Week 49 - Quiet week but more Stampede!

Gone were my days of being a lady of leisure this week as I was teaching at summer camp. I only had to work 4 hours a day, but as I was teaching, I did have to spend more time prepping for lessons.

Monday to Friday were fairly non-eventful days. Pete would head off to work early and I would sleep in a bit. I would then busy myself around the place until lunchtime when I would walk to work to teach. After the work day, I would walk home almost melting from the heat, where Pete would arrive home shortly after. We would then have dinner and relax for the evening.

Saturday was also fairly uneventful as I was teaching at church in the afternoon (we had a visiting speaker), so we pottered around home, took a casual stroll to Starbucks for a cool beverage and relaxed before heading to church. Church went well, but we chose to head home after the service instead of staying for the later service. We relaxed at home before deciding that we would head to the movies. Our movie of choice was Jurassic World. We opted for the late showing as we had no special plans for the next morning. The movie was great. I spent a bit of time huddling into Pete as some of the scenes were a bit scary. However, I'm pretty sure Pete didn't mind. 

Sunday I was awoken by huge cracks of thunder. We had no plans for the morning, but we did have plans for the afternoon/ evening. And they involved being outside. The rain pelted down, so we spent a leisurely morning inside. At around lunch, we decided to pop to the mall. I felt like a cafe type bite to eat, and the best place near us is a cafe in the mall. It's the closest we've got to a cafe here anyway. We only browsed through the mall. I broke the bank by purchasing some mustache pencils (I couldn't resist). We then went home for another bout of relaxing before we packed our bag ready for the Stampede. Today was the last day for the 'Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth'. We had another look around, saw John's (Pete's boss) daughter Willow performing in a show to which Pete screamed out "Go Willow!". He found out that that had made her day. We then toured the place for some food for me. Pete had eaten before we came. I opted for a pulled pork bun. Scrumptious. We then made our way to the Grandstands for the Chuck wagon races. They were everything I was expecting and more. After 9 heats, they moved onto the show. The theme was Canada. And despite not being Canadian, I felt proud of the country I live in after watching the show. Unfortunately the photos I have will not do it justice. We then watched the magnificent display of fireworks before popping out early to get a spot on the train. As we expected the trains to be packed, this was a good idea as we missed all of the crowds and got a seat all the way home.

Pete standing on our homeland on the world map.

Crossing the finish line!

That tractor hauled that massive stage across the ring.

An image of the show.

Can't get over how awesome their uniforms are.

The Northern Lights (AKA flying girls).

Fireworks!

Fireworks!

And so ends another quiet week here in Canada. We are getting into leaving mode now with the plan being to pack our apartment up next week. Sad to be saying goodbye, but oh so excited to be traveling throughout Canada and the States.

Week 48 - The Stampede!!!

What a week! I've had the luxury of being a lady of leisure as I am on holiday. We celebrated our first Canada Day with friends, saw the parade for the opening of the Stampede and we went to the world famous stampede and saw the rodeo. 

Monday I managed to drag myself out of bed and accompany Pete to work as I wanted the use of our trusted stead that day. The reason. Value Village was having a 50% sale. Now how could a bargain hunter like me refuse that. Before I made my way to thrift shop, I relaxed at home and then headed into Pete's work as he wanted me to come for lunch. They were having a BBQ. I loved hanging out with his colleagues and chatting. I then made my way to Value Village. As I wasn't the only one who had bargains on the mind, the place was packed. So I managed to pick up a few things before choosing to leave. That night was a quiet one. Dinner in and a couple of episodes of our new favorite series - Heartland. It's filmed and based in Calgary, so why wouldn't we fall in love with it.

Tuesday I enjoyed sleeping in and keeping myself busy around the house. That evening, I had sewing, so I headed off to finish another project. I loved the chats with the girls, and of course the sewing. I think the thing I enjoy most though is coming home to show off my creations. Pete is the ever supportive husband and marvels over the items I make.

Wednesday saw us getting up at the crack of dawn. Strange as today was a public holiday - Canada Day. We arose early to make our way to our friends Peter and Carols as we were accompanying them to Drumheller where we were meeting other friends (Les and Val) to go to the Drumheller Canada Day parade. As the weather has been pretty hot as of late, we all dressed fairly cool, not thinking it would rain. Alas rain it did. I loved the parade and the candy that was thrown out by every float. After the parade, we went back to Val's parents house and had an awesome afternoon of socializing and eating. We clicked with Val's family and it made me slightly homesick as one of her brothers was the spitting image of mine. Not looks wise, more mannerisms. After a few hours, we made our way home.

Ahhh, the RCMP, they get me every time.

For Dad.

One of the princesses of the parade.

Loved his outfit.

Us!

Thursday I spent the day at Daphne's house helping her with sewing. The theme was the Stampede, and we all had an awesome time. Later that evening, Pete and I decided to go out for dinner. The restaurant was at the end of our road, and the place was nice. We had a voucher thankfully as the meals were fairly pricey. It was an awesome evening though, hanging out and chatting over great food.

Friday was another early morning as we were heading into downtown to watch the Calgary Stampede parade. We (Pete and I and Darrin and Daphne) got there early to ensure we got a good spot. We did. Val decided to join us a little later which was cool. After an hour or so, the parade started. I was blown away by the marching bands and the amount of horses in the parade. To say we had a good time was an understatement. As Pete had to get back to work, and I had to pop into work to set up for Summer camp the following week, we left early to avoid huge crowds on the train. We grabbed a bite to eat (McDonalds, my guilty pleasure) before Pete rushed off for work and I relaxed at home a bit before walking to work. I didn't spend long at work, but managed to get myself organized for the following Monday. When Pete arrived home from work, we indulged in more of Heartland.

The Stampede marching band.

Pete's boss's daughter Willow was one of the flag holders.

Don't they look dashing.

A cool float.

More of the dashing men and women in uniform.

Super cute.

The tanks were a big success.

The did wheelies which enraptured Pete.

Saturday was a day where we ran errands. So we visited the library, the dollar store, the book shop oh and my beloved Denny's. Jeez, I'm sensing the pattern that we ate fairly badly this week. Before we knew it, we were heading home to have a night in and get some rest before our big day at the Stampede the next day.

Sunday we had a leisurely start to the morning before heading to the train station to make our way to the Stampede. We had brought tickets for the rodeo in the afternoon, so spent some time browsing the markets there and sampling the cuisine and taking in the sights. We then made our way to the rodeo and I was blown away. We had seats (thank goodness) so could see all the rodeo had to offer. The beginning of the rodeo got me excited as there blowing around in all its glory was the New Zealand flag. Was I proud to be a kiwi or what! The rodeo was sensational, making the ones I have seen in New Zealand look like child's play. I loved every minute of it. I particuly loved seeing a kiwi barrel race. She didn't place, but the day before a kiwi had won the barrel races so I was happy about that. I had my best friend with me and was deleriously happy to be experiencing this with him. But we both felt that my dad should have been with us as he would have loved the whole thing. Once the rodeo was over, we made our way to the First Nations village to take a look. We saw some cultural dances and again I was proud to be a kiwi as we are so lucky to have Maori in our country whose cultural performances are mind blowingly awesome. I did sample the First Nations version of fried bread and was in heaven. When we head to the Stampede again next week, I will definitely be getting more of that! As I was exhausted, we made our way home at around 5. The train was crowded but we didn't have to wait too long.

At the train station.

My sexy cowboy!

Our view of the rodeo.

Can you see the NZ flag?

The introduction to the rodeo.

Broncos!

Broncos!

More broncos.

Half time and the marching band.

Barrel racing by a kiwi.

The kids even got in on it.

Gorgeous ponies.

First Nations looking amazing.

Tipi.

Me eating fried bread.

And that ends another amazing week here in Calgary. I love this city and especially more so as it has the Stampede. It exceeded my expectations and I am so looking forward to heading back there next week to experience the chuck wagon races.

Week 47 - Blah!

I feel I must warn you in advance about the contents of this blog post. There is mention of sickness and plenty of it. In fact, that's what my week mainly consisted of. Well, that and recovering.

Monday my fears became a reality. I was sick. Typical on the first day of my holidays. All I had was a cold, but it got to me nonetheless. Pete managed to avoid catching a cold, however he did take the day off from work as he had spent part of the night and morning throwing up. So as you can expect, we had a very low key day. In fact, I didn't emerge from the bedroom except to visit the ladies room and to eat. Pete planted himself firmly in front of the TV for the day.

Tuesday Pete was on the mend, so went to work. I was still feeling yuck, so spent another day mostly in bed.

Wednesday I was felling better. I could taste my food again (a huge success in my books) and breathe out of my nose. I still spent the day at home though. However, as Pete arrived home, I greeted him with a kiss and then took Jelly to sewing. I was teaching another class. I had a great time with the girls and learned a thing or two myself. I made my way home happy to have got out of the house, but just as eager to get back to relax.

Thursday and Friday were both days that consisted of me sleeping in, doing things around the house, watching far too many episodes of Friends, eating and then relaxing with Pete. There was a slight change to the schedule on Friday as Pete was called at midnight to fix a truck. I decided to accompany him. The good news was the job only took 10 minutes to fix. The bad news was that the truck driver was just as chatty as Pete. So, after half an hour, we were on the road, very ready for bed.

Saturday we encountered Calgary at her finest. The weather was hot! Our day started with us making our way to a garage sale in the north. Pete had seen archery gear advertised at the sale. He didn't find any archery related stuff to buy, but go figure, I did. I found Dixie Chicks albums I have been wanting for a while. After some tooing and frooing, Pete decided to buy an elk caller. Only $2. Let's just say, I can tell you what an elk sounds like as I heard nothing but the blimmin caller all day! After the garage sale, we made our way to McDonald's for breakfast. So bad, yet oh so good. We then decided to check out a mall in the area. We got a few comments as to why we were at a mall when the weather was so lovely. My answer was the mall was cool. We then made our way home to relax for a few hours before heading to church. Church was great. We hadn't been for a couple of weeks so it was good to be back and catch up with everyone.

Sunday was another schorcher. We began planning our upcoming trip around Canada and the US, we ran a few errands, grabbed a bite to eat, and then decided to chill at home for the remainder of the day. Our apartment was surprisingly cool, so we sat back and took advantage of the slight breeze. It seemed a waste as the weather was stunning, but that heat got to us.

And so ends another week. Sorry we have no photos. The week was a pretty blah one. Next week however we are out and about a bit more, and with the Calgary Stampede starting this Friday, I will bombard you with shots. Until then...

Week 46 - Busy week for Deb

And here I thought that with me being on holiday I would be super productive and get the blog post written and posted early in the week. Hmmm, wishful thinking.

Monday we both did the normal thing and went to work. After work, we had a quick bite to eat before making our way to the Archery Range for a work do for Pete. John (Pete's boss) hired a part of the Archery range and an instructor for us all. For 2 hours, we shot arrows and enjoyed each others company. As it still felt so early at 9 when we finished up, we then went out for a drink and another bite to eat. We arrived home after 11pm, but we had the best night out.

Tuesday I thankfully got to sleep in. I did my thing at home before heading to work. The time went quickly, and before I knew it, I was helping to set up for our prize giving the next day as this was the last week of school. Once home, we hung out for a bit, had dinner and then I made my way to sewing. Sewing was not as enjoyable as it has been as I made a few mistakes. So, to say my unpicker and I are on the best of terms would be accurate.

Wednesday wasn't a normal workday as we had prize giving for the kids, so classes were shorter. It was nice to be given gifts from the students. Even though I only assist, it made me feel special. As the rest of the week was busy, we chose to have a quiet night in together that night.

Thursday was my last work day for the next 2 weeks. We had prize giving for our 3 year old's. It felt surreal that that was it. I made my way home for a rest before I made my way out again for our end of year staff do. The restaurant was at the end of our road, so I walked. We had an awesome night hanging out. Our boss (Anne) gave us all gifts. She selected picture books that she felt related to each one of us. It was such an awesome gift. I was also given a gift as I am leaving. Even though I have only worked there for 6 months, I felt valued and that I would be missed.

Friday I accompanied Pete to work in the morning so I could have the use of Jelly for the day. I aimed to head to Fabric land to take advantage of their huge sale and even though Pete said he would willingly go on the weekend with me, I decided not to subject him to that. I also paid a visit to Value Village. However, after reading they were having a 50% sale in a few days, I decided not to buy anything, instead I would wait for the sale. I then made a few more errands before making my way home for a bit before heading in to pick up Pete. Once we arrived home, we had dinner together before I headed out again by my lonesome. Destination: Girls night. I made my way to Daphne's where I caught up with the girls. We had an awesome night of socializing, sewing and movie watching. A perfect end to the week.

Saturday (jeez, it seems so long ago). We had a relaxing morning at home before heading out to run a couple of errands. We did pay another visit to Fabric Land as the sale was still on and I wanted one more project to work on at sewing before we leave Canada.We arrived home where I crawled into bed as I was feeling like a Nana nap was needed. In no time at all, Pete came in to get me up for church. We decided to be slack and not go, so instead watched a movie and grabbed something to eat before face timing Pete's parents.

Sunday we had plans to head to Fort Macloud. We embarked on the journey and arrived in no time. There we grabbed lunch and enjoyed perusing the museum learning more about the RCMP. We then found horses, so were invited to pat them and watch the practice for the shows that take place next week. It was awesome to watch. The skies were pretty dismal though, so after warning cracks of thunder, the hail came which we took as our cue to leave. There we made our way to Okotoks to do our food shopping for the week before heading home.

Pete loving the old tools they used.

Beautiful stained glass window.

Pete was also pretty taken with the stoves. I swear he should have born in this era.

Bison.

 

 

 

The grounds.

And that ends another week here in beautiful Calgary. After quite a bit of rain, the sun has appeared and summer really feels like it is here. Perfect timing for the Stampede in the next couple of weeks.

Week 45 - Work, The Big Race and Exhaustion

Another week done and dusted. Our week was fairly non-eventful. The weekend took us out of our comfort zone though where we ran our first 5K race. To say the rest of the weekend was a quiet one would be an understatement as I think we were pretty shattered. (Well, okay, maybe I was just shattered)

Monday saw the start to another work week. Next week is my last week at work for a bit as school is finishing up here in Canada. It feels so weird to me to finish school in the middle of the year. I keep reminding myself that it's not Christmas as I associate summer and finishing school with Christmas. The day at work went well, I came home to eat and relax a bit, before making my way back to work for another meeting. The meeting was about summer camp. I will be teaching two classes for two weeks. The meeting was my kind of meeting - short but sweet. I then made my way home to catch up with Pete. We made dinner and then at 9pm set out for our run. 9pm may sound late, but it's still so bright then. As the temperature has been getting up there (we reached 33 the other day) we have decided to run later.

Tuesday I slept in and then pottered around the place before eventually getting ready for work. After another slightly challenging time with the 3 year olds, I made my way home to Face time Jayden. We chatted for a couple of hours, before we bid farewell and Pete and I started dinner. As we were busy the next night, we decided to run after dinner on Tuesday. So with satisfied tummies, we donned ourselves in our running gear and did our run. After I was done, I made my way inside, but Pete decided to push himself. He was ages and it was dark by this stage. I found out after our run, he decided to run another 5 and a half Ks (as you do). I was super proud of him.

Wednesday was another day at work. Once home, I tackled the task of making a potato bake for dinner. When Pete arrived home, he had time for a quick shower before we made our way to Peter and Carol's for dinner. Les and Val were there also. We had the best time! I am so going to miss these guys when we leave Canada. Before we knew it, over 4 hours had passed and we reluctantly made our way home.

Thursday I was thankful that I was able to sleep in. The work day was a productive one which was good. After work, I made my way home while Pete rushed into town after his day at work to a running store to pick up our race pack for the weekend. We were pretty excited to see our name with our number and our race shirt. As Pete made it home fairly late, we decided to miss connect and have a quiet one at home.

Friday came around so quickly it seemed. With another week at work over, we chose to have a quiet one at home that night too in preparation for the big race the next day.

Saturday we awoke to the blaring of the alarm. Race day was upon us. So after a quick bite to eat, and kitting ourselves out in our running gear, we made our way into downtown Calgary. The race was to be run around the Bow River. After a bit of waiting around, we were off. As Pete (aka the gazelle) runs way faster than I do, he was off. I took my time. I would love to say I ran the entire race. Sadly I didn't. But Pete did and managed to do it in awesome time. I must admit, I did love crossing the finish line to Pete cheering me on. We took advantage of the fresh fruit on offer, and waited for our times to be posted. With the race done and dusted, we made our way home tired, but feeling flipping proud of ourselves. The rest of the day was a quiet one. We lounged around home for a bit and ran a couple of errands. As we wanted to be part of Jo and Isaac's gender reveal party, we missed church to face time family. We can now say we are going to be the proud aunty and uncle to another boy Anthes. After catching up on the latest, we decided to hit the hay.

Pre race.

Pre race selfie.

Post race selfie.

Sunday we took full advantage of the fact that we could sleep in. Our plans for the day weren't many. We ran a few errands, stopped for a coffee and the biggest cinnamon bun I had ever seen and visited a couple of shops before choosing to call it a day and head home. We were both pretty tired after our eventful Saturday morning, so we decided to spend the rest of the day at home.

Pete eating the huge cinnamon bun. And yes, that's cream cheese icing!

And so ends another week here. A fairly non-eventful week except for the fact that we ran a 5K race (words I never thought I would say that's for sure).

Week 44 - Sunshine, Starbucks and Everyday Life

Here again after what seems another fast week here in Canada. Since our time here is coming to an end soon, we have so many things we want to do and people to see. We have felt so loved as people here are sad to see us leave, and people at home are happy to have us coming home. Anyway, enough ramblings, on with the blog.

Monday we both had a fairly non-eventful day at work. People at work are sad to see us leaving which makes us feel appreciated. As the sun is out until 10:30pm at night now, we have found ourselves needing to run later as it is still fairly warm at 7-8pm. So after work, we lounged around the house together, had dinner, and made our way out for a run. As it was our first run since being on holiday, to say we felt it would be an understatement. However, with our race coming up, we slogged it out, knowing (okay, more like hoping) it would only get better.

Tuesday I had a glorious sleep in and then busied myself by cleaning parts of the apartment. I then made my way to work with the lovely bunch of 3 year olds we have. After my 2 and a half hours, I was done. What the heck am I going to do when it comes to me having kids? That night, I had sewing. It was awesome to get back into things and to tell others about our adventure in New York. I started on another project (a dress) which I will likely finish next time.

Wednesday we worked and then decided to do something different in the evening. We decided to pay a visit to IKEA. We had dinner there (set us back $20) and checked out things that we wanted to purchase before heading home. We don't have enough money to bring everything we want home, but there are some things we just can't resist. Especially when we look on Trade Me in NZ and realize how some people are selling IKEA goods for way more than they retail for. For example, a mirror I saw at IKEA was $7.99. The exact same mirror was selling for $45 on Trade Me.

Thursday I missed out on a sleep in as I was going to catch up with Daphne re sewing on the weekend. It didn't work out, so instead we Face timed. With the extra time I had in my day, I was uber productive. Let's just say the house was spotless and I was all set for teaching on Saturday at church. That night we went to connect. There weren't many people there, but it was awesome nonetheless. God spoke to me about His sense of humor and how He wanted to reveal it more to me. A little left field, but exciting.

Friday we were glad to see the end of another work week. The weather was due to be sensational that weekend, so we were keen to make the most of that. That evening, we decided to have a quiet one in which consisted of a movie for me and a bath for Pete.

Saturday dawned bright as expected. As I was due to teach sewing at 1pm, we decided to stay around home for the morning. So we picked up milk and had a frapachino at Starbucks. I then lounged in the sun on our balcony while Pete made us lunch. It was perfect for a weekend. I then made my way to sewing. I had 5 girls to teach. It was a blast. I loved spending time with them and teaching. I then made my home for a bit before we headed out for ice-cream before then making our way to church. Church was again awesome and I loved teaching the little ones about Peter (The Peter in the bible, not my Peter). Before we knew it, we were on our way home to relax before our Face time date with Allen and Tash. It was so nice to catch up.

Yum - Chocolate Chip.

Pete enjoying his Caramel.

Sunday we wanted to get out and about without spending a bucket load of money. So we decided to grab some food and have a picnic at a local park. The weather was stunning. We had the best time lounging in the sun and eating to our hearts content. Once we were all sunned out, we made our way to a shop I wanted to check out. We took a look around and before long made our way home. I think the sun got to me, as I then chose to curl up in bed for a nana nap. (Isn't that what Sundays are about?)

Pete enjoying the Sun (and of course the food).

Our view.

Me with my make shift sun shade. AKA a jandal.

And so, that is the end to another week here in Canada. The weather has been awesome and is expected to get even better. We get the heat, but not the humidity... Perfect!

Week 43 - Big News!!!

Well, we are officially back to reality. Back to work, back to little in the bank and back to the everyday tasks you forget about when you are on holiday.

Monday saw us both heading back to work. We were both keen to get back into things. And it was nice to know that we had both been missed at work. I was quizzed a lot about what my highlight of New York was. To be honest, I couldn't give just one, so I rattled off what we had got up to instead. After work, we decided to go grocery shopping as our cupboards were pretty bare. We had our customary dinner date before food shopping, and then shopped. I must say, I don't dread shopping the way I have in the past. Would I go so far as to say I like it. Heck no. But it's so much better than it was.

Tuesday I had a sleep in and pottered around the house before heading to work. Work was fairly non-eventful and before I knew it, I was at home, grabbing a bite to eat with Pete before we made our way to the movies. Our choice: Pitch Perfect 2. It was awesome. It totally lived up to the hype.

Wednesday was another work day. Pete and I managed to have a quick coffee and chat before I stole Jelly to head to our pastors house to teach sewing for her. As she was away, she didn't want her students to miss out. As I am not what I would call a confident sewer, I was slightly apprehensive about teaching. But the 2 classes I took went really well. So much so that I am teaching again next week.

Thursday arrived to me sleeping in again. Ahh, what will I do when I have to re-enter the real world of working full time. We decided to give connect group a miss that night. So instead, we curled up with dinner on the couch to watch a movie together.

Before we knew it, it was Friday. As a colleagues son was getting married the next day, I offered to do her shift. So I worked a full day. When Pete got home, we had every intention of getting back into the running. But alas, laziness got the better of us, so we are now behind in our training schedule. So instead, we had another quiet night in.

Saturday we decided to put our entertainment guide to use. So we headed to McKenzie Towne (I know, the spelling of some words here is strange). Our plan was to have a coffee and a cupcake. The coffee place was, it seemed, a figment of our imagination. We couldn't find it anywhere. We could however find the cupcake shop. So we sat and had a cupcake and a hot chocolate while chatting over our future. We then made our way to the mall for Pete to pick up some more underwear. I also wanted to head to Old Navy (yes, I have a problem) so we did that. We then decided to miss church (gosh we are such heathens this week) and have another quiet one in. Pete was obviously pretty tired as 7 o'clock arrived and he announced he was off to bed! I opted for a bath instead.

Sunday dawned oh so bright, so we headed north to go to a thrift store that were having sales. The sales weren't quite to my liking so I didn't get anything. Pete however, scored big and got the 7 Narnia books for $2. We then made our way to Value Village for more thrift shopping. I only found a pair of shorts. As we weren't quite ready to head home, we decided to have a milkshake at Pete's Diner. We found the place and saw the lines and gave up on that idea pretty quickly. So we opted for an ice-cream instead. We then made our way home to lounge around the house to relax before another week where we did life all over again.

Aren't I mean. I made you wait to the end for the big news! Our news is that we have decided not to stay on another year here in Canada. We are coming home. Straight away? Nope. We are going to travel throughout Canada and the States for a few months, before heading back to NZ in December. Our visa expires at the end of July, so we plan to pick up Sez (my sister) from the airport in Calgary, stay a night or two here and then road trip it across Canada to Prince Edward Island. Pete and I then intend on traveling through the States for a bit to experience more of our neighbor country.

Note: Fellow readers, what we lack for photo wise now, we will more than make up for it during the next few months.