hailey and danny

Almost Forgot!

2009-06-28T00:07:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of enjoying a visit from the delightful Miss Heike from Germany at the end of May. :) For those who don't know... Heike and I went to school together in New Zealand and she came to visit me and a bunch of other lucky ducks in the States.

It was fun catching up with this pretty lady again; and showing off Vancouver. We just had the weekend, but she was an easy guest, willing to see and do anything. We enjoyed more than one picnic and we were even able to catch a concert! HOLLA. Anberlin and Taking Back Sunday. It was REALLY loud cause we were standing right next to the speakers, but we still had a blast. I'm sure I will be cursing myself when I'm old and unable to hear though.

We got some deliiiicious Thai food on her last night here too and watched the sunset at the Spanish Banks and had a good chat. Love the overseas visitors. SO sweet when they come all the way here. :) :)

Anyways, this last pic I just really liked, and I think Danny took it when Heike was here. I have a "thing" for vines. I honestly LOVE when buildings are covered with greenery. I want to live in a house that's covered!

Just another Crazy May

2009-06-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well what do you know I'm late at posting, AGAIN! Honestly, if blogspot didn't take so long to upload photos this post would have been up at least 2 weeks ago. :) Feels like years since May happened! I'm even a little shaky as to what all we did in May. But let me give it a go.

May was, if I remember correctly, an awesome, awesome month. For starters we had the lovely and crazy Josh, James and Rich visiting us from Edmonton for a week. You may recognize them as the youth who came with us to Africa. But now, these boys are all grown-up, college students, with real jobs. (I think they even make more money then I do-ha) Anyways, as per usual, we had such a blast with these crazies, as they are probably the funniest trio that I am aware of. We took them down to Seattle one day and we had an exceptional time.

The tulip festival was alive and kickin on our way to Seattle. We had to stop as these boys LOVE flowers. Okay maybe not. But I just happen to LOVE tulips. They are without a doubt my most favorite flower, and I missed out on the festival last year. So this little detour may have been for me. But because these boys are so great, they made the best of it.

Then we went to the Outlets on the way, did a little bit of shopping, and then headed on down to Seattle. Pike Place Market was seriously out of control bursting with tulips. I was in HEAVEN. But its too annoying truckin tulips around with me all day, so I just took pictures.

After the market we sporadically opted to watch a game of baseball at the Saeco field where the Mariners play. I'm not big into baseball, but I love watching any kind of sports live so off we went.

The place was packed. Man Americans love to support their teams. The theme of the night was "Blast from the Past" too or something, so everything was old-school...the announcer had one of those old fashioned microphones, and was dressed up old-school, and the big screen was all crackly and looked like an old movie. I loved it. Sometimes I honestly wish I was born in the 40's or 50's. Man!

The same day the boys left, Danny left for Montreal! Lucky duck. His good friend Jeff was having his stag there, and so because Danny couldn't go to his wedding in Kentucky, he went to the stag in Montreal. I loved some of the photos he took so I thought I would post a couple up on here. I have wanted to go to Montreal for years now. And I think I would move there in a heartbeat. It looks so romantic and beautiful. And I love the French language. BUT for now Vancouver will do.

The month finished off with the greatest backyard wedding EVER. My Uncle Robert and his girlfriend Stephanie decided to get married in the most chill, relaxed atmosphere ever. They asked Danny to perform the ceremony and of course he was all over it.

The wedding was on the island in Cowichan Bay, at my Auntie Pip and Uncle Bob's house in their backyard. There were probably about 60 people and it was just one giant love-fest party. Literally.

Everyone just piled in the backyard and we all watched as they walked down the aisle together...well actually they danced. And it was really funny/sweet.

Here is our family shot. I think this was our goofy one. But if you saw the regular ones too, I mean they all kind of look goofy.

One thing that you will know the moment you meet my Uncle, is that he is all about puffy love. He is your modern day hippie...an amazing artist, and musician. So of course there was one big giant jam session for a couple hours during the potluck reception. Just grab an instrument and "play what you feel". :)

This last photo is one of my Mama and Papa. Dancing. They are seriously the greatest, most in-love older couple that I've ever seen. They still crack up at each other, and I mean, how cool is it that they are the only ones dancing. GOTTA LOVE THEM!

Just livin life in April

2009-05-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."

-- Agatha Christie

April. Good month. SO many fun things to do... when is life going to slow down and get boring?! Danny was still in Edmonton for the first week of April though, so the month started out solo for me...but not so solo with the help of my sis. Kyla and I decided to rendezvous to the island to visit family for the weekend. Holla. ROAD TRIP! Well not really. We took the bus, and the ferry... but still... travel was involved. And so was the road.

I love the island. I always feel better after visiting there. Family time is so rewarding, and it has that small town feel that I secretly love with my entire being. I keep thinking there is the chance I am a small town gal stuck in a big city body. (whatever that means...ha! i know what i mean) We will see what the future holds! But I love going to a place that just feels small. Anyways... we chatted and enjoyed life as we walked around town and the market, listened to the live 30-piece band at the gazebo, Kyla found a lego boyfriend, we window-shopped, and took photos. Ideal Saturday. Pure bliss.

Breakfast at Mama and Papa's is ALWAYS delicious. Honestly, Mama makes these apple pancakes that are UNREAL. We usually eat breakfast for at least an hour. They had also bought this amazing cheese that cracked me up... I have never seen a cheese ball so big in my entire life - here is Uncle Bob modeling it for me.

Kyla and I took some random shots in the field by Mama and Papa's. I accidentally cut her head off in this one, but I really like it. ha.

On our last day there, Kyla and I explored Cowichan Bay (for the 20th time in my life)...walked the docks, looked at boats, bought pop rocks (yum), and went to Merridale Cidery with Mama and Papa. I love it there. Delicious cider...and I love the countryside.

After an amazing weekend...Danny came home from his surgery!! It was simply lovely. Although gimped and sore, one of our fave bands was coming to town just 2 days after, and we decided to go to their show on a whim...crutches and all. Thankfully there was a lone stool just waiting for us when we walked in, so I leaned on Danny's crutches from the balcony as he sat and watched and took in the show. Friendly Fires + White Lies. Both put on an amazing show...the lead singer of Friendly Fires has dance moves that I have never seen before. I literally laughed for the entire first song...because it was just so hilarious/amazing!

A friend of mine (Michelle) is due to have a baby boy any day now so a couple of us threw her at Garden Party High Tea Baby Shower. April was a beautiful month, so heck why not enjoy the sun. Love Andrea's patio lanterns...from China Town.

Danny, Kyla and I were shopping in West Van a couple weeks ago on a Friday night, and Kyla had never seen the area before... so Danny and I decided to show her around. As we were driving, we saw these lights in the middle of nowhere so we decided to go check it out. It was a carnival! Kyla and I started screaming "We're going to the carnival! We're going to the carnival!" Like a couple of kids. And off we went.

We pretty much just walked around. Went on the rides, and people watched. Oh and we got 'mini donuts' too. OF COURSE.

The next day we headed off to Danny's cousins wedding in Langley. Met his parents and Gma there, and it was such a good day.

The ring bearers were adorable... Danny's second cousins. Too cute with the high five's at the end of the aisle.

The next day I threw a bridal shower for Lani in our small group with the help of Yukari and Carllee. Danny will be marrying Lani and Chris on June 6th. Should be a rad day...especially since the reception is on the top of Grouse Mountain!

I snuck into the grape juice. What a party animal.

Kyla's 22nd birthday was on the 28th so Danny and I suprised her with a picnic and night of Vancouver delights. I picked Kyla up and brought her to the park where Danny was waiting for us...

As part of Kyla's birthday present we went to the Ting Tings concert earlier in the month too, which was really awesome. For dessert for our lovely picnic, Danny and I went to Butter, a delicious bakery that is soooo stinkin adorable on the inside. Vintage looking. Love love love it. GOOD cupcakes too.

The beauty and joys of Vancouver have still not faded for me. I am loving every minute in the city, soaking up the sumptuous green grass along with the cherry blossoms and tulips, and lovin the sunshine! Honestly, what city is better?

MARCHing along

2009-04-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry I’m late on posting this. I have been incredibly busy spending time with Danny now that HE IS HOME! (More on this later. But I am a happy camper.)

Life for us Taylor’s has had its ups and downs this past month, but considering the circumstances we both are in pretty good spirits. March started off to be a delight - filled with birthday goodness. Ruth Anne and Lani from our small group shared a birthday one week so we surprised them with enough cake to feed a small village. (Delicious rainbow chip icing was involved. Only the very best.) And we all indulged in a rather large potluck too. Our small group is seriously awesome- I just have to put this in writing, because we have grown to be about 25 people this year, and I can honestly say I love everyone in our group, and all their opinions and experience they bring to group dynamic.

Birthday celebration numero dos, was a small James Bond fiasco that Danny and I threw at our place for our friend and new dad, Chad. Danny and Chad got on this James Bond kick with the new James Bond that came out a couple months ago – eagerly talking about how cool James Bond is and attempting to do the ‘James Bond’ face that makes you look tough, but not like you are trying too hard. I admit it though…I agree with them- James Bond is a total stud.

Next on the agenda was a trip to Westbank (just outside Kelowna), to visit Danny’s Grandma. The paparazzi came (or maybe it was just me) and caught some great shots of my man as he drove. Here is one of my favorites.

This trip was MORE than relaxing. The first night I slept 11 hours, which I honestly keep thinking about. That’s one of those things on my mind right now… how much I struggle between looooving sleep and loathing the fact that my days go by so fast and I don’t like to waste my time sleeping. I feel like if I could, I would stay up 24 hours and just do things I love to do. But then again there is just nothing like a good nights sleep.

Our trip was pretty chill, enjoying the gorgeous weather, a garage sale, skip bo, eaaating, chats, a lakeside walk, movie date, and lots of coffee and toast with jam.

A few days after we got home Danny and I had to say our goodbyes (to each other) as he left for the big city… Edmonton. For surgery. A big fat pin was removed from his leg involving major surgery and he got the same guy who put it in years ago to take it out. Due to a snowboarding wipe out 2 years ago, the pin has been bugging him (ever since), so he felt it was time to remove that bad boy. It was a long 11 days that he was gone but we both survived…and I think the time apart was actually really good for us. He is recovering well and I feel like it is an honest miracle how quickly he is healing. An amazing blessing for sure. He’s still in a lot of pain, but my man is strong.

While he was gone I managed to keep myself a little too busy looking back. I had only ONE night to myself. I had all these grandiose plans to watch all of my favorite chick flicks, read, journal, etc, but people were just lovin on me too much, making sure I didn’t spend a moment alone…

Seeing as I had an empty house one morning I hosted Laura’s birthday brunch at my place where we all cooked and ate for hours and hours, eating pancakes and muffins and drinking coffee.

Bonding is always a must – which is why our small group decided to hit up the local bowling alley one Wednesday, where 16 of us attempted to play a rather decent game. And let me tell you. I’m not as good as I used to be. Or as good as I thought I used to be. I literally at one point almost tipped over, or joined the ball down the lane (depending on where you were standing). I decided my form was bad and was getting frustrated with my lack of skill so I decided to run with the ball and then let go and see what happens. I don’t recommend this move.

a good month i like to call february

2009-03-01T19:34:00.000-08:00

Apparently I like February. I tend to enjoy it as a month. In a few words, my Feb. 09. could be described as Delicious Chaotic Fun. AND Musically Pleasing. Oh so satisfying...

February was SUCH a good month reflecting back. Life right now...is good. With Danny, finding community, living in Vancouver, my job is great. All is well. I had a weird week of random "depression" in there, (for lack of a better word)... and no it wasn't the weather. Just some things adding up to make me not my normal self.

But I am back to normal now though. Even though my normal is probably not normal at all. ha. Anyways, FEBRUARY. Let's get this show started. Well the month started out with chaos... snowboarding with friends, delicious dinners, games night, 3 girls staying in our spare bedroom (sister Darla and 2 friends for 2 weeks), baby showers-galore, and concerts...one of them in Seattle. Once again a short trip to Seattle was had. (Less than 14 hours long.) But this wasn't just any trip, or concert.

This was Greg Laswell. Currently my favorite artist of all time - I can't tell you what an unreal time it was to see him. He's amazing.

But since it was such a short trip and on a Wednesday night I checked if my work could hook us up with a hotel...and they did! On the stipulation that I will write a travel blog review on my stay. Since when am I a hotel reviewer? Ya you know I still ask myself how I am the primary writer for our website. I can't write. But I do. I fake it. My hotel review went live our website on Friday too. Ugh, there is no turning back. We stayed at Seattle's only waterfront hotel-where the BEATLES stayed on their tour in the 60's - Super cool. (Dont want to write the hotel name on here incase the hotel searches-ha)

Anyways, the hotel was great. The GM wanted to treat us to dinner...so of course we accepted! There were so many courses to this meal, I've currently lost track. The most amazing lobster mac and cheese I have EVER EVER had. And I don't even eat lobster. But just to give you a glimpse of how 'un-fine dining' my personality is... I had a bit of an embarrassing blip....

we picked a bottle of white wine
server comes and opens it at the table and pours some in my glass
i am just chatting chatting chatting. to her, to danny. chat chat chat.
she stays standing at our table for what feels like 5 minutes, thinking back.
danny: "uh hailey, i think she wants you to taste the wine"
hailey: "oh right"
'slurp' (all eyes on me)
hailey: "tastes great" (nervous laugh)

hmmm, turns out they want you to tell them if its good or not. i knew this. but you see the thing is... even if it wasn't "great" i wouldn't know. unless of course it tastes like poison. then i would say something. but i mean. i just dont drink enough to know these things.

So continuing on with the meal...We had all these foodie things brought out for us because the server thought "you might like this", then... "thought you might like this as well","oh and this too..." The GM even brought out a another 'special wine' for us that he thought went 'best' with both our meal choices...and then he brought the chef out to meet me as well. Oh man. This was a lot to take in. I'm just Hailey...you really don't know how unimportant I am. So after that...we were full. Full with food, and very impressed with the very very kind staff. Then we took a cab to the concert (due to the wine)...and YES- the concert was AMAZZZZING. A good way to start off the month.

(When we arrived at our hotel, the sun was setting and it was so cool to be right on the water. You could literally hear the water lapping on the property.)

The next morning I was sleepy. Still in awe of such a great night at the show. But it was time to take on the day...

On our way home we stopped at Top Pot- a delicious coffee and doughnut joint...With a cool bookshelf. Love it. (I would LOVE to have one of these in our future home.) I had to be back at work for noon so I needed coffee. After a late night and a drive ahead of us. It was needed.

This shot below is my "you just won a million dollars!" face. (We try to keep ourselves entertained as we drive) I'm holding back a little you may notice though, because well...to be honest, I'm not sure I'd really want to win a million dollars. I feel like it would turn me into a monster.

This is Danny trying to eat a car. I took probably 40 pictures of him doing this. I was laughing so hard I couldn't really get any good ones.

Our friend Chris is the captain of the UBC bball team so we have been going to MANY of his games this year. I have been loving every minute of it. I love watching goooood basketball, live. Such fun. And Chris, man he's like a champion. Definitely the best player on the team, and you would never guess it by how he talks about it. I thought he was just "some player"...until I saw him play...and found out he was the captain. They are in Ottawa right now playing at nationals. HOLLA. Go UBC!

After the game we went to this cute pub near 4th Ave that had a live band that played Jack Johnson and Bedouin Soundclash and other chill tunes. I love hearing live music. It always makes things better.

And next was...Valentine's Day.

Danny...what did you get me? OH MY GOSH. You know, this pic below, I kind of look dazed a bit. And that is because my man...Well he did well this year. I am not trying to brag I assure you, but I have to give my boy props. There is only one thing that can come in a creamy turquoise box. TIFFANY'S! (I actually started to cry.) Most people don't know this about me... because I am not the most fancy materialistic person you'll ever meet...but I ADORE Tiffany's. I am on the website all the time, just looking at everything - the glorious jewels, over and over. I just love it all. And I NEVER in a million years thought Danny would actually buy me something from there. But he did. A beautiful bracelet.

My day started off with Danny making me breakfast, which if you know Danny, this is a big deal for him to be cooking. Then we headed off to a planned day by him. A walk at the beach, Confessions of a Shopaholic Movie (yes he suffered through that for me), indulging in a delicious Nutella Crepe, and then a delightful meal at a cute candle-lit bistro.

The day after Valentine's was even more fun! We went with the crew (Darla, Jodi, and Kyla) to Wreck Beach-the nude beach of Vancouver...although you would think in Feb, there would be no nudies out. We go to see the ocean, and the views. Not to be nude. And honestly, its Feb. What could we possibly see? Oh no. We were wrong. Right at the bottom of the mini hike to get to the beach there is an old man. Just naked. You learn to quickly look away before you've seen more than you actually want to. The color of skin suddenly screams "look away, look away!"

We then decided to bike the seawall tandem style. Oh yeah. Danny rode solo (and took photos) as Kyla and I attempted to coordinate our legs on the bike. The day was absolutely stunning. Sunny and beautiful. Who said helmets aren't cool?

My month ended off with a concert I have been looking forward to for the whole month. A friend introduced me to this band a while ago, and I have recently come to appreciate their genius new album. They are called The Annuals - and yeah...they really are rad. The show was so small...there were probably only 30 of us, but that made it even more cool because we got to enjoy what felt like a private show. My hero is the only female artist in the band, Anna, who is amazing on the piano, and has an unreal voice. Seriously. She is cool.

Stay tuned for March. We bought a new camera! SO I am hoping for some more good shots!!! HOLLA!

Blurrrr-smooshing Dec and Jan together

2009-01-31T18:35:00.000-08:00

Blur... Dec and January have come and gone and left me asking "HOW"? How is life so incredibly fast some months and slow in others? I blink and the month is done. Well we have at least been enjoying ourselves. Dec was a whirlwind of Christmas parties and a visit home to Edmonton. Snowfalls and rain. And food. food. and more food.

Our "small" group at Westside can't seem to stay small.. Its currently 23 people small. We can't split either cause there is nobody else to lead so we pack out our living room every week, and it has been a fun time of chillen and chatting. And in this case... eating. We moved out some furniture and ate a Christmas feast in our living room. Tables and desks covered in tablecloths. Did the full deal - 2 turkeys, mashed potatoes, berry crumble. You name it. We ate it.

For my birthday Danny and I got hooked up through my work at the Four Seasons Whistler Resort. It was a glorious time of royal treatment - we were upgraded to some ginormous suite that could sleep a large family. Which was nice...but a bit too much. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but we just aren't the "rich" type. So when we are in a ritzy place with fur coats, a mystery butler who always knew when to turn on our fireplace, and how to fold our clothes, and Louis Vuitton luggage we can't help but think "whats the point of all this?" BUT we enjoyed ourselves with snowboarding and hot tubbing nonetheless.

Going home was INSANE- (as per usual) Christmas Party after party after party, living room dances with the youth, family times (movies, chats, meals), shopping (a little TOO much-our credit cards hurt us), playing survivor - the real version - in -34 degree weather (celsius!), getting sick-perfect time for the flu-NOT, and COFFEE DATES with friends. One of my fave things was a girly brunch I had with my good friends Erin, Jenna, Lisa, Danielle, and Jessica. I've known Lisa since grade 7 and the rest since grade 10 or 11. Good to still be in touch with these lovely ladies and be a part of their lives. It interesting that any friends I am making now are really having to "learn me" and me them. There is something about having history with someone that can bring depth that doesn't just come naturally.

New Years was rad in Seattle. So short, but so fun. We counted down with our good friends from Vancouver Chad and Lynda. We walked and walked and walked everywhere. Fireworks shot out of the Space Needle and it was awesome. People drinking champagne, yelling, and kissing. Good times.

It has been SNOWING a lot here. We are not used to this for Vancouver, as the city doesn't know how to co-exist with snow, so it has been an adventure in winter wonderland lately. Digging the car out, shoveling, wearing a WINTER JACKET, etc. etc. etc.

My BEST Christmas gift was tickets to the Off-Broadway of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Given to me as a surprise from my lovely husband Danny. I was soooooo excited as this was one of my top 5 favorite Disney movies I loved when I was a kid. It was an AMAZING show nearly identical to the movie, just acted by real people. I LOVED listening to the kids in the audience gurgle with laughter when something funny happened. There were tons of little "princesses" all dressed up for the show. Too cute.

Yes, an umbrella to keep us from getting snowed on. Only in Vancouver. ONLY in Vancouver.

Other than that Danny and I have been keeping SO BUSY with work, church, the gym, and spending time with friends. I had a lovely morning the other day starting out with my favorite movie... Breakfast at Tiffany's...

Topped off with my favorite cereal... LUCKY CHARMS.

And some of my most favorite people...Bonnie and Jon! We had a lovely coffee with these 2 parents-to-be in Burnaby. SO EXCITED for them. :)

It is now FEBRUARY. Can you believe it!!!!? FEBRUARY. I really want to live in the moment this year. Not let time take over. Do things I want. Spend my time how I feel I should. January was a good month. Life is good. But I have to force myself to be intentional with how I spend my time. I am trying to read one book a month this year. SO far my goal is a success! I read 'A Weekend in Paris' in January (fiction novel) and now I'm reading 'Paris to the Moon'. Let's just say I am on a bit of a Paris kick, and can't let go. My whole being just wants to be there learning French and walking their beautiful streets. But... living through my books will just have to do for now! Au revoir...

Lately I'm Craving...

2009-01-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

New York.

It's 7:00 pm on a Wednesday, and I'm sitting here at the end of a long day at work, listening to Putumayo French Cafe - just resting. Thinking. For whatever reason I can't stop thinking about New York. It's been 3 days now, and its like a craving I can't seem to kick. Its my drug. It feels like a need, not a want. Doesn't help that I work in the travel industry either. I'm content with Vancouver, and my life here. But I have officially been bit with the travel bug, and badly.

What's so great about New York? Really.
You know... there is almost too much that is great.

For one, the shopping is crazy. Even if you don't buy anything its still fun to peek in little boutiques in Soho - you can be in almost any store and you will probably find something worth looking at. The fashion is of course to die for as well, but at the same time will no doubt make your outfit seem inadequate.

The cafes are darling. We didn't get to try out many of them while we were there, but after seeing this book, I now have a New York mission whenever my next visit occurs. If you ever come across it, its a cool book - lots of good places we're all missing out on. MMM Latte Art.

Two Words. Central Park.

Magnolia Bakery. Life changing Cupcakes. Literally. One bite and its like the cupcake fairy has come and blessed your mouth. I STILL remember what the icing tasted like. Name one other cupcake shop that has a bouncer. I'm telling you, these cupcakes make people go crazy.

Times Square. Does it ever get old? I don't think so. This is literally a place to lose yourself, and lose track of time. Dudes everywhere selling these delicious fresh honey roasted nuts, everywhere you look you see taxis and I heart NY shirts, people galore, BROADWAYS, restaurants, shopping, bright lights and giant advertisements.

I could go on forever, but I wont. I've been trying to lose myself in books to keep my sanity lately. My nicorette, but for travel addictions. I'm in Borneo right now, at an orangutan sanctuary. Adventure Divas. Good book so far about women making a difference in the world. Not stuffy either.

Collecting Kiwi

2009-01-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

Seeing as you all haven't really been properly updated on my new job, I figure that I should fill ya'll in.

My passion is travel. The world. Anything to do with culture, I am usually interested. My main passion for my career life is to mix travel and humanitarian aid. I love helping people. I want to make a difference. I think everybody does. But this isn't as easy to find in the travel industry, nor does it pay well. So, to gain experience and to pay off my hideous student loan, I have taken a job at a company that deals with pretty much the opposite of what my passion is - luxury travel. More specifically luxury hotel rooms. I am Content Manager for the website, so that when a new property signs a contract with us I get info on the hotel and write about it. This means I could be writing about a little Inn on the South Island of New Zealand, or a gorgeous chateau in the South of France, or even a large-and-in-charge hotel in downtown New York City. Anything goes. As long as its luxury. This job unfortunately doesn't involve any traveling, but the job isn't without other perks.

I still haven't lost my passion, and I still desire a career in humanitarian aid... but for now this is good. This pays the bills, and is a pretty positive work environment, so I can't complain! However, 40 hours a week is proving to be a lot! So that is my job in a nutshell! And for the record, at this point I can't really get any hotel deals for anybody, but I will sure to post if the day comes when I can!!! If you want the name of our website, let me know. :)

Blogger Problems: Here is November - my sincere apologies

2008-12-14T16:35:00.001-08:00

Oh Blogger issues. How many times have you cursed my blog? Bonnie - be honest. haha I know the blogging police are royally frustrated with me. But my blog will not let me post!!! Even a simple post like this has taken over an hour. And my uploading of photos is getting to be ridiculous. It takes us to 3 minutes a photo. I am thinking of leaving blogspot. I really did start this blog over a month ago. But yes...here it is... only a year late. Well let's quit wasting time and get started. :)

Sister visits. Natalie that is - Kyla lives above us. So she is always visiting. ;) We spent our time with fondue at Chocoatl. shopping on 4th. mainstreet. robson. mary poppins watching. going for dinners. sight seeing. All good fun, and it was a good visit although poor Danny was the only guy... and our professional photographer.

After Nat left I headed to Calgary solo where I got to witness and share in Erin's joy at her wedding. We couldn't afford for Danny to come so Danielle was my unofficial date - although I have no pics on my computer of the two of us!! I got to hang with Ruth from Capernwray too which was so fun!!! So nice to hang with good friends and see Erin and Dustin so in love.

Wish I could have stole Jessica away for a nice long chat but she was in the wedding party so she was busy with her duties!!!

November was lovely. A good month. Adjusting to my new job so I was very tired. Sleepy Hailey comes to town! It was fun to prep for Dec. though. I LOVE CHRISTMAS and decorating, and its a winter wonderland here. We decorated on the last day in Nov. and the festivities began. I will update you on Dec. soon. If my blog cooperates that is.

A group of us friends got together for an early Christmas dinner party because it was the only time that worked for everyone. Christmas dinner number 1. Number 1 of 5 I think? Lets just say I have probably eaten an entire turkey on my own in the month of Dec. BUT: Yummy food = Good times.

We enjoyed our party poppers with Chad and Lynda and the crew - Danny scored a sweet necklace in his. I am so glad he doesn't wear it on an everyday basis. EW!

SO that is our Nov. in a nutshell. Food. Family. Friends. A great month. A HAPPY LATE CHRISTMAS to you all! And a DELICIOUS AND WONDERFUL 2009! Hope you all enjoyed celebrating our blessed Savior's birth. I am forever grateful we have HIS birthday to celebrate. Thank you Jesus - for all that you were to us in 2008...

October...Just in the Knick of Time!

2008-10-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

[So this blog is just a total mish mash due to the fact that our pics are all messed up as well as the blog was being annoying... And I know I'm one day late people. Just cut me a little slack here. I had my final exam of the year, and the biggest project of my life due, YESTERDAY. That was the scariest part of my Halloween.] ;)

What a beautiful month October has been though. The colors are just UNREAL in our neighborhood-I can't get enough! Autumn takes my heart when it comes to seasons. We have been to Edmonton twice in the past month too! (The end of Sept and mid-Oct)Well first we hit up Steve and Kim's wedding on Sept 27. And that was just a blast. I will talk more about that later on. Then we had many other adventures this month such as Thanksgiving in Cowichan Bay on the island. And our second trip to Edmonton was for Robbie and Ashley's wedding. It was an absolute delight as well! So so so nice to be home as we haven't been since June.

So seeing as Halloween was yesterday I thought I would post this BEAUTIFUL shot of Danny and I. This first photo of us is in Superstore where we went with my sis Natalie, and did a little shopping and tried on wigs. I could NOT stop laughing every time I looked at Danny. He looks so creepy/pretty!!!!!

Next here we have Ashley and Robbie's wedding. The most recent of weddings we've been to. They had a perfect Edmonton Fall day on Oct.17. Darla and I were in charge of opening the doors for the girls before they walked down the aisle. It was fun to be behind the scenes! Ashley did really well at holding herself together before heading down the aisle. Darla and I on the other hand had quivering lips and we had to force ourselves not to cry. No wonder this is normally a boys job!!!!

Here is the Robbie's handsome best man. My husband. After the wedding I said something to Danny that confused him/made him frustrated and I took a picture of him as I said it. This picture makes me laugh. True frustration with me. ;)

It was hard to get a good shot of the place but this is the church-Gateway Alliance. Danny and I got married here too. Just completely different decorations. It was very pretty!!!

And now we have the happy couple after they were pronounced husband and wife. Too cute!

Yesterday was a big day for me. It was my last day of school. True story!! I am done, and start a brand new job on Monday at Kiwi Collection. www.kiwicollection.com. More to come on that in weeks to come. Anyways...These are MA GIRLS! My class was primarily exchange students, and we are all female-so it has been SUPER fun getting to know them and learning about their cultures. 2 weeks ago we were studying tour guiding, and got to escape the classroom for nearly a week. We got to go on the ever-so-exciting Aquabus as part of our tour.It was fun to spend our last days together doing something not involving listening to lectures. I keep feeling like I have homework. I have been so busy with school lately I can't even say!!! I am so happy to be done! But I will miss these ladies dearly!

Now on to Kim and Steve's wedding. It was great to see people, and Danny did such a great job with the sermon too. (He married them.) And if you are an Office fan...(the tv show) You will be happy to know that Danny even managed to say "That's what she said" IN the ceremony. After Kim said her vows. I just about died!!!! And everyone eventually burst into laughter.

Here is a pic of the pastor (Danny), the talented photographer (Ian) and the groom (Steve).

We snagged a shot of us before the wedding. I flew solo this day though...missed my man. He was off taking photos and being there for the groom!

I picked up this lovely lady however, and we spent the day together. My hot date was Janae! We had heaps of fun out and about in Edmonton. I miss my hometown.

Steve and Kim were VERY talented at cutting the cake. I was impressed. I don't have any good shots from the ceremony because I sat kind of far away from the front! I look forward to seeing Ian's good shots.

Our good friends Steph and Jer were in town from Germany too! They are staffing a YWAM Biblical Studies school there now, and they just left again a day ago! :( We will miss them.

The dance was a good time. I love getting people in mid-move. ;)

And on to Thanksgiving. WE LOVE THE ISLAND. Let me just put that out there before we go any further here. Everything about it. We had a great great time with Mama and Papa and the crew. My Auntie Pip made a killer Thanksgiving dinner with the help of Mama too. And get this- 5 minutes before we were about to sit down to eat, the power went out on the ENTIRE island! Thankfully all was ready and we ate up! Then at night we went to my cousin Riley's show at this hall. And I am so proud to say even my Mama and Papa came out for the late night! They were definitely the oldest people there!!!!

Okay so at this hall they have a "Not-So-General-Store". That's what its called. And it was SO strange. But I found these cat puppets that made me laugh so hard. I couldn't stop making faces with them. Oh it killed me.

This cafe below is called Moziros. They make amazing coffees, but the real treat is their Mint Smoothy chocolates. They are seriously life changing. I promise. I loved the art and vintage feel in here.

We came across pumpkin heaven. I just wanted to jump into the pile but of course that would be painful so I didn't.

This is the courtyard for this restaurant there. I mean how cute is this!?
So that is more or less our October. I can't believe it's November already. It scares me to think about how fast this year has gone. INSANE. But I am getting SO incredibly excited for Christmas. It will be great. I hope all is well with everyone else! Here's to a good November!

September...So Far

2008-09-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

September is a good month. In Vancouver, most still consider it "summer". Although I can't agree with that totally because its gray here today. And my hands are cold. And actually, this first pic of us is on a FREEZING night, at the beginning of the month when we decided to go to the Richmond night market. It was SOOOOOOO WINDY! But of course we made the best of it and bought some warm mini doughnuts. Can't go wrong with those.

I bought this notebook there because I just couldn't resist. Too cute! Not sure what I will use it for yet, but Danny was making fun of me a bit, but we all know he secretly loves it.

I LOVE AUTUMN. It is for sure the greatest season. The sun always seems the prettiest, and the clothes are ALWAYS the coziest. Big scarves, and woolly sweaters. I love it. We were able to escape to Whistler to the Westin Resort and Spa this month too. A little late anniversary getaway. We like to celebrate as much as humanly possible. :)

Smoldering...

Whistler is always packed with tourists. Which is one of the reasons why I like it there so much. I love being surrounded by people...even if I don't know them. It's got a lodgy feel too. You really feel like you're away in the mountains there. My Dad hooked us up at the Westin Resort and Spa too; it is always nice to be pampered. We got upgraded to this great room that overlooked a beautiful driving range. So stunning.

Next on the agenda were some visitors! I know you are all shocked because we never have people stay with us. It's unheard of! But we bent the rules this time for our lovely sis Darla, her dog Mylo, and her friend Kyle. I guess I should say our friend Kyle. We're all friends.

We did the usual including some hilarious board games, sight seeing, and even FONDUE!!!!! Delicious. We ate so much chocolate that night I can't even say without blushing.

To wash all that delicious chocolate down we went on a wine tour in Langley the next day. It was smokin hot and the wine was tasty. The few sips I had. The grapes and vineyards were just so deliciously beautiful, I couldn't get over it. It really does take everything in me to not pick a grape.

We enjoyed ourselves around Vancouver too. They were lucky they got some great weather while they were in town!

Last week I had my graduation ceremony as well. Now before you get all excited and congratulate me, you need to know I DON'T ACTUALLY GRADUATE UNTIL THE END OF OCT. We just have the ceremony early because there are many start dates throughout the year, so they do a couple ceremonies a year. It was still a good night though nonetheless.

Another BIG thing that happened this month was our big church kick off called Re-load. We launched our new website- www.churchonthewestside.com. And had a church service at the Kitsilano Showboat Theatre. The setting was so so beautiful it was almost too distracting. The weather was hot too; so people were swimming in the pool behind the stage. It was kind of funny. There were about 450 of us, so it was pretty awesome!

Other big piece of news: My sister Kyla moved into the suite above us. Timing worked out and she is all moved in. Crazy having family so close! It's been good.

Well that is all from me now. I am sure there will be more to come at some point. We are heading to Edmonton this weekend for Kim and Steve's wedding so that will be great. Can hardly wait!

AUGUST BLOG

2008-08-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

The August blog has arrived!!! We have had an exceptional month with some lovely visits, as well as some delicious side trips here and there. We consider ourselves very blessed to have the summer we did and are looking forward to what Sept. will hold. -I LOVE FALL!!!- This first pic however, is from July. Our anniversary! Danny surprised me and took me to this DELICIOUS Italian restaurant in Vancouver. The owner is from Italy and owns a cooking school and Tuscan villa. It was phenomenal!

Our adventures began this month with a "camping trip" with our friends Curt and Jihan. We headed up to the always lovely and hot Okanagan where we set up tents in Curt's uncle's backyard-due to the fact that all the campsites were booked up. It was still fun though- we managed to soak up some sun at the beach twice, do a little mini-golfing-which by the way near the end everyone was taking WAY too seriously in my opinion, and they were also annoyed that I wasn't taking it SERIOUS enough. :), and we did a nice wine tour as well at the Mission Hill winery. That place is STUNNING. I would sleep there if they'd let me.

We then had one brief night to ourselves at home, and the next day Danny's parents arrived. We had a great visit with them as well-featuring a delicious meal at Cardero's on the water and some shopping and sight-seeing. Danny was able to hit up the Leadership Summit too with his Dad which was great for them to be able to do that; while his Mom and I went for a bit of shopping greatness on Granville Street.

I kept busy with school this month and Danny has been working hard too. We rewarded ourselves with an absolutely wonderful, chill and relaxing show by the one and only-Jack Johnson. Now I don't think words can express what a big deal this was for me. Jack Johnson has been quite famous for a while now-however, I have been a big fan of his since I was in grade 11. His first favorite song of mine was Bubble Toes. I can still remember where I was sitting when I heard it. I have literally been waiting EIGHT YEARS to see him in concert. That is like one third of my life! It was a good show though, and it was great to see it with Bonnie and Jon-and I even got mini doughnuts!

The next big thing that happened in August was that our girls came to visit from Edmonton! Who are "our girls" you ask? They would be the lovely Jillanne, Nicole, Kayla, and Jenna-4 of the youth girls from Beulah. We had a fantastic time with these lovely ladies taking them on adventures around the city of Vancouver and EVEN to Seattle for a day trip. Danny wrote a message in Chapters one day to share his excitement...

We took the girls to Michael's craft store to find some crafty things to do on a rainy day. We weren't successful, but there is always stuff to look at IN the store.

We also took them to Cafe Artigiano in West Vancouver. This cafe is one of our favorite latte spots in the city due to its perfect latte art, and fun atmosphere.

On a not so rainy night we went to Wreck Beach. I have been there before, but have been warned that it is in fact-a NUDE beach. We have thankfully been spared nudity in the past because we have only gone in the spring for sunsets. The weather has been too cold in the past, and we were okay with that. However, this particular night was a little different. Danny had literally JUST given the "warning, there is the small potential you may see nudity talk, but its unlikely" to the ladies, and before we knew it-BAM-there were 3 naked people running on the beach directly in front of us in the distance. We had a good laugh as we all awkwardly looked down and tried to avoid looking anywhere else but at each other and the ocean.

Granville Island is always fun. I don't really get tired of it because its so intricate and there are flowers everywhere, and people. LOTS of people. And delicious coffee from JJ Bean.

These shopping bags you see below are representatives of our beloved shopping experience in the States. Girls like to shop. It's hard to avoid. We had to rent a car to drive down because our car only seats 5! Good thing it had a big trunk!

The border crossing had this rad Canadian Flag made out of flowers. It was really cool.

In the Pike Place Market area there is the ORIGINAL Starbucks. It is always lined right up! This time there were some men busking outside that were just so entertaining to watch as they belted out their tunes and harmonized.

I had to post this photo of me at the SAM (Seattle Art Museum)-store. The reason being... I actually, for the first time in my entire life thought a mouse was cute. I can't tell you how much I despise mice but this one-he was just cute. I couldn't think he was anything else but cute.

We took the girls to the place where they throw fish in the Pike Place Market. The customer orders some seafood (fish, crab, whatever)-the guy yells out the order, and all his co-workers yell it back, and then one of them throws the order to the guy. And he hands it to the customer all wrapped up and ready to go. These guys thought it would be funny to yell out an "order" and then throw a fish AT US instead. The guy catching "conveniently" missed catching the fish and it hit Nicole. Thankfully it was FAKE. We all screamed.

I had to mention this bookstore. If you can call it that. It may also be a slice of heaven on earth. Danny and I are BIG fans of bookstores. I am pretty sure we could spend hours on end and not get bored. We both love books. I am so glad we both do otherwise one of us would be bored all of the time. Anyways, this bookstore takes the cake. She is one of the most interesting and beautiful bookstores I have ever been in. I could get lost here. I think I almost did once.

This was a little nook I found as we were walking. It made me want to melt and drink coffee and read there.

Seattle was great. We had SO much fun, I can't even post 1.2% of the photos we took. We still had days left in Vancouver once we got home to go on more adventures. I love this building right near English Bay-covered in leaves. HOW COOL.

These next couple of photos of mine are from a store called 'The Cross' in Yaletown, in Vancouver. I cannot really explain how beautiful this store actually is. I don't talk about it that much, but I am head over heels in love with home decor magazines and shops. I could spend countless hours hopping from one to the other, and checking out all the details.

We miss the girls already, we had such a great time with them. August is nearly over, and what a way to go. Today is the RAINIEST day I have seen in a while... it almost seemed snowy. The rain is blowing everywhere and I am unimpressed. However, I think I am going to a concert in a cafe tonight-which is a glorious and cozy thing to do on a rainy day!!!

JULY

2008-07-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

As promised... here is my blog post for JULY! To say this month has been CRAAAAZY is an understatement. Seriously-between juggling guests, travels, homework and work... we have hardly kept our heads on straight! Where to start?

Our first visitors were Steve and Clark, and Steve's fiance Kim... although we never got a group photo unfortunately. Kim was in town doing school though so she was staying with family. The boys had a lot of fun though, and I know Danny really was so happy that he got to spend time with Steve; one of his closest friends. It was nice to have them around!! Steve and Clark got in more rounds of golf than humanly possible. Although Danny missed out on that! :(

Canada Day was a lot of fun. We got together with a big crew from our church...mostly small group peeps, and had a large picnic... mixed in with a little bocce ball, croquet, frisbee and good chats.

Our next guests were the lovely Danae and Danny Lee and Zhen the dog. We had a blast having these guys out. It was really nice to spend time with them and show them the city. They were only here for 3 nights though I think. So much too short. We did loads of walking, and shopping-but not a lot of buying... and enjoyed some movies too. Danae and Danny made it out to Chinatown too and Danae managed to get a fake sleeve tattoo. It was pretty funny.

After they left, my Mom, Dad, and sister Natalie came. We did loads with them as well. Once again a lot of walking and sight-seeing, and it was glorious! We headed over to the island too where we spent lots of time with extended family. Such a blessing to live close to extended family now.

My Mama and Papa are a very funny elderly couple. We always have a lot of fun chatting with them. Papa is such a goof. He is almost like Danny but 60 years older!

My Auntie Pip sells some of her art at a coffee shop called Moziros in Cowichan Bay. They have the BEST chocolate and BEST coffee there.

I was getting sun stroke I swear...so I had to wear Papa's hat on the boat, and Danny found this oh so humorous, so he literally took like 10 pictures of me in this hat! My uncle took us crabbing, which is always fun to go around on the boat. Only problem is...I don't eat crab!

My cousin Kayden is a little trouble maker. But we have lots of fun with him too. Nat and him are close in age.

After our time at the island was over Natalie came back with us, and we went to the Jimmy Eat World concert. WOW was it good. I really think I was their biggest fan growing up, and was lucky enough to see them in concert once when I was in high school. They were just as good the second time.
Then a few days past and Danny and I lept onto a plane to VEGAS for our 2 year wedding anniversary! We treated ourselves to many things such as the COLDPLAY concert and Cirque du Soleil; "O"-the water show. Our trip was only 3 days long though and man was it stinkin HOT. Like melt your face off hot. But we had a blast shopping, and sightseeing and floating about in the pool.

Cirque du Soleil is actually amazing. If ever given the chance to go-DO IT! I insist. I was telling Danny its almost like you want to go up to each person at the end of the show and just hug them and tell them how amazing they are. The things they did are absolutely insane and suspenseful. People would like disappear under water and not come up!! And then like 10 minutes later you would see them diving or something. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the actual show though.

The Coldplay concert was by far one of the best shows I have seen my entire life. Beyond entertaining. It was a giant sing along and everybody was SO into it. We reeeeeeaaaally had a good time. They are incredible live.

When we got home my family was still here, and my parents left the day after but Natalie stayed for an extra week. We did so much with this girl; took a mini cruise/aquabus around the water and saw fireworks, went to restaurants, and the list goes on.

We watched the fireworks again over the weekend with Bonnie and Jon too but have no time to download those pics yet! The fireworks competition is in town, so we get fireworks every week!!! July is nearly over and tomorrow is our TWO YEAR wedding anni! We are both so excited! And then it will be almost August. We get to go camping this weekend though and I am pumped! Okanagan here we come!!!!! I can't believe how fast time goes by. It's scary!

MONTHLY BLOG: JUNE

2008-06-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

I wish I had more time. As you have probably been able to tell from my lack of blogging, I don't have time right now. Time + Me = Not-such-good-friends.

I am loving life though and living life... away from the computer. So... I have decided that while I am still in school I am going to have to forfeit my blogging duties, and do monthly updates only. Not that I haven't really been doing that already, but I am just verbalizing it to myself so that I know now I MUST update ONCE a month. For now. Or else. I will have to punish myself. How do you even go about punishing yourself. I don't think I'm disciplined enough. I think I would just give myself those puppy dog eyes and give in.

Anywho: Recap since last time I wrote. My friend Danielle has been living with us for the past 6 weeks doing her internship in Langley and just left us yesterday. Darla was also in town for one week on her way home from Australia too. She is also gone now too. Our house has been FULL. Full of laughs. Full of food. Full of shampoo, clothing, and girly things. But now- it's not full. It's quite empty actually. Danny is at a work thing tonight, so it's just me. Sitting here. With my favorite Pottery Barn candle burning. Typing at my computer. It's okay. I'm okay. ;)

Now what to report.

Well we went to Whistler with Darla on Friday last week which was really fun. It was a venture up into the mountains and it was actually sort of warm there as opposed to the eskimo-like weather we have been experiencing here in Vancouver. But yeah... Whistler. Went for a walk around a lake, looked in a bunch of shops, checked out some Olympic hype. Good times were had.
School has been really good. Right now we're learning travel and tourism fundamentals, and seriously my instructor is SO funny. She has the funniest stories ever. But I think the best thing about her stories is how hard she laughs when she's telling them so it usually takes twice as long than it should to actually get the words out of her mouth.
Danny's job is going great. My little Addictions Specialist. He sure is great. He is getting positive feedback from his co-workers too. I'm so proud. BUT the school year is coming to and end so things will slow down for him this summer. I foresee many "IM BORED" text messages from him in my near future.
Our small group has also come to an end for the year. Our church just finished a 5 month sermon series on the sermon on the mount. It was crazy long, but incredibly insightful. We are finally getting a sense of community at our church, so Vancouver feels more like home by the day.

The other thing on my mind lately is being Environmentally Friendly. DT and I are trying to press into this notion but its difficult at times. It takes so much effort, and I'm lazy by nature. Here are some things I JUST learned today (And this is not to point the finge

r at the American's because I am sure we are just as bad-but the stats were all American stats:

American's throw more than 75 million tons of packaging and containers (532 pounds per person) into landfills each year. Less than 40% is recycled.
The average computer left on all day uses 1000 kilowatts of electricity per year; whereas a computer switched off at the end of the day uses less than 250 kilowatts per year.
188 millions trees are used for paper every year.
The red/green light emitted from your TV/DVD player/Stereo System etc, is PRICEY + BAD. It adds approximately $70 to your electricity bill every year and creates 190 pounds in unnecessary greenhouse gases. They suggest buying power strips and plugging things into that, and when your technological appliances aren't in use-flick the switch off.

YIKES! This book has loads of info, but I wasn't happy to read all this stuff. I really hate this environmental struggle. Here are my personal goals for now:

Use the clothesline more- I think I've used it like once. (Im afraid people will steal my clothes! Plus its been rainy.)
RECYCLE more
Throw out less. We throw out a lot. I think. Mostly food. Its hard when there is 2 of us cause we can't eat everything!!
Turn the lights out ALWAYS when I am not in the room.
Walk more. Drive less.
Buy less. Don't buy junk!
Take quick showers
Put on layers instead of turning up the heat

...Just to name a few. SO that's all for June. Stay tuned for July. It's our 2 year anniversary and there is LOADS going on this summer!!!

Wedding Bliss

2008-04-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while. I almost decided to give up on blogging because I just

don't have time. Really. I don't. I am spending every waking moment on homework and when I'm not doing that, I'm not home. So therefore, I am a blogging loser. BUT I have decided to blog when I can, because I value it, a lot. I have way too much on catch up on. But, this is the long awaited post. The time has come folks. Wedding Photos. That's right. Wedding photos. Finally. Only 1.9 years late. We were married July 29th, 2006 and so far so good. We are happy campers, living life, and moving forward. So here are a few highlights from that day 1.9 years ago... ;) Sorry it's taken me so long! For some reason a bunch of our getting ready and ceremony and family shots wouldn't download, so maybe there will be more to come one day...

RECAP SHMEECAP

2008-03-13T10:50:00.001-07:00

Well we have now been in Vancouver for nearly 3 months and I fully recognize the lack of photo updating. Or updating in general. School absolutely has taken over. So, I decided to do a recap on our lives since that day… Dec.26th, that we started making our way to Vancouver.

We had some GREAT helpers to get us settled. Danny’s Mom and Dad, and his sister Darla joined us in our adventure in moving our lives out here. Danny’s Dad drove out the monster truck with the trailer behind it, that carried ALL of our stuff! We drove the car; and of course we couldn’t leave the dogs behind. They joined us too. Although they weren’t much help; they could hardly carry anything!

We spent our first night in Kelowna at Danny’s Grandma’s, and then we eventually made it to Vancouver where there was LOTS of rain. So much rain actually that we had to postpone our move-in date until the next day to avoid soggy boxes.

We did some painting and unpacking that took forever! Danny’s parents left the day after, but they left behind their wonderful daughter Darla. Soon after came Tom and Heather, our cousins from Cali, and then Jase from Texas!

We enjoyed some gallivanting around the city, and counted down to a new year as a lovely group of 6 crammed in our car.

Tom and Heather could only stay for 2 days, but Jase and Darla stayed for about 10 more days and then Darla headed off to Australia where she is now, and Jase back to America. Jase and Darla were both helpful with getting us moved in! HOLLA! And we celebrated Darla's birthday early too. So we of course HAD to surprise her with cupcakes!!!! We opened Christmas presents from Jase too which was really exciting. He is so thoughtful...getting us a "Don't Mess With Texas" mug and some House Blend coffee as a house warming gift, and a Starbucks Christmas Barista bear that I LOVE, and a couple other goodies!

After everyone was gone, next came Danae- Danny’s other sister, and Mom Taylor again for a weekend. We had fun showing them the city and shopping around! Then came my Mom, but we didn’t get any pictures with her!

Next came Natalie, which was, loads of fun, although like I mentioned in a previous blog, Danny got the most time with her. NOT FAIR! We went to the States to shop and it was gooood.

After Natalie left came my friend Danielle and also our friends from Edmonton Aaron and Rob. Danielle and I had some great coffees and we had lots of laughs with Rob and Aaron too. The boys were so sweet they even took us out for a nice dinner to thank us for hosting them! Ladies, these boys are single, hilarious, and they are very kind. If you’re interested you just let me know!

I have been LOVING my school. Danny managed to steal a shot of me in the car on the first day so that I could show my Mom. Haha He wanted me to sit on the couch but I wouldn’t have it. The views from my classroom are unreal. I can see the mountains and downtown. It’s a hard life I tell ya.

And of course Danny is almost done his shifts at the Urban Barn, completely enjoying his new job, but is a bit overwhelmed, and I am still truckin along at the Travel Bug, learning the world.

Because we haven't had much time or opportunities to meet new people, we have been spending loads of quality time together. We went to the new and HUGE movie theatre downtown to see "In Bruges", a Colin Farrel film that is both violent and humorous. Actually kind of liked it. I took this pic of Danny but its kind of blurry because I was laughing too hard.

We are still not 100% settled, but our living room is pretty much finished, here is a mini night time glimpse for you. We just bought another piece of art this weekend from my uncle that I am SO excited about. And I am talkin pricey. That is one thing Danny and I actually ENJOY spending money on. Art. The most we have spent on a painting was $800. Hey, if it changes the way you live and lifts your spirits, I think its worth it! Our newest piece of furniture is a coffee table from Pottery Barn. I was quite delighted to get it on sale.

These peppers are glowing bright red from my favorite market I buy all our fresh produce from. The prices are AMAZING. I sometimes buy TOO much because I get such a deal. It's AWESOME.
We were shopping/window shopping on Commercial Drive one day and snapping photos. We can across this cool antique shop. The little sign was on a storage unit. Who spits on furniture?

These next 2 photos pretty much summarize the last 3 months for us. We literally go to coffee shops more than ever now. And read and study. School was giving me tests and big projects nearly every week and therefore we were "forced" to go to our favorite Starbucks overlooking Coal Harbour.

And last, but NOT least. Chocolatl. I am poting this so that I don't forget this moment. So it's really for me. But this day we spent $16 on chocolate. At one store. We bought 2 hot chocolates and 2 truffles. $16. Ouch. BUT this isn't just any chocolate shop. It is simply delicious. They serve hot chocolate that is hard to explain, but its cocoa from different parts of the world. We both got the Venezuelan. Absolutely creamy and divine.

So tonight we are off to Seattle for a day, and then to Edmonton. I cannot say how excited I am to see my family. I miss them dearly! I won't have much time to post when I'm there but I promise to update when I can. Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter. (We went to the island to visit my Mom's side of the family, and I will post more on that later. It was a blast.)

He has RISEN INDEED!

Another FREAK OUT!

2008-03-07T14:30:00.001-08:00

I am getting sick of technology. Absolutely sick of it. Some of it. I know that in my life I benefit from it often. But I am just getting sick of how it replaces human interaction, and it sucks up all my time. I don't like how it replaces getting a phone call or getting a letter or a real birthday card in the mail. Facebook is the worst for this. Suddenly all my conversations are online. It's all online. I am guilty of this myself, and a lot of it really does have to do with the fact that I don't have as much time to call anymore because I am a student and majority of my time is spent in a class room with computers. So in some respects, it is my only option. But my teacher was telling us a story the other day about his grade 12 daughter. She sent... GET THIS.... she sent over 6000 text messages on her cell phone last month. YES. There are 3 zeros there. SIX THOUSAND. Luckily his son works for the cell phone company so they get it for free. But I am worried. The next generation is going to have such a struggle with honest face to face to communication because of what technology is doing. I also hate facebook snoopers. Yes, I will randomly come across info on other people's page's while I am writing them a message or whatever, but it just bothers me that so many people just hop from page to page snooping in on other people's business when they don't even talk to that person ever. My friend said she went to a party and ran into someone she had as a facebook friend, but hadn't seen for years and this person knew everything that was going on in her life! It just bothers me. I don't like nosy people. I am considering getting rid of my account because it bothers me that much. But the main thing that bothers me is that it is so easy to lose HOURS and HOURS of your life/ my life just sitting at the computer all day. We don't have cable on our tv, so we have that advantage, but the Internet still manages to grab our attention. I don't know. When I heard about my teachers daughter my jaw actually dropped. What is our world becoming? It scares me sometimes.

Conviction

2008-03-06T10:53:00.001-08:00

I have been feeling convicted lately. I am not sure what exactly sparked this conviction, but I am trying to figure it out. I have a couple hunches.

Danny and I watched this amazing movie a couple nights ago. It is called "God Grew Tired of Us". If you haven't seen it YOU MUST. You absolutely must. And if you haven't got a heart for Africa yet, you will when you're done watching. It's a documentary that follows three "Lost Boys" from the Sudan who had to leave their homeland and move to America leaving everything they know, their friends and family behind. Pretty much what happened was, there was a civil war going on in Sudan in the late 90's, and 25 000 boys from the ages of 3 to 13 had to flee their villages to avoid being killed. (there was some edict out that all young boys should be killed-its a longer story involving corrupt people; I may write more about it in the future) They walked across the sub-Saharan dessert fighting against famine, disease, dangerous wild animals and rebel soldiers. These boys traveled for over 5 years together, forming make-shift families with one another, trying to find some comfort in their circumstance. They eventually made it to the UN's refugee camp in Kenya. But MANY lives were lost along the way. Eventually an American journalist heard word of these boys, and was able to track them down. He was eventually able to pursue the States that they should rescue these boys and help them relocate in America. This documentary follows 3 of there boys and their experience. Not all the boys were given the opportunity to relocate though- I think there were only 3800. There are some extremely heart wrenching moments in this movie, but there are some really funny ones too. It shows the boys experiencing all sorts of things for the first time such as flying in an airplane, using electricity, eating American food, etc. And it also shows some really candid moments of the boys talking about deeper issues too. I found it amazing to watch.

Then it brought me back to this conviction. I have so much. Why do I have so much? I am just overwhelmed with how much I have. Over the last month I have been thinking about my trip last year to Niger, a lot. I think it is because we left in mid-March and we are approaching the anniversary of that life-changing experience. So all these memories and experiences are vividly running through my mind as I go about my day. I find that I am often frustrated when I am not able to finish the food on my plate at dinner time, that I can just throw out the leftovers. I can cook and eat whatever I want when I want it. I can go shopping for clothes, pretty much whenever I want to. I can drive anywhere I want. I have a comfortable bed to sleep on with an abundance of pillows. I can buy as much for my house as I want. And yes I realize that there are still big restrictions on me because I myself am not a millionaire. But still. Why me? Why do I have these options? And why do I STILL take them for granted? I find that each day I am more and more convicted to do something. I am still patiently waiting on God to find out what that something is though. For this year I am stuck in Vancouver because my school goes straight through the summer and I graduate in December. I know the reason why I went into the travel industry is because I love traveling, but it is also HUGELY that I love culture, and I am passionate about building God's kingdom with my diploma somehow. I am wanting to get involved in, or start a non-profit organization that does humanitarian aid travel planning. Something along the lines of that. I am not sure what this looks like quite yet, but all I know is that I am heading in the right direction. But until I graduate, I am trying to figure out what I can do while I'm here. What that looks like. Vancouver is a needy city too. There are vast differences in wealth here, and when I really think about it, we are not much different that Niger. The Niger that I saw had a large mansion next door to a small hut. And here there are homeless people everywhere and wealthy business men and women everywhere too. I think our pastor mentioned last week that only 3% of Vancouver are Christians. Only 3% know Jesus. He said that Jesus did not die on the cross for only 3%. Its true. And its sad. Anyways, I just felt like writing about it. I feel frustrated at the world and frustrated with myself this week. It helps to write it out.
Here is a photo the very talented Robbie Jackson took in Niger. It reminds me of a lot.

I will write more soon! But its back to the books for me at the moment!

OPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-03-01T21:40:00.001-08:00

Question: How long will it take me to get you all caught up on two months of travel that we did in 2007?

Answer: F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

I’m sorry. I gave up on my travel blogs a while ago because they were just too much to handle! I was overwhelmed. And even now, we have been so incredibly busy that I have not had time to catch you up on things that have been going on the last 2 weeks either. BUT I feel like re-living my travels at the moment, and I’ve also managed to upload photos at well. So we are ready to rock. I will fill you in on life now, later.

Let’s escape to Greece again shall we? We left off at the island of Santorini. Seems I have left you all shipwrecked there for a couple months. But the Greek ferry is ready to go. Next stop… the Greek island of Ios.

Let me tell you a little about this Greek ferry we took in particular. It was pretty much just a giant chunk of floating metal. We all sit on the deck in plastic seats and this ferry goes about as fast as you can swim. So I read a book. And we chatted with some girls from Vancouver. There was this unique little Catholic-looking shrine-thing right in the middle of the boat too, where you could go and do your ‘Hail Mary’s’ and read scriptures. I’m not 100% sure. But it was interesting. But that was about all the boat had to offer. That, and bathrooms.

We arrived in Ios to be greeted by a very loud, very relaxed and overly honest and crass Brazilian /English man in his mid thirties who runs the place where we were staying. He picked a crew of us up and drove us in a giant van. On the ride there, we chatted with this man to find out, like I mentioned, that he is a Brazilian/English man. I think he’s confused what he is. Or maybe I am. Either way, he kind of screamed “mid-life-crisis”. The place he runs is called The Far Out Beach Club. Pretty much a young adults party resort over-run by Australians. But because we were traveling in September after the big rush of tourists, we managed to avoid all the hype, and the party scene.

This place was one of our favorites. We could not believe our eyes when we saw that we were staying in an extremely clean room with our own private patio…for an extremely cheap rate. Breakfast included! This place had a couple giant swimming pools, it was right across from a gorgeous beach, complete with its own private restaurants and all. Our days here were definitely spent sun tanning and reading by the swimming pool, eating delicious food, and swimming in the glorious ocean. This was Danny’s favorite island because it was all about r-e-l-a-x-i-n-g.

We took the bus into town for a little bit, one day, only to discover that it really wasn’t all that interesting, and we just wanted to be back at the beach. So we looked at some ships, a man on a donkey, the ocean, and spent too much time at an Internet café looking for a place to stay at our next island. And then went back to the club. Well to the beach actually. Apparently the ladies don’t wear tops there. I find this strange to see a 30-year-old woman playing with her little daughter in the sand with no bathing suit top on. I wanted to go and cover her up. But instead I covered Danny’s eyes by throwing sand in them. Okay, I’m kidding.

At night the Far Out Beach Club would show movies on a big screen kind of near the pool. Everybody would crowd around and eat and watch. It was one of the only things to do at night unless you wanted to go to the bar.

In the morning we would wake up and eat breakfast by the pool, and it was glorious. Although I must say, the breakfasts weren't that impressive. Cereal with warm milk and dry chocolate cake. But it filled our bellies nonetheless. Can't complain when you're in paradise!

Overall this place was a nice treat in our HOT Greek adventure. But we were only there for 2.5 days. We met up with the Vancouver girls again at the ferry and off we went to our next stop...the island of Mykonos.

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR

2008-02-21T22:36:00.000-08:00

Today is Thursday. On Thursday's I work from 11-6. Danny usually works until 8. Until March that is BECAUSE... sad to say and HAPPY to say... DANNY GOT A NEW JOB! I am sure he will do more posting on this in the future, but yes, it's true... my man is moving on from the Urban Barn. And no, it's not because he got asked out on a date by a guy.

Before DT applied at the Urban Barn, he also applied at numerous non-profit organizations, but didn't hear back from any. Until last week. The non-profit calls themselves Richmond Addictions. They are located in Richmond, BC, about 20 minutes from our place. And he went in for an interview last week and he has since been offered the position as their "Addictions Specialist". (Funny title. hehe) Anyways, he will be responsible for community outreach and prevention education in the Richmond community. He will go and do presentations and all sorts of interesting things to try to help people become aware of what is out there for help, etc. After much prayer and contemplation he decided that this would be the right fit for him. It was a really big decision because he was considering starting his master's full time this fall, so this won't exactly allow him to pursue it with such force anymore. But he is excited for this new adventure and I think he is going to do great at it!

More on the news front, we have had visitors in town this week. Danielle my friend of 8 years... came and stayed 3 nights here at the humble Taylor abode, and ALSO our friends Rob and Aaron too! AND Jessica (one of my bridesmaids) and her husband Jesse were also in town also, but our little Taylor Hotel was booked up, so they stayed at a hotel downtown. But it was a fun visit! Danielle and I managed to fit in a couple coffees, a brunch date, a concert, AND some shopping too! And when I was at school Danny played host and did a great job at it too. We all went for dinner on Tuesday night at this great restaurant called the Red Door. Delicious Pan Asian Grilled food. And at a good price too!

Sorry there are no pictures on my post lately, our computer wont let me download any!

BONJOUR!

2008-02-13T22:03:00.001-08:00

Well its been a while since I've written, but thankfully that husband of mine has been able to keep this blog a 'hoppin. He is quite the story teller I must say. It's funny how things just seem to happen to him.

Things are good here. My little sister Natalie is visiting at the moment. Which is fun. Danny and Natalie get to have more fun than me though. They spent the day exploring Vancouver, while I went to school like a good girl. I missed out. But I learned ALL about Microsoft Excel and Word, all day long. Fun times. It was the best day of my life! yeeeeaaah. We are going shopping in the U. S. of A. on Friday though, which I am pretty pumped about. It will be a quick in and out dealio... but I must say, I am looking forward to it. Bath and Body Works here I come.

So what else is new might you ask? Well... The Starbucks on the same street as my school (one of like 50) BLEW UP last night at 2:30 am. That's right. Full on exploded. It was a gas leak they say. But it blew off the side of a bus driving by and the windows of London Drugs. Nobody was hurt. It's a miracle. I think it's a sign... there was one too many Starbucks in Vancouver. Don't get me wrong. There really is nothing like a tall 1% extra foamy Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks. BUT there really is a Starbucks on every block here. What if Starbucks takes over the world? What would we do then?

Work for me is not so... similar to Danny's. I haven't been asked out on any dates yet. Maybe its because my bling is bigger, and is therefore more apparent. I'm not sure. Either way, I am enjoying being a travel counsellor. That's really what I am. The only problem is, I am literally responsible for knowing the world. Like where everything is. And I mean E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. The world is not so small when you're memorizing every city in existence. TRUST ME. AND the other issue I'm facing is that I feel like a kid in a candy store. Surrounded by travelers and books alike. I actually feel like I'm going crazy some days. I can't complain though. At least I'm learning the world.

It's Valentine's day tomorrow. I have to work. We celebrated last week though! It was all a surprise. Danny made me dinner! And he surprised me by filling our living room with candles, and bought me my favorite chocolate and he had rented a French film called Paris, Je taime. Its a movie that is actually a bunch of short films (like 25 or so) shot in Paris...all with different themes. Some were SO SO random, but overall...it brought me back to Paris, so I was in good spirits. It was a perfect evening. But then I turned French. I literally got in this mood that made me download a bunch of French songs and play them all weekend. And all I want to do now is go to a French cafe and drink a cappuccino and listen to someone play the accordion. I must do this soon.

That is all for now my friends. Stay tuned.

a day in the life of a furniture salesman...

2008-02-08T23:57:00.000-08:00

OK. i'm working today. doing my duties. the phone rings. i answer. a dude...says he's looking for a lamp. just his luck, we got some yesterday. so 15 minutes later, dude arrives. for the lamp. as a salesman of urban barniture, i do my best to be polite and conversational...first, to be nice, and second, to SELL. it's my living. my lifeblood. my meat and potatoes (no pun intended). anyways...i make the sale, $200 on a gaudy looking blinged out dangly lamp. dude leaves with described lamp.
i must also inform you that while providing the conversation in my salespitch, dude says "my boyfriend is away, and i'm hoping he likes this, but if not, can i return it?" immediately two lightbulbs go off in my head - lightbulb 1: 'this man is gay'. and lightbulb 2: 'yes, you can make returns within 14days with original receipt and packaging'. i tell dude bulb 2, keeping blub 1 to myself.
the day continues. i'm working the barn floor. making my living, right? about 35 minutes after the lamp sale, i get handed the cordless phone from erin - "it's for you". i answer. "hello, ya, it's dude. you sold me the lamp about 30min ago?" and i'm all thinking 'crap, the lamp is broken, or doesn't work'. but then dude continues: "hey, i was just wondering WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO OUT TOGETHER SOMETIME?"

let me tell you, lightbulb 1 is blaring, like the highbeams of a giant semi-truck on the highway, in my mind at this moment.

my reply? "sorry, dude, i'm married." (you'd think the ring on my finger would give it away? maybe i need some bigger ring bling myself!) to which dude is disappointed, and understanding, and i politely say "thanks for the invitation, but i'll have to say no." and the conversation ends.

so...the girls at the barn think this is just incredible that i got picked up at work in my first week. a few of them have had it happen to them before. but rarely the gay proposition. i guess dude's gay-dar-radar is shooting a little sideways...either that, or i'm sending mixed messages. i'm praying it's just mis-directed gay-dar.

and for the record, if i was gay, which i'm not, i am not gonna be "the other man"! dude said he had a boyfriend!! as they say, cheaters never prosper. bad form. bad form.

i'd like to say that i cannot believe this has happened to me. i'd even say i was surprised, but look at my life now! i'm a furniture salesman at a modern upscale furniture store on granville street in downtown vancouver. most of our top clientele are gay couples. or as i like to call them, guples.

oh, the life i live. love you all!!

dt

an introduction, to me...mr. DT.

2008-01-29T22:11:00.001-08:00

folks, i'm gonna be honest. i have only posted on this blog what has seemed to be the most appropriate expression of my personality. humor. emotion. eloquence. best summarized in one word: "ROAAAAAARRRRR!"
having previously roared my little taylor heart out, on Saturday, June 30, 2007, today i will begin an intermittent appearance in this blog...finally putting the 'danny' in 'haileyanddanny'.

to begin...
so i just finished my first 4 hour shift at my new job, the urban barn. i survived the day and rewarded myself with a tall americano misto immediately. i deserved it. we all deserve it. anyways, just a few interesting tidbits about my day.

1: i work under a manager, a pretty 20-something girl named "hollis". yes, hollis. last name, "terr". haha. jokes. hollis terr. i know what you're thinking - she should be selling hoodies and tshirts and tank tops, not furniture! in high school i once worked for a guy named abe. i was told to call him "mr. ricombe".
2: apparently boss hollis doesn't like being summoned with "holla hollis!!", nor does she like to be called "boss hollis".
3: i have an assistant manager named "sam", who is also like just pushing 20 and seems really quiet and nice and kind, except for the RAGING dragon/flower/something-i-can't-quite-figure-out tattoo the size of a bowling pin in her back. but she is nice.
4: i also worked with the following: bonnie, liane, leona (props to mrs. sharman), and another girl who i can't remember a name for. it is a female affair. except for this MAN. the rooster has entered the hen house. for the record, nameless girl was literally crying with laughter in the tiny stock room when i went to get my jacket when i finished my shift. she had her cellphone to her ear, but wasn't saying anything. just laughing. lets call her "crazy", until i find out her real name.
5: i get a whopping __% off discount at the store!! can you guess? you'll win a prize!!!
6: it is remarkable to me how much urban barn items polka-dot my house. i didn't realize i'm living so urban and so barn.
7: i am exceptional at the BS of furniture sales. i was told to walk around the store for an hour or so to familiarize myself with the product. in that time i somehow helped three customers - a lady looking for an end table made entirely of mirrors, another lady and her mother looking at couches, and a nice young girl wanting a present for her friend. i am hoping, that on the weekend these ladies come and buy all of their items and i get the commission. and hopefully they bring their friends and family as well. i need all the sales i can get. but seriously, i'm already "helping" customers? i have NO idea what i'm doing.
8: i am now the "light guy". leona has assigned me the task of pointing and positioning the lamps in the store. there are like literally a bazillion lamps in the store. i am excited. i will softly sing worship songs as i do the work, primarily songs with a metaphor of "light". "come light the fire again" "this little light of mine" etc.
9: parking is ridiculous. i put my new tiny toyota to the test ( t t t t t ) in a parallel park that involved me getting out of the car at least 6 times to check for space. but i made it fit. oh yes. anything for free unlimited parking. huzzah.
10: i think i'll like this job. i hope i like it. it will probably take a few weeks...months...to get up to speed. i hope it pays well enough. we'll see!

just thought i'd give ya'll an update of my work. you can pray it continues to go well. thanks!

[oh! and for the record, hailey, my wife, and the other half of 'haileyanddanny' is a drop dead gorgeous bombshell knockout one-of-a-kind woman. she is pretty times a bazillion. just for the record.]

heart.
dt

Face Lift

2008-01-28T19:24:00.003-08:00

Well I figure its about time I changed our pictures on this thing. I guess I just got in a rut that way... for about an ENTIRE year. A facelift is nice now and then, if its free. And if it doesn't make you look ugly... or like you have fake lips or cheekbones.

So here's the latest. We are NEARLY settled. Nearly. Let me count... okay... 11 boxes left to unpack, relatively small, but probably all filled with stuff we don't really need. If we've lived this long without it...who's to say there is actually something important inside those 11 boxes? It's tempting to think maybe we should just throw them out, without checking what's inside. hmmm. I'll ponder that.

So now that you know how many boxes are left to unpack, let me get on with some more important news. Well....I started school- Travel and Tourism Business Management. And so far so good. Small class of girls, FIVE of us to be exact. For the business side of things that is. The travel portion of our learning starts in April, where more students will be joining us, so until then I am literally learning about motherboards and RAM, and microprocessing chips, and the insides of the computer. All extremely interesting, might I add (sarcasm noted). However, I am really enjoying myself nonetheless. I also started a new job at a local Travel Bookstore in my area and I love that too. Who wouldn't want to talk about travel all day long with other people? The only problem is that it is difficult for me in the sense that the most exciting place I will be traveling to this year is EDMONTON. That's right. I heard it is -41 degrees CELSIUS there right now. For all you Americans, just have a cat nap in your freezer, and you'll have an idea of how cold that really is. So needless to say, as much as I enjoy talking about the Hawaiian islands with some customers... I am also secretly slapping them across the face in my head. (kidding, slightly...) Danny just got a job at a store we both love called the Urban Barn. (a modern home furniture store) We're quite excited as this month has proven to be difficult on the job search front for Danny. Looking for a job outside of ministry and liking it, AND getting paid decently is not as easy as it looks. I am proud of him for giving this a go, and I think he'll do great at it!

Vancouver in general... great city. We are happy here. Nothing awful has happened since the last kicking of our car incident or the thieving of our laptop. We have since had our computer replaced, and also, have bought a new used car too. 2007 Toyota Corolla. We will probably keep this car for a total of 5 months. Oh the things I let my husband do. How many cars have we owned since we've been married now? Oh right, FOUR. It's his thing... not mine. As long as he's happy that's all that matters. BUT... as much as we like our new car, we are walking more here, and spending more time outside. I even started shopping at little independent markets for our fruits and vegetables a couple blocks away. True story! The weather is quite pleasant too. We went for a walk around the harbor and for lunch and coffee yesterday! Wouldn't be doing that in Edmonton. Let me see... what else? We have found a church with great teaching and a younger crowd, so we are probably going to join a small group there. We are still deciding on that though. But its nice to have found a place that we MAY be able to call our church home. Anyways, as you can tell, the novelty of living here, still hasn't worn off... but I do count my blessings every day. I feel like we are supposed to be here right now, and its just really affirming to feel that way. Things are relatively good. So we are happy!

I will post more pics soon! Hope everyone's January is going delightful.

Thanks a MILLION

2008-01-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to you all for your patience. As you all know we have been in the process of MOVING over the last 2 weeks and I have not had internet access really at all, so that is why I haven't written. We are getting internet tomorrow hopefully, so things will get better soon. Here is a point form version for you to fill you in on what has been going down in our lives.

Christmas was super fun and hard all at the same time. We were juggling families, trying to fit in all our goodbye's with friends, and preparing for our move, all in one breath. Merry Belated Christmas to you all!!!!! I hope everyone had such a good one!
We spent the night in Kelowna on Boxing Day, at Danny's Grandma's along with his parents and our sister Darla. They helped us move out to Vancouver, so that was AWESOME and SUCH a big help. We eventually made it out here where we proceeded to move in all our boxes, and do some painting too! I will post photos soon!
Our cousins from California were up for new Year's so we took them to Stanley Park (a giant beautiful park near the ocean), and while we were out on a 20 minute walk our car was broken into and they stole our laptop and some of our cousins things. It was a sad sad day. There was no sign of breaking and entering, so they got in some secret way...Thankfully insurance kicks in and we give them $500 for the deductible and then we get a new laptop. AND we have all our photos on backup (Praise God), so we are safe in that respect. But still super bummed.
I had school orientation the other day and met my small class of girls! All girls! It was good though. So crazy to walk into the school and its all about travel. I start tomorrow and I am lookin forward to it!
We went to church today and there are tons of ppl that are from Edmonton that go there...so strange! It was good though...awesome teaching, and really young crowd. Its in a movie theater. So we are going to go again next week. Its really close to our house, and on a really cool street. We'll give it a shot, and make a decision in the future if we want to make it home.
The job search is slowly coming along. I am hoping to get a job at this place where they sell travel literature and it is just jam packed full of cool books on literary travel... I love it! And its only blocks from our place! Danny is hunkering down this week to look for something for him now that we are more settled.
Someone kicked our car the other day. Long story short, the other day we were stuck in traffic by a train and we didnt move our car up 2 feet as this man rudely honked at us to do so, so once he eventually got passed us, his friend got out of the car with fuming rage and proceeded to yell at us, punch our window, and then he kicked our car. He was psycho.
I am eating a delicious chocolate banana loaf right now.

So that is all for now folks. I promise when life becomes more normal I will write more!

Baby It's Cold Outside

2007-12-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

I only have a few moments here, but I thought I should write, seeing as I haven't had much time lately to do so. I'm sorry! Today I just have really been thinking how happy I am this winter. And how much I truly love Christmas. So, in light of this, I would like to write about my favorite things this time of year. In case you all care. Here we go...

Christmassy Movies: So far this year I have watched Serendipity, Family Stone, Elf, and a little bit of The Grinch That Stole Christmas. I have plans to watch The Holiday-which is ADORABLE, and Love Actually. Parts are inappropriate, so I just fastforward. haha
Christmas Songs: Anything old school and jazzy I LOVE. And well, pretty much any Christmas song. But my favorites are "Let it Snow", "Cool Yule" by Louis Armstrong and "Baby It's Cold Outside". When I hear Christmas songs in my car it makes me so happy...I feel like everyone should be singing together, as one giant choir.
The sound the snow makes when I am walking on it late at night, and its completely silent...except for the crunchin beneath my feet.
Shopping. I honestly hate shopping for myself, but love shopping for other people. I wish I could spend thousands!
Baking. I love to bake goodies. But I also like to eat them too. I actually told my smarties box the other day that I loved it. Because at the time, I did. I love chocolate.
Christmas Lights at night. During the day they're pretty ugly. But I love white Christmas Lights. They should have them everywhere. I will write the mayor.
Being with family and friends. This is the one time of year where there is ALWAYS an excuse to have a party or get together. And eat. I love it.
And last but most important. Jesus' birthday. I really am so grateful that we can celebrate that still, so many years later. There is this Relient K song and the lyrics say "The first time that you opened your eyes did you realize that you would be my Savior? And the first breath that left your lips did you know that it would change this world forever?" And it just gets me every time. It's crazy to think of Jesus as a baby...and he really did change the world forever. I feel blessed to know him.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know... but not really everything...about ME!

2007-12-14T08:41:00.000-08:00

So a little Miss Jen has tagged me, and I am supposed to write 7 random/weird facts about myself. Hmmm. Okay, let's think here.

I hate bananas. I think they are disgusting. Alone. But I love them in absolutely EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. Anything banana flavored I love too. Banana Creme Pie is my favorite!
I love scrapbooking. I scrapbooked my entire New Zealand trip (6 months of school and travel), and it took me an entire year to do. I absolutely love shopping for stickers and paper, and getting pictures developed.
I haven't gained or lost a pound in almost 2 1/2 years. Before our wedding I worked out 3-4 times a week for about 3 months and didn't lose a single pound. Things just re-arranged themselves...haha I have stayed the EXACT SAME!
My absolute favorite tv show is Gilmore Girls. I can't even tell you how much I like it. It's embarrassing.
I honestly don't think I cooked anything more than macaroni or grilled cheese before I was married. And now, I LOVE cooking. I secretly want to take cooking classes, and become a gourmet chef! I get excited when I look at a cooking magazine, or book that has beautiful photography of food.
It makes me really uncomfortable if I see people I know make wrong decisions. I will cry or internally grieve to the point where it physically affects me if I can see someone doing something that is bad for them. Sometimes it sucks.
I don't like scary movies. AT ALL. I would rather sit at home alone and miss out on hanging out with people than watch a scary movie. I think they are bad for you.

I guess I am supposed to tag people now. I will tag whomever comes to mind!

Erin V
Ian Sheh
Nini Lettner
Darla
Robbie
Danny- haha I will force him to post!
Nathaniel

SANTORINI BLISS

2007-11-24T18:43:00.000-08:00

So... the last thing I wrote about was London. I know its been a long time since I wrote, but hopefully I will still be able to remember what we did. And if I can't I'll just make up a cool story. heh heh

TALLY HO! From London we flew to Santorini, Greece. OH LA LA. It was glorious! Santorini is all that remains from an enormous volcanic explosion that happened a long time ago. So it feels pretty crazy to be on it. This island is called the "Honeymoon Capital" of Greece...so its very lagoonish and beautiful. But the one surprising thing was that there weren't really very many trees. Everything seemed quite dry. Nonetheless this was our favorite island...and we still thought it was stunning. I think its just the feel of being surrounded by beeeeautiful water, combined with the fact that the people were generally friendly there, and as I mentioned a while ago, the FOOD was AMAZING. I cannot emphasize that enough. You will notice that I loved the food from how much I talk about it.

FYI...Santorini is the island with the white stone washed houses. The other islands had them too, but this one had the most.

We stayed in Fira (Thira is the Greek name). It's the capital city of the island. We stayed at a hotel called Artemis Village, where we hung out with Artemis and his wife Anna. They were awesome! They own the hotel and run it almost all by themselves. Super cute Greek couple. They drove us around everywhere and made us coffees and frappes in the mornings too! We felt right at home. This is the view from the hotel. The hotel I think had 13 rooms. It was charming and quaint.

At any time of day the view from the part of the island that we were staying on was beautiful. Everything is built on the mountainside, so it all lit up as the sun set.

I read this book on our journey. It was hilarious and very thought provoking, but parts of it made me uncomfortable! Ask me more about it if you want. I will share. But I don't feel like writing about it right now.
One day we rented a 4x4 and cruised the entire island. It was honestly the greatest time ever. We ended up at this one place called Amoudi Village, which was probably the coolest little fishing town I have been to in my entire life. And the most gorgeous at that too. There were donkeys that looked so hot and thirsty that truck people up and down the mountain side in the hot sun. We opted to drive down and walk. Look at these poor things... who could really justify sitting on one?! Anyways, it's a shame we didn't have anything to eat at this village though. We just have to learn to LIKE fish, so we will eat it, and enjoy eating it too. It all looked good on people's plate's though as we walked through the restaurant's. It's any seafood lover's dream.

We ended up in the city of Oia...where we walked around and looked at houses and patios. And ate mini ice cream bars from this Mom and Pop shop!

Okay, I'm sorry but this was the best gyro I had in my entire like. I actually bought a container of their tzatziki 'to go' because it was so dang good. I am happy I documented this moment.

We went to this amazing restaurant with a water view, where I enjoyed the BEST Mexican hot-chocolate in my entire life. I am actually still longing for one more sip. It was the creamiest most delicious thing I have ever had. I don't even want to talk about it.
Our morning brew. On our patio!!!!!!! Thanks to Artemis and Anna.

This is by the poolside. Danny snapped like 20 photos of me enjoying my apple juice. What can I say.... I love apple juice.

Now....I also have to mention how this was the best gelato that I had our entire trip. Okay? Watermelon flavor. It was pretty much like eating a watermelon on a cone. It was THAT real.Artemis drove us to our ferry along the WINDY mountainside roads. I felt like we for sure were going to tip, as road rules don't exactly exist there. Our next destination was Ios. The party island. It was hard leaving Santorini because you always find yourself asking if you will enjoy it as much as the place you're at now. I will tell you more about it soon...and then you will see if we liked it or not!
Santorini I highly recommend for all your relaxed romantics out there.

POSTS TO COME in the near future...

2007-11-23T23:10:00.000-08:00

So I owe my fan base (basically 2 people) an apology
for not writing lately. We have been travelling and unsettled up until
now...and my photos are all saved under random things that are unknown
to me because Mr.Computer Whiz (aka Danny) put them on some external
hard-drive somethingruther , and I can't find them. So that is my
excuse...lame and pathetic...but nonetheless,an excuse! It's a shame
because I have a lot to say too! But now I have to go to bed because I
have to work tomorrow...Saturday (BOOOOOOO!), so I need to get to sleep! I will post fun things soon, I promise!

We are doing good though. House sitting and dog sitting at the Taylor's
while they travel Israel...and we're slowly preparing for our big move!
Anyways, the other random fact that I would like to share with you
while I have a moment is... Get this. Yesterday I was on my lunch break
at work, and I timed it, and it actually took me 10 minutes to eat an
"apple pear" or "Chinese Pear"...whatever you want to call it. TEN
MINUTES. That is howhonkin big those things are. And by this message I am sure you have a great idea of how much fun I have on my breaks at work. I know. True fun.

GOODNIGHT!

A Foggy Day... in London town!!!!

2007-11-05T16:35:00.000-08:00

SIDE NOTE: We are home safe and sound from HAWAII! Just in time for the first snowfall. Can you believe it?? I have literally been bundled up in a blanket the ENTIRE day. I come from the hottest of hots to very cold! I am surviving though! I know, I know... no sympathy. ;)

So here is my little diddy on London. You can expect more blogging from me now that we are home for a month, before we move. I promise! I will get you caught up! So back to London...we arrived there not knowing how long we were going to stay. We stayed with family friends in their BEAUTIFUL penthouse in downtown London. It doesn't get much better then that! After a few situations arose we decided to stay for 4 days. We spent nearly ALL our time walking around. We didn't really go into any buildings or museums or anything! Gives us an excuse to go back I guess. The most we did inside was a little bit of shopping! For the rest of the time we enjoyed London's uniqueness on the outside. Here's a mini nutshell.

The architectue in London was absolutely STUNNING. I loved everything I saw, and I swear everyday I saw a new place I would LOVE to live. It was all so old/modern and unique!! I wish I could rip this property out and plop it in Canada.

My most favorite place we went to was the Nottinghill area. I LOVED IT. They had a huge road just covered in booths with antiques and really unique knick knacks, and clothing, and old books, and jewellery. It went on and on and on, for what seemed like forever. We walked for over an hour. It was so much fun looking around at everything. But you have to watch your purse like crazy because pick-pockets are supposedly everywhere.

This building was COVERED in potted plants. It was IN-sane.

This building was neat. It was called the CANADA HOUSE. London was cool because they have all sorts of Canadian monuments and buildings, gates, etc.

They had these red telephone booths everywhere. So London!

Here is the place we stayed. It's the corner unit. It has the most darling patio...I am so bummed I didn't get a picture of it. But it had a really cool view.

London cabs. Too cool.

West Minister Abbey.

The Parliament Buildings. We would walk and go for a picnic in the field beside it everyday. Picnics are the greatest invention in the entire world. I'm sure of it!

So that is pretty much an extremely brief summary of life in London. I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting to love London as much as I did. It was really...SO BUSY, and there were SO MANY people and cars everywhere. But the chaos was kind of fun. And it was truly a beautiful city. There is so much to do. Anyways...next stop is... the Greek Islands!

Welcome to Shannon, Ireland!

2007-10-29T02:25:00.001-07:00

Second stop for our September trip was Ireland! Let me explain myself. Okay, so about a half a year ago, Danny and I got travel vouchers on our way home from
Chicago because of our flight mess-up. So we used our flight vouchers
to get us to New York...so that is how we ended up there. We figured it
would help us to cut up the jet-lag.(And we wanted to see it!) And then
we were looking for a cheap way to just get us to Europe. And New York
was having a seat sale to Shannon, Ireland, a small airport town. So we
booked tickets there, and that's my story. Ireland wasn't exactly in
our plans this time around so we took our time there to recover from
the time change. And let's be honest. New York didn't help AT ALL. By
the time we got to Ireland I was so tired, I was a zombie-woman! We
both slept until 4:30 pm. And this pic below is us after showering and
waking up. THANKFULLY the hotel let us check in at 8am. Crazy! So we
slept all day. We stayed at theBunratty Shannon Shamrock Hotel. First
warning: anything with the word "ratty" in it should be avoided at all
times. But we somehow missed that warning. And stayed there. Let's just
say, the decor was probably from the 60's, and I'm pretty sure the
mattress wasn't actually a mattress, but rather a fat piece of
cardboard.

Once we woke up, we went exploring! This town is SO little, I can't even tell you. I think it had about 3 restaurants, and 6 shops. MAYBE. It was super cute though, and very green. Especially since it rained when we arrived. Everyone is SO Irish
there...it was actually funny. Their accents were so thick sometimes I
actually couldn't understand them. And they sound SO incredibly Irish
you think they're joking. I often felt like saying "Dude, are you being
serious right now with that accent?!"

We had one full day in Ireland the next day. We walked around and looked at the castle. And ate at Durty Nelly's. YUCK. I'm sorry but the Irish do not know how to cook. (very broad generalization I know. I apologize.)

The only thing Durty Nelly's has going for it was this sign that I liked.

Seeing as we are literally unable to escape the fact that we are big goofs, if we're really honest with ourselves...we went into this cute, funky shop that sold tons of toys and books, and girly things...and we tired on their shower caps. Don't ask me why.

And we went for a nice walk. To the cemetery. You
get kind of desperate when there is nothing else to do... :) I'm
kidding. We were just passing by, and it looked really neat. We
eventually made our way to a cool coffee shop above a store. Had a nice
long chat, and then headed back to our hotel.

Our hotel had this sun room that we used to read and
journal. It was cozy. I am pretty sure reading is Danny's favorite
thing in the entire world. He could win an award for loving books more
than anyone else. I'm sure of it. I think he counted and he owns over
500 or 600 books. Like, who does that at age 27?

So that's Ireland in a nutshell. Stay tuned for London.
p.s. Hawaii is going great! We have been soaking up the sun and loving every minute of it. What a true blessing. I feel grateful. We are home at the end of the week!

NEW YORK NEW YORK... the first bit of our September trip

2007-10-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hey folks! Somehow my post that I saved got deleted. So here is a little diddy I'm throwing together for your enjoyment. With some pictures smacked together. We are in Hawaii right now, LOVIN IT....thus there is little to no time to write on this thing. BUT I have not posted for so long I feel like I am getting behind! So the focus of THIS post is NEW YORK! We were there for a few days at the beginning of our trip and then again at the end for one day. So here are SOME pics.

1. The first 2 are at the top of the Rockafellar Centre. Is is STUNNING up there! You can see forever.
2.This is a picture of me sleeping on the airport floor. Yeah. What can I say. Best sleep of my life. NOT.
3. Next 2 pics. Times square. Such high energy. People EVERYWHERE. Street vendors, shopping, madness until late in the night. It was very neat to experience.
4. Next 4 photos are at the Mary Poppins Broadway!!!! You know it. It made me feel like I was a little kid again. I actually spent a lot of time sitting on the edge of my seat.
5.Grand Central Station. It's hard to photograph the beauty/coolness of this place. But it was actually quite unique inside. HUGE. And pretty artchitecture with paintings on the ceiling.
6. Central Park! I will have to post more pics of this later. But words cannot express how HUGE this park is. Honestly, this park is probably 15 times larger than I expected. It is blocks and blocks of land. Fields, and roads, and a zoo, concerts, a free CHECKERS hangout place. We played a game. I kicked butt. Hence the look on Danny's defeated face. Central Park is extremely green and so incredibly beautiful to walk through.
7. We were on the David Letterman show! The main guest was Hilary Clinton, which actually ended up being really interesting. I mean if Kate Hudson or Brad Pitt had been on I would have been a little more excited. But I can be into politics too. Who knew?!

thoughts from a travelling hailey, part deux, but with no punctuation.

2007-09-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

heeeeeeeeeeey everyone. i didnt realize how much i took punctuation for grantid, but i am at a computer right now in nice, france that will not let me use exclamation points...my fave punctuation mark...brackets, or capslock. so...ha....this is almost too hard for me, but i want to write. i just hit spellcheck and it highlighted everything...because its not in french...haha!!!! i just copied and pasted exclamations...thats how cool i am!!!! wow.

anyways, where to start. i am in freaking france. and i am happy to be here. nice is like the los angeles of france, with its amazing shops and palm trees dancing around the streets. we are in a fun hostel type thing with free internet, so i am good to go for a couple minutes at least. im going to go to point form now, because there is so much to say i dont even know where to start, so i will share random notes from my travels.

1. candid travel update-since i last wrote we have hit the greek islands-santorini, ios and mykonos. italy-rome, florence, pisa, and genoa. and now nice france, and then off to paris for 4 nights!! i can hardly believe it, where has the time gone!!!!

2. i have smoked more this last month then i have in my entire life, but have not yet put a cigarette to my mouth. figure that one out. yeah. every single person smokes in europe. i am convinced. i dont think i would even think twice if i saw a toddler sitting on the side of the road with a cigarette hanging out of his lips. even babies smoke here!!!! i am smoking right now as i type. i am smoking like 5 cigarettes at once.

3. the greeks are the chameleons of cooking. they are amazing cooks, i loved almost everything i ate on the islands. they cooked north american food, italian food, thai food, aaaaaaaaaand greek food. and they did it better that anyone could.

4. i saw angelina jolie today. in nice. well her twin. danny had to tell me to stop staring. i looked at her like 6 times. i swear it was her. but then she was wearing this pink lipstick and i asked myself 'would angelina wear that shade of pink' the answer was 'no'. so it was not her.

and p.s. im not an angelina fan, but i just thought it was her.

5. florence has officially stolen my heart. i have heard about pick-pockets there, but i have never heard about this type of theivery. i loved every minute there and i need to go back. like this very minute. i have never seen such beauty before in a city.

6. i am the unofficial tzatziki queen. the greeks dont know it yet, but i actually am the unofficial queen, because nobody loves it more than me. i would even drink it. okay. maybe i wouldnt. but get this. speaking of odd drinks. i am a huuuuuge chocolate lover. seriously. i actually consider chocolate to be one of my main food groups. but danny and i went to this sweet cafe in florence called hemingway...where they are actually like chocolate experts or something, and i ordered this 'hot chocolate' in italian...and it was acutally a big cup of liquid chocolate. it was like drinking fondue. i couldnt finish it. but dang was it good.

7. the ancient roman ruins are probably the coolest things i have ever set my eyes on. i will have to post pictures, but they are just so insane, you almost cant wrap your mind around them.

8. we bought an original painting from a sweet tuscan artist in florence, that i am in love with!!!! i hope to post a pic of it because it is just beeeeautiful

9. we had one day in our travels, that i am not exaggerating, was probably the worst day of my entire life...the second worst, or the first worst...im not sure, but there were tears. many tears. long story short...some greeks are seriously so rude and one in particular...i dont mean to call him names, but he was an idiot and screwed us over like 100 euros or more because he was so brutally ridiculously stupid. i will tell more later. but we honestly considered coming home because it was such a bad day, it was like our entire world crashed around us. so not all has been fun and games for us....we sooooo appreciate everyones prayers.

10. time for bed. please continue to lift us up in prayer!!!! we have had such a good time travelleing together, and both feel we have grown as a couple, but we have a lot of big decisions to make in the near future, like where we are going to live once we are in vancouver, and where danny will work. and we want to be open to god using us, or open to live where he wants us to, so your prayers matter to us. thank you all for reading this. i will post pics once i get home. bonsoir!!!!

12 Thoughts from a Travelling Hailey

2007-09-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

Random thoughts from my travels:
1. People from London are somewhat abrupt or unfriendly. I can't decide which one.
2. I love the old buildings in London. There is so so so much history here it is nearly impossible to wrap your mind around it. I love how they still use those old fashioned looking taxis too and the double decker buses. Very cute.
3. Pringles are everywhere in the world. I have decided there is nowhere there arent Pringles. I ate them in Africa in the middle of the Sahara dessert, and I ate them in the small airport town of Shannon Ireland. They are everywhere.
4. Driving should be illegal in London. It is so dangerous. Pedestrians and cars should have a 100 mile restraining order from one another, because we already saw a man get hit on his bicycle and I never want to hear a noise like that again in my life. I was sick to my stomach. I should rephrase....Danny SAW his bike fly in the air, and I HEARD a loud yell, and then we SAW a man lying in the middle of the road surrounded by honking cars and people. It was disturbing.
5. I hate flying. I hate it and I never want to do it ever again in my whole entire life. We had the shakiest flight EVER flying into London I actually almost broke Danny's hand.
6. Always pack light and buy more when you're away. You KNOW you'll end up picking up a few things so it is actually STUPID to pack your suitcase tight before you've even left home. I'm an idiot.
7. I want an accent. I don't care what kind, but not North American. Give me something interesting; different than everybody back home. Like British. I'll take their vocabulary too. Except the amount of swear words that come along with it.
8. I don't like Irish food. Well I didn't like ANYTHING I ate there (except the Pringles). But I really didn't eat a whole lot so...maybe I am not really sure. But the burger I ate was nasty and so was the salad. And their Coke made Danny sick.
9. Ireland looks like New Zealand a lot! So green, and there were sheep.
10. I like the noise horses hooves make on the road. There are all sorts of patrollers riding horses here in uniform.
11. You have to PAY to use the washrooms in the malls in London, or on the street corner. Not cool.
12. We went for East Indian food the other night with the family we're staying with and I absolutely LOVED IT. It was beyond fab. So delicious!!!!!!

Well there you go. 12 random thoughts!!! That's all for now. Hopefully I will have one more post while we still have free internet. We leave for Santorini, Greece on Saturday night! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray for safe flights for us. I get so scared now with all these scary flight incidents lately. Your prayers are TRULY appreciated!!!!! Much love from the UK...

A Mini Update!

2007-09-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

If you can accept my apology for not writing I would be VERY thrilled! I am sorry I haven't posted we have had literally MINIMAL Internet access for the last month. Out of control. It is nice to not have it tying me down, but at the same time I feel like I have lost all communication with everyone! Our Internet has been cut at our condo, and we are officially moved out and have renters in there until it sells. We holidayed at my Mom's side of the family's place on Vancouver island for nearly a week, and we were home for ONE day to prepare for our September long trip! Life has been ANYTHING BUT relaxing. Although we are enjoying ourselves!

On Aug.29 we headed to New York for a couple days where we enjoyed ourselves very much, although it was so busy, and we barely got any sleep at all, and had no down time! We arrived in the evening and hit Times Square so that was pretty amazing. SO much advertising pulling your attention, bright lights, a MILLION people-JUST INSANE! It was gorgeous weather and very fun. We were on the David Leterman show, and we were fortunate enough to see the sunset over the city at the top of the Rockefeller centre...where we could see miles of buildings and beautiful scenery overlooking the city. I LOVED Central Park and all its glory. It was 100x bigger than I thought it was. Absolutely HUGE! So many trees and little parks and fields and then you walk around the boundaries of the Park and its right downtown! We also went to the Mary Poppins Broadway, which I loved, and I was singing the songs in my head the whole next day.

We are now in London, England listening to the AWESOME British accents,(which make the kids like 100 000 times cuter than they actually are.) Before we arrived here, we were in Ireland for 2 days but just adjusting to the jet-lag and taking it easy. We didn't do a whole lot, but it was neat to touch down there and see a bit of the country. Their accents were sure funny. But now we are at our family friends' apartment which is in the heart of the city of London and very nice. They are so fortunate to live in such a cool spot! We will do some sight seeing tomorrow and then I think we'll be off to Greece hopefully in a day or two, so I will try to keep you up to date when I can. I have NO CLUE when the next time I will be able to write will be. It may not be until the end of the month! But I am thinking of you all, and I hope that you are good wherever you may be, as September has arrived! Time for bed for me! zzzzzzzz

My backwards Life

2007-08-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

Well you would NOT even believe how hectic and busy and crazy my life has been these past 2 weeks. WHAT a whirlwind. My goodness. I am overwhelmed, stressed, and livin it up all at the same time. AND to make matters even more bothersome, I am SO BUSY tonight that I have no time at all to post...but I so badly wanted to get these random photos up of Tara's wedding....Tara's beautiful wedding, I should say. AH, such a gorgeous bride...SO NICE to see my long lost Capernwray friends. SO NICE! And I added random pics from my walk with Danielle one day too. I don't have time to really write. But here are some photos just so you all know I haven't forgotten about you. We are so busy packing to move and travel, saying goodbyes and leaving for BC tomorrow!! So here is just a little visual random-ness of things that have occured in my life over the last weeks. I have WAAAAAAAAAAY more to post in the near future. BAAAAH! Hope you are all well!

Life is Art

2007-08-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

So last weekend it was our very last 98A. :( For those of you who don't know, that is what Friday Night Youth is called at our church. Beulah just finished their big building project a couple months ago and the youth group now has its very own youth centre, complete with tv's, nintendo wii, dance dance revolution, 2 pool tables, 2 foose ball tables, and a concession. It's pretty sweet. God has truly blessed this youth ministry. It will be hard to leave it all... This week we decided to do something different. Our friend Robbie has an old beater of a car that is white. So we took a bunch of tempura paints and painted the thing for nearly an hour. Pretty fun painting a car. Everybody was painting so random is was awesome. But get this, after about an hour had passed we all had to rush inside because it was about to rain. Eventually the heavens opened (I swear) and it poured out of control. To the point that nearly EVERYTHING had been washed off!!!! It was crazy.

Mambo Number 5

2007-08-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

Mambo Number 5 has nothing really to do with this blog. I just have the song in my head. And don't bother asking me why because I can't even remember the last time I've heard it!!!

So I have been in a blogging rut. Not going to get into why I have been, but I now have to catch up on the last 2 weeks! So annoying I know! I will catch you up somewhat. Well on the 29th of July it was our ONE YEAR anniversary! Yep, you heard right, we've made it through the first year. HUZZAH! And so we celebrated with some friends in Banff. Danny and Danielle and I drove down the first night. We dropped Danny off at at stag (bachelor party)in Canmore for the night, and Danielle and I continued into Banff to set up our tent in the pitch black...scary stuff in my books. Especially since their had just been a bear and cougar citing. Not exactly my cup of tea. I made sure to do cougar scans with my flashlight every 5 minutes. Only once I came across creepy animal eyes, and it turns out it was just some creep and his dog watching us set up our tent at an abandoned campsite. Who does that?!!!!! We were impressed with our abilities to set up a tent in the dark with little previous experience. It was only the rain fly that gave us troubles. And the fear of cougars. I told Danielle I would kill her if she pretended to make a cougar noise!!! So freaky! Eventually we fell asleep and woke up the next morning for cinnaom buns and Starbucks in downtown Banff for Breakfast! Once lunch time hit Krissy, Danae, and Danny met up with us and we went to the gorgeous Johnston Lake to tan and float about in the water. It is a non-glacier lake in Banff and seriously a greeny blue, so gorgeous, and so clean! The only annoying part was the huge dogs that think its cool to come out of the water soaking wet and shake their stink and water all over you and your magazine. BOO! Anyways, by the end of the day Danny and Erin and Robbie had eventually met up with us. A few of us girls went into town to play around at the little boutique shops, and we had a fire, and chilled out together. It was nice. The next morning we all woke up and went into town for a nice lunch and then half of us went to the lake for the rest of the day. Danny and Robbie both attempted (and succeeded) the rope swing. Danielle and I just floated on the mattress and watched. This one chick completely bailed, and we so knew she was going to do something stupid because she wasn't listening to anybody's advice on how to jump. Danny jumped like a monkey, head first. Crazy kids. Anyways, it was such a fun weekend and a blessing to hang out with people that we care about!! Here are a few pics from the weekend for your enjoyment.

A little bit of this, and a little bit of that.

2007-07-26T15:48:00.001-07:00

Hey Everybody! Hope you are doing well! Things with us are good. Gearing up for a weekend of camping. We decided that seeing as we are moving in the near future, that we wanted to spend our first anniversary with some of our close friends. So we are heading off to Banff! Very exciting. I will post once we're back.

Two nights ago Danny, Robbie, Danielle and myself went to this cute little restaurant downtown called Famoso Pizzeria. The restaurant owners brought back their idea for this gourmet pizza joint, from their trip to Naples, Italy. It was really delicious and reasonably priced too. I wonder if I'll come up with a cool business idea from our trip to Europe? Probably not. I wish. After that we headed to the Winspear (a gorgeous facility for concerts, performances, etc...-for those of you who don't live in Edmonton)to the the Rufus Wainwright concert, and man was it ever good. One of the best shows I've been to by far. He sings the type of songs, that you can easily get lost in. The crowd would be so silent when he sang...I don't know that I've ever experienced that before. His voice carries you with it. His theory is that, well he just came back from touring Europe, and he says there is nothing like playing in North America. In Europe he says its nice, people appreciate him, but are more apathetic because it is so cultural there. But then you come to North America and everybody goes nuts for him because we're just starved for culture. I can't say I totally disagree either!! But that's a whole different issue. Plus this guy was funny. I mean really funny. For example, he would say something like this: "This song really matches these pants" as he introduces his song...He and his band came out in oldschool colorful suits with shiny decals on them. They played a sweet first set and then they had an intermission. After that he came out in what looked like a yodler's costume, hiked up socks, suspenders and all. And for his encore, he came out in a bathrobe. Proceeded to sing a few songs in it, and then eventually the rest of his band came back out in full on tuxedos. He then put on sparkly HUGE earings and jewellery and bright red lipstick you could see from the top balcony! And took the bathrobe off revealing a mini skirt/tuxedo top thing, and stockings to show off his really really nice girly legs. It was seriously SO funny. His band and him did a little dance number...broadway style. It was sweet cause his band had some really old men in it. I quite enjoyed myself!

Anyways, that is all that is really going on right now. Here are a few pics from Amanda and Matt's wedding that I went to last weekend. As promised. I don't have many with me at work though, so these will have to do!

Here I am with my "long lost friend" Mel! She is the wife of Jedd, whom I used to work with at Sherwood Park Alliance Church. If you can believe it, she is a Mom of 4-she just had a baby! She is skinny as ever!!! I can only wish I will be so fortunate when I have kids!!! So nice to catch up with them though.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. I am so glad its here.

God is Good

2007-07-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well it was a busy weekend with a wedding smack in the middle. (Pictures to come in the near future). I was sick Friday night so Danny went to the youth thing without me while I watched the Home and Garden Network...watching people from Europe and the UK trying to sell their house, or buy one, or renovate one. I don't think I could ever get sick of watching that. There is something cool about being able to see the inside of someones flat in downtown Paris. LOVE IT. After watching those shows though, I can't help but think about the stress I feel while we are trying to sell our condo. We've done everything we possibly can to sell, but the market is just so dead right now, there is zero traffic. I want to blame something, but there is nothing to blame. It's just no traffic. So I just have to keep reminding myself, that God is good. He knows what is best for us, he has a perfect plan. And whether or not its the same plan as mine, I'm not too sure. But God is good.

This is a picture I took as Danny and I were driving here in Edmonton one night. We do have some BEAUTIFUL sunsets, I must say.

New things. We're Green. AND Rollin with our Girls... Literally.

2007-07-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

We got some new things to share with you. ONE... Danny got new glasses. He's such a stud. I like when he wears them. I like to try them on too. I got new glasses. I'm still to shy to wear them, let alone post a picture. SO maybe one day you will see. I've never worn glasses my whole life. I need them for school. I'm still not sure I like them, but there is no turning back now!

TWO. We also sold our Malibu, and bought a new car. Danny bought in at an auction. Kind of an impulse buy. He knows what he's doing though-his Dad buys and sells cars on the side so he has experience with these sorts of things.....It's an AUDI. Yeah....bling I know. It's really pretty, and has all the wonderful features a girl (or guy) could want. But its standard, and well the problem is...I dont know how to drive standard!!!!!! We got a great deal for it though, so Danny has been driving it for the past week and we're probably selling it next week to make some money off it. Danny will be heart broken. I keep telling him, with time we will save up and get a nice car. Here she is.

Danny and I are green. Well. We were for one day at least. We were "ECO-FRIENDLY". We walked to the grocery store, instead of drove. And then we didn't use plastic bags. ha We are so eco-friendly. :) It was a beautiful night though so we took pics along the way.

The other night we had a very eventful time with our grade 11 girls Kayla, Nicole and Jillanne. We hit up Marble Slab Ice Cream, (I got birthday cake flavored with butterfinger chocolate bar smashed inside!!!), went for a delicious dinner at Joey Tomatoes downtown, played a little pool at the youth centre, went shopping at Home Sense, and of course we went to the Legislature Grounds. It was smokin hot that evening, and well we just couldn't help ourselves. We went for a long walk around the grounds frolicking in the grass and enjoyed dipping our feet in the water. We rolled down a few hills. This particular hill was INCREDIBLY steep. I couldn't stop rolling and I was laughing so hard as Nicole followed me with her camera. We also did purple city. For those of you who haven't done it yet, well I can't say your eye doctor would approve, but I do. You pretty much just stare into these really bright neon lights for one minute (at night) and then you look up at the city and all the lights on the buildings are purple. You should try it sometime.

Here is a beautiful family portrait of Danny and the girls. They are our daughters.

Here is another one. I don't know why Kayla looks so serious!!!!!! What a goof!

I don't know why I was standing like this. But I look dang cool.

There is a creepy weirdo jumping behind us in this one. Not too sure why... ;)

Fairytale Wedding

2007-07-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

This summer is definitely the summer of weddings for us. I cannot even tell you. We have a million to be at! But they're so fun, how could we say no to any. This wedding we went to was this past weekend. In HOT weather. Smokin hot. 35+!!!! And the entire wedding was outside!!!!!! Ceremony and Reception. However, the clouds rolled over just as the ceremony was starting so that provided for a little shade! What a blessing.

Anyways, it was our friends James and Jen who tied the knot in the heat! We've just recently been getting to know this couple over the past 6 months, and they are great. SO MUCH fun! They are both amazing small group leaders at our church. It is hard to know we'll me moving and leaving such a great people behind. It was a blessing to be a part of their wedding. Danny did part of their ceremony for them as well. Pastor Dan my man...

The wedding took place in Jen's backyard. Such a dream wedding. Her Dad owns Martin Equipment, so they sell like John Deere tractors and the like. They own over 80 acres of land. Simply insane!!!!

The ceremony was stunning. A really nice sermon, and James was so cute nearly crying as Jen walked down the aisle. I always love to watch the groom. Although it usually makes me tear up!!! Once Jen and James were pronounced MARRIED they walked down the aisle together to "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake. It was really funny actually.

Okay, and I must say the cupcakes were delicious. They had vanilla cupcakes with cherry flavored icing, very unique and wonderful. And they also had chocolate with mint flavored icing. Danny's favorite. I know you were all wondering about these details...so I just had to make sure you know.

This picture makes me laugh, because Danny caught me in a true moment of joy. I can't remember what I found so funny, or joyous. But I just look so pleased!!!! hahaha

They had their reception in this gorgeous tent that looked like it was from the movies. It was gorgeous as the sun set into the tent.

The mosquito's went to war with my body. I was being attacked. So I had to wear Danny's jacket for a while.

Okay, I know this picture is kind of blurry, but I have to tell you.... Their band was INCREDIBLE. I would say a mix of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. I couldn't have been happier with the music. Definitely the highlight of the wedding for me. I seriously felt like I was in a movie. They were the classic "wedding band" from the movies. They sang all my favorite classics like "You Make Me Feel So Young" and "The Lady is A Tramp"...oh man, I could have watched them play for a day straight. I swear I was born in the wrong decade.

I almost want to start a "RATE THE WEDDING" chart for all you viewers out there. But I wont. Because I don't want to pick favorites, and every wedding is unique to each couple! But man, with the amount of weddings we're going to this summer its crazy. We have one this weekend too! And then 2 more after that!

It's Official...We're Moving!

2007-07-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

Most of you have already heard...so this may not be the least bit exciting for you...but I thought I would write anyways. But its official, and gone public. As of November, Danny and I will be living in Vancouver! Well, Vancouver area. We are looking in Burnaby because properties are cheaper there and we want something not as hectic as Vancouver.

I've got accepted into a Travel and Tourism Business Management diploma program located in downtown Vancouver, that starts this January. Danny is going to take a year off of ministry to re-evaluate and seek out where God is calling him to serve next. It's an exciting, VERY emotional transition for us both. We have had a handful of emotional conversations that were extremely hard, but we feel blessed by the ongoing support and understanding from our friends and family. Life right now is a tad stressful. We need prayer. Trying to sell the condo, looking for jobs in BC, and figuring out property stuff-we need a home, and want to buy!!! There is lots going on, and it is busy, BUSY, busy.

We have a few things to look forward in the near future though on a positive note. This September Danny and I will be traveling Europe for a month with our cousins from Cali, Tom and Heather (they got married 10 months before us). HOLLA! And then in October we will experience a lovely second honeymoon-island hopping in Hawaii for 3 weeks! Although, I can't say we'll be living it up in luxury on this "second honeymoon" because we don't exactly have heaps of money...hostels it is! ha.

So that's our big news. Very exciting. Fun. Change. Scary. Hard Work. ahhhh

This is a side note: Yesterday I was really sick. Like I HAD TO stay lying down. So a few times I would get up to get something or do something. And have you ever gotten up too fast, so you kind of black out for a second, or have to grab the wall, or counter, or whatever, to regain your composure? Well that was me yesterday. A few times. It wasn't fun. However...I think it would be really funny to watch. Someone should make a video of a whole bunch of people getting up too fast. I bet I would laugh.

Getaway to the Island

2007-07-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, Danny and I had the privilege and blessing of getting away to Vancouver Island for a wedding!!! We don't know the couple very well, but Danny was asked to perform the ceremony, so of course we jumped at the opportunity to get away for a while! The family was generous enough to put us up in a 5 star Oceanfront Lodge and Spa Resort. We were absolutely thrilled to be staying in such a gorgeous hotel, and seriously didn't take one minute for granted!!!! If ANYBODY wants an amazing weekend away, I would recommend this place in a heartbeat! The wedding reception itself was held at this hotel too, so it was just a beautiful location. All 33 rooms at this hotel have an ocean view. It was so amazing to wake up in the morning and see the mountains and water. AHHH I loved it. We would sit outside on the patio, and read, drink coffee.

My favorite place was right beside the fireplace, curled up with a good book. The weather wasn't smokin hot when we were there, so it was such a nice comfort to have a fireplace. AND this place even had gourmet cookies waiting for us when we arrived!

The bathroom was crazy too. There was this insane shower that had sorts of crazy jets, and a huge jacuzzi tub, complete with candles and a beautiful view of outside.

At night time we would get back to our room and they had already shut the huge curtains for us, and set the lights down, leaving us a little treat beside our bed, like a bottle of water, or some tea.

Of course I had to jump on the bed...it was the only solution. I had to show my excitement somehow!!!

When we weren't doing wedding things, we were fortunate enough to escape into Victoria to do a tiny bit of shopping...more like window shopping, and hang out around town. Victoria is a beautiful city, with great views of the ocean, right downtown.

The day of the wedding was AWESOME. We slept in, because the wedding wasn't until later, went for breakfast, and then we headed out in our SUV to the beautiful winery that it was at. This place was absolutely stunning. It had such a homey and quaint feeling to it. It was a family run winery...but so beautifully kept. Boasting of beautiful rose gardens and plant life...and there were even huge peacocks around.

The wedding was set around all the amazing gardens under a white tent, because we weren't sure if it was going to rain or not. But the rain held out and the sun shone in.

Laura, the bride, looked absolutely stunning in her wedding dress. It was such a pretty wedding. She walked in to a beautiful music played by 2 live musicians.

After the ceremony, everybody met in the white "greenhouse" for the cutting of the cake and champagne. It was so beautiful in there.
I think its safe to say that Danny and I both fell in love with the little flower girl. She was 5 years old, and seriously such an adorable little button. We could not get over how cute she was, and how mature she was for her age!!!! She was so playful, but could make really good conversation-it was quite amazing!

So that is all the pics I have with me right now. We didn't take too many at the reception because the lighting was dim, so it was hard to get a good shot. BUT we did a few other things on our trip that I am hoping to post about...visiting with relatives, the Jazz festival, etc. So as I get more pics I will post them for sure!

i am danny, hear me roar.

2007-06-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Little Diddy About Jack and Diane

2007-06-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, I lied. There is nothing about Jack and Diane in this blog. I dont even know a Jack I don't think. I knew a dog named Jack once. But he is no longer alive. I always feel like I should never post unless I have pictures. Like somehow I'm jipping you loyal readers that have A.D.D. and can't get through a blog post unless there is a visual to keep your attention. Not saying you all have A.D.D. But I don't like to post without pictures. So, to spite that fact, I AM going to post with no pictures. Just for the heck of it. "Do something that scares you everyday" right? haha Cheezy quotes. Gotta love it.

Now I'm not sure what I have to say... I usually have pictures to guide my words, but today...nothing. I actually do have pictures, but no camera today, so...ha...anyways. Good news....my friend Danielle is coming home from her adventures in Capetown and Uganda in 2 weeks exactly. I'm excited! Now that its two weeks, its like I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.

It's a long weekend, this weekend for us Canadians. Thanks to Canada Day being on the 1st of July. Good times. I want to go camping, but I don't know if we can or not. We'll have to see. It's supposed to be nice in Edmonton, so I may just want to stick around here. There is one problem I have with Canada Day though... confession-I HATE our national anthem. Like I loathe hearing it. The lyrics are great and all, but the tune/song itself? Someone please punch me in the face. And they play that song on Canada Day, which means, for a full day I have to try and ignore it. ugh. What else is new? Oh right!!! I nearly forgot. It was Danny's 27th Birthday on Monday! We spent the evening with family (and Robbie-which really, Robbie you are family too), and we ate cupcakes. Mine was delicious. Actually I have had 3 cupcakes this week now. They were all good. But yeah, my man is one year older. He is almost too close to 30 now. But at the same time, age is just a number right? Right.

Anyways, that's my little diddy for now. Writing for the sake of writing. Hope all is well!

What's my age again?

2007-06-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

So on Friday we had the last of our grad festivities...the BEULAH CHURCH GRAD celebration!! Over 20 graduates showed up along with friends and family, so it made for a fun night. The grad committee chose the theme "Airports" representing people going places, doing different things, going in different directions. The night entailed drinks and appy's in the youth centre, and then a program, and then well more hang out time in the youth centre.

Mr. Barry Lang (Josh's dad) and my man Dan were the emcee's. Good times.

And of course my lovely friend Janae was there...she helped serve food and drinks.

Kayla (grade 10) and I were split up from the rest of the girls we normally stick with at these things. So we made the best of the night by putting chocolate in our eyes. Danny thought it was tomatoes or something!!! Ya....like I'd put a tomato in my eye.

I don't even know what to say about this picture. But WOW.

The honored youth pastors themselves...Chet and Danny-attempting to give some last minute advice to those crazy graduates!!

Here are a bunch of the lovely grads themselves.

Now this next picture is one of Robbie modelling. He claims he wasn't posing, but I know for certain that he saw me sneaking up with the camera, so he quickly put his GQ face on!!!!!! He doesn't fool me for one second!

Paparazzi!!!! This is the real Robbie. Just as kid-like as the next boy. Don't be fooled by his GQ pose ladies... (Robbie you're going to kill me now, aren't you??)

And yes, of course...how could I forget...Josh, Rich, and James. The crazy kids on the block. They attempted the whole DJ thing, that very night.

You guessed it-of course with loud music, we end up dancing...I mean...who doesn't really?? We danced it up...or should I say...shook our heads to the beats, in front of the airport runway broadcasted on the walls.

Like I've mentioned before...its not rare that Danny and I will lose our age when we're hanging out with the students. What's my age again?

Random Blurbs

2007-06-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well nothing too crazy has been going on in our neck of the woods lately. We are keeping busy though! We were dog sitting for Danny's parents last week...and let me tell you, we learned many lessons. One of them being that we are SO NOT ready to get a dog for some time. We definitely love dogs...Danny more than myself, but we are MUCH too unsettled to take care of our own. It was a really hard week, mainly because if we brought the dog back to sleep at our condo it would seriously whine ALL NIGHT LONG. One night Danny only got 4 hours of sleep. It was ridiculous. SO, for many nights we were apart...Danny at his parents and then me at the condo. Not my favorite week.

On the weekend we got to take part in a special event. My little sis Natalie got baptized and Danny and I took part in the dunking, at my old church in front of about 400 people! It was really exciting to be a part of. We had all her friends over at my parents place for a bonfire afterwards. She is only 14, so it was a big step for her.

Sorry the picture is blurry!!!!

This is a random pic I took at West Edmonton Mall. It's kind of a strange time at the mall right now because they are shooting a big film in Edmonton at the moment starring Patrick Swaze, Carmen Electra, and Chris Kattan...and a few others. It's a Christmas movie, so there are Christmas decorations EVERYWHERE. I overheard some girls talking saying something like "This is soooo creepy, why are there so many Christmas decorations everywhere!!!!" I laughed to myself. They didn't know a movie was being filmed. I decided to let them stay creeped out. hehe ;) This picture below is a part of the movie set.

Here is a random quote I liked that was on my Caramel Macchiato Cup at Starbucks. "Give me being and feeling over having any day." I liked it because I too often get caught up in the things I want...and end up missing experiences in life because of it. So I am trying to work on that whole "just be" thing.

Danny and I were downtown for a bit this week, and I came across this church that I liked. You don't see tons of grand churches like this one in Edmonton. They are out there...but not very common. So here it is!!!!

2 days ago I went to a concert with my good friend Jessica. Her family has a box at the coliseum here so they get free tickets to nearly every show that comes to Edmonton. This one was GWEN STEFANI!!! I have listened to her music off and on since grade 7...so it was kind of crazy to be suddenly seeing her in real life. I find her to be an interesting person. Her show first of all, was NOT by an means just a concert. It was definitely an entertaining show. Between every song or 2, her, AND all her Japanese back up dancers would do a complete costume change, tights and all- and on top of that, the set would change too. They all looked like little dolls dancing around and everything was just so unique. AND her voice was REALLY good live. Sounds exactly like she would on the radio. But the thing that impressed me the most was that she can sprint and sing at the same time! Now that is talent. She seriously ran (really, really fast) around the coliseum, jumped the boards, ran up stairs into the crowds while singing...and it still sounded good. The set was intricate with a conveyor belt and long black trampolines, and depending on what song it was, the stage was themed accordingly. Overall it was such a fun show to be a part of and I was so grateful to Jessica for bringing me!!!!!

Random blurbs from me to you! Hope everyone is having a good week!!!

Can I get a "what what" for Grad '07!!!!!!!!!

2007-06-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

So..."GRAD '07 WOOOOOOOOO!!!" That was what we yelled all night long. The ironic thing is though, that majority of us, if not all of us...yelling that were either already graduated....or NOT graduating. There was a crew of about 30 of us altogether there to support our graduating students for their grade 12 grad last Thursday.

Here is a picture of Josh, Danny, and James. Danny is very involved in these guys' lives so it was cool for us to celebrate with them as the graduate!!!

This is Josh with his 3 "pastors" in youth ministry...the one on the left is Danny's current co-worker, Chet, and on the right is Danny and Chet's old co-worker, Erin. They are a crazy bunch.

Danny is doing a ferocious photo shoot here with his tiger-like moves...

Of course with a big graduation there MUST be a dance... What's a party without a dance?!!? In our opinion...it's just not a party!!! And well...seeing as its easy to not care what anybody thinks of you as you're surrounded by high school students...we...how do you say..."danced it up."

And when the dance floor just gets to hot and smelly...create your own dance floor on the side. Kayla and I busted out some moves to some good 'ol country.

At around 1 in the morning the dance ended...but that didn't stop us. Danny and I hit up the McTeer's house for a little after-grad shindig. We managed to kidnap a whole arch of helium balloons from the dance floor with around 30 or 40 balloons on it. But the problem was we also had to drive Nicole and Rich to the McTeer's with us...so there was only one option. Cut the arch in half, stuff some in the trunk, and the rest went in the backseat!!!!! Nicole and Rich were smothered in balloons! Probably not the safest idea in the world but we figured meh, if we get in an accident they'd just bounce around...haha Don't worry, if they were our kids this would not be an option.

And like normal high school students would...we enjoyed a few conversations over helium balloons in our chipmunk voices at the McTeer's. Good times. Many laughs.

Little sleep + Smelly teenagers + Loud music + GOOD TIMES =YC 2007

2007-05-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know what it is, YC stands for "Youth Conference". It's the biggest one of its kind in North America, and it held in Rexall Place...a big venue that seats over 16 000 people here in Edmo. It is crazy, and LONG. It went from Friday night until Sunday night, and involves early mornings too. People come from all over North America, including Leah and her youth group. Leah it was SOOOOO GREAT to see you. AHHH I wish we would have had more time to hang out. :) :) This year we took 200 youth and leaders from our church, so it was a busy weekend. To say things were crazy is almost an understatement!!! There were TONS of Christian bands that showed up: from United (all the way from Hillsong church in Aussie), to Skillet, to Toby Mac, Amanda Falk, Parachute Band, David Crowder band, and a handful more. Let's just say our group danced it up when the music was pumping, hardcore. So much fun.

Kyla and I were assigned 3 girls...and here they are, dancing in all their glory- Lauren, Reinette, and Nadene. We also adopted their friend too, but she's not in this picture.

And yes, with YC comes a beautiful, peaceful, lovely bus ride. Hardly. More like the party continues on the bus. No matter what time of day it is. Sing alongs from the wanna-be backstreet boys at the back of the bus...singing classics like "I want it that way", "It's Not Unusual" (by Tom Jones) and "Stacey's Mom" (ha) Poor Robbie. He leads their small group. I don't know how he does it. I think he can tolerate loud noises much better than I can.

Here I am at one of the concerts in mid-dance. Let's just say, I often lost my age depending on what song came on.

Something really cool happened this weekend though. YC flew down a pastor from Malawi, Africa to talk to us. YC is going to Malawi in August 2008, and we took an offering to raise money for this event. Malawi is at the present time one of the poorest countries in the world with over one million orphans. We were able to pray for the pastor and his country. And this past weekend YC raised over $90, 000 for this event. It was unreal!! I am so excited for the potential of this event in Malawi. They are looking for volunteers if any of you are interested.

Me and my co-pilot for the weekend.

Overall it was a beautiful weekend. The weather was perfect. The speakers were more or less good, and the music was so much fun. Ahhh...the joys of being involved in youth...it means you never have to grow up, or stop playing!

If only Weekends were Longer

2007-05-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

I LOVE long weekends- except I promise you this...they are NEVER long enough. Well in my opinion. I think I am looking for life to be one giant long weekend though, so I guess I'm a bit of a dreamer. We did have a good time however, even though it was only for 3 days. Danny and I took off after work on Friday, on a last minute trip to Kelowna, BC. HOLLA! We had cancelled our trip a few days before, because our bro and sis in-law were supposed to join us, but they had to cancel. So we cancelled too, and then last minute we decided to go! I wasn't up for driving through the night so I booked us a room at the wonderful Westin hotel in Calgary. If you bid on this website called priceline.com, you can get some sweet deals on hotels. Our room was supposed to cost $200/night but we got it for less than $100. I'm all for saving money. :) We woke up the next morning to enjoy a swim in their indoor rooftop pool...Danny read the newspaper in the hot tub, while I did laps. ha. Yeah. I don't usually do laps, but I figured I might as well, seeing as we had the pool to ourselves. Then we grabbed some good 'ol Starbucks, and hit the road.

This is me, as I was really excited looking forward to seeing the sunshine in the Okanagan. I'm eager.

However, once we got passed the Banff area we had to wait for a short while, because last week there was a MUDSLIDE that went over the road, and the crew were still cleaning up the mess. That's right people a mudslide!!!! I've never seen one before. There was mud covering the trees and everything. I get impatient though sitting in traffic and waiting. This picture is evidence to that.

After getting through the crazy mud, we finally reached the beauty of the Okanagan. And Sally, seeing as you guys lived there I think, you can vouch for me when I say pictures don't really do it justice. It is just so pretty there, I absolutely LOVE the drive. It's almost magical.

We arrived in Westbank (a town outside of Kelowna) around dinner time. We were staying at Grandma Taylor's for the rest of the weekend, so it was a nice treat to have a delicious meal waiting for us. And the weather was beautiful!!!!!

The next morning we woke up and ate a big breakfast and chatted with G'ma for a bit, and then went to the lake to read for a couple of hours. There were expected thunder showers to come, but they never showed up! The day just got hotter, and hotter. I was in my glory.

From there we went to a used bookstore, and then to walk around town on the board walk and soak up the sun. EVERYONE and their dog was out. It was crazy busy. People were already boating, and swimming.

After a BEAUTIFUL day out in the sun, we went back to Grandma's where she had a huge roast beef dinner waiting for us. The whole shabang. We were so full. Danny had a nap on the couch while I went and read magazines on the patio, and lay down on the swing chair.

This is the view from her patio. I swear she lives in like a Seniors resort. Danny and I walked to Starbucks down the road to grab some delicious drinks (iced tea and such), and to walk off dinner. The view was lovely.

The next morning we said our goodbyes and hit the road.

Stopped at a fruit stand that didn't have any fruit! But it was really cute there.

I read a good chunk of my book on the drive which was idyllic.

This picture below might look like nothing to you, but if you click on it, you will see that we saw a little bear on the side of the road!!!! I was so excited. I have never seen one so close. I wish the camera would have captured it better. So cute, makes you want to cuddle it. Don't worry I didn't try nothin.

The trip ended off on a great note. We saw the end of the rainbow!!!! Both sides!