Brother-in-Law Birthday

My brother-in-law, Andrew, is turning 27 years old today. I'd like to say he's getting really really old, but he's actually younger than me...

Tom and I stopped by his parents' house on the weekend, and Tom saw this picture hanging on the fridge. Of course, he had to put in his two cents, and he left a post-it comment for his parents.

"Andrew has really progressed as an artist."

Andrew... I'm not really sure if you've progressed as an artist. I mean, maybe it was a neighbourhood child who actually drew that picture, but I think it looks very similar to something you would produce.

Exhibit A: Cake monstrosity of 2010, by Andrew.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

That's How We Roll

Last weekend I received tickets to the Sunday evening Flames game. I had received tickets for the same seats last year, so I knew they were really, really good. Section 120, Row 1, Seats 1 and 2. Basically, we were ice-side next to the blue line.

I invited my dad to join me for the game, but I didn't tell him how good the tickets were! When we finally found our way to our seats, we were both very excited. You feel so important sitting next to the ice! And you can actually see the faces of the players and hear them yelling at each other.

Players standing for the national anthems.

We got some pizza and some malt icecream, and sat back to enjoy the game.

Flames vs. Blue Jackets

Of course, there were many occasions where this mountain-of-a-man referee was standing directly in our line of sight. This guy was HUGE. We had a flyer that had the stats of all the Flames on it. Most of the players are six feet tall or more, but this ref had at least a head worth of height on all the players. I swear, he was seven feet tall!

Gigantic ref.

If you're wondering... The Flames lost the game. They were out-playing and out-shooting the Blue Jackets, but they just couldn't get the puck in the net. The game ended up going into overtime, and then a shoot-out. The final score was 2:1 for Columbus.

Me and my dad.

Regardless, good times were had by all!

Take 2

On our first visit to Maui we hit most of the major tourist attractions, so we hit some of the slightly less popular sights on our second take of the island.

On one particularly overcast and rainy day, we drove into the western half of the island to take a look at the Ioa Valley State Park, featuring the 1200ft Ioa Needle. This basaltic feature served as a look-out point in a 1790 battle that changed the course of Hawaiian history. The park featured paved paths, and a winding garden. There were also warning signs all over the park telling you to stay on the path because flash floods could occur at any time!

Ioa Valley "Needle."

On another overcast day we decided we would (again) try to track down the entrance to the Waihee Ridge Trail. Tom and I had tried on two occasions to find this trailhead, but were unable to locate it with google maps. On a third try, we found it, and hiked it! The trail was about 7km round trip, and featured forest, sweeping views of the island, and lush vegetation. We saw some unidentified fruits on the path, and also some fresh guava!

Waihee Ridge Trailhead.

Waihee Ridge forest.

Waihee Ridge view of the island.

One evening, we decided to check out Big Beach before we made ourselves dinner. We spent about an hour enjoying the setting sun. In particular, we watched the clouds moving over the island of (what I think is) Kahoolawe-- but it could also be the island of Lanai.

Tom also noticed a pod of whales passing through the area. If you watched the horizon closely, you could see spurts of water shooting up into the air from blow holes. And every once in a while, one of the whales would flip it's tale out of the water. In the photo below, you can see a blow-hole blast, and a tiny bit of fin.

Whale watching from Big Beach.

On our last day in Maui it was overcast, rainy and windy. We had planned to spend one last day at the beach, but the water was choppy. Instead, we drove to Kealia Pond, a bird and wildlife refuge outside of Kihei. I guess the birds weren't too keen on the weather, because we didn't see much wildlife.

Black Necked Stilts.

We spent the afternoon on Polo beach. Tom decided to take one last stab at snorkeling, but I decided to stay on the beach. While he snorkeled, I got sand blasted by the wind while watching a family of four repeatedly chase their runaway inner tube as it was blown down the beach.

And now it's back to reality. My only consolation is that the weather at home is supposed to be fairly nice this week-- but it doesn't beat Hawaii!

Sun, Rain and Maui

This is the third tropical vacation that Tom and I have taken together; Maui in 2010 and Tahiti in 2010. On both vacations, Tom ended up with a wicked sunburn. If you know Tom, it's not a shock-- he is practically transluscent! We actually DISCUSSED the previous sunburns before we left. We talked about how this time around, we were going to be even MORE diligent about sunscreen. This was not going to happen again. There was going to be absolutely NO sunburn. Which is why this time we thought we had everything under control. We reapplied as soon as he got out of the water.

Fast forward to three hours later...

Clearly SPF 30 just isn't good enough for Tom. I think we're going to have to invest in something a little strong.

During our last visit to Maui, we drove the road to Hana, which is an eastern route on the island. This time we drove western route through Ka'anapali. The road, if you can believe it, was more windy, sketchy and nauseating. Or maybe it just felt that way because I didn't take any queasiness medication. However, the windy section of the road was considerably shorter than the road to Hana, and there were just as many beautiful sights to see. The main highlight was a section off the highway of large igneous structures that are constantly being battered by the ocean.

Our snorkeling has been quite successful so far! In addition to the bajillion brightly coloured fish, I have seen two turtles, an eel and a small octopus. The water is a lot colder than I remember, and I ended up investing in surf shirt. I'm not sure if it was really that effective-- my lips still turned blue!

The last couple of days, the weather has turned on us. It poured for a good two hours in the afternoon, and it was actually a bit cold! There have been flash flood warnings on Oahu and Kauai, and recently some for Maui County as well. It has put a damper on some of our plans, since almost everything we want to do is outside. But even in the pouring rain, it's still nice here than it is back home.

We're hoping to get a hike in today, and a little more snorkeling!

Pretend Like It's Spring

Nothing can cheer you up like a vase of spring-like flowers. I love it when tulips and daffodils start popping up in stores! It means warm weather is just around the corner.

Warm weather is DEFINITELY around the corner for Tom and I. Tomorrow we are heading off to Hawaii to spend a week on the island of Maui.

I'm packing like it's nobody's business!

This is the first time we've taken a spring holiday. Normally we go from Christmas to the summer with only a few long weekends to break it up. All I can think of is the fresh tropical fruit and glorious, glorious humidity. Snorkeling, hiking and relaxing are high on our list of priorities.

Until next time...

Amanda out!

Field Trip - Grande Cache

I don't generally blog about work, but this week was a bit out of the ordinary because I flew out to Grande Cache with my team for a field visit.

On average, I generally only make about one field visit per year, and it's always nice to get out of the office-- even though I endure harassment about my "pretty" steel-toed boots. On previous occasions, we flew out in a clunky little plane that seats about 8.

This time we flew out in a Falcon 900-- a jet!

Photo Credit

Although this is not an actual image from the plane (we did not have wine or throw blankets-- although maybe they would have given us some if we'd asked), this is what the interior of the plane looked like. Pretty swanky, eh? There was a flight attendant who served us hot and cold breakfast, chocolates and coffee and tea. She also provided us with newspapers and hot towels! She also offered me a barf bag halfway through the trip, as I had assumed the fetal position in my seat, and feeling quite queasy. I'm happy to report the bag went unused...

We were supposed to visit a drilling rig when we landed, but there were whiteout conditions in the field. Instead we stuck to the office and did some brainstorming.

Next, we checked into our hotel.

Check out my view from the hotel! Stellar, right?

Hotel room view.

The parking lot is not exactly glamorous, but the rooms are nice and well maintained.

The following day we met with the field operators. We gave them a presentation, and listened to their suggestions and input on our future plans. When our day wound up early, we headed to Sulphur Gate to do the tourist-thang.

Smokey River at Sulphur Gate.

Cadomin conglomerate outcrop at Sulphur Gate.

The path was EXTREMELY icy, and very slippery-- but the views were very impressive. Grande Cache is definitely nestled in a beautiful location.

Today we are headed out to have a tour of our gas plant and multiple wellsites. It was a long day-- and not without incident. First thing in the morning, one of the Jeep's in our convoy got a flat tire. But there was no shortage of men to make quick work of fixing it.

Fixing the flat.

Tomorrow we are giving a presentation to some students at a local school. Then we're heading back home in style in our jet.

Looking forward to coming home.

Looking forward to the weekend!

How Fast They Grow

On Wednesday, February 8, my beautiful little niece, Madelynn, had her first birthday. It's hard to imagine that a whole year has passed so quickly. Madelynn has nearly mastered the art of walking, and she is certainly opening Dylan up to the world of sharing toys.

Madelynn at 7 months.

This morning I attended Madelynn's birthday party. My mom got up early to make Madelynn's cake, then she brought it to my sister's house so Dylan could help her decorate it.

Grandma and Dylan work on Madelynn's cake.

Madelynn's completed cake.

For such a little girl, she was showered with gifts! She got toys, clothing and jewelry. She had two grandmas, a grandpa, two aunts and an uncle, as well as a great aunt and uncle in attendance.

Madelynn and Dylan digging into presents.

Madelynn playing with a talking picnic basket.

Madelynn was VERY happy with her cake, and allowed Dylan to blow out the candle for her. She enjoyed a slice of cake and seemed very happy, until she rubbed some cake in her eye and started crying.

Blowing out the candle.

I can't wait to see what she thinks of her birthday next year when she's talking and running.

Happy Birthday, Madelynn!