Special Occasions

Summer is always a busy time for us. My girls definitely keep me busy and I find it a little harder to get some pages done with both of them at home. It is almost impossible to keep Ayden inside on those bright sunny days. Likewise, it is almost impossible to convince Raquel into going outside. Now that she is older, she would rather spend time on the computer. Thankfully she loves to read, so on our recent trip to the dentist, in the city, I bought her a new series of books to read, (it's never much fun to start a series and than have to wait for the next book). I myself know all about that, as I recently finished the fourth book in George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire and am now waiting to read A Dance With Dragons, which will soon be published (I hope).

I finally got a couple of pages done though. I started working on several at one time. I should know better, as I always find it harder to come up with a concept and it takes me longer to get them done. From now on, one at a time, unless it is a two page layout. I decided to use Vanessa's latest kit, which is currently on sale for a limited time in her store. The backgrounds in it are beautiful and some of the elements rather unique.

It was a perfect match for this first LO and gave me a chance to work with some of my old pictures. Some of the pictures weren't really in such great condition, but I restored them the best I could. This is my mom's 1st cousin and her family. Her communion dress was quite pretty, but I bet she must have been a little chilly as they were all standing outside for the family picture.

First Communion digital kit credits: Communion Kit from Blushbutter
Font used: Cataneo BT

This second page I did as a surprise for my cousin. This is my uncle with his granddaughter, at her baptism last year.

Baptism digital kit credits: Communion Kit & Flourish swirl Photoshop brush & digital stamp from Blushbutter
Font used: Edwardian Script ITC

It's kind of hard to believe it is almost August and summer is halfway over. Ayden is hoping Lady will be coming home soon. We got to go for our first ride on her a couple of weeks ago, and it was great. We still haven't really got a pasture fixed up for her yet, but once that's done we should be getting her home and than the girls can get in some riding practice. My parents and niece were down here a few weeks ago and we all had a wonderful visit. We took in the Bergen Rocks exhibition and also took Madison to the Calgary Stampede. It was her first time and I think she really enjoyed it. Both Raquel and Ayden are looking forward to a trip up to their grandparents house in about a week or so. My parents birthdays are both at the beginning of the month, so I though it would be a good time to go. Ayden birthday is at the end of the month as well. She will be turning four already. Time sure does go by quickly.

We've been enjoying some nice summer weather lately. Which of course at this time of the year means lots of thunderstorms later in the day. We sure do get some severe ones in our area of the province. But I have always enjoyed watching the lightening and listening to the rain. It's supposed to be quite nice this weekend is well, so hopefully we'll be able to get out and enjoy the long weekend. Hope you all enjoy it as well. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!

Happy Mother's Day

I think one of the most amazing things in life, has got to be having a child and watching them grow and change into a unique individual. I certainly appreciate all the things my mom has done for me throughout my life. Now that I am older (and farther away), I wish I could spend more time with her. I miss the little things we used to do when I lived closer, like going out for lunch, visiting greenhouses with her or just stopping by for a cup of tea. My own children are growing up so fast and it is kind of hard for me to believe my son will be 20 at the end of the month.

The April challenge for Blush-n-Dusty was to do a page with your favorite color, using Blushbutter's newest mini kit, Favorite Color. I don't know if I truly have a favorite color, but I do prefer blues and greens to pinks and purple. So I decided to do a blue page because of that. I used one of my recent, favorite pictures of all my children together taken last summer. I printed this one out for my mom and mail it off to her for Mother's Day. Which is the reason why I didn't post it here till now, as I didn't want her to see it before then. Hopefully she got her card in the mail by now though.

My Children digital kit credits: Favorite Color Mini Kit and Favorite Color Kit from BlushButter.
Fonts Used: Edwardian Script ITC and Dani.

During the past several weeks we've been having some nasty spring storms here in southern Alberta. The power was knocked out several times (once all day) and the highways were closed as well. We had a fairly mild winter though, so perhaps we are paying for that now. The farmers were grateful for the moisture I am sure and at least the fire ban the county had on has been lifted. Once again the snow is almost melted and the green grass is showing. I spent some time cleaning out my flower beds the other day and the green shoots are starting to push their way out. The leaf buds on the trees are beginning to open also, so it would seem spring is finally on it's way. The weather is supposed to improve this coming week with temperatures returning to normal.

Due to all the snow, Raquel got to miss a few extra days of school as the buses didn't run, which made her happy. She had a sleepover at her friend, Taylor's last night, so Ayden is anxiously waiting for her to come home today. We also had a quick visit with Vern's mom a couple of weekends ago. It was nice for the girls to see her, as they don't get to very often. Ayden is eagerly awaiting some mail from her Grandma Doreen, who promised to send her a few pictures of their time together. Last weekend we dropped in at the arena where Lady is being broke, to check out how things are going. Ayden was thrilled as she got to sit on her back, in a saddle. Lady is making good progress and should be back home in a couple more weeks. This week we decided to save a couple of kittens from being taken to the SPCA. Raquel and Ayden are both quite happy with their new little pets. Meko and Mouse are quite the rambunctious pair, and it is certainly amusing to watch them, as it has been a while since we had kittens around here.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Thanks so much for taking the time to drop by my blog. I really appreciate your comments as well. Happy Mother's Day!!!

One's Life Story

I finally got another page done for my heritage album. The February challenge at Blush-n-Dusty was to do a page about someone who you miss, that has passed away, using Blushbutter's newest mini kit, Miss You.

I decided to do a tribute page about my paternal grandmother. She passed away in 2007 and I will always miss her. I only saw her a few times in my life, once she came to Canada and I was fortunate to go to Germany and visit another time, when I was about 18. My oma always made me feel loved and I often wrote letters to her. When my dad went to Germany to attend her funeral, among her things, he found one of the letters I wrote to her when I was about nine. He brought it home with some other mementos from her life. My oma overcame many difficult situations and saw the world go through many changes. She lost her husband and her home in the second world war, but through it all managed to keep her children together. She spent several years in a refugee camp in Denmark and when she was finally allowed to return to Germany, rebuilt a home for her family. She was a strong, courageous and very determined women, I will never forget her and will always respect her.

The quote on this page is from Helen Adams Keller: One's life story cannot be told with complete veracity. A true auto biography would have to be written in states of mind, emotions, heartbeats, smiles and tears; not in months and years or physical events. Life is marked off on the soul by feelings, not by dates.

One's Life Story digital kit credits: Miss You and Miss You mini kits by Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Wenceslas & Delitsch Antiqua.

Over the past couple of weeks we tried to spend some time each day watching some events from the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. What a fantastic sporting event it was and Canada's athletes certainly made us all proud to be Canadians. The weather here has been wonderful for this time of year. We've been enjoying some really mild temperatures and our snow has been slowly disappearing. Although it is way to early for winter to be over, it sure does feel like spring is on it's way.

March is looking like a rather busy month for us. Raquel will be turning 11 in a couple of weeks and she is looking forward to taking her babysitting course near the end of the month. I decided to register Ayden for swimming lessons this month. This will be her first set of lessons with out me in the pool with her, so the first lesson or two might be a little interesting. She will be going a couple of mornings a week, which I'm sure she will enjoy.
I hope you have a good week, thanks for dropping by my blog.

The Beauty of Winter

I just finished reading through some email for the past couple of days. I was pleasantly surprise to find out that my Christmas Traditions layout won last month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty. I really do appreciate the people who took the time to vote for my page. There are some very talented ladies in that group and it means a lot to me.
I love this picture of Ayden, so I decided to do a page with it. I actually took it with my cell phone one day, just before I took her to playschool. She looked very adorable in her fuzzy pink coat, that she loves to wear. It was snowing quite heavily that day and she was very happy about it. Ayden was sticking out her tongue and tasting the flakes, it was so cute. I think sometimes as we grow older we forget to enjoy the beauty of winter and this is a good reminder for me of how beautiful and fun it can be.

Snow Angel digital kit credit: Snow Flakes winter kit, Softness and Angels for print and crafts 5 from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Snowdrift and Fontleroy Brown.

We've had some unseasonably warm weather the past couple of weeks. Most of the snow in the picture has now melted, although I'm certain we will get some more soon. It was rather nice to have such mild weather in the middle of winter. Everyone at our house has been settling back into their normal routines, now that the holiday season is over. We've had couple busy weeks with several dentist appointments. As well, Raquel has been taking swimming lessons again and was thrilled when she passed into the next level a few days ago. And Ayden is looking forward to heading back to playschool tomorrow, so she can see her friends again. I hope your week is going well, thanks for dropping by my blog.

Traditions

It has been ages since I actually finished a page and posted it here, but sometimes life just takes it's own course. The past few months have been busy. The girls have been enjoying school. Although it has taken a while for Ayden to get used to the idea that I leave her at playschool, but she is finally starting to it like. Now she actually is beginning to look forward to going every week, to see her friends.

I decided to participate in this month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty, as it was about family traditions and I have lots of pictures to use from Christmas. The other part of the challenge was to use something from Blushbutter's newest mini kit, Softness.

Ayden loved helping to decorate the tree and enjoyed playing with the decorations, rearranging them almost daily as she played with her favorites. Now it's almost time to take it down, I'm sure she is going to miss it. We had a good but quiet Christmas. I think the best part of Christmas, really has got to be watching the children open their gifts. It is such a delight to see the expressions on their faces. It really makes all the preparations worthwhile.


Family Traditions digital kit credits: Softness Mini, Merry Christmas kit & Scratched & Creased Overlay 1 from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Westwood LET, Perpetua & Kayleigh

Raquel spent the New Year's weekend with her dad, so we have to go pick her up later today. The rest of us went out for Chinese food on New Years Eve and decided it might be a good tradition to start, instead of cooking at home that night. Ayden loved staying up to watch the countdown and it was fun to welcome in the new year with her.

I wish you all health, happiness, love and prosperity in the new year. May 2010 be a wonderful year. Happy New Years!

Happy Mother's Day

We finally had a week without any appointments and it was nice not to have to do any running around. Between the light rain showers, Ayden and I have been spending a lot of time outside enjoying spring. The leaves should be out soon and the tulips we planted last fall are several inches tall. A pair of geese have decided to make their home at the back of the Lady's pasture. The latest daily visitor to our yard is a fox, much to the dismay of our cats. The fox, of course, is smart enough to only come around when the dogs are kenneled. Both girls have caught a few glimpses of it through the window and Ayden has decided she doesn't like the fox, because it might eat her cat, Vester.

I love the alpha in this latest kit from Blushbutter, even though I'm not all that good at using them on my pages. I've had it downloaded for a while (it is on sale for a limited time, in her shop right now) and just couldn't decided what pictures to use with it. I finally settle on these ones of my lovely daughters. We had them taken at the Calgary Stampede by The Antique Photo Parlour, a couple of years ago. ( We had a family portrait done as well, that I will have to do a page of one day.) It was rather fun to dress up in the old style clothes and they had lots of costumes to choose from. The pictures turned out fabulously and I would recommend going and getting some done, if you've never tried it. They certainly are keepsakes to treasure. (I would like to express my sincere thanks to The Antique Photo Parlour, for granting me permission to post these pages on my blog and in my galleries.)

Little Blue Lady digital kit credits: A Victorian Lady (some items colorized) and Victorian Heritage Replica Scrap Embossed Paper Frames from Blushbutter.
Photography credits: The Antique Photo Parlour - Old Time Photographs & Frames (used with permission).
Fonts used: Windsong.

Radiant Red Beauty digital kit credits: A Victorian Lady and Victorian Heritage Replica Scrap Embossed Paper Frames from Blushbutter.
Photography credits: The Antique Photo Parlour - Old Time Photographs & Frames (used with permission).
Fonts used: Windsong.

We are having a quiet evening tonight, as Raquel has gone over to a friend's for a sleepover. Ayden looks forward to Raquel coming home on the bus every day and is missing her a bit tonight. She will be happy when we run into town to pick Raquel up tomorrow. We heard from Kyle this past week and he is settling in nicely to his new accommodations. I am so happy for him that he made the decision to move out on his own, as he had been staying with one of his Grandma's. It is hard to believe he will be 19 at the end of this month. I think I will have to go digging through some of my albums and find a picture to scrap of him when he was a baby. The weather here is supposed to be improving after a few more showers tomorrow. It will be nice to have a few warm, sunny days in a row. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a happy Mother's Day!

Fasionista

I got another page done this week. Vanessa has a gorgeous new kit in the Blushbutter store, Glamour Starlet. I had fun scrapping with it, all the girlie elements and alpha are fantastic and I can see it is another of her kits that I will be using over and over. It is perfect for these pictures of Ayden, even though she really prefers green and blue to pink. Ayden does love to dress up and look pretty, although given the chance she rather be running around naked. Seeing as she is only 2 1/2, that's probably normal. She loves make-up, especially lipstick and eye shadow and if there is perfume around, well you can probably guess how that goes. A little spray here, another there, as she puts it, "It smells SO pretty, mommy." She is hard to resist with her charming little smile and would empty the whole bottle if she had the opportunity.

Fasionista digital kit credits: Glamour Starlet available at Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Jacki's Hand.

We had a nasty cold front move through the last few days. The school buses didn't run again yesterday due to the road conditions. Visibility was so poor, they closed the main highway from Airdrie to Ponoka for a while. Raquel enjoyed the extra day off and Ayden's swimming was also canceled, so the girls and I spent a fun day together. There is no school again today, it's a regular Friday off and Raquel has an eye appointment this afternoon. Since we have some where to go, it is a good thing the wind finally quite and the sun is shinning (although it is - 25 c this morning). It is supposed to warm up later today, so the weekend should be better. Hope you have a good weekend also and don't forget to move your clocks ahead.

Every Day Life

I finally got around to completing my page for this month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty. Vanessa designed this pretty mini kit, from which a element or paper had to be used. The theme for this month was to create a lay out showing what a typical day in your life looks like, for future generations.

I think an ordinary day at our house is usually pretty boring, so I had a hard time deciding what pictures to use. That is probably why it took me so long to get this one done. I managed to find at least one picture from this month of everyone and I decided to include the page from our actual calendar on the lay out as well. So here it is, a page of our daily lives.
Every Day Life 2009 digital kit credits: Every Day Life, Baby Girl Heart Strings Mega kit, & Easter Basket from Blushbutter.
Fonts used:French Script Mt, Font Leroy Brown & Kayleigh.

Last week was rather a busy one our house. We had an appointment in the city and Raquel only had two days of school. She enjoyed the time off, but I was glad it was Monday today and things settled back into a normal routine. Our house is certainly a bit hectic when both girls are home all day. Ayden starts swimming lessons again this week, so we'll be busy with those for a while. She really enjoys the water and has been asking for the past couple of days to go swimming. I enjoy it too and it is a terrific way to wear Ayden out a little. She is such a little night owl and I wish I had as much energy as she does, (of course she takes more naps than I do). It looks like the next couple of days will be perfect for napping or other indoor activities, as the temperatures are supposed to get cooler again and yes, I do believe there is more snow in the forecast. I hope you enjoy your week. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Halloween in January?

Okay, maybe I'm a little behind with my pictures, but I am finally getting to Halloween. Raquel seemed to think is was an odd choice for this time of year, but I didn't feel like doing Christmas pages yet. It was fun going through the Halloween pictures. The girls were so cute, Raquel was a good witch and Ayden was a forest fairy. They had to wear their costumes over some warm clothes, as it was a chilly evening, but at least there wasn't any snow this year.

Halloween 2008 digital kit credits: Victorian Wedding Kit, Unicorn and Fairy Clipart Kit, and Creepies from Blushbutter.
Skelegance from Derek M. Designs.
Fonts used: Haunted.

To break up the winter boredom, I decided to start Ayden in swimming lessons this month. She gets to go twice a week, in the morning and really seems to be enjoying it. She is too small to go into the pool by herself, so I get to join her. I am impressed with the fact that they are actually being taught skills at such a young age, not just playing in the water. Ayden is learning it is okay to put your head all the way under the water and is progressing nicely with her front & back floats. She loves the hot tub, but I think the highlight of the week for Ayden was when she got to go down the waterslide with me. Raquel has been taking swimming lessons for the past couple of weeks as well. Her school offers a session of lessons, as part of the physical education program each year. She was a little upset because she was put in a more advanced level than her friends, due to all the lessons she's had in the past. She has some dreams of being a life guard one day and I am really quite proud of her progress. With swimming and an appointment last Monday, our week has gone by quickly. It looks like we are in for a few cold days, just in time for the weekend. Maybe we'll have to go out and rent a few movies. Hope you find a nice cozy way to spend your weekend also!

Memories

I think maybe my muse has taken off for a warmer climate, not that anyone could be blamed for that, with the cold temperatures we have been experiencing. It looks like we shall be getting some warmer weather just in time for Christmas, which will be nice, as we have friends coming to visit.

I finally got my page done for this month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty. Vanessa has designed a beautiful mini kit, which you can obtain for free, if you participate in the challenge. The challenge was to do a page of your family, using one of several quotes and some items from the kit.

These are a couple pictures of my family. The picture from 1978 sure brought back a lot of memories. We often went to my Grandma's in the spring and the picture was taken at her house. (We had some fun trips with 5 kids in the car.) My mom did a lot of sewing then and she made the dresses my sisters and I are wearing in the picture. I remember, not too long after it was taken Carl, Sherri and I got our glasses. Now we all live in different places and it is not very often we get together. We had the other picture taken at mom & dad's anniversary last year. We've all changed a bit and certainly grown older.

Family Memories digital kit credits: from Blushbutter Family Memories, Fairy Kisses in Blue Mega Kit, Easter Basket and Victorian Heritage Replica Scrap Kit.
Fonts used: Aubrey & Delitsch Antiqua.

We have had a couple of busy weeks cleaning and baking for Christmas. Both Raquel and Ayden have been a lot of help with keeping things clean. Ayden loves making cookies with me. I think, if you need to develop some patience, you should try baking with a 2 year old. Some of the cookies look interesting, but we had fun and I'm sure they will taste terrific. Raquel is off at her dad's for a few days and will be back tomorrow, to spend the rest of the holidays at home. Ayden was so thrilled today, as she got a big girl bed. Now we just have to see if she will sleep in it. I think tonight, it will be time to help Santa get ready and I will have to spend some time wrapping a few presents. Watching my girls open them up and seeing the excitement in their eyes has got to be one of the things I enjoy most about Christmas.

May the spirit of the holiday season remain with you through the coming year!

In My Heart

The girls and I decided to go on a little road trip last weekend. We actually left a little earlier than we had planned, as Raquel couldn't wait to see her grandparents, brother & cousins. We had a good visit with everyone and took home some wonderful memories. The girls really enjoyed spending time with Kyle and his new kitten. This picture was taken the last time we went for a visit, in May, on our way to the park. Kyle has actually changed his look quite a bit, since this picture was taken. He makes me feel like such a tiny mom. Sometimes it's hard to believe, he was little, like his baby sister.

In My Heart digital kit credits: Peacock Whisper and Fairy Kisses in Blue mega kit from Blushbutter (dragonflies by Art Within Designs using kit elements).
Fonts Used: Dilana Experimentype & Wenceslas.

We are supposed to have some nice warm weather this weekend and the snow we did have, has melted. It's nice being able to spend more time outside, before winter arrives. Ayden & Raquel didn't really mind the snow at all. I'm sure it won't be too long before there is more for them to play in.

Hope you enjoy your weekend!!!

Better Than A Super Hero

There are all kinds of "super heros" in the world. Most of them never get the recognition they deserve. I sure some of them go about their lives wondering if anybody notices. One of my favorite quotes is, "Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." Sometimes it is the smallest things we do, that brighten another person's day.

I scraplifted this quote, from a page, I saw in a gallery not too long ago. Raquel and Ayden definitely think their big brother is a super hero. They both adore him and look forward to visiting with Kyle, when he comes. I'm sure they'd love to see him more, if they could. I took these pictures when we went to Kyle's grad in May. All the girls had a terrific time playing in the park with Kyle. I think, it was the first time my kids, have all actually been to the park together.

Better Than A Super Hero digital kit credits: Fairy Kisses in Blue mega kit and Digital Essential Frames from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Vestite Y Andate! and Wenceslas

Trick-or-Treating was lots of fun and the weather couldn't have been better! Raquel invited her friend, Ellen, along and we all had a wonderful time. Raquel was a good witch and Ayden was a forest fairy. Raquel really enjoyed that I decided to dress up, after all Halloween is her most favorite holiday. I put black spray in my hair, that will be the last time I do that. What a mess it makes. I guess you will just have to wait to see the pictures. I promise to do a Halloween page soon.

Hope you all had a happy & safe Halloween as well!

When You Feel Blue

Vanessa has recently put out a gorgeous new digital scrapbooking kit. Fairy Kisses in Blue is available at Blushbutter's store and I believe it is on sale for a limited time. Vanessa has designed some enchanting backgrounds and fabulous elements in this mega kit. Ayden and Raquel both love the fairies, butterflies and sparkles. Most of the elements are blue, one of my favorite colors and I can see I will be making quite a few pages with this wonderful kit.

I took this picture of the girls a few weeks ago, after they were both ready for bed. For once, they were actually snuggled up on the couch together. Ayden really adores her big sister and of course tries to imitate her all the time. If Raquel gets something, Ayden has to have it too and vice versa. It's nice to see them have some quality time with each other, once and a while. The quote reads:

Here's a little hug for you,
To make you smile when you feel blue.
To make you happy if you're sad.
To let you know... life ain't so bad!
Now that I've given a hug to you,
Somehow, I feel better too.
Hugs are better when you share,
So pass one on and show you care!

When You Feel Blue digital kit credits: Fairy Kisses in Blue mega kit from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Hanford Script & ALS Script

This past week just seemed to fly by. It's been fairly windy here the past couple of days, but mild. They are forecasting a nice week, so maybe there won't be any snow again this year for Halloween. That would be so nice. Both girls are looking forward to Friday, especially Raquel, (she gets to have a party at school on Thursday and there is no school on Halloween). We've had their costumes for a couple of weeks and they picked out their pumpkins the other day. I decided, I would even dress up this year, I haven't done that for a while. There is no actual trick-or-treating where we live, so we take the girls into town. My baby toe seems to be healing pretty good, I went and had it checked at the hospital again. It's buddied up to the one beside it, and although it's still fairly bruised, at least the swelling went down and I can wear my own boots. Raquel also had parent teacher interviews last week, so report cards should be coming home soon. She seems to be doing pretty good this year, but I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Hope you are having a good weekend! Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Eat and Run

Our latest nocturnal visitors are a pair of striped skunks. They have been hanging around for a couple of weeks and it seems they have made a den under our tack shed. They are kind of a nuisance, but the girls are enjoying seeing them. I snapped these pictures one night when they came to eat below the bird feeder. Ayden's been a little disappointed, the last few nights, as we stopped filling the bird feeder and the skunks have stopped coming around the house. Raquel thinks they are adorable, and of course would like to have one for a pet. I did these pages for the girls, so they can see their little buddies all the time.
The journaling reads: Skunks belong to the weasel family, their Latin name, mephitis, means bad odour. Skunks are about the size of a house cat. Their stripped coat is a warning to stay away. Skunks can direct their spray for up to 6 meters. They mainly hunt at night, venturing as far as 2 km from their dens. They like insects, bird food, petfood, berries, small rodents, compost, sardines & peanut butter. They dislike bright lights, citrus, canine urine and ammonia. Young skunks make good pets if the musk gland is removed.
Eat and Run & The Striped Skunk digital kit credits: Flamenco Spanish Dance Kit from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Inked God and Kayleigh

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a great week!

Forever

This month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty Yahoo group is to create a wedding LO, using the beautiful mini kit from Blushbutter. You can get it as a freebie for participating in the challenge. Although I do have wedding pictures of my own, I decided I would rather do another couple pages for my heritage album. I think my wedding photos can wait to be scrapped for a few more years. These are some pictures from my grandpa Mike's wedding to my grandma Kay. My grandma Kay liked colors such teal and aquamarine, so I decided to colorize the paper and elements that I used.

Forever I & II digital kit credits: Victorian Wedding Digital Scrapbooking kit and Mini Wedding kit from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Porcelain, Chopin Script, Qlassik Bold & Kayleigh.

The journaling reads:

Katherine (Kay) met handsome Metro (Mike) on a blind date, which had been arranged by their mutual

friends, Milton and Alice. Kay had never been married and Mike was a widower with three young children,Peter, Joyce and Barbara.

They were married on August 8^th, 1957 in Winfield, B.C., where Kay’s parents lived. Kay was 38 and Mike was 37. The family settled on the outskirts of Vernon, B.C., where Mike built them a new home on 2 acres of land. About a year after their marriage, their daughter, Gaileen was born.

Mike and Kay were married about 12 years, when Mike suddenly passed away, in 1969. Though they were short, they were happy years, filled with family and friends. After Mike’s death,Kay never remarried. Strengthen by her faith in God, she led a peaceful life, until she passed away.

We are having a rather quiet long weekend here at home. Vern has been working all weekend, but will be taking tomorrow off and we will have Thanksgiving Dinner. He ended up having a few more days off, last week, waiting for his floor system to be delivered, which finally got here Friday. Raquel decided to go to her dad's to celebrate the holiday, so Ayden and I were just hanging out at home. That was until I broke my toe on one of her little stools. So instead of making pumpkin pies today, we got to go to the hospital and wait around there most of the afternoon. They took a bunch of x-rays and it was defiantly broken, (it was sticking out at about 90 degrees the wrong way). So the Dr. froze it and gently repositioned it. Trust me, I do not recommend breaking your baby toe, I bet my foot will be black & blue tomorrow. "Ouwie", as Ayden says. Ayden keeps trying to put soft things on it for me, she is so sweet.

I updated my Two Hearts page from Mike & Lena's wedding. I talked to one of my great aunts this week and she was able to give me a little more information about my grandma Lena. You can check out their wedding page here, if you are interested.

I just wanted to say thank you to Karrie at Kez Creates for giving me a little blog award last week. That was so nice of her. Karrie has some terrific Los on her blog and she always keeps an eye out for the latest freebies.

My Nominees:

Doxie Designs Doxie Archives

Idgies Heart Song

Penlins Designs

Thanks for your comments. Hope you are having a nice long weekend, Happy Thanksgiving!

Bounce

We've had a busy couple of weeks and I haven't had much time to work on any pages. Vern's been off and getting a lot accomplished around the house and yard. He's contemplating adding an addition to give us some more room and he's finishing off the new front deck. Both of the girls have had horrible colds, but it seems like they are starting to feel better. My dad brought my aunt and uncle down earlier this week, before they headed back to Germany. We had a good visit, although it was pretty quick, but it was wonderful to see them. Fall is definately here, the leaves are falling to the ground and it has been cool. How quickly summer fades away. Soon we'll have to get out the mittens, winter jackets and boots.

I decided to do a page of Ayden having fun on the trampoline. She just loves to "bounce" and is always wanting to go out. Having as many balls as possible on the trampoline just adds to the fun. Ayden bounces until she is pretty much exhausted, but she sure has a good time. She has told us she needs an inside bouncer for the rainy days.

Bounce digital kit credits: Craft Scrapbooking Clipart Graphics kit, Gentle, Baby Girl Heart Strings Mega Kit, Digital Circle Frames Blue & Pink and Fairy Things & Butterfly Wings Digital Scrapbook kit from Blushbutter (some items colorized).
Fonts used: Heather, Jacki's Hand, & Jokewood

Thanks for your comments. Have a wonderful weekend!

Eency Weency Spider

Only five more days till school starts. The girls and I went into Calgary, to Market mall, on Monday. We managed to outfit Raquel with all her back to school clothes, (I wish her school had uniforms, it would be so much easier). I not really much of a shopper, so I'm glad that's all finished. We are off to Olds today, to drop Raquel off, as she is going to spend the long weekend with her dad. Ayden and I will be having a few quiet days by ourselves, till she comes back home Sunday. Then it will back to school, with routines and schedules. Summer went by so fast.

One of Ayden's favorite games is Eency Weency Spider. For Ayden's birthday, we gave her one of those musical cards, she just loves it! It plays the Eency Weency Spider song, she'll hold it open and dance around. It reminded me that I had these pictures of Ayden & my mom from their visit earlier this summer. Ayden had a terrific time playing with Grandma Barbara. She loves to have the "spiders" and the "rain" tickle her. The poem is an excerpt from a book published by Bank Street written by Joanne F. Oppenheim.

Eency Weency Spider

The Eency Weency Spider went up the waterspout.

Down came the rain and washed the spider out!

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.

And the Eency Weency Spider went up the spout again.

Oh, Eency Weency Spider, weave your silvery web.

Oh, Eency Weency Spider, spin your silvery thread.

Upsy-downsy outs and ins, see how Eency Weency spins!

Eency Weency Spider digital kit credits: Fairies in the Garden, Snow Flakes Winter Kit, Boy Oh Boy kit, Unicorn and Fairy Clipart Kit (some items colorized) from Blushbutter.
Spider by Art Within Designs

Fonts used: Monotype Corsiva and Kayleigh

Thank you for stopping by my blog, have a great long weekend!

Happy Birthday Ayden!!!

The last couple of years have sure gone by quickly. Ayden is growing so fast. We had a fun time opening a few presents and watching her blow out the candles, over & over. The girls & I spent the week running around getting presents and school supplies. Raquel got a haircut, (but she can't tell the difference). Now we have just one more day of clothes shopping, in the city, next week and she will be ready for grade 4.

I haven't done a page for the girl's heritage album for a while, so I decided to do one from my dad's side of the family. This is one of the pictures my aunt sent me, from Germany. It is the earliest picture I have of my paternal grandparents. There seem to be no pictures, from their own wedding, that survived WWII and I feel fortunate to have the ones I do. I like the extra bits that show up in the picture, like the tray of drinks and the musical instruments. How formal they all look, it must have been a beautiful wedding. I don't know anything about the rest of the people in the picture. My oma passed away last year, and no one else seems to know now.


Family Wedding 1939 digital kit credits: Victorian Wedding Digital Scrapbooking kit, Victorian Heritage Replica Scrap kit, Summer Dreams, Easter Basket, and Baby Girl Heart Strings mega kit from Blushbutter.
Fonts Used: Orange LET, Cantaneo BT, Perpetua & Champagne

Have a nice weekend!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Happy Birthday, Mom! Hope you have a wonderful day. Thought maybe you would like to see your granddaughters, with one of your favorite little critters. We found this frog one day, on one of our walks. Raquel and Ayden had so much fun holding, petting and repeatedly catching it, until it jumped away in some tall grass. Ayden thought the frog was pretty neat and is still talking about how it jumped. Of course, she normally has to jump too, just to show us what the frog did. She looks so cute hopping around.

Prince Charming? digital kit credits: Easter Basket, Emerald Fairy Digital Scrapbooking Kit, Gentle (some items colorized) and Quilling Box of paper filagree from Blushbutter.
Photo benders from Dusty Bear
Template 28 from Gloria Val Verde at Moo Two Designs
Fonts used: Mutlu & Kayleigh

We've been having a good visit with Kyle. Both girls are enjoying the time they are spending with him. Kyle will be leaving Monday, so things will settle down again. Our appointments this week, went very well and now all we have left to do before school starts, is the back to school shopping. Maybe we'll get to that, at the end of next week.

Thanks for dropping by my blog! Have a nice weekend!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Today is my dad's birthday. Dad, I hope you have a wonderful day and your card is in the mail. I thought maybe you would like to see a picture of me for once, so here a little birthday present for you. Hope to see you & mom later this month.

We've had a couple of busy weeks. Raquel has been at her dad's for over a week and we are looking forward to her coming home next week. Vern had a week off, in between jobs, so Ayden and I haven't had a chance to get bored. As per normal, Ayden insists we spend most of our time outside. This week we've been hunting for wild strawberries, (I know they are yummy, because she won't share with me) and I think we've picked all the ones in the yard, much to her disappointment. It's so cute to hear her trying to say strawberries. It's hard to believe she will be 2 in a couple of weeks. Below is a picture Raquel took of us on Canada Day.

I used Blushbutter's newest kit, it is so enchanting (I love the fairy and the unicorn). This is the first of several pages I have been working on, that I am using it for. I hope to get the other pages, of the girls done soon, but with Vern being off this weekend and Kyle dropping in for a quick visit at the beginning of the week, that might not happen. Summer seems to be going by so fast...

Canada Day 2008 II digital kit credits: Unicorn and Fairy Clipart Kit from Blushbutter
Fonts Used: AdineKimberg & Adorable

Thanks for stopping by my blog, have a terrific long weekend!