Housewarming

 Tyler & Randi

 Jarred & Kayleigh

 Kevin & Breanne

 Me and Breanne

 Andrew & Calvin

 Ashley & Bev

Kevin photo bombing our picture

 

Earlier this month Nick and I finally had our housewarming party. Even though we moved into our place back at the beginning of May, it took us until July to feel comfortable to have people over for a party. It takes a lot of effort to make your first place feel like home, and lots of work when you have to start from scratch to decorate it. This is our first place together, and before that we both lived with other people. Between the 2 of us we had 2 sets of mattresses (one that we ended up throwing out because it was very old), 1 scratched headboard, and 2 bookshelves. Nick, being the super-saver that he is, had some money saved up, and 2 weeks before our wedding, and a month before our possession, we decided to venture out and purchase some of our big purchase items. We ended up getting a really nice kitchen table set with additional matching barstools and my beautiful custom couch. I love my couch so much, and I seriously get so many compliments on it. The couch did cost us a lot, and it’s very nice considering we are first time homeowners and one of us is still a student. However, I plan on having this couch for years to come, and it can accommodate a lot of people. We also got a new mattress set (for an amazing deal) and a whole new bedroom set. The bedroom set isn’t exactly what I had dreamed of, but it was really hard for us to agree on one, and I finally just gave in (for now). I’m sure in about 5 years, I will push for one that I really want, and I’m sure I’ll eventually get my way ;)

 Anyways, I’ll have to do a house post and I’ll talk more about what we’ve done/planning on doing with the place in a different post. 

Our Housewarming party was on July 20, and we had a lot of people come and visit us. Nick didn’t think we would have that many people come, but I proved him wrong. We are definitely loved and I am truly grateful for all of our friends that came and showed their support. It was a great night (very hot, might I add) with some good food (thanks Melissa for the amazing salsa) and great company. Some came just for an hour or so (which is fine with me, at least we got to see their wonderful faces) and some stayed the whole night. It was great to see the regular group, but it was awesome that we got to see some people that we haven’t seen in awhile.

Can’t wait till our next party!

summer days

stampede breakfast

Stampede is over for the year, but it ended with a bit of fun. On the last Saturday of Stampede (July 14), my parents ward in Okotoks, along with the other three wards of Okotoks, hold an annual Stampede Breakfast. Last year they had about 1700 people attend. This year, there must have been over 2000. Nick had school that day, and so I decided to join up with my family, as well as invite Nick’s mom Sandy. I went earlier than I had wanted to, as my mom had to start work at 10am, and wanted to see me at the Breakfast before she had to leave. So I picked up Nick’s mom at 9am, and we headed over to the church. I guess I am kind of glad that I went earlier, as it was busy already when we got there, and we didn’t have to wait too long to get breakfast and find a place to eat. It was great to see some old faces, and some new ones. They had wagon rides, pony rides, a bouncy castle, a famous clown (I guess he has worked with some celebrities, but also is the brother to someone in my parents ward), dancers (which I Bev and I were not impressed with, and I also think they were a little underdressed considering the venue they were performing at), face painting, etc. Walking around with Sandy, and seeing all the kids have fun makes me want a baby so bad. I seriously can’t wait to have kids and take them to events like this.

Anyways, it was a great event that was super organized, and I love that I got to spend the day with old friends and family. It was also great to see a lot of people from the community there, and apparently there are more non-members than members that attend. Awesome!

lately

I am so glad my phone has intsagram now. I love that I can capture everyday moments and I love the warmth it gives to my photos. 

I have so many more photos to add, but here are some in the meantime!

calgary stampede 100

So Stampede has come and gone already. I was looking forward to the Calgary Stampede this year for a long time, and I can’t believe it’s already over. At the end of May, I purchased what I thought was the Grandstand Show tickets. Not only did I purchase my own ticket, but I also bought 11 other tickets! They were for my whole family and a couple friends. Well on Friday, the day before we were supposed to attend the stampede, it came to our attention that I actually had purchased the Grandstand Rodeo tickets! I was mortified. I felt so bad, because everyone had given me money to purchase the tickets together, and I screwed it up. I also really wanted to go to the Evening show, because Paul Brandt was playing. Well in the end when I thought all was lost and I ruined Stampede 100, everything actually ended up working out better than what was planned.  

All together, it was my Grandparents, parents, Danika, her step-daughter Phoenix, Austin, Bev, Nick and I that all went to the Calgary Stampede. Bianca ended skipping out because she had all of her wisdom teeth taken out last week, and was still not feeling well. I also got a ticket for my friend Kevin, but he never showed up (apparently he had brunch with friends, and fell asleep on their couch and didn’t wake up till much later). I originally didn’t plan on going to the stampede till much later in the day, but the rodeo started at 1:15, and I was still on the fence about whether to go to the rodeo, or try and sell the tickets. Anyways, we all were suppose to go separately and just meet up at the stampede – but for some reason we all ended up at the same C-Train station at the same time. It was kind of hilarious. In the end, only Danika and Phoenix sold their tickets (for full price) and used the money for rides while the rest of us went to the rodeo. Well I am glad we went. The rodeo was actually really good. I enjoyed it so much, that I can’t wait to go again next year. While Danika was selling her tickets, we also all purchase rush standing room tickets for the evening show. Other then standing for hours – it was the best view I have ever had of the Grandstand Show. I was only behind a couple of people, but still was able to see almost everything.

It was a great day that I got to spend with my family and friends, and we all can’t wait to do it again next year. We have already decided that we’re going to get tickets next year for both events and buy them in like March so we can get amazing seats. 

Prepare for picture overload!