'keep the love and burn the rest'

Oh, friends. It's been way too long. A lot has happened since we last talked. I have some pictures from our trip to Canada that I want to post, but I'll do that at a later time. I'm tired now, but I've got a few free minutes to blog. And, I've been thinking about this blog entry for a while, so I want to get something out there. Also, I miss you!!

So, Kara and I went to Canada! I last updated from the airport in Vancouver. That seems like yesterday, but it also seems like a thousand years ago. It's one of those weird feelings about time.

But! Did I mention that we went to Niagara Falls?? If not - WE DID. And we were the only people there! It was crazy. We only had to pay $5 to park in the lot that was like, across the street. It was like this weird ghost town. Kinda seedy looking in the winter, actually. But, we had a lot of photo shoots. Got some good shots!




Like this one!! This is my FAVORITE photo from the whole trip. Kara was just so excited that she fell asleep for a minute! Aww. What a great sister pic! Also - Niagara Falls in wintertime is really beautiful. REALLY cold, but I highly recommend it. It's like, this ice world. That's what it is. This picture was taken on the American side.


After the exciting post from the Vancouver airport, we took this super tiny plane over to Vancouver Island. SUPER TINY. Like, this plane wasn't even six feet across. It was one of those where you walk up to it outside. And the stairs fold up into the plane. There was a lady sitting behind us and just before the plane took off, she said, "oh my god this thing is a tin can!" It was a tiny plane.

But, flying in it wasn't actually as scary as I expected. I picked out some good plane music for flying over beautiful scenery...



'More' - Usher (seriously though, I'm obsessed with this song.)
'I and Love and You' - The Avett Brothers

But seriously guys - LISTEN to that Usher song. It's maybe the best dance song ever. Kara and I heard it on the radio station in Toronto and I said,

JULIE: OMG I just LOVE this Canadian hip hop!!
KARA: Umm...this is Usher...

I had no idea. All I know is that I LOVE that song and I LOVE dancing to it. And I'm also currently loving that song by The Avett Brothers. Check it.

Anyways.

I'll post more pictures from the trip soon. That's a promise. Oh wait! I have one more that I love.

This is me and Kara on the Courtenay Riverwalk, which is a walk along the river that runs near my dad's house. Like, a five minute walk away. There are always tons of people on this walk. We met some pretty awesome kids, actually. They were like, maybe 3 or 4 years old and they came over on tiny bikes and asked,

LITTLE BOY: Have you seen Owen?
JULIE AND KARA: Umm...no I don't think so.
LITTLE BOY: Have you seen Owen? He was riding his bike fast.
JULIE AND KARA: Hmmm....
LITTLE BOY: He was a pirate for Halloween.
JULIE AND KARA: Wow!
LITTLE GIRL: I was a princess!
JULIE AND KARA: You were?!
LITTLE GIRL: Yep!

This conversation actually lasted quite a while. This Owen kid sounds like kind of a big shot in the toddler community. But, they were totally adorable. Then their moms started yelling for them to catch up, so they rode off. It was a lovely encounter.

Anyways, this is a picture from the riverwalk...




American hotties!! We owned that riverwalk for like, three days. It was great.

So, we were supposed to be in Canada for a total of 17 days. However, after five days, we got a call from my mom saying that our grandmother had passed away. She had been sick at the beginning of January, and was kind of up and down ever since. It was like a take it one day at a time, thing. So, it was sad. And we had to come home. We were able to get a flight out the next morning. We flew into Toronto the next night, stayed the night at the hotel we stayed at before, and then drove home the next day.

* May I just say that the hotel shuttle driver from the airport to the hotel was the nicest guy in the whole world. Such a great soul. We loved him. *

So, we arrived home. And then the next week was really hard, really sad. Amazing to see all our family who came up. Some people who I had never met, or hadn't seen in a million years. My cousins Mark and Evan came up, which was fun. We hadn't all been together in... 10 years? (that's a joke.) (not funny unless you're in my family, i guess.) Actually, I don't know how long it had been.

It was really great seeing everyone.

So, that's what happened. I've been home for a while now. It's okay. We're okay.


OTHER THINGS IN MY LIFE:

1. I start a new job tomorrow! Like, TOMORROW!!! Actually, today. I'm excited about it and will post more info as it becomes more in the present and less in the future.

2. Kara and I have become obsessed with the TV show Ghost Adventures. It's on the Travel channel. I HIGHLY recommend this show. We caught it one night and at first thought it would be too scary to watch. Some of them are pretty scary. But, these guys, these ghost hunter guys, are the most awesome people ever.

It's Zak, Nick and Aaron - three dude-bros who live in Las Vegas. Yes, they actually live there. (Nick is actually from New Hampshire!) They're super funny together and take the ghost-hunting very seriously. Zak wears super tight black t-shirts that look like they're about to burst over his muscles. He's kind of built like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Except way more cool and accepting of people. It's a pretty great show. We've watched like, 3.5 seasons on Netflix along with watching most of the new episodes on TV every Friday. And, the stuff they find is pretty cool. Like, spirit voices and sometimes a full-body apparition. Crazy stuff.

3. I am OFFICIALLY a Maine resident once again! I re-registered my car and switched over my license!! And I have the super pretty, 'support local agriculture' license plates!! I was very excited about this. They look great on Morgan. I feel good moving back to Maine. It's a great place. Like, the other night, Kara and I just drove to the beach! Of course, we couldn't get out of the car because it was freezing... but, we were there! And it was beautiful!


So, I think that's all for now. Oh, wait,


4. I'm feeling pretty good about everything in my life right now. Like, pretty good. And, I guess I just wanted to tell you that. Because, it's a good, happy thing.


OK!!! Take care! We'll talk soon - promise!



✭!