See you later dear friends

About a week ago, we had to say goodbye to some very close and dear friends: Jess, Jeff and Charlie. They are the first in our close "group" of friends to leave and it was not easy to say goodbye, or should I say "see you later" cause we will see them again. Jeff got a job with IVP (Inter-Varsity Press) in the Chicago area and though it was sad to see them go, we are so excited for the adventure that lies ahead. There were some events leading up to their departure that I will share with photos (of course).

They had a going away party about 2 weeks before they left. Here is Jess and cutie pie Charlie at the party

We made them a Memory book as a going away present

Classic

We were the last to leave the party -as always

This was part 1 of our last girls group (+ Charlie) meeting
Jess, Shelley, me, Shannon and Charlie

And part 2, we headed out on the town for some good drinks and conversation

Jess will love that I posted this picture :)

Awww...the last time it will be just the 4 of us

Then of course, the Reimer's last night in town was for Graduation! The accumulation of their time here. Here is Derek and Jeff (twins!)

The happy family

All the girls

And all the boys

Grad got over so late that nothing was open, so we had to settle for a Wendy's/Tim Horton's. Our last meal with the Reimer's.

After this, outside the Wendy's is where we had to say our tearful goodbyes to a special part of what has been our fmaily over the past 3 years. Our time here would not have been the same without them and they will forever hold a special place in our hearts. Hopefully we can get to Chicago in the near future and visit them in their new home.

Seattle Baby!

This past weekend I headed South to the good ole city of Seattle to meet up with some of my best friends from high school (and one college pal). It had been so long since we had all gotten together and we decided to take advantage of the fact that two of the girls live in Seattle. We had a blast together. Catching up, shopping, eating, being tourists and of course...drinking!

Alexa and Kari - as we begin our shopping extravaganza!

All the girls at Pikes Place Market
I was like a giddy little kid as I had never been so close to the space needle before :)

We drove up to a view point, what an amazing view!

This is us, the bests from High school (me, Jess, Megan & Kari)

and with Alexa (college buddy)
Later that night we headed out on the town...we went to 2 different restaurants in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, oh we had such a great time!

maybe we had a little "too" much fun ;)

Overall it was a great weekend with the girls catching up, laughing and just being together :)

2007 Vancouver Sun Run!

Yesterday, Derek and I both participated in the 2007 Vancouver Sun Run which is Canada's largest 10K road race (2nd largest in North America). This year a record 54,317 people registered for the race. It was exhilarating as we ran the race through downtown Vancouver, Stanley park and across 2 bridges (Burrard & Cambie). Surprisingly, it did not feel like there were 54,000 people around you which made the race that much better as we weren't having to push our way through crowds of people. We took our camera along with us and took pictures of the race so check them out below. We glad to not be terribly exhausted afterwards and I think the adrenaline of the race kept us going all day. We had a blast and I am so thankful that it was something we could share in and enjoy together.

2007 Vancouver Sun Run

Happy Anniversary to ME!

Today, April 10th, marks the 1 year Anniversary of me working at the University of British Columbia. I remember my first day quite vividly just one year ago. I arrived at work early and no one was there so it was awkward as I stood in the hall waiting for an unknown person to arrive. It has been a journey and I can say that I am quite comfortable and quite happy at my current job. I have now been through the whole cycle of the school year which includes such things as: Award deadlines, new student orientation, course evaluations, admissions and more! My role as a Graduate Secretary has become part of my life and I am so thankful to have such a good job. Happy Anniversary to ME! :)

I actually wrote a post about my first days back in April 2006, read it here

dirty laundry

We all have our own little routine when it comes to doing laundry.And more specifically loading the washing machine. When I enter the laundry room, I select my cycle and water temp and immediately start filling the empty wash tub. From there I sort my clothes, put them in the washer and then put the soap in an close the lid. However, if you look at the instructions of my washing machine it tells you to 1. add the soap 2. put the clothes in 3. start the water. And still there are even more ways of doing laundry than this. But I ask...Is one way better than the other? Does one routine actually get the clothes cleaner? Should you soak the clothes in the water before actually beginning the cycle? Does it really matter at all?

What do you do? What do you think??

And I don't even know about the front loading machines...that's another story I guess.

It's Friday in Vancouver

65 (18C) degrees and sunny on this glorious day in Vancouver. It's Easter weekend which means a lot of things but also means that it is a 4 day weekend! With Good Friday AND Easter Monday off work. What a great thing (thank you Canada). Today is Good Friday, which is a somber day as we ponder Jesus' suffering and his death on the cross. But the hope of his resurrection is something to be happy about and therefore I am happy today. Happy that it feels like spring, happy to have a day off work, happy that the days are getting longer, happy to have friends over for dinner tonight and, of course, happy for grace and forgiveness. Happy Easter to all.

fun night out

Saturday night we headed to the Wolf & Hound to celebrate Derek's birthday with our favourite friends. We had a blast! It was a night filled with music, laughing, talking, beer, friends and more beer! It was a fun night!

Derek & Robert -- Let the fun begin!


Shannon, Lucas, Josh & Grace


Even Charlie got in on the fun...


more friends...


and even more!


having a little birthday fun...yuck!


And Shannon getting wild & crazy! with Charlie watching ;)