Much Awaited Vacation

FINALLY A MUCH AWAITED VACATION

Osoyoos

Extremely excited tonight Ben and I are leaving for a week long vacation!!!! The last vacation we went on was a four day trip down to California in April to visit Ben's family. It was a lot of fun but not long enough. Along with all the hard house work and my health issues I am excited to just getaway and not think of anything other than relaxing!!

The plan is to head to Osoyoos for 4 days and stay with Ben's family there. Then we head home for a day and pack up the truck, pick up my dog and head to Cannon Beach in Oregon.

Cannon Beach, Oregon

We are camping at a little campsite 15 mins away Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach. We really just have relaxing, hiking and hanging out on the agenda. We might head to Florence on our way home and do the Sand Dunes but we are really just going to play it by ear. I just can't wait to have a fun little cheap getaway. I can't wait to post all the cool pictures from the trip!!!



Riot in Vancouver

I really couldn't believe what I was watching on TV. I kept thinking that it was some kind of joke or that it was all just going to end quickly but to my horror it didn't. I had just been downtown an hour earlier watching the Stanley Cup Final in the Fan Zone at Georgia and Hamilton. Me and a couple of girls had headed downtown early so we could get good seats in front of one of the screens downtown so we could be in on the action of the final. Of course I am a Blackhawks fan but the next best team to the Hawks is the Canucks so I was excited to watch the final between the Canucks and the Bruins and wanted to see the Canucks come out on top.

Megan and I had spent at least 2 hrs searching for a place to watch the game downtown and decided to go to the Fan Zone and watch it there. We waited for Mairi to arrive and after she did we just sat and chatted and people watched the thousands of people around us. We did realize that there were a lot of drunk people around us. God must have been watching over us and wanting to protect us from what was going to happen because Mairi left right before the game was going to start to get a coffee and some snacks and when she left the fan zone they didn't tell her she wasn't going to be let back in because they had to many people in the fan zone. So once she tryed to get back in she had to call Megan and tell her that she wasn't able to get back in. So Megan and I left and met up with Mairi and then we walked to Canada Place to watch the game. We arrived at Canada Place and it was extremely busy as well. I decided that after the first period I would head back to my parents house I was really tired and hungry and didn't want to stand around anymore.



I headed home and was happy to watch the game in the comfort of my parents home. But Ben had decided to head downtown and watch the game as well. Unfortunately due to all the people in the downtown core cellphones were not working properly so I couldn't get a hold of Ben. So I knew he was still downtown when all the rioting broke out and I knew he was in the Fan Zone as well which is were it all had started. I was really worried about him. He called me about an hour after the game and explained that he was fine they were just eating and going to head home afterwards. Ben didn't realize the seriousness of the situation so he didn't realize how concerned I was. After I picked them up from downtown because the skytrain had been shut down they hadn't seen any of the tv coverage of the riot and fires so they didn't know what was really going on. The next day Ben phoned me from work and apologized because he didn't see how serious it was until he watched the news at work the next day.

I really can't believe that people decide to riot after the Canucks lost to the Bruins. After watching it for 3 hours I was still in total disbelief. The footage on the news stations was incredible. They were on the ground watching exactly what was going on. I really just don't understand why people had decided to set things on fire and destroy our beautiful Vancouver. Of course it wasn't Canucks fans who really started it but drunk kids who wanted to make the riot of 1994 look like a joke. But in it all people who weren't planning on being involved did become involved. Unfortunately it was "mob mentality" and now these people involved are starting to be recognized on social media sites and the cops are cracking down. I believe people didn't think they were going to get caught and now slowly people are getting caught and taken in to the police.

I am so thankful that I didn't hang around that evening and went home. You just never know what could of happened if you by an accident get wrapped up in what is going on and get stuck in a bad situation. God was definitely looking after me.



Photos of the Riot and the

Riot Aftermath



Volunteering

My previous job working at a hotel restaurant was really tough. I didn't get much time to do things other than work. The hospitality business is full of working nights as well as working on call and potentially 6 days a week. I decided to quit because the job was extremely draining and left me with no extra time. I went from working two jobs to only working part-time with my dad. Of course money is a little tight with only working part-time but the great things is that it gives me extra time to get involved in other things as well as spend more time at home. I decided that volunteering my time in some sort of recreational program would be something I would enjoy as well as let me feel as though I am giving back.

After a little research in to different volunteer programs that are currently available, I applied for the volunteer program at the Burnaby Youth Custody Centre. After a written application and intense interview I was accepted in to the program. I work with youths from the ages of 12-17 who are in secured custody for anything from robbery to manslaughter (a tad scary I know). Right now I am doing the recreational program so we play sports for 2 hours. Anything from basketball or volleyball to floor hockey and sometimes California kick ball. It's really fun and now that has been a few months the youths are starting to open up to me. I also have more courage to ask them questions and try to help them with things they are struggling with.

Today I start a new program, it's the cooking program. It's a two hour cooking program for the boys in custody. The programs in jail revolve around teaching the youths life skills while they are in custody. Most of these kids have no guidance at home so it is imperative to teach them skils so they could potentially live on their own (away from families) once they are released from custody.

I really do feel for some of these kids. They have had no guidance in their lives from the very beginning. You are a product of your upbringing and unfortunately these kids don't have positive and caring role models in their lives. I am really hoping to be a good role model and help these kids think about what they would like to do once they are out of custody and can work towards becoming a productive part of society. Of course I am not allowed to disclose any information about what I learn at the centre but if you did hear some of the things these kids talk about anyone would be shocked. It's extremely sad and unfortunately most of the kids who are in custody once they are released will most likely end up back in custody. I have already seen two girls be released and end up back in custody within a month.

It definitely is a difficult volunteer program at times but I do pray each and every time before I go in to the centre that those kids will see something different in me and will want to ask questions and change their lives.

Remembering.....

Sunday May 29th was a bit of a difficult day for myself. It was the two year anniversary of my high school Matt Skura's death. His life was cut short due to the violent acts of some teenagers. Matt was two weeks shy of his 22nd birthday.

Matt was a great guy who stuck out like a sore thumb in a group being 6'8" with blonde hair and beeming blue eyes. He was funny, caring, always willing to help and had a passion for cars.

I really can't believe it has been 2 years already. I feel for Matts family at this time as they are going another year without their dear son.

On April 21st of this year the teens who were involved were sentenced they were given the max sentence for youths. The province covers the sentencing for Matt Skura's death. 

**Really makes me realize that we need to cherish every single moment with those special people in our lives, you never know what may happen

Remembering Matt