Just For Fun~My creative blog for scrapbooking and digital freebies!
If you are in need of a good book you can find one at http://amysbookcollection.blogspot.com/!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Monday: A Day at the Beach

Our first full day on Vancouver Island was spent at the beach in Parksville. Before heading to the Ocean waters the kids played in the water park and we bought ice cream cones...the first of many on our trip.
~~~I do believe these are Canadian Geese flying over the water.
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The kids had a blast collecting treasures (both alive and dead) on the beach and in the tide pools. About 20 Sand Dollars and several shells and clams made their way back to the resort with us. Two days later an overwhelming stench permeated our bedroom area. Needless to say we tossed all the collectibles into the trash bin. Pee-You!
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This particular beach is know for it's perfect castle building sand. And according to Branson the sand tastes almost as good as the ice cream.
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What is it about the beach that posses all men to flex and show their muscles!?
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Branson did enjoy the waves but he and I spent most of our time reading, relaxing, taking pictures and eating sand. The only downfall to the day...as the tide slowly came in everyone but me and Branson were out playing in the water. So five different times I had to haul all 4 of the bags, my precious camera, the stroller and Branson across tide pools and onto dry land. Day one was a complete success!






"Spot" the Winners!

Using Random.Org I have the winners of the "Spot the Difference" give away and I am so excited to make their books for them!
Out of 18 comments #16 was randomly picked and
the comment winner is...
Out of 6 people who correctly emailed me with all 22 finds #2 was randomly picked and
the winner is...
Ladies, you can either email me 10 pictures or give them to me on CD. Let me know if you want them to be easy, medium or difficult. The sooner I get your photos the sooner you will get your prize!!
Congratulations!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The Start of the Fun: Sunday

So we started our trip a bit rocky...I had gathered all the birth certificates but right before we were getting into the car I remembered one little problem. We had not yet got Branson's Birth Certificate! Not knowing what else to do I snatched up the generic Kadlec certificate hoping it would do. It did. And we were off to Canada!




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The kids loved all the little shops while we waited for the Fairy departure time. This ice cream shop was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. There were no cardboard buckets full of ice covered ice cream...they had already individually scooped the flavors into classy metal containers. Want Rocky Road? It's the flavor with the little Matchbox 4x4 Truck sitting on the top. Looking for Pina Colada? It's the one with the little umbrella and beach chair resting on the side. It was so cool!



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The Ferry was brand new for the upcoming Winter Olympics that will be held in Canada. The two hour trip was beautiful.


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My goal to be in more pictures is slightly more difficult when I'm not willing to hand over my new camera to a complete stranger.


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Every time we stepped outside Branson got so excited that he immediately started squealing, eating his hands and kicking his legs. (He gets his enthusiasm from his older brother Anderson)


~~~We ate lunch inside the Ferry at the cafeteria...great clam chowder.



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Once we were settled in at our resort we headed to the bay at low tide. There were thousands of baby crabs...very cute and safe since their pinchers were too tiny to do any damage.Sydney called the big rock behind her "The Big Bear" Can you see why?


And what do you think Anderson thought this rock looked like?



Sunday was wonderful and that was just the beginning! I can't wait to share the rest of the week!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Spot The Difference Give Away!

We had an amazing vacation...but before I share all the fun we had I am in the mood to have a Give Away! There are two ways to enter and two ways to win. Comment on this post and you will automatically be entered in the contest. You can also have some fun and take a close look at the two pictures below...the first photo is the original (yes there are goats on the roof!) There are 22 differences in the bottom photo. See if you can find them all and Email me your results at Amyjcaz@hotmail.com to be entered in the contest a second time.




The winners will each receive a personalized "Spot the Difference" book. I will take 10 of the winners personal photos and, depending on their preference, make their families book easy or a bit more challenging. Your kids will love it so give it a shot! (Hint: The only way you will be able to spot all the differences is by clicking on the photo so you can get a much closer look at the two photos) The contest ends Wednesday night at 8:00.


GOOD LUCK!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Whirlwind Week

Thursday John and I drove to LeGrand to pick Cayden up from an NBC Basketball camp. He had been there for the week and had a great time.

Tonight Anderson is on a Scout camp out and tomorrow afternoon we leave for Nanoose Bay, British Columbia. I cannot wait! We will be gone all week until late the following Sunday. I spent the afternoon scouring the Internet for information about where we are going and we are headed for gorgeous waterfalls, bays, forest and lakes. There is tons of free entertainment; biking trails, hiking trails, caves to explore, crystal clear swimming holes, "cathedrals" of giant trees and of course reading and relaxation! See you all in eight days!

I Won!

It is so exciting to win Blog Giveaways! Out of 82 entries I won Robin's very cool gift package. (Of course I would never have even know about Robin's blog giveaway if it weren't for Jan.) Today we got home pretty late and I told Cayden to go look outside to see if there had been a delivery. I have had packages dropped off at four different doors at my house but I think this box was behind door number three.
Cayden immediately grabbed a pair of my craft scissors but I told him this was my package to open he better leave it alone. It was so cool...even though I already knew what was inside I still got that night before Christmas feeling, especially when I could see cute red stuff poking through the top.The kids were all gathered around and when I opened the lids of the box all six of their hands involuntarily reached for the colored, shredded, paper.
ME: Wait Guys! I have to get a picture of the cute tag and nest of eggs.
THEM: What's in it?
ME: Chick Flicks
CAYDEN: Chick Bicks? What's a Chick Bick?
ME: No, Chick Flick, a girly movie, a Mom movie.
CAYDEN & ANDERSON: Ohhhhh. (but this "oh" is ending lower than it started in a "we are not impressed" sort of way.)
CAYDEN: What else is in there?
ME: Candy
CAYDEN: Oh! (This is a perky "Oh") We like candy!
This is everything that was in the package! Woo Hoo!The basket was even cooler than it first looked!
CAYDEN: Can we have some Milk Dubs?
ME: What grade are you in? They are Mild Duds.
CAYDEN: OK, can we have some Milk Dubs?
(Summer is hitting this brain hard)
ME: Nope.
~
OK let me explain. I am not cruel, I am not selfish. I am simply a mom who is trying to go on vacation in two days while sticking to the family budget. (A budget that has been greatly messed up with gas currently at $4.25 a gallon in our great state of Washington)
So I am thinking these goodies will make perfect treats for the long car ride to Vancouver Canada.
Surprisingly enough they didn't ask again but took the box and turned it into a Robot.
Sounds creative doesn't it...well I would love to say the Robot had a happy ending but as soon as Sydney put it on her head Anderson began thumping on the box saying "Can ya hear that, can ya hear that?" She started screaming and I sent them all to bed at 9:00...so ya, happy ending for me.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Backyard Bash!

I don't know who had more fun...the kids in the water, the mom's visiting on the blankets, or me playing with my brand new camera!
(Don't judge me too harshly...I just pulled my camera out of the package today, I snapped pictures of cute kids even in terrible lighting, and I only did minor editing so I could get this post done quickly)



Alicia snatched up my camera when I was away for a minute and she gets full credit for this last awesome picture.