Curt's Surgery

Curt had surgery today...all went well and he has gone about his afternoon/evening as if nothing out of the ordinary happened this morning.

He's had an overactive nose for almost a year now...it just kinda happened, out of the blue, his nose was always runny?!? He was always blowing his nose - first thing in the morning, throughout the day and often having to get up in the middle of the night, too. He couldn't go far without having tissues nearby; in fact, on our trip to California/Arizona, the first stop outside the airport was a Target...to buy Kleenex :)

His family doctor referred him to a specialist in Peterborough, who he saw a few times. After trying nose sprays and medications, and having no change, the specialist decided to do this surgery.

I don't know if this type of operation has an official name...the nasal lining of Curt's nose was removed. Sorry if that is too much information! Apparently it will just grow back/replace itself, and hopefully, the new one will not be overactive?!?

It's 'real' surgery - hospital gowns, anesthetic, recovery room, the whole nine yards.

We were at the Peterborough hospital for 10am this morning; Curt went in for surgery at 12pm and I got to see Curt in recovery around 2:30pm, so it was a long day. But, everything seems to have gone well, and Curt is feeling great. We won't know for a few weeks whether or not it will make a big difference...he's going to be really stuffed up while everything inside his nose heals, once that passes, he'll know if he's a new man.

We have been making light of the surgery ever since it was booked...but, the reality of it hit me when we got to the hospital this morning. Even if it is only nose surgery, having your husband go 'under the knife' is a little scary. I did a lot of praying to get through the hours I was alone in the waiting room!

And, like I said, everything seems to have gone very well. So well in fact, that as I sit at home writing this, Curt is out playing golf. And, when he's done playing golf, he's off to the church for a meeting about the upcoming hockey season. Nothing stops that guy!

Abby's Baptism

Wow, I can't believe how fast this week is going...it's already Wednesday and I'm just getting time to post about our weekend in Acton. Actually, the whole month of August has just flown by! But I'm OK with that, actually, I'm quite glad it's going fast. September means more skating AND it means we're getting closer to the end of the golf season, which makes me happy.

Anyway, back on topic...

This past weekend we were in Acton for Abby's baptism, and as always, it was a great weekend at 'home' (yes, although I've had my own home for five years, I still refer to Acton as 'home').

The baptism was on Saturday and was done during a private little service; there were about 30 of Tom and Krystle's family and close friends there.


Everyone who attended the service.

Abby was beautiful in her baptismal gown - the same one that Krystle wore for her baptism. It was amazing to see how much the two of them look alike when looking at Abby in her gown and at pictures of Krystle from her special day.


Abby and I, ready to head to the church.

Nolan was also looking pretty special for the big day - he got to wear his kilt, which is always a hit. The kilt, which is the Robertson tartan, is actually the same one my brother wore at Nolan's age, and the similarities between father and son at that age are also quite amazing!


Nolan, wearing his kilt and checking out his sporran.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, Tom and Krystle asked me to be Abby's Godmother, so that made the day extra special for me, too.


Jeff (Krystle's brother and Abby's Godfather), Krystle, Tom, me, Abby and Father Bob.


A special picture of the multiple generations at the baptism. Nana, sitting in the chair, holding Abby. My mom, me and Krystle standing behind.

Following the service, Tom and Krystle had a BBQ for everyone back at their place, so we had lots of time to visit with family.

On Sunday morning, Tom and I took Nolan to his swimming lessons. That kid loves his lessons - as we pulled up to the pool, he was cheering 'yes, yes, yes' and pumping his little fists! So cute! Nolan was excited to show me all his tricks...putting his face in the water, blowing bubbles, jumping in off the side and his favourite, going down the slide!


Not the best picture, but this an action shot of Nolan going down the slide. Those are Tom's arms reaching out to catch him :)

Sunday afternoon, during Nolan and Abby's nap, Curt and I snuck away and picked up my mom for a quick little shopping trip. We just went to the mall in Guelph, but it was nice to spend some time with my mom like that. Mom and I are both a little, or A LOT, distracted by Nolan when he is around :)

After a great roast chicken dinner at my parents on Sunday evening (my mom is an awesome cook, and always makes at least one special meal for us when we're in town - Curt and I love it!), it was back to Belleville for Curt and I.



I didn't really know how to fit this in the post, so I'm going to throw in a random paragraph here. Favourite moment outside of the baptism, Saturday night we're sitting down to dinner and Nolan reminds us that we have to say grace. Krystle says a standard grace and then we go around the table saying something we're thankful for...so, the adults thank God for family, getting to spend time together, etc. And what does Nolan thank God for? Hydro trucks!!! He just loves trucks...all kinds of trucks...tractors and construction equipment, too. Once we stopped laughing, I told my mom that I figure those are God's favourite prayers :)

It's About Time

I finally got a new cell phone! I've had the same phone for about three years, and it was pretty basic...it was an old school flip phone. I could make phone calls and text, that was it.

It was similar to this phone...


And, this is what I upgraded to...


I LOVE it! And I totally understand why people call it a 'Crackberry' instead of a 'Blackberry'...I am already addicted.

I still have so much to learn - I know there are so many things I can do with this phone, and so many apps I can add, I'm just getting started. One of the main reasons I went with a Blackberry is because of the FREE Blackberry Messaging to/from anyone else with a Blackberry. My brother and sister-in-law both have Blackberry's so it's going to be nice to be able to send/receive random little messages to each other (most of them will probably be about Nolan, and Abby as she gets older). My brother and I were already taking advantage of this feature over the weekend.

Luckily, one of my co-workers has the exact same Blackberry, so I've been able to ask him a lot of questions over the last few days. I'm sure that I'll have it all figured out by the time our three year contract is up :)

A Lot of Nothing

So, prepare yourself for a boring post. It's a slow night at work, and I have had a bunch of stuff I have meaning to blog about, so I'm going to roll it all into one here.

- Before Curt and I went on vacation, my brother and sister-in-law asked me to be Abby's Godmother! I was obviously very honoured by that, and happily said 'yes'. Her Christening is next weekend, so we'll be going to visit and to be there for that.

- I think I already mentioned this, but the new skating season has already started. It's the Quinte summer program, and although I've been trying for a few years, this is the first year I've had skaters interested...I say skaters, but really I only have one skater - she's from Tweed. I know some of the other girls were interested, but it either didn't work financially, or they couldn't arrange rides to the arena during the day. I'm really glad to have the early start to the season, and although it's weird going into the cold arena when it's so nice outside, it's awesome to be back on the ice.

- Earlier this week I finished reading the book 'Redeeming Love: A Novel' by Francine Rivers. I've picked this book up more then once in bookstores, and always thought it sounded good. Then, I saw it mentioned on a lot of the blogs I read, so I decided it was time to read it. I loaded it on my Kobo for our trip, but didn't actually get to it until we got home. Anyway, it was AMAZING! The summary on the back of the book includes the following line 'A life-changing story of God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love.' That says it all...life-changing and such a great portrayal of God's love. It also states that over 1 million copies have been sold, and I can see why. If you haven't read it, you SHOULD!

- Curt rode his motorcycle to work for the first time earlier this week. Yup, he finally got it working. He says it still needs some 'fine tuning'...not that I know much about it, but given it's age, I think it will always need 'fine tuning' :) I saw him come in the driveway at the end of the day though, and I had to admit to him, he kinda suits the thing.

Now, if you're still reading this, you're a trooper. I just went back and re-read what I wrote and it's random! But, it helped pass the time on this very slow evening at the golf course, so that was good.

A Typical Weekend...Until...

We're back to our normal routines here, and we had a pretty typical weekend...a little bit of work with a little bit of fun.

I had to work Saturday morning, and while I was away at work, Curt was working on his 'new' motorcycle. It's actually quite old, but new to him...he got it before we went away, but it needs work, and he's just getting a chance to work on it now. The week before we went away, I went to a motorcycle junkyard/graveyard and picked up a new motor for him, and yesterday he put that in the bike. It still doesn't work, but I don't know the details on it?!?

Saturday evening we went to hang out with Ike and Jeanette, which we haven't done in awhile, so it was great to catch up! We taught them how to play Rummoli and then played Canasta, lots of fun!

Today, after church, we went to Curt's parents for lunch to celebrate my MIL's birthday (her birthday was last Wednesday). Curt's brother Dave, his wife Sarah and their four kids were also there for the celebration. Lunch was good, and it was nice to visit with everyone and hear what they've been up to over the last few weeks.

And then...on our way out, Dave and Sarah told us that they had something to tell us. You've probably guessed it...they're expecting again! Baby Number #5 is due to arrive on March 2nd. Dave and Sarah both said they're expecting a boy, and don't care if they have a girl...but, I'm sure after four boys, a little girl would be a nice addition. They'll be finding out in a few weeks, and I'll be very excited to hear the news when they get it.

Arizona...The Whole Thing

Well, I hope you enjoyed my day-by-day breakdown of our week in California. I'm undecided about doing the posts that way...they seemed to get a little too long, and the one or two people who read this may be shaking their head in agreement right now; but at the same time, personally, I'm glad to have the details to look back on later.

Anyway, we didn't have internet access while we were in Arizona. There is a couple that are members at the golf course I work at, the May's, and they have a house in Arizona that they go to all winter, and they let us stay there for the week. So, because they're away all summer, they have the internet and TV services disconnected. I was hoping to post about Arizona as soon as I got home, but I've been back to work (at the golf course and I also started coaching already this past week), so I've been busy and am just getting around to it today (and it's already Thursday!). So, I don't think I would be able to remember enough to post day-by-day, so I've decided to just select a few of the key 'events' and write a few paragraphs about each.

El Encanta
Monday was our first full day in Arizona and we didn't even leave the house until dinner! I told Curt early in the day that I wanted to eat at a Mexican restaurant while we were in Arizona (they just seem more authentic there, so I thought I would be experiencing the 'real deal')...now, for those of you who don't know me, I am a bit of a picky eater. I usually order chicken when we go out to eat...chicken fingers, chicken burgers, chicken penne pasta, etc. I'm pretty boring, and am NOT good at trying new foods; so, for me to suggest Mexican was pretty big. Anyway, we were given a list of restaurant recommendations from another BQ couple who winter in Arizona, so we randomly picked a Mexican one from the list, and off we went. And I'm so glad we did, it was a great spot! It was a spot we would have ignored if it hadn't been on 'the list'...it just didn't look that great from the outside. The food was great (I had fajitas...yes, they were chicken fajitas...I can only be so brave) and the atmosphere was cool too.

Golf
We played three rounds of golf while we were in Arizona. We played Rancho Manana on Tuesday, Dove Valley Creek on Wednesday and The Boulders on Thursday.

We always played early (before 8:30am) so that we were off the course before it got too hot. That allowed us to actually enjoy our time on the course, rather then having it feel like work.

The Boulders was definitely our favourite, and by far the nicest, of the three. We were told by our friends at BQ that playing at The Boulders would give us a little taste of the life styles of the rich and famous, and they weren't far off. The course was in great condition, it had beautiful views, and it was challenging but fair (I shot 94, my best score of the trip). The temperature on Thursday was probably the coolest of the three days too, so that probably helped. We ended up having a single player join us, a guy named Jeron (pronounced 'your-own') from Seattle, and he was really nice and easy to play with.

Rancho Manana was our second favourite - the front nine was tough, and Curt and I both had our issues, but we both enjoyed the back nine a lot more.

And finally, Dove Valley Creek - we played this one mainly because of the convenience of it...it was less then five minutes from the house. The front and back nine here were pretty different - the front nine was straight, relatively flat, and kind of boring whereas the back nine had a lot of doglegs and more variation from hole to hole. The course was in decent shape, but it was probably showing the effects of the summer heat the most out of the three.

Shopping
We went shopping a few times throughout the week. Early in the week, we found a pretty good outlet mall not too far from where we staying, so we spent a few hours there. We came away with some good finds, but overall, the mall wasn't as good as the ones in Orlando or Myrtle Beach. There were quite a few empty stores in the mall, I guess a sign of the economy in the States.

We also went by an outlet mall in Sedona later in the week, but it was really small and a total letdown...we didn't even stop.

One afternoon we made a trip to a few golf stores, but didn't find any good deals. We're always surprised, and disappointed, that we can't find good golf deals in places that have so many golf courses.

Sedona/Slide Rock State Park
On Friday we went to Sedona - a town about an hour and a half from Scottsdale. We had heard a lot of good things about Sedona, and chose to go there for the day because of it's location, and to save the Grand Canyon for another trip, when we could take more time there.

Sedona is known as 'Red Rock Country' because of, well, the red rock in the area. I was a little unsure about making the drive, thinking 'it's only red rock, will it be worth driving an hour and a half?'. Well, it was definitely worth it, and I will highly recommend it to anyone going to the area. I can't really describe what we saw, but everything was beautiful.

There are a number of famous rock formations, and apparently people come by the busload to see them. A local told us that these rock sites have great energy, and visitors will come just to meditate and be energized at the rocks. Sounds a little crazy to me, but whatever. The rock formations also have hiking trails, so you can go to the top, but we didn't do any hiking. We saw 'Cathedral Rock' and 'Bell Rock', and both were beautiful.

Just outside the village of Sedona is a place called 'Chapel of the Holy Cross'. This is another spot totally worth visiting. It's a Roman Catholic Church built right into the rocks on the side of a mountain. It offered some amazing views!

Slide Rock State Park was definitely my favourite part of this day trip. Just north of Sedona, in Oak Creek Canyon, this park sits on property that was once an apple farm. There is about half a mile of creek that you can swim and wade in, as well as the famous slide. The Slide is an 80-foot slide that is worn into sandstone...aka, a natural water slide! The water was FREEZING...but I couldn't miss out on the opportunity to slide, and I'm so glad I went for it! My butt got a little scraped up after going down a few times, and it hurt to sit down for the rest of the day, but it was still worth it :)

Buffalo Chip Saloon
On Friday evening, after spending the day in Sedona, we decided to go to the Buffalo Chip Saloon for dinner. This was another restaurant that had been recommended by BQ members, and it was a great spot!

When we arrived, the parking lot was full (always a good sign) and there seemed to be a lot of activity out behind the restaurant. So, we made our way outback and asked an employee what was going on, and we were told that the restaurant was hosting a professional bull riding competition that night! Ha, crazy right! Curt and I were totally excited though.

So, we went ahead and had dinner and then went back out to the 'stadium' area to watch the bull riding. So fun! We probably saw about 30 cowboys ride, and only two of them lasted 8 seconds...so apparently it's as hard as it looks! We didn't see anyone get stomped on or anything, but we did see a bull fall on a cowboys leg! Ouch! And they didn't even have any medics...the guy waited until the bull was out of the ring, was helped out and onto a chair, and then just waited it out I guess...no one even checked his leg?!?! I also couldn't get over the clowns in the ring...what a CRAZY job that is!!!

Perhaps the best part of this story is the fact that it was our five year anniversary! So, spending the day in Sedona was great, and it was nice to go out for dinner...but, Curt asked a few times, 'Did you ever think we would spend our anniversary watching bull riding?'...ummmm, that would be a NO! But it was great, and will certainly be memorable.


It worked out well to have this week follow the week in California, especially for Curt because he was pretty busy with the wedding in California. We had a good combination of activity and relaxation while in Arizona, which was perfect.

Overall, our week was amazing and Curt and I loved the area. I think we decided that if we were ever in a position to have a winter place, we would want it to be in this area. And in the meantime, we're hoping to go back soon (maybe again next year sometime) to see some of the stuff we missed this time.

California...The Second Half

Day Five: Thursday, July 22nd
Curt was booked all day Thursday for Pete's bachelor party - they went golfing at the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West (yeah, I'm jealous, so that's all I'm going to say about that), and then had dinner and drinks, etc.

I took advantage of having a day to myself and went shopping. I went back to the mall we found on Wednesday, and took my time checking it out. It had two of my favourite stores - J.C. Penney and Target - and they were both three stories high, so it was perfect that I had all the time I wanted to look at everything!

Wednesday, on our way 'home' we also spotted a spot with a Ross, a TJ Maxx and a Famous Footwear, so I had to go there too, of course. And again, I took my time in these stores, and tried lots of stuff on, and just enjoyed not feeling rushed.

So, after a 5 hour shopping trip, you'd think I came 'home' loaded down, but I didn't. I was pacing myself, we plan on hitting up the Outlet Malls in Arizona, so I did't want to overdo it too early.

I did get a few things worth noting though - a cute little gift for my niece, Abby, and a great pair of black shoes from Target. And, the deal of the day - a pair of Birkenstocks from Famous Footwear for, drumroll please....$40!!!

I didn't get home until around 6pm, so I didn't get to lounge by the pool, but, I got a little pink in spots on Wednesday, so it's probably better that way (I had sunscreen on, I swear, but I missed a few spots - like a random line on my leg!).

It actually cools down quite a bit here at night, so after reading on the balcony for awhile, I did some blogging to keep track of everything.

Day Six: Friday, July 23rd

Friday morning was pretty relaxed...Curt needed a little extra sleep after the events of the previous day (the bachelor party from sunrise to sunset!). So, while he was sleeping/recovering, I made my way to my favourite spot of the week...the lounge chair by the pool...and spent the morning reading/relaxing/tanning/swimming. Ahhh, doesn't it sound lovely :)

Once Curt was ready to face the day, we got cleaned up and went to help with some wedding stuff. We went to the house that would be the site of the reception, and while Curt helped set up the dance floor, I helped put together forty or fifty paper lanterns that were later strung up outside for lighting. It was easy work, and while I did that I visited with Pete's sister, Carla, who I have met on various occasions, while she was making the cakes for the wedding.

There were a lot of helpers, so things there went fast, so Curt and I were left with a few hours to spare before the rehearsal. Curt, having been up for a few hours at this point, was ready for a nap, so we went back to our place to relax for a bit :)

However, just as Curt laid down, he remembered that he didn't have SHOES for the wedding! Pete had asked him to bring a specific style of black dress shoe, and he didn't really have anything that worked, so he figured he would buy some on one of our shopping trips...but, we hadn't really had a lot of time for shopping, and he hadn't thought of them until that point. So yeah, we were in a bit of a panic...but, we made it to a few stores and he did find a pair and we made it to the rehearsal on time.

Not much to say about the rehearsal, it was typical...although they are having some pretty unique music at the ceremony, but more on that later.

The rehearsal dinner was held a few blocks away at the house of some friends...actually, Shauna met this man when he backed into her car in the parking lot of a Starbucks, and despite that, both couples have become great friends :) All of the food was prepared by friends, and they did an amazing job. Following the dinner were speeches...many of the speeches you would typically hear at the reception (wedding party, family, parents of the bride and groom) said their speeches here to save time at the ceremony. Curt gave a little speech, and presented Pete with some 'gifts'...a Canada flag and some Canadian beer! And, I'm thinking that Curt should have changed his name to Robertson (rather then me becoming a Vreugdenhil) because he cried a little bit when saying his speech...it totally shocked me, but it was kinda cute to see how much Pete's friendship means to him.

Day Seven: Saturday, July 24th

Wedding Day! Curt had to be at Pete's early to get dressed and start pictures, so no sleeping in today. I drove him to Pete's place, dropped him off, and then went back to our place...I spent a few hours poolside, and then it was time for me to get ready for the wedding.

I made my way to the church and ended up being early, so I took a little walk down the main street of Sierra Madre. I happened to walk past a fire station, and I thought it would be great if I could buy a shirt for my brother (a fire fighter in my hometown), so I stopped in. I was told that they sell shirts Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm...so I explained that I was visiting from Canada and was leaving town the following day, and asked if they would make an exception...but I was told NO! I was really shocked, and disappointed?!?!?

The wedding ceremony was beautiful, and the love between the bride and groom was evident throughout. Shauna walked down the aisle to 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' which was unique...it was performed by friends, including a guy on a ukelele! They also did a sand ceremony rather then a unity candle, and although I've head about that, I don't know if I've ever seen it done. Their wedding colours were navy blue and yellow, which were the colours for our wedding, so that was neat too.

The bride and groom exited the church while all the guests blew bubbles, and they took off in a big red suburban that had been nicely decorated by the groomsmen...complete with beach balls, blow up pink flamingos, granny panties, pool noodles and even a few condoms.

The wedding party had more pictures to take, so I left for the reception with some of the other girls. Everything at the reception house turned out beautiful...I couldn't believe the transformation that had happened in the 12 hours since I had left! I think I'm going to do a separate post with pictures from the ceremony and reception, I just don't think I can do it justice with words. So that will come later.

Because most of the speeches had been done the night before, at the rehearsal dinner, this portion of the night was pretty short. The Best Man, Drew, and Maid of Honour, Mallory, said their speeches...and then other friends/family were invited to say a few words if they wanted to, so a few people did that. But, it was kept short and the dancing started quickly. The bride and groom made their exit, through a tunnel of sparklers, around 10:30pm or 11pm, so the whole night was short, really.

I'm pretty sure we were 'home' in bed before midnight, which was perfect because we had to be up really early the next morning!

Day Seven: Sunday, July 25th

So, the alarm went off at about 6am, and we had to be packed up and ready to vacate Hilltop Hideaway by 6:30am, so it was a little hectic. We did it though!

After picking up Ike in Pasadena, and dropping him off at the airport, it was off to Palm Springs to play golf. Way back at the beginning of this super long post I mentioned that Curt and the groomsmen played golf at the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West, and I was jealous...so, Curt booked a tee time for the two of us, and we played it on our way to Arizona.

It was amazing to get to play there! It was really tough, even Curt found it pretty challenging. It was also really HOT...because we had to drive a few hours to get there, we didn't tee of until 10am, and it was already over 100 when we teed off, and that added to the challenge. In fact, by the time we got to the 17th hole (an island green), I was so hot and uncomfortable, that after loosing two balls in the water, I gave up...I didn't even play the hole!

After the round it was back on the road for our drive to Arizona. I think it was about 4.5 hours, and Curt and I took turns driving and napping on the trip. It wasn't the most scenic drive...just a lot of rocks, mountains and eventually, cacti.

We found our house for week, explored the area a little and then settled in for evening...it was great to have another whole week of vacation ahead of us!