Whistler Mountaineer Train Ride!

We finally got to enjoy Chad's birthday gift from last November! A train ride to Whister! This is a 3 hour ride from Vancouver to Whistler and it is through some of the most spectacular terrain out there! No cars around here!

On the way up we were in the last car and got some cool views of the train too!

Here's us!

And our travelling companions, Pam & Laura!

I loved watching Laura get camera happy! She just got this new toy and made good use of it! Yes, this is her head on the side!

We stayed there for 2 nights, just hanging out and enjoying the beautiful weather. They are really getting all excited for the Olympics and have this bobsled for you to pose it!

Then we decided to have one big "play time". Gear, helmets, boots....

and ATV's!!! What a fun way to spend 2 hours!

That is Chad behind the splash!

Me trying to be brave! (This was my first time on a bike since my accident, and boy it really did hit me! Talk about facing some fears!) I did get more courageous and ended up being covered in wet mud!

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Incredible food, fun company, and some adventure! What more could a guy want for his birthday!

Check it OUT!!!

This is what I woke up to on Mother's Day!!! Pancakes, pink milk shakes, pink napkins, orange slices all enjoyed by candlelight!

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I've got the best girls in the whole world! Chad was at church volunteering and not at home to help. They did this all by themselves!!!

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My pancake was even in the shape of a letter M!

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What a great way to start the day! Love ya girls, you really are the bestest!

A Weekend Away!!!

This last weekend we had the pleasure of being able to go camping for a few days! Ya, it was cold and rainy part of the time but the trailer my parents have is like a hotel on wheels! Furnace, microwave, tv and of course we must bring card supplies!

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This first pic is my youngest daughter getting creative with her ink!

We enjoyed the bubbles....

The play station. Yes, even Allie looked like she wanted to play! My parents are not dog people and have not wanted to let her in the trailer (whose to blame them, she sheds soooo much) but because Chad could only come for one night and we had no where else to bring her on a spur of the moment she was allowed this time!

As always, she found a cozy corner and called it home!

Maya had so much fun creating that Dad & K also came to see the fun!

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I still think they were just wanting to join in! :)

Ahhh, you can't have a good campout without a FIRE!!! This pic above is Chad's idea of making the best smores. Squishing the chocolate into the marshmellows and then roasting them.

Getting the toasting to perfection and being prepared to sandwich them all together. (Notice the graham cracker hanging out of his mouth and the other in his hand waiting)

It was quite a sight to see him eat his melted mess!

Hmmm, hmmm good!


Chad could only stay for one night and then go back to work while I had a couple more days off. So, the girls and I had much fun playing games, trying out silly masks and crafting together! We stayed in our pj's all day!


Then out of no where the sun appeared for a few hours! So we hit the beach! West coast style, in our winter coats not bathing suits!

All in all it was a much needed break from the regular schedules of life!

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I also got to spend quite a bit of time with my Copics and stamps but I haven't taken any pics yet so, give me a few days and I'll show you the play time I had too!

I thought December was busy!!!

Yikes!!! February has been absolutely jam packed with way too many big celebrations!!! My mom just had her 60th birthday, my sister's 30th & my daughters 13th birthdays are tomorrow and I had my b-day kinda lost in between! :)
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My sisters and I decided to throw a big party for our mom and this is the invitation we made for it. Kinda simple, her favorite colors and she is a flower fanatic so we thought they were perfect for her.
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One afternoon a few weeks ago we got together with the 4 kiddies (nieces & nephews all 4 & under) and we managed to make 38 invites. I don't think the 3 of us had been able to spend time like that together in quite some time and it was great to be able to do this!
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Sorry, I've not been able to post this sooner but we didn't want her to see it and I haven't had much time for the craft table these days!
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Here's to future stamping time!

As Martha as I'll ever get.... Christmas 2007

I saw this idea in a commercial to use cranberries inside, upside-down glasses and then they become candle holders!!! Make sense!?!?!? Anyway, this is the easiest way to create something fun. Then we got to thinking about all kinds of things you could put inside the glass depending what the occasion is - gumballs, paper curls, tinsel or whatever!

Anyway, this year Christmas was a year of posing and picture taking! Everyone got in on the fun! (This is my beautiful 12 year old daughter!!!)

Even my 4 year old nephew loved his new camera!

Getting lessons on what new camera's can do! Great! Now Chad wants another new toy!!!

Grandma is enjoying her yearly Christmas story reading time to the Grandkids! It looks like they are all enjoying it too!

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Every year I get to enjoy Christmas Eve with my parents, sisters and our families. We eat fun food, exchange gifts and enjoy each others company.

My sister making fun of my re-using a Christmas bag from last year!

My sister Pam and I, before we both got sick! Well, you can't say we don't share!!!

Then on Christmas morning, "Dad" gets to pull out the gifts from under our tree!

This year, he got the gift "wrapping" that never ends! Thanks to an un-named brother-in-law of mine, Kassandra has been dying to wrap Dad's gift with an endless amount of saran-wrap. I think she actualling used packing plastic and doubled the size of the gift with the many layers!

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He was pleased when he finally got the end though, it was his Lord of the Rings extented editions that he has been wanting. (Yuck!) hehehe

Then the girls got the first of 2 big gifts. This is their reaction to finding tickets to the TobyMac concert in February!

Then getting a Wii. Maya was great, she got all excited and was cheering with Kassandra until Chad asked her if she even knew what it was. She has no idea what it was but thought it must be good!

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If anyone is considering some kind of video game, this is most definatly the way to go! I've even enjoyed a few games of bowling!!!

An action shot!

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That was our Christmas in a nutshell! Yes, both my sister and I got sick, missed a few extended family get togethers but all in all it was a great week.

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If anyone actually made it to the end of this post I'm impressed! I posted most of this for the out of province family! Happy New Year!

Fall in Violet

I had about an hour this morning to play at my card table!!! Wonders never cease! It might seem I'm down here ALL the time to my family, but I'm most often taking care of projects I NEED to make, not just playing with paper and ink.

So, I got started with a little challenge over on Splitcoast and this was the result. We had to start with a card we made in the past, keep the layout, papers & just change the stamps. In the spring I made this with flowers and a different sentiment and now I made a quick little fall/leaf version.

Unfortunatly, that is all the time I have today as I'm off to start and "card making club" at my daughter middle school. I've got 2 cards cut and planned for 25 middle school girls! Yikes!!! Should be fun!

I got it done!!!

What a fast week! My DH is out of town and I'm being a single mom for 7 nights! My hat's off to any parent out there who is raising kids on their own! It is for the birds!!!! Now, I love my kiddies dearly, but it is exhusting doing everything on my own!

Anyway, in the middle of the insanity, I had an order for Christmas cards. AND I GOT THEM DONE!!!! It truly was my therapy this week! hehehe! (2 more sleeps till DH is back and tonight is girls night! Home made pizza, chocolate, Treatsa Pizza, soda, cookies, chips, movies, daughters, sister & friends! Maybe, I'll take a pic of us all and our pizza! Yippy!)

Enjoy your weekend! And here's hoping for creative time next week!

Gotta love a little Christmas is July!

Yes, on our holiday I did manage to get a little card time squeezed in! My MIL wanted some Christmas cards and just plain did not have the time to make any before we left so a brought along a few things! hehehe

That little image is Wordsworth, and the stamp has 3 couples and I just used the one she liked best. I actually got about 60 of them colored and ready to assemble.

Last year when this SU! set came out this layout sold me on it. So, this is my own little version of many talented women on Splitcoast. It was fun to do such different ideas for her!

While I stamped and cut, my sis-in-law kept me company beading. Her bracelets and neclaces were all so lovely! She got me to buy a few things to give it a go, and I think I infected her with a wee little card making bug! Sorry Dale! (I'm sure her DH isn't too thrilled with another hobby to spend $ on! hehehe)

Another fun part of our last day was in the sand! The girls and Chad had a load of fun building castles.

I think the flat building on the right was the guest quarters or something! Maybe a porta potty in the middle? Who knows!

And then came the fun of deflating my favorite toy. I floated around on that $12 Save-On-Foods chair for hours!!! Best money I'd spent in a long time!!

Those are a few more pics of our adventure!

Our Holiday!

After about 9 hours of driving we landed here in Wasa Lake BC. What a sacrifice staying here for 6 nights!!! hehehe This is the bed & breakfast all 15 of us stayed at. Chad's parents wanted to have a family holiday. So, the Winnipeggers and Abbotsfordians all met here and thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

This first photo shows the main house at the back behind the trees where some of us stayed and we enjoyed an amazing full course breaky every day and the front house has 2 more units and a great summer kitchen for us to cook and eat together for lunch & supper.

It was another sacrifice to wake up to this every morning!!!

What a beautiful little lake. We had a ton of fun swimming, floating and hanging out together.

We also got to explore around the neighboring towns of Cranbrook & Kimberly. In Kimberly we got to have a fun little train ride up to some old, closed mines. I think I can, I think I can....

We just tried on the hats, didn't actually do any work!!!

Then back in the car for a little drive down to Montana. Yes, we all get a little silly until something electronic gets plugged in!

The girls are going to be embarassed to find out I posted these!!!

The second week we stayed at a golf resort and got to swimm, swimm, swimm!!!

Explored some of the sights. This is the mystery house of vortex!!! (Insert deep, scary laugh hehehe) It is built a bit slanted but it feels really weird inside.

Here, K feels like she is standing normaly and I'm taking the pic straight. Some weird gravity anomoly. Loads of fun inside!

Horseback riding!

And so much amazing driving!

We stopped here for lunch! Chad & K went exploring down in the rocks. Gorgeous!

Cliffs, you don't want to look up or down! But I did anyway! So amazing!

Within seconds we would see forested mountains....

Then cave like/rock faces....

Then back to the forests again...

Then back to this! So beautiful!!!

Around the corner we went and drove over this cool bridge. This was on our last day driving through eastern Washington on the way home. Ah, yes all good things must end but we sure did love it while it lasted!

That is a little snippit of the 300 some odd photos we took. Hope you enjoyed!