Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Sunday! I have been a bit MIA this past week as I attended an International Orientation & Mobility Conference in Montreal. I was working, but I admit, it felt a bit like being on vacation! It was my first international conference and it was super fun to meet people from around the globe who do what I do! I work with children who are blind or living with vision loss, helping them to gain as much independence as is possible and encouraging them to participate in a variety of physical activities. It is a rather specialized profession, so it is always inspiring and encouraging to gather with link-minded people. One of my favourite presentations was from a French Canadian fellow who was the organizer of a 5 day Sea Kayaking adventure involving 9 youth who were living with either vision loss or hearing loss. They planned together, then kayaked, hiked, camped (carrying all of their own gear), cooked outdoors and enjoyed a fantastic learning and growth experience! The group of children I currently have on my caseload are still a bit young for such an expedition, but this sort of adventure is certainly something to work towards! 
 This summer, during the day camps we offer, we are focusing on camping and the outdoors! The focus will be on: camping & hiking (what you eat, what you bring, how to pitch a tent, campfire safety), hiking (identifying bird calls, learning how to travel in a challenging environment), canoeing, and working together to complete small challenges. We plan to read stories about camping, learn campfire songs and explore the instruments often involved (ukulele, guitar, harmonica), play fun games, learn about the sorts of critters we might encounter while hiking/camping (guest appearance of our family pet "Yoshi" the albino corn snake!). It should be super fun!

Anyhow, my conference began on Monday morning, so I flew to Montreal on Saturday to allow for some time to play tourist! 
Here are a few pics from my travels. Mostly street art, murals, outdoor installations. Fun stuff!

 This one was called "Urban Forest"

 The rest of these installations were outdoors at The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

I have many more to share, but will save for a separate post. Here is my card.

I would like to share today's card at:

 Little Red Wagon where the theme is Birthdays

Shopping Our Stash - Gingham style!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and last week while I was away!

Shanna :)

What I used:

stamp - CTMH

papers: Simple Stories - Happy Day

gingham ribbon - from my stash

EK Success punches