Scrapbook Savvy

More layouts to share

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Some of my favourite pictures are of Gracie wearing this Easter dress. What a little ham!!

Another day at the park...

Playing in the hamper with Cousin Jada

And the ups and downs of potty training, recorded

Sigh. As my mom pointed out, I have to make the same amount of pages for any subsequent children I have. Guess we're done...

Gymnastics

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Gracie started gymnastics after Christmas and really likes it. It's a perfect way to burn off energy and she seems to be a natural monkey/tumbler/obstacle course completer....

Eye of the Tiger... see that focus???

Foam pit fun

Lots of excitement underway all ready in 2012!

Layouts

2012-01-17T14:37:00.001-07:00

I have a stack of layouts to post, but I'm saving some of my favourites... not sure what for, but these are some of my not-so-favourites.... That's right, you only get my B game.

Ha! Enjoy!

PS. I think I'm sharing these because they look so warm and summery and it's so cold and miserable outside right now.

This is the first page of a double layout

Here's page 2

I love the picture of her pushing her little bike. That's just her determination and character encapsulated in a photo.

Meanwhile, my little stinker just went to bed without stories, because she refused to eat her last two bites of chicken.... Maybe that's why I wanted to show these, to remind myself that she's so cute.

Dec. 26 and 27

2012-01-13T14:43:00.002-07:00

December 26

We headed back to the farm and Gracie and Grams had more fun playing peek in the bath tub!

And then mellowed out by looking at Gracie's new scrapbook album.

On the 27th, we had Benedict Christmas at my parents and had a great skating party/weiner roast, and lots of treats!

Bad parent! If you were Britney Spears this would be news.

A beetle frozen in the ice was a big highlight.

Cute cousins.

This can't be good for the skates....

My aunt, cousin and brother.

Trying to hide the marshmallow on his cheeks. To late Gray!

Christmas Day

2012-01-10T14:18:00.002-07:00

First off,

Happy Birthday Grandma Sackett!!!!!

Hope you have a great day.

Now, here's more pictures for my Picture a Day Book for December.

The girls growling at Grams and 'Rhondar' was the funniest part of the day, in my opinion.

Look at how funny this is to them!

Or perhaps, the new board game Kate brought.... very entertaining.

Back to the Christmas Countdown

2012-01-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

Day 23 - Cheaters, all of them!

Day 24 - Benedict Gift opening and William's 1st Birthday

Enjoying a nie cup of coffee

The kids enjoying volume two of Grams year in review albums.

Look at him motoring away!

Who's that playing with Jada's remote control car???

Yummy!!!

A fantastic birthday feast.

Jada and Gracie showed William how to play with his new gifts.

What a fun day!

Layouts

2012-01-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

I have a backlog of layouts and need to sort through the rest of our trip photos before I can post any, so here's something for you to look at while I work...

Gracie and her Bestie, Berlyn:

Gracie and some of my friend's kids:

Hunting for Easter eggs at Grams and Papa's:

Trying on lifejackets at the lake:

Tis the Season for Decorations

2011-12-22T23:12:00.003-07:00

These are two of my new favourites. The centrepiece is made of Christmas decorations that I got last year after Christmas, (the balls, pears, and a divine feather wreath - unfortunately, you can't see it well from this angle) pinecones from some old potpourri, a cheap-o vase from Value Village and a neat brown, leather-looking plate my mom gave me.

Happiness on a platter.

This is a card holder that I made out of an old, hardcover book. I made a few of these for the sale and I had one left over, so it became mine.

Of course, Gracie's new Advent Calendar is another favourite, but it got a whole post to itself, awhile back.

I am all caught up on my little mini Christmas album and when I closed it tonight, it made me do a little happy dance (very little, everyone else is in bed, and I all ready think I may be going a little crazy, I don't need the neighbours to have evidence).

This is a great project. It makes me think about Christmas every day and captures all of the little things that go on in our household.

I'm definitely in the Christmas Spirit this year!

Fa La La La La La La La La!

Decorating Cookies

2011-12-21T15:15:00.003-07:00

Gracie and I decorated all 8 dozen cookies today! Wowza!

She was very diligent at first.

This is the exact moment she realized this was icing... Why was it going on the cookie when it could go directly into her mouth??

Some of the finished masterpieces and the Cookie Artist.

Apron Buddies. Gracie tested the cookies and gave them a resounding "Deeelishous!'

*****

Batch two started off well.

I convinced her not to lick the spatula and gave her a brush to paint on the icing.

Then, I realized the icing was being painted on the counter.

Gracie's beautiful, delicious cookies! Notice they are sprinkled with dinosaurs, race cars, and every colour of sprinkles under the rainbow. These are cookies for all seasons.

Legislature Lights

2011-12-20T20:46:00.001-07:00

We visited the Legislative Grounds today to see all the Christmas trees lit up. It was really pretty. Even had a bit of snow to make it feel more like Christmas.

Don't you LOVE my new camera?? I do. These were all taken without flash and held by hand!!! Awesome!

Chinese Martha Stewart

2011-12-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

I love baking and Gracie is such a big help, I thought we'd stay home from strollersize this morning and get some Christmas baking done!

Here's my Primo egg cracker, preparing for a pitch.....

And, Bam! into the bowl it goes!

Oh yes, and she's wearing a toque for phase one of this production...

Preparing to roll out the dough...

(Note: she is now wearing her apron and no toque)

The flour is good and spread...

I actually get dough!!

Who needs the rolling pin now that there's dough?

Hands are so much better!

Now that I cleared the whole morning to make cookies, I doubled the recipe.

Might as well make lots, I thought.... Gracie loves making cookies, I thought.... nope. Today, she didn't have the patience. I made 8 dozen freakin' sugar cookies and she stayed for 6.... Not 6 dozen.

Six cookies.

Luckily, she had tons of new toys to distract her, so I cracked through the rest by myself while she played. With just two batches left, she got bored, so I turned on a 20 minute video and she learned Chinese (really, she loves this cartoon where they teach the kids Chinese).

Not bad, just not the morning I expected.

And, if you were thinking, "My these photos look nice," they do!! They were taken with my new Christmas present!

Even unedited, they look so much better than my old camera's pictures. It wasn't entirely my fault! Hooray!

Christmas Morning

2011-12-19T15:16:00.001-07:00

We woke up on 'our' Christmas morning to snow.....

and Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk.....

and the carrots were gone....

And... wait! What's this??!!

HUGE stockings were filled to overflowing!

Gracie checked hers out. It seems Santa left his whole sack just for her!

There were markers,

and Disney Princesses,

and sooooo many treats for such a good little girl!

(Who does Santa think he is, tucking a Flames jersey in her stocking??)

Even dad got goodies!

And Bailey!

And mom!

Now presents? Wow!

A cash register!

Wow!! We got spoiled this Christmas! Thanks Santa!

Getting Ready...

2011-12-17T21:08:00.001-07:00

Santa is coming early to our house. We made special arrangements because we'll be away, so he's coming TONIGHT!!!!

Gracie got milk and cookies ready for him and set out carrots for the reindeer.

She's excited!!

Day 16-Candy Cane Lane

2011-12-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

I need to post which day these are for on the post, because I can't keep my days straight anymore.

We ventured out to Candy Cane Lane last night, which was fun, but Maizie's house is hands down, the big winner. Even though there were 8 blocks of houses decorated, Maizie's probably had more decorations jammed onto one yard. I like excess...

Here are some photos of our walk:

Is this sac religious?? The camel had a saddle....

and the sheep... well, I have no defence for the sheep....

This tree had to be forty feet tall, and was decorated so well, even though the picture doesn't really show it.

And this one was little, but beautiful! It looked like it was all made of ice.

Gracie also mastered the BIG slide at strollersize. She's been a little too afraid to try this slide, and it's been months of looking at it, and slowly making her way up three steps, before turning around and finding somewhere else to play. I'll admit it made me nervous, too. It's at the end of an obstacle course, so I can't help her, and it's about 5 feet up, which she has to climb, and then the same distance down (and it's not a gradual drop).

Yesterday, she did it!!

Her new friend Cadence was making the climb and Gracie kind of looked at her like, "Huh, if she can do it, I can do it." and she was off.

She went up and down about 8 times before I told her we had to go.

Fear vanquished!

These two girls were so cute. While we stretched, after class, they sat together on my mat and shared their snacks, pooling together to make a little picnic. Then, they played follow the leader (guess who was the leader) and jumped and played Ring around the Rosy in the jumpy castle together.

Gracie slept like a dream yesterday with the amount of giggling and running these two were doing. Merry Christmas to me!

Cuddling on the Couch

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some photos from dad's phone...

Just cuddling on the couch before bed.

Bad parent??

2011-12-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

Just to make you laugh, and Gracie cringe when she's older.....

Advent Calendar

2011-12-15T20:03:00.002-07:00

Grams and Papa got Gracie this little Advent Calendar and filled it full of 25 days of goodies.

It's been so much fun for her. She gets to practice her numbers, and we use it as incentive to finish her supper (since she opens it after supper), plus, she gets a new little treat or toy every day!

So lucky!

Christmas Baking

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is my favourite treat of the year! It's quick and easy to make and sooooo delicious.

Salted Chocolate Pretzel Bark

I've almost made myself sick on it a few times this year. I've learned to make a batch, box it up immediately, with only one piece left out to taste (quality control) and then get it out of the house, pronto!

I think this is batch number 6..... since October.....

Hot Chocolate

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've recently introduced Gracie to hot chocolate (warm milk with a bit of hot chocolate powder in it). She wanted to have some of my tea yesterday morning, so I made her a little mug of cocoa instead.

She liked it!!

Now, I just need to find a little plastic mug so she doesn't have to lift weights to drink it.

Putting up lights

2011-12-12T14:04:00.002-07:00

I recruited some helpers to help me with the rest of the lights. This was my crew:

They were pretty productive until one of them had to go pee (the one with snowpants on) and the other one got cold fingers and started telling Gracie what to tell the cops when they arrived (after he fell to his death from the ladder - it was something along the lines of me being responsible).

Anyhow, the lights are up. I had to return one string of walkway markers, but assuming I get them stuck in the ground this afternoon, we should be in full glow tonight.

PS. Don't get your hopes up, it's really not that fancy.

Low key Saturday

2011-12-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

We did some shopping today, I put up some Christmas lights (half of which work) and now, I will be cozying up with this...

a big steaming mug o' tea.

(And, it's a new December tea from David's tea. Yum!)

I will also be contemplating whether I should rip out the lights or try and figure out why they don't work....

Happy Saturday to me!

Day 10

Maizie's Magical Christmas House

2011-12-10T13:59:00.001-07:00

This is the best light show in town! If you're looking for a Christmas-y thing to do this holiday season, head over to 97 St and 144 Ave. And Candy Cane lane is happening again this year, which is nearby. We haven't gone, yet, but it's on our to-do list.

Sorry these are blurry, but it's hard to take pictures of lights with a million people milling around, bumping into you. You get the idea, thousands of lights!

All of the windows looking into the house are even decorated with little scenes, train sets, and even a window with a wide screen tv playing Christmas movies, complete with speakers outside! I don't think anyone even lives in this house, it's just a giant Christmas decoration.

Gracie LOVED it! She kept whispering "beeetiful, beetiful""

A singing polar bear and dancing penguins distracted her for a long time...

And Santa even snuck up on us and gave G a candy cane!

Oh Christmas Tree...

2011-12-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Day 8:

Our beautiful tree.

Photos just don't do trees justice.... I love seeing it all lit up. Makes me smile and feel warm, cozy, Christmas thoughts.

*Sigh*

The Christmas spirit is high in our house this year. Gracie went from asleep, to singing "Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells!" this morning. A bit of a shocking wake up, but kind of nice.

I sang Jingle Bells two nights ago when we were decorating and then again before she went to bed last night, so maybe it's indoctrination, but either way, I'm happy to hear it.

Decorating Day!

2011-12-08T14:45:00.001-07:00

Day 7 was a decorating day! We decorated the house and the tree and it looks so festive now!

I turned these all to black and whites, because I wanted to change things up and thought they looked a little nicer this way.

Trimming the tree:

Gracie's favourite ornament we put out. It has two bears that twirl around and dance to Christmas carols.

You have to wait for another day to see the tree.... (I have to keep this up for the rest of the month... patience).

Day 4 and 6

2011-12-07T13:48:00.001-07:00

Ha! Try keeping our days straight! I can't.

My mom sent me some pictures I can use for Day 4:

Everyone was involved in the cookie decorating (except Brandi who had to take William home for a nap).

There was a lot of sampling going on.....

but how can you blame them? Look at how good these guys look!

Some clean up, was required after a sprinkle bowl tipped, which Brad did effectively, while Gracie 'helped' and Papa watched.

And we set up our tree last night, which is Day 6:

Brad setting up the tree (which I think is one of our best trees EVER! Keep in mind, the branches haven't come down in these pictures, but they have in real life and it looks great. I was so happy with it. We got to IKEA just in time to pick from a new shipment of beautiful, green trees. Hooray!)

Gracie was delighted by this new addition to our playroom!

This evening, we decorate!

Day 5

2011-12-06T14:34:00.001-07:00

I missed Day 4... I have pictures, just not here.... A hint, we made gingerbread men and gingerbread houses, and Grams let the girls each decorate a little tree at her house. There should be some good pictures to show soon...

Yesterday's photo is of G and I picking out our Christmas tree. We go to IKEA every year and get one. They got a thousand trees in the night before, so we were up early to get it fresh!

Looks good, right??? It looks even better all puffed up.

Funny story of the day:

I let Gracie watch a 15 minute cartoon this morning so I could have a shower after strollersize without a little face pushed up against the glass.

I came back into the room and Gracie told me all about the show. The cartoon was about a grasshopper who wanted to play all summer, instead of stockpiling food, like his friends.... we've all heard this story, but this was an interesting interpretation. This is what it sounded like:

"Grasshopper, no food." Very emphatically on 'no food.'

"No corn, no food!" looking at me sadly.

"Grasshopper, no food." Again, very emphatically on 'no food.'

"Knock, knock, knock on door, but no food," I take this to mean his friends wouldn't share their supplies.

"Grasshopper, no food, no corn."

"Then, BAM!" Wait, what?

"BAM. No friends share. Grasshopper, no food." Hmmmm, I thought I could trust CBC. Not sure what really happened in the cartoon, but that was a twist I wasn't expecting and that's as much as she'd elaborate. Did the friends die? slam the door? Did a hunter appear and solve the problem? What was the bam???

If you've seen this cartoon, please fill me in on what I've exposed her to....

Christmas Blessings

2011-12-05T14:03:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of worried people on Sunday. There was a shooting outside of Edmonton, and 2 ERT members were shot. Brad was not one of them. He was not even at the call. We were in Hanna for a Christmas party, so he did get called out, but he was too far away to attend.

Lucky me.

The two officers who were shot suffered 'minor' wounds, one was grazed by a bullet, and the other was shot in the arm. It broke his arm, but he's okay.

A little excitement pre-Christmas. Makes you count your blessings a little more emphatically.

Speaking of blessings, here are a few pictures of some of mine:

The Benedicts and their squirmy kids at the end of the Christmas party... why didn't we take this at the beginning of the night???

The Malackos. This was at the beginning of the night and I still had to merge two photos together to get one with all of us looking at the camera. You may notice my head is slightly larger than Brads....

The kids had fun with Santa. Gracie was really excited, Jada wasn't sure, and William was just wondering why on earth Santa would wear a Flames jersey.

Those are some pictures for Day 4 of my journal.

December Daily

2011-12-02T19:07:00.001-07:00

I've got a little daily journal for December and I'm trying to get pictures or memories put in for each day of the month.

I was having a rough day, yesterday. Gracie wouldn't sleep, Bailey stole food off the counter, and Brad got called out and was jeopardizing our weekend plans..... I wanted to take a picture of my middle finger to represent day 1, but I thought I should start on a better note.

I pulled out the Christmas decorations and took a picture of Gracie helping me test the lights.

Here's my picture for December 1st:

And a few others that I took:

And December 2nd:

Perpetual motion. That describes this girl to a tee.

And my others:

Looking a little like a Christmas elf?? She put her tiara on backwards, and it was poking her ears out.

Let's see what else I can capture this month. It should get more Christmas-y as the festivities start.

December First!!!

2011-12-01T14:46:00.001-07:00

It's finally December!!!

To be honest, with all of the decorations I've seen out in stores and on houses, it feels later to me. I'm usually the one who can't believe it's December, but this year, it feels like it's been December for weeks!

Why won't Christmas just get here all ready???

It could be that I can't wait to see how Gracie reacts to all of the festivities, because I think this will be a really fun year for her, but it also feels like a great time to slow down and relax with family, hot drinks, warm sweaters, a cozy fire, and Christmas carols....

*Sigh*

I know that's probably not what my Christmas will actually look like, but it sounds so nice, doesn't it??

In reality, it will be full of travelling, screaming, squealing, glass ornaments breaking, people overeating, no sleep, and spilled cocoa, but I'll hang onto my dream for a few more weeks.

In the meantime, if you're looking to win something crafty, head on over to these blogs. They're hosting some Christmas giveaways that look pretty great!

http://www.lilybeedesign.blogspot.com/

http://www.pinkpaislee.com/pink-paislee-blog/

http://www.canadianscrapbooker.ca/jackie/

http://www.scrapbookandcardstodaymag.typepad.com/

ENJOY!!!

What We've Been Doing

2011-11-30T19:12:00.001-07:00

I had a fun week! My parents, brother, sister-in-law and their kids all came up to visit and we had such a great time!

We took the kids to Galaxyland at West Ed and rode all of the little kids rides, which was a blast.

Hair blowing in the breeze.

Gracie never did fall out of the balloon, despite appearances....

We did a little pre-Black Friday shopping.
We watched the seal show, which was even more impressive than usual.

We also booked a family vacation to Jamaica!! Yay!! I can't wait.

This is what the girls were doing while we did the paperwork!

Mom, Brandi and I went to the Moscow Ballet's performance of Romeo and Juliet, which I loved. There were some nude coloured tights that just shouldn't be allowed, but they were impressive dancers, especially Juliet.

Everyone else had to head home, but my mom stayed and we had a fabulous weekend of shopping, scrapbooking, eating, movies and visiting. It was very fun! I think we literally shopped until we dropped.

Lovely!

Also, I've been catching up on some of my 'Kelly' outings, which I missed while Brad was away. I've been to book club meetings, dance classes and craft sales, all by myself. (Okay, I met friends, but I went without a stroller, a purse full of snacks, and a nose picking two-year-old). ***on a side-note, this really throws me... I was prepared for most things, but the nose-picking phase was horrible. I think it ended when her cold went away, but I see potential for it to return, and I'm not happy.***

Plus, I got the fridge, freezer and floors cleaned, got my hair cut and dyed and got some signs finished for some orders I got from our sale!

I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Here's a glimpse of my new hair, and more importantly, the kids in action:

These are all phone pictures and videos, so they're not the best, but they make me happy!

Funny Things

2011-11-27T14:48:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted again, but I thought I'd post some of the funny things Gracie's been doing lately. Mostly so I remember them.... but you may enjoy them, too!

I asked Gracie what a goose says, and she thought about it for a minute and said, "beep, beep?" I laughed, and said, "No, they say 'honk, honk', but that was close!"

When we were in Ottawa, she heard noises outside the hotel room door and thought someone was coming in. She came racing over to me yelling, "I'm a scaredy-cat, I'm a scaredy-cat!"

When we were in the car, I overheard Gracie say quietly, " A dinosaur riding a bike... huh." We were passing a young boy riding a bike, wearing a full face bike helmet.

When we were in the grocery store, at the till, Gracie presented me with a chocolate bar that she wanted, I said no, and was busy unloading groceries. When I turned around again, she had it in her mouth, and said. "I'm a puppy,"so I added it to the rest of my groceries.... (but never let her have it.)

At the end of a long day, I had to move her playpen to another house before putting her to bed. As I was collapsing it, Gracie started to cry and yelled, "No! My bed!"

That same night, I thanked Gracie for being a good girl that day, because it was long, and she wasn't feeling good, and she had to sit in a restaurant for a long time. She replied, "And, I was sick." because she knew that made it even harder to be good.

She ate a good supper one night, so I gave her a little bowl of pudding. She couldn't finish it, so I suggested she give it to her dad. She turned and smiled at him, and then turned back to me and mouthed "no."

One evening, after getting out of the bath, she ran through the house naked, singing, "pee, pee, pee" and squatting periodically, as if she was going to pee. I had no idea what she was doing, so raced to get her and asked her if she had to go pee. "Nope, just singing the pee song," was her reply.

I was taking leftovers out of the fridge and had the door open. I turned around for a second, turned back and she was standing on the second shelf on the door, trying to reach her milk. I scooped her off and told her she couldn't climb the fridge door. She threw her arms up in the air and stated matter-of-factly, "but I can't reach!"

Every day when Brad gets home from work, she makes him empty his pockets of any change he may have so she can add it to her purse.

Okay, those are the stories I can think of today. Needless to say, she's hilarious and life is interesting at our house these days!

Catching Up

2011-11-16T13:00:00.001-07:00

That was a long break! Sorry. I'm back to a semi-normal schedule and loving it.

Brad was gone for 2 months, and I've completed a breakdown of what those two months looked like for Gracie and I:

14 car trips over 3 hours
2 four hour flights
12 days in a hotel
4 illnesses, 3 of them were Miss Gracie
58 days (approximately) of sleepless nights. Gracie decided if Brad wasn't here, she couldn't sleep through the night, I guess.
1 Halloween orphan (again, G, as Brad was gone and I was on death's door with the flu - luckily Grandma Gay was there to take her trick or treating)
1 craft sale which I was supposed to make things for (but I didn't have much time) and I was supposed to help out at (but G was sick, so that didn't work).

And that all equals two pretty excited people when Brad got home last weekend.

So, this is why I haven't been posting. That and I still can't find my camera.

Gracie's a fairweather swinger...

But an excellent car napper,

cowboy shopper,

finger painter,

playgough necklace maker,

hair model,

lap napper, when we're both sick,

a good sport, when her mom cuts her bangs,

a pro at sleeping with her eyes open while sick,

and a pretty cool dude, in general!

Now, we have nothing pressing on the horizon, a few friends that I want to make time for and a trip to the Royal Moscow Ballet's performance of Romeo and Juliet that I can't wait for, a scrapbooking/shopping date with my mom, oh yeah, and Christmas....

Crafty Things

2011-10-27T14:28:00.003-06:00

Here are a few layouts I've done. These are actually a few months old, but I don't think I've shown them, yet. I've been crafting for our sale, so I haven't done much scrapbooking for myself lately.

And a reminder, the sale is on November 5th, if you're interested in joining us.....

Location

4 miles (6 km.) north of Airdrie Superstore on Dixon Stevenson Trail (Main St), Airdrie, AB T4B 2A3

Hours

Sat:

10:00 am

5:00 pm

About

Saturday, November 5th.

Description	Step back in time and rekindle the memories of Christmas of yesteryear. Artwork from local artisans, quilting, scrapbooking, woodwork, home decor, baking, jams, Christmas pudding, hand-made cards, a great selection of baby and toddler gifts. 100's of gift ideas for every age group.

Phone	1 403.850.3482

Enjoy!!

Ring around the rosy is my FAVOURITE!! I love how this one turned out and the pictures are so cute.

Baking Cupcakes

2011-10-19T14:33:00.000-06:00

This girl is a pro now. She loves to bake.

I convinced her to wear a headband to keep her hair our of her face, but it still doesn't look very neat. I have determined that I have 2.2 seconds after doing her hair before it gets pulled out or messed up.

That's her smile at the moment.... very natural....

Not so patiently waiting for the cupcakes to finish cooking.

First taste....

Awaiting her decision.....

They're yummy!!!

Last one, the details

2011-10-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

Looking for stories?? Sorry, it's easier for me to upload pictures than tell stories.... they'll come later. Maybe.

These are a few detail shots of Montreal. It was a really pretty place.

Okay, one story. While driving around a mall in a rental car, trying to find a place to park, I was having no luck. There was literally no entrance into the mall that wasn't blocked off. Finally, I got us in, parked and turned off the car and Gracie said, "Good job, mommy," and held up her hand for a high five.

More Montreal

2011-10-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

Brad and Gracie enjoying a cuddle before bed (for both of them).

The fountain I dragged everyone to in the rain, which was not impressive....

The blurry view from our revolving restaurant.

Montreal

2011-10-15T14:10:00.000-06:00

Montreal was a really beautiful city. We were only there for a short time, so we limited ourselves to Old Montreal and downtown. Very nice place to visit if you ever get the chance. A little bit European.

Here's some of that European flare (kidding, it's the home of the Montreal Canadiens, the Bell Centre.)

Looks cold and windy and rainy, doesn't it?? It was!

Old and new, and pretty, right??

So, we warmed up with some poutine! Yummy!

The Museum of Civilization

2011-10-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

If you're ever in Ottawa, go check it out. It was really neat and even Gracie had fun.

"Is that a dog??" She asks, looking at the base of a totem pole, suspiciously.

Stealing a baby from the Egypt display in the kid's museum....

Waiting to get on the plane, so she could have a nap... Who else looks forward to napping on a plane? Gracie got on both planes, pulled on her sleep sack, curled up in my arms and slept. No coaxing needed. What a trooper!

More from Ottawa

2011-10-13T14:00:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately, all of our Parliament pictures are on the missing camera, so you don't get to see them, until I finish cleaning my house..... so maybe never..... don't hold your breath.

Here are a few more of our travels in Ottawa:

We went for a little hike to find a shortcut to the park... it didn't work, we had to double-back....

Pretty leaves.

Playing at the park, Gracie and I went to the park, went for runs together and swam in the hotel pool at least once a day.

Gracie making me a sand pizza. Mmmmm...

The view from our hotel room.

Playing in the leaves. They were on the trees, turning yellow, and then they were gone, overnight! They dropped so fast.

We're back!

2011-10-12T13:50:00.003-06:00

The house is nearly back to normal, the yard still needs to be cleaned up before snow flies, Gracie has matured and is now a 13 year old trapped in a 2 year old's body, and I have new grey hairs..... but we're home and things are semi- sane.

We had a fun trip to Ottawa to visit Brad, but he's so busy with his course, we hardly saw him. Basically, he gets 8 hours off at night. So, he got back to the hotel, got stuff ready for the morning, studied a little and fell asleep. I didn't switch Gracie over to Ottawa time, so her and I stayed two hours behind just so she could stay up late enough to see him at night.

Luckily, he gets weekends off, so we explored Ottawa one weekend and Montreal the next. It was really nice to be there in the fall. Beautiful colours and pretty nice weather.

Unfortunately, I brought two cameras and both stopped working, and now one is missing, so most of my pictures are from my phone....

Anyway, here are a few from a petting zoo/museum/playground we visited in Ottawa:

As she was feeding the animals and racing from one to the next, another father said, "she's fearless, isn't she?" His daughter was probably 6...

Riding the train through the corn fields.

The creepiest toy there, and Gracie loved it. Kind of gives me nightmares.

New Sign

2011-09-17T20:36:00.002-06:00

Just thought I'd show you a new sign I made for the house.

I wanted to rearrange my photo wall and since I have so many travel photos up, I wanted a quote about travelling.

I found a great tutorial on pinterest for making canvases look like weathered wood, so I thought I'd give it a try.

This is what I came up with:

And here is the new photo wall:

Sorry about the awkward angle, I still have some decorations up (yes... I do) and I had to take it around them :)

How I did it:
Pretty simple. I covered the canvas in old pieces of newspaper and mod podged them on. I let it dry, painted it black (let it dry) and then sanded down the edges and the surface to rough it up a bit. I added some distress ink to the rough bits, and added my quote, which I cut with my cricut.
Done!

Hope you like it!

Gracie's Birthday Party

2011-09-14T15:14:00.001-06:00

Gracie had so much fun at her birthday party! We had lots of good friends, good food, and well-behaved kids (no really, they were all great!) I think she enjoyed it.

My top moments from the party:

When I was taking her down from the table after she had a cupcake, she told me she was happy, and asked if I was, too.

Her reaction to seeing all of the people and decorations.

When Brad and I were out of sight, she wandered around the party yelling, "Mom!" or "Dad!" until she found us.

Seeing all of the kids running around the backyard, playing.

Gracie enjoying all of her favourite foods until she literally blew a button on her dress.

Gracie giving everyone hugs for the gifts. She was really happy with all of her new goodies. She got spoiled and she's had so much fun since Saturday playing with everything.

What a sweetie!

Welcome to the party!!

Gracie enjoying her sidewalk art sign

Balloons!!!

Best neighbour ever and Gracie

She blew out her candle on the first try!

and got right to business

Couldn't even slow down for a family picture

Cookie monster and Elmo....

decorations.... It was a Sesame Street theme ( in case you couldn't tell...)

decadent cookie cake...mmmm...

Opening Gifts

Berlyn and Gracie playing with her new puppy

London, Gracie and Berlyn. Notice Gracie's dress is about to burst... it fit much nicer pre-cupcake...

So much fun in the jumpy room!

Baking Cookies

2011-09-12T13:39:00.004-06:00

Gracie is such a big help around the house, now. She likes to sweep, help put away dishes from the dishwasher, and now...bake!

She even cracked the eggs for the cookies. And I mean CRACKED them! I showed her how to do it and then gave her an egg to try. She really watched me and was eager to give it a shot, so I thought, why not?? She grabbed the egg and SMASHED it into the counter. Remarkably, I just pulled up the shell and swept the egg into a bowl and she didn't even get any shell in it :)

This makes baking a whole new experience. Only one mushroom cloud of flour erupted from the mixer when she turned it on while I consulted the recipe. I consider it a success!

Yes, she also Roars while she bakes....

Pre-egg sample...mmmm, butter and sugar....

More Layouts

2011-09-10T07:05:00.001-06:00

I've had this paper sitting in my craft room forever, and I finally used it. I thought I never would, but I like it! Huh....

Who is this little girl toddling around? Man, she's changed since last summer.

Hope you enjoy!!!

More pics from LL

2011-09-08T07:28:00.003-06:00

A few more shots of us in Lake Louise:

Throwing Rocks

The Boulder Throw:

Pics From Lake Louise

2011-09-07T08:49:00.004-06:00

We had a great weekend in Lake Louise this August.

We visited old friends, old haunts, and got a fix of our favourite fish and chips. Good little holiday.

These are some pictures from Takakkaw Falls, in Yoho National Park.

Just a few of the family.....

Yummy Recipe

2011-09-05T08:14:00.003-06:00

And the best part, it's EASY-PEASY!!!

Avocado and Corn Salad

6 cobs of corn, husked
1 1/4 cups finely diced red onion
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 tsp. salt
1 small green finger chili, diced (approximately 1 tbsp.)
3 large avocados, chopped in bite-size pieces
1/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

Directions, Grill corn on the BBQ on high for 5-7 minutes, until you see charring, remove. Chop off corn, and add to the rest of the ingredients.

I noticed that on day #2, it got a little onion-y, so maybe watch for that... I think I'd use a little less onion next time.

Terrific Twos???

2011-09-04T07:54:00.000-06:00

Gracie turns two in a few weeks, and I'm starting to understand what people are talking about.....

She's definitely asserting her independence, as this is the side of her I see most:

She does not like strollers or shopping carts anymore, unless she's pushing them:

She has found her voice, and can yell and scream with the best of them:

But, she's also able to tell me what's bothering her, be reasoned with, tease and generally make me laugh (luckily, she seems to know when I need to see these qualities... maybe she can hear my teeth grinding, and that's the signal to be cute??)

Layouts and Sale Info!!

2011-09-02T07:53:00.000-06:00

My aunt is putting on a craft sale at her ranch this November, outside of Airdrie. We'd love to see you there. Until then, check it out on facebook and see some sneak peaks of what will be available.

Here are some more layouts to show that I have been crafty this summer, just too busy to show you what I've been up to.

Some pictures of the Malackos playing at the park last summer. That was the year of the slide. This is the year of the swing.

An Easter layout... I had these two random pictures left over, so I made an Easter Snapshots page.

And... have you heard of pinterest??? That is another thing I've been up to this summer..... If you have time to spare and love a diy (do it yourself) project, I suggest you check it out. If you lose entire days because of my suggestion, I apologize :)

Smile for the day

2011-09-01T19:37:00.003-06:00

After I run errands all day with a very uncooperative two year old, I come home and clean the floors, and then sit Gracie down with a cob of corn..... so that I can crawl around on my hands and knees to pick up kernels and keep it clean for a few more minutes.

Why?

Because this face makes me smile.

Blog Love and Sunshine Smiles

2011-08-30T13:04:00.003-06:00

Hi there,

The lovely folks at Wallsugar liked the owl I posted a few days ago here, so they featured it on their blog. Stop in to say hi here.

Also, we enjoyed the sunshine while we had it.... but now it's rainy and windy.... again....

Oh well, I took pictures! and it was so sunny, they're overexposed.....

Gracie played in the sprinklers yesterday afternoon. It was the first time all summer that we watered our lawn! It's been so wet, we didn't have to.

Tea Party

2011-08-25T21:26:00.004-06:00

Who doesn't love a good tea party?

Grandma Gay brought up some old Barbie chairs that Nicole and Tara used to have when they were little and Gracie loves them!

She keeps hauling them out and setting up little tea parties for her dolls.

Too cute!

The guests:

More Crafty Stuff

2011-08-23T12:45:00.000-06:00

Here are some more layouts and things that I've done over the past few months. Enjoy!

A cute owl made from a wood cutout.

A little layout about my birthday, which was in March....Which means I'll be turning 29 for the first of many times in a few months....

Gracie...

Gracie's bruise...

They're all just quick and easy. My summer specialty!

I've done a few mini albums lately which I'll try and take photos of to share soon.

Enjoy the warm weather!

More Layouts

2011-08-18T14:29:00.003-06:00

These are older, but I haven't really posted anything scrappy in awhile, so here goes:

You can always be happier, right?? This layout was a reminder to myself to take time to enjoy life, instead of just letting it rush by.

These two go together....

You may have noticed, I was on a big grid kick for awhile. So easy to layout photos and saves a lot of paper. Quick and easy are what make me happy these days!

Busy Life!

2011-08-16T12:59:00.004-06:00

I've decided it's not just a busy week here or there, we're BUSY people!! Yikes! I just went to strollersize for the first time in three weeks! (And it hurt a little...)

We had company, then Gracie and I got sick, and then we were off to Hanna for a visit, and we just got home from Lethbridge, where we were helping Brad's brother put on a country music festival. Whew! Our next set of company arrives tonight..... No rest for the wicked.

Here's a few pictures of Gracie in Gram's raspberry patch. I believe she found her little slice of heaven here.

I was trying to get a shot of her raspberry-red cheeks, but she posed instead, covering all evidence... what a lady!

And the Benedicts. We were out for a walk, dressed very casual, in grubby farm coats, but we were all together! Hooray!

I'll try to be better with my posts from now on.

Funny GIrl

2011-07-30T20:55:00.002-06:00

Gracie likes to play a little in her crib, before she goes to sleep. Usually it's just a bit of talking, some singing, or some 'baa-ing' to her stuffed sleep-mate, Lambie. A few nights ago, I had to go in and tell her it was time for bed. Tonight, she was talking for awhile, so I poked my head in to tell her to go to sleep.

I opened the door and said, "Gracie?"

She fell to the mattress and said, "shhh, sleeping."

I said, "that's enough playing, it's time to go to bed."

She proceeded to make snoring noises and whisper, again, "sleeping."

I tried to keep from laughing until I go the door closed.

I think I've got a class clown on my hands!!

Back at it!

2011-07-27T14:16:00.005-06:00

Wow! We've been busy! This will be a long one, so grab a cup of tea and a cookie and get comfortable!

Weeks ago, Gracie and I went to the Science Centre with Jacqueline, Jacob, and Felicity. It was fun, but wasn't such a great place for two moms to visit. Lots of kids, lots of different rooms to run in and out of, and lots of chasing for us. Still fun. Kind of a nice change of pace for the kiddos, I think.

Then, Gracie and I went camping. Brad was supposed to come, but he got shipped off to Chilliwack for work, so he missed out. Camping was great. Got to see lots of family, eat good food, and Gracie did great! I need to get pictures from my mom, I didn't take any.

Home for a day and a half and then Gracie and I hopped on a plane to visit Brad and his family (he has a lot of aunts, and uncles, cousins, and grandparents out there) in Vancouver. It took us 11 hours to get to Abbotsford thanks to delays, lightning storms, and tornado warnings, but we made it. Again, no pictures to show you.

Spent a few days there visiting and flew home to greet Brad's brother, sister-in-law and nephew who would be staying with us for a few days. We had a great visit, Brad rode in a bike race, Steph and I went to see Wicked and did some shopping, we took the kids to the splash park and Chuck E Cheese's, and we all had fun.

Whew!

Yesterday, I cleaned house after my company left and today I'm doing laundry. Tomorrow, my parents, brother and sister-in-law, neice and nephew arrive for more fun.

Gotta make use of the summer!!

A few more cabin pics

2011-07-14T13:28:00.004-06:00

I came across some old cabining pictures I forgot to post with the others. If you can believe it, I'm actually up-to-date on my photo printing now. I've printed all of the photos I have on my computer or cameras up to the minute, thanks to Costco's great deal!!!

Time to take some more :)

Ang and I kayaking. She needs to learn some kayak etiquette, she kept bumper boating me out in the middle of the lake.

And, another shot of everyone enjoying the 'warm' tub:

Hope you have a great weekend!!

Canadian Country Weekend

2011-07-12T13:33:00.002-06:00

Hope you're enjoying the weather, mosquitos and lack of summer....

If you want something to get excited about, join us at the Canadian Country Weekend in Fort Macleod Aug. 12-13. Great bands, great price, camping, food, and fun!

Check it out here for more details:

http://www.canadiancountryweekend.com/

Deal!!!

2011-07-09T20:36:00.003-06:00

Quick, get to Costco!!

Photos are just 9 cents each right now (until the 17th). No limits, no minimums, online or in store, however you prefer them done, just go and get cheap prints!

Enjoy!

I just stumbled upon this with a CD full of pictures to print. Happy day.

Life of a Child

2011-07-08T15:20:00.005-06:00

When the splash park gets cold, head to the park right next door. Dry off in the sunshine while you play the day away.

Ahhhhh, the life of a child.

One of Gracie's favourites. It's just a little bucket that spins around, like the teacups at Disneyland. Makes me a little sick watching her, but she could spin all day.

And the swings... they seem to have bumped the slide as her park favourite.

Playing with her bestie, Berlyn:

Splash Park!!

2011-07-06T13:31:00.005-06:00

Gracie had so much fun at the splash park this morning! It was 28 degrees out at 11 am, and the park was full of screaming, wet, giggling kids. Pretty fun!!

Missed her!

The piano was one of her favourites!

Cabining- The Best Way to Camp

2011-07-04T14:02:00.006-06:00

We spent the weekend at Gull Lake with my cousin, Ang, and her family. It was really great. Her in-laws have a fantastic cabin and we snuck a room and enjoyed a good long weekend with family and friends.

Cutie Pie with her crooked smile:

Trying to get the perfect fit...

Hubby and myself. It's been awhile since we've had a picture of just ourselves.... hmmmm.... and this was a high quality, hold your arm out and look at the camera one. Very nice.

We had some little splash pools so the kids could swim while we relaxed on the deck. (Yes, that's a hot tub in the background!!)

We made it a warm tub for the kids and they loved it!

Cute Baby Owen, with his chubby cheeks...

Relaxing in the evening:

Gracie tanning on a lifejacket:

I do have mosquito bites all over, but it was worth it. We went out in the boat and played at the park, had many feasts and made s'mores, kayaked and biked, enjoyed the sunshine and good company: all in all, a great weekend away, and we only travelled an hour and a half to get there.

*Sigh*

A quick layout

2011-06-28T13:34:00.002-06:00

I haven't shown any scrapbooking in awhile and the name of my blog is suddenly not so fitting....I should probably change it to "A Day in the Life of Gracie" or "All about Gracie." She seems to be the star.

Here's a quick one to keep you thinking one day, I might get up to date on my scanning and posting. I don't think I've put this one up before. Guess who's the star of this one?? That's right!! Gracie.

I have actually been creating up a storm, so soon, I'll have more pictures.

We had a fun weekend in Calgary and have some great ideas for bridesmaids dresses. Now to choose one and get it ordered. Should be fun!

We also went to see the movie "Bridesmaids." Hilarious! Crude and rude, and borderline offensive, but we laughed through the whole thing and re-enacted it for hours afterwards.

Reunion

2011-06-24T12:36:00.000-06:00

I went to my ten year reunion last weekend. I didn't take pictures, nobody arranged a group shot, I did not capture that moment. Oops. Oh well. It was nice to catch up with everyone.

Our grade had so many kids in the last ten years. We were a very fertile group, I guess :)

Here's the only pictures I took. Guess what? They're of Gracie? I have a disease.

Gracie playing with friends Westin and Scarlett (and my friends, Shannon and Kylee - we all had girls within a year of each other Makes it fun when we get together).

So Fun, So Cold

2011-06-24T12:13:00.000-06:00

It's finally warm outside!!

We've had a few nice days this summer, but they're spread out and tempered with wind storms and rain showers. Yuck! We've hardly been able to enjoy a real summer day, so when it was hot on our walk at 8:30, yesterday, I realized we had to use the sunshine.

One bump on the head, twenty minutes of fighting with an air compressor, and a few silent curse words later, Gracie had a limp butterfly pool full of ice cold water.

I thought she'd just look at me and ask to go in, but she loved it! It was cold, but she splashed in and out and ran around the grass enjoying quick polar dips.

I put her to work watering flowers while I filled the pool.

And she had a bit of a workout while I washed windows.

Can you tell she's doing dips and push-ups?? We do this a lot at strollercize. She's definitely watching us!

Happy Belated Father's Day

2011-06-20T15:20:00.005-06:00

To all of the dad's in my life, especially my dad, aka Papa and Brad, aka, Gracie's dad!!

Hope you all had a great day.

Here's why Gracie loves her dad:

Yes, I can't remember that you can't turn a camera the other way for video... Sorry.

This one's right.

Looks like fun, eh?? They're both performers....

And Gracie loves her Papa and Grand Dad, too:

As do we.

Just Can't Wait

2011-06-18T13:57:00.001-06:00

She was so excited for swimming lessons, I came around the corner with a basket of laundry to find her frantically putting on the suit I'd just set out for her.

Lessons were still 4 hours away, but she was in a hurry to get there!!

Notice the swimsuit tangled around her knees??

You can't tell, but it was upside down, she knew her legs went in those holes somehow....

A Few More Fairy Pictures

2011-06-17T07:49:00.000-06:00

I couldn't help myself. I had to share some more of these pictures. They're too cute!

As I was taking this, I realized she was going to blow bubbles in the fountain! Yikes! Luckily, she bumped her head on the fountain before she got it in her mouth (and didn't hit her head hard).

New Fairy Wings

2011-06-15T12:57:00.003-06:00

Sorry the posts are so few and far between lately. We've been crazy busy. Brad's working like a dog and we've had company, been out visiting and been busy with swimming lessons, strollercize, trips to the park and playdates.

Yard work, housecleaning and walking the dog are also keeping us busy, but not as busy as it should be keeping us....

Grams got Gracie and Jada some fairy wings and they loved them! Gracie thought the wings and tutu were fantastic, but Jada liked the magic wand most of all. When Grams told her it was a magic wand, she asked if it worked. What a cutie!

Gracie wore hers out playing around the farm, so mom and I snapped a bunch of pictures, but I haven't gotten any of Jada in her outfit, yet.

Isn't my parent's farm beautiful?? It's so green and lush this year.

It's the little Things

2011-06-07T18:17:00.002-06:00

I've always loved the saying, "It's the little things that make life big.' See it on the sidebar??

Fancy Pants Designs came out with a scrapbooking line called "It's the little Things" and of course, I had to have it!

Here are a few layouts I've done with it:

Cute pictures, right? I love that she's pointing things out to her bear in the book (and the book is about a bear, perfect).

See the candles (under Happy Birthday)? Brad thinks they look like dynamite....

Great colours and very useable. Plus, I love the cute birds. I've got at least three more layouts using this line and love it!!

1...2...3...

2011-06-05T20:32:00.000-06:00

I love these pictures!!!! These need to find a home on my wall somewhere.

Look at the big smiles on her face. Too cute!

Fun, fun family time.

Treasured Memories Crop For Slave Lake

2011-06-05T12:22:00.006-06:00

Thank you to Treasured Memories in Edmonton for hosting such a great crop, yesterday! The staff, as usual, was helpful, inspiring and so generous.

Yummy food, great company, door prizes, giveaways, and goodie bags, plus access to all kinds of tools, inspiration and a store full of supplies = a super fun day.

Plus, I think a lot of money was raised for the victims of the Slave Lake fires.

Great job!

Playing at the park

2011-06-03T17:48:00.005-06:00

Gracie's new favourite thing to do is to play at the park. She loves the slides. The swings are pretty good, but the slides are soooo much fun!

I have lots of videos of this....sorry. If you want, just pick one, you don't have to watch them all. Grandma's, enjoy!

Now, it's just getting her to leave the park which is proving to be a challenge. I have to start walking away without her to get away without a scene. Must work on that...

On a side note, Hummingbird Lane Scrapbooking is opening in Camrose June 7th. More stores! Hooray! If you're in the area, make sure to stop in.

Gracie's Birthday mini album

2011-05-30T13:18:00.006-06:00

First off, Happy Birthday Auntie Linda!! Hope you have a great day!!!!

And on the topic of birthdays, since Gracie will be turning two in September, I figured it was time to share the mini album I made of her first birthday(s).

I put an acrylic cover and back page on this one and then bound it with the bind-it-all. I really like the look, plus, it all ready saved my inner pages from a little seepage from a nearby plant!

The colours are a little off, it really is bright and cheery, even though it looks a little dark and dreary....

Funny Friday

2011-05-27T12:52:00.003-06:00

We've had a stressful past few days. Lost a Great Aunt and a great friend/former teacher, had a few setbacks and meltdowns with our nearly two year old (Terrible Twos???), and Gracie and I are sick.... again, so I need a few smiles to keep me positive. Here's a few quick laughs to keep you going for the weekend.

Smile #1
Gracie's take on strollercize:

Smile #2
An email I found in my junk folder from 'Vigara - Cheap'. Not only does this appeal to me because I'm anal about spelling, but I love that you can get 'Vigara' cheaply..... as long as you're not too worried that it's not Viagra. Locate your nearest hospital before taking these pills.

Smile #3
The Bridesmaids. I love the trailers for this movie! Can't wait to see it. Here's a link.
http://youtu.be/nrRd2QSsGc4

Smile #3
It's sunny outside!!!! Hurray for summer. Get outside and enjoy it, folks.

Tissue Paper Flowers

2011-05-25T13:18:00.002-06:00

Even with all of the beautiful flowers outside, these are my favourite little blooms lately. I stole a bunch of old patterns from my mom and have been using them on my layouts and I love the look.

For these, I just made a quick accordian flower out of a strip of tissue paper and then smooshed it a little and put a button on top.

Simple, fun, and a great textural dimension on any layout, plus I'm recycling! Just doing my part for the environment.....

In Bloom

2011-05-21T07:50:00.002-06:00

Our trees have exploded into blossoms this past week. They're so beautiful right now.

Luckily, the bugs aren't too bad in our backyard, so we can enjoy them up close, but they even make me smile through the window every time I see them.

Our plum tree:

The apple blossoms:

Gracie likes them, too.

Scrapbooking

2011-05-19T13:19:00.000-06:00

A few quick layouts since I haven't shared any in awhile.

I am always crunched for time, so I like to streamline my creative process while still being artistic. On one of Gracie's naps, I had two pictures I wanted to scrapbook and couldn't decide which ones to use. I decided to use them both, do two seperate layouts at once. The nice part, they aren't layouts that will appear next to each other in Gracie's album because they're pictures of her at different ages.

If you have a few minutes, use the same sketch to make two layouts.

The basic sketch is pretty simple, three squares on the side, inked and sewn on, a picture (or two) opposite, a pattern spritzed on with Glimmer mist, and a title. Add a few embellishments, and voila!

Two layouts, two different looks, same basic idea.

....And still, dirty floors :)

Busy week

2011-05-18T12:41:00.004-06:00

It seems like life is just busy every week....

Last weekend, we had Brad's mom up to help us look after Gracie while we were at a wedding (and for a visit). It was a lot of fun. Gracie got two grandmas in one week!! Lucky girl. She had a lot of fun and is still wandering around the house waiting for more company to pop out.

My friend from University stopped in for brunch and a visit and the wedding I mentioned was a three day affair. It was beautiful. The couple are East Indian and the sari's and dresses were gorgeous, plus, both bride and groom had about 7 outfits. Who says you only get one wedding dress??

More Pictures of Easter:

Ring around the Rosy

What a couple of cuties!!!

Gracie's Easter Pictures

2011-05-14T09:23:00.004-06:00

Easter Dress..... check

Easter Bunnies..... check

Easter Cutie.....check

Thanks mom for the pictures, for coming up and watching Gracie, scrapbooking with me, visiting and going for walks, and cleaning my microwave : ) It was fun. Next time, stay longer and bring Papa.

New Online Scrapbooking Store

2011-05-11T20:35:00.000-06:00

Visit Treasured Memories new online store this weekend to receive 25% of your order!!!
They're a great store, so I'm sure the new online component will be fabulous!

And.... Keep voting for Gracie!! See the post below for the link to follow. You can only vote once, so if you've voted, you're off the hook :)

Vote for Gracie!!

2011-05-10T13:23:00.005-06:00

Updated! The link I had up before wasn't working, so here's a new way to vote.

She could win a prize...

Just go here and leave a comment saying I vote for Gracie Malacko, that's all you need to do. Only one vote or your vote doesn't count (Grandmas, that means you!)

Thanks!

Since those pictures are a little older, here's some more recent ones:

Notice the rug burn scar on her nose? Who said girls were full of sugar and spice? Gracie's got a bit of puppy dog's tails in her, I think.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T09:59:00.006-06:00

Hope all of you mom's out there are having a fantastic day!

A BIG happy Mother's Day to all of the mother's in my life, you've been an example, a shoulder to lean on and a blessing to have in my life.

There are more mother's in my life than I have pictures of, but here are a few special ones.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! You're the best mother, mentor, confidant, and friend a girl could have.

Easter Hats

2011-05-06T12:32:00.003-06:00

I don't think I mentioned that we went to Airdrie on Easter weekend for a great supper at my aunt's place and a nice visit with my Grandma. It's so nice to have so much family fairly close by. We had a good trip and Gracie had fun (mostly with Katelynn, who knows all kinds of neat things).

Gracie got an Easter hat from my mom:

Oops, there's the bruise....

And one from my Grandma:

Pretty cute! She likes to model them for us.

Easter, Class and New Bruises

2011-05-05T12:51:00.000-06:00

We went to Hanna last weekend to celebrate a belated Easter with my family and it was great. All of the photos of the weekend, and there area few good ones, are on my mom's camera, so you have to wait to see them....

Jada, Gracie and their friend Hawkin hunted for Easter eggs, which was pretty cute, plus Grams had matching dresses for Jada and Gracie (she actually bought them awhile ago, but they fit perfectly now and they're super springy and perfect for Easter).
We took the girls out to see some of the new calves and walk around the farm, which they loved and Gracie got lots of time with Grams and Papa. It was a good weekend.

My class at Artisan Emporium went well. Everyone did a great job and the time worked out just perfectly. I love seeing other people's spins on what I teach, too. There were some beautifully decorated projects and everyone was game to get inky and sticky, so it was fun!

Now, we've been back home all week, and I'm still trying to shake a cold. Two weeks I've had it and it won't leave me alone. We've got nothing planned, but yardwork this weekend, so hopefully that will put an end to it.

Here's a few pictures I took last night so you'd have something to look at.

Gracie and her babies, all tucked in.

Can you see her EAster tattoo sticking out of her sleeve? A big, sparkly bunny and Easter egg tattoo, and it has lasted through four baths and numerous hand washings all ready.... May still be there for Christmas.

And a close up of her nasty new bruise. I know kids are going to get bruises, but each one breaks my heart. Gracie got a little extra Easter candy last night, because I was feeling for her....

Book Reviews

2011-05-04T13:12:00.004-06:00

I've been looking at this for a week and a half thinking, I should post something, but I've been sick and I don't have any pictures and I am lazy....

So, I need something up here, so I'll tell you about a few books I've read lately.

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Wall

I really liked this book. It's based on the life of the author's grandma. She was full of spunk and drive and has a very interesting life.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

This novel was about a young woman who was kidnapped, but instead of just hearing about the kidnapping, you hear the story, as she tells it to her psychiatrist. It flips between her recovery and trying to discover why she was kidnapped and flashbacks of the kidnapping. Very good.

Unless it Moves the Human Heart by Roger Rosenblatt

This is the story of an English class, told by the professor. It's about students struggling to write eloquently and a teacher struggling to teach them what it takes to be a writer. It was a quick read and a nice, easy story.

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

This is the story of ten different people and their stories. They all live in different neighborhoods of New York, and they all are touched by a man who walks on a cable strung between the World Trade Center towers. This extraordinary feat really happened, which in itself interested me, but the stories surrounding it were good, too.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

A good, light read for anyone who wants to actively take more time to notice the little happiness' in their lives. Good for anyone to read and it will make you appreciate things and look for the little rays of happiness in everything you do.

If you don't have the book, check out her blog, it's a good preview of what you'll read. http://www.happiness-project.com/

The Gendarme by Mark T. Mustian

This is a horrifying story about remembering a life you may have wished you'd kept repressed. Very interesting, but gruesome as it recounts the annexing of Armenians from Turkey in WW!.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

This is a book about making mistakes and strains on friendships in small town Mississippi. A case of two murdered girls, twenty years apart. It was a good read.

There you go. The ones in bold were my favourites.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T14:32:00.002-06:00

From our house to yours!!

Randoms

2011-04-21T12:52:00.005-06:00

These are the last few pictures that I'll show of our trip.

Gracie pointing out the 'cats' that she kept insisting were in the jungle behind the beach. I keep waiting to hear there was a lion attack at our resort or something.

Swimming

A kiss for dad.

A juice break (yes, she got the occasional cup of juice on vacation, along with deserts, hot dogs, French toast, fries, etc.).

Who Dressed this poor kid?

Another climb out of the pool:

Dressed for supper

Gracie trying to get the last few minutes of joy out of our vacation, reading a gossip magazine, naked, sitting in our suitcase.....

It was fun, we're all settled back in and I'm ready to go somewhere else, again soon...

Quick Interruption

2011-04-20T14:34:00.003-06:00

I'll return to our Dominican vacation recap soon, but i thought I'd let you know about a class I'm teaching at Artisan Emporium in Hanna, Alberta on the 30th of April.

It will be a good one! We'll be making a mini album called an onion skin album because of all the great layers that you keep peeling back to reveal more spots for photos and journaling. This is a great way to scrapbook a big group of pictures.

Here's a peak:

We'll cover binding, folding and scoring, making four different types of paper flowers, distressing, and go over a few basic design principles.

You could use it as a year in review album or if you have a number of pictures from one event, you can scrapbook all of them in one afternoon!

Come join us to make a fun keepsake for yourself, or a gift for someone special (mother's day is just around the corner).

Hope to see you there!

Kelly

Family Picture Time

2011-04-20T13:32:00.005-06:00

We're forever in the process of taking a family picture... I promised one to my mom for Christmas two years ago and she still hasn't seen it. For some reason, we can't take a decent picture.

Hmmm.....

Perhaps, I'm just a perfectionist (or I'm in denial of what I actually look like).

We tried to take some on the trip and some of them were nice.

It's hard to get Gracie looking at the camera, and smiling, but if you ask her to show her teeth, she gives you this:

Cute, right?? Kind of a crooked grin, but it works.

Maybe you'll get one of these ones mom...... We'll see how they look printed.

Beach Play

2011-04-19T13:02:00.004-06:00

Gracie had a ton of fun at the beach. She didn't eat nearly as much sand as she did last summer, which was nice and she liked playing with sand and water and all the toys we had for her.

Many trips were made for more water...

She liked running in and out of the ocean and feeling the waves crashing in on her legs, but only in the very shallow water.

Deeper water was fun, but there were a few moments of frantic clawing and swimsuit pulling the first time in. Yikes!

Just so we remember that we were on this trip too..... Seems to be a lot of Gracie photos.

A quick hug:

2011-04-18T13:07:00.004-06:00

Some more pictures of our trip.

We went exploring as soon as we got there and just after I took this, Gracie lost a shoe in the ocean. Brad had to hop in and get it. Too bad we hadn't put our suits on, yet. It was only waste deep water :)

Gracie loved the pool, in and out, in and out, in and out, all day long.

In the shallow pool, she could climb in and out, and in the big pool, she got us to push her out and then she jumped in. She got so that she was pretty fearless. She would take a few steps back and for a running start and then jump in! Hence the lifejacket.

One of my favourite moments was coming into our hotel room where Brad and Gracie were resting on the bed watching cartoons. I said hi at the door, and Gracie turned to me and said, Ola!

Cute little beach babe.