HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians out there!!!

Okay, so I'm a few days late....it's the 4th now....so Happy 4th of July to all my American friends ;)  But regardless, never too late to post some Canada Day photos! :)  We had a really great day downtown,  enjoying all the festivities!  Luke and I went with Jordan and Katrina, and ended up spending pretty much the whole day down there.  We walked around to all the different venues - hit up the Flavours of Canada section and ate some yummy gyros and hamburgers.  We walked around the outdoor market and I got a great bag (which I have yet to take a photo of...I will though!) - it's made of jute and says "Republic of Vancouver Island" printed on it :)  We lounged on the lawn of the legislature, people watching and taking in the sound checks of all the performers who were to perform later that night.  Luke and I then went to Ebizo Sushi for some delicious sushi...oh man, SOOO good! We walked up and down Government St. and checked out Bastion Square, taking in all the crazy people and all the sights and sounds of Victoria on Canada Day :)  We ended up meeting back up with Jordan and Katrina and heading over to the spot we always used to sit for the fireworks....right by the Delta Ocean Point hotel.  It was sprinkling rain on us a little bit as we sat and drank our hot chocolate, but it wasn't too bad at all.  The fireworks were great, as usual!

It's been awhile since I've gone downtown for Canada Day, but it was very much worth the drive!  The energy and atmosphere was awesome, and there were moments throughout the day that made me extremely proud to be Canadian!! :)

True North, Strong & Free!!

Us on the Legislature lawn - getting ready to take a break and lounge on the grass for awhile, listening to some great music and watching some seriously interesting characters! :)

Luke taking it easy...using my purse as a pillow :)  Thankfully it was so full and cozy :-P

They lose their other "RED" guy!!  No one could find him! LOL

This group is absolutely amazing...they provide such an unbelievable atmosphere to downtown Victoria with their amazing music :)  I want to buy one of their cds the next time I see them.  Well worth the $20 if you ask me!!

SEA OF RED!!!!

One of my favourite murals in the city :)

My love and I :):)

Yup, this is so us :)  I am constantly speechless with him ;)

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!! LOL

Campbell River - Father's Day

We went on a road trip on Father's Day, up to Cambell River, BC to visit my Dad's mom and his brothers.  We only ended up seeing Uncle Steve....we thought we might see Uncle Bob, but he was camping.  I hadn't seen Grandma in a couple of years, so it was much needed and a really great visit!  We took our vehicle up there as well, as there were too many of us to take only mom and dad's van.  However, on the way there (only 20ish km from our destination) one of our tires blew!  UGH!  We had known we would likely have to get new tires in the near future....unfortunately this expedited it!  We thought we would have to try and track something down in Campbell River, but thankfully  our spare was rated for 3000 miles at a speed of 65 mph....so we were good to go until we could get something new in Victoria after the weekend! :)  We were very thankful or that!

This is the greatest Canadian song ever....oh Canada, oh, oh, oh Canada! ;)

Jordan came in our car with us....we had fun with the camera, and switched back and forth between our ipods, trying to find the best songs :)  It was good times!

Yup....that's us....total gangstas! lol!

WHAT A DUMB NAME!! HA! :)

Craaaaaapppp!

Thankfully I was accompanied by an amazing husband and brother who are ever so talented in the tire changing department!

The Humphreys, Nelsons & Millers

Grandma has a gorgeous garden that she puts a whole lot of time and effort into!

Grandma and I :) <3

We were so squished on the way home!  Mom and Jordan had left earlier to pick David up from his West Coast Trail hike, and since Mom wasn't wanting to take the risk of driving all that way on our spare tire, she of course took her van :)  So that meant we had 5 people in our 5 person car....it was COZY! :)  But we made it work....we mostly slept for the 3 hours!  As you can see, William was already there....this was only like 2 minutes into our trip home! Ha! :)

It was a really nice visit - I really hope to be able to get up there and see Grandma and my uncles more often.

Week 2 results & the beginning of Week 3!

I'm down 2.8 lbs and 1.25 inches!! 

I know, I should be happy with any loss, and I am....but I am slightly disappointed in myself.  It felt like I worked really hard, and I thought I would see more results at the end of the week.  But I did some self reflection and tried to see where I went wrong....I think I snacked too much.  I am the type of person who will snack when I'm bored, snack while watching tv, etc, etc....so I need to really watch that.  I know I snacked more in week 2 than in week 1.  Maybe part of it might be that in week 1 my body was probably in shock with all the new exercise and healthy food, so dropped the weight quicker....who knows....I am only guessing! :)

But anyway, I have resolved myself to longer and harder workouts to get back up to what I think is a more decent loss each week.  I guess almost 3 pounds isn't too bad....I just want to see instant results....that's my problem!!! :)

I did my walking dvd again tonight and walked a little over 2.5 miles....the longest I've done yet!!  I'm SO proud of my Mom - she did the whole 4 miles tonight!!!  SO AWESOME!! :)  I want to get to that point soon...I know it will require me to really push myself...I am willing to try!

So here's to a healthy week, with lots and lots of exercise and healthy foods....and little snacking ;)

2 MILES!

I feel SO GOOD!  I've had this exercise dvd for awhile now - it's called "Punch Up Your Walk" by Leslie Sansone:

It's a 4 mile walk, separated into four 1 mile segments....and today, I finally did 2 full miles without stopping!! I am SO thrilled!  I've done a mile before, and sometimes a mile and a half, but I've never gotten to two...especially without stopping!! :)   I'm very excited about this :)

I highly recommend this dvd - and I can only imagine her other dvds are just as great.  She really is excellent - I love her no pressure attitude and she's not that annoying preppy super happy like a lot of other exercise instructors....it's refreshing :)

So anyway, I bought this dvd at Walmart for I think $14.99 or something like that....it comes with a pair of weighted gloves...they're fairly light, about a pound or 2.  You can buy it online as well.  It's now my mission to be able to do at least 2.5 - 3 miles tomorrow :)  Let's see if I can do that!

Happy exercising everyone!!

Grad of 2010!!!

My brother Jordan graduated this weekend....I have no idea how he can possibly be old enough to be doing this?!  I am so very proud of him....I know he will accomplish big things in his life and excel at everything he does!  He is considering going into teaching (which I think he would be great at!), and possibly photography.  I know he really wants to travel - Ireland and New Zealand (I will pack myself in his suitcase)...can you imagine the photo opportunities?!

He's an amazing guy, and I love him a ton! So proud of you Jordo!!