One

Did you guys have a good long weekend? I celebrated Queen Victoria by driving 9 hours to go camping with some of my favorite Edmonton girls. That sounds like a long time to spend in the car but but a) I love driving and b) I love those girls so it was totally worth it.

Two

Here’s the thing. I’m not what you would call outdoorsy. I love swimming and laying on the beach reading a good book. That’s about the extent that I like to enjoy nature. I hate hiking and think geocaching is totally pointless. But I do love camping. Especially when there are flush toilets and plugins for your hairdryer.

My family used to camp at Redstreak at Radium Hot Springs nearly every summer when we were kids. To me it is still the perfect camping spot: there are flush toilets and the nearest attraction is hot springs. Princess camping next to a giant natural hot tub? Yes please.

Three

Douze is my best friend from Edmonton. We are what she would call, “Bipolar opposites.” She loves all things outdoors. Her idea of a good time is strapping on her backpack and heading out on a 79km hike. She never met a mountain she didn’t want to explore. So when I decided to come on this camping trip I told her in no uncertain terms: “Douze, I’m not going on any hikes. You go and I’ll go to the pool and read and meet up with you after.”

You guys, she basically tricked me into climbing a mountain. The plan was to “See the Hoodoos!” near Fairmont. It went something like this:

Me: “I am not going on a hike. How far is it?”
Douze: “It’s not a hike, it’s a walk. Like 500m”

After we get there and park in the parking lot in the middle of nowhere:

Me: “I can’t see these hoodoos. This is more than 500m isn’t it?”
Douze: “Ok it’s more like a kilometer.”

After we start down the path it takes a sharp incline:

Me: “Douze this is 100% a hike! You totally lied to me.”
Douze: “Ok, I’m not going to lie…there is a bit of elevation.”

This is where we ended up. At the top of a bunch of cliffs.

It was fun for like 10 minutes and then I was over it. You’ve seen one mountain you’ve seen them all, right? The moral of the story is, when Douze tells you that she wants to go for a walk ask if you can get dropped off at the nearest pool/coffee shop.

Four

Over the course of my nine hour drive yesterday I listened to the new Hey Ocean! album and The Royal Royal album approximately 15 times each. I took a few breaks to listen to sermons, but they made up the bulk of my road trip playlist. And here’s the crazy thing: I actually bought both of these albums. With real dollars.

Five

One of the best wedding presents Ariana gave to me and the new roomies was leaving her PVR behind when she moved out. Now I can watch Jimmy Fallon every single night without having to stay up late. Can I interest you in Taylor Kitsch having a jelly donut shootout with Jimmy Fallon?

Six

Michelle’s blog is one of the Top 30 Vancouver Mom Blogs! I’m so proud.

Seven

You guys, I want to see this movie SO BAD.

Eight

One of the girls I went camping with is an artist and she works with mixed media and makes all these cool paintings with words. She had a set of lenses for her iPhone that were so cool. It was a kit that came with a tripod, a wide angle lens, a macro lens, a telephoto lens and a fish eye lens. They attach to the phone with magnets. We had so much fun with them this weekend. This would be a great birthday present for me, just saying.

Nine

The contract I am working for the next few weeks has been so good so far. Everyone in this office is so friendly and really passionate about what they do. It’s amazing how a good working environment can take what would ordinarily be a pretty boring job and make it awesome. As much as I am so tired of working short term contracts and not knowing where or what my next job will be, each one has definitely taught me something. Gramma Miller always says that every experience is a good experience if you learn something from it.

Ten

I just love these girls. I wish I got to see them more often. This weekend was so good for my heart.