Summer Vacations

Well, our summer vacation has come and gone. Matt and I decided to take a week and escape the hustle and bustle of Calgary and drove to Saskatchewan. On Saturday, July 22 Matt and I drove to Saskatoon once he had finished taking another practice MCAT. The next morning we got up and drove 2.5 hours north to Emma Lake. The weather was perfect, could not have asked for anything better. Once we got there, we were able to sit back, relax, and soak up some sun. On Monday, we all went golfing which was great. We also wasted days fishing, waterskiing, and tubing. What a great week! It was sad to leave, since we had such a great time. It was really nice to have the entire family together for a few days, even though Shane was 'sick' for the week and had to miss work to be there! The only disappointing part of the week was the pottery store. My mom and I go to the pottery store/art gallery just outside of Christopher Lake every year. It is a very relaxing way to spend the day, and one of our little traditions. This year when Angie, mom and I arrived, we found the the gallery had gone out of business! We drove around to a few other s'shopping' spots, but could not find one thing to spend our money on! What a disappointment. Other than that, everything was perfect.We decided to split the drive home up, so we left the lake on Thursday night, and left Saskatoon for Calgary on Friday morning. It is waaaay to far to drive in one day! Matt had another exam on Saturday, so we came home a little early. It was actually really nice to have a few days off at home before having to go back to work. I got to spend some much needed time at home, and also got to spend Sunday hanging out with Amanda, something I definately haven't done enough of this summer. Work on Monday was tough to get into...

It was my birthday on Monday, and my mom's yesterday. I got spoiled rotten (as usual!) and all in all it was a great day. Matt got me Alan Jackson tickets, and also took me out for supper, bought me pretty pink roses, and a card. Too many gifts also came in from Devin, Angie, and Shane (Wine bottle holder), mom and dad (Lulu lemon stuff and a bracelet), and from Matt's parents (Wine stopper and Norah took me out for lunch). THANKS EVERYONE!!! Birthdays are great, and it doesn't matter how old I am, Matt will ALWAYS be older! Dad took Mom out for dinner and got her an 'undisclosed' present, and we got her a massage and spray-on tan that she really wanted. I hope she had a great day as well!

Matt and I have a busy long weekend approaching as we are watching Simon and Jonah! Kristin and Tony are going to a conference in Banff for the weekend, and they asked us if we could watch the kids. Of couse we said yes! Matt has another exam on Saturday, so I will have the kids all day by myself (eek!!) but I'm sure I'll be fine. Maybe we could all do something fun on Sunday, like the zoo. The boys are such great kids, and they are so much fun to be around. We had alot of fun with them the last time we babysat, and we were just waiting for another chance!

Things for the wedding are coming along. Some days it seems like we have so much to do that it will never get done. I'm sure that if I keep doing lots of small things, we will soon have everything done. I really need to talk to the wedding coordinator at the hotel, I should try to call her next weekend. The gift bags are proving to be a headache, we have hotel/ceremony/reception details to iron out, and neither of us has a complete outfit yet! I'm not sure if this is a normal stage to be at five months prior, but I would be more relaxed if things were further along! Matt has been helping a little more lately, and I really appreciate it. It is nice to have him doing some things, and it is really great getting his input on what he would like to have and see at the wedding! I guess guys just don't get as excited as girls about these kinds of things.

It sounds like Shane might be heading out to Calgary for the September long weekend. It will be great to have him here, and I'm sure he'll enjoy some time away from the cheese factory!

Thanks to everyone for the birthday calls and gifts, they were all really apprecited!

Jenn (& Matt)