I am sooo glad that we are alive!!!

I did not take this picture, but this is a picture that displays a little bit of what we drove in last night ... except we had even less visibility and it was dark outside!!! Do you see the parts on the side of the picture that are COMPLETELY white? That is what our entire front wind shield looked like ... we could see NOTHING! But let me start at the beginning.

After an insanely busy week we were fortunate to have a very fun weekend. One of my Christmas presents this year were tickets to a dinner theater in town. We went with the Law's on Friday night and had a wonderful time. The show was very silly, but also very entertaining! It was about the pirates of the North Saskatchewan and the man who played "Captain Jack" was spot on! I seriously couldn't believe that he wasn't Johnny Depp, except that we were watching a dinner theater and I don't think Johnny would do anything like that now :-) At the end of the show they ask you to fill out comment cards which they then put into a raffle, which ... I WON!!! I never win anything and so it was a very exciting event for me! I won tickets to the next show.

(Irene this picture is for you ... I wanted you to see my outfit!!!)

Saturday we drove to Lethbridge to spend time with my cousin. It was a lovely relaxing day filled with the best manicotti I have ever eaten! WOW it was soo good! We then headed over to the main event, professional bull riding! It was very cool and very entertaining. One cowboy got trampled, but he walked away just fine. I really think that the guys who ride the bulls and the bull fighters (the clowns) are insane, but they make for a good show! Our seats were pretty close and it is truly crazy to see the size of these animals! The best ride of the night was also the guy who won! The bull was crazy and I couldn't believe that he actually stayed on that long. This sport really makes you realize just how long 8 seconds can be!

We of course headed home after that and hit the blizzard head on, in the middle of nowhere! I am normally the one who is freaking out in the passenger seat, but Justin is always very calm. Imagine how I reacted to my "really calm" husband totally freaking out because he had never driven in anything that bad before! I was so scared and I knew that my reaction was not helping the situation AT ALL so I called my dad, kept my eyes closed and just had him talk me through! I was convinced we were going to die right then and there in the middle of nowhere!!! The white wash continued until we were almost home, but we did indeed arrive safely.

Unfortunately the drive from hell almost tripled the time it should have taken to get home and it was also day light savings! With the time change we got home at 2:50am and were in bed by 3:06am. I had to be awake at 7:00am to finish the last details on my primary lesson for church and I had to arrive early so we could run through the piece I was playing before church started. I am happy to report that I played well and I think the lessons went well.

Needless to say I came home from church and as a family we all took a VERY long nap!!! It was lovely and I am so looking forward to a less hectic week ahead!

(I have pictures from the rodeo, but I can't find the cord to the camera and Justin is already asleep. I will load them tomorrow!)

Is the Doctor in???

Calgary Children's hospital neuromuscular clinic has a wonderful program that they have set up. About 3 times a year they gather all of the specialists to one place and set up you appointments to see all of them saving you A LOT of trips to the hospital. Today was that day and it was really important that we go, because we are still learning and this will be our first opportunity to meet with some of the specialists.

We arrived at the hospital at ten minutes to 9:00AM and left at 1:00PM. We saw 7 different specialists!!!! Evan was so good (I had treats) and was super cooperative for all of the doctors. It was a tiring day, but a very good day!

BUCKET LIST

My friend Kathy made a post about her bucket list and used this as a template of things that she would like to do. I have always loved the idea of a bucket list and maybe this will inspire me to sit down and write out some of the things that I still want to do. I like this list because it includes some really simple things, some that I have done and some I want to do. Maybe I will write a future post about my personal bucket list ... for now, here is this one.

Things you have done during your lifetime:

(X) Gone on a blind date (and it worked!!!!)

(X) Donated Blood (twice ... and that is a HUGE deal for me!)

(X) Skipped school

(X) Watched someone dying

(X) Been to Canada

(X) Been to Mexico

(X) Been to Florida (seriously want to go back!)

(X) Been to Hawaii

(X) Been on a plane

( ) Been on a helicopter

(X) Been lost

(X) Gone to Washington, DC (thanks for living there Heidi ;-)

( ) Hugged a homeless person

(X) Swam in the ocean

(X) Swam with Stingrays (this was THE single most coolest thing I have done in my life ... other than family stuff)

( ) Been sailing in the ocean (no, but I really want to)

(X) Cried yourself to sleep

(X) Played cops and robbers

(X) Recently colored with crayons (about an hour ago actually)

(X) Ran a 1/2 marathon (2 ... and hopefully I will run a full in May, that is DEFINITELY on my bucket list. I just need to fix my knee first!)

(X) Sang Karaoke

( ) Volunteered at a soup kitchen

(X) Paid for a meal with coins only

( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch

( ) Seen the Northern Lights (I REALLY want to see these)

( ) Been Parasailing

(X) Been on TV (not hard to do when you play with the BYU orchestra. I think I am on TV at least once a month.

(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t

(X) Made prank phone calls

(X) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose (you know, I haven't even seen this happen to anyone else ... I think it's a myth!)

( ) Fed an elephant

(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue

(X) Fired a gun

(X) Danced in the rain

(X) Been to the Opera (I'll top that ... I have played in many opera's)

(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus

(X) Serenaded someone

(X) Seen a U.S.President in person (Pres. Bush came to Gainesville, and we really weren't even that far away.

(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe (I think only by my dad ... I don't know if that counts)

(X) Watched the sunrise with someone

( ) Driven a race car

(X) Been to a National Museum

( ) Been to a Wax Museum

(X) Eaten caviar

(X) Blown bubbles

(X) Gone ice-skating

(X) Gone to the movies

( ) Been deep sea fishing

(X) Driven across the United States (Not in one trip, but definitely done it. San Diego to Utah and Utah to Florida. Road trips are GREAT!)

( ) Been in a hot air balloon (I actually really want to do this ... despite my insane fear of heights)

( ) Been sky diving (NEVER!)

( ) Gone snowmobiling

(X) Lived in more than one country

(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets

(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish

(X) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser

( ) Seen the Grand Canyon

(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty

( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle

(X) Been on a cruise (Best vacation EVER)

(X) Travelled by train (Every summer for 4 years with Mandy, one year we drove and got lost in East LA ...scary)

(X) Travelled by motorcycle

(X) Been horseback riding (I am actually scared of riding horses)

( ) Ridden on a San Francisco cable car

(X) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World (Both! I went to disneyland about every year growing up and we had passes to Disney World when we lived there ... man I miss that!!!!!)

(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer

( ) Been in a rain forest

( ) Seen whales in the ocean (I have been whale watching sooo many times and have actually never seen a whale. Lots of dolphins and seals in my life, but no whale)

( ) Been to Niagra Falls

(X) Ridden on an elephant

( ) Swam with dolphins

(X) Been to the Olympics (the only good part about one of my former relationships)

( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China (I want to visit the wall someday, but I HAVE been to China ... so that is a start)

( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf (not yet, but hopefully when Justin takes me to Argentina)

( ) Been spinnaker flying

(X) Been water-skiing (I got up my first time! I LOVE water-skiing)

(X) Been snow-skiing

( ) Been to Westminster Abbey

( ) Been to the Louvre

( ) Swam in the Mediterranean

(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game (San Diego Padres!)

(X) Been to a National Football League game (I played in the San Diego Chargers game ... oh yeah, we beat the Raiders!)

( ) Swam with sharks

( ) Been White Water Rafting

( ) Written a book or screen play

Thats it for now ... can't wait to hear what some of you want to do.

Gratitude

All day I have had one major thing on my mind and that is how grateful I am for my life. I definitely have my own "issues", struggles, and challenges but I have been blessed. During a time where so many are losing jobs and even their homes I have the luxury of being able to begin decorating how I have wanted to the last 9 months. It may be insanely cold right now, but I have a husband who doesn't complain when I turn up the thermostat. I am a mother!!!!! Not only am I a mother, but I get to be Evan's mom!!!!!! And last I am Justin's wife, and that is just the neatest thing sometimes.

Sometimes I have a hard time getting out of my own head of negative thinking, but right now I am filled with Gratitude for what Heavenly Father has given me!!!

Elbow Falls

Today Evan was feeling a lot better and I was starting to improve. We decided to take advantage of Daddy being home today and had a little adventure. When we lived in Florida it was easy for me to get out and experience things because it is all the stuff that comes naturally to me and I know where to go. (Springs, Beach, Pool, Sink Hole, Gator Hunting, Disney World etc.) Here, on the other hand, it is cold and I know nothing about the mountains or anything around here.

I think Justin was beginning to realize that I needed to get out and "explore" the natural beauty that southern Alberta holds. We started out the adventure with swim therapy and then had a lovely lunch at the in-laws restaurant. From the restaurant we drove to Elbow Falls. It was cold, but it was beautiful! This is where Calgary gets all of our drinking water. The signs said that in the early spring when the snow is melting the falls could fill an Olympic size pool in 30 seconds. What you see right now could fill the same thing in 50 minutes. I totally want to go back in the spring!

Now when we tell Evan to "smile big" he does this crazy cheesy smile! Can you get any cuter???

SICK

We took Evan to the Doctor yesterday because for a day and a half he was really sick. Usually I am an extremely lucky girl and avoid catching the bugs that I am exposed to. Unfortunately that was NOT my luck this time around. Evan and I have spent the whole day looking and feeling like this together.

Yes it is insane!

I agree with all of you! Why on earth would anyone in their right mind go running in that??? It is amazing what the right clothing will do for you though.

This last Saturday I headed out with two of my friends and we went for a run in -13F' weather. Honestly, and I can't believe I am going to say this, it wasn't that bad! The last time we went out I noticed everyone had on windbreaker stuff and I thought to myself "that must be the key". So I headed out and got head to toe windbreaker. It totally worked! I wasn't cold ... again, I know it sounds strange, but would I lie?

The next thing was how to take Evan out. I had seen these covers a couple times, so I got one and bundled him up inside. He fell asleep so I am assuming it wasn't so bad inside the stroller. It was like his very own sun room :-)

Thanks Becka and Christie for making me go out!