Canada in May

Finally spring has arrived!  And I have never seen so many dandelions before in my life!  I walk by a field of dandelions quite often, and I have to say that it is kind of beautiful.  These dandelions just came in full force along with ants...   Unlike BYU, University of Waterloo just doesn't care that the campus has beautifully manicured grass and covered with pretty flowers, so I just get to see a more natural beauty around here.  

View of my backyard with all of the dandelions, and our trusty A/C window unit.  Stay strong window unit.  

I wanted to add this picture in as a reminder of how far we've come since our hardcore winter!  This is pretty much what my backyard looked like in February.

Since it has been so nice out I've taken the opportunity to go on some really lovely walks around my house.  I discovered this cool nature trail along Laurel Creek and I've also found some trails around Columbia Lake.  

Someone made a cute little 'thinking' bench along Laurel Creek. 

Laurel Creek--along the marshes.  So beautiful!

A number of little ponds surround CLV, and I found a huge nest of geese with their cute little goslings in one of the ponds!  Aww!  

Columbia Lake

On Victoria day, (go here for more info on Victoria day) Greg and I went to the Mitchell's house for a bonfire and fireworks.  They have chickens, sheep, and a pony, and I went to feed them along with the kids at one point in the evening.  I just had to take a picture of this sheep.  I guess the grass is really greener on the other side for sheep!

Last night we had dinner with our friends.  We originally set up a dinner party with our friend, Phyo, who is the lovely lady on the right in the picture above, and we thought it would be nice to have dinner with the sisters in case they got transferred next week.  We've been hanging out with the sister missionaries quite a bit since Greg hasn't had to study for classes this summer.  The gal standing on the left side of me is Sister Christenson from Utah and the gal on the right side is Sister Fragapane most recently from Germany (she is from Argentina originally).  Our friend Phyo is a year ahead of Greg in the accounting program, and because I told her I like Korean food, she brought a couple of delicious Korean dishes.  She is a fabulous cook, and I'm excited for when her comprehensive exams are over in June so that we can make kimchi together.

Anyway, that is what has been going on here in Canada for us.  What about you?  Exciting news or plans coming up?   

  

Theodore Janke Jr.

I am pretty familiar with military life since a large number of my family has served in the military.  I am very grateful for them, and for their service because I know being in the military is demanding on them and their families.  I can easily list that I know a number of my ancestors and my immediate family have served in the military or been in the military during times of war, but boasting about something like that makes you kind of depressed since being in the military obviously means fighting and possibly dying.  

This Memorial day, I just wanted to remember one person from my mother's mother's side of the family who served and, unfortunately, died during the Vietnam War.  His name is Theodore Janke, Jr.  He's one of my grandmother's cousins. You can find him on the Vietnam Memorial in Washingon D.C. or here.  (Honestly, finding someone you know on this wall is a downer.)  I, of course, never knew him, but I am grateful he served, and sad that he died.

Here's to you, Theodore Janke Jr.

"Bubble gum" reads

Not too long ago, I came across several pins on Pinterest about how terrible the series Twilight is.  (Guys this isn't hipster any more.)  I think the world understands now that Twilight isn't the most well-written book out there.  But hey, it still made a lot of money and people liked it which is something we can't say about Moby Dick when it first was published.

But I would like to remind people that we have different genres of literature--some are well-written classics while others are 'bubble gum' books.  I define bubble gum books as the books that are easy to pick up and don't take long to get through while keeping you entertained for a while.  I would say that most people, including myself, were entertained by this series and hoped that Bella chose Edward over what's-his-name.  I  mean, I am glad that Twilight was around so I could definitely get the five-hour unnecessary break I needed from studying to read through it and then proceed to take another two-hour break to go see it with Greg.

I would also like to add that Bella may have ONLY just cared about having a boyfriend and falling in love, but she wasn't the only one who thought about love at her age, right?  I will be the first to admit that falling in love was on the list of things to do while a teenager.  Yes, Bella did cry excessively, but didn't we all cry a bit when things didn't work out?  Sure, Bella may not have started a wide-spread revolution like Katniss (vampires and werewolves unite!), but she still succeeded in getting her man (which is something most of us hope for!).  See!  We can all learn something from Bella, and then never read about her again.

 Anyway, enjoy your bubble gum literature this summer while you get a tan or go on a trip to get a tan.