Wednesday 17 February 2016

School Layout


This is a simple layout that shows Gracie with her two, super awesome Kindergarten teachers. They made her first year of school so perfect.

What else can you say but thank you when you have two devoted teachers that treat your daughter like one of their own, who teach them so much, and make her love learning?

Monday 15 February 2016

Move News

Everything is finalized now, so I'm clear to tell you all the exciting news.

Our last month has been busy, here's a look:

January 13th, we listed our house,
January 22 we sold our house,
January 31 we went on a crazy fast house-hunting trip,
February 3rd we put an offer in on a house,
February 5th, it was accepted,
February 9th was the house inspection and school tour,
and we have a new house
and we're moving the middle of March.

Phew!

In between, we had showings, appraisals, meetings, Brad started working in Calgary some shifts and is now on-call for the South team, and who knows what else happened. I honestly can't remember the month, because it's been a blur!

Now for the excitement!

Time to plan how our stuff will fit in our new place and how the kid's rooms will be decorated, prep Gracie for the new schedule, people, and school, get Em signed up for preschool in the fall, look at sports the kids might want to do in the spring, and start prepping our friends and family down south for the invasion!




Saturday 13 February 2016

Layout Love

I just accidentally deleted my post....

Here's the layout I shared. I used Crate Paper patterned paper and embellishments on this one, with a few Studio Calico wood veneers tossed in. I used a soft gold cardstock as a background.
 

I love the picture because it's just a simple moment captured. A big hug from Gracie, as I was doing up Em's jacket. My mom captured this moment and I like it.

Thursday 11 February 2016

The People

You know who you are... there are so many of you. Sooo many.

The hardest part of moving for me, is always saying goodbye. Of course, we'll still keep in touch, text, call, see each other on facebook, and hopefully get together throughout the year, but I won't have easy access to you at all times. Haha!

Here's just a sampling of the faces I'll miss seeing all the time. I tried to keep the kids that we'll miss out of these, because that part makes me really sad:











There's a nice spot in Airdrie for all of you to come visit, any time.

Tuesday 9 February 2016

The places....

We've had lots of great experiences while in Edmonton, and we have certain places that we'll miss so much. I already posted about the river valley, which is one of my favourite places to explore, these are some of my favourite stores and programs in Edmonton. Check them out!

Treasured Memories

Oh, Treasured Memories.... I love this store. The people, the drool-worthy stock, the great crops,  everything. I will miss this store. I will miss designing layouts and cards for display and picking product for the month kits. I was spoiled having access to such a great store and it's going to be hard on me to head to a new city with only two little scrapbooking stores. In fact, I'm quite sure I will have to have them ship supplies to me quarterly, and I will be attending the next two crops, because I signed up months ago and for goodness sakes, it's not that far of a drive.

the Strathcona Market

We love wandering this market on a Saturday morning. We usually get pyrogies, Frick'n Delights donuts, and occasionally herbs, veggies and fruit (but let's be honest, the pyrogies and donuts are the main reason we go). Then, we stroll down Whyte Ave and check out a few stores while we make our way to Chapters for a coffee and let the kids play with the trains and check out the new books. It's a pretty relaxing, fun family day, I'm not going to lie.

Paul Sadler Swimland

I can't say enough about this swim program. The pool itself is on the south side, but they're opening a new location in Castledowns, so north side folks, call right now to sign up! It seems silly to have a swim program on here, but they teach survival swimming to kids as young as 4 months old and it takes swimming lessons to a whole new level. Emma was terrified the first 3-4 lessons. Completely koala-beared around my face, screaming (not an exaggeration), less than a year later, she can tread water for 25 seconds, she is swimming by herself, can get herself out of the pool if she falls in and loves lessons! Gracie is working on front and back crawl and can tread for a minute and a half. She's six! I'm telling you, they work miracles.

EPL

Let me pin on my complete nerd award button now, but the Edmonton Public Library is my favourite library system I've ever been a member of. Not the best recommendation, I suppose, but I've been a member of 5 different libraries and EPL is 10x better than any of them! You can do anything on their website: you can put more than 25 books on hold and stagger their pick up dates, so you always have a new book ready for you, you can download 5 songs a week from Sony records for free, you can access a huge catalogue of magazines, CDs, books, sheet music, anything, you can stream music, you can download e-books, rent e-readers, they even have a 3-D printer you can use, they have fabulous drop in classes for the kids, lego clubs, book clubs, writer's clubs..... I could go on, but you get all of this for FREE. You don't even have to pay for your membership.

So, if you're in the Edmonton area and these wonderful places are new to you, check them out. You won't be disappointed. Just try not to talk to me about them, because I'm leaving them and the wound is still a little fresh.

Sunday 7 February 2016

February Month Kit

"Wild and Free" is the name of the February kit at Treasured Memories and all of the goodies were picked by me!!



Check out more pictures here.

I'd tell you to head over and buy one today, but it sold out in four days!!!! Yay!

Thank you to those who bought it. I can't wait to see what you made with it.

When you visit the store, you can see all of the layouts I made with the kit on display, right by the front door.

If you missed out, call the store to sign up for the kits in advance. They'll hold your kit until you can come pick it up and they're such a good deal. You pay $35 for at least $50 worth of coordinating supplies. You can't beat that. 

Also, Candace is picking the next kit and it's sure to be awesome and full of NEW CHA goodies!!

Wednesday 3 February 2016

Oversized Photos





I stole this technique from my fellow Design Team member, Candace from Treasured Memories. She is always creating beautiful pages with huge, oversized photos and they always look so great. 

I've incorporated it into my own pages every now and then and I love how the pages grab you when you're flipping through your albums. 

 
I like to blow up some of my favourite pictures for this technique and use minimal embellishments and let the photos stand on their own.




Thanks for the inspiration, Candace!

Tuesday 2 February 2016

We Will Miss These Guys


Another quick farewell....

This one is for the men my husband works with.


The men who work with my husband aren't really my friends. I know them by their last names and their call numbers, their wive's names and their kids.  I hear all about them, but I don't spend a lot of time with them. They put in long hours at work together, so when Brad has time off, he usually spends it with family or sleeping. 




But, I know my husband. I hear his stories. I trust his judgement. 
I know that these men have his back. I know they're a team and they go into calls with the same mindset. I know that they work hard to train their minds, bodies and brains so they're prepared for whatever call might come in.



These men pose for Brad's selfies, whether they want to or not, so we can see what Brad's doing while he's away. 

They hold each other's cell phones when driving back from calls so they can call home and say goodnight to their kids. 

They respond to our silly pictures, 



with silly pictures of their own.

I know Brad's sad to leave this tight-knit team, but excited to move on in his career. 

I know they'll see each other at big calls, at hockey tournaments and even read about each other in The Quarterly. We'll learn new last names and call signs, and Brad's new team will surely be another group of strong, determined, capable people. 

Thank you for putting up with Brad's grumpy-until-coffee morning attitude, his bad hair on call outs
and most of all, for making sure everyone gets home safe.