BIG RED Music Festival

I volunteered at BIG RED Music Festival.  I got to see LIGHTS and Marianas Trench!

  

the craziness called my life

This week was pretty crazy.  I started my new job.  On Tuesday I went to training with one of my co-workers.  The training was called High Five and it taught us some principles about working in recreation with kids.  It was a nice workshop, and I was surprised I had not heard about it before.  Wednesday, myself and two of my co-workers (Emily & Heather) took first aid training.  I won't go into too many details, because I know I will remember it for a long time, but I passed out at first aid training.  Yes.  I was that girl.  It was right after we had started talking about basic emergency first aid, there was a couple mentions of blood and applying pressure.  The instructor talked about different kinds of shock for a bit and then he pulled out an epi-pen, and my body just reacted to it, I passed out and got sick.  I went home and continued to be sick for the rest of the night.  That sucked the most.  I still passed the course though, and I figured it was probably the best place for me to have a little incident like that, with a trained first aid instructor who was like a big teddy bear!

I spent Thursday and Friday working.  Thursday was mostly at the park and on Friday Heather and I did some driving around delivering the newsletter.  I have volunteered myself to do the grocery shopping for our Canada Day Event, and although I regret it just a little bit because there is so much work to go into it, it is great experience.  I am writing from the park right now before I get at some paperwork for the summer.  I don't see many kids coming until after Canada Day, but it is going to be a gorgeous day so we will wait and see.  I am excited for tonight when I will be volunteering for BIG RED MUSIC FESTIVAL.  I love my life and the various opportunities I am given to grow, have fun and just LIVE MY LIFE.  I am looking forward to just dancing my heart out.

I can't believe it is almost JULY.  So crazy, crazy, crazy...

she's 19

each year, you get older, wiser, more beautiful and you continue growing into an amazing young woman. 

I hope you continue to grow to your full potential.

You have some amazing things in store Kayla Fraser.

Keep them in sight.  I will be by your side every step of the way.

I love you so much!

Happy 19th Birthday!

how my phone saw it

your love

We got Nala when she was nine months old.  I don't remember much from that time or the first couple years we had her, but she was playful and exciting.  She loved to be with us, and have fun.  She came on family trips with us.  She loved camping.  She would sleep in the middle section of the tent.  She loved to swim.  Dad bought her some 'dummies' and he would throw them out in the water for her to go fetch.  Nala taught Kayla how to swim.  We were in a hot tub on vacation and Kayla started swimming like Nala (doggy paddle).  We took Nala for walks but she wasn't on a leash if she didn't have to be.  She could really pull your arm off on a leash.  She fell in love with vanilla ice cream and Caesar salad.  She ate an entire peach pie once while we were inside a restaurant buying dinner.  At first, we were so mad at her but now it has got to be one of the funniest things we remember about her.  Nala loved the beach.  Our friends Joanie and John lived by the beach and we would spend many evenings there with her friend Buffy.  I have so many sweet and vivid memories of those nights on the beach.  I can see her running on the sand.  I hope I can see those memories in my mind forever.  Nala always knew how to cheer me up.  Nala knew how to cuddle.  I can remember a number of times that I literally was breaking down, she would come by my side.  SHE KNEW our emotions.  I am truly amazed by her sensitivity and ability to comfort us when we needed it most.

Nala was so so so funny.  She knew how to make us laugh, especially when we needed it most.  She would let us cuddle her whenever we needed.  She wasn't camera shy until the last year or so.  We have some great captures of her.  I will cherish our sweet momentums for a long time.  Our friends loved Nala.  She was always so sweet to anyone she met.  She also had lots of dog friends and cousins, most of whom she has outlived and there must have been the most wonderful dog reunion in Heaven when she joined them.  Nala was one of my best friends.  It sometimes seems weird to call her my sister, but she was.  She never talked, but she always listened. She Always Listened.

I wish she could have stayed with us forever.  But, the fact that she held on for the amount of time she did, the fact that we had to make the decision to put her to sleep and give her the comfort she would no longer find in her earthly body, is a testament to me of how much she loved us and cared for us.  Saturday, June 21st was one of the hardest days of my life.  We took her in around 10:30am.  They situated us in a nice and comfortable room.  I laid with her on the foam bed that was covered in a blanket.  We had also brought her in a towel from home.  Dad and I rubbed her and Bryan and Mom sat on the couch.  Kayla was so brave and decided to go to work.  I cried enough for the both of us any ways.  The veterinarians were sweethearts and I think they could feel our heartache.  The procedure was done, and they told us she passed. My heart broke into a million pieces.  They gave us some more time with her and I will never forget those last few looks.  I could feel her entering the gates of Heaven.  I could see her running into eternity.  In those moments, I also know that her frail body was being perfected and I also know that I WILL see her again someday.

Nala taught me a lot about this life.  There are many ups and downs.  She ran away a couple times when she was younger.  One time she was gone for a whole day.  I can remember how scared we all were.  Of course, we prayed and we would always find her just a couple houses away after she had been wandering around.  We are going to get lost in life, prayer and love can bring us home.  She really did endure to the end.  She was with us for so many milestones, and like I said, she really pushed to keep going.  I think... she tried to hold on for so long because she knew we still have so many changes and unpredictable circumstances in store.  She wanted to help us through those times, but her body just wouldn't let her any more.  Nala loved without measure.  I don't think she could have loved us any less or any more than she did.  The love she provided my family with for the past 16 years have been a perfect love.  In turn, she made us love each other more.  I don't think I will ever have another pet that I will be able to love as much as I loved Nala.

I will think about you every day, you were a wonderful friend and I look forward to seeing you again someday sweet lady.

people told me I looked nice in this colour

So, Kayla and I have started this weird thing.  I got dressed before her this morning.  When she came in to get dressed, she started to put on a new dress that she recently bought.  She had it on for a minute or so, and then started to take the dress off.  When I asked her why she was changing, her reply basically was that we wouldn't match if she wore that dress.  

I have to admit, when she is dressed first, I usually think the exact same way.

It mostly started by dressing similar in the past, but now it is a weekly occurrence!

I love you little sister and our need to match each other for church ;)

  People at church today also told me that this cranberry pink/dark magenta/whatever you want to call it... is a great colour on me, so let's find some more stuff in this colour shall we?   

What's even more awesome is I got the dress from walmart for THREE (3!!!) dollars.  Kayla's dress was given to her from Victoria, made by my 'mom-in-law', Nichla.

Also, I went for a drive last night with my parents and gathered some of the most gorgeous coloured lupins I have ever seen!

goodbye nala

It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them. 

- John Grogan

our last picture together, we took her to be put to sleep about an hour later.  her life was no longer enjoyed, her frail body was sad to see.  She still knew how to smile though.

Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.  

-John Galsworthy

Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.

this is the only picture I can find of Haig and Nala.  They were never as close after she peed on his mattress that one time.  Sorry Haig.  I think she was just trying to tell you how much she loved you.

Until one has love an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.  

-Anatole France

Her ears were often the first thing to catch my tears. 

-Elizabeth Browning

Perhaps the greatest gift an animal has to offer is a 

permanent reminder of who we really are.

week of june 16th-20th

This week, I mostly did lots of studying for my Business Law final on Monday night.  Nothing too exciting other than that.  I did some tanning with Amanda one afternoon, and another day Casey and I went to see Jake go to prom.  Today Kayla and I went to pick up a PEI Provincial Park pass and then we went to Pizza Delight for lunch.  I like spending time with my sister, especially since we will both be working a lot more pretty soon.

I ran twice this week.  I am getting better, but I still have no idea how I will ever run a full 5km.  I probably won't, but that is okay with me!

I officially start my summer job on Tuesday!  I have training on Tuesday and First Aid training on Wednesday.  I will be finishing up my 'spring' semester on Monday night once I finish writing my exam, but I only have just about one week off before heading back for a summer course.  I am so hardcore and dedicated, I surprise myself!

This is also my last "weekend off" for the next couple of weeks.  There is lots of fun and exciting things in store these next couple weeks, and hopefully I can keep up with documenting them!  Sometimes though, I like to sit at home with my Mom and watch TLC all night.... like right now.

over the years....

Tonight, Emily's youngest brother Jake went to prom.  It made me think of how it is a bit of an end of an era.  Casey, Emily and I have been best friends since Grade 10, so we have seen many semi-formals and proms in our day and I just thought I would put a collage of them together.  

Sam's grade nine semi, 2009

Our prom, 2010

Kayla's grade nine semi, 2010

Sam's prom, 2012

Kayla's prom, 2013

& Jake's prom, 2014

music

sometimes I just have these moments of gratitude.
music, always seems to make me happy.
well, actually sometimes it makes me sad.
sometimes, we we drive on trips, I will listen to songs that make me think of Haig, or what kind of moments will happen when he gets home.
it makes me wish that I literally had a soundtrack playing in my life.
I won't get into a lot of the music that would be on that playlist, but I feel like most of the music that I do listen to would go perfectly with many moments in my life.
This morning, I was thinking about this one time when Haig and I were laying in my backyard one night looking up at the stars.  I can't pick a perfect song for that moment, but there are a couple that might suit it well that are on my recently added playlist:

sunburn- Ed Sherran
a sky full of stars- Coldplay
tee shirt- Birdy
wait- M83

music makes my life more beautiful.
I don't know how, but it seems to bring me so many emotions, happiness, joy, sorrow, sadness, heartache
& love.

He has always continued to tell me he loves me.  He is an incredible man for putting two years of his life on hold to serve The Lord. His purpose is there and I know that, but I will be forever grateful that he still manages to think about me, uplift and strengthen me and lets me know that he still loves me. 

This journey has been more than I could have ever asked for. I am excited for our new chapter coming in September, but I will be a little sad to see this one close. 

oh baby what would I do without you?

we are going to have soooooo much fun when he gets home in less than 3 months!

I just can't believe it though... less than 3 months?  where has the time gone...

Happy Birthday Haig!