The Raven.... our home away from home

So last time I promised to share with you some info about the penthouse apartment we are calling home whilst in Big White. But some of you have actually asked me where Big White is, so the map below shows where in Canada Big White actually is located.

The advertising blurb reads:

Vacation rental accommodation at its best! Ski-in Ski-out, Private Hot Tubs and The Ravens own Pool & Gym.

The Raven is a luxury development located in Happy Valley, it offers outstanding condo living space, contemporary style and luxury.

The Raven ski condos have been spaciously designed with acute attention to detail, luxury and comfort with many European inspired design elements. The location of The Raven was chosen for optimum balance of views, proximity to ski lifts and amenities and the convenient ski-in, ski-out access. These Ski Condos & Penthouses come with their own private decks and hot tubs for star gazing and total relaxation after a day of ski and snow activity.

Your Ski vacation rental comes with access to The Ravens own INDOOR SWIMMING POOL AND GYM. All Ski Condos have access to hot spot wireless internet access, heated secure underground parking, Ski lockers, oversized windows for enjoying magnificent snow topped views and geothermal under floor heating throughout.

The spacious living areas are where family and friends can come together and enjoy open living, cooking, dining and relaxing in front of a roaring fire. Every condo has large screen wall mounted plasma TV, DVD player and stereo (plus pool tables in the larger Penthouses) and all have big squashy leather sofas for total ‘feet up’ comfort. Kitchens with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances probably boast more equipment than you’re likely to have at home for dining and entertaining. Bathrooms have steam showers, warm cork floors and come complete with fluffy bath sheets and towels.

The Raven vacation rentals sit in the centre of Happy Valley with magnificent views toward the Monashee Mountains. These views are best savoured with a glass of fizz from your private deck and steaming hot tub. This is Big White accommodation at its best!

The photo below shows the outside of the The Raven.

The Entrance Foyer

The Great Room #1

Three of the four bedrooms for the adults

The loft bunk bedrooms for the kids

The kids loft area

The Kitchen & Dining Area

The Bathrooms

And finally, here is the after skiing relaxation tank..... the HOT TUB!!!

Please, please, please take note of how clean and neat and tidy this place looks at the moment... cause after the Franks family arrive it won't be so pretty.

17 days to go. The kids are getting so excited.

Til next time!

28 days till take off

So with 28 days until Mum & Dad, Karmen, Tayla & Jack and Darren, Riley, Kody and myslef take off on our big adventure, I thought I'd give you a little more info about our trip.

We leave Sydney on Feb 5 at 3:10pm supposedly on a Qantas A-380, but if they are not operational it will just be a 747. The kids have never ever been on a plane and the longest flight Darren has ever done was to New Zealand for our honeymoon (Reminder for Darren: 15 years on March 16th), so 17 hours on a plane to Los Angeles will certainly be an eye-opener for them.

With the time changes we are actually flying backwards in time and arrive in LA at 9:45am on Feb 5.... nearly six hours earlier than when we left Sydney. Then it is a short three hour layover in LAX before we board our Westjet flight to Calagary (in Canada). Where we have a one hour layover. Not really much time to do anything else than to get our butts from the international terminal to the domestic terminal and jump on our final flight of the day at 7:45pm from Calgary to Kelowna International Airport, BC. Where once again, thru the magic of time travel with will land at 7:45pm. Yes, that's right... the same time we take off in Calagary.

Now for those who I haven't already bored to death with the details of our trip, Kelowna is the sub-alpine town (like Jindabyne & Cooma here in Australia) for Big White, but it is the size of Parramatta. Upon landing we will shuttle bus it to The Sandman Hotel for some much needed sleep.

Our Big White accommodation is in a self-contained penthouse apartment, so the plan of attack is for the girls (Mum, Diane, Karmen, Casey & me) to do 10 days worth of grocery shopping when we finally wake up on the Sunday (Feb 6) at the Save-On Foods in Kelowna, just across the road from the Orchard Park Shopping Centre, which is just across the road from The Sandman Hotel.

The boys (Dad, Bob and Darren) and the kids (Tayla, Riley, Jack & Kody) will probably browse the shops at Orchard Park. The the shuttle bus will pick them up from the hotel with all the bags, then come get us from the supermarket with all the groceries (boxed) and drive us up the mountain to Big White Ski Resort.

In my next post, I will share some information about the penthouse apartment we will be living in at Big White.

Till then...

It's been a while......

BLOG - Jan 3, 2011 Yes, I know. It has been a long time since I have blogged. To be exact, it has been 19 months. Have I felt guilty? Only when Rachael harasses me about it.... cause really I know she is the only one that reads my blog. Will I endeavour to blog more? Yes, that is the plan. Although, for the next little while the posts will not be about scrapbooking, cardmaking or papercrafting in general. You see, in just on 33 days my extended family and I will leave this great land we call home and fly to Canada where we will spend ten days of FAMILY TIME at Big White Ski Resort. Then on to Las Vegas for some ADULT TIME and finally onto Los Angeles for KID TIME (well, admittedly this will also be BIG KID TIME too). My Uncle Bob has also resurrected his blog to document the trip as well.... but he and Aunty Diane (Didi) are only with us for the Canada portion of the trip and then he branches off for a train adventure across the USA. So, if you want to follow the adventures of our family as we play tourist in Canada and the USA, then stay tuned to my updates right here. See you soon.

Splash Book

Hi All

I've just finished teaching this great book at Scraploot and as promised here are the photos for those that didn't quite get it completed in the class.

For a closer view just click on the image to enlarge.

If you couldn't make it to the class, there are kits for this book available from Scraploot for $29.95. Includes everything you need to complete the book, and if you buy a kit and need some help completing it, just drop me a message here.

Scraploot are doing it again, we had so much fun on our last Cyber Crop that we have decided to hold another one. So please join us for our next Cyber Crop being held here on our Blog on Friday May 29th starting at 7.30pm. This month the theme is Mothers. We will be playing a round of Scrapbook Bingo so keep an eye out on the blog on Monday May 25th for your words then email Anthea with your selected 10 words before the Cyber Crop starts. Post about the Cyber Crop on your blog & let us know here and you will go into the draw for a RAK from one of the girls & you will receive an extra point in the tally towards the Cyber Crop winner. Bring along a friend & have them mention your name and you will also earn an extra point. The prize this month is a $25 voucher to the Scraploot shop. See you then.

More soon.

A Busy Week

It's been a busy week... for being on school holidays.

Monday and Tuesday were lazy days at home, although Tuesday night we did have a really really bad thunderstorm at home which had both boys climbing for a place on my lap to protect them from the thunder. We did suffer a little bit of flooding inside the house, above the glass sliding door where we have just had a heap of new electrical work done... and after my sister told me she had a dream where I died from electrocution, I was paranoid about touching any powerpoints and light switches.

We sat in candle light until Darren got home from work.

I did Nicole's Superstar Class at Scraploot on Wednesday night... loving those swirls, girlfriend!!!!

Then Thursday I spent the day scrapping with friends from JEHS and Ivona. Usually I have a school holiday scrapping day at my house, but this time I suggested we do it as Scraploot (no house cleaning required). What a great day.

Then Saturday was a huge day of scrapping. I did the Buzz and Bloom Mother's Day book class at Scraploot and then stayed on for the Saturday night social scrap. What a buzy day and a fun night. Thanx for the laughs girls... and Craig... I haven't laughed so hard in a while.

Below is a look at some of my stuff. The first is a clock I made and taught last year.

This is a layout I did this week. I'm trying to do something with older photos instead of always printing out new ones to work with.

And one of Riley and my niece and nephew (Tayla and Jack) back in April 2006.

and a close up

Enjoy your week.

Easter Egg Hunt

This year I was a bit better organised than in past years, or maybe it is because the kids are getting older and I have to be more organised to outsmart them! Whichever it is, I had their Easter baskets made and ready for the Easter Bunny to fill with chocolate.

I made a blue one for Riley and a green one for Kody. There won't be any pink ones. My life is destine to be shades of blue & green forever. Below is a collage of our Easter Egg Hunt.

Besides being Easter I also had time for some scrapbooking. Thought you might like to see what I did yesterday.

And some close ups of all the blading (for those that are interested).

Happy Easter to all

Back again

Hi All

I know, I know... it has been a very very very long time since I last update my blog and many of you probably thought I dropped off the face of the earth. Not quite. Just been a very very busy girl.

There have been a few changes in my life since I last posted. I turned 40. I had a HUGE masquerade party with all my wonderful friends. Those of you who came THANKYOU. I will be posting photos here and on Facebook soon.

My swimming pool is finished... well not quite, but it was good enough for my party to be held at home. We still have a few ISSUES with the pool builder, but hopefully we will sort that out soon.

I am now teaching (scrapbooking, cardmaking and off-the-page) at a wonderful new store... Scraploot. If you haven't been there yet, do yourself a favour and go... it is a scrapbookers version of heaven. My first class is on Thursday, April 30th at 7:00pm and I will be teaching Mother's Day Cards.

My eldest, Riley, has started school. He loves it. I can't believe that after eight weeks of school he can read. Wow... you kindy/primary school teachers are amazing. Further on the subject of school, I am now the secretary of the P&C. I know, you are all asking yourselves "When is she gonna fit that in?" Who needs sleep. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

My youngest, Kody, is toilet trainging with a little more success at the moment. It has been almost two months of trying and I was beginning to pull my hair out. Especially when Riley only took a week to toilet train and he was six months younger than Kody when he did it.

My oldest and bestest friends (Joanne, Dorothy, Kerryn and Sharon) in the whole world and I, have booked a trip to Melbourne for a four day weekend in May to celebrate turning 40. We are all so excited and can't wait. There will be lots of drinking, laughing and fun I will make sure we have photos as well.

OK, now for a project. My friend Hazel asked me to make her a card for a wedding she is attending this weekend. She paid me in my favourite currency... chocolate.

I hope to do more regular updating form here on in. So, I'll be posting again soon.

Enjoy your weekend.

Big Warehouse Sale

Last weekend I went to the Fred Hoskings Warehouse sale in Concord West, NSW. Wow! What a bargain. As a cardmaker I have found that often the most expensive part of the card is the envelope. Well, Fred Hoskings is a commerical printer that makes everything from Wedding stationery to Christmas Cards and every now and then they have a pre-stocktake warehouse sale. I went to one a few years back, but it has very different to this one. Lots more colour and a huge variety available. Below are some pictures of the bounty I scored.

I got all of this for $80.00 Get a look at what they usually RRP some of this stuff for.

Talk about a bargain.

Something old...

Long time since I have posted anything here, so I thought I'd give you a look at an older page that has been a class at Scrapbook Dreams for a while and now that it is over, I can post it here. . This page was part of the "Girl Talk" course that was run or eigth weeks. There is a corresponding "I love my Poppi" page that was part of the "Boys to Men" course that was run. I will post it up soon. . . The next page is my eldest son, Riley, and his official day care photos from 2005... I know, I know, I can here you all crying "It's 2008!!!". I never said I was a fast scrapbooker. This page was one that Debbie taught in the Cricut Club at Scrapbook Dreams. Once a month on a Saturday afternoon, Cricut Club meet and have lots of fun. Interested???? Call Debbie on 02-9607 3943 to book a place for the May one. . . Plans for the construction of our pool are currently going through council, so I will be keeping you all posted with the good, the bad and the ugly of swimming pool construction as well as lots of pictures. . Have a great day! .