O Canada

What a great trip to Canada Blake and I just had! You never really know how much home can really feel like home. My sister's wedding was amazing. She made such a beautiful bride in her gorgeous white gown and flowing black hair. I think it took most of my willpower to hold back some tears as she walked down the aisle to Mat. Luckily I know she is in great hands. The two of them make an awesome pair.
Blake and I were able to relax in the wilderness at Alpine Meadows Resort, 25 kms out of Clearwater, B.C. The grounds were ideal for a wedding as a lake and mountains were the backdrop. It was great to see and visit with my family, as we didn't really get enough time at my wedding, and furthermore, it was great to be able to eat, drink and enjoy the reception this time around! The wedding went off without a hitch, although it was freezing cold! Thankfully Mat and Mel had thought ahead and created a signature cocktail which helped keep us warm. The outdoor heated lamps also warmed up the dance floor, where much to Blake's embarrassment, his wife kept up a steady flow of "Thomsonesque" dance moves. The next day we discovered the perfect cure for a hangover: whitewater rafting in the chilly September water. My aunt, both uncles, mom and dad, and Blake's friend Darcy accompanied us on a 2 hour trip down the river. Blake and Darcy actually got up the guts to cliff jump from a 7 metre rock cut, but I was happy just to watch!
The next day it was up to Prince George where we met Reita and Garry and headed back to Burns Lake. We spent the following week having a great time with Blake's parents. Reita looks amazing for a woman just finishing up 6 rounds of chemo. I think she could definitely win an award for the most shapely skull around. If I lost my hair I'd have a huge flattened section on the back of my head from too much time spent lying in a laundry basket during infancy (thanks mom!). We were both impressed with Reita's great attitude towards the whole ordeal- what strength. I spent some time with Rachel on the Southside as well and laughed at how much her little one resembles her! Payback!!!! We also got some good visiting time in with Tara and Marlon and their newest addition, Rhys. What a cutie! One night we also managed to get up hot-tubbing with Blake's cousin Jarrett. It was so nice to sit out in the cool weather in a warm tub! Finally, we had a big family supper at Blake's Aunt and Uncle's place with his cousins and their children, as well. Claire warned us that the kid's were contagious... however, with three in diapers and two in elementary school it felt a little more like birth control!!!! We have officially nixed any notion of having 5 kids! All jokes aside, the kid are actually great, and they have grown up so fast! Before we knew it, we were on the road back to Prince George to stay with my best friend Heather and her family before flying out home the next day. One thing I love about good friends is that no matter how much time passes, you can always pick up where you left off.
Our flights back home spanned two days, four planes, three countries and proved to be the longest possible way to cross a continent. Unfortunately the flight from Toronto to Tampa was pretty turbulent, pushing my nearly cured anxiety up a notch. I would be happy to not sit in another plane for a year now, but with our next adventure only 2 weeks away it looks as if I'll have to suck it up.

The most popular question we got asked on our trip was whether or not we missed Canada. That is a hard question to answer! So rather than bore you with some long winded retort, I will provide you with a list of what we realized we missed, and of course, what we didn't.

Things we missed about Canada:
1) Fresh air and the beauty of fall
2) campfires and camping
3) Having straight glossy hair that stays put all day!
4) Being able to run without losing half your body weight in sweat
5) T.V. (okay, admittedly we do have TV here, but we are too cheap to order it and our TV in the livingroom bit the bullet well before our time)
6) The loonie... nowhere else has crazy named currency
7) family- this should have been first, but I am too tired to think straight tonight
8) Wearing comfy clothing like jeans and sweatshirts
9) Mudslides in a million different flavours
10) Lack of land crabs, and furthermore, land crab nightmares

Things we didn't miss about Canada:
1) static electricity
2) cold feet and red noses
3) chapped lips
4) Tax (What is with the HST???? is nearly doubled some of my purchases, or at least it felt like that!)
5) snow. Yes. We saw snow. In September.
6) Driving on the right side. We have somehow adapted to this left side driving and now I am all messed up.
7) rules. I never noticed how many rules there are in Canada.
8) 10 digit dialling. What a moronic idea
9) THe sheer size of Canada. Although sometimes I like how big it is, the massive size of Canada makes travel rather tiring
10) Air Canada and their lack of airplane food

Well that completes the list. I love both of our countries, but each one has some special qualities. In the long run Canada will always win though, as our family, past and future lies in the massive land we call our true home.