She's a pack rat!

...and she learned that trait from ME!! I just spent 90 minutes decluttering Julie-Anna's craft cart (aka CATCH ALL!). Holy smokes... there was all manner of stuff in there. I have a shopping bag of garbage (broken jewelry, empty wrappers for things, bits of this and that!), and a fair sized box full of paper recycling! In the box of papers were bits of cut up paper (ok, LOTS of cut up paper!), lots of scribbled on papers, construction papers, and a tonne of old school work. Now, I did save a couple of the school work things for her scrapbook - a few perfect scores on math papers, the 'grade one code' from her teacher from last September, and a spelling test. :) In the craft cart I found dried out markers, many pencils, crayons and other crafty stuff willy nilly all over the place. It's all condensed, and everything has it's own drawer. All crayons are accounted for, well, they are all together at least! Now to put the artsty stuff to good use!

I was prompted to declutter this as it was A) making me crazy to look at daily, and B) we went out and bought school supplies today!! We had a good trip out for school stuff. JA scored a great deal on a backpack - it's light blue, navy and a bit of black. It was 10$ and included the back pack, and a matching pencil case and insulated lunch bag! She chose that over a Tinkerbell backpack and a Princesses lunch bag. So we need to jazz it up, any suggestions? We also purchased some new markers for JA and some fatter markers for Sophia and Zachary, some pencil crayons, and that's it for school. While in Zehrs we also scored some Crayola chalk buckets (got 4 of them!) and a big bottle of bubbles, all at 50% off! Zachary chose a Spiderman lunch bag, and he was happy as a clam to have it!

Today was Zachary's last day of bowling. They had a cute little party with hotdogs, chips, timbits, and pop! All the kids got a trophy :) He was totally thrilled to get it! He went out with a 'bang' and a score of 102 :D The girls bowled too, Sophia did really well for her first real attempt!! Good practice, as she starts this league in a few weeks too!



Well, I should tidy up my mess from the big declutter... tomorrow is a long day, with helping my mom ready her house for showing on Friday afternoon.

Cool bugs!

We saw this cool bug on our Sunflower leaf the other day. I got this cool up close photo of it, but haven't a CLUE what this bug is! I have never seen a bug that is PINK before! :D

So, can you identify this bug for us??

Edited to add: Apparently it's a leaf hopper! It is attracted to sap. While we were at the trailer, someone or something snapped the head off one of our budding sunflowers (that the kids planted, how annoying and sad for them!). The result is a lot of sap... which brought on the ants you see at the bottom of the photo, and according to Wikipedia the leaf hoppers also enjoy some good sap!!

Soccer Banquet Day

Every year, when the soccer season is over, the Port Weller Soccer League has their banquet day. This year it poured rain. I could literally ring out the water from my shirt. I had just gotten my hair cut and styled, and that was basically a write off! LOL! It was raining sideways almost, and so while I had an umbrella during the little 15 minute game, we all got wet. Then we tried to go to the air bouncers but they deflated them in the rain. At noon, JA got her trophey along with her team. We zipped over for our hot dogs (free dogs, Kool Aid Jammers, cotton candy, sno cones) and half way thru the line it began to POUR rain. We were soaked. Our hot dogs got soggy by the last bite too!! LOL It did stop raining eventually, and they re-opened most of the bouncers, and the slides. The kids had a blast. I checked out the penny sale table (which was also getting wet!) and put my tickets in for numerous things including a couple different portable DVD players, a cool Spiderman CD player for Zachary for Christmas, some Barbie stuff, a Webkinz, school stuff and gift certificates for stuff. I hope to hear next week that I won something!! Last year I won a new mouse for the computer, and some Clickits for JA. Kala and Kyle joined us, as did Kevin and Lubie. After that, we zipped to the Pool Park for one last hurrah before the end of season closure. It rained. LOL It POURED... the kids were in and out and in and out of the pool if the life guards could not see the elusive black dot on the bottom of the pool! LOL! It was still fun.




We went and spent some time at Happy Rolph's yesterday afternoon. The kids had fun playing on the playground, feeding the ducks, and the other animals. At least they tried...some animals were just too far away or simply not interested in eating. The goats tho... ALWAYS interested! LOL!

What a week, part two!

So on our way home from the trailer, I decide to do a 'drive by' at my mom's to see if she's up so I can call to say we are home. Not only are the lights on, but she's got company at 10pm!! Michael was kind enuf to remind me that my brother and his kids are down! LOL! So I backed up and went in for a few minutes. The end result... Kala (10) and Kyle (9) coming to sleep over. I wasn't sure what a great idea that was after JA having been up late for 10 days in a row!! However, come they did. Zachary was SO excited to have Kyle sleep in his bed!! Kala and JA shared the top bunk, and Sophia slept alone as usual.

So the kids went to Waterworks Park VBS at Laryssa's church (Laryssa being one of JA's favourite friends!) in Port Dalhousie. They had a FABULOUS time... so much so that Kala and Kyle convinced their dad to stay for the week! So Sun they all slept here, Monday they all slept here. Tues the boys slept at Nanny's, the girls did nails and slept here. Wed the girls slept at Nanny's, and the boys here. Thursday Kala and Kyle slept at their other Nan's with their Mom and their two little sisters. Friday was the last day for VBS, and so Mom and I and Sophia went to the closing ceremonies to see them sing and get their certificates etc. We spent the week back and forth eating at Mom's, eating here... it was crazy!! Friday night the boys slept at Nanny's, and Saturday was the end of Soccer Banquet Day. More on that tomorrow when I have the photos uplooaded.

This week along with VBS, we spent some time at the Pool Park, and swimming in our pool in the front yard.



The girls got a hold of the digital camera, and took this awesome photo of our big sunflower!


So it's Sunday night and the Kids and their Dad (my brother!) are still here. Thankfully, I have only my own children sleeping in my house tonight! :D Early to bed (well, earlier than the last two weeks have been!)... and we are going to TRY to resume some semblance of a schedule before school starts in a week.

I'll update on the Port Weller Soccer League banquet day (a wet wet day!) tomorrow... it's late, time for bed!!

Wow, what a week!!

Well, I had half this blog post written, and accidentally closed the window. UGH. So while I'm waiting for my pics to load up, I'll start again! LOL!

So JA went to the trailer for a week with my MIL and the other two grandkids. They had a blast! I was teary when she left, but ended up having a great time with just Zachary and Sophia. We spent 10-11 hours at the Arthur Street Wading Pool!! It was great! Michael took Zachary to Marineland for a morning (he was on afternoon shift), and they had a fun time just the two of them.

So on the following Friday, Mike and I packed up Zachary, Sophia and our gear and we headed to the trailer. We got delayed by a dog on the 401 highway! It wasn't a huge delay, only about 30 mins.

So we arrived at the trailer around 2:30, where we reunited with Julie-Anna (I didn't realize just how much I missed her until I had her in my arms again!). However, the reunion was short lived, as she wisked Zachary and Sophia off to the awaiting chipmunks! It's the 'thing to do' at the trailer, feeding the chipmunks. Sophia was fearless from the start (and so are the chipmunks!), and Zachary was right in there as well. It's so cute to see them feeding them!


We spent some time at the parks at the trailer resort (in Buckhorn). However, it
started to rain while we were there, so we zipped back to the trailer.




JA tried to teach Zachary and Sophia how to play checkers, too funny!



However, we were grateful for the rain, as there was a fire ban on in Peterborough. Too bad, as we really wanted to make S'mores at the fire! We compromised by having Daddy try roasting marshmallows on the bbq. They didn't turn out too well tho. So we ended up having 'fake' s'mores in the microwave!




We did get to the beach on Saturday. It was COLD though!

On Saturday evening the trailer resort was hosting "Hallowe'en" for the kids in the park. They had a contest at the office, which Sophia won for the 3 and under category. She got a blow up set of chairs and table. We had the kids costumes with us - Superman, Genevieve from the 12 Dancing Princesses, and a Blue Princess/Ballerina.
After the contest, the kids all went trick or treating around the resort. Man, they got a LOT of stuff!! Some of the people were handing out freezies and Kook Aid Jammers. I thought that was pretty awesome for August! But the candy, and chips, and snacks... each kid had about 3/4 of a shopping bag full! Insanity!

Sunday we spent tidying up, packing up, went for another quick 'dip' into the water, and playing at the park. :D

We had a relatively uneventful trip home, a little bit of traffic, but nothing to complain about!! We are planning and hoping to go back to the the trailer for Sophia's birthday weekend, just gotta make sure it works for the In Laws!! :D

The Bourne Ultimatum

Mike took me on a date tonite. We went to the late show (I fell asleep part way thru the movie, but didn't miss much! LOL!). We went to see the last of the Jason Bourne movies. IT was a great movie, and we'll buy it to add to the other two when the DVD is released.

It was so nice to go out just the two of us... it doesn't happen nearly often enuf.

Do you do a date night? Is it regular? Do you eat out, or just do something fun together? Let me know!! :D

Toilet training

We are toilet training Sophia. I hate this part of childhood. The other two kids really clicked when we began the training... Sophia is a child of a different nature I tell ya!! UGH. This morning for instance, she sat on the toilet for a few mins... then we went to the living room, and I was getting out a piece of homemade raisin bread for breakfast. You guessed it, she peed on the wing back chair. It hadn't even been two full mins since our trip to the toilet!! MAN.

Michael took Zachary to Marineland this morning, for something fun to do since JA is not here this week. We've been at the pool park for 6 hours in two days... and we are heading back there this afternoon! If it doesn't rain and be nasty that is! My friend is joining us with her son, so it should be a great time!

Tonite I hope to scrapbook some. Or perhaps I will organize all my photos that are saved on the computer... I need a system. Do you have one?!?

Gotta run, check on toilet training girl! LOL!

Just blogging away :)

I am motivated by Holly to blog ten entries in the month of August. Today is my 4th entry. I have stuff to share from our trip to Muskoka (more to share I should say!), our camping trip, a week without Julie-Anna here, and our upcoming trip to the trailer! She's also challenged us to scrap one blog entry. So I will be scrappin' the Muskoka trip soon!! LOL!

Ugh... toilet training... I'll save that for a new entry ;) LOL

Stampin' Up! News, Specials, and a cool book I made!

Stampin' Up is having a GREAT SALE with the purchase of our Starter Kit !!! When you order the Starter Kit you will receive absolutely FREE AN ENTIRE FULL SIZE INKPAD FAMILY !!!! WOW !!! Here are more details:

Purchase the STARTER KIT between August 10 and September 30, and you'll get to pick the family of your choice--colour family, that is--of Classic Stampin' Pads FREE. That's a $79.95 value! And we've designed our exclusive coordinating colour families (including our In Color collection) so that every colour fits in.

If you wanna do what I do OR just want a great start to stamping please free to email me and I'll do whatever I can to help you out !!!

I made this cool cool album last night. It was quick and easy, and FUN!! I got the idea from Corinne who also gave me the instructions! If you want to make one of these, let me know, as I'm running a class that focuses on the Accents and Elements tins this fall!

Anyway, here is the front view



and the open view

Tagged - Scattergories Style!

Vanessa tagged me, good thing I went to read her 'not so often updated' blog! LOL!

So, it's time for tag! The game is SCATTERGORIES ... and it's harder than it looks! Here are the rules:

* Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.
* They MUST be real places, names, things ... NOTHING made up!
* If you can't think of anything, skip it.
* You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.
* If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can't use my answers!


My Name: Kristi-Anna
1. Famous Singer/Band: Kid Rock
2. 4 letter word: Kind
3. Street: Kensington Ave
4. Color: Kahki
5. Gifts/Presents: kerchiefs
6. Vehicle: K-Car
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Killer Whale dolls
8. Boy Name: Kevin
9. Girl Name: Kendra
10. Movie Title: Knocked Up
11. Drink: KoolAid
12. Occupation: Kindergarten Teacher
13. Celebrity: Kevin Costner
14. Magazine: Kids Search
15. U.S. City: Kachina Village, AZ
16. Pro Sports Teams: Kings, LA
17. Fruit: Kiwi
18. Reason for Being Late for Work: knocked down by a local kid on a bike
19. Something You Throw Away: kleenex (used of course!)
20. Things You Shout: KEEP OUT!
21. Cartoon Character: Krypto (Superman's dog!)

Ok, and now I will tag... Melinda, Jennifer T, and Katrina :D

A trip north :D

We had a quick trip up north this past weekend. We zipped up with my Mom to visit my brother and his two kids (Kala - 10, Kyle - 9). We were so busy!! On Saturday afternoon, we left Kevin and Kyle at home, and did some touristy stuff. Mom got dropped off at the Community Centre to hit the Antique Show (the kids called it Antique Road Show! LOL). Mike and I, Zachary, JA, Sophia, and Kala zipped down the way a wee bit to the Muskoka Lakes Museum where they were having some special stuff going on. The big girls got their faces painted, all the kids got tattoos, and made necklaces. We checked out some cool jewelry, and played with some toys that the local Native group was displaying. We sat and had hotdogs and burgers, and later had free popcicles! We then zipped back to pick up Mom, and back to Kev's. It was time to head to the BOAT!! Kevin has this fabulous new boat by Four Winns. It was big enough for all of us to ride in!! We went fast, fast fast!!! Sophia was terrified for a while, but after about half an hour, she was thinking it was pretty terrific, and went to the bow to ride with the other kids... until Kevin his some other boat wake, sped up, caused a big splash to get us all, and that was the end of that for Sophia! LOL! It was a VERY late night for everyone.

Sunday we went to the Legion for breakfast/brunch. Oh it's soooo good there!! JA wasn't feeling too hot, so I didn't get to overeat (which is a GOOD thing!). After heading home, we all got bathing suits on to head to Bailey Beach! The kids enjoyed their swim, then went on an hour boat ride with Daddy and Uncle Kevi. When they got back, it was more swimming. JA and Zachary with their lifejackets were pretty brave! Then JA opted to take hers off, and jumped into DEEP DEEP water, and swam around. Those swim lesson are really paying off!! Sophia was also enjoying the water big time... she'd go in with and without her life jacket, although her jumping in was limited! She was great out in the 'deep' water (ok, so about 7 feet, I couldn't touch, but that doesn't say much!!!), swimming about in her life jacket, doing her thing. So after our big swims, we went home for supper, and then a sunset cruise. I was SO anticipating an earlier night... however, we rolled into home around 11pm! The good thing... Sophia fell asleep about 30 mins into the cruise!! LOL The other kids followed suit around 10-10:30. They were so cute. The Sunset Cruise was FANTASTIC!! We saw the most gorgeous Harvest Moon (I know, it was still July!), and my camera just didn't do it justice. It was big and red, and glorious! The sunset was incredible as well, but again, the camera just doesn't do the real thing justice.

We headed for home on Monday morning, leaving a wee bit later than we had hoped. Michael was to be at work for 3pm.... we left in good time. We stopped for a big basket of wild blueberries on the Hwy 11. We found out that Hwy 400 had been closed south bound. We missed the last exit before the traffic. *sigh* We got stuck in it for well over 2.5 hours. Mike was REALLY late for work. However, he got out with a plastic bag and collected it almost full of empty pop cans!! (My mom cashes them in!). The kids got whiney at this point, I so wish they would have napped!! But it's all good, we got home...the kids went to bed... and I flaked.

So now we are gearing up for camping this long weekend... should be fun!!! :D

**Note, I took a 'burst' of photos of Julie-Anna jumping into the water... but the slideshow has them backwards! LOL! Mike thinks it's great, her jumping OUT of the water! LOL!