Christmas 2011

Christmas is our favourite time of year. Nothing makes me happier then decorating the house. We did things a little backwards this year. We actually started decorating the inside of our house in the middle of November. In Canada people start decorating for Christmas the first part of November. We thought we would go to the store and buy a few things for the house, but convinced ourselves we would not start decorating until December. However, we got so excited Christmas shopping we came home that night and started taking down all the fall decorations to put up Christmas stuff. Brandon put up the lights and decorated the front yard while I was at work one day. He did such an amazing job. We finally got our tree this past weekend and put the finishing touches on the tree tonight. We had to let the tree sit and thaw out as we have had quite a bit of snow here and the tree was frozen. Now that everything is all done I just want to lay by the fire and stare at all the beautiful Christmas decorations. It does not get much better than this!!

My Birthday

Another year, another birthday. This year I turned the big 28!! Can't believe how fast time is going. Brandon surprised me and took me to Banff for the weekend. Those that have not been there should definitely make a point in going. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Banff is about two hours from our house. We woke up Friday morning and Brandon had two dozen roses sitting on the counter for me. It was the first snow fall of the year (how fitting on my birthday). We got in the car and headed to Banff. We stayed in the Banff Fairmount Hotel. It was a rather large hotel. The perk was they have a small hotel within the big hotel. We were on a private floor with our own concierge, etc. It was breathtaking. We spent the day walking around, and just admiring the beautiful mountains. That night Brandon made reservations at an Italian restaurant. We had a wonderful dinner. It was such an amazing experience and I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally and spoils me. Truth is it would have been the best birthday no matter what because I got to spend the day with Brandon.

Thanksgiving in Canada

Happy Thanksgiving. This was the first year we did not spend Thanksgiving with family. It was very different, but we decided since we couldn't go home we would celebrate in Canada. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October (hence everyone having Christmas decorations already done). Brandon was in Arizona during Canadian Thanksgiving so instead I spent the day with Angie ( a friend of ours that moved up here from Kentucky. Her husband Allen coaches with Brandon as well). We decided to make breakfast and had lots of yummy food. We knew we could not celebrate American Thanksgiving on the actual day as I had to work. So we decided to throw a party on Saturday November 26th. We made invitations and invited 25 people not sure who would come. Everyone decided to come and check out what American Thanksgiving was all about. We decided to split the cooking with The Cox family (Angie, Allen, and their two kids Payton and Koby). We made a menu and split it in half. On our side we had Turkey, Stuffing, Gravy, Cranberry, Mashed Potatoes, dinner rolls, green bean casserole, corn, salad, and desert. We got up Saturday morning and started the cooking. We spent the day cooking, setting up the tables and chairs, and preparing for a fun night. Around 5pm everyone showed up ready to eat!! We had so much food we were running out of room to set stuff. All together there was Turkey, Ham, Gravy, Cranberry, Green Bean Casserole, Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Home made mac and cheese, corn, fruit salad, salad, dinner rolls. And to top it all off we had 4 different deserts and ice cream. We all set down at the table to eat and Brandon started the meal with a  toast thanking everyone for coming and wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. It was the start to a wonderul evening with friends, good food, laughs, and lots of memories.

                                           

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

On August 22 Brandon and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Hard to believe 2 years has already gone by. Time flies when you are having fun. 2 years ago I married my best friend and have been living my dream ever since. Brandon is the best husband, my strength, my everything. He makes me want to be a better person. I feel truly blessed to have so much love in my heart. And to think on our first date I told my mom I was going to marry him. Sometimes you just know. We did not do much to celebrate our anniversary as we were at home with family. However, Brandon and I celebrate our love everyday. We look forward to celebrating the many anniversaries to come.

Visit back to the States

Brandon and I jumped in our car and made the 12 hour drive back to Bellingham to visit family. We left on Monday August 15th and drove for 9 hours. We stopped in Kamloops and got a hotel for the night. We got up the next morning and finished the drive. Upon arrival we met up with Brandon's mom Kim, Aunt Kelli, Aunt Kerri, brother Anthony, and Grandmom Body for lunch. Brandon had not been home since May so everyone was very excited to see him. We stayed at Brandon's parents house in Blaine. Over the course of the week we packed a lot in. We went to dinner with Brandon's cousin Sean. his wife Holly and their two girls Hailey and Malia. Of course we chose Mexican food as we do not get any at home. We also got our crabbing license and went crabbing for a few days down at the beach. It was amazing to catch crab and cook it fresh on the beach. Doesn't get much better than that. We went on a shopping trip. For those who don't me know well I love to shop. Brandon and I got some great stuff. I mostly got new work clothes for my job that I start on September 6th. My mom came along and we took her to dinner at a restaurant called Joey's. It was yummy. We also managed time to get a massage. Now this was no ordinary massage. It is a Chinese pressure point massage where they push on your pressure points to release tension. It hurts a great deal during the process, but feels amazing at the end. We were also lucky enough to be around for my mom's birthday. We got to help her celebrate the BIG 52 (sorry mom for stating your age). We took her to dinner at a restaurant called The Fork at Agate Bay. It was absolutely delicious and we were quite full when we left. We got to see a few friends while at home,  but not as many as we would have liked too. Just not enough time in the day to do everything we wanted. We wrapped up the trip with a dinner at Brandon's parents house with his parents and my mom. It was a nice relaxing night. We left on Tuesday August 23rd to start the drive home. We got a early start and drove straight through. We were sad to leave but excited to get back home. Now Brandon is gearing up for Fall ball in the academy and I start my new job in September.

Dinner at Jalapeno's

The Beach

Spent lots of time relaxing at the beach

Sunset at the Beach.

Dinner with mom at Joey's

Brandon and Kim

Brandon and I at Joey's

End of Baseball Season

Unfortunately the Dawgs Baseball team came away with a loss on Saturday night to end the season. They were ahead 1-0 going into the 6th inning when everything took a turn. The Regina Red Sox scored 7 runs in the 6th to put them on top 7-1. The dawgs tried to come back with a 2 run home run but it was not enough. The game was another sold out crowd and there were lots of tears shed as the players and coaches said goodbye to one another. This was an absolutely amazing summer and I could not be more proud of Brandon. He is the best baseball coach in the world and those kids are so lucky to have him. More importantly for the last few months I got to watch Brandon do what he loves most and that is the greatest gift.

Now that season is over Brandon has a little time off before the fall academy starts up. On top of the collegiate team there are 4 younger teams in the academy. So we are headed back to the states to visit family and friends in Washington. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and hope to take lots of pictures. We leave this evening and will start the 12 hour drive home.

NEW JOB

We have been up in Canada now for 4 months and have fallen in love. This is our new home and we look forward to creating lots of memories here. Words cannot describe how amazing this town is. So I suggest that everyone just come visit us and see for yourself!! There has been a few differences that have taken us some time to get used to. The following are a few examples..

• Cost of everything is higher here (gas, food, etc)
• Speed limit is in KM not MPH
• Peace Officers instead of Police Officers
• Money (our change actually adds up with loonies and toonies)
• Weather in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit
• Gas in Liters instead of Gallons

Not too much to report on Brandon. He has been busier then ever with baseball. He has not had much time to do anything else. He is looking forward to a small break after season before fall ball starts up again. He is happier then ever and I am so proud of him. Nothing gives me more joy than to watch my husband do what he loves

Since moving up here I have not been working. I took the summer off to get our house organized and be able to watch all of Brandon's baseball games. I also signed up for a new workout program. I am now doing Cross fit at Natural High Cross fit Club. It is the best workout and I have met some amazing people at this place. I took my two mom's to a class while they were in town. They were great support and the class enjoyed all the cheerleading!! We have also met some wonderful new friends since we moved up here.
   The biggest news is I officially accepted a new job yesterday. I am now the Office Manager with Executrade in downtown Calgary. You can look at the website to find out more about the company. Executrade is a recruitment and employment agency. They call themselves headhunters, but when I tell most people that they seem to think I am going to be hunting. HA HA. I am very excited about the opportunity and looking forward to getting back into work. I start the position September 6th. We actually met some of the people that work for the company in line while at the Calgary Stampede. My husband does not know strangers and started talking to a few people and before I knew it I was getting contact information to send in my resume. I interviewed initially with the premise that the company would help me land a job somewhere in Calgary. However, upon meeting me they said they had an opening in their company and thought I was the perfect fit. So I met with the Vice President of the Company and the rest is history.

Our Parent's Vist

We knew it wouldn't be long until we had our first visitors. Our parents flew into Calgary and came to visit us for 10 days. It was the best visit and we were so happy to show our parents our new home. Brandon's team had a bunch of home games that we got to take them too. Among the highlights were Dan getting to throw out the first pitch to Brandon. As well Kim got to throw out the first pitch on the 4th of July to Brandon in an absolutely amazing costume!! The team had a breast cancer game where they all wore pink jersey's and auctioned them off to raise money. The team raised over $16,000. One of the coolest things was a dad that bought Brandon's jersey gave it to Kim as he said he knew how much it meant to her. Brandon signed the shirt for his mom!! It was very touching. Outside of baseball I took my mom to Banff and surprised her with horseback riding tickets. We got to ride through the mountains and threw the river. It was truly a moment to cherish. Our parents also happened to be here during the Calgary Stampede. We got all dressed up in our Cowboy attire and went into the city where we got to take in the Rodeo, the Fair, the concerts, and much more. It was a magical time.
 The 10 days was jammed packed full of activity and lots of laughter. It was such an amazing visit and we were sad when they had to leave. We took so many pictures, but I only posted a few here. Overall it was the best time and we are looking forward to the next visit.

My momma's

Kim, Brandon, Myself, and Dan

Family Picture

Horseback Riding

My momma!!

At the Calgary Stampede

Love this pic

Great family photo

Kim throwing out the first pitch. She looked amazing!

Nashville North at the Calgary Stampede

Breast Cancer Awareness Game.

Like Father, Like Son

Brandon's Baseball Team

This summer Brandon has been coaching a collegiate summer team (the Okotok Dawgs). The team consists of players from all over the United States and Canada. The season started back in June and the team has played 50 games in 60 days. Needless to say we live at the ballpark right now. The team has had a great summer breaking the all time record for wins with 34 (the previous record was 32). They have won the first two series of the playoffs beating the Lethbridge Bulls in the first round 3 games to 1 and the Medicine Hat Mavericks 3 games to 1 in round 2. The Dawgs are now in the Championship series against the Regina Red Sox. The team started the first two games (series is best of 5) on the road and lost two close games 7-5 and 3-1. It was a long bus ride home of 7 hours and heading back things were not looking good as the Dawgs were playing in a must win game. However, the Dawgs were not ready for the season to end and bounced back with a 7-4 win at home in front of a sold out crowd of 4,000 fans. The series stands at 2-1 now as the Dawgs play in front of a sold out home crowd again tonight. If the Dawgs can win another game the series would go back to Regina for game 5 to decide the Champion. You can follow the games on the Dawgs baseball website http://www.dawgsbaseball.ca/

The Stadium


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The Locker Room



The 2011 Dawgs

Getting Settled In

Upon moving in our new house we had boxes everywhere. We started putting boxes in the garage so it looked like we were getting unpacked faster. It took a couple of weeks to get everything set up. Brandon was working most days so I got to set things up the way I liked. I never thought I would get so tired of unpacking. We live in a beautiful 3 story home with 5 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. We have two other coaches that live in the basement with us. They are great guys and it feels like one big family. I didn't take too many pictures of the house while unpacking as I was simply exhausted. We have been here now for 4 months and our house is starting to take shape. Although we still have a few more boxes in the garage we need to go through and down the road we would like to paint the two spare bedrooms as they are currently blue and purple. Other than that we have finally made this a space to call home

Our Dining Room

Kitchen

Our Movie Room Upstairs

The Blue Room

Living Room