party

Last night Majell had a birthday party. We had lots of fun with friends....

Here's everyone hanging out


Dave and Derek hid in the back room avoiding the social scene for some of the time :)


It was a "bring a dessert to share" party and boy...there was quite a spread



Now I sit, once again, at backporch awaiting a friend as the rain falls on the streets outside. Another day in Bend continues.

just hanging out in Bend

I can't say that a lot has been going on these past few days, cause nothing really has. It has been peaceful and restful and I won't lie...I am kind of bored. But I need to cherish these moments cause in a couple weeks when I am sitting back at my desk at work, I will miss this. The majority of our day has pretty much been spent at Backporch sipping coffee and hanging out with our friends. The place is such a social hang out. You stay there long enough and you are bound to run into at least 2 or 3 people you know. It's great. Today I was even let behind the counter to play a little bit. Good times. I am learning that when it comes to my job, I have it quite nice. Poor Dave and Majell work 12 hour days, 6 days a week. They come home at night and are just wiped out. They hardly have enough energy left to fix and eat dinner and then they are off to bed around 9:00 every night only yo get up and do it all over again. They need a break, big time. Such is the life of owning your own business I guess.

We have seen my family a handful of times and 2 nights ago Derek and I went to see Pursuit of Happyness, I highly recommend it. Oh man, it was SO SO good. Go see it!

Yesterday and today I got to get behind the counter of Backporch coffee and experience it from the other side. They put me to work and we had a good time. Although I was confused while counting out change to not see loonies and toonies! Tonight Majell is having a little birthday party with friends and I am very much looking forward to seeing old friends and eating dessert :) I have pumpkin cheesecake tarts in the oven as we speak.

The next few days will be filled with hanging with my mom (some movie watching, shopping and scrapbooking) and then the Christmas festivities will begin! It still doesn't feel like Christmas time and I am beginning to wonder if it will at all this year. But...Merry Christmas!

Oregon at last

We are officially on Christmas holiday in Oregon. I cannot believe it. This has been the long awaited trip and it has arrived! Saturday morning we woke up super early and hit the road. We dropped off our friends Lucas and Shannon at the Seattle airport then continued down the highway. We arrive in Portland just in time for our hair appointments with Derek's brother-in-law. That's right! I have "new" hair yet again. It is now shorter and browner and I adore it. So we spent 2 nights in Portland and mostly just hung out with Derek's sister and her family.

Yesterday morning we hit the road again and headed for Bend. We have been so antsy to arrive in Bend because we get to be here for TWO WEEKS! After much web cam viewing and weather watching we decided to drive over Santiam pass rather than Mt. Hood because the roads seemed a lot clearer and we would rather not put chains on if we can help it. This seems to have been a mistake. As we were driving over the top of the pass there was a lot of packed, packed snow or ice. We were going down a hill, not going very fast and we lost control. We fish tailed back and forth for about 30 seconds and Derek handled the wheel so well. We thought he would be able to correct it and we would be back on our merry way. Instead, it only go worse and it became uncontrollable. Our car ended up spinning around and slamming into a snow bank on the opposite site of the road. It was so scary, so so scary. Especially because about 5 seconds later a semi truck came around the corner and had to drive around us. We know that someone up above was watching out for us. Luckily there were no other cars on the road, there were snow banks on both sides of the road and the semi truck didn't come even 2 seconds earlier. Needless to say we were quite shaken up and the rest of the drive to Bend seemed forever. Our bumper is pretty scratched up with a couple small cracks, but that is the only damage. Praise the Lord.

Anyway, we were so happy to get to Bend and see Dave and Majell (our good friends, that we are staying with in Bend). We got to see their new coffee shop and spent the evening there with them. On Monday nights they have a "coffee cupping" and we were happy to participate in that.

So we are officially in Bend and so happy and thankful to be here. More stories to come...

Christmas dinner with friends

Last Tuesday night, my girls group decided to invite the husbands along for a nice Christmas dinner at Levi and Shelley's house. Everyone pitched in and we had wonderful food and drinks including ham, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, wine and more! We had a great time eating and laughing and having some good "family time".

Here is our beautiful table complete with all the fixins :)

Lucas and Levi enjoying the meal

Shelley and Levi --- eat up!

Later, Shelley read us a Christmas story

Just hanging out


Lucas & Shannon and Jess & Jeff (and carl)

The gang!

birthday bash

Friday night our friends Ben and Lucas had a Birthday party......

This is Ben


This is Lucas

There was beer

...and friends (don't worry, Jess didn't drink the beer)

and drinking of beer

shortly followed by singing

...and dancing

fun was had by all :)

The rest of the story...and Thanksgiving too!

The saga continued as we went to the airport Tuesday morning to catch our 9am flight. We were checking in and they told us that we were in fact on the 5pm flight not the 9am flight. This was a breaking point for both Derek and I as that was the last thing we wanted to hear. We spent the next half hour on the phone with Air Canada trying to figure out what went wrong and what they were going to do about it. They were completely useless and unsympathectic at our situation and they were not going to do a darn thing to help us. After days of annoyance with the airline and being stuck in Portland we decided to rent a car and get home!! We went to the car rental area at the airport and went from place to place asking if they did "one way to Vancouver BC". No, no, no, and no! Finally the last one we went to had one car they needed retunred to Canada and we could be the lucky ones to drive it there. What a relief! We hoped in our front wheel drive Ford Taurus and headed North. Once we were getting near Olympia we began to see more and more snow on the sides of the road soon followed by ice and snow on the highway. The right 2 lanes were pretty clear but the far left lane (the "fast" lane) was pretty iced over. We stayed right and witnessed nearly 3 accidents in the left lane. It was intense. We saw dozens of abandoned cars burried by the snow on the sides of I-5, some even facing backwards and we could only imagine how they got into that position. The roads got a little better as we went through Seattle then quickly turned worse as we approached Bellingham. From Bellingham to the border it was like we were drving on an ice skating rink, I don't think we went more than 25 miles per hour. Luckily, being the Oregonian I love, Derek knows how to drive in this stuff, it's the other people that freak me out! The best was when we would see people driving on the clear roads (with maybe a little slush) with full on chains on their tires. We laughed at that! We were happily surprised to see only about 3 cars at the border and we were home in no time! Ultimately we decided that waiting for the 5pm flight would have been a batter and safer option at the end of the day, but we were so antsy to get home that renting a car seemed the most logical at the time. Most importantly is that we made it home safe and we resumed our lives Wednesday morning as normal.
Now I can rewind a bit to Thanksgiving day. As you will see from the pictures, the day began with a hike in the (unexpected) snow at Sahalie Falls. It was gorgeous and the snow was so fresh and soft that it didn't even feel cold! After a hot shower and feeling refreshed, my sister, Annie, and I began cooking the feast. It took us allllll day to cook that meal. Little did we know it would basically just be the two of us doing all the work. We didn't eat until about 8:30pm, I still can't believe how long it took. We enjoyed a big family gathering with tons of food, just as Thanksgiving should be. We followed that by playing a silly Disney trivia game with all my sisters, we had a blast and laughed a lot. That was basically it for the day and my parents and little sisters and brother headed back home late the following morning. It was a short trip for them but ours continued on with a day full of movies, games and leftovers with my big sisters. Derek joined us later for some Cranium and speed scrabble. What a great day with absolutely no shopping! The following morning (Saturday) Derek and I headed into Eugene where I was able to have lunch and coffee with my great friend, Ashley. We headed staright out to Forrest Grove to spend a night with Dereks dad and stepmom, we had a nice evening filled with chatting, picture viewing and a yummy dinner! Sunday morning we made our way to Portland in anticipation of flying out later that day but.....you know the story from there. Enjoy the pics!

American Thanksgiving weekend - November 2006

stranded...

At this very moment in time on Monday afternoon I am sitting at a coffee shop in Portland, Oregon. That's right, Portland. As you well now we flew down to Oregon last Wednesday to then drive to Eugene and spend American Thanksgiving with my family (more details and pictures on that to come at another time). Anyway, we drove back to Portland and planned to fly out around 4ish on Sunday. That was quickly changed when we checked out flight status online Sunday morning and noticed our flight had been canceled. Apparently it has been dumping snow in Vancouver and they can't keep the runways clear. We were a little bummed cause we were ready to get home but thought it would be fun to stay another day. We rebooked the flight for today at 1:30 to only find out this morning that yet again our flight was canceled. Derek and I spent a long time trying to decide if we should just rent a car and get home. However since all of the I-5 in Northern Washington is covered with snow as well we decided driving might not be the safest route. We are scheduled to fly out tomorrow morning at 9:20am and have decided that if it is once again canceled then we will rent ourselves a nice SUV and get home! We are sad to be missing the snow in Vancouver but from the looks and sound of it, I think it will be around at least another few days.
The funny and ironic thing about all of this is that we had originally said we were not going to come for Thanksgiving because of the time and energy it took to drive down to Oregon, that is when my sisters bought us plane tickets. But if we would have just driven in the first place we would have been home yesterday. Oh man! Derek has a lot of school work to do and that has been difficult to accomplish but we are trying to make the best of the situation and we have been enjoying time with Derek's sister and her family. And last night we got to go out to McMenamins with Dan and Amanda.
One day soon we will be home in Vancouver again only to come back to Oregon in less than 3 weeks.

Baby Shower fun!!!

On Sunday my friend Grace and I threw a baby shower for our dear friend, Jess. Grace and I had a blast coming up with fun ideas and planning, planning, planning! We were so giddy and had so much fun with it all. The shower went great and Jess is now stocked up for baby! Take a look at the pictures.

Derek and I leave tonight to go to Oregon for American Thanksgiving. We have been blessed by my big sisters with plane tickets from Vancouver to Portland. We are looking forward to it. One more hour of work and then I get to go home and get to the airport! Lots of Thanksgiving pictures to come. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

(with this new web album thing, I think I am going to phase out my Photo Blog. It will still be there but will be more of an archive--FYI).

November 19th, 2006 - Jess's Baby Shower

Yucky icky Vancouver water!

I was going to post a blog about the "happenings" with our water here in Vancouver (for all you non-Vancouver folk who do not know about this already) but instead I will let you read one of my friends Blogs who has already done the work for me :) Thanks Grace!
Go here and read about it. And yes, feel very very sorry for us :(

Update: Read the latest article in Vancouver Sun written today

Last night Derek and I went to the Real Canadian Superstore to go grocery shopping. It was, surprisingly, an okay trip as the store was pretty empty and the check-out lines were short. As we were unloading our cart at the check-out stand I noticed something on the floor that was purple. As I got closer I realized it was a folded up $10 bill (canadian-hence the purple). I awkwardly picked it up, not knowing what to do, held it up to the cashier and said "uh, someone dropped this", his response was "well, you can keep it!". You would think my reaction to this would be "Alright!! Ten bucks! How shall I spend it?!?!" but for some reason I felt strangely guilty, like I had just taken candy away from a kid. I looked around at everyone to see if I could notice anyone with a "I lost ten dollars" look on their face and slowly slipped the bill into my pocket. It is now in my wallet where it will be safe and sound from my husbands recent out-of-control spending habits ;)

Now this is Vancouver!

Our fall got off to a bit of a late start this year as we didn't see much rain until last week. This is quite unusual for Vancouver where we are used to rain for at least 9 months out of the year. And though we got some rain last week, I would have to say that as of today, I can confirm that fall is officially here to stay! It is POURING outside right now, there is standing water everywhere and the wind is crazy howling. I was beginning to get concerned with all the blue skies and sunshine we were experiencing but now I can rest easy. This is the Vancouver we all know and love. Welcome back friend :)

The Departed

Last night Derek and I went to see The Departed in the movie theatre. Which, first of all, is a huge deal because we NEVER go see movies in the theatre, it is so gosh darn expensive up here. We weren't neccesarily dying to see this movie, but we were in need of a good date and it sounded like a fun thing to do on a cold fall night. It was a good movie, an action, quite violent, but with Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson in a Martin Scorsese film, you can't go wrong. It was a pretty long movie and about 2 hours into it the sound went out. No sound whatsoever for probably 5-10 minutes. This was annoying and awkward and it was near the end, so it wasn't a good time for the sound to go. But it did come back on and we watched the end in full sound. After the movie though we noticed people who were in our theatre lining up and we thought "reimbursement?", we of course got right in line and got two free movie passes!! All because the sound went out for 5 minutes. So eventhough we weren't too happy to pay $12 each for a movie, it's like we got a 2 for 1 and it was totally worth it!
The movie was good, a lot of swearing, a bit long, a bit violent, but very good, I would recommend it if you are into that type of movie. Although I am sad to say that Mr. Scorsese will probably not be earning his oscar on this one either.

Seattle Weekend , Oct 27-29 2006

This past weekend I went to Seattle and met up with some of my best friends from Oregon, Jess and Kalee. We had a wonderful time full of shopping, eating and just being girls. Sadly, I forgot my camera and therefore don't have even one picture of our trip :( This saddens me greatly. But here is a picture of the 3 of us from the summer when they came to Vancouver to visit, just to give you a visual.
Friday night I arrived at the hotel (our room was on the 16th floor with a view!) around 7:30 and they got in about 2 hours later. Of course we were hungry and ready to get the girls weekend started! We stayed in a fun hotel in downtown Seattle and that night we walked a couple blocks to McCormick & Schmidts for cheap Happy Hour food and cocktails!
Saturday morning we slept in (ahhh) and then headed down to the corner Seattles Best Coffee shop for breakfast. From there we walked down near the water and spent a good amount of time at Pikes Place Market looking at all the fresh produce and flowers for sale, all the fun hand made jewelry, belt buckles, soaps and more! That's a fun place (even if it does smell like fish!). Then, girls will be girls, we headed to Nordstrom Rack and did some shopping! After hours of being on our feet we decided it was lunch time and spoted a P.F. Chang's. Oh man, it was goood! Being with some Oregon State alumni, we had to head back to the hotel and see how the Oregon State football game was going against USC. If you haven't heard about this game then you are way out of the loop because Oregon State shocked the world when they beat USC 33-31 on Saturday. What a victory for them. Needless to say, my friends were happy campers! From there we headed to Seattles own IKEA where the girls went nuts! I guess I am spoiled to live near an Ikea here in Vancouver. We had a fun time looking all around though at all the fun cheap furnitue and things. After Ikea we went out to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory near the water in downtown Seattle. It was a good meal eventhough the tables were awkwardly low and the three of us tall girls were having troubles eating our dinner properly :) When we got back to the hotel we decided to take a soak in the hot tub that was located on the 28th floor with a great view of downtown Seattle and the water. We spent a good hour, hour and a half saoking our sore bods and having great 'girl talk'. That about concluded our day because we were so tired from all the walking around that day.
Sunday morning we walked to a cute little local cafe that was just about a block from the hotel where I enjoyed a local cup of coffee and pear almond brioche...heaven! Then we checked out of the hotel, said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways. The weekend went by way too fast but we had lots of fun and memories. Plus on the way home I got to go to Target and that's always amazing!

BEND---New coffee shop in town!

Attention all Bend friends: for all of those who do not know, my great friends Dave & Majell Beach have opened a coffee shop in Bend, Oregon. It is called Backporch Coffee Roasters. This is not just any coffee shop but the BEST one in Bend and the surrounding areas. They roast their own coffee, they are passionate about coffee and they love people so it is sure to be a great experience all around.
They are located at: 1075 NW Newport Ave
and their blog is: http://backporchcoffeeroasters.blogspot.com/


Please go support my friends and enjoy a great cup of joe! :)

Life has been pretty uneventful in the past week or so. Derek is mid way thourgh his second to last semester at Regent, I am plugging along at work and all is going as normal. We are beginning to really think about what the next chapter in our lives looks like which is scary but also very exciting. The future is quite foggy at the moment and we pray that our eyes will be opened to where we are supposed to go from here. Time will tell and God will guide.
We get to go to Oregon for American Thanksgiving again and have just under a month of waiting to do. My big sisters have blessed us and we get to fly which is going to be a nice change from the 6-9 hour drive we usually endure. Seems far away but I am sure it will come quick. This weekend I am meeting up with my friends Jess and Kalee down in Seattle for a "girls weekend". I could not be more excited!!! It is going to be so nice to spend a weekend away with 2 of my best friends. I haven't really ever spent much time in Seattle, besides a few Mariner games, so it should be fun to explore the city and create good memories with friends. I am sure you will get the rundown when I return. That's all for now.

No longer a blonde!

That's right folks! After the hair fiasco over the weekend I had my hair professionally colored and the result is that I am no longer blonde! Check it out for yourself and please let me know what you think. I am still feeling quite self-concious about it because I have always been a blonde. I think this is going to take some getting used to. I think, too, that these pictures make it look more blonde on top than it actually is. You may have to see me in person to get the full effect, but you get the point for now :)

Also, for all you Vancouverites, I am part of a new blog (with my friend Paul) doing Vancouver Coffee shop reviews. You should check it out and maybe get some opinions about your local cafes. The blog is www.vancouver-cafe-reviews.blogspot.com I just did my first review on the Elysian Room, ENJOY!

I did it!!!

Yesterday, October 15th at 9:30am I ran my first 10k. It was pouring down rain, freezing cold and all on hard cement...it was great! My time was one hour and 36 seconds or so but I am just happy that I completed it without stopping even once. I was soaked through to the bone, my socks were wet, I was dripping everywhere, I had no good rain clothes on and my hair even began to dread itself because of the rain and I looked good ;) I am pretty darn sore today and wanting to just go home and lay down. But at the same time I am quite proud of my accomplishment. I know it's not big marathon or anything, but it is a start nonetheless. Not sure if or when the next race will be, but my hope for next time would be that I can do it under an hour. Check out more pics here and enjoy!


In other news: Yesterday some good friends and I decided to have a "hair party" and we cut, colored and whatever else you can do to your hair. It was great fun except for the fact that my hair is now orange. Well, mainly just the top, but orange indeed! I am quite embarrased of it and have down what I can today to cover it up, but it is still quite obvious. I am leaning towards forking over the big bucks to get it done professionally. That will teach me to do it myself though. Ick!

oops...didn't see that window

I was just sitting here at my desk doing my work like normal and all of a sudden I hear a big thud on the window. "Oh no, that was totally a bird" is what crossed my mind immediately. I went to the window and looked down on the little deck we have outside and sure enough it was a tiny little bird. I felt for it so I went outside and looked at him. He was lying lifeless and I was sad. But I gave him a nudge and alas he was still alive. I picked him up and it looked as though nothing was wrong with him and that maybe he was just a little shaken up (I mean who wouldn’t be after slamming full force into a window). I couldn’t figure out why he was acting so weak though. Until I looked again and noticed that he has totally punctured one of his eyes. Gives me the willies to even think about it. So I sat him up on a table and try giving him a little boost, but I am sure the loss of sight in one eye is quite traumatic and he’s not quite ready yet to spread his wings. But he is still sitting out there now and I am just so sad for him. Why is it that little animals can really tug at the heartstrings? He’s just sitting there all alone in the sun and I can’t help but keep looking outside at him. The picture is not of the actual bird, but it just helps to give you a visual. Poor birdie, I wish there was something I could do.

UPDATE: 10:21am -- I looked outside and the bird is gone. I hope he flew and didn't fall :( YAY!

What a weekend! I had a blast and it went by waaaay too fast. I posted 3 new posts on my picture blog, for your viewing pleaseure. Those pictures will describe my weekend better than I can. It was amazing!

Oh yeah and in just 5 very short days I will be running my first 10k...oh man!!! I signed up and I am jazzed to do it, I am, however, not very excited about running it alone. My friend Levi was supposed to run it with me but he has been sick and doesn't think he will be better in time or in the right shape to run. So I guess I will be at it alone (anyone wanna join me?!?). This makes me nervous as I am a much better runner when I have someone beside me, but I have paid the fee and my name is on the list, so there is no backing down now. Plus I figure that I have got to start somewhere if I ever want to really be a runner. I'll keep you posted.

A fun filled weekend coming right up!

Although nothing too exciting has happened in my life lately, there is some fun to come this weekend. Hopefully I should have lots to share and I will for sure have lots of fun pictures to post. Tonight I am going to shopping with my favourite pregnant friend Jess, to help her pick out maternity clothes...I am SO excited. Tomorrow morning Derek and I are off to Whislter, BC for one night. I have NO clue what we are going to do but it's going to be fun because we have never been to Whislter, any suggestions? Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving which means a day off work, yay! Our friends Levi and Shelley have come up with the brilliant idea of having an untraditional Thanksgiving and instead having "fall fest 2006" in the park. We will put our copats on, roast up some wieners, thro the football around and have a great day. I am very excited about this. Okay, okay, I am very excited about all 3 of these activities that will consume our weekend. Now if I could only make the clock move faster so I can get on with it already..............

new pics!

check out my photo blog - I added a new post with current pics.

www.kbpics.blogspot.com

ummm....

I don't know if I am boring or if I truly have not had anything going on in my life but I honestly have nothing to report. Besides the fact that it has been shockingly warm here in Vancouver for the past week, there is noting too exciting going on. I guess that's what happens when you're married to a student and who is deep into the semester now. What's a girl to do?? I have been keeping myself busy though and have honestly not really had much free time. My home group through my church has been going very well. It is small, just 6 of us, but they are all great and we get along well and am excited for this to continue. I have officially opted out of the "Spouses of Students" group but a few of us have reformed a new group with no title. I just call us "the girls group", and it's wonderful. I am so thankful for my friends that I have here and don't even want to think about having to say goodbye to them one day. With these activities and more brings lots of food and especially dessert (why is it that with every social gathering also comes dessert of some sort?) and therefore I have also been keeping myself busy at the gym. Anyway, that's all for now. Hopefully something big and exciting will happen so I can keep you all reading my blog and not getting bored :)

P.S. Tomorrow is my friend Jess's Birthday! Happy Birthday Jess!!

I heart birthdays!

I love birthdays! Absolutely love them! Doesn't matter whose birthday it is, I love it. I love to celebrate with people and watch them open gifts and just be oh so happy when it is their day. I love planning birthday parties and/or birthday events. Gosh, it's just a wonderful thing all around. Yesterday was my friend Shannon's birthday and we had a semi surprise party for her. A bunch of us girlfriends showed up at her house last night and as she opened the door we jumped out, yelled "happy birthday" and threw ballons at her. It was pretty much awesome. Then we enjoyed an evening full of chocolate fondue & fruit, hard cider, popcorn, mucho decorations and presents! I think Shannon enjoyed herself. Next week is my friend Jess's birthday and I can't wait for more festivities and fun! Thanks for being born everyone!

let it begin

It is official, the school year has begun and Derek is now into his 3rd year at Regent College. Crazy! The beginning of the school year always leaves me feeling quite anxious about how it is all going to pan out this year. Especially coming off a summer high, it is always difficult to begin a new semester and know that fall is here, the rain is coming, and another "husband-less" 9 months awaits (okay so that might be a bit of an exageration, but still). The school year has begun for me as well, since I work at a University now, and my days are a lot busier and crazier and a wee bit more stressful than my peaceful summer days. I am not complaning though because I do like the busy days, it is a bit more exciting to have stacks of things to do rather than nothing. It is about 2 weeks in now and I could use a vacation already. I am feeling the bug that Jess felt and am needing a good trip down to Bellingham for a Target run. Maybe since I won't be having a vacation anytime in the near future, a Saturday spent in Washington will have to do the trick. Hopefully that will happen soon. This school year holds some new exciting things including Derek and I joining a home group through our church and me in a similar but different "girls group". And let's not forget about Survivor nights with the Simpson's!! It's going to be a crazy busy year and it's hardly even begun.

Crafty night!

Last night I got together with two of my fave people, Shelley and Shannon, to have a craft night. And boy was it successful. We made the cutest little card boxes (thanks to our teacher Shannon) and I must say they turned out quite good. Okay, okay, I am pretty much in love with mine. My next mission is to fill this box with dozens of cute handmade cards so that on any occassion I can open the box and find a Thank you, Birthday, Anniversary, Mother's Day, Christmas or any other kind of card I might need. Life doesn't get much better than that.

Crafty ladies success!!

Gettin CrAzY

up close and personal

Ahhh....didn't they turn out great?!?! I love them all.

Derek and I went to SportChek the other night to buy a tennis raquet. While we were checking out, I notcied the nalgene rack so I took a gander. Maybe it's been out for a while now but they have this new sippy cup type thing for toddlers. A Nalgene sippy cup (or it's true name 'Gulp N Go'). My first thought was "how dumb is that" then quickly it changed to "I want one". Since I then discovered that was for toddlers and not big people, I couldn't justify the buy. But I have not discovered that Nalgene has a similar type bottle for us big kids. It is called the Nalgene OTG and I kind of want one. Everyday I sti at my desk with my $1 target "nalgene" water bottle and the lid stays open so that I can continually drink from a starw that I have placed inside. This is just begging for disaster around my computer and several important papers each day. So maybe one day soon I will have to go to MEC or Sportchek or one of those other stores and buy one!

Yesterday my boss brought the 3 of us in the office flowers as a thank you and appreciation for the work we've been doing. It has been a crazy week or orientation and dealing with new students. It was so nice to recieve these flowers. And eventhough they are for the 3 of us, I decided to keep them on my desk :)

Last night when I got home I had a message on our answering machine saying that I had won a contest I entered online. I entered on a radio station's website to win tickets to see the premiere of "The Last Kiss" staring Zach Braff. I won a double pass to go see it this coming Wednesday night at the Paramount Theatre downtown Vancouver. Yay! I am very excited about this. Not only is it fun that I won something, but because movies are so expensive to go see here we never go. All around this is a pretty sweet treat. Thanks Z95.3!!

Baby got...what?!

Happy 'Double' Anniversary!!

Today is Derek and I's 3 year wedding anniversary. I cannot believe it has been 3 years already. We are getting so old :) At this time 3 years ago I was probably on a walk with 2 of my best friends practicing my vows that I had memorized and getting nervous and excited to see my groom in a few hours. What a wonderful and perfect day that was. I want to do it again!

In addition, today is also Derek's and I's 2 year anniversary of living in Vancouver. Exactly 2 years ago we drove from Bend, Oregon to Vancouver, BC where we arrived at our new, tiny little home around 11pm. I cried when we walked in the door because our place was so small. We had to get up at be at new student orientation bright and early the following day so we didn't get much unpacking done that night.

Oh the sweet sweet memories. What's a happy anniversary memory that you have??

friends, ducks & sunshine

Our friends, Ben & Deanna Edsall, just moved here from Salem, Oregon where Ben will attend Regent. We were friends with them when we all lived in Eugene and theirs was one of the many weddings we attended last summer in Oregon. Now they have decided to move up to Canada where Ben will pursue his education. We are so excited that they are here.

To celebrate, the Oregon Ducks football team decided to play a game againts Stanford and wipe the floors with them. Oh what a game! Derek and I are HUGE college football fans (especially the Ducks!) so we decided to have a party on Saturday afternoon with all our Vancouver friends. It was a blast, especially since 5 of us in the room actually attended U of O. But all the "non-oregonians" were great sports and cheered on the Ducks nontheless.

(All the original Duck Fans!!!)

Yesterday, Sunday, after Church we got together with our friends, Jeff & Jess, and went to the park to play! We threw the frisbee, the boys did flips off the swings and we even hit the tennis ball around. Which I will admit was one of my first times in my life really doing that. Good times. From there we decided to pack back on the calories we just burned by going to Dairy Queen and getting Blizzards...mmmmm. I also got 2 new plants for our house and I pray pray pray that I do not kill them like all the rest :( The poor plants.

Today is Labour Day which means it is a holiday which means no work! I have NO plans and I could not be happier. It's 11am and I am still in my PJ's, it's perfection. But don't worry I do intend to get my booty out in this wonderful sunshine we are experiencing here in Vancouver. Got to enjoy it while it lasts around here. Hope everyone has a wonderful day off as well.

"I told my doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places."

I went to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning...my teeth hurt today, but they're clean.

The Ducks play tomorrow and we are having a party. I pretty much can't wait. GO DUCKS!

Monday is a holiday...praise the LORD for a 3 day weekend.

Pretty bird. Can you say pretty bird? Pretty bird.

I miss Oregon and wish I lived there :(

We got "surround sound" speakers for our home TV and now we are taking them back.

Me fail English? That's unpossible -Ralp Wiggum

Summer is ending as the school year starts in a week, fastest summer ever.

I haven't lived in the same city as my best friend since High School, but we're still best friends!

Derek's going to graduate in the Spring, that's going to be an amazing day.

5 days until I have been married for 3 years and living in Vancouver for 2 years (we moved on our 1 year anniversary).

That's all for now.........................................................................

Oh what a weekend!

Friday morning I woke up at 5am to get ready and get to the airport for my flight that left at 7:30am. By 9:00am I was on Oregon ground in Portland having breakfast with my sister, Mandy. We had a wonderful time chatting and catching up and eating yummy food! Around 1:00pm my best friend, Jess, picked me up and we drove 3 hours East(ish) to Bend, talking the entire drive. Friday night we had a "congrats on your new job" dinner for Jess with her family, we went to a restaurant called Ariana, it was amazing. Later that night around 10:30pm (after a rockin game of Settlers with Jess's fam) we went out to Bend Brewing Co with my great friends Dave and Majell Beach and had a beer. It was great to see them as always. Saturday morning I went again to see Dave and Majell at their home and we had a wonderful cup of Stumptown coffee, oh how I miss such wonderful coffee. I met up with my mom a little later and she took me and my liitle 12 year old sisters to breakfast then shopping! We went to Target and I stocked up on all the goods, then we went to Macy's and my mom bought me a wonderfully cute Franco Sarto purse and I am IN LOVE with it. Oh how I love being a girl! After the shop-fest I met back up with Jess and we got ready for Kari's wedding (the main reason I went to Oregon). Kari and Aaron's wedding was perfect. It was set at Broken Top in the Club house, very beautiful. The ceremony was great, the food was amazing and we danced the night away like you should at any wedding. Overall, we had a great time. Jess and I were exhausted and after the wedding went straight home and slept. We woke up early Sunday morning and Jess was wonderful enough to drive me all the way from Bend to Seattle where Derek was waiting to pick me up and take me home! Oh what a weekend!

To see a few pics of Kari's wedding check out my photo blog.

The cute kidos that surround me in one way or another

I just wanted to give special mention to the cute kidos that surround my life in one way or another. I didn't ask permission, but stole pics from their blogs :) Hope ya'll don't mind.


Cute Baby Sam, son of Chris and Jenni, friends from Bend.
I am yet to meet this little guy, as he is just a month old, but
soon I hope.













Precious Sienna, daughter of Jeff & Lara. They have
recently moved from Vancouver to New York and I
miss them dearly. Sienna just had her 1st bday! Yay!












Zach and Conner, sons of Amber and Asa. Amber
and I have recently touched base again and have become
great friends via email, etc. I have not met her boys, but
they sure are cute. And #3 is on the way!









This is the futre baby Reimer, son or daughter of
Jeff & Jess who will be born in January! Yay!











Amy and Naomi, daughters of Ger and Lizzie
who used to be our landlords and are fellow
Regent folk and good friends. They're getting so big!












And these are my nieces, Bella and Maici.
My big brother's daughters, they are growing
up way too fast!










Hope you enjoyed all the kids. They have all touched my life in one way or another and as you know, I love kids! So much fun to see them grow and change and watch their parents grow as well. What an amazing thing. And oh so cute!

How was New York? What did you do??

sorry for the delay

How was NYC you ask?? Well, let me start by saying that it was AMAZING!!! We had the best time and we did not want to come back. Words cannot describe and pictures cannot even tell what a great and unforgetable time we had. We arrived in NYC around 1:30 in the morning on Sunday technically, we checked into our "okay" hotel and were starving, luckily for us, our hotel was just 1/2 a block from Times Square. Times Square, at 1:30am was as hoping and bright as ever. The streets were packed, families with their bright eyed kids were exploring the stores, the street performers were in full swing. We were shocked. We knew that NYC was the "city that never sleeps" but goodness! Needless to say we had no problem finding us some food. We went to bed and woke the next day at noon (oops!), but since they are 3 hours ahead over there it was really only 9am for us. So we didn't feel too bad. We got ready and walked out our hotel and there was a hige Street Market happening. It was amazing! Lots of cheap jewlery and good food, all the "I heart NY" t-shirts for sale, and really anything you could want. We enjoyed that. From there, our vacation really began and we were ready to "Do New York".

This may or may not be of interest to you, but I thought I would give you a quick run down of what our days held. You can skip onto the pictures if you'd rather but here are the main events of our week in NYC:

Day 1:
-Guggenheim Museum
-Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park
-Walk around Midtown and saw Rockefeller Centre, NBC Studios, St Barts Cathedral
-Had Thai food for dinner
-Explored Times Square and went to the Hershey Store & Virgin Records

Day 2:
-Walked to the Hudson River
-Went to Ground Zero (World Trade Centre Site)
-Saw the Chrysler Building
-Went to Grand Central Station
-New York Public Library (sadly, they were closed the day we went)
-Had dinner in Little Italy
-Dessert in Times Square

Day 3:
-Saw some of the Today Show
-Dean & Deluca coffee shop
-Cirlce line tour (a 3 hour boat tour around manhattan)
-Stood in the TKTS line and got tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway
-Had Appetizers and martinis at a pub
-Went to The Phantom of the Opera (amazing!)
-Hung out inTimes Square some more
-Went to Jamba Juice (we went probably 5 or 6 times while we were there)

Day 4:
-Empire State Building (waited in line for 2 hours)
-Shopped at the 4 story Old Navy
-Hung out in Grennwich Village, saw NYU
-Saw RENT on Broadway (holy crap...amazing!)

Day 5:
-Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
-Switched hotels and moved to the Upper Westside
-Went to the Seinfeld Restaurant
-Walked around Columbia University Campus
-Riverside Park at 91st Street
-Rain storm!!!!!
-Had dinner at Manhattan diner (across the street from our hotel)
-Went to Stand-Up NY (a comedy club)

Day 6:
-Went to The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
-Lunch at Gray's Papaya
-Explored Central Park (walked around a bit and rode bikes all through it)
-Went to Zabar'a (a famous little grocery store on the Upper Westside)
-Our last night out and we went to a fancy Italian dinner at 'Cesca

Day 7:
-Rolled out of bed and had breakfast at Cafe Lalo
-Walked around the neighborhood
-Checked out of our hotel
-Hopped on the subway and went to Yankee Stadium
-Spent the afternoon with the Yankees and the Angels
-Went to "Big Nick's" for dinner (their menu is 27 pages long!)
-Rode the subway allllllll the way to JFK
-Goodbye NYC :(

We did a lot and feel like we were able to do everything we wanted to do. People have asked what our favourite part of our trip was and I would have to say that seeing the shows on Broadway were one of the most amazing things I have seen in my life. I only wish we could have seen more than 2. Our other favourite was the 3 hour boat tour around Manhattan. We were able to see so much of Manhattan and learn tons and interesting facts and it was very much worth every minute and every dollar.

While we were there, we took over 750 pictures and that doesn't even include what we haven't gotten developed from our "real" camera. I figured most people probably don't want to see all 750 of our digital pics (except maybe my mom, and you Shell), so I made a very much abridged version of 102 pics for my blog. If you have any desire at all to see more pics of a certain event, then feel free to let me know and I am happy to e-mail you more pics. Anyway, as always, you can find the pics on my picture blog. ENJOY!!

The Browns are off to "do New York"

So tomorrow is the day. We will leave our comfort of Vancouver and head east to New York City.
We could not be more excited!! I am sure you have all heard about the extreme heat that has been rolling through New York. Luckily for us, that is now passing through and the weather should be perfect with highs in the 80s and lows in the 70s. The Lord is good to us. Bring on the subways, bring on Times Square and bring on NEW YORK CITY!

peace

First Canadian Wedding

Monday night I experienced my first Canadian wedding. It was wonbderful. You wouldn't think that things would be that much different, but oddly enough, it was. I can't totally call it "canadian" because the groom is from Norther Ireland and the bride is from Canada. But it was in Canada and I guess held most of the canadian traditions and norms, so whatever.
Some examples of differences are this: they sign the marriage Certificate (which is called "The Registry" here) during the ceremony. It is fully an important part of the ceremony. Also, the wedding was at 3:00 (3 on a monday...yeah who knows!) and the reception wasn't until 6:30. Which for us worked out because we didn't have a present yet. So after the ceremony we went to the mall and got a present then I went home and had plenty of time to change and get all fancy for the reception. It was kind of nice, but strange. The reception then lasted HOURS! we mingled mingled, sat down at our assigned seats, had some speaches, ate dinner, more speaches, more speaches, dessert, mingled, cake, first dance and then more dancing and it was about midnight at this point and we were tired and left before the bride and grrom. Crazy! But I kind if loved it. In the states the "leaving of the bride and groom" is kind of a big deal, but in canada, not so much! It was also the most fancy wedding reception I had ever been to. The reception was held at a place called the Brock House which is pretty much right on the beach..amazing! When we got there, the servers were walking around with appetizers and there was an open bar and it was in the most gorgeous location. You will see in the pics. I must say, it was quite a great experience. Congrats Tim and Jen!

holy crap, I am going to NYC the day after tomorrow!

Annie Came to Visit

My sister, Annie, and her husband, Tony, came to visit over the weekend. It is the first time they have come to visit since Derek and I moved to Vancouver, so it was quite exciting! We had an adventurous weekend I must say. They arrived Saturday in the late afternoon and we pretty immediately went out to dinner from there. We went out to at a fun italian restaurant called Incendio, one of Derek and I's favourites. From there we headed down to Kits Beach to watch the fireworks because, like every summer in Vancouver, we are in the midst of the Celebration of Lights. It was so much fun to be able to go down and watch the fireworks with my sister, we had a blast! Part of the reason they are here is to celebrate their 2nd Anniversary, so that night when we got home we had a mini celebration and ate cake! YUM! Sunday morning (yesterday) Annie and I went on a super long runand kind of got lost, which made the run longer and so much more exciting! haha! Then it started raining on us...it was gross. After our showers we went downtown and got Annie and Tony checked into their hotel (they are staying in a hotel for 2 nights for their anniversary) then we walked over and had breakfast at Cafe Crepe just 2 blocks from their hotel. Why are crepes so darn good?! After the crepe-fest we went to the Vancouver Aquarium!!!!! Derek and I have lived in Vancouver for nearly 2 years and until yesterday, had not yet been to the aquarium. It was due time and we had such a blast...I love things like that!! After the aquarium we wandered up to Prospect Point in Stanley park and got ice cream and looked at the view. It turned out to be a beautiful day despite the morning rain. Derek had to do a bit of studying so we parted ways for a bit and I took a nap! We met up with Annie and Tony and had dinner at Bin 941 downtown, which is a Tapas Parlour. It was very hip and trendy...we felt cool! We took our time and ordered several tapas which was very fun. I had never been to a tapas place before. We then took Annie over to Denman Street to get a cupcake at Cupcakes, she had found it online and really wanted to go there and couldn't stop talking about it. So she finally got her cupcake! It was very pink in there, I wish I had take a picture :(
That, for now, ends our time together. They are still in Vancouver for tomorrow, but Derek and I have a wedding to attend later today. Hopefully we will be able to hook up with Annie and Tony later, but regardless, we had a great time together! See the excitement in colour here.

P.S. No big deal or anything, but this time next week I will be in NEW YORK CITY!!!
As for those of you who want to know what we are going to do in NYC...I can tell you
this, we are going to "Do New York". 4 Days and counting...

Let the Countdown Begin!

7 Days until we go to New York City!!

Happy Monday!

Woke up a little later than normal today...

Went to pack my lunch with yesterdays leftovers and it turned out that we took Grace's leftovers from the restaurant instead.

Had to get creative and pack another lunch. Bagels...again.

Derek spilled peanut butter oil all over himself while packing that back-up lunch.

Sprayed body spray on an open wound (accidentally), ouch!

They are filming yet another movie near my building today and the parking lot was full of trucks and catering vans, etc. Parking was a bit hectic.

And was only 10 minutes late to work!!

But I got a new skirt yesterday and got to wear it today! Yay!

On another note...we think our landlords are out of town, but didn't tell us. What the crap?!

11 days until NEW YORK CITY!!

Under Construction

Please forgive me for the bit of mess and some overlapping on my
page right now. I am in the process of changing up the template a
bit to make it look better but is taking a little longer than I had
hoped. Bear with me :)

Top 10 Reasons you Gotta Have 'Em

Top 10 Reasons You Gotta Have Crocs:

1.) Really soft, super comfortable, molds to your feet
2.) Barely there, weighing only 6 ounces
3.) Vented so air passes through, keeping feet cool
4.) Non-marking slip-resistant soles
5.)Bacteria and odor resistant
6.)Ultra-hip Italian styling
7.)Port holes allow water and sand to through - go ahead cross that river!

8.)Can be sterilized in water and bleach
9.) Easy maintenance, just wipe clean
10.) Ortotic molded foot bed for ultimate comfort and support

Rain, Sun, Brunch and more!

Last week, for several days, Vancouver produced many clouds and much rain. It was quite sad really considering the fact that it is the middle of July, but whatever. All week my friend Shelley and I had been planning a Birthday Brunch for Saturday morning because two of our close friends (Grace & Elizabeth) were celebrating birthdays and we wanted to do something special for them. The thing about this brunch though is that it was intended to be outdoors in Shelley's back yard. We were freaking out about the rain and were so nervous that our garden brunch was going to be rained out. We prayed and prayed all week and on Friday it didn't rain was chilly and cloudy and by Saturday morning the clouds had passed and the dun was slowly peaking through the clouds. We were setting everything up and the grass outside was still soaked with water and dew from the night before. We were nervous still. But by 10:45 the sun was blaring and the grass had dried and we were blessed to the max! Some of the girls even got sunburned! Needless to say, the brunch was a success and the birthday girls seemed to enjoy it.
You can see the pictures here.

2 other bits of news...Derek and I went shiopping yesterday and both bought a pair of chocolate brown crocs, they are amazing!
And the most exciting news of all, Derek and I bought plane tickets to New York City and we are officially going on Vacation! We cannot wait to "do New York". We are going to see it all!! It's less than 3 weeks away!!

thoughts about summer

I believe that weather truly can affect a persons mood. We are a little ways into summer now and I feel like I have never been happier. Maybe it is life, maybe it is Derek, maybe it's friends, but maybe it is the Lord providing this beautiful sunshine that tans my skin and brightens my day! I love everything about summer. I love how early the sun rises in the morning and how late it goes down at nigh, I love the sound of flip-flop, flip-flop that surrounds me, I love wearing flip flops for that matter, I love tan lines and capri pants, I love that my hair gets lighter and my smile gets bigger, I love all the pregnant women that seem to bloom in summer season, I love tank tops and pony tails, the beach and the sand. There is nothing that I love more than summer. Can't we just move somewhere that it is summer all the time? I would never tire of it.

oregon, coffee, wedding, groomsmen, beer, friends & family extravaganza!!

Derek and I just got back on Sunday from a crazy trip to Oregon. It was a crazy trip indeed! We left Tuesday after I got off of work and stayed the night in Portland at Derek's sister's house. We got to see his cute niece and nephew and had a short but good time.
On Wednesday morning we got our coffee and hit the road to Eugene where we spent only about 5 hours total. We had to visit a place that is near and dear to our hearts, Camp Harlow. We got to see some good friends and see all the changes they have implemented at camp. It's wierd...but good. From Eugene we took the next drive two and half hours over to Central Oregon to my hometown, Bend. Here we were able to find out footing for a good 4 days. But the madness began as soon as got there. We walked in the door to my parents house and of course they were all excited to see us and immediately we went out for dinner and enjoyed a nice Mexican meal (which is truly missed here in Canada). We then went straight to our friends Dave and Majell's house who are the couple whose wedding we went down for. It was great to see them and be able to spend the evening with them and a few other friends before all the wedding events began the next day. I will spare you all the details but the next 2 days consisted of coffee, the arrival to Bend of Dan and Amanda Johnson, Derek and I applying for our passports, one heck of a Bachelor party (so I hear), some good beer and just a tiny sprinkle of rain at the rehersal. The rehersal dinner on Friday evening was so wonderful. And leave it to Dave to get a keg of Mirror Pond Pale Ale for his rehearsal dinner...thanks Dave! Finally the long awaited day arrived where Dave and Majell would get married and did they ever! It was a beautiful ceremony, a perfect union and a great reception afterwards. Derek did a great job being a groomsmen (along with the 8 others) and got to be an up close witness to one of our best friends getting married. It was such a blast to a part of it all and to be able to connect with so many friends over the couple days prior to the wedding and even more at the wedding. Overall it was a very fruitful trip but of course it wasn't long enough. I miss Oregon :(


Like always....
You can find more pics from our trip here