...and here there will soon be a cold surprise involving husky the musky! Until then! This is once again a traveling journal where some exciting things will arise!

_______________________________________________________________

One brisk not-really-even-spring April Saturday, I was driving past Husky the Musky and saw the most exciting scene. Two rather ambitious super heroes were rolling in the white snow by the water, just about to jump in.

One wore a lovely blue ensemble, 
while the other 
contrasted mysteriously in black. 

They held a large sign which read, "You've got brains in your head and feet in your shoes, congrats Jesse!" Apparently, the whole excursion was in honour of the many accomplishments of a very kind, adventurous and smart boy named Jesse. 

Suddenly, another character bee-doo-boped down the snow down to the lake's edge. She was dressed slightly less practical than the others, but looked like she was ready for a quick morning dip, nonetheless.

So, as cars lined the road in front of that big fish, each member of the swimming team made last minute preparations to enter the brisk lake. As they prepped, they saw the ice still covering the water in the distance. 

mmmm. 

The three of them all became dear friends and they swam like little otters for a whole half an hour! They exclaimed,

 "It doesn't even feel cold! Let's swim to the dock and do backflips! After we are done lets take more photos in the 

snow and make snow angels!"

And the three of them swam happily all that April day. Perfectly dressed in blue, black and retro-

Oh wait, there's only two...

What a magical Cinderella-like day that I absolutely loved!

I am very excited to share my Royal festivities but since we are currently on our way to adventure in the jungles of Guatemala...!

I am reserving this spot on my blog for when I shall return!!

Until then! Remember all girls are princesses and most boys are princes!

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"Who can say by what mystery two people find each other in this great wide world?"

April 29th, 2011

3 am

Where were you? Perhaps sleeping soundly in your bed? Completely unaware of the 

magic going on across the ocean?

I dearly hope you found the printable royal invitations on the internet and sent them to all your friends like I did. Just in case you were completely and sadly unaware....
(don't blink at 0:15, my favourite royal sisters ever)

A group of lovely, sleepy girls,

Decorations...

A teaset I inherited...

Fancy dresses...

Modern Day Princesses.

"Cinderella looked out toward the world that stretched far and away from her small dark room, and she wished for only one thing. Every day Cinderella wished for Love. How does a young man find his maiden? His heart leads him. He finds her in a room. He asked her to dance...A young man knows what he must do when the girl he loves disappears. He must find her...The girl was gone; the only thing left of her a smooth glass slipper. He went to every home in the land, searching for the foot meant for the shoe and the heart meant for the prince. Cinderella waited to see if Love would find her. As the duke held the glass slipper in his hands, her lovely foot slid perfectly in. Cinderella returned to the palace where 

Love had always been waiting...

and they lived happily ever after."

-Walt Disney's Cinderella, Retold by Cynthia Rylant

 (The most beautiful children's book in the world).

Oh Canada, Oh Canada!

(Poppy at I at the hockey game.)

Many a time in I-dee-ho, I found myself humming, "America the Beautiful" or "The Star Spangled Banner" on my path to school or even for a choir audition! Of course, Oh Canada is quite literally embedded to my very soul, I found myself out of practice, except for the occasional time when I was asked to sing the entire song in front of others who couldn't get past, "Oh Canada."


A few weeks ago mama called me wondering if I could sing the anthem for a few hockey tournaments when I got home. I agreed and thought it would be fun-even if the first singing occurred my very first day home. 


I figured the tournament must be for 
little boys, nothing that was too big of a deal.


So, the first day back I went and visited my dad's office. I casually said I was singing at the hockey game in a half hour. The response was something of this nature, "Oh my gosh! The Allan Cup! How on earth did you get the honour to sing there!" Turns out, this tournament was not full of little boys. 
But men. Hockey men. And I would be serenading them a total of 4 times in one week!!

My favourite game was on Wednesday night. I have never, ever in my life seen so many people there! I went to the box with the bagpipers. There was the cutest little boy playing a drum while his dad played his bagpipes. I was strangely not nervous at all! I was so excited to be singing there. Our hometown team was playing, the Kenora Thistles. And by everyone, I mean...


about 2500 people.


No big deal, right!


Before I began, I thought it may be fun to pull the announcers leg, you know, stir the pot a bit. He was giving my the microphone and telling me all of the logistical matters  (it was about 2 minutes to showtime) when I said, "By the way, I've been in Idaho for  months. So, I may or may not remember all the words. Is that okay? I might sing a few phrases from the Star Spangled Banner."
He looked horrified.
I smiled and told him I absolutely knew it and practiced in the car just in case! I am a pretty true blue Canadian, after all. Everything past Oh Canada just rolls off the tongue.

I sang and it was a brilliant experience! All of those wonderful people in the stands sang along with me. On the last phrases, they started cheering and clapping! It was extremely patriotic. I was so very amazed that I had the opportunity and I got home just in the knick of time.

(This is a video from one of the games...not my favourite game on Wednesday night, but still a fun game!)

Now, I most definitely know how big of a deal the Allan cup is!

The semester is...over!!

The Quote of the Day:

"I'm excited to celebrate.

To celebrate doing nothing!

I want to do things I want to do. 

I want to make crepes, 

braid flowers in our hair 

like in Tangled

 and watch movies!"

-Meredith

And the winner of the blog giveaway is...

Hurrah for Kimberly, 

my dear Europe Tour friend!

(Who compiled a lovely Europe Journal).

She is a wonderful girl!

She's always smiling!

She is beautiful.

She ties her scarves in bows.

She is amazingly artistic.

She has a gorgeous voice.

And now she has my painting.

  

Thank you to all who participated!! Stay tuned for another Blog Giveaway!

I really do love surprises. 

Right now, I am having that feeling where I am so excited, I feel like 

smiling, laughing, cheering and crying all at once. 

 (Pictured above is Carly Beth and I)

Have you ever felt that? It is an overwhelming feeling that has happened to me few times in my life. It is a feeling of

pure, sweet, joy.

One of my favourite places in the 

whole world is the Temple. Next to it is my own home. 

The reason why I love the Temple is because of the closeness to God I feel there. I also feel a realization of who I really am, a daughter of God. In Temples, it is where I find guidance for my own life. 

I am blessed to have a Temple in Rexburg as I go to school. At home, we are blessed to have a temple in Regina, Saskatchewan. It is a great distance to travel there, but we rejoiced as it was relatively closer than ever before. 

But deep in my heart I have

always, always, always 

prayed and hoped a temple would be built in Winnipeg. As I little girl, I have always wished to be married there and also have the blessings and influence of the temple be close to my home. 

And also have the Temple and the Temple's influence close to my family and friends I love so much.
And I wondered, for years, if the plot of land would ever have a Temple on it in my lifetime. 

So picture me, this morning, a week before finals running into my living room to watch General Conference broadcasted from Salt Lake City, Utah. Just as I sat down, 

Thomas S. Monson, the Prophet of the Lord, 

began to speak. Twice a year, he announces the building of new Temples. He began his list... 

(Specifically from 9:14)

http://lds.org/general-conference/watch?lang=eng&vid=879108318001

(isn't Thomas S. Monson's smile precious when he announced Winnipeg?!)

I screamed! And woke up my room mate! And cried and cried. 

Oh, did Heavenly Father have a surprise for Winnipeg this morning. 

The Prophet is coming to Winnipeg! The House of the Lord will be built there.

 Just a few weeks ago I watched this video about a temple building in Ukraine. I thought about Winnipeg the whole time and thought the joy of the people in Canada would be similar to this. 

So here I am in Idaho.

So thankful. So blessed. So overjoyed. 

Not only have I hoped for this, but my family and our ancestors have, too-through years of faith and determination to God. Not only will the building of the Temple bless members of the Church, but the entirety of Winnipeg and the surrounding areas.

Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Winnipeg!!!!

http://mormontemples.org/winnipeg/index.html

Prayers are answered! And the Lord has a plan for each of us. I am so excited for the unity we will feel as a family, as a stake!!!! Ah! This is just wonderful.

Oh! I love, love, love surprises!!!!