Where Alberta Girls Play Hard - Part 2

July 13, 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY GIRLFRIEND!

Dragged our sorry butt’s out of bed this morning to attend my modeling debut, aka Kim’s presentation on some of the E.coli work we’ve done. Afterwards, we tried…we really did…to take in more of the conference, but we were exhausted. We went back to the hotel and crashed.

For her birthday Michelle wanted to take some photographs downtown, and she wanted Italian. So later that afternoon we headed out, camera’s in tow.

We toured around and stopped at Coyote Ugly to buy a couple of souvenir T-shirts ;). Then we tracked down this amazing little restaurant that makes its own pasta and cheese. I had ravioli and Michelle had another pasta dish…it was to die for.

Even with our afternoon nap, these Alberta girls were still played out; I’m STILL a little ashamed to admit we called it an early night.

July 14, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERRY!

Feeling a little rested we headed to the conference this morning to meet with Michelle’s master’s supervisor, Karen. For breakfast we had crepes…yummo! It was good to chat with Karen, she is ‘the’ animal welfare scientist here in Lethbridge…its all work I’m very interested in, and its future is so big!

Temple Grandin was scheduled to speak that afternoon and I was determined to catch it, so while I listened to her, Michelle went to a Livestock Transport session. It’s a well known fact that Temple has autism and I was super curious to see how she presented herself…I found her quite funny! Its mind-boggling the amount of reading that woman does, and how much she retains.

I was able to catch Karen’s presentation on cattle transport. Although I helped collect some of the data, and am fairly familiar with the work she was talking about, it was really neat to see it compiled and presented.

I also got to attend Cheryl Morris-Dikeman speech about enriching our pet’s lives. Little did I know she trains agility dogs and actually competes at a national level. Was a very interesting seminar…I am glad I caught it, and wish I’d had time to talk to her after.

That night was the awards banquet for the Canadian Society for Animal Science. We got to chat with some familiar faces and a few new people as well. And the food was fantastic! Later we headed out with a couple co-workers to find a place to ‘celebrate’. We played some pool and some beer pong, fine tuned our line-dancing skills and in the end we shut the playground down…it was a fabulously fun time.

July 15, 2010
I woke up to find Michelle had put her contacts in with mine. Awwww.

It was time to start heading back to Canada...I was sad. On our way out of Denver we found this...

I’m not trying to make a political statement here…but it kinda hurt my feelings!

Left Turn navigated us the Coors factory which we ‘toured’ M&J style. Unfortunately I was driving, and I’ve turned into somewhat of a light-weight…so I didn’t get to enjoy my samples.

Would LOVE to work in this lab;).

Next stop was a western store where Michelle found a to-die for pair of cowboy boots (watch for them later!!!).

So we are driving along, minding our own business, when out of no-where a Budweiser factory pops up…my girlfriend very kindly let me stop. Left Turn, on the other hand, was not so pleased with this turn of events.

A co-worker/friend of mine is in the process of moving to the ranch her husband now manages in Lander, and she had offered us accommodations for the night, so after the factory we raced across Wyoming so as not to be bad company.

The Red Canyon Ranch is absolutely beautiful. I believe it’s actually a state-owned nature conservancy of ~60,000 unfenced acres. It hurts my brain to think about how big that is. The farm house is historic, and although it has had some updating, plenty of charm remains. I had a great visit with Emily & Bob; it was neat to talk to them about the ranch, about school, agriculture, etc. And of course there was some girl chat too lol!

July 16, 2010
Big day today...Yellowstone National Park in a day! We called it our quick & dirty visit. Drove in from the south and stopped to photograph some water falls.

Next stop was Old Faithful…which we timed it perfectly. We walked up, she did her thing, took a few pictures, and walked back to our car.

My navigator (not Left Turn!) decided we should check out this Canyon Village area…so we did. And I am so glad. It was beautiful. One stop was called Inspiration Point…and it really was inspiring.

By this time we were sort of in a rush…the plan was little red dress night in Bozeman, Montana! We arrived with just enough time to check ourselves into a seedy little motel, primp and prep ourselves into our dresses, and do a quick photo-shoot in the remaining light. Only a few people stared at a couple gals in red dresses lying in a weed field in Bozeman, Montana.

I absolutely hate to write this…but it just wasn’t my night. And I think that’s enough of that.

July 17, 2010
My girlfriend…she just blows me away. I woke up to a latte and breakfast. I heart her more than I can write.

We had scoped out a few stores during our walk the night before…so that morning we did the last of our shopping at pet and western stores. When we’d finally blown the bank we raced across Montana in an effort to make it back to Canada for a modified race and a Miranda Lambert concert.

I can honestly say I’ve never had a trip like that.  I'm not sure I ever will again...some things just seem to be once in a lifetime experiences.  I've been fortunate enough to have several of those this summer...hopefully I have many more to look forward too;).

Where Alberta Girls Play Hard - Part 1

First off...I know some of my family have been wondering how my recovery is going...I'd say its been colorful! This was a couple days ago...today its mostly John Deere colors. I can live with that:)


I've really debated posting more about Denver...it sort of seems like a 'had to be there' deal. We DID write a trip log…its 8 typed pages long…and the first edition left my mom a little speechless. In the end I decided that NOT blogging at least some of it would be to leave one of the funnest weeks of my life off my 'journal'...so I compromised and this will be the sweetened-condensed version ;).

July 8, 2010
As usual we were running, Michelle showed up and we had 15 minutes to throw my stuff in the car and get across town to drop Mack off at his sitter’s.

After that it was off to the border! Let’s just say we hadn’t seen each other since May, we had A LOT of girl talk to catch up on:)!

The border…well Michelle gets “chatty” when she’s nervous, I was pretty sure we were going to get strip searched…we just HAD to tell them how we were taking pictures at the border. That’s a no-no. The border guards were also a little worried for us when they saw ALL the service lights in Shelley’s car were on. Somehow we convinced them we weren’t a risk to national security and they let us through. We rocked on to Great Falls where we spent the night.


July 9, 2010
Woke up hungry…needed some toast STAT!

We weren’t in a rush, only had to make it to Denver by Saturday noon, so we drove, and we shopped, and then we drove some more. Michelle slept…or so she said, she was awake enough to laugh at what a bad singer I am!

We were pretty torn over what we should do that night. Michelle had her heart set on playing in Wyoming; however we also had an invite to a stockyard party in Greeley, Colorado via text. Finally we (very wisely) decided to stay in Wyoming. We rented a room in a motel across the street from our playground of choice; coincidentally it was the last room…it was almost like it was meant to be! We got ourselves cleaned up…and proceeded to show Cheyenne, Wyoming that Alberta girls really do have more fun ;). Although did you know American chicks line-dance? I’m STILL impressed.

July 10, 2010
We woke up giggling at our adventures. It was awesome!

Denver bound...little did we know that Left Turn (aka. the GPS) was set to avoid freeways, we were following the directions and suddenly we are cruising through suburban Denver. I might of…ok I did get a little cranky because it didn’t feel right…and sure enough guess where we ended up? Back on the freeway!

We made it to the hotel, got ready for our white water rafting trip and headed to the meeting place. It would have been handy if Left Turn could give us directions to the nearest parking. Caught the bus and passed the trip to the rafting location by chatting with the tour guide and deciding we should start introducing ourselves as “Al” and “Berta”. The rafting trip…well it just didn’t really cut it for this adrenaline junkie…but we made best of it lol!

That night we attended a student mixer at a lounge in downtown Denver. Turned out from the rooftop patio we could see the Coors Stadium where the Rockies were playing…in was really beautiful in the evening light. The organizer of the mixer had also hired a couple of country dance instructors to give lessons to those who wanted. They were fantastic dancers, never seen anything like it!

After the mixer, we decided to practise our moves at an establishment next door where we continued to mingle and met this 43 year old grandma who I seriously thought was my age. She was from Greeley where they ‘kill cows’. Still giggling about that one.

July 11, 2010
Michelle woke up feeling like hell this morning, I felt fantastic…even showed her my new ‘line dancing’ moves. I think she wanted to kill me.

We headed to the conference center to register, grabbed our conference packages and decided to do a little downtown touring. We ended up at this awesome pet store where I was able to get the collar I wanted for Neena. SO excited!

Stopped for lunch at this burger place…was delicious! Later we took in a movie (Grown Ups) and some shuffleboard at a David & Buster’s. Us gals are surprisingly good at shuffle board…

July 12, 2010
This morning Michelle let me sleep (left me a love note saying she couldn’t wake my “pretty face”) and headed to the conference to present her poster. Temple Grandin stopped to talk to her about her research…pretty cool!

Plan A that night was…well it’s a super long story…essentially we crashed an alumni event and got accused of ‘browsing’. It was both VERY embarrassing and VERY funny. And to top it off, for a door prize we won Texas A&M POULTRY tee’s…*nose wrinkle*.

So instead…as Michelle puts it, we “took in the Coyote Ugly Saloon in Denver, Colorado, United States of America”.

The night started out kind of slow…at one point Michelle wanted to leave…I convinced her we just had to “ride it out”. And we did. Alberta Girl Style!!!

On a side note…this is how sheltered my little life has been…until this trip, I had no clue what beer pong was. Fun game…especially when you have a gal pal who will always bail you out!

To Be Continued....

Busy!!!!

I'm going to try to post more about Denver later, its just been crazy busy since I got back!

Sherry was down last week, we managed to sneak in a visit which included milkshakes from the Vauxhall Wendy's and a couple hours at Mom's lot at the lake.  Dylan is growing and changing so fast, and holy has the little man ever filled out in a hurry.  And he learned how to smile!

Always got to have a token feet shot...before we know it they won't be so cute anymore;).

Dylan is such a good big brother, although sometimes its hard to remember he's just a little guy himself.  He's quite the little monkey, I couldn't believe the positions he navigated himself in and out of. 

And this picture just made me laugh...

I love this picture, Sherry is such a good mom.  When I first downloaded this picture I had a moment of, man...that's my childhood friend with her second baby.  Wow!  And then I couldn't help but notice just how in love she is with that little guy.  So sweet.

The visits are never long enough...but I try to treasure every moment!

On another note...last weekend was Family Quadding & Camping Trip 2010.  I thought for sure I was going to miss it while I was in Denver so was SO excited when it turned out I could make it.  When I finally get all my pictures edited I'll post them...some are VERY funny.  And overall the trip was super fun...except for this...

...and this...

...and of course there were aches and bruises that weren't exactly photographable.

I finally did it...after riding quads for 23ish years and Friday I rolled my first full size quad.  I'll tell the full story later...but for now I'm very glad that I didn't break my neck or my leg...I very easily could have.  Good news is I'm pretty sure I added a few gray hairs to Mom & Dustin's heads...I like to do that as often as possible lol!   

Inspiration Point

Its been over a year since I started my blog, I was just talking with my brother and his girlfriend on Sunday...they finally checked it out and were a little suprised how much I share here.  I guess I know just how much I don't share...but when I read back, what I've posted reminds me of what I haven't.  I always wanted this to be a record of my life...and if just once in my blogging lifetime, a post I write touches someone in a way that makes a difference...sharing all this will be worth it.

So...first of all I know I'm tired (entirely self-induced, more later!), and I learned a long time ago that I get emotional when I'm tired...and this winter I learned I'm wordy.  I suspect I might get a little both today lol...but I need to write this down before I forget.

I've always been a runner.  Not the type that I want to be...the kind that I'm ashamed to be.  I think I can handle a lot, but eventually I hit this point where the situation or circumstance gets too much...and I run away.  I've run to a racetrack in Cutbank, I've run to Abbotsford,

Snohomish, Calgary, and last week I ran all the way to Denver.  I'm a coward.

It was never planned to be a great escape...the beautiful, ambitious girl and I had schemed this trip up a long time ago.  But that's what it ended up being...and it was such a relief to leave Alberta.  I hate that.  I love this province.  And for the most part I love my life.  But there are some parts of my life that paralyze me.  I hate to be weak.  I hate when I let myself become stagnant, and clip my own darn wings.  Hate. Hate. Hate.  Oh ya, and I hate that I hate.

So that's my confession for 2010.  Regardless of my cowardly ways, the trip was good for me.  We attended a major animal science conference where I got to see Temple Grandin speak...that was pretty neat.  Also went to a companion animal enrichment talk given by Cheryl Morris an agility instructor from the US which gave me some new idea's for Neena...super cool to run into that type of topic at an animal science seminar!  It was absolutely mind-boggling, and motivating, to realize how much more I can be doing for my career.  The possibilities are endless, and I've become very lazy.  So Denver Trip 2010 Life Lesson #1 was a reminder to work hard. 

Denver Trip 2010 Life Lesson #2 was to play hard.  And I did LOL!  More on that later.

That made Inspiration Point, Yellowstone National Park, Denver Trip 2010 Life Lesson #3. 

 

 I know this pictures is underwhelming...but this photograph and the moment it reminds me of have richer meaning for me.  Its a feeling, a culmination of days of (sometimes lol) meaningful girl-talk, a seminar, a few life experiences, a bit of quiet Jen time, and some space from the real world.  Its not easy to describe...but its something like this...I've got the world in the palm of my hand right now...if I'm not careful I'll let it slip right through my fingers and all the pain I've caused, all the pain I've felt, will be for nothing.

Granted the first thing I did when I returned to Alberta was create a MONSTROUS McFlurry (inside joke) out of a situation I've been having absolutely no success getting right.  *Sigh*

But I've got a new plan.  I've got goals.  I've had a painful, but much needed reality check about a few things I just couldn't stop hoping for.  And I'm feeling both inspired and motivated. 

Its time to move forward.  Again!  LOL!

A little Seadoo action

A couple weekends ago I headed back home to hang with some high school pals.  We took their seadoo out to a local reservoir...the weather was perfect, and I love water sports! 

Daryl took the 'girls' out...I told him I didn't want a sissy ride but I'm pretty sure he didn't try as hard as he could of to shake me off lol.  And of course it wasn't my machine, I also didn't try as hard as I coulda to shake him off lol...

We spent some time soaking up the sun.

Which presented some opportunities...

Darryl was WAY too nice, Rhonda absolutely DRENCHED us later lol.

We often threw a football around back in the day, it was fun to see somethings never change...

Ok...well maybe a few things have changed...like now instead of throwing a football I try to capture the action.  Its really probably better this way...I throw like a girl lol!

July 1st Rednecked Style

I spent July 1st in Vauxhall, they try to put on a demolition derby every year.  Little known Crazy J fact, in high school some of the guys put together a demolition car, and then their mom's squashed their driving dreams...they asked me to drive.  I'd already been in a stock car a couple times, what could my mom really say?  It was fun...but it makes me cringe when I think about the safety of those cars (although not enough to say no, right Mom!). 

Anyways, I knew several of the drivers, mostly friends of my family...and then I was suprised to see one of my truck drivers from BCR has a car there as well!

A little pre-derby auction action!

Scott, a family friend, is in the #7 and Shaun, from BCR, is in the #11.

Brody, is in the green #444 car.

I am very bad (or very good?) at making associations...as soon as I arrived I was picking out car numbers that match racers I know...#13, #69, #44, #11, etc...sometimes its freaking exhausting lol!  This also made me laugh...

This ended up being one of his favorite moves...

I think all the guys we were cheering for made it to the finals.

The last two cars were Shaun in the #11 and the #44...woulda liked to see a pal win...but in the end reigning champ took the trophy.

It was a fun way to spend the day, the evening was also fun...maybe a little too much, right Mom;) lol!

Country Chix

It was so hard to choose which photographs to post...and how!  Sarah has a few more posted on her blog in an album, and I'm thinking about making a photobook, it might be neat! 

Its been really hard to describe the emotion these photographs evoke, and what they mean to me.  They will always remind me of this period of my life, and I feel like Sarah managed to capture an all encompassing moment of what my life is right now.  I wish I had better words.