Brag alert!!

When I picked Emerson up from school on Friday her teacher pulled me aside.  I thought I was in for another story of Emerson's imagination at work but she wanted to talk to me about Emerson's love of learning!  Mme. Sina told me that Emerson was a very smart girl!  A few months ago she asked me if we speak French at home.  I told her we didn't.  She then asked who Emerson's converses with in French.  Again, I said no one!  Mme Sina was very surprised, she said Em has picked up French so quickly and can understand everything she is saying.  Then on Friday she told me that Emerson is often the first one to answer her questions in class and often the only one to raise her hand to answer the question!  She said she has expressed a great interest in reading and Mme Sina has been working with her on both French and English reading, even though in FI Kindergarten, reading instruction is not part of the curriculum.  I was so, so happy to hear this and very proud of Em :)  I know she's a smart little cookie but it's great to hear this type of feedback from her teacher!  Everyday she comes home talking about everything she's learned in school that day - just this week she said to me, "Mom, did you know the whole world is made of molecules?  Tiny, little molecules.  All made of different things.  Even us, Mom!"  We will be keeping up with learning this summer and I can't wait for grade 1, she's more than ready for the challenge!!  

Signed,

1 proud Mom :) 

May wrap up

Oh May ... oh may, oh may.  You have been a whirlwind of fun and insanity!!  May's been very busy.  And I hate to always talk about how busy life is but yeah, it's busy.  And May was busier.  But all good :)  So there ya go, busy but good ... no complaints, just facts ... lol!

With the Preschool board elections happening for next year, School Council elections and wrap up, planning of the teacher's appreciation luncheon, Preschool graduation/year end party, power skating wrapping up, Cal away at the end of the month, a street hockey tournament, a quick road trip to SK with my parents and sister, finale week at the dance studio, recital day, a few birthday parties and lacrosse, we were on the go wayyyy more than usual!!

A huge thank you to my parents who helped us out here and there this month and allowed me to still attend all the events/meetings/whatever else was on the calendar, while Cal was in Calgary!  Life-savers as usual or maybe I should say sanity-savers?!  A few good friends were also a great help and at these times I am always extra thankful for our 'villiage'.

I had a great trip to SK with my parents and sister.  Lindsay and I rode in the back of the truck, like the good 'ol days!!  I thought I'd sleep more and maybe have time to write out thank you cards to the sponsors of the school spaghetti dinner and silent auction, but I did neither or those and the trip seemed to fly by!  It was great to see some of our Smith family and I'm glad we were able to celebrate Michelle and Austin's marriage! 

While I was in SK, Cal and the kids were at the Road Rage Street Hockey Tournament in St. Albert!  Blake and a few friends formed a team and participated in this tournament and will play in the upcoming Play On tournament at WEM.  Sounds like they had a blast, the weather was hot and the snow cones were cold!  Cal said the girls were great and thankfully Reese didn't get lost (she's prone to that.).  Our good friends the Weaver's have a fabulous Mom/MIL who lives with them and loves our girls and thankfully she (aka Nanna) had fun with the girls on the sidelines and said they were great!


June's calendar is looking blank compared to May's and I am looking forward to slowing down, just a bit ;)

~ Tracy

Powerhouse Dance Year End Recital!

Saturday morning was the girls dance recital at Myer Howeritz theater on the U of A campus.  This was Reese's first time performing on stage!  Em's an old pro ;)

The morning went well.  I have to admit, I am not the best person to apply makeup and do up do's, but we got an early start and the girls were actually the first ones to arrive at the theatre.  Very rare for our family ... at least these past few years!!  At one point in my life, I was always the early bird!!

Mom, Dad, Connor and Mason came to watch the recital and we were first in line and had great seats!  The girls did so well!!  This was Reese's first time on stage and she had no problem at all!  No stage fright ;)  Her dance was super cute and she had most of the moves down pat!  Their teacher does the dance from the side of the stage, so they have a lot of cuing ;)  Emerson's group did great, better than the competition in my opinion!  It was fun to watch the girls dance and the finale was also cute!  It was  a great year of dance :)  Here are a few photo's from recital day:

Proud big brother!

Flowers from Grandma and Grandpa D!

Family pic after the recital :)

Reese's 1st recital and 1st bouquet of flowers :)

Reese's Preschool Graduation

It has arrived.  Reese has graduated from preschool!  I'm sure she went from being 1 to 4 ... I'm sure she skipped a few years somewhere, somehow.  

Our baby will be going to Kindergarten in September.  We are all signed up for our Kindergarten Orientation in mid-June and she is excited!  I am not so excited, although in reality she will only be gone from home for 1 more morning a week!  So really, Kindergarten won't be much different than Preschool, in terms of hours away from home.  Grade 1 will be a different story and I'm just not prepared to even think about my baby being in Grade 1!!!

Preschool graduation went as it should - the kids sang a few cute songs, received their 'diplomas', gifts from their teachers, bounced in the bouncy house, had their faces painted, ate delicious snacks, ran around like animals, had a blast and took numerous cute photo's!!  

We're so proud of Reese and how well she has done at preschool.  She's loved her preschool class and teachers and has made some great friends, who we will try to keep in touch with! 

Here are a few photo's from her very last day at preschool:

Reese, ready for her preschool graduation :)

Quick pick with Blake and Em :)

Reese the graduate!

Big smile, while performing "I'm a Little Graduate!"

Reese with our awesome preschool teachers, Mrs. Chong and Mrs. York

Besties - Erin, Reese and Maya

Gorgeous face painting!

May Long Weekend

We're back from another great May long weekend camping trip to Cross Lake Provincial Park!!  This year our group consisted of the Cameron's, the Stecyk's, the Smith's, the Streadwick's, the Scott's and the Richter's!  The weather was good ... so long as it doesn't snow on May long weekend, I am happy ;)  But with that being said, snow is not uncommon on May long weekend!!  We had a bit of wind and the temps didn't get up high enough to tube/swim/water ski but no snow and no rain, so we'll take it!!  The kids had a blast, biking, running, playing and hanging out with friends and cousins!  The adults had a great time too, eating, drinking, visiting, walking, pushing the kids on the swings, joining in the baseball games, etc.  The kids got out on Grandma and Grandpa D's boat and even caught a fish or two!!  They were hoping to get in the water but it was too cold!  We have a weekend planned with my parents in August, so I'm sure they'll get lots of boat/water time in at that time!  I love May long weekend. It's like the official kickoff to summer for our family!  Here are a few photo's from our weekend:

Cal and Brad cook up a great breakfast that could feed a lot of the campground!!

Great games of baseball played this weekend.  Loved throwing the ball around and seeing my kids and family having as much fun as me :)  Sure miss this game!!!

Bike ride with Grandma!  Em mastering her new bike, with a lot of help from Grandpa :)

Heading out fishing!!

Happy 8th Birthday, Blake!!

I'll never forget when we learned we were expecting.  I was so scared for the first little while, scared something would happen but after a few weeks I started feeling really sick.  And weird as it might seem, I was very happy to be sick!!  My Dr. told me it meant the baby was growing and doing well.  I soaked that up and enjoyed every second of hugging the toilet bowl because I knew, as long as I was sick, baby was fine :)  I also remember the moment Blake was born, I immediately did not feel sick!  It was crazy!!  And that is also the moment I became a Mom.  Of course I thought I 'kinda' knew what it would be like to be a Mom but I really had no idea.  We are now parents to an eight year.  I feel fine with this but I think when Blake hits the double digits, it might be hard for me to accept ;)

Paused for a photo!!

Blake had a great birthday party on Sunday afternoon.  We tossed a few party ideas around.  At first he wanted to play laser tag but we told him he would have to cut down the guest list a little bit if he was going to play laser tag!  He then quickly changed his mind to playing floor hockey, like he did last year!  So after a few phone calls we found a venue that would work with our crazy busy schedule and booked Servus Place in St. Albert!  Blake wanted a hockey/Pokemon themed party, so the kids played floor hockey for the 1st hour and Pokemon for the 2nd hour :)  I decided to hire our favorite baker, Bake My Day, and ordered up 1 dz hockey cupcakes and 1 dz Pokemon cupcakes!  The party was fun, everyone had a great time and the birthday boy was excited to be surrounded by his besties!!

Everyone enjoying a snack and a cupcake :)

Hockey and Pokemon cupcakes!

New bike with gears!!

On Blake's actual birthday, we had my family over for dinner and Grandma D's carrot cake (Blake's favorite!)!  I asked Blake what he would like for supper.  I told him I could make anything he wanted ... he came up with Tuna Casserole or Pizza (he specified not homemade pizza, take out pizza!)  The girls aren't crazy about tuna casserole and I wasn't sure if my nephews would be either, so take out pizza it was.  Blake tried out his new bike from Grandma and Grandpa and we had a great dinner with my mom, dad, Lindsay, Jeremy and the boys! 

 

Blowing out his candles :)

Mason approves of Grandma's carrot cake :)

Before bed all the kids and Grandpa D played some baseball in the front yard!  Blake's a bit confused with which hand he catches with and which hand he throws with ... he says he catches AND throws with his left hand ;)  He writes left-handed, plays hockey right-handed and golfs left-handed.  So I can see, there is some confusion there!!  Maybe he's ambidextrous?!  Ever since we realized he was left-handed, we've joked that we're going to encourage him (actually I think we used the word push!) to be a left-handed pitcher in the MLB!!!  They are very high-paid and don't actually have to pitch very often ;)  lol!

Blake loved all the phone calls, text messages and FB birthday wishes he received.  It's so nice to see him feeling loved and enjoying his special day.  He sure is a special boy and deserves all that love + more!  Thank you to everyone who sent Blake a birthday wish!

We're so grateful for our happy, kind, loving, smart, handsome boy.  He brings so much joy and love to our lives and is the best big brother!!  I'm not sure how we got so lucky, but I thank my lucky stars every single day.  I know there will be a day when Blake will no longer want me to hold his hand and sing him his bed time song and so I soak that up, every single night that I can.  He's going to be taller then me before I know it but he still likes to be held sometimes and as I hold my almost 70 lb boy, I just can't believe how fast he has grown up and I can't help but think of what the future will bring.  I have a feeling it won't be all that much different - he'll still be kind and loving and smart and handsome and the best big brother and son in all the world :)  Just bigger and maybe not quite able to curl up on my lap!!  Love you beyond words, Blake.  We're so proud of you and can't wait for your 8th year!!

xoxo

Run, Cal, Run!!

On Sunday the 26th, Cal ran in the EPS 1/2 Marathon.  It started and ended at Hawrlek Park.  Cal didn't train as much as he would have liked to but did train some and so he was very happy with his time, coming in at just under 2 hrs.  He's a superhero in our eyes ;)  I can't run 5 km never mind 21 km!!  The kids and I met him at the 1/2 way point, we hoped our high fives and cheers would give him the ammunition he needed to keep pushing on!  And seemed to have worked ;)  We were then off to the park, to meet him at the finish line!!  Way to go Cal, we're very, very proud of you!!  xoxo

Waiting on Dad, at the 1/2 way point!

HIGH FIVES!!!

Sooooo close to the finish line!

Way to go, Cal!

Running to see Dad!

Enjoying a sunny day in Hawrlek Park

Proud of my hubby!