- 'cause it's the simplest thing - *

did you notice that happiness happens less the more often you stop to find where it's been hiding

of all the days we've got we should be screaming out...
of all the days we've got we should be singing..











we're just minding our business instead of minding our minds
in times when the storms will ravage your clothes,
the sound and the color could render you blind
and the throes of a nightmare can sing you to sleep
then some foreign machine wakes you up at a mean hour
but heaven is there, it's under your hair,
it hides in the noon noise way up in the air

* * there is beauty in simplicity - -

Woo it's Friday! 
This week has been pretty busy. I've been dogsitting a dog named Jackson, as well as walking a dog every evening this week. On Tuesday Brittany and I helped our friend Kelsey move. It was actually a lot of fun! We got her entire room packed up and into our vehicles within an hour! We drank wine as we unpacked at her new place and went out for sushi afterwards. It was a little sentimental. We took one last picture together in her empty bedroom and hugged eachother. Yes, I know it sounds lame, but so many nights were spent in that basement. Means a lot to all of us.
Wednesday Christina and I had a dog training session. It went pretty well and was over super quick. She accompanied me on my evening walk with the pups and then we later grabbed dinner at Red Robins, which was a lot of fun! Had some freckled lemonade and cesears and reminisced about younger days and high school. Lots of memories with that red head! <3

Just happy today is Friday. I don't really get to relax as I will still be dog sitting as well as walking a dog in the evening until Monday. But it's still nice to not have to worry about work for awhile.
Supposed to be possibly grabbing breakfast with friends with weekend and going to our friend's campsite up in chilliwack - but with this rain I don't know if that will end up working out as sitting around the fire was the plan for the evening haha.

Last night I finished a movie called Into the Wild.
Okay, let me just say, if you have not seen this movie, then you should. It's quite long and a little slow in parts. But if your up for it, please give it a try. It's based on a true story and the scenery and quotes throughout are just amazing. I even teared up a bit! Was not ready for the end of the movie as I have never heard about this guy before so I didn't know how it would end, but still amazing.

Can't believe it's almost September. Where did the time go ? I love fall and I'm super excited for Halloween and pumpkin spiced things and baking and comfy clothes, but, I always get a little sad as that warm sun starts to disappear. Never seems like we get enough of it.

my thoughts on life

Holy shit if I could put my thoughts into fancy sounding words...
Love this so much. It's so true.

Oh lazy days

Sunday was a good day. Pretty lazy but after the wedding on Saturday we were pretty beat! 
I picked up Jackson early in the morning and hungout with my folks for a bit. We took the pups through tynehead park and then relaxed at home afterward. I did some laundry and packed up a few of my things to take over to the apartment.
After I got to Ryan's we took the dogs for a drive down to the river and just sat by the water together while the dogs wandered around. It was great.
We later headed to Mark's parents house where we spent most of the afternoon. 
After we got home we relaxed watching T.V and I went to bed pretty early as I had to be up at 5am for work.
I miss the weekend already. But next weekend is a long weekend and then a short week and then Ryan and I are off either camping somewhere totally random or making this the weekend we will go and visit Sandra at one of her cabins. 
I feel like I've done so much this summer of things that I wanted to do. 4 trips already and two more planned. Lots of fishing and hiking and just relaxing. Looking forward to fall and all the salmon fishing as well. Gonna be good :)  

 

This morning before my drive to work I stopped at one of my favorite spots in Fort Langley. It's my favorite spot because of foggy mornings like this!

"I'll love you forever as the man you are and not who I want you to be." - Mrs. Julie Wengranowski

Ok, so, I had an amazing time at Mark and Julie's wedding. In fact, the entire day was amazing. 
I woke up super early because I had to drop off a dog that I was sitting which gave me lots of time to get ready !
We headed to Mark's parents house at around 11am. I love going there. They are such an amazing family and your always taken care of when you go. 
People were hanging out by the pool and having breakfast on the porch. Mark's mom, Jane, asked if we were hungry and even tho we said "no thank you!" we were still brought out eggs and toast and drinks and after a couple hours a delicious salmon sandwich! 

I love their house. They have a huge wrap around porch and because their property is so large no matter where you sit all you see is fields upon fields of horses and farm life.

Jane's family had flew in from England and were there hanging around as well.
I ended up falling in love with all of them! They were all so funny and welcoming and talkative. One of my favorite things to do was to just sit there and listen to them talk. Even made really good friends with two of the daughters and we even became facebook friends...pretty serious hey? haha
After hanging out with everyone it was time for the men to get changed! All James, the best man, could talk about was how nervous he was for his speech, which he ended up doing so well with!
The boys looked so handsome. 
Mark was shaking all morning but when he saw Julie he seemed to calm right down and start having fun!
Julie looked amazing. Her dress was beyond beautiful. She made a gorgeous bride. Mark is a very lucky man. 

As we were getting ready to head out, I walked towards my car to drive to the golf course when Mark's dad yelled at me "What the hell do you think your doing?! Your family now get over here!"
So I got to ride in the massive fancy bus limo! Champagne was pouring and even Mark's grandma tried to some dancing around the pole on the bus!! We were all tearing up from laughing so hard.
As we arrived we had some to waste, so we got our free wine and made our way around the room. Ryan's friends were there which was awesome cause we haven't seen them in such a long time. 

Not before too long the ceremony started. I was seated in the third row from the front which was super cool. The boys and girls and bride and groom looked amazing. Lots of laughs and tears.

Afterward it was time for photos and then into the reception! I got to sit with Jonus and Ian and Stephanie. Let's just say it was the loudest and best table in the whole room haha.
Dinner was delicious. I ate way too much food.
Ryan ended up being asked to give a speech two hours before it! He winged it and it turned out fantastic. He told a story about him and Mark when they were 15 which had everyone laughing. He did such an awesome job. 

Spent the rest of the night dancing, drinking, taking pictures, and hanging out with friends.
All of the people there were so awesome. Ryan's friends are all super nice and just keep you laughing. Even Sandra and her husband came down from Bolean lake! It was cool to see her and talk about how we'll be seeing her at the cabin next month!
All in all a great night.

My friend Jordan picked me and Ryan up at the end of the night. We were invited back over to Mark's parents house to stay the night but since we had the dog we figured it would be better to head back home and get a good nights rest and to go over for breakfast the next morning. 

"We turned out okay!.....didn't we?" Haha

Just got home from a wonderful dinner at sushi with my beyond amazing friend Brittany <3

It's been far too long since I've seen her and tonight was much needed. Good god I love this girl. Spent the evening laughing, tearing up, and talking about some serious shit haha. I think we were there so long that the sushi restaurant was getting impatient and wanting us to leave haha.
So happy this girl is home. 
We made some awesome plans for the upcomming months and I'm super stoked for them. Let the fun begin!

Our list - -

So excited to do these! We may not be able to fit all these in before fall gets here but next summer we will definitely be finishing the list. I may also need to get a little more fitness in before we do the super long and intense ones haha. But we're doing them! One way or another.
PS, the Vancouvertrails website is a super awesome website that you should all check out. It shows the length of time and difficulty and even directions for a lot of hikes around the Vancouver area.

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/wedgemount-lake/
WEDGEMOUNT LAKE

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/the-lions-binkert-trail/
THE LIONS BINKERT TRAIL

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/mount-seymour/
MOUNT SEYMOUR

http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Crown-Mtn-Lynn-Headwaters-Re-near-Vancouver-BC-269
CROWN MOUNTAIN

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/sendero-diez-vistas/
SENDERO DIEZ VISTAS

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/garibaldi-lake/
GARIBALDI LAKE

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/mount-cheam/
MOUNT CHEAM

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/st-mark%27s-summit/
ST.MARK'S SUMMIT

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/stawamus-chief/
THE CHIEF!

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/lindeman-lake/
LINDEMAN!

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/admiralty-point/
ADMIRALTY POINT

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/alice-lake/
ALICE LAKE

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/ancient-cedars-trail/
ANCIENT CEDARS TRAIL

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/blackcomb-meadows/
BLACKCOMB MEADOWS

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/brohm-lake/
BROHM LAKE

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/brothers-creek-loop/
BROTHERS CREEK LOOP

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/eagle-bluffs/
EAGLE'S BLUFFS

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/elk-mountain/
ELK MOUNTAIN

http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/high-falls-creek/
HIGH FALLS CREEK


http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/petgill-lake/
PETGILL LAKE

We rise by lifting others - -

 Forgot how good it felt. Pay it forward people!

Adore

"Sometimes I wake up and pinch myself. Getting to spend days on the river with someone I adore can at times feel a little unreal.
I never in a million years guessed I would find someone who captivates me both on the water and at home. One of the most eloquent speakers and talented casters I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. He never ceases to amaze me. What can I say? I'm a lucky girl I guess." 

Horses and veggies!

The past couple of days have been pretty hectic and wonderful all at the same time. 
Saturday Ryan and I pretty much relaxed as he was pretty beat from traveling home on Friday. It's so nice to have him home. We worked on the apartment and went for a walk together and watched the new Hobbit movie. Which is amazing by the way.
Sunday morning I went horseback riding with a couple friends. It was wonderful. I've been riding the horses at Ryan's friend's house recently a few times, but I miss doing trail rides. It was a lot of fun and I'm happy I went.
That afternoon I went to Walmart and spent a little more than I should have. But I can't help it! That store is dangerous. We did some more work on the apartment and then spent most of late afternoon outside in the field throwing the ball for a dog that I'm dog sitting at the moment. 
The veggies in my garden are still doing fantastic! I even got a tomato off my plant, finally! And a poop ton of Zucchini. Had to give some away cause I just didn't know what to do with all of them! Made a delicious dinner with my home grown veggies. I'm going to miss it in the winter. 

Things you over hear

Random guy: "how are you?"

Other random guy: "Well, better than some but not as good as most."

Don't know why but that made me smile! Maybe I'll try and use it one day :) 

ZBB

I don't think there is a song that I've listened to by Zac Brown Band and thought "I don't like it."
I love them to pieces and no matter what the weather or what mood I'm in, they always have a song that fits perfectly.
I recently downloaded some new stuff that I had never heard before and ,obviously, I love them. There's a couple that I just want to have written down on here because I love the lyrics and the messages so much.

 











"A part of dawn to be ashamed of,
But good people are supposed to be up.
But I found peace with the path I took,
As I lay down my head.
Crossroads you gotta choose,
Which way do we win or lose.
But every bone in my soul says I sing on through.
Cause I believe that I,
Was born with a song inside of me.
Never question why,
I just keep on singing these melodies. And as time goes by,
Its funny how time can make you realize,
We're running out of it."

"I feel the change
Goin' on all around me
It's strange
How I'm taken and guided
Where I end up right I'm needed to be

Quiet your mind
Soak it all in
It's a game you can't win
Enjoy the ride

At the end of the water
A red sun is risin'
And the stars are all goin' away
And if you're too busy talkin'
You're not busy listenin'
To hear what the land has to say

Quiet your mind"
 

"All I need is you and me, you're the melody that drives me crazy"

Boyfriend is away in the Queen Charleottes.
I'm so incredibly excited for him and no one deserves it more. I love this guy so much and I've never been happier. No one else has understood my crazy ways or beliefs like this guy does. He's supportive in every way and will drop everything to help anyone. Our life that we have planned together will be full of adventure <3 I couldn't imagine it with anyone else and I look forward to each and every day we get to spend together. 

R.I.P Robin

 

Deeply saddened by the news of Robin William's passing. Grew up watching his movies. Mrs. Doubtfire will always be a favourite of mine along with Dead Poets Society.   

- - "Genie, Your Free."- -

- - stay wild at heart *

"I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery.
Air. Mountains. Trees. People.
I thought:
This is what it is to be happy."



- -

so much

I am in love with my life.

Can't imagine being more happy than I am right now. I feel so lucky <3

R.I.P Aunt Joan

Today was my aunt Joan's funeral.
It was held at a beautiful cemetary in Burnaby followed by a lunch afterward at The Hart House restaurant. 
I first heard of her passing when I returned from my holiday in Pender. It was quite a shock for everyone. She had cancer and didn't tell anyone.
We were never really that close. My family and her side of the family never really got together. In fact, we met her daughter maybe a couple times at the most? So today I got to meet a bunch of family that I had never met before. It was pretty cool but also a tad overwhelming. So many years of hearing stories about these people and finally I meet them at such an unfortunate event. 
I do have many memories of my aunt Joan and Uncle Bill. They were at many birthday parties up until I was about 11 years old. Then my uncle Bill passed away and Joan never really came around anymore. But I did go to Christina Lake one year with her and it was a pretty great time. Her daughter even made a point to come over to me today and tell me about how Joan always talked about that trip and how much fun she had and how she wished she could go again.
I ended up chatting with her daughter for most of the day. Learned a lot about Joan that I didn't know. Like her love for gardening and fishing and dogs and how she was a Judge for many years! Super cool.

As the ceremony started I began to get super emotional. As terrible as it sounds I didn't think I would get too upset as we weren't that close. But hearing the kind words that were spoken and having memories come back really started to get to me. Thinking of my aunt Pat as well was super hard as tomorrow would be her 70th birthday. 

The restaurant we went to was located at Deer Lake in Burnaby. It was called the Hart House. It was absolutley beautiful and the food was delicious.

It was a rough day in general. There were some good moments but mainly it was just sad.
One of the things that made me smile and helped me through was the one moment I looked down at my phone and saw a text message from my friend Kelsey:

" Thinking of you today :) xx "

I don't think she understands how amazing of a person she is. Recieving that message meant so much to me <3 I'm extremely lucky to have such a special person like her in my life. 

My aunt and uncle from Christina Lake were down for it and after it was done they came back to our house and visited for awhile which was nice.
After dinner I took the long way to Ryan's house and drove past Joan's place. Just my way of saying goodbye. I could see that they weren't lying when they said she had a love for gardneing. Her yard was beautiful. Made me sad to think how it won't get taken care of as much anymore. Drove through Derby Reach just as the sun was setting. It was a good way to end the day.