board games

I grew up on these things. Every Sunday afternoon for as long as I can remember was designated as family bonding time via board games. Now, I know that most people dread the thought of ever playing and would rather deem them 'bored' games. But I assure you, spend and afternoon with the VandenBerg's playing Monopoly or Settlers and you will never see them in the same light (the board games).

My Dad likes to see them as a bonding tool, but I'm not sure that's the purpose they hold in my family. You see, my family is made up of half ruthless competitive and half sensative competitive members. Every game there is someone who ended up in tears while the others left miffed, except for the one who won... they would be rubbing it in every other minute (actually only if one of the ruthless competitive ones won). Unfortunately for myself I am one of the ruthless competitive ones (I know this might come as a surprise). However, I am really bad at playing board games and I hardly ever win, wow, that was hard to admit. This is my theory, no one likes to see or let me win and everyone likes to get me all riled up and the perfect way of doing this is making me lose. When we play together it seems like everyone takes the extra mile just to boycott my plan in Settlers, refuse to trade properties in Monopoly, steal my boyfriend in the Barbie Game, always attack my countries in Risk, take my triple word score in Scrabble... trust me I could go on, but I will spare you. This history with board games has almost killed them for me, but since I have such a strength of character I continue on.

I guess the true purpose of this blog was to announce that last night we payed Settlers and I won against my family for the first time! It has been long awaited, but the victory felt marvelous. Just thought I would let the world know :)

bless us one and all

I watch this movie every Christmas and I am dedicating this song to all of you!

HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

Canada eh?

Lately, I have witnessed that our wonderful country of Canada has been taking the heat (maybe the cold shoulder would be a better term).

With Robyn just coming back from Africa and Ree, Tim, and Danielle going abroad for a semester I feel like Canada has lost its appeal. This is why I am writing this breath-taking blog. As I chew my little brother's last piece of strawberry Hubba Bubba I am going to ensure that all of you that have caught the travelling bug long to come back to me, back to your homeland, with gratefulness.

I understand that the grass is ussually greener on the other side, but in my very biased opinion the grass seems pretty green over here. Well, maybe not right now, but if you dig under the 4 feet of snow you will be able to see it. Where else in the world can you find green grass under snow? I have heard that England and France has very little grass and the grass that they do have you can't walk on. In Canada however, we have an abundance of lush green grass, grass that you can walk on whenever you want, grass so green that you have to cut it at least once a week. Canada has very nice soft green grass.

Africa may have the lions, the zebras, and the giraffes, but does it have the Beaver? It might have them cooped up in zoo's somewhere, but in Canada they roam free. The beaver is the largest rodent in the world. Although its size makes it a little slow on land, in the water it can go 0 - 7km in 3 seconds flat. Impressed yet, if not get a load of this. Not only is it really speedy, the beaver has exceptional teeth. Its long, sharp, strong teeth grow continuously. The upper and lower teeth grind against eachother so they remain chisel-sharp. With them, a beaver is able to feel very large trees. The beaver cuts down an average of 216 trees a year. Can a lion do that? I don't think so.

Now on to the topic of snow. Yes, I admit it is cold and it is unpleasant to get facewashed or get snow in your shoes. But like I always say, perspective is everything. Take sun for example. We say we all love it, but do we love it when it gives us a sunburn that turns into boils, do we love it when we are suffering from sunstroke, do we love it when we are working a 12 hour day doing labourous outdoor work, or when we are trying to get to sleep but we can't because it is too muggy to breathe properly? Probably not. Snow is wonderful. It allows hills or mountains to become slippery so that we can crack out the crazy carpets or GT Racers, our snowboard or skiis, or if you are Ree, her very slippery shoes. We can make snow angels, snowmen, forts, tunnels, snowballs, and catch snowflakes on our tongues. And you have to admit their is something pretty magical about going to sleep at night with the ground all brown and dead, but then waking up to a winter wonderland.

With snow comes the cold. This one is going to be a little harder to make into something wonderful, but here goes. Cold brings ice and ice brings skating and pond hockey. How many of us have spent endless hours on the pond either pretending we are the next Jamie Salé or Wayne Gretzkey. I know I did. And just in case you didn't know Canada has the longest skating rink in the world - the Rideau Canal. It is about 40mins from my house and while you skate you can eat the best beaver tails in the world (it's a pastery, not an actual tail). Not only does the cold give us ice, but it also gives us a pretty good excuse for our moms to make us hot choclate with the big puffy marshmellows on top.

I think if I was forced to pick ONE thing about Canada as my arguing point I would pick the mountains. I know, I know, I am from Ontario and I have no idea about mountains, but this summer I went to Alberta and I got my first taste of them. They were probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. If I could wake up every morning and see a mountain in the distance I would live a very content life. I know that there are other places in the world with mountains, but they are probably not as good as ours.

And if I haven't convinced you yet, here is my last point. Canada is where I live. If you haven't already noticed I am a very fun person, and I have been told that I am hilarious. If you leave Canada you leave me and unevidably your life will become a little less interesting.

The Hubba Bubba gum that I am chewing has lost all its flavour and its making my jaw hurt, so I am going to take that as my cue to stop.

bread and (no) butter

Mom I think you will be proud.

I felt like Laura Ingalls today and made my first homemade bread. Now finally I might win the heart of Almanzo Wilder. :)


































Maybe if I am feeling ambitious, tomorrow I will church some butter to go along with it.
That's a pretty big maybe...

sorry Jordan

In lue of Danielle's shower Ree, Jordan, and I had a girls night. This was the result...
















We painted our nails.















Then we pampered our faces with watermelon cucumber facemasks.

bruised

Have you ever nailed your elbow on the arm of your wooden couch on the downward swing of your yawn? I have, this afternoon in fact. Now my bruised elbow is what is keeping me from writing my paper, ouch.

Papers, papers, papers. I said that three times because that is how many I have to write in the next week. I wanted to get this one done today, but somehow doing the dishes, taking a nap, snuggling with Cow, listening to David Gray, sipping tea, and writing this blog seemed more important. Oops.

I think I am suffering from an extreme case of Pro-crast-in-ation. Don't worry about me though, I get it every year around this time and I always seem to get through it fine. As long as no other disease such as Tuberculosis attacks me at the same time.



Elbow. That's a weird word.

teach me to seek you in all that has life

That you have made me in the image of you own mystery
thanks be to you, O God.
That in the soul of every human being
there are depths beyond naming
and heights greater than knowing
thanks be to you.
Grant me the grace of inner sight this day
that I may see you as the Self within all selves.
Grant me the grace of love this day
that amidst the pain and disfigurement of life
I may find the treasure that is unlocked by love,
that amidst the pain and disfigurment of my own life
I may know the richness that lies buried in the human soul.

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.

fresh vegetables and flowers

I thought I would never ever say this, but you know what they say... "Never, ever, ever, say never, ever, ever, ever."

What is better than listening to a song that you just downloaded on Limewire, better than a cup of hot chocolate with marshmellows on a cold day, better than half priced candy after Halloween?
Fresh vegetables. There I said it.

I didn't realise how much the body craves fresh produce when it hasn't consumed it for more than two weeks. This is the plight of an off campus student who goes grocery shopping every three weeks.

Last Friday I was invited to an Alumni Board dinner/meeting. On the menu was rice and platters piled with vegetables. I think I ate 30 cherry tomatoes, a whole green pepper, and countless carrots and cucumbers. That was an alliteration. This was not even the best part of the night, the part where I was given a bouquet of lillies topped off the night, and they presently fill my room with a pleasent aroma.

This aroma is the only thing that is sedating me as I unpatiently wait for an episode of House to download. Jason has got me hooked, but too bad the speed of the internet in our dwelling is SUPPPERRR SLOWWW. I have been waiting 3 hours for 30%! That is 10% every hour, that means it will take 10 hours for me to watch one show. Here is something else that I thought I would never say. I wish I had Redeemer internet.

Wow.

I think I have gained a new view on video games. As kids we were never allowed to play them = I really suck at them = I never gained an appreciation for them. Until now. The other night I saw something weirdly beautiful. Jason and Jordan hooking up their computers to one set of speakers and playing Chorno Trigger, and now they are BFF (boy friends forever).

On Wednesday I have my interview to see if I can get into the Education program at Redeemer. I am pretty excited for this, finally I feel like I am stepping in the direction of becoming a teacher. But for the record if I don't get in I am taking Teacher's College in New Zealand.

Speaking of different countries, I feel like everyone else is speading their wings and soaring to different parts of the world. And by everyone I mean Ree, Tim, Danielle, and Robyn. Ree and Tim are going to England next semester for schooling, Danielle France, and Robyn in Africa. My wings are clipped and I am staying in Ontario. A little part of me would like to go travel this big world of ours, but is it a really bad thing that I am content to stay here? That I don't have a longing to hop on a plane and spend four months away? I feel lameo.

I like it here. I like having my family a drive away, I like having my friends within walking distance, I like knowing that it will snow in a couple of weeks, I like the familiar. There is enough stuff in my life that is unpredictable and wonderful.
It is okay if you think I am lame. :)

This little clip from You Tube has no connection to my blog, but I guarentee that this will put a smile on your face and a chuckle in your throat.

Ree and Me

We frolicked in the leaves...















and we ate some too!















My favourite part, we found a wagon!

Is that Laura Ingalls Wilder or is that Katrina VandenBerg?
















Ree is eating my face.
















































Fall is fun.

And then we died our hair. Mine is orange like a pumpkin.

its a beautiful ride

Georgia Rule. Awful movie, I wouldn't even recommend it to my worst enemy. If there was one thing that I could take out of this movie and apply it to life it would be this.
At one point the girl was doing a puzzle and the guy asked her why she wouldn't look at the picture of the puzzle she was working on. Her answer was this, "Why would you want to know how it is supposed to end, it would just make the rest wasting time."

Last week I asked Tim if he would want to fast-forward life 10 years so that we would know our life ended up so that we wouldn't have to stress about our decisions. I expected him to answer with a resouding YES! But he didn't. He told me that he wouldn't because then we wouldn't live a very full life. Right... we would probably just waste our time.

Life isn't always beautiful, but it is a beautiful ride. I don't want to waste this time. That is all.

Ree and I had some adventures today.

We went a train hunting.
















And we found one a top a 50 foot bridge. It scooted right past us though. Yes that is us on the bridge with the train right behind us. It was thrilling.


*The pictures are taking too long to load so I will wait until I am back in Ancaster to finish this tale.*

anything but ordinary please

Think what you must, Avril Lavigne makes my favourites in my music category. This is why:

peas and gravy

I should not be writing right now and then sharing it with the world, but Ryan encouraged me so blame him.

I am grumpy. I want to be grumpy. I am enjoying it.

I got up on the wrong side of the bed, someone pissed in my cornflakes, and it is definitley raining on my parade.

My shoes got soaked on the way to school, Drew Carey has ruined Price Is Right, and I bet a kitten died today.

I got kicked and had the bejeebers scared out of me by Ryan, then I beat him in anger. That helped, a lot.

In the background Tim and Ryan are jamming which is stellar. I like it.

Hate this when this happens.

swing life away

Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words.












I looked back on my blog history I noticed the following trend:

September + Katrina = no blogging.

And since I am a very trendy person, it happened once again. I have always found that October is a perfect month for turning over a new leaf.

I feel like I have finally gotten back into the swing of things. I am no longer desperately pumping back and forth just to maintain momentum. I have obtained a rhythm (what a wierd spelling for a word) which carries me. September has been jam packed and at times sent me a'twirrling. Sometime this can be fun, but you just have to make sure you don't get to dizzy and make yourself sick.

Now I am back at home and it almost feels like I haven't left, except for my sudden craving of anything that falls under the catergory fresh fruit. I have found that fruit doesn't tend to keep for the whole week and a half between grocery trips.

The trip home was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that I almost got sandwiched between a RONA transport and a cement median. The trees are changing colour so that was an awesome sight to behold for at least 4 hours.

I think one of the best parts of coming home is that you are reminded that you are loved. First by my dog Chester who went nutso and then by your family that comes out before you can enter and gives you those big hugs that only family can give. Yes, they still welcomed me back even though they do not like the colour of my hair. My mom assures me that she likes it, but in her eyes I can hear "Where is my little blonde girlie?" Mike and Jeremy were blunt with their opinion. "Nope, don't like it." Dad was had the best reaction and said that it reminded him of his colour when he was young. His colour was ginger. My hair does not resemble a ginger kid. These reactions almost made me go to the drug store and dye it back blonde. I am not very good with disapproval. But then a nice trip to Emily's changed my mind. She liked it and she is a hair dresser, so there!

This afternoon I went to visit Emily and the girls. Smile (it's all I can do as I take these couple of moments to remember). Jess was outside by the mailboxes waiting for me and I couldn't get through the front door without little hugs from all around. I missed them, a lot. I hope Emily won't mind if I kindnapped them and brought them back to school with me. Oh, and I hope the girls that I live with won't mind four more. I am sure it will all work out fine. But I guess I would settle for a puppy or a kitten, if you don't think it would work.

One other thing that is nice about home is Hockey Night in Canada. We all sit in the playroom and watch the Leafs and unfortunately flip to the Sens game. Tonight one of the fans were caught picking their nose on TV. I thought it was pretty funny.

Life never fails to entertain, excuse me as I continue to swing.

it has been awhile

- It's been awhile.
- Thank you captain obvious.
- You're welcome.

I have learnt that words are powerful, they are all encompasing, and yet as I sit outside 'borrowing' our neighbours internet connection, I am finding myself unable to express myself with words.

This past weeks have been wonderfully real. So much has happened, so much is yet to happen, and I am loving all this happening.

My classes are incredibly challenging. I come out of them not wanting to come out and full of desire to hit the books. It's been awhile since I could say that.
The house that I am living in is great; the people that are inside the walls make it that way. Living off campus is relaxing, fun, and enjoyable. Except when the kitchen sink gets clogged and Bell decides that it wants to be idiots. It's been awhile since I have had internet.
Friendships are solid and valued. I hope I never take advantage of the gift that God has richly blessed. It has been awhile since I told you that.

This year holds a lot of promise.

I'm still fighting it

401

Some want to call it the 'Highway of Heroes,' some use it as their race track while others (slow drivers and truckers) shouldn't use it, but for me the 401 is something entirely different...

Ever since I finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia, I have been in search of my own wardrobe. I've always wanted to discover my own little door that would open up and transport me into a whole different world. Well, I have found my wardrobe. It is not near as exciting or wonderful, but it is the place where I go to be transported back and forth between my two worlds - the 401. Although there is something unique about my wardrobe. The worlds are equally wonderful, equally as hard leave, and equally loved.

This summer has been incredible. Being at home with my family and reconnecting with friends has been great. I have even loved my 'job.' I put in quotation marks because it hasn't felt like work at all; I have big sister and friend now and I have lost my heart to four little girls and I don't know what I am going to do without the daily little hugs, pictures, and stories.

If I could change one thing about the 401 it would be this. It would be A LOT shorter, so that my two worlds would not be so far apart and I could come back and visit more often.

camp

It was going to be a no go; for the first time in 8 years I wouldn't be packing my bags with the classic camp wear of long socks, silly shirts, and shorts made for speed, heading off to Camp Adonai. But then suddenly, spontanteously, and very last minute (like most things in my life) I decided that there was no way I could miss it, it just wouldn't be right. Thankfully, they found a spot for me and in about 5 days the tides turned from no go to for sho!*

As we drove up the twisty lane up to Ye Old Kitchen, my insides were filled with a warm fuzzy feeling, camp is one of my most favourite places to be in the whole wide world. Now at this point I could attempt to tell you all about my time at camp, but I really don't think I would do it justice, so I'll just give you a glimpse...

The week entailed:
- One very hyper boy who would eat sugar for breakfast, literally.
- Many conversations about passing gas... thanks to Ed and Natalie
- Screaming lungs out at campfire with the kids
- Almost leading about 35 kids down the wrong 'path' on the hike... good thing for a GPS that I had no idea how to use.
- Watching a little boy who told me that he could run down the steep hill ahead of us flip head over heals the whole way down instead (the only thing hurt was his pride).
- Getting thrown into the lake only 3 times.
- Eating tons of bribery candy and getting sweet notes and songs everyday... the perks of being a Cabin Inspector
- Destroying Ed in a wrestling match.
- Pillow fights
- Laughing until my gut was about to split about once a day.

On the very last day of camp, while we were all singing in the chapel, I realised something. I could just imagine God just smiling down at His kids, watching them sing out their little hearts, dancing and clapping their hands. I was struck with the reason why I keep coming back to this place and the reason while I will continue to until I am absolutely unable to do so. Camp is a such a unique place where kids can meet with God. They experience Him when they are splashing eachother in a water fight, when they are sliding down the soap slide, when they are capturing the flag, when they are loosing their voice at campfire, when they are finishing their fifth chocolate bar of the day, or when they are singing all together in chapel. It is such a priviledge to be part of this, to be able to touch kids lives and show them a side to their God that they might never experience anywhere else. Seeing the smiles, hearing the laughter, wiping the tears, giving the hugs, and just listening to them is reward enough for me, everything else is just an added bonus.


*excuse the gangster language, it rhymed so I used it.

postsecret

I was watching 'The Hour' tonight and this was on it. I found it pretty fascinating so I'm sharing it with you.

It's a website where this guy (Frank) posts secrets that people annoymously send to him on a homemade postcard.

Some are funny, some are dirty, some are heart gripping. I don't really know how to describe it other than that...

Check it out for yourselves http://postsecret.blogspot.com/.

you catch me if I'm falling

Ever had a dream where you were falling headlong into complete darkness, but woke with a start, heart pounding, before you hit bottom?
Ever played the game where you stood on top of a picnic table and made yourself fall backwards into someone's arms?
Ever fell from the top of a three story treefort only to be saved be two random branches at the bottom?

Falling. It is a concept that is hardly ever met with anticipation and willingness. Falling is frightening. Why this fear? Could it be because we are not confident that someone will be there to break our fall? And then what happens if you are unwillingly pushed into a situation that leaves you spiraling, with no other choice but to trust that you will be caught, that you will be upheld, so that you will not be devestated.

In no way will I say that it was worth it, that it is justified, and that it will ever make sense. Loosing Craig is, and will continue to be, one of the hardest things I have ever had to experience. Although, I heard something on the radio the other day that sank deep, allowing a peace to settle, and it to become a little more clear.

The talk was on why God would ever let His children to be tried by fire. I have to admit that I didn't pay attention to the whole thing. It was a long drive home and I was distracting myself by pretending that I was a racecar driver on the last victory lap. But it was almost as if the man's voice got a little more louder, a little more passionate, and these ringing words brought me back to reality with a start.
" These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:7).

Ever felt like you couldn't trust God? I know I have. In fact, at the beginning of the summer I was brutally honest and wrote a whole list of things that I couldn't trust Him with.

Craig's death pushed me and I was forced to fall, left with no other choice by to trust that someone was going to be there. I did not hit bottom and I was not devestated. He was there. He broke my fall, my faith upheld me, and made me realise that what I had was real. The hope that only He can give allows me to still be able to filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. It is not easy, but it proved that I can trust Him.

You catch me if I'm falling.

i am chicken.

In my humble opinion chickens are proof that vegetarianism is pure silliness. They have brains the size a peas, can function without their head, are ugly, smell disgusting, and sound ridiculous. The only good reason that I can come up with for their pathetic existance is that they make a nice soup, taste good on the BBQ, and supply us with eggs.

I think it is safe to say that my strong dislike of chickens stems from the fact that they are my weakness when it comes to being a 'farm girl.' I love to think that I am a classic 'home grown on the farm' child. I know how to drive a tractor, plant a field, milk cows, unload hay, scrape the feed, the whole nine yards... but when it comes to chickens I fall apart at the seams. Me and chickens, we've had quite the relationship in the last 20 years...

It all started out when I was about 9 years old and my dad gave me the job of raising 100 little chicks. Well, if I could have been able to tell them apart I would have named them all, but since I couldn't, I gave them all the name Fred (I didn't know they were all girls). These fluffy little yellow puffs won over my heart instantly. That summer I fed them twice a day, sung them little songs at night, and picked fresh grass for a special treat. My parents started to worry about how attached I was getting and they didn't know how to break it to me that the destiny of these chickens was our freezer, so they didn't. Instead they sent me off to my friend Leanne's house on the fatal day. Murphy's Law prevailed and I came home a little before schedule and was welcomed with the site of my Freds without heads, hanging upside down and featherless. I screamed and I ran to the coop just in time to see Fred getting his head chopped off by Dad. It was a bad day.

The next year the weasels got them and the year after that they committed cannibalism and ate eachother. I soon learnt to not get attached to chickens and I went to the next extreme, I would help in the butchering of the chickens. My job was to cut the neck bone off of the already plucked and gutted chicken, simple enough task. The first three went well, but the forth had it in for me. A freshly killed chicken is pretty slippery... slippery chicken + sharp knife + Katrina = disaster for Katrina's wrist. Instead of chopping the chicken I chopped my wrist. It was a bad day.

I decided that I didn't like chickens and refused to have anything to do with them. They had hurt me far too many times. Little did I know that I was soon to be repulsed my them. If you have never seen I chicken lay an egg, kudos to you, eat your egg in peace. I have, and I still have a hard time choking down eggs. I have been blessed with an overactive imagination that sometimes gets the best of me...

Then there was chicken catching. One night, 16,000 chickens, 16 teenagers, and one truck. Chicken catching is probably one of the most sereal, horrible jobs I have ever done. By the end of the night you are carrying eight chickens, four in each hand, purposely giving them brain freeze and siezures, and playing the occasional game of catch - it makes you turn into a monster. For the next week you are coughing up feathers and chicken crap. Also you can't eat chicken for at least a year, well at least I couldn't... once again I'll blame it on the overactive imagination.

Today was chicken killing day. I opted to pick the beans from the garden, snap and bag them. Sadly I couldn't escape the smell and the sounds of the Fred exclaiming his last words. It was a bad day.

Chickens are my weakness, I can't handle them. True farm girl? Perhaps not.

and the sky is not cloudy all day

My dreams of battling evil with Transformers by my side were rudely interrupted by some famous person rocking on the radio; it was time to get up to get ready for church. Sunday mornings at the deGroot house are much like home, the battle for the bathroom, blow-dryers all going at once, having to drinking your orange juice with already brushed teeth, sharing of the coloured comics... except for the fact that we arrived at church on time. The pastor’s message was a memorable one, delivered with confidence, passion, and a wicked accent (maybe my word choice isn’t the most appropriate). After church we went back to the deGroots for Sunday pie and ice cream. Since Ryan and I were donned the guests of honour (Ontarians are a rare species in Alberta), we scored on having the option of having one of each pie and an extra scoop of ice cream! Of course I fully capitalized on this. Don’t worry Levi, if you ever come to Ontario you can have a whole apple pie to yourself with a tub of Rolo ice cream to top it off. That night we were invited to hang out with the gang at Lindsay’s house. I am pretty jealous of her house, because it is right next to a park and a baseball diamond. So, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to gel as a group playing a great game of baseball. Apparently everyone likes Ultimate Frisbee better, I do have to admit it’s a pretty stellar game; James I can see why you love ‘disk’ so much. We did play soccer baseball for a bit, although turning for two is a little more difficult when you have to throw a ball the size of your head. All this activity wore us out so we headed back to watch a lame Simpson episode; I am crushed by the lack of humour lately from Homer and the gang, so much so that I don’t even want to see the movie. Instead, we got our laughs watching Dodgeball.

Monday, Monday. Robo and I woke up with crack of dawn to prepare for camping. We had a great challenge ahead of us, to fit everything that we needed into one car that also needed to fit four people in it. I have to admit I was not very optimistic about it all, I thought for sure we would have to resort to plan B, tying Ryan and Tim to the roof rack. But we surprised everyone, even ourselves, by fitting everything in with room to spare. This room to spare didn’t last very long, because Tim thought it would be completely necessary to bring foam along to protect us from the jagged rocks while we sleep. I haven’t really made my mind up whether it was a wise decision, being squishy for about an hour and a half versus having gashes in my sides... On the way to our Waterton camping experience, we made a little detour to tour a Ladder Day Saint temple. The gardens were nice and the lady was very persistent, I think I must have had a sign on my forehead that says “I want to know everything you can tell me about the history of your religion and temple, oh and I also want all your pamphlets too.” They almost had me with the whole wide road thing, because if the roads that we have here on earth are going to be changed into gold that town is going to be worth trillions. And if it wasn’t for the secret spy cameras that we suspected they had hidden we would have snuck into the inner temple to see what they were hiding in there.

And then there were mountains. Mountains, what can I even begin to say to describe the feeling of seeing them for the first time. I won’t even try; I’ll be what I was for the last 45 minutes of the drive – speechless. Not only were there mountains but fields of wildflowers around them, so there was a mandatory moment to get out of the car to frolic, turn our gazes upwards, and let it all soak in. We have arrived. The next thing we had to do is find the perfect campsite, and find one we did. It had the perfect amount of trees, it was in the perfect location for bathroom and the water tap facilities, and it was the perfect size... there were a couple of times when a huge RV would slowly pass our campsite and throw daggers our way for occupying ‘their space’ with our beauty tent. The guys then went on a wood hunt and brought back loads of free firewood. We were pretty stoked about this until we found out we could pick up free forewood at the entrance. After settling in we took a little stroll down to the river, where we tested our throwing accuracy with rocks and trees, waded up to our ankles in ice, and Ryan left our mark with a Mento. All these happenings made us work up and appetite, so it was time for Ryan to grill us up some burgers. The first two burgers were the tastiest by far, and the rest were must have been good too because they made fast friends with the neighbours – especially Laney. Once supper was finished we thought it would be high time to hit up the town Waterton. If I could live anywhere when I am retired I think I would live there and take over the little fudge shop so that I can give free fudge to everyone passing through. This little town is surrounded by mountains and is on the edge of a lake. It is also a great place for a honeymoon – eh Danielle and Jordan? I think it would be only appropriate as it was the place where we all crowded around the phone booth to hear the fantastic news. By the lake there were stones, great skipping stones and great throwing stones, so of course I had to challenge Ryan and Tim to a throwing contest. They made me go first, which I was fine with. I casually set up and threw with ease at least half-way across the lake. They on the other hand, took a running start and propelled the rocks as far as they could. I have to admit that they did throw a little farther, and if we were going to measure it would have been about 5cm. I was pretty impressed. We then tested the accuracy of their throws by throwing a rock into the air and then trying to hit it before it hit the water. After we stopped playing with stones we decided to check out a store that sold special stones, worth $1000. In that same little shop they thought it would be hilarious to make me look like a fool. It involved a frozen TV screen and a random passerby... yup, all I have to say is that I am really glad I am full of myself or else I could have been damaged for life. It was getting dark so we decided to head back where we had an awesome campfire. Even though we did so much during the day and did so many memorable things, I think the campfire stands out, Robyn’s beautiful song, Tim playing the guitar, the great talks and laughs – it was golden.

The next morning I was the first one to wake up and there waiting to keep me company for the whole 3 minutes was Laney. Before I knew what he was doing he went up to the tent and unzipped it and told everyone else to get up. Gosh, I still think it’s hilarious, although if I would have been woken up like that I’m pretty sure I would have reacted just like Tim - telling him in no uncertain terms to get lost. We had bacon and eggs for breakfast and when Ryan offered to make the eggs, I responded by spraying him with hot bacon grease in appreciation. Great start to a great day. Today we went on a hike; this hike was not for amateurs. We crossed the BC border into foreign terrain where we crossed a raging river to conquer a waterfall and then went on to battle the glaciers and we did it all without those hiking spears that the ‘experts’ use. Waiting for us at the end of our hike was a great mountain with a crystal clear lake – it was breathtaking, in more ways than one for the guys. The reason that this lake is clear is because it is too cold for life to live in it, but Ryan and Tim decided to take a dip anyways. It was pretty amusing to watch, although the couple beside didn’t think so... they didn’t even break a smirk. Man, if I was hiking and I saw two hooligans jumping into a glacier lake in their boxers I would have a good laugh and even take home the tale to the super table that night. We also met Gordon the chipmunk, Ryan was the first one to coax him to eat the sunflower seeds out of his hand and then from there he became our best little buddy. He just kept stuffing those little cheeks in the cute chipmunky way. The hike was fantastic, no one got lost, except for Tim’s bag that we forgot that we left on the top of the car as we drove off singing away to The Barenaked Ladies. Jesse came down that night to hang out with us in his four wheel drive truck. That truck came in handy as on our way back to the campsite we saw an entire herd of about 200 elk cross the road into the field. So what do you do when there is a big herd of elk and you are in a truck? You chase the elk of course and so we did. It was a pretty bumpy ride as we raced through the long grass and ground hog holes, thrilling in fact. That night the guys went back to look for Tim’s bag, so me and Robo wrecked havoc around the campsite. When the guys came back we chilled by the campfire for a bit, but it wasn’t long before everyone headed off to bed, we were all tuckered out. But since I had thrown ten huge logs on the fire right before everyone decided to hit the hay the fire was still roaring, so I decided to stay up a bit longer and just enjoy the night. No complaints here, because I think I could stay up all night just looking up at the Alberta sky, especially at night when it seems like you can see every single star in the universe.

The next morning we weren’t woken up by Laney. There were pancakes for breakfast and if I wasn’t given a limit I probably would have eaten at least 10. Since we were supposed to be out of our campsite by 12pm, we decided that at 12:30pm we should probably start to pack up, especially considering a couple who had booked our site had already asked us when we were going to be leaving. We went on one last little hike through the red rock canyon. Good thing we had tour guide Jesse along for this one, we didn’t even need to read the information signs. And yet again the guys went swimming in the glacier water... We then said our good-byes to the little beautiful town of Waterton and to Tim’s bag. That night we went to see Tim play soccer, his team destroyed their opponents 9-1. I also got to hang out with my cousin Andrew, who is ranching in Alberta for the summer. We met at the Tim Hortens and when I got there all I could see was this tall guy in a flannel shirt and cowboy hat from behind, so I ran up and gave him a big hug, thankfully it was him and not just some other rancher. It was so great to catch up with him and see that he was doing great. Although his near death stories from riding broncos and bulls worry me a bit...

Since we have been going full tilt since the day that we got to Alberta, we decided that today would be a day where we just chilled and did nothing. Robyn and I headed over to Tim and Ryan’s to watch Madagascar, listen to the Live Earth David Gray and Damien Rice duo *sigh*, and just really doing nothing... it was nice. That night Robo and I spent time with her wonderful family. We watched LOTR and even though Levi was seeing it for the first time I think he handled the scary parts better than I did. After the movie we made Robyn’s birthday cake because it was her birthday the next day! I suggested that we should do something crazy in her last minutes as a 19 year old, we came up with skinny dipping in her neighbours dugout, but since we didn’t want to get shot we decided not to. Instead we talked about what the future might hold and all those good things chats like that entail.

Today was Robyn’s birthday! Robyn chose to have steak as her birthday supper. If there was only one thing that would make me come back to Alberta, it would be for Mr. deGroot’s steaks. They are the best I have ever had. But of course we had to wait a bit for supper, so in the meantime we listened to Ryan and Tim’s rocking rendition of Babylon - 'let go of your heart, let go of your head...', got in a great game of catch in with Ryan, and swum in the dugout with the family – the girls clearly defeated the guys in keep away. Then it was suppertime, mmmmm. I had the privilege of sharing my milk with King, he’s a such great sharer. Then the whole gang came on out for the campfire. Tim had to miss a bit of it to make the trek out to Waterton to retrieve his lost bag that was found! Except on the way he blew a tire... his luck just wasn’t improving, oh and I think I failed to mention the fact that he swam with his cell phone so that broke too. (Tim I’m putting this in just for you, I know that you would never want to forget a day like this). Once again the campfire was awesome. It was a great way of ending off our last time that we would all be together in Alberta. We didn’t get to sleep until 3am.

At 6am we woke up to get ready to pick up Ryan so that he could meet Uncle Henry in Calgary. On the drive up we were given a sweet lesson on recycling and sharing by Jack Johnson himself, what a guy. It was then time to say our good-bye’s to Ryan and watched him ride off into the distance... and then there was three. We were originally going to stay in Calgary for the day and night until I had to catch my flight the next morning, but then we decided to head on back to Lethbridge, something I was very happy to do! So that day we just chilled out at Robyn’s. I got to see the deck being completed and had one last swim in the dugout, one last supper, and one last campfire. The deGroots showed me how to make colourful fire and what a Rachellamellow is. Meaghan was the best marshmallow toaster. Sorry Josh, you would have come close if you hadn’t dropped that one in the fire. I am so glad that I had that last night with the family and that I got to say a proper good-bye, because I think the world of you all!
Once again Robo and I did not get very much sleep. That morning we woke up to someone singing about how great life was... at 3am in the morning that is the last thing that you want to hear. As we drove to Calgary we got to see the sunrise and I just want to state that Robyn deGroot is the best trooper I know. For the first hour I fought to keep my eyes open at times sticking my head out of the window, but then I promised myself that I just needed to rest my eyelids for 5 minutes... Through this all Robyn was able to drive on and get us safely there. Once we were at the airport I knew that it was time to say good-bye... good-bye to great people and great times. Airport good-byes are bitter like salt. My flight was a lot less exciting than the trip up, although I met some really nice people.

My family was waiting for me in Ottawa and it was so great to see them... It’s always a nice feeling to come home.

Our time out in Alberta was a dream in reality form. Thanks for making it what it was, I will remember it and you for always and forever.

tag you're it!

Shoot... in my grade school days I could outrun them all, but aparently Robyn's faster than the roadrunner.

I have been tagged and here are the rules… Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog.

I've decided to make it a little more interesting and share 7 of my most deepest darkest secrets for everyone in cyberspace to read. Ready, set, negative.
Instead, here are some random tidbits about Katrina Joy VandenBerg for you all to enjoy:

1) I am a daydreamer. If you ever catch me just staring off into space, I'm mostly likely in my own little world creating a situation or story where I am the main character doing something grand and dramatic. It's a wonderful place where I have experienced nearly everything from surviving falling off a cliff to flying in a hotair balloon.
2) I am probably a little too stubborn and competetive for my own good. If someone tells me I can't do something, the next moment I am planning how I am going to prove them wrong. There have been the times when I fainted beating all my siblings in the 'holding your breath' contest, suffocated myself from trying to beat the world record of 6 saltine crackers in 30 seconds, tore up my legs from running through torn bushes just so that I wouldn't get caught in Capture the Flag, and making a little boy cry trying to win Capture the President at camp. The many summers playing ball and years of highschool sports have left the marks and scars to prove this competetive side, thankfully I have mellowed out a bit... a bit.
3) I still sleep with my teddy bears. Shh, don't tell too many people. I will always have a little soft spot for them in my heart. Who doesn't loose their heart to those beady little eyes and soft paws? Let alone the fact that they give the best hugs and can listen really well.
4) My favourite snack and all around food group is homemade chocolate chip cookies with a tall glass of milk. The chewy chocolate goodness washed down with a refreshing sip of creamy milk - delectible.
5) I love to just lay down and look at up at the stars on a clear night. There is something about the stars that gets to me. With millions of diamonds sparkling above us and wishing on the shooting stars. Nights like that make me feel a little closer to heaven.
6) I would classify myself as an extreme reader/movie watcher - I can get a little too into the plot. If it is a comedy, I laugh until I cry or, if it is drama, I am spellbound until the end, if it is a thriller/action, I jump at every bang, if it is a tragedy, I sob. There have been the times on the bus where I'm crying against the window just because it was time for Laura Ingalls to leave her family, sobbing into a pillow because the main character of the movie just died (Ladder 49, Armageddon), or the time where I spilt all my juice when the sniper in Bourne Identity pegs off the man on the stairs through the window.
7) I absolutley love flowers and gardening, but what I love the most are wildflowers. I think that there is something so precious about how they can bring beauty to the most random places. They are wonderful.

Since Robyn tagged the people that I would have tagged I just reinforce the fact that they should do it! It's kinda fun :)

give me a home where the buffalo roam

I know you have been all biting at the bit, checking my blog every other hour, wondering when the next time I was going to share my writings with the world. Well, wait no longer, I have returned from my two week abyss in Alberta and am brimming with stories to tell.

Warning, these blogs will most likely be a novel, you can skim it if you want or just ignore it. I'm kinda writing this for my own sake so that when im 65 years young I can show this to my kids and prove to them that they have an extremely hip mom and so that I can remember these past two weeks, because I never want to forget them. Ever.

It all started off with a chugging of a litre of pink lemonade. My bladder thanked me for this in about 1.5 hours and since I was too scared to use the bathroom on the plane it kept thanking me for the next 3 hours. No one even suspected that I was new flyer, not even when I had to ask how to recline my chair or the fact that I had my face pressed against the window the whole time - you would be suprised what you can see... clouds, clouds, clouds, and the occasional city blow up in Saskatoon. I peeled my face away from the window for about half and hour to watch an episode of The Office, I think I might have laughed a little to loud for plane curtisy, because the guy next isle over asked me what I was watching.

When I landed in Calgary, I suddenly realised how big the airport was and the fact that I didn't tell Tim what flight I was on... so needless to say I was never so happy to see the face Tim over all the cowboy hats roming around. Ryan's flight arrived at pretty much the same time mine did, I swear out planes almost collided on landing, but I gave the pilot the heads up that a WestJet flight was coming in just in the knick of time. Airport reunions are sweet like honey.

Tim's brother (forever remembered as the cake eater) drove us all to the city of Lethbridge. It was a pretty stellar trip with cigar smoke lingering in the air, the famous 7/11, discovering that Tim Horten's took debit, and gas fights.
Our first stop in Lethbridge will be remembered with a crazy hoolagan running towards us with big hair and then jumping on his sweet car - how I missed you Matt. Next stop Robyn and the Wonderbread truck - golden reunion (with Robyn). I had to pinch myself a couple of times that night/morning to make sure that Robyn was actually standing there infront of me.

Even though we stayed up early enough to see Robyn's dad off to work, the next morning I awoke at 7am. I like to blame it on the time change but really I think it was more of a kid on their birthday moment. Once everyone else woke up we went to eat breakfast at the most happening restaraunt in town, Smitty's. With our bellies full of delicious toast and eggs we decided that it would be a good time to go bridge jumping off a '20 foot' bridge. We spent the rest of the afternoon there just catching up with eachother, watching a dead bunny float by, dogs play by the riverside, and just relaxing in the sun. Tim played soccer that night, so we all went to watch and were impressed that we knew this guy. I even tried out coaching from the side lines, teaching them that clustering like grapes is not a good idea. After the game we went out for drinks and then spent the night at the classic hang out spot, sharing stories and getting to know Jordan, Lindsay, and Josh for the first time.

Since the guys did not invite us to Edmonton to watch Canada play soccer, Robo and I had a day to ourselves. I finally got to experience the coolies first hand. On the way down we saw an old abandoned shack and a random door that lead to nowhere - although I bet it was a door that leads to a whole new world... Once we got to the bottom there was a river of glacier water so we went for a dip with King (Robyn's dog). For some reason if he ever felt the need to dry himself off he would stand between me and Robyn and shake. That afternoon we went shopping and I managed to get my name called over the intercom... super. The night was spent with the family watching the soccer game on TV, scanning the crowds for the crazy fans that we knew. Once it got dark out Robyn and I just lay outside on her lawn looking up at the massive sky filled with stars talking about life... incredible.

We woke up to the sound of Levi pelting Sarah and her friends with an airsoft gun, I thought it was funny, but I am not sure Josh felt the same way. Today we were heading off to go camping in the hoodoes. On the way there we encountered this huge bridge that was built with the sole reason of supporting vechicles across a raging river, but somehow the guys thought it was meant for jumping off of. So needless to say I watched my friends (even Robyn) plummet 40 feet into water. I must admit it looked awesome and at times like that I wish I wasn't scared of falling to my death from such great heights. Once we got to our campsite we were welcomed by a friendly deer, which I would have tamed if it wasn't for the guys making fun - it was a sensative dear. Since it was a scorcher of a day we spent all afternoon 'swimming' in Milk river. We almost made a sandcastle too, but that was just an empty suggestion. After supper we went to the hoodoes to check them out, the guys thought it would be great to jump them and Ryan managed to give me heart failure. After this escapade the guys thought it would be great to give the Park Rangers an interesting night by skinny dipping in the river. Meanwhile me and Robyn started the killer fire, Robo manned the ax and I tore down a tree with my bare hands. - Pause for you to be impressed -

The next morning I woke up thinking it was about 9am when it was really 6am... those years in GEMS did not teach me how to read the sun. So I read some, took a nice stroll, and waited for everyone else to stop 'wasting' their day by sleeping in till noon ie. 10am. Matt took a little longer to wake up, so the guys collapsed the tent on him and the family that was getting water from the tap near by was greeting with the sight of a Matt walking half asleep in his boxers. Once everyone was rip roaring to go, we went on a hike to through Writing on Stone. Matt tried his lot at being the trail blazer, but I must admit I was a little more qualified to lead the hike than he. We went for a swim to cool down from the hike and then flaked out on the beach until it was time to go. On the way back Ryan had the sweet idea to make a rocking playlist, each picking 6 songs - all I have to say is that my friends have great taste in music and the last 3 songs were classic. That night we went to see Transformers in theatre, me and Robyn decided against going all hardcore and left our transformer outfits at the house. It was a great movie, exceeded my expectations by far, and I even had to hold back on the urge to go and buy a transformer toy.

hmmm... when I said novel I guess I wasn't joking, man a living i think im getting carried away here, so im going to stop for now and go to bed.

how can i keep from singing

dear craig

You are with the angels now in the presence of God, you have recieved the goal of your faith. No stress, no pressures, no more deadlines, no more meetings (although knowing you, you will convince everyone that there is a need for meetings in heaven and will be guiding them through Roberts Rules).

You were an incredible friend. Thanks for the many talks, I learnt so much from you about what it means to have a solid faith. You made me question things that I hadn't before and challenged me to grow in all aspects of my life - even the business and politic area). The life you lived was an inspiration.

I'll miss you so much. I don't know how we are going to do it next year without you here. Who is going to sit in on the meetings, faithfully read the minutes, and check the website everyday? Who's going to ask me to look over their papers for grammar errors? Who am I going to watch and quote the lines of Zoolander and Night at the Roxbury with? Who will I talk about 'So You Think You Can Dance?' episodes with? Who am I going to spend hours with counting loose change? I still think we should have invested in the change counting machine 2000. You were the only one I knew who could eat a full plate of extremely hot wings without breaking a sweat, and the only one who could ever convince me to try one.

Thanks for being such an upstanding leader, example, and man of God. Thanks for all your encouraging words and actions. Thanks for caring, thanks for being my friend.

Dance with the angels for me, just try not to break out the techno, Im not sure they could handle that.

I love you,

Katrina