weekend update!

on friday afternoon ( after a fun little 'cropping potluck get-together at our house thursday night...) mike and i headed out to Grand Forks for the night to celebrate his 35th birthday!!

( Happy Birthday Honey!!! )

we stayed at a really outdated hotel ( but very clean! ) to save a bit of $$ and the rooms have

THESE!!!!

coint operated "Rest Aid" bed massagers!! HAHAHA!!! ( i stocked up on quarters for this! )

funny stuff....and actually quite relaxing if you do just lay there and RELAX!!!

{ GIGGLE }

...have you ever stayed anywhere and tried one of these???

..anyway, we went to a mexican restaurant that has become a favourite over there called Paradio's and had a fabulous dinner together, I even got to share a mexican fried ice cream with mike this time....( always too full before when i've gone...)

...awwww.....happy birthday sweetie!!!!


we came home yesterday around dinner time and my mom brought home the babes and an ice cream cake to have with mike since he didn't get birhtday cake in the states...( ooppps! )


hhmmmmm....oh yes...also on friday courtney got a much anticipated delivery in the mail...
her new Premier dance jacket to go with her new kilt!! the kilt will take about 5 more weeks to arrive yet, but her beautiful new black jacket is here and looks great on her!!
she will be trying it out at her next competition on sunday may 4!!!!

...and lastly, we have decided to go ahead with a complete kitchen renovation since the 'incident' noted in my last post....
YIKES.
( note the cupboards and counter, and the white floor in the above photo...it will soon be looking like the next photo!! )
we have picked out new cabinets, countertop and sink for the kitchen and we are also finally going to be changing our flooring again too! we are putting a light colored laminate in the living room, hallway and also the kitchen too....
( big sigh, that white linoleum in the hallway and kitchen was a love it / hate it relationship for me.... ) oh yes, can't forget painting too....
anyway, i am telling myself that it is going to look fabulous when it's all done because all the renovating mess is already driving me crazy and we have barely begun....
mike took the wall out over the sink to discover that part of the wall was insulated with 1976 Winnipeg Tribune newspaper!! hahahaha!!
oh well, that's all gonna change now...

guess what???

TYLER LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!!!!

( yesterday at 3:33pm...i pulled it out for him! )

...it was quite the ordeal when it first came out ( once he saw a little bit of blood ) but soon enough he was showing off his Hockey Player smile to everyone!!

...here he is reading his first Home Reading book from Kindergarten all by himself!!

( sigh ) why do they have to grow up so fast???

fun weekend!

we had a fun and active weekend here at the Griffin's!

friday nights fundraising bingo bowl for the dance school went great! we made ( cleared after expenses ) $641...not too shabby with only 50 people!! the fundraising we do from here until june will all go into a 'scotland family' account and be split between the 7 families going overseas!

our next big fundraiser is a

HUGE, HUGE MULTI FAMILY GARAGE SALE

AND BBQ!!!

MAY 10

( I will get the address and post more info soon! )

SOOOOO, if anyone has anything they would love to spring clean from their homes before then, i would gladly make arrangements with you to pick it up!

kids toys, books, baby needs and household items sell the best...but we will gladly accept anything you would like to donate to our fundraiser garage sale!

saturday was a very relaxed and most enjoyable 'girls day' that i spent with my mom, the lovely tara and her grams!! we all left our place around 10:30am and drove out to Winkler to visit the scrapbook store out there ( My Scrap Shopppe...she has lots of fabulous goodies there...and OHHHHH...such an awesome paper selection ) anyway, after some shopping, we all went to the tea house in town and enjoyed a delicious home made lunch!

very nice!

...after leaving winkler, we returned to our house to have an evening of scrapbooking together and a pot luck dinner!!

GREAT idea tara! i had soooo much fun, it was very relaxing and my mom enjoyed herself too, even though she didn't crop with us after....

must do it again soon!!

and then sunday afternoon we had a near disaster happen in our kitchen!!

i noticed in the morning while having breakfast together that the kitchen cupboards over the sink had "shifted" away from the ceiling...from over the winter?? mike checked it out as it looked to be 'loose' from the ceiling on the other end over the sink as well...

after returning home from courntey's private dance lesson, i found all the contents of those cupboards scattered on the table and stove and other countertop!!!

mike said he was emptying the dish washer and the cupboard sort of dropped down a bit when he put some plates in!!! this could have completely came loose and dropped on our heads!

so , mike proceeded to remove the entire cabinet off the wall and discovered that whoever installed them in the first place ( how many years ago?? ) did a realy crappy job of it and were barely hanging on! apparently they must not have known to install screws into studs...

knuckleheads.

anyway, i am looking at this as a BAD vs. GOOD incident as we are now contemplating buying and renovating the entire kitchen cupboards, tiles, sink and countertop....hmmmm...

the black and white backsplash tiles you see in this photo are since removed for renovating too...

big decision to make....

( BIG SIGH )
so until we make our final decision tomorrow, we are working around our dishes taking up what little counter space we already had and stepping around the cabinets on the kitchen floor! HA!

adding on tyler's spring layout!

wanted to show you the fun SPRING layout i made for tyler after our exploring...

man, i love painting on layouts!

have a great weekend everyone!

what's your plans?

we're going to a bingo bowl tonight..

:O)

Spring observations with Tyler!

...so, as i said yesterday, i took tyler out for a nice long spring afternoon walk to 'explore and observe' what spring changes bring us...

tyler was soooo cute walking around with his little clipboard and pencil offering all his suggestions and writing down ( with some spelling help ) his observation notes!!

here's just a sample of his discoveries...and OF COURSE his note paper and these photos i took will be scrapbooked into his school album!!

TYLER'S SIGNS OF SPRING NOTES:

1) the snow is melting

2) the grass is growing

3) the flowers are coming up out of the ground

4) the geese are back

5) the trees are budding

6) the birds are all back and making nests

...and more...including the fact that it is also the start of SLURPEE season, so he talked me into getting one for him and courtney after school...little bum!
...this was a really fun way of spending some time with tyler and keeping him thinking and entertained...and getting some exercise at the same time!

such a sweet and silly little man!!

( dang, i love him to pieces! )

....oh, i must also share tyler's exciting news with you too...he has his VERY FIRST WIGGLY TOOTH! ( bottom front )

( smooch )

:O)

Spring has Sprung!

...i think it is definately safe to say that spring is here to stay! the anticipation of the coming summer is excitedly brewing in the griffin home...

the bikes are out and 'tuned up', the yard is ready for 'summer-izing' ( HA ) and the sunscreen bottles await sunny days at the park and at the lake / cabin!!!

i have been MISSING the sweetness and juicy blessing of fresh, in season, yummy fruit all winter...

MMMmmmmm... stocked up plenty on my trip to the grocery store this morning. sooooo good!!

tyler and i are about to go out together while courtney is in school this afternoon to look for and photograph some 'signs of spring' for a fun, something to do outting!!

GOT FRUIT?

:O)

april kit ( finally ) and guess who's sick...again?

guess i wasn't 100% over my 'bronchitis' thing by the time we went to the Gimli Getaway last weekend...or the lack of sleep and busy schedule of mine caught up to me...once again!

i went with courtney's classroom on wednesday all day for a field trip to the manitoba museum and by that evening was not feeling well...sick to my stomach not feeling well...

turns out i spent all day and night in bed thursday ( with the exception of frequent bathroom worshipping! ) dang, i HATE being sick! the stomach flu is so yucky...i probably picked it up from those little rats spending the day with them at the museum! HA! i suppose my immune system was on 'recharge' mode and not ready for a building full of elementary school germs!

today was a BLAH kinda day...i made myself manage last nights hall crop with help from my mom and friend Lori...

THANK YOU sooooo much...you have no idea how much your help was appreciated last night!

today was still no better, probably worse with the yucky tummy thing...

SO...tired from lack of sleep, grumpy from feeling so horrible for 4 days now, there was no choice but to forefit courtney's dance competition this afternoon. Hmmph. we have only ever missed one before as courtney was really sick and now it was my turn. there's so much preparation put into these things and it's certainly disappointing to have to give it up the day of...

oh well. there will always be another one...

so...i've been chillin' out as much as i could here today...still in my p.j's... :O) ( 7:44pm )

i finally got the held up box with Making Memories paints from Canada Customs so in turn was able to FINALLY get the rest of the supplies to finish putting together the April Kits!!

Yaaaayyyy!!

Here it is:

( take note that after some kit subscriptions and last nights hall crop, as of right now, there are only 3 KITS LEFT! )

APRIL KIT INCLUDES:

5 x Bo Bunny 12 x 12 patterned papers in 'Teen Chic'

3 x Bazzill 12 x 12 textured cardstock in lily white, princess and parakeet

1 pkg. Thickers foam alpha in pink rootbeer float

3 asst'd Doodlebug Paper Frills

1 Pine Cone Press Large Candy Tin ( hinged )

1 S.E.I 6 x 6 preservation series album in Pink

2 x Heidi Swapp XL photo corners in black swirl

2 x Bazzill Bling Blossoms in black

1 x Maya Road chipboard family keychain

3 yards asst'd Bazzill Basics ribbons

1 pkg. Doodlebug eyelets in Bubblegum

APRIL KIT $29can.

...despite me being 'cooped up' today ( need to stay close to the Porcelain God...hahaha ) courtney spent a couple hours outside with mike while he cleaned up the yard and pulled out all our patio furniture ( yayyyy, my swing! ) and of course, the kids' bikes!

here's courtney's first ride of 2008!! ( mike was the photographer)

...tyler is away visiting this weekend so he missed out on 'the ride' but at least he isn't subject right now to this unpleasant flu bug of mine!

...here's a few pic's from the field trip! thanks "Mr. D" for letting me come along and share an exciting day with the grade 4's!!!

( they were learning about the Inuit and soapstone carving in this session. we all got to make our own soapstone necklace to take home! )

( courtney's in the red shirt )

...think i'm gonna go have a nice warm shower and get me some fresh cozy p.j's and call it a nite..

:O)

WHEW...lots to share!

sunday night, arrived at mom's around 7:30pm dropped on her bed to crash!!!

( big, heavy, HAPPY sigh...)

Gimli Getaway, Gone Scrappin'

came and went too fast, it is now over.

how can i possibly express myself and all my emotions and feelings of this past weekend?

for my FIRST ever weekend getaway, i am soooooo thrilled with all the happenings and events that took place in our cropping conference room! from most of my feedback so far, i feel that everyone enjoyed themselves and had a great weekend escape with all of my girls! i have a fantastic group of friends in my scrapping world and i am so glad that those of you who were able to come were there to share my own first experience as well with a whole weekend of scrapbooking fun!

I cannot thank you all enough for your excitement, your enthusiasm, your encouragement, your ideas and all of your understanding support!

my mom....oh boy!

you have been my rock of encouragement and love from day one of this business adventure for me over the last 2 and a bit years since the 'birth' of The Scrappin Studio!

your own growth in this little world of ours is inspiring to me and i love how equally you get excited as each new box of goodies arrive, or a new class project has been created to learn, and how much closer our friendship as mother and daughter has become ( is that even possible? )!!! you mean the world to me mom and i am so happy you came out with me to share this experience by my side, holding my hand!

i love you so much!

okay...here's what you've all been waiting for...( enough with the sappy stuff, right? )

heeheehee!

i will have ALL the photos available to show at classes and hall crops so make sure when you attend next, you make sure you take a peek at them all ( sorry folks, can't share EVERYTHING here!! wink )

...the arrival of the Slice Girls...

Thelma, Sandy, Tracy, Deanna and Norine...they meant business!! LOL!

...settled in and ready to work Slice Girls...


...here comes trouble HAHAHAHA!!
Michelle, Lisa, Erin and Jennifer

...the PINK prize table-all for Sunday afternoon!

friday night for fun and to start the weekend off, I had an optional name tag contest for the girls and here's the entries...

i will DEFINATELY NOT be the judge again next time!

they were all fabulous..great job ladies!

...here are the winners...

Thelma and Lora Leigh!!

...me working at classes...

...a couple shots of our cropping room...i seem to have taken these picures when everyone was out for lunch or dinner...but LOOK at all the stuff in here! WOW!!!

...some class photos....

...and without getting myself into a world of trouble by posting all the pool room photos, i will share but ONE fun timer shot taken in the hot tub at about 2am our last night there...

( i made special arrangements for a late night swim for whomever wanted to join us for a dip after cropping until midnight...15 hours of cropping on saturday...i think we all deserved a special treat in the pool! )

...sunday afternoon, this is the wall of entry layouts for the ballot voted "Favorite Layout" contest...this was my charity event where you paid $1 per layout to enter ( and as many as you wanted ) and all proceeds will be donated to Parkinson Research Manitoba.

Thank you to all who participated and gave a little extra as a donation!

We raised $83 to donate!

all the layouts were awesome and amazing! you ladies sure have some excellent talent!

...this was another optional ballot voted contest! Favorite Chipboard Album.

again, great work ladies, they all looked fabulous and I'm again sooooo happy I did not have to judge them!

i had drawn a name sunday afternoon for my

'Scrapbook Princess'

and Rachelle was the lucky winner!

( one day, when your daughter is bigger i hope to see some cute layouts of her in her mommy's special Princess hat! )

i had 5 optional layout contests running until noon on suday to enter in which the scrapper would receive a ticket to be drawn as the winner on sunday afternoon...

these are my winners for the following contests:

Anita: Lotsa Little Stuff

Dana: Girly Layout

Tracy: Any Occasion Card

Mom: Using Chipboard

Lora Leigh: Creative Journaling

CONGRATULATIONS LADIES!

for the Favorite Chipboard Ablum contest, here are my voted winners:

1st- Tracy

2nd- Kim

WAY TO GO YOU TWO! they were awesome!

and the winner of the voted Favorite Layout Contest

was.....

Liza!!!

CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT JOB LIZA!!!

i hope you make use of and enjoy all your new goodies!

...this weekend getaway was so awesome!

i had such a great time with everyone and i sincerely hope that you ALL enjoyed yourselves and your time with me as well.

i definately intend to make this getaway an annual spring event so i hope that you will consider attending next year's Gimli Getaway, Gone Scrappin event with me once more!

THANK YOU ALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR MAKING MY FIRST GETAWAY SUCH A SUCCESS IN SO MANY WAYS!

...upon returning back home, we arrived to drop off my mom and stayed on for a visit there as sunday was my grandma's 87th birthday!!

a good hot cup of tea ( which i managed to drink it's entirety-hahaha ) and a yummy piece of birthday cake was a great way to end my evening with my warm and loving family all together!

PERFECT!

happy birthday grandma! we all love you tons!!

...AND...one last thing i have to share with you...

for those of you who have kept up with my blog, or remember my summer study last summer/fall with tyler...we thoroughly enjoyed a weekly visit to the park and photo journalled the canada goose....one family in particlar.

anyway....i took the kids to the park after school yesterday and...

THEY'RE BACK!!!
( we walked around for an hour and a half, feeding the cute couples as we found them, but of course did not manage to see them all yet...so we didn't find our special little mommy...yet! we know her by the very evident scar at the base of her neck from a collar tag )

anyway...i thought you might enjoy one of our happy places....

...and that's all folks!!!

:O)