BC/Alberta (1)

I always procrastinate on a huge project, especially if it doesn’t have a designated deadline. Like say, my vacation wrap-up and post photos? Yeah, I know. So I’m just going to try and sum everything up basically in photos and maybe if a photo triggers a memory, I’ll post that under the photo. It may be boring, and I apologize in advance, but that’s how I do. I mean, there’s just way too many photos to show, so I have picked out a handful out of the 850+ photos that I took during the 11 days of my vacation. Of course about 800 of the photos aren’t that great and all of my boyfriends’ photos are fabulous compared to mine, but I’m not jealousss. Though, to keep things exciting and not as lengthy (because that can get quite boring frankly), I will do a variety of BC/Alberta photo posts throughout the month of September.

[Photos are all clickable]

This video is of Takakkaw Falls which is in Yoho National Park. Near Field, British Columbia. You’ll see me waving and being all ‘Smiley McSmiley’ towards the end of the short video, while bundled up as it was like being in Newfoundland all over again with the wind and misty rain. I had two sweaters and a rain jacket on hence why I look like a fatty.

Speaking of Fatty, we totally got a huge kick out of the burger joint: FATBURGER. This was the only shot that I could get as we were in the rental car at the time and Scott’s face was in my way for most of the time, since it was on the drivers side lol.

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Down below, we have some rappellers hanging off a cliff axing chunks of rock off the mini mountain. This is during the construction zone where we came to a complete dead stop on the beautiful looking highway (it’s like seeing those curvy roads and cliffs, on a BMW or fancy automobile commercial!)

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We’re really immature for our age, but again we found this road sign quite hysterical and started making jokes after we saw it. This was after we picked up our rental car in Kelowna and on the drive to Penticton. So I’m not exactly sure where we saw it, but was almost immediately after the Fat Burger place. HAHA!

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What would a photo post be, without a picture of your favorite person and the boy? Here we are proudly standing behind the Newfoundland flag that I brought along with me, to wave around at the Ironman Canada race. Awkward forced smiles for the both of us, after taking a billion+1.

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I think this was taken on the Thursday that we arrived in Penticton. Boyfriend had to go sign in for his race all the while they took his weight, height and other stats. This is just on the other side of the parking lot, as everything was set up in tents on a field behind this. This is the parking lot of the holy grail super close want–to–have–a–room–here–next–year, hotel. Alas, it sells out even before the next year’s race is even thought about!

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htfuI should probably get on the topic of what we were really there for. Ironman Canada, my boyfriend’s first full Ironman: 3.8km swim, 185km bike, 42.2km run. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I was seeing him in the transition zone getting off his bike and going out to run a marathon after all the previous bike and swim. While everyone was out on the bike course I decided to copy pretty much every family member and support crew and purchase a box of chalk and scribble some silly things on the ground for the racers to see. Instead, I decided to go with HTFU #199 (Harden the f**k up + Boyfriend’s Race number / 199). While I was on my hands and knees coloring it all in, a few kids at different times, from different families came over and asked me what it meant. Of course I didn’t want to tell the kids exactly what I was writing on the pavement for my boyfriend, so I told them that it was his initials lol. I asked my boyfriend if he saw it on the pavement when he was racing past it on his run, and surely enough he did. I mean — how could you not see it? It was massive. But he didn’t know that it was for him specifically, as he missed reading his bib number right underneath it all.

I’m going back and fourth here with photos. Triathlons are swim, bike then run. But since I just talked a wee bit about the last event: the run. I’m going to jump back and show you a snap of the boyfriend waving to us and a woman glancing over at him presumably laughing at us, the spectators as we’re super stoked to see him at this point, after an hour and a half swim! This is where we (his sister, her boyfriend and I) first saw Scott throughout the race. So low and behold you know we were going to go a bit crazy when we saw him. We were so excited and screaming at the top of our lungs (okay, just his sister and I — her boyfriend understandably was a tad shy, of course since he doesn’t know Scott or I.) But his sister and I were going wild. “GOOOO SCOTT AHHH!! YEEEAH WOO!!” And there you have it. He acknowledges our presence and waves to us.

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Until the second vacation/Ironman post, that’s all I’ve got for now!

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Oh hello there

We arrived back to the homeland last night but of course a little drama has to occur for it to all be complete.

When we got off the plane in Toronto and took the shuttle to park’n’fly my Boyfriend noticed that the car’s battery was dead. Before our flight to BC, we drove to the airport and it was early morning so the parking lights were on and he just didnt’ notice. In the 5 years he has owned that vehicle, he has not once forgotten to turn off the lights in the car. It’s funny it would happen at the most inconvenient time too. Of course. 11 days with the parking lights on in the car and the battery was dead.

For an hour we sat there, thinking of people around Toronto that we could call. Obviously no one since we don’t have friends out that far away. But coincidentally enough after 60 minutes of waiting, a guy came walking towards his car/towards us and my Boyfriend asked him for a boost or if he had booster cables. He did. But what was awesome was that we noticed he was walking towards us more than towards the parking lot in any other direction (there’s hundreds of cars there, guys) and he parked directly in front of us. No pushing the car out of the parking lot to get a boost. We did it right then and there. Quick ride home and we were set!

So, shall I get to the exciting parts? I haven’t taken the photos off my camera yet so everybody will have to wait for those exciting photos. I did grab a few snaps off my flickr account here to post in this entry. So that’s all you get for now, heh heh.

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Washington!

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Penticton

Scott’s Ironman race was absolutely terrific. It went smoothly and he was expecting to finish under 12 hours but he wasn’t exactly pleased with his time of 12:20 ~ish.I sure was though! Waving my Newfoundland flag and meeting new people because I was wearing it like a sarong, and/or just waving it around in general. I even ran into an acquaintance of mine at the race. We used to climb at the same gym back home. Her boyfriend was doing the race too.

After the race:

We went parasailing — which was impressive in itself. We went sea-dooing the same day in Penticton in the same lake that you see in the photo above. We drove on top of mountains that over looked Washington (first photo). We drove to Banff,  and we climbed Mount Fairview in Lake Louise (that took 6 hours to go up and back! My ass was killing me). I saw the Rockies. It was a memorable vacation, and pretty much tops all the others, as far as I can say right now. The 11 day vacation was so indescribable. We’re not exactly planners, but each day was still filled with something to do, and 11 days we slept in 8 different hotels/motels. It was great to sleep in my own bed last night, with my favorite pillow.

Seems like we were gone for a lot longer than 11 days, but it’s still good to be back. Once I get home tonight, I will go through some of my many (estimating 700 photos lol), and I will post them on flickr/facebook/ and here. Yay! I have so much catching up to do on my google reader. I think adding every blog that I found somewhat interesting, to my google reader was a bad idea ;)


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My Irish story

Apparently my Brother is spending his Birthday out on the oil rig’s today. I think he gets off in a few days. ruairi-sm1Also, Ruairi is now talking. (No speech pill for this kiddo! jk jk!) Guess he smartened up and knew he’d get things faster, by talking/asking. He’s such a pleasant little child, I never really met him besides when he came home from the hospital as a newborn, and left Ireland when he was just two weeks old.

It’s absurd that I’ve met my nephews once. My Father has never met his grand kids. My Mom has only met Kelan when he was 8 months old.

I didn’t think everything would turn out like it did. Who knew I’d move away from my parents house, 3,000km away and be totally happy up here in Ontario? I thought I’d be one of  “those” weirdo’s who would stay living with their parents until 45. I mean, I’m a late bloomer — I shocked everyone when I finally moved out of my parents house at age 26. Who knew that my Brother would end up residing in Ireland, for 9 years.

I hope that one day, we can all live together in one city, so I can see my nephews grow up. I can BE the favorite/only FUN aunt, and take them places and let them eat candy for supper and hand them back to their parents all hyped up lol. That’s the kind of babysitter I was, kids obviously loved me.

Instead, I wait patiently for months upon months, only to receive old photos of my nephews. Back in November I received a few “new” photos. But before that, my brother e–mailed my Mom a month or two old photos of the babies. Babies grow fast. I want to be part of their life, and I can’t. Not at this stage of the game.

My Mom gave my brother a camera.  He never used it. My Mom gave him another camera, and he didn’t even bring it back to Ireland the last time he went back. It just makes me angry that he’s not the picture taking type of person, like my Mom and I are. (We went wild when we had a family trip to Ireland in 2005 — we always asked my Brother to stop in the middle of the tiny divided country road to snap photos of the rolling green hills that my brother probably takes for granted as he’s been there for so long.) I wish he kept us in my nephews lives so to speak, with hundreds of photos. I still ‘oggle’ over the photos that he sent me back in November.

It all came on suddenly, this Irish family of mine.

My Brother met a great Irish woman, and brought her to meet my parents and I in Newfoundland, back in 2003–ish. They ended up getting married, and I inherited two step–nephews (who are now 17, and 11 — Great kids really). My parents automatically “adopted” them as grand children I suppose you could say. I was a bit hesitant at first, because I mean — I’ve never met this boys in my life, and now all of a sudden I’m supposed to be your aunt and buy you all kinds of gifts for Birthdays and Christmas?

And so I did.

kelan2-smI didn’t have a problem when I met them. It’s just a shock at first, I guess. I didn’t have to do anything, nor was I forced to. But my lord, I can’t afford to keep sending them presents as now I have SIX people to shop for in Ireland, plus boyfriend, parents, best friends, friends, and other family members. Their birthdays are so spread out that if I did buy a present for said people, I would be mailing gifts monthly.

Christmas is huge for me. I absolutely love love love Christmas. I enjoy giving gifts and seeing people’s reactions, and heading about how much they received the perfect present (lol not necessarily from me). Everything they always kelan-sm1wanted. I shop online all year round, so I won’t be broke come Christmas. 2008 I sent over a massive box of treats/gifts for my Irish Family. I told my Brother not to let my sister in law see what she received from me (a nice leather yellow purse. She was eying mine when I went there in 2007), and to divy up the presents in order of what I had for everyone — specifically written out on a piece of paper, which gift is for whom. I’m not sure how it all panned out, but I love getting surprises Christmas morning and I don’t think that was mostly the case for them.

I don’t know. I just feel like I’m venting because I almost feel left out of my Brother’s family since I’m not there constantly watching them all grow up. Whenever I talk to them more, I feel like I miss them more and I want to book flights to give them all great big bear hugs. So, I don’t call — sometimes for months on end, believe it or not.  But I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything, in my mind because I always get the news from my own Mom. My parents always calls my brother, religiously on Sunday afternoons to chat and get weekly updates. She always tells me that Kelan asks about me and doesn’t want to talk to anyone else but me (awww!!). Which is when I immediately go out and purchase an international calling card, and call them for days in a row until my calling card runs out. Then I stop calling. For months, again. Repeat the vicious cycle.As you can tell from my last few entries, my calling card has run out and now I’m homesick for my little guys. I won’t be buying a calling card again soon because I don’t want to get depressed and upset about not being able to see them. So, instead I hold onto the cute little conversations that I get for a few months. Like this  little blurp of  Kelan’s conversation and mine:

Me: What are you having for supper tonight?
Kelan: McDonalds. (Which was total B.S. by the way lol)
Me: Oh yummy! So Kelan
— do you think you want to visit me in Canada?
K: Yup! (He just turned 3. I don’t expect too many sentences out of him.)
—more random jibberish that I don’t understand conversation with my three year old nephew—
K: You coming to my house after suppah?
Me: Aw Kelan, I can’t come visit you after supper. I live in Canada remember? It will take me days to get over to Ireland.
K: You don’t have car? (Aww! How cute is that?)
Me: Oh Kelan, I’d have to get on an airplane and even then it will take me days to get to see you. I wish I could!
K: Vroooooom (lolol w.t.f)
—conversation terminated and turned to random Irishness that I don’t understand. Until I beg for him to put his Daddy/my brother back on the phone—

I want to move them all over to Canada. Tomorrow, please and thanks? Easier said than done. My poor Brother is trying his hardest to support his new, huge family the best he can. They can’t afford a lot of things, a lot of luxuries. I wish things were easier on him, and I wish everything about moving his family to Canada were simpler. But they’re not. Everything takes time, and a ton of stressful energy. I think they’d be happier here.

Happy 32nd Birthday to my Brother :)

(Photos are old as heck. From December 2007!)
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