Travel Bug.

I have an  immense love  for travel.  Exploration gives me great joy.  Experiencing new and different cultures adds such depth and meaning to my own life.  Not to mention, gorgeous scenery absolutely melts me!  Reid and I just arrived home last night from a summer in his hometown, Tsawwassen, British Columbia, Canada (super close to Vancouver!).  We had the most wonderful three months abroad with our Canadian family and friends!  Inspired by the amazing trip we had just been blessed enough to enjoy, I began brainstorming my biggest travel hopes and dreams.  Although my interests are constantly changing and adapting, I have come up with a list of the  current  top 10 places I want to visit.  Here we go :

# 10.   Bavaria, Germany

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# 9.   London, England

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# 8.   Santorini, Greece

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# 7.   Zurich, Switzerland

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# 6.   Paradise Island, Bahamas

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# 5.   Melbourne, Australia

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# 4.   Edinburgh, Scotland

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# 3.   Provence, France

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# 2.   Bora Bora, French Polynesia

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# 1.   Salzburg, Austria

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Share your travel dreams with me!  I'd love to hear about the places that inspire you.

Weekending With the Mammels.

There are not many things I cherish more than special time away;  And that is exactly what God so lovingly provided for Reid and I last weekend.

On Friday afternoon, we left Reid's parent's beautiful Tsawwassen home and headed off on the scenic, two hour drive to Chilliwack, British Columbia.  We had a couple exciting, eventful days before us.  The Mammel Family, (Reid's older sister, Ashley, and her wonderful hubby Kevin), were our beyond-gracious hosts for the weekend.  They completely spoiled us from start to finish with amazing food, wonderful entertainment, and trips to each of the fun Chilliwack must-sees.

Here is a little taste of our incredible weekend in pictures & bullet points:

• we met up with Ashley and Kevin at the Mammel family farm, Lyba Farms, owned by Kev's parents

• Ashley took us out to Booster Juice for delicious fruit smoothies, while we waited for Kevin to finish up at work

• dinner prep at the Mammel's lovely suite commenced

Home-cut yam fries, ready to be popped into the oven!

Yummy fresh-sliced veggies.

Vegan chickpea burgers.

• the four of us sat down to a scrumptious, healthy dinner, complete with ginger root beer and vegan chipotle aioli dipping sauce - two of my favorites!

The spread of burger-fixings.

Perfectly crisped and seasoned yam fries.

The complete meal... ready to be devoured.

• after our bellies were full, Ashley and Kevin brought us to the stunning, new home they're building

In two weeks, it will be ready for move-in!

Such a remarkable view of Chilliwack from their balcony.

• later in the evening, we played Settlers of Catan, our new favorite board game, for hours

• a sweet dessert rounded out our night as we chatted and laughed until the early morning hours

• we awoke Saturday morning to a delicious breakfast of gourmet oatmeal with flavorful toppings, created by Ash

• a breathtaking morning hike up a local Chilliwack mountain was next on our list

I absolutely adore all of the lush greenery.

• as Kevin headed off to a "Stag" (what's known in the states as a Bachelor Party), Ashley, Reid, and I went to several charming shops around Chilliwack

• we then ate a tasty lunch and headed to Waves for another round of refreshing fruit smoothies

• Ash brought us to beautiful Cultus Lake in the afternoon, where we relaxed and basked in the sunshine

• on our last adventure of the day, the four of us went out for a lovely dinner at Dakota's, along with Doug, Reid and Ashley's loving Step-Dad

Talk about a memorable, meaningful weekend.  We had such a wonderful time and were overwhelmed by how cared for and loved we felt.  Reid and I couldn't have possibly been more blessed with amazing family (and friends).  Ash and Kev, thank you so much!  We would be honored to tour you both around Scottsdale anytime. 

Love you, Mammels!!

Stars & Stripes.

Happy 4th of July!!!

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I hope all of my American family and friends are having a fabulous holiday, celebrating what it means to be from the USA.  What an amazing honor!  As you may or may not already know, I am excitedly spending the entire summer this year in my boyfriend's home town, beautiful Tsawwassen, British Columbia, Canada, (just thirty minutes from downtown Vancouver)!  With this privilege comes many wonderful perks: spending loads of time with his incredible family, breathtaking scenery, a fabulous job, the most stunning living set-up, much cooler summer weather, lots of time with my sweet boyfriend, enjoying unique touristy places on the weekends..... the list goes on and on.  I couldn't possibly feel more blessed.

That being said, I was granted a totally new (& completely great) experience today - living in Canada on the 4th of July.

I proudly fashioned my frayed blue jean shorts, a white "Proud to be an American" top, a red tank underneath, and my sparkly white TOMS.  I spotted a yummy, American Flag fruit platter on Pinterest last week and knew that recreating it for my Canadian loved ones was an absolute must.  Reid and I filled the dish with organic, locally-grown berries and perfectly ripe bananas, making it a big hit amongst our friends.  We love how bright and patriotic it turned out.  What do you think?

I have fallen in love with creating new holiday traditions, and reminiscing over the old, cherished ones. Thank you, Canada, for a very special and low-key 4th of July.  Today's sweet simplicity has taken my attention off of worldly festivities and allowed me to focus entirely on the Lord and His precious gift of freedom.  I am headed outdoors now to celebrate the rest of this gorgeous, sunny day.  Happy 4th!  Enjoy the fireworks tonight, my friends!!