Highlight of my day ...

Was a coffee date with my dad over Skype this morning.....

The second highlight was snagging another lululemon of a version of jacket that I love but they've discontinued!! Score!!

I decided I will no longer own underwear that rides up!  I thought I had gotten rid of all the ones in my drawer that did that.

But this morning I found another pair that did that!  

I took them off right then!

And washed the bathroom sink with them before I chucked them.

Take that ride ups....

Big Nanaimo day!!! Plus a big Date!!

So much happening at work these days ... This morning alone one facilitator got hit by a car (hello WCB), and the other facilitator (our second Catherine in duncan), called in one month stress leave!  I worked all day on a huge contract with many convoluted issues and in the end, I got it done. It's not pretty, but all the funding guides I need to use line up with the contracts so that the  agencies get paid what they are owed. But I have been waiting months for various pieces of this work to be done... So today I worked with admin (not managers unfortunately), to be creative.  So we will see if it gets thrown back at me! Sure hope not!!

Our lovely boys got picked up by grandma for the rest of the day so neither Chris or myself needed to race to pick them up today!  They went to self defense and spent the evening with their grandparents while Chris and I had a date!  Our first in a long time!!

My sweet man greeted me with flowers,

....and we headed off to the lovely Genoa Bay Cafe where I had made reservations for 5:30.

It was so nice to reconnect with eachother in a different environment and such a beautiful spot!!  I love him so much. My best friend. 

After dinner we had a quick look at the old imadene property.  

He reminiced about his childhood memories here. Many great ones!!  Including ones about the girls who hung out next door at the yacht club! He must have been hilarious as a young boy. 

Times Colonist 10k 2015

Night away for the two of us!!  Funny what started out as a conversation 3 months ago with Nicole saying offhand that she needed an exercise goal, and she has never done a race like this, here we were!!!  And below, here we are stuck on the Malahat in our tiny little ride!  (I rented a car so hubby could have the Journey).

Meanwhile, back at the ranch .....

Once at the hotel, Nic and I went for a sauna and then decided we were hungry for dinner.  Though Nic was uninspired with the choice of restaurant that night, I LOVE the Spaghetti Factory!!  I think she got over it pretty quickly when bread and salad arrived right away to our table where we were starving!!!

After dinner, we were back in the room, about to watch 'Jurassic Park', when she yells out 'We CAN'T spend our girls night out inside watching Jurassic Park'....so I jumped up and put my boots on and was ready to go, as she looks slowly up at me, with a look that was like 'ugh, you're up, I kinda wanted to go to sleep!"  ;-)  We hit the town .... first the lounge where there was a blues singer but we weren't feeling the vibe, so we crossed the road to where the Wax Museum used to be .... very cool waterfront grill where we had the best raspberry Mojitos!  The building was historic and lovely and reminded me of the old Moir Pianos building with the high ceilings ....

Next morning, E and I were first down in the lobby, waiting for the rest of the team.  We didn't even send eachother the memo about the white hats!!

Almost 8000 runners in this years Times Colonist!

Nicole, with her punctured foot and hurt knee, was a gazelle and finished in a time of just over an hour!!!  She left E and I pretty early on and got swept away in the crowds.  E and I continued running .. but true to form, at the 6k mark, my knee started giving me trouble.  So though E was my 'pacer car', she went on ahead and finished 4 minutes ahead of me.  I found another 'pacer car' in the form of the solid older man with the green shirt who was power walking like a machine!!  His pace was my jog!  As long as I had my eye on him, I would catch up with him and then fall behind, but that last half of the run, I had my music blaring in my ears, keeping pace with machine man, as the pink flowers from the trees rained down on my around the corner from the ocean ... it was so beautiful that I was almost teary as I came to the finish line.  I was so proud that I finished!!!

And how fun to see my sweet friends face at the finish line taking pictures of my finish!!  My time was 1:26 (it took us 5 minutes in the crowds to get up to the starting line hence why the clock says 1:31)......I don't care about my time though ... I could have gone for longer had my knees felt better - so that was wonderful to feel the ensurance that I could have continued.  Such a thrill.

Walking back to the hotel room - DONE!!!

Properly hot tubed and sauna, braless and comfy!!

We grabbed coffees, had a nice ride home, dropped of the car ... and I haven't moved from the couch since I arrived home!!  Awesome weekend!!

Marks Retirement Party.

I would hope that everyone would have the chance to work for someone who is so full of love and integrity and kindness.  I was lucky enough to work for a man like that for 3 short years.  He was our historian ... so many years in the field ... if I didn't know the answer, or found myself in an awkward position, I knew that he would always find a moment to talk to me.  (We no longer have anyone like that on staff anymore, hence the incredible sadness and despair that floats around lately). 

This was Marks retirement party.  He is leaving in May, a day before my WOA retreat, to go to Scotland to run a full marathon!  So the them of the party was MARATHON!!  The speeches were hilarious and touching, so much love in the room for this man ....

In true Mark fashion, the end of the party was marked by a speech given by him.  He had made these sweet Achievement Awards specific to everyone on his team.  Each award was so thoughtful and loving.

I wish he was still my boss, but I am so happy for his new life....because from what I can see from my inexperienced eyes, these next years in (lack of) funding are going to be scary!

Auxano Grad 2015

Another year of auxano is officially all wrapped up.  We had their final dinner tonight and celebrated 8 months of hard work.  These students just finished something that I would/could no longer do!  Perhaps the year after I graduated, I would have enjoyed it?  I've often told them, in our quiet times together, that they will never get another year like this in their lives.  It's a luxury to be given 'time' to figure out their faith.  To learn and grow with no real outside stresses (other than the typical 20 year old stresses)....it's a gift.  

It's been one of the nicest groups to come through our gates, without a doubt.  A few are staying on through the summer ..... But there you have it. Auxano 2015!

And our "old" boys had no interest in attending the dinner, or going to willow lodge for the babysitting .... So they stayed home and texted us through the evening.  (If I were in their shoes, I would have chosen that option too! And at some points of the evening, I wished I was cuddled up with them on the couch!)

Nathan Ory Conference.

We had been planning this road trip to see Nathan Ory, a very experienced behaviourist, at a conference on Wednesday.  This was the picture of the morning to display how we both felt about getting out of work together that day! 

However, someone kicked the gate closed as Mary was about to leave and gave her a really big work task that couldn't be done within the timeframe that she had.....

I sent her the above picture from the conference .... It was a pretty interesting conference.  This man has been working with challenging people for over 40 years.  He told stories of his experiences over those years ... they were literally 'crazy!!'..... he spoke of various tactics that worked, and pretty much stated that you never really know what is going to work for anybody.  His advice was just to try to not find out what doesn't work for somebody on your watch, or you may end up in the ER.

Fishing and cooking .....

23 degrees .... The most beautiful day!!  Isaac and Max hit the row boat right after school!  

... and then when Isaacs line got too tangled to continue, they decided to have a pancake bake-off!!  Moms were the judges ....

Maxs pancakes were made from scratch with banana and blueberries .... Very yummy, but some bites were undercooked .... Isaacs were from a mix with blueberries and a couple chocolate chips ....

Good day for two little boys to go fishing ....

Max and Isaac are trying to catch dinner ...

Saturday events - friends, chilling and blaster ball!

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day ... started out so nice with coffee with my sister ... (Carrie, send me that morning coffee pic!) .... This was Isaac for much of the afternoon .. he was in there for hours trying to finish his monster book .... (it ended very badly this morning! He stayed up past 10 last night trying to finish it but fell asleep, so he crawled in with me this morning and it was a cliffhanger!  He was so mad! - Just like I was during Lord of the Rings .... )

With Chris working today on the Blaster Ball area, Katie came over to keep me company ... and we actually worked on the Women's retreat, having a second set of eyes transferring names over to the final spreadsheet, we were able to catch a few errors!

I also did her Auxano Exit interview ... in our little tent.

Chris finished the blaster ball area ... so it was time for a showdown between Burdges and Zalinkos.

The first game was dads vs little boys!  Here is Isaac with his eye on his dad, and he is running towards ME to hide behind!!

So, this was eventually my view....and I got hit.

Burdge Crew ..... in the Spanish Casa base ....

Panorama of the new Blaster Ball Area - kids are going to lose their minds!!!  Going to LOVE it!

Can you see little Jax hiding and stalking Chris?

After the game, a couple boys joined me at the fire ....

We can feel summer coming!! It's awesome!

Some days my boys just amaze me ....

Tonight as we were falling asleep, the gate and shop bay doors were still left wide open with lights all on.  So with chris already asleep, I went in my housecoat to close everything up.  As I walked past the boys room, Isaac said I couldn't go alone, and he got his jacket and my big boots on to accompany me into the darkness.  I was thankful for the company as it's a little scary in the dark and I used the time to tell him how amazing his dad is. The love his dad has for this place surpasses what I've ever seen in anyone else.  It never matters if he is "off", because there is never "off" time...if something needs to be done, he does it.  I'm so proud of chris, he's crazy and I can't understand the dedication, but I still admire and will support it for as long as he keeps wanting to do it.  

In the meantime, I was feeling pretty thankful tonight for the little boys that chris and I have .... And I have this prayer for them. 

Building the Blaster Ball Court and Carrie comes to visit!!!

Chris is always dreaming up new fun activities for kids to play!  Last year it was the Lava Forest and the bouldering wall, this year it's the Blaster Ball area!  He just dreams up these visions and gets to work!  Here is the first base he built ... on this one, he cut and planed all the wood for it. 

I had Friday off, so I helped him a little...

Dinner on Friday was homemade pasta with Mikes pasta maker ... he got a different one from mine, so I really wanted to try it!  As you can see, we had a straggler come in at dinner time, and he is always hungry, so he got a bowl too. 

Friday afternoon was the best because Carrie made a surprise visit by ending her shift a bit early on the Coast Guard to get home to Ellie who has been sick for too long.  After dinner, Carrie says lets go for a walk!  So, YES!!!  I was sick of the camp loop, and since I never really have friends around that I like to walk with (aside from Amanda), I wanted to show her the new trail that was cut up the mountain!  Half way up, after I can feel her eyes boring into the back of my head as we climb, I hear her say "You know, when I said a walk, I didn't mean THIS! No wonder nobody ever walks with you twice!" - Which was vey inaccurate (people love walking with me!, well, maybe not Rachel), but still pretty hilarious .... So, we cut down the mountain and sat at Wild Side for awhile together.

Couldn't decide which shot I liked better....

I love my sister ... such a gift of a quick visit.

Thursday: Bus Passes, School Yards and Family Dinners!!

The boys got bus passes for the last 3 months of school.  I hadn't paid the crazy invoices for 2 years because the boys don't really ride the bus since I have to go into work anyways, but now that summer weather is here, I don't want to HAVE to go into town on Thursdays and Fridays to get them since I don't work those days.  So, I took a deep breath and went to the transportation office to clear things up.  Turns out we owed $520 for this year and last.  ($200 for last year, $320 for this)...when I told them my dilemma about the job and the boys not using the bus at all last year, they knocked off $200 from last year.  And then when I further explained that they haven't really used the bus this year either but we could really use it the last 3 months, I will still prepared to be forced to pay the $320, the lovely ladies said I could pay a pro-rated amount for the last 3 months!  I walked out of there only $96 poorer, rather than $520! And with some crazy bus passes in hand ... Thank you Elliot for your crazy eyes ... (hence why we did NOT purchase school pics this year!)

When I went to the school to drop off their passes, I saw Isaac right away in his red hat!  He plays YuGiOh these days with our doctors son Callum...Isaac was happy to see me, he scooped up his card and hung out with me for abit.  He pointed Elliot out right away....which I thought was sweet.

Elliot was hanging out with Liam ... both boys have also gotten into YuGiOh cards...

That afternoon was beautiful.  Adult Spring Adventure camp was on and here is Isaac doing the Hawaiian Dance lesson!

Part of the Hawaiian party that Chris put together was bowling  ... pineapples were the pins and coconuts were the bowling balls!  Here we are after, eating the bowling balls!!  Quinny wasn't sure about the coconut, but was still very interested in sharing it around!

I love this family .....

Everyone had a nametag with their Hawaiian name on it! (except Mel, as you can see above!)

Its been so fun watching this little girl grow up, mainly from facebook and pictures, so this summer will be great because I think Mel is planning on spending more time around here now that Q is a little older and not as dictated by her naps!