Hello!

Hi Everyone! Sorry I have been a bad scrapbook blogger! It is so hard to get everything done in a day. Summer always fills my days with so many committments & choice adventures! I have to say though that I have been very accomplished in getting an amazing amount of pages done... but as I told Pam tonight, most of them were for other people. I have officially finished my last custom order book of this season. My sister's wedding book is done, Hunter's baby pics are done. So I am going to dedicate more time to Riley & Jager's album & my mom's grandparent album. She always spoils the kids with the most unique scrapbook items and Lord knows I have a heap of pics to scrapbook! I have done a few smashing layouts of the boys but I think I'll wait awhile to reveal them. I actually outdid myself on a few so I think I'll try to enter them. It's funny, because I am always my harshest judge, just because sometimes I am more focused on detail. Even though I love doing collage work, it does require way more thought effort than my old style. So it is a big thing for me to be really proud of my layouts! But it's a new thing I'm trying. I'm going for more efficiency to get caught up and select only a few photos to be my dramatic pages. I have to say though that I think I'm liking my pages more because I'm getting more understanding of how to take better pics. Unfortunately know matter how cool it would be ...Melina just cannot come to every family function, event, everything...although we definitely consider her a part of our family. So I have been trying harder to actually practise! I feel like I am in music lessons again!Practise,practise,practise!

• So on another note, I have something to reveal tomorrow, it has truly floored me how wonderful everyone in Saskatoon is. It is really amazing to know that I have the support & FRIENDSHIP of a lot of Saskatoon scrapbookers. I have 2 fun things to share so I'm off to do a little prep work and I'll see YOU tomorrow!

We are back!

So we had a BLAST! that is the best word to describe our weekend. Visiting baby Hunter, Jenn & Darryl was fun. He is growing so much!!!! I love this adorable cutie pie! We went to Capital EX (aka Klondike Days as it was once known as) and saw a tremendous butterfly exhibit that had thousands of butterflies, then we went to Walking with the Dinosaurs. This was by far the best performance that I have ever been to of its nature. I think they are a group from England that created this 21 million dollar project that recreated dinosaurs to the closest size possible (that can fit in stadiums anyways) and as realistic looking as possible. There is a guide that walks us through the different periods and we get to see the dinosaurs, plant life evolve, how Pangea started to break up to form the different continents. Very interactive and amazing. I would go again! The boys were fascinated by this show. Then we did Fort Edmonton, a little bit of a packed zoo at first but we actually were there 6 hours in ei yi yi heat but had so much fun! Oh and I checked out the new & hip scrapbook store in Sherwood Park, Scrapbook Divas. It is really modern looking, funky, and in one word "trendy". They actually have only been open 3 weeks so I hope they have tremendous success. It was fun to go here. Plus next door is the most adorable baby store ever. Had fun in there too!

Have a great weekend!

Hi everyone! I am off to Edmonton for a few days to visit my cutie nephew Hunter, Jenn & Darryl. We are going to walk with the Dinosaurs, Klondike Days and more. I hope you all have an awesome time this weekend. I have so many things & projects that I have been working on the last couple weeks so I'll be back with avengence when I return.

random

Sorry my blogging is a little blah right now. I had my last dentist appt today. Feeling super awful!I still have 3 more, but they are only for xrays, and my new night guard fitting! which I need so I don't have another series of appt's like this again. Ei yi yi. my wallet is hurting even after my dental care. But if you want to maintain great dental health, it's has to be done. So I still have a few spots in our double class tomorrow night (Wed.July25th):

• Your home-2 12x12 pages
• Your neighborhood-2 12x12 pages
• Come to either one or both. Starts at 6pm-10pm. But you must register with me by sending me an email by tomorrow noon. Thanks scrap-mommy@hotmail.com or scraptology@hotmail.com If I feel a little better I will post our pics from the Fun Factory today. Otherwise, I am going to lie down right now!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

So I had fun this weekend. The BBQ at my cousins was fun, it was great to see relatives that I haven't seen in a year! Doug & Paulette had their yard set up so wonderful too! Riley & Jager of course love everything about their yard especially since they have a huge playhouse & a fort treehouse type of set up. Jager even started getting brave and walking up the slide like big kids do! our little boy is growing up!

And well Sunday morning was a hoot. I go to sign up some friends & family for the Cruisin Away Crop and here there are crazy friends of mine all pitted in on lawn chairs totally doing the concert ticket line type of wait. So what was I to do???join them! We had fun. So I can't believe with only 2 days notice 32 people signed up instantly. I wasn't even at the store for very long too. so maybe more have sold but when I left they still had a few tickets so if it interests you, love to see you there! *****edited*****sorry it sold out today! I have 2 tickets in my possession that possibly might be available. Email me if you want them. Well, I just spent 4 1/2 hours cleaning my scrapbook room. Almost totally done. The coolest part that I feel the best about is I have 2 big boxes of stuff for Kate's children's group she is starting up. If anyone else has scraps or gently used items to give away we will be gathering a collection for her on Sept/29th. Of course if that day doesn't work we can arrange something! Well, I have to admit I'm tired! and I do have to wake up in 5 hours so I better try and sleep. Bon nuit!

Tickled Pink!!!!

I'm officially now in love with the "brown van"! aka UPS. I received my first boxes from one of my sponsors...Cosmo Cricket!!! 3 boxes so big the UPS guy could barely lift one. Talk about Christmas in July. The coolest part was unpacking them and starting to put together my kits. Had so much fun!! The best part is they have sent me goodies to hand out at the "Cruisin Away" Crop on Sept.29th too!!!!! What an awesome awesome company! I got the official word...9 spots left on the cruise. That's it, that's all she wrote! There is one lady who doesn't have a roommate too from Calgary so if anyone is thinking of going by themselves there is the possibility of sharing a room to keep the costs down if it interests you. So I have to tell you, absolutely motivated to scrap,scrap, scrap tonight. No kids, cutie hubbie is going to bed right now. I am starting my marathon. I feel so inspired by looking at the brand new CHA releases from Cosmo that they sent me, that I can't stop the ideas in my head. and yes mom...I did get a chance to clean the house, so now I can play! So maybe I will post a few of my layouts tomorrow. I hope you all have a wonderful night, and remember sign up for the Cruisin Away crop begins Sunday 12:30 sharp! And if you can't come scrap, still come visit, I am so giving away a package of these Cosmo goodies to someone who comes to shop & visit ME! I love the scrapbook industry and I want to share my passion for it with you!Each and every one of you out there.

Awesome Adventure!!!!

Click on this to enlarge to read clearer. But registration begins at 12:30pm Sunday. yes THIS Sunday. I'll write more later, off to a dentist appt right now!!! ***edited*** hi, okay there have been extraordinary sponsors come aboard to help me with my teaching adventure. As this is the very first cruise of its kind, there is so much to learn. Every sponsor has contributed in amazing & unique ways, which makes it an awesome experience. Yesterday's Memories is our local scrapbook store in Saskatoon who is inviting me to bring the cruise experience to local scrapbookers here. They are letting "crop and cruise" become an experience for those who are not coming on the trip. This day is full of fun, goody bags & prizes handpicked by ME, a free doodling & multimedia class is included in the price(a real 12x12 layout will be completed!!!!) make 'n takes, an awesome lunch, snacks throughout the day and when you return from supper you will be treated to an assortment of flavourful cheesecakes. Please bring your scrapbooks to share with others, we all love to admire!!! If you aren't able to come for the day to scrap, still come and shop,mingle, introduce yourself to me, come visit. Everyone who drops by and comes and talks to me will be entered in another draw for a prize. (You don't have to stay to be eligible for the draws or raffles) I really look forward to seeing everyone. IT will be an awesome day surrounded by awesome friends & really our big scrapbook family. There is so many talented scrapbookers in our midst, come and see their work! okay, just a quick comment, my mouth is killing me but I am determined to have an extraordinary supper with my husband since the kids are at the farm.

Fun Day at Kinsmen Park!

Hi, had a totally awesome day at Kinsmen Park. hot weather, pool to cool off in and a park to have fun! My gramma Elliott came with me, thank goodness because the boys each wanted to be in the opposite direction. Riley-pool, Jager- playground equipment. Ei yi yi. But it was a blast, and then we went to the rides and well, ecstatic was all I can say!

So not quite ready to release my news, but here's the deal. Once registration starts anyone can sign up for it, so if you are interested in the most fun you can have in one day without actually going to Mexico on the cruise, COME ON DOWN. As soon as I post it here I will tell you what day this week you can start registering on. I'll give you a hint...layouts, games (and they rock!!!) food, fun, friends, goody bags,prizes, and maybe a little or a lot of scrapping.

super excited...

about this. This totally wicked online website just came aboard as a sponsor. They have a really neat way about showcasing designers, members, layouts. Try them out. I became a chartered member when they first started and the package I received definitely contained one of the nicest albums I own. Cool unique paper that you can't ever buy in stores made by famous people in this industry.

Go and check out their website it is magnificent. IT is fun, interactive and you'll spend hours on it. I haven't uploaded any layouts on it yet, but I have been slightly swamped!!!! Soon though.

Hi, back for a minute...

Hi everyone, sorry about the lack in posting. We have been out helping at the farm. Mom and dad are erecting new hopper bins, so we had fun helping them for 2 days. Then we brought in the crane last night, but it was so late to blog and I was way too tired!!!! I took some cool pics so I'll post them later. I am actually going right back to the farm right now to pick nanking cherries. Our trees are filled with them and my husband loves this jelly. So I really want to gather those berries before they fall. It's the least I can do for this awesome guy. But I do have lot's of cool news and pics and layouts and you know everything that makes my world. So I will be posting tomorrow all of it. wish me luck though I have another dentist appt tomorrow. ei yi yi. So one last thing to talk about:

• July 25th- Family Album Class: your home & neighborhood. (4- 12x12 layouts) we will be starting at 6pm-10 pm. If you are able, bring any colour,tile or wood swatches for your house. We will try to incorporate those into the house design.

• Elsie class is now officially August 20th 7pm. We will be making 3-12 x 12 layouts.

So please fire me off an email about Elsie if you can make it or if you are new to our classes and want to sign up for the July 25th class, email me too. I have to know by July 20th for that class. Thanks!!!

Layouts!!!

I'll show you the 3 I did last night with the Elsie line. It is a fun line. Love the busy mess of this layout!!!!get the theme...LOVE!!!

this one is for our 12 x 12 family album. adorable pic of the 2 of them!

this is just an 8x8 size for Shane & Andrea's album. I just found out that they don't even have an album for pics so of course that must be remedied! I went and found an album in Edmonton that will match their decor. Their condo is soooooo top shelf in design, all of which they have rebuilt themselves. And Andrea has such exquisite taste, so of course the album has to fit in!!!!

Are you having fun yet or what???

So I have 5 dentist app'ts this month because I have been grinding my teeth again. 9 teeth to fix. ei yi yi. wish me luck. So if I feel better I'll post 3 of the layouts I did last night. Try the fridge thing it is so much fun!!!!

Found some totally fun things to do with a blog...

I will show you this one for now but tomorrow when I post more layouts I'll show you a cooler one!!!!!! HAVE fun! Create your own Fridge

another sponsor came aboard today!!!!

Things are becoming so much fun!!! I tell you, the truly coolest sponsors are becoming involved with this cruise. If you are remotely thinking of coming please check it out. I think there are only 23 spots left. The goody bags are out of this world. I truly squealed with delight when I found out what Cosmo is donating for prizes & MY MINI ALBUM CLASS. all I have to say is WOW!!!!!

I'm so excited!!!!

First of all, thank you to all the people who have decided to sponsor me on this cruise. I have the support of the coolest people...

• Creative Scrapbooks (from Edmonton)

I have a few more little details that are being worked out with other sponsors & manufacturers, so I am really excited!!! I'll post them once I know. Anyone can be a sponsor, it totally benefits YOU! If you are interested in all the free publicity that would surround your store, online site, or manufacturing company, please email me and I can tell you all the perks of being a sponsor.

• Also, there is going to be a really cool cruising event held in Saskatoon. Watch here for more information. I will be giving the details at the beginning of next week. Cropping, chatting, classes, food, prizes galore!!!!

Layouts, misc.fun...

Here is a cute pic of the boys with their new kitties.

This is something I had to finally capture. Since Riley could crawl he has always lined up any toy, car, anything he has played with in a straight line. He still does it. He'll even line up all 100 plus cars he has in a long long line.

I have some great shots of my brothers from their ball games. We love going and watching their games. It is fun. Here is Steven,

love this pic of Jager!!!! I haven't decided what journaling I will do on this yet. But here it is so far...

totally love Hambly Screen prints. I have done 7 layouts in the last week with it. they are really cool! love this pic of Jager. isn't this a great colour combo??? oh and the top left is a curved corner but it doesn't show well.

So when I was in Edmonton I got some really cool sports paper from Creative Scrapbooks ( one of my awesome cruise sponsors!!!!!Love this store!) So I decided that I would start getting some of my hundreds of sport pics done. Since I have so many I am glad that the paper is really neat because I don't have to do as much with it then.I will do all the journaling when I complete all of the layouts.Otherwise I will be doing it in the bottom right hand corner.

This layout I am still not finished, it needs something. I know I have a ribbon that would match well, so I'll have to go on a hunt for it. I don't know what isn't working for me, possibly the primary colors, I don't know. Any ideas how to fix? I wanted to keep it plain, but I think it isn't working very well.

Check back tonight hopefully...

I'll be able to post my layouts. I am leaving right now to go and hang out with cousins that have come down from super North Alberta. So we are pretty excited. We don't get to see them very often, should be a blast. If it ends up being a late night, then I'll post tomorrow. Hope everyone has a great day!

Rambles...

had a really different day today, went to the farm. had some neat experiences, cut lot's of wood to bring in, had an awesome BBQ, my mom totally is the best cook! did lot's of quadding. It was just fun & relaxing. all the boys in my house totally flaked out once we hit home. I managed to scrap 3 layouts and now am totally going to enjoy a hot, hot, bubble bath. Imagine one with no kids or kids toys. Heck maybe I'll even break out the candles. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Bon nuit!

smores & layouts, fun!

So Jim lit up only 4 of our tiki lights. We used to have them around our entire yard, but when you lit them all they smelled like a truck stop (diesel burning smell) It used to look so cool like when I was in Fiji and all the pathways were lit up like that. Fond memories... But he brought out a few for ambiance. the boys thought they were so cool. Does Riley look cold or what? Yes it is 10 pm and he just got out of the pool. Crazy hot day, but then started cooling off fast!

since it was so hot, I ran to Mac's and got the boys both little slurpies as a treat! needed to cool them off. too bad pic is blurry of Jg, but is still fun!

our fire was so much fun! we love sitting around the fire. Jim even put in some of those cool colour changers that my mom got the boys, so they loved it.

Then of course what campfire would be awesome without smores???

I love Riley's smile!

It was so funny watching Jager eat his smores. Riley got too full and couldn't finish it so of course Jager wanted it too! We literally all had to spray off with the garden hose because we were all sticky, even me! But I had to keep helping the boys and had a few marshmallow casualties. Worth every minute.

So we slept in the tent last night, was awesome until... it started lightning & thundering. which would have been fine, but Jager starts screaming when he is scared. so we didn't want to freak our neighbors out so as preventitive measure, Jim & I carried the boys upstairs to bed. Then massive wind blew, and in the middle of the night Jim heard cracks, looked out our window, 2 poles of our tent had snapped. So sad! so in the morning we went out to see the tent flooded, lot's of clean up needed. ei yi yi. and I didn't even get a pic! so now I am going to have to see if I can just order some new poles. Because us campers CANNOT live without our tent!

So I did a few layouts yesterday, I was excited to finally get to use some of the Basic Grey paper that I got for a huge deal at yesterday's Memories (15 % off for members, 10% off for non members). So I made a few layouts with it and had fun. I was so excited to scrap this page of Jager running. IT is so characteristic of him. So happy spirited this little guy! And before you ask, along the left hand side of the page is not a rub on, it is in fact a transparency that I cut up and glued there. (my mind's eye-tres jolie line)

It is a tradition for us, EVERY TIME we go to Edmonton we go to Chuck E, CHeese, the heaven on earth place for kids (aka:drive parents absolutely nuts place on earth) The kids have so much fun here, Jager has even figured out how to put the tokens in to make the rides work. too funny. Jenn & Darryl have taken the boys here more than I have so they associate it as something they do with them. Which is good. but they have this little sketch machine, and we always get our pic taken. It is fun!

I love this picture of my gramma and Jager. (his great gramma!) She just loves our kids to death and it shows. This was an amazing moment I captured on Mother's/Grandmother's Day this year. I definitely wanted to keep it warm & cozy so I was excited to use the New Basic Grey "Infuse" line. I knew that the pink would make it more feminine but I think that gramma's pages should be more feminine/girly! funny thought. you can't tell but I raised some of the die cut flowers and glossy accented them. all my own doodles.

So I had these little 2x3 photos and I really wanted to make a page with them. Unfortunately they are not big enough to capture the page so my usual style was too overwhelming for these cute pics. So I decided that obviously a less is more layout would suit it better. So I knew I wanted to use arrows because I really wanted the movement effect. I tried to use a subtler title so it would blend into the background while still being able to be seen. Ultimately I think I created my goal. Hindsight, I might've used an even softer background paper, who knows though since I did need the contrast to pull it off. I love how jager gets his little arms going and tongue out. Too funny!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

in response to Kelly's comment...

and yes, I live for my kids. They change and grow up so fast that why would I want to miss that. When we decided that I would stay home with them till they went to school, then the most important thing to me was that we were educating them with proper morals, habits and helping them learn everything that will take them farther in life. I absolutely do still have up and down days, but they are few and far between, because I can't stand arguing & yelling. I think it truly is a waste of my time and energy. So I try to always deal with things rationally, since Jim is the same way, it definitely shows in our kids.I don't think that they have ever heard us raise our voices. I really love all the little moments the best, but I do try to make sure that we have some sort of fun EVERYDAY! When I am long and gone I don't want my kids to only think that mom and dad were just workaholics, they never were there for us,blah, blah ,blah... Instead I'd like them to say that their childhoods were the happiest time in their lives, that we were always there for them, that we taught them the coolest things. you get the concept. This is just something I truly believe in! I really think that if parents watched less TV & on the computer and showed the kids that they really love each other , and that they would rather have family time playing games and going to the park, movies, walks, picnics, stories at bedtime, prayers, singing, sports, whatever. just as long as it is together, than I think we'd have less kids that are drinking early & out of control, less drug use, gang problems, girls wearing obscene amount of makeup for all the wrong reasons too! the less we are in their lives, the more problems they face, Okay now I'll be quiet. have a great day Kelly. I can tell when I read your blog that you are on the same page. There is always so much love shown in your pics & journaling. Great job! I do think that religion plays a large part in morals, but I do have some awesome friends that are not religious that still are raising their children phenomenally & morally. So I do not judge, I just encourage and support. So I do believe that eveyone out there can reach the same goal of healthier, happier kids & family. It just takes work & effort! I felt that I had to put this as my topic today since it is important. I'm not usually a rant & raver, I just believe in family. Have a great day everyone else too, maybe today is the day to add just 15 min. into your crazy day to talk to your kids. Even if it is just at meal time. Good luck, remember nothing good comes easy, it will take work!

just a little pool fun!

Sorry, no pics from last night, we ended up having a little company and the night slipped away from us, before we knew it, bedtime was here. So we'll have to try our marshmallow fun maybe tonight. But we had loads of fun for hours today. The boys burst a hole in our old pool, so I went to Walmart yesterday and bought this cute little pool. Serious amusement. Jager though, HATES sliding down too fast and going under the water. So he pretty much just stays in the pool part, while Riley has to try all the flips and turns and more. Enjoy.

Today in a nutshell!

So Jim decided that today we would go camping in our backyard. So spontaneous that man of mine. The kids are ecstatic. They love to tent! So the tent literally takes up a 1/3 of our backyard. It is a 12 man tent, but we use it more for an area for us, the kids and then an area where we can set up a table and play games in case it rains. So we should have fun tonight. Jim is going to build a fire and we are going to do the whole marshmallow thing and all. So maybe I'll take some pics of our fun time, who knows. we'll see. this is how the boys help us set up the tent...

they love to chase each other around and around the partitions.

So since I did have so many deadlines to get done , I ended up scrapbooking at the kitchen table so I could multi task. See how easy I can create a disaster while scrapbooking. So I only have 1 album left to do for someone, hopefully I will finish this week, finish my sister's pages up,then a few for my mom, 3 for my grandma and the album for the people from Ottawa. They don't arrive for 3 weeks so I have some time still. But after that is done, I am not scrapbooking for anybody for the rest of the summer. I am going to purely scrap for my family, catch us all up and enjoy my time with my family. Since Jim is going to be home more, I'd like to spend my extra time with him getting things done around the house, finish all of our "builds",etc. I have all my pictures ready to build our Pergola but I hit a snag 3 weeks ago, so I have to replan it a bit, but maybe we'll start that someday. I need the shade and it will give us some privacy from the neighbors, and block the wind that comes in from the South.

So, I had to run out and do some serious errands, a million things to do today. Jim was home from work all day since an injector blew on the truck, so the boys had a fun time with daddy! But I told Jim to make sure he keeps the boys covered in sunblock all day. So, I guess the boys decided they wanted to put on their own sunblock... (here is another "Daddy lets the kids do whatever they want to see what they will do day!") So needless to say, a 3yr old and a 21 month old aren't quite ready to do it themselves. Jim grabbed the camera while laughing hard I presume, he took about 50 pics of these 2. When I got home tonight, he told me to go and check out my camera. Some serious laughing went on.

Well life is never dull in this house. Tune in for more adventures in Arbor Creek... LOL

hello!

Sorry, no interesting post today. We just got back from the drive-ins. I am so packed with deadlines I have to get done this week. I thought I'd be working all day at that. But then my 3 cute men asked me if I would come to the movies with them. How on earth could I say no? If you turn down the family time, what memories will I have left to think back on? So we went for only one movie though (the drive-ins play 2 back to back) and now I have to work. So only a quick hello tonight. Hopefully I'll have some cool stuff to show tomorrow... until then

Lake, Anniversary, time together with family & friends!

The boys took it upon themselves to be the official flower "water boys". 3 sides of their house is surrounded by a huge deck with thousands of flowers. So the boys had fun, also bugging the goldfish! I took a freeze photo of Jager running. I love it. I only wish it was a little clearer. Still so going to scrap it! Dig the saying on his shirt too, how ironic is that?

This is my favourite thing about Jim, his laugh. He is such a happy, funny guy. We had a fun Anniversary. It was nice to kick back with family and friends and enjoy the time together.

Trampoline fun!

July 1st! Fireworks, Lake, & more...

so the fireworks that Jim bought were phenomenal as usual. (Jim & his brother Joe are awesome with the fireworks, total pyro nuts! but Joe wasn't there this year.) we were so lucky to see a really great fireworks show as the guys set them off the dock. They reflected on the lake so cool! I wish I knew more about how to use my camera to take pics of them but I still liked these. I probably needed to bring the tripod to steady the camera.

Quick synopsis of yesterday!

So here we had our big plans to watch the monster pull offs. but since the actual day was supposed to be from 1pm-8pm and it was already plus 30 we decided that there was no way the kids could last 7 hours in the hot sun. So the part Jim really wanted to see didn't perform until the end. so we let the boys play in the pool, have a nap and then we all got ready to go. we get there and it was finished! 3 hours early! can you believe it. So I felt bad since that was something that Jim really wanted to see, but at least the boys got to play around the monster truck for a little while. Then we just decided to head out to the farm and pick up our boat. may as well head to the lake! We ended up going to mom's neighbors' and picking up 2 new kitties(they were giving them away and mom needed some for the farm. Riley named his "Cashew" and Jager named his "Oreo". They are CUTE! we stayed the night, Jim had bought a whole bunch of fireworks so dad & Jim set those off. FUN FUN FUN! Then we headed to the lake the next day!