Noelle's Birthday Party

Noelle celebrated her birthday early in Toronto but I didn't have time to share these super cute pictures of her party so here they are now!

Turning 7 with a gummy topped angel food cake.

Super cute matching dresses from Noelle's friend!

Yummy!

Having fun at Woodbine's Fantasy Fair indoor amusement park for the afternoon.

 

Scrapbook layout – Sweet Little One and Computer Journaling Tip

Another layout about Jeremy's determination and mechanical interests! I used retired  Zippidee paper from CTMH (still available through Studio J though!), rub-ons from Making Memories, and chipboard stars from a variety of companies. I stamped the stitching lines around the journaling block and the strips of patterned paper with a retired stamp set “All Stitched Up.”

Do you like computer journaling but hate using a new piece of 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper every time you do?

Here are my steps to my favourite way to add computer journaling to my layouts:

1)Cut the journaling piece the size you want

2) Make a text box in your word processing program the same size as your journaling piece

3) Type your journaling and size to fit the box

4) Print out your journaling on computer paper or scrap paper

5) Adhere your journaling piece on top of the box on the computer paper with removable adhesive

6) Put your paper back into the printer so it will print right on top of your journaling piece

7) Remove the lines on your text box in your word processing program

8) Print again

Voila! You have your jouraling right on your journaling piece without having to cut up an entire piece of 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock!

Field Trip - Markerville Creamery

The kids and I were able to go on a field trip with our homeschool board, Northstar, at the end of May to the Markerville Creamery, Stephansson House, and Hola School -  one room schoolhouse. Extra special was that Grandma Jefferies was able to come with us! It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

All of us in front of the Stephansson House - Stephan G. Stephansson was born in Iceland, moved to Canada and became a famous poet.

Looking back at the pictures I took brings to mind memories of growing up. We always had beef cows as well as a few milk cows. My Dad sold the cream and we grew up drinking the skim milk. One of my jobs and later my sisters' job was to wash the separator and have it ready for milking time. More than once I remember washing it at milking time and then running it over to the barn where my Dad and Uncle were waiting!

The last month has been hard since losing my Dad suddenly in early June and I wish I could share these pictures with him. I rest in the comfort of my Lord Jesus Christ, whom was also my Dad's hope, but I still really miss him. It has been hard to get back to blogging (not that I've ever been really faithful) but I know how much he enjoyed reading my posts, especially of our trips back and forth to Toronto. I am going to try and post more this summer - of our adventures and my scrapbooking, we'll see how I do.

A picture of a separator very similar to the one we had.

Noelle energetically shaking up a jar of cream to make our own butter. Yum!

Nathan collecting slates in the one-room school house (boys on one side, girls on the other!)

Noelle and Jeremy intently carding wool.

Day 6: Olds, AB

We made it! Through some rainy weather and ... welcome to Alberta ... a spring snow storm today (yes, only a few second thoughts about the weather in Alberta vs. Ontario)!

It was clear and calm when we got to Olds though which was a blessing as we unloaded our car-top carrier and emptied our van! Now the unpacking and settling in begins. Thank you everyone for your prayers. I'll continue to blog this summer about our continuing adventures, God's provisions and my scrapbooking creations.

Scrapbook layout – First Steps

It was fun to remember when Jeremy was first learning to walk. Although, he didn't really want to walk – he wanted to run! Right from the beginning he has been an intense boy who wants to do more than he is capable of and keep up with Nathan and Noelle.

I used Typeset paper and the coordinating canvas stickease. I was even able to write my journaling on the canvas journaling sticker with a black pen.

I love the look and feel of CTMH's new canvas stickers – it is easy to see the texture yet they add very little bulk to my pages – a new goal of mine as I am trying to put one whole year of layouts into one album. After three albums for 2008 I decided I needed to take action or we'd be swimming in scrapbooks by the time the kids graduated! Digital pages, less bulky pages and trying to not scrapbook all the events of the year have been my strategies to have fewer albums.

All supplies are Close To My Heart other than the “First steps” rub-on title and footprints.

Work in Progess Monday - ScrapScene

Day 5: Swift Current, SK

A rainy day of driving today! On our 6 1/2 hour drive we had an uneventful border crossing, we turned our watches back one hour for the last time and we stopped in Moose Jaw for a tour of the tunnels!

 If you haven't heard that Moose Jaw was once known as "Little Chicago" because of it's connections to Al Capone and the illegal activity that went on in Moose Jaw in the 20s check out the "Chicago Connection" tour the next time you are heading through Moose Jaw! (I know it doesn't happen often but Moose Jaw is a great place to stop in and sightsee.) There is also a tour called "Passage to Fortune" about Chinese immigrants and how they used the tunnels. This tour is now on our "to do next time" list :)

We couldn't take any pictures on our tour but we learned a lot about Al Capone! Although trying to explain it all to Jeremy became a little difficult. We got right into it - Nathan became an assistant "goon" and Daniel got to play cards with the head "goon" during the interactive drama.

Also, I forgot to post this picture yesterday and mention that after supper we went swimming at our hotel pool that had 3 big waterslides! Daniel had found the hotel and booked it before we left – and while after the Kalahari resort it seemed small it was a fun way to spend an hour burning off excess energy. It might not look like it from the picture, but the slides were wild! We aren't sure who designed them but all three were fast and sent us flipping up the sides. The slides at the Kalahari did feel a little safer than these three!

Tomorrow we enter Alberta and will at our "summer home" by supper time!

Day 4: Minot, ND

Today was our first long day of driving in one stretch - 7.5 hours. We made a few stops for gas, bathroom breaks and a picnic lunch at the Fargo – Moorhead Visitor's Center...and arrived in Minot around 5:30 pm.

A very colourful bison outside of the Visitor's Center!

We're over half-way through listening to “The Secret Garden” and really enjoying it. The kids are also busy reading books, colouring, listening to music, looking at the changing landscape and playing with stuffed animals (two of them anyways!). A few rough patches each day but overall they've been great travellers.

We've decided that North Dakota reminds us a lot of Alberta ...cheap gas, very little tax, fast speed limits (120 km/h on the I-94) and lots of wide open spaces!

Janis, the picture below is for you! We saw these treats at the Kalahari Resort yesterday but didn't give in to the temptation – maybe you'll have to try and make these :)

Two more days of travelling and we'll be at the farm in Olds - our home for the summer!