Boo from our Crew '09

Hope your Halloween was filled with lots of treats and few tricks...we had a great one this year. The weather was warmer than it's been in years so the kids were out in full force around town. It was awesome...I love seeing them all dressed up. Here are a few snapshots of how we celebrated this year











Things are well here with all of us...knock on wood, we've all been pretty healthy...hoping to keep it that way!
Carsyn's guitar lessons are going well and Gavin started drum lessons today. I sat in on the first lesson just so i was in the know about the things we should be practicing at home and how to go about it...the sparkle in his eyes while he was playing and after the lesson was over melted my heart! Guess Brian better get on finishing insulating and drywalling the garage so it can be used as a music/rec room cause if we have to buy a drum set in the near future (right now he practices on rhythm pads) I do not want that noise in the house...lol!
Reilly and Zack's volleyball season's are coming to an end soon. However, basketball starts right after...no resting in between. Hockey is in full swing so that keeps us busy 4 days a week without anything else going on. I am so looking forward to Brian being home for the winter so he can help out with transporting the boys too and from.
Anyway, I have been a horrible blog friend and for that I apologize. I hope to have some time this weekend to visit them all and catch up.
I hope you are well and staying healthy...hugs!!

a Cornucopia of things

sheesh...time flies! Not sure where the last threes went since I had the chance to post on the blog. Oh ya...I've been running between volleyball for 2 boys and hockey for one of those same kids..dealing with a son who hasn't been making the best of choices, working full time and attempting to keep the house some what clean. Seriously, people who tell me I'll miss this when their gone have got to be pulling my leg right?
I tried to take a day to scrapbook and managed to get a few layouts done for an online crop...felt sooo good to connect with my creative side and get a little me time (one might even say a sanity break...lol)
forgot to add the journaling when I took this pic but have sinice done so...it was about Brian playing craps the very first time in Vegas. It was something he wanted to do sooo bad...too bad he wasn't comfortable enough to try it until the last day...lol

this was for a challenge where you had to scrap down the middle of the page only...it's the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney (yes I am still scrapping our trip to California)

I really wanted to get a clse up of Reilly's freckles (which I love) and he didn't want his pic taken but I got then anyway (gotta love a zoom lens)

lastly, this is M&M World in Vegas...no journaling required really but I am happy with how it turned out...

We are currently trying to decide what everyone is going to be for Halloween...do you have costumes for you and/or your kids? I only have 2 kids that need costumes and Gavin is thinking he might just wear Carsyn's old karate uniform and go as a black belt (which I would have to make but that's easy). Carsyn wants to be something creepy/scary so we'll see what we can find that would be appropriate for school. I really wanted to be Smurfette but am having a hard time finding what I need so instead I Might dress up as either Mario or Luigi (already bought a self adhesive mustache from the dollar store just in case...lol)
Also need to get the fall yard work done but with the friggin cold weather and snow we've had this week it might all have to wait till Spring!
Brian and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on the 7th and are going out for dinner and to a movie *gasp* this weekend...looking so forward to that.
We also have hockey and volleyball but plan to make some time to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner...just the 6 of us and be grateful for the good stuff in our lives. I hope you can do the same with those you love!

back in the saddle

Wow...2+ weeks have just flown by!
The boys and I are all settled back into the routine of getting up and going to school...things are running pretty smoothly I must say. The boys are happy to be back into sports and seeing their friends...the school work I'm sure they'd be happy without. I have a busy schedule again this year although it's not as insane as last year. I pretty much spend my mornings in grade 1 and my afternoons in grade 4...it's quite the difference from the one to the other!
Sure am glad I spent some time at the start of the summer to get this house and stuff a bit more organized. Also picked up a 7qt crockpot and have started putting it to good use too. One thing that suffered a bit with me going to work full time all of a suddenlast year was suppers so I am hoping that the new (and much bigger) crockpot will help us eat a little better with not a whole lot more effort.
I am happy to report that the speed bumps we hit are a distant memory so that is an added bonus for a little less stress in my life! Although, hockey starts on Wednesday and that's always full of drama so ya never know....lol!
I've had a chance to do a smidge of scrapping but I'll wait till the next post to share...I know you are all wanting to see my new bathroom. So, without further adieu...here it is!
this is the new chocolate brown "damask" shower curtain shown with the sun shining through the window to show it off

this is just a shot of the mirror (which will change at a later date, along with the vanity) The picture needs to be hing back on the wall above the toilet and I bought a glass shelf to hang above the pic to put some little details things on...

this is the shower curtain with the light on (not sure it looks any different though...lol)

this is the new fixture...

It's hard to see the color on the walls...it's called "alpine mist"...it's a very soft greeny blue...think spa-ish. I bought all new towels in this color as well as a free standing toilet paper holder (cause the one in the wall was drywalled over...lol), a free standing hand towel rack that sits on the counter and the set also came with an over the door towel holder...all in chrome to match the light. We are looking for some new flooring too.
I just realized, I didn't show you what it looked like before..and those pics aren't on the computer (I didn't take any before the reno started but I have some from when we first did the bathroom after moving in 4 years ago). Whoops!
The kitchen has been at a stand still for a bit...need to paint the back splash still and put new hardware on the cupboards. Still not sold on the color but it is growing on me each day.
So,with that, I need to go get the boys' agendas and paper work that needs to go back to school tomorrow ready as well as some pre lunch packing done. I think we have 2 boys with volleyball practice tomorrow, volleyball Tuesday and Friday, hockey Wednesday and cross country on Thursday. Hockey Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well...so glad Brian is home this week!

life is a highway

and we've hit some speed bumps!
hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I'm still kicking around.
We have lots of stuff going on in our lives right now...some good...some not so good. None of it is terminal or anything like that we've just had some life stuff come up out of nowhere and are trying to deal with them...some days it's easier than others.
For those of you that have made friend requests on facebook, you wouldn't know that a couple of weeks ago, I posted that I wouldn't be continuing with facebook. It just wasn't my thing I guess. Plus, I am having a hard enough time posting on the blog while I try to keep my head above water.
I'll be back soon with a summer review, the bathroom and kitchen pics some of you are waiting *patiently* for and a start to our school year.
I hope you are all well and settling back into the grove of school, work, activities...ya know...life.
Miss ya all sooo much!!

never fear...I'm still here...lol!
Just been busy doing a bathroom reno...that is sooo close to be doing finished.
It's so pretty and calming...the soaker tub is sooo awesome! Even though the bathroom isn't 100% complete, Brian did encourage me to try out the new tub and I gotta say...I'm in heaven! I for see a lot of down time in my future!
I am so excited to report that I scrapbooked...first page since mid June. It felt so good to get in touch with my creative side even for just an afternoon.
It's hard to believe that we are going back to school in 3 weeks. I haven't bought any school supplies or clothes and from what I saw at the stores today...I'm wishing I would have bought them all as soon as school was out in June...it was nuts!
We'll be busy with eye appointments, shopping, finishing the bathroom and working on the kitchen (finally picked a paint color for the cupboards) that the rest of our summer is going to fly by.
Hope you are all enjoying your summer and making some great memories!

well...some scrapbooker I am! Would you believe I didn't take one single picture of our site set up? I was browsing through the almost 200 pics I took and not a single one of our tent and screenhouse set up...sheesh! Luckily, I mentioned this to my mom and she went around and took a snapshot or 2 of everybody's set up so I need to wait for here to either email it to me or bring her camera with her when she comes for the long weekend.
I can share with you (although it's probably in my best interest not too) the pics Brian tried to take of me making breakfast our first morning of camping...


He had to have one of these toasters thingies that go over the camp stove (cause his parents had when he camped as a boy...lol) so I had to take a pic of him making toast...

On Thursday night it was only us, my Mom and Bud as well as Bud's son and family so it was kinda quiet and a fairly early night I think.
Friday, more family started to arrive and I was thrilled to hear my cousin Kevin was going to be coming along with his youngest 2 kids who I hadn't met yet. Seems that when Kevin makes it home, I don't and vice versa. My early evening, a lot of the sites were full and a good time was had by the campfire. Everyone really enjoyed the belated Christmas gift we gave Mom and Bud too...Ladder Golf...it it so much fun and great for people of all ages.


Carsyn too an interest in playing crib so after half a day of lessons, he was ready to take on some of the more experienced players in the family. It was great that so many of them taught him too as they went along. It's now one of his favs.
Saturday, we took the boys to the man made swimming hole they have at this campground and the boys and Brian had a ball. I didn't take my camera the first time and man...it's too bad I didn't. Zack asked the boys to bury him in the sand...done. Then, while he was stuck there, they built what was supposed to be 2 boobs on either side of his head and then tried to build him some boy parts...OMG...I am not sure I have ever laughed so hard in my life!!!
I did get a lot of great shots of the boys splashing and goofing around with their Dad but I think it's only fair to have Brian's permission before posting his bathing body on the net...lol!
Being the Saskatchewan Roughrider fans that almost all of us are, we had to support our team (even though it was a lost cause that day) so we set up near the truck radio to listen to the game...

Also, Saturday, was the big family reunion supper. Lots of locals just came out for a visit and supper...it was really nice to see them.
This was also the day that every friggin mosquito in Canada decided to converge on us...I kid you not, there were millions. I guess it had been really hot and hatched them all and nothing we did or put on made them stop. We tried several different types of Off and we still got eaten alive. The boys looked like they had chicken pox when we came home they had so many bites. On top of that, they had these bugs that I called Darth Vader bugs cause they were big and black and sounded like a light saber when they came flying past your head...they were horrible. Only at night and obviously attracted to the fire cause that's where they were the worst. They were totally creepy and at one point on Sunday night, I had my hoody on...tied up tight around my head and a badminton racket in my hand swatting the dam things. Brian, being the ever so funny man he thinks he is, threw one at me...I thought my cousin, her boyfriend and my Aunt were going to pee their pants laughing. Not long after, he went to catch one and missed and in the process, it hit me in the cheek...needless to say, he was a tad chilly when we went to bed cause I was not about to snuggle after that.
Monday, we packed up, said our goodbyes...see ya next years and headed home.
All in all, it was a great trip. Lots of great family time as the 6 of us and with my extended family too. The family average for the first time camping was 7.5 and we will do it at least one more time this summer but not right beside the Trans Canada highway and hopefully with out as many mosquitoes and no Darth Vader Bugs (which turned out to be Spruce Beetles by the way).
Oh, and how could I forget...Zack had his first beer courtesy of my 18 year old cousin and his Dad (my Uncle that used to pull for me before I was 18)!!


I have mixed feelings about this occurrence by the way.

I guess if you look at the pic where we are listening to the football game, you can see our tent on the left and screen house on the right to kinda get the idea.

So, that's the camping trip in a nutshell.
Sorry you had to wait so long but it's late now and I gotta get to bed. Swimming lessons early in the morning for Carsyn and Gavin and a late night tomorrow with Zack's final drivers ed class.
On the upside, it is the August long so enjoy some summer fun with those you love! We'll be renovating our bathroom...can't wait!

ponder this...

Question of the day:
If a pair is 2 then why are jeans and undies called a pair?
This is what the boys were discussing at the lunch table yesterday...lol
camping report coming later today...just haven't had the time to sit here long enough to type it out...pics are on the computer now so that's a step in the right direction...lol!