A Day In The Life ... or 5!

Layout for Get Picky

2012-01-26T11:47:00.000-08:00

I'm determined to enter at least one (preferably more) scrapbook challenges each week. Today I have a layout to show you that I did using a sketch from Get Picky.
Here's the sketch and my take on it.

I'm still working my way through my basket o' memories (see this picture) and these pictures seemed perfect for this sketch. I replaced the 3rd photo in the sketch with a journaling block.

I don't normally embellish my journaling blocks but this one was crying out for a couple touches so ... voila!

And finding a piece of ribbon with the words "ma ma" on it was serendipitous to say the least!

Close up of the title. I added the subtitle because I really wanted to high light that milestone in Paige's history.

This was a fun embellishment to make. I'd punched out 3 circles from a piece of transparent paper I found in my scrap drawer intending to use them as the sketch showed but felt this corner of the layout needed something ... more ... if you know what I mean. So I took a Jillibean Soup journaling spot and added the circles to it. Then it needed something in the centre so I started playing with another piece of the same ribbon from the journaling block and made this little rose bud type thing. Then I knew I needed to add one of my Twelve embellishments for Family Stories and found this orange flower in my tin. It all started coming together! Once the rose bud was glued on it looked a little lonely so I cut out some leaves and added them.

There you have it. Thanks for stopping by!

Latest Twelve works

2012-01-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to bombard you with a ton of angles of these layouts or even my thought/design processes, if you want that please visit my Flickr gallery. Quickly, here are the last two layouts I've completed this month. If you're keeping track, I'm up to 8 so far. Woo hoo!! Only 4 more to go to reach my Twelve goal of ... wait for it ... 12!!

Okay, this one is of Paige's first taste of "solid" food.

Wasn't she just so cute! Sigh.

This is for my Family Stories category.

The second layout is this one from Thanksgiving of 2006.

I realize that the colours look more Hallowe'en than Thanksgiving but I admit to fighting with it a bit. Anyway, this is for my Holidays category.

And now for some shots of life lately ...

Greg. Poor Greg.

This was taken on Wednesday after he came home from work because he realized he was NOT as better as he thought he was! He had come down with a flu bug the Friday before and missed most of the week because of it. I think he is finally feeling human again but it's been a long slow recovery. I thought I was coming down with it this past Friday too but for whatever reason (maybe it was the 4 hour nap I took in the afternoon) I woke up Saturday feeling fine. Go figure!

It's really a good thing ... you all know that Mom's just don't GET sick days!!

Thursday was Paige's skating lesson day. She complained before leaving, fought me as I put on her skates and then spent most of the lesson skating on her own while the teacher focused on skaters worse than her. Sigh!

Love the tongue though!

Oh yeah, she also spent a huge amount of time on her butt on the ice! I swear she was a better skater last year when it was completely new to her! At least she's smiling!!

Marley and LC were very vocal cheer (or is that jeer) leaders.

Last night we got to hang out with the old Ultimate crowd. It's so nice and familiar and easy to get together with these people. We've known them for (in my case) 10 - 12 years (okay, except my brother!), we've all gotten married relatively close together and had our kids at approximately the same time so even if we don't see each other for months, conversations seem to start up where they left off.

Of course, even though I took my camera, it sat unused in the diaper bag while I visited. Sometimes you have to get busy MAKING the memories rather than RECORDING them! Right?

Here is a sneak peak of what is new on my Stampin' Up! blog - it's a card for my niece who turns 3 tomorrow! Click the link above to see it in more detail.

Okay, thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Carpe Diem?

2012-01-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

I just read an article that touched me. Why? Because I could totally see myself in the article. The haggard Mom at the checkout with kids running rampant, pulling candy off shelves, swinging from display cases and rifling through the Lost and Found umbrellas (true story!) To read the full article, go here. This is my favourite passage though and kind of sums up what this whole parenting thing is all about ... for me anyway.

"I think parenting young children (and old ones, I've heard) is a little like climbing Mount Everest. Brave, adventurous souls try it because they've heard there's magic in the climb. They try because they believe that finishing, or even attempting the climb are impressive accomplishments. They try because during the climb, if they allow themselves to pause and lift their eyes and minds from the pain and drudgery, the views are breathtaking. They try because even though it hurts and it's hard, there are moments that make it worth the hard. These moments are so intense and unique that many people who reach the top start planning, almost immediately, to climb again. Even though any climber will tell you that most of the climb is treacherous, exhausting, killer. That they literally cried most of the way up.

And so I think that if there were people stationed, say, every thirty feet along Mount Everest yelling to the climbers -- "ARE YOU ENJOYING YOURSELF!? IF NOT, YOU SHOULD BE! ONE DAY YOU'LL BE SORRY YOU DIDN'T!" TRUST US!! IT'LL BE OVER TOO SOON! CARPE DIEM!" -- those well-meaning, nostalgic cheerleaders might be physically thrown from the mountain."

So true. Those old ladies in the grocery store who swoon over my girls and tell me to "enjoy every minute because it goes by so fast" have clearly forgotten all the dirty diapers, sleepless nights, throw up at 3:00AM, fights over dinner/clothing choices/activities/TV time/etc, and generally ALL the day to day drudgery that is parenthood. I was initially going to say Motherhood but to be honest, the Dads get it too!

So Moms and Dads out there ... as the author says, CARPE 15 MINUTES!

CARPE those stolen moments that are gone so fast we wonder if they really happened at all!

CARPE the quiet after all the kids are FINALLY asleep and you can hear your own thoughts for the first time that day!

CARPE a glass of wine in that quiet moment!! You know you want to!!

I for one am going to curl up on the couch with a book and nurse this flu that is slowly taking over my body (thanks Greg!!) and when I feel better, I will carpe something. Until then it's hot drinks, blankets and indulging in a little whining! :)

January's 12 on the 12th

2012-01-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, right?
I realized that I didn't get 12 usable shots - mostly because I completely forgot to take pictures of the most exciting thing to happen that day - my Epicure party! Doh!! Anywhoo ... here's what I got. A wee slice of life around here (such as it is).

My Breakfast of Champions ... newly discovered Lactose Intolerant Champions that is!

And the all important cup o' joe!

LC's post breakfast snack # I lost count - cantaloupe melon.

Poor sick Paige. She was home all day because of a fever and ear ache. This is taken at 8:38AM.

And here she is again at 4:01PM. Yes, she's still in her pj's!!

And LC was caught with an extended snuggle with her "ditti" (blanket - supposed to be only for naps but Mommy was soft this day!)

Marley with her after-school snack of Banana Chocolate Chip muffin. I think she nuked it for too long, hence the oven mitts! Silly girl!

Dinner - a new Tuna Noodle Casserole recipe from one of our family favourite cookbooks, "Eat, Shrink and Be Merry". My taste buds liked it. The Lactaid I swallowed before eating it allowed me to temporarily enjoy it. All the creamy dips and the baked brie I ate at the Epicure party later didn't sit well with me that night or the next day.

Sigh ... I miss cheese!

Gotta love the recipe names!

Well, there you have it. Thanks to my party guest orders I have some yumminess heading my way too which I know the family will enjoy. Now, if only their dips didn't all call for sour cream or yoghurt!!

And for you crafty types, here's a sneak of something you will find over on my Stampin' Up! blog ...

This might be my most favourite layout to date!!

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!

OLW 2012 - Focus

2012-01-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

In the interest of not boring my family with a million pictures of my scrapbook obsession, I am going to post a few pictures here and give you a link to my Flickr gallery where you can see them all.

I've been finding my focus (ha, ha! pun intended!!) falling on my scrapbooking lately. I am loving this! Let me tell you, the time I'm spending in my craft room has been fun and revealing. My 'homework' for Twelve (Big Picture Class with Stacey Julian) has had me delving into my old pictures (which are currently spread out all over the living room courtesy of 3 curious little girls) and thinking deep thoughts. It's kind of awesome! Greg and I were looking at old videos of Marley last night because I've reloaded old pictures onto my laptop. Gosh she was cute!!

Anyway, I've titled this post OLW so I'd better get to that!
Here are some pictures of my album so far - for more detailed shots please follow this link.

Ali asked us to use a different 4x6 photo pocket which has it's own adhesive strip along the long side but I don't have those (yet) so I made my own. It flips up to reveal the January photo. I'm okay with this. It's kind of fun. The only bummer is that you don't get a really good look at all the little cards all at once. But hey, that's a pretty minor thing!!

In my Flickr gallery I've included close ups of each little card so please head on over there and check it out.

And just to prove that I've been focusing (ha, ha! there it is again!!) and doing some homework for Twelve, here is my first official Twelve layout.

Yes, you've seen this picture before.

Yes, I will be doing layouts of Paige and Christine's portraits too.

No, you don't have a say in the matter! LOL!

I'm actually submitting this for publication so cross your fingers for me! The only difference is that I added the little yellow-green metal tag after I photographed it for submission!

The tag is a reminder that this is part of my "People" file for Twelve. If you're taking the class you'll understand, if not, just know that I know it doesn't really fit but I don't care!

On a whim, I decided to climb on board the 12 on 12 band wagon. This is where you take 12 pictures from your day on the 12th of each month. Obviously the 12th isn't over yet so I'm not going to post any pictures but come back tomorrow (hopefully) and I'll show you what today looked like around here. Not too exciting as Paige is home with a fever today. Poor thing! Thank goodness for wonderful neighbours who can help with the school run for Marley!

Oh, and I've also been working on some fun Valentines cards for a card exchange with Lain Ehman's Scrap Happy group. I'll be posting them on my other blog so check them out here ... only not yet! Maybe later today but probably tomorrow!

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Project 12 - December 2011

2012-01-03T12:59:00.000-08:00

I know it's only January 3rd and usually I procrastinate and wait until the very last day to post my Project 12 layout but ... I knew which photos I was going to use a couple weeks ago so figured, why wait?

Here's the sketch we were given:

And here's my interpretation:

As you can see, I stuck really close to the sketch this month. If the shots of Marley and Paige had been portrait instead of landscape it would have been even closer! As soon as I saw the sketch I thought of these pictures and knew that December was NOT going to be about Christmas (that's pretty well covered in my December Daily anyway), it was going to be about our first family pictures since Christine was born.

Here are close ups of each page and some of the embellishments.

These were a lot of fun to make. I started with some plain grey card stock which I painted with Martha Stewart Glitter paint in Antique silver (I also painted it onto the purple border strip at the top of the layout.) I then inked the edges with Stampin' Up! Concord Crush ink (the title letters were also lightly brushed with this purple ink). The white flowers are old acrylic ones from my stash (I think they might be American Crafts) and the patterned paper flowers were punched out using two Stampin' Up! punches - 1 3/4" Scalloped Circle and the new Blossom Punch (from the Occasions Mini which goes live tomorrow). I inked the edges of them and curled them a bit with my fingers before attaching everything with a brad from my stash (probably Basic Grey).

Well, that's it. My Project 12 album for 2011 is done. Except for a title page which I hope to work on soon.

Scrapbook and Cards Today isn't going to be running this challenge in 2012 exactly as I've gotten used to it, but they have put out teasers about it coming back in a different format so I'll keep you posted on that. I for one really love making a month in review type page every month so I'll be continuing my own Project 12 for 2012. Once I see what SCT does (they are announcing on Jan 12th) I'll figure out what format I want to have.

Until then, enjoy these pictures of my family one more time. I look forward to seeing your P12 layouts!

Reflections on 2011

2011-12-31T17:56:00.000-08:00

As we get ready to head over to my brother's, for what sounds like a really fun New Year's Eve party, I thought I'd take couple minutes to wish everyone a Happy New Year!
How has 2011 been for you?
Overall I think this has been a good year for me. I have met many challenges face on and feel I've come out on the other side with a better understanding of what I want, who I am, what I value and what's important to me right now. I'm not sure everyone around me shares these new found beliefs and ideals which may be problematic but ... I am happy. Right now. In this moment. With me, myself and I.

The rest of the world can either get on board or get out of my way!!

Right?

Ha, ha. I say that with such bravado but really I am a total people pleaser and even the act of thinking about myself and actively working on myself is a bit foreign to me. It's a struggle as a Mom and a Wife whose natural tendency is to put all others before herself, to remember the adage "Happy Wife, Happy Life" and that by taking care of yourself first, you are actually better able to take care of everyone else. Sort of like on the airplane when they say "put on your oxygen mask before assisting others". Well this year, for the most part, my oxygen mask has been firmly in place! And I plan to keep it there for 2012!!

My One Little Word for 2011 was Release. I wanted to release so many negative emotions that I've been carrying around for awhile. Through the help of a therapist I think I have done just that. (Some are of the lingering variety though ...) While I was trying to pick a OLW for 2012 several words flitted through my grey matter - family, fun, free - but the one that has stuck and that I will be (pun intended) focussing on is, FOCUS. I have felt a distinct lack of focus in my day to day life lately. I used to be so organized and never forgot where I'd put things or what events were on my calendar for the week. Now, and this may have more to do with being the Coordinator In Chief for a busy family of 5, I seem to always be searching for something (cell phone, diaper bag, camera charger, my children!) and if an appointment doesn't get written onto our large family calendar odds are it will be forgotten.

My attempt at a career with Stampin' Up! has been met with fervour and passion but a distinct lack of organization and trouble focussing on tasks which have led me to make the decision to step back for a bit. I'm not letting my Demonstrator status go just yet but I am actively re-evaluating how I want to proceed. How I can make it suit ME and how I can make it suit my family. I have been compiling a list of things to focus on in 2012 and Stampin' Up! is on that list (right now). Like Gretchen Rubin's 'The Happiness Project', it is my intention to focus on one thing every month for the year. Unlike her, my intention is not to see if I can achieve a greater sense of happiness out of it, merely to allow myself permission to work hard on one thing for a month. I haven't figured out what order my 12 areas of focus will be yet but #1 will likely be CAREER as the pressure mounts to start contributing financially to the family.

Well, this post has become deeper and longer than intended so I think I'll leave off there. There will be changes coming down the pipeline at home and here on the blog so look out for them. Don't know what they are going to look like yet ... we'll be surprised together!!

I wish you and yours a Happy and Safe New Years Eve and a New Year filled with joy, love, laughter and creativity! See you 2012!!

Project 12 - November 2011

2011-12-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

After all the Christmas product I've been working with all month it was a little strange to print off pictures from November and play with Fall colours and leaves. Strange, but fun! I used my Stampin' Up! Falling Leaves stamp set and this fun technique called rocking where you can blend ink colours onto your image just by how you rock the stamp around in the stamp pad. Anyway, onto my layout.

This was the sketch we were given,

I knew as soon as I saw this sketch that I was going to have fun with it. It sort of enables my addiction of piling on the photos, doesn't it? :)

Here's my take.

When I went back to look at my picture files from November I had PILES (pun intended) of the girls playing in the leaves, and not much else. There were a few taken from the girls' Remembrance Day assembly, which didn't seem to fit, and some of Paige's ballet class (Parent Observation Day) and then some of Greg's mustache. I'm thinking not much else happened!! Actually, I was trying to do lots of Stampin' Up! stuff so a lot of other things fell through the cracks.

This is the left hand side.

All the stitching is faux - done with my journalling pen. I also added it to each patterned paper square and the tags. It helps anchor everything and give it that finishing touch.

And the right hand side.

This morning, as I was about to take pictures of this layout, I decided it still needed something. So I added the vanilla ink around the edge of the brown card stock. NOW it's done!

Here are some close ups of the leaf and bling embellishments.

Okay, off to post it at Scrapbook and Cards today as well as Davinie's site. Wish me luck!

December Daily - The Lost Day

2011-12-27T22:25:00.000-08:00

Well, it wasn't really lost, just slow to come together as I had to wait until the photos came in. Of course I am talking about Day 15 and our family portraits. Here it is, all done and quite lovely if I do say so myself.

Day 15:

Aren't they beautiful?

Here are the pictures - I scanned them on my printer and if you look really closely you can see the dust on the scanner glass. Oops! Oh well, it's just for sharing online. The originals will be hung up soon.

Marley, aged 7 (and 5/6ths!)

Paige, aged 5 (and 2/3).

Christine, aged 2 (and 3/4 - who shocked us today by peeing in the potty twice un-prompted. Yay!)

We loved this one of the girls laughing so we got it in 4x6 (all the rest are 8x10).

And our session bundle included a freebie so we got this one of Christine twirling. Since this is the first time getting formal portraits of her done, we figured we owed her!

On another note, I got my November layout done for Project 12. It's due tomorrow so I'll photograph it in the morning and post it for you. I have heard that Scrapbook and Cards Today will not be running P12 next year which makes me quite sad but I am determined to keep it up on my own. I love that I have the last 2 years recorded! Anyone want to join me? We could run our own challenge ... for bragging rights as I doubt anyone would sponsor me! :)

Anyway, that's it for me tonight. See you tomorrow!

Finishing December Daily - Days 22 - 25

2011-12-26T23:13:00.000-08:00

It's done!!!

Okay, almost ... I still have to scan in the professional pictures we had taken and add them to Day 15 ... but other than that, it's done!! Start the happy dance!!

Here are the last few days.

Day 22:

Another of those days where I took no pictures and there was no real "story to tell". So I printed off some virtual snowflakes the girls and I had made earlier in the week, added a little journalling about what actually happened on the 22nd and called it done.

Day 23:

We hosted Grandma and Grandpa Day and the Nielsen's - Greg's sister Christine, and her family. We used the timer on my camera to take a group shot which I used in the cover page which is a flip out page protector. To the smaller flap I added the word 'family' - letters that were originally white but I spritzed the heck out of!! Then, since I'd used some platinum coloured Liquid Pearls on the snowflakes (see below) I added some as an embellishment below the word.

Here is the flap opened up to reveal the whole picture.

The full layout of cover page and main page.

A close up of the word 'family'.

And my playing with the Liquid Pearls!

On the back of the cover page I added some of the journalling strips I'd cut intending to put on the main page but once I'd added my bits of packaging, they didn't work. So they will live here now.

Each girl got what her heart most desired (even if her heart didn't know it!). Marley got a guitar (Heaven help us!!), Paige got a new Barbie car - a Fiat no less - and LC got the Dora doll she's been drooling over for months. It's got magic wings that unfurl and a magnetic wand that makes Dora talk and sing. Joy!

The back features a collage and some more journalling strips to complete the story of the night.

Day 24:

On Christmas Eve my brother Andrew and his family came over. We were not so organized and did not get group pictures ... oops!

On the back of the cover page I added the tag from the Magic Reindeer Food we sprinkled on the lawn after everyone had left. Marley made it one year in Preschool and ever since then it's been a requirement around here!

Andrew plays a mean guitar so Marley was fairly beside herself waiting for him to arrive and show her some things on her new guitar. He was awesome! He tuned it (as best he could without a tuner) and then showed her a few fingerings. The guitar came with 3 fingering charts so he used those. She was thrilled!!

I think guitar lessons are in our future!!

Day 25:

I added some journalling strips to the brown tag on the cover that say:

"I want to remember: Marley's reaction to the keyboard - "This is the best Christmas EVER!!""

Here is the back of the cover page and the main page together. I added some journalling to the tag on the back of the cover page.

For whatever reason, I took pictures of our food this year. It seemed like I spent all the the 23rd - 25th in the kitchen so maybe it was only appropriate! For this page I feature the 3 main Christmas traditional foods we have around here. Once stockings are opened (or in this years' case because Paige and LC slept in, before) we have the Land of Nod Cinnamon Buns from the Best of Bridge cookbook. Then mid-morning we usually take a break in the present opening to have the Christmas Morning Wife Saver (also from the Best of Bridge). Then finally, the big event - the turkey. I use a recipe from Cooking Light magazine which calls for a garlic-herb mix to be rubbed under the skin. It's really yummy and super moist!

And last but not least, a collage of the events of the day.

From the top left and moving clockwise: Paige saw this Rudolph stuffy at Shoppers Drug Mart when we were shopping for Marley's Christmas present and was reduced to tears when I forced her to leave it behind. So, even though the other two had already bought her a Christmas present, I went back and got it for her. She hasn't let go of it since!! Santa brought Lego this year so we had some fun building the kits that were in Marley and Paige's stockings. Grandma and Grandpa Day surprised us with an electronic key board. I think someone out there is trying to give us a hint! Maybe we need to branch out from our soccer-centric household!! Poppa Graham made his grandkids a Marbles game board each. Paige is addicted so it wasn't long before it was broken in! The stuffed stockings in the morning. Our over loaded tree! And in the centre - a group shot of us around the dinner table - using my new gift - a tripod!! Yay!!!

Well, there you have it. Another December Daily done. Christmas has come and gone and all that's left is a whole living room full of empty boxes and wrapping paper. The garbage and recycling men better bring extra vehicles this week!!

I hope your Christmas was as joyous as ours. See you around!

December Daily - Day 21

2011-12-24T13:11:00.000-08:00

Found some time this morning to whip this up.

Day 21:

The cover page is a cut down baseball card protector sheet so I added a few pictures from our day and some patterned paper.

We went to the Vancouver Christmas Market which is in it's second year. It's a German style festival with lots of crafts for sale, yummy German food, and a great kids area where they can make some crafts. This year it was candle decorating and chocolate lollipop decorating. Plus there was a Carousel to ride. I made a collage for the main page.

Here are some close up shots of the back of the cover page and the main page.

On the back I did my journalling and added a photo that Marley took of me and an old friend that we ran into. She and I were both named Alison Campbell at one time so we used to be known as Sr (that was me) and Jr. We had fun reminiscing about our Christmas spent at my Grandpa's house in Glasgow, the Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) in Edinburgh and the trip around Ireland. All well before we had kids!!

Well, presents are wrapped, turkey is in the garage ... just need to bake some shortbread before my brother gets here tonight and we'll be set!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Hopefully you are somewhere warm and dry surrounded by family. If not, I please accept my virtual hug as a substitute!!

December Daily - Day 20

2011-12-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

Getting caught up slowly but surely!
This page came together really quickly because I played with Ali Edwards' digital overlays to create my main page. I love this and may go mostly digital next year (gasp!)

Day 20:

To the back of the divider page I added the 'snapshots' tag, the note from the girls' advent calendar and the SC (for Santa Claus). I wasn't sure where else to put the note from their calendar but I quite like it here.

If you were following my DD last year you may remember that it was the first time in about 3 or 4 years that we've been able to get a decent picture of all the girls with Santa. Paige has been terrified of all people in costumes since a very young age. This year she showed excitement at the idea of going to see Santa so I was hopeful. But she blew me away! Not only did she sit on Santa's lap with Marley, she had several very lengthy conversations with him!! Way to go Paige!!

As you can see, LC is again on the rocking horse. She was feeling sleepy while we were waiting in line (past her usual nap time) so came over all shy when it was finally our turn. The rocking horse was brought out for her and then she was all smiles and giggles.

Here is a great picture of Paige and Santa deep in conversation and then the group hug at the end of the visit. Paige looks a bit stiff but she did actively participate in the hug which is huge for her.

Okay, off to shower, get last minute shopping done and prepare for Grandpa and Grandma's arrival this afternoon. Whoot! Whoot! Bring on the parties!!

December Daily - Days 16 - 19

2011-12-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

Oh boy, seriously behind on posting this! I got these pages finished a few days ago but ... you know how it is at this time of year.

Without further ado ...

Day 16:

My overlay for this day was a 5x7 photo sleeve so I just slipped a photo of some of the baking I did into it.

I covered the back of the picture with patterned paper then added a journalling tag and another number 16.

The main pages talk about our shortbread tradition and how I baked 4 rounds of it on this day. Still need to bake more for us to eat as I ended up giving all this shortbread away!

Day 17:

We went out to Abbotsford for the annual Graham/Campbell/Day Christmas celebration. There was a lot of pictures taken so I added a couple extra pages.

The first was another 5x7 photo sleeve and I start the story of the celebration with pictures of Ina's surprised face when Dave and his girls showed up unexpectedly. He had called us earlier in the day to ask if we could pick him up at the airport - something we were only too happy to do! Since Makenna and Kole were coming too Greg had to pick them up in his car so I took the girls out to Abbotsford early and had fun (at Greg's expense) saying how tired he was and that he'd be joining us after his nap. Everyone thought he'd gone a bit soft in the head! But once Dave and the girls made their appearance, all was revealed and forgiven!

The back of the photo sleeve has a 5x7 photo of all 14 grandkids eating their dinner. Our family get togethers are always crazy - this year was no different. 14 kids ages 1 - 9 plus 11 adults means noise, noise and more noise!

But oh, so much fun!

Opposite that picture is a collage of shots taken from our annual concert. Those with musical talents get up and share them for everyone else. This year Joni showed off her new piano skills, Caleb his violin skills and Andrew and kids sang the 12 Days of Christmas for us. Us Days are generally a tuneless bunch so we abstain to protect everyone's ears!

What follows are more pictures of the surprise appearance of Makenna and Kole and then the first ever Re-Gift Exchange with the kids (mostly successful I think).

The last page has a picture I caught of LC and Sadie (2 months her senior) sword fighting with their forks at the dinner table. I love that we are close enough to the cousins for them to maintain and build actual friendships. Here is the 2 year old version!

Day 18:

Taking two cars out to Abbotsford meant that Greg and Marley could head in early for Marley's soccer tournament while Paige, LC and I could relax and play with Dave, Makenna and Kole. Ina played approximately 20 games of marbles with Paige - she's a game fiend!!! Luckily I think I know what was in that large, flat, rather heavy parcel we brought home with us!!!

After dinner I got to go out for some adult socializing. This year I joined a book club - something I belonged to PK (pre-kids) and loved so I'm super excited to be a part of one again. This month's meeting was more about the book exchange and cookie exchange than the book we were supposed to have been reading. Only the moderator (whose pick it was ) actually finished the book this month!

But I did manage to snap a picture of us!

And then one of the treats I brought home - now mostly gone!

Day 19:

Today was the first official day of the Christmas break for Marley and Paige. To fill the time I had them make a little something for their Grandpa. The back of this page has a collage of the process and the results but since I know he reads my blog and I don't want to ruin the surprise ... that page will have to remain a mystery for now! Sorry!

As you can see though, it was colourful and the girls had fun. I don't normally let them play with paint as the mess drives me up the wall but this was different. This was for Grandpa!

Okay, that's as far as I got. Today was my appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon I saw 16 years ago (sigh, I was 22 the last time he same me and now I'm ... you do the math ... with 3 kids ... time flies!) He's sending me for an MRI of my knee to see exactly what we are dealing with before deciding how to proceed. I had to take the girls with me and they were so awesomely good. I love it when other people comment on what well behaved children I have. Makes me realize that perhaps I have done something right after all!

Okay, I'd better go and get dinner started. Have a wonderful night. Hopefully I'll get to the other days soon - I had to take a hiatus to deal with other important Christmas things like The Christmas Letter and Photos with Santa and Christmas Shopping. Greg's parents arrive tomorrow for a few days so I think tomorrow will be taken up with cleaning! With all 3 girls home all day, the house has developed a certain "shabby chic" look called "kids play/craft/toy clutter" that is completely out of hand! Sigh. I swear I just cleaned too!!

December Daily - Day 14

2011-12-17T09:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, that didn't take me too long. This is my second post this morning so scroll down for Day 13. Thanks!

Day Fourteen:

Since Marley was 3 years old we have been taking a child to Delta Gymnastics. They have amazing programs for kids of all ages and their competitive athletes do really well nationally. Every Christmas they put on a Holiday Jingle featuring each class doing a little routine for all the parents. We've been going for I think 4 years now! This year it was Christine's turn to shine. (Neither Marley or Paige are taking gymnastics right now due to budgetary considerations!!)

Above is the Day 14 cover page which is a CD protector page cut down. In the bottom pocket I included two pictures back to back. Christine was practicing her "Hup, two, three, fours" all around the house for days!!

And the other picture is of her doing her "ta-da!" which I added onto the back of the 14 tag.

Darn she's adorable!! (Christine, not the tag - LOL!)

On the other page I created a photo collage of the action.

Here are the two pages together.

And finally,

the program. Like with the Christmas concert program, I just glued this to the page.

All right, that's all I've got for today. Day 15 will have to wait I'm afraid so I'll be going out of order for a bit. We went to have family pictures taken at a studio but they won't be ready until next week. Once they are I'll add them to Day 15 and post it. It has been 5 years since we had proper family pictures taken and 3 since we had any taken of the girls. We are terrible parents!!!

The girls seem to be doing well so far and I'm starting to feel better so we may get out to Abbotsford today after all! I'm so glad as I hate to miss the opportunity to get together with my family. Only Dave and Heidi and their girls won't be there (they live in Edmonton) so it'll be the usual, awesome chaos that comes with 10 adults and 12 kids ages 1 - 9!! Can't wait!!

December Daily - Day 13

2011-12-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

They are coming fast and furious now!!

Day Thirteen:

It was Christmas concert day at Marley and Paige's elementary school. Here in BC our teachers are trying to renegotiate their contract and initiated job action at the end of August. This has affected things like report cards (the girls' had their attendance records on it and not much else!) and Christmas Concerts. Some schools aren't putting one on at all. Others have individual classes putting on performances in their class rooms. Ours put on a reduced concert involving only grades K - 3 and at 2:00PM. Each family with a child in the concert was also given just 3 tickets (a new thing - usually it's a seating free for all!) Greg had a Team Leaders Christmas lunch so he couldn't make it but Grandma and Grandpa Day came across for the concert.

Above is an extra page that I added with the program on one side and a picture of each girl on the other.

Marley's class did this really fun number in the dark with flash lights which I took a video of for Greg. I managed to grab a few stills from the video to put onto this page.

On the back I added my journalling and a cute picture I got of Paige getting congratulatory hugs from Grandma and Grandpa.

Day 14 is also done I just need to photograph it so look for it here soon.

On a personal note, last night was a lot of fun .... NOT!!! Christine came into our room crying just after midnight. Greg took her back to bed and then moments later, when I heard her still crying, I went in to discover Paige on the way down the ladder to tell us that Christine had thrown up. Yup. It's hit our house I think. That yucky stomach bug that's been making the rounds of the neighbourhood. Groan!!!!

We are supposed to be going out to Abbotsford today for the big Graham/Campbell/Day family get together but ... we are in "wait and see" mode. Christine seems fine this morning. All smiles and chattering away as is her want. Paige and Marley seem unaffected but I am feeling iffy. Not sure if it's genuine or if it's due to lack of sleep and thinking/worrying/dreaming of throwing up all night. Time will tell.

Hope you are all well!! I'll be back later with Day 14 - Christine's Gymnastics show!

December Daily - Day 12

2011-12-16T20:49:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! I'm slowly getting caught up!!
(Second post today so scroll down for Day 11.)

Day Twelve:

I think I hinted in an earlier post that Monday was a crazy day with no real story and no pictures so I wasn't sure what to put into this album. Then I decided to just document my day. Maybe next year, or several years from now, I'll be interested in what went on in an average (okay, busier than average) December day.

I simply typed it up in word (using one of Ali Edwards December Daily overlays so I'd know how big to make it!) then printed it off onto card stock. Along the bottom I added some 3-D flowers and then coloured in the number 12. I may add some glitter to that ...

On the back side I just made some circle embellishments. The transparency for Day 13 has images of clocks so I wanted to reference the circles here.

Okay, now off to tackle Day 13 - the Christmas Concert!

December Daily - Day 11

2011-12-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

Only a few days late! Told you it was going to be a busy week!!

Day Eleven:

As you can see, this day was all about decorating the tree. I woke up with a head cold so wasn't "feeling it" (if you know what I mean!) but started the process by stringing the lights. Unfortunately, we discovered that 2 of the 4 strings were dead and rather than hunt for the one (or maybe two) burnt out bulbs, I went to the store for new lights. While I was doing that, Greg took all 3 girls to soccer - the thought being that I'd then get a couple hours to rest and recover. Not so much! I got a call in between their games to come and pick up LC as she was freezing and crying. Apparently her pants were too thin!

After the girls and Greg returned from soccer, they got to work on the tree while I dozed on the couch. I did manage to snap a few pictures of them at work.

For this side I added the note from the advent calendar on a flap of paper (not crazy about the backside of the paper but will leave if for now - just realizing I may have glued the note to the wrong side of the paper - doh!) I included a large picture of the finished tree and then some close ups of this years ornaments. Since starting the advent calendar I've given the girls an ornament for their own collections, so this year it was these cute snowmen bells. Christine and Paige typically get one with their names on it but Marley ... well, it's a little tougher to find her name on your standard ornament!! To celebrate my start with Stampin' Up! I made our yearly ornament (each year we buy a new ornament to highlight something that happened that year for our family) using Stampin' Up! products.

There you have it. Day 12 was a run around day so no pictures. I may have to do more journalling strips and then focus on Day 13 which was the girls concert. But before I get to that, I need to take the wee one to Toys R Us for some more Christmas shopping.

Have a great day and I'll "talk" to you soon!

December Daily - Day 10

2011-12-11T09:56:00.001-08:00

Woo hoo! Day 10!! Not sure I can believe that I'm up to date right now. But ... like I've said, this has been an amazingly quiet week for us. Next week however ... oh boy. There is something on every night so ... I may fall a teeny tiny bit behind (ya, like a WEEK!!)

Anyway, here's Day Ten.

Totally not a holiday themed page but I LOVE IT!

The journalling talks about how next Saturday is going to be Christine's last swimming lesson in the parent and tot program. (When we sign them up in the spring, she will be 3 and therefore on her own for the first time.) Greg asked if I wanted to do the lesson with her but ... me in a swim suit? NOT PRETTY!!! so I decided to take some pictures of Greg and Christine instead. She's growing up so fast!!

Ali Edwards does these fabulous pages about her kids so that was definitely my inspiration. I used one of her Technique Tuesday sets as well.

Love how simple it is and it took me all of 30 minutes to throw together (split up over party drop offs, dinner, present buying, party pick up and bedtime routines!)

Well, this morning I woke up with sore sinuses, a stuffy nose and a sore throat. Not a good omen the day before an incredibly busy week!!! Yuck! And the kids are starting to seriously harass me to decorate the tree we bought yesterday. So ... I'd better sign off, stop hiding in the craft room and go and "get 'er done!" as they say.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

December Daily - Days 8 and 9

2011-12-10T14:44:00.001-08:00

Still enjoying relatively quiet days here. I know that next week will be busier so I'm trying to pace myself!

Day Eight:

The plan was to make cookies after school. In their advent calendar I'd put a little note with the choices of cookies on it (Paige scribbled on it before I could snatch it away to put into this album - grr!) These are cookie mixes that a local mom makes and sells each year at a Christmas Craft Fair - gotta support local, right? Plus they are darn good mixes!

Marley and Christine chose the Gingerbread cookie mix (which came with a gingerbread man cookie cutter) and, to be contrary, Paige insisted on making the Coconut Oatmeal cookies. In previous years this probably would have led to fights, yelling, Mom in tears, girls in tears, ... you get the picture. But this year, I just thought "okay, two types of cookies it is then!"

And then when I was approached on the playground by another mom asking if her daughter could come over for a play date, I thought "sure, why not? The more the merrier!" I'm getting so mature in my old age!! Ha!!!

I believe Christine ate only icing, sprinkles and gummy candies! What a turkey!

Day Nine:

Greg had a short work day and no soccer game that night so we took advantage of the rare free Friday evening and went into Vancouver to VanDusen's Garden. Their annual Festival of Lights was starting that night. It's a beautiful spectacle of millions of Christmas lights strung all throughout their gardens. Plus they put on a light show to music which is always lots of fun.

It's been unseasonably cold and dry around here (but forecast to change tonight in time for Greg's soccer game ... sucker!) so the hot mini donuts were appreciated and the stop off to see Santa was a welcome break too. Christine ran up to sit on Santa's lap as soon as he made the offer. I can't remember what she said she wanted though. Oops!

The large star in the middle of the collage above were ones they were selling ($5 suggested donation, that is) to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. They are little LED lights that hang around your neck and glow blue. Each girl got one and then Christine managed to break hers on the way home. So it got included here!

The red glitter stars were cut out of some Stampin' Up! glitter paper. I thought the stars were appropriate for this story.

Well, there we are. 9 days down, 16 more to go. Hope you're enjoying your December so far and if you are doing a December Daily let me know. I'd love to check it out! Greg and the older girls are out buying our tree right now and then Marley has a birthday party to go to tonight while Greg goes to play soccer in the cold and wet. I told him it could be worse, we could be up north where he wouldn't GET to play soccer so late in the year. But he just responded with "then I'd be playing indoors". Hmm ...

Anyway, have a great Saturday evening and I'll see you soon!

December Daily - Day 7

2011-12-08T19:15:00.001-08:00

So far so good. I'm not falling too far behind. Amazing!

Here's a look at Day Seven:

This is the number overlay page. I chopped off the top flap, and added some fun items into the pockets. Below you see how the whole thing opens up. Since my story today is about my and Christine's trip to Starbucks for a treat after shopping for Advent calendar items (and stocking stuffers .. shh, don't tell!) it seemed appropriate to include several items from their packaging.

This bag was one I'd saved from last year but the logo above was from my coffee sleeve this year. I punched it out then added some red glitter. I also glittered the smaller snowflakes.

Here's a look at the main page. The photos were pretty bad since all I had was my phone camera so I decided to create a collage with them. I added the words from my coffee sleeve (Let's Merry. Huh?!) then journalled in the bottom section where I normally add patterned paper.

On the back I glued the bag that held Christine's snack. Not sure what I'm going to put in the yet ... maybe nothing ... but it's there if I need it. Christine did some cute art work today which I may add since today's story is going to be about making cookies. Stay tuned for that layout!

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Scrapping!

December Daily 2011 - Days 4 - 6

2011-12-07T10:13:00.001-08:00

Got 'em done! Phew!
These were basically quiet days with not too much in the way of Holiday Happenings so I found it quite challenging to pick a story to star. But ... that is part of the fun for me this year. To take it one day at a time and not to stress out if there aren't a lot of "Christmassy" things to talk about. In future years I think I will enjoy looking back and seeing our ordinary days just as much as our special days.

And here they are ... Day Four:

I added a little pre-cut pocket from the Teresa Collins pack that I've been using for this album and then since I had printed off more journalling strips than I used on the page (see below) I added the extra ones to the pocket. The tag in the top left pocket is the reverse side of the Peace tag below - I just stamped on it to make it more interesting.

Here's a close up of one of those journalling tags.

And the main page. I was despairing that since I had no photos from Sunday, and since not too much happened, that the page would be boring but I ended up LOVING this! I may have to repeat it sometime later. :)

Day Five:

Again, I kind of nothing day so I just wrote about it.

Then on the back I attached a CD pocket and inside are several cards that I found in Paige's back pack. I had seen some of her Christmas art work and thought I might use it but when I saw these little cards with her attempts at writing out our names (she got 'Dad', "Mom" and her own name right then just put an 'M' and a 'C' for Marley and Christine - so cute!) I knew they had to find a place for them in this album.

Day Six:

Today I got the girls to write their letters to Santa. Marley says she has already written to him at school so he may be getting two from her this year. Oh well!

It was very easy for me to slip the letters into this pocket, behind the lace overlay bit. Then I added the card from their Advent Calendar with a cute little paper clip.

Last year I scanned their letters into the computer and printed them off onto photo paper. But this year, since they did cards, not letters, I decided to colour photocopy them so they look like the original cards.

Here's a look at the inside of Marley's. Hmmm ... not sure Santa has the budget for an iPad2!!

Then I did something I've seen Ali Edwards do, I wrote a letter to Santa as the main page. Something fun and different!

Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.

December Daily - Days 1 - 3

2011-12-04T12:52:00.001-08:00

I got to play with my December Daily today!
Yesterday we had our Annual Open House which meant busy days cleaning, prepping and getting those Christmas decorations up. So today I consciously took the morning "off", stayed in my pj's til noon and got some memories scrapped. This year I know my life is uber-hectic so I'm allowing myself to relax about the whole daily part of this project. I know there will be days when I can get several pages done at once to balance out those days when life is just too busy to allow any time in my scrap room. I'm also trying to focus on the story this year. Last year my book was picture and ephemera/embellishment heavy. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my 2010 DD but I am going to try something a bit different this time.

Enough talking, more showing ...

Day One:

December really started with a bang (a freaking EARLY bang!!) as the PAC threw a pancake breakfast at the school complete with pictures with Santa. I had volunteered to help cook pancakes so had to be at the school by 6:15am (hence the pulled back hair and glasses!) As unflattering as this picture of me is, I want to remember this day. It was so much fun. We had Michael Buble's Christmas CD blasting through the school while we cooked pancakes in the staff room, in class rooms (after blowing the fuses in the multi-purpose room!) and even in the principal's office. All the mayhem and stress was worth it as families started arriving, getting their pre-ordered food and eating in the gorgeously decorated gymnasium. Greg went to work a bit late so he could help the girls get their pancakes while I cooked them. We even got a family picture with Santa (that I may add to this once I get a copy).

Day two:

There's the prompt from the girls' advent calendar (note to self: need to take a picture of the new and improved advent calendar for you!) We didn't actually get to the decorating until after dinner because I was working on the calendar while the girls were at school and then had so much tidying and cleaning to do once they got home. But it got done and the house looks great.

The impetus for the early decorating was our 5th Annual Holiday Open House yesterday. I didn't put up as much as I have in previous years. Not so much because I wasn't "feeling it" but I just wanted simple. Trying to keep everything simple right now!

The story that I wanted to record was about how the girls pretty much deserted me as soon as we opened the box containing the Christmas books, hats and stuffies!

I also played with my Technique Tuesday Ali Edwards stamps on this layout. Love how Ali's handwriting looks framing this picture collage! Then on the back of the page I added tons of journalling with some more pics of the decorations. I'll have to take some better pictures of that wreath and share them with you (maybe over on my Stampin' Up! blog.)

Day Three:

It was all about the party today! Two collages of some of the pictures I took which show the action. The little girl in the black and white picture is Greg's cousin's daughter, Zoe. She was hiding in her Mom's legs but I thought this picture was too cute not to include! She's almost 18 months old and just so darn adorable!!

On the back is the other photo collage and the tag from the girls' advent calendar. Another thing I loved was catching Marley showing her two friends her baby scrapbook. In the picture (top right) all you see is her legs (good thing she had on tights or this pic could have been really bad!) as one of her friends is tackling her. So lady-like!!

Well, there you have it. Not sure what today's layout will be about (although I have a tiny idea! Not telling!!!) Marley and Paige have soccer games today but other than that we are just laying low.

Hope you are having a fun filled December too!

Project 12 - September (gulp!) and October 2011

2011-11-22T17:05:00.001-08:00

Amidst all the other things going on in my life last month (namely; kids, house, new PAC duties, kids activities, husband, figuring out Stampin' Up! .... etc) I completely forgot about my September layout for my beloved (hear that Davinie!) Project 12. My bad. My total bad!

I have managed to carve out some "me" scrapping time this past week (see my December Daily post) and got not only September's layout done but October's too. Yay me!!!

Let's start with September ... sketch first ...

The left hand page tells the stories of early September - our trip to Lynn Canyon's suspension bridge and the girls returning to school. Paige started Kindergarten so it was an especially memorable September.

Close up of the embellishments.

The right hand page features a picture (that I love!) of me with my girls on my birthday. Tucked down in the corner is a picture of our van after Greg and the girls were hit by someone running a red light at a nearby highway intersection. SO blessed it was not more serious! I do want to remember the incident though as it really impacted us for several weeks so in the layout it goes!

And that brings us to October.

The left hand page features a large picture of me with Team Pinkalicious Pandora supporting my amazing friend Beth who is fighting Stage 4 Breast Cancer with every fibre of her being. This lady doesn't know the meaning of the word "quit"! Go Beth!!!

Underneath are small snapshots of the first half of October. Marley and Paige playing soccer, LC riding a pony for the first time ever, and one of two Thanksgiving dinners. Yes, we scored two turkey dinners this year!

Some close ups.

I added the girls' team names.

The right hand page talks about Hallowe'en. LC was old enough to get into the spirit this year - doesn't she make a super cute kitty?!

As you can see I had lots of fun embellishing these layouts. I've added way more to my pages than I normally would and am super pleased with the look. Ever evolving, I am!!

Thanks for coming to see my work.

It's done, now bring on December!

2011-11-19T20:03:00.001-08:00

For you non-scrappy types, that title may seem cryptic. But if you know what I'm talking about, then I'm sure you can share in my excitement that my December Daily foundation pages are complete and waiting for the stories of December that will fill their pages. Sooner than you think!!

To see all posts relating to my 2010 December Daily go here. To check out what Ali Edwards (the December Daily Goddess!) has come up with this year go here.

Okay, now for the good stuff. WARNING: PHOTO HEAVY!! I'm not going to comment too much about each page so you can scroll through them as fast or slow as you want! If something in particular needs to be said, I'll say it. :)

Like how this is the front cover. :)

Day 1: I decided to embrace a few things this year. The first being the transparency overlays like last year, only this year I went for irregular shapes and sizes. Which ties into the second thing I embraced, irregularity. Oddly shaped pages. Pages and embellishments that stick up, or down, or both. And a variety of photo pocket sizes. The third thing I did is minimal embellishments. Beyond the day's number, I added very few extras. I know from past experience that the stories I decide to tell in December will need their own embellishments so I'll add them as I go along. Ditto the patterned paper strips in the lower rectangle next to the numbers on the card stock pages.

Day 4 shows the second example of a photo pocket. These are from Pink Paisley's combo pack (I bought them for Ali's One Little Word). For Day 2 I used a cut down CD pocket holder from Avery. So you see, odd sizes for different sizes of pictures/ephemera!

Day 7 uses another Pink Paisley pocket. This is one of the ones that folds over and attaches. You can see the string attacher above the 7. I'll probably replace it with something prettier eventually.

A note also about the back side of the brown paper - I'm not crazy about the colours in this pattern (they don't match my red, cream and brown scheme) but I will most likely cover it with a picture or collage of pictures later so I'm not sweating it now.

Day 19: Kind of really love how this turned out. I made a couple boo boos (taped it to the wrong side so had ripped paper to hide) but I love how the tags and the ribbon came together to complete this page.

Okay, I know I said I wasn't going to comment much but this overlay needs some explanation. The paper was originally white and sparkly but the white was too stark with my cream scheme so I got out my trusty mists and sprayed the heck out of it. I used a couple of colours (a brown and a red) and the combination gives this nice antiquey red that perfectly matches my scheme.

Oh, and I gave the back a quick spritz too as it may be seen.

Day 24 has more spritz on the originally white snowflake paper. But I didn't spray the back as I'm sure I will be covering it ... maybe. I did staple it shut though ... hmmmm ... oh well.

And then we come to Day 25. I really love this page. At least, I did until I punched the holes in the wrong spots! Sigh. Oh well ... embracing imperfection right along with irregularity!!

And while we're on the topic of punching holes in the wrong spots ... I did it to ALL the card stock pages originally. but I cleverly covered them up with strips of coordinating paper and repunched in the correct spots. Yup, pattin' myself on the back a little bit there!

There, all done!

Here it is all ready for pictures and extras. Looks pretty thick already, doesn't it?

Thanks for stopping by. Are you doing a December Daily? Leave me a comment so I can share in your fun too!

Goodbye October!

2011-11-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

October is gone, November is here ... Christmas is now just around the corner. Yikes! The ToysRUs catalogue came in the mail the other day and as I was flipping through it I noticed someone had already circled several items. Hmm ... wonder who that could have been? Yup, Marley the Christmas Enthusiast (actually any holiday that involves gifts/candy/both)!

But back to the last couple days of October...

Grandma and Grandpa Day came over on the 30th to celebrate Griffin's 3rd birthday. While Grandpa was watching Paige's soccer game, Grandma demonstrated her apple peeler/corer/slicer. Marley and LC were fascinated! The added bonus? We've got ready chopped apples for apple crisps! Yum!

And since it was the day before Hallowe'en, we needed to carve some Jack-O-Lanterns!

Once the soccer games were finished, LC had managed to sneak in a nap and Paige had carved her pumpkin, we went off to Chuck E Cheese for Griffin's birthday party. The last time I was at CEC was in March and it was fairly civilized. It was also the middle of the day on a weekday. This was a Saturday evening. Yikes! There were at least 3 birthday parties going on at the same time so the noise level was through the roof!

This was our party table - that's Griffin in the inflatable crown.

Each child was given a few tokens so they didn't lose any time spending them.

This is a simulated roller coaster ride. Paige did really well! In fact, she was the first to give the Chuck E Cheese mascot a high five too. Me thinks Disneyland in 2012 may just happen after all!!

Chowing down on pizza.

There's Chuck E himself shaking the birthday boy's hand!

With Paige's tokens she "bought" herself some glow in the dark vampire teeth.

Sigh.

Monday ... Hallowe'en Day! Marley and Paige had a Costume Parade at school so they came home at lunch to get ready for it.

Marley was a Wicked Witch and Paige was a Good Fairy.

Totally matches their personalities at the moment!!

Paige in the parade.

And then Marley (with her BFF Amanda the Devil.)

Later that evening we got all the jack-o-lanterns lit and took some pictures.

LC the Kitty Cat.

Seriously, could she be any cuter?

(You may recognize it from a few years ago when Paige wore it. Gotta save money somehow, right?)

The 3 Trick or Treaters anxious to get going!

Our Jack-o-Lanterns. From the left, Marley's, LC's ("my pumpkin's happy") and Paige's.

And then the aftermath. The haul. The Pile o' Cavity Makers!

Yikes!!

Once the candy was sorted, we decided to head out as a family to friends who were having a cul-de-sac party. Paige headed inside pretty quickly to play with our friend's daughter (a year older than her) but the rest of us stayed outside.

Marley and LC were introduced to sparklers ... safely.

And Marley roasted some marshmallows.

LC and I.

Well, there we have it.

Coming up next ... I plan to get to my Project 12 layouts for September (oops, forgot to do it last month!) and October and then start my December Daily Album for 2011. You'll see a new December Daily button on my side bar too! Ali does amazing things with very little! And if I'm very lucky, I may even get to catching up with my One Little Word. Maybe.

But first I have 2 parties to attend today, a Trade Show all day tomorrow, two workshops next week ... eep! Wish me luck!

Hope you all had a fun and safe Hallowe'en. See you soon!

Bad Blogger Catch up - Part II

2011-10-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

For Part I go here.

So, where were we?
Headache, bed, ... sleep? Ha! Between LC getting up half a dozen times (or more - I lost count) due to her really bad cough, sore throat, inability to sleep through the night (grr!!), my own sore throat and Greg returning from his night on the town smelling like a brewery and snoring like a freight train ... I STILL need some sleep!

But ... instead, I'm up and blogging. Then I'll shower and try to find a clinic that's open so I can take LC to be checked out. I think having a low grade fever for 3 out of the last 4 days plus a croaky voice, a wicked sounding cough and the need to be by my side/in my lap/on my hip 24/7 is reason enough to suspect she may have more than the "common cold". Just sayin'.

But before all that fun, let's show you some Thanksgiving fun!

On the Saturday we went out to the Nielsen's new house in Langley for a feast. First though, Christine had arranged for the kids to have a pony ride at a friends stables. Marley was in heaven and we could have easily left her behind! The kids got to know the mare (27 year old Minnie Mouse) before riding her by giving her a good grooming. Paige (of course) wanted to have nothing to do with such a large scary beast, but Marley, Jasper, Griffin, Kieran and even LC got up close and personal.

Then it was time for some rides!

Being the oldest (and most keen!), Marley got to go first.

Initially LC mimicked Paige and ran screaming for the hills as soon as the horse was set free and started walking around. But after seeing Marley and all her cousins ride it unscathed, she plucked up the courage to take a turn herself. Paige could in no way be prevailed upon to ride! Sigh.

Remember how I said we could have left Marley behind and she wouldn't even have noticed? Well, she helped Kristin take Minnie Mouse to her stall in another stable. Then she helped get food for all of Kristin's other boarders as well as Minnie Mouse. Short of mucking out the stalls, she's a fully trained stable hand now! Given our location in farm country (with stables literally a few blocks away) I see a future summer job!!!

Once the horses were fed and Marley allowed herself to be dragged away, we headed to Chez Nielsen for our own supper.

Here is the kids table. From the centre we have Paige, Marley, LC, Kieran, Jasper and Griffin. No, LC's top is not two-toned, she just insisted on washing her own hands. "Me do it!!"

Double sigh.

Marley made the centre piece in school.

This is the adults table (thank you to Marley for taking the picture!) From the left we have cousin James, Aaron, me and Greg. Then on the right we have Zoe in Suzanne's lap, Grandma Day, Christine and Grandpa Day peeking out at back. Next time I think I'll get her to stand on a chair but all in all, a pretty good go at using my "fancy" camera!

Next day we scored another turkey dinner, this time out in Abbotsford at Chez Graham. Another crazy, kid filled meal. Here are the grandkids at the counter. Starting with Paige at the bottom left, we have Marley, Jenna, Caleb, Luke, Miles, LC, and Reid. Drew (9 months old) was in the high chair so not visible. 9 out of 14 grandkids in attendance. Not too shabby!

LC being her cute self.

And speaking of LC ... with Marley and Paige in school all day now, I have been rediscovering all those toddler/preschool programs that I used to take the older two to. A couple weeks ago we checked out a brand new one focusing purely on crafts.

Painting her pumpkin mask. I've discovered that she is a Maximalist! The more paint the better - especially if it's all in one spot!

Hamming it up in her pirate hat.

Snack time. Love the wall o' masks behind her!

She had fun, got messy and got introduced to other kids her age. We'll be adding this to our routine for sure!

And now for something (two things actually) completely different.

The first is this gorgeousness. A perfect double rainbow!

The girls and I were sitting down for an early dinner (Wednesday's are brutal for the dinner schedule!) when I looked out and saw this. The lower rainbow was so bright! I immediately jumped up, grabbed my camera and ran outside to snap some pictures. Got wet socks in the process but it was worth it!

And the second thing is this ... my very first vendor table! Greg's sister Christine owns the Vancouver and North Shore franchise of Momcafe and she gifted me a membership for my birthday AND offered me a free table at October's breakfast meeting. This is my table. It was a lot of fun. There was a very inspiring speaker (she had 8, yes, 8 kids!!!) and I met some wonderful ladies. Hopefully it will lead to good things!

Okay, I think I am all caught up now!

Don't forget my Open House next Saturday (see here for details).

Enjoy what's left of your weekend everyone!

Bad Blogger Catch up!

2011-10-22T22:37:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, my most humble apologies for neglecting this blog for so long. No excuses, just crazy busy.

Second ... NITASHA, if you're reading this, you won the Blog Candy and need to contact me asap. I will redraw for a winner if I don't hear from you by next Sunday (Oct 30th). Email me at alisonday@eastlink.ca so I can send out your goodies!!

Thirdly, I am having an Open House next Saturday to showcase the Holiday Mini Catalogue from Stampin' Up! See my website for event details and to RSVP. There are going to be door prizes and incentives for booking workshops and placing orders. Come and see some of the samples I and my other demonstrators have cooked up and be the first to sign up for my Christmas Card making class.

And now for the reason my family comes to check out my blog ... family news and pictures!
We have to go back, way back ... about 4 weeks to be exact.

Soccer season is upon us once more and I went out to the field to watch the girls games. Both Marley and Paige are playing this year with Greg as their coach. They play quasi back to back (Marley usually plays at 12 and Paige at 1:30) so there have been a few Sundays where we all head out to the soccer field together. LC likes to get dirty in the softball pitching mounds and any puddles that may be too tempting for her to avoid. (Greg had to take them all one day and LC covered herself in mud from head to toe! Live and learn! Since then rubber boots and changes of clothes have been de rigueur.)

Marley has been struggling with her soccer passion this year. She fights us when we ask her to get ready for practices or games but once on the field with her team mates she perks up and has fun. Anyone know what's going on with her? All advice is appreciated because currently I'm looking for foster families as Greg and I are reaching the end of our rope with her!

Paige and LC have fun with some of the other siblings. This day it was serious gave of Tow Me on the Ball Bag!

It actually started raining while Marley was playing and LC was so cold and tired I took her and Marley home during Paige's game. By the time we returned the light rain had become a downpour. I think that may be why Paige is sticking out her tongue in the picture above but I'm not really sure.

She was a trooper though and played well despite being soaking wet!

New weekend, same game plan, different weather patterns!

After the Walk for the Cure, I joined the family at the soccer field. LC was digging in the dirt with her little buddy Devon (of the Tow Me on the Ball Bag pic). Incidentally, HE was filling up his boots with dirt. Ah boys!

LC had some great plumbers butt going on!!

Marley's team (the Neon Aliens) were down a couple players so Paige was drafted (again!) but from this picture I'm thinking she didn't mind so much.

Here they are playing together again.

And then Paige's team doing some warm up drills. Oh, they are called the Cherry Bombs. Cute names, eh?

Marley may be giving us trouble with soccer but her new passion, basketball, is another story altogether!

This was her first day EVER ... they literally gave her a jersey and a ball, took her picture and sent them out into the gym to learn some skills. She was late (LOOOOONG story) and a bit out of her comfort zone but had fun and is showing talent already.

Slow and steady wins the race?

Practicing passes with one of the coaches.

She shoots, she scores!

Okay, so what else has been going on around here? Well, some time ago I had a little thing called a Birthday.Ya, I know, it was only my 38th so no big deal. Right? Right. But hey, I got presents and went on a date with Greg so it was a good day!

Marley spent the entire time filming with "her" camera. The video is actually pretty hilarious!

Me and my girls!

Well everyone. I've got a raging headache and still have a couple weeks worth of events to catch you up on so ... I'm going to post this, doctor my head and go to bed (hmmm ... too much Dr Suess with the girls tonight I think!) The rest of it will have to wait until tomorrow. Let's see, that's Thanksgiving, rainbows in the backyard, rediscovering pre-preschool activities with LC and my very first vendor table ... phew!

See you tomorrow!

Blog Candy winner ... finally!!

2011-10-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the delay in picking a winner. I have been feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities lately and this little task fell through the cracks. Until now ...

I put everyone's name into a hat (okay, bag) and pulled out the lucky winner.

That person is ...

... DRUM ROLL PLEASE ....

...NITASHA!

Congratulations! Nitasha, please email me with your address and I'll get your goodies off to you. alisonday@eastlink.ca

Have a great Wednesday everyone and thanks for playing along. It's great to see a few new followers, both here and over at http://adaydesigns.blogspot.com/. Hopefully I can keep the content interesting for you all! :)

Gotta get the girls from school and take them costume shopping. Marley has started the daily pestering so this year I'm going to nip it in the bud early by shopping early! Wish us luck!

Walking for the Cure!

2011-10-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Today was the day! Team Pinkalicious Pandora had fun walking through the streets of Vancouver in support of an excellent cause. As soon as I get the team photo I'll pop it into the post here ...

Edited Oct 12th - Beth sent me this picture of Team Pinkalicious Pandora. Aren't we a good lookin' bunch?!

... until then, here are some other shots from the morning.

Pre-race energy - mmmm ... Timbits!

Tanya, myself and Shannon.

Approaching the start line - finally! With all the people it took ages to get moving. It was worse than the Sun Run for congestion! But we were there to walk, support Beth and her family and enjoy the sunshine so the slow pace was not a problem.

Pinkalicious Pandoras in all their Pinkalicious glory! Beth with her daughters Kate (on left) and Emma. Beth's husband Mike is the man walking behind with the stroller and in the bottom of the stroller is their son, John. The kids did amazingly well - considering. There were a few melt downs and Kate need a piggy back a few times but all in all, they were awesome!

Then there was this guy.

He did the walk with his cat on his hat. A real live cat!

Apparently this was their 3rd year doing the walk like this.

It truly takes all types!!

The walk took us under the Chinatown gates.

And here we are approaching the finish line!

It was a moving experience. Seeing everyone with names on their pinnies - Moms, Aunts, Sisters, Grandmas, friends, co-workers and even the odd man's name too. This is truly a disease that needs to be defeated! I was so glad I took part and hope that next year I can turn it into a family affair. It's on my birthday next year so it seems destined!

It's not too late to donate to this walk and the cause in general. To donate to my team please click on this link. (Hope it works!) Thanks!

Birthday BLOG CANDY!!

2011-10-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

This post will remain at the top of the page until next Saturday so please scroll down for recent posts. Thanks! And good luck!

Okay, now that I have your attention, let me extol the virtues of ....

Ha, ha, ha! Just Kidding!! Do you want to win this?

Well, stay tuned ...

Hee, hee, hee! I can be so mean sometimes!

Before I tell you how to win this, why don't I tell you why I'm giving this away today.

Ages and ages ago I was lucky enough to win all that is pictured above from Scrapbook & Cards Today during their birthday celebrations. I had most of in my stash already and really wanted to share the wealth with my loyal reader(s?) I was just looking for the perfect time to do this. My birthday seems like a good time! One week today is my birthday! 38th to be precise. Eep.

So ... want some more pictures of the goodies?

Your wish is my command!

18 sheets of double-sided 12"x12" American Crafts patterned paper. These are all from their Confetti Line. They are so yummy!! Cupcakes, textured gingham, glitter stripes, balloons, streamers, you name it! It's a party in a bag!!

Plus ...

Not one, not two, but three sets of coordinating Thickers alphabet stickers and one sheet of Thickers puffy sticker accents.

Plus ...

A packet of Remarks Journaling stickers, Details cupcake embellishments, Delights paper flowers, and Musical Chairs and Pin the Tail Remarks dimensional stickers.

Plus ...

Confetti Adhesive Ribbon, Elements Patterned Buttons and Bits Decorative Tags.

Now, I'm not one of those people that likes blog candy giveaways that force you to jump through a million hoops to win. BUT ... I need your help and I hope you can see you way to doing that.

As I hope you know, I recently started with Stampin' Up! as an Independent Demonstrator. I have been immersed in the learning process and for the most part feeling very much over my head. Greg is less than supportive too which has been tough. But I think I'm starting to get a handle on things. Greg will hopefully come around if I can start to bring in some real money.

And perhaps you can help me show him the money! Here's how to do that and how to win all those American Crafts goodies.

I will put one entry into the hat if you are already a follower and leave a comment on this post.
If you become a follower and leave a comment I'll put in an entry.
If you pop over to my new blog (that I started to showcase exclusively Stampin' Up! projects and ideas) and become a follower and/or leave a comment on any post (being sure to reference this blog candy post) then I'll add another entry to the hat.
AND if you head on over to my Stampin' Up! website and make a purchase from my online store by 9:00PM PST September 30th, I will add 5 entries to the hat! Sound fair? I'm really close to making my minimum this month so your orders would be appreciated to help me reach my goals.
This last one is not a requirement but if you could spread the word about my blog candy that would rock my world! Thanks in advance!

Ready? Set?

GO!

Oh, and before I forget, I'll draw for the candy on October 1st ... after I recover from my birthday dinner out with Greg! :)

Run For the Cure

2011-09-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

Or in my case, Walk for the Cure!

I'm participating in support of my friend Beth Heras who is battling breast cancer for the second time. She is now in Stage 4 so prognosis is grim but hopes are high. If you'd like to support me please go here to make a donation to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

I have (in typical Alison fashion) left this to the last minute! Life around here tends to swirl at such a pace it's easy to get swept along and forget to do things you've resolved to do. It's terrible and I'm not trying to make excuses. Supporting Beth and all the women who are fighting, will fight and especially those that have fought bravely and lost is important to me. The older I get the more my own mortality plays a role in my every day decisions. Not to say I dwell on it, but I'd like to be there for my kids when they are "all grown up". Beth is my age - younger actually - and her children are ages with mine so the parallels are unavoidable. The thought of leaving Marley, Paige and Christine right now freaks the living daylights out of me! They are so young! I have so much more that I want to teach them, share with them, experience with them. I can only imagine what Beth is going through!! If the little money I can raise can help find a cure that can save her or other young Moms like her, then it will be a job well done. Late or not!

I also want to sell some cards I've made with a stamp set Stampin' Up! released in the summer to raise money for Breast Cancer Research. Here are some pictures of them. Once I figure out how to do this (paypal? etsy store? eBay?) I'll let you know. If you're interested, please leave me a comment.

Thanks. Think Pink!!

A MotherLOAD Layout!

2011-09-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

I have been a bit disappointed in myself for not playing along with the actual LayOut A Day portion of the MotherLOAD class that I'm currently enrolled in. Life has been ... well, hectic this month, to say the least! School started up again, Paige had that 2 week painful graduated entry to get through, my Stampin' Up! business is hogging all my family scrapping time ... you see? Hectic.

But yesterday I made a commitment to myself to do something creative everyday. Whether that be a Stampin' Up! sample for a workshop or swap, or (hopefully) a scrapbook layout for our family albums, I just need to create! I miss it! I need it!!! So, last night at 10:00PM I headed into my craft room, put on the latest Mind Aware Teleseminar replay, pulled out my notebook with those lists of LOAD prompts, grabbed a snack bag and got busy. Within an hour I came up with this.

I tell ya', Lain Ehman is a genius! Those snack bags were such an awesome idea! It had the journalling tags, the felt flowers, the brads and the buttons in it which didn't seem like a lot at the time I made them up, but boy did they ever make my life easier last night!

Here's a close up of the title block.

And another close up of the journalling block. The letter stickers and this little birdie plus the word stickers are Bella Blvd (as is the patterned paper).

Now, I make no promises to start creating a layout a day following Lain's prompts (a month behind schedule?) but this was fun and I will definitely do it again soon!

Ouch!

2011-09-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

For those of you who aren't my Facebook friends (and why aren't you?! Alison Campbell Day - send me a friend request today!), this is what our van looked like Saturday morning.

I was enjoying a quiet house after a multiple interrupted night (by LC and Marley), that had left me cranky and just wanting some peace and quiet, while Greg took the girls to their swimming lessons.

Then the phone rang.

"Hi Hon. The van got smashed."

uh .... pardon me?!

"A truck ran the red light at Hwy 17 (and Ladner Trunk Road) and ran into us."

"The girls are fine, just pretty shaken up."

"Jana (a passing angel!) is taking them over to the pool so Marley can get to her lesson while I deal with the police."

Okay, be right there!!

Amazing how your day can change in the blink of an eye. This time we were lucky. No one was hurt. There were multiple witnesses to the fact that this guy ran a red light - quite late as it turned out - and he took full ownership of his mistake at the scene. It could have been so much worse.

So, the lesson we can learn from this? Hug your kids every time you leave the house or they leave the house. Tell them you love them. And then do the same for your spouse!

Long Overdue Back to School Post

2011-09-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

School has been back in session for almost 2 weeks now and I STILL haven't posted Back To School pictures yet. What is wrong with me?! Just busy, that's all! Juggling the gradual entry schedule, figuring out what activities we've signed the girls up for and when they are (missed LC's first gymnastics class - doh!), starting a new blog which will be dedicated to my Stampin' Up! projects (check it out here), working on some projects for Jonina and also trying to appease Greg's wish for me to get "real job" by dropping off some resumes at local businesses. As you can see, life has continued at light speed around here!

So .... some updates on the many goings on so far this month.

Heading off for the first day of school!

Paige started Kindergarten this year and today is the last day of her Gradual Entry schedule. It has been a painful experience! The first week they attended class for a 45 minute Open House on Tuesday, 45 minutes again on Wednesday and then a whole hour and half on Thursday and Friday! Not sure why they don't think these 5 year olds can handle longer since most of them have been in some sort of day care situation previously or have at least attended preschool! This week has been slightly better (although not by much!). Monday she stayed until 10:20 again, Tuesday it was 11:20 which meant she finally got to eat snack at school, Wednesday she stayed until 12:30 and ate snack AND lunch (a red letter day for sure!!) and then yesterday and today she is dismissed at 1:30.

Here's Paige on her first day of Kindergarten (the Open House day!)

Practicing how to line up in the morning.

LC thought she'd practice too. It's never too early, right?

Paige's best friend Sarah is in her class this year (insert choir of angels here!)

Playing with Sarah (and LC ... sort of) at the Kindergarten Open House.

LC making herself at home in Paige's classroom.

Not to be out done, it was also Marley's first day of Grade 2.

She spent the first day with her teacher from last year, Mrs Lumsdon.

After school (Marley was dismissed at 12) I took the girls to McDonald's to celebrate.

Not the healthiest lunch, I know, but it happens very rarely now and I felt that the first day of Kindergarten deserved to be celebrated properly. Paige has been so excited to start school since the day she turned 5. It was hard for her to only go for brief periods each day last week. This week has been much better. I think she finally feels like a part of the school. Eating snack, going out at recess and staying for lunch really helps with that.

She did say today "we have to go to school again?!?!"

Ah, yes. Welcome to your new reality, Paige! School is every day for the rest of your life!!!

Mwah, ha, ha, ha!!!

Sorry, was that out loud?!

But getting back to the story ... last Wednesday Marley found out who her new teacher is and where her new classroom is.

Here's her desk.

And her new teacher, Mrs Baker.

We were very happy to find out she'd be in Mrs Baker's class as we have heard really good things about her. As added bonuses, several of Marley's friends are in this class (including her BFF (her words not mine! *sigh*) Amanda) and Paige's Kindergarten classroom is just across the hall.

Well, that's it. The girls are settling in nicely. Oh, I forgot to mention, Paige is in a K/1 split class and our neighbour across the street is in the Grade 1 part of her class. We are happy she has so many friends already in that class as that eases her anxiety about the newness of it all. Plus, she is with Mrs Brind, Marley's old Kindergarten teacher, which is another familiar face. I think this year is going to be awesome for both girls!

Last days of summer

2011-09-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

A picture heavy post to show what we've been up to this long, last weekend of summer.

On Sunday we picked up Aunt Moira and went to the water park at Queen's Park.

Isn't she adorable? The fact that she got into my MAC blush and painted our bathroom with it on Friday (the continuing saga of Hurricane Christine) is all forgotten when I see pictures like this!

Marley had fun throwing water at LC. Surprisingly, she liked it too!

Another cute one of LC - with a rainbow in the background no less!

Ice creams.

Sadie, having a quiet moment in the trees.

After some fun on the playground, we said goodbye to Aunt Moira and went over to Andrew's for a bbq and some fun in their pool.

Or, in LC's case, the water table. She was plunked into the pool and promptly screamed the neighbourhood down so ... water table it was!

Marley and Matthew had a sword fight with the pool noodles. I did the proper parenting thing and snapped some pictures while others warned them about getting out of hand and "it's only fun til someone gets hurt". :)

And today ... Labour day ... last day before the first day of school ...

we took a family outing to Lynn Canyon.

Starting with lunch 'cus it took us that long to get organized and out the house this morning so fueling the little walkers was necessary before we tackled the bridge.

Here's Greg and Marley (Paige is hidden behind Marley) on the bridge. It was a lot more sway-y (yes, I'm making up words today!) than I remembered. But we all made it safely and none of the girls freaked out even a little bit! Yay!

The crew.

Greg took the camera for a bit so I could actually be in some shots! Amazing. Me in the pictures!!

There was no way I was taking LC over those rocks to hang out with Greg and the older girls by the creek so we stayed back until Greg could come back and carry her. I wasn't far behind and took back my camera for a bit.

I think I've shown pictures of LC throwing rocks into water before so you shouldn't be surprised that she loved this part of the trip. We had a hard time convincing her to keep going up the trail!

Sometimes the rocks were pretty big!

But don't worry, no one got hurt!!

"Did you see that big splash, Mommy?"

Isn't he handsome?

My models. Even Paige is starting to ham it up for the camera now!

Sheesh!

Well, Kindergarten and Grade 2 start tomorrow. Eek! I think I may be as excited as the girls.

Hope you all had a good summer.

Welcome, September. Welcome, fall routines.

Project 12 - August 2011 and last 2 BIF pages

2011-09-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of scrapbook projects to share with you tonight. I'm trying to do so many things right now that my personal scrapbooking has fallen by the wayside. The layout a day portion of the MotherLOAD marathon started on September 1st and I have completed ... let's see ... oh yeah, 0 out of 3 layouts so far. Maybe I can go 0 for 26!!

But today I did manage to do my August layout for Project 12 and upload the pictures I took earlier of my last two pages for the Big Idea Festival over at Big Picture Classes. So, here goes ...

August 2011

I tried to keep as true to the sketch as I could (it's a challenge for me when you're only allowed to use 3 pictures!) I also stared at it for a long time trying to decide if I needed to add anything to the white space on the bottom of the page but eventually chose to leave it as it was. I couldn't think of what it needed so decided it needed nothing. Oh, and here's the sketch we were given.

And finally the close ups.

The left hand side.

The right hand side.

The journalling and title block. Everything on this layout was kept as simple as possible, including the journalling. Just a quick recap of the month's highlights.

Okay, now the last two pages of my Words to Live By book for the Big Idea Festival (for the previous pages see this post and this post.)

Embrace - I talk about what I want to remember to embrace.

It's opposite my Moment page so I kept the colours consistent and since there is already a picture of Greg and I in an embrace, I didn't feel the need for a picture here.

Play - I have probably thousands of pictures of the girls playing but I took this page in a different direction. I took all the scraps from the previously made pages of the book and played with them to create this. The journalling talks about how this scrapping obsession of mine is my way to play. Something I am realizing is really important to do every day - play with your kids, play with your toys (whatever they are - computer, bits of paper, Wii, etc) and play outside.

Okay, that's all I have for you tonight. Marley is off at a Giant's game with a friend so we are trying to find ways to make the other two feel like they're not missing out on anything. So far that is taking the form of watching a little Chopped on Food Network and Star Wars III on SpikeHD - Greg has control of the remote, can you tell? :)

School goes back in 2 days ... we're ready. Are you?

Right now ...

2011-09-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is one of those "are you KIDDING me" posts?

If you are friends with me on Facebook you saw the lovely picture of poo that I posted last night. That was LC's little gift to the world. Black nuggets of poo. On the carpet. Yup. LOVE being a mom!

Today, as I was catching up on my blogs (Ali Edwards, MotherLOAD etc) (oh, yeah, how selfish of me to try to take some time to myself, right?) LC was busy getting into the giant, heavy, earthenware pot of flour in the laundry room. She was quite upset when I insisted she wash her hands at the bathroom sink rather than get one of the wipes from my craft table that she came in looking for. Then the time out was also not greeted with much enthusiasm. Paige was trying to clean up the spilt flour (did I happen to mention that I recently - like, 2 days ago - purchased a 10kg bag of flour so the flour bin was very full?) with a dish cloth which as you know was just creating a lovely pastey mess. Good on her for trying. Better luck next time.

So, I cleaned everything up, made sure all were happy and entertained once more and returned to my office to continue reading.

Then I heard suspicious noises. Like something being dropped over the bannister.

Upon investigation I found LC at the upstairs railing and a dozen or so wipes on the floor below. Hmmm ... not good.

I ran up the stairs, my heart in my stomach, dreading what I pretty much knew I'd find.

One empty (also purchased 2 days ago) box of baby wipes. One new redecorated playroom. One slightly guilty looking 5 year old (who knew she should have come to find me before it got to that point) and one REALLY happy looking 2 year old. "Look at what I did Mommy!"

Release the monster!

I'm not proud of this but I screamed. I mean that deep, from the belly button (I'm sure my lamaze coach would have been proud) scream of anger and frustration. Twice. Poor Paige. I'm sure I'll be paying for her therapy sessions in a few years. "When I was 5 my Mom screamed at my younger sister and that was when I started drinking."

You have to understand something. I love LC. Really. I was just talking about her with my friend Sandra, saying how even though she put me through 9 months of hell, it hasn't affected my relationship with her. If anything I love her more than even the other two (again, future therapy topics!) But Holy Cow can she drive me nuts! At this moment in time, if someone rang my doorbell and said "I'm buying children do you have any for sale?" I'd jump at the chance! Before you critics out there say I got what I deserved for not keeping my eyes on her, know this. She is Trouble. Yes, with a capital T. If there were a team of adults being paid to keep their eyes on her at all times, she'd still find a way to get into trouble. She's curious about life. Some would say this is a good quality that will serve her well later in life. And I'm sure it will. LATER in life! Right now, it's seriously going to get her sold to the next gypsy caravan that drives down my street!

And it's only 10:30 in the morning!!! Sigh. Time to come out of my cave and see what other treats she has in store for me today.

Big Idea Fest, Naps, Anniversaries and Homemade Water Parks!

2011-08-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

I am out in Abbotsford enjoying a mini getaway at my parents while the older two girls attend VBS (Vacation Bible School for those of you who don't know) at their church. Their cousins Jenna and Luke are also going so it's been a busy fun week so far. Yesterday I got to slip back into Ladner to celebrate Greg and my 9th Anniversary and while there I took the opportunity to play catch up with my Big Idea Festival book. Here are the last 5 words.

These 3 ARE my nest (that's what the journalling is about) and also, I thought the hammock at Granny Camp kind of looked like a nest.

Visual reminders are always good!

The journalling is about "lessons I am trying to learn from my 2 year old". Like "dirty is always better"!

A note about the orientation of this page. Because I wanted to use this picture I felt I needed to flip the template from BPC. It also helps the pages that I accidentally created in the wrong orientation to fit in better! LOL!

Be Free - the journalling talks about my desire to be free from fear, pain, guilt (oh, the Mommy guilt!) etc. I also flipped this one 'cus I was using another large picture. Plus, this page and the one above are next to each other in my book.

In this Moment celebrate with love. As I mentioned above, it was our anniversary on Tuesday (our 9th) and I took some pics before we headed out on our date. This picture was initially one of the rejects because our heads are cut off (ah, the self timer!) but there is something about it that I like so I scrapped it. Now it's with me forever!

Okay, so my post title said something about naps ... we arrived here on Sunday evening and the girls weren't able to calm down and get to sleep (they are all sharing a room downstairs so you can only imagine the excitement that created!) until after 10PM. Monday was a full day of VBS, cousins, pool time and then another late night when we tried to add their cousins into the mix of the sleepover (Jenna joined them while Caleb and Luke slept upstairs in the den.) It was past 9 when we finally got them settled - Paige was in my bed, Marley had moved over to sleep with Christine as she was sad to lose her bed mate (Paige) which left Jenna sad and alone ... Ammee to the rescue! Ina cuddled with her for a bit and that seemed to help settle everyone. Phew!

So, it should be no surprise then that LC looked like this by 10AM on Tuesday after a walk to the church to drop the kids off and to Shoppers to check out the new store.

She fell asleep in the stroller on the way home and hardly blinked an eyelid when I transferred her to the couch. Aww! According to Ina she was in bed just after 7 that night too. Poor tuckered out little soul!

Here is the "official" anniversary picture.

We had a good dinner out using a Groupon at The Point in Steveston. Very yummy food, very slow service but we scored a comped glass of wine because of it so who cares?!

Last but not least was the homemade water park today. The girls didn't want to go to the local park to play on the playground once I got back, instead they wanted to tear down the little hill that is Ammee and Poppa's driveway on their scooters while I sprayed them with the hose.

Hmmm ... okay

I have a few more grey hairs from watching these bikini clad bodies scream (rather shakily in Paige's case) by me but amazingly no one bailed!

For this one I was shooting from the hip as I was also manning the hose!

See Paige's hair flying out behind her? That should be some indication of how fast she was going!

This is the hill. LC was trying to go up as high as her sisters but ...

... Mother Marley helped her back down again.

So Paige could come flying down unhindered. Yikes!

LC took a little break on her scooter.

Eventually the scooters were tossed aside in favour if just plain old running through the spray! Here's Ina manning the hose.

Marley took a turn too. She can be rather ruthless with her aim but ...

... I don't think they minded! (This time!)

Paige is trying to squeeze the trigger to make the hose spray. Hee, hee, hee. I'm sure when she'd 16 she'll hate that I posted this picture of her but right now, I think she looks so cute!

Speaking of cute ... Marley making a Pringles duck bill mouth! The post water play snack.

And seeing as she was surrounded by granddaughters, Ina opened up a spa on the deck. Here is Paige painting her finger nails. Oh, and for those of you who are on Facebook, we were very careful with LC and she did NOT get to paint her own toe nails this time!

She did however participate in the soaking of the feet and ...

... the buffing of the calusses (okay, I have no idea how to spell that word!)

Well, that's it for today. The girls are asleep (without too much effort tonight) and I think it's time I was heading that way too. Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy the sunshine if you've got it and if you're near those thunder and tornado cells out East - hunker down and stay safe tonight!!

Today

2011-08-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

Today was hot. The first truly hot day all summer I think. There's only 2 weeks left of summer and NOW it decides to show?! Sheesh!

Ah well, better late than never.

Today seemed quite busy. We took the kids to Splashdown in the morning (thanks for the passes Karn!!) - only leaving when LC had a meltdown over being forced out of the hot tub. I'll post some pictures at the end of this post but first I want to post my latest crafty endeavours. Bear with me or scroll down - your choice!
:)

First up, Project 12 for July.
Here's the sketch.

And here's what I came up with.

I'm not totally happy with it. It feels unfinished somehow but it was too hot in the craft room to keep working. Plus, dinner wasn't going to make itself! (If I found a genie in a lamp, I think that's what I would wish for ... someone to make my dinners.)

Here's the left hand side.

And the right hand side.

A close up of the journalling/title block. I saw a tutorial (I think it was on my upline Sandra's blog) on how to make these pleated paper ribbons so I gave it a shot. LOVE IT! And so easy. You really have to try it!

I wanted to bring attention to the little picture I had of Paige riding her bike without training wheels so I framed it in yellow. That sort of was the jumping off point for all the yellow accents on the page. Originally I wanted to include a picture of Paige on a bright yellow waterslide but it didn't work with the layout (one too many pictures if you can believe that!) but I think I had yellow stuck in my mind. Anyway. I like it. It adds a touch of sunshine to the summer themes.

Next we have a little project I've been working on this week for Big Picture Classes. They're running their Big Idea Festival right now (check it out here) and everyday you are emailed an inspirational word. You can also download and print a 6x6 template to use. Here's my mini book so far.

The cover.

I bought this album last year at Clipper Street's garage sale. It's wooden with inner pages made of what looks like recycled paper. Very raw. I glued the striped paper onto the front (cutting around the hinges) and then taped the rest in place.

To go with the feel of the album. I have been printing all my templates on kraft cardstock. This is the title page template that they gave us.

Day 1 - Share. The journalling talks about how we are always telling the girls to share, how they sometimes hate it but how they also love it. Marley is actually now in her own room after 7.5 years of sharing with Paige. So far so good. It will be interesting to see if she misses Paige's company. Last night she had some trouble getting to sleep and at one point stuck her head into her old room to check on Paige and LC. Thankfully they were fast asleep!

Day 2 - Wonder. I accidentally made this the wrong way so had to paste it into the book portrait instead of landscape. Oh well. I may have to do more like this to make this page look intentional! :)

The journalling here talks about the strides Paige has made this summer in conquering some of her fears. I added to the title to make it "I Wonder if it will last?"

The second page and more pictures of Paige and LC on the swing ride at Sun Fest this year.

Both pages together.

Day 3 - Less. Here I talk about my efforts this summer to use or lose my stash.

Day 4 - Give. A picture from the ceremony at the Cenotaph to honour those fallen fighting in Afghanistan.

Day 5 - Enjoy. The journalling talks about how we enjoyed a fun trip to the water park at Granville Island and how all 3 of them were enjoying it in their own way. Usually there is one child freaking out about something but this time, they were all happy!

The second page of that.

Both pages together.

So now we are ready to show you some pictures from Splashdown. How different from the day pictured above! Marley and Paige were excited and having fun on the slides - despite chattering teeth as the water was super cold! But after the first slide, LC was not having fun anymore. Once she hit that cold water it was all over for her. She did love the hot tub though. As I mentioned in my opening, she had a tantrum when we pulled her out of it!
Greg is still experiencing some discomfort so didn't want to go down any slides with the girls, and I ... well, let's just say the less people see of me in a bathing suit, the better and leave it at that. As it was I had to parade around in my suit once or twice when the girls wanted some added reassurance at the bottom of some slides.

Starting out. Marley was under strict instructions to take care of LC - something she excels at. Seriously! Sometimes I think she does a better job of mothering that child than me!!

Whee! This is fun!

Hmmm ... maybe not. This water's cold!

Nope. I am definitely NOT having fun now! Let me off!!

And that was where LC and the waterslides parted company.

After some more waterslides, Paige and I ended up in the hot tub. I got out when I saw that Marley was about to go down the inner tube slide.

That's her!

Hitting the pool at the bottom.

Freezing cold but loving every minute!

Warming up in the hot tub.

Well, so far tonight Marley has come down once to give a SITREP on the other two which was completely unneccessary as Paige had already come down herself to complain that LC was turning her light on and off and it was keeping her awake. Sigh. It's only night 2 ... it's only night 2 ....

I am off to see what trash I can find to watch on the TV (after switching the laundry first.) Greg seems to have left it alone for a bit - ran out of soccer and football games to watch I guess. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

MotherLOAD Week 7

2011-08-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

I received my weekly MotherLOAD email this morning ... we're into week 8 now. Hmmm ... I finished the layout for week 7 yesterday ... Oh well. Life has been busy and taken a turn for the crazy(er). While I have been spending hours in my scrap room/office, it's mostly been reading up on Stampin' Up! stuff, trying to figure out their site and learning about the fine art of Direct Sales. Ugh. Not sure I'm really cut out for all this cold calling and stuff but I'm doing my best to give it a shot.

But back to Week 7 ... we were to create a layout that conveyed a theme or emotion without using words. Here is mine, can you guess what my theme/emotion is?

If you guessed "play" you are correct!

Ways this says play: bright colours, diagonal placement of the circle elements (putting things on the diagonal suggests movement - there, my interior design training just paid off!! LOL!) and the circle elements themselves. Marley said they look like bubbles and while that wasn't the intention, she's right. This also adds to the playfulness of the layout, don't you think? I didn't add a title because I didn't feel it needed one. Sometimes, I think you can get away with no title. Let the pictures and your journalling speak for themselves.

And speaking of journalling, here's a close up of mine.

Products used: Cardstock - Bazzill (yellow) and scraps (white); Patterned paper - Bella Blvd and AC; Cicles - punched with my Cuttlebug (it's for sale on Craigslist if you want it!) and the Nestabilities circles.

For week 8 Lain is talking about Inspiration and how we can get overwhelmed with our inspiration - too many ideas, too much product, too many photos. Check out this great post from layoutaday.com about burnout. It is so timely as I've been feeling overwhelmed and not in a scrapping "mood". Since doing all those Apron Strings challenges in July, I've barely scrapped anything. I'm falling behind on my MotherLOAD work, I've printed the pictures for my July P12 layout but done nothing with them and my OLW ... well, the less said about THAT the better! Earlier in the summer I signed up for Big Picture Classes Big Idea Festival so now I've got more projects that aren't getting done. Yes, I suppose I could be a teensy bit over stretched! :) Add to that the fact that I've now signed up with Stampin' Up! and am trying desperately to learn all I can about the company, their products (I'm mostly familiar with them already thank goodness!) and the business of being a demonstrator for them. It's a ton of stuff firing at me at the same time. No wonder I'm feeling overwhelmed!

Anyway, I'm going to try and get into my craft room today to do some scrapping - if the girls will play nicely! I had an hour to myself last night to get some sales calls made and the promise of another hour tonight to make some more, so I think I can put aside the crafting business in favour of the crafting business for a bit. Wish me luck!

New Directions

2011-08-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking about Glee.

I'm talking about a new direction in my life. My scrapping life to be specific. Well, and my working life.

For the past 7.5 years I've been a Stay at Home Mom. Before that I had an okay job for a decent company but it didn't inspire me, wasn't my passion and didn't pay enough to tempt me to put Marley into daycare. Greg and I wanted to give our kids the experience that we had of having a parent at home full time. As I had the least paying, least satisfying job, I took on that role. When Marley was joined by Paige and then Christine (LC as we call her on this blog) it just didn't make sense - both financially and for our family values - for me to return to work. Recent economic downturns and the steady increase in family expenses (soccer, swimming, dance, FOOD!) have started to put pressure on me to go back to work. I did not want to go back to where I worked before I had Marley. I wanted to utilize all that I'd learned at BCIT during my 5.5 year sojourn there. Then something different fell into my lap.

Stampin' Up!

My friend Sandra has been a demonstrator for years. I've often linked to her blog http://www.stamperontheshore.blogspot.com/ and I encourage you to check it out now as she has been showing off her Artisan Award submissions. She won the award this year which, in the world of Stampin' Up! is a big deal. Hundreds submit their suite of projects (layouts, cards and 3-D items) and only 10 win. Anyway, she emailed me about an opportunity to join the organization and I decided it was the right time.

The rest, as they say, is history!

So what does this mean for me? For my family? For my scrapbooking? I'm not sure yet to be honest. I've been with the company for 2 weeks now and am pretty excited about my prospects. I'm also freaking out a fair amount!! I've never thought of myself as a sales person so that is going to be a stretch for me! I love their products and the projects you can create from them, however, I also love other manufacturers out there and (since I have a room full of other product) have no immediate intention of getting rid of it. My plan at the moment is to still use whatever I love and show off my projects right here on my blog. I have a Stampin' Up! blog now (http://daydesigns.stampinup.net/) which is where I'll be posting strictly Stampin' Up! projects and news. I encourage you to head over there and check it out. It's still pretty rough but as I figure my way around it I'll tweak it and make it mine!

Right now, I'd like to leave you with a teaser. I am going to be giving away some BLOG CANDY here soon. Basically as soon as I can remember to photograph the prize!! So, become a follower so you don't miss out on the fun. And believe me, you don't want to miss this one. It's AWESOME!!!

Thanks. That's all for now. See you soon.

MotherLOAD Catch up.

2011-08-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

I've been doing my MotherLOAD assignments but I've just plain old forgotten to post them. Whoops! I've also been SUPER preoocupied with other stuff that I am hoping to post about soon. I'm just not sure yet what form that post will take so stay tuned ...

Back to MotherLOAD. I last posted about Week 4 where the theme was "use what you love, lose the rest". Week 5 we were talking about cutting corners - not literally, but in a more "scrapping faster" kind of way. We had taken notes about our usual scrap process in Week 3 and now we were to revisit those notes and find ways to shave off time. To be honest, I'm not sure where I'm wasting time. I've gotten into the habit of pre-printing a whole stack of photos at once so when I want to scrap something, they are ready to go. I do sometimes spend forever picking my papers - trying to find the "perfect ones". So I can endeavour to make decisions faster there. Harkening back to my Embracing Imperfection workshop, I can embrace what I have and use it. Perfect or not. Oh, and through the process of using my old stash during Apron Strings July challenges, I now am more intimately acquainted with my stash so digging through it to find the right papers doesn't take nearly as long! I can also get bogged down in photo and embellishment placement but if I find I'm having trouble, I know that turning to a sketch can be a real life saver.

Lain challenged us to create a layout in only 30 minutes. Set a timer and go for it! I created this.

When I'd finished I actually had to check my phone (I was using it's alarm clock) to see if I'd set it correctly as I was sure I'd gone over the 30 minutes but the alarm hadn't gone off. Clearly something was wrong with my phone! But no. It took me 29 minutes to complete this!

Products used: Cardstock - Bazzill; Patterned paper - DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girl stack; Journalling tabs - Jillibean Soup Journalling Sprouts Circle in Brown and Colorbok Sticky Journal Stax Pastel Baby; Alpha's AC Thickers Stroll Glossy letter stickers and Jewelry Box Chipboard number stickers; glitter embellishments - from stash, manufacturer unknown.

In Week 6 we started focussing on Journalling and the challenge was to start our layouts with the journalling. Plan for it from the beginning so as to ensure there was enough room and that everything else supported it. I was so inspired I actually made 2 layouts (I'm a keener that way!) When I was looking at the stack of photos from our trip to the PNE in 2009 I knew I wanted to include a page about it in Paige's album but most of the pictures were of Marley on rides. What to do? Make two pages!! One for Paige's album and one for Marley's. I started by writing down my journalling for both in my new notebook dedicated to such things (another Lain prompt) and then transferred it to some Basic Grey paper which I cut out on my Cuttlebug.

Here's the layout for Paige.

Products used: Cardstock - Bazzill; Patterned Paper - Nana's Nursery; Scalloped cardstock - from stash; Alpha's - EK Success Sticko dimensionals Large Black Foam; Butterflies, hearts and circles cut out with Marvy punches from scraps of Nana's Nursery and black cardstock; Flowers - Heidi Grace dimensional flowers Day Dream Believer; Word stickers - Bella Blvd Sunny Happy Skies and Plastino; brad - from stash.

And here is Marley's.

Products used: Cardstock - from stash; Patterned paper - Echo Park Dots and Stripes and Bella Blvd Sweet Celebration's Stardust, Hello Beautiful's Borders and Blocks (the B-side) and Swing Into Spring's Rainbow Ribbons; Arrow - Basic Grey Element Stickers from Sugared; Labels and stickers - EP Dots and Stripes, Bella Blvd Plastino and Firty; Punches - EKSuccess Open Scallop and corner rounder.

Well there you have it. The other thing I wanted to share with you today was my continued efforts to reorganize my scrap space. While the girls were at Granny Camp and Greg was laid up recovering from his "procedure" I got busy in the office. Greg and I actually share the space but I think I am slowly pushing him out! :) As my stash takes up more and more room, his computer gets more and more hidden. If my new business venture (hint, hint, hint) takes off, he may have to leave altogether so we can claim that office as a tax write-off. We'll see.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the new space.

A friend of mine was getting rid of all her scrapbook supplies and I snapped up this paper rack and the Clip It! display. I love, love, love being able to see all my cardstock and my most used papers!! I also love how the new arrangement has opened up the space. Even though the amount of stuff remains the same in there, the new configuration allows for much more ease of access. Always a good thing!

I used to have to move this 3-drawer unit all the time to access the lower shelves of one of my bookshelves. No more! Now I can grab alphas as I'm working or rummage for ribbon to match my project. The added bonus of having all those tempting rolls of ribbon effectively hidden from LC is AWESOME!!!

I managed to get all the stickers and rub ons from my bin onto the Clip it ... now the bin has another use!!

This is where I moved my bookcase to. I used to have all my final Interior Design project boards tucked into this corner but they are destined to find a new home somewhere else. Currently they are still hanging out in my living room ... but soon I will move them! Maybe the garage. Maybe the bedroom - where the giant vase with all my rolls of drafting paper and old projects went. The boxes in front of the big bookcase have (from the bottom up) fabric and other sewing supplies for when I get my sewing machine fixed and start sewing again (HA!!!), old scrapping supplies that will be going to Paige's kindergarten class, and miscellaneous "stuff" that is still waiting for a permanent home.

Take a close look at that middle box. It used to hold my stickers and rub ons. Can you see what it holds now?

Oh, and a view of Greg's little corner. Yup, it pretty much looks like this on any given day. And nope, the mess is not mine!

Well, thanks for tuning in again. I've got a big day tomorrow so I'm going to head to bed now. I will try to get back on here on Sunday and let you in on my little secret. Until then, have a great weekend!

Family Update Continued

2011-08-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

Before I start inundating you all with scrapbook pages and homework assignments, I thought I'd get caught up on my family news. The girls are currently away at Granny Camp (Grandma and Grandpa Day take all 3 for several days to give us a break) so I've got all the time in the world ... right? It sure feels like it yet I'm still having trouble getting everything done that I want to!! Don't get me wrong, I am loving my "time off". It makes me realize just how all-consuming parenting is. When I'm not being asked (harrassed) every 15 minutes for a snack, I find that hours go by without even entering the kitchen and therefore I've been finding myself only eating when I'm hungry. What a concept! When I start a task (like sorting out our CD's) I can start it and finish it in one sitting. Calmly, rationally, and without interruptions. How divine!! I love my girls but I am starting to REALLY look forward to the time when they are all in school all day and I can have the freedom to work, and work around the house in peace.

That being said, let's get caught up on my ~~monsters~~ darlings!

The last thing I posted was about our outing to the waterpark at Granville Island on July 28th. On the 30th (the Saturday) Greg decided it was time to teach Paige how to ride her bike without training wheels. He took all 3 girls over to the school to try things out on the turf field. A bit of a softer landing should things go awry! Here's a couple pictures of Paige starting out.

Wheels are off ... ready to go!

Trying to figure it out on her own.

Getting some help from Greg.

Doing it!!! Briefly. But she did it!

LC on her bike (Paige's old one).

Greg said he ended up carrying LC's bike most of the way there and Paige pushed her bike. On the way back I think it was more of the same. We realized that both Paige and Marley are too big for their bikes. That means a new bike for Marley this Christmas and Paige will get her old bike. We tried her on it (lowering the seat as much as we could) but she was too scared as it was so much bigger than her current bike. Our little fraidy-Paige reared her head again! She's getting SO much better (waterslides at the waterpark, hi-fiving mascots at the parade - see below) but every now and then she reverts back to type.

Anyway ... way to go Paige! This is a huge step on what I know will be an exciting journey for her that will open up so many possibilities.

The next day we took the girls back to Granville Island. Not to the waterpark though. This time we were using it as the embarkation point to a walk around False Creek. We took the Aquabus from Granville Island to David Lam Park and walked all the way around the seawall back to Granville Island. I was worried the girls wouldn't make it but there was enough along the way to distract them from all the walking and they did great.

The beginning of our trip - walking through Granville Island to the ferry dock.

Paige was apprehensive about going on the Aquabus but as you can see, she quickly figured out how much fun it was.

LC on the otherhand did not like it and spent most of the trip snuggled into Greg's shoulder.

Marley also liked it.

Granville Street and Burrard Street bridges.

Another Aquabus.

We saw some kayakers too.

The walk was fairly slow at times due to things like LC wanting to push her stroller ...

... or climb on something (anything - it really doesn't matter what it is, LC will want to climb on it!)

A peek-a-boo view of the new roof going onto BC Place.

Our first official rest break. Juice boxes at a playground near Science World.

Hey! A picture of the two of us together!!

This is pretty typical of LC. She won't do anything the "proper" way. Where could she have inherited that from?!

More playing. This is in the new part of the seawall near the Olympic Village.

Yet another break at a playground so the girls could "rest". Hmmm ...

And last but most certainly not least, I captured this precious moment. We were a couple km away from Granville Island and fatigue was starting to really set it. I turned around to check on their progress and saw this. So sweet!!

The next day (yes, it was a busy weekend) - BC Day around here which meant a holiday for Greg - we went to Tsawwassen for the annual SunFest parade and fair. We met up with some friends to watch the parade and then went our separate ways after. We headed to Safeway to buy lunch and then went to the fair for a couple hours.

Our spot and the crew - Greg, Taylor, Marley, LC, Paige, Lauren and Jenn (sorry I got a shot of your butt!!)

LC did her usual "hide in Daddy's shoulder when the scary Pipeband was in earshot" routine. Sigh. I am really going to have to blast the bagpipe music around the house. She's over 50% Scottish for crying out loud!!!

Once the band had passed she felt it was safe to come out of Greg's shoulder but the hands over the ears were still needed. Sheesh!

Earlier I mentioned that Paige gave a mascot a hi-five ... this is the one. And later she hugged Salty the Seagull. Hugged! I was too gobsmacked to take a photo of that.

She had a ball. Collecting candy, seeing all the floats and clapping and waving along with everyone else. Who IS this child? Needless to say, Greg and I are very proud of her growth and are slightly less worried about our planned trip to Disneyland in the spring!

This is Marley and Paige's (now only Paige's) dance school. Didn't know they were putting in a float. Oh well.

At the fair, Paige took LC under her wing on the swing ride. Here they are at the beginning of the ride. Neither looks altogether convinced of anything, do they?

How about now? I think they are enjoying themselves!!

LC refused to go into the bouncy castle but Paige had fun. This one had a slide.

This one was just all about bouncing!

Every year the Firefighters have a mini obstacle course for the kids to do. Paige and Marley are helping wind up the hose here.

Paige went first. She grabbed the hose and ran to ...

... squirt the water to put out the fire.

Here's Marley at the next stage - hoisting the hose up the stairs.

Then they had to sling the hose over their shoulder and run through the cones to dump it in a bucket.

The final obstacle (that I didn't get pictures of) was to crawl through the runnel, into the tent to rescue Fido.

Then they got hats, a certificate and a colouring booklet on fire safety.

LC was technically old enough to do this but too scared. Maybe next year.

The next event of note was taking them over to Vancouver Island for Granny Camp. Here are some shots from the ferry ride - an adventure in playing "Where's Christine Now?" She needs a leash!

In the van waiting to get on the ferry.

Marley immediately found the TV showing Family Channel (sheesh!) and then pulled out the camera I lent her and started playing with it.

Paige and LC enjoyed the play area.

We went out on deck (briefly) for a change of scenery. It was pretty windy and both Paige and LC climbed high enough to get my Mommy-dar buzzing!

A solo me on my way home. Enjoying the views.

As part of my weekend, I went with my friend Trish to see the fireworks last night. Every year Vancouver puts on a fireworks competition called the Celebration of Light. They are magnificent shows of fireworks set to music and in our free, young and single days we used to go to them all the time. Since having kids the logistics hasn't been favourable to view them live. But ... as I was kid-less ... we went. Greg was still taking it easy after his "procedure" (hee, hee) so it was a rare Girls Night Out for me.

After a nice dinner at the Keg on Granville Island we walked over to Vanier Park and joined the crowds on the grass. I only had my cell phone so I apologize in advance for the crap quality of the following pictures!!

English Bay was swarming with boats!

The fireworks.

I liked the multi-coloured ones.

Part of the finale.

Well, that's all for now. Greg and I have plans to go to the Vancouver Whitecaps game this afternoon and then I have a Stampin' Up! workshop later. More on that in another post.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

See you later!

Family Update (Finally)

2011-08-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

This may not get posted tonight ... depends on how long Blogger decides to take to upload pictures today! But I at least wanted to start on a personal blog post that I know my family has been looking for. No more scrapbook pages! Just show us current photos of the girls!!!

I hear ya! I hear ya!

Get ready ...

We have to go all that way back to July 16th. Marley volunteered to lay a rose on the Veterans Memorial when the Portaits of Honour tour came through Ladner. It was a yucky, rainy, cold day for a ceremony! The call for volunteers came out so late and the weather was so horrible that I think it kept a lot of people away. So much so that Paige got wrangled into laying a rose too. Here they are.

Marley in the Processional.

See the two pink hooded figures? (Okay, one's hidden behind the woman in the red coat.) Those are Marley and Paige.

Marley was a very attentive big sister! I am always so proud of her when I see things like this. Then of course she turns around and screams at Paige for some imagined infraction like looking at her funny. But in THIS moment she was the very definition of Big Sister!

The Cenotaph. It was a very moving ceremony. The weather definitely helped the somber mood!

Afterwards we went out for pancakes at Ricky's with friends. The girls all had hot chocolate! Yup, it was that cold!

Next we have pictures from when we went to "watch" Greg play in a tournament called Nations Cup. He was playing for Team Canada in the 40+ division. They lost pretty badly - much like our real Team Canada does in Soccer tournaments!!

You may have noticed that I put the word watched in quotations. You see, Greg likes to ask us to come out to watch him play soccer then he parades the girls past some fun looking playground which they then pester me to go and play on. I think you can see where this is going. We had 20 minutes or so before the start of his game so I took the girls over to the playground. After an appropriately painful length of time (on my part) watching the girls we headed back to find Greg. His game was in half-time intermission but he'd hurt himself in the first half and wouldn't be playing for the second. Doh! So much for watching Daddy play soccer!

Here they are on the playground/seniors exercise area.

The Monkey on the monkey bars - natch!

Monkey Jr - never afraid to show what she can climb up now!

Stair Stepping Sisters!

Paige got those sunglasses from the Telus guys and wouldn't take them off for days!

Just hangin' out!

I think she's trying to do the Crane a la the Karate Kid. That's just what she needs. Lessons on how to beat up her sisters!

I am really not sure what this machine is supposed to do/exercise/work on. Anyone?

Miss Independent "Me Do It" Day had a little tumble when jumping off a low wall. Mommy's offer of support is looking MUCH more appealing now!!

And last but not least, our intrepid athlete!!

We stuck around to watch his team play the second half (sans Greg). It was really just rotten timing that we missed him. Maybe next year! Assuming his groin/hamstring/calf/achilles/you name it doesn't get pulled/tweaked/whatever!!

Then we jump ahead to July 23rd. Greg and I got to go out for a nice dinner with his parents and his sister and brother-in-law to celebrate his Dad's ~~retirement~~ change of job status (Grandpa doesn't like the R word!) and their 45th Anniversary. It was paid for by Greg's Grandma Day who passed away a few years ago. Greg's Mom generously treated us to a dinner at Season's in the Park at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver.

We scored the best table in the house too!

We were early (surprise, surprise!) so we had drinks on the patio first.

The view from our table!

Greg's parents - Mike and Julia. Happy 45th!!

Me and Greg - Happy 9th (soon!)

The crew. From left: Mike, Julia, Aaron, Christine, Greg and me.

July 28th - My very good friend (BFF in Marley-speak) was in town visiting (from Oakville, Ontario) so we met up at the waterpark on Granville Island. I had already agreed to look after Paige's friend Cali for the afternoon but couldn't give up the chance to see Shalan and her girls so ... she came too. Greg also took the afternoon off work to help corral children!

Paige and Elise (dark hair) seeing how cold the water was. (Pretty darn cold if the truth be told!)

Cali, Paige and Elise hamming it up for the camera.

Taken through the spray of a fire hose - Greg taking pictures of LC, Cali, Paige and Elise.

Greg and LC.

Marley on the big water slide.

LOVE my camera!!! I cropped the picture in Picasa and it's still so clear! Love the water drops!!

Do you think she liked the slide?

Marley and Mylene deciding whether or not to go again.

LC in the tunnel.

Paige on the short but steep waterslide.

I think she liked it!

This was her first attempt down the big one.

She liked it so much she did it again - with slightly different results. I wasn't on-the-ball enough to get pictures of it, but the second time she came down she somehow managed to get turned around backwards and upside down so that when she hit the run out she was underwater. But, while she did come up spluttering a bit, she was smiling. Such an improvement in her lately!

And the last picture for today, me and Shalan - Kappa sisters forever!!

We never get long enough to visit and I'm always left wanting more but ... even a few hours once a year is better than nothing! Love you!

Well, Blogger was much more cooperative today than it has been in the past but I think I will stop there for today. I've still got pictures from our walk around False Creek yesterday and the BC Day Sun Fest parade and fair today to show you. I'll save those for another day though. While the girls are outside blowing the bubbles they got in the parade (along with piles of candy!!) Greg and I will watch Hell's Kitchen then do baths and bed. Ah, summer routines!!

Thanks for tuning in. See you soon!