July, Jenn, Joyous

Life has been a bit too crazy to blog lately. It is our busy time at work and there have been a lot of really long days and long stretches. But, funny enough, when I look at my photos, I've done a lot this summer so far..  Work hard. Play hard. 

That being said, here's a few highlights from July!

 My mom and aunt came to visit for four days. Explored Montreal and Quebec City and hung out at Capernwray a bit.

Became better friends with Marie-Helene as she joined my mom, aunt and I. I'm always thankful for different meetings with people that take you to a place of having deeper connections. I'm thankful for the moments and friendships that make life richer. :)

Have enjoyed many absolutely stunning sunsets. Although I am always thankful for rain. Haven't had much this summer. Has been very humid with a lot of heat. A lot of days of 32, feels like 40. 

 Went to Calgary for Dave and Jenn's wedding. I was a student at Capernwray with Jenn and Dave and so it has been so neat to watch their relationship grow and now to see them get married and celebrate their day with them.

 One bonus was all the Capernwray people at the wedding. How fun to see people I hadn't seen in about 8 years or so. Great to catch up with them and see where life has brought them. Also was priveleged to MC at the wedding. My first job as a wedding MC and I quite enjoyed it!

 Was thankful to connect with students from the past and students from this past year.

 My cousins just moved to Calgary as well, so I loved being able to see their new place and see them and their kids! :)

 My friends Tim and Cyndi were in Quebec, so I was thankful to be able to connect with them in Montreal and when they came up to Capes for the evening. I love it when friends come to visit! (hint hint..)

 I also love Montreal in the summer. It changes. (Obviously as it is difficult to be the same when it's -30 outside...)  One of my favourite things is the purple street (not called that, but I like to call it so). They close it down for the summer and it's a pedestrian only area. Fantastic!

And fireworks! I used to think I didn't like fireworks, but so far I'm loving them in Montreal. Kind of like Symphony of Fire. Montreal's fireworks are the largest pyrotechnic production in North America. They have nine fireworks nights in the summer. Been to two so far and hope to go to a couple more! They even close one of the main bridges down and you can go up on the bridge and watch from there. Incredible view!

 

 I have loved hanging out with the staff this summer as well!  So fun to get to know them all and work alongside them too.

 Discovered the most amazing glow in the dark mini golf course ever.

 My friend Carlee came to visit for three days! 

 One of my favourite parks in Montreal, Park Lafontaine. Great place to relax and people watch!

 Not totally a highlight, but part of July was my vehicle getting broken into while in montreal. boo. A large hassle with insurance but it is all being fixed so that's good and not too many things got stolen (I always wonder at the logic behind what they take and what they don't...

 Went to La Ronde, Montreal's Six Flags amusement park.

 Mount Royal has a colony of very friendly raccoons.. We counted about 10.

 Love Old Port Montreal... fun to wander around and even better to see how they are lit up at night!

 St. Joseph's Oratory, one of my favourite spots to go in Montreal.

 Lately I've been enjoying taking fun, artistic photos which i haven't done in a while. Need to carve time out to do it more often!

Below is the church where Celine Dion got married. Also a favourite spot in Montreal because it's so stunning!

So that's been July. A trip to Calgary. Family visiting. Friends visiting. Working a ridiculous amount. And not sleeping much apparently. Looking forward to my next visitor arriving tomorrow!  Stay tuned for more posts (and by more posts, I mean, wait a month and maybe I'll show you some pictures I took in August...)

Beaches, Babies, Byes

Where have I been?
I'm still alive! Many of you might be wondering where in the world I have been and why I haven't been blogging. I think about my blog and blogging land every once in a while but the last two months have been insanity. But insanity that is packed with fun adventures, good friends and lots of laughing and learning!  So, rather than post a million posts to catch you up, I will give you a very short run down with photos as to my whereabouts over the last little while...

Turks and Caicos.

End of April, my mom, my friend Lindie and I went to Turks and Caicos for the most fabulous nine day holiday. It was pure paradise with pristine sandy beaches and so much to discover. We had a rental car and explored the entire island and some of the other islands that we had to go to by ferry. The trip was the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure!

On many different planes. In the photo about, you can see Niagara Falls!

Diving for starfish and conch shells.

The waters in T & C were amazing!  So much to see and beautiful coral reefs!  One day we dove for conch shells and then ate the conch for lunch! So tasty!

Enjoying Quebec Culture at Cirque de Soleil with the students.

Amaluna just had its world premiere in Old Port of Montreal and it was fantastic!

Eating Sushi...

Enjoying visits in the office from this little one and her sister in between work. 

Enjoying our amazing spring and summer weather.

Never before have I had the anticipation and excitement for spring as I did this year. The winter wasn't so great and so the promise of new life was wonderful. 

Hanging out with our students. 

Wonderful people. Lots of fun. Lots of great conversations.

Saying Goodbye to this family who left in May to go work and live at Capernwray Harbour in BC.

Hanging out with some of my co-workers

Performing amazing things in our talent show.

Taking photos of students.

(this photo doesn't totally sum up the year but I think it's hilarious)

Planting friendship trees and making memories. 

(what's a friendship tree you ask? well, you plant a tree with a friend i guess? and hope it doesn't die... because i dont' know what that would say about your friendship..)

 Washington, D.C. 

Yes, I'm crazy and did a three day roadtrip to D.C. to see how much American history I didn't know. (turned out it was a lot). Visited the Smithsonian and lots of other cool places. Such a great city!

 Intercourse, Pennsylvania...

Okay, one of the highlights of my roaddtrip to DC. I have always wanted to go there and take a picture with the sign, because it's funny. The town did not disappoint-it in fact exceeded my expectations and was quite a lovely place to visit!

The Capitol building.

(which upon entering Washington in the wee hours of the morning, my roommate proclaims "Look! It's the White House!!" Ten seconds later, "Oops.. nope, that's the Capitol building"... turns out she had a bit of trouble identifying the white house later on due to the number of white buildings that were around us...)

Enjoying taking pictures.

Visiting the White House.

Enjoying the company of many women at our English Ladies' Retreat and our French Ladies' Retreat. 

So great to connect with so many women from around Quebec!  I can't wait for next year!

Playing with some of my favorite kids in Saskatchewan.

 Being awakened in the wee hours of the morning by above mentioned favorite kids.

Playing with my niece and nephew, and meeting my new niece!!  

Yay for newborn snuggles!!

And now I'm back in Quebec. Bible School is over and we're full into the swing of conferencing season. Enjoying summer and looking forward to going to Calgary in a few weeks and enjoying visit from good friends over the next couple months!  Stay tuned for more updates (in about a month or two... hahaha)