Well, it all started with driving a really sweet rental car down to Calgary to pick up my sister who had blown in on the winds from South America :) After having not quite enough time just the two of us (sorry Mom and Dad) the parentals drove up in front of my apartment building a few nights later...right after Jay and I got home from watching one of my favorite movies...
"Live and Become"---seriously SO good. Anyway, after like 6 months the fam was all together again for my momentous Graduation from Nursing on June 9th :) Yay!! It wasn't overly thrilling at the time, and as I said to eve
ryone who asked me once I got home...I think being a "real nurse" will only really hit me in September when I don't have to go back to school! :) We went out to celebrate at my favorite restaurant "Langano Skies" afterward. Then, the very next day actually, the four of us all piled into our Van and headed out on our week long road trip back across Canada and the US to finally land in Nova Scotia...
The trip wa
s long but very fun :) We made as many stops as we could to visit friends and family along the way... We stopped in Regina, Sask to see Joshua (aka "Shua")-my cousin, who is a youth pastor at a church there, and to see Dr. John Barkman-the pastor of the same church, who was my dad's favorite teacher, football coach, and mentor when he was in high school :) We also got to see Deborah Hubble which was a wonderful surprise since I hadn't seen her in like 3 years, crazy!
We carried on from there down to the States to see my cousin Jennifer and Eric Dreier and
their 2 boys Andrew and Devin. This was my first time meeting Devin...they are both very active, very cute, and provided quite a bit of entertainment...especially when wrestling with Dad on the floor...I wish I could put that video on my blog! We were also able to tag along to Andrews swimming lesson and Erik's Softball game! While in Iowa Janna got to see one of her good friends Sara (used to be Tyrell), who is pregnant by the way...very cute :)
**oh yeah, I drove in the scariest traffic ever when we went around Chicago...I've never seen so many 18 wheelers in my life...I was surrounded!! AHH! We also ran into car problems right after we got into Canada, dad burnt his hand on the wheel which was over heated from what ever was wrong, then we tried to track down somewhere to get it fixed where they eventually told us nothing was wrong! Alright...so we carried on...
From Iowa we hit Toronto (after Janna visited with Angela from Ecuador for 45 minutes in a gas station parking lot--as you can tell we weren't picky as to where we met up with pe
ople...just so long as we got to see everyone on our list!) where we stayed with another cousin Sonya and Pat Watanabe and their gorgeous girls Sydney and Jada :) We went to gymnastics with the girls one morning-so precious-and then to Chucky Cheese, where I think Pat had more fun than the girls! :) That night for supper we went out with Luke, yet another cousin :), saw the computer that he built from scratch (wow! mind blowing for me) and then practically force fed the guy
chocolate at dinner not remembering that he really doesn't like it! Sorry Lukie! Then we drove a wee bit further to one of the Great Lakes (that mom was convinced was Salt water...hilarious...sorry Mom, couldn't leave that bit out!) to stay with Mom's cousin Judy and her husband Roger...who I must say are some of the funniest people...ever :) We laughed so hard we cried :) Good times all around!...oh, and their dog rings a little bell by the door when it has to go pee...quite a sight let me tell you! :)
The next morning we hit the road really early, and I got to visit with my Friend Dawn for 45 minutes at a Tim Horton's in Kingston Ontario. That was a really great time since I hadn't seen her or talked to her in like a whole year since she left Edmonton! I sure miss having you around here Dawn. A few hours later we pulled up in front of yet another Tim Horton's in Hudson Quebec to hang out with Craig Silver for a while
! I hadn't seen Craig in 2 years so that was a blessing, and he got to tell us more about the mission trip he was planning with his youth group to Argentina :) exciting. Our trip was almost ending as we neared New Brunswick for another meal at...yes, you guessed it...Tim Horton's (actually, I coped out and went to Subway...I can't do Tim's 3 times in one day!) We also basically Hi-jacked a cheese factory somewhere in NB about a half hour after they closed...we arrived in the parking lot-Dad and Janna were VERY excited for Curd...and dad went to go in and the place was locked!! Horrors! I've never seen dad look so desperate (we'd timed our trip around when this place would be open!). He pounded on the door and the very nice manager man came and let him in...he didn't speak too much english, but was extremely nice. They were make "tomorrow's curd" in the back so h
e packed up dad's order right on the spot!! Hometown Maritimes I tell ya! Anyway, it think that I've never tasted anything so "fresh" in my life...I was almost sick...that cheese was still "Mooing" I tell you!! Might as well have sucked on an utter..yuck! I couldn't eat it... Oh, we saw one moose and like 3 dear (alive) and a few dead... and dad almost got run over by a car when he stopped to...well, I'll spare you a few details ;) Needless to say...never a dull moment on a Fox Family Roadtrip!
We stayed in Fredericton the next night, went to
the market (tradition) on Saturday morning-best Souvlaki in Canada, saw the rest of the cousins, and met Shauna's first baby Hannah, also saw Sarah and John for the first time after their wedding, got to see Steph Esson (Fox) but have yet to meet Matt, her husband. Anyway, we had lots of fun yet again, laughing and carrying on as we always do...I vaguely remember something about "tighty pinkies"?? It's all a blur of laughter anyway :)
Finally, I brea
thed a sigh of relief as I drove the van across the provincial line of Nova Scotia and saw the beautiful sign... finally :)
Janna drove as we winded our way through Fall River and into our drive way...only to find a big "Welcome Home Janna & Chrisitiane" sign and some of our best friends running out from our Garage...My Cup Runneth Over...I'm back :)
, heat, mud, solitude and torture that IS tree planting!! I'm am so impressed with these girls every week when they pile into my appartment dirty, slightly smelly, but with smiles on their faces :) They have been a great blessing in my life the past 2 months when they show up on the door step for their day off. Between sleeping in, the worst Farmer's Tans ever, Keltie eating cookies, doing laundry, falling asleep in church, Sheilagh getting her wisdom tooth pulled, Krista using my phone to talk to Josh for hours on end, Keltie
eating more cookies, trips to the Market, eating with Nadia, Mandolin saronades by Amber, Krista's "Christmas Toe" nail clipin at East Coast and 
Ethiopian Resturants, Keltie doing my dishes, Krista's midnight Birthday Party, Slushie runsgs, "Sheil's Morning Happy Song" on my keyboard, random matanee movies about Piarates, and dang good company and conversation...I have loved having them around!! :) Seriously girls I have been blessed watching the three of you (plus the other 3 girls) get along, encourage each other, make fun of each other, and genuinely love the
people you are around this summer :) You have served Christ by serving each
other. Thanks for the laughs and the memories, and for sharing all your stories...you are my bush wacking heros :) Only one Question remains... "Sheilagh and Keltie...what ARE you doing NEXT summer??" :)
