the little things

another summer evening..

This time on bikes.  We loaded up the kids, picked up our new bikes (for James and I) and headed down to Muskoseepi Park to hit the trails.

I can not emphasize enough just how much fun this was.  I had not rode a bike since I was a teenager.. so yeah, I was a wee bit nervous! ha!  But, the saying is true.. just like riding a bike.. and ride we did!

Here are a few 'smile for the camera' shots ha ha!

Or 'smile for the camera, but I am really going to give you my cool dude look' shot..

Caught these two mid conversation..

I think they were discussing if they should go down these stairs or not, there were bear and moose warning signs on the trail shortly before we reached this point.. they were convinced the bears lived down there around the corner..

That was as far as they made it. 

We also picked up a trail-a-bike for Harley.  We talked about getting a bike trailer, but since he is already 4 (and really, can you see him just sitting by and enjoy just sitting?).. we figured it would have a short lived life (..rolling my eyes at that idea already). This was suggested as an alternative.. soooooo awesome.  This way, we can go for longer rides, without his wee little legs getting tuckered out. 

"Look I am standing!" ..always the dare devil.

I was like a giddy little kid when we were done.. I couldn't kept saying over and over how much fun it was, cause it was really a ridiculous amount of fun!

So happy summer is finally attempting to make an appearance! ;)

is summer really finally here?

After what seems like a never ending few weeks of rain.. we finally have some sunshine! This is fabulous news, especially when one has been listening to the kids talk about playing outside for what feels like forever.  

It would be different if our back yard was finished and they could get out for some fresh air here and there between down pours! ..sooooon.  Now that the rain has let up, maybe our sod can be finished up.. and the play area built, and and and.  Let's see how much work we can cram into a few days of no rain right? ha ha.

But really, who wants to do that!?  Much more fun to get out and play.. and play we did! Yesterday afternoon, we headed out on a little dare devil filled adventure!

Laine tested out her new roller blades..

This girl amazes me.  She is in the middle of her summer figure skating session (three hours a day, 5 days a week for three weeks.. not all of that is on the ice, some is off ice training as well).. and she spent a total of two hours on her roller blades yesterday!  

I want some of her energy please.

Harley is pretty non stop too.. I couldn't find roller blades small enough for him (probably a good thing lol).. so his activity of choice was his trusty old run bike..

He saw some older boys riding their BMX bikes down a big dirt/rocky slope at the edge of the parking lot behind our house.. so of course he had to try it (while I said a little prayer and closed my eyes lol) ..he lifted his feet and balanced that bike all the way to the bottom.. over and over and over again.  

I sat and watched my fearless children.. and took a billion blurry photos of course.  

Later on in the evening the four of us headed out again... this time though, I was talked into finally trying out my roller skates (oh gosh).. no pictures though (shucks darn it ha ha) ..holy smokes, are they fast.  I stood up after putting them on, and without a single push.. I pretty much glided the length of the parking lot.  I got the hang of it after a bit, but I still have to master the whole stopping thing.. not a clue how. ha ha!

At this moment in time, I am dying of excitement to try them out again.. while at the same time completely 100% terrified of them.  I am having a tough time being as fearless as my munchkins! hee!

YAY for summer!!

her first sleep away camp..

Well, we made it through!  A week of sleep away camp, well.. four nights, it seemed like forever to me.. and not long enough for her!

Here she is, walking ahead with her daddy and her brother.. while I held back and soaked it all in.. managing not to cry.. too happy for her to cry!  Totally surprised myself, I was worried I would cry like a baby. hee!  She has wanted to do this for years, and this year.. we finally let her.  

She was in horse camp heaven!  We suited her up with some new riding boots and 'cowgirl' clothes before hand.. including this adorable hat, which sadly got lost somewhere along the way.  Out of all the things she *thought* she lost (camera and her Toms shoes) ..I suppose 1 out of 3 isn't too bad. ha ha! 

Luckily she did find her camera, which is loaded with pictures from a nine year olds point of view (including an awesome artistic shot of lost hat hee!).. loooove!  I am so glad I conquered my own fears about her going to camp, and took the lead from her on this one.. it is and will continue to be an amazing experience for her! ..she is already counting down the time until next summer!

But YAY, we did it.. we managed, and like Laine said "I realized just how much I missed you when I saw you come in the door!" ..likewise my dear... all of those emotions hit me when I walked through those doors to pick her up and bring her home! 

Anybody else have little (or not so little) ones off at sleep away summer camp this year? Do you find they seem a little more grown up and a little more independent when they do finally get home? *sniff sniff* hee!

pink inspiration

I have been meaning to do a post all about inspiration for Laine's bedroom.  You see, I blame Pinterest.. somebody really should have warned me! ha ha  Kidding.. no way could I do without a little daily Pinterest in my life now!  

I have made a pin board for each of the kids rooms.. all of our rooms and many other boards too in fact! ha!  Here is Laine's pin board.  Some of the images are things she already has.. and some are colour inspiration.. or DIY projects to try.  Just plain inspiring! 

Like here is some artwork that I would looove to work in to her room sometime..

sources.. clockwise from top left... growing horns (leahduncan), antler drawing and flower photograph (kariherer), my heart to your heart (leahduncan), and small bear art print on wood (dolangeiman)

Also in love with quirky elements like these trays on the walls (we even have one like these in her room already.. sitting on her desk!).. and white painted tree branches, I am thinking a DIY jewelry stand someday?

photo sources.. trays (here) and branch (here)

And then, of course there is the abundance of crafting and DIY ideas.. seriously inspiration overload.  Every time I turn around, there is another idea or project that I MUST try. 

sources.. adorable stuffie patterns from little dear (must get one.. or a few of these hee!), lampshade from anthropologie (sorry anthro.. I might have to do a DIY take on this one), hanging hearts (under the sycamore), lights (the cherry blossom girl)  

You were probably thinking her room was done right?  Yeah.. I was kind of thinking so too, until I went on to her Pinterest board where I have stashed all these inspiring images.. and all of a sudden I am thinking to myself "oh yeah! I wanted to do that.. and that and that and that!" ha!  Oh my.. is it ever really done?

Anyhoo.. as you can see, I finally put together a post about all things pink.. what do you think of these favourite images and art work?  Pinterest is a dangerous dangerous place.. but ohhhhh so gooooooood!

stitching elements (carina gardner at 2 Peas)

home tour: miss laine's room

Ready for an overdose of girly!? 

Things really came together in here these past few days.. I *thought it was all finished, took photos.. got them on my computer, and then decided to switch out rugs.. hang a different picture, add new scrapbook paper to a few frames.. blah blah blah!  

The rug used to be in our living room, but we had switched in a new grey shag.. so this was rolled up waiting to be put to use.. it is perfect for in here!  "So grown up!" ..that is what Laine yelled when she saw it. :)

The light.. looking kinda little. ;)  Still thinking I might add another garland to it.

This might be my favouritest pillow ever.

On of my desks that got repurposed into her room when we moved in.  She loves loves loves that she has a desk now.

Her current curtains are from the children's department at Ikea.. she has been hoping to phase out all of her 'little girl room' stuff, so when we spotted these ones from Anthropologie while perusing the internet one day.. we both thought they would be perfect. Price tag.. not so perfect. lol  We might need to keep looking. ;)

Yeah.. there are a lot of photos. hee!

We love Michaels for random things like pink feathered birds that we can stick in lamps. ha!

In Laine's world.. everything needs to be pink (including her Blythe doll).. so sneaking in things like yellow birdhouses, well.. it has to be just that.. snuck in! hee!

Pom poms are Martha Stewart.. except the brown one, which I made from scratch.

Lot's of pink and all things girly.. the walls will probably eventually be painted.. a soft pink with grey tones.. or would it be grey with pink tones?  Honestly, I kind of like the colour it is now.. balances out all the colours nicely, we'll see.  It will be a winter project if it does happen though, too nice outside to be stuck inside painting! ;)

The one thing that is a must.. a very near future MUST... blinds!  It stays light until almost midnight here in during the summer, we neeeeeeed blinds!  

Okee dokee.. gotta run!  Busy afternoon ahead!

working on..

These past few days, I have been busy working on Miss Laine's room..

I still need to put blinds in there, and possibly new curtains down the road.. but other that that, I am happy to say it is done!  ..oh, and possibly a winter paint project too. ha ha! ;P

..and I will have pictures to share really really soon. ;)

Tord Boontje Garland Light

I had the urge to write up a blog post.. so I opened up Aperture to see what sort of photos I had taken with the intentions of blogging (and obviously haven't gotten around to ha ha!).. and these images of Miss Laine's new light were screaming "pick me, pick me!" ..how could I refuse? ;)

The story of this light (the Tord Boontje Garland Light) probably goes back a year or so, when I first saw pictures of it floating around the net.. you know how things do that?  You see it on one blog, and then another.. and another and so on and so on.. and before you know it, you neeeeeeed it. lol

That is what happened with this, but we were in our old house.. and I couldn't justify the expense of changing out another light, when we had already done most of them in the few years prior.  BUT.. when we moved into this house, and none of the bedroom lighting was personalized in any way, I knew it would be perfect for my sweet Laine's room. :)

So, I went on the mission of finding a Canadian store with one in stock.. and I did!  The ladies at Chi Chi Home were fabulous to communicate with, and before I knew it.. we had this flat packaged (?? who knew!? lol) light fixture to make look pretty! ha!  

I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered.. how it would arrive (box size etc.), I knew it was a garland.. but for some reason, I wasn't picturing a cardboard flat package! lol  And LONG!  It hung almost all the way to the floor.. and I am not going to admit just how many attemps it took for me to get it 'just right' lol!  I think the lighting difference in this series of photos will tell that bit of the story all on their own!  hee!

Here is an attempt along the way..

Probably fine, but all I could see was a lopsided 'smush' ha ha!

It gets put together by wrapping it around and using the metal flowers and leaves to 'clip' it back onto itself.. in other words.. chaos. lol  It really is genius though, the design I mean.. it lets you be creative and have a 'say' in how it ends up, while still keeping it's own infamous look.  I think the secret is to not try and make it look perfect.. honestly, the more I scrunched it up and stuff, the more I liked how it looked!

And as you can see.. this point of finally liking how it was came many hours later (after having to walk away from it once for a nice little break ha!)..

It is awesome.. she loves it so much, it reminds all of us of a little fairy home!  Which is perfect for Miss Laine.. who loves all things fairy! ;)  I think I may end up ordering another garland to add to this one.. to give it a bit more size.  It is definitely a light that has impact on a room.. but it could be a little bit bigger.. for this room, being the main light... yeah, I just might give this 'wow' and bit more 'WOW'!  We'll see.. I am kinda scared to mess with it though! hee! ;)

Oh, and she tells everyone that she has a light designed by a famous designer.. ohhhhhhh she is sooooo my kid! ha ha! ;)  

nature themed birthday party.. the details

Well, my little Laine turned nine (NINE?) on Wednesday and then had seven (SEVEN!?) girls over for a sleepover this past Saturday.  I think I needed a few days to recover from that one myself.. maybe that is why it has taken me so long to post these pics! hee!

I think my love for nature inspired 'stuff' has worn off on Laine.. so, when she came up with the idea to use 'nature' as her theme.. I was sooooooo on board!  A reason to go buy pretty butterflies and cute forest figurines!  Of course!!!! 

Here is the cake (inspired by this cake from a Martha Stewart Weddings magazine)..

She chose an angel food cake.. easy peasy!  I iced it with whipped icing (from Michael's.. comes in a box, it is theeeeeee best.. yum), and finished it off with some simple pretty butterflies (which of course we can re use as decor around the house! hee!).. 

I think I could take pictures of cakes and food all day (if only I cooked and baked more ha ha)..

The banner was super easy to make as well.. I printed the letters in super light grey on the back side of the paper (cut down to 5x7 and fed into the printer).. printed in reverse of course, so when the letters where cut out, the right side was showing.  Then, I just stapled the letters to white ribbon.

I also could have used the silhouette machine I am sure.. but I haven't used it in ages (bad bad bad) and I wasn't up for figuring something new out that late at night! ha  Of course it was like midnight when I was making it.  It had to be up for her when she woke up on her birthday after all! ;)

The forest friends..

They are still on the dining room table by the way.. I grew kind of fond of them.  So have the kids.. they get up there and play with them.  Bought these at Michael's.. as well as the trees, Christmas stuff is out.. perfect timing!! ..and there sits the birthday party budget. ha ha ha!  Worth it though right? ;)  ..of course I had to get the pine cones too. heee!

Mr. Moose is my favourite. :)

We came up with the idea to decorate flower pots and plant mini plants in them as a craft/activity.. then the girls took them home in brown paper lunch bags as party favours.

They had so much fun with this!  Faux fur.. feathers, pom poms and sequins.. oh, and glitter glue!  The pots turned out adorable (missed getting a shot of them all lined up).. but my gosh.. it looked like a few furry/feathery critters exploded all over the table by the time they were finished! ha!  It was quite a sight!  Here is Laine's..

I found the cuuuutest little yellow rose plants for them.. saved over $40 on them too, they were priced to sell (I actually jumped up and down a little when I found them).. wish I had more pictures of these!

We also spent a few hours searching for woodland type colouring pictures on the internet last week.. printed off a bunch for the girls...

THE perfect activity to allow for some quiet time!! hee!  I think I may have enjoyed this one more than the girls.  Ahhhhh quiet.. bliss! 

There it is!  All my other pics have Laine's friends in them.. so, not going there. It was a fun day, I just hope the parents aren't too mad at me.. the girls may or may not have stayed up until 2am (rumour has it a few woke up to play barbies at 3am.. ooooooops!).. ahh well, that is what slumber parties are for right!?  

Yay for fun nature themed and forest themed birthday parties!  Inspiration from here.. finally found the link for the table I posted last week. :)  How long do you think the critters will stay lined up on the table!? ;)

and just like that..

She is nine years old.  She could not wait for yesterday to come.. and I could have held on to eight for much much much longer. 

Taken as she was heading out the door to meet the bus yesterday morning.. every birthday girl needs to be followed around with the camera, right?  

Must must must savour every second.. before I know it, she will be ten... and that is double digits.. and that is scary.

Nine things this precious nine year old is loving..

1. Reading.. anything we put in front of her.  She loves these Warriors books.  
2. Skating, can't get enough.. and she is such a joy to watch.  She loves it when she gets to help out with the pre school group.. and she does so well!
3. Crafting.. will make anything out of paper and tape.  Her latest.. Littlest Pet Shop furniture.  Construction paper and tape make her one happy girl.. she could create for hours.
4. Talking.. she will talk and talk and talk... and giggle.  She is at the age where she says 'like' a lot.
5. Taylor Swift.  
6. Littlest Pet Shops.. the addition of the mini Blythe dolls sparked that back up again. So, this is her current toy of choice.  
7. Fashion.  Drawing it.. cutting out paper clothes, shopping.. you name it, she loves it.  Going clothes shopping with her can be a lot of fun.. or interesting (depending on my mood) hee heee!
8. School.  
9. The Sims.  She love loves loves making houses and decorating them.. she is so totally my daughter. hee heee! 

She is smart, strong willed, has a sense of humour like no other.. is beautiful inside and out... and I just can not image what life would be like had she not have entered our lives nine years ago.

Happy Birthday my sweet Laine.. I love love love you! xoxo

happy halloween?? ! ???

ha ha ha.

Hello hello!  Taking a break from my 'break' to come and share some Halloween pics!  Good grief.  I realized today just how long I have been gone, and it is getting out of hand I say!  Still not feeling the hugest desire to commit to more regular blogging.. but this is a step! hee

Little miss scary witch.. or not, because she doesn't really look all that scary to me. The grin kind of gives her away, don't you think?

Harley.. the scary dinosaur... again, not very scary! hee!  He had fun trying though, roaring as loud as he could while trick or treating.. totally got into the part, I had to get him up off the ground at one point, as he tried to crawl around on all four 'legs' ha ha ha!

I won't go crazy on the photo sharing.. since Halloween was like 2 weeks ago, and I am sure you have all had your fill of Halloween pictures! hee!  I figured I should at least share a few though.. so here they are. :)

Hope everyone is doing well! xoxo