Mmmmmm

Grant and I just got back from the yummiest supper. My MIL offered to take the kids for a couple of hours, so we headed into Burns Lake for a "hot date". It was yummy. And cheap. Who would have thought that you could get a yummy meal, a couple of drinks for each for $40!? And the best part.... we actually got some time together. We had a good talk about Grant's dad, and him growing up here. We both got a little weepy. I guess. His dad died here. I kind of forgot that. Anyhoo. It was a good night.
I hate to tell you this... but I am kind of warming up to this place. I can totally see the draw. I know I will really enjoy this place if and when we come back next summer... on our own.
And I got some color today.
And.... I also got some scrapping done today. It was a good day.

Great Day on the Lake

Today was the first really nice day here. The lake was glass, the sun was shining, and the temperature was high. This is what summer is about. So far on this vacation, I have done nothing but eat dill pickle Spitz, read, and sleep. I have slept more in the last four days, than I did all of June. Seriously. I think there is something about our altitude (or lack of it, because Grant just informed me we are higher at home...), that is making me very sleepy. Whatever. Cohen naps, and mommy naps with him. This afternoon after one such nap, Grant, the kids and I got in the boat for a little rip. We were the only boat on the lake. Seriously. And it is a huge lake. (Huge by Southern Alberta standards). So we took the kids, a few bevvys, and the camera and out we went.
Tami called today, and her, Mark and the boys are heading up tomorrow. I am really excited for that. I am really looking forward to having someone here that I can bitch to.
And..... there is a sign just down the road that leads me to believe there is a scrapbook store there. The sign reads "Get Crafty" and then says scrapbook supplies, paper, tools, magazines, and more.... What do you think?

Which "biker" is better?

So for the last couple of days we have been driving through the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Every time I go to the mountains, I am still awed by their size. When Cohen finally realized we weren't on the prairie anymore he couldn't stop saying "mounty mounty". Avery's first comment; "Wow! Aren't they humongous?" Love it.
Anyhoo, being summer and all, there are a ton of people getting to their destination on two wheels rather than four, and I don't know which one is worse, so you decide....
Choice One: The motorcyclist who, because his vehicle is narrower, decides that he can pass when it really isn't safe, drive up a closed for construction lane to get closer to the front of the stopped line, and who rides the center line.... or
Choice Two: The cyclist, who is on a bike tour, and insists on riding beside another cyclist so they can talk.... but the shoulder really only safely accomodates one cyclist, so said cyclist rides outside of the shoulder, and in the driving lane. No biggie if there is no oncoming traffic, but we seemed to find these morons whenever there was a logging truck coming at us around a precarious mountain curve.
Ah summer.

Day One

So we have started our family vacation to the cabin. We left this morning after Avery's last day of swimming lessons (which went swimmingly I might add), and acted like tourists the whole way. We stopped at the Icefields and looked at the metling glaciers. Holy shit! I remember when the Crowfoot Glacier actually had three "talons"! Very eye opening. Then on our way to Jasper we went to Athabasca Falls. (Where we had this amazing family picture taken). It was quite incredible to get that close to that much water! It was loud, and misty, and a good walk too. We went through Jasper, got a quick bite to eat, and then carried on. We are currently in a hotel in McBride, (the newest one in town, despite Avery's comment when we pulled in. I asked if she was excited to be here, and she replied with "It doesn't look like a very good hotel.")
Anyhoo, we are on our way, we will be at the cabin tomorrow. And then, no matter what, or who...... I am scrapbooking.

The Cake That Should Never Have Been

So Cohen's second birthday was officially on Sunday, but Grant was still away at work and I wasn't going to celebrate his birthday without his daddy, so, when Grant called last night to say he would be home today, I panicked and went searching for a cake that I could whip up in no time. I felt guilty just making him a "regular" cake, when Avery got a racetrack, and also a Lightning McQueen cake. I didn't want him to look back in pictures and wonder why her cakes rocked, and his sucked. So, I decided to make a cake with a picture of Nemo on it.
Sounds like a good plan, right? Well..... here are several reasons why this is the cake that should never have been.

1. I didn't have a cake mix. I am not all fancy schmancy Suzy Homemaker. I rarely make birthday cakes from scratch. But today, I didn't have a mix, so, from scratch it was. (First clue)

2. When I took the cake out of the oven, it sunk. And not just a little dip in the middle, nope. The WHOLE middle. (Second hint)

3. I put it back in the oven, and part of it miraculously resurrected itself. When it cooled, I took it out of the pan. Actually, I took part of it out of the pan. The bottom third stayed in the pan. (Do you see where I am going with this?)

4. I decided to cut it in half, and make my 9x13 cake into a 9x6 1/2 cake. Great idea??? Nope. huge chunks started to fall off the top. So... I tried to ice them back together.

5. I iced the top and two sides with blue icing, and then ran out of that color.

6. I piped in Nemo, and then realized I had no more icing bags.

7. I started in with the orange icing, (in a ziploc bag because I was out) and was about 90% done the orange when the seam on the bag burst, and a huge glob of icing landed on Nemo's bottom fin. AWESOME.....

8. I managed to somewhat recover most of the icing, and made it look almost presentable. Then Arren came over for a couple of minutes, and whilst her and I were in my scrapbook room.... Cohen did this to Nemo's head.


Sushi anyone?

Needless to say... I gave up. I finished with the white, Grant piped in a new face (and no judgement against him... but it wasn't really that great), and I didn't even bother to ice the remaining two sides that had been naked ever since I ran out of blue. Argh.

Tara..... are you proud of me?

Last week Tara and Haley came over for a very impromptu scrapbook day, and at one point during the day, Tara went into my pantry. If any of my other friends went in there, I would be fine with it.... but for some weird reason, Tara's OCD is intimidating. So.... I recently signed up with Epicure, and my shipment arrived yesterday. I was so excited, but didn't really have anywhere for it all to go. So..... it was raining, and I needed something to do, and organizing the pantry was it!
This is how it looks today....... not bad for 17 hours! Who knows how great it will look by the end of the week, but, at least for today, I know that Tara might be remotely pleased by this.....
(And if not pleased, at least a little jealous of the labels and my label maker ;) )

A Little Sumthin' Sumthin'....

or whatever....
This is a birthday card I made yesterday with the Just Jawing SU! set, and a hodgepodge of paper from Bo Bunny and Glitz . It was for a 16 year old girl, and inside was an iTunes gift card.

This layout was one I did earlier in the summer, and just found while I was trying to get organized for a day with the girls later this week. I had much higher hopes for this one. I thought the Lime Rickey BG paper would be perfect for this photo, and I really love the photo.... but it didn't turn out like the amazing layout I had in my head.....

TFL