We're on Vacation

Christmas vacation, that is.

Our usual routine will be put to the wayside for the next 17 days. T H A N K  G O O D N E S S.

The theme in my life, and many of the people that I know is, the racing of time.

This morning, I actually feel relaxed... I don't feel panicked at all. Not yet that is. That will come. In a day or two.  When I realize everything that I need to do to be ready to head out for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day... 

It's no surprise, to almost everyone who knows me, that I adore summer vacation. Not just because the weather is nice. Trust me, that certainly doesn't hurt. I love summer vacation, because the pace in our life is S L O W.  We usually fit a summer vacation in, for a couple of weeks, which sees me spending more time in a lawn chair, than I would at any other time. It's just a time to relax. To unwind. I know some people don't do relaxation and unwinding very well. I've never had a problem with it. I would even venture to say I'm GOOD at it.

Once the beginning of the school year starts, I most relate to this guy...

It feels like I'm always going.

The beginning of September starts and I think, I will just be this busy until October...

And then when October hits, I think, "things will slow down after Halloween..."




When mini candy bars are being consumed, I imagine, that once November is over, I'll have done all my Christmas shopping done. I'll be finished everything I need to be. I will be able to thoroughly enjoy the month of December. Yes, I decide I'll rush around in November, to have a slow December.

Then suddenly, it's December. I have a ton of shopping done [which was really awesome and I actually had the majority of it done] I still have key items to find... And I'm having a hard time finding said key items.  I begin to panic, ever so slightly. I agree to a cookie exchange, because it sounds like such a great idea, at the time, [it did turn out great, I have 5 different types of baking things to add to our plate]  We have a snow storm, the roads are terrible, I'm grateful you don't have to leave the house, but I realize I need to do some last minute running around, because my kids are off in a few days. Then the reality hits that if my kids are going to be home, I need to sort and wrap gifts because you can't very well do that when they're around. I have to ensure there are an even number... Because after all, someone might notice if there's a discrepancy... And I realize that I forgot about teachers gifts, so I find myself making another 120 cookies the night before school is finished, so they can be given out as gifts. I have to get my kid to a ridiculously busy theater, in the middle of the afternoon, for a birthday party and opening day of the most anticipated movie of the year, then get home and realize, I haven't got my pot luck item ready for the ringette party you're attending...

From September, until now. In a nutshell.

So yes, this morning I have 17 days ahead of me and I'm calm. I'm not worried about what I need for Christmas Eve or whether I have what I need for Christmas Day dinner. No... Today I'm calm...

PL2015 - Weeks 38, 39, 40 & 41

Here are a few more weeks of my project life album.

Week 38

By week 38 we were back into the swing of things, with school, ringette, hockey. I started up on my Thursday morning walks again. This was the week Beakerhead was in town, and we walked through St. Patrick's Island and got to see some of the cool things set up around east village. Johnny Jump Up, blooming in the garden. Well actually, outside of the garden box... All on it's own. Madelyn is still in ringette evaluations.


Week 39 

Enjoying the colours of fall this week. We've been SO lucky. I honestly cant remember a fall that's been this nice. We also made it to Lake Louise and Emerald Lake this week. Both amazing, with the larch trees changing.

Week 40 

Week 40 I got to go on a Grade 5 field trip to Weaslehead. The day could not have been more perfect. It was one of the best field trips I've been on in awhile. Madelyn helped me make dinner, home made chicken pieces. Little Miss went on her first ever horse camping weekend with Uncle Don. She had a fantastic time, though couldn't sit cross legged for a few days at the beginning of the week. 

Week 41

Week 41 was full of excitement. Mum, Libby and I checked out Pearce Estate Park in preparation for taking photos. The back window of my car got smashed while I volunteered in the school. We saw the most amazing sky as we came out of a ringette game in Cochrane. And we celebrated Thanksgiving at Pat's house.

Sahlin Studio Product Used:

Week 38 

Gather - Digital Stamps
Gather - Journal Cards

Week 39

Chesterfield - Kit
Currently Journal Cards
Paper Piercing Stitch Holes

Week 40

Project Mouse No.2 - Bundle 

Week 41

Pause - Kit
Pause Journal Cards
Paper Piercing Stitch Holes 

PL2015 - Weeks 35, 36 & 37

I'm attempting to catch up on my project life pages here on the blog.

My next few project life posts, will be grouped together. I haven't decided how I'm going to handle December yet. In the past, I've done both a December Daily Album, as well as kept up with my project life... Such a predicament to be in...

I'm already behind the ball with this years DD Album. So far, I've only created a title page. Eeks... Since I've done these albums, I've managed to have foundation pages done before hand. This year will be a slightly  new approach. I hope it works out. I adore going back and looking at past albums, so I know I'm going to do my best to complete this years album.

That said, there may be some late nights involved. And I'm okay with that.

Week 35:

This was the week I chose to follow along with Ali Edwards famous 'A Week in the Life'. To some it may seem redundant. But to me, it goes into our daily life in much greater detail that I normally document. This is another project I love and have been doing for multiple years. I love to look back and see how things have both changed and stayed the same over the years. Many of the photos on this layout, were also used in my WITL album. I've nearly completed the album, though I haven't shared it here on the blog. As always, it's a huge effort, but to me, totally worth it once the project is completed.

I didn't follow along the same week Ali did hers, because the kids were in summer camp. I thought if we were documenting the every day, it seemed to make sense to have the kids more included, since they're home for summer vacation. 

Week 36:

This week the kids started back to school. I started back to yoga. Ringette evaluations began the day school started. Hockey evals were later this year, due to the fact that Mason moved up a division into Bantam Hockey. We were definitely lulled into a false sense of 'non-busy' for the first few weeks of September. I have to say, it was a nice way to ease into the school year. I made home made cinnamon buns, that were devoured in 12 hours. Madelyn and I went to COP to watch the Calgary Wrath ringette team, as well as the Team Canada ringette team, play in an exhibition game. It was AWESOME.

Week 37:

We started off Labour Day with the Cochrane Parade. Once again we lucked out on the weather, but for the very first time, the parade was mediocre... As part of our ringette commitment, I had to spend 8 hours of my time, helping out during evaluations. I did a lot of time keeping... And I also spent a good portion of the month shivering. The boys did an early Scout Camp, and went to Johnston Canyon. They couldn't have hand picked a nicer weekend. Lucky for them!

Sahlin Studio Product Used:

Week 35


Paper Piercing Stitch Holes: http://the-lilypad.com/store/paper-piercing-stitch-holes-basic.html
Washi Tape No. 2: http://the-lilypad.com/store/washi-tapes-strips-no.-2.html
All About This: https://the-lilypad.com/store/All-About-This-Digital-Stamps.html



Week 36



Everyday Routine Journal Cards: http://the-lilypad.com/store/the-everyday-routine-journal-cards.html
Everyday Routine – Elements:  http://the-lilypad.com/store/the-everyday-routine-elements.html
Tempatles:  Template: http://the-lilypad.com/store/4x6-Photo-Templates-Vol1.html


Week 37



Documentary Journal Cards: http://the-lilypad.com/store/documentary-journal-cards.html
Documentary Kit: http://the-lilypad.com/store/documentary-kit.html

Recent Layouts

I recently completed two layouts. I'm pretty well current with my scrapbooking, though I do have a load of pages to print off. To print 12x12 pages in Canada, it's gotten a little bit ridiculous cost-wise. In the past I have ordered from Persnickety, but they've increased their international shipping fee. The last time I ordered from them, I thought the product was just kind of 'meh'. Certainly not their best quality. Now, add our poor dollar and exchange rate. I simply can't justify paying for a product I'm not happy with.

I'm contemplating whether or not I should scrapbook my pages as usual, and then create a photo book with the pages once a year. It's not quite the same as looking through an album... But the memories come back, no matter what the format. Something to consider...

I have recently created a lot more 8x8 sized layouts. This size is a lot more reasonable to print off.

Both of these layouts are 8x8 size.

Both of these layouts are Sahlin Studio templates. Both originally 12x12 format. I just altered the sizing, and I'm happy with how they turned out.

This layout, Best Field Trips Ever, is Sahlin Studio Template Freebie, free for the month of November only. You can find it here: Sahlin Studio November Template.

I'm not kidding when I say these were the best field trips ever. It's taken until grade 5 and 8 to have 2 awesome field trips, both within a week of each other. They were also the best, because the weather was AWESOME. I doubt I would have enjoyed either as much, had the weather been foul.

For this layout, I used Sahlin Studio product Explore. Learn. Grow.

The next layout, Horse Camp is another template originally 12x12, that I altered to 8x8 size. It's from this bundle of templates.

I think templates are awesome. So simple when you want to capture a story quickly. The 8x8 size of this worked out well, because the photos I have were very small, and poor quality. Madelyn went camping with her uncle, and he took a ton of photos and sent them to me. I can't tell you how pleased I was to get these pictures of her having such a great time. Even through the pictures aren't great, I was still able to capture her first horse camping trip.

For this layout, I used Project Mouse Frontier Bundle. All the western elements tied in perfectly to her western weekend. Will she go camping again? I think so. Uncle on 'gave her' Lacy [the horse she's riding] She loves to tell everyone that she 'has a horse'. Poor horse though... She hasn't fed or groomed it since the first weekend in October.

PL2015 - Weeks 32, 33 & 34

This takes us back to summer holidays. Not just summer vacation, but our actual holiday.

We were lucky again this year to have super weather. We had a few storms blow through while we were there, but they blew threw, and didn't last days and days. We were lucky that the forest fire smoke didn't bother us too much either, considering that a large chunk of British Columbia seemed to be on fire. The kids both met friends, that were there for the same duration as us. There was lots of play this year.

I did a double page spread, but cut the page protector down a little bit. I wanted to include more photos, but have there be a little bit of interest as well. 

This was the backside of the cut down page protector. I did the same for both weeks of our vacation.

So much time spent outside. So much fun had by the kids. Madelyn fished a ton this year, and finally caught a couple of fish our last few days there. Mason was able to use a kayak and paddle board, spending lots of time doing that.

Week 34, the kids were in a summer camp at COP. So I had hardly any pictures of them this week. They both got ball caps and both had great camp experiences. Madelyn is already hoping to do the Ringette Camp again next year. 

Following Sahlin Studio Products Used:

Week 32 & 33

Flashback Elements
Viewpoint Elements

Week 34
Create - Kit Sampler
Create Journal cards 

PL2015 - Week 31

At this point, we were full swing into summer. We had 4 weeks under our belts, and were in the routine of 'laid back'. It was also the week we were looking forward to heading away on our summer vacation.


Week 31:

This week we did a test bus run. We found out that starting in Grade 8, Mason would be required to get himself to school on his own, via city transit.  We looked up the route he needed, where he'd have to transfer, and took ourselves on a little adventure. I wanted him to be familiar with the stops he'd need to get on/off at. When I explained to the bus driver what we were doing, he was incredibly kind. He told me I was a great Mum, and then didn't let us pay our fare. He gave us transfers, and said kind words to us the whole time we were on that bus. This week was also the week Madelyn decided she wanted to cook supper. It went surprisingly well, and we have had them again since. I also realized this week that Mason has shot up in height quite a bit, since May. We also headed west, towards BC for our annual summer vacation. Traffic was insane, but thankfully thinned out by the time we got to Lake Louise.

Sahlin Studio Product Used:

Like A Boss Kit
All About This - digital stamps
Photo Templates Vol. 1 - landscape

PL2015 - Week 30

Week 30 fell in the middle of the summer.

This was the week I took the kids camping with a friend.

This is the week I felt kind of empowered because 1) I took the kids camping with a friend. [I was the one that loaded the vehicle with camping stuff, coolers of food, bevvies (both child and adult friendly) I gathered clothes and extra blankets. I loaded bikes onto the bike rack [which is a lot trickier than it looks]

and 2) Because I went camping. In the woods. with my kids. Without Barry.

I did stay in a tent trailer, which kept my bear anxiety at bay. Well, between the trailer and the wine, that was what kept my bear anxiety at bay...

Any way, here is week 30: 

Sahlin Studio Product Used:

Composition Elements
Composition Journal Cards
Composition Paper

I also used these Photo Templates, Vol. 1 in Portrait.
  

I created the 8 picture collage by altering one of the templates. 

Template Freebie

I wanted to share with you, that every month Sahlin Studio has a freebie template, which can be downloaded for free, for the month. You can find October's template here. Stop what you're doing, and go and get it. Now. I'll wait.

Now that you've done that, here's what I did with this months template freebie:

I just wanted a quick page, to document our summer trip. All the colours were fighting with one another, so I changed all the pictures to black and white, and just had one colour photo on the page.

I also created another quick page, to document our anniversary. We actually went to the mountains, because that's how Barry wanted to spend his birthday, but our anniversary happened too, so we combined them. We drove up to Moraine Lake, which I've heard about countless times, seen so many pictures of, that I know immediately where the picture has been taken, but have never actually seen it with my own eyes.

This particular day [also our Lake Louise day] we had every kind of weather. We ate our picnic lunch outside in the sun. [It was very pleasant] We got whipped by snow and wind, as evidenced by this photo below. Then we mooched around Banff with sweaters on, later in the day.

 
 The following Sahlin Studio Products were used:

October, template freebie - link above.

Celebrate Elements and Paper: https://the-lilypad.com/store/celebrate-elements.html 
http://the-lilypad.com/store/celebrate-papers.html

And, Reflection Kit & Journal Cards:

PL2015 Week 28 & 29

Now that fall is in high gear I'd like to zip through my summer pages a little bit faster. 

We have been so fortunate this year. We had a mild winter, which was lovely. Though, too bad we bought ski passes... A beautiful spring, that in my experience is not very typical. Summer was fantastic, though a bit hazy because of all the forest fires throughout BC and the states. And finally, fall. It's been splendid.

Last year, after our freakish September snow storm, our fall was virtually non-existent. Leaves simply died and fell off the trees. This year, we've been able to marvel at the colours. Sadly, this weekend the forecast is for about 3 degrees with a rain/snow mix. Any leaves remaining, will come down I'm sure.

Nose Hill has looked awesome too. I took the kids up last week, and even with the dreadful wind  blowing, the leaves stayed put.





We even made a trip to Banff/ Lake Louise last weekend because [gasp] we had no ice times! The larch trees where changing and I really wanted to see it. The weather was cool, and we did in fact get snowed on. We were dressed for mountain weather, many were not. I guess we had the advantage of knowing how quickly the weather can change. But even with the frigid temperature, the scenery did not disappoint.

 There's the snow!

She loves nature. She kept saying how beautiful everything was all day long.

This is the first time I've been here [aside from the winter months obviously] that there was not a single person out on the water in a canoe.

 A glimpse of the larches along the tree line. [With Madelyn looking inland...]

It was definitely snowing down the valley.

Another glimpse of the larch trees along the treeline.

Any way, now that we've looked at fall and our current weather situation, back to my summer layouts:

Week 28:

This week we went to Qarry Lake in Canmore with friends. It was super hot, and  a dip in this refreshing mountain lake was perfect. Eating ice cream with a cousin, trying to stay cool. Mad, outside reading. At 10 pm, it was the coolest we'd been all day. Mason went camping this weekend with another family. I loved that the Mum sent me texts and photos of him having a great time. A big deal for Madelyn, I surprised her and took her to get her ears pierced. A back yard camp out. You two slept out there all by yourselves!

Week 29:

This week we went for a picnic to Sibbald Lake. Madelyn caught frogs! So there was much excitement about that. We took Miss Libby, who had a great time. Mason is hard to pin down for pictures these days, so I take them when I can. Mason took over flyer delivery for a friend while he was on vacation. Bar and I got a quick golf game in while the kids were at sleep overs.

Sahlin Studio Product Used:

Week 28

Like a Boss - Kit
Like a Boss - Journal Cards


Week 29 

Celebrate - Elements 
Photo Journal No.1 - Word Art

Executive Decision

So, I've made an executive decision. I'm going to start putting my scrapbook pages on my blog too. I haven't done that in the past. And why the heck not? Because I almost always love how they've turned out. So, here are a few pages I did over the summer.

Lake Minnewanka:


  Libby's First Year:

Journey to Braces:


 Lake Louise:

Pierced Ears:

Bus Ride: 
 

All digital products used are Sahlin Studio.

Lake Minnewanka:  Country Road Elements & Paper

 

Libby's 1st Year: July Template freebie, Stamped Sentiments2:LoveArt & Shine Bright 

Journey to Braces: Viewpoint Elements, Journal Cards & Paper

Lake Louise: Documentary Kit & Papers

Pierced Ears: Celebrate Elements, Journal Cards & Papers

Bus Ride: Like a Boss Kit and Journal Cards 

 

Random Rambling and PL2015 - Week 27

Now that the kids are back to school, and night time comes, I seem to lose all momentum and find myself sitting in front of the TV.

First of all, it's hard to believe that the kids have been back to school for 3 weeks. Already it feels like summer was in the very distant past. So far, We've only had one bus pass mishap. The pass was forgotten on the bus. (I can only assume he wouldn't have left it there on purpose) A junior high student, called us to tell us she'd found it.  I'd had the foresight to jot down our phone number on the back, along with Mace's name, and it definitely worked out in our best interest on this day. This 4th day of school... Day 4 people. The "we will buy you the first bus pass of the month, and then you're,on you own for the next one" lecture seems to have helped a bit. So far he's kept track of it.

We've also gotten very familiar with the rinks again.  Back at it. Blankets. Wool mitts. Fleece. LOTS and LOTS of fleece.


And of course, I'm spending a ton of time at the school again. I'm currently doing my last stint as volunteer coordinator. This is the busiest time of the year. I might have attempted to high-five the school secretary, the exact moment when I realized I won't be doing this again next year.

Our poor Libby is wondering what on earth has happened. She went from having us home all the time, to me running in and out repeatedly throughout the day.

Guides is back up and running as is Scouts. The boys have already been out camping. Things are hopping.

I'm still feeling lucky to be a stay at home Mumma. I'm ever so grateful to be supported by my hubby.

I also followed along with Ali Edwards a Week in the Life. I did get the pictures all printed and put in the places/order I want, but there are a lot of finishing touches to do. I actually ordered Ali's kit this year. I'm pleased with how it's looking. I just have to find the time to finish it. How do people do it all? I don't even have a job to try and wrangle around. Yet I still fall behind.

And that's it. Up to speed. What's happening right now.

Oh yes, which brings us back to the part where I lose all my momentum and don't want to do anything. But zone out in front of the telly. Because by the time kids are in bed, good nights are said, and threats start up, the 'if you come out of your room again' type scenarios, it's well after 9 pm. Usually between 9:30-10:00 pm. Who wants to start a project then? Not me. I'm exhausted... The start up of school, the early mornings and just the hustle-bustle of life, is just as hard on me as it is on the kids.

Here's week 27:

This was a great week, our first full week off school for summer vacation. We made our first trip to the library. We hung out on Nose Hill. We celebrated Canada Day downtown. We went to Lake Louise and hiked up to the Agnes Tea House. [I also marvel at how I took a photo of the kids, where it looked like were were the ONLY ONES at Lake Louise] And believe me... There were hundreds of people there. Too many...

Sahlin Studio Products Used:

Foundation add on kit

PL2015 - Week 26

This week was pretty exciting. The Sahlin Studio Creative Team got new banners to add to our layouts. Now everyone’s layouts look neat and tidy, when posted on the various web pages. There’s also a professional look to the layouts posted.

Here is week 26:

 The last week of school happened, and Madelyn had her traditional last day of school photos with her teachers. Mason turned 13. THIRTEEN... Celebrated his birthday wake up with a donut cake, and later on, went for dinner. I got our first "I'm bored" of the summer. We had a couple of family birthday celebrations and Mace had a couple of friends over for pizza, video game marathon and a sleep over. 

Sahlin Studio Product Used:

Worth a Thousand Words: Elements and Journal Cards

PL2015 - Week 25

My outdated computer is beginning to give me some grief.

In the world of instant and now, I hate to wait. I hate to watch that little circle, circling round and round, and everything being ever so slow. Isn't it funny, how far we've come? When I was first introduced to the 'internet' we marveled at how we could get information to appear, right in front of us! In a matter of minutes.

Now, if it's not doing what I want, in a matter of seconds, I'm frustrated.

This morning it took me 40 minutes to load my pages to different websites. 40 minutes... That is cray-cray. It should have been done in 5.

Without any more waiting, or circles, [hopefully] here is week 25:

Week 25 puts us back to the middle of June.

A road trip with my Mum, to check out the Highwood Pass. It had just opened, and there were hardly any cars. There was hardly anyone period. Would definitely aim to do this drive again in June. Or September. So much better without hoards of people. We had a Jurassic Park fail. Madelyn wanted to see it, but it proved to be too much. Chatting with Barry via face-time. We've done this a handful of times, and I'm still startled to see people out in public, walking down the mall, face-timing someone... It's just weird. A picture of Bar and his kids on Father's Day.

Sahlin Studio Products Used:

Create - Add on
Create - Journal cards

PL2015 - Weeks 23 & 24

Today is Sunday. The last Sunday of summer. Part of me is relieved, because the fighting and boredom busters are killing me. But part of me is dreading September 1st, because that means we're back at it. Hugely back at it.

Madelyn's first ringette evaluation is September 1st, the same day school starts. Mason has free skates on Thursday and Friday. I think their evaluations start after the long weekend, which has something to do with quadrant hockey. If I understood all that mumbo-jumbo correctly. With ringette, I'm signed up for 8 volunteer sessions, from Sept 3rd - 18th... Which, fingers crossed, will give me my 8 hours of mandatory volunteer commitment, which is something that happens BEFORE you even get placed on a team. Once you have a team, there are volunteer commitments as well. Crikey.

So, this means that with Madelyn's evaluations, and Mason's evaluations and 8 hours of 'off-ice, but IN the rink' volunteer times, most of my September will be spent in, on, or near an arena...

So yeah, I'm dreaming of next June...

It's my favourite.

Any way, don't mean to be Debbie-Downer. Poor me, I know, I know. It's just that we've had the most amazing winter/spring/summer that I can remember, and I'm dreading being cold. Time to dust off the Uggs and toques. Time to find fleece and wool socks. So I can stay cozy...

Suddenly the pictures in my header are more realistic after all!

Here are weeks 23 & 24 of my project life book:

Week 23:

 

These photos go back to June! Eeks! A before photo of our house, with the blue spruce tree. [We've had it removed] A grade 4 field trip to Nose Hill. The weather was absolutely perfect. Little miss, reading. My chives blooming like crazy. Celebrating National Donut Day. A wine spritzer with some blueberries for garnish.

Week 24:
 

The sun is starting to get warmer, and it's lasting longer. Sports day at the school. Getting ready for braces... Madelyn trying out to be a 'safety buddy' at school. Barry catching a catnap on the couch with the dog. [Tree was removed, so the sun now streams in] The Dateline Rock 'n Roll crew at school, they put on an amazing show. Celebrating Ama's Birthday.

Sahlin Studio Product Used:

Week 23

Acrylic Arrows
Documentary - Elements



Week 24 

Drift Away - Elements
Drift Away - Journal Cards

PL2015 - Week 22

We decided to come back from our vacation.

Well, we didn't exactly decide to come back. We only had 2 weeks booked at our little cabin.   And after 2 weeks in a teeny-tiny little cabin, our house seems like a mansion. We can all be in the house together, and not be falling over each other. It's delightful.

This week the kids are at camp.

I planned that right. This Mumma gets a little bit of quiet time. It too, has been delightful. What isn't quite as pleasant however, is the 7 am wake up and 7:45 departure. That's tough after 7 weeks of leisurely wake ups. I'm thankful we still have one more week to sleep in. And then we'll be right back into the thick of it.

The thick of it, which includes, school starting, Scouts, Girl Guides, hockey and ringette evaluations. Extra curricular activities [for Junior high that is]

At least this fall I have an idea what's in store for us from September through November. Last year, I just about turtled...You know, on the ground, in my shell. [Arms, legs, head, all tucked inside. Like a turtle]  From the shock of our hectic schedule. This year I know what's coming.

I have two more weeks of the pace I long for... Not going to take it lightly.

Here's week 22 of my project life album:

This week: I went on another field trip with the Grade 7's, this time to the Tyrrell Museum. We spent more time on the bus to and from the museum, than at the museum itself. Even with that, the kids rated this the "BEST FIELD TRIP EVER".  Checking out the Peace Bridge on a downtown walk. I also joined an instameet, which was a HUGE step out of my comfort zone. It was really cool to meet a group of people who love to take pictures the same way I do. I was quite prepared to go on future meets, but my schedule hasn't worked out for a single one since. Hoping that changes for August's meet. Took a day trip out to Lake Minnewanka. We hiked about 11 km return. We went to the look out point that the scouts had gone to. We even brought Libby with us. She did really good. We took Madelyn to the Humane Society, she had collected $$ in lieu of presents for her birthday. Pretty proud of this girl.

Sahlin Studio Product Used:

Celebrate Elements
Celebrate Paper
Celebrate Journal Cards

On vacation

And I'm having a good time.

We've had a few sweltering days.

We've had a few chillier days.

I chuckled when I logged in this morning. At the header I have on top of this blog. Because the winter scene I have up there couldn't be further from what the weather actually is.

I got all techie. I forwarded phones from my iphone to my iPad, attempting to add a few summer pics. A few lake photos.

Turns out though, that I'm no techie at all. Because I can't get pictures off my iPad. I can't get pictures off my iphone either. Because I tried that too. Well, that's not completely true. I could get this picture off my iphone. Again, not at all what the weather we're experiencing right now. But, looking at photos of Calgary and a recent hail storm, could have been taken on Tuesday apparently.

But the thing, about this picture. How did I make it snow?

If I could remember, then obviously I could probably put myself back into the techie category. IF I COULD REMEMBER.

On VAY-CAY. Having a good time. Header picture and picture above in NO WAY REPRESENT the weather we're experiencing.

Oh.

For future reference. Trying to do a blog post on an iPad sucks.

PL2015 - Weeks 20 & 21

Here are a couple more layouts to add to this years book. Week 20 and 21, and as I type this post, I should be in bed sleeping, because I'm heading out on vacation tomorrow.

But of course, I mastered in procrastinating...

That's a thing you know.

So, without further adieu, here they are:

Week 20:

 We are right in the middle of spring activities. Mason's tennis lessons are going great, and Madelyn is still loving rock climbing [even though my heart hammers in my chest when suddenly she's not attached to anything above...] My girl and I had a lunch date this week, and Mason was in a track and field meet at school. He did long distance running, 2000 metres. We also did our annual trip to Medicine Hat to meet up and have a great visit with friends. Love you guys! Love that the kids get together and just start where they left off last time. Was lots of fun.

 Week 21:

Did my first ever 'Paint Nite' with my Mum. It was a lot more nerve wracking than I expected, but we did have lots of fun and lots of laughs. Would recommend. Madelyn and her friend beautifying the fort in the back yard. Field trip with Grade 7's, downtown to watch Alice in Wonderland, en Francais... Lunch date with my boy. Family bike ride. Madelyn is finally starting to get a bit more comfortable on her big bike. Also, on an early dismissal afternoon, Mason and I rode our bikes to and up Nose Hill. It was awesome.

Sahlin Studio Products Used:

Week 20:


Drift Away Elements
Drift Away Journal Cards


Week 21:


Pure Happiness Elements
Pure Happiness Journal Cards
Paper Piercing Stitch Holes: Basic

PL2015 - Weeks 18 & 19

For these two weeks, I had more pictures that I wanted to add. But not enough to create these pages into two page spreads. These two weeks, the photo templates that I used allowed me to add more photos to a regular 4x6 sized picture:
 
Week 18:

We thought Mason was feeling tired and lethargic from a sleepover, but after sleeping Saturday and Sunday away I took his temperature, and realized something more than simply 'being tired' was going on.  Using my 'new' mug. Needed to add some room for journaling, since my photo had lots of pictures of the music concert. Celebrating a special someones 10th birthday. Scout celebration at  Edworthy park.

These two pictures are using these templates mentioned above.

Love that I was able to get both the temperature photo, as well as our trip to the doctor. [It was just a virus, he made a speedy recovery]

Was able to capture Madelyn playing all of the instruments she used in the concert. Glad to use this template to have all the photos together. Still can't believe we could actually see her the whole time! 

Sometimes when just using a single page protector, you need to change things around a little bit. I created one photo, then cut it in half, to be separated by two 3x4 pockets. Love that I could capture this 25 Year celebration of the scouts in our area.


Week 19:

Some downtime reading on the couch. Love that Miss Libby was in the photo as well, in one of her favourite chairs. Scout's camping in Banff. We lost Sayid the fish this week... We had that little blue dude for over 2 years! Our tennis boy. Emergency trip to the vet with a dog that ate something she shouldn't have... Birthday party at the roller rink. Picture of me with my favourite little people.

Using this template again, able to capture multiple pictures of the boys Scout Camp in Banff. They did lots of different things over the weekend.



This could be one of my favourite templates. Love the large square space for a picture, and the minimal journaling spot.

Following Sahlin Studio Products Used:

Week 18
Photo Templates Vol. 1
Shine Bright Elements & Journal Cards


Week 19 
Photo Templates Vol. 1
Birthday Cake Elements and Journal card
Flashback Elements