The Scenic Route

   Well, we are back in the States as of yesterday=) Although we will be going to Vancouver again next weekend to visit a friend. From Calgary, Alberta we stopped by Britton's 3rd cousin Mandy's place in Kamloops, British Columbia. (Picture Below) Let me tell you, it was the most beautiful drive I think I will ever experience!  The Canadian Rockies were absolutely gorgeous! Seriously breath taking. (Pictures below)
  While we were still visiting in Calgary, Aunt Brenda took us to Banff; which is also know as "the most beautiful place known to manff."  Anyhoo- it's a ski town, with lots of cool shops.  I've also posted some pictures of that area. 
  After visiting Mandy, her husband Scott and their 3 children, we drove to Vancouver to kill some time in the city before heading into Seattle.  Britton found an incredible vegan/raw restaurant in the city called Gorilla Foods.  I won't lie, eating cold, raw, smooth green chili wasn't my thing but the sandwich I got was pretty tasty.  From there we walked around the neighborhood a bit and made our last stop at a catholic church that was open for prayer and confession.  We admired the architecture of the building as we sat quietly in the back row.  Gazing at the intricate stories told in the stained glass windows, our eyes stumbled upon Jesus with a six pack. Who knew? Amazing! Anyway, so then we fought through the city traffic for an hour as we both tried to not pee our pants from all the coffee we had just consumed! Once through the city traffic, en route to Seattle, and after a few bickering remarks to each other, we stumbled upon a furniture liquidation store to have a "potty break." Shortly after entering the highway once again, we had another hour wait to cross the border=) Quite lovely.  This time no questions about weapons or firearms, just a very intrigued patrolman, wondering why we drove all the way from Cleveland,Ohio and won't be home until December. So anyhoo- then we fought through Seattle traffic a couple hours after that and were quite spent once we reached Uncle Terry's.  Tonight we meet some musicians from the church Uncle Terry is a part of and Britton will do a few songs for their open mic night.  So more video coming soon! For now here are some pics:

Britton & Brenda in Banff



Britton and Mandy showing off their Toms:

Oh, Canada!

Hello Dearest Friends and Family!

    So sorry it has taken so long to post again! We've been getting acclimated to Canada. They keep us busy here, haha. 
   Our drive to Canada was quite boring yet we were anticipating the border patrol. Nervous about our crossing the border we left behind a lot of stuff but were able to smuggle in some cds for the family! =) I was sooo nervous. They didn't even check our car or luggage. The woman just asked us about 20 questions mostly about if we have weapons such as nunchucks, throwing stars or fireworks. Britton held back laughter as he replied, "No ma'am." and off we went into Canada! We drove about 13 hours from Minneapolis to Regina and stayed overnight. Got in a fun little tiff because we'd been trapped in a car together for so long=) Then arrived in Calgary, Alberta after 8 hours of driving through more Canadian country!
  Since we've been here we went to the battle of Alberta with Aunt Brenda and Brian; a hockey match between Calgary and Edmonton. Video posted below. We also got our butts kicked by the old folks when we went to bingo with Grandma Gladys (also video posted below). Then we went with Aunt Loretta and her kids to The Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum(video below). I was also royally treated by Aunt Sharon at her spa with a full body massage and a pedicure! =)
  Britton has a gig coming up this Tuesday at a local coffee house, then it's off to Seattle to visit Uncle Terry! That's about all I've got for now! We will post again when we get to Portland.

Hockey game:

 Sumo Hockey!

Bingo!



Royal Tryell Museum: T-Rex

Much Love! Brimanda

Downtown Minneapolis Outing

So the other day Britton and I went to The Sculpture Garden downtown.  It is incredible!  There are more pictures on my facebook album.   Also, we went to a sweet restaurant called The French Meadow Bakery.  If I were to ever have my own restaurant, this place is something like how it would be.  Tree branches wrapped in lights, ecclectic wooden furniture, celebrity table signs made of random magazine cutouts, local and organic produce, and of course a selection of fair trade and organic coffee and teas! The works...
    Also, we went to The art Museum yesterday but ya kow how they are about photography... But let me tell you it was awesome! Life size hand carved marble statues, portraits from 1800's to current.  The most bizarre section was of course the modern era.  This specific exhibit was called "The Embarrasment of Riches"  When you first walk in there is a sock on display in a glass case with a card directing you to watch a video in the next area about the value of the sock.  For 10 minutes we watched this live streaming video of an auctioneer selling the clothing on his body.  His sock alone sold for $3000! Sick... Anyway...not sure why he was auctioning off his clothing and why people were bidding but... that's just how wierd this world is I guess. 
  Oh! also pictures of The Westminister Presbyterian Church.  This church was built in the 1800's.  The stained glass windows tell the story of Jesus and his miracles. Also more pics on my fb=)

  Enjoy!

This is a the entrance to the Westminister Presbyterian Church.

This is the ceiling in the sanctuary.

This is the front of the sanctuary. Behind it are about 5,000 pipes for the organ!

                                                         Stained glass lined even the back of the sanctuary. This one is of Jesus:

The Sculpture garden

Another favorite from the sculpture garden

Britton's Instrumental, etc...

  Whoa.... another blog. I know I can't believe it either.  Now that I'm feeling better I can think a bit clearer.  As promised, Britton's performance at Newlife last week.  Coming soon: Britton's new song and a bit about The Fallout, a local arts ministry that is raising funds to open a transitional home for victims of sex trafficking.

This is Youof Little Faith:

This is the instrumental:

Love you guys=)

And we're back =)

Hey Friends!
  
   Sorry it's taken me so long to post again! Can't say it's been busy but enjoying the much needed rest, especially now that we are all fighting colds! My flip was also acting up, mostly because this computer is too ancient to handle the high-tech flip software...
   Last week Nicole (Britton's sister) came to visit in Maple Grove.  First stop... Mall of America, which some of you saw the facebook posts=)  Pretty much it's the most ridiculous mall you could think of.  Friday night we went to a local theatre, YellowTree, to see a play called String.  Absolutely amazingly well done I must say.  Jason and Jessica Peterson who were the lead roles in the play, own the theater.  They are the son and daughter in law of a couple who attend Newlife(the church Britton's dad pastor's at).  Britton will be performing there on the 10th! It's a really cool venue.  Very much my style. When you walk in to the dining area, it has a very Anthropoligie/ "antique-y" look. There is an actual tree-with out leaves of course- in the dining area as well. So fun. Maybe I will post some video next week after the show =) You all know how much of an interior design nut I am!
  Saturday we did a walk for autism.  This walk was especially emotional and memorable.  A little over two weeks ago the wife of Newlife's children's pastor, passed away.  Her son, Isaiah has autism so she had already planned a team for this walk.  So we joined in, in memory of her.  Two trips around a mile long horse track and some sweet boys two men tunes (played by the dj) later we were on our way home.  Quite surreal I must say to be around people who are fighting to find a cure or some way to minimize the affects this disease has on them.  Again my friends, it boils down to diet a lot of the time.  I remember when my cousin found out her daughter had autsim, immediately she had to change her diet. Cut out the wheat, the additives, food colorings, etc. Her health and understanding improved tremendously!

Did you know ...

• Autism now affects 1 in 110 children and 1 in 70 boys
• Autism prevalence figures are growing
• More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined
• Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
• Autism costs the nation over $35 billion per year, a figure expected to significantly increase in the next decade
• Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
• Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
•  There is no medical detection or cure for autsim

Coming later... Britton's performance at Newlife.... and his new song!