annual fall photo shoot

Every year I take the kids outside in the back yard to take some fall photos. Today was the perfect day for it. We have had nothing but crap weather lately making it impossible to take decent pictures, but today was 20 degrees and gorgeous.I am sure my kids are nothing if not tired of being the subjects of my photo shoots, but I would really like to get a picture of the two of them smiling, and looking at the camera at the same time... Is that too much to ask? Probably.

I did take close to 100 shots of them today... and did get some decent ones, but nothing I think is too amazing. However, I also am convinced I have worn the two of them out, so, maybe when the snow flies, I will get some good winter ones.

Layout #51

I love using wallet sized prints on a layout. It gives the chance to get so many more on a page, but even with a double page spread (which I hate doing, and rarely do unless I have to, and am never pleased withe the final resuly) I couldn't fit every picture on the page. So, I got crafty. I sewed two extra strips of paper to the right page, and added another 16 photos to the layout. It becomes an interactive layout, and I still don't know how to deal with those once inside my album, but for this page, it worked to get everything on the page, yet still allow some of the awesome Bo Bunny goodness to show through!
TFL!

Layout #50 - so close to the goal!

This Daddy Day Care page took me at least five minutes to do... Okay, maybe ten. But no more than 15. Seriously. I love love love the Bisous PDQ paper. It is so easy to whip something up that looks finished.
I was also able to go back to some old PDQ chipboard that I had that I didn't have a plan for because I had used up all the paper... and guess what? I was able to use up some old shit! And seven old buttons, thickers and other alphabet letters. Wahoo!
My goal for 2010 was 75 layouts, and I am 25 away. I know I will meet my goal because it is scrapbook season. I was actually supposed to scrap with my peeps today, but Cohen woke up sick and I knew the other moms wouldn't be too impressed if I showed up with my snotty nose kid.
I am not too distressed..... yet. But I do have a crop club scrap day at the beginning of October, as well as a weekend retreat at the end of October, and another scrap day at the church, crop club, and another retreat in November... and hopefully one more day away in December.... so... If I don't make the goal then I pissed away these last three months of the year!
TFL

I survived..... but barely!

So my scrap space is back in order... for the most part. There are still some things I want to tweak, but at least I can see both the floor and my desk. Both important parts of a room, if you ask me. I was fortunate enough to procure a paper shelf from the old Sheep River Scrapbook Co. and I love love love the extra storage space that it gives me. I was able to lift my old paper rack on top of it, stash the bottom under the desk, and get rid of a whole clear drawer thingy. (Yes, that is what they are called.... I googled it.)

So, the good news is, I am able to scrap again in comfort. The bad news is, that won't be happening for a while. I have all of the school pictures to proof, as well as final preps for The Breast Crop this weekend in Red Deer, and I really need to remember that my daughter goes to school twice a week now.... puts a damper on sleeping in!

I'm Going In.................................

I am going to attempt to clean, not tidy, my scrap space. Not for the purpose of scrapbooking however. I am feeling more and more claustrophobic whenever I go in there, and next week I will be plopped in front of my computer putting together school picture proof sheets, and I can't sit in that room for that long in the state that it is in....So, I am going in. If you don't see or hear from me in a while, please send help. It is very likely that I have been buried under a pile of paper, or tangled in my Clip It Up, or held hostage by my albums that want a more prominent space for display... So, please, worry about me until my next post, and hopefully that one is one where the room is not so scary, or cluttered, or altogether creative energy sapping. I just need to decide, before I start, what to do with all the stuff that I am going to ultimately get rid of.

Layout #49

This was a photo of the kids I took this summer back in Rimbey. I love love love the photo, and I really love that I was able to use up some of my last year's MME Halloween line on this page. I love the versatility of it. That you can do non-Halloween type layouts with something so Halloweeny... If that is indeed a word.
This page was also awesome for using up the stash!!! Old ribbon, old flowers, old bling, old chipboard, old paper..... yay!
TFL!

10 Randoms .... Funny things my kids said this past weekend

We went to Drumheller for a last camping hurrah this weekend with our good friends Mark and Tami and their two boys. We had a blast and I personally think we should make it a yearly event. While there, our kids came up with some pretty good funnies..... you might not think so, but in the context of the day, some were beyond hilarious!
1. When asked where one should look to identify a type of fossil they discovered, Avery said very matter of factly, "On the paleontologists computer!"

2. After about 20 minutes of digging in the dirt looking for fossils, Cohen yelled, "Oh don't tell me! There is a dinosaur bone in here!" He then repeated it every time he came across a fossil... about 15 more times.

3. We went to see the Hoo Doos... Avery asked, "What do you do to a Hoo Doo?" We giggle for a long time.....
4. When we got back from the Hoo Doos, Tami asked what we did, and Avery said, "We stayed on the clearly marked path."

5. When we were at Reptile World, Avery saw a salamander in one of the cages and yelled, "That is just like the one in our yard!" Not funny.... not at all.... More gross and horrifying if anything.

6. After jumping in the mud puddles and soaking his pants, shirt, socks and filling his rubber boots with water, Cohen walked (or rather squished) up to me and told me his boots were too small.... I dumped out at least a cup of water from each boot.

7. On top of the rather large badland hill behind our campsite, someone had arranged some rocks into an Inukshuk. From the ground it looked like a bear. Some kids went to the top of the hill and messed around with it, and when they got back down, Avery and John were unimpressed. John told them they shouldn't have touched the bear, and Avery reminded them that bears are dangerous. (apparently even ones made of rock!)

8. I asked Cohen what his favorite part of the weekend was and he said his favorite was "When we got to do the Hoo Doos."

Okay... so not ten.... but enough to keep me laughing days later. And perfect for journaling this trip!