Saturday, December 27, 2008

I've missed telling my stories...

I've been trying to blog for the last 4 days now...

We've been experiencing technical difficulties with our 3 computers. You would think that with 3 in the house one would work...but NOOOOOO!!!

So, I wrote this long post on Christmas eve and it was my version of the Twas the Night before Christmas. And then...crash...and so I wrote it again (very close to the first one, I was going on memory) and then...CRASH AGAIN!!!
I switched computers, but then the internet would not connect. After an hour and a half of trying to post, I finally called it quits.

Now, it's way past Christmas and everything has resumed its functions.

My poem is lost, but trust me when I say it was a gooder...

Our Christmas was absolutely relaxing and so much fun. I hosted both families on separate days and must admit that I love hosting because I get to stay at home! Christmas day we had Rob's side of the family over and indulged in more food than was necessary for any person to consume. Then we played our own version of Charades...what a blast1
On Boxing Day, my side of the family came over for another feast (my sister made Prime Rib and it was delish!) and AGAIN indulged in more food than was necessary for any person to consume. We tore into the gifts and with 6 children under the age of 10 it was pretty crazy!

All in all it was a great Christmas. Now, I sit at the "functioning" computer while my DH is playing Battlefield 2 at the other computer next to me. This is my idea of a "max relax" night. The kids are nestled are snug in their beds...Reese is definitely dreaming of sugar plums, but Robert is probably at the wheel of a Nascar racing car (because there is now a 6 foot posted on his wall of Dale Earnhardt Jr's car -care of Papa and Nana).


Every year there are gifts that touch the heart more than others...this year Papa and Nana win the prize.

I will leave you with pics of the Christmas cards that I gave the family. I made them with last year's LoveElsie's Christmas collection...and tons of Stickles!!


Enjoy your holidays with family...I know I am making the most of these precious moments.

I am hoping to get some scrapping time soon, stay tuned for some of my LOs.

Later,
Camille

Saturday, December 20, 2008

My day...

So, I've taken some time to get my stuff together. Here are my 1970's ATCs. I'm not sure how I feel about them, but lately I don't know how to feel about something and everyone else likes it...so, here they are:


Today was an extremely fun day. We set up the train around our Christmas tree the other day and today the kids truly enjoyed it. Rob and the kids take every spare moment to watch the "Polar Express" (as Robert calls it) go around the track.

I love the expression on their faces, the "Polar Express" is the highlight of the day!

Now a quick story today...Let's begin by saying I'm not a great skater. I've had a pair of figure skates sitting in my basement ever since Rob and I started dating. So, in the last 14 years they have been used all of about 5 times. Finally, last week we made a family decision that if I was going to participate in family skates, I should have some skates.
After talking about it for years we went out and bought me a pair of men's skates...when I put them on today for our son's "family skate" I asked myself why I didn't buy them years ago!!
I was instantly an amazing skater...ok, maybe not amazing, but more agile and able than I ever was in figure skates.
We took Reese out on the ice too. We bundled her up, stuck her in a sled and pulled her around the ice...she absolutely loved it!

It was such a great day...I love these moments...it seems like every day is filled with "special" moments and activities!

Like skating!

So take some time for family this weekend!

Later,
Camille

Thursday, December 18, 2008

I've been working...

I've actually been scrapbooking quite a bit lately.

I've completed an album for my mom (but can't post pics until after Christmas because she reads my blog)

I've also completed my ATCs (yeah, the ones that were due at the end of November). My only consolation is that Bree is hosting the swap and she is still waiting for other people to get theirs in to her. I can run them across the street at a moment's notice if I have to.

So, I will post pics later. I will also show you my ATCs...it's just late right now and I need more time to get the post together.

I am off to my pillow now...Bree will have to wait to get the good stuff on my blog...I am choosing sleep!

Later,
Camille

Friday, December 12, 2008

a HUGE shout out!!

Although I haven't had the time for very much lately, I need to take the time for this...

THANK YOU so much Bree for changing my blog.

I've been in the mood for change, thought my blog was a little BLAH, and along comes Bree to revamp it for me.

I am so grateful to her for everything she has done.

I need to post some links with the "flares", but she has done the bulk of the work (like 99.37% of it).

So, thank you.

My busyness will soon be over, as my husband is currently directing our church Christmas production (and it is HUGE) and they have their last performance on Sunday!

I am looking forward to the quiet and the routine...well, I'm kidding myself because there really is no routine in our home...except for getting up every morning.

Anyhow, I pray your holidays are not too crazy and that you take the time for family. I know that I am planning on it. Maybe I'll manage to share some of our Christmas traditions with you...hopefully through a few layouts that I manage to get done while my hubby takes some much needed time off.

Later,
Camille

Thursday, December 4, 2008

I was tagged...It's my first TAG!!!

I was tagged by: Raquel Cook

Here are the rules...Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends! Try not to be lame and spoil the fun! If you get tagged, copy this entire survey and paste into your own blog, change all of the answers so that they apply to you. Then visit the profiles of some of your friends and "Tag" them by simply leaving a comment, asking them to visit your blog, and state that they have been Tagged! The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known! Some of you may get tagged several times, so they can always refer back to your blog for your answers.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 0730...when my son came in my room and asked me if it was time to get up yet!

2. Diamonds or pearls? ooooh, diamonds!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Really....I usually send my DH to the theatre so I can scrap...let me think...t was Hancock!

4.What is your favorite TV show? I am not supposed to admit this...but I am HOOKED on Grey's Anatomy!

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Coffee

6. What is your middle name? Marie Joanne

7. What food do you dislike? Anything that really smells funny...like fish...it's best coated with bread crumbs and deep fried!

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? the radio...I cannot remember the last time I bought a CD!

9.What kind of car do you drive? A Toyota Camry Hybrid...yup I'm GREEN!

10. Favorite sandwich? Toasted tomato sandwich...yummy!

11. What characteristic do you despise? Intitlement!

12. Favorite item of clothing? My Victoria Secret PINK hoodie (it makes me feel like a kid again)

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Thasos, Greece...it's the most amazing island in Greece

14. Favorite brand of clothing? I love Banana Republic, but am a shareholder in Old Navy

15. Where would you retire to? Close to family...and my children!

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? ...in 2006, my MIL gave me a wonderful jewelry box, her last gift to me before dying of cancer.

17. Favorite sport to watch? Curling...it's a Canadian thing!

18. Furthest place you are "tagging" this? ...all the way across Canada (Quebec)

19. Person you expect to send it back first? not sure!

20. When is your birthday? ...on the same day every year!

21. Are you a morning person or a night person? I'm a morning person, when I have the house to myself for a few hours first.

22. What is your shoe size? 6 US.

23. Pets? I've got a new puppy, a Bichon Frise, Toot

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? I'm looking forward to the Christmas season being upon us.

25. What did you want to be when you were little? A hairdresser and then, when I was in my late teens, a geologist!

26. How are you today? Good, but my kids are recovering from stomach flus!

27. What is your favorite candy? None, I'm not a candy girl.

28. What is your favorite flower? I love colorful ones...no particular kind.

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? the 25th!

30. What's your full name? Mrs. Young...

31.What are you listening to right now? CSI...it's nearing the end and discovering who dunit!

32. What was the last thing you ate? Apples (warmed up in the microwave...mmmmm)

33. Do you wish on stars? No.

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I would be the "kid's choice" crayon...

35. How is the weather right now? Cold, it's -18 and it has finally snowed here in Alberta!

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Bree...she's almost always the first person I talk to every day!

37. Favorite soft drink? Coke ZERO

38. Favorite restaurant? Any one I get to escape to with only my husband and NO kids.

39. Real hair color? brown with sprigs of grey (they are quickly taking over)

40. What was your favorite toy as a child? A small Strawberry Shortcake that I loved to inhale the sweet fragrance of her hair!

41. Hugs or kisses? Hugs...kisses...hugs...kisses...oh, I can't decide!

42. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla, definitely...yup, chocolate doesn't do it for me!

43. Coffee or tea? Coffee (see the breakfast question)

44. Do you want your friends to email you back? If they ca find the time!

45. When was the last time you cried? Tonight, when my DH showed me a DVD they made of the scattering of his mom's ashes (I wasn't able to be there)

46. What is under your bed? A fairly clean carpet!

47. What did you do last night? I worked at a Craft Fair...Crop Suey had a table there.

48. What are you afraid of? Really sharp blades...I can't get over that one!

49. Salty or sweet? Sweet and salty...

50. How many keys on your key ring? 3

51. Favorite day of the week? Sundays

52. If you can choose your talent, what would it be? I would be able to sing (at the moment, I'm not very good at it!)

53. Do you make friends easily? I would like to think that I do!

54. How many people will you tag this to? Three or four!

55. How many will respond? Hopefully all of them!

I don't often respond to these things, but I really had fun with this one!

I'm tagging Bree (who I know has already done this), Stacy, Kendra and Kim.

Have a great evening!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Scrapping Across the Universe Challenge #4

The fourth challenge for Scrapping Across the Universe is up...I love what everyone has come up with.

I thought I would post my LO. It was tough to do...I knew that I had to do something about my going to Afghanistan while I was in the military (I was among the first Canadians to go into the country after 9/11).

This LO was all about the journalling. I hope you like it.


Check out the challenge blog to see how everyone else interpreted their challenge. Go to www.scrappingacrosstheuniverse.blogspot.com

I'm off to sew name bars on my son's hockey teams' jerseys...fun stuff!

Camille

Thursday, November 27, 2008

I've been posting...really!

Ok, so I am just too busy to realize what it is that I'm doing.

I've posted twice to the WRONG blog!! It took Bree to tell me that I was posting on our challenge blog over at Scrapping Across The Universe! Duh!!!!

Anyhow, life has been crazy in our home. It seems to be the new NORMAL for the month of November. However, Rob is away for the weekend and I am hoping to get a little me time in the evenings.

We have been so busy meeting deadline after deadline, that I can only find the time to read blogs and that is just about it.

Crop Suey has been buzzing lately. We have participated in our first craft fair and it was an absolute success. We have another one coming up next week and it promises to be a success too.

It's too much to get into the million and one things that have been occupying my time, but needless to say I am still here and reading all y'all's blogs (yeah, that's good English)

Our dog, Toot, has turned out to be an amazing dog. He is so well tempered and I am so happy with the way he lets the kids tote him around all day...and I do mean all day. Robert thinks he is his best friend and should go everywhere with him, and Reese thinks that he is her new dolly and should go for naps in her playpen. Through it all Toot just lets them have their fun. What a great dog.

Also, we put up our Christmas tree today...it was fun and a fun "posed" picture time!




We also have a tradition putting the angel on the tree, this year it was passed onto Robert. What a thrill to see his face when it was now HIS job!


Until next time,

Camille

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Things they are a changin'...

Well, I haven't posted for awhile and if you read my last post you know why.

We got our puppy on Tues and have been busy with him ever since...in a good way. He is the most amazing dog...only a couple of accidents in the first 24hrs and none since.

We decided to kennel train Toot. That means in the kennel whenever we are not taking him out with us or when we go to bed. I was very nervous the first night (remembering our horror experience with our last dog who barked incessantly for 1.5hrs every time we put him in there). We put the kennel beside our bed to deal with the barking quickly and...

...to my amazement, he only whimpered once at 5 am when he had to go pee and then we didn't hear from him again until 8:30. Praise God! Then I had the energy for day two, and it went very well.

We attempted our first walk on day three, that was NOT such a success. Toot (who has been given a couple of other names -Reese calls him Tookie and Robert calls for him by saying "Oh Tooooooodles" (like in Mickey's Clubhouse). It's nice to know that Toot has taken on a better connotation for me. The walk was a challenge because our 3 lb pet did not want to come...it was more like a drag for the first 50 feet, then it became a walk-drag! He is a quick learner though and will get it before long!

All this dog stuff has kept us around the house a little more than usual and so....my mind has been brewing! I have a place downstairs to create, but tend to stay away from it during the day because there are no toys downstairs for my kids to play with. Then I had an idea...what if I just took a small corner in my closet (which just happens to have an empty space in one corner after some careful rearranging!) With that thought, I approached my husband who...said yes right away. I was almost disappointed because I had so many great arguements to support my request!
Anyhow, I went and purchased a small craft table (Bree has the same one), my husband put a shelf up in my closet (I mean, my new creating space) and am in the midst of organizing everything. I will take some pics when it's all organized -give me a couple of days!!
I am so happy, it's a small space and I find I work better in small spaces. I like close and quaint. Although I have many open spaces in my home, I always tend to gravitate toward the chair in a corner or something cozy and confined! Call me weird, but I find it comforting to be nestled in my closet...now I can create in it too!!

Anyhow, so there's my week and, since I will be housebound a little more than usual puppy training my closet is sure to become an organized inspiration corner quickly. What else do you do with all that time? (ok, I know I need to train the puppy and tend to my children, but I really can find a few moments in between to organize!)

...everything would be perfect if I could only put a computer and printer in my closet...

Later,
Camille

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

He's finally here...

So, our new puppy was supposed to join our family on Friday and ended up coming to us today.

Rob had the day off and we wanted to have a "family" day. We began running errands, then we thought of making the drive to the breeder and picking up our puppy early.

You know the giddy excitement that you get when you are not sure if you are doing the right thing, or when you know that the suggestion that was seemingly impossible starts to take shape and become possible? Yeah, that's what happened to my husband and I.
We looked at each other and said "Should we?" and our answer to each other was "Why not?"

Then as we were driving out of the city my DH says "I feel like we are making the biggest mistake in the world!" I wanted to choose to ignore the statement...then realized I couldn't.

Well, it turns out it was his version of cold feet. We made the trip, picked up our puppy and now we are a family of 5!

Here is TOOT, yes that name won out. I am not all that excited about it, but I am sure the name with grow on me (with time...like several months...or years...)


The kids are super excited and Reese even likes him (she REALLY does NOT like dogs)


Whenever Reese sees any dog she says "Doggie no eat me!" Well, when she wakes in the morning and realizes that Toot is here to stay, she will have to begin loving him -right now she is tolerating him.

So, here I am now, potty training TWO -Reese and Toot. What fun! I'm sure there will be stories to tell on that issue in the near future!

Camille

Monday, November 10, 2008

We're getting a puppy...

After talking about it for months, we've finally made the final decision to get a puppy. We've decided on a Bichon Frise! It's a small lapdog and suited to our lifestyle.

This is not our dog (we need to choose from three remaining male puppies), but they all look pretty much the same.

Now, if I had my way...we would be getting a chocolate lab or a German shepherd. I love big dogs, but my DH is stretching himself to agree to a dog at all. That means one thing...I'll take what I can get.

I grew up with at least 2 dogs at all times. Now, I welcome a dog in our home. We've been preparing the kids for the arrival...we are going to pic it up this Friday!

That brings me to the issue of the dog's name. I love to give my pets original names. I had a tabby cat called Carrot, my rabbit was Wadsworth, our first dog was Duke. So, I've been carefully considering names. Two that I really liked were Dash or Porter. Then my husband threw a third name into consideration...prepare yourself for this one... TOOT! Yes, you read correctly!

He told the kids that it would be our puppy's new name and they thought it was hilarious. When we asked Robert what the puppy should be called he automatically said "Toot!" When we asked Reese what the puppy's name should be she said "Bambi!

Now, I am stuck struggling against "Toot". REALLY...who calls a pet TOOT?

I can see myself calling the dog to come in and my neighbors wondering where my sanity went? Really, I need to convince my family that Dash is a much better name than Toot.

I'm thinking that I may need to threaten something very serious in order to win this debate...maybe to never cook another meal (don't know if even that would work!)

I'll post pics of our new addition once he arrives...I'll also let you know who won the name game!!

Camille

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

We've found Robert's ears!

Today Robert decided that he was due for a haircut. After a year of growing it out, he had finally had enough.

Here is the before pic:


So, off Rob went to the barber, Robert in tow. I was a little nervous that it was going to come back REALLY short...and I had good reason. When Robert walked in the door, I had a new son.

He is really happy with the shorter "do".



We've decided that he looks younger, but we still love him just as much...maybe even more!

After a year of "longer" hair...the 'boarder is gone. I cannot wait to see what comes of this hair style...

What a fun evening!

Camille

Monday, November 3, 2008

When the cat's away!

Rob is gone to a movie tonight with Bree's husband. We (in theory) have an evening for working/playing.

I've made a cool layout with the Crop Suey Cream n' Sugar Kit. It was funny, when I took these pictures, my DH says "why are you not taking pics of Robert playing with the Hot Wheels track?" The true answer, which I did give him...was that they were for this LO.

Here it is:


The journaling reads "There is no substitute for Robert -it's all about Hot Wheels! It's hours of fun."

Enjoy, and check out the great new November kits at CROP SUEY!

Camille

Sunday, November 2, 2008

it's Sunday and I'm three for three!

Wow, it's been awhile since I blogged three days in a row! It seems life has been a little crazy, but I'm grabbing the bull by the horns and taking control.

With the time change last night, my kids were up early this morning. Robert came into my room at 6:15 asking if it was time to get up yet...of course the answer was NO!!!
Then, we could not make them stay in their rooms more than 30 minutes before they had exhausted reading "EVERY" book in their library and entertaining themselves. It was a much earlier morning than I had anticipated!

So, the new kits are up at CROP SUEY and they are selling like hotcakes. If you want one, better buy sooner rather than later, get yours first. And when you do...send us your LOs or altered items and we will post them on our blog. WE are working on a forum and gallery and they will hopefully be up and running before Christmas.

Also coming soon to Crop Suey is a loyalty program -you can earn points on your purchases toward free product. We LOVE giving away free stuff to all of you ladies who keep us inspired.

Here's a LO I made after our trip to Drumheller, Alberta. It's "Dinosaur" land. It's where they have found a massive number of dino fossils over the last few decades. It also has huge museum which the kids absolutely loved.

I believe this trip fueled Robert's love of dinosaurs. Now, even Reese walks around the house telling my that she is going to be a Parasaurolophus one day...of course Robert is going to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex...is there any other dinosaur a little boy can be?


The journaling reads: "Deductive Reasoning: 1. Robert wants to be a dinosaur. 2. Reese wants to be like Robert. Therefore, my kids will be dinosaurs!"

Enjoy your Sunday...your day of rest (or of scrappin'!)

Camille

Saturday, November 1, 2008

My Scrappin' Across the Universe challenge LO...

I found the time to do my LO for Scrapping Across the Universe before the deadline.

I had so much fun doing it because I love the picture. Reese and I were cuddling during a trip to the park on a very chilly autumn day...
We probably should have stayed home but the slides and swings were calling. The page just came together nicely. I like subtle little things in my LOs, there are two hedgehogs hugging just left of my pic...that makes it special for me.

Here it is:
Enjoy the first day of November...the countdown to Christmas begins today in our home...

Only two weeks until we can start turning on the Christmas lights (that we thankfully put up in the warm weather!!)

Camille

Friday, October 31, 2008

they have conquered...

Well, an hour and a half later, the kids came home...

...with their loot!

Robert and Reese had so much fun, they visited almost every home in our neighborhood and were overjoyed at all the loot they got.

Check it out!


We will have to ration the goodies, too many of these will result in REALLY trying days for me!


Hope you all have tons of goodies too...and the ability to ration them!!

Camille

it's been too long...

I keep saying this (it seems) but where has the time gone.

I was truly exhausted after last week. It took energy to finish my ATCs in time! Aside from the necessities, there was not too many extras getting done this week.

Tonight, I am writing between the doorbell ringing and kids screaming "Trick or Treat" at my door. My DH is out with the kids and I have a few stolen moments to get you all up to date on what's been going on in the Young household.

This week has been all about Halloween for my son. He had 3 parties and tonight he is out getting more loot. I believe we have enough candy in our home until next Halloween. I know I am not alone out there when I say...the kids always get way too much candy. So much, that my husband cannot even eat it all...and he REALLY likes candy!

So, here is what my children looked like before going out trick or treatin'.


And the after pic I am sure will be interesting. I'll post it later tonight or tomorrow.

We are truly thankful for the great weather here. Usually, Halloween in Edmonton is snowy. Kids are bundled up with snowsuits under their costumes. This year, it's a balmy 5 degrees out...that's REALLY a blessing! It's also VERY unusual!

Well, I'm off to give away all my candy...and to complete my LO for Scrappin' Across the Universe challenge blog! It will be posted tomorrow!

Later,

Camille

Saturday, October 25, 2008

...a sigh of relief....

Well, I'm sitting in my living room with my hubby watching hockey. It's nice to be home, without a place to be until tomorrow night!

Today was a crazy day...

We woke up to crazy winds, like over 70kph!!! I had to bring my scrapbooking supplies to the crop, then take my son to hockey (all that before lunch). Upon our return (my hubby was drywalling our garage) I learned that our shed was no more.

...our shed was literally lifted from it's foundation and thrown everywhere. Some pieces flew over our fence into the construction area that is past our yard, some pieces flew over the fence into the trees bordering the lake and other pieces are still MIA. The wind has only now died down enough to risk going outside (but it's also 10pm and pitch black). It will be interesting to see the damage and missing pieces tomorrow when we try to find everything that was once in our yard!

Our neighbors are missing siding and soffits from their homes...and trees have fallen ALL over the place. Thankfully, they landed on the roads and NOT on anyone's home! Of course, I did not have my camera with me, so I don't have any pics to show you.

That adventure done, I headed out to the crop to teach my class and squeeze in a LO or two! It was nice, cozy and relaxing. It was fun. Here's the pic of the make and take we made.

I know this is not the greatest pic of the LO, but it reads "we love the beach...even on the cloudy days". I love make and takes, because even though it's the same template, everyone adds their own uniqueness and the end products all look so different. I was asked to keep it fairly simple because we had most beginners to intermediate scrappers. It was fun to see everyone's creative juices flowing during the class.

After a great homemade supper and a little creative work, I headed home for some much needed rest. As I sit here typing (sitting beside my man who is watching the hockey game) I realize I am more tired than I thought...

So, I'm off to bed.

Camille

Friday, October 24, 2008

One down, one to go...

I'm back from my Friday night events.

Bree and I had a girls birthday party and it went incredibly well. The birthday girl was turning 8 and, at that age they are beginning to get quite crafty.
I was an overall success and I am happy that it went so well...

Then it was off to my church's scrapbooking evening...I was so exhausted from my week (read on for more details) that I left all my supplies in the car and just chatted with all the ladies... It was so nice to just stop and do nothing for a little while.

This week has been unexpectedly long...

On Sunday, my son Robert "yakked" and came down with the 24-hour flu. On Wednesday, my daughter Reese "yakked" just before supper with no other symptoms. Then, later in the evening it hit my DH. He was up all night, slept most of Thursday, then repeated the whole process on Friday.
He has had a rough couple of days, but seems on the mend now...he's dressed in something other than sweats and a hoodie, so he must be feeling a bit better!

So, now I prepare for my all-day crop tomorrow. It will be nice to be surrounded by creative women yet again.

I hope to get some more done...I have some ideas percolating...

Here's a LO of Reese at her birthday. She was so sad because she could not hold her cousin (whom she thought was just as precious as her dollies).


She was pouting and did not understand why Robert was "big" enough to hold her, but she was not. Precious pics!

Until Later,
Camille

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Working hard this week!

I've been busier than I wanted to be this week.

Bree and I are very busy this weekend. We have a girls birthday party where we are making mini albums, then I have our church's monthly crop (that I set up and host)...that's just Friday night. On Saturday, we are teaching classes at another all-day crop.

BUSY...BUSY...BUSY!!!

But not too busy to be making some of my own stuff...


This one is means so much to me. Bree took the pic and it turned out so well. The journalling says "You must be very care not to forget the things you have seen God do for you. Keep reminding yourselves, and tell your children and grandchildren as well. Deuteronomy 4:9"

Family is so precious and I want to reinforce that in my children's lives.


I also had some fun with some LoveElsie clear stamps. I flocked the owl, although it may not be very noticeable. It was fun to play around a little!

Tomorrow is a busy day...one thing at a time!

Camille

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

I'm Back and recharged...

I just returned from a weekend getaway...it was fabulous.

Someone in our church hosts a scrapbooking retreat every year in October. And whenever I can make it I usually go into the weekend already exhausted and struggle to find my creativity before the weekend is done.

...but NOT this year!

We arrived around 6pm (at this beautiful lodge on the lake...of which we did not get to fully enjoy because we were scrappin' so much) and I was settled and had started a layout before 7 pm.

I had sooooooooo much fun, it was so nice to get away with so many of my favourite people. Bree was there too and she never slept at all the first night (she stayed up for 40 hours...check out her blog for the details).

I was surrounded by creativity all weekend. I got so many layouts done and so much inspiration for my weeks ahead. I will share some with you...but need to temper it...I can't let it all out yet!

I also finally finished my ATCs (yes, the ones I wanted to finish before going on the weekend!)

So here's some of my work.


I love the way the ATCs turned out. I can hardly wait to see what everyone else it going to come up with.


This is one of my 2 fave LOs from the weekend. It reads "Summer Love: Rober and Reese only have each other as companions...and we want them to truly love one another!"


This is my other fave from the weekend. It took me 1.5 hours to cut out all the circles from a page...and it was so worth it! I also used coredinations papers (brown with pink undertone) and LOVE the stuff...got to get me some more of that!

So that's it for now, more of my creations to come.

The weekend was a blast and I was anxious to come home and see the fam. Upon entering the house, I gave everyone a big squishy hug and then my son says "Mommy, I puked today!" It took 10 minutes for him to show me what he meant...I just got him to the bathroom before he let loose. We missed the toilet and narrowly got the garbage (and it graced the side of my head too). That being said...it was an evening of cuddling on the couch with my son until exhaustion took over for him, then I headed downstairs to do the 3 loads of laundry that had accumulated in the 3 hours I was home!!
It's so hard to see my children sick...but I was happy to be home. For me, it would have been harder to hear about it after the fact...I think I'm a sucker for punishment!!

Have a great week, stay tuned for more of my weekend's creations...

Camille

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Autumn's rush!

Ok, so I have to firstly admit that my ATCs are NOT yet done. I've begun them though...
The truth is that I changed my mind after starting and headed in a completely different direction and, as a result, am not done!

But I do have some cool pics to share from our weekend.

Our Thanksgiving weekend was so relaxing and fun...it was a little crazy at the end (but mostly for Rob).

On Saturday, we spent the afternoon with Bree and her family (and our cameras). We go some great pics!

I love this pic because of their expressions. I was trying to take a picture of just Robert and Oakley, but Reese just had to be in it! Priceless, Oakley couldn't be bothered either way!

Some pics I love...

It's nice to catch them cuddling, they do truly love each other (as I listen to their giggles right now while playing football together...well, mostly Reese running after Robert trying to catch up)


My little adventurer...whatever her big brother does she wants to do too!

During our walk, Robert would find anything to "pose" in and scream out for me to take his picture! I guess that's better than not wanting your pic taken at all!


To me there is nothing more precious than these pics, Rob and Reese take such great pics together. They have exactly the same eye color -that amazes me. It's a small glimpse into the amazing God that we have and the legacy that we leave in our children.

Anyhow, I almost got mushy there. I will be working on my ATCs tonight (yes, I really am) because I am going on a scrapbooking retreat this weekend and want to get caught up on some pages that I have not yet done (including my son and daughter's birthdays...which were in July and April respectively).

I need to get caught up away from home because when I am home I am almost always doing Crop Suey work...which is fun too, but it doesn't seem to help with getting caught up!!

I will hopefully have some ATC pics before I leave on Friday...

Thursday, October 9, 2008

My first ATC swap!

I'm working on my first ATC swap...

it's about the decades.

The first ones (due at the end of the month) are about the 1960's!!!

I'll post the finished products (if they get finished tonight)!!

Camille

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Where has the week gone?

So, here I am looking at the time and wondering how Wednesday snuck up on me!!

Our weekend was good, we have been so good at tying up loose ends around the house lately.

Friday and Saturday was spent building a frame for our shed and then putting it up. After we assembled the shed, it started raining...Praise God.

Then Sunday, we filled the shed and emptied out the garage just that little bit more. We are getting our garage finished this weekend and it's nice to think that I will be able to park the car in the garage very soon!!

This week is a hard reminder that we are in Alberta and further north than Texas!!
It rained hard yesterday and the wind has been blowing furiously. All of the pretty leaves have found a home on the ground and things are looking a little more "BLAH" around here!

All that, and I still can't recall where the last few days have gone!

I am looking forward to getting together with Bree tomorrow. We are getting the bug to do something creative again...something new and innovative!!!

Check us out at our new challenge blog...

Scrapping Across the Universe

It's going to be so much fun!!

Camille

Friday, October 3, 2008

Patio pics (FINALLY...)

So, after being asked by too many people, I forced myself to take some pics of the patio.

Here they are...


This is the much anticipated result. I love how the stones look. It's exactly what I hoped it would be.


My DH and my wonderful brother in law put many hours into this project. I am extremely grateful for my brother in law and all of his hard work.


While they were working on the stone patio, I was building my garden boxes. Here they are...


So now, there are only 999 things left to do next spring...

Just kidding, it's actually more like 99!!! It will be green by summer time next year!! Yahoo!!

Camille

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Some cards...

I've managed to find some time for crafting...

Here are two cards I made to thank the people who helped us make the patio and garden boxes in our back yard...

This one is made from some of Bree's Sassafrass Lass. It's such a fun collection. Now onto October's goodies.

Here's another one (made from paper I already had)!


Making these cards made me long for the nights that I can stay home and create...

It's been awhile since I've had that opportunity! We have a retreat coming up and I am REALLY looking forward to the weekend away...100% scrapbooking...yeah!!!

Now, I only need to decide what to take and make a plan for the weekend (that's the hard part)

Camille

I need to be everywhere!

I have no pics from our landscaping project yet...

The stone patio is complete though and it looks great. We are also building a base for our shed and we will be able to empty the garage a little in preparation for the winter months.

Bree is back from her escapades (in New Brunswick with Hurricane Kyle). Check out her blog for a really cute pic of her in the midst of the hurricane!

I am just running around today, but plan on posting some cards that I made over the last couple of days. (that's tonight's activities).

I am actually posting from my DH's work computer while waiting for my son to finish playschool (as my daughter is emptying out my husband's desk drawers). I guess I should clean up the mess before I jet!

...well, maybe I'll just leave the mess as a mark that we were here!!

I'll let you know how that goes over when I post later today!!

Off to pick up my son now...have a great day!

Camille

Friday, September 26, 2008

One stone patio, two garden boxes, three sore fingers and more...

It's been a whirlwind week. I seem to be having many of them lately!

This week's project was laying a stone patio from our walkout basement doors. It's been a few weeks in the planning, but this week was the "action" week.

So, here's how our week started.

MONDAY: It poured like mad and then poured some more. Then, just when we thought it may end, it rained some more! No delivery of road crush for our patio...it was just too wet!

TUESDAY: The sun came out and the delivery trucks arrived. At 0800 am (it was so nice of them to arrive sooooo very early) we got our road crush dumped on our driveway. The trucks were originally going to dump everything in the back yard, but could not because of the rain on Monday). Then a few minutes after the dump truck arrived, along came our 5 pallets of stones. These were also dumped on our driveway for us to carry ourselves into our backyard.

Now, one thing I should mention is that we live on a walkout lot, that means a huge slope between the front yard and the backyard...really fun when you have 130 fifty pound stones to bring into the backyard!!!

WEDNESDAY: The stones made it from the front yard to the back yard. That doesn't seem like much...but my aching arms and sore muscles can tell you that it was quite a bit for one day! Oh yeah, I forgot, we also built my garden boxes. Two 8x4 foot beds built with landscaping ties...which are incredibly heavy once assembled!

THURSDAY: The Bobcat came, dug out our patio area. The Bobcat helped us to move some of the road crush to the dug out area. My brother in law came and helped my husband begin the project.

FRIDAY: I went to work while my brother in law and husband continued the project. I came home mid afternoon to a beautiful sight. They had laid 80% of the stones and it looked AMAZING!! It was finally coming together.

Also, we recruited a neighbor passing by to help move the incredibly heavy garden boxes into the backyard and that became my project. I got a shovel and went to work...

It's now 10pm on Friday and I am wiped. My DH is sitting beside me watching UFC falling asleep (which means he is exhausted if he is falling asleep watching UFC)

All in all, a REALLY productive week. I am looking forward to next spring when we will really be able to enjoy the backyard and I can plant a garden!

I'll take pictures and post them later.

Camille

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Just a note!

I started a new Life Group today. We got together, all 11 of us and it was good. I am really looking forward to starting to read "Captivating" tonight.

I just wanted to say, our Crop Chicks have started blogging at CROP SUEY and it's so much fun to have different and fresh input on our blog.

Today, Michelle posted a great mini-album that she made and I am going to make one as soon as I find some free time. She has REALLY gone above and beyond...it's awesome.

I am off to do some book keeping before I dig into my new book. (then hopefully it will be a relatively early night!)

Later girls!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

A date with Papa and Nana

As I mentioned in my last post, we had a great time at the Corn Maze on Friday night. It was so much fun to run around the labyrinth of trails and finding each marker (even though it was so twisty and turny that we actually did think we lost our direction once or twice).

Robert enjoyed himself thoroughly, it was a great adventure with Nana (Papa stayed behind because his knee was REALLY sore).

Here are some great pics from the evening.


What a beautiful sight, there was even a John Deere tractor plowing the fields in the background. Can you get more Albertan than that?


This is my favorite pic, it was such a beautiful evening and when we were through the maze the kids were READY for bed. They slept really well that night.

I love this pic too. Rob and Robert were having a race (against themselves). If you look closely, Robert is giggling uncontrollably. You know that excited and scared feeling, the one where you think that you just might pee yourself? Yeah, that's what I think he was feeling!


Check out a close up!


Finally, the pic that always melts my heart, Daddy and Reese kissing. It's the sweetest thing seeing how much she soften her Daddy. He just smiles differently at her -she is the "other" lady in his life! I love it!


Anyhow, that's our adventure. I am going to end this one with a BIG "shout out" to my parents. They came to the corn maze with us, after having celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary. It's crazy to think that they have been happily married to each for that long -AND they are still crazy about one another.

I am proud to have such a loving example of a marriage in my life. I love you Dad and Mom!


Enjoy your week. I know that I will be enjoying every moment of laying a stone patio in my backyard (YIPPEEEEE!!)

Camille