I have had a serious lapse in blogging desire lately, which I will fully blame on my addictive personality and the world of Facebook which caters to that personality! I'll try to cover everything (blog-worthy) that might've gone on during my sabbatical from Blogger, but I'm not promising to remember it all!
A few weeks ago Duane and I, along with a few friends, went out to Golden, BC for a weekend of skiing/snowboarding. Well, I didn't...I just went along to get out of the city and to breathe fresh, mountain air! LOVE IT! Going away and having the chance to forget about work for a couple days is just awesome. We rented a 3 bedroom house while we were there, so it accommodated the group VERY well, and it was a great deal for everyone in the end; cheaper than multiple hotel rooms to house 10 people! Leah also didn't do any skiing as she had just had laser eye surgery a couple days beforehand. Besides, she didn't really enjoy Kicking Horse last time we went anyway, so she didn't really feel like she was missing out. Kevan was pretty sick the first day there...he'd been sick all week as well, so skiing wasn't really an option the first day. Was pretty weird going to a ski hill and not having Kevan go skiing! He went out the second day, though. During the week heading up to our ski weekend there had been quite a few days of mudslides, rockslides and avalanches in the Golden area, so the highway had been closed and we were concerned that we weren't going to get there in the first place! On the way there we only had a short delay on the east side of Golden where part of the road was still closed off as they cleaned up from a slide. Our luck ran out on the way back to Calgary, though. There had been another slide that afternoon while everyone was on the ski hill. Leah and I hadn't heard anything all day long, but I guess word got around on the hill, and when the group got finished for the day they told us that the highway was closed again. There wasn't the option of staying another night as most people needed to return to school or work on Monday morning, so the decision was made to take the long way out of town. I don't remember the name of the highway, but we took quite the scenic route! I almost enjoyed it more than Hwy.1! We went through the countryside and around through Radium, BC, where we stopped for some delicious pizza at a small pizza joint in town. There were some really neat rockfaces and mountains to see as we continued on through Radium. We got home much later than intended, but were still able to get a decent night's sleep before the week began.
At some point in March (I think), Duane took a business trip to California where he got to sightsee a few new places. He was in San Jose, San Fransisco and Benicia and was able to get some nice pictures along the way (which he posted a few of while he was still out there). I'll have to get him to post the others from San Fran on here later. I really wish I could go along with him on more of his trips, but I can't take much time off work, and it would get pretty pricey for me to fly with him around the country all the time! I was really hoping to go with him to Helena, Montana at the end of April, and I was convinced I would be able to get the time off work for a couple days, but I was denied the time and Duane will now be going alone. Boo that. It would have been a nice way for the two of us to celebrate my birthday, but I guess we'll have to do that here in Calgary instead :( Duane will also be heading off to St. John's, Newfoundland on the May long weekend, which I also can't join him for, partially because it's too expensive to fly there. I'm really quite annoyed at that, because I've always wanted to travel to the Maritimes and it would be neat to go with Duane so he's not having to sightsee alone. I think there's another trip he's just told me about that he has to go on in May, but I can't remember where. I thought this whole travel part of work was going to slow down to a bare minimum, since he told them he didn't want to do it anymore. I guess not, though.
Back in time a bit. In February Duane and I went to Whitewood, SK to visit with Sherri and Joe for a few days. 
FUN FUN FUN! I think this trip was probably the most fun out of all of our trips out there. Other times were fun, but this one actually had pre-planned events ready for us to partake in! We arrived pretty late at night(which isn't abnormal when you leave Calgary at 5:30 or 6 at night for a 9 hour drive!), and immediately crawled into bed. Saturday brought an afternoon of curling and mingling with church folk :) Man, that sport is PAINFUL! I felt like I was 80 years old! I think if I were actually doing it RIGHT, it probably wouldn't have been so bad, but gosh I had no idea what I was doing! My knees were sore, my arms, my back, and yes, my rear end too. Saturday night we all sat down and watched Ice Age. After church on Sunday we left to spend the evening in Fort Qu'Appelle with other pastors and their wives from the area. We were the odd ones out in that crowd! We went to a pizza place for dinner and just sat and chatted. There just happened to be a 5 week old baby boy amongst the group, and Sherri and I were quick to "borrow" Xander for..well...most of the evening. What a gem. Until he puked on me. Although, that wasn't really so bad either. It's pretty much just milk at that age anyway. I think he about threw up his whole body weight in milk all over my back, though...and I was lucky I had my suitcase and clean clothes to change into (which I didn't even do until we were at the camp for the evening). Man, was he cute! Once at the camp, we all sat down to play games, and after that went downstairs for a movie. Another late night! Monday morning...Family Day..Duane and I hopped in the car and headed home.
Fast forward a bit to the end of March/beginning of April. I was off work for a week while the kids were on Spring Break, and initially Duane and I were going to head out to Chicago for a work trip, but that fell through and our plans changed. We decided it would be really fun to surprise the parents and show up in Abbotsford! So we did! I had Jody do some sneaking for me to find out when mom would be at work, so we were able to plan it well :) Friday night we drove to Salmon Arm and spent the night at Carene and Dave's place...I think I've had enough sleep-overs in the last year to make up for all the nights Carene left my place in the middle of the night as kids! Right Carene? *wink* We owe them big-time! That was fun times, as always, and Saturday morning before Dave left for work, we all went out for breakfast. 
Check out the size of my pancake!! AYE CARUMBA!! 
Needless to say, I didn't eat it all. It was a lot of pancake. Good, but a bit much. We got on the road again after breakfast, and just outside of Hope we stopped for a break at Othello Tunnels. We really didn't have a time schedule for the day because mom was working and we didn't know what dad was up to. We knew we could surprise mom at work or at home and probably get the same reaction, so we weren't in too much of a hurry to get to the mall before it closed. I hadn't been to Othello Tunnels since my grade 7 campout in '94 and I thought it'd be fun to see it again...and I figured Duane would enjoy a photo opportunity or two...and he did! I don't even know how long we spent there, but we got quite a few pictures(again, I'll get Duane to add some once he's edited them). 
We left there with enough time to surprise mom at the mall before it closed, and boy was she surprised! I honestly wish we had taken the camera in with us because it was PRICELESS! We got the reaction we were looking for, that's for sure :) That night Duane and I made dinner for the parents (which turned out AMAZINGLY!) and then the rest of the evening was spent relaxing at home while watching a movie. Sunday was a regular church day and lunch at home of soup and grilled cheese as always! We had the chance to go visit Karen and Graham that evening and take Ava her present...a new outfit that I bought in Golden when Duane was skiing. Shopping for babies is so much fun! 
Anyway, we had a great night visiting, and Ava was allowed to stay up late to visit with us :) Early Monday morning we left my parents house to catch the 7AM ferry to Victoria so Duane could start work by 10AM. Well, about halfway to the ferry it started snowing! Driving turned slow and mucky, and it was still dark. Neither of us really remembered how to get to the ferry from the last time, so the snow and dark didn't help. In the end, a couple wrong turns cost us a lot of extra time, and we only got to the ferry at 7 and missed our reservation. That pretty much sucked and we were both in a foul mood for awhile. That is, until we realized that it wasn't really either of our faults.
It was really a BORING two hour wait until the 9AM ferry. Duane phoned his boss and let him know that we were watching the ferry pull out of the dock, and we weren't on it! By the time we got there, Duane didn't start working until after 1. I spent a lot of that day walking around downtown just checking things out, as well as a short drive into west Victoria just for the sake of something to do, and then I relaxed and watched TV until Duane finished work. We took a late-night walk into Beacon Hill Park, but it was pretty dark and we couldn't see much, so we didn't spend too much time there. After Duane and I went for lunch with his boss and his wife on Tuesday afternoon(when I just happened to wake up with a cold), I got my hair permed, which took up a good 4 hours of my day, and the girl doing it was new and had only been at the salon for a week. She did a pretty good job, I guess, but it took WAY too long in my opinion! It was kind of fun to spend the day with a bunch of girls my age joking and just talking about stuff though! There were only a few male customers in during my whole stay, so there was a lot of girl-talk! Duane was nice and surprised when I returned to the hotel room with curly hair! We headed out to Beacon Hill Park right away to take some daylight shots with his new lens before it got too dark. 
Our walk ended up being 2 and a half hours long! That park is huge, and we didn't realize how close the ocean was to where we were, so we took a short walk on the beach as well and saw the very end of the sunset. Our tummies were extremely hungry by the time we were done, and we went straight for food. I went for breakfast with Duane early on Wednesday morning before driving back to the ferry terminal so I could go home. I had a chiropractor appointment late that afternoon, which was most definitely needed! First, however, I needed to GET home! Let me explain. Getting to the ferry in Victoria was nothing; I had to take one road from the hotel and keep on going until I got to the terminal. Easy. Getting back to my parent's place on the other side? Apparently not so easy. I thought I knew how to read signs, and I also thought I knew how to get home! It turns out that I misread a sign, and in the end I was heading to the US of A! 
By the time I realized where I was bound, I had a few seconds to whip into the very last exit on the Canadian side of the border to get myself going the right way. I had to stop at a couple gas stations along the way to ask for directions(what ever would I do without the direction-giving gas attendants?), but I FINALLY made it home....in time for my chiropractor's appointment. And I think I'm at the point where I'm needing another one. I spent the rest of Wednesday by myself because I still didn't feel 100%. I really didn't want to share my cold with anyone...and I think my friends are glad I didn't! However, a few days ago I received an email from Karen announcing that she and Ava had yet another cold!! She wanted to know what she should expect from this particular bout, and I think she's getting over it now, but Graham has caught it. Oops, my bad. Duane returned to the mainland on Thursday evening, so Stacey joined me for my journey to Tsawassen to retrieve him :) Fun times! We didn't get lost! Yay us! We made Duane drive home though...I didn't want to risk ending up at the border again :) Once back in Abby, we went for dinner, which was a MUCH longer process than you would think. It happened to be a Canucks game night, so most restaurants with TVs were full, and staff levels were down. It pretty much sucked, and by the time we actually got to order we were starved! The food ended up being sort of anti-climactic since we were so darn hungry. Our tummies got filled and we wet home for a long night of sleep :) Although it wasn't TOO long because we had to get up in order to go to Good Friday service at mom's church. It was a beautiful, music filled service which brought me to tears.
Our weekend consisted of a walk through the park, taking pictures, 
going to an inaugural bonfire in Mission at Darla's house, and spending more time with Karen, Graham, and Ava. We went for dinner at a brand new White Spot in town(and it was pretty cushy!), and had a great time just chatting and filling our stomachs with yummy food :) Oh, and taking pictures of Ava, of course..what a sport! She quite enjoys the camera and smiles when a lens is pointed at her! Irresistible! 
It was hard, as always, to say goodbye at the end of the night, but it's good to know we'll be back in a couple months for more fun! Maybe I'll even get to go to another night of fire...THAT was entertaining! I still can't get over how super yummy those cosmopolitans were!! Thanks Darla and Stacey! We might just get me loopy yet! ;)
Sunday was our last day and we spent it at church, eating with the whole family, and playing games. 
We had our big Easter turkey dinner that evening, and we had a great time laughing and catching up. Then it was time to say goodbye to my sister and her boyfriend as they headed out, and Duane and I headed to bed before our early send-off on Monday morning. And boy, was it early. Thank goodness mom woke up with the birds and made us some coffee to tide us over! Thanks mom! We did stop a short ways down the road for a re-fill though :) And, of course, then we had to stop shortly after THAT for a potty break...and more coffee ;) It took us awhile to get going that morning, but we did eventually make it home in great time. It felt really good to be back home and sleep in our own bed, let me tell you! Sleeping in the car and sleeping in strange beds really doesn't do well for my system, or Duane's, but we made it through with enough sleep to keep us functioning!
I'll be sure to do another post with pictures...because there are SO many, and too many to fit on this already-too-long post! Man, why can't I just paraphrase??
~K~
