Date

Erik and I had Wednesday off so we decided to have an anniversary date. We went to D-Dutch for breakfast and then biked the Kettle Valley Railroad. The weather was perfect for it as it wasn't too hot. It's a perfect bike-ride for two out of shape individuals as it is 24 km of flatness. I enjoy hanging out with Erik. I find it is so easy to just stay at home together rather than plan dates... especially cheap dates. This was a great activity to do together.

Our First Anniversary

I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone by. Honestly. I went camping with our church this weekend without Erik because he had to work. He made his way out to Mara Lake yesterday though so we stayed an extra night with some friends of ours. This morning we sat on the dock and reminisced about this past year. It felt a little cheesy, but it was really actually quite nice. I love Erik and I love who I am because of him. He has taught me so much this year - which is great because I have much to learn. I think we balance each other out quite well. I love living life together and enjoying each others company.
I've heard the first year together is the most difficult. I would say ours went rather smoothly and that we've settled into married life quite well. I am so blessed to have Erik in my life. He truly is an amazing man.

Here ya go.

I am finally able to show you the cross stitch projects I have been working on! They have been done for almost 2 months now, but I haven't been able to show anything because they are Christmas gifts for my SIL. I was able to "give" them to her when we were in Stanwood for Erik's brother's wedding, but I took them home with me because I want to get them framed for her... or at least do something with them. They are so immensely creased because they have been folded up in a little bag since I bought the materials three months ago. I will have them dry-cleaned and framed and then they will look great!

DKDS and TJPS are our nephews initials. I really wish I could wait until they were officially framed and everything because these photos are awful, but that could take months so you'll just have to use your imagination!

Diego Kinder Dune

Truen Jules Pumpkin

Do Yourself a Favor...

Buy a bra that fits!

I went to a grandma store to get properly sized. I have been giving in to ill-fitting bras for my entire life and Erik finally convinced me to take care of the ladies. I ended up having to cough up more money than I would have liked because of my unusual size, but let me tell you how wonderful it is! It is bliss! Do yourselves a favor and go to the specialists. They know what they are doing.

I wasn't sure I believed the grandma's so I went to Victoria's Secret when I was in the states. Let me tell you, they did not know what they were talking about! They sized me up four cup sizes smaller and the bra did NOT fit at all. They were trying to sell me a bra they had rather than a bra that fit. It was ridiculous.

Since I've been wearing my new bra my shoulders and back hurt less because it fits properly around my ribcage and gives me support. Think of it as a pack. You want the pack cinched around your waist rather than hanging off your shoulders. Same goes with a bra, my friends. Support those ladies.

Furthermore,

• My boobs look better (that's what Erik tells me)
• I don't have muffin tops
• I have lost my uni-boob

Erik is now forcing me to admit the fact that I have never bought myself a bra. Ever. I have only worn my sister's old bras.... after she wore them for years prior. And, I still wear my very first sports bras. They are 100% cotton and 100% stretched out. I have resorted to wearing all four of them when I do anything active.

Wearing these bras was fine before my breasts developed sag-ability*, which has been roughly the past six years. It became especially awful when the bras themselves were forced to function above maximum capacity.

Moral of the story: Go get properly sized and buy a bra that fits. It will change your life.

* Sag-ability: adjective;
a. The recognition that previous youthful structural integrity has been compromised
b. When careful observance tells you that gravity is not only winning the battle but is also laughing at you.
c. When the normal migratory pattern is disrupted causing a consistent southerly passage

Justin

While in Stanwood, I received a call from my sister in Kelowna. She started the conversation by saying, "Are you alone and sitting down?" followed by "Before I tell you this, I want you to know that everything is OK." Neither helped. I was in tears before she even finished the statement "Justin was in a motorcycle accident."

Justin was in a motorcycle accident in Langley on August 5. I don't really know what happened, because he doesn't remember anything, but he couldn't have been going too fast because

1. he was in a basketball jersey with a backpack on and he has hardly any road rash.
2. he's not dead

He was combative at the scene so the paramedics suspected a brain injury. Because of this he was airlifted to the #1 trauma unit at Royal Columbian in New Westminster. My parents were at the Royal Columbian being prepared for the worst. When Justin's CT Scan came back it showed only a minor bleed in his brain. My family visited Justin in ICU and he was kept there overnight. They extubated him in the wee hours of the morning as he was breathing fine on his own - it is my understanding that the intubation was mainly to keep his airway open.

He had surgery on the 6th for a broken left arm. He broke both his radius and his ulna clean in half, but aside from that he just hurt his foot. His whole body is obviously sore, but he is doing very well. Justin was transfered to a surgical floor post-operatively. He stayed in the hospital until Saturday and then Erik, Mom and I took him home.

(sorry for the massive amount of photos)

This was an article in some paper.

What my parents saw when they entered ICU. I have seen many people in this position, but they have always been strangers. It is much different when it is your family. This was almost deja vu of Jonathan's accident five years ago.

This broke my heart. Gentle Ben was very worried about Justin.

The x-ray of his left arm. Ouch. He doesn't even have a cast. It is just wrapped in a very thin gauze. Amazing.

Justin's transportation to the hospital. He likes to brag about his $5000 ride. What a turd.

Pumped to have peed.

Just hanging out. I had to try hard to keep it together when I walked into his room. I didn't see him until two days after the accident when his surgery was done and he was fine (he has nothing but a broken arm!), but it was still very emotional for me. As much as I hate that this happened, as a nursing student I think it is a valuable experience for me. It is good to be on the other side of things - the uncertain side that has no control. The side that has a history, a relationship and an immense amount of love. I hope I can be a more compassionate nurse because of it.

a little history

August 11, 1952 - My father immigrated to Canada with his family.

August 11, 2009 - Erik became a permanent resident of Canada.


Coincidence? I think so, but it's a pretty fun coincidence.

Couldn't Resist

I'm currently writing a paper for my philosophy class, but I couldn't resist posting this picture. I chuckle every time I look at it. This is Erik with his siblings.

Birthday Party

In Stanwood we got to celebrate Diego and Kyla's birthdays. We had a potluck with the aunts and uncles and, of course, had cake!

Diego with his train cake.

Diego and Kyla blowing out the candles.

Wrestling with Uncle Brent and Joey.

Truen.

My father-in-law playing with little T.

Having fun in the pool on the deck. Truen loved "jumping" over the side. He would wind up for a giant leap and then gently step over one foot at a time. It was pretty cute.

Diego enjoying himself.

Just being sweet.

Andrenda's Wedding - August 1, 2009

Erik's brother, Andrew, married Brenda on August 1. It was a beautiful wedding in Erik's parent's backyard. The weather was just splendid! It was cloudy and cool early in the morning, but the clouds burned just in time for their 11:ooam ceremony. It was a wonderful day!

T-baby ready for the day.

Diego snapping a picture of his Grandpa and Uncle Andrew just before Brenda walks down the aisle.

The Happy Couple.

Andrew and Brenda with G+G O.

The Olson's getting organized.

A nice family picture.

BLS, SKOS, DKDS, TJPS. The Solderholms.

Somebody trusted Erik to man the barbecue.

And sweet little Truen.

This was the first time I had ever been with Erik's entire immediate family as neither Blaine nor Brent were able to make it to our wedding. It was a lot of fun to be with the entire crew.

That Stupid Car

The past week and a half has been crazy. I'll dedicate a couple different posts to different events so this doesn't get too lengthy.

Thursday night Erik and I left for Stanwood. We were actually going to Sedro Wooley to stay at Erik's brothers house for the night. As usual, I fell asleep pretty much as soon as we crossed the bridge leaving Kelowna. My little nap was interrupted about an hour and a half later when Erik said, "Hey Ash, I think you'd better wake up."

Uh oh.

Car troubles. Typical. We can't seem to go anywhere without something happening to our car. I used to pray that our car wouldn't break down on road trips. I now pray that when our car does break down, it won't cost too much to fix it.

We were through merrit and now sat sitting on the road because our car overheated. A kind tow-truck driver pulled over and asked if we needed help. We did. He hooked us up and we were towed to hope for free (thank you BCAA). The truck driver turned out to be the previous mayor of Hope and he knew some people that we knew from CBC which at least gave us something to talk about on the long drive to Hope.

Here Erik is trying to figure out what is wrong.

In Hope, we refilled our anti-freeze and then continued on our way. Within five minutes we overheated again. Thus began the long drive to Surrey. We would drive for five minutes and then stop for 5-10 minutes so our car could cool down... All the way to Surrey.

Waiting for the car to cool down.

In Surrey, my parents lent us their car so we could make it to Sedro Wooley that night. They were going to bring our car home to be fixed.

Fast forward a week.

Erik and I were back in Surrey only to find that the mechanic didn't in fact fix our car. He replaced some tubing and thought he had fixed the problem when he hadn't. So we had to bring our car back and had a new radiator put in. AND we found out that there is over $2000 in parts that need to be replaced in the next little while. And that just covers the cost of the parts.

We bought our car for $2000 and have now put over $2500 into it in the past 10 months. I don't feel like "investing" any more into it. Needless to say, Erik and I are in the market for a new car.