A MckMikey Affair......And a Very Happy New Year

Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Camp Horizon, Bragg Creek, Alberta

McKinnis Holman and Mikey Lupart (no McKinnis has not changed her name).

Yes, I was back in Alberta again.....but I had a really, really good reason for it. I was there to celebrate New Year's Eve......just kidding. I was there to witness the wedding of my great friends McKinnis and Mikey. They just so happened to hold their wedding on New Year's Eve. They also chose a very unique venue for the wedding, Camp Horizon. Camp Horizon is the Easter Seals camp just outside of Bragg Creek. It is set up to host a summer camp for disabled children. Easter Seals is a special group to McKinnis and Mikey who they have done a lot of fundraising for. They wanted to chose a location that was special to them and they wanted to hold it on New Year's Eve so they could celebrate the start of a new year and their new life with friends.

The Main Hall which played host to the ceremony and the reception. I am so glad I did not have to tie all those bows but I must say McKinnis, Vanessa and Jenn (and I am sure a few other people) did a good job.

Out the window of the Main Hall. Yes there was a lot of snow and it was very cold........but it was so awesome.

Now one of the unique things about Camp Horizon is that the camp set-up not only allowed us to hold the ceremony and reception in one place, but it also allowed us all to sleep in the same place (if we chose too). Of course a few people chose to head home after the party, but I think the majority of us found the idea of only having to walk a few feet from our party spot to our sleeping spot quite inviting.

My sleeping area which I shared with my partner in crime, Vanessa.

Vanessa, Laura and Jenn putting on the final touches before the ceremony.

Of course this is Alberta at the end of December so it was cold but it was perfect. Such a beautiful spot. Here are a few pictures from the evening. Pretty safe to say this was the best New Year's EVER!!!!

I did manage to steal the bride for a quick moment before the ceremony for a picture. She looked so good!!!!

The Girls. We some how managed to cram us all into one room to get this picture before the ceremony. Thanks to Crystal for not only taking the professional pictures but taking a picture on every single one of our cameras.

Laura and I trying to stay warm during the ceremony. There was a little breeze in the hall but I assure you it disappeared once the night got going.

Vanessa and Hayley during the ceremony.

You should have seen the ordeal getting this picture. Trust me, Mckinnis is not so comfortable right now but I think the boys knew better than to drop The Bride on her Wedding Day.

Yeah, there's a little Captain in them. I am sure you have all seen the Captain Morgan commercial (that's spiced rum). Very fitting for this group of boys I assure you. Although if they acted out a Pilsner commercial, that would have been fitting too.

Cutting the cake. That cake tasted so good and was very cute too. Very Mckinnisy (yeah it's a word.....now).

Now I am sure you all know that the Bride and Groom were in high demand all night long but I did manage to steal each long enough to get a picture.

With Mikey........

and McKinnis.

Now I should let you know that Mikey and McKinnis did have a stipulation for their wedding....once the reception and dancing began everyone had to wear a piece of flare in the spirit of the New Year's Eve celebrations. That is why you see McKinnis wearing a blue boa. My flare.....well my whole outfit and my attitude was my flare.

My partner in crime, Vanessa. Yeah, this picture is a pretty good indication as to how the night went.

Joe, Laura and Laura's parents all dressed up in their flare. Joe and Laura will be getting married in December 2010. Yeah!!!!

Chip.....his flare was the shot glass around his neck. I'm not sure it should count because it was way too functional.

Nearing midnight. Yes, that is a medal around my neck. I won it in the dance competition. I came in second but the guy who won was on crutches. How could I compete with that?

Congratulations McKinnis and Mikey. It's hard to think of 2 people who are more perfectly suited for each other than you. Here's wishing you the very best in 2010 and beyond.

Julie

Brrr, It's Cold Outside.....But It's Awfully Warm Inside

December 11th to 13th, 2009
Banff, Alberta, Canada

No you are not mistaken….I have been flying back and forth from NYC to western Canada a lot lately. This weekend was the shortest of my recent visits but it is amazing what you can cram into 48 hours.

Yes, that is snow as seen on the car windshield. It is light and fluffy. Just the kind of snow I like.

My trip to Calgary this time around was to celebrate the upcoming wedding of a very good friend of mine, McKinnis. To refresh your memory Mckinnis and I went to nursing school together and it is normally with her and her soon to be husband Mikey that I crash with when I am in town. A shower had recently been held for her but this weekend it was all about fun and games as a whole group of us packed up a few cars, braved the cold Alberta weather and headed to Banff for a Stagette Weekend.

Getting ready to head to Banff. Laura did not have her make-up on so was not so happy about having her picture taken.

McKinnis (the bride) was very excited about her weekend in Banff.

I have learned that finding accommodation for a group of 14 is actually difficult in Banff because people cannot rent out houses or cottages or that kind of thing (if you buy a house you have to live in it year round). But party planner Jenn (also from nursing school) did a great job finding us this great little cottage with sleeping spots (double and single beds) for 12, 3 bathrooms, 2 TVs, an air hockey table (we never did get around to playing that), a full kitchen and a huge source of entertainment for us….the wood burning fireplace.

Our cottage for the weekend. A very cute little spot. And yes, 12 to 14 people can sleep in this place.

Upon arrival in Banff (once we found the place, and the liquor store) we checked out the cottage, counted beds and of course made a sleeping chart because we could go no further until we knew where people would be sleeping. But once that was settled, the group started arriving and the fun would begin.

This is what I look like after a cross country flight and a few glasses of wine. Yes very relaxed......and yes very tired.

This is Vanessa, McKinnis and Laura. They were working on starting the fire.

Ok I should go back to the fire because like I said it was a real source of entertainment for us. Apparently none of us paid attention in our outdoor education class because it took 5 of us and about an hour to get it going. The wood was cut a little large (there was no axe….we would have made kindling) and it turns out we had no paper (you should have seen us pulling random stuff our of our purses to burn). Eventually we learned that absinthe is a great fire starter (there was a small incidence which almost resulted in the loss of Hayley's hair but in the end we all survived). Look......the wood was a pretty full of moisture so until we could get the logs dried out nothing would burn but that didn’t stop us from trying.

Yeah this worked for a little bit but really it just resulted in my face being covered with ash.

A little video. Hayley is no longer sitting so close because last time Vanessa ran through the living room with burning paper....Hayley almost lost her hair. It was funny.

Ok so after the fire was burning bright the fun and games began. Mostly there was eating and drinking but we did play a great game of pin the tail on the donkey, the X-rated version (I’m sure you’ve all seen it) there was some living room dancing (see video evidence) and then eventually we fell into our assigned beds for some sleep.

Turns out Laura was pretty good at this game.

Not sure how Jenn and Hayley ended up on the floor. Apparently the picture was taking too long to take and they lost their balance.....or at least that is the story we are sticking with.

Oh.......doesn't everyone just love Journey?

The next day we got up......well not early, and some girls headed off shopping. There was no way I could shop however. Living in Manhattan has spoiled me and well, I must admit I am a bit of a shopping snob and find it really hard to do it anywhere else. I instead thought I would check out some of the prettiness that is winter in the Canadian Rockies. Now let me mention to you that the temperature was -30 C (with the wind chill.......that's around -22 F by the way) and when I left New York it was +9 C (49 F) so I was a little cold. But that didn't stop me from getting a few pictures before meeting up with the rest of the girls for some Starbucks and a stop at Billabong (that's a Skate, Surf and Snow shop).

I think I miss scenes like this. So calming.

It is Alberta after all which means it is never too cold for a little pond hockey.

The water looks cold. I'm sure it was. But it was also very pretty.

At least I was dressed for the weather. I haven't had to wear my winter jacket much in the last few years.

After the picture taking and Starbucks it was back to the cottage to start a fire, start some drinking, pretty ourselves up and head out on the town. Now I am sure some of you have been to a Stagette before so you have to know there was a scavenger hunt. We all started out strong but once we left dinner and hit the club I think most of us forgot the list. Not sure who won....I'm sure it wasn't me, even though I was teamed with Vanessa who made the hunt.

McKinnis all dressed up for the evening. So cute!!!

Yeah, we haven't left the hotel yet. What? The scavenger hunt list clearly stated we needed a picture with a bear.

We also needed a penny with McKinnis' birth year on it. Nessa and I found one!!!!

The rest of the night involved a lot a dancing, some good clean fun with a Stag party who also decided to celebrate in Banff (always makes for a lot of free drinks). We lost the bride a few times but don't worry we found her in time to get her back to the cottage (well at least the few of us who stayed there until closing).

The Stag we found.

I have no idea who this is.

Brooke, Hayley and McKinnis. Trust me....we all had a great time.

It was a great weekend topped off with a couple flights back to NYC on Sunday.....ok, so they weren't so wonderful, but I slept a lot. It was a quick trip but always worth it to spend a few days with a group of girls I have barely seen in the last four years and one of the greatest friends a girl could ever have (yes Mckinnis that is you).

The view at the Calgary airport while waiting for my plane. Yeah, it didn't look very inviting outside but it was pretty warm in the airport.

Julie

Home Sweet Home

Monday, December 22, 2008
Travel from London England to Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Walking out of a hotel for the last time on this 3 month adventure.

Well today things actually ran on a pretty good schedule. I arrived back at home safe and sound and am now beginning the daunting task of sorting all my things, doing my laundry, finding where the rest of my clothes are, packing for the impending move in a few short weeks and trying to catch up with all my friends. I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed....but I realize it is covered up so I will not be able to sleep in it for at least another month when we are moved to Vernon.

I have a lot of memories to look back on from the last 3 months…..but I am going to wait a few days before I do. What I can say is that it was an amazing trip. I never thought I could see so much in such a short period time. Am I planning the next trip? Probably. We shall see where the future takes me. For now I will just try to adjust to the time change and get use to no longer living out of my backpack.



Julie

Wedding Bliss

July 19th, 2008

Well the day we had all been waiting for came and went. That day of course was Steve and Heather's Wedding. The day was perfect. Here are a few pictures from the day. I am sure everyone has a few but here are some I would like to share. I took some of them and Debi took some of them. Of course as usual no pictures of Steve's face so we will just have to enjoy everyone else.

I think we can all agree that Heather looked amazing....and Steve looked pretty good too.

And let's take a look at the rest of the Bodden Family

Love to see Dad out of his Serge for once....and the watch was an excellent touch. I wonder who gave that to him.......I wonder.

The phone calls and pictures by email and the stress surrounding finding mom an oufit.....were totally worth it because she could not have looked better.

Debi lives on a small island now and totally fit the part. Good thing it was warm or we would have missed the dress under a big warm sweater. And good thing she didn't wear taller shoes or she would have really towered over dad.

Yes it is my blog so enjoy some pictures of me too.

I think this is the first time we have all been dressed up at the same time.

Debi and Gramma looking super good and super happy.

Cheers!!!!

I guess this was taken before Uncle Andy started to drink water.

Uncle Bill you look tired.

Bonnie and Barry

You can't see Steve's face in this one!!!!

The Bouquet Toss. Please note that Debi is just pretending. I didn't even bother doing that. However, Stacey looks like she really wants it.

Yummy cupcakes!!!!

The cookies were really good too. I hope Steve enjoyed one because after making all these cookies herself, I am not sure if Heather will ever make cookies again.

Dad and Bonnie enojoying some midnight lunch. You had to know this picture was going to end up here for everyone to see.

Congrats Steve and Heather. We wish you the best.

Julie