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Kicking Horse

My hands hurt!  As most or all of you know, I'm on blood thinners for my clotting disorder.  That means my skin is horribly thin and even the slightest scuff will easily tear off a top layer of skin here and there.  The main target: my hands.

This weekend I had the terrific pleasure of going with my cousin and a (wonderful) group of her friends to Golden, British Columbia to celebrate in some pre-wedding antics and rafting on the Kicking Horse River.  Thanks to the rafting my hands got terribly scuffed but it was totally worth it! ;)

My cousin's name is Shauna and she is amazing.  For as long as I can remember I have been in love with her and her family.  She is fun, hilarious, kind and BEAUTIFUL.  A total package kind of gal who I've always admired and wished I was like.  She's a mere 2 years older than I and has finally found the perfect man to see her through all her days.  Wedding to take place next month.

My Aunt Babette was also there along with Cheryl, Shauna's sister in law--although I have a hard time believing Cheryl isn't of blood relation as she fits in SO incredibly well.

So, I drove to Calgary on Friday afternoon and we loaded up 2 cars and headed for the mountains.  The first night was filled with the laughter and food and beverages you'd expect.  Now, originally I wasn't going to raft.  Yes, I was apprehensive and I was a little late on phoning the company.  However, that Saturday morning I phoned the rafting company to see what my chances were of getting in on the adventure and...they said sure.

It was amazing.  Not only was it beautiful scenery but it was exciting and...breathtaking.  The cold water in my face certainly did take my breath away!!  There were also a few times I thought I was going to die!  The guide made us do something called "surfing".  It's when a raft goes over a huge rapid and gets sucked in by the opposite current.  We ended up getting stuck with all the water gushing into the raft and the current was spinning us around.  We were hanging on for dear life!  I know he knew what he was doing the whole time, and I was with incredibly fit and capable people--but I thought we were going to capsize for sure.  (Sorry, no pictures!  Too busy hanging on!)

Afterward, we headed back to the chalet for a scrumptious steak dinner (thanks Auntie!) and some crazy bachelorette shenanigans.  Too funny!

So, that means Nola and Daddy had a weekend all to themselves!  They had a great time playing and shopping.  I was grateful to have gotten away and felt even better knowing they fared so well.  Kevin decided it was high time Nola had her own wagon and we've been looking for a while.  Well, with Mom out of town it was the perfect time for a little indulgence!


Now it's Sunday night and Kevin's in the garage painting a lawn ornament for me.  ♥ him.  And I'm in the house listening to music from the TV music channel relaxing (Nola's already in bed) and thinking about my upcoming week.

Looks like some family pictures tomorrow by a dear friend of mine (Jess).  Third anniversary on Tuesday...can you believe it?  Grandparents on Wednesday and coffee with a cousin on Thursday.  I think there is a play date in there somewhere also.

I think its time to sign off and go enjoy my deck and the gorgeous warm summer night its turned out to be.  Think I'll reflect on my life and count my blessings...that could take awhile ;)

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