BBQ in the Park May 3, 2008

Our youth event yesterday was a barbecue in North Glenmore Park with a couple other churches. There were burgers, hot-dogs, pop, chips and candy for everyone to pig out on. We also played games like tag, Frisbee, football and bocce ball.

The night was so nice and here are a couple of the high lights that brought me joy.

• Spinning around on the Merry-Go-Round until we felt sick
• Playing full contact football
• Playing toilet tag
• Watching Allan’s eyes turn bright red from the smoke from grilling the burgers
• Playing extreme bocce ball for more than 2 hours!

And here are a couple pictures from the night.

Getting Away For The Weekend April 1, 2008

I want to start by saying thank you to all of those who have sent me messages on feeling better soon. I felt a lot better today than I did yesterday, but I’m still not 100%.

Sadly I have nothing to post about any April Fool’s jokes or pranks. The day just seemed to fly by and because of that I look to the weekend for my blog on joy today.

We had a great weekend in beautiful British Columbia. I went with my family to Windermere with another family that is super close to us. We stayed in a gorgeous “cabin” complete with 5 bedrooms, huge screen TV’s and an espresso machine! We went to celebrate a little girls first birthday and had a great time.

One of the games that we played a lot of during the weekend that you should check out is Family Business. It’s a great game where each player takes on a mob group and tries to kill the other mobs off. The game includes alliances, backstabbing and the killing off of a lot of mobsters.

 

 

 

And here is a photo of some of us enjoying the Fairmont HotSprings.

Off to Invermere March 28, 2008

Today my family and I are off to British Columbia. We are all packed and heading to the mountains for a weekend with a birthday party and fun with friends.

We plan on doing the “touristy” stuff in Invermere and going to the Fairmont and/or Radium Hot Springs.

I love getting out of the city and am looking forward to this weekend.

Going Home March 13, 2008

I am currently attending school at the University of Lethbridge. It’s about two hours away from my home in Calgary and yes I go home every weekend.

I love going home on the weekends. I get to spend time with my family and my friends. I keep myself extremely busy with homework and the youth group. I have things to do every day that by the time I have to go back to Lethbridge I don’t know where my weekend went, and I can’t wait to go back for the next one.

Thats it for this short post. I love going home and I leave you with a picture of my awesome family.

Beautiful Days with Great Weather March 7, 2008

Today’s weather is so nice! I could walk to school and back without my sweater and I drove home to Calgary with the sun beating down on my car.

According to the Weather Network, Calgary’s forecast is +10 with the bright sun shining. I love it! Especially when you look at Winnipeg’s forecast of -16, but with the wind chill it’s -30!

Looking at the forecast for the weekend, the weather promises to range between +9 - +12 for highs until Wednesday!

So if you’re in Calgary, go out and enjoy the weather!

Getting Sweet Seats March 5, 2008

Today was the official registration for YC and was it ever a rush. I was asked to help purchase tickets to increase our youth groups chances of getting better seats this year. The previous years we have gone, we’ve always been behind the stage or in the nosebleeds and this year is going to be different. I’m so excited!!!

So, since I didn’t have class today I said yes to sitting by my computer and clicking madly as soon as the clock hit 10:00 am. Kelly our youth pastor and his wife were also doing the same thing and the plan was to call Kelly when I got in to purchase. I got in fairly quickly, entered in all the address info and hit continue when Kelly phoned me. He bought all 50 tickets that were needed and got really great seats!

We’re in section 136, to the left of the stage and rows 5 to 8. Pretty Sweet! Check out the seating chart here (but remember the stage is to the far right side, not in the centre).
It’s amazing how fast the seats go when registering for YC. As I sit here typing, I’m looking at the seats that are left and the floor has 7 seats left, the bottom bowl is almost all gone and the nosebleeds are now being bought up, and it’s only been 40 minutes since it opened! Crazy!

This picture was from our seats in 2007. This year our seats are to the left of this picture (so we’re in front of the stage)and way down at the bottom!

I’m so stoked for YC 2008!!!

** Update** 1 seat on the floor, 1-3 seats in the sections in the lower bowl and between 50-90 seats in different sections behind the stage and up high @ 10:57

Zoey’s Cafe February 26, 2008

My last post was about a bead store in Ventura California, and today’s is about a little cafe down the street. It’s is two doors down from The Peruvian Bead Company, but is down a backstreet and behind the bead store (not on the main street). We only found it because we were hungry, and I think my sister was complaining about her starving stomach when a local girl who worked at the bead store mentioned Zoey’s Cafe and their incredible food.
This place is amazing and it brings me so much joy to think about that day and the fun we had in Ventura. Zoey’s Cafe has been open for about 10 years and is owned by Polly and Steve Hoganson. The menu offers fresh salads, sandwiches, pizza and pasta. The evenings make Zoey’s a busy place to hear the best music in Ventura County.

We sat upstairs in the coffee bar loft which is also the place that has the stage where artists perform. There are local artist paintings all around the Cafe and every table is shaded by an umbrella or vines from the plants that surround the actual building.

Something that I love about this Cafe is that known artist, Colbie Caillat played here before she was famous and her co-writer and friend Jason Reeves still does.

Here is a picture of my family sitting in the cafe (minus my brother).

This was the view off the balcony and onto the street.

The Peruvian Bead Company February 25, 2008

My first job in retail was at a little bead store in Calgary called Beads and Plenty More. It was such a good job for me because I could work part time and be in the environment of one of my favourite hobbies. I love beads and creating earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Since working there, I love to go and check out other bead stores in my travels.

This past summer my family and I went to California for my cousins wedding and before we headed back home, we traveled up the Californian coast. We stopped for a night in Ventura, California. In the morning we walked down the streets and much to my surprise we found one of the nicest bead stores I’ve been to. The Peruvian Bead Company sits in downtown Ventura and is owned by Steve and Juana Jelen. The couple lived in Spain for a year and since then have been devoted to beads and creating unique jewelery pieces. Juana is known for her designs that have been featured in Bead and Button Magazine and Steve runs their sister business, Pacific Silverworks, that designs and makes clasps and other metal items.

I loved that place and bought a lot of materials there. While making a bracelet yesterday I realized that I’m quickly running out of some clasps that I bought there . . . oh I need to go back!