took to them like a champ! Never once did she chew on a baby toy or act aggressive to a toddler. And they sure loved her! I think Emerson more than the other three but Em seems to be our animal gal! All 3 love animals but Em seems to just a little bit more! Em recently started walking Heidi for us. They would walk around the block :) Reese often joining them as well. I couldn't even think about Heidi for a few weeks after she passed, it just hurt too much. It's a bit easier now but still so strange not to feed her, lift her up on to our bed at night time, let her out, etc, etc. So many daily routines we carried out with Heidi. I miss her greeting us at the door and hearing her bark as soon as the garage door opened! Miss her so much but am so thankful we had her in our lives. Love your forever, Heidi Anne Cameron!

Back to School 2017

Back to school for the kiddo's and back to work for me! It's a bit tough to head back into the school/work routine but at the same time a part of me is always excited. A chance for a fresh start, new teachers, new students for me, a chance to reconnect with friends, peers and co-workers! And of course, new school supplies and school clothes are always exciting :) This year Blake has a new to the school home room teacher and is in a grade 4/5 split class.  His week is fairly equally balanced with instruction from 3 different teachers - Mme. Amna, Mme. Joanne and Mr. Brandon. Emerson has a new to the school teacher and is in a grade 2/3 split class, her teachers name is Mme. Knopps and Reese has Mme. Melissa and is in a straight grade 2 class! Mme. Melissa will be going on maternity leave at the beginning of December so she will have a new teacher for the majority of the year. We're looking forward to a great school year for all 3 kiddo's and hope they commit themselves to their classes and learning and enjoy the school year :) My first day back to work was September 1st and I headed to a new office! We changed office locations this year and while I was sad to leave the old location, the new location is a bit closer to home so that will be nice!

We had a great September long weekend! I had to work on the Friday but Mom and Dad took the kids out to Linds and Jer's cabin for the day and Cal and I joined them after work. The kids had a blast quadding and playing with Connor and Mason! We spent the rest of the weekend getting ready for school on Tuesday - a few school supplies still needed to be purchased, some back to school clothes needed to be organized and washed and Reese got her ears pierced!! Berlyn also came back to Edmonton for her birthday party so the girls attended that and had a blast :) KC rep conditioning camp started at the end of August and tryouts began right after. During Berlyn's party, I went to KC to watch a tryout scrimmage. Em's ringette starts soon but Reese doesn't start until October!

Best of luck to all the kiddo's heading back to school this week!!

Last part of August

Here's some highlights from the last part of August (after the Epic Summer Road Trip and before Back to School '17):

- we were sad to say "See ya later" to the Parenteau's as they moved to Airdrie near the middle of August :( We had them over for a farewell BBQ and wished them well! I'm sure we'll still see them throughout the year but it's sad to know they're not just a few blocks away anymore :(

- the weekend after we were home from holidays, we headed back out with the trailer to camp with the Hrdlicka clan at Miquelon Lake Provincial park! We had the BEST time with them and the Bezan clan even came out for a day/evening! The weather was hot, the water fights were epic and the beergarita's were awesome ;) Lots of fun with my besties!!

- we mixed in a few park play dates as well, with the Mauro's, Runco's, Bucci's and Reich's!!

- the kids had a week of camps, Emerson attended the University Ringette camp (AMAZING camp, she had sooooo much fun and made new friends!!), Reese attended a Club Active camp at Servus Place with her friend Aubrey and although had a tough time being away from Mom all day, she adjusted and had fun with Aub's!! And Blake attended a Quantum Speed power skating camp. He's not a huge fan of power skating but it was so good for him and he really learned a lot!

- on August 27 we had an awesome lake day with my Mom and Dad at Lac St. Anne! They found this great spot to unload the boat. It's a bit quieter than other boat launches and easy to get in and out of. We had a great day on the lake, the kids loved tubing and knee boarding and we took a dip in the middle of the lake :)

This summer has been amazing and I'm not sure I'm ready for back to work ;) I think the kids are also unsure if they're ready for back to school or not but ready or not ... we're all back next week!!!!

Talk to you soon,

Tracy

Epic Summer Road Trip - Part 4

And so we've come to end of the Epic Summer Road Trip. To be honest, I wasn't ready for it to end! We had the best weather imaginable. But I'm getting ahead of myself ...

When we left Penticton we weaved and winded and followed the road to Kanaskis. On the way we stopped at The Enchanted Forest outside of Revelstoke. The kids loved it but I think Reese enjoyed it the most! Unfortunately for Blake the moss and dust in the buildings really bothered his asthma :( That is one thing we discovered during this trip - the smoke from the forest fires throughout BC, AB and Washington did not bother his asthma in the least but the dust and moss at Enchanted Forest did. Good to know! The Enchanted Forest was really cool to see and we're glad we stopped but I forgot to mention what a pain the parking was ... poor Cal had to wiggle and maneuver into a tight spot and that was after attempting to fit in two other spots. God bless him and his patience!!  Thanks Cal, we appreciate the work you did to make sure we could visit this cool place ;)

After Penticton it was on to Mt. Kidd! It was a looooong day on the road, made longer of course by our stop at The Enchanted Forest. We arrived at Mt. Kidd right before 9 pm and drove into an ash storm - ash falling from the sky due to forest fires :( I was worried about Blake's asthma but when we woke up the next morning the sky had cleared! We enjoyed a few nights in Mt. Kidd, one of our favorite places but were sad the pool was under construction and closed :( We spent a day in Banff and walked along the Bow River and saw the Bow Falls, which is something we hadn't done before :) And of course we took in the evening entertainment at Mt. Kidd - one of our favorite things to do!! It was nice to finish up our travels, just the 5 of us and in one of our favorite places :)

On August 6th after 22 days and 4527 km's, we arrived back home!! Like my blog post titles have said, it was an Epic Summer Road Trip with my favorite peeps :) Priceless memories!!

Epic Summer Road Trip - Part 3

Part 3 of our Epic Summer Road Trip brings us to Penticton! And if the drive from Idaho to Seattle was beautiful, this drive may have been even better!!  Much of the drive was through Wenatchee National Forrest and it was absolutely gorgeous. We also spent much of the drive following the Columbia River and I had the strong desire to stop and set up camp at any of the numerous campgrounds we passed by. I also dreamt of buying one of the many gorgeous properties that were on the river!!

We were happy to easily cross over the border in to Canada and slowly make our way to our campground. I booked sites at this campground after reading many reviews and was a bit nervous to see what sort of place it was! And much like we'd heard, the sites were tight!! But we were next to Cal's brother and his family and so it worked just fine and the campground was actually really good. We stayed at Wright's Beach Campground. They had all sorts of children's activities throughout the day, movie nights in the evening, special events and a gorgeous beach on Skaha Lake! We love the water and had so much fun on the beach and in the lake! Gerry rented kayak's one day and the kids loved paddling around. We also visited Penticton Beach and the Wibit park! The Wibit park was super fun but wayyyy more challenging than I anticipated!!  I was like Bambi on ice out there! It was very hard to stay on the inflatable and even harder to hoist yourself back up when you fell off. Friends of ours from Edmonton were in Penticton at the same time as us and they joined us on the beach that day. It was great to see them and the ladies enjoyed a beverage across the street at the pub and when we returned, the men went across the street to enjoy a beverage (or two!!)!! We also had friends from Edmonton visit us at our campsite one morning! And we had dinner at Cal's aunt's house. She lives in Okanagon Falls and his cousin and her husband were also visiting at the same time, so we all visited Aunt Sharon's the same evening. It was great to catch up with them!  It was Gerry and Lesley's anniversary while we were vacationing together so we planned a fun day for that day! Our first stop was Kangaroo Creek farm and I'm so glad we went. It was a very cool experience to hold a baby Joey and to walk around amongst the grown-up kangaroo's!! We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Joey's and visited Kelowna city park, walking along the beach and taking in the beautiful scenery :) Some of our other fun sightseeing activities included picking peaches, cherries and cucumbers at Hillside Country Market just outside Oliver. It was a SUPER hot day that day so we decided it would be the perfect day to jump off a bridge ;) lol ... Maybe that doesn't sound safe but this is a big tourist thing in Penticton!!  There's even a ladder to climb back up!  The bridge is between Okanagan Falls and our campground, on the Kettle Valley Railway trail. It is a cute little trestle bridge and Cal and the kids were so brave to take the plunge!!  I really wish I would have jumped too but I left my swimsuit in the truck. Next time for sure!!  Now I can not forget to mention the epic ice cream cones we enjoyed between the orchard and the bridge jumping!!  We'd heard for days how we had to visit Tickleberry's in Okanagan Falls - the largest of all the Tickleberry's!!  We we did just that and boy are we glad we did :) Delicious ice cream, 72 different flavor choices, home made fudge and chocolates, gift shop and souvenirs! A cool place for sure!! I can't believe all we packed in to our days in Penticton and really didn't want to leave this wonderful place! I definitely fell in love with the area :) We will be back for sure!!

This ended our time with the Stony Plain Cameron's. The kids were so sad to leave their cousins, they had such a great time together!! It was awesome to have all this time with them as we don't get a chance to visit much usually! They get along so well!

Part 4 of the road trip coming up next :)

Stay tuned ...

~Tracy

Epic Summer Road Trip - Part 2

The next leg of our journey brought us to the Seattle, Washington area! But first I must talk about the beautiful drive from Idaho to Seattle ... I loved watching the changing countryside as we made this trek. Windmills on the hillsides, gorgeous lakes and rivers, and finally mountains! Such a beautiful drive :) We pulled into the KOA outside of Seattle on July 21st. We were a bit surprised at how close the sites were to each other but were very happy to see the pool!! It didn't take long for us to set up and hit the pool! The kids were so excited and we made excellent use of that pool for the 6 days we were there!

The next day we ventured downtown to the Public Market. It was crazy bussssssyyyy!!  Like super busy, shoulder to shoulder! But we got to see some fish throwing, which the kids thought was awesome!!  (https://www.pikeplacefish.com/) We escaped some of the crowds by visiting the upstairs of the market, which afforded an awesome view of the waterfront and the Great Wheel. We then went on a mission to find a good spot for lunch and after checking many menus, settled on a small restaurant across the street from the market. The seafood platter was delicious as was the clam chowder!!  We also stopped to see the very first Starbucks but the line was down the block so we didn't order anything. After lunch we found the Gum Wall and made our contribution, lol!!! Blake was quite disgusted! After much debate, we decided to head down to the Great Wheel! Some were hesitant to ride the wheel, some weren't but in the end we all rode together are are all so glad we did! The views were spectacular!!!

The next day in Seatlle was spent in the pool and then at Safeco Field for a Mariners game! It was a gorgeous day out and so much fun to be at the ball park. Lucky for the kids, it was kids day at the ball park and they all got books when they walked in the door, became Kids Club members and best of all, they got to run the bases at the end of the game (and we all got to go down to field level)!!  So cool!

The Stony Plain Cameron's arrived on the 24th and the kids were all so happy to see each other, they jumped in the pool for some fun as soon as they could :) The next day we decided to visit Seattle Centre and the Space Needle. The history of the Space Needle was very interesting to read about and again, spectacular views from the observation deck!! Blake had clam chowder for lunch at Seattle Centre and it was even better than the clam chowder we had by the market ;)

The next day was a hang by the pool, soak up the sun kind of day for the morning and afternoon and then the Cameron gals and guys headed in separate directions! The girls were in search of the American Girl doll store and the boys were off to another baseball game (1st for Gerry and Colby)! Both trips were successful, with the girls bringing home new dolls and outfits and the boys witnessing a Mariners win in extra innings!!! I also had a blast at the AG store and quite honestly, I could have spent A LOT more (and believe me, I already had spent a lot!!)!! To see all the dolls and clothes and accessories in person was so much fun :) It took Emerson and Reese awhile to pick out what they wanted but they did and they had a blast!!  So glad we were able to take them to an AG store :)

On the 26th of July Cal, the kids and I ventured off on a little adventure in pursuit of Mt. Rainier!!  After quite a long, bumpy drive on a narrow gravel road we came to a corner of Mt. Rainier National Park! It was absolutely gorgeous and despite the poor road conditions and feeling somewhat lost, we're glad we made it!!  We hiked around a gorgeous lake, ate a picnic lunch and explored. It was so gorgeous, words don't do it justice!! I hope we can go back one day and explore more of the park.

Between all the site seeing, we also did a lot of Target shopping ;) And a lot of swimming and splashing in the pool!!

We were on our way to Penticton on the 27th! We loved our time in the Seattle area and maybe one day, we'll go back :) But most definitely we want to go back to Mt. Rainier National Park and hope to make it to Tacoma and Mt. St. Helen's as well!!

Penticton post is up next :)

~Tracy

Epic Summer Roadtrip - Part 1

4400+ km's + 2 provinces + 2 States + gorgeous weather = FABULOUS MEMORIES!!!

This post is loooong overdue but for some reason I can't find my summer vacation pics I saved on my harddrive :( I'm really hoping to rectify this but for the time being, here's a re-cap on our epic summer adventure!!!!

We started out on July 15th. Our first pit stop was in Red Deer, where we found my Mom and Dad! Our first 'whoopsie' also happened in Red Deer when Cal left his wallet on the bumper of the truck and it flew off into Hwy 2 traffic, just outside of Red Deer!!! Thankfully he saw this happening in the rear view mirror and stopped to see what the heck it was. That's when he remembered leaving his wallet on the bumper. Thankfully he and my Dad recovered all the important cards, most of which were in the ditch! Phew, not sure what we would have done had we lost his credit card, Interac card and license!!! From Red Deer we made our way to Crows Nest Pass for a 1 night stop. Nothing special about this campground but we did explore Lumbreck falls which was quite pretty and the kids climbed the rocks at the Frank Slide site. The adults also enjoyed a Chinese buffet dinner that night (kids were there too but they weren't fans off the buffet, lol!)!

The next day we were on our way, across the border! But before the border crossing, 'whoopsie' #2!! We forgot to lock one of the outdoor storage compartments on the trailer and I looked out the window to see the door flapping in the wind ... we stopped and as far as we know the only item lost was Emerson's bike helmet (which by luck, was replaced by Grandma D because for some reason she had 2 bike helmets with her!!) I was a little bit worried about crossing the border with Heidi but the border guards didn't even ask for her vet paper. We arrived that afternoon at our campsite (Farragut Sate Park), set up and then my mom and I headed to Coeur d'Alene for groceries while Cal and my Dad took the kids to the beach! We stocked up on food, beer and wine (how handy to be able to buy alcohol at Walmart, lol!)! While staying at Farragut State Park, we had such a great time. We visited Silverwood Theme park one day, just the 5 of us, had a beach day at lake Coeur d'Alene (gorgeous)!!, took a day trip/shopping trip to Spokane and walked around the downtown area a bit (some under construction but so pretty) and spend a day at Boulder Beach (grandma and grandpa, too!)!! It was an awesome week and we'd love to go back one day. The area is just so beautiful and the theme park and water park are sooooo much fun!! I think we could spend a few more days there, for sure :) We're so glad my mom and dad joined us, it was awesome to spend the week with them and see some of the area they love to visit! Oh and thank you for introducing us to the Golden Corral, lol!!!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Epic Summer Road Trip!!

Summer '17 - the beginning

We kicked off summer in a similar style to last year - a spray park bash with Bishop Savaryn friends!  This was our second annual 'Schools Out' party and it was another great day in the sun :) Ice cream, water, park and friends, what more can you ask for :)

Next up was Canada Day long weekend! We debated going camping for the weekend but decided that with our big road trip coming up, we'd stay home and enjoy being around home. We headed to the Legislature grounds to take in the celebrations. It's always fun to see everything going on at the Legislature - stage shows, music, the Canada Day road race, pancake breakfast (which we missed!), dipping the kids toes in the fountains, bouncy castles, etc, etc!!  Fun to see all of the patriosim and everyone celebrating our wonderful countries birthday :) After the leg, we decided to visit Whyte Ave for lunch and some window shopping. It was a beautiful day and we found ourselves doing more than window shopping at the Wee Book Inn. Lots of books and DVD's purchased! After leaving the book store we came across Sand on Whyte and enjoyed seeing all the cool sand sculptures. We contimplated going to the fireworks but were all pretty tuckered out so we relaxed at home and went to bed at our usual times :) It was a great Canada Day!

#canada150 #albertalegislature

#sandonwhyte #canadadaycuties

On July 2nd we headed to the lake for some boating, tubing and kneeboarding with my Mom and Dad!!  It was a gorgeous day! We found the Stecyk's at their friends cabin and the kids played in the water for awhile and then we headed to their cabin for dinner. There's nothing we love more than a day on the water!!

Boating!

Dinner at the Stecyk cabin!

July 5th was the last day of soccer. We didn't make every week but we made a few and the girls always love it!!  On the last day their friends Ava and Berlyn also able to make it, so it was extra fun!!

Pedalheads bike camp started on July 4th. We usually do the morning camp but couldn't get in to the morning session this year, so had to do the afternoon session which in the end actually turned out better! It was nice not to have to rush out of the house in the morning, instead we were able to sleep in and take our time getting out of the house. The kids love bike camp although Blake was a bit disappointed that he couldn't ride to the river valley from this years location.  We'll have to go back to the other location next year where they get to ride the river valley!

On the morning of Friday the 7th Cal and I headed to his Sin7 race in Crowsnest Pass. We didn't get far ... after a few hours of various stops in Nisku, we were told that our trailer axels were bent and would need replacing. We had friends who were staying in our trailer so after a few phone calls, a stop in Red Deer for some food and a cooler, we arrived in Crowsnest Pass, planning to sleep in our friends tent! A few hours later Cal receives a text ... our friends truck broke down and they needed Cal to pull their trailer. So off we went! We had to miss the dinner but we got the trailer to the campsite and were offered a bed in that trailer!  Bonus ... I wasn't a fan of tenting in the first place, lol! If you're keeping track, the group was down one trailer and one truck. The race began at 7 am Saturday morning. It was a grueling, HOT, HOT day. Runners were dropping out left, right and centre. We could see helicopters circling over the mountains, landing and flying back out with what we could only assume were injured runners (this was later confirmed). Two of Cal's teammates had a really tough time, taking hours longer than planned on their leg. One of the teams runners said she laid in a dried up creek bed for hours. Crazy, crazy conditions for such a long run. Long story short, Cal's team ran out of time and were disqualified.  Cal still completed his leg of the race, which makes me so proud of him. 24 km in the mountains, most of it in the dark. I was so glad to see him cross his finish line (well, it was pitch black so I couldn't see him but I could see head lamps and when I figured out it was his head lamp I was very happy!!)! Now to add one more loss to this odd weekend, our friends tent was destroyed. The tent pole went right through the middle and made a big hole!  What a weekend!!  Despite all the set backs, we had fun with Cal's NP and OMC friends - a lot of laughs and a lot of stories we will never forget!!!  Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids :)

This brings us to our biggest vacation yet!!  22 days on the road - I may have to break this trip into separate post's ... stay tuned :)

xo
Tracy

Jam packed June!

It's officially summer vacation time and I couldn't be more excited!!!  Here's a quick recap of June. It was awesome for the most part but let's be honest, I just want to enjoy summer :)

Blake's lax team was in the JRM Baggataway Memorial tournament on June 10. They won 1 game, I think but had some close ones and had a lot of fun together!

Reese's grade 1 class participated in a Christmas concert this year and Blake and Em's classes participated in a spring concert on June 14. Their music teacher is so talented and produces such great concerts, it's always a pleasure to watch.

Reese lost her1st lost tooth on June 16 but she actually lost two ... she had a tooth that was actually 2 teeth fused into 1!  She she really lost her first 2 teeth :)

We celebrated Father's Day on June 18th!

June 21st was Make Music Day, an event that was held in numerous locations across North America!  Dominelli Music decided this would be a great day to have a recital and Reese decided to participate. She played The Lion Sleeps Tonight at the Naked Cyber Cafe :)

June 24th brought Blake's last lax game for the season. They played in Sherwood Park and after wards had fun at the cool park near the arena and then at BP's with some teammates. It was a good season but had we been in a tier more suitable to us, we would have won a few more games!!

On June 24th Grandma and Grandpa took the kids for a sleepover and some boat/lake time!! They had fun trying out the new kneeboard and tubing!

Blake has played 3 on 3 hockey in the summer for a few years now but this year we didn't sign him up, as we'd be away for most of the games. But we just happened to be home on the 25th and so he was lucky enough to get to play with Ryan and Max, 2 of his best buds.  He hadn't skated in a few months and was happy to be back on the ice.

My vacation began on June 26th ... let the good time roll!!  lol!  I am totally enjoying my vacation time and will do a summer re-cap at the end of it all but in the mean time I plan to try to enjoy every minute!

The last week of school was fun, with games day on the 26th. Always a fun day and for some reason the organizers get lucky and it's always a sunny, hot day!!  I volunteered again this year but there were so many volunteers, they didn't need me the entire day.

On June 28th Emerson got her ears pierced!!  She was so brave but teared up when they actually pierced the ears, more out of the thought of it then anything!  She says it didn't hurt ;) Grandma and Grandpa came to watch and then we went out for a celebratory Starbucks before heading to the last soccer of the season!

On the last day of school (June 29th) we met Berlyn at Marble Slab and then spent the evening at the park.  It was a gorgeous day and a great way to kick off summer!!

Speaking of kicking off summer, we had our 2nd annual 'Schools Out' spray park day with school friends today!  Another warm day and a great day with friends :)

I won't be posting this summer, as we won't be home much but hopefully I'll get to a "Our summer was the best!" post in September!!  Have a wonderful summer!!! Talk to you in September :)

PlayOn 2017!

This was the 3rd time Cal and Blake put a team together for Hockey Night in Canada's PlayOn street hockey tournament.  This years team was awesome and did very well, making the gold medal game and winning silver. We all had a lot of fun, soaking up the sun and watching some great street hockey!  The girls slept over at my parents on Friday night, which was really nice for them as they didn't have to watch allll the games and best of all they attended the Stony Plain Farmers Days parade and went to the fair grounds too!

Blake and teammates, hanging out on the sidelines between games

Brody, Brogin, Fernando, Blake, Dante and Cameron - the Northside Kings!

Warming up for the Gold Medal game!!!

Silver medalists, super proud of these boys!!

Blake bringing the ball up :)

Coach Cal (aka Dad) and Blake 

May was marvelous!!

We've had a marvelous May!  Here's some highlights because as per my usual, I am behind :)

~ We surprised Blake with a ticket to a playoff game on May 3rd!  The Oilers lost in OT but they had a great time and Blake loooooved the Playoff Hockey experience!!

The boys - off to Blake's 1st playoff game!!  An early birthday surprise :)

All 3 kiddo's - wearing their Oilers jersey's to school!  Playoffs were a blast :) 

~ the 3rd annual pasta dinner and silent auction night at Bishop Savaryn School (also happened to be Blake's birthday, so before school was out I showed up to Blake's class with popsicles for the class :) Mom and Dad also came to the dinner with us and Cal had a little mishap that night - he took a puck to the eye while playing hockey :( Took a few days of healing, eye drops and two visits to the optometrist but it healed fine and he is now wearing a 1/2 visor!)

~ Reese attended her first soccer night in St. Albert!  She was so excited, at dinner that night she said, "I've been waiting for this day allll year!" We love the little soccer program our friend Audrey puts on :) 

~ Mother's Day - was a busy day! Blake had a lacrosse game that morning and I was helping throw a BBQ at Church for Celebration Sunday (the end of the Sunday school program and celebrating all the volunteers and kids accomplishments!). So the girls and I were at Church early, prepping for the BBQ after the service. It was a great morning and afterwards we made a stop at Starbucks for a celebratory frappe ;) The rest of the day was pretty chill, I had a nap which was nice ;) 

A nice treat on Mother's Day :) 

~ the kids started golf lessons at Fort In View golf course - every Monday with their friends Aubrey and Noah :) 

~ I made two visits to Fort Edmonton Park for field trips - 1 with Reese and 1 with Blake :)

~ We had a spent the long weekend at Cross Lake, the weather and company were fabulous as usual and it was a great start to the camping season!!

Great weather on May long - the kids had fun tubing!

~ Em finished up her 3 on 3 spring ringette season on the 23rd!  She had a blast and wants to play next year :)

Em's #1!!!

~ Reese and Emerson joined their friend Giora at her dance studio for bring a friend night. They now want to do alllll the dances in the fall ;)

~ We travelled to North Battleford on the 27th to celebrate the life of my Grandma Kelley. I'm really glad we were able to go and enjoyed visiting with many relatives I haven't seen in 15+ years!

~ Blake and the Bishop Savaryn Running club participated in the Run for Pie race, benefiting the Stollery Children's Hospital and Em and Reese joined him!! They did so well, we were so proud of them!

~ My Mom, Sister and I celebrated Lindsay's birthday with a movie night out :) 

And that's the highlights (some of them, anyways!!) June's coming at ya soon, hope you're enjoying these warmer days!!!

Double Digits?!

Say it ain't so. Unbelievable. I can't believe our boy has reached double digits. The past 10 years have gone by so incredibly fast, I can't imagine how fast the next 10 will go. Happy 10th birthday to the boy who changed our world and made us parents! We are so proud of Blake and at times I am in awe of this boy! He is kind, smart, handsome, funny at times and serious most often but then he's goofy around his friends :) He's so gentle and caring with his younger cousins and the siblings of his friends, he has a big heart and can be a gentle giant of sorts! He loves his sports, his family and his friends. He is loyal and loving. He's never afraid to try something new and always gives 110% in anything he does.  He's competitive and wants to succeed and do his best in all the sports and activities he tries. We just love him to the moon and back and I really don't want him to grow up so fast!!  We had a great time celebrating Blake's 10th year with a friends birthday party and a family BBQ! One of Blake's amazing traits is his gratefulness. He is always so grateful for everything, from the small stuff to the big stuff and his birthday celebrations were no exception :) We are looking forward to what the next 10 years will bring for our boy! 

An early birthday surprise - attending an Oilers playoff game with Dad!!

The Stecyks and G&G came over for a BBQ and to watch a playoff game :)

Blake's 10th birthday invite!

Blake's buddies celebrating his birthday with him!

Blake loooooved his cake!!

Some of his best buds came over to carry on the party after the party ;) 

April was awesome!

And there goes April ... which I suppose is okay as that means we are 1 more month closer to summer vacation!!!  Here's some highlights from this April:

- lacrosse season officially started and Blake is playing with some teammates from last season and some hockey friends! I am the team manager and looking forward to a great season!

- We had one more hockey event, a Crusaders parents night! We went to Brewsters for dinner, drinks and an Oilers game!  It was a lot of fun and we'll miss these parents!!

- On the 14th Cal and I went to an Oilers playoff game and oh my goodness was it EVER good!!!  So much fun, the arena was LOUD and PROUD!  So glad we had that experience!

2017 Playoffs!!!

- Emerson had her last Ukrainian dance performance at St. Michael's extendicare. She performed her Hutzul dance for the first time and we loved it!

- the lacrosse team attended their first tournament of the year, the Icebreaker tournament at Servus Place (April 21 to 23). Because Blake's coaches are involved with the Jr. Miners, the team got to use their dressing room for the weekend, which was really cool for the team! They had their own stalls and left their equipment there all weekend.

Blake thought it was pretty cool to have his own stall!

Icebreaker tournament - 2017

- On the 24th Emerson's dance group competed at the Veeteretz Ukrainian dance festival. The did great, taking home gold and most promising ribbon for Poltavski Melodiyi and bronze for Hutzulski Deetchoky. It was a fun day with Em and I'm so glad I took the day off to spend with her :)

Emerson with her medals :)

-  Emerson started 3 on 3 ringette on April 25th! After the first game, as she skated off the ice, she said to Cal, "Can I play 3 on 3 next year??" So she's obviously loving it!! The teams seem quite uneven which has made for a few losses but she's not discouraged!!

- Reese began piano lessons again and is enjoying herself although I am having to heavily 'encourage' her to practice at home ;)

- Blake and Emerson began guitar lessons at the end of the month!!  And they are also loving their music lessons but requiring 'encouragment' to practice at home, lol!

- On the 28th the kids and I met the Mauro's at Rogers Place for an Oiler's playoff game viewing party!  We had a BLAST!! The atmosphere was insane, considering we were all just watching an away game on the big screen ;) Friends of ours were were in a suite and invited us up.  It was pretty cool to experience the suite-life!!

- To wrap of April we were very excited to welcome back my Mom and Dad to Alberta!!  We met the Stecyk's in Stony Plain for a welcome back brunch at Mom and Dad's :) 

And that is April in a nutshell!!  Bring on Spring and the sooner Summer arrives the better!!!

xoxo

Tracy