Happy Black Friday!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you were able to spend time with your loved ones. You may have stumbled upon my little blog if you were following the ScrapMatters Black Friday Blog Train. If you did you probably came from Mary's blog.

Thanks for spending time with ScrapMatters instead of trying to get through those crazy early shoppers!! Or maybe, you've already gone and have managed to come back in one piece...either way, welcome to the Monterey Peninsula in CA!! The holiday season, to me, means being able to spend quality time with my loved ones. Usually, it's the only time I get to spend it with my family back home in Canada. Unfortunately, we aren't going to be able to make it up there this year:( But that's okay, because we get to spend it with my DH's side in Vegas!! We don't have a tradition, so to speak...but now that my kiddos are getting to be old enough, I think that it's time that we start one...or a few!! Any suggestions?

I guess my "tradition" would be that I get an ornament for my kiddos and my DH every year. I try to make it special, something that pertains to something that happened during the year. I think that I'll have to get soccer ones for my kiddos this year!! Decorating the tree was one of the most exciting times of the holiday season for me when I was growing up. I loved our tree...it wasn't the prettiest...but it had the best memories attached to it. Usually we would head out with my Dad and my cousins and trek through the snow to find and cut down that perfect tree. Then, we would spend the night decorating it with our family. I loved our ornaments...our tree was never one that would be found in a department store...but every ornament had a special memory...and that's what I want for my kids!

There are a few things going on over at ScrapMatters.

First, ScrapMatters is having a SALE!!!

Also, the Daily Downloading is starting again...today!!

And last, but certainly not least, there will be a Speed Scrap today at 9pm Eastern, 8pm Central, 7pm Mountain and 6pm Pacific. Hope you have a wonderful, fun-filled Black Friday!!

So, I know that you are here to see what goody I have in store for you...and without further ado...here it is!! The image is clickable...I hope you like it!! I had a blast making it!

The next stop on your trip should be Dawn's blog. If you ever get lost or have missed a stop, try to start at the ScrapMatter's blog or Andilynn's blog.

I hope you enjoy your trip and that you have a wonderful and safe holiday season!!

Cheers:)

Man, do I feel old!!

My baby girl is 7 years old today. Can you believe that? I certainly can't, it doesn't seem like it's been that long! I swear it hasn't!! So today was Pumpkin's special day, and in this time of recession...we tried to make it as special as possible. We started out the day with apple pancakes, strawberries and whipped cream. Then we headed over to WalMart and picked out a bike. And let me tell you about Pumpkin and her bike...she has been bugging us for months about getting her a bike, I mean months!! Every time her friends are out there riding, she bugs us. So we finally take her out to get a bike, and she happily picked out a blue bike and was riding along in the store. She was happy, we were happy, and then...she passed the toy aisle...and something caught her eye. It was Tinkerbell and all her fairy friends from her newest movie. And suddenly...her bike didn't look so good. And so went almost 30 minutes of whining and begging for this tiny little toy. She was willing to give up her brand new bike, for an $8 fairy!! Sometimes, I just don't get it!! To me, it was plain as can be...but to Pumpkin, it was the hardest decision of her 7 year life!! In the end, she made the right decision (at least it was the right decision to me)...but she was not happy to leave that fairy in the store.

So anyway, we left WalMart and headed over to the stores. Now, I had asked Pumpkin for the last year and a half about piercing her ears...and she was finally ready...at least that's what she thought. So there she was sitting in the chair, all brave...the lady told her that it just felt like a hard pinch and then it would be fine. Well, apparently...she was wrong!! So here she is waiting for that pinch...and let me tell you, it hurt her

...and she tried her best to keep it together...but it was just too much.

So we tried for about 20-25 minutes to get her to pierce her other ear...but she was freaking out...there was absolutely NO way that gun was getting near her again!! So we decided to go watch our movie. And she agreed to go back and get her other ear pierced after the movie. The movie was pretty funny, we watched Madagascar 2...and the kids really enjoyed it. And after the movie we went back to the store to get her ear pierced...but I guess the memory of that pain hadn't quite faded, and the closer we got to the store, the more she started freaking out again. And so goes another 20-25 minutes...and the end result?

And yes...that's her earring...focus on the singular word, because she only ended up getting 1! She just wasn't ready to get the other one done. So, when she's ready, we'll go back. The lady said that one girl actually took 2 years to get her other ear pierced!! So here's keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't take her 2 years to go back!! So for now, she's our 1 ear pierced little girl!!

So anyway...we went to Bubba Gump's for dinner, which she always loves...and for the life of me I don't know why. Bubba Gump, from the movie Forrest Gump, is mainly a seafood restaurant. And this little girl will NOT eat seafood (we can thank The Little Mermaid for that!)...but for some reason, every time we ask her where she wants to eat...she will, the majority of the time, will answer with Bubba Gump.

And if it gets these smiles from her on her birthday...then I will keep bringing her there...even though she doesn't eat seafood.

So after that yummy meal, we headed back home to have some birthday cake that yours truly made. And I have to admit, that it turned out pretty good...much better than some store bought cake!!

And Pumpkin was pretty pleased with it...especially because it had raspberries on it!!

Did you notice the bare left earlobe?

September...November...

Where the heck did October go?! No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I just have been kinda busy lately. Let's see...what happened in October? Lots of work, lots of scrapbooking and lots of kids. My parents came down for a week...and we had a great time!! I haven't been out around here since I moved, and I'm glad that I got to experience it all with my parents. I hope that they had as good a time as I did. We went to Big Sur, Pebble Beach, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Moss Landing...and I got some awesome pics!! The kiddos LOVED having them here!! We were all sad to see them go...I have GOT to move closer to home so it's not more than 6 months before I get to see someone from my family! I hate living so far away:(

Anyway, here are some pics of their little vacation here. I tried to condense them down so it wouldn't take forever to load...hope it helped.

These were taken their first day here after Monkey's soccer game. We went for a walk on the dunes in Marina...weather wasn't the best, but we still had fun! My Dad was in love with all of the beautiful colours from the native plants growing on the dunes.

These next ones were taken in Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur, CA. We tried to find an easy day hike because Sweet Pea was tagging along. She actually did really well...she was our map girl!! The trail was really easy, Sweet Pea found some great trees to climb on, there were butterflies and even a snake...Dad almost stepped on it!!


The hike ended up at the ocean here. Dad and I ended up hiking up this steep rock face to get some great pics of the ocean from a bird's eye view. It was beautiful there and my parents really enjoyed it.

The next day we tried to find some tide pools for my mom...she's a sucker for a good tide pool! We ended up walking along the rocks in Pacific Grove...there wasn't too much to see, I think we got there a little late because the tide was starting to come in again...but we did find some crabs, and Sweet Pea ended up being a great rock climber!!


After the tide pools, we decided to go along 17 Mile Drive and Pebble Beach. We didn't have too long because we needed to get back in time to pick up Monkey and Pumpkin from school...but we did have enough time to make some rock statues. My mom was intent on making her little man...and Sweet Pea figured out how to stack the rocks up without having them fall...she actually got the hang of it really quick! The we continued our drive, stopping a few times along the way for the sights. Came across the "Lone Cypress Tree" and took some pictures, I guess the very first time my mom came to North America, her cousin brought her here and they took some pictures in front of this tree. And Sweet Pea befriended a squirrel by sharing her snacks.

The next day we waited until the kids were out of school, then headed over to the Monterey Bay Aquarium...that place is always amazing...no matter how many times you go there. They had some great new exhibits, and the kids had a blast!!

But my favorite exhibit was a coming attraction...they just had a little aquarium with these guys in it...but will be opening up a big one to show them in all their glory. They really are amazing little creatures...these Sea Dragons stole the show for me and my parents!! I can't wait to see their new exhibit!! Aren't they just amazing?!

The last full day that my parents were here we went for a little walk along the Elkhorn Slough (pronounced slew). And it was HOT!!! and DRY!!! The kids didn't last very long because it was so hot, but we did get to see some fish, crabs and birds.

After our little walk we ended up heading over to Moss Landing to have lunch and play in the surf a bit. On our drive over there we ended up spotting some otters and seals playing in the water and got some cool close up pics!!

So we did ALOT of sight seeing while my parents were here...but it was great to finally get out and see them. Can you believe that I've been here for a year, and haven't seen most of this?! We also went up to the Bay Area for a day for some great Dim Sum with my mom's aunt and uncle and some awesome Malaysian food with Jay and Jenn!! AND, my parents got to see Pumpkin and Monkey play 2 soccer games!! AND Monkey actually scored his first goal EVER while they were watching...it was so awesome!! And we were SO proud of him! I'll never forget that smile on his face...unfortunately...I didn't catch it on film because there was too many kids in front of him...but we'll never forget it:)

I was SO happy to have my parents here for a week...I really miss them and the rest of my family. I'm still working on Mike to move closer to Canada...and you know what? I think that I may have done it...it's still a work in progress...but he actually agreed to move closer to my family!! I just don't know when that will happen, but I'm happy just the same! :)

I love you guys!! Thank you SO much for making the trip down here to see us!! I can't wait to see you again in the summer!!

This post was a couple days in the making because of all the pics I put together...but I'll try to be back within the next couple days to post some of the scrapbook LOs I've made in the last month!!

Thanks for coming!