May Long

I worked this past May Long Weekend and so Matt headed out on a boys fishing trip! It was a cold weekend, but he loved it and he caught a BIG one:)

Practicing casting with his new (grad present) fly rod!

the boys

another grad gift put to good use

BEAR!

the BIG one!

Celebrating Grannie

We got home from our cruise - unpacked, did laundry, visited with the Olivers, worked a full day and then just over 24 hours later were on a plane to Regina. Matt's Grannie Kaminski went to be with the Lord the previous Friday after battling with ALS for a year. Grannie was a remarkable woman and lived a beautiful life, even as she battled with one of life's most horrific diseases.

Best Friends - Papa and Grannie

This picture was taken a year ago when Matt and I returned home from Africa. Grannie was not yet diagnosed with ALS but wasn't feeling 100% at the time - however despite that they made the drive from Regina to Lloyd so that they could see us and welcome us home.

Our time in Regina was well spent. It was so good to see family and of course celebrate Grannie's life. She planned her own funeral and it spoke of her humble nature, it was not focused on her but on her Lord - it was beautiful. Grannie was well loved - the funeral was huge, hundreds of cards were sent and meal upon meal was dropped off.

I didn't take very many pictures of our time in Regina - here is one of the final day we were there - the Kaminski men playing a rousing game of Scrabble on the deck.

Papa concentrating hard on his next move.

Us with Mom and Dad K right before they dropped us off at the airport.

We were blessed to have a long lay over in Calgary and met Mom and Dad M for coffee!

Grannie will be missed by all who knew her, but we rest in knowing that she is in heaven and we will see her again someday! She left a legacy here on earth that will remain for years and years to come!

Olivers in Abby!

Morgan, Nikki and Sawyer were staying at our house while we were on our cruise - it was fun to come home to them - we miss having them in Abby!

Sawyer picked us some beautiful 'welcome home' dandelions!

the house is full of giggles when Sawyer is here:)

Matt and Sawyer

more giggling!

playing dress up with Auntie!

we came home unpacked and then repacked to go again - Sawyer tried to sneek into our luggage:)

Sawyer checking things out with the boys

Nikki was here too - I don't know why I don't have any pictures of her - she is looking beautiful as usual!!!

So nice to see old friends - we miss our days living in the same town but enjoy the treats of seeing each other a couple times a year. We are excited for them and all that the next couple of months are going to bring there way!

Cruising 2011

As a graduation celebration we decided to partake in our first cruise (it is another item off our bucket list). We cruised with Carnival and travelled to 4 different destinations in the Western Caribbean.

Here is our ship - the Carnival Legend.

Inside the main lounge area

before our dinner the first night

our dinner the second night - a little more formal

love the animal towels that awaited us every night

Matt in Mexico

Cozumel

in the show lounge before the evening spectacular

this is your typical cruise photo:)

the water was sooo blue in Belize!

Roatan, Honduras - the best snorkeling we have ever done!

elephant

Matt getting attacked by a giant lobster:)

a typical lunch for Matt at the buffet - he happily gained some weight on this trip:)

Roatan is BEAUTIFUL!

lounging on the boat

Cinco De Mayo night

in the restuarant

back on the balcony for another pre-dinner evening picture

the dinosuar

GRAND CAYMAN!!!!

Matt floating in the most beautiful water you have ever seen!

we LOVED the Grand Cayman!

happy happy!

Matt got me a new sun hat:)

our last day on the ship

on our last evening, on the ship, before dinner we were watching the sunset and all of a sudden a pod of dolphins began to jump beside our boat - it was a magical moment - almost felt like we were in a movie (sorry - no pics of the dolphins - you will have to take my word for it!)

our dinner friends for the week - honeymooners from Florida

our waiters for the week - they were GREAT!

we had a day a couple of hours after our cruise in Tampa before our plane took off - we decided to visit the aquarium

Matt playing with some with the starfish

we loved our time away - we had a great time relaxing and spending time together!

Year 4 in the Books!

This is a stack of books that my very smart husband read in the past four months, in his spare time, when he wasn't winning a National Championship:)