An Edwardson Christmas in Calgary

I had planned on posting this to y'all a few days back but clearly that didn't happen ;)

The days leading up to the holidays were wildly busy as I know they are for everyone.  The kids were in school right up until December 19th and boy were they ready for a break !!  Em has has A LOT of homework each night and has worked so hard in her first semester at her new school.  She loves it and has made some lovely friends ..... between her academics and her horses, she is one busy 14 year old.  

The Elf on the Shelf made his first appearance in our house this December and both the kids LOVED him.  Alex could not wait to wake up each morning to see what he had gotten into while they were sleeping.  He even brought some gifts throughout the month .... very much looking forward to seeing 'buddy' again next December !!

 

Alex finished up hockey on the 20th - 21st weekend with a fun tourney in the last couple of days before Christmas.  Scoring 2 goals in one game was an awesome way for him to break for the holidays :)) We even made it out to the 'Zoo Lights' at the Calgary Zoo ..... cold but very fun !!

Being in a new city on Christmas Eve had us joining good friends for a holiday church service and it was perfect.  We had chinese food after and played 'A Christmas Story Monopoly' too ...... 

  

Christmas morning was AMAZING .... having Scott home this year again was such a treat and we took full advantage of it !!  Up to my brother's for dinner with the family and then home to enjoy all the kids gifts in the evening .....

The kids wanted to do some Boxing Day shopping (BEST. MOM. EVER.) ..... Alex and Scott went to 2 stores that they wanted to shop in and then headed home for the afternoon while Em and I braved Chinook Centre - CRAZY !!! 

 I'd never seen anything like it ..... and may not go on Boxing Day ever again !!! Em got lots of deals using her gift cards and left happy ..... all in all it was a super fun day with my girl :))

After one more day of riding, we packed up and headed back to our house on Vancouver Island ..... After a little bit of work, we will have time for a week of relaxing and visiting with friends - CAN'T WAIT !!!

Talk soon ....

A new beginning ......

As many of you know, I have been the owner of an amazing little scrapbook store called Scrapbookin' Adventures since I opened it in the Fall of 2006 ...... It has brought me many many joys and I've built friendships that I know will last for many years to come.

I have enjoyed being a business owner immensely, but since we've moved to Calgary, managing a business in another province has proved to be more than I am wanting to continue on with .....

..... I made the tough decision to send out this letter yesterday to all our customers and friends .....

Dear Scrapbookin' Adventures customers and friends,

After much thought and many sleepless nights, I have made the tough decision to close the Nanaimo location of Scrapbookin' Adventures. As many of you know, I built this store from scratch in my little office with my new baby boy over my shoulder almost 9 years ago. It has seen many incredible successes and I have made friendships that I know will last long beyond the closing of these doors.

Each and every one of you has played a part in this journey, but I am ready to move on. We all grow and change and then hopefully we document it. This business was built on relationships and was designed to help you create albums to house the amazing memories you experience with your families. I want you to continue to do that in any way you can, for as long as you can because it is so important.

I believe in memory keeping in whatever form you choose to do it. Traditional scrapbooking, pocket pages, mini albums, embellished frames throughout your home and beautiful cards filled with photos and mailed to family and friends. It all matters and it all means so much. Don't stop because this space is no longer here for you to come into each week. Clear a table or two in your home, call the girls and then open a bottle of wine and continue to make and document your memories ..... (do it now before you have one too many glasses of wine and then forget :)

I have had the most wonderful time with this little store over the years but it is time for a new adventure. Though the doors may close on December 30th for the last time in Nanaimo, I have not closed the door on my creativity and you will see me again .....

HINT: If you still want to play along make sure to follow my blog starting in January 2015 for changes as they unfold...www.3dfoamandasandingblock.blogspot.ca

Thank you all for everything you have done to make my time as the owner of Scrapbookin' Adventures such an incredible experience ......

I wish you all the best always ....

j. xo

The reaction has been mixed, but mostly very positive and encouraging. I know many people are sad, including my staff, but it was the best thing for me. I've been trying to put it off for a very long time but now I needed to do this for me.

I am ready for a new chapter and as I said in my letter, I have been creating all along and I have plans for my future beyond my scrapbook store ....

So make sure to keep checking back here for lots of changes in the new year ...... I can't wait to share my new adventures with you !!!!

Talk soon ....

back to blogging again ......

Well hello there strangers !!!  Yep - it's been quite some time since I've sat down to share anything online except the occasional Facebook or Instagram update ...... To say my life has been busy is the understatement of 2014 for me.  I wanted to take a minute to catch y'all up on where i've been, what i've been up to and where I think i'm going :))

First off ...... around the time of my last post waaaaaay back in June I was getting heavy into show season with Em and her horses.  She started the summer in Vancouver and she saw huge success .....



..... we then headed to Spruce Meadows in Calgary for the first time ever and that is where she fell in love ...... with Spruce Meadows that is !!!  We all had such a great time and enjoyed ALL the AB family and friends coming out to cheer her on ..... she can't wait to go back ......

 

We came home and got to spend several weeks at our new home in Duncan with our new pool and new friends enjoying learning as much as we could about the Cowichan Valley.  We had a blast ...... Alex's birthday was AMAZING and the weather was fantastic !! The pool was full and we had kids over for hours .... a great way to turn 9 !!

This was Alex's first year playing baseball and he LOVED it !!  Back catcher was his fave position (just like his Mom ;)) ..... it was such a great few months watching him fall in love with my favorite sport !! His team played very well and ended the season 2nd overall ..... silver medal for my boy :))

In the middle of July Emma was lucky enough to have been chosen to compete on the BC Summer Games Equestrian Team !!  It was the most incredible experience and she finished the games with both individual silver AND team silver too !!  Something she will never forget ...... so proud of her !!

The kids even went to Kayak camp for the first time .... It was so beautiful out on Maple Bay every morning .....

In the 3rd week of July, we packed up our new living quarters horse trailer and headed back out to Calgary to spend the month of August at Rocky Mountain Show Jumping so Em could spend some time showing in AB again ....

We had the most amazing month ..... Waking up to the big open skies every morning (and a few prairie storms too ;) was an amazing way to spend the end of the summer.

 

Emma saw incredible success and won many ribbons on both of her horses .... 

She made some new friends and loved the barn she was riding with.  She was laughing, smiling and learning so much that she didn't want to leave !!!

....... so we filled out applications for private school in Calgary, rented a furnished house and then headed back to Vancouver Island to pack !!! 

It was a tough decision but the opportunities were so exciting for us that we had to continue to live every day as we always have.  Life is about the journey and we felt that our journey was taking us back to Alberta (Scott is from AB and we'd lived there together years ago) ....

We have so many family friends in and around Calgary that it was exciting to think about living close to them all again !!!  Emma and Alex love an adventure and were really looking forward to their new school ..... Scott loves the prairies and I love seeing the sunshine every day - even if it is - 40 !!!

We took the ferry for the last time (for a while anyway ....) and started driving.  We packed the small horse trailer full of all our clothes, sports equipment and some toys too and were on our way .....

We made the trip over 2 days as we had the dogs (and Alex's fish too) and by the time we fell into our new beds in Calgary we were excited, happy, exhausted and I was a little sad too ...

For me I had finally found the house I loved in a little island town and was busy making it my own.  We had moved my store Scrapbookin' Adventures, to Nanaimo at the start of the year and I was settling into my new home in Duncan very nicely ..... The kids were registered to go to Queen Margaret's School in September and all was well ...... I truly never thought in a million years that we would be moving AGAIN so so soon after our move to Duncan ......

....... but in life there is change and I knew this was going to be great ..... I mean seriously, on our very first day living in Calgary we got to take our daughter literally across the road from where we are living to watch the Spruce Meadows Masters ..... her first time watching this incredible tournament and she took about a thousand photos !!!

In the few months that we've been here, there have been long days, challenges and even a few tears too, but most of all a lot of laughs ....

Emma and Alex have settled in beautifully, school is fabulous, the new barn is fabulous, hockey is fabulous ..... having our kids live near their cousins is fabulous ..... 

...... the winter isn't nearly as bad as you'd think and we've all gotten proper winter coats and boots and I'm happy to report that it hasn't rained a day since we got here (i hate wet feet) !!!!

Sooooooo ..... short story long ..... we moved and its going well and we are happy :)

There are still changes to come with my business but I am happy to report that I am back to blogging and I never stopped creating so I have LOTS to share with you in the coming days, weeks and months ....

Make sure to come on back for more ...... and thanks for catching up with me today ..... I've missed this and you !!!

Talk soon ....