Too Lazy to blog... here's some pictures

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!! And hurray for a break from volleyball!!
I've been up to the usual lately... school and volleyball. Last weekend my team went to Red Deer for a tournament. It was so much fun! I've acquired some skill in stat-taking and lining. I'm considering going pro in a couple years, we'll see how things go. I did manage to hit a girl in the chest in my five points of fame... it was wonderful.
Let's see. Last night I slept over at my friend Oriana's house. We went to West Edmonton Mall and bought Caramel Apples. They were so good! Neither of us had ever had one so we decided to go out on a limb and try it out. SO GOOD! So much caramel goodness... delicious. Then we went to her house in Spruce Grove... she gave me a nice tour of the town and it was wonderful. Had a nice dinner at her house (ate so much!!) and then we watched "The Longest Yard" with her parents. I quite enjoyed the movie. I was suprised, to tell you the truth. ... This morning her dad made us breakfast. So yummy, once again. We had eggs, bacon and tomato's. I loved it. I miss being home and having my family around me all the time. It was good to spend time with a family again, even if it's not my own.
Tonight I'm going to my sisters house for dinner. I'm so excited because she is an amazing cook! I love it! I haven't spent thanksgiving with her in who knows how long so that should be fun. Michael is kicking me off his computer - actually he's just mocking how lazy I am. Anyways.

Daddy-O

My daddy came this weekend! It was so much fun! I missed him so much! We had fun together. On Friday he came to visit late when he got in and we just hung out for a bit. On Saturday we went to watch the football game. That was so much fun. Edmonton fans are vicious though. And we were in the college seats so everyone was drinking and yelling. It was good times. There were tons of people from King's all sitting together. BC sadly lost, but 11-1 is still not too bad. Ummm... on Sunday we went to church and then I went with some friends to visit Tyler in the hospital again. He now went home for a bit. Oh yeah, Dad also took me grocery shopping on Sunday. That was my favorite. I have missed so many dinners because of volleyball, but I'm now stocked up so I won't go hungry! It sucks having to rely on cafeteria for your food. For starters the food isn't very good. The sandwiches are, but it gets so boring eating sandwiches every day. I just want to go home and have a nice meal. I want to be able to eat as much as I want without having to worry about running out of money. So, we bought lots of groceries. Then, he left. I was so sad. Seeing him made my miss my family even more. It was so good to get a huge hug and to rest my head on his shoulder while watching TV and to link arms and... aww I miss my daddy.

So I had a chemistry midterm today that I didn't really study for. Actually, I would go as far as saying I didn't study at all. I looked over some of my notes for a couple minutes. I always studied so much last year and I kept on top of my work and everything, but right now I just don't have the motivation. I don't like a lot of my teachers, which doesn't help, and so I don't feel the need to excell. I know I shouldn't be relying on my teachers for motivation, but when they are good and exciting then I want to do well and such. So yeah, I don't think I did too well. Don't tell my mom, it's a secret.

Prayer Request

I have a prayer request for you all. Can you all pray for the King's community. Early yesterday morning a group of King's students were walking home when they were attacked by four guys with golf clubs and a switch blade. Luckily all the girls ran away, but two of my friends were beaten with the golf clubs. One of them was released from hospital later that morning with stitches behind his ear, but my other friend is still in the hospital. He has a fractured skull, but he thankfully doesn't need surgery. We went to visit him yesterday and he doesn't remember anything. He looked good though. He was able to talk to us and there was hardly any visible bruising. He's going home for the week so please pray for him and his family. We're all so thankful that nothing worse happened. It was awesome to see so many people at the hospital there to support him. I know that both he and his parents really appreciated it.
Please pray for everybody here, especially those who watched the attack. It's pretty intense. Pray for the families involved and that people here will still feel somewhat safe. I also ask that you pray for the four guys who attacked them. I don't know what could possess someone to do what they did... they could have killed my friends. I almost feel worse for them because they must be so lost and so messed up. Give a prayer of thanks too that it wasn't any worse than it was.
Anyways... thanks.

Sicko

My daddy is coming to see me tonight! I'm so excited! I miss him and my family so much! The only bad thing is that when I called my mom just a little while ago she said that he didn't bring my photo albums so I am still picture-less. I actually only have five pictures in my room right now. I have a picture of Lindsey and I, Sam Tse and I, My neices and nephews, Lynn Groot, and Elton (a friend from Kings). I can't show anyone my family or friends from home etc. My dad is, however, bringing me my yearbook!!! Yay! I can't wait to see it.
The weather here is still surprisingly nice. The trees are all yellow and orange and it's so nice to walk outside. I don't really have much of a reason to so I have to force my friends to go for walks with me between classes.
I've been sick for the past few days. The whole sore throat, no voice, coughing until I puke, stomach and legs cramping up deal. It's definitely good times. I went to volleyball practice last night and just slept on the ground shivering with some sweaters and tiger balm on me. It was the best sleep I've had in a while. Today I had to run out of biology because I had a coughing/puking attack. I can't justify skipping class though when I live right on top of the school. It really does suck. Well, I did skip english today. I even called my mom to tell her because I felt bad. Oh well. English sucks anyways.
We had a huge party on Wednesday night. Our school had an IS Conference and so there was a huge party on the first night, which just happened to be Wednesday. It was alright. We drove there in my friends Mustang with the top down and it was so awesome! It was cold and perfect. Once everyone gets wasted it stops being fun because I don't drink and there was no dancing. If you're the only sober one than dancing is really the only fun thing to do. It was good though... except I was sick and I'm sure staying out till 3:30 didn't help that much. My favorite part of the night was driving my friends Mustang home. Such a beautiful car.
Deanna is making me go do something "fun" with her. Apparently watching me type isn't interesting. I get to see my Daddy tonight!!!! Too bad I'm sick, but I'm sure it'll still be fun.

It's been a little while so I decided to update you all again. This week has been relatively low-key.
The Men's Volleyball Team was finally selected. I was laying in my room reading philosophy and I heard some goons sprinting down the hallway making so much flippin noise. I turned over when they footsteps approached my door and Elton and Jeff burst through the door giggling like a bunch of school girls. They jumped on me and shrieked that they'd both made the team. It was so cute and I was so excited for them! I'm pretty excited for this whole volleyball thing. For the first semester we travel with the men's team and it'll be so much fun to get to know each other and to.... Flip to just travel. My team is pretty fun so far. I don't know all the girls, but I think they've started to warm up to us Rookies. I'd say we're pretty cool people. No, but really, it's a nice bunch of girls. We just need to bond and get to know each other a bit. Practices have been lame for the most part. My setting has been less than good and I'm starting to get my timing for hitting. I hope things will fall into place. I'm sure I'll enjoy riding the pine either way. We just had practice this morning. It was ok, I guess. Practices have been somewhat brutal so far. Brutal in the sense that I feel as though I'm playing like someone in gr. eight.
What else.... Thursday night was Jeff's 18th birthday so we went to Cowboys. That was fun. There were a lot of King's students there and we all danced and had fun. I'm not into drinking and partying, but I still enjoyed myself. It's kind of strange being in that environment because I've never really had to deal with it, but people respect the fact that I don't want to drink and I think they respect that I still want to hang out with them. It's always kind of tough to "do the right thing". I want to show them that I love them and everything, but I disagree with getting drunk at any given chance. This could go on forever so maybe I'll discuss it a bit more later.
I've been hanging out with Deanna a lot. I love that girl. I'm so glad we're both playing volleyball... Hmm... yesterday her and I went to U of A and watched Jono's sister play volleyball. We didn't really watch much, but we got to get to know Lorraine (from our team) better cause she was there and we talked for a while. Lamented about volleyball for a bit... it was good.
I got to go work on some chemistry for a bit though so I may update a bit later. See you!

Jonny Boy

I got to see Jon this weekend!!! I haven't seen my brother in so long and we had a sleepover Saturday night!
Actually, we'll start at the beginning. On Saturday at approximately 9:00 I was bored and on MSN and my friend Brad Poplawski signed on. He too was bored and so we decided to hang out. Brad lives in Edmonton, but I met him four years ago at volleyball nationals and I haven't seen him since. It as pretty fun. We were both tired, but we got to talk... it's been a while. A super long while.
Anyways. Jonathan arrived at around 11:30pm. Aww... I missed that kid. It was so good to see him! We had a lot of fun together. We hung out, talked lots, met some people, played pool, wrestled... he hurt me... and pretty much just enjoyed each other. We were walking down the hall holding hands :) and he gave me the biggest hugs and I loved it! He had some awesome stories to tell. He has a girlfriend and he was so cute when he was talking about her. I was so happy. My roommate was gone so he slept in my room and it was so much fun! I love him.... :)
I have tons of chemistry homework to do, but maybe I'll write some more later.

I made the volleyball team!!!

And I now have practice... See you!

A couple pictures from the retreat!

Daniel, Grant and Gabriel

Me and Daniel
















Jennie, Me and Heather















Julia, Me and Deanna

Pre-School Retreat

This weekend a bunch of students (mainly first years) ventured out to Frontier Lodge (near Nordegg) for a couple days of fun-ness. There was a lot of singing, hanging out, cuddling, and all in all good times.
On the first day I went canoeing. It was a lot of fun. I thankfully remembered everything from the Wellness trip and performed superbly... haha. It was fun actually. We had to rescue each other and jump in the water and freeze. There wasn't even any sun... It was really really cold.
Every night there was awesome worship. The sermons were a bit long, but the singing was excellent.
Umm... the second day I went "caving". Well, we were supposed to go caving, but we ended up hiking over 5km and then turning around because it was dangerous. We first went 3km on flat ground - across creeks and through bushes etc. - and then we ventured up a mountain. It was ridiculous! It was raining and then it started snowing and it was so dangerous. We were scaling the rock and slipping constantly and falling and it was so much fun! We had to turn around because our guide said we would die going up. Coming down was scary and super intense, but it was amazing!!! I was crawling half the time because it was so slippery and frightening. It was awesome!! We jumped in all the puddles on the way home and got so muddy and wet and cold and it was flippin awesome! Before getting into the van we had to sit in the river and wash off. Super fun.
All weekend we were hanging out and it was wonderful. I got to cuddle with my friend Heather and get to know people a lot more. It was good times.
Umm... so yeah. Everything was awesome and people are awesome and it's all good. All except for school... that sucks. So does spending all my money on things that don't even interest me. Mmhmm...

I MISS THE MOUNTAINS

I love my family!

It's strange to think that I am 'home'. Will this place ever feel like home or will my loyalties remain with Surrey. I'm waiting for it to feel like Room 506 is my room. I'm waiting to feel like I belong there, even if it's only temporary. After all, I have always (until now) lived in the same house on 156th Street. I have occupied the same room since I graduated from the bassinet in my parents room and I have always had my family surrounding me. It's odd to think that I may never permanently return to that environment.
I must say, I do love being able to randomly walk into peoples room and strike up conversations with them. I love being surrounded by friends, but there is nothing like family. I miss my family so much. I'm sure that wane and that I will grow accustomed to being away from them, but for now... I love them. I'm not saying I won't love them later, but I think I will depend on them a bit less. It's not even just my immediate family, my extended family is rather close and I see them all the time. They have always been there when I had questions and needed answers or opinions. Oh well, life goes on. They are still there for me. All that is missing is their hugs and kisses. I can't wait to see them again!! It will be wonderful.
I think this is a stupid corny blog and I am going to stop writing before I begin to embarrass myself.

My walls are lonely... SEND ME PICTURES!!!

Talentless... Maybe just rusty

Today we had drop in volleyball. I felt like a grade eight student in need of some coaching. I was pretty much useless and it sucked. Oh well. I'm hoping to maybe step it up a bit, but we'll have to see.
My sister, Lindsey, and my brother, Justin, came to visit me on Tuesday. It was a quick, but pleasant visit. Lindsey came bearing many wonderful gifts. She brought a laundry basket, much needed cleaning supplies, apple juice, tons of snacks, and she even gave me a phone and an answering machine! I'm so excited. I feel so grown up when I check my messages and such.
I'm excited about seeing my sister often. Well, at least more frequently than I have for the past six years. I've missed her so much. She's so much fun to hang out with too... it'll definitely be good times.
Today I also registered and forked over a whole load of money. Actually, my parents paid the tuition and now they are currently in the process of removing money from my account and putting it in theirs. So I am now penniless... well much past penniless. I am hugely in debt. Life is definitely good. Registration took a lot less time than I expected it too. That was a pleasant and much appreciated surprise.
Well... tomorrow should be interesting. A bunch of us are going to a bbq at my sisters house. I have nothing to do tomorrow either. So it'll be a nice relaxing day.
I just danced with Daniel... Hurray!

Undeserving of a Title

So, I am sitting here in Michael Ui's dorm because I am computerless. Yesterday I moved into King's. It's kind of strange to sit here and think that this will be my home for the rest of the year. The orange carpet doesn't really compliment anything, but I love it all the same. My heart sunk when I heard that I wouldn't have the green shag, but I guess the orange is a close.... actually a not so close second. My new home is TKUC Rez #506 , 9125 50Street, Edmonton Alberta, T6B 2H3.... so send me pictures and stuff. My room is lonely. I have seen my roommate for all of thirty seconds and then she disappeared and last night I slept alone. I have a nice view of Edmonton from my room though which is kind of nice. It's been kind of... nah, nothing has really sunk in. I've been meting tons of people and just hanging out. It's breakfast time so I will continue writing about my new abode.

Recent Excursions

This Saturday my good friend Pam Vandermeer got married and has now taken the name "Vandop". She looked absolutely beautiful!! I was quite impressed, and proud, and excited and all around joyful. It was good to see some friends from school again and a bunch of the teachers. Well, that pretty much covers that.


On Sunday I got to sleep in! I woke up at 5:30 and Alicia VanHuizen dropped me off in Squamish on her way to Whistler so I could visit Stewart. We decided to hike the Chief. I'm pretty much in the worst shape I have ever been in my life. I made Stewart stop every 100 m or so because I was exhausted. He brought these huge packs with all this food in them and it was absolutely ridiculous, but absolutely so much fun. Once we got to the first peak I put my stuff down and promptly fell asleep for an hour or so. It was wonderful. He suggested venturing on to the other peaks once or twice but I said no. One was definitely more than enough. The view was magnificent and the weather was quite excellent. So, Stewart and I hung out on the Chief until about 4:30 or 5 and then we came down and rehydrated some chicken and rice that he'd dehydrated. It tasted pretty good, surprisingly. Then Alicia came back and brought me and Stewart home to Surrey.
On Monday I went for a run in the morning and my sister came over with her kids. I am going to miss them so much. I bent down to give Zachary a hug and he ran and jumped into my arms and wrapped his little arms around my neck and his little legs around me waist and squeezed with all his might... oh man I'm going to miss that. At around 2:00 Stewart and I went to White Rock. We just walked down the beach and then went to Tynehead for a bit and I brought him home. He has some pictures that he is supposed to be sending me so I'll throw those on here when he does.

Starting to say Goodbye

On Saturday I began saying my farewells to friends who I won't see until, at the earliest, Christmas. My dear friend Joel Bron is gone to Homewood this week and I'm leaving before he returns so I had to say goodbye to him. I went to babysit for my sister and when I got there Joel was waiting for me. Saying goodbye was so much harder than I thought it would be, and I knew it would be so very difficult. He stayed and we talked for a bit first, but then when he left I was bawling. I gave him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek and then waved him off from the end of the driveway. It was so terrible. Pathetic, I know, but still. I love Joel Bron. I returned to the house and sat there, actually I think I was talking to Stewart. Anyways, Joel came running back into the house and I put the phone aside and he gave me another huge hug. It was so sweet and it made me cry all the more. Poor Stewart had to sit and wait while I cried.
It's so strange to say goodbye. It sucks. I know there will be tons of people that I will meet this year and in years to come, but I love my friends and I know that a lot of us won't be as close as we are or have been. I think the part that scares me most is that I may not even notice that I don't talk to anyone from high school anymore. I'm pretty terrible a this whole explaining myself thing so I apologize.
All I wanted to say was I love Joel Bron and I hate goodbye's.

Whirlwind Vacation

Last Sunday I was at my Auntie Grace's house and my cousin Josh asked me if I wanted to go to California with him that Thursday. His brother, my cousin Rueben, was getting married and he offered me a ride. Having had no vacation whatsoever this summer I got all excited and asked my boss the next day if I could have Friday and Saturday off. He thankfully said yes and so on Thursday night my cousins Josh and Gabe, my brothers Joel and Anthonie, and I piled into the DeGroots Altima and drove to California. Joel brought his laptop and we watched a couple DVD's on the way. There wasn't much room to breathe or move in the backseat squashed my brothers or my cousins or a combination of both, but we made it to California alive and with only one speeding ticket. Thankfully awarded to Joshua or else it could have taken a lot longer to explain why the car wasn't registered under the name of Jansen and yadda yadda yadda.
The wedding was beautiful. Our private campground and private beach were absolutely stunning. The weather awesome too! And the food! Piles and piles of chicken and steak, mounds of more types of salads than I cared to try, tons of fresh fruit and delicious pie. Yup, the food was great.
The wedding was so unique that it would take forever to explain it all, but it was definitely Rueben and Asia. They made it a very personalized wedding and it was excellent. So... CONGRATULATIONS RUEBEN AND ASIA!!

Tossed Aside

Ever have it where you're super excited about something and the one person you want to share that joy with is totally uninterested and even blatantly unsympathetic after dashing your hopes... yup it sucks.

Romantic Evening

I was sitting in my stifling hot room doing some menial tasks that really shouldn't have to be done in the middle of the day when I got a phone call from a good friend of mine. Joel Bron invited me over for dinner. I jumped in my parents suburban and raced to his house with much anticipation. I feel sorry for those of you who have never had the pleasure of eating a meal cooked by Joel Bron. It was absolutely wonderful! His family was gone so it was just me and him eating on this tiny table for two outside on the patio. We had tortellini
and tomatoey chicken sauce (spicy) and salad. Joel even served orange juice in wine glasses (for lack of availability of any other glasses). It was divine! One may even go as far as saying it was romantic, but that's just a matter of opinion.

More Pictures from the park

Washing himself off in the water fountain.