Wowza!

And with that, we are home again.  It's going to be tough to sum up what we've been up to for the last 17 days but I think I can try.  It was a pretty fantastic trip home.  It was full of family and friends, late nights and early mornings, tears and lots of laughs.

We spent the first few days out in Ponoka, spending time with Tyler's family and our friends who live around that area.  And it was so much fun.  During the days, we hung out around the homestead, sunbathing, swatting mosquitos, and just enjoying the days.  Tyler's parents recently set up a pool in their yard but it's always freezing cold so I never went in it.  Even on the hottest days, that would be too cold.  It was nice just to put my hands in there every once and a while.

On July 1st, Carolyn and Terral invited the family over for a BBQ so we could spend time with everyone. This was the first opportunity to tell the family that we are expecting a baby.  We told Tyler's parents before everyone else showed up and then leaked the news as everyone got there.

Our evenings were usually spent hanging out with friends.  We went to go watch some fireworks and just sat around and talked.  It is always so awesome to hang out with good friends again.

Our plans for Sunday were to go up and visit my Opa who was in the hospital.  It's been since Christmas since we saw him and we really wanted to spend some time with him.  But then those plans changed as we learned Sunday morning that my Opa passed away.  It was really tough news to hear, even though it was expected and we all know he's in a much better place now, it's not easy losing someone you love.  Even right after my mom called with the news though, I knew everything was alright.  My first image of him was that he was now dancing and singing up in heaven, which is more then he could do down here. That made me smile right away and it keeps me going.  We didn't go to Edmonton that day and stuck with our original plan.

We went up to Sherwood Park to visit with my family on the Tuesday.  It was a really good week, even though we were all grieving in our own way.  Tuesday night, my family gathered so we could all hang out again.  It was really awesome.  It's been so long since we've been home, and so long since we've all been together like that.  My brother Tyler had recently came home from a trip across the ocean and I got to re-meet my niece Madison.  She is just a little cutie pie.  While my siblings were outside, Tyler and I decided to let my parents in on our little secret.  We handed them a bag and said we got them a gift from Bella Bella.  My mom opened it to reveal little sleepers with an Oilers theme.  There were hugs and it was awesome.  After we ate din din, we showed the rest of my family the little clothes and that too was really great.  So, in the midst of a not so great week, we got to provide our family with a little good news.

The whole week in Sherwood Park was truly awesome.  It's what I needed, to spend time with my lovely family, laughing and crying together.  That Friday was Opa's funeral which showed me what a great man he was.  He was a little crazy but he is a great example of a life I would like to live as well.  He was so Christ-like and it was nice to hear stories of his life and all the things he was.

The next Tuesday it was back down to Ponoka area to get ready for the wedding we came to Alberta for.  We did take a special delivery down with us.  We brought 3 sweet kittens down to be mousers for the Jarretts.  And they are just the sweetest little things ever.  I love them already.  I spent so much time with them, making sure they got accustomed to their new home.  We introduced them to Jack, the family dog.  There is a little grey kitten who I think actually really liked me.  She would never run away and always curl up in my hands or on my shoulder.  She just was so cute.

And it was a crazy week.  There were lots of things that were going on but it was still fun.  We got to hang out with another friend, the friend who was getting married.

This past Friday, we spent the day decorating the reception hall.  There was a bad case of "Too many cooks in the kitchen" and that slightly irritated me so I took a step back.  It ended up being such a beautiful hall for them.  And such a great wedding yesterday.  The weather fully cooperated (which brought out all the mosquitos) but it wasn't too hot, too cold or too windy, so it was perfect.  I got to hang out with a really good friend of mine that I didn't know was going to be there and who I haven't seen in so long.  It was an interesting reception, something that I wasn't really use to.  After a fabulous dinner and great speeches, the dance was only 5 songs long and then the couple left, the hall dismantled and we went home.  I'm just not use to such a short little dance so it was a little strange.  The funniest thing about all weddings is that all the hard work that goes into decorating the hall is all undone in about half an hour the night of the wedding.

And now we are home.  On the plane trip, I grew so tired and almost fell asleep so many times.  I just wanted to be back in Bella Bella again.  I knew the mountain of chores we were facing once we got home, but I just wanted to be here.  And now we are and I want to be back at real home.  Oh well, soon enough I guess.  The clothes are being washed and Kitten is being loved again.  I missed her a little.

It's early to bed for us tonight.  Time to get back to reality.

Thanks to everyone who spent time with us.

Sonja