Better late than never!

Hey everyone,

At long last, a blog update! In some ways the time seems to have flown by, although when I look back through my pictures it seems a lot has happened since February. Many of these events have been chronicled on Facebook already, which is partially why I've been so slow to update here. But now I have months and months to catch up on, so let's get right to it, shall we?

At the end of February, David and I drove with our friends Meg, Mikaela, and Alison to New Hampshire. Alison's family offered to put us up in their home for a few days, so that we could take advantage of the nearby ski slopes.





We explored the frozen woods and a nearby lake, plus spent two days skiing at local resorts. Some of us were more advanced than others, but we all managed! We had a great time, and on the way back we visited the Cabot Cheese Factory. Remembering back to a time when there was snow is fairly disconcerting, but we had a ton of fun and I didn't want to skip it in the blog! For more pictures of our ski trip, click here:

2010-02 Ski Trip

In March, our good friend Tyler made the trip up to Montreal from Orlando to come visit us. It was so great to have him here! He arrived just in time to make it to the Muse concert, which started only a few hours after his flight arrived in Montreal. The show was fantastic, and we all got t-shirts. Although he was only in town for a few days, and unfortunately we were each sick during one part or another of his visit, we tried to make the most out of the time we had.



We toured the old port together, which was interesting given that it was still so cold out and much of the water was still frozen. Another evening we went out with a group of friends for some beers and a few games of pool. We were so glad Tyler was able to come see us, and we hope to return the favor in the near future!

2010-03 Tyler's Visit

In May, I worked as an assistant photographer at my first wedding. So far I have shot three, but the season will really pick up in the next month or so! I am really enjoying it, and definitely learning a lot. And now more than ever, I appreciate how much work mom and dad do at these weddings!!

Toward the end of May, David and I left Callie with our landlords and headed down to Jacksonville, Florida, where we met up with Andrew, Annalise, Hazel, and Derek. We had such a fun week with the family! It was great to recharge our batteries a bit, and the weather was perfect for several days of exploring the beach and the city. And it's always fun to see brothers (and family in general) reunited!

2010-05 Jacksonville Visit

We were really grateful to have the opportunity to head to sunny Florida for a few days, and it was nice to have a little break from the ordinary. Since we don't get to see Andrew and Annalise all too often, this was an especially rewarding trip!

June was a pretty busy month for us. One of our friends here in Montreal finished up her program at McGill, so we all had a goodbye party for her. It was nice having such a big group of us together before she left!



A few days later, we got nearly the same group together for David's birthday. I got them all to assemble at one of David's favorite local restaurants, and then brought him in for a surprise birthday dinner! Afterward we went to Meg's for a little bubbly. (:



David got a pretty good haul for his birthday...



June 25th was our fourth wedding anniversary, and we celebrated with a picnic in Park Lafontaine. The weather was perfect and the park is really beautiful this time of year. We brought a ton of fruit, cheese, and sandwiches, plus little Callie of course. She had a great time too! It was just a really nice day. And that night, we had our traditional sub sandwiches in honor of the late-night subs we had for dinner on our wedding night! It wasn't Jimmy John's, but it was yummy as always!

2010-06

One of David's birthday gifts that came a little late was a small remote controlled helicopter. Some friends of ours found a copter supplier online a while back, and this thing is more fun than you can imagine! I ordered one for David, but since it shipped from Hong Kong it took until nearly July to arrive. But it was worth the wait! Callie isn't so sure about it, but seriously, this thing is great! (Incidentally we also got one of these for dad's combined birthday/father's day gift, and it seems to have gone over pretty well!)





On July 1st, David and I took a couple of buses to Niagara Falls, Ontario, where we met up with mom and dad. We spent all day Friday and part of Saturday exploring first the Canadian side and then a bit of the American side. The Horseshoe (or Canadian) Falls were truly stunning, and we had an incredible day on Friday doing almost every tour we could fit in! We saw the rapids, took a ride on the Maid of the Mist (just... wow), went "Behind the Falls," and even experienced "Niagara's Fury"! We were constantly getting drenched, but the weather was perfect for it and we had such a great time!

2010-07 Niagara Falls

After the falls, mom and dad drove us all back to Montreal, where they stayed with us for a few more days. Unfortunately the city was hit by a freak heat wave, but we tried to stay cool however possible! We ended up getting an A/C unit, which has just made all the difference! (Thanks mom and dad!) We also went out for a few nice dinners, saw Toy Story 3, and of course watched a few World Cup games. It's been nearly two years since my parents were able to come visit, and we loved having them here with us!

For now, things have gone more or less back to normal. I am still working with the photo studio, and have recently started assisting with some fashion photography, as well as the product photography and retouching work that I started with. Graduate school is getting closer and closer, and although I haven't yet spoken to the studio about it, at the moment the plan is to start classes in early September. Meanwhile, David is busy as ever with coursework, research, and preparations for a conference next month. We are also looking forward to a visit from Derek and Hazel, who should arrive at the end of July! We are lucky that we've been able to see so many of our friends and family this year already, and although we miss you all, we are having a great time up here!