good times and sad times

What a weekend! It began Friday evening when we hung out with our dear friends Grace & Josh. We went out to a new pub, we had fun conversation, we played games and gifts were exchanged. This was good and sad times. Sad because as our friends were leaving for a 2 week long vacation, it was our last time to hang out while we all still resided in Vancouver. And though we know we will see them again (and their soon-to-be baby), we are not sure when this will be. We had such a blast hanging out with them and reminiscing about good times. They made us an amazing gift, a movie consisting of loads of pictures of our time in Vancouver as well as funny and sentimental words to us and for us. It was the greatest gift and I cannot wait to show you all. The time came to say our goodbyes at the end of the evening and though it still has not hit me, I know it was sad and hard and will only be more so as we make our departure from Vancouver.
However, more good times happened later that evening. I went with some of my girl friends to a Harry Potter release party! The 7th and final book was due to come out at midnight and we set out to wait in line and party with the Harry fans until midnight to get our book. The so-called party was pretty lame, but it was fun to go and be there and get the book when the clock struck 12:00. This was good and sad times. Sad because it is the final Harry Potter book and I can no longer look forward to the next release and though they are still making the movies, those are nothing in comparison to the books.
Saturday morning I rose excited to set out early to help my friend, Katie, set up for another friend, Ansley's, baby shower! I arrived around 9:30am (for the party was set to start at 11am) and we got to work preparing food and decor. About 10am we received a phone call from Chad, Ansley's husband, and stated that Ansley had indeed gone into labour! Katie and I were shocked, stunned beyond belief and laughing at the irony of it all. Chad and Ansley still wanted us to have the party, so we did and with each arriving guest got to tell them the news! We played the shower games , ate the food and even (secretly) showed each other the presents we had each brought. It was sad that Ansley could not be there for her own shower but it was perfect timing for the baby to be brought into the world.
Sunday evening Deanna, Shannon and I went to the hospital to help welcome Charles D Raith III into the world. He is precious and perfect and I could not be happier for the new little family.

Last hang out with Cramer's & HP realease party

Ansley's baby shower

Blockhead + friends = fun!

Last night our good friends Tim & Jen invited us over for some good eats and hang out time. The Simpson's also joined in on the fun and we had an overall great evening. It was the last time we will see Tim & Jen in Vancouver(as they are going out of town this week and we leave before they get back), which is very sad but fun to look forward to some potential visits from them in Edinburgh and with them in Belfast. The Cairn's introduced us to the great game of Blockhead last time we had dinner with them so naturally we had to show the Simps what it was all about. Turned out we were all pretty good and I think we may have played a record breaking game of something like 35+ blocks. Good times were had by all.

Take me out to the ball game!

Saturday night Derek and I, along with our home group, went to "The Nat" for a Vancouver Canadians baseball game! Derek looooves baseball so the mention of going to any type of game (little league, minor league, major league) and he is there! And of course any excuse to get outside and be with close friends is a must for the Browns. We were so excited to hear that the Canadians were playing none other than the Eugene Emeralds. Of course we went and cheered for the Emeralds. Lucas and Shannon cheered with us (support the team from the good ole U.S. of A) so out of the 3,000 or so fans that were there...4 of us cheered for the opposing team. It was great though and I think we all had some scratchy voices the next day. However, after 11 innings and lots of stadium food the Vancouver Canadians won 4 to 3. Even still, we can't deny what a great time we had!

Eugene Emeralds vs. Vancouver Canadians

Fill 'er up

Gas (or petrol) prices in Vancouver are ridiculous. Granted, not as bad as other places in the world but ridiculous when coming from the states. Since moving to Vancouver nearly 3 years ago, we have not once filled our gas tank all the way up. We would fill it whenever we took a trip to the states but around town we would just put in $20 or $30 and be on our merry way. But last night as we went to put some gas in the car we decided that we have to do it once and we filled it up! At $1.10 a litre, which comes to about $4.00 a gallon (for you Americans), our gas tank is full with Canadian gasoline for the first time and most likely the last. It was hard to see those dollars continue to rise...and rise...but we had to do it just once! Soon we will head back to Oregon and sell our car and won't have to fill up a gas tank for years to come.

What is black and white and black and white and black and white and black and white?

This past Saturday was my birthday party! Woohooo! Boy oh boy what a birthday party it was. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. Lots of laughs, lots of black and white and lots of wine! It was a black and white formal wine and cheese birthday party (say it 3 times fast). All my gorgeous friends dressed up in their finest black and white attire and we partied the night away in our backyard and then into the basement once the sun went down and it got cold. Everyone brought a bottle of wine, it was fun to try the different kinds. And leave it to me and my friends to finish every single bottle! We all took some amazing photos and I am pleased to present them to you for your viewing. It was a great (probably) last party that we will host while living in Vancouver and so neat to see how beautiful and handsome my friends are.

Katie's Wine & Cheese Birthday Party