I truly have never been to a place as gorgeous, with amazing food and people that were the best ever ever in my life. There is no scrapbooking event that compares to this last weekend! I was invited to share this 4 day weekend with a few of the Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine Team members and their family. We headed in convoys to deep in the mountains near Fernie. A guest ranch that is situated in the heart of heaven. seriously. We lodged in cabins like this... (I stole some pics from Cathie Allan, because I had so many camera problems this week, of course I decided against taking my SLR, big mistake! Connie is going to send me some too!I'll post when I receive them) My roomies were Cathie & Connie. Each Cabin had rooms, kitchens, living areas with fireplaces and bunk beds. perfect for families.
All over the property are different sizes of cabins, some close together, some far apart for privacy. some dorm style to fit a lot of people, others for honeymooners. They have 2 hot tubs and saunas too!
This was ours.
and the inside looked like this:
we ate food like this for EVERY meal! The meals were made by an amazing chef. EVERY meal & EVERY snack. I ate things I thought for sure I hated, which I apparently do not. Everything was made by hand. All I have to say is OMG! Of course I asked to be added to her recipe mailing list. She takes the healthiest of foods and makes them look naughty so you think you are indulging while you still are a little conscious, and then on the other hand, you do get to eat some really mind blowing stuff.
and where we ate our meals... lot's of windows to look at wildlife and mountains. very rustic.
this is what it looked like where we scrapbooked, huge area with an on site store. lot's of room, although when we packed everything AND the kitchen sink,(or in Cathie's case, the iron, LOL!) it does make it a little difficult.
My crazy table mates the whole time. How can we not have fun???
this i what the surroundings looked like... just before you pull into the ranch, there is a major waterfall. we stopped and enjoyed it for a long time and took crazy amount of pics, of the scenery of each other. it brought tears to my eyes cause you could feel the all Power of nature in this spot. so gorgeous.
this is what the lodge that we scrapped & ate in looked like.
This is a view from the patio. (actually MY view while I scrapbooked. Lucky me!)
This was between where we scrapbooked and ate. So we would sit here to laugh, get to know each other, maybe even read. fabulous!!!!relaxing.
then to meet new friends and have fun with old ones! This is Katharina and her mom Doris. I had a blast this weekend listening to them speak German to each other, I left with a handful of things to say! Of course I learned to swear in German, you know you were wondering.LOL! Actually, since Jim is the biggest fan of German, they kept texting him things and he would reply funny things. It was a riot!
Connie
just doing a little glimmer misting...
sometimes, we would play practical jokes on each other. today we found our chairs outside on the patio. Now I have to admit, what goes around comes around, and I did start this hiding of the chairs, so it was only fitting that mine was stolen too! Never ending practical jokes. so funny that we could never stop laughing.
here is where Cathie's was put...
Katharina rescuing it! LOL!
All over the ranch is really neat animals and birds, the deer walked through ALL the time. wow!
the they had lot's of "mini" farm animals. the kids would have loved it!!!!
So did I get scrapbooking done? Of COURSE ABSOLUTELY! 27 pages. I am really happy with myself. However, once I handed them to Jackie for the magazine and books, I still have a wack due, but somehow, things started to slip. I think it was when Jackie, her mom & sister left. Then I was left in the hands of crazy women who wanted to do nothing but have FUN! oops! We missed those girls soooo much when they left. Next time I think we should hide their vehicle! LOL!
I can't show you any scrapbook pics as they all were assignments, but I will show you a sneakie peakie.
so in general, this weekend consisted of laughs, hugs, tears and more laughs. bonding and craziness, true lifelong relationships developing into more. we helped each other, we strengthened our team, we were real. we scrapbooked, and had socials (ok, maybe a jello shooter or two) we all hottubbed even though none of us had swim suits (now that is a wild story, we marinated as my husband would put it) we walked on adventures around this fabulous God's country. I want this weekend every year of my life. I want it because there were no worries, no responsibilities that we all have at home. It was nice to be pampered. (they have massage therapists and reflexologists on site!) it was heaven... all in Canada.
And i know you guys are wondering about the bears, we didn't see any. But in response to my sexy husband's advice:
* I slept closest to the door, cause I loved my roomies and figured that there is plenty of me to go around and they might have a chance at escape, should a bear have entered! LOL!
* I didn't shake tic tacs or marbles in a can, cause let's face it. We would scare away any animal with how much we laughed, giggled on the walk back to our cabins and heck is any scrapbooker quiet????
* I did marinate in the tub, but again refer to the last note. We were LOUD with the giggles.
* as for climbing trees, well the only thing we climbed were the fences to sit on for pics, or the bunk bed ladders.
*marking your territory? well, didn't happen.No need to elaborate why.
You know, when you get a chance to have a weekend like this, you realize why it is so important to have strong female relationships. You do need each other in times of troubles and in times of happiness to share with. One of my favourite moments was when we went to our cabin to create our drinks and we sat around on the grass in the heat enjoying everything we were in the midst of. to reflect on how great life was.
Another neat thing was Jackie had brought her mom and super cool sister, and Katharina had brought her mom. To see how these amazing women loved their family was absolutely a treasure. It's neat to realize why they put their heart and soul into their magazine, it is an extension of something built with love. Both their entire families play huge parts in its success. So when thinking about this, let's look to our own lives and remember how important our families are, they help create our success in our lives. I know the whole time I was there I wished my mom was beside me scrapbooking, but mom isn't quite obsessed like me! LOL! She would be outside fishing or doing something with the animals.
However, this kind of weekend is one I'd love to do once with my crazy Saskatoon scrapbook girls as well...
well, off I go to finish supper, when I get more pics, I will share, and I have some funny ones also for tomorrow. see you later!