playing some more...

my sister Andrea came to play,
and cut my boys hair-
which was desperately needed.
they were "in" with the shaggy look,
but that won't cut it here!!
so anyways,
I played with the cute little girls,
and Andrea too
and did a little photoshopping
but not too much
because I have so much yet to figure out.
but here's three of many!
thanks Andrea, Addy, and Janie!

I'm back alive..

camp was an experience, as always.
20 girls. yes 20.
three leaders, hot sun, a lake,
and some ugly boys,
that seemed to get cuter to the girls as the days wore on.
The boys that drove the tractor
that came to get the garbage,
and change the tp in the outhouse.
I mean really, come on girls.





so, my sister in law, and brother in law let me play,
there is one of the pictures,
that I played with a bit in photoshop.
wow,
there is so much more to learn!
thanks for letting me play Jess!
I tried emailing,
but it wasn't happening,
so I will print some up for you!

then, there is the teachers gifts I made!
too cute!
I was inspired by a tag on 2peas, by Shelley Laming.
love her stuff.

then lastly,
my sweet maggie watching the Canada Day parade.
such fun.
well, what else is new.
Ben and Jack had a swim meet again today.
they did great-
didn't win any races,
but didn't come in last place either.
well, I didn't get to bed as early as I had wished last night,
so hopfully tonight.
I have a lot of sleep to catch up on from this last week!

I'm off...

tomorrow is the big day!
Girls Camp!!
I don't know if I am excited, or terrified.
a little of both.
we have quite the group of young women.
I have been in there for about 4 years now.
some are my friends.
some still scare me.
teenagers....
who knows.
Weather is supposed to be hot, hot hot!
we will be very close to a beach,
and we will have canoes,
and we will have fun.
I am taking a film camera,
cause Shelley has my little digi,
and I really don't want my big one out at a crazy camp-
but I do, I want to take some fabulous pictures-
hmm, have to think on that one,
but probably just film.
Jess, I haven't downloaded the pictures of you yet,
when I get back I will play-
really got to get playing with photoshop!
so much to learn!
well, I should get some sleep tonight,
cause heaven knows, there won't be much sleep happening this week!
I'll let you know on Friday how it all went-
wish me luck!!!

yo, yo-

a photo shoot with Jed.
he was bribed.
had to do the little yo, finger thing-
the photot doesn't do it justice. he puts his hand up, and salutes and says, yo, yo. I think it is funnier in person!

well, summer vacation has begun!
we all slept in until 8 this morning.
that was nice, but I hope to do better tomorrow!
had to get my 2 cubs to the church for a year end trip to the zoo. good times for them. rushed morning for us.
I am trying to do a little summer reward program I found on Shannon Montez' blog. Ben wasn't happy about it at all, but I think he might warm up. Jed just cashed in three marbles for 1/2 hour on the computer. so far so good.
well
Canada day coming soon! our city does a parade- and for the last few years, family that lives in the area has come out for the parade and a barbeque. I think that is happening this time too! need to get busy putting that together. I have been kind of focused on girls camp- which is on Tuesday. I put myself in charge of buying all the food. such fun. I will be so happy when it is over, for more than just one reason!!- I'll tell you more about that later!
alright, gotta take jed to a birthday party, pick up the boys, and figure out something for us to have for supper. fun, fun, fun!

mmwahhhh...

that is the sound of a kiss!
secretly I know Jed loves it
even though he will deny it like crazy!
my scanner is not hooked up,
or something,
and there are just way too many cords back there to figure out,
so no new layouts on 2peas'
or here-
last Saturday had a wonderful time scrapping
at my cute sil- Jessica's house
got a bunch of pages done-
that I hope to share soon.
Well, it was rainy and cloudy this morning,
but now you would never know it.
gorgeous day out there.
I should go pull some weeds.
I vow that some day I will have a gorgeous flower garden-
if I can ever figure out how to not kill plants.
maybe I will just hang out in my cool basement and scrap some more. that could be good!
My parents were off this morning to Virginia to go touring the east with my sister Shelley. fun for them.
Shelley has my digital camera- she better come back with a whole ton of pictures! fun stuff!

Happy Father's Day!

here's my folks.
Aren't they sweet.
Sunday dinners are so great.
going to Grandma's house.
Apparently her canned corn is better than my canned corn.
The sheer numbers of our clan are such that dinners
with the whole gang don't happen every week,
but being that it was Father's day- we all got together
and had a good time.
Thanks mom and dad.
Love you!

Cheese

That big old cheesy grin of maggies
Captured!
by Cory.
I don't know how he did it.
I tried for days, then when I come home from young womens,
he shows me the camera-
with about 6 pictures of that big old toothy, scrunched up nose and eyes, cheesiest grin ever!
Love that girl!

monday, monday...

...so good to me..
ya, ya,, anyways,
The "meeting" was good. The boys did well
no medals, but they did good.
Ben even pulled his team ahead on his lap of the relay race.
Yay, Ben!!
Might be doing another meet in 2 weeks, I'll have to see what the boys say about that!
Tonight is a swim-a-thon. got a few sponsers, need a few more.
Raise some money for the swim club! fun fun.
still have a box full of Junior mints that I need to sell.
anyone? anyone?

Well, finally posting a picture of the quilt I machine quilted!
My first time, and man- don't look to close.
but, after I put it on Sadies bed she said it was WONDERFUL!!
wow. If she likes it, that's all that matters!
Now maybe I will attempt my next one...
I learned a lot from that first one- it's not as easy as I thought!

So, My house is somewhat clean,
Maggie has a cold , and is already asleep on my lap.
could be an interesting day.
Happy Monday, all!

ho hum..

so.. what is new with you?
finally getting over my sore throat I had for a week-
and passed on to my sister Andrea (sorry girly),
but I think her kids passed on the runny nose thing to maggie,
so maybe we are a little even.

the boys have what Jack refers to as "the meeting" tomorrow
their first ever swim meet, - the meeting, that he really,
really,
really
does not want to go to.
Sorry man.
I told him he has to do one, then he can say no more, but he has to at least try it. Hopefully he will kick butt, and win at least one, and feel so great, and want to do them all-
one can dream.
so, that is tomorrow,in Vermillion.
I think Cory will be going with the two boys.
We had thought about camping there tonight, but the weather is not so good, and we have a tent trailer that has a leak in the roof, and no furnace- not so fun. so we shall see.

well, I am really enjoying being a SAHM lately.
don't know why,
maybe it is the fact that most afternoons, I can lay down and have a nap, while Sadie catches up on Dora.
Maggie is a little character lately.
does this cute grin showing all her 8 front teeth.
I am trying hard to catch a picture of it, but when the camera is out, she runs away.
she also found her belly button. too funny. but alas, take the camera out, and she runs.
gotta get going on that photography practicing.
want to get a business going soon!
Love pictures that you just look at and say- remember that! So fun. want to capture that for others. and get paid. definite bonus!! hee hee.
Alright, almost nap time! gotta go.

It's been a while...

I was working on this little project-
all made made of photos by Rebecca Cooper
she's going big time, with her beautiful photography!
yay Rebecca! I love your work!

on to some random thoughts:

Anyways,
We have decided that yes, we do want a developed basement.
I think admitting that is the first step, now we are ready to get going...
in a while! So much work, but there is so much potential.

I have to say- I love garage sales.
Loving that it is that time again.
I need to be more careful that I have cash on hand-
Usually I don't, so that is something that is necessary for those drive by, see the sign, need to check it out kind of stops.

Working on planning young women camp.
gotta say, I am so glad to be past that teenage stage-
you couldn't pay me enough to go back there.
Now college- that was fun! but not sure I would want to go back to that stage either.
Gotta be happy where I am at- because nothing can change that-
until time travel is figured out! :)
Alright, gotta put some kids to bed, and get to bed myself!

what's up, willis?

thought I would share with you where my two oldest have been hanging out for the last 3 weeks-
yep, the pool.
Ben and Jack are in the piranhas swim club.
they could go every weekday and swim, but that seems to wear them out, so they go Mon, Wed, and Friday.
But last week they had a mini swim meet on Wed, and Thurs.
fun times, they did okay-
way better than I could have done!
as I watched the bigger teens do their races, I thought how cool that would be if my boys kept with it and got real good!
Olympics, here we come!!
I dream big!
so, Sunday evening, and I'm off to another fireside.
I remember the sundays of my past-
popping popcorn, gathering around the tv and watching the Wonderful World of Disney. ahh- the good old days!!

happy campers

we made it!
it was fun.
The sun finally decided to shine on Monday morning.
we went to the beach on Friday- it was pretty cold that day.
then we had rain, and more rain.
then the sun came out!
and we had to come home.
we took the canoe out on a few runs.
even took Maggie- she did okay, but I was nervous holding her.
well, the washer and dryer are going,
gotta run and get some groceries-
back to life, back to reality....

heading out..

yep, taking the long weekend.
the trailer, the canoe,
and who knows what all else,
and heading out of town-
to a lake,
with 5 other families-
could be madness,
what am I saying?
will be madness, but a fun madness.
lots of kids,
lots of junk food,
no phone, no tv, no computer-
what will I do with myself!

well, I should go change the wash,
so we have clean clothes-for at least 1 day!

in a few minutes I must leave to go to a graduation-
a playschool graduation!
such big steps in our little lives!
have a great long weekend!

Don't rock the boat...

don't rock the boat, baby...
don't tip the boat over...

do I have that song embedded in your head?
good!
So.. Saturday evening was the inagural launch of the new canoe
cory, ben, jack and sadie took it out for a spin-- float-- paddle,
you know what I mean!
they went with a friend and 2 of his kids-
and Jed, Maggie and I waited, and waited, along with the other mom at the pick up spot..
sheesh, I thought maybe they had sunk!
apparently they stopped to watch some beavers for a while!
anyways, I guess it had no leaks.
good thing.
so- any suggestions what we should name it?
(Cory thinks I need to paint a name on the side!!)
Jed would not go in it.
I don't blame him.
that North Saskatchewan river- not to nice looking.
cory is one step closer to being the outdoorsy kind of person/family he dreams of being!

my smart little cookie..

she knows where the cereal is kept,
and she knows how to get it!
what a little stinker.
she is getting too big-
and into far too much trouble.
it's a good thing she is so cute!

hmmmm....

well, I feel like nothing much is happening around here, so not much to report on. I wasted a lot of Saturday on the computer- switching between two scrapbooking websites in the hope of winning at least one prize on National Scrapbook Day. as far as I know, I didn't win a thing. sheesh.
well, I still need to sit down and read some info on my camera.
a lot of it is computer stuff- being that it is a digital, and all.
that's not my forte, but I had best be getting on it, because I am itching to take more pictures!
alright, I best be getting back to the Monday morning routine-
laundry, and more laundry, mopping and vacuuming- you know the drill!

This week..

I have already forgotten an appointment-
what is up with that? I hate missing things.
Ben has a sore throat now. Jack and I had one last week
Strep throat. Lucky us.
YW activity tonight- are they going to show up on time?
are they going to show up?
I kind of lost it on Sunday- an emotional time,
a few girls skipped out on the activity last week- not a good thing in my opinion, so I had a little "talk" with them all on Sunday- I bawled-
emotional me.
Silly girls.
I don't want teenagers. really.
Well, I am enjoying my new camera.
Just need to figure out how to get the photo's onto the computer.
I am so not computer savvy. but I am learning.
a bit.
rain/snow/ bitterly cold weather outside today.
What is up with that? Yuck.
Get to go on a field trip with Jed tomorrow.
fun stuff.
If I don't forget about it....

War!

this week, our house was a war zone.
no, really.
all over the organ.
funny.
funny that we have an organ, huh.
we were aiming for a piano,
but this one headed our way for free, so who can refuse?
not me.
besides, piano's don't make cool beats that you can dance to!

I finally took Sadie out on her "two wheeled" bike. that was quite the adventure. I had to push her every few feet-
we'll have to get to work on the pumping the leg thing!
(I am trying to figure out how to post my pictures and comments in the right order, but it isn't really working. )
I have a lot to learn.
I wanted to share my favorite kid game with you all-
it is called Cariboo, by the Cranium line of games.
It is for ages 3-6., (I think)- it has letters A,B and C, 4 colors, and 3 shapes- you pick a card and have to open a door with a special key, to see if there is a ball in there, then you put the ball in a hole, and when you find all 6 balls, a treasure box opens. Very clever. I like it!
Sadie is demonstrating how to open the box with the key- if you can find the photo that goes with these comments!
So, I am very excited about today.
well, it is my sister Shelleys birthday, so that is quite exciting-
(hope you had a great day, Shell!)
but , even more exciting- I bought a Canon Digital Rebel camera!
I am so excited.
someday, I hope to take good pictures for other people! and get paid big bucks!
well, taking good photos is a great thing, getting paid for it, even better-
but I think I am getting a bit ahead of myself-
we'll have to see what comes of it all.
My sister Andrea wants family pictures on Sunday- I am eager to play- so we will see what I can do- I will hopefully have some cute pictures to share!

the year so far, in photos,,,

For fun I thought I would show my past photo's of Maggie- the one with the pink hat is in January, the heart, February, the green outfit March, and the bunny ears in the last post is April.
kind of fun!
Also my latest layout of the Rebecca Cooper photo's.
still loving them, and scrapping some more, hopefully tonight!
I stopped by liquidation world, and found a fabulous deal!
the bunnies that come four in a pack, like a chocolate bar- some are dairymilk chocolate, and others have the caramilk filling- regular price $.45- on sale for 75% off-
worked out to be about $.11 each. I stocked up!
so yummy.
I just love chocolate!
alright, gotta go read a story to the boys so they will go to bed!

since April is almost over..

I thought I better take my April picture of Maggie! I am trying to do a picture each month, with a fun little prop that represents the month- I know she won't change monthly(like last year), but over the year there will be a big change- just something I had the hankering to do.
I got to go on a field trip with Jack's class on friday to the Telus World of Science-
used to be the Odyssium-
used to be the space science centre-
who can keep up?
Anyways, we got to see an IMAX movie ( I forgot how huge the screen is in there!) called Mystic India.
Amazing stuff- makes me want to travel the world.
Throughout the show I was wondering what was going through the grade 3 minds as they talked about the spiritual aspect of life there! so interesting.

well, I got tagged by Rebecca- I am not too sure what this entails, but I guess I state my stuff, then tag others, so here it goes:

in my fridge:
1. apples- a nightly ritual around here is cut up apples before bed

2. leftover pizza

3. ketchup- a must have!

4. milk- 1% and homo for Maggie!

5. leftover fruit pizza I snagged from a fireside tonight! Yum!

In my closet
1. jeans, lots of jeans, but only a few that fit well!

2. our tv- on the top shelf, we lay in bed and watch. that sounds really weird, but it isn't- I don't think

3. a small basket with socks that have no mates- I keep thinking they might show up one of these days!

4. my cowboy boots I bought in college, never wear, but can't bear to get rid of

5. my Sunday shoes , at least I try to put them away in there!

In my purse:
1. A notebook and pen, in case of any inspiration, or anything I have to write down so I won't forget.

2. a bag you fold up into a little pouch- so I will always have a bag with me, and which I most likely will forget I have it, and not use it.

3. wallet- with not much cash, if any.

4. no library card- I misplaced it about a month ago. I really should find that.

5. hand cream.

In my car
1. a couple of Sharon, Lois and Bram tapes

2. some tootsie roll pops, in case of sugar emergency

3. napkins- although there never seem to be any when you need them!

4. no garbage- my husband just cleaned them out, and I will be in big trouble if I make a mess!

5. my snap on sunglasses- good to have when driving!

On my DVR ( dvr- hmm, if I had one, which I don't)

1. Gilmore girls

2. Survivor

3. The Amazing Race

4. 30 minute meals

5. Clean Sweep

There you go. Now I think I am supposed to tag 5 others, but I don't think 5 people look at this blog, so I will tag one:
ShelleyYou're it!

more pictures!

There are some more pictures posted on Rebecca's blog- Simple as that
So cute! I love them!
Check out my 2 peas, there are some scrapbook pages of them-
and many more to come if I can find the time!!!

Sale!

I just had the best time-
in the shoe department
at Walmart!
MAggie is in need of shoes-
We even went there with her barefooted!
that's how desperate we were...
but I found shoes, and more shoes-
a cute little pair of Dr.Scholls runners-
the kind I usually walk right past because the price on them was $19.99.
what?
$19.99 for a pair of baby running shoes?
do people really pay that?
anyways, I glanced-
price I paid-

are you ready-

$1.00!!!
can you believe it?

I didn't really know the original price until I came home and peeled off the 5 or so price tags to see what they originally cost.
I LOVE deals like that!
I bought another pair-same brand, more casual kind of shoes-regular $22.98, once again, a shocker.
I paid $3.00.
I bought 2!
I think we walked out of there with about 8 or 9 pair of shoes.
so much fun.

anyways,
I am so glad last night was not an elimination round on the Amazing race. I am liking BJ and Tyler. they are fun.
that couple- is it Yolanda? Can't think of his name- they can go. what is with thier relationship. Makes me wonder how Cory and I would be in a situation like that. Hopefully still kind to each other. They are aware that millions are watching them act like jerks to each other,
aren't they?

okay, moving on- here are some pictures by the cute Rebecca Cooper-



loved them all.
I wish I didn't need sleep, and I could scrapbook all night long!
so very cute.

our easter

was good.
we hunted for eggs.
we survived the southern Alberta wind.
I hear they had snow here at home though.
I think I would rather be in the wind.
we had pictures by Rebecca-
they were sooo good. thank you, thank you Rebecca, I love them!
My kids endured that, painful as it was for them to have to try and behave for any period of time!
We dropped Cory off at the hotel in Calgary,
swam in the little pool there,
The boys think dad is so very lucky to be able to swim whenever he wants to!
We went to Grandma George's (Cory's Grandma) church on Sunday, and had a really yummy dinner after.
I took Jed and Sadie over to the dessert table, and their eyes almost popped out of their heads, there were huge cookies loaded with candies! They ate most of the candies off the top, then Maggie finished them off!
Good stuff.
A good weekend.
a good Easter.

umm, maggie..

..you have some peas on your head!
what a silly girl!
I think they stayed on there through all of supper last night.
I missed her putting them up there.
what a nut!


we did the easter egg thing yesterday after school. fun stuff. I put the eggs on to boil in the morning, and managed to forget about them for a while- so a few of them were broken, but we still had lots to dye.
I get easily sidetracked.
Well, I need to start gathering stuff together for our trip down south tomorrow. should be good.
I need to find some coordinating clothes for our family photos.
Something without Pokemon for the boys would be good. I'll have to dig deep down into the drawers where the boring shirts are!
round up the plastic easter eggs, so we can do a little hunting.
such fun.
six hour drive.
Not so fun.
kids full of sugar for the ride home!
what are we thinking?
I'll just make sure I am full of sugar too!
It's all good.

Loving this weather...

We went on a bike ride last night for FHE.
All of us!



We rode down to our old place, and visited with our old neighbors, Ron and Helene.
They were (are)so nice.
The kind of neighbors who bring over an easter basket full of goodies.. and drop of a bag of halloween treats for the kids because they weren't going to be home on halloween night.
That kind of neighbor.
We miss them.
Maggie did not like that helmet.
Once we got going she was good.
I think I will have to put Sadie and Maggie in that trailer more often and go out on a little ride-
if it ever is just Sadie and Maggie around here....
3 extras this morning. so much fun around here!

a beautiful day...

we woke up to rain.
Had to pull out the rain coats, and rubber boots.
I spent part of the morning rounding up the winter stuff and putting it into rubbermaids. I probably shouldn't do that yet.
We always need it one more time,
but here's hoping!
then it cleared up after lunch.
after the naps, I dressed the girls up, and we went outside to wait for the boys to come home from school.
We had Heidi today. She's the blonde girl at the top. She definitely looks like a Weller!
Maggie loves swinging on the patio swing!
Sadie did some sidewalk art.
Love the sun, and being able to sit outside!
We just need to get Maggie walking more, so she's not crawing in the mud and wet grass!
A busy weekend coming up-
Steve and Leanne, and their crew are sleeping over.
Cousin Emily's baptism Saturday evening, and cousin Kirsten's blessing on Sunday. A gathering of Livingstones!
Crazy family fun! The kids can't wait.

the latest..

well, the snow is quickly melting.
My Christmas wreath is dying.
I finally got the book- the Kite Runner from the library- I had put a request in a while ago- I think I was 25th in line. I only have 2 weeks to read it- so I need to get busy.
I am trying to hook up again with the flylady thing- not signing up though- I don't want the million emails, but just keeping up with the zones. I need to do some of that deep cleaning around here- maybe it's spring getting to me- spring cleaning and all.
My oven is clean- even my stove top. Makes me happy to look at it today. I cleaned out the burner pans yesterday. they were pretty yucky. today I did the fridge. Feels good.
Not much exciting around here!
I can hardly wait for easter- to go down to Stirling. We are getting pictures taken by Rebecca Cooper! I am so excited to meet her, and see what great pictures come out of it!
young women activity tonight. I hope to get my girls to map out the kitchen, and label what is in all the cabinets, so my dad (who works for the FM group) can get labels made for all the cabinets! I know that I always open at least 3 doors before I find what I need, so this should solve all that! Hurray! so much fun around here!