Last month of 2019!

What were the Cameron 5 up to in December?? Well, much of the usual - ringette, hockey, dance, Girl Guides, work, eat, sleep, repeat!! Oh and school, duh. Here's some of the highlights (minus Christmas because Christmas deserves its own post!!)

1st: Girls and I attended Ringette night at the Oil Kings game! An annual event and always a lot of fun with our ringette friends!

2nd: Deck the Cameron Halls was completed!! aka Christmas explosion in our house!

3rd: Reese and Emerson's 1st ski day field trip at Sunridge!

6th: Emerson and her Devils teammates made 100+ pies as a team fundraiser! This happened at Simply Supper and was simply (see what I did there?!) an awesome and fun fundraiser. The pies sold like hotcakes (thanks everyone!) and they were also delicious!

6th to 8th: Blake tried out for an Alberta Winter Games team. He had a really good weekend, 

13th: Reese and her Girl Guides unit attended a movie at Landmark Cinema in St. Albert for their Christmas Party. And I had a night out with my friend Shelley! We had an absolute blast at the River Cree Resort and Casino!! We had supper at the buffet (DELICIOUS!! and it was seafood night!), attended a Bon Jovi cover band concert and enjoyed a few bevvies at the pub after the concert! It was a ton of fun! 

14th: Reese and the Raptors had their Christmas Party at the Derick Winter Club. Some of her teammates families are members at the club. It was a lot of fun for the team - they went swimming and had a gift exchange and dinner. The gift exchange theme was 'Spa and Stuffies'! The adults enjoyed a beverage and appys in the lounge while the kids were swimming (they were supervised, don't worry!) 

16th: We met my parents and the Stecyk's at WEM for our Santa by Appointment visit! The Santa changed this year which was a little disappointing but it was still a magical visit :) The atmosphere and time spent is so special vs the regular mall Santa visit!!

17th: Blake's 1st band concert! We really enjoyed the music and talent!! Blake plays the trombone.

18th: Ski trip field trip day #2 for Em and Reese and I volunteered this time! Lots of fun at Sunridge, I love skiing!! And this evening, Cal and I attended a dinner at Sabor, hosted by a vendor he works with. It was an unbelievable meal. I'd say the best I've ever had and the person who was hosting us knew what kind of wine to pair with each course and what to drink with dessert - it was phenomenal!!! Very nice evening out!!

19th: STAR WARS day for Cal, Blake, Emerson and the Mauro boys!!! The new movie came out today and we pre-bought tickets :)

21st: A nice evening at the Parenteau's! It's so nice to have them close by again!! Their new home in St. Albert is gorgeous.

22nd: Another fun evening, this time at the Bucci's! Always a blast when we all get together! Bucci's, Mauro's, Chorney's, Scott's and Cameron's - a lot of kids but we all had a blast!

28th: We met the Anderson's at Rabbit Hill for a day of skiing! And that evening I hit the town with my friends Sam and Jen! A late night of dancing, we always have the best time!!

30th: We caught one of Connor's hockey games as he was in what we called the 'Christmas tournament' aka Confederation Hockey tournament. It was great to see one of his games!!

31st: We spent the day sledding with the Stony Plain Cameron's! It was a gorgeous day outside and we ended it with a DQ ice cream :) We spent the evening and late into the New Year at the Bucci's! Lots of fun ringing in the New Year!!

Coming up ... 2020!!! 

xoxo

2019 Christmas Letter and Photo Card

*Photo card to come!!

The holiday season is upon us! We are all really looking forward to a few days of rest and family time. 2019 has been a great year, with a few changes - mostly the growth of the munchkins and the dog! 

Blake started jr. high this year which brought a change of schools. He’s in St. Albert now which means a coordinated car pool schedule! Blake is really enjoying the independence of jr high, I didn’t really realize how ready he was to move on from elementary school but it is evident now. He is in pre-AP classes & still in French immersion. He’s enjoying every extra curricular activity - participating on the cross-country running team, the jr. volleyball team & now the jr. basketball team. He also started band & is learning to play the trombone. His practice sessions at home are interesting - his sisters complain & the dog doesn’t seem to be a fan of the ‘noise’!! Looking forward to his first concert ;) Blake’s playing hockey again & made the Peewee AA Lancers for the winter season. This spring he played spring hockey & lacrosse. He played on the zone A lacrosse team which was challenging but he loved it. Blake is now taller than me & close to Cal! We predict he will be taller than Cal after summer, summer seems to be a huge growth time, maybe it’s all the lake water and sunshine :) 

Emerson is in grade 5 this year and takes her studies very seriously. She really puts a lot of pressure on herself which can be tricky to manage as a parent but the girl is driven!!! Em is enjoying ringette this year, she moved up to U12 & is splitting her time between goalie & forward. She’s not sure if she’ll play goalie next season, she’s enjoying putting the ring in the net ;) Emerson is Ukrainian Dancing again this year. Her group has been together for a few years now which is great. Their character dance is a favorite & we’re looking forward to this years version! Emerson is also playing volleyball this season & has been practicing two mornings a week before school. She can’t wait for their first tournament!

Reese is in grade 4 this year & enjoying her teachers and friends. Reese is the comedian in our family, she is just so darn funny!!! She is playing ringette again & is in her last year of U10. She splits her time between goalie & player but would tell you that goalie is her favorite. Cal & I would tell you that being a goalie parent is definitely the most stressful position on any team!! This spring she had a lot of fun playing 3 on 3 ringette. Reese has moved on from Brownies and is in her 1st year of Girl Guides. At the beginning of September she attended a two night camp. It was the coldest weekend in September and they were in tents with no other shelter but she had a blast and is looking forward to another Girl Guide camp in June!

We started summer 2019 at the Cameron family reunion in Namao. It was a great gathering and wonderful to visit with so many of the Cameron clan! The following weekend Cal was off to Crow’s Nest Pass for his Sin7 race. His team did well but as is often the case, the weather provided some challenges. This year in the form of mud, rain and slippery mountain trails! The next weekend was lacrosse provincials in Calgary, which happened to be the same weekend as our Campbell family reunion :( Then in mid July we were off on our summer vacation road trip! This year was spent between Vernon, Penticton & the Coeur d'Alene area. The Okanogan weather never disappoints and thankfully this summer there were no fires. We enjoyed our annual Penticton visit with Cal’s Aunt Sharon! We met up with my parents, sister & her family in Idaho. Probably our favorite day of this vacation was when we rented a pontoon boat & spent the day on Lake Coeur d'aLene. Swimming, suntanning and tubing on a gorgeous lake - doesn’t get much better! Silverwood and Boulder Beach were also a lot of fun!! We used our trailer less than previous summers, which I think is a sign of the times as the kids are getting older. We did not camp on May long weekend this year due to a lacrosse tournament & the rest of the summer other than our 3 week road-trip, was spent with ringette & hockey camps & lots of downtime at home and around Edmonton with friends.

We rang in February of this year with a 40th birthday party for Cal. Unfortunately the weather ruined our plans for outdoor skating & shinny but we still enjoyed ourselves indoors! Cal traveled to Florida for a conference this June and has made his usual BC & Calgary trips. In September he was promoted to a  Senior Design Specialist, a role he has been working so hard for & we are so proud of him! Cal was excited to coach Blake’s team this spring & is back in his happy place behind the bench this winter! Cal’s other hobbies include his Friday afternoon hockey games with his teacher buddies and Friday morning workouts with the November Project crew, followed by what they call “Old Man Coffee” at the nearest McDonalds!! He says they are gearing up for retirement!

I am working a .52 FTE this school year. That translates to approx. 3 days a week although I spread those hours over 4 days. I love my job and especially enjoy that I am never in one place for too long, as I travel from school to school around the city. When needed, I am on the ice/bench with Reese’s team but my main role is managing the team. I am a co-manager on Em’s team and manager on Blake’s team as well.I love these volunteer roles. It really is like a hobby but more of a full-time job kind of hobby!! I enjoy the planning & organizing & helping to ensure all the players have a fun season. The rest of my spare ‘fun’ time usually includes a late night tea/coffee date with friends or a Saturday night out dancing!!

Quinn the wonder dog is full grown & approx. 60 lbs. She is the smartest & most loyal dog but unfortunately we can not seem to convince her that we don’t need a guard dog. She loves us dearly & thinks she’s a lap dog, it’s quite comical at times!! Her cuddles are the absolute best :) We love our adventures with Quinn, our favorite is the local dog park. 

That brings us to the end of 2019. My how time flies!! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas filled with friends, family and love. Merry Christmas and all the best in the 2020! 

xoxo 

Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese