Awesome Weekend!

Welcome to our new look! I was just bored with the old.

This past weekend was a holiday weekend here in Canada. The kids had no school Friday or Monday. Janelle flew to Abbotsford Friday to spend the weekend with her best friend, Sarah Olsen. They went to History Maker in Chilliwack together with the youth group from APA. She had more fun than she could put into words! She flew home Monday night. BIG thank you to Daryl & Nina Olsen for picking her up and dropping her off at the airport, feeding her, and taking care of her.

While Janelle was away, Andy, Calvin & I drove to Kamloops/Salmon Arm. Our good friends the Langs were in Kamloops visiting their good friends the Denbrabers, who are also our friends. Got that? We dropped off Calvin in the Loops Friday night so he could stay up all night playing video games with Gabe & Mark. It was wonderful beyond words to see Len & Leanne & Dan & Jenn, and to get a sleepy hug from "mine Emma"! Andy & I continued on to Salmon Arm that night.

Saturday morning we slept in, then enjoyed brunch with the Greeks and Janus & Judy, other friends of ours from Abbotsford who are in the process of moving to Salmon Arm. In the afternoon Andy & I drove back to the Loops to spend the rest of the day & evening with the Langs & 'Brabers. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera in Salmon Arm, so I have NO PICTURES of our time in Kamloops, or of the very special people there! I spent the afternoon playing with my Emma, which filled up the empty space inside of me for a little while (hopefully until July when I see her again!). After giving her a bath and settling the kids in with pizza, the adults went for dinner at Chapters restaurant. No, not the bookstore. It's a great restaurant with an awesome view. Back at the Denbrabers, we picked up Calvin, said some teary good-byes, and headed back to Salmon Arm. It's hard to put into words how much that visit did for me. It's good to be with friends that love us!

I DO have photos of Sunday! The Greeks, including their boarder, Greg, and Shawn's sister and her son, and us were able to go out on the lake on a "party barge". We brought the party with us -- Shawn went shopping for food -- all junk food, with the exception of lunch meat & cheese. Yea, Shawn! It was the most fun, relaxing day I've had in a long time! I got a little sunburned, but that was okay. We cut the motor and drifted in silence for a while, then later beached the boat at a provincial park for lunch and a bathroom break. The boys all took turns piloting the boat, which meant a lot of circles and figure eights and other bumpiness.

We got back about 2:30 p.m., too late to catch the matinee of Shrek the Third. But no worries! We know the manager of the theatre! He gave us a private screening, complete with complimentary popcorn and pop. Thanks, Shawn! We topped off this absolutely perfect day with a great dinner at Pillars Bistro, the restaurant at the hotel where Joanne works.

We headed out early Monday morning to get back in time to pick up Janelle at the airport. It was one of the best weekends I've had in a long time!