Friday, July 31, 2009

Feeling hot, hot hot!

That classic song is running through my head this early Friday afternoon. Everyone is feeling hot, hot, hot in Vancouver, where it was 34 degrees yesterday and then even hotter with the humidity. I was able to spend my afternoon at Kits beach (apparently that's where all the sexy people go so I fit right in :) )

Anyways, with the temperature still high and the sun still shining, sometimes I like to take a lesson in relaxation from a master...Taz.



Feel the zen!




Not that Soot is any stranger to relaxation but his style is a bit more unorthodox.





Looks like he's ready for a day at the office, and no I did not pose him, he's this weird all on his own.



Ok, two posts in one day, I'm sure you're tired of hearing from me now. Off to get ready for our trip to Vancouver Island. Family wedding to attend, I will report next week on the shindig.

Ciao,
Erin

Smiles in Seattle

News! I got a job, however, my funemployment lingers on for a couple more weeks while I wait for my new colleagues to return from their vacations. I start on the 17th of August and I will be working as a Government Relations Officer at the University in a communications role. I'm stoked about the job (and about having some remaining time off - although my bank account is not as stoked).

I took advantage of this time to go visit my friend Terumi down in Seattle. Terumi and her husband recently moved house (on Saturday), and I thought I would lend a hand this week as they also have one year old twin boys to take care of. We didn't get to see a lot of Seattle - not that we wanted to spend much time outside as it was something like 105F/39C on Wednesday and it felt like we were walking through pea soup - but I did get to see a lot of smiles.

For example...



And this one...



And then there was this one...



Oh and this was a prize winner...



As was this one...



Not to be outdone by this one...



And to wrap things up...



I'm sending you smiles from Vancouver!
Erin

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Happy (Belated) Canada Day!

Yesterday was Canada Day and it got me thinking about Canada Day's of years gone by.

You'll recall (for people who have followed this blog) that last year we hosted a Canada Day Party for friends in Sweden, complete with a tipspromenad (trivia game)that stumped our non-Canadian friends.


Hard Core Canadian Partier!


Ben and Soot are ready to celebrate!


In 2007, the day was spent at our friend's Joni and Kent's and it was a dual purpose celebration, as we also celebrated Ben's successful defense of his PhD.





In 2006, we celebrated with my sister, Meaghan and her now husband, Brock. It was their first visit to Saskatoon and we spent the weekend hanging out at the jazz festival, playing golf, and showing them the city.



Some Canada Day's were more uneventful and less memorable. The typical Canadian celebration would include a backyard/patio bbq at someone's place, and sometimes with a sprinkling of fireworks thrown in.

In 2003, we spent our first Canada Day in Saskatoon. After a weekend away camping with Shon and Josefin to Cypress Hills Provincial Park, we ended up spending Canada Day evening with our friends and neighbours, Lorne and Lisa. That was a weekend of extremes, extreme cold one night, extreme heat the next, and an extreme number of mosquitoes (a typical Canadian experience :) ). (This was before we had a digital camera so no photos to share).

In 2002, I was in San Sebastian, Spain on Canada Day. My best friend, Alex, and I were travelling around Europe. We met up with some other Canadian travellers and the "Canadian Contingent" hit up some bars in that town, complete with maple leaf pins and tee-shirts from home.

Yesterday, Ben and I had a laid back day complete with some sunbathing and a walk down to the windy beach. We ended up at a bbq hosted by our American friends, Kristie and Dave (yeah, go figure that it was left to the Americans to organize the party).



So Happy 142nd Birthday Canada (I know we're so young!). And to all my American friends, Happy 4th of July to you too!

Ciao,
Erin