road trip

this weekend ry and i headed off on a road trip!



thursday night we packed up the car and headed off to kelowna to visit alison.
it was the fastest drive. ever. 3 1/2 hours later we found ourselves pulling into the hotel parking lot, about an hour sooner than we had anticipated.

with a marathon scheduled for saturday, the hotel was fully booked. we got the last king bed in the place thanks to pre-booking. and it was fantastic!

on friday ry got up and walked across the street to the golf course while ali and i headed down to the water for a walk, to enjoy lunch and to just generally hang out. it was, far and away, the most gorgeous day.




friday night found us eating sushi in peachland and then hanging out at the hotel. ry and ali enjoyed a game of cards. i, not so much.
saturday morning ryan and i got ourselves packed up and headed back down the highway to merritt. nothing like a beautiful day in the desert. (seriously, dad? not the desert.)


we had a fun drive checking out the scenery, having great conversation, and looking forward to seeing two fabulous people tie the knot.


we arrived at our hotel to find the gang hanging out in the parking lot. to be joined moments later by the groom.

after getting ourselves checked in, grabbing some lunch, dressing ourselves up a bit, it was time to head to the wedding. on foot. hell ya! my kind of wedding. around the corner from the hotel, an a&w on the way, roadies in your hands, and important warnings abound...



the wedding was beautiful. set in a family member's backyard, with a creek running along side, foliage abound, beautiful blue skies with a few perfect fluffy white clouds, and smiles galore. not to mention the fastest ceremony i have witnessed. greatness.



after a short walk back to the hotel for a few drinks in the gazebo, it was time to head out to the reception. on foot. in the community centre behind the hotel. greatness! let's just say, party!!

this morning was not the most pleasant of mornings. ryan and i both awoke wishing we could sleep the day away but at the same time looking forward to escaping the econolodge. after a quick stop at tim horton's for a bagel and coffee, we hit the road again, this time driving through wind and rain as we headed back to the city. ry was a trooper and drove the whole way while i dozed off in the money seat.

congrats spence and gina! wishing you a lifetime of love and happiness!

it's a dog's life

this is how I spent most of last weekend:


ryan and i watched rex while laura and tor were at a wedding in pemberton. for the most part, rex did this:


it was broken up with a few short walks around the block, peeing in gardens, and taking a poop...in the middle of the sidewalk. what dog poops on the sidewalk? i will give him one break, he's blind. but what about the tactile difference between concrete and grass? don't...exactly...feel...the same. rex is just lucky he made it out to the sidewalk. had it happened indoors, he would have found himself sleeping here:


i don't know what it is about dogs in bc. when i grew up, my dog lived outside. he had a custom built home that he didn't have to share with anyone. it was insulated for the winter, and had a nice big open area with a roof to shade him from the sun for the summer. he had free reign of the entire backyard, where he could do his business at will. he could run as much as he wanted, chase any rabbit that dared enter his territory, and talk to the neighbourhood kids as they walked behind the back fence in an attempted short cut to school. he was allowed to sleep inside, on the laundry room floor, and as he got older and more mature, graduated to the kitchen. but never during meal times. he ate dog food. and dog biscuits. he drank water. if he was lucky, he got a little gravy poured over top of his food, or a little bacon fat. if he was really lucky, he got an egg in his food. usually it was because there was a broken one in the carton. he was loved immensely. but he never was allowed to sleep with us. or lick our face. he was a protector, a playmate, a confidante, a member of our family. he left a big hole in our family when he died. he is thought of constantly. he was laddie.


so while i think rex is a bit of a princess, a snob when it comes to his high expectations for steak and chicken heated to the perfect temperature and insists on his water chilled with ice cubes, and a suck when you leave him alone for 5 minutes too long, i know he occupies this giant piece of both ryan and laura's hearts. while he will never be allowed to sleep on my bed, he is always welcome to warm a piece of the floor beside it.


and i will always pick up his poop off the sidewalk (sick!).