Seriously?

So, most of you know that we are heading out tomorrow for a week at a cottage that we have rented. Along with our family (me, hubby, 3 kids and the cat) we are taking 3 extra kids as well. That is 6 teenagers.............can you imagine the groceries?

Today we headed out to the grocery store, and I took all 6 kids with me. I wanted to be sure that everyone had stuff that they liked. Everyone did really well, but we needed 3 carts to carry everything (we could have fit it in 2 carts, but 3 was easier).

Over dinner I was telling my hubby how long the receipt was. Matt volunteered to take a photo of it because it was as tall as me!

Yes, you are reading that total correctly! I am sure that we bought way too much food and the next couple of shops once we return will be very light.

I was a little ticked when I was checking out. I have the reusable grocery bags, but not enough for all the extra things we purchased. Zehrs still charged me for 12 plastic bags, even after I spent that amount on groceries. I would have waived the fee for the bags......wouldn't you?

July Product Challenge

Well, along with organizing things at work and packing for the cottage, I realized that I hadn't done my product challenge layout for July. By the time I return from the cottage and CHA it will be August and we will be on to another challenge.

While Amanda was reading our new book, I scrapbooked the challenge kit. Here is what I came up with.


The funny thing is, I didn't even get a kit. I had to make my own. Luckily I had some of the paper at home, because that is what we ran out of.

I used everything from the kit. The lettering is from the Alphalicous Cricut cartridge and I added a bit of the matching chipboard that was leftover from a display layout we did for the store. I used the letter stickers for my journaling. It says 'swim like a fish' and 'love you'.

Hope everyone is having as much fun with these kits as I am.

We are reading a book!

Yup, it is true. Amanda and I are reading My Sister's Keeper. She has seen the movie and when she saw the book when we were at the mall tonight, she couldn't resist.

For those of you who don't know, I hate reading and Amanda does too. This is big for us. I am more of a movie person. I love magazines because they are full of photos and I never really read the articles. I am totally addicted to blogs. I will read them, but the entries are usually short and they have lots of photos to see.

This book doesn't have any photos except on the cover. I had to work on my monthly product challenge kit, so Amanda read 3 chapters to me. We are off to a great start. We are aiming to finish it up this week when we are at the cottage.

Wish us luck!

Update on Maya!

Back in February we welcomed Maya into our family. I didn't know then how much I would come to love her. She is always happy to see me (maybe it is because I am the one that feeds her and cleans out her litter box) and greets me with a friendly 'meow' whenever she enters a room.

This photo was taken shortly after we got her.

This is a photo of her now. She has lost that real kitten look, but she is still very cute.

About a month ago she had surgery to get her claws removed and she has had some problems. Her front paws are very sensitive and she doesn't like to put pressure on them. She spends a lot of time laying around and is not her playful self. We have had her back to the vet 3 times and they are sure she will recover.

This week she has shown some signs of recovery. She is becoming much more social again and tonight we even caught her chasing her tail. Yesterday I found her walking across my kitchen counter like she owned the place, which was a frequent habit before her surgery.

I really hope that this is a sign that she is on the road to recovery. We are taking her on vacation with us and I am sure that a week of relaxation at the cottage with fix everything.

Adventure......

I love going on an adventure. My dad always planned family hikes when my kids were younger and I loved them. It was always a great adventure. I really enjoy the outdoors and exploring new places.

With Joanne away on holidays, it was an extra busy week. Thanks to my mom, I was able to escape from the store for a few hours on Thursday afternoon. Amanda was away at a cottage, but my boys were around. I told them to get ready to go out......we were going on an adventure.

We drove to St. Jacobs and parked down by the old mill. There is a path that goes through the woods and we followed it. Jake (Amanda's boyfriend) told us about this spot and I thought the boys would really like it.

From the path we could see a railway that crossed over 2 rivers. If I knew anything about geography I could tell you which rivers they were, but I don't.

We followed the path and it lead us up to the railway, which I knew it would. The boys were more than happy to explore. Both of them thought this was really 'cool', and I was the very 'cool' mom that was taking them there.....do you see where this is leading?

This is the view from the railway over one of those rivers. We were as high as the wires (not sure what they do) and the view was spectacular. As the boys discussed all the very 'cool' things about sitting this high on a railway track over a flowing river, I quietly sat a listened.

I am not a fan of spiders, but I did think that this was a 'cool' photo. While I was trying to get the perfect photo of this entangled web, the boys thought they should backtrack a bit and collect some rocks that they could toss into the water below.

Matt (on the left) has his pockets full and Jason (on the right) had to carry his collection. If he loaded his pockets, his shorts would be at his ankles. Matt pointed out that fashion is not always practical.

In a matter of minutes they had dropped all of their stones into the river below. They continued to discuss how 'cool' this adventure was. Yeah me! I sat quietly listening and snapping photos. While listening, I heard a train whistle off in the distance. It didn't register right away, but we were sitting on railway tracks, above 2 rivers........as this was sinking in, Jason looked up and said 'mom, is that a train?'

We jumped up (but not too quick) and briskly made our way off the tracks to safety! Please note that at no time were we in any real danger because there was a place to stand if a train did happen to pass.

We made our way back down to the path and the train still had not appeared. The boys then decided they would scale the railway structure (which was above the 2 rivers) and I quietly watched and took photos. The river below this beam was about 12 inches deep but very scummy. Matt is not much of a risk taker. It was nice to see him going out on a limb (or beam) and try to follow along with is big brother (even if the river was only 1 ft deep).

We continued down the path and snapped a few more photos on the way. We heard the train whistle again, but this time it sounded much closer.

We ran back to the railway tracks and to our surprise it was the St. Jacob's train! I realize now why it took so long to arrive......it goes very, very, very slow!

The adventure was coming to an end and we were heading back to the car when Matt discovered a frog in the river. He named him Phil. A little bit further down he found another frog that he named Philip.....do you see a pattern.

Here is one of my favourite photos of the day. Matt is trying to catch one of the frogs (I can't remember if it was Phil or Philip).

This is an adventure I won't forget any time soon. As the boys get older, we don't have as many adventures, so each one is a gift. I managed to be 'cool' for the afternoon and I think they had as much fun as I did. I hope we do it again soon.

Off To The Cottage.......Soon!

We have rented a cottage again this year! Last year was so much fun we just had to do it again. We have changed locations, mostly due to size of the cottage. Each of our kids have a friend coming, so that is 6 kids....2 adults and our cat!

We were able to get one right on the lake again. That is such a bonus. We spend a lot of time tubing and boarding so to have the 'playground' right in front of you make is it really easy!



This year we are on Stoney Lake which is about 1/2 hour outside of Peterborough. We will be about 20 minutes from the small town of Lakefield, which is where I went to grade 7, 8 and 9.

Above are a couple of shots that the owner sent us of the waterfront.




Here are some photos of the inside of the cottage. I was most interested in seeing photos of the bathroom....but there wasn't any. I don't like using public washrooms (I don't even use the one at our store unless I have to) and I don't think I can hold it for an entire week. I hope it is nice!?!
I know, I have issues.

It does look like a nice cottage.........lots of wood. I see a leather couch....heck we don't have one of those at home. I see a fridge, microwave and stove......but where is the dishwasher? I will spend a lot of time on the dock by the water. Maybe I will read a good book..........ha ha ha.....did I get you? I am actually going to try. I want to add a section to the side of my blog that is for books I have read...........that is my motivation.

Well, I will have lots to post when we return from the cottage. Remember the wake boarding photos from last year? I have to top that! Check back often...........there may or may not be something for you to read. I have to keep you guessing.

I've Got Nothing!

Well, since I don't have anything creative to post, I had to search and find and image to show.

This is what I came up with.......absolutely nothing!

I have been busy creating stuff for the store, but I can't post that here. There are lots of inspiring things coming up on that blog, but for now....I got nothin!

So until I find some time to be creative for myself, you will have to stare at this lovely image........and you too will get nothin!