Shakers Fun

Last night we hung out with Dan's cousin Kyle and his wife Pam. We had planned to go mini golfing until we found that the place we went to was closed for some reason. It should have been opened until 10:00pm and it was only about 7:30pm! So we try and find a different place and Dan mentions Shakers Fun Centre. The only problem is that no one knew how to get there. At least we knew the area it was in so we drove around for awhile to try to find it. Dan has a friend named Sheena who is one of the managers there and we finally got a hold of her and she told us how to get there. We looked around the place first before we committed to anything, and we first saw Sheena at the Go Karts! She tells us that she will hook us up with a discount! We all wanted to go Go Karting, and also mini golfing. Sheena ended up getting us all tickets to both for free! (Thanks again Sheena!) This was extra special for me because this was going to be my first time ever Go Karting! And it was so much fun!! Too bad no one had a camera. We will definitely have to do that again! After Go Karting we went mini golfing, but we didn't keep score because no one brought a score sheet out with us. But it was probably more fun that way anyways. After Shakers had closed, we stopped off at Dairy Queen for a treat and headed back home. I hope that Pam and Kyle had as much fun as we did!

Lately

This past week was the "Stampede" here in Calgary. Dan and I went the first night on Friday July 3, the same day as Sterling Homes' Stampede party. This Stampede felt a bit different from the others though. It didn't really feel like the Stampede even came. This year is going by so fast, it's hard to believe that another Stampede has already come and gone! Dan and I wonder why we go every year. It's the same thing everytime, and all we end up doing is spending money that we are trying to save up. We'll have to wait and see if we end up going next year... which we probably will. We don't really go on any rides because I tend to get sick afterwards. So all we can really do it go there to eat and walk around the shops. And that's what we did. We didn't buy anything but food. However, we did enjoy the SuperDogs Show that is free to get into. This year's show wasn't as good as past years' though. All in all, the Stampede was ok. I'm just glad we went early because most of the other Stampede days were rainy. I think one main thing we would do differently next year is to go with some friends!

This past weekend Tammy and Mike threw Emma a birthday party at their new house out in Airdrie. It was a really fun time! Dan and I played games with the kids upstairs while mostly everyone else was visiting downstairs and waiting for the pizza to arrive. After opening gifts and eating cake, we all headed out to the park that's down the street from them. I had never seen the new equipment that they've come up with and so I had a good time trying them out too. However, I had to break for a little bit because the spinning ones made me feel a bit sick. I hope Emma had a really good time at her party too.

Yesterday was the first Sunday that Dan was able to try out his new calling. The Executive Secretary was there, so Dan took on thier duties for the day. Dan had to wake up early to go to 6:30am meetings and then he came back home to come pick me up at 8:50am. Let me tell you, it was so strange to go to church without my Primary bag and books. That's all I've known since we've been in the ward! I think it's going to be a nice adjustment though. So since Dan was so busy all church hours, I didn't have anyone to go to meetings with. So I went with Kevyn Caballero to Nusery because she was going to teach the lesson that week. It was a fun time to be in there. Thanks for inviting me along Kevyn! I know I'm really going to miss seeing the Primary kids every Sunday, and laughing at the darndest things they say. When church was finished we came home and relaxed. And I was stress free for the whole day! I haven't felt like that in a looong time. Yesterday was also the last day for the Stampede and that means awesome fireworks! So far this year, Dan and I have missed every firework show that has been in Calgary, so this one was going to be the first one this year. We didn't want to have to travel to a busy place in order to see them, so we thought we might try to go on top of our building to see if we could have a good view. Once we got up there it was amazing. The view was so spectacular of downtown Calgary. I wish I would have brought my camera up there with me.

Now on to another work week. I started off on my own as the girl that I work closest with (Deb) took the day off and I was responsible for everything. I think I did a pretty good job though.

Dan has had a couple of interviews as well! I'll fill everyone in if and when he gets a firm job! Keep your fingers crossed!!

We Did It!

Dan and I made it through our whole Primary calling without totally losing our minds! We were just released as the Primary CTR 5 Class Teachers the past couple weeks. Our class was the most difficult as the behavioral levels of all three of our boys were very young. We loved our calling, we really did, but the stress level of Sundays had to come to an end sooner than later. We spent about a year and a half in that calling and we made it. We now have new callings that we are excited to jump into. Dan is the Assistant Executive Secretary for the Ward. That means 6:30am meetings on Sundays...yikes! As for me, I am now called to be one of the Cub Leaders. I have no idea what the Cubs do. I really don't know anything about them. Nonetheless, I am excited to learn more things about them. My calling doesn't exactly start until September, so I've got a little break for now, which is nice for the summer months :)


Happy birthday to Ethan Glenn who is now 7 (July 5) and Eva Glenn who is now 5 (July 2)!

Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day, and I just want to wish a "Happy Father's Day" to my Dad and all of the other Dads out there. It was a pretty relaxing Sunday, which has been quite odd for us as Sundays are usually my most stressful days unfortunately. After church we napped of course, and then we headed over to Dan's parents' place for family dinner. It was delicious! They BBQ burgers and cooked some ribs. After we were finished eating we invited people to play our new card game "Apples to Apples" with us. We have played it before, and just love it so much we went out and bought it! Everyone who played with us had never played before and they loved it too! For once I actually won this time!

This is what my Dad does best.

I also had a family gathering that same time, so we were going to head over to Kristie's house to drop off my Dad's Father's Day gift, but they had already left. Most of the family went over there to celebrate both Father's Day and Amber Mason's 8th birthday! (A Happy Birthday goes out to her too!) Unfortunately we missed out on that one. Maybe another time.

Happy Birthday Emma!

Today, it's my niece, Emma Bourne's birthday and she is now 4 years old! The last I heard, they were going to go to Chuck-E-Cheese's to celebrate! (Emma's idea) Have a good one!

So Far...

I started working at Sterling Homes a few days ago and so far, it's been great! It's the complete opposite of my last job where I was just sitting, bored at my desk all day long. This job really keeps me on my toes. And that helps the day go by so much faster, and I feel like I've actually accomplished something. The people there are great too. There are two girls that I work very closely with and they are both so fun to be with! I think I really lucked out with that. Everyone in the company is pretty great though. There is so much to learn and I'm starting to 'get it' more and more everyday. So that's a good sign! I can't wait for the day when I know it all by heart. The hardest thing to adjust is our bed time. We went to bed pretty late on Monday night and then on Tuesday after work, I came home, ate dinner, went for a nap, then 5 hours later I woke up just in time to go to bed again. Needless to say, Tuesday and Wednesday kind of meshed together. We've been trying to go to be at a decent hour, but it's hard because we are both night owls. I'm hoping it won't take too much longer to get onto a better schedule.

Still no job for Dan yet. I really didn't think it would be this hard for him to find work, but I guess he really graduated at the wrong time. NO ONE is hiring right now. Especially not new graduates. Dan has had a couple interviews, but he's been beat out by 'experience' every time. It's so frustrating! I just don't want it to come to him working at a laboring job, where his hours are crazy and he comes home exhausted. But the more we get into summer, the more it's looking like that's what's going to happen for now. It's not set in stone yet, so there is still hope.

It is also Spencer Glenn's birthday today! So a "Happy Birthday" goes out to him!

All Around Congratulations

Dan's graduation ceremony was on Friday May 29 in Lethbridge. It's finally official! He has his degree and ready and waiting to work. The ceremony was probably the longest I have ever experienced! There was about 450 graduates and they called out all of their names with a slight pause in between each of them. And to top it all off, I was sitting alone. Dan's parents came, but after we were already there and I wasn't able to save any seats for them. So it ended up with them on the opposite side of the gym as me.

I am very happy to announce that I have found a job! I start working on Monday June 15th at Sterling Homes. I feel like things are finally coming together. With me getting this job brings us one step closer to buying a house. We didn't even have to live off of our down payment savings while I was unemployed! Now we just need to find Dan something. If anyone knows of any marketing positions, please let us know!

Also, Jackie and David finally tied the knot! They got married in the Cardston Temple on Friday June 5. It was the first wedding I had ever seen done in the Temple other than my own, but it's a totally different experience! Their wedding was so beautiful and very well done. The reception was held in Calgary at the Royal Oak Chapel and it was gorgeous and simple. Jackie and David looked so happy together. Congratulations to them both!

The day after the wedding, Dan's family all got together for dinner and to bless Will and Heather's newest addition to their family, Breanna Jay Glenn, who was born May 10, 2009. It was a beautiful blessing, and a new experience for a lot of us as we had never heard of a baby blessing being done at a home before because it is normally done on Sunday at the Chapel during Sacrament Meeting. I would also like to Congratulate Dan's oldest sister Pam, as she is expecting her 5th child!

We also found out that Tammy and Mike found a house to live in! It is located in Airdrie, just what they wanted. We had the chance to go take a quick look at it and it's awesome! We are very excited and happy for them!

I realized that I haven't really been keeping up with the birthdays in my family. So a happy belated birthday to Tammy (May 28) and Jodie (June 6).

This last one isn't really a congrats, but I got a call from my mom and she told me that Kristie's 2nd youngest, Clare, was in the Children's Hospital. They don't know exactly what is wrong just yet, but all we know is that Clare's back is in a lot of pain! They figured it might be from her falling down the stairs at a friend's place, but still don't know exactly what is causing the pain. The poor girl, she's been on painkillers and hooked up to an IV all weekend. At least she got to sleep over with her mom :) Clare is safely home now, and I believe she's doing well.

Dan's Pants

Dan left his pants on the bed.


Notice anything different?


This is what I found sleeping inside his pant leg:


He didn't want to come out!


Even when Dan shook his treats, he had to justify getting out to get some.


My camera cut-out while I was filming. Here is the rest of it:

(Don't mind the mess in our room)

Nothing But Hope

I have now been unemployed for 2 weeks. I have to admit, it is nice having a bit of a break. I'm not a morning person and I have really been enjoying sleeping in this whole time. However, I know that as each day goes by, we get further away from our goal of owning a house this year. We do enjoy our time spent together though. Dan has been getting a few call-backs for interviews which brings our spirits up, but still no word on a for-sure position yet. And as for me, I've got nothing. Not even Recruiting Agencies (which whom I hate dealing with) aren't calling me. I even started looking for jobs before I got put on part-time hours. I'm blaming it all on the economy. I'm thinking that Recruiting Agencies are now finding it hard to keep up with the applicants so they are only contacting the ones with a lot of experience and school behind them, and that's not me. Sure I have great experience, but the schooling for accounting, I don't have. And I don't really plan on changing that. Accounting has never been my favorite thing to do, and I know I wouldn't do well in schooling for it either. Personally, I think you learn more in the work-force than you ever will in an Accounting course. Dan has suggested that I go to school this summer or fall for something that I would really enjoy. I just never can make up my mind though. Maybe a Photography beginners course? Who knows? We'll first have to see if we could fit it into our budget, which looking at it right now, would seem almost impossible if we are still going to buy a house this year. However, right now I'm just glad Dan is getting some interviews, especially with Home builders. We're hoping that might help our process move along smoother. Everything is so up in the air, I'm just praying that it all falls in the right way.

From High to Low

This past weekend Dan and I went to Edmonton. It was a blast! I took Friday off from work but I made up the time by working an hour extra each day last week. We took off to Edmonton right after I got off work at 1:00pm on Thursday and drove straight to West Edmonton Mall. First we went to the Water Park! Such a good time! I highly suggest going to the Water Park on a Thursday. It wasn't busy at all, and we hardly waited in line for our favorite water slides! Even the wave pool wasn't packed! Plus, since we went for the last 3 hours of the day, it only cost us $21 each instead of over $30. And we still did the same amount of things that we wanted to. They have a new water play-place there with a giant bucket and all. I'm pretty sure they thought it would be a great hit for kids, but for adults it's awesome! They have similar areas at the Southland Leisure Centre and the Village Square wave pool here in Calgary, it's just a lot bigger in Edmonton. We then went to BP's for dinner and then to our hotel to have a much needed night's sleep. The next day we went swimming in our hotel and then went off to West Ed once again, but this time it was to shop.

Dan found some Kanye sunglasses! He didn't buy them though ;) We also saw the Sealion show! We were just walking by just before it started and got a pretty good view. They were first showing this cute little Penguin. You can just barley see him in this picture if you look close.

And here's a shot of the two seals that they had. One of them was HUGE! They did some pretty nice tricks too.

After the shopping, Dan had a DJ show to do to help out one of his friends from Edmonton. That's pretty much why we took the trip in the first place. We headed home after the show (Friday night).

I went back to work on Monday morning and finished my month end duties only to then find out that I was being laid-off. Wow, from such a fun weekend to this?! They just didn't have any work for me to do, and they couldn't see anymore coming in the future. I know that they really didn't want it to come to this, but they had no other option. I don't even blame them. They took my iPhone and everything. I think I miss my phone the most. My whole life was on there and it was taken away from me in a matter of minutes! I had Dan come back to pick me up. So now here we are, both of us are looking for a job. If anyone reading this knows of any positions, PLEASE let me know. For both Dan and I. It has always seemed that lately, right when we think we're doing ok, and getting that much closer to buying a house, something like this happens. I know that we've just got to fight through it and know that everything will work out in the end.