PL2019 - Week 26

Here is week 26 of my project life album.

Week 26 actually marks the middle of the year.  Mason's birthday continually falls on the half way point. The halfway point could quite possibly be, my favourite time of year. 

• Miss Libby, loves to sit in the front yard and protect her territory. We also love the long days of June. 
• I didn't give Mason an opportunity to say no, when I told him I wanted a birthday photo with him. 
• Birthday morning tradition, birthday donuts. 
• Out for dinner with the family, birthday boy's choice. 
• We had cake a few days later, because of schedules and working.
• This sky has been familiar again so far this spring.

The following Sahlin Studio product was used: 

Summer Stories Kit: https://the-lilypad.com/store/SS-Summer-Stories-Kit.html

Summer Stories J. Cards: https://the-lilypad.com/store/SS-Summer-Stories-Journal-Cards.html

Epic Road Trip - Part 1

So, we're back from our epic adventure.

Mason was actually the inspiration  behind this trip. Last year he mentioned he'd like to do a road trip. Last year however, when he first talked about it, it was a little too late to begin booking things. So we weren't able to do it. Plus, we had to really think about it, where we wanted to go. What we wanted to do and see. We had to save for it, and prepare our hearts a little bit for it. 

This winter, after the new year, we began to brainstorm and talk about possible destinations. We talked about when and where we'd like to go and be. What we'd like to do and see. We scribbled down a wish list, and from there, had to cull days [our original plan had us gone just over 3 weeks] Barry thought 2 weeks was more reasonable, and affordable. 

We saw so much. I'm so glad I have photos, and I did a journal each and every day. Because now, a week later, things are seriously all melded together.

We started out on our adventure on July 14th. It was a Sunday, our destination was Coeur d'Alene, ID. This post is photo heavy, and includes the first 5 days of our adventure. 

Made our way to dinner,  and passed by this guy. He would be our first family selfie of the trip. There were many, many more to follow.

We woke up to an overcast cooler day. It was our Silverwood day. We hit the water park as soon as it opened. The cooler temps meant it wasn't as busy as I'm sure it can be. We spent a few hours on the waterpark side, then made our way to the other side. I would go back again, for the waterpark alone. It was so much fun. Too bad we didn't have a waterproof camera we could have brought.

Ready to board the first of two big wooden roller coasters. Mad wasn't exactly thrilled...

She did it though!

This first roller coaster was so clacky... I was sure I was going to have a concussion at the end of the ride! 

So far so good, these two have been so good to one another.

All the big rollercoasters were tackled. Mad opted out of the second big roller coaster, which wasn't as clacky, but was way more intense. I thing she made the right decision.

Barry accompanied the kids on the spinning rides and the backwards rides. I know my limits...

These two got FRONT ROW!! I would have had an upset stomach for the remainder of the day had I gone on this one.

A highlight of the trip to Silverwood, was a photo with Garfield.

Arrived in Seaside, OR and immediately made our way to the water.

Our happy place.

She rescued this star fish, put it back into deeper water. So thrilled to find starfish, sand dollars and the sand fleas. This girl was in her element.

Our trip to Cannon Beach, sadly it was POURING rain and so windy. We only did a quick photo here and then carried on.

Made our way to Pacific City, Pelican Pier Brewing. The drive to here was foggy and rainy. We didn't see anything. We had a bite to eat here [it was on our bucket list] It stopped raining for a short time, but as we went outside to walk on the beach and take photos, the rain started up again.

We arrived in the rain in Newport, OR 

We were absolutely soaked. But so happy. 

So thankful to wake up the next morning to a clear sunny day. The wind was howling, and there were wind warnings for this area showing up on our phones. At least the rain stopped.

We went to the Yaquina Light house and were thrilled that we were able to get on a light house tour. They offer a limited amount, and only 15-16 people at a time can go it. Felt very lucky we got to see inside.

114 stairs to the top of the light house. So, so neat to hear all about the duties and responsibilities that light keepers had.

Of course she'd find the skull and vertebrae of a sea gull...

We went down to the beach to watch the sunset, but it was SO windy and cold. The sand was blowing like crazy, so we basically got to the waters edge, and turned around and headed back to the hotel. [For hot chocolate thank you very much!]

Sunset from our balcony. [You can see the light house on the right side of the photo, when it's dark, you can see the light going on and off]

Well, that's a lot of photos, so there's part 1 of our adventure. 

More to follow. 

PL2019 - Weeks 24 & 25

We're back from our epic road trip. 

What an adventure it was. 

I need a few days to gather my thoughts, and I'll post a trip recap with photos here on my blog.

But for now, here's weeks 24 & 25 of my project life album: 

• So many stormy skies so far this spring/summer.
• We rescued a dog in the neighbourhood, twice. And walked him back home to his place. 
• Last day of classes for this Grade 11 kid. [He still had exams to write]
• Wing night with these two, while Mason was away for the weekend. 
• She's taken an interest in Stephen King, and has Pet Sematary on reserve at the library. 
• Practicing our selfie game in preparation for our road trip. 

The following Sahlin Studio product was used: 

Like a Boss - Kit: https://the-lilypad.com/store/like-a-boss-kit.html

Like a boss J. Cards: https://the-lilypad.com/store/like-a-boss-kit

PL2019 - Week 23

I'm scheduling this post of week 23. 

When you read this, I'll be off and away on our family road trip!

We're going to cover a lot of ground over the next few weeks. And see a lot of things. I'm looking forward to taking lots of pictures, and having a lot of pages to document our trip. 

I'm hoping for decent weather, and good attitudes. Traveling with teens can be tricky. Especially if they're hungry... Or in Mason's case, hangry. 

I'm not naive enough to think there won't be a blowout or two... But I hope that we keep them to a minimum, and have great time. I'm sure I'll be documenting on Instagram.

For now, here's week 23 of my album: 

• We've all been excited to watch this season of Alone. The arctic... Yikes. There was a contestant from Texas... Double-yikes. Good luck all!
• Love capturing a different shot of our downtown. As busy as this city is getting, I still love it here. 
• Dirty feet are our sign of summer. 
• Love my front porch when the sun starts to stream in our front door. 
• Another little felted bear for a friend, made by Miss Madelyn. Tried to encourage her to open an etsy shop, but she's not interested at all. 
• Oh. Goodness. That. Angry. Sky. We've seen it so, so much this year. 
• Madelyn and a friend, at their first movie, by themselves.  I remember the first time I dropped Mason off at the movies, with a friend. I think he was in grade 8 too. Maybe grade 7. I was sick to my stomach from the moment I dropped him off, until we picked him up. He paved the way for his sister for sure. 

The following Sahlin Studio product was used: 

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Vibes-Elements.html

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Vibes-Cards.html

PL2019 - Week 22

Well, we're a full week into July.

I'm trying my best to get into some sort of summer routine. 

The novelty of not having to be up first thing and get kids out the door has not grown tiresome yet. 

I'm still trying to put Monday's aside, to do some of my scrapping. I still have a ton to do on my week in the life. But I'm hopeful I'll get it done sometime this summer. Rainy days help, because then I don't feel guilty for being indoors. 

Today is lovely, and I want to get outside before the rain starts.

Here is week 22: 

• When I journaled about Barry and his car, I was kind of kidding, and kind of not. One thing I have learned over the past 20+ years is this: if you're Barry's vehicle. He's going to take care of you. And if you're his spouses vehicle, he will take care of you too, but not with quite the same level of commitment. Which I'm totally okay with. 
• Speaking of Barry, it dawned on me just exactly who he reminded me of with his longer hair.
• She still brought me a dandelion, perhaps I'll get little bouquets this year too. 
• What? Don't you wear eye patches to dinner in your house? 
• Stopping to marvel at the wildflowers on Nose Hill. 
• Katie and Tyson get married... Such a great time! 

The following Sahlin Studio products were used: 

Drift Away Kit - https://the-lilypad.com/store/drift-away-kit.html

Drift Away J. Cards - https://the-lilypad.com/store/drift-away-journal-cards.html

Hurray for Canada!

With the arrival of July, the celebration of Canada Day on July 1st, and Independence Day on the 4th Sahlin Studio is featuring Project Mouse [World] USA & Canada for 40% through July. 

Over the past few years I've created several layouts using this kit. 

Looking at them all together, clearly I have some favourite papers/journal cards.  It might not come as a surprise, that I can't get enough of the cut wood paper... I take photos of stacked wood any chance I get. 

Here they are: 

2019:

Sahlin Studio product - highlighted above, follow link to download. 

July Template Freebie

Happy Belated Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!

We celebrated by spending a wonderfully relaxing day in our yard [after all the yard work was done of course] it was splendid. Then late afternoon, a storm blew in and dropped the temperature from 25 degrees Celsius, to 11...

Lucky us.  

We decided to go watch the fireworks that were being released on the centre street bridge. I'm not going to lie, it was cool. Cool weather-wise I mean. I did wear my mitts, but wished I'd had my toque and a slightly warmer jacket. We all had long pants on at least, we saw an awful lot of shorts and tank tops pass us by... I'm sure they were regretting their decision. Oh the joys of Canada Day in Canada... 

The fireworks were great. Though we couldn't wait to get back to our vehicle and our heated seats, I know we're all glad we made the effort to go. Pretty soon, the kids aren't going to want us to go with us anymore...

The beginning of the month also means a Sahlin Studio template freebie for July. Here is this months template: 

I did a slightly different take, I shrunk mine down to 8x10 size. [No surprise there if you've followed me for a while]

I used this template to document my nephew's wedding.

Tyson and Katie had an outdoor wedding, always a bit risky when you live in a climate that has the potential for snow, 12 months of the year. A few days before the wedding the forest fires in northern Alberta were so bad, there was an air quality advisory out. On Thursday, visibility in the city was almost non-existent. I think we were all a bit worried about the wedding. But Saturday morning, the wind had shifted, and there was very little smoke.

The day couldn't have been more perfect. All that planning paid off.

The following Sahlin Studio product was used:

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Me-and-You-Elements.html

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Me-and-You-Papers.html

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Me-and-You-Journal-Cards.html