Happy Halloween!

We're all decked out and ready for the spookiest day of the year.

Leaving Grade Six Layout

I Finally got around to finishing off this layout of Cassidy's graduation from elementary school. I really wanted to get it finished before I forgot to much about it. I used the bacis grey paperpack hopscotch. love it.

Graduating from grade six is such a big deal for an eleven year old and we were so excited for her. So proud of her. The leaving ceremony was beautiful and well planned. They entered one by one from the back of the gym to sit on either side of the stage. There were awards, speeches, slideshows, poems, and songs. They received their deplomas and certificates on stage. She looked so sweet in the polkadot dress we got her.

First Day of School 2011.

The first day of school went really smoothly. Frick and frack got their bus which is a first since there are generally problems the first couple of days.



can you tell that they leave super early?



Compared to him?



They like all of their teachers and classes, and have ALL started some really good homework habits. Mornings are going well due to having everything laid out the night before.

C is not in any of her friends classes, which made her a little sad especially since they are ALL in the same class together but of course she is already making some new friends and she sees her regular crowd at lunch. She will take all of her classes right through the year. Math, Science, Gym, Art, History, Geography, English, French, and Religion. She is on a six day cycle that roates the times of day and classes she takes each day. Some classes she has every day.

D is not in many classes with some of his old friends. Is it bad that I am happy??? He has the academic course load which weeded out some of the less driven students. Because he is in high school now he is semestered so he has Art, Gym, Geography, and Math this term which means English, French, Science, and Religion next term. yikes.

Q is enjoying grade one, he has some of his freinds in his class and some new ones. He has a fantastic teacher and from her rep probably the one of the best in the school! Yay. We haven't had the best of luck with grade one and two teachers so I am thrilled. He has begun his reading program with a book log for every night. They are short so it is pretty easy for now and he is doing well so far.

Here's hoping things continue to go well in the days, weeks, and months ahead. On a side note I'm really happy that fall is coming. love. I'm just kinda ready for winter too. I know. weird. Maybe I can get back to the scrappin' I love and miss so much. :)

I hope you fly.

Little birdies. I hope you fly. I hope you learn, grow, explore, laugh, take chances, change, work hard, and believe in yourself. I hope you know how proud we are of you. I hope you know how much we love you. I hope you do everything whole heartedly. Change is good. Change is a little scary.




C on her birthday two days ago. Yes she has eyeshadow on. No she will NOT be going to school like that;) Tomorrow she enters junior high. She's excited and nervous and happy all at once. I'm excited and nervous all at once but I know she will do fine. I know she is a good girl with a good head on her shoulders. She makes me so proud to be her mom. My hopes for her this year are that she remains true to her, that she finds new challenges and works hard, and that she gets involved in something she is passionate about.




This guy will be starting high school tomorrow. How did that happen? Didn't he just go to kindergarten. He makes my heart swell and hurt all at once. My hopes for him this year are that he developes his talents more, that he works hard academically, and that he becomes more involved in school life.



The Q man lost his first tooth today on the eve of grade one. This pic cracks me up. He is such a firecracker. My hopes for him this year are that he learns to read, gains more self confidence, and loves all the new challenges of grade one.

I hope you fly!

I Miss You Big Brother.

Today is a day that I will never forget but at times long to forget. It marks the day that you left this world to enter the eternal one. I carry a sadness in my heart that I wish didn't exist. I carry a dream that it is not true, that it was all a big mistake. I carry a hope that we will be re-united one day. At times I find it difficult to remember, because if I am being truthful as time continues to pass your memory becomes just a little bit fuzzier. It saddens me. I want to remember all of it. The good, the bad, the fun, the serious. I want to know that you are happy and at peace most of all, and that you can see our lives as they unfold and share in those moments. I want to feel your peace.

"Q" isms.

Commonnnnn' the midgets are going to get us! ***midge flies*** There were millions no joke.

Look Dad I'm racing the waves. I'm fastest!

My crocs make me run super fast!

Wearing two different crocs at a time and remembering which ones are for the beach and which ones are for other times.

seethroughs. Sea glass. he collected many;)

Back to reality.

So we're back, tanned, rested, relaxed. We had a wonderful time camping, swimming, wave jumping, wave racing, sight seeing, going to amusement parks, and just being us.

For now it's back to reality for me. There are some funny "Q"isms and best and worst momments I will share next time. This morning Q promptly woke up to ask do I have school today. I guess when I said our vacation is over he thought it was time to go back. No not you honey just me. ha.

Vacation Time.

It's here. Vacation time. Finally. This pale, tired, run down mama is on vacation for two glorious weeks. We head out in the morning on our much needed family trip. I forsee sun, surf, and sand in our future, with a little sightseeing and rollercoasters for good measure. Here's hoping that when we return we are reconnected, tanned, and well rested. See ya soon, but hopefully not to soon:)

Beauty.

I made this page on my scrap by candle light weekend. Remember the one?



It's been a bit hectic around these parts lately. With the end of the school year around the corner, school feild trips, talent show tryouts, projects, tests, and parties seem to be in abundance. Add on a stressful inventory at work and you have my life in a nut shell. The countdown has begun for a much needed vacation packed full of fun and some much needed R&R.

First we must graduate from grade 8, grade 6, and kindergarten. This will be the very busiest end of school year for the B household I'm sure.

The kind of "Friends" you don't want to hang around.

Enough said.

My Cousin is a Wierdo.

One of my favorite pages I made by candlelight. It's just a funny layout and will make our family laugh over it for generations I'm sure. I took this picture after our little hike to feed the chicadees. We stopped at Tim Horton's for a snack and my little clown had to make a funny face while eating. You can tell that J thinks he's just a little Wierd by the look on his face.

Scraping by Candlelight.

What do you get when you combine a wicked windstorm with a weekend away with the girls at a remote cottage on the lake? You get scrapping by candlelight till the wee hours of the morning. It all started on Thursday afternoon. We were hit with a windstorm that did quite a bit of damage to the city. Completly up-rooted 30+ year old trees, shingles literly being blown off roofs, traffic lights out all over the city, fences knocked to the ground, the stop arm for the railway tracks split in half, and power outages in thousands of homes in the affected areas. I know nothing like the tornadoes that ripped through the southern states last week or the Tsunami and earthquakes that hit Japan in March, but it was still a little crazy here. On Friday morning the girls headed out of town for a little R&R and a weekend of scrapping, after an uneventful drive we arrived at the narrow little heavily wooded road that would lead us up to the cottage. As we drove along we noticed a huge tree fallen across the power lines. I imediatly thought uh oh no power. Our thoughts were right. We had no power, lights, or running water it is well water and was quickly depleted. Our saving grace was the Father of the owner was next door and had a generator so we could get water and we had a wood stove and a gas range and BBQ. We made the most of it getting set up to scrap right away and getting candles and a fire ready for when it got dark. We scrapped for hours by candle light, listening to tunes off a laptop. After about 30 hours of being there I was woken from my little catnap on the couch by 4 crazy screaming ladies. The Hydro men had showed up and within a 1/2 hour we had power and hot water! It was a weekend I won't soon forget completing 7 layouts and a mini album which I will share over the coming posts. First up Project 12.

here is my take:








It's once again late but it's done so I am happy. Feeding the wild chicadees on the hiking trail.

10 Things I Like About Me.

I have been wanting to do this page for ages. I find it hard to scrap pictures of myself, mostly because I hate those pictures. I don't really photograph well and it always seems like unflatering pictures are always taken of me. My hubby took this picture of me. It only took him about 30 takes. Yep it's a spin off the teen movie 10 things i hate about you. I find it easy to find things I don't like about myself so I wanted to challenge myself to find things I like about myself and document them.

Project 12. Face painting.

Better late than never. I did actually have it done on time, I just lost my camera so I couldn't post it. Then I went to hang up the curtains mom made me in my scraproom and there it was.

This is the February sketch.

and this is my take on it.







And there you have it. My crazy kids with their faces painted. :)

January Project 12. Sometimes you have 2 smile.

I have decided to join the Project 12 challenge this year. I'm cutting it pretty close with today being the last day to upload. These pictures are from my nephews Baptism. The journalling is hidden under a picture on the second page. I didn't follow the sketch because I didn't have the right photos. TFL. *updated photos. I really need to stop taking photos at night.

the journalling is under this picture.

Mommy?

M: Yes sweetie?

Q: What am I delergic to?

M: Nothing.

Q: Well Romeo, he's delergic to ladybugs!


He makes me smile that kid of mine.

He.

He is our youngest child. Born just a little over six years after our last child. Our little love bug.

He is Our son.



He is sweet.

He is stubborn. Really stubborn. Like his mommy.

He is incredibly shy. Once he feels comfortable with you he becomes the exact opposite. Like his mom.

He is competitive. He is driven to win. Like his Daddy.

He is the cuddle bug. Like his dad.

He is ooooh so picky. Just like momma.

He loves music. Like we both do, however I do believe he sings better than the rest of us.

He is coordinated. Like his Daddy. Definitely like his dad.

He's become a sleeper like his mom. Lots of patients were required.

He is inquisitive. Eager to learn new things. He's like his mom.

He is mischievous. Just like Dad!

He is funny. That kid says the funniest things ever. More like his dad.

He is the sunlight in our day. The piece that completes our puzzle. A masterpiece of OUR love.

She.

She is our second born. The middle child. The only girl.

She is his daughter.



She is loyal. She will always be there for her family and friends, and they will always come first. I know she will take this with her throughout her life, just like her Dad.

She is hardworking. It may not always come easy to her but the effort she puts in when she's focussed always pays off. like him.

She is an early riser. The crack of dawn early. On the weekends early. Out and walking the dog at 6:30 am early. With you guessed it, her Dad by her side.

She is ridiculously silly. Like her Dad. Two peas in a pod.

She is a sore loser. Yep, like her Daddy. Sports, games, video games, cards, you name it. They she must win. They she can't even fake loose for Q.

She is social. Always has been. Loves to be out doing things surrounded by people.

She can be negative sometimes. like him. It can take a lot of talking and coaxing to change thier her mind.

She loves easily. Forgives quickly. She gets that from him.

She is a follower. While I know she can take the lead when she wants to she would much rather follow the crowd. She wants to fit in, that's important to her.

She sings bad. like him, and I'm not so sure they know it;)

She had my heart the moment I laid eyes on her. Her beauty stuns me at times. She is the spice in the mix. Just like him.

Next time. He.

He.

While I think about who my children are most like on a daily basis I never really thought to blog about it until I saw it on Stephanie Howell's blog. I loved her post so much that I wanted to do some layouts with the journaling from these posts. While I love that all of my kidlets are their own person and very different from eachother there are just some things that scream me or hubs. I think they will be interesting posts and pages to look back on over the years and see if my thoughts change.

He is our firstborn.

He is my son.




He is softhearted, probably the most of all. Really truly kind. Most likely to help the elderly, or hold the door.

He is sensitive, to HIS feelings and others.

He is the most sentimental. Little touches never escape him, and he always catches the meaning. Just like his mom.

He is not a pushover. While it's one thing to be kind and sensitive it is a whole other ballgame to let people walk all over you.

He is a leader. I love that he doesn't follow the croud.

He likes his space. Needs his space, somewhere he can relax and unwind.

He is moody, yep just like his mama. NOT a morning person, just like his mama. It's a good thing for now it is just him and I every morning before he leaves for school, at the crack of dawn because miss susie sunshine would push all his buttons. He needs the quiet and the routine.

He is serious. A thinker. Miles a minute. like his mama.

He laughes wholeheartedly. It might take more than a bad joke but when he starts it's hard to stop.

He is artsy. Creative. I'm pretty sure that comes from my genepool.

He is clumsy. Oh boy, that's MY boy.

He is a reader. Mini me.

He is smart. Once he gets it it's there for good. He is not a studier.

He can be downright goofy at times. just like his mom.

He is a night owl. Probably still up while I write this. He would much rather stay up late and sleep in like you guessed it. me.

He is my little "old soul" wise beyond his years. Hungry for knowledge. My firstborn. My heart.

Next time. She.

Ramblings.

We laid low today. Housework, laundry, and scrapping on the agenda. Christmas vacation flew by and in its quake left me exhausted, a messy home, and a mountain of laundry to do. A great week we had visiting family, going to movies, out to dinners, seeing all the lights, staying up late, and celebrating with friends. The snow has melted because of the mild temperatures leaving everything wet and soggy. The kids are a little sad to have their sledding hill gone. I'm sure January will bring lots more snow and cold temperatures for plenty of sledding, skating, and snowmen. It's back to school for my kiddos tomorrow so tonight I leave you with today's scrapiness.

Some old pictures of my family before I became a part of it.




My sweet nephew M.