Thursday, July 24, 2008

one year

How time flies.


This coming Monday, we will be able to say we survived our first year of marriage! It definitely had its challenges, but also its blessings and I look forward to year #2. :)

Last weekend, we took a little getaway to Whistler to celebrate and had a wonderful time. It was remarkably like our honeymoon in Jasper, as we went on a 5 hour hike around Whistler Peak - I think we've started a tradition of hiking anniversaries!




For more photos from the weekend, check out the First Anniversary album link on the right.

Coming soon - photos of our newly painted home! The last walls were painted yesterday, so hopefully this weekend all the furniture will be back to normal and I can post some before and after photos. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

i love summer

Just got back from a lovely 1 hour bike ride. I explored the Shell Road trail, which was beautiful and lets you get from our place down to Steveston Hwy with only two road crossings and no other traffic to worry about. I took out Mark's bike because I got my first flat tire and we haven't had a chance to put the patched tube back in yet - and Mark's out in Abby haying for old times sake and couldn't stop me. :)

Now it's time to tackle packing some books into boxes. Next week is a painting extravaganza and I'm trying to free up space and make it as easy as possible to move furniture around. Should be an interesting week. Still have some prep to do the next couple of evenings in terms of washing walls - not my most favourite activity but it has to be done.

Pictures will be posted during the chaos and of the finished look as it all unfolds.

Thursday, July 03, 2008

60+ km and 1 sore butt later...

It's been 4 days since I wrote my last exam for the semester, and what a great 4 days they have been. Mark took Monday and Tuesday off and we spent several hours out on our deck each day reading, drinking lemonade, and playing games - Tuesday was a historic day for me as I finally beat him at Settlers after many, many failed attempts! Monday evening we took our newly purchased bikes out for their first trek to the dyke, and it was such a beautiful trip. No pictures because I left my camera behind, but we arrived as the sun was beginning to set and we could watch it slowly drop as we travelled. It was the biggest red globe I have ever seen and I think the picture will forever be implanted in my mind.

Tuesday evening we took the bus into Vancouver and enjoyed the Canada Day fireworks from Stanley Park. We had some bus adventures on the way in, but overall still had a great time away from home.


Yesterday, Mark headed back to work but I continued my holidays and went on an overnight bike trip with my mom. We took the ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay and then biked the 30ish km from the ferry to Victoria where we met up with my dad, who's staying out there teaching a two-week course. It was a beautiful ride and definitely the longest one I've done ever. We followed the Lochside Regional Trail, which follows an old railway line and travels along the water, through farmland, over wetlands, and past suburban neighbourhoods.


We explored Victoria yesterday evening, spent the night crammed in my dad's hotel room with all our bikes, and then headed back to the ferry in the morning. We stopped in Sidney for some lunch and as we were finishing our last bites, looked at the time and realized we only had half a hour left to make the ferry. So, rather than waiting another hour for the next one, we hopped on our bikes and took off. Little did I realize that just minutes before the ferry terminal there were a few big hills we had to climb - and my legs were already tired from the whole trip! But, we only had minutes left and my mom was ahead so I dug in and pushed it until my legs were jelly and felt like they had no strength left. Thankfully, the torture wasn't for nothing, as we pulled up the terminal about 5 minutes before the scheduled sailing and managed to get tickets.

All in all, a great trip although I know I'll feel my legs tomorrow and I already feel my butt.

Note: If you want to see more photos from this past week, look at the links listed under Photo Albums on the right.