Christmas Celebrations!

Christmas Eve brought our annual PJ Service at St. Albert United Church, followed by a fast food dinner in the van and driving around, looking at Christmas lights :) Our favorite spots to visit are Candy Cane Lane and Bob's Christmas House! It was an awesome evening, again one of my most favorite Christmas traditions! On the way home our friends the Bucci's texted us and asked us to come over, so we rushed home, changed out of our pj's and stopped by for a visit. The kids were quite concerned we were out so late on Christmas Eve ;) I think we got home around midnight but would have stayed longer had the kids not been concerned about Santa's visit!!!

We awoke Christmas morning to Santa's magic! I popped the Christmas wife saver in the oven and we enjoyed our new gifts :) Mom and Dad stopped by for a visit and dinner (appetizers as requested by the kids!). It was a quite but very enjoyable day at home.

On Boxing Day we were off to Stony Plain to celebrate with all the 'Smith' family! We had a great day at Mom and Dad's and came home late that evening with full hearts and full bellies :)

On the 27th we were out of the house early to drop Quinn off at the kennel and head to Grande Prairie to visit Cal's family! His brother and family were leaving G.P. that evening so we wanted to get there early in the afternoon to enjoy dinner together and open gifts! We spent 2 nights in Grande Prairie and had a great time catching up with all the Cameron family. We visited Cal's grandpa at the long term care centre he lives at and his Grandma came by for a visit as well. It was great to see everyone and thankfully the roads were great on the way up and pretty good on the way home!

We had an awesome few days with family and feel so blessed!! Merry Christmas everyone!!

xoxo
The Cameron's

2018 Christmas Letter and Card

Hello everyone! ‘tis the season!! The season for last minute letter writing, cookie baking and Christmas shopping J Or at least that’s the case in our household!! We are spending a quiet Christmas day at home this year. On Boxing Day we will be in Stony Plain to celebrate with our Smith/Stecyk family and on the 27^th we are heading to Grande Prairie to visit Cal’s side of the family. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone!

I had a bit of trouble starting this letter this year. We lost my Grandpa Art in September and I feel like it’s hard to celebrate all the good in 2018 with the loss of such an important man in our lives. We were glad to be in SK with our immediate and extended family during this time. We miss him dearly but are glad he is no longer suffering. We will hold close all our wonderful memories, especially at this time of year as I remember the 20+ years I spent with him at Christmas time.

A little update on the kiddo’s in 2018 … Blake is 11 and in grade 6, hard to believe he’ll be off to junior high next year! We’re enjoying this last year of having all 3 kids in the same school. He played lacrosse this spring and brought home a silver medal from provincials in Calgary! He’s still obsessed with hockey and this year is working really hard on his slap shot. He’s decided to play spring hockey this spring and Cal will be coaching. Blake’s missing his favorite coach behind the bench this winter season. He tried a new sport this year when he joined the school volleyball team and enjoyed himself! I’ve also heard rumblings of playing school basketball, so we’ll see how he’ll fit all this in. He’s not still for long, unless he’s playing FortNite!!

Emerson is 9 and in grade 4! She is Ukrainian dancing again this year and playing ringette. She has chosen to split the goalie position in ringette this year and is doing very well. We may have a goalie on our hands, although league rules do not allow a player to play goalie 100% of the time until U12A. I am an assistant coach on her ringette team. Emerson was in guitar lessons until the end of June and is still practicing most weeks. She joined the school choir this year and is slightly annoyed her sister was old enough to also join!! Em is the best little helper I have, always willing to help with chores, cooking, walking the dog, etc.

Reese is 8 and in grade 3! She loves school and loves to read but her favorite subject is Math. Reese joined Brownies this fall and is having such a great time with her bestie! She had her first overnight Brownie camp and it was also her first time away from home for 2 nights (other than Grandma and Grandpa’s house)! I was a bit worried but she did great and had a blast. She’s looking forward to another Brownie camp in the spring. Reese is also playing ringette this winter and I am co-coaching her team. She is having a great season and is glad to finally be in U10 and playing regular league games. Like her sister, she enjoys playing goalie! Reese was in piano lessons until the end of June and would like to start lessons again. She still enjoys music and art and is quite the little artist J

We enjoyed our annual summer vacation road trip this year, visiting two new towns (Revelstoke and Golden) and our old favorite, Wright’s Beach in Penticton. We camped near Cal’s brother and family while in Penticton and had a great time. The weather was HOT!! We had a nice visit with Cal’s Aunt Sharon and Aunt Madeleine and were happy to also visit my great Aunt Gwen and great Uncle Frank! We embarked on the river float this year which scared the heck out of all of us when our tubes got caught up at a bridge. Lesson learned and the second float down the river was much less terrifying!! We absolutely loved Revelstoke and Golden. In Revelstoke we stayed at a campground on Upper Arrow Lake, it was gorgeous and the girls made new friends from Vernon, Germany and St. Lucia! Golden was also a surprise, we really enjoyed the Grizzly Bear refuge at Kicking Horse and the municipal campground was surprisingly nice and not a ‘parking lot’ as we anticipated.

In other news we added a new member to our family at the end of May when we adopted a puppy from a local rescue. We really missed having a dog in our lives and spent some time looking for what we hoped was the right fit! We wanted a larger breed, hoping to have a pal to hike, run and walk with us!! Quinn Jasper Cameron is her name but she was originally named Debbie by the rescue! We considered keeping Debbie (I had visions of yelling, “Debbie!! Get inside! or Debbie, it’s time for supper!!” lol!) but the family wasn’t quite on board and finally settled on Quinn, which suits her just fine J Jasper was also a front runner but some of us felt it was a more masculine name. One of our favorite places is Jasper and she has the coloring of Jasper the bear, so it was decided it would be her middle name! We love her so much and are working hard to train her. House and crate training were a breeze, she’s a very smart pup and she’s awesome with us but protective when strangers come to the house, which has proven challenging (tips are welcomed!). She loves the dog park, doggy daycare and lots and lots of exercise!! At almost 9 months she is 60 lbs and most closely resembles a border collie/lab cross but we’d love to do a doggy DNA test to see what breeds come back! She had so much fun with us on holidays this summer, loving the water and all the walks. We had fun with her at the doggy beach in Penticton, where she could swim with the kids! There’s nothing like the unconditional love of a dog J  

 Cal and I are still at our same jobs. I’ve upped my FTE a touch this year and have been picking up some casual hours. We’re living the rink life this winter and loving it, although Cal misses coaching hockey but is happy to be planning for the spring season!! Cal ran in the Sin7 Ultra race this summer with his November Project friends. When Quinn is a bit older, he hopes she will be his new running buddy!

Take care everyone, wishing you a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!

All our love,

The Cameron family

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!

December has been so much fun!! We kicked the month off with our annual trip to the private Santa at WEM :) Mom and Dad have been taking the grandkids for the past few years and it's one of our favorite Christmas time memories. Santa is so awesome with the kids and takes so much time with them!! It was a great way to start the month of December!!

We decked the Cameron halls on December 3rd! We weren't sure how Quinn would feel about the decorations and were concerned with how she'd treat the Christmas tree, but so far so good!! What a good pup ;)

On December 6th Reese had her holiday party at Brownie's! She came home with a bag full of Christmas crafts and treats and even brought home her very own Grinch tree, it was so cute :)

On December 6th Emerson and I headed to Cochrane for a ringette tournament, Blake and Cal headed to Stettler on the 8th for a hockey tournament and Reese headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for a sleepover :) We all had a great weekend. Em and the Panthers did win on the scoreboard but had an awesome weekend of team bonding and a ton of fun! Emerson and I stayed with the Parenteau's on the 6th and it was great to catch up with them and visit! On the 7th we stayed with the Panthers at the hotel. On the 8th we headed to Stettler to catch some of Blake's games and cheer on the Spartans! Then home on the 9th to reunite with our Reesey! Reese had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa :)

I caught a winter cold/sinus infection and felt like crap for a few weeks but started to recover around the 16th, just in time to volunteer for a field trip to Sunridge Ski Hill with the kids and their school! We love skiing so much, I really need to make more time for it. We had a great day on the hill, Blake and Em basically ski with their friends all day and Reese and I ski with her friends!

On the 21st we all helped to construct and decorate a gingerbread village! It was a lot of fun and I love how the kids are now very particular about their decorating vs just eating the candy, lol! It's become one of my most favorite Christmas traditions!!

Somewhere in December we wrote our annual Santa letters and did a pile of baking!! Of course our sugar cookies were a must, a Christmas staple in the Cameron house and so delicious!! We also baked peanut butter marshmallow squares, whipped shortbread and Christmas crack! Yummmmmy!! We were able to gift quite a bit of our baking to the girls ringette coaches and all the teachers :)

Next up ... Christmas Day and beyond!!

October/November 2018

Lots of fun was had in Oct/Nov!! Here are a few highlights :)

- Our 14th wedding anniversary on October 9th! 14 years of marriage but many more together!! Hard to believe it's been 14 years. We are so blessed and are looking forward to many more years!
- Blake scored his 1st goal in Beaumont on October 14th!! He was SO excited and so were we!! And it was awesome to see his teammates and some of his coaches also happy for him :)
- Blake and Cal attended the Oilers home opener vs the Bruins on the 18th! I was happy to give him my seat for the game, so he could watch his favorite two teams ;) The game even went to OT, with the Oilers coming out on top!!
- Reese and the Ice Queens attended a tournament in Beaumont on the Oct. 19 weekend! They had a lot of fun :)
- We celebrated my Dad's 62nd birthday in Stony Plain with my sister and her family and my mom's famous carrot cake :)
- Reese kicked off Halloween celebrations with a party at Brownie's on the 25th!
- Cal, Reese and I met Olivia Hren on Nov. 1!! Blake and Emerson were sick so stayed home. She's adorable!!
- On Nov. 4th Emerson and I took a road trip to Red Deer for a league game!
- On the 10th I had a super fun night out with some fellow hockey moms. Dinner and dancing, it's great for the soul ;)
- I turned 38 on the 14th and enjoyed a yummy Mt. Fuji dinner and delicious cake with my family and mom and dad :)
- Blake attended his first volleyball tournament on Nov. 15th. He had a blast!
- Blake had a blast on a school field trip to the Grey Cup Festival on Nov. 22!
- I drove Reese and Alexa out to a two night brownie camp on Nov. 23. She was hesitant to go and i was nervous to let her go but it all turned out just fine and she had a BLAST!!

And now we get ready for the Christmas season!! Can't wait! Talk to you all soon :)

xo
Tracy

Reese turns 8!!

Our baby is 8 years old!! We love our little Reecey piecey so much! She brings so many laughs, smiles and the best hugs into our lives! She is an easy-going, happy little girl :) She loves life, loves her family is the happiest gal around (who can also turn on the waterworks at the drop of a pin, lol!! Reese is growing up so fast, it's hard to believe she is already 8 years old. Reese loves to draw, write stories, play with her LOL dolls and barbies (she's now into cutting her Barbie doll's hair and making them clothes out of old socks), loves ringette and especially playing goalie and is really enjoying Brownies! Her favorite subject in school in Math! She is very creative and loves to craft and make everything - from baking, Barbie clothes, slime creations, cards, crafts and anything else she can think of! She's always up for the outdoor rink or going skating!

Reese enjoyed her 8th birthday party at Colour Me Mine in West Edmonton Mall. She wanted a 'Winnie the Pooh' theme and everyone painted a Winnie the Pooh mug :) She had a blast at her party and was so happy to spend time with her closest friends! On the 19th (her actual birthday), we had my family over for cake and spaghetti, Reese's favorite meal :)

Love ya to the moon and back, Reese!! Can't wait to see how much fun you have being 8!!

xoxo

Halloween 2018

Another year of Halloween festivities is in the book! We had a delicious potluck at work and then I took a few hours off to catch the Halloween parade at the kids school and spend some time in each of their classrooms! Halloween night we took our annual photos at our house and then drove over to the Bucci's for a night of fun with the Bucci's and Mauro's! The weather was okay, not too cold but not too warm either and the kids got SO much candy!! Hope everyone had a great Halloween :)

Reese - Cuddle Team Leader (from Fortnite), Emerson - Scary Scarecrow, Blake - Black Knight (from Fortnite) and Quinn - a taco!!

Reese is a Brownie!

Reese's best friend Alexa left Bishop Savaryn school this year. They were both very upset that they wouldn't be in the same school this year so Alexa's mom and I decided we should sign them up for an extracurricular activity so they'd still get to see each other each week!! We tossed around the idea of indoor soccer, karate and settled on Brownies! And I'm sure glad we chose Brownies!! It's been a wonderful program and super affordable. They're having a lot of fun, have already attended a day camp outside and earned two badges :) They're in the thick of cookie sales right now but they sure aren't a hard sell! People are crazy for these mint chocolate girl guide cookies, Reese sold 2 cases within 40 minutes at Blake's hockey game!! Reese is deciding whether or not she wants to go to an overnight camp in November. She says she only sleeps over at Grandma and Grandpa's but I can tell that she is seriously considering going! I think she knows how much fun it will be :) We'll keep you posted on whether or not she goes!

MAIL FROM HER BROWNIE LEADERS!!

REESE LOVED RECEIVING THIS IN THE MAIL, PRIOR TO HER FIRST BROWNIE MEETING :)

WE Day!

Blake attended WE Day last week! He was very excited to go and I was super excited for him :) What is WE Day, you ask?! Well I have never been but have heard many wonderful reports from teachers and friends who have attended!! I think what it comes down to is a day full of inspiration!! Inspiration to be a responsible global citizen, inspiration to volunteer and give back to your community and inspiration to just be a better person! They typically have a few 'famous' speakers and often a surprise performance by a popular artist! Not every grade 6 student at Blake's school gets to attend (there are a limited number of tickets) so Blake had to write a paragraph explaining why he should be chosen to attend WE Day. I did not get to read what he wrote (he wouldn't show it to me!!) but he was chosen! I hope it will be an experience he won't forget, I would imagine being one person amongst 21,000 people, all cheering and singing and being inspired would not be something you'd soon forget :) Rick Hansen, Keshia Chante, Margaret Trudeau, and Shawn Hook were amongst the big names at the event! I'm so glad Blake had this opportunity!! Check out the website: https://www.we.org/

Girls night!!!

Well technically girls afternoon/evening but girls night sounded more catchy ;) This afternoon I took Reese and her bff Alexa and Emerson and her bff Brissy to the new museum and then out for dinner! I highly suggest visiting the Royal Alberta Museum if you get a chance! The Royal Alberta Museum is the largest museum in Western Canada and one of the top museums in all of Canada! It was gorgeous, fun and informative! The children's areas are awesome and the girls had a great time. I'd actually like to go back with Cal one day, just to spend a little more time exploring. We spent most of our time in the children's gallery and the bug gallery! It was a lot of fun to surprise the girls with this fun adventure :) I loved watching them with their friends! Dinner at BP's was fun too, it was a great afternoon and evening!

Can you spot Reese and Alexa?!

Rink life!

We are a few weeks into our 2018/2019 Hockey and Ringette season and this year will look a lot different than previous few years!! 

Blake is playing on the KC Spartans this year, a tier 1 team based out of the St. Matthews hockey club. Due to a new tiering structure that Hockey Alberta rolled out this season, KC rep is no longer housing A teams. Blake's happy to be back on the ice with some of his best buds but we're all a little unsettled at the unexpected changes. Cal is not coaching this year and we're unsure how the move back to St. Matt's will go but we're staying positive and hoping for the best. At the end of the day we just want Blake to enjoy himself and the good thing is, Blake is very resilient and is so awesome at finding the positives in life, he's just the best that way :) He is super excited to be with Brogin and Dante again and so are we! Let's go Spartans!!!

Emerson is super excited to have made a step 3 team! She skated hard in evaluations and is on one of two, top U10 teams! She doesn't know very many players on her team but I know she'll make fast friends with everyone! I'm excited to be assistant coaching this season and very excited to be alongside her head coach, who is a former WAM! player, national team player and champion and currently a coach of the national team! I have a feeling this will be a great season for both Em and I :) 

Reese is happy to be in U10 this year and playing actual league games!! She did awesome in evaluations too and is on a step 1 team. I am co-coaching with the same person I coached Reese with last year and we're going to have a great season! Can't wait to see this teams development over the course of the next few months! There's so much growth at this level!

So we are already full-swing into the rink life and looking forward to league play starting soon. Can't wait to cheer them all on!! See 'ya at the rink :) 

1st Day of School 2018

Here are our grade 6'er, our grade 4'er and our grade 3'er ... man the time flies!! They are so grown up!! Their first day was great, they are happy with their teachers and we are hoping for a great school year! Blake has Mme. Melinda, Emerson has Mme. Amina and Reese has Mme. Knopp. This is the last year they will all be at Ecole Bishop Savaryn. Hard to believe but it's true! Blake will be off to jr. high next year! Hope everyone else had a great '1st day back'! It was also my first day back at work and while I would love a few lazy days at home, by myself, I was happy to be back at work! I love my job and always feel a bit more energy on this first day back! The excitement and possibilities that come with a few school year, always have me happy to be back at work :)

1ST DAY OF GRADE 6

1ST DAY OF GRADE 4

1ST DAY OF GRADE 3

ALL THE KIDS TOGETHER!!

ON OUR WAY TO SCHOOL!!

LAST TIME FOR THIS GUYS FIRST DAY AT ECOLE BISHOP SAVARYN ... 

A Day at the Stecyk Cabin

After a stressful weekend with hockey tryouts, I was really looking forward to this day at the Stecyk cabin. And it ended up being a great day! We visited, Quinn LOVED the wide open space and running free in the woods and the kids loved the quad rides!! The weather was gorgeous and we had fun spending time with family and friends :) My parents were camped there for the weekend and Phil was as well. Phil's girlfriend Amanda and her son also visited for the day. Hard to believe school starts tomorrow but what a great way to end summer 2018!! Thanks for having us, Stecyk's :) :)

Other Summer 2018 Highlights

Besides are summer vacation, we had many other great summer days!!

We kicked the summer off with a July long weekend camping trip to Cross Lake Provincial Park with my parents! It was Quinn's first camping trip and she did quite well :) The weather wasn't the greatest but we did get in some tubing, fishing and lots of baseball!! One day Blake caught a jack fish, while out fishing with my Dad. He was so excited when he got back to the trailer! He told me all about it and how they released it and then said, "I'm so happy! I love camping!" It almost made me cry to hear him say that!! There's just nothing better than hearing that from one of your kids :) Thanks Mom and Dad for a great weekend!!

 
On the 5th we got picked up in the Bucci bus and headed to the Legislature grounds to cool off in the fountains :) Great day with one of our favorite families!! Love those Bucci's!!

On the weekend of July 7, Cal headed down south to race in the Sin 7 race and Emerson went to a friends cabin for 2 nights. So it was just Blake, Reese and I at home which was weird but fun! We took Quinn for lots of walks and to the park! Cal had a great time at Sin 7. His team did not get disqualified this year, the weather was better than last year and they rented a house this time instead of camping in a field!! So no ant bites this year, lol! He ran leg 4 again this year and was back in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon, just in time to rescue me as I had locked my keys in the van at the library!! Emerson had fun at her friends cabin but found that 2 nights away felt a bit long.

 

On July 8 we had Colby and Jenna over for a sleepover. The kids had a great time and loved having their cousins over!! We took a long bike ride to the park and enjoyed the sun :)

On the 11th we picked up Blake's friend Gavin and headed to the Summerside beach for a beach day with the Stecyk's! The weather was great, my shoulders burned and we all had fun!! On the way home we stopped in at 7-11 for free slurpee day! A great way to end the day :) Thanks for having us, Stecyk's!! Always a great time!!

 

On the 13th it was off to Calgary for lax provincials!! We had a great weekend with our lax family and even snuck in a visit with the Parenteau's!! We watched a lot of great lax, Blake played so well and the team left Calgary with a silver medal! They were so close to coming back in the gold medal game but should be very proud of themselves for bringing home silver! A great weekend and experience!!

And now it's August and the days of summer are dwindling :( But we still have a few weeks left, so here's to making the most of it!! Our weather has been so good, we've been very lucky! Hope it continues into September!!

Cheers,

Tracy

Summer Vacation

Summer vacay ... 2018 edition!!

We had another wonderful summer road trip!! This year we stayed in Canada but kind of regretted not being able to visit a Target during this road trip ... lol!! We visited some new places this time and loved them all :) Here's a re-cap of our favorites!!

Our first stop was just outside Kananaskis! We parked in a casino parking lot for the night, just to break up the drive to BC! A quick supper and games night in the trailer and we were off to sleep and up early the next morning, ready and excited to hit the road. It's funny how these little 1 nighters in a parking lot can be fun but the kids do seem to get a kick out of them!!

Stop two was Revelstoke, BC. We LOVED the little campground we stayed at, Williamson Lake Campground. Our site was small but right on the playground and the lake was beautiful. The kids enjoyed the water and meeting new friends! The girls met a girl from Vernon who they played with for a few days, until she had to leave and another friend from St. Lucia!! They also played with a girl from Germany and I really enjoyed listening and watching them as they tried to learn a little bit of German and tried to teach their new friend a little bit of English! It was getting late one evening when they were playing but Cal and I decided we'd allow them to stay up later as they were having so much fun and the 'international relations' were fun to watch ;) In Revelstoke we also visited the Giant Cedars Boardwalk and did some walking around town and geocaching. We played a lot of cards and enjoyed the warm weather!! It was a nice, relaxing stop!!

Stop three was one of our faves - Wright's Beach Campground in Penticton, BC. We visited for the first time last year and had to go back this year!! Gerry and Lesley and kids also camped with us again this year. We had a great time! We looooove Penticton!! So much to do and see and the weather is perfect :) Soooo hot but it doesn't matter when you can jump into beautiful Okanogan Lake or Skaha Lake!! We enjoyed beach days, 2 floats down the river, a visit to the Wibit and lots of walking and ice cream!! Oh and tons of hours in the pool!! The kids just love the pool. The adults enjoyed adult beverages and crib games at night while the kids were in bed!! We visited the Penticton sign this year as well and enjoyed a visit from the Parenteau's for 1 night! We all had dinner at Auntie Sharon's again this year and this time Auntie Madeleine joined us as well! It was great to see them. Cal, the kids and I also popped in to visit my Great Aunt Gwen and Great Uncle Frank. They are looking fantastic and have a very nice condo in a great spot in downtown Penticton! We parked there and then walked to the Farmer's Market downtown. We also visited Cannery Brewing this summer and fell in love with it!! The Tyson's had recommended it and we're so glad we went, can't wait to go back! Cal is now on the hunt for a Growler ;) And we let the kids enjoy a treat from the Peach this year ... the milkshakes are like a meal!! So fun! Again we did some geocaching in Penticton and one adventure Cal and Blake went on, had me driving to pick them up as they'd walked many km's from the campground!! We had a lot of fun with Quinn. She loved the water and there was even a dog beach we could take her too and swim with her!! She loved swimming and loved digging in the sand :) She met a few doggy friends as well, who she enjoyed wrestling with!! While we were on vacation she outgrew her kennel and ended up sleeping with us!

The final stop on this summer's journey was Golden. We'd only seen Golden from the highway and were quite surprised by how nice it was!! It's a great little town! The campground was on a river and very nice and the town pool was a short walk away! The kids had a blast at the pool one day and we also took a drive up to Kicking Horse Resort and decided to take a chair lift up to the Grizzly Bear Refuge on the mountain!!! We all loved this experience and learned so much! We actually got to see Boo the bear and the kids thought it was pretty cool!! We'd go back for sure!

It was a fabulous vacation. The weather was amazing and the time together was priceless. I'm so grateful for these camping experiences and memories, there's nothing like them!

We're home now and ready for a fun August!! I'll have to update you on the beginning of July as well :) Talk to you soon!!

Jeepers ... it's June?!

Blake and his Pewee C lax team participated in the Baggataway lax tournament on the weekend of June 8. They played hard and came away with a silver medal! Their coaches are involved with the Miners lax club and they got to use the Miners dressing room all weekend, which is a cool perk ;)

I was lucky enough to take some time off to attend a field trip with Blake and his grade 5 class. We explored Lois Hole Provincial Park and learned all about the Wetlands from Ducks Unlimited Canada. It was an excellent field trip and I can't believe we haven't been to Lois Hole Provincial Park, it's beautiful out there! Lots of walking trails and you really feel as though you're in the country but you're only 5 minutes from the city :) We'll have to take Quinn for a walk there one day soon!!

On the weekend of June 16th Blake and friends participated in the Top Shelf 3 on 3 street hockey tournament! They went undefeated and came home with the gold!! The North side Kings dominated!! It was a fun weekend with friends, watching our boys kick some butt!!

On June 21st the girls had their music recitals. Each at different locations but scheduled so we could make both :) Reese played her piano piece beautifully and then we enjoyed hearing Em on the guitar :) This wraps up their music lessons for the summer. They might start again in the fall!

From June 25-27 I was on jury duty! I could not believe I was selected and quite honestly, this was not the time I wanted to be selected as those are the only dates I had off, all to myself, before the kids were off school!! My last day of work until September 1st was June 22. But it did all work out and I actually enjoyed the process. It was a tough case but I found the entire process to be very interesting and I am glad I had the learning experience. Now next time, I hope it's only work I have to miss and not 3 days of freedom ... lol!!

And suddenly, it was the last day of school!! Oh how the time flies! Our grade 5, 3 and 2 graduates were excited for summer vacation and we kicked it off with our annual spray park play date with friends :) The sun was out and we all had a great time!

We're looking forward to our summer vacation time, can't wait to get back to Penticton!!

Talk to you soon,

Tracy

Introducing .. Quinn Jasper Cameron

We are pawsitively smitten with our new addition!! It felt like it took forever to get her but she is finally home and we love her to death! Quinn was adopted from a local rescue - h.a.r.t. Edmonton. They rescue dogs from reservations around the Edmonton area. Quinn's mom was rescued at the beginning of March and had 9 puppies while in foster care! Quinn's birth date is March 15 and we adopted her officially on May 24th. She began her life as Debbie but after much deliberation, we all agreed on Quinn! Her FULL name is Quinn Jasper Cameron :) Quinn is a border collie/lab cross, with a possibility of other breeds!! I'd love to do a doggie dna test on her one day!! She is adorable, so soft and cute with her white nose, chest, feet and white on the tip of her tail!! She's quite shy right now but attached to me quite quickly! On Victoria Day when Cal and I went to meet the puppies, we had to give the rescue our top 2 choices. They then called us to let us know which puppy they thought would be the best match for our family (prior to this I had submitted an application and then did a phone interview). A volunteer from h.a.r.t then brought Quinn over to spend a day with us. Before she left, she did a home inspection. They are very thorough!! We loved having Quinn and she did wonderful, it was very hard to see her leave that evening, we just wanted to keep her! After some more paperwork and a spay appointment she was finally ours and home to stay :) Her first days with us were a bit hectic, with Blake being in the the Parkland Lacrosse Tournament!! She spent some time at my mom and dad's and hanging outside the arena in Beaumont!! But she did great! She seems to struggle a bit with meeting new people, especially men, but I'm sure as the days pass she will learn to trust more. She sleeps okay at night but her foster mom got all the puppies up at 5:30 am so I'm working on changing her wake up time!! The first night we had her, we weren't sure where she'd sleep so I lifted her up on to our bed and she immediately started chewing on my hair and arms and licking me like crazy!! So I thought, "NOPE!!" lol! And put her in her kennel. She fell fast asleep ... and is sleeping in her kennel! Which is actually very nice! Cal works from home most days and will try to work from home for all of June. Then I am off for the summer, so that will hopefully give us a good head start on training! She has had a few accidents in the house, but we take her out quite often and I think she's picking up on house training! Fingers crossed!!! It's so nice to have a dog in the house again but a lot of work ;) We really want to work hard with Quinn to train her well, especially considering she will be quite a large dog! Here are a few cute photo's to tide you over until the next post ;) Enjoy!! Love you so much Quinn, glad we found you!!

Adoption Photo!!

Quinn (Debbie) and her D litter, litter mates!!

Hey May - where'd ya go?!

Blake's 11th birthday was May 5th! The girls and I had a long day planned in Fort Saskatchewan for Emerson's year end dance recital and Blake and Cal went to Blake's lacrosse game. After dance and lacrosse, we celebrated our birthday boy with DQ ice cream cake! The next day we met the Stecyk's and G&G D at Soda Jerks for a birthday dinner and came back to our house for Grandma D's famous carrot cake (birthday boys request!!) Blake wanted to see the new Star Wars movie (SOLO) for his birthday so we waited until yesterday (June 1) to have his birthday party. He had Dante, Brogin, Max and Gavin over for tacos and Fortnite and then we took all the kids to the movie. He had a blast and we all loved the movie!!

Em's year end dance recital was fabulous!! It was a long, busy day but she did so well in the welcome dance and in her group dances :) She was invited to be a part of the welcome dance this year, which meant extra rehearsals and being at the theater extra early. But she did so well and loved it and we just LOVE watching her dance!! Another dance year is over and she has grown and learned so much, we're so proud of her! She seemed to love dance more this year, which is awesome. She definitely bonded more with her group, which makes a big difference!

Our May weekends and evenings seemed a bit slower for us and we all enjoyed our down time, which often led into bike rides, slurpee runs, street hockey, lacrosse and baseball!! But also more iPad time, X-box time and iPhone time (lets be honest). Loved it though and really appreciated a less 'scheduled' calendar :)

On May 12 we headed to the horse races after Blake's lax practice! It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun. We didn't bet much, so we didn't win much but we enjoyed hanging out at the track, seeing the horses and cheering on our favorites!! Cal and I used to go to the horse races a lot pre-kids and we've been a few times with the kids when they were little but haven't been in awhile! If we win the lotto, we're buying a horse!!! lol! We will try to go back every summer, we all enjoyed it :)

Our year end Church BBQ seems to always fall on Mother's Day which makes me slightly grumpy but by the end of the day, my mood has always turned around ;) I help plan and cook for the BBQ so it is a busy morning! We had a nice BBQ at my parents house that evening :)

May long weekend was a great first camping trip of the year!! We left Friday after work and had pretty good weather! Can't complain! The kids got out on the tube, Reese also kneeboarded and they all fished as well! The Scott's and Streadwick's weren't with us this year but the Pasko's and Stagg's were and we had a great time. On holiday Monday Cal and I packed up and left the kids with Mom and Dad, as we had an appointment to meet some puppies from H.A.R.T. Edmonton!!! (more on that to come!)

On the weekend of the 25th, Blake and the Wizards played in the Parkland Spring Classic lax tournament. They came in 3rd place and fought hard all weekend. I try very hard not to complain about officials but they were sure questionable this weekend :( Blake and team came in 3rd. Emerson also had her first birthday sleepover that weekend and had a lot of fun but very little sleep!!! A right of passage, I suppose ;)

That pretty much wraps up May! There was a lot of excitement at the end of the month but I will share that in a separate post!!

Wrapping up April

~ Blake and the KC Cougars were lucky enough to win a spot in the Ford Drills & Skills Train Like A Pro day at Rogers Place! Thank you to everyone who voted, this is an amazing opportunity for these young hockey players :) They had a great day experiencing a day in the life of a pro hockey player! 

~ Despite the cold, windy weather, we went ahead with a photo shoot for Emerson and Reese and boy oh boy am I ever glad we did!! Their photos turned out beautiful :)

~ lax started and we had our first bottle drive! We seem to be bottle drive pro's by now ;) Many people don't enjoy bottle drives and it's not that we really 'love' bottle drives but it is a great way to raise some money for a team and the kids have fun doing it!! So win-win - team bonding and raising funds for the expense of youth sports!!

~ We had a nice dinner with our niece Kourtney and great-niece Aurora! Aurora just turned 1 and is such a sweetheart!!

~ We got some great news towards the end of the month, when I logged on to Class Dojo and saw two amazing messages!! One from Emerson's teacher, letting me know that the bake sale her and a friend planned raised $401.05. All funds were donated to the Stollery Children's Hospital :) The second message was from Reese's teacher. She wanted to let us know that Reese's reading has improved dramatically and she has gone up about 6 reading levels!! Very, very proud parent moment! Way to go girls, we are soooooo proud of you both!

~ At the end of April my mom picked Emerson and I up for a quick day trip to North Battleford, SK! Emerson has in a dance competition! Thank you so much to my mom for driving us, it made the road trip that much better!! Em's group did amazing, earning two golds! We also had a nice visit with my mom's cousin and her husband. She was very close to my Grandma Kelley and it was nice to get a visit in :)