Some old pics...

Found these on the computer at my parent's office. Not sure why I scanned them all in or what project I had been working on, but they were cute to see again. And man, what a bruise. It's been along time since I haved bruised like that. Been a long time since I have fallen or walked into something too, I guess. This particular bruise came from the crash aluded to in the first photo, when Bryce and I took a toboggan run a bit too quick, on a GT racer (pictured), which is designed for 1 or 2 children, or 1 adult. Not 2 adults, at lightning speed. Needless to say, the ridge on the back of the GT seat made a lovely 'impression' on me.



Me and Laurie - looking forward to seeing Laurie and her new son Baron on this trip. Laurie and I flatted in university together.

The girls, many years ago. This was the before picture. The "hors dervez" picture was the after picture. (not in this selection of photos, but funny funny night)

Another university photo with Kate, Me, Juls and Katie

The holiday has begun...

It's sunny. That's enough of a treat, but you add in seeing friends and family and enjoying Mom's cooking and Clamato and I am a happy little girl.

Arrived on Friday in BC to stay with Grandpa and Joan for the night. It was great to see them; they both look really good. Grandpa didn't miss a beat on the whole drive to and from the airport and around town. Well, maybe one red light that we almost went through, but Joan quietly reminded him about. But otherwise, he is the best, safest 89 1/2 year old driver I have ever seen. Put a lot of worries at ease for me.... : )

We went out to the Boathouse for dinner with my Uncle Bob and Aunt Lynette to celebrate their birthdays, Grandpa and Joan's anniversary and my visit. The Boathouse is a beautiful restaurant on the water in Horseshoe Bay where people catch the ferry across to Vancounver island. It's a very picturesque setting with tall rock walls that go up away from the trees, and a marina right beside the restaurant. Yummy steak and seafood meals too and 'fat as' wine glasses, which suited us just fine!

We went and visited my cousin Janet and her kids Zach, Rachel and Nathan after that and enjoyed some more family catchup time. Zach just had his bar mitsvah weekend and we saw all the photos from the huge event. I had not seen the family in over two years. The kids were all so much bigger and fully into soccer season here. Vancouver seems to have some nice soccer fields to play on. Everything is being renovated and cleaned up to make the city look good for the world to see it when the Olympics come in 2010.

Grandpa and Joan and I had a great Tim Horton's breakfast on Saturday morning and then went off to search for a rain jacket for Daisy (their Lhasa Apso dog). Daisy was not a fan of the one we picked out, which was a cute little down type vest, but Joan said Daisy will come around to it. They have other little jackets for Daisy, and Daisy wears them with pride so maybe the fashion will just have to wear in.

I left for Toronto soon after and was quite proud that I held back my tears. Decided to be hard this trip and not a softy. Lasted well too, until today, when I had to say good bye to Robyn, after a long day chatting here with her. We only had this one day to hang out between her trip back from Austria with her Mom cycle touring, and her flying back to Canmore. Great day though, with lots of sunshine and shopping. The way a holiday should be!

Sarah came to visit me after church yesterday and we got to catch up as well. Looking foward to seeing how big her daughter has grown since December.

So not sure exactly what the next few weeks hold for me; lots of family visits for sure, and catching up with friends. And getting sunshine, and running. Lots of Clamato's and lots of running. Oh, and Mom's ceaser salad. And..... : )

Nice day for a ride

Today, we had our first totally sunny day on the weekend for the first time this winter! It was awesome. Breakfast on the front deck, jandals, shorts, and a mountain bike ride up on the escarpment to make sure we caught all the views. We could see the snow-capped mountains in the South Island, as well as some of the South Island's coast that comes up almost beside Kapiti which we can see well on a good day. We had a great view of Kapiti Island (which you can see in the background of the pic of me on the bike). Glorious Day! Winter is finally leaving us, and good riddance!

Our first roast

We did it. We finally grew up and made our very own roast dinner. We thought about it all day and planned things out ahead of time so everything was finished at the same time, and we even invited friends (Brent and Clare) over to make sure we put our full effort into it. And it was good! Besides a wee mishap with the gravy, I don't know what we were so worried about. I always thought roasts were a huge deal, but they are super easy, its just the clean up after with all the dishes that was the hardest part!
Looking forward to more culinary exploration......

Some cute pics....
Here is Tim and Zoe, asleep, and proving that genetics is not a farce.


And here is our Li'l Eddie. So cute. So fat and lazy. But we love her!


On to the start of another busy week. Volleyball season is back on, exams, Canada trip at the end of this week and heaps to do before I go. At least I haven't got the "bug" that everyone seems to be getting. I sure hope I stay healthy until I can get at least one cuddle with each of Maire, Raelen, Asher, Abby, Annalise, Max, Zoe, Laurelle, Baron, Jada and Kyla (all the babies I want to see while I am home). And Mom and Dad of course!

Hen's Party

We went to our friend Cindy's hen's party last weekend. This involved a 1 hr belly dancing lesson, with 20 or so women between the ages of 16 and 60(?). It was great fun, better than I had expected. We first had to place our hands on the hands on the woman in the circle beside you, and then using your hips, spell your name. She taught people with dots in their names how to be demure, but hip thrust forward to accentuate the dot in their name. Quite funny! I volunteered to be the groom, for one segment of the lesson. Little did I know that the teacher ("Moon Jelly") and Cindy were going to do a seductive dance for me, while I sat in a chair. Never would I have had a woman do that for me before, I must say. Cindy and I have had some giggles about it since then!
Back at Cindy's place, we had a feast, and lots of bubbles (champagne) and played some games (as you do). One of the games was a classic NZ children's party game called the Chocolate game. I had never played it before though, and as it involved chocolate, we were all keen. You had to roll a dice and if you rolled a six, you had the opportunity to put on all the clothing in the middle (a boa, fairy wings, and two gloves) and then use a knife and fork to eat a block of chocolate, BEFORE the next 6 is rolled by someon else. The panic really sets in, because as women, we don't often get offered chocolate, and then get it taken away from us, just before we are allowed to eat it. Some of the girls were eating the chocolate off the floor as it had fallen and it was difficult to pick it up with a gloved-up hand and fork. And chocolate off the floor is still chocolate and not to be wasted!!
Fun night: some shameful karaoke at the end and lots of dancing, but a really fun time.
In the pics, Clare, Charlotte, Kim, Michelle and me