Better Cram This In....

Tomorrow is the last day of August and I am busy, so I figure I had better cram this post in a bit like those pesky home teachers who HAVE to come see you by midnight on the last day of any given month. I feel a little harried in that way. :) That's ok, September's New and Different is in only a couple of days, so I need to get this one done whether or not I'm completely ready!

This month there were two big "new and different" activities for me. One that I sought out and one that I didn't, but was presented to me and I went for it with gusto.

The first was the opportunity Maren and I had to volunteer with a local branch for a program called the Idaho Meth Project. This is a program that is raising awareness for the prevention of using meth, even just once. It does this by using public service announcement, fundraising, and community outreach. What an awesome deal, all by itself!

The Idaho Meth Project's latest fundraising event was a concert put on by the country artist, Josh Turner. Josh came into town on August 25th and held a concert during which all the proceeds from ticket sales went directly to the IMP, not to him. What an incredible person he must be to be willing to do a "free" concert.

Maren and I didn't get to meet him as we were selling tickets in the ticket booth and roaming the field making people put out their cigarettes, but we got to watch! And holy cow, I am here to tell you... that man is amazingly hot! Wow! I think we got about 15 feet from him and oh... my.... :) Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to have cameras as volunteers, but I took one before we left:

Don't mind the violently green shirts. People had to be able to tell us apart from the regular patrons.

And Janna, Maren's sister, took one while we were there with HER camera:

(Photo coming soon)

After the concert, we had to stick around and kick people out of the stadium so they could finish tearing down the set. All-in-all, it was a great experience. We got to help out a great cause and got to watch Mr. Hottness Cowboy Crooner Extraordinaire! Whoo hoo!

The next day, my mom, her friend and I all headed down to Utah to help my sister, Melissa. And this is the 2nd New and Different I hadn't really expected, but did it with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. See, Melissa is 24 and got engaged back at the end of July. It's hard for me to think about my sister being all grown up and getting married because I perpetually think of her as about 13. But, she asked me to be her Maid-of-Honor (shouldn't I technically be a Matron at this point? Oh well.) and as the official duty of MoH and Big Sis, I couldn't NOT go down to help shop for wedding dresses.

The first night we were there, we went into a couture wedding gown shop just to see what she would like and she fell in love with one. I'm not allowed to show pictures of her 3 favorites, btw, by penalty of death. :( But there were plenty that she thought were mediocre.

You can see the fear on her face. She's never tried on wedding dresses before.

But she got into the swing of things pretty quickly.

Sister is so "selly"!

The next day, again with the dress shopping... for hours... at David's Bridal where she found 2 of her favorites. One of which, I must admit, made my mom and I burst into tears. She went around the corner, put a veil on and walked back to us like she was walking down an aisle and the floodgates burst open. We (my mom and I) are going to be blubber babies the day of, I tell ya! Again, I'm not allowed to show the 2 best ones.

This one and the two following this were my favorite dress. I loved it on her. But, it was too modest for her. Go figure.

But this ONE is my ALL TIME FAVORITE! READY? .........................................................................

Simple, Fun, Inexpensive and Easy to Get In and Out Of! What more do you want!?
BTW, that's the slip, for anyone who doesn't know. LOL

That night, we had a great time going to IKEA and back to Melissa and Dustin's (the groom, btw) house to watch a thunder/lightening storm for 2 hours. Awesome!

Sister and Mr. Dustin

I have to say... this new and different experience was hard for me. It was so hard to watch her try on these beautiful dresses and not instantly think of her and I as little girls putting sheets and towels over our heads and marching down the hallway in our old house. She's my little sister. She will always BE my little sister.... but for that 24 hours of wedding dress frenzy... she was more than that. She was one of my best friends. And I'm so proud of her and love her so much. I'm so excited and happy for her.

It's been a good month.

Rough Road Home- Days 10 & 11

The next morning, I left bright and early for Idaho and I realized right away that I had eaten something off. I was so sick. I had to stop about 6 times from Camrose to the border, which is about a 6 hour drive. It was awful.

Combine that with the fact that I was so tired from being up too late at the concert the night before, the boring view and the fact that I was missing Canada already... it was a rough trip home.

I was missing the way the food was so much yummier, we got to party and have so much fun and I missed the way Canadians talk. They say Eh all the time, pronounce bag "beg", about "aboot", barn "bern", etc. So funny.

Anyway, I got over the border....

and got through Great Falls when a huge storm started rolling in. The rain was coming down so hard that I had my wipers going full speed and I still couldn't see. Whenever the rain would let up a little, I realized that there were dead animals all over the side of the road because they were getting hit because of the storm. And I quickly realized that it was no longer going to be safe for me to be driving.

I stopped in Helena for the night and holed up in a crappy little Howard Johnsons before heading home the next day.

All in all, July's New and Different was amazing. It was EXHAUSTING, but it was amazing. I'm so grateful to Nadine and her family for letting me come to stay and for opening their home to me. I had such a great time and I sincerely hope it doesn't take another 6 years for me to get up to Canada again!

Nathan, Packing and the Big Valley Jamboree!- Day 9

Being as this was my last day in Canada, I had to spend a fair amount of time packing and unpacking, then repacking again. Plus, Nathan, Nadine's brother, came home to visit for the night, so we got to visit with him.

That afternoon, Nadine and I spent most of our time down at the barn with the kittens, goofing off with Nathan, and getting ready to go down to the Jamboree. Here are pictures that Nathan took before we went.

When we got down to the grounds, Nadine and I met a couple of guys around our father's ages that started flirting with us. And just like any two good girls, we flirted back! LOL We knew it was harmless and boy it was funny to make fun of them after we'd walked away! Ha!
While we were walking around, it occurred to me that this Jamboree wasn't anything more than a gigantic boozefest. In fact, it was similar to our little SE Idaho fair, but the only vendors they had were alcohol vendors. LOL  People were hardly dressed, we caught the whiff of someone smoking weed as we passed them, and there was country music blaring everywhere we went. Gotta love it.

We finally made it over to the field and set up our chairs. The Judds were just finishing up their set and we settled in. Jason Aldean started up right away and put on a great show. It was awesome. He played all of our favorite songs and we had a great time. The only downside was a drunk guy that kept dancing all over the place and stopped right in front of us to put on his own show. He smelled, was covered in mud, didn't have a shirt on and had fallen one too many times on his hat because the side was all crushed in. He, at one point, tried to get me to dance with him. I then had to tell him, in not so many nice words, to get away from me or I'd hurt him in ways he'd never thought possible. LOL

But, when the show was over, Nathan came to pick us up in his Mercedes Coach Liner Bus. We rode home in style! It was such a fun night. Here are a few pictures:

Jamboree Grounds

The Judds

Jason

Nadine at the show and terrified of all the hicks and cowboys, LOL

Me, in the Mercedes bus, being chauffeured home in style!

WEM, South Commons and WICKED!!!- Day 8

This day, Nadine and I hit up the West Edmonton Mall again but we didn't stay long because we had another shopping excursion to check out... South Commons. But, before we left, we ate a bite of lunch and I experienced the glory that is Poutine.

Poutine is a French dish that is not eaten very often, but relished when you have the privilege. Here is me and my Poutine:

Yup, that's right.... it's French fries, covered with curded cheese and hot gravy. LOL

When we got to South Commons, it was pretty obvious that we wouldn't be able to go to all the stores there because there were hundreds, but we made the most important stops...

Roots (I LOVE this store!!!), Guess (I tried to find the purse and found a different one with a matching wallet. Unfortunately, the both of them together were still $125 and I couldn't stand to leave one or the other behind... so I left both. Tragic!), H &M (Again, not what I remembered, so I didn't buy anything) and Old Navy.

We ran quickly over to the grocery store to stock up on goodies to take to Wicked with us and then went to Swiss Chalet for dinner.

On the way to Wicked, we passed through one of the oldest parts of Edmonton, called Old Strathcona. The little shops and stores were so cute. Here are some pictures:

Driving into downtown Edmonton

This one made me giggle. It's little and a bookstore and an old hotel! I loved it!

Wicked was being hosted at the University of Alberta at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, called "The Jube". So, we headed down onto campus and it was so different from my college. It was amazing to see how the campus was a world within a world. All the students live in high rise apartments ON campus. There wasn't a lot of option as far as living away from the campus and they even had a grocery store on campus so that students didn't have to leave. It was crazy. Here are a couple pictures:

One of the campus buildings

Student Apartments

The Butter Dome (Huh, I wonder why they call it that...) - Where they hold all the athletic events

Wicked was incredible!! It was by far my favorite Broadway show I've ever seen. The set was amazing, the actors were so great, and the story... well, it was awesome. I'm so grateful to Nadine for letting us go when she'd just seen it the week before.

Me and Nadine before the show

Before the show

In the foyer

In case you didn't know... I'm the bad witch and she's the good one

Overall, AWESOME day! Even though we were both SOOOO tired. I came home that night, crawled into bed and prayed that I would make it through the next day!

Shopping & the Country Canadian Princess: Day 7

The next day, we were totally exhausted, so we decided to stay in Camrose and do some shopping and hang out at the house. While in Camrose, I was able to buy a ton of fun Canadian goodies!

This is an inside joke. And no, I didn't buy it.

My pj pants and Canada sweatshirt

I also bought more than my body weight in yummy Canadian food. See, no one believes me that the food just tastes better up there. But I'm totally serious. They don't have the same FDA or pasteurization laws. So, the dairy tastes better, the steak tastes better, the sweets taste better, etc.! It's just better! So, I, of course, filled up on the favorites: Oreos, Fugee-O's, Cadbury Mini Eggs, Caramilk bars, Dairy Milk bars, Smarties, etc. YUMMO!

Then, we headed back to Breton Acres to help Nadine's Momzie out with some kids from their ward who were there to be babysat while their mom was at a doctor's appointment. And Momzie got the tractor out! Yup, I said it. THE tractor! They use it to cut grass, but I used it to cut other things...

(Insert video that is not uploading because it was saved in Quicktime and for whatever reason, Blogger on my computer won't upload it.)

 

Nadine was the narrator of that short, yet highly dramatic film, staring me... I've just recently heard that I'm going to be up for an Oscar. Don't worry, I'll remember the little people in my speech. I gotcha covered!

Brief Synopsis of Film: Heather, though technically from the country, has never actually driven a tractor before. When the film opens, Kathleen is telling Heather how to make the tractor work. Heather shows some apprehension, but decides to make a go of it anyway. She puts the tractor into gear and it is not long before she is feeling confident enough to take one hand off the steering wheel and twirl it above her head as though getting ready to toss a lasso. With one fluid motion, the crown is knocked from Heather's head behind her and down onto the ground. The mowing attachment on the back of the tractor runs over the crown and shreds it. Heather is visibly upset and therefore almost runs into a pole. She is able to correct and turn the tractor around. Nadine, through fits of laughter, promises Heather a new crown.

I can promise you one thing: You would have laughed, you would have cried, and you would have agreed with the Academy that I deserved a small, solid gold naked guy for my efforts. *sigh* Moving on...

Here are some pictures:

Jacob, Bella (no, not after Twilight. But I thought the same thing! LOL) and I in our Royal Attire (Little Known Fact: You MUST wear royal attire to ride/drive THE tractor)

Momzie and King Jacob

Queen Bella and Momzie

The Queen and King with Momzie MacMillan

My poor crown. It didn't even see THE tractor coming... So tragic.

This was a really fun and relaxed day. It was great to play with the kids, spend more time out at the barn with the kittens and bum around the house. We were trying to gather more energy because the next day was WEM again and WICKED!!

The Day We Overdid It!- Day 6

Nadine and I woke up early on this day because we had booked ourselves back to back with so many things to do. I was quickly realizing that this trip was a marathon and not a sprint and I had little time for sleepiness.

Our first stop was to Pegasus Stables for horseback riding. I've been on horses and around horses plenty of times, so it was nice to just get out and have a great time. My horse, Rusty, was a bit lazy, but it was fun getting him trotting to catch up to our guide!

Pegasus Stables

Pegasus Stables grounds

We asked the kind rancher where we might find a bathroom. His response: "John's around the corner." And sure enough, we went around the corner, and there was John... waiting patiently, and stinky-ly, to help us out. Yuck!! LOL

Nadine on her horse, Miller, and our guide, Amanda

Nadine and I being the sassypants we are!

After our ride, Nadine and I headed into Edmonton to the West Edmonton Mall. This mall is the 2nd biggest North America, only after The Mall of America. WEM has the biggest amusement park though. So, that was our first stop of the day of course!

The West Edmonton Mall (WEM)

The lower floor of the WEM

The upper floor of the WEM

The scariest ride was the Mindbender Rollercoaster. We rode it the first time and loved it. But, after we went around the other rides once and headed back to Mindbender for a second time, it only took the first turn for me to realize that it wasn't going to be good. During the first turn, my neck and head smacked into the side of the seat so hard, I started to black out and almost went completely out before I shook it off. It was so scary! For the rest of the day, I just didn't feel quite right. That wasn't so fun. Here are some pictures though:

Me going into the amusement park at WEM

Me & Cosmo: The Love Affair That Could Never Be

Galaxyland at WEM

Me in front of Mindbender (this was before almost blacking out)

Mindbender

The most terrifying ride in the whole park! I screamed like a girl the whole time

Nadine in front of Mindbender

Me on the Kiddie Koaster

Nadine on the Kiddie Koaster

The scary ride again, I forgot its name

Nadine on the train ride, heading into the dark and scary tunnel

After the park, we went shopping for a little while. See, the West Edmonton Mall has over 400 stores and we were totally intent on walking the entire upper floor before heading home that night! And I was so well behaved... we went into Guess and I resisted the urge to buy the $125 pale pink leather purse. It was sad, but I was proud of myself for holding myself back. We took lots of pictures though!!

Me standing in front of the Olympic sized ice skating rink in the middle of WEM (yup, I said in the middle, meaning INSIDE!)

I didn't do this, but it's 3 stories of climbing obstacles where you are attached with just a harness and you climb to the top. It looked like fun, but we didn't have time.

The indoor water park at WEM

The other end of the indoor water park

I was so excited to find my favorite store from New York in WEM! Too bad the clothes have changed so much that I didn't buy a single thing. Disappointing!

Anna told me to find a mountie. My momma told me to always find new ways to make the boy mooses say "WAAAaaaaa"! So, I found both! LOL  He was very snuggly. I wanted to take him home with me!

They have themed corridors at WEM. This was Burbon Street.

My momma also told me to find a job when I went up to Canada.... Well..... I gave it some serious thought!

I love telephone boxes

Nadine in Burbon Street

I found a candy store where they had an enormous Toblerone (one of my favorite candy bars). Too bad it was $125! I could have bought my Guess purse for that!

The Europe themed corridor

It was so cute!

Right smack in the middle of the WEM was a replica of the Santa Maria. It was HUGE! So awesome!!

There are far more pictures, but those are all that I can stand to post for right now. I don't want to overload some people.

That night, I was so tired, I literally have NO recollection of the drive back to Breton Acres. None. My brain was already asleep, just with my eyes open.