June?!

Another busy month gone by far too fast!!  Good thing I write most everything down on our family calendar, otherwise I would never remember everything I wanted to write about on this online 'diary' a.k.a. blog ;)

Proud of Em :)

Thank you G&G :)

The beginning of June (the 1st) brought Emerson's dance recital.  We were all very excited (Emerson and I most especially!)!!  The week before the recital, Emerson had a class on Wednesday to learn the grande finale dance.  After 20 minutes or so I went to peek in the class, only to find her crying and in the arms of one of the instructors.  She came and sat with me for awhile and then got up and learned the steps.  I was confused as to why she was crying, as she has always had the best time in dance class and never shown any signs of being scared or upset.  Em didn't really tell me what was upsetting her and after class I spoke to the instructor who also didn't have any idea.  The class was with all the 4 yr old dancers from every class and Emerson's instructor was sick that day and couldn't be there, so I think she was just overwhelmed and missing Miss Jessica!  After this incident I was worried that at the recital, dancing on the big stage at the Myer Horowitz Theatre, she would be totally overwhelmed and either freeze or start crying!!!  She did neither, she rocked that stage!  She had THE biggest smile on her face the entire time!  It was absolutely adorable, I got tears in my eyes :)  I couldn't believe how big she was smiling!  She even remembered (almost) all her steps!  It was great, we really enjoyed the show and all the other performances as well!  Emerson and Reese are both signed up at Variations for next years dance season!  After the recital we had a birthday party to attend at a local spray park.  It was a fun day with very tired kids at the end of the day ;)

Since the end of May brought Emerson's last days of preschool and Blake did not have

In their glory!!

Kindergarten on Thursdays, the kids and I headed out to my Mom and Dad's lake lot on the 8th of June for a day of campfires, quadding and fun :)  We had a great time!  Reese enjoyed quadding last summer but did not want to go for a ride this year!!  Blake and Em love quadding and would ride all day if they could!  They also enjoy taking turns driving!  We played Bocce ball and my Mom blew up a gigantic bowling set they had bought on their last trip to the States!  The day was complete with a hot dog roast and smores!!

Bocce with Grandma :)

The next day, we were invited to a fundraiser at my girlfriends son's school.  Since it was later in the evening, I took Blake and Emerson so Cal could put Reese to bed.  The kids had a blast!  It was a very well organized and planned event!!  The theme was 'Small Town Carnival'.  There was a cookie decorating tent, old fashioned games tent, you could tye-dye a t-shirt at another tent, pony rides, a ball toss, entertainment provided by the student of the school, a bbq, etc, etc, etc!

On the 9th Cal and a few of his buddies participated in a golf tournament for the Alberta Handball Association, of which his friend is the vice-president.  Cal had a great time, he loves to golf but doesn't get out as often as he did prior to 3 munchkins ;)  The kids and I had a nice dinner with my Mom and Dad that evening.

On the 13th the kids and I went out to Stony Plain for a playdate with Erica, Danielle and Grandma D!  We had a nice visit!

On the 14th we took the kids out for a nice dinner, thanks to TELUS!  It was Cal's 15 yr anniversary this year and he was told to take the family out for dinner in celebration.  We asked the kids where they would like to go ... Emerson wanted to go to BP's and Blake and Reese wanted to go to McDonald's!!  I told them we should go to a fancier restaurant and was hoping for the Keg but they wanted to go to Red Lobster, which we all love.  They were so well-behaved, it was very nice dinner out :)

The 16th was Father's Day, we had a nice day at home, playing outside and enjoying the day!  That evening we had a delicious bbq at our house with my Mom and Dad.

On the 19th Blake had a follow-up appointment with his E.N.T. at the Stollery.  I thought I'd make the day a little more exciting by taking the kids on the L.R.T.!  Of course, they thought it was pretty cool and were excited!!  It's the small things ;)  The appointment went well and at this time, as has been in the past, there is no reason to remove the extra sinus in Blake's ear.  That is good news!

On the 20th my Dad picked Cal up for their 2nd annual guys quadding/fishing trip.  They were originally going to leave on the 19th but due to the flooding north of Fort McMurray and a bridge washed out, they had to move the trip to the Lac la Biche area and therefore did not need to leave as early.  They had a few location changes but settled in for a few days of fishing and quadding in the great outdoors!!  By all accounts, they had a good time.  Caught a few fish, did some quadding, drank some beers and stayed up too late ;)

The 22nd brought Blake's last ball hockey game of the season and a birthday party for Emerson.  Blake's last game was great, although he was a bit disappointed that they were playing the Oilers as the Oilers are his favorite hockey team and he didn't want to have to beat them ... lol!!!  We really noticed a lot of improvement in the team from game to game and all the players always had big smiles on their faces!!  Blake really enjoyed ball hockey and wants to play again next year.  After the game I took the kids to Ikea and then we dropped Em off at her party!  She had a great time, I am so grateful for her preschool friends and our little preschool 'family'.  Many of Em's classmates will be returning this year and all returning students are moving from the Tu/Th a.m. class to the M/W/F a.m. class!

Cal came home from his trip on the 23rd, surrounded by hugs, kisses and "We missed you Daddy"!!

Cal had an afternoon of golf with his work team on the 27th and that night we got ready for our July long weekend camping trip!

And that was our June :)  Blake's last month of Kindergarten was busy and emotional (for me), so I will post another blog on that!!

ttyl

Tracy

Where do I start?!

The last few weeks of May were jam packed!!!  Here's a (sorta) quick breakdown of the highlights:

~May 14th I accompanied Blake and all the kindergarten classes (English a.m. and p.m. and French a.m. and p.m.) to Prairie Gardens.  We had an AWESOME time!!!  I loved it :)  Some of the highlights were planting flowers, grass and celery to take home, the 'train' ride and the little bit of downtime the kids had after lunch, which included sitting in a circle singing songs in French - very cool to see and hear!!

~May 17th we headed to Cross Lake Provincial Park for our 1st camping trip in our new trailer!!!  It was soooo fabulous!  The weather was the best we've ever had for May long weekend, we had a great time with the Smith's, Stecyk's, Scott's and Streadwicks, the kids played on the beach and Blake and Em went tubing (along with the Streadwick's)!!  Our new trailer was so, so nice - we loved the extra room, the big beds, being able to eat at a table vs. on some one's bed, not having to rush everyone out the door at 8 am because there was no where for everyone to sit, etc, etc.  We love it and can't wait to use it a lot this summer!!

~May 24th was Family Dance night at Ecole Bishop Savaryn!  Blake had a blast, he is quite the little dancer.  I call it break dancing but whatever it is, it's just plain awesome ;)  As predicted, he took some time to observe and then joined in and boogied!!!  The glow sticks and snacks at the concession also added to the entire experience!  Reese enjoyed bustin' a move too and was pretty darn cute ;)  Poor Emerson so badly wanted to dance and have fun, but the music was just too loud for her sensitive ears :( 

~May 27th I was a participant in an exercise video that a friend was making for her AFLCA certification.  It's nerve wracking sweating your butt off in front of a camera and knowing someone who you don't know is going to be watching ;)  But it was fun and I got an extra (and free) workout in that week, so BONUS!

~May 28th was PJ day at Emerson's preschool and she was SO excited!!!  The week before Christmas break was also PJ day at preschool but Emerson was so sick and had to miss that day.  She was very disappointed and hasn't stopped talking about how sick she was and how sad she is that she had to miss PJ day.  So when the May calendar came out and PJ day was on it ... well, let's just say Emerson was a 'tad' excited ;)

~May 29th Blake had another full-day field trip with all the kindergarten classes, this time to the Valley Zoo.  He had a blast and came home very excited about all he learned from their tour guides!  That evening Emerson had her grand finale rehearsal for her upcoming recital.  They learned their grand finale dance.  She was slightly overwhelmed, dancing with a large group vs. her small class and meeting 2 new teachers, all while trying to learn a new dance!!  But she left excited for her recital and I was equally as excited!

~May 30th was Emerson's last day of school for this school year.  Her preschool held a year end graduation/celebration party, which we were all invited to!  It was a blast!  The kids sang a cute song at the beginning and each student received a certificate from the two teachers.  There was a bouncy house, face painting, balloon artist's, a bubble station and a BBQ and all the teachers made each student a scrapbook with artwork they had done through out the year with a nice little personalized message, as well as a Lago Lindo preschool tshirt with their name on the sleeve!  I've probably said it a few times before but I just can't get over how amazing this preschool is!!!  Love it and happy Emerson will be returning next year :)

So that is the last few weeks of May in a nutshell!!  Hard to believe it's almost the middle of June and especially hard to believe that Blake's kindergarten year is almost over ... where did that time go?!  

~Tracy 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the ladies in the crowd!!!

I hope you had a wonderful day, celebrating you and all the fabulous Mother's in your life :)

We had a nice day, it started out with a short sleep-in for me and a lovely gift from my family!  Earlier in the week, I also received some very sweet gifts from Blake and Em.  Emerson brought home a hand print mold from preschool on Thursday afternoon.  It's so cute, personalized with feathers and 'jewels' :)  She was so proud of it, I love it!!  And on Friday afternoon, Blake came off the bus with the biggest, cutest grin on his face!!  He walked down the bus stairs, looking at me with that grin and passed me a potted plant, saying, "Happy Mother's Day Mommy!!"  I almost melted, he was so proud of the pot he planted and painted :)  These moments are some of the best in the life of a Mom :)

This morning was the year end Sunday school celebration at Church, celebrating everyone who is moving into a different Sunday school program and those graduating high school, college, etc, as well as thanking all the Sunday school teachers.  Blake is moving from Beginner's to Kids Praise in Sunday school and received a very nice wooden cross necklace and certificate :)  He was called to the front of the Church and was quite proud of himself!  Emerson will be in beginner's again and Reese will move from the nursery into beginner's when she turns 3!  Following the service there was a BBQ lunch in the garden area outside, it was nice morning, with nice company (including the Parenteau's!), although Reese did not want to be there this morning ... ;)

After Church we went to my parents house in Stony Plain.  We visited the park, went for ice cream and had a BBQ.  Cal and Dad put our new trailer hitch together and figured out our trailer brake problems.  The boys watched some hockey, with Blake doing his usual pacing and jumping around in front of the t.v.!!  He was very excited to see Hall, Eberle and Schultz playing for Team Canada in the World Championship's!  It was nice to spend the afternoon/evening at Mom and Dad's :)  It was such a gorgeous day outside, especially nice when the sun was behind the clouds.  +27 with the sun behind the clouds in much preferable to +27 with the sun beating down on you, in my opinion that is!!  We walked around Rotary park and took some nice photo's, which I still have to download!

I hope you had a wonderful day, spent celebrating all the fabulous Mom's in your life :)  Much love and respect to all you Mom's!!  I know, without a doubt, it is the hardest job in the World!!

xo Tracy

5 Peaks Trail Running Series

Cal completed his 1st of 5 trail runs on Saturday morning.  He chose the enduro course, meaning he ran 2 laps of the 8 km trail.  He's been looking forward to these trail runs but hadn't trained as much as he had hoped to!!  I was at ball hockey with the girls and Blake, so was anxious to hear how he did!  He texted me when he was leaving, something along the lines of, "I'm on my way home.  It was *&%! hard!!!"  A lot different from road racing ... but he enjoyed it and will be training more for the next 15 km trail race on June 7th!!  I couldn't believe how muddy his shoes were but apparently they had to cross at creek at one point during the race!  His brother Gerry ran the sport course (8 km) and they actually ran together for a few km, which was nice, especially since Gerry shared his water with Cal who was in desperate need of some H2O during the last leg of the race ;)  Once ball hockey is over, the kids and I will be there cheering Cal on, we can't wait!  We're so proud of him!!  And Blake is hoping to participate in a 1 km kids event :)

~ Tracy

Happy 6th Birthday Blake!

Happy 6th Birthday Blake ... we love you more then I can express!  You opened our world, our hearts, our minds and our lives to the love that exists between a parent and a child.  Before you were born, I had no idea how much love I would feel for such a tiny, 6 lb 13 oz little baby boy and now how much love I would feel for a big, 57 lb, 6 yr old!  I don't think you can even explain the feeling of how your heart grows and the feelings of the infinite amount of pure, unconditional love , until you actually experience it yourself.  We can not believe how fast your first 6 yrs of life have passed.  It is unbelievable but we are so very proud of you Blake.  You are such a special little boy, I love all your little personality quirks, from your soft, gentle side to your "ninja" side ;)  You love your sisters so much and your kindness and caring shows through your actions and interactions with everyone in your life.  You are an amazing son, brother, grandson, friend, and little boy.

Today was an absolutely fabulous day, spent celebrating YOU!!  You opened your gifts from Reese, Emerson, Dad and I this morning and we spent a few hours at home hanging out and playing.  Then we met Auntie Lindsay, Uncle Jeremy, Connor, Grandma and Grandpa for brunch (your favorite meal!!).  After brunch we headed home to get ready for a BBQ!  We had the Streadwick's, the Parenteau's and Grandma and Grandpa over.  You had so much fun playing with your friends and sisters!  Driving your new remote control monster truck, playing soccer, swinging, playing badminton, etc, etc, it was a wonderful day and hot - +28 on May 5th!!!

We can't wait to experience this next year with you.  You will begin Grade 1 in September, which will be very exciting for you.  I will miss you while you are at school but I'm excited for you to learn and grow even more.  Love you Blake :)

xoxo

Blake's 6th birthday party!

Today we had Blake's 6th birthday party at the St. Albert Bowling Centre!  We had 13 kids, for 1 hr of bowling and 1 hr of pizza, cupcakes and gift opening!  

Blake had a great time, and so did we!  He invited 5 friends from school, 2 of his cousins, his sisters (of course!) and 3 other friends.  He would have loved to have invited his entire class but we limited it to 5 ;)  

Blake requested a GI Joe theme for his birthday party, so Cal, my sister and I combined our efforts to make a "Cobra Commander" birthday invitation and at the last minute I found some reasonably priced GI Joe decor online!!  We went with cupcakes for the 'cake' with little army figurines I also found online.  And white cake and icing of course, as Blake does not care for chocolate!!!  Blake and I hit up Dollarama for loot bag goodies and had fun choosing items and putting them together earlier this week.  I love that Blake had to customize each bag!  He knew that certain friends preferred certain colors and so had to make sure they got that color of toy in their bag :)  

The party-goers were all so well behaved and seemed to have a great time!!  This was the first time our kids have bowled and after some warming up, they all loved it.  We foresee a few more trips to the bowling alley coming up!  Maybe this fall or winter when we're looking for an indoor activity. 

Thanks again to everyone who joined us today and spoiled our boy :)  He is over the moon with his new HotWheels toys, Lego and GI Joe!!!

This week Blake and I will be making cupcakes to send to school on Friday for his class and on Sunday we have some more birthday festivities planned with more family and friends!  He'll be good and spoiled by the week's end and I think that is great - he more than deserves it :) :)   

~ Tracy 

Reese

Our Reesey is a little spitfire!!!!

She is so darn adorable, I want to take a bite out of her daily!!!!   Not literally, I hope you know what I mean ;)  She is at a great age, talking SOOOO much!  In fact, last week after dropping Blake and Em off at school Tuesday morning, Reese and I went grocery shopping.  We were browsing the aisles when an older lady walked up to us.  She ooo'ed and awww'ed at Reese for a few minutes and then turned to me and asked, "Does she always talk that much?"  I said, "Yes she does!!  Non stop!"  She told me she heard her talking non stop throughout the grocery store and really enjoyed listening to her :)  She said Reese was so cute, not too loud, just happy to share her stories!  It was very sweet :)

Reese loooooves to sing!  She breaks out in song anywhere and everywhere!  Her favorite songs to sing are the ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  It's very cute, she has a very sweet, soft singing voice.  Speaking of singing, a few weeks ago Reese started insisting that Emerson sing her a song at nap time :)  It's very cute, Em sings and reaches through Reese's crib rails and strokes her forehead!  She wants Blake to join in every now and then.

We want to move Reese into a 'big girl' bed very soon.  Just need to haul it up from the basement and get a mattress!!  It would be nice to have her in it before camping season, but I'm not sure that will happen.  We also need to concentrate a few days on potty training Reese.  She's ready and uses the potty now and then, so I'm thinking it will be quick.  Just need to find the time ...

Reese is still enjoying her swimming lessons!  It's crazy how brave she is in the water!  She shoots right down the slide and under the water, no problem at all!!  She's excited to 'swim' through the hula hoop that the instructor holds under the water, no problem at all!  We'll take a break from swimming lessons for the summer and next winter Reese will be able to move on to unparented swimming lessons :S  That is hard to believe ... our baby will be 3?!  Wow!

I still take Reese to Come Play With Me at the YMCA, 1 or 2 times a week.  She loves it and since she's getting a bit older, has an easier time doing the crafts!  The glue actually goes on the paper, instead of all over the table ;)  She loves circle time and I adore watching her sing all the songs and do all the actions!

On one hand Reese is very much the baby of the family but on the other hand she is growing up far faster then her brother or sister.  She is fiercely independent and stubborn, insisting on doing EVERYTHING by herself - getting dressed, eating, opening and closing things, putting her shoes on, doing her own hair, etc, etc, etc. She refuses help with most everything and says, "I don't need your help!" and "I can do it!" numerous times a day!!!  It can be frustrating but if she tries it and does need help she will say, "Mommy help me?" :)  At Church on Sunday as Cal and Reese were going down some steep stairs, Cal asked if she needed a hand and of course she replied, "NO!"  An older gentleman was coming up the stairs and he remarked at how independent she was and said it was a good thing, you'll appreciate that in the future!  I'm sure he has noticed her 'independance' shining through during Church ...  We now take her to the Church nursery after the children's stories, at the same time that Blake and Em go to Church school.  She enjoys it there, playing with dolls, watching Dora, snacking, it's a real party down there!!!  I was hesitant to drop her off  but she has a hard time keeping quiet at the back of the Church and even though the ministers make a point of letting everyone know that children are welcome during the service (there are even toys, books and coloring sheets at the back of the Church for kids), she was a handful!!  And we had no problems, she stays with Grandma Marilyn in the nursery and has a great time :)

Reese follows along in her big sister's footsteps, creating her own dance moves and routines!  She says, "Watch this!" as she twirls, jumps and hops around!  It's very cute and she is very proud of herself ;)  She also loves to ride the plasma car and attempt to ride the tricycle and Em's bike!!  She makes up fun games and has a vivid imagination, just like Blake and Em.

I'm hoping to get the girls in a gymnastics class in the fall, as long as I can find classes running at the same time and on a day that Em doesn't have preschool!  I know Reese would love it and Em keeps asking to do gymnastics again.

So there's an update on our 3rd child ... most often known as Goose and Reesey ;)