Since Evan really enjoyed being at piano camp last summer, and this year he was old enough to attend marimba camp, we thought we would give it a try. He loved it! In just a week at camp he learned a lot about percussion instruments, and at the recital on Friday, he was able to give a quick description of the marimba he was playing. The campers were secret agents and they played Mission Impossible.
Evan is such an animal lover. On Father`s Day we were visiting with Grandma and Grandpa, and Stephen`s brother Justin and his wife Rosa brought along their new puppy Tonka (an English bulldog, NOT a boxer - grin! See my post - here for that story). We were meeting Tonka for the first time, and Evan was completely taken with her. He is quite the little animal lover, that`s for sure. It`s been a while since I posted a layout, so I`m really happy to have a page to post. Can you tell that Evan would love to have a dog?
A few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to attend a special party celebrating the 40th wedding anniversary of my cousin Zandra and her husband Ray. The party was held at my cousin Tara and her husband Mark`s beautiful home, and was hosted by cousins Alyson and her husband Anthony, along with Tara and Mark. We all had a wonderful time.
We've been Idol-ized! Evan and I were lucky enough to attend the Canadian Idol results show last night. We had a fantastic time. I have to say, CTV sure put everything together well and made it so easy to have a fantastic time at this very kid-friendly event. If you ever have an opportunity to attend a show, it is certainly entertaining and fun.
The pre-show was quick but fun with Ben Mulroney cracking jokes and making Evan laugh. There was no photography allowed during the performance, however as the show ended I managed to catch a quick shot of Katherine saying her goodbyes. Evan's favourite, Mookie and my gal, Amberly are still in the running. 
OK, I know you don't believe me, but I'm going to say it anyway. On the morning I took this photo, my son chose his own clothes and dressed himself. Really. I was quite impressed when I saw that he was wearing this GAP shirt, considering that one of my goals for the day was to take photos of that new gap from his missing front tooth.
Maybe it has to do with my latest Scrapalicious DT kit and the yummy product it's made up of, including Basic Grey's new Euphoria. I'm also thrilled with this beautiful Chatterbox release called artsy.licious. Add some stunning rhinestones from Prima, and it's no surprise I'm smiling.
Earlier in the year, I had a great time participating in the Scrap Away Your Winter Blues challenge over at Scraptivity. The contest consisted of 12 layouts with a different requirements for each. It really forced participants to think outside of the box!
Evan spent the first part of his summer vacation experiencing summer camp for the first time. We were fortunate in that he was able to attend the same camp as his cousin Kristian, and that made the transition so completely easy for him. Despite a case of strep throat and about a million inflamed bug bites, he had a fantastic time at camp. Yahoo!
It's not only beautiful, but it's the quintessential scrapbooking bag. It's big enough to hold an Iris case or your favourite kit club box, as well as all of the scrapbooking essentials, along with your wallet and whatever you typically carry in a purse. It's so perfect to take to an evening crop; it's the only bag you need to bring. I'm thrilled to finally own one.
Meet Tonka, the sweet, playful little puppy that my brother-in-law Justin and his wife Rosa just added to their family. We met Tonka for the first time on Father's Day, and while it was a short visit, the kids had a great time with her. Evan, in particular, spent a fair bit of time playing with her, and I took some cute photos of them getting to know each other.
Next in the series of pictures I've taken for The Scrapping Nook's Photo Orienteering Challenge is this photo of the kids playing in the sprinkler over the Canada Day long weekend. This photo is for the current week's topic, which is "wet". You can get more information about this challenge by checking out this link.
As part of the Summer of '69 Challenge over at The Scrapping Nook, I've been participating in a Photo Orienteering Challenge. Every week, Patti and Elia will be posting a new item for us to photograph. I'll be posting some of my photos for this challenge, and here is the first one. The topic for this week was "feet". I took a photo of our daughters during a break at one of their soccer games.
Today was probably the quietest Canada Day we have had in a lot of years. Grandma and Grandpa went to the local Ribfest on the weekend and took the kids along, which is what we often do on Canada Day. So since the kids had already been, we decided not to go. I didn't even do much in the photography department today, so here is a peek at a patriotic tot from a few years back. How lucky we are to be living in such a wonderful country. We make a big deal of Canada Day in our house, because we want to ensure that the kids know and appreciate how very blessed we are to be making our home in a country that is abundant and free. Wishing a blessed and happy Canada Day to you and yours!
Featuring an acrylic scallop mini album by Pageframes Designs as a foundation, I created a little album for my daughter with all of her favourite people in it. With a clear album, each page is see through, so the need to keep track of what's on the back of your page is always there. Using clear or sheer elements such as rub ons or transparencies makes this fun.
I chose the title for the album after seeing these adorable owls by Riff Raff Designs. Here are a few of the pages, starting with this one of our other daughter Alicia, who - being Vanessa's twin - naturally came first in the list of people who love her. I used some transparent glitter frames in the album by Fancy Pants, as well as some stamps by gelatins.
I love Hambly's transparent overlays and rub ons, and both products are perfect for using in a transparent album. I used plenty of flowers by Prima, which are so suitable because they look fantastic from both sides of the page. I also used some rhinestone swirls by Prima, which I found looked just fine to leave uncovered on the back of the page. 
I really enjoyed making my first clear album, and feel like I'm just getting warmed up. There will definitely be more see-through albums in my future. There were too many pages to post here, but I hope this gives you a good idea of the album. If you haven't tried it yet, there are plenty of great products out there, and I highly recommend it.
Spending a weekend at Younique Country retreat is something every scrapbooker should experience. We all felt completely welcomed right from the moment we arrived - and Leanne and I arrived first, right Violet? ;-). This is our group beside the front door of this quaint little bed & breakfast which specializes in pampering scrapbookers. Left to right, we are: (back row) Leanne, Holly, Gina (seated), Carole, Mandy and (front row) Violet. 
Heather and her husband Dan were superb hosts. The hospitality starts even before you arrive with help with directions - wait, maybe that's only for those of us who get lost easily! Seriously, Heather and Dan are both superb gourmet cooks, and catering to us was their only concern all weekend. Here, Heather poses with her wonderful Sunday brunch. Each meal was beautifully displayed and delicious.
The crop room includes a store with the scrapping essentials, and prices are great. We were welcomed to crop around the clock, and some of took full advantage of that! On Saturday night, when our energy was getting low, we found that a quick dip in the hot tub followed by a delicious espresso or cappuccino gave us the extra kick we needed to stay up (almost) all night.
We've already made some retreat bookings to return in 2009. Weekends tend to fill up quickly, but Heather also offers weekday crops and classes, so check out the calendar here. This combination of easy access from the GTA, excellent food, a great space and friendly hosts is a combination that's hard to beat. If you do book a weekend, be sure to say "hi" and mention my blog. 
I was lucky enough to have spend this weekend at Younique, a wonderful bed & breakfast that specializes in retreats for scrapbookers. I was there with a fantastic group of friends, and our time was both wonderfully productive, as well as full of laughs, crazy antics and even a new scrapping song or two! Our host, Heather, pampered us with food and hospitality beyond compare.
So it feels awesome to finally get a page scrapped! I completed this layout using my latest DT kit from Scrapalicious. I used a crown template from The Crafter's Workshop to create the crown, then used Stickles to outline it. The papers are new Fancy Pants and Chatterbox products, the little letter stickers are Making Memories and the glitter chipboard alphas are American Crafts Thickers.
I've mentioned in previous posts that I love to scrapbook with our kids. Well yesterday, Scrapscene, one of my favourite scrapbooking blogs full of industry news, technique ideas, product information and so much more, posted an article on scrapbooking with children. I was delighted when I noticed that alongside well-known scrappers like Ali Edwards and Emily Falconbridge, a link to my blog was posted with pictures of our kids and their pages! What fun!
Some of my favourite childhood vacation memories involve travelling to Montreal to spend time with my cousins. It's a tradition that we continue today - getting our children together for vacations, just as we did as kids. Much of my family reads my blog regularly. My cousin Sharon, who now lives in Ireland, checks in pretty much every day, and many of my aunts and uncles visit regularly as well. 
