Summer Vacation Begins...

Yes, today was offically our first real day of summer vacation and it's been pretty darn good I'd say!  Let me qualify that by saying it could have been better if Kyle hadn't woken me up at 5:57am to open the pieces of his new Star Wars Lego!  I opened them, sent him to his room and promptly went back to sleep for an hour!

I did manage to get a few minutes to play with my happy mail I mentioned yesterday.  I decided to try the sketch from Cardabilities since it seemed a little different than my usual style.  I used a stamp from TPC Studios and a couple of punches along with all the goodies in my Key Ingredients box and there you have it...

I had Sophia and Matthew today since Sophia seemed to be feeling better.  They stayed in their jammies for a while and just played.  Finally around 10am, I managed to convince everyone to get dressed so that I could go pay our taxes (fun times!) and pop over to Tracy's for a bit.  Stopped and got us coffee and the kids had an hour or so to play before we headed back here for lunch.

Everyone had lunch, the kids played inside and out, and Matthew napped.  I finally kicked Kyle outside at one point to get some fresh air and to get him doing something other than building Lego! 

Now, not only did Matthew nap, but Nathan is having one right now.  I let him play Wii for a bit this afternoon since he hadn't played in a few days and one minute we was playing and the next, he was sleeping!  He was up late last night and then I think he heard Kyle early this morning too, so I'll leave him for a few more minutes and then I have the uneviable task of trying to wake up that little bear!

Think it'll be a relaxing evening at home and then George has the next 5 days off.  I don't have my niece and nephew during that time either though I do have a couple of shifts at the store.  Looking forward to the break and to Canada Day festivities tomorrow!  Enjoy...

Cheers,

Happy Birthday Kyle!!

Yes, it's very hard to believe, but my "baby" is 7 today!  And this was the best of about a dozen shots if you can believe it!  hee hee

He had sort of a funny day because he had an hour and a half of school and it was essentially an assembly for the Grade 7 "graduation".  Usually, the Kindergarten kids give roses to the Grade 7s, but there weren't enough, so Kyle and a couple of kids in his class got to help as well.  The kids played a little while after school and then we were done there for the year!  Crazy!

Sophia is sick today, so I have Matthew, but not her.  Tracy wanted some ginger ale and Gravol for her, so the boys and I went and got a few things to take over there.  We didn't stay, but headed back here for lunch instead.  Matthew is napping and Kyle is waiting for me to finish so he can play computer while Nathan plays with the new Star Wars toys that Kyle got for his birthday!

This is the card I gave Kyle's teacher with her end of the year present which was a gift card for Staples and the following...

This was a card organizer that I saw online and used this fun Piggy Tales Thumbelina paper for.  I have seen a few tutorials and videos for this, so check them out and try it!  I alternated patterned paper and cardstock pages in mine.  Such a great gift and quite easy after the first one! Another great Bind It All project too!  The first tutorial link has the calendar pages I used inside it as well!

Well, think that's about it!  Oh I had a wonderful mail day yesterday...

I didn't have time to play with it yesterday, but I got my first Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients package and a few extra goodies I ordered as well (like the bag of buttons!)!  Check out the link to see all the goodies and why I'm so excited!  Yeah! 

Hope to play a little tonight with any luck though we're going out for dinner to Denny's  - at Kyle's request!  And then we're having George's parents over for cake and presents as well.  Maybe after everyone's in bed...

Cheers,

What a weekend!

OK, so the craziness was really Saturday, but the weekend went by in a blur!  I worked Friday night until late and then got up first thing Saturday morning to get the house ready for Kyle's 7th birthday party - Star Wars themed of course!

I had made invitations very quickly one day and used one of the great images at MagsGraphics that they so kindly shared!  Used the one with Darth Vadar and the cake!  If you need a quick Star Wars card for someone, this is the place to find a quick one to print off!

The kids started coming about 10:30am and played outside until everyone got there.  We were ready to get started, so they all came in to watch a video on the computer of the above.  It was "Darth Vadar" threatening to ruin the party by taking the cake and all the presents and goodies for the party.  After watching this, they had a puzzle to put together that told them to go up to the park.  We all headed off up there and then they had to try and shoot a starship!  I need to get some pictures of this from a friend because George created a catapult that we put plastic Easter eggs in to shoot at the "starship" - aka toy plane!  Once they had destroyed it, they had to dig under it and they found a rope that they pulled and followed to a note that told them to come back home to find everything for the party.

We came home and everyone had a snack and we played a Star Wars version of pin the tail on the donkey, but with trying to hit and blow up ships in space instead. George made lunch while we played and then it was lunch, cake and presents.  George made the 3 layer cake vanilla and chocolate!) to look like the body of R2-D2 and then we put the characters on the top as well. 

We got a special shooting torch candle thing for his cake and it was a hit!  W had one more little surprise up our sleeves and it was something we'd never done at a party for the kids before...

a pinata!!

I couldn't find a pinata in the shape of the Darth Vadar mask as everyone that should have had them seemed to be backstocked, but the woman at the party place suggested just getting a regular pinata and then cutting a mylar balloon around the outside and putting the 2 pieces on either side of the pinata.  It worked perfectly!  And I'm very happy to say that the kids were great about it both in terms of safety and with sharing what was in it.  It went so well that I definitely do it again!

It really was a lot of fun and Kyle was spoiled by all his friends.  There were a lot of Star Wars presents for sure as well as a soccer ball (*which is great because he loves playing at school and it was a World Cup ball as well), a couple of Super Soakers, a new game, a craft book for boys and some Bakugan!  All the kids sure do seem to know Kyle well and that'll help keep us busy for part of the summer!

Last night, I whipped up some quick thank you cards using some Star Wars stickers from Creative Imaginations and a little cardstock.  Added a thank you stamp and let Kyle write them out this morning.  He was very proud to be giving them to his friends this morning and I'm glad he's learning the importance of a little thank you note as well!

All done for another year other than some presents and cake on his actual birthday (tomorrow) now... 

Worked yesterday and had a relaxing evening other than making Kyle's thank you cards.  Suddenly the weekend was over as quickly as it started!  Only today and an hour and a half tomorrow at school for Kyle and then he's done for Grade one as well!  Crazy to think about how quickly this year has gone!

Before I ifnish here, I just want to wish my parents a VERY Happy Anniversary today as well!  You're an amazing example of what marriage should be!  Love you both very much...

Cheers

Birthday Wishes and a Trip to the Beach!

Well, just want to start by wishing my mum a very Happy Birthday!  We're not able to see you today, but we're thinking about you and hoping you're having a fun day with dad!

It's been so crazy around here of late and I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping up here, but we've had Nathan's preschool fly-up, Kyle's dance recital, a field trip, a sports day, Father's Day, and this weekend will be Kyle birthday party too!  It's been a crazy month!

Tracy called this morning though with the idea of heading to the beach with the kids, so after taking Kyle to school, I took the 3 other kids and went and picked up Tracy and off we went!  What a wonderful morning for it too!  There were obviously some school groups there with a ton of kids playing, but it was gorgeous and we had a great time with the pictures to prove it...

A good time was had by all!  Great idea Trace!

Cheers,

PS Hope to have more scrappy stuff to post soon!  Working on classes now, but desperately want to play with some of my own layouts!

Happy Father's Day DAD!

This is one of those days when I need to say an extra special thanks to my dad for being the amazing man, dad and grandpa that he is!  Kind, loving, supportive, compassionate are just a few words that I'd use to describe him, but the list goes on and on. 

I don't even know if he realizes all the little ways that he supports us, but I can think of so many little situations where he's said the right thing, been there to listen or just given me a hug.  Now, I fully realize that no one is perfect and that as parents we all just do our best, but your best is pretty darn good dad and I love you for it!

Happy Father's Day!
Love you,

Inspired by Bo Bunny!

Card inspired by Lisette Gibbons

OK, so I needed to get three thank you cards done last week and I didn't have a lot of time!  I picked up some of the new Bo Bunny Petal Pushers line and came home and was immediately inspired!

It might be hard to tell, but the butterfly and some of the flowers on this one are chipboard and I added gems to some of the flowers as well.

Sorry that the lighting wasn't the best when I quickly took the pictures, but you get the idea!  I'm working on a class with this line right now as well for an August class, so people who are local can keep their eyes out for that!

I do have a lot more to update, but I'd better leave it at that for now! 

Have a great day everyone!

Cheers,

Christmas Cards in June!

OK, this is a little late, but I haven't had much time or ANY luck with Blogger lately when I do have a little time...

Here's our challenge for June....In honor of summer let's use at least one bright color on our card and a favorite embellishment.  The bright on this is the green, but it didn't photograph quite as brightly as it really is!  For my fav embellishment of late, I used some bling since I've been having fun using it on all kinds of cards!

Leave a comment if you do our challenge! Please only enter NEW CARDS that are made in JUNE.

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of JUNE! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

This month the RAK is another great set from SU!  Plus Deanne'll throw in a couple other little goodies.  :0)

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks!

YOU NEED TO LET US KNOW IN THIS POST WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE 5 CARDS IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE MONTHLY PRIZE.

We can't wait and see what you create this month! Check out the link to see the inspiration from the other design team members!  Have fun!

Cheers,

Photo Booth Fun!

A couple of weeks ago, the 4 of us went to the mall on a Saturday.  Daddy got sucked into a trip to Build a Bear and the kids had a ton of fun.  We stopped for a quick lunch too and then got ready to head out.  As we were walking towards the exit closest to the car, I saw a photo booth and asked the boys if they wanted to try it.  Kyle wasn't interested, but Nathan was all over it and you can see what we got! 

I think this was the highlight of my day and what a great, funny little memory of Nathan at 4!

Cheers,

PS I have so much to post, but no time...  eventually!

Happy Anniversary Hon!

Just want to take a minute to wish my wonderful hubby, George, a very Happy 8th Anniversary!  I love you for all the amazing little things you do and the way you're there for all of us and love us the way you do...

Will write another looooong update soon, but needed to start with that today!

Love,