A Summery Photo Journey..

VEGAS!

On July 24th, 4 of my favorites and I depared E-Town to rock Vegas! My sister-in-law and bossom, best friend Nicole, turned 30 and we celebrated with a girls trip to eat, drink and be merry!

This was an absolutely fabulous time! We laid poolside, went to pool parties, ate delicious food, relaxed, went dancing till all hours of the night and laughed... oh golly, did we laugh! We chatted, we bonded and we just focused on being women instead of moms, wives, etc.... We also took our sweet time getting ready each night and all 5 of us felt beautiful and lovely! It was a nice departure for me from my regular look of "sweaty gym rat". This time away from home made me realize that I love my family so much and am so fortunate to have 2 healthy, beautiful daughters and a hard-working, responsible husband. It also made me realize how important it is for me to take time away... to focus on myself and nurturing things in me that often get neglected and ignored. Refueling is integral to being the best mom and wife I can be and times like these are both required and welcomed.

Here are a few photos of the 260 I took. Enjoy!

A to Z

Here is a cool blog post I saw floating around the blogosphere today... thought I would do it too!

A. Attached or Single?

Attached... been so for 11.5 years.

B. Best Friend?

I have so many good, quality friends in my life. I have been so blessed and feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by amazing, inspiring, like-minded women. Each friendship I have enriches my life in it's own unique way... it's too difficult to pick one friend. Each one of my lady loves moves me in their own particular way. And I am thankful.

C. Cake or Pie?

As if there is even a choice... Cake. For Sure. 

D. Day of Choice?

Friday... it's the end of the work week and the beginning of the weekend!

E. Essential Item?

Beauty: Mascara. Any kind. Will not leave without it. 

Clothing: A good pair of dark skinny jeans.

Workout: Music and quality ear phones. CANNOT exercise without music.

F. Favorite Color?

To wear: blue (any shade) and green. But in general... yellow or teal. Anything bright!

G. Gummy bears or worms?

If I must choose... gummy bears. But I much prefer chocolate. 

H. Home Town?

Good ol' Edmonton. 

I. Favorite Indulgence?

A big piece of dessert from Vi's for Pies. 

J. January or July?

Again, as if there was a choice. July. Always July.

K. Kids?

Have 2 of em. Love the 2 I have beyond measure. Don't want anymore.

L. Life isn't complete without?

Training. *and of course the obvious*

M. Marriage Date?

May 14, 2005

N. Number of brothers/sisters?

One brother, 2 brother in laws, 3 sister in laws. 

O. Oranges or Apples?

Apples

P. Phobias?

Crazy carpets. Had a terrible experience with one in grade 4. I've been scarred ever since. 

Q. Quotes?

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
- Maya Angelou

R. Reason to smile?

I have lots:

- my family

- I am loved (by God, family and friends)

- I am healthy

- I have discovered something (at the age of 28) that I am incredibly passionate about and it brings me so much joy

S. Season of Choice?

Summer. I love dressing cute! And the sunshine!

T. Tag 5 People.

This I will not do. 

U. Unknown fact about me?

oh jeez. I have a shame crush on Dr. Phil.

V. Vegetable?

Spaghetti Squash.

W. Worst Habit?

Biting my nails.

X. X-Ray or Ultrasound?

Ultrasound for sure... you can see cool things, like babies!

Y. Your favorite food?

Peanut Butter. I need an Intervention. A jar a week is both disgusting and expensive. But golly, it's good!

Z. Zodiac Sign?

Sagittarius. 

And for the record, I'm not a big believer in Astrology but wow... I am a Sagittarius to a tee. Scary really. 

The World Welcomes Capri Lily...

Yesterday, my newest niece, Capri Lily Harrison, was born! My brother, Brock and his incredible wife, Suzanne, welcomed their first child into our world. She was greeted with lots of love, snuggles, kisses and adoration from her grandparents, great grandma and of course, her soon-to-be favorite Aunty.
She was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 18 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful and I am so smitten with her, I cannot wait for Isla & Annie to meet her and to witness some serious cousin love!

her debut!

3 generations: Nana, proud Papa and Capri.

Popi, proud Papa and Capri.

*swoon*

all smiles!

sweet kisses for my sweet Capri!

Musings of Summer...

exploring the grass...

doing a little voyaging...

butterfly catching!

my little butterfly!

biking!

my baby.

Daddy's girl. 

Color Me Rad!

This past Saturday morning, my friend Cheryl assembled a team to run the 5km 'Color Me Rad' race at the Edmonton Expo Center. The proceeds went directly to the Stollery Children's Hospital... a charity that I can definitely support! We ran with 2 friends from Servus: Conrad, a trainer at the gym and Nolan, another die-hard Servus member... like myself. 

We got down to the race grounds and it literally was a purple haze! It was so exciting to see everyone covered in various colors... one giant rainbow was everywhere! We found our place at the start line and when we were told to go... we ran! Every kilometer or so, there was a group of people dousing us with colored powder and liquid paint! My white shirt was sea of indigo, purple and yellow! Note to self * do not run through a color station with a massive smile plastered to your face... a mouthful of purple cornstarch does not taste good*. This race was just so much fun! I can't say that enough... such a relaxed, fun environment! When we all met up at the end, we stayed for an epic color bombing event... COLOR EVERYWHERE! I was covered... my hair was green, my ears were purple, my chest was pink, my arm sweat was orange.. it was INSANE! When I showered, it looked like a unicorn puked all over my shower floor. Needless to say, this was such a good time! Can't wait till next year!

ps- Me and race environments are becoming rapid best friends!

Sunglass Spartan Sisters!

Our Dream Team: Nolan, Cheryl, Me and Conrad!

A nice, color free, pre-race smile.

And... post race smile!

Awe. My love!

COLOR BOMBED!

BOO YEA!

Yep, I ran with a fanny pack!