Finding the Perfect Pumpkin

I recall how badly it poured last year on the day we set out to find our perfect pumpkin. This year the weather wasn't wet, but it was definitely colder as we left for the pumpkin patch. This time Evan contributed by pushing the wheelbarrow while the girls ran ahead to look at their choices for the perfect jack-o-lantern.
We decided on this plump pumpkin, which Alicia guarded while Vanessa guided Evan through the maze of pumpkins to pick it up. The kids can't wait to carve it with Daddy. Evan is already creating sketches of the scariest faces he can come up with, and the rest of us will vote on which one becomes our pumpkin's.

Halloween, here we come!

You Know It's Almost Winter. . .

When hockey season starts, you know it's definitely time to break out the warm winter coats, scarves, hats and mitts. Our weekend schedule is now full of trips to the rink for practices and games. Evan is playing in a new league this year due to our move, and his new team has won both of their games so far.
One big difference this year is that the trek to our home arena for Evan's games is about a 45 minute drive away; a far cry from the 5 minutes we were used to driving back in the city! I guess we'll have to be planning really well on the weekends! Here's Evan's team ready for this weekend's game, which they won 5-1!

Scenic Badlands

We've been exploring the area around our new home and have been taking lots of photos, but as I mentioned in a previous post, it took a while to get our computers up and running so that I can edit and upload. Now that we have our network connected, I'll try to get caught up on what we've been up to lately!

I'm thrilled that we live close to a natural wonder like this. The kids comment that it looks like Mars, and although it's really the Badlands and not another planet, it's still fascinating to visit. Combining fun with a learning experience is so great for the kids. Here's what we learned at greenbelt.ca.
Badlands is the term for an area of soft rock devoid of vegetation that has become molded over time into softly undulating hills and gullies. The reddish hue is caused by iron oxide in the shale, while the greenish bands show where circulating groundwater has transformed the rock from red to green.
It was tough to get the kids to stand still long enough to get a photo of all of them. They were too busy exploring, climbing and creating their own funny games. We had a great time with Sue, Gary, Connor and Aili, and I feel so lucky that we've moved so close to Gary's parents, so that we can visit (and scrap together) often.

I still don't have any new scrapping projects to post, but I have started to organize my new room and should have that long-awaited wedding album ready sometime soon. More on that to follow as soon as I can. In the interim, I want to say thanks to you for continuing to stop by here while I get caught up from our move. I know I haven't been doing too much on the scrapbooking front lately, but hopefully I'll be back in the saddle soon! :-}

And on the topic of saddles, check out the Pioneer Woman's new cookbook, which was just released today and will be coming soon to a kitchen near me! Her cooking blog is one of my favourite sites. If you haven't yet, you should really check her out. Thanks, Jen, for the reminder to order her cookbook!

Sweater Weather

It's wonderful having a sight like this right in our own backyard! Now that fall has clearly arrived and the leaves are all changing colour, the beautiful landscape that is a backdrop to our country home stretches as far as the eye can see. Isn't it gorgeous? Just one look outside helps me to remember why we moved.
Our girls are definitely nature lovers, and the colder weather certainly doesn't stop them from spending time outside collecting - leaves, snails, bugs, branches - anything goes! This weekend we had fun making pine cone bird feeders and watching the birds visit our deck. The girls were totally in their element.

Back inside, we finally managed to get our computer network up and running last night and I have started editing my photos of our Badlands visit, so check back for those soon.

Giving Thanks

As Thanksgiving posts go, this one is significantly late, but nonetheless heartfelt. We've been incredibly busy with the new house, and I've barely had the one (ack!) computer we have up and running to myself, even for a moment. So while it's a bit delayed, I wanted to add some thoughts about Thanksgiving. The photo is from one of our last visits to the house before we moved in (it's certainly not that warm now!) Thanks for continuing to stop by here. I should be posting more regularly in the near future.

So much has happened in our family in the past year or so. Little did we know when I posted this post last year how much was in front of us - some of it good, some of it exhausting and trying, but we've weathered it all together as a family, and for the love of one another, we are all truly grateful.

Last year we really had no plans on moving, yet here we are, living in the country! We are still getting settled and unpacked, but love it so far. We've met neighbours already, had a play date on Saturday, and have already had friends and cousins to visit us here. This is already feeling very much like home.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend we were lucky enough to visit the Cheltenham Badlands with Sue and her family. We had a wonderful time together and took a ton of photos, none of which I have access to as yet, since we are still building our computer network at home and having challenges with our internet access for uploading. Once I can upload them I will post a few, as the landscape is so uniquely beautiful. If you've never seen Badlands before, they are definitely worth a visit. You can see some truly breathtaking photos of the area here.

My scrapbook supplies are still completely packed, but I hope to make a dent in that this weekend, as I'm getting to the point where the rest of the house is nearly unpacked. I can't wait to get back to doing some scrapping. I'll post some scrapbook room photos too, once the room is presentable! ;-}

Overall, as one of the first weekends in our new home, we had a fantastic long weekend. Despite that these wishes are late, I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and God bless.

Creative Escape Class Projects, Part 4

This is the fourth entry in my series of posts about the classes at Creative Escape 2009 in Chandler, Arizona. See other blog posts about the Creative Escape experience here. You can also read my coverage of the event on Scrapscene here.

I've always been a huge fan of 7Gypsies, and meeting Paula Cheney and Debbie Crouse, two awesome Gypsy Artists, was one of the perks of being at Creative Escape. Paula shared some hilarious travel stories including one about her new found phobia of hotel bathrooms with windowed doors. Very funny gals, but at the same time, the slide presentation that served as an introduction to their class was probably the most moving of the weekend. Their class didn't disappoint either, that's for certain. The only class in which we were asked to bring a photo, I loved seeing classmates' take on this art piece.
We put this project together using pieces of 7Gypsies book board. I love the way this turned out, and think the little key embellie makes this a perfect project for me as we christen a new house. The photo has a 7Gypies crystal book knob at the bottom and lifts up to reveal journaling beneath. See the knob in the close up photo, above.

The panel with the tiny flower vase also swings open for hidden journaling to be revealed. You can see the class sample made by the 7Gypsies gals here.

If you have an opportunity to take classes from any of the 7Gypsies Artists, I highly recommend it. If you're local, Gypsy Artist Vicki Boutin will have upcoming classes at Scrapalicious, so look here for updates.

In our final class, Debby Schuh led us in the creation of a souvenir album to house all of our Creative Escape photos, memorabilia, autographs and other collected memories. Debby's project was oriented landscape style, but I liked the idea of doing mine oriented in the portrait direction instead, and as a result, I didn't put my album together in class.

I'm going to think it all through and then punch the holes into the pages once I have a plan. As an extra little touch, I asked Heidi to sign a piece of cardstock for me to add to this book. She added the words "Once in a Lifetime" to her signature, and I thought it was a fitting sentiment for my memories of this fantastic trip.

Thanks so much to wonderful Virginia for being my traveling companion, classmate and general partner in crime on this trip. It certainly was a once in a lifetime event.

My Guys!

Moving can be quite a zany experience and we have had our fair share of craziness, as you can see in this photo. It's amazing the things you find as you are packing that have been long forgotten. Here is Evan's toque from when he was a toddler, found as we were packing away and purging some of our really old things. Stephen couldn't resist trying it on and showing it off. What a nut! Yes, these are definitely my boys!
We've had a relatively smooth move overall, and while we ran into a few glitches, they were all minor. We are in the new house now and functional, but very far from being totally unpacked.

So if I'm scarce in the next little while, you'll know why. I'm still up to my elbows in boxes. Wish me luck and see you soon!

Bittersweet

Isn't it crazy how life throws curves at us sometimes? Last NSD, I was at Destination Create with a fantastic group of ladies, and I created this home themed mini album with Caroline Lau from Maya Road. I used the album to document our family's love for the house that - at the time - we had no idea we'd be selling.
While we are thrilled to have found the house we will be moving to and are very excited about living there, our current house holds so many precious memories for us. When we moved in, I was 8 months pregnant with our girls (and didn't know that they were girls yet)! It seems like ages ago but also just like yesterday. We've really loved living here.
This photo from last Christmas is a family favourite, and it highlights for me that we don't know what the future holds. That night we had no idea it would be our last Christmas in this house. It's bittersweet leaving our home behind, but moving on is part of life, and I'm glad to have the most wonderful husband & kids to do that with.
We are truly grateful for the blessing of having so many who love us visit our home, and look forward to welcoming you to our new house sometime in the future. If there is one quote I've read that I hope will always apply to us, it is "May our home never be big enough to hold all of our friends". You each mean so much to us.

We thank you for your kindness and friendship, and hope we'll soon be seeing you at our new address. Until then, take care and God bless.

Creative Escape Class Projects, Part 3

It was fantastic taking a class from the amazingly talented Tim Holtz. Tim was so organized! He had a fantastic slide show introduction, provided everything we needed for class, was full of jokes, tips and inspiration, and at the end of it all we literally had nothing to throw away other than the holes punched from our crop-a-diles! And isn't this little album adorable?

Tim shows more photos of this project in his blog post about Creative Escape here.

There was not a moment wasted in Marah Johnson's class, from the moment we walked in the door 'til the second class ended. Creating this altered box which holds 12 mini books (perfect for a year in review, 12 school grades, 12 days of Christmas, or so many other ideas) took being very organized, and like Tim, Marah definitely is!
We had a lot of glimmer misting to do in this class, as all of the flocked paper was misted before it was adhered. While our paper dried, we had painting and inking to do, and if we ran out of tasks, Marah had us raise our hands so she could give us an idea of what to fill that second of free time with. As a result, most of us almost finished our boxes.
Once I ink the edges of the gold wings and attach a metal floral brad to the ribbon tab that opens the box, all I have left to do is complete the inside of each of the 12 little books. I think I'm going to do a year in review project. I have to say, I am so completely in love with Glimmer Mist now. We used 3 colours layered on top of each other, and I love the look.

Isn't this project beautiful? See what Marah posted about Creative Escape on her blog here.

I still have one more post about Creative Escape classes to go, so check back soon.

Creative Escape Class Projects, Part 2

Fabric designer Heather Bailey's husband is a professional photographer, and not only did he give the sweetest intro to Heather's class, but he also took photos of her teaching, including this one (left). Heather has this and more CE2009 photos in her blog, which you can see here.
We created an adorable mini album with Heather, and most of us managed to finish the entire project in class. The class kit included lovely colourful ribbon to tie around the binder ring, which I still have to add when I get a chance. I think this album is awesome for spring or summer vacation photos, or would make a fantastic teacher's gift. Isn't it bright and pretty?
In Carol Wingert's class, we created this lovely pyramid display with a matching mini album. We made this project completely from scratch, including cutting the triangles to make the pyramid (which we now can re-created again and again), and we also learned traditional bookbinding techniques while making the album. Carol posted various ways that this project can be completed on her blog post here. I plan on decorating a small Christmas tree, adding some additional, smaller pyramids, and creating a Christmas display with lit mini Christmas trees inside the pyramids. Can you picture it?

I'll have posts coming up with the remaining Creative Escape class projects, both here and on Scrapscene, so check back soon.

Moving Scrapbook Supplies

Moving is enough of a task to begin with, but the thought of packing up a room full of scrapbook supplies is enough to make any scrapper cringe!

With only 5 days left until move day, I've already packed up most of my craft supplies and am in the process putting smaller boxes into big ones, labelling it all and getting it move-ready.
As a happy by-product of this move, I've finally put all of my layouts into albums :-) and they're all in the box at my feet. I plan on moving this box myself in my own car, rather than trusting the movers with it. The rolling cart beside me is where I typically keep all of my essential supplies - trimmer, rulers, inks, stamps, die cutting machine and dies, adhesives, etc. It's now empty and ready to roll into our new house.
Packing up my paper was a task that had me quite intimidated, but I've managed to sort it all (better than it's ever been sorted, actually) and box it all in pizza boxes and Iris cases, prior to transferring it to larger boxes. Typically stacked on the shelves on the right hand side of this shelving unit, you can see my boxed-up paper stack at left. I guess I have a bit of it, don't I? Maybe I should buy more Basic Grey? :-} I still have quite a bit of packing to do, but it's going well and we should be on target to get everything moved without much panic. I'm looking forward to organizing it all in my new home.

Once we're moved in and somewhat settled, I'll try to write a post about lessons learned when moving scrap supplies for any of you gals who may be crazy enough to try moving yours in the near future! As for me, hopefully this is our last move in a very loooonnnnnng time! :-)

Creative Escape Class Projects, Part 1

I think the greatest highlight of being at Creative Escape was - of course - the chance to take classes from some of the most amazing artists in the scrapbooking world. Each class was unique and each teacher brought their own style, personality and creative touches to the project we created with them. Here is a look at two of our class creations.
We created this richly beautiful wall hanging with Lynette Carroll, and I have to say, I don't think I've seen anyone have a project more organized than the way Lynette organized this class. The six-panel wall hanging would be beautiful with formal wedding photos, although Lynette's had everyday colour pics, and it looked fantastic!
Heidi Swapp is as upbeat and positive as I expected her to be, and there was never a quiet moment in her class. As I am in the process of moving right now, hearing Heidi's tales of moving 3 times in 18 months (and twice across the ocean!) was very timely. I can only hope to have 19 boxes full of completed scrapbook albums one day! Can you imagine!

Heidi's project was this beautiful cascading display album, which flipped up to display layer after layer of pages for photos and journaling. Heidi's own version of this project was completely filled with photos. I can't wait to finish mine.

You can get an idea of what the inside looks like in the slide show below.

Look for more Creative Escape projects, coming soon to both my blog as well as to Scrapscene.com.

Creative Escape 2009 Instructor Pics

The official photographers for Creative Escape took a whopping 1,400+ photos during the event, and I managed to find one of Virginia and me out by the pool during the scavenger hunt, left. You can see all of these photographer's pics, as well as photos from previous CE events, by looking here.

I'm going to be posting photos of all the CE2009 projects sometime soon, both on my blog as well as on Scrapscene, so stay tuned! In the interim, here is a peek at out photos with some of the awesome instructors we met. The lighting wasn't fantastic in the hotel banquet rooms, but the fantastic company made up for it! Enjoy!

It Won't Be Long Now . . .

It's coming down to the crunch for us now - we move in less than a week and there's still so much to do. The fact that I'm driving the kids to activities up near our new home, while we are still living in our current home doesn't help! But we're taking it in stride and are confident we'll get everything done in time. (How's that for thinking positive!)

Here's an aerial view of our new home. While we are still a bit nostalgic about leaving our existing home, since we've created so many happy memories there, we're really excited about moving out to the country. The space, the natural surroundings, the more relaxed lifestyle - we're looking forward to embracing it all!

I'm a little concerned that we may be without internet service for a little while at our new place, so I may not be around much in the next little while. But if I can squeeze it in, I'll be creating some posts in advance to tide me through. So while it may look like I'm organized and posting away in the face of a huge move, I'm really just grateful for that little Blogger function called "scheduled publishing!" :-)

Wish me luck, and see you soon!

What we did on our Summer Vacation

One of the highlights of our summer is heading to Montreal to stay with my Uncle Roy and Aunt Nicole and visit with my Mom's side of the family. My cousins are all great about getting our kids together - despite how far apart we live - to ensure our kids will all grow up knowing one another and with wonderful memories of time spent together.
The kids and I continued the tradition this year and managed to squeeze in a long weekend visit, despite our crazy move schedule. All of us headed to Uncle Mannie and Aunt Bunty's beautiful cottage for a Sunday family reunion. You can see posts about previous reunions here (2007) and here (2008).
Uncle Julien and Aunt Tillie are HUGE Tim Hortons fans, and get their breakfast there each morning. Years ago, the kids wanted to come along too, and another tradition was begun! So every Montreal trip involves numerous treks over to Tim Hortons where coffee, food, photos and togetherness are plentiful!

I'm so grateful for this fantastic group of cousins who care so much about each other and about each other's kids too. I think that is a rare thing in today's world. I hope this tradition continues for many, many years. The slide show below gives a more in-depth look at our trip. Enjoy!

A Rising Star

I'm once again a bit behind on posting this, but I want to send a huge shout out to my cousin Tessa's son Kristian. This charismatic guy is a talented actor and singer, and we recently had the privilege of watching him sing in the Rising Star talent contest at this year's CNE in Toronto.
Even being selected to sing at this event is a huge achievement, but Kristian also sang his way to the semi-finals for his category - quite an accomplishment for his first attempt at a show like this. We were thrilled to be there and watch him make history, as one day I'm sure he'll be a household name, and we'll be able to say "We were there!"

Congratulations, Kristian!

A Successful Surprise!

This is a looooonnng overdue post, but I couldn't resist posting it even though it's so late.

I've been to a few surprise parties in my time, but it's rare that a surprise party is truly this successful! This party was a true gem. When Stephen's uncle celebrated his 80th birthday, cousins held a great birthday bash. The surprised looks on Uncle Bronty and Auntie Ann's faces sure tell the story!
Even though she knew about the party, out of town guests added to the surprise for Auntie Ann. In keeping with tradition, like other times Mark and Diana had big parties, it poured rain, but the tent kept us all dry. The kids, adults - everyone had a total blast! Happy 80th Birthday, Uncle Bronty!

U2 in Concert

Added to the on-going list of things we probably wouldn't have planned if we knew we were moving, we were lucky enough to see U2 in concert last night! I did feel a bit guilty as we were driving into the city that I should be packing for our move instead, but as the band took the stage, that feeling wore of, at least for the rest of the night. :-)
The stage was amazing! The stadium's dome was open and the top of the stage - a huge point with a disco ball on top - reached way up into the sky. The video screen, which you can see above, was actually a collection of tiny, connected screens, which they then stretched out later in the show (see left). It was quite fantastic!

We met up with Stephen's friends Adam and Greg and attended the concert with them, and all in all it was a great night. They had preciously seen U2 in concert, but it was a first for me, and U2 is one of the groups I've always wanted to see live in concert. If you ever get the opportunity to see them, I highly recommend it!