Summer 2011 updates - photo album style!

Well, it has been almost 2 months since my last update, and it's partially because of my laziness with updating my blog, and partially because of my busy life preventing me from updating! Most of my updates go on facebook anyway, but I'm not ready to be done with this blog so every now and then I have to pop in and fill you in on what has been up in my world. :o)

So, here is my summer thusfar, in photo album style!

On June 24th, we said goodbye to another group of beautiful young women as they graduated and went on to bigger and better things in the "real world" :o)

On my last day of work, June 28th, I packed up at 4pm and headed off to Saskatoon to catch Bela Fleck and the Flecktones at the Saskatoon Jazz Festival. It was AMAZING! Check that one off the bucket list!

On Canada Day (July 1st) my saxophone quartet performed at Waskesiu, Prince Albert National Park, just for kicks. We actually drew a pretty decent audience!

And then there was the week full of celebrating the marriages of some wonderful friends:

My student teacher Nathan and his new wife Morgan - July 2nd

My earliest childhood friend Chelsey and her new husband Cory - July 2nd

My best high school choir friend Jessica and her new husband Kerry - July 9th

The day after Jessica and Kerry's wedding I headed off to the lake to get in some R&R time with the beans (getting cuter every day!), the lake, and mom and dad and their new kayak! We also helped Karyn and Nook move into their brand new home - I got to be on babysitting duty while they painted closet organizers, moved furniture, etc. Good deal!

Watching dad kayak around Brightsand Lake

Emily being an adorable little nut!

Avery laughing at Karyn's silly dance moves

Right after my week at the lake, I taught saxophone at the Saskatoon Junior Band Camp for one week. Here I am conducting my small saxophone ensemble playing the theme from "Star Wars" - super fun!

Right after Saskatoon Band Camp came IMC - my favourite place to hang out in the summer! This past week had students in art, orchestra, fiddle, and band. The art students decorated the sidewalks outside the main office and Burdick Centre. Love it!

My new quilt made its debut at IMC! For those of you who have a homemade bag from me, do you recognize any of your fabrics in it? :o)

Re-uniting with awesome friends! (Abby and Adam)

Yay, IMC friends! (Carolyn, Tim, and Christine)

It was an awesome week, but it went by so fast! (Abby, me, Adam, Sarah, Cory, Hannah, Emma, and Jessica)

After IMC I headed right back to the lake for our family reunion - a bunch of family members had driven from Vancouver, Calgary, and Winnipeg to spend the long weekend at Brightsand with everyone, including the twins whom none of them had yet met. Fun!

My cousins Brent and Scott, and Scott's wife Jenn catching some sun by the water's edge

Uncle Ron, Uncle Jack, Brent, Scott, and Jenn

Mom on her 54th birthday in her brand new kayak! So cute! (In this picture she was kayaking back into shore to get a new beer from Scott, as the one she had originally was frozen - and who can kayak without a proper beer?!) :op

The beans in their "Thing 1/Thing 2" Dr. Seuss onesies from Auntie Lauren

The fam: Dad, Nook, Uncle Ron, Brent, Scott, Uncle Jack, Auntie Diane, Karyn, Auntie Donna, me, mom, and Jenn

Cousins: Brent, me, Karyn, Scott (Sean missing)

Emily on her cute giant giraffe pillow from Auntie Bunzy

Sisters playing together with their big farm toy

A cool purple flower that I found on the beach at Brightsand

This cute little heart bum will be crawling soon!

The girls are getting so big! Now they can drink water from their own sippy cups. :o)

Uncle Ron feeding the babies

And there you have it! What a busy and fun summer it has been so far! Now Jeff and I are just hanging out around home for a bit, and I still have some unpacking and cleaning to do. Then I'll be checking out the musical "Wicked" in Saskatoon on the 10th, a Rider football game on the 12th with Jeff and his parents, and then a trip to Hamiota/Winnipeg to visit my grandma in the hospital - her cancer is back and we're sending tons of love and good vibes and positive thoughts for her to beat it, but we'd like to go see her and be there for support anyway.

I hope everyone that reads this is doing well and enjoying their summer (or winter, if you're a kiwi!). I miss you all and hope to see you all again soon!

Ahh... summer. :o)

It's almost time for summer holidays, and I'm really excited for this year! Last year I was in New Zealand for 6 weeks, and although it was a ton of fun, when I got home I basically had to plunge back into school mode head first without having time to regroup after being overseas all summer. This year, I'm hanging out at home, spending time with Jeff, riding my bike, going to the lake, playing with the twins, helping Jeff move, doing some projects, spending 2 weeks at 2 different band camps (1 week in Saskatoon and 1 at IMC), and otherwise just enjoying my free time.

We're into the last full week of classes at school as well starting Monday. It's insane to me how fast things have gone, but it's true - the last concerts have been performed, the band instruments are going to be returned, cleaned, inventoried, and put back on the shelves for next year, and things are all going to wrap up. The weather is beautiful and things are really starting to feel end-of-June-ish (yay!), so summer must really be around the corner. :o)

I can't wait to spend lots of time with these little munchkins this summer, especially when they learn to crawl and I can chase them around!

Also, in a moment of colourful inspiration brought on by sampling different colours on each of my fingernails at Shoppers Drug Mart today, I went home and snagged some of my favourite colours from my own collection and did a "Smartie toes" pedicure. Then when I was cleaning my band office at school today (yes, on a Saturday... the end of June is beautiful but one of the busiest times of the year at work!) I found this cool anklet and just had to take pictures on my front lawn. Here's the resulting photo edit (if you can't read it or click to enlarge it, it says, "Summer is where the girls go barefoot and their hearts are just as free as their toes.")

What are your favourite things to do on summer vacation? I'd love some cool ideas of things to do during my long-awaited holidays! :o)

Homemade granola bars

2 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup wheat germ (bran flakes work too)

1/4 cup ground flax

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup flour

3/4 - 1 cup trail mix (raisins, cranberries, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup honey

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan

2. In large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, flax, cinnamon, flour, trail mix, and salt. Make a well in the centre, pour in the honey, egg, oil, and vanilla. Mix well. Pat the mixture evenly into the pan.

3. Bake for about 30 minutes, but watch the baking time. If you leave them in too long they'll be dry. I like mine a bit chewier. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars or squares. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting or they will be too hard to cut.

Updates from the dream team!

Hey again everyone! Jeff and I are having a total riot here in Mexico, and we've been super busy cramming in a bunch of adventures over the past few days, so we haven't been updating as much as we'd like. Anyway, here's the rundown of what we've been up to!

On Saturday we went to the ancient city of Coba, first stopping in the jungle to do some rappelling, zip lining, swimming in the Chimuch cenote ("Chimuch" is Mayan for "bullfrog's mouth"), and then onto the city to climb their huge temple. It was a great day, and I took a ton of pictures.... and then lost my camera in the van when our driver dropped us off, and I haven't been able to get it back. I think it's gone for good. Fortunately Jeff took 2 pictures of me on the steps of the temple on my climb back down (on the internal memory of my waterproof camera which I still have), so once I get home with the proper cable to hook up that camera to my computer, I'll be able to get those pics off and prove that I was, in fact, actually there.

Anyway, my waterproof camera is now my only option, as the Canon has likely been swiped by someone else who found it in the van. The lost and found people from the company that organized the Coba Mayan Encounter said that it was never found, so I've got to just cut my losses and carry on with a camera that's lesser quality but still does the trick, especially after some photo boosting help from iPhoto. :o)

On Easter Sunday we went to Chichen Itza to see the most magnificent Mayan ruins in all of Mexico. En route we stopped at the Ik Kil cenote for a swim. Gorgeous!

We then had lunch and watched some traditional Mexican dancers with the group from our bus.

Arguably the most amazing sight (or at least the most famous) at Chichen Itza is the Temple of Kukulcan, also known as El Castillo (the castle). It is a pyramid built on top of another pyramid - the ancient Mayans built new temples on top of existing ones every 52 years, or at the end of one cycle. They believed that the higher the temple was built, the closer to the gods it (and they) would be.

We also saw the cenote of human sacrifice, where the high class Mayans would sacrifice children and virgins to the gods. The Mayans had to sacrifice their firstborn child without question; boys around 3-5 months, and girls around 12 years old. They would have a big ceremony before the sacrifice, with music, dancing, food, etc. and then the child would have a steam bath to purify them before they would be thrown in. Divers went down into the cenote in 1904 and found that there were 12 metres below the surface - 4 metres of water and 8 metres of bones.

The Temple of Kukulcan isn't the only temple at Chichen Itza. In fact, it is only one of about 300 in the city. This was another much smaller one that interested me, with its symbolic carvings and animal/serpent heads.

This next bigger temple was used for warrior sacrifice. The warriors would lay on the stones at the top and have their backs broken, their chests opened, and their hearts removed from their bodies.

This was part of the ball court where Mayan warriors would play the game "Pok ta Pok." The object of the game was to get a 9-12 pound rubber ball through this ring without using your hands or feet - only elbows, hips, etc. The games would last for 12 hours straight, the winner being the team who could score the first and only goal. 1,200 spectators would sit on top of the walls and cheer, and when the game was over, the losers would be sacrificed to the gods.

On Monday, Jeff and I tackled the public transit system and caught a bus to Playa del Carmen, where we spent the day shopping at the markets and buying souvenirs to take home. Here Jeff is explaining to the shop owner that "this is OUR team!" :o)

We also got to hold an adorable little squirrel monkey named Chencho. I fell in love with him immediately!

While we were shopping we saw a young man dressed as an ancient Mayan warrior:

When we got home after Playa del Carmen, we went out on the Cancun Party Hopper tour, which was extremely loud, energetic, and chaotic. Fun though! It's a good thing for your eardrums that these pictures are silent!

After a night out on the Party Hopper, Jeff and I got up extremely early (again!) to catch the first bus to Merida, the capital of the Yucatan.

Merida is an interesting place with lots of old Spanish conquistador architecture. The bus ride there was 4 hours long, we shopped for 3 hours, and then took the 4 hour bus ride home. A whirlwind trip to say the least, but we made it happen!

The cathedral in Merida is the oldest cathedral in mainland North America. It was build between 1562-1598 and the only older one in the entire continent is Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. We wanted to go inside but it opens at 4pm and our bus was leaving at 3pm.

This man was playing the saw! It was totally entertaining and I paid him a few bucks, for which he played me "Memory" from Cats, and "Fur Elise," which I got to help him with by hitting his saw with a stick while he bent it to make the correct pitches. Neat!

A couple more pictures of the architecture in Merida (which reminded me a lot of Cuba in many parts):

After the whirlwind of the past few days, Jeff and I decided to take today to chill, relax, follow our own schedule, etc. This is what our first few hours looked like (after sleeping in until after 9am, of course!):

We then went shopping for souvenirs, and then made our way to Playa Tortugas, which was supposed to be good for snorkelling. Unfortunately the water wasn't very clear, and I couldn't see many fish at all even in the clearest spots. I still took a picture of myself anyway, just for fun, since I have an underwater camera and may as well use it. :o) Hopefully it'll come in handy tomorrow in Xel-Ha, which is supposed to have some of the best snorkelling around!

Tonight we ventured away from our hotel for supper, and we found ourselves at Carlos and Charlie's, which was a total blast and very high energy. The place had a great laid-back atmosphere, and we are thinking of going back again either tomorrow night or Friday.

Tonight I finally caved and bought some bracelets from the little children who go around the downtown hotel zone selling them for $1. This little one was supervised by presumably her mom, and she was SOOO cute. I bought 2 bracelets from her, and she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Jeff and I then did a bit more shopping, and on our way back out I bought 2 more bracelets from her again because I'm a total sap and I loved her. :o)

And finally, the last picture of the night, because really, what says Mexico more than a picture with the infamous Senor Frog? :o)

Good night everyone! More updates after tomorrow's adventures at Xel-Ha!

Hola from Cancun!

Jeff and I landed safely in Cancun yesterday at 5pm local time after a 12-hour journey of take-offs and landings and plane-switchings and "attempt-to-sleep-in-an-uncomfy-seat"-ings... and it has been a blast already after only one full day!

Here is the update, with the pictures to highlight our experience thusfar:

Descending through the clouds into Cancun - Thursday afternoon

Our hotel lobby

We went to Senor Frogs last night and got these RIDICULOUS yard glasses. Love it!

Downtown hotel zone = VEGAS

Taken this morning around 10:30am or so. These beach chairs are all lined up on the section of beach that runs along right outside our front door. Gorgeous!

We walked to Plaza La Isla mall today and shopped around without buying too much (except for my purchase of 4 bottles of colour-changing nail polish from Del Sol) - we'll do most of our shopping in Merida and Playa Del Carmen later in the week.

Lunch at the Albatross restaurant today. It's actually very bright inside, but you know how it is to try to take pictures with a brightly lit background. Anyway, check out the beautiful ocean view!

This afternoon we went out parasailing with SkyRider Cancun. We took a Sea-Doo ride out to the parasail boat, which was actually just as fun as the parasailing itself!

This was the pair that went right before us on their ride

Ahh yes. Life is good. :o)

Happy Easter from the twins!

It's almost Easter, and that means 2 things: Jeff and I are going to Mexico in only a few days (YAY!), and it's time to dress up the beaners as cute and fuzzy little Easter bunnies. :o) I bought them pink ears at Dollarama and they were a hit - here's a picture of Emily being adorable in hers, Avery finding her toes, and both girls cuddled up in the coziest looking blankets on planet Earth.

Perfect and soft!

What a clever little girl!

Happy Easter from Emily and Avery! 6 months old already and cuter than ever!

Banana Chocolate Chip Walnut Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 cups flour
6 large bananas, very ripe, mashed
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
___ chocolate chips (I never measure these)


Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Sift dry ingredients together, add to creamed mixture. Stir in bananas, walnuts, and chocolate chips.

Pour batter into 2 well-greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. This recipe makes 2 loaves.

Random entertainment.

I just found a website called www.jowlers.com. It is RIDICULOUS. If you are bored and want a good laugh at the misfortune of people's faces (trust me, they brought it upon themselves for the sake of humourous photography), check it out. I may have a few of these from my university days to submit, come to think of it....

Broccoli Cauliflower Cheddar Soup

1 medium cauliflower

1 medium broccoli (maybe 3 crowns?)

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 cups milk

2 cups grated cheese

1. Cook cauliflower and broccoli in chicken stock until tender. Mash.

2. Melt butter in saucepan. Add onion and saute, don't brown.

3. Mix in flour, salt, and pepper.

4. Add milk, heat until it boils and thickens. Stir constantly (milk burns easily!).

5. Add contents of saucepan to the large pot that has been cooking the cauliflower and broccoli. Add cheese and stir to melt.

DELICIOUS! And it makes enough to take some for lunch the next day!

February break = bliss!

It's Sunday night and I am feeling stress-free and very content, as I am at the beginning of a full week off from school. I'm laying in bed watching TLC on TV, I've been sewing lots of bags, going to the gym, and otherwise relaxing. This is the first time in a few years that I haven't been embarking on some crazy travel during term break, so I'm expecting it to be pretty refreshing and rejuvenating actually. Jeff and I are just enjoying our down time together, and will be heading to Saskatoon for a few days as well. Shopping, movies, cooking, baking, visiting friends.... Let me just say how much I totally love school holidays!

Life is gooooooood!

(In other news, here are the beans enjoying their holiday in Arizona! Check out the snazzy sparkly pink sunglasses! Neato!)

The next little superstar!

I stumbled upon this video on facebook and I just love her! What a little performer!

In other news, as of almost exactly an hour ago, I am officially on February break! One full week of freedom! Jeff should be here in about 25 minutes, and then the holiday starts. Ahhh, so happy. :oD

A year of bags... in one quilt!

Since I started sewing bags almost exactly a year ago I've had a ton of scrap material that I haven't wanted to throw out. I was never sure what I'd do with it, but the pieces somehow seemed too substantial to get rid of entirely. My sister and my mom have both done some quilting in the past, so I decided that I might be able to do some sort of chaotic-yet-adorable bag mash-up quilt with the remnants of many of the bags I've sewn this year.

So, in an effort to get started (and to get my basement somewhat cleaned up), I started piecing together some possibilities for log cabin quilt squares. Obviously nothing has been sewn yet, but I laid out the fabric and came up with something like this for the first 4 squares:

I don't know how many squares I will need, and I don't know how to put the whole thing together in the end either, but so far I think it looks pretty neat. I realize that it looks a bit ridiculous to most people, but the truth is that, for me, it's a fun medley of fabrics that remind me of specific people and friends that have bought my bags. I'm sure I will move things around a few times before I ever sew anything, but at least this gives me an idea of what it might look like. I have SO many pieces too, that I'm sure I could make a queen-sized quilt without using the same fabric pattern more than once or twice. Should be interesting!

The light at the end of the Narnian tunnel...

Last year our school did the musical "Alice in Wonderland Jr." It was a ton of fun, but also a lot of work, as most ventures of that kind usually are. After the success of last year's show, we decided to do another musical this year - "Narnia," based on the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We did auditions in late September, cast the show around Thanksgiving, and started rehearsals on October 25th. Since then, I have had no free weeknights - Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday have been consumed by musical rehearsals, and Wednesdays are the rehearsal days for City Band and Millennium Swing Orchestra.

Several times over the past 3 1/2 months I have longed for freedom from the show - time to do the things that I want to do - time to visit my brand new baby nieces, my sister and brother-in-law, etc., spend time with Jeff, go out for coffee with friends without having to dash out mid-conversation to make it to rehearsal on time, relax, have a nap, do laundry, paint my toenails.... some of these things are completely mundane, but that's exactly what I've found I've been missing: time to enjoy the mundane aspects of life. Now, I'm definitely not saying that spending time with Jeff or visiting Avery and Emily are mundane - I feel exactly the opposite actually. What I mean is that when I start wishing I could do laundry and clean my car after school, or go to the mall, or wash the floors in my bedroom, or bake banana bread, or hang out in my pyjamas... then I know I'm feeling overcommitted.

What keeps me going through all of it though, is that I know it's good for my students. It's good for them to have the experience of being on stage, playing a part of something bigger, escaping themselves for a couple hours and entering a world where they can be anything.... a witch, a wolf, a statue, a dancing woodland nymph. It's good for them to be challenged and to have the responsibility of learning their lines, music, harmonies, blocking, etc. It's good for them to have the bonding experience with their fellow cast and crew members. It's good for them to see that they are capable of doing something big, and presenting it to a live audience.

There's always the stress of "that chord was out of tune" or "that character missed her entrance" or "that person forgot his lines" or "this person never seems to stay in character" etc. but in the end I always look back on it and say that it was worth it. Not for me and for the (usually-)out-of-tune chords (which they sing beautifully in music rehearsal but forget when they get on stage), or for the amazing finished product, because, let's face it... it's a high school musical. We do what we can. But what makes it all worth it is the look on the kids' faces when they say to me excitedly in the hallways, "Miss Campbell! 4 days 'til Narnia opens! I'M SO EXCITED!" I guess this is somewhat what it must feel like to have children - you sacrifice your own time and energy so that they can experience as much as possible, and you don't do it for yourself, but for them.

So, here we are, staring down the barrel of another opening show, which is going to happen in 2 1/2 days whether we're ready or not. This weekend is consumed by 13 hours of tech and dress rehearsal, with a whirlwind road trip to Saskatoon to see Jeff and to pick up band instruments from the repair shop crammed in on Saturday night. On Monday we take the stage with full costumes, make-up, sound, lighting, set, props... the works. For me, I just keep my students in mind whenever I get stressed about the product - I need to remember that it will never be perfect. They work hard, they are wonderful people, and they will do the best that they can do. They will be better for it, and really so will I.

Come Monday, I will begin to have more free evenings as our first 3 shows are matinees. Friday and Saturday are evening shows, Sunday is a matinee..... and come Monday, I will have all weekdays free except Wednesday. Regular life will resume. I will have time to spend with Jeff again, not just on weekends. I will get to see the twins grow and get cuter by the day again. :o) And what will be left? Good memories of another show with wonderful students. Here's to hoping all goes well on stage!