It's Doug's birthday....

and believe me, that's a big deal! He's an important guy!

Why? Because it was through Doug that I met my husband, Stephen - and the rest, they say, is history!

Doug won't be stopping to celebrate his birthday with his wife and girls until next week, but we will be thinking of him all weekend.

Have a super birthday, Doug!

Arrrrrgggggos!

Last week we were lucky enough to get away as a family to an Argos game. We had a fantastic time together. The kids had a lot of fun cheering for the team, and to top it all off, the Argos won!

We couldn't have asked for better weather, the fans sitting around us were very nice, and we managed to make it through the game without any major drink spills or panicky races to the bathroom. When one of the cheerleaders came up to our section to give away some team t-shirts, the girls wanted to take a picture with her. So when I asked and she said yes, the girls were elated. She was very sweet to them, and posed for a few shots.

As an added bonus, Evan lost a tooth at the game. He managed to keep track of it until he got home and tucked it under his pillow for the tooth fairy.

All in all, it was a fantastic time!

It's a Guy Thing

Three summers ago it became an annual tradition. Every year since, three generations of boys have taken off for a weekend trip of camping and "guy stuff" before summer ends. For Evan, it's a nice break from the routine and a chance to do all of those things that aren't typically allowed; things like building dams and getting muddy, staying up late, and eating sugary cereals for breakfast.
Evan loves spending time with Grandpa and learning new card games and magic tricks. There was a Corvette show nearby over the weekend, and that, along with some motorcycles parked nearby, was a fun diversion for a day.

A love for the beach is definitely a family trait! The weather was great and our guys spent as much time at the water as they could.
Even Uncle Justin came up and stayed over one night, despite that he had to work that weekend.

Next year will be interesting, though! Despite that the girls had a fun weekend at home watching movies and painting nails, they're old enough to notice that they're missing something fun! It may not remain a "guy thing" too much longer!

This Month's Kit is Haunting Me!

I can barely believe that it is already September 23rd and I haven't yet hinted at what I am working on this month with my September kit from Scrapalicious. Can you guess what special occasion I have been madly printing photos for lately? Hint - take a peek below!

Yes, Halloween will soon be on its way, and I have a cauldron full of ideas brewing using the Halloween collection from Heidi Grace Designs, Doodlebug's awesome Sugar Coated paper, a bit of Making Memories, a fun Hambly spiderweb overlay and tools by Quickutz.

Stay tuned if you want to be haunted....some time soon!

A Surprise Party for Candace

I was thrilled a bit ago to receive an invitation to a surprise birthday party for Candace's 40th birthday. Candace and I worked together for years at TELUS, delivered a major, long-term project, and were pregnant at the same time - she had Crosby around the same time I had the girls.

OK, so I completely forgot that it was supposed to be a 60s theme party, but nonetheless, I had a fantastic time. It was great to see a few former colleagues that I haven't seen in ages, and although I had to leave before Jennifer R. arrived, I did chat with her on the phone.

Candace and her husband Matt have a wonderful lakefront home, and their backyard housed a live band and bonfire for the evening of the party. It was a great event, and I think it will live long in Candace's memory.

Happy Birthday Candace!

Our Whistler Experience

I know I've been remiss in blogging this week, but I have a great excuse. I was away in Whistler, B.C. at the Experience Phantom 15th Anniversary celebration.
And WOW! What a spectacular celebration it was.

Yes, we had some meeting time in there too but outside of that, we were kept busy the entire time with amazing outdoor activities like Whistler's incredible hiking, sightseeing, canoeing, and gondola rides. Talk about a photo buff's paradise!
But truly, a few things really did take the cake:

a helicopter ride to and from our mountain hike around the lake...

a private air show at the top of Whistler before dinner atop the mountain on Friday night...
a fantastic silent auction to raise money for World Vision...

and a breathtaking banquet room for the formal dinner dressed in the white of snow, complete with drinks served from bars made entirely of ice, and a small ice sculpture on every table.

It was truly spectacular.

I've added a few of my favourite slides here to give you an idea of how fantastic the event was. I had a great time taking photos of such a beautiful location - I hope I've done it justice!



We are thrilled and blessed to be associated with such a fine manufacturer and wonderful group of truly extraordinary people. Take a quick break, watch the slide show, and "Experience Phantom" for yourself!

So Thankful

As I just started blogging in March of this year, today is my first September 11th as a blogger. And I'm pensive. I think many of us are on a day like today. My blog posts usually come to me very easily. I write freely, naturally; I don't have to struggle with words or dwell on the details of what I'm writing. It just flows.
Today is different.

I think back to September 11th, 2001 and I remember how different my life was back then. We had one small child; we were struggling with infertility treatments and the monthly cycle of hope and disappointment. I had a corporate job and a long commute, and while I don't miss the commute,
I do miss my former colleagues, who were a huge part of what made that job great.

(Happy birthday today, by the way, to both Laura Lea and Candace! I really miss you gals, and hope you're reading this!)

I guess I feel an obligation to be less frivolous today; more meaningful. And it's fitting; my life now is full of meaning. Of course, I do miss the pace and passion of TELUS, but I love where my life is right now. I am truly blessed. Stephen and I have three great children, a growing company, each other, as well as a tiny bit of time (which we take whenever we can) for fun with family and friends.

And I love the passion I have found for scrapbooking; the wonderful friendships I have made in the scrapbooking community. I've been published once, and have three more pages coming out in this winter's Canadian Scrapbooker. It's fulfilling; it makes me happy and proud.

My cup runneth over.

In some small way, I want to give back today. I want to pass along the emotion I feel when I think back to that fateful day. But can I do it justice - me, so removed from the tragedy of those who perished or lost family members on September 11th, 2001?

What can I possibly add?

Here, perhaps, is my answer. I'm not a cardmaker, but I was moved by a challenge recently posted on The Scrapping Nook by a fellow scrapper, Corinne. She is putting together a package of Christmas Cards to be sent to the Canadian troops overseas; those who will be on duty and far away from their families at Christmastime. So, despite my lack of cardmaking prowess, I put together a set of cards and sent them off to Corinne for her project.

So that is my tiny contribution today. I hope that the meaning I am searching to share will be evident to the men and women who open those cards, and help them feel the gratitude and respect, the hope and honour I feel for those at risk and those lost to tragedy, whatever the date.

Today, more than most days, I feel so thankful.

Soccer Party and Total 'Tude!

The girls had a lot of fun during their first year of soccer. Although there were days when it was a battle just to get them out onto the field, other days they were thrilled to go. For the end of year party, their coaches organized a fun event with loot bags, games and even homemade cupcakes with bright green icing to match their uniforms.

After the little party, there was a jumping castle, treats, and some time in the playground. On the way back to the car after getting their trophies, we stopped to pick a few flowers and take a photo at the entrance to the park. I love the look on Alicia's face in this pic. What a poser! She has total attitude!

It's definitely fall when soccer is over. See you next year!

...to Back to School

It's definitely a fact now - summer is over!

The kids adapted to the back to school routine relatively easily - in fact, I think they were actually looking forward to going back! The girls share the same casa class once again this year, however they are in a new classroom with a different teacher. Vanessa was quite excited, but Alicia took a while to warm up to the new setting - typical Alicia!
Evan's been talking about going back to school for weeks now, and he was excited to meet his new teacher and see which of his friends from last year would be in his Grade 2 class.

Secretly, I think Evan was as excited about showing off his new Yu-Gi-Oh! cards at recess as he was about anything else!


Here they are fresh-faced and ready for their first day. They're growing up so fast. I'm one proud mama!

From In the Pool.....

It's always great to have beautiful weather on the Labour Day weekend, and we managed to get very lucky this year. It was a fantastic weekend, so there was plenty of splashing and swimming in our yard to bring an end to the summer. The kids just couldn't get enough, and spend literally the whole weekend playing in the pool.
We had Doug, Nicole, Rachael and Emma over on Sunday afternoon to share in the fun and frolic in the pool, and for a bar-b-que afterwards. Once it was too cold for swimming, the girls headed inside for some dressing up in princess clothes - my girls definitely don't have to be asked twice to join in princess play.
Evan, on the other hand, wasn't interested in that, so he spread out his Yu-Gi-Oh cards and tried to convince anyone he could to play a match with him. As usual, Stephen and Doug spent a lot of the time talking about music and computers, and digging through Stephen's mp3 collection trying to name a song that he didn't have (not much success there!)

We had a lemon meringue pie for dessert, which allowed Alicia to discover what is now one of her favourite foods on earth! "I could eat it a million days!" she said!

It was a wonderful weekend and as nice a way to end the summer as there could be. Although we're sorry to see it go, it's always nice to pile those brand new school supplies into backpacks and get the kids back into a routine.

Completely (Ir)responsible!

It's all their fault!

Today I would like to point out that these two gals - my cousins Allison and Sharon - are completely responsible for the latest addition to my online addictions - facebook. I was resisting. I was holding out. I really didn't think I needed another online locale to hang out at. But while we were on vacation together in Montreal, I was gently nudged (read coerced) into joining. I'm sure they had the best of intentions. But now I can't get enough!

So, just in case I wasn't already short on the necessary time in my week to scrap (or to blog), I now have even less. Irresponsible or what? I waive all responsibility and blame it on these two.


By the way, isn't this an awesome photo of them from the New York reunion? We really hope to join them there next year. Until then, see you two on facebook!

Guest Designs for The Scrapping Nook

I had a blast during August as Guest Design Team member at The Scrapping Nook. I had the awesome Autumn Leaves Foliage collection to work with; lucky me! My kit arrived a bit late in the month, so I'm just finishing up these designs now, in addition to the one I posted already, World's Cutest Biker Chicks.

For FLY, in addition to the Autumn Leaves products and the Bazzill cardstock that I received in the Guest Designer kit, I added some Basic Grey alpha stickers from the Obscure line, also available at The Nook.
This is Vanessa in her first year of soccer, in hot pursuit of the ball. She was fickle all season, sometimes not wanting to play, other times a super star. I wrote about this here.
Imagination Gives You Wings! Alicia has quite the imagination, creating personalities for all of her stuffed animals, pretending to be a teacher or a chef, and a favourite of hers - Tinkerbell. She wore this former Halloween costume all summer!

I added some new gel-a-tins stamps (now at The Nook!), K and Co. brads and Heidi Swapp alphas here.
Just as I was finishing my layouts with this kit, Margo, The Nook's September Guest Designer, posted a Labour Day Challenge, and I couldn't help put be inspired. She asked us to create a layout about labour or birth. I wasn't as big into photos back then, but I did find this favourite photo - our two sweet daughters ready for their first adventure - a drive home from the hospital.

I loved how fresh and new these papers felt, and thought they were perfect for a layout about newborns. Again, I used a little of the new Pretty Fancy Letters stamps from gel-a-tins, Basic Grey monograms and letter stickers and Heidi Swapp alphas added to this one.

I had an awesome time this month over at The Scrapping Nook, and want to say thank you to Patti, Elia, and everyone who played along and made the month so much fun. Thank you for the opportunity! Have a super September.

What we did on Our Summer Vacation...

OK, I admit it. It's true.

I took almost 500 photos during our week long vacation in Montreal at the beginning of August. Some might think that's quite excessive, (like perhaps my husband...) but I'm thrilled at how many of these pics turned out well.
Every year, I co-ordinate with my cousins to meet up south of Montreal, where my Mom, my grandparents and most of my Mom's siblings settled many years ago when they came to Canada. We love giving our kids the chance to grow up knowing each other and building memories together.
It's become a tradition. My Mom flies here from out west and travels with us, and loves spending time with her brothers and sisters. This year, I drove out with Mom and the kids, and Stephen worked the week, then took a flight to Montreal to spend the weekend and help me with the drive home.
There were far too many pictures to show here, so I have chosen a few favourites, and put the rest into a slide show below. Take a look. Next year, I'm hoping that Sharon's family won't have as far to travel - as they are hoping to move here from Ireland. Cross your fingers and toes for me, OK!

Here are a few of the more memorable moments. Enjoy!