Messing Around

What's a brother for if you can't mess with his head?

Mountains and More

The final week of our vacation took my Mom and Dad and I back through the mountains. This time we headed north towards Jasper. We shopped a bit in the town of Jasper and then we headed up to Mount Edith Cavel. We took a winding road with lots of switchbacks but the reward was beautiful. Close to the top we got out and hiked about fifteen minutes up the mountain to a pond fed by the glacier. The ground all the way around the pond was very shaley (if that's a word). It was beautiful although the water wasn't quite as clean as I expected. I fished out a very small chunk of ice out of the pond. But it was pretty pathetic compared to the one my mom fished out for me to pose with. It would have been great to have a picture of the whole process...picture my mom bending over the lake with me holding onto her pants for fear that she might lose her balance and fall into the icy water. We left there and headed down the mountain to Athabasca Falls. This was my Dad's pick and it was awe-inspiring! Different from any falls I have ever seen. The Athabasca River falls down into a narrow canyon and the water moves through with incredible force. The amazing thing is that you can walk through canyons where the water used to flow. It's hard to describe it with words but if you ever make it up to Jasper don't miss the Athabasca Falls!After leaving the falls, we ran into some wildlife. First, there were big horned sheep on the cliff over the highway. When we stopped to take some pictures, we realized that there was a photographer who had climbed the hill and was less than six feet away taking pictures! I stayed down on the road.Further down the road, we ran into some long-haired goats along the side of the road. When we first started taking pictures they were quite far up the hill. As we took pictures, one particular Mama and her baby were making their way down the hill until they were right across from us only separated by a ditch. With horns like hers that wasn't really far enough away for me so Dad and I booked it out of there. I didn't get to see a moose but it was fun to end our time in the mountains with some interesting wildlife. The mountains were so beautiful, each one unique in it's own way, they left me longing for more. One day, I think it would be fun to start at the top and work my way back and forth through the mountain passes all the way to the bottom of the Rockies.

Forward Progress

Well, the packing process is finally moving forward. I've actually packed a couple of boxes...feeling pretty psyched about that. (Procrastination is my middle name when it comes to packing.) So anyway, I thought I would reward myself and tell you about some more of my vacation.


We left the prairies and headed toward the Rockies. This was my favorite part of the whole trip. The Canadian Rockies are indescribably beautiful. We stopped to take some pictures of the mountains reflected in this beautiful dam. A little bit further down the road we actually passed a black bear right down the bank on the other side of the road. Unfortunately, it was difficult to manipulate the car into a place where a picture could be taken. Kent wasn't too keen on the idea of getting out and taking a picture...I'm not sure why????

We drove on to Lake Morraine which is close to Banff and Lake Louise. Lake Morraine is surrounded by 10 peaks. It was absolutely beautiful and the lake was so calm. I was jealous of those who were out kayaking and canoeing because it looked like a lot of fun. We had to keep going though so we headed down the mountain and on to Revelstoke in British Columbia. Along the way, I saw another two bears traipsing across the mountain. At one point, after climbing through the mountains, someone looked back and saw this view. So of course, we stopped and that's when we realized that the car was overheating. Unfortunately, instead of leaving it to cool off, we opened the cap on the radiator and got an explosion of coolant. This began a succession of filling it up with water and having it overflow...probably very comical if you were an onlooker. Anyway, God knew we were in need of a little assistance and sent a couple who were on their way to Revelstoke. They offered to help and had a working cellphone (mine was dead and Kent couldn't get service) so we called for a tow truck. They were also willing to take my Mom and I on to Revelstoke while Kent and Dad waited on the tow truck.

While waiting, Kent found a perfect mountain spring for a drink of crisp and cool mountain water.

In spite of getting towed into Revelstoke, my dad decided the next day that it was okay to continue with the car. We eventually did have to replace the radiator but not until we got to Vancouver Island.

We picked up my cousin Cheryl in Abbotsford and took the ferry to Vancouver Island. We had a good time visiting with my Aunt Nina and cousins, Cheryl and Ron. Here are the cousins! Unfortunately, Kent had to go back to work at this time so he ditched us just before some more beautiful mountain scenery. More on that next time!

Oh, the Places We Went

This post is for Jen, who actually checked to see if I was posting during my vacation. Sadly, for three weeks she met with disappointment, but now at 3 am in the morning when only God knows why I'm awake and can't sleep, I'm going to write about it. :)I left Atlanta around June 15th and headed up to Toronto where my Mom, Dad and I all caught a flight out to Calgary, Alberta. Our trip began with my Dad's Bible College reunion. I guess it's kind of strange to be attending someone else's college reunion but even though I didn't know a lot of people, we heard some amazing testimonies and it was inspiring to see just how many people that attended his Bible college had dedicated their lives to serving God.

Kent joined us part way through the reunion. After the reunion, we traveled east almost to Saskatchewan to see some of the places where my Dad and his family grew up. We loved the slogan on Dad's hometown sign - Kirriemuir "Relish Today Ketchup Tomorrow." We even got to see the "hospital" where he was born which really just looks like a house. From there, we moved on to visit with my Dad's youngest brother and his family. Kent and I stayed with Jeff and Laurel. While Kent rode along on the tow truck, I hung out with Laurel and got to know her and their three little boys.
Then we headed to Three Hills where I got to hang out with friends from eighth grade - Debbie and Rhonda. This was a wonderful reminder of the amazing friends that God has brought across my path - friends that I can pick up with and feel like I just hung out with them yesterday even though it's been several years.Alright, I'm stopping for now in hopes that I'll actually be able to fall asleep soon.

You Have Got to See This

So I was doing my daily blog check and read an entry by the new dorm parents at Sahel about a R.O.U.S. (Rodents of Unusual Size). The first time I read it the picture wasn't showing up so I didn't think much of it...probably wasn't a very big rat! The next time I returned to the blog the picture showed up and it definitely deserves the name R.O.U.S. ! I would have been scared out of my p.j.s if I had had to sleep in the same room with that thing. Check it out.

Donut Defense

In honor of national donut day, which happened to be last Friday, I thought I would share a funny interchange I had yesterday with a child at church. After the service, I happened to pass a little boy who was probably about 3 and a half or four years old who was standing at the feet of his mother and happily munching on a chocolate cream filled donut. He didn't know me, but who can resist talking to a little boy obviously enjoying getting messy with a donut? So I stopped, pointed at his donut and said something like, "Oooh, are you eating a donut?" He immediately turned his whole body away from my pointing finger so I thought he was going to be shy and not talk to me but he actually responded and when my finger went down he turned back towards me. "What kind is it?" I asked, once again pointing. Again, he turned his body away but responded, "Chocolate." By this time, I realized that he was quite concerned that I was going to take his donut away. He didn't want my finger anywhere close to it. I persisted, reassuring him that I wasn't going to take it from him, I pointed to the cream and asked him, "What is that stuff in the middle?" Keeping his donut as far away from my finger as possible, he looked up at me and said, "I don't know. I don't work here!" Kids crack me up sometimes.

That's All She Wrote....

It's over! The last bell has rung for the year. The classroom has been packed up and gradually moved into my one bedroom apartment ( YIKES). As I handed out the report cards, I asked the kids to tell me their favorite memory from first grade...some of them were quite random. Here's two that made the list....remember the day I had the kids pop a hundred balloons and freaked out cause it sounded like gunfire...well, I guess it was worth it because popping 100 balloons made the list. My child who has kept me entertained all year with funny comments and banana peels brought to school remembered a day that I made a garbage bag talk to one of the kids...it's the little things that they remember. As for me, I will remember this class as a big present from God filled with laughter, growth, incredible opportunities to talk about God and a bunch of children who were just a pure pleasure to teach!

It's hard to believe that this next year will be my first year without teaching in nine years. Instead, I'll be the student - studying French. I took a preliminary placement exam and scored a 72.5% which will either place me in the intermediate class or the advanced class depending on the results of an oral exam that I will take when I get there. An apartment opened up for me on campus which was a big answer to prayer because it will be furnished and it will also be on campus so that when it snows like crazy I'll not have to do too much driving in it! Just thinking about some of the pictures of snow there that I have seen makes me nervous. One things for sure, I'll be learning more than French! :)