Connor's 12th birthday

On Connor's birthday, we invited Edmonton area family over for a birthday celebration.

Then the next day, we took seven of his friends to Rundle Park to play archery tag.

Hudson and Maira were too young for archery tag but they got to do some target practice while they waited.

I can't believe it's been twelve years since Connor was born. He's grown into a smart, strong-willed, tender-hearted, affectionate, hilariously witty and punny young man. I love being his mom - always have and always will. I can't wait to see what kind of man he grows into as he learns more about himself and the path ahead of him.

Hudson's soccer

Hudson was our only soccer player this spring. He played for a neighbourhood U8 team called the Bombers. He had a bunch of friends from school on his team and a lot of the time, the kids were so distracted by playing with each other that they didn't really pay enough attention to the game. So their scoring opportunities were pretty scarce. But they got lots of exercise and had tons of fun so it's all good.

Connor's Grade 6 Camp

Connor has had a wonderful teacher for Grade 6 this year and she arranged a ton of field trips for his class, including an overnight trip to a camp west of Edmonton. I encouraged Jess to go along as a chaperone and one of the side benefits of having him there is that he took lots of great photos. Here are a few of Connor enjoying the different activities at the camp:

Easter 2016

Easter egg dyeing:

Time to hunt for Easter candy:

Hudson's Karate Tournament

Hudson started his first year of karate in September. Connor did several years of karate and Hudson couldn't wait until it was his turn to start. But when he actually started taking lessons, he was quickly disappointed that there was much less fighting than he imagined and much more work. Classes consist mostly of drills and exercises like push ups and sit ups. However, at my insistence, he has persisted and he is always obedient to his senseis and at this tournament, he really saw the results of all his hard work. He's much stronger and faster than he was in September and he did very well in the competition. He participated in the "Capture the Flag" game and the board breaking competition and came home with gold medals in both. He was so pleased with his medals because, as he told me, they weren't the kind you get at soccer where everybody gets a medal, these were "real" gold medals, only given to one person. Jess had cut out pieces of cardboard for Hudson to practice breaking and Hudson had been practicing breaking them all week so it was really great to see him be rewarded for his extra practice.