Let The Countdown begin!

I am going to visit my parents in Saudi Arabia for Chrismas this year! I am so excited to see them and to see where they live. This in my chain link countdown- 90 days to go!

Waterton Alberta

I have been meaning to post this blog for quite a while but never got around to it, but the pictures are too beautiful to not post, so better late than never. My friend Van and I drove down to Waterton National Park last month to go camping for the weekend. Waterton is about a three hour drive south of Calgary and it is SO beautiful! Well we arrived in Waterton pretty late, and had a hard time finding the campground in the dark and with very bad directions off the internet. We finally did find out camp ground at 1:00 am, but to our surprise there was already a tent set up in our campsite! We woke the people up and talked it over with them. It turns out they didn’t know they needed to pre-book the site and were just going to pay for the place in the morning. It was late and it made no sense for them to pack up and leave so we just pitched our tent beside them and went to bed. (And when I said “we” pitched the tent I really mean Van)
I had been told about a beautiful hike on an island in Waterton called the Crypt Lake Hike. I had wanted to do it for a long time so the next morning we woke up early, went to the store and packed ourselves some lunch. We then took a boat across Upper Waterton Lake to the island. The Hike was beautiful! It is a three hour hike to the top and three hours back, and very worth it! We hiked past 4 waterfalls: Hell Roaring Falls, Twin Falls, Burnt Rock Falls, and Crypt Falls. We tool so many spectacular pictures on the hike I wish I could post them all. Van of course carried the back pack the entire way- The only picture we have where I’m carrying the backpack was before we ever took the boat across the river. My feet had blisters, my hips were killing me, and I definitely did not have enough water. I did offer to help out a few times, but thank goodness van never took me up on it. The hike had a little of everything, waterfalls, rivers, flat part and very steep parts. sometime were were walking through trees and shaded, but we also had parts where there were no trees and we could see for a million miles. Near the top we walked along a ledge beside a cliff. This had one of the best views of where we had hiked so far. Then there was a small steel ladder to climb which lead to a 60 foot tunnel through the mountain, and at the very top was the beautiful Crypt Lake. I could have stayed up there for hours, but the last boat was leaving the island in just over three hours. If you miss the last boat you stay on the island with no one else but the bears! We did get very close to missing it since we got caught in some hail, then near the end Van and I both felt like we might have taken a wrong turn so we spent some time debating whether or not to turn around. We made it back the shore in time though, with about 10 minutes to spare- thank goodness!
That night I had my heart set on having a bon fire, but we fell asleep and slept over 13 hours! The next morning I still had my craving for smores so that’s what we had for breakfast, smores and hot dogs. That afternoon we went into town and visited Kilmorey Lodge, where my parents spent their honeymoon. Then we spent sometime up at Cameron Lake which was also extremely beautiful. If you've never been to Waterton you need to go! I can't wait to do this hike again with my dad someday, and with anyone else that wants to go - you'll just need to carry that backpack!

Summer Floats

Wondering what I’ve done this summer? Pretty much the same thing over and over multiple times a week. Floating down the river has become my very favorite activity this summer! Calgary has two major rivers- the Bow River and the Elbow. The Bow is a faster, more intense river which requires more equipment and more care. The Elbow on the other hand is mellow and perfect for relaxing, but most importantly: sun tanning. As I only have air mattresses to float on, the Elbow is much more appropriate anyways. The river travels thought the richest community in Calgary so the topic of which house we’ll buy when we grow up always comes up. Depending on the time of day, the weather and how much rain fall we’ve had lately the usual rout can take anywhere from one to four hours. We have a car parked at the beginning and one at the end, so if the float isn’t long enough we just drive back and start all over again.

Me doing all the work... very rare

Dave and Julia Nypower

Scott and I


Calm water



The Water's SO Warm!

My House When I Grown Up


Vicky Burke


Van saving the day-helping us avoid rocks and trees

Me with Megan and Andrea Nilsson


Of corse we need life jackets, but dogs?!

2008 Breast Cancer Walk

The weekend to end breast cancer is a two day, 60 km walk all over the city of Calgary. Participants are required to raise a minimum of two thousand dollars each. Though the challenge of raising the money seems huge, both this year and last year I was able to raise more than the minimum required. A lot of the money I received came from friends and family and I appreciate everyone's contributions so much! At my work I set out a donation jar along with paper ribbons for people to put their names on, and then they were hung on the walls at the doctor's office.


I love this event! I seem to get emotional every time I think or talk about it. Walking for 60 km seems like it would be difficult, but in this situation it wasn't that hard. While I walked I talked to so many people with different stories, and one common goal: To help find a cure for breast cancer. Survivors, and people with cancer had pink lanyards around their necks and everyone else had blue. I walked with one lady for a while who was diagnosed with breast cancer just a few months ago and was undergoing chemo. There were four ladies I walked near for a while who wore pink wigs. Three walked and one lady was pushed in a wheal chair the entire way. I don't know their story, but it was pretty amazing to see everyone taking turns to push this lady so she could do the 'walk' with them. I made friends with a man named Brian whose three sisters, mother, and wife all have had breast cancer. I walked with Brian longer than I did with anyone else.

Breast cancer was of course talked about along the way, but mostly the walk was about getting to know people and having fun. Everyone knew why they were there and it wasn't to get caught up in how horrible the disease is, but more about being excited to raise enough money to help make a difference. Before the Weekend to End Breast Cancer walks were organized only $200,000 was available for breast cancer research in ALL of Alberta. This year, Calgary alone, raised over 4 million dollars!! And next week there will also be an Edmonton walk! If anyone is interested in where the money goes, visit www.endcancer.ca

The first day we walked 33 Km. At the end I got a massage, physio treatment and chiropractic care. It was amazing! Nana and Vicky came to visit me which was great to have recognition for what I had done so far, and encouragement for the next day of walking. The second day we walked 27 Km. Within the first 5 minutes I twisted my ankle. I hobbled along being the 22nd from the front for at least 6 Km. But slowly people started passing. I know it wasn't a race, but I wanted to be in the front incase I fell behind instead of being in the back and falling behind. After a while I realized I couldn't finish if I didn't see a medic so I gave in and took a ride to a medic station. Thank goodness in was only four blocks!! My ankle was iced and wrapped but I had to sit for a while to be evaluated by a nurse. I saw crowds of people passing by and I was a little frustrated, so when I was finally able to leave I booked it! I was so determined to catch up to the 'middle' of the pact. I only stopped to get drinks and fill up my water bottle. Well I wasn't as far behind as I had thought. When I got to the finish line I was in the top 50 out of 1400 walkers!!!! Needless to say the finish line was emotional. Crowds of people were there to cheer everyone on as we walked in. Walkers and crew we giving high fives and hugs and a million "thank-yous".

I am so proud of myself and of everyone that participated. I am so excited to do it all over again in 2009! Thanks for all your support!

Blonds Have More Fun!

Do blonds really have more fun?.. I can't remember, so I'm trying it again. The red's gone, and its back to blond!

Texas Trip

I have the cutest nieces in the entire world! I went to Texas for 11 days to visit my Sister, Brother in-law, Elaina and Erin. I had SO much fun! It was a week and a half full of tea parties, blowing bubbles, going to the park, drawing with sidewalk chalk, watching Thomas the train, going to music makers, playing with playdough, singing songs, making cookies, ect ect. I loved it. It was so great to wake up every morning to Elaina saying, "Good morning Heather! I'm so happy to see you!" And so great to have Erin give me the biggest smile I've ever seen a little girl smile every time I walk into the room. Usually I see Allison and Elaina when they come to visit Calgary, but it was really neat to see Allison, in her own home, and being apart of 'her world'. The girls are coming to Calgary in less than a month and I can hardly wait to see them again! I miss them so much already!