Where does the time go?

As I try to write this, I can barely remember what I did this weekend! While I may have 2 days off of work, these days are often so packed with stuff that it doesn't feel like a break at all! Sometimes work is more of a "break" than the weekend. 

This weekend was actually relatively low key, but it still flew by much too quickly.

Saturday morning we started working on our weekend chores and got over half of them accomplished before we got a call from Jeff asking if we wanted to veg on our couch and watch a movie. Umm... YES!

We voted to watch the Martian, which neither David nor myself had seen before. I thought it was going to be super intense and have me holding my breath and sitting on the edge of my seat! To my pleasant surprise, it was more fascinating and engaging than intense most of the time. I loved it, and Matt Damon did a fantastic job! (The cast was super stacked overall!)

Jeff got to enjoy a very rare Sherlock snuggle! Lucky guy!

The rest of the day Saturday I had a headache, so I went to lay down. Jeff, Mom and David made some delicious homemade pizzas for dinner. That evening David and I did some more relaxing and started watching an Africa BBC Documentary on Netflix; similar to Planet Earth. All was well until I had to watch a baby elephant die while its mom did everything she could to help. That led to Renee sobbing for 10 minutes... Time for bed!

Cool snapshot from the show

Sunday morning I was up early to play bass in church, where we welcomed/installed 30+ new members! That was the largest membership service we've ever had. Pretty amazing!

That afternoon was a bridal shower for David's cousin Christine, which was conveniently located a 5 minute drive from our house! Rachel and Christine's bridesmaid Amanda did a beautiful job setting everything up. It was perfect! 

After the shower David and I spent some time enjoying the sunshine on our new patio before taking Sherlock to Tynehead for a walk. We ended the day with some shopping in Langley, and then some more Netflix (not the sad documentary). 

Below are two bad pictures of Sherlock begging me to give him what he wants. 

Willing me to give him my empty water bottle so he can run around the yard with it.

Creepily stalking my yogurt container which he would love nothing more than to lick out... 

For the record... he won both these stare-downs.

Eventually I'll have something more interesting to write about! I promise!

Thankful Thursday - 45

What am I thankful for this week? Lots!

1. Our new patio! Last Saturday our dads came out to help us (okay... so I didn't help at all) build a paving stone patio in our yard. I can't wait for summer evenings sitting out here by the propane fire pit! We get evening sun in our backyard, so it's going to be perfect! We just have to get some real patio furniture eventually. Why is that stuff SO expensive?! That evening, after we finished the patio, my family came over for some Thai food and games as well!

Doesn't this look glorious?!

Setting up to play some Up & Down the River!

2. The long weekend. Two days off between work weeks is simply not enough! Having that extra day on a long weekend is perfect! We were able to accomplish so much this weekend, and visit with many people. Saturday was patio & games day. On Sunday we had some people over after church for coffee and then went to David's parents' house for delicious dinner, drinks and visiting. Monday we spent most of the day with Scott; did some shopping, Olive Garden, and relaxing!

Rachel & Anthony cuddling with Shadow while looking at some of our (many) photobooks. Cute!

Mango Coconut Daquiri with fresh strawberries and mint (from our garden!)

 

I can't get this photo to rotate... You'll have to tilt your head I guess! Delicous strawberries and whipped cream on waffles. That HIT THE SPOT!

Hit up the Party City after Olive Garden!

Shadow is such a love. I was trying to rest on the couch, but she had other plans. Always trying to be as close as possible!

3. My goofiest guy. Sherlock (or Squinty as we've been calling him lately) is such a goof. He's a great sport, always putting up with my shenanigans. I can't imagine what life was like before we had Sherlock. We must have been so bored and miserable! He brightens up every day. 

Haha! He can't always be perfect you know.

Photo op on our walk at Tynehead. So easy-going that Sherlock.

This is his "Waiiiiit..." face. I love it. He looks directly at you and seems to almost smile. So darling.

Oma's 85th Birthday - Aquarium!

May 12th was Oma's 85th birthday. For the past few years she picked a fun outing for the whole family to attend. 

Two years ago we all went to Fleetwood Pool for swimming, and last year was a trip to Science World with everyone! This year she chose for everyone to go to the Aquarium, followed by a lovely dinner at the Coal Harbour Cactus Club.

I love this idea, as it gets the whole family together enjoying an experience and learning together. 

Sunday, May 15, at 2pm we all met up at the Aquarium before entering as a group. The weather was cloudy, but mild. Very comfortable!

I hadn't been to the aquarium in years! There were many changes, namely the addition of the sting-ray touch tank, the penguin exhibit, and the transfer of two harbour porpoises into the beluga tank. I LOVE animals, so any outing like this has a smile on my face.

The whole group (minus Uncle Arie) out front of the Aquarium!

The male seahorse was pregnant! I don't remember ever seeing seahorses here before. They're bigger than I thought!

Sweet little monkey in the tropical exhibit

The bird in the front here (Ollie I think) is 55 years old! I definitely did not know parrots lived that long.

Getting set up and waiting for the Beluga & Harbour Porpoise training show

This is a false killer whale(?). He's got a pretty good face! 

Waiting for the dolphin show! I was shocked we got such good "seats" for this one

"You so totally rock DUDE!"

'Finding Nemo' has forever changed the aquarium!

A lovely shot of Oma and Adrianne outside Cactus Club at Coal Harbour. 

At the dinner we had a fixed menu (with three options for appetizers & entrees, and two for dessert) as well as an "open bar" - meaning someone very generous had offered to pick up the tab. 

Throughout the evening there were a few speeches and toasts, and Oma shared some words of wisdom at the end before everyone headed their separate ways. 

She is an incredible and inspiring person. Very forward thinking, quick as a whip even at 85, committed to her faith, and maintains a positive attitude. We love you Oma!

Thankful Thursday - 44

1. Drive-by Compliments. I was walking with my parents the other day, and this group of kids (aged 8-12 maybe) rode by on their bikes. As they went by, one of the girls who was maybe 10 years old said to me, "Hi! You look nice!" and continued on her way. It was quite the shock. I wasn't feeling particularly "nice" that day (wearing no makeup, lacking sleep, and wearing an over-sized hoodie). It's amazing what a few kind words will do for someone's day when they're not expecting them! 

2. Fun day with family. More on this to come, but we celebrated my Oma's 85th birthday last Sunday at the Vancouver Aquarium and Cactus Club in Coal Harbour. It was a blast, and I'm glad we could all get together for this! Uncle Reynold and Aunt Marjon even flew in from Holland to surprise Oma!

3. My bed. I look forward to going to sleep again every morning right when I wake up. Some days it's just so hard to pry myself out of bed at 5:45 am! We are absolutely loving our new(ish) king-size memory foam mattress. Our sleep is much less interrupted and we often feel more rested, and much less sore!

Until next week... 
Remember to think about what you have to be thankful for :)

Dog Agility Fun Match! - What a Team!

Sherlock and I ran in our second fun match this past Saturday. I woke up in the morning feeling less than motivated to go, but David encouraged me, and we packed up and headed out. 

Starters Gamblers

The final gamble is tunnel, tunnel jump in the bottom right. 

We were all set up and ready for our first run at around 09:30. Our first run of the day was Starters Gamblers. If you remember from our last agility trial, Gamblers did NOT go well at all. I was already feeling discouraged that this was our first run, but I figured it had been a couple months since the last trial, and maybe it would be okay. I was right! 

In Gamblers you get to make up your own course for the first 40 seconds in order to accumulate points. At the end of 40 seconds a buzzer goes, and you then have to complete the "main gamble" at the end, where you stand behind a line and have your dog do the designated obstacles. 

I had a plan all set up, and we stuck to it! Sherlock was right with me the whole time. We got 28 points in the opening 40 seconds (although it should have been 30 points, but the judge called out the wrong value for the dog walk... nuts!), and you need a minimum of 20 points. The buzzer went and we were right in line with the final gamble (meaning I timed my first part perfectly) and he was SO so so close! Not many dogs got the final part because of the second tunnel (you'll see in the video), but that's not where Sherlock messed up... He saw Dad with the camera at the very and and skipped the last jump. Devastating!! 

Even with those mistakes, we had the fastest time and came in third place. If we had gotten that last jump we would have ended with 56 points and first place!

Starters Standard

If you remember from our last trial, Starters Standard was also a complete disaster. I had many friends and family watching at that trial, and it was a mess. This time it was just David and I, and I listened to some tips from my agility instructor for getting Sherlock in the zone. Must have worked! We had a PERFECT run. Zero faults, and a half-decent time. Good enough that we came first place in this run!

1st place; 0 faults; 53 seconds (8 seconds faster than the 2nd place dog!)

Starters Jumpers 1

Mom and Dad were able to make it out to watch this run. I figured since the start of the day had gone so well, maybe Sherlock had gotten all his good energy out of him... I was wrong! This is my favourite run of the day. We had a blast, and Sherlock was right there with me the whole way. I pulled off two blind crosses at the end which allowed us to complete the final two obstacles. Many people weren't doing that and running down the other side of the two jumps at the end, which caused them to step on their dogs or miss the last jump. I didn't want to do that! Even the judge was impressed. In the end we came home with second place for this run. First place went to a dog who just had its first run of the day so it was fresh! Beat us by 2 seconds! 

Starters Jumpers 2

Just David, Sherlock and I again at this point. I was feeling amazing about how the day was going so far, but definitely started getting tired. I decided we would stay for this last run and skip the Tunnellers at the very end of the day. Again, Sherlock was a complete champ. He was rather slow by this point in the day, but we completed this course again with zero faults, and again came second place!

We ended our day with 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd. We got "qualifying scores" (called Q's) in 3/4 runs (Gamblers being the one we missed). We got prizes for each of our runs, and many people coming up and congratulating us. I am so glad David could be there all day to support and cheer us on. I still can't believe how well Sherlock and I worked together. I knew we'd been doing better in classes, but I'm impressed how well it translated into the real thing! Maybe we will have to start doing real trials now so that these Q's will count for something!

Such a chill guy in his pen between runs.

This is what a good and tired dog looks like after a long trial day <3

Thankful Thursday - 43

It's tough sometimes to think of new things to be grateful for each week, but this is what I came up with..

1. Pancakes. Normally I'm not much of a "sweets for dinner" sort of person, but when you combine these perfect crepes with a huge bowl of fresh fruit and "real" maple syrup... you get something special... and beautiful! Mom and Dad were kind enough to have us for dinner Wednesday night and make us this delicious treat!

I love the beautiful (and natural) colours of fruit!

This looks less appetizing with the sausage and bacon at the top than I was anticipating...

2. A successful agility class. Our class last week was cancelled, so I was happy to be able to go Wednesday night and work with Sherlock a bit. We were both a little sluggish as it was quite warm in the barn, but his focus is getting so much better! We have our second fun match this weekend, so I'm grateful we got some extra practice in this week. {However, as it usually goes... If they do poorly in their latest class, they do well at the trial. Let's hope him doing well in class still translates to the fun match!}

This is what we like to see! A tuckered out pup!

3. Scott is home. When Scott was away at school there were many evenings where David and I couldn't decide what to do and thought, now if Scott was living back at home this would be a "Scott night" for sure. A Scott night usually consists of playing a game or watching a movie, but not feeling guilty for sitting on our butts and eating a bunch of candy because we have a guest over, so we're doing something as a group! Now he's home, and we had just such a night the other day!

Have you thought about what YOU'RE thankful for today? (It's a great exercise, you should try it!)

Celebratory Weekend!

This weekend was jam-packed with celebratory events and family time!

Saturday morning my cousin Steph and Aunty Candy came by to see our house as they're visiting from out of town. Steph then joined us as we went to Vancouver to help Adam and Aly move apartments!

More than one precarious attempt at transferring furniture to the new place. 

By the time we got home, we just had enough time to get showered and dressed for Opa & Oma's 50th anniversary celebration! What an incredible feat 50 years is. They are a true inspiration. 

When we get some photos from the photographer I'll post more on the evening, but we had a catered dinner, a few "skits", songs and poems (whatever family and friends felt convicted to share), followed by a slide show and some dancing. There was also the presentation of a photobook including pictures from their entire lives and time together. That is something I spent (far too many) hours on, so it was so nice to see them be excited about it! Of course we cannot forget to mention the unlimited beer, wine and cider for the guests to enjoy! 

The dinner was set up in the foyer at church, with tables to seat around 60-70 people. It was a beautiful evening!

Appetizer table! Yum!!

Personalized wine... wouldn't have it any other way!

Beautiful flower centerpiece. Oma let me take this one home :)
Gerberas are my favourite! 

Sunday morning I was up bright and early to go play bass at church, and wish all the moms a Happy Mother's Day! After church David and I headed out to Cultus Lake where his parents were "camping" with their new trailer for the first time! We normally have Sunday brunch at his parents' house, but went out to the campground instead since it was Mother's Day. 

Matthias and Fynn

Sherlock moping because he's tied up!

There is just nothing Sherlock loves more than swimming!

I love how every one of my camping photos is of the dogs... How sad! I need to work on variety! Mind you, I was much to busy enjoying the company to be focusing on taking pictures. 

By the time we got home, we were ready to head to my parent's house for dinner and a movie! Now that Scott is home, it's time for our Harry Potter nights to start up again. 

I whipped up some delicious smoked salmon flat breads for dinner!

Also, to top the great weekend off, Shadow seems to be doing much better! She is still coughing a lot and has less energy than normal, but she is definitely improving!! She is eating, getting up to greet us, back to most of her normal routine... I can't believe it! I definitely thought she was a goner after seeing her last week. 

Here's a video from the other day of Shadow walking back from the mailbox with dad! It was the first time she showed any interest in going for a "walk". So thrilled