we're Back!

We're back!!! Chicago was great, hangin with my Cam was wonderful and we met sooooo many great people! I'm gonna have to post in bits cuz there is so much I wanna share.We are still totally exhausted, The driving was pretty much through the night there and back ( with a few nappy rest stops) and our time there was just packed with goodness! Check out this cute make and take album the Lisa Cohen and I both got to make at A2Z essentials , such super friendly chicks over there and great papers to play with! I am going to attempt to load some photos of some of the people I met but I'm having a bit of trouble with blogger so I'd say just check back and I'll keep adding as I can.
We had a really great time at the CK reception on Sat evening! Here's a pic of Jessica Sprague and I enjoying the yummy snacks ( my favorite! ice cream and tons of toppings!!!) It was great to meet her in person and chat for awhile. We all got the cutest name tags and Ali's new font CD and designing with patterned paper book! Definitely really good stuff!!! I'll have to grab some more photos of meeting people from that evening, because there was definitely a whole lot of meeting going on :) It was great to meet some more digi gals over at the Autumn Leaves booth. Here is (LtoR) Terra, Tia Bennett, Me and Heather Ann Meltzer. All such fun and friendly chicks! It was great to get some big hugs and good chats. It amazes me how we can meet all of these people working together online and then when you get to meet in person really feel like you kinda know eachother. Had a good talk with Rhonna too while I was there, she was also super nice.

The product was overwhelming and amazing, so much that I have never seen IRL, and all of the people I met were so great.I can't seem to add any more photos , so I'll come back and try again later.

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the PINK suitcase is heading to CHA!

I can't even tell you how exited I am getting to be leaving for summer CHA in Chicago in two days!!! Meeting so many people, seeing all those yummy new scrap supplies, and 4 days of time with Cam.....I just may pass out from excitement here!

We only have one decent suitcase, Cam uses it, and I was in need of one for awhile...It's not like we travel often but I want to use it to haul all of my photography stuff to shoots. So when I saw this amazing ,happy, Huge, PINK one on clearance at Winners I knew I had found the one for me! It was Luggage Love at first sight. I will be spending the day today packing my beautiful pink suitcase, and getting the girl's stuff ready for our parents who will be sharing the kids . You would not believe the amount of preparation it takes for 5 people...Even thought he kids are not coming they still need clean outfits ready, food bought, activities and all of that. I had gotten a bit behind with laundry while my arm was really hurt, just because I couldn't fold, so it was piling up, clean, but a whole loveseat full! So I have been wading through that some, and yesterday we got all of the groceries for my mom and the girls while we are gone. I do have a bit of a to do list to tackle to be ready but it is different traveling without kids that's for sure!

Friday night we will be meeting up with some of the FAB folks from Designer Digitals, and
I received my invitation last Friday to the CK reception. I can't wait to meet some of the other gals who won HM in the HOF that I have been getting to know. We get to spend an evening of good food and prizes ( ooooohh!) with quite a few of the editors that we all love. OK you've got to check out this line from the invite: "Who's going? Brenda Arnall, Erin Lincoln, Denise Pauley and Ali Edwards, as well as Leslie Miller, Jennifer Purdie, Tracy White and most importantly . .YOU!" How goofy do you think I got when I read that??!!!! I have never met any of the scrapping chickee s that I have gotten to know online, in real life, so that is what I'm most looking forward to ( other than just getting away with Cam) but seriously I'm a little girl from Manitoba Canada who doesn't get to go to these things and meet super cool people ( we do have plenty of coolness here I must say! heehee), so getting an evening with all of these CK ladies is something I totally don't take lightly.... Just such a dream! The whole thing is. We are driving to Minneapolis and flying from there, even simply the drive alone with Cam is something I look forward to. Now my only delema is to figure out what kind of footwear would look acceptable with my decent looking clothes and still be comfy enough to walk in all day. See I go around in my comfy foamy crocs and they just look a little goofy with nicer clothes, housewife chic is normally the only style I need. :) any suggestions?

I love this! My sweet baby girl holding her daddy's hand strolling along to the park on a warm summer evening, with happily skipping big sister feet up ahead lol! My life makes me happy, it just does. Sometimes I just hang back a bit and watch it all, and these simple times are the ones that make me so thankful to just be in it! Have a great weekend

I'M sooooo RAD??!

look at this!!! a collection made just for me?? lol! This cracks me up. Kim and I have had somewhat of an ongoing RAD joke for quite sometime ( I won't even try and explain that one) so when she decided to call this new collection of hers "RAD CD". I thought it was too funny, but actually seeing it on her label just makes me giggle :) Had to share

way RAD!

I am so totally excited about my friend Kim's new collection!!! It is definitely total RAD-ness, the elements are fun and realistic, the papers are the perfect mix of bright & fresh and good & grungy. She got it all just perfect! Come check out the launch party tonight and try to win the whole collection! and if not you will definitely get some goodies for free!!!

This one is my total favorite, perfect for beach shots and look at those cool little tabs and belts! I'm working on a LO of my little bro using these papers... but really most of the kits I totally love, check out the other previews on Kim's blog Can you tell I'm stoked?!

OK you gotta scroll down and read the Canada day post first and then look at these two pictures!

I really like this photo I got of my Cam sitting by the gardener's shed after dinner. I love this man so crazy much I want a millionbazillion anniversaries with him. He is just as truly good as a person could ever be, so kind and selfless, and he makes me laugh like crazy!

our marble brownie, warm and soft and oh so delicious, with two forks, and two happy people ( anniversary dessert see previous post)

Canada Day!

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Canada day this year was a blast!

For those who don't know July first is our anniversary as well.

and Even though it was a couple weeks ago I have to post this quick little bookmark I made, showing some of the girls fun moments. The girls had gone for a sleepover at Cam's parents the night before and then we all went out to Tinkertown for the afternoon. My in-laws are so wonderful, I've seen it a million times before but it was really great to see the way the kids just light up when they are with them.

Tiara and Kaiella are so different this year, so much braver, Tiara was more then overjoyed to ride the merry-go-round over and over ( she loves horses!) and she went on a whole bunch of other rides, she has always been too afraid! Kaiella has always been daring but she's not even two yet so this is her first year going on rides, I was amazed at how much she loved it all. We put her in one of the little cars alone and she was so thrilled to have both steering wheels to herself she just spun them the whole drive shouting "twooooo!!!" over and over again. Emilea is somewhat of a thrillseeker when it comes to these things, the faster the ride the dizzier it makes her the better!

After a perfect afternoon, we headed home and left the girls with my marvelous mom and Cam and I went out for a wonderful dinner at Pineridge Hollow the place where we got married. This cool little tea house with gorgeous gardens and a big white tent. We ate out on the screen porch, there was a gentle breeze and it was just warm not too hot. We shared a super great pickerel dinner, Cam had salad and I had mushroom perogies with dill sauce, for desert we shared a big warm marble brownie with caramel drizzled on top. MMMMMMM! After roaming the gardens and taking a few pictures of ourselves, we were off to a late movie. We never ever end up getting out together alone, and it was really nice. We will have to make a point to do it more often. So that was our Canada Day this year, we didn't get to see the fireworks but it was such a perfect day that it doesn't matter. These are the moments I want to always remember.

edited to say: blogger is not adding my other pictures again *sigh* so I'm gonna post them on their own after this and see if that works

Brown-eyed inspiration!

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tonight's inspiration LO!!!

Edited to say: I will post this with supplies sometime tomorrow. It was a busy night over here, so I need to grab an ice pack and rest my arm. I just wanted to thank everyone who came to chat at Designer Digitals tonight for coming and hanging out, and for all of the kind words that came my way. And deffinetly, a big thank-you to Katie for designing such a beautiful pack for us all!

come and chat!!!

I know I have tons of catching up to do , I have photos to share and a few layouts even, and I will definetly do that soon...but why don't you Come and chat with me at Designer Digitals tonight at 10 pm est!!! I am hosting the chat for the first time! When I was thinking of a good inspiration I asked for fabric swatches and Katie has made this awesome freebie to give away to those in attendance. It's always a really great bunch over there and lots of fun to be had , so come out and crop and chat or just chat. I'm a wee bit nervous I have to admit it, but mostly just excited.