Imagine That!

Wow, what an amazing and tiring week we had! Haha. Our Imagine That summer arts camp ran this week from Monday to Thursday with a celebration night gallery and show that same evening. We had about 100 kids and it was a success to say the least. With this being our second year we have learned from our introduction and found things running very well this time. Of course we look forward to growing from what we learned this year and preparing for next summer.

I taught classes in handmade gifts and photography while Ken taught animation. Ariel was in the preschool class and Xander had a nursery babysitter keeping him on site in case he needed a Mommy fix! Its always amazing the stuff the kids create in a matter of days, I LOVE what Ariel did in her class lead by my good friend from college Andrea. Check out some of her art from this week, including a sewing snake and cooking little quiches and cheesecakes, yum!

My group in handmade gifts made earring holders, painted jewelry boxes, cupcake bath bombs, bath milk, gourmet popcorn kits with 2 topping flavors and a pair of earrings and necklace.

My photo class was fantastic and the kids had an amazing gallery of images that were wowing everyone! I taught the class as a 'artist vision' vs learning shutter speed etc. They all had little point and shoot cameras and I wanted them to learn they can take amazing pictures with them just learning layout, rule of thirds etc. It looks like I will be teaching a similar class come fall when we offer 3 of our more popular classes as after school options. Very exciting... as if I didn't have enough to do right!?

Friday night we had a wrap up dinner and discussing how the week went and how we can improve. I ended up coming home and cooking a batch of cookies and cakes for a weekend order, never ends eh?

This morning I was up REALLY early and baked like silly until I had 4 levels of cake for a wedding cake order for the holiday Monday. I then iced the cookies and other cake for the order for pick up tomorrow and then at noon we headed out to Granville Island... as Ariel had a special appointment!

We managed to find a parking spot, it was nuts on a sunny Saturday afternoon as you can imagine! The shop we were going to was recommended to us by a friend saying it was a fanastica place for getting your EARS PIERCED! Yes, Ariel was joining the ranks of the older girls with getting something she has been eager for. We decided going into Kindergarten was a big deal and deserved a special treat. The lady put on the numbing gel on her ears and covered them with bandaids, then sent us out for an hour. We had a yummy fish and chip lunch, which Xander loved!

The island was packed but we enjoyed the time we had wandering around until it was time to head back and get the big event underway! Ariel picked out her earrings, beautiful white gold with a pink sparkly stone. The lady took her time marking Ariel's ears until they were perfect. Then she got into position and 'poof' one ear was done.

When the lady asked if she felt anything Ariel grinned and yelled NO! She couldn't believe one was already done! The second one was just as quick and she was done showing off her beautiful earrings to Daddy who was just as beaming at his little princess. Its a big day for her, a moment we shared together and I loved it!

Xander was less interested of course and was more into his car ride!

After all our fun we came home so Ariel could skype with Grammy and show off her earrings while I filled and iced cakes. I have to fondant them all tomorrow, but I think tonight will be one of relaxing! Ahhh.

Ketchup

aka catching up! Finally... good grief so much to say. Lets start back at the beginning of the month. We just celebrated 4th of July and we moved into wedding week for Chris and Kara. I took Ariel out for a nail party at the salon to celebrate her flower girl role, and to have a special date with my girl. She is such a doll and had a blast. She got both her toes and finger nails done, including flowers with jewels, very cute.

Later that day was the rehearsal where both kids seemed to handle their roles well. Xander and James quite enjoyed the wagon, and Ariel liked pulling them for fun.

After dinner Ken secretly dropped me off and I ended up doing a fun and silly photo shoot with Kara and her bridesmaids. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time, and it was so much fun. The next morning was wedding day. I took Ariel to get her hair done at the salon. Kara has asked for an up-do with a gerber daisy and we did just that.

I dropped her off at Stella's to get dressed and head out for pictures with the rest of the wedding party. She was very excited.

Came home and got Mr Ring Bearer ready in his duds, very cute!

We joined up with the wedding party later only to have both boys crashed out asleep... which didn't lead to positive pictures with Xander. He cried, probably being woken up too quickly, too many people and just overwhelmed I think. I felt bad of course, but at least later he was happy and went in the wagon for the ceremony.

Later during the reception speeches he even wandered up while Chris and Kara were talking and said 'HI' which was so funny and cute. The reception was fun, Ariel danced most of the night and we mingled with friends. It was tricky keeping track of the kids, especially Xander who was wanting to just do circles around the buildings, we had to take turns letting him roam. We finally packed it in and drove home with 2 sleeping kids. The next morning Ken went to church while I let the kids sleep in. Later we were invited to the present opening BBQ so we wanted everyone happy and rested.

Monday morning Ariel was off to dance camp for a week of full day fun! She was going from 9am to 3pm and had a blast! She got to try some new forms of dance which was eye opening and she really enjoyed the jazz and musical theater the best. I was really blown away with her ability to adjust to a full day, and I totally expected her to be dog tired at the end of the day.... not so! She came home as if she had been gone at a 2 hr class. Can we say ready for full day kindergarten?!

Here is a sampling of her performance from the end of camp.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Then the following week was VBS, but not until we awoke Sunday morning to Ariel with a swollen eye! I was pretty sure it was pink eye but to be on the safe side I tried taking her to a walk in clinic before church only to find out the doctor was out sick that morning too. I ended up going into the ER to ask if they knew of another walk in open and told us to stay, so we did. It was in fact pink eye and the doctor sweetly told us how to clean it and which drops to get. Thankfully Ariel was very accommodating to getting them put in her eye and by Monday morning she was looking normal! It was stunning how fast she was bouncing back.

However, by Tuesday Xander had it in both eye bad!!! My poor baby was inconsolable, and clung to me for 48 hours straight. Needless to say I had no sleep those few nights, and was so tired and emotionally spent. Of course I ended up getting the dreaded pink eye too and it sucked. Bah! However I am happy to say we are all pink eye free. Woot!

VBS (Vacation Bible School for those not familiar with the term) was a blast for Ariel. She went every morning for a week and made lots of fun crafts and I even heard her singing the songs around the house. So cute! She is already asking to go back next year, and I am more than happy to accommodate her request!

In between all this excitement I have been busy with lots of orders! Too many new favorites to name so check out all the pictures on Jaybird Creations!

So that leads us today and the start of Imagine That! It was a great first day and I am excited for the rest of the week... so I better get to bed and rest up for tomorrow!

Stinky Pinky

I haven't forgotten about you blog world... really.... honest. Its been a little rough here.... lets just say these few little words sum it all up....

PINK EYE!

Ugh... I will be back soon. Promise... with lots to share including:

- Chris and Kara's wedding

- cakes galore

- Ariel's dance camp

- VBS

- and the saga of pink eye

I am going to aim for the weekend, I really want to catch up before Imagine That starts next week.

Survived...

Its been a crazy week, what else is new eh?

Following our anniversary it was Canada Day and so we spent the morning out in the village enjoying pancakes, and the festivities until it was cake time... hmm cake!

This past Saturday I had the fun and of course stressful experience of photographing a wedding. I had done this couple's engagement photos and they asked me if I could do the wedding as well. Nothing really prepares you more for stress than a wedding. Unpredictable conditions from weather to venues can make it a roller coaster ride for sure.

For the most part I feel pretty good about things and how they went. Of course the perfectionist in me would love to always do much better and I look at things overall and say, that was good, that could have been better but all in all at the end of the day it was a special day to be a part of. Head over to Jaybird Creations to see a sample of the pictures from the day. They were a lovely couple and I wish them the best!

On the funny side of things, me and my young assistant managed to set off the church's alarm. Well, they didn't lock the door and the alarm was set, so really it could have been anyone. Classic me eh? I also made the cake for this wedding, talk about one stop shopping. Haha. I was pretty much gone from 9am to 11ish at night, a full day and I crawled into bed after a soak in the tub to sooth my swollen feet. It would have been nice to sleep in but with church the next morning I was up with the sun and a little boy who was eager to see his mommy.

Xander pretty much stuck to me until noon when he finally realized I wasn't leaving. He didn't let me leave the nursery so I got to sit with my feet up, which was nice since I was zonked but I was bummed to have missed the service.

The next day was 4th of July, and so we loaded up the car and headed off to Point Roberts for the pancakes, parade and to take in the beach. It was lots of fun but I did manage to get my yearly burn, doh. I am hoping it fades before Saturday as I will look pretty silly in my dress looking like a lobster at Kara's wedding.

The parade theme this year was 'animation' so lots of weird stuff, these 2 were the best ones, the Flintstones...

...and the smurfs.

Even though I got a burn I had a great time with our family, and a bit sad too as it was Ken's last day off before going back to work. We have enjoyed our mini break with him home, especially the kids. They enjoyed the beach and exploring the sand and its creatures...

...Xander thought this was a ball and was quite upset it was tied down, haha.

Tuesday I had planned to do laundry, clean up and meet with Brenda in regards to Imagine That coming up. When I called to set up our meeting, she suggested the water park and so off we went. The kids played hard, Xander even took his nap in the grass while Brenda and I chatted business and caught up on our social lives. Very good day and fun for the kids too.

Later in the afternoon was Xander's haircut appointment to trim his locks for his ring bearer duty on Saturday. It went really well, in fact I think this was the best appointment yet. Look how cute he is! Yeah the hat kinda hides his hair but he loves it so much, and boy does it suit him.

Today was finally the dreaded 'shots' day. Ariel was getting her kindergarten booster and Xander was finally starting his shots. Long story on why he is so delayed, but regardless he now is on the road to catching up finally. So we headed over and Ariel was being very brave, not showing any signs of being scared. When we finally were called into the room it was our friend from church doing the shots, so that was awesome! She started preparing Ariel who once was on my lap seemed to freak because she realized she had a tiny sun burn on her arm and I think the thought of us holding her arm on it make her get overwhelmed. She cried when the shot finally came but stopped as soon as it was over, happy to get a lollipop and sticker for her efforts.

Ariel then decided she wanted to go back to the toy area as she didn't want to see Xander cry, aww . So I got ready to hold down the boy as he was getting 3 shots. Its so hard seeing your kids cry, but thankfully Xander just like Ariel stopped as soon as it was over. Yay! He gobbled down his lollipop even before we left the room. After our 15 minute wait to make sure there was no reaction, we went to the dollar store to pick out a treat. Ariel got 'toot' goop, ugh. Her friend got some and of course she was eager to choose that as her prize. Xander got a hot wheel car and was in his glory. Haha.

So that has been our week in a nutshell... lots coming up and it looks like the summer sun is finally staying... making our home extremely warm and slightly uncomfortable. Oh well.

At the beginning...

10 years ago around this time I was waking up, it would be the day that I would marry the boy who had changed my world. Its hard to believe at times it has been 10 years already, but then I look around and I see the effects of time passing before me. Grey hairs and wrinkles I never had before... A scar on my stomach that bears the story of children coming into our life and changing us again from just husband and wife to Mom and Dad... and just growing as people but still very much connected to who we were then that day to who we are now, stronger and very much still in love.

I look at Ken and I see the boy who charmed me with his love of puppets, music and film. I also see the man who stood by me when my world came crashing down and helped me to stand when I wasn't sure I could. A strong man of faith who loves both me and the kids and puts our needs and hearts first. His face is older and wiser, but he is still the scruffy boy I know and love.

Music always takes us back to moments in our lives that remind us of something or someone. The song that played when I walked down the aisle was from an animated movie. When I first heard it I realized it was our story, it was our song and ever time I hear it I am moved to tears thinking of the day we started 'forever'.

We were strangers
Starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
What we'd have to go through
Now here we are
And I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

No one told me
I was going to find you
Unexpected
What you did to my heart
When I lost hope
You were there to remind me
This is the start

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Live is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

We were strangers
On a crazy adventure
Never dreaming
How our dreams would come true
Now here we stand
Unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Live is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

I knew there was somebody somewhere
Like me alone in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothing's gonna tear us apart

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Live is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

Life is a road and I wanna keep going
Love is a river I wanna keep going on....
Starting out on a journey
Life is a road and I wanna going
Love is river I wanna keep flowing
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

10 years... its only the beginning. I love you Ken!

Mini Vacation... sort of

Well after several days of Ken being off in New York for business (no I wasn't jealous at all, haha) he returned home on Sunday morning. We stayed home from church to meet him and all head to the potluck lunch together afterwards. He got lots of special treats for the kids who were beyond excited to see him. They went running down the hall and each grabbed a leg, pretty special.

Daddy got Ariel some new American Girl outfits for Julie and Joy and a Disney princess nightgown. Xander got some new Cars 2 toys and Cars jammies, both were thrilled. Mommy got a Sex and the City glass and pocket mirror for my purse... the glass I am using right now... hmmm cosmo!

Ken is now taking this week off as a mini break, and since its a busy one for me leading up to my wedding shoot on Saturday, I am glad to have the help. I baked 100+ cookies last night and got the first part of the icing done today. Hoping to finish them tomorrow and then get them bagged on Thursday for the drop off on Friday.

So while Ken was gone I was knee deep in 5 cake orders and they should all be all up now (hopefully) on my Jaybird site if you wish to see them. Thankfully the weather was in my favor and it wasn't too hot but I did at times had to rotate the cakes in my fridge to keep things cool. At one point I took a picture of the craziness haha.

We managed to finish up some other projects with Kara in regards to the wedding. Programs are done, wine labels done and working on pie toppers (which reminds me...) Kara had fun cooking french toast with Ariel while I worked, it was delicious!

Xander also tried out painting after watching Ariel and deciding he wanted to try.

I love his first masterpiece! Do you see a dragon or unicorn? Those were the big ones spotted from my facebook peeps.

Ariel also finished up her gymnastics class. She was so cute waiting to go in, when did my baby grow up! I had hoped to tape her dance but lets just say it wasn't communicated when it was happening during the practice time and they did it but I thought it was still the practice, oh well. Ariel was a tad disappointed I didn't tape it but it was ok, Daddy had seen it the week before and that was all that mattered. She got a certificate for completing the class and we got some slurpees to celebrate!

Hmmm slurpee kids, haha.

We also picked up Ariel's kindergarten schedule and supply list for next year. We found out that she will be in the full kindergarten class vs the kindy/grade 1 split. We were fine either way it went, figuring she would love the challenge of being with older kids or being in the class with the kindergarten teacher we hear so many great things about, so we got the later and are pleased as punch! Ken couldn't believe kids in gr 1 need a flash drive! Oh how the times are a changing. We of course were in the time when computers were just being introduced to schools. I remember the big day in grade 4 going to the lab and getting the run down on floppy discs, haha. Now my nearly 2 year old can run my iphone!

Speaking of my phone, I love it! I don't know what I did before, it makes my scheduling, organizing and keeping things running smoother than ever! Not to mention if I forget my phone I can capture moments like this.... mc rib is back! A joke between Ken and I, haha.

Or my sweet kiddies having a picnic together...

...or Grandpa and his boys Henry and Xander being crazy.

or finally capturing Xander at his first movie! Cars 2, meh, that is all I will say about that, haha.

If you notice my anniversary ticker we are nearly at the big day, 10 years! Eek! I promise a special post will be made on the Thursday so tune in for that. I am off to work on wedding cookies! Bye!