To Love, Laughter and Happily Ever After

You know that feeling when you wake up one day and think "where did all the time go"? Well August 31st was one of those days for me. I reflected back to the day my little cousin Garrett was born and how I waited patiently at home with his sister Catherine for him to enter this world. I have always had an affinity for Garrett as he has been my "baby" from day one. Well on this day in 2012, Garrett was no longer my baby, but a grown man whom I am so proud of, marrying the most amazing woman I could have imagined for him (and trust me this is no easy feat as I have high expectations for Garrett as he deserves only the best!).
 




Shauna Ball became Shauna Scully in a wonderful ceremony in Calgary and much confusion has since ensued. Since Shauna Scully became Shauna Jones in 2003 and now Shauna Ball has become Shauna Scully in 2012, family events are a "who's on first" parody of confusion. From Facebook posts to emails to conversations, the never ending question is "are we talking about Shauna 1 or Shauna 2". But we wouldn't have it any other way!




Our niece Edynn and her cousin Kierra appointed themselves Flower girls before they were even asked, and they took their jobs very seriously!






It was an amazing day of family and friends and love and laughter.



From the groom's parents...

To the many aunts, uncles and cousins...

And of course all of the kids for which a wedding is truly a place to display their best behavior and fancy dance moves...




A great place to "Catch" Up!

From June 14th to the 24th of this year we headed out to B.C for our annual fishing trip with Dennis' brother Jim and his wife Pat. Several years ago Jim found this little gem of a place and we have been returning ever since. 7 Half Diamond Guest Ranch is a little piece of heaven located north of Merritt. Dennis will probably kill me for sharing this tidbit of information as this is a private lake stocked with Rainbow Trout that both Dennis and Jim are very possessive of!

This particular location has become a favorite of mine as it is a wonderful place to lie around and read books, spread out the yoga mat on the back deck overlooking the lake, drink copious amounts of red wine, and when the weather permits, Pat and I even join the boys on the lake late into the evening to try to land a fish or two! The highlight of this stay included a chickadee or two that you could hand feed. This little guy would fly around our heads and land at our feet as soon as Pat or I would exit the cabin. Dennis and I spent a great deal of time feeding and filming this event to share with the kids.

We enjoyed our trip so much this year that we booked an additional week in October and have booked for two weeks June of 2013!

Two little devils in the City of Angels!

The question in Los Angeles is never what to do, but where to begin. In all honesty I have always found L.A. to be a dirty city that you pass through while going to Disneyland , however, being the “celebrity gossip junkie” that I am, I finally convinced Dennis to join me on a tour of the city of “Angels (including but not limited to a tour of the “Dearly Departed”).  

Our trip began with a stay at the Westin Pasadena from May 29th – June 2nd.  Although Pasadena is best known as the host of the annual Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl football game, we like Pasadena for our new favorite restaurant (President Thai), top retailers (Orvis for Dennis, Anne Taylor for me) and the fact that Leonard and Sheldon reside there in the fictional world of our favorite show The Big Bang Theory.

We started off our adventure with a VIP tour of the WB Studios.

 

 

















Not only did we make a couple of "FRIENDS", but we got to go behind the scenes to see how the magic happens....

 

We also visited some old tourist standbys such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre

 

 

and the Hollywood Museum where we managed to hit the first day of a MarilynMonroe – Hollywood Legend exhibit. From the old to the new, here you can find your favorite celebrities immortalized throughout Hollywood.



 

“Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Legend”

 

 

An Intimate Look At The Legend (1926 –1962)

 

The Nation’s Largest Exhibit Of Authentic Memorabilia Honors Monroe’s Life and the 50th Anniversary Milestone of Her Passing

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Red Velvet” photo session and infamous “Golden Dreams” calendar: In 1949, Marilyn Monroe was a struggling young actress. To earn quick money for a delinquent car payment, Marilyn accepted $50 to pose nude for photographer Tom Kelley, in what became known as the legendary “Red Velvet” photos.

 

 

 

The million-dollar honeymoon dress that Marilyn wore on her honeymoon with husband, baseball legend Joe DiMaggio in 1954. This was Marilyn’s favorite personal gown, designed by Ceil Chapman, hand-beaded in Marilyn’s signature style. She wore this gown on numerous occasions over the balance of her life, including on her USO tour to Korea (1954) where she entertained 10,000 oops over the course of several days
 
And while on the topic of celebrities that have passed too soon...our next stop was one for my bucket list (and as far from the top ten of Dennis' things to see and do in this lifetime as could be). I was dying (pun intended) to experience the delightfully twisted underbelly of Hollywood with Dearly Departed Tours! Scott Michaels founded Dearly Departed back in 1989, specializing in dead celebrity memorabilia before launching the tour business in 2005. Since then he has been pleasing stars and their fans alike with his irresistible combination of wit, humor and insight into the morbid world of celebrity death!

Why you say would any sane person want to take this tour? Well just ask Anthony Bourdain or any one of the Girl's Next Door (Kendra, Holly or Bridget) or how about Dave Navarro or Leeza Gibbons. Or why not just ask Dennis and I because we had an amazing time with a great tour guide and here were some of the highlights of this tour:

• How about the restroom in Will Rogers Park in Beverly Hills Park George Micheal was reported to have been arrested for a "lewd" act in 1998? We were given the police report and were walked though the various discrepancies with the officer's story.

• Or Barney's Beanery on Santa Monica Blvd, where Janis Joplin last stopped before her death at on October 3, 1970 at the former "Landmark Motor Hotel", now named the Highland Gardens Hotel.

• The Las Palmas Hotel where Pretty Woman was filmed

• The Ravenswood Apartments that were once home to some of Old Hollywood's most glamours celebrities Mae West and Ava Gardener.

And who hasn't listened to the Joni Mitchell's song Big Yellow Taxi and wondered what inspired the lyrics "Paved Paradise, put up a parking lot"? Well you are looking at it...

I could go on and on about seeing where George Burns or Lucille Ball lived; visiting Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner's house in Beverly Hills; going to El Coyote Mexican Restaurant where Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger and Wojciech Frykowski ate their last meal the night they were later murdered by the Manson Family; or more recently showing you Simon Cowell or Angelina and Billy Bob Thorton's houses; but I am sure that the rest of you are not as eager to search L.A. to find "your people" as I expressed to Dennis with all of my useless trivia! For those of you that are, Dearly Departed also offers a Helter Skelter Tour where you learn and tour the sites related to the Manson Family Murders (as Dennis and I are going to do on our next tour to L.A.). All humour aside it really was an interesting and unique tour that you should all go on if in the L.A. area.

As if seeing where the celebrities lived and died wasn't enough excitement for Dennis, I also dragged him to the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale to visit the burial sites of Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor as well as many other celebrities of Hollywood past. The surprising thing about this cemetery is it's beauty and the vast amount of space it takes up in such a densely populated area. It turned out to be a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of L.A.

The Mausoleum was fashioned after Campo Santo in Genoa, Italy and contains many of the most highly sought after interment places within Forest Lawn, Glendale.

Within the portion of the Great Mausoleum accessible to the public is the Court of Honor where individuals are inducted as "Immortals" by Forest Lawn's Council of Regents. The rest of the structure is protected by guards and is not accessible by the public. Within the Memorial Court of Honor is a stained glass masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. You are permitted to enter the Mausoleum to view this work which is well worth it and it allows you your only view inside the structure that holds many great people, including Elizabeth Taylor - whose tomb stands at the entrance to the Last Supper piece and was covered in small diamonds while we were there.

  Below right, private tomb of Michael Jackson in the privacy of Holly Terrace in the Great Mausoleum. Only family members can enter the tomb.

After returning to the land of the living we were inspired to visit the Paramount Studios lot for their version of the VIP Tour. Although the least enjoyable of the tours - due to lack of organization and restricted access because of the celebration party for 100 years of Paramount going on (no we were not lucky enough to see any of the celebrities on site) - we did manage to find a few good hot spots to quench Dennis' thirst for more celebrity fodder!



"I'm Forrest Gump...People Call me Forrest Gump"

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final stop on the"All Things Hollywood" portion of our vacation, took us to the Paley Centre for Media in Beverley Hills where Warner Brothers teamed up to bring props, costumes, original animation art, patent filings and much more from over sixty series ranging from Alice to The West Wing in an installment entitled "Warner Brothers Out of the Box". For those of you who have followed other iconic series such as Friends, Wonder Woman, the Dukes of Hazard and The Big Bang Theory, you may recognize some of the following:

 

BAZINGA

On June 3rd we departed for the more serene part of our vacation. We headed up to Paso Robles in the hopes of superior wine tasting and adventure. Much to our dismay, Paso Robles did not live up to our expectations as experienced on our many travels to Sonoma. One highlight of the trip though was our tour of the Hearst Castle.

Hearst Castle is a National and California Historical Landmark mansion located on the Central Coast of California, United States. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947 for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who died in 1951. In 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to the state of California. Since that time it has been maintained as a state historic park where the estate, and its considerable collection of art and antiques, is open for public tours. Despite its location far from any urban center, the site attracts about one million visitors per year, because damn, who wouldn't dream to have a spread like this:

 

 

 
 

 

Sparkling Hill

Sparkling Hill – May 22 – 24

 

So Nancy and I decided it was time for a girl’s spa trip. After much contemplation on trying somewhere different we actually ended up at a Canadian Spa in B.C. that Nancy had remembered reading about. http://www.sparklinghill.com/ is located in Vernon just up the road from Predator Ridge carved into a granite hillside. It has many distinctive design components made up of Swarovski crystals and is owned by Mr Gernot Langes Swarovski, patriarch of the famed Austrian Crystal family.

To start our trip we flew into Kelowna and proceeded to Quail's Gate winery for a light lunch and drinks. After a casual walk around and a drive to Grey Monk winery, we headed up to the resort to check in. Upon arriving you are amazed by the modern architecture and lighting reflected by the crystals that show up everywhere in the resort (even on the bathroom doors). We checked in and headed up to our room which did not disappoint. The view was spectacular and not to be outdone by the beautiful room. Not only were there crystals in the ceiling above the spa tub, but a crystal fireplace was situated at the open end of the room. Although these are spectacular features I can assure you that we did not try them out nor were we able to shower with both of us in the room as the bathroom/shower/spa tub are open to the remainder of the room. Fine with your spouse for a romantic weekend but not so much with a girlfriend!

We spent our first full day at the resort partaking in the vast spa facilities the resort is known for. You have exclusive access to the 7 unique aromatherapy saunas and steam rooms plus experience showers | igloo 10˚C | indoor pool complete with underwater music and starry Swarovski crystal sky | hot pool | outdoor infinity pool | Kneipp water therapy | state-of-the-art Keiser-equipped fitness studio | Tea and Serenity Relaxation Rooms. The spa itself is wonderfully put together to offer the most in relaxation but I do have a few pet peeves with the experience. First off, the registration desk does not provide a tour of the spa so you are on your own winding your way through the facilities. Secondly, they allow tours to enter the relaxation room, which kind of defeats the purpose of relaxation. People were laughing and yelling across to each other and even entered the rooms in their street clothes and hung out where we were horizontal on reclining chairs in bathrobes. The saunas and steam rooms we found out were closed daily from 11-4 for “cleaning”. Seems a peculiar time to be closed, especially when you have people spending their day at the resort for the full “spa” experience.

 Meals were uncharacteristically included in our package. We went to the restaurant early to ask about attire. We were told our jeans were too casual so we went back to our room to change into something more appropriate for the occasion and location. Upon returning to the restaurant we were seated quickly only to find others around us wearing workout wear. Hmmm… Anyway the meal was good but as Nancy eloquently put it “tastes like catered food at a wedding”. Not what you would expect from a resort of this caliber.

 

So to sum up, Nancy and I had a wonderful time and would go back but perhaps we would venture to Phoenix or Las Vegas for a “true” girls spa getaway first. The treatments at Sparkling Hill were fantastic, the views were amazing and the rooms would be perfect for a romantic getaway. There is room for improvement on the food and spa but otherwise this getaway was an 8/10. – Nancy I would have given it a 10/10 based on company but it just ain’t no Canyon Ranch at the Palazzo!

 

From Hot Yoga to Zumba

So as you have read, Hot Yoga didn't turn out so well, so Nancy and I decided to try Zumba. What a great way to get in shape while looking learning some sexy new moves. Once again, dressed in our fashionable Lululemon ensembles with our chic water bottles, we headed off to our next adventure in exercise  - Zumba - an exhilarating, effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party that’s moving millions of people toward joy and health.

Our instructor showed up in her Zumba attire and proceeded to crank the music. At this point I was excited to get my groove on with all of the other people in my class - oh wait there was only Nancy and I and a 14 year old girl in full makeup and tight jeans. Where the hell were all the hot Latinos I hoped to pick up some new moves from?  Our instructor jumped right into a combination of jazzercise and hip hop to Latin music that was way to loud for my liking. The only blessing was that you couldn't hear my panting like a dog! Still excited to show off the dance moves I perfected at many a bar in my day, I couldn't wait to "bring it on down".

After the first song ended, a group of individuals entered the studio to add to our posse of professional groovers. As the second song began one of the girls stood in the middle of the room and talked AT the instructor. Nancy and I looked at each other like we had just been upstaged in our own music video. This was soon followed by a lady trying to get Nancy to move forward so she could take her rightful spot at the back of the room. Nancy indicated that the nice lady could move ahead of her to the front and next thing I know Nancy is arguing with said woman about said "premium space". After resolving the spacing issues, we moved into our third song. By this point I am sweating like a pig and wondering where all of my rhythm has gone. It must be the distraction of new attendees entering the room or the lack of alcohol to loosen me up that has plagued my game. I watch as the individuals around us flail their arms and turn in opposing directions to the beat of their own drums.  Surely Nancy and I do not look this haphazard!

At the conclusion of the third song, we break to grab water and I notice a nice boy with Down Syndrome as he pushes in front of me to assume his place at the water fountain. I am sure that he is partnered with the "nice" lady with the space issues now standing BEHIND Nancy. No sooner am I stepping up to take my own drink of water, when the girl who so rudely accosted our instructor with questions of her holiday mid Zumba, steps up to ask me if my pants are Lululemon - all the while frothing at the mouth.  I turn to initiate polite conversation with the girl as she proceeds to spew her objections to lululemon through her braces and onto my Zumba soaked attire. After a few more kind words I return to my rightful spot next too Nancy at the FRONT of the room. After several more songs whereby the instructor is mirroring her own moves in the mirror to the exclusion of the class, I realize that maybe I do not have the "funk in the trunk" that I once was so fond of. I am not sure if I have pulled a hamstring or not, but I am silently thankful when she stops to lead the class through the basic moves of Zumba to a beat more in line with a slow waltz.

At the end of the hour, the instructor informs the class that we need to keep up with the pace of Zumba if we are to burn 500 calories in the hour. Nancy and I retreat from the room and head to Starbucks to debrief. After much discussion we are acutely aware of the fact that perhaps we were in a remedial class and find solace in the fact that we were at the top of our class.

The next day Nancy discusses our class with her personal coach who excitedly exclaimed "Oh you took Zumba! What class were you in?". When Nancy points out that we were in the small studio he smiled and said "oh". Case closed, we are going to give Hot Yoga another try!

Our little Keiki Palmtree

A wise 4 year old once told me (in response to my directive that I would always be here for her no matter what), "NO you aren't, you are always shopping or in Hawawee"! So on that note, we promptly booked a trip for our niece Edynn and her chaperon (my sister who informed us they are a package deal) to join Dennis and I in Hawaii.

Check out the new purse
 mommy is holding for Edynn

Our "girls" arrived Thursday, March 29th to one of the best holidays of our lives. From the moment they landed Edynn was in holiday mode. She began at the airport by showing us the purse and flower hair clip she picked up on their stop over in Maui (she was picking gifts for everyone at the Maui airport gift shop before the holiday even began. Auntie has trained her well!) She proceeded to line us up for pictures before we even left the arrivals terminal.

Once our impromptu photo session was over, we headed to dinner at Huggos where Edynn promptly parked herself on the ground beside the table and began a treasure hunt in the sand.

Bucket List Item #1

This was followed with her first drink out of a coconut (the first of many items on her bucket list).

Ever the style queen, Edynn donned her bathing suit and sunglasses and we headed to Hapuna Beach for the first of many days in the sun. Although Shauna and Dennis and I could have spent many a day basking at the beach, Edynn decided the loud waves and vast waters were not for her. In turn, we had many group debates on the pros and cons of the beach versus the hot tub at the villa. And on one such occasion, Edynn relented, crossing her arms and stating "fine I will go to the beach, but I will not be happy about it all day!". This only lasted as long as it took for uncle to put on his snorkel and for Edynn to mount his back for a ride around in the ocean bellowing directions through his snorkel. Shauna had to inform her that it was not a microphone and uncle was in fact trying to breathe through it!

Not being all that fond of swimming, we purchased a water turtle for the little miss to use when swimming in the "hot tub". This was soon followed by a life jacket, when she saw the other kids swimming about freely. To further subdue her fear of the water, we got her her own snorkel and spent an evening showing her how it worked from the comfort of our own bath tub. Much to our surprise, our subdued turtle morphed into a little fish and soon we could not get her out of the water (she has since returned home and passed two levels of swimming in one session)!

With her daughter no longer in need of her turtle, Shauna took ownership of the little guy. Shying away from the camera, it took many a try to capture the twosome in their natural environment (on the way to the pool, in the pool and on their way back from the pool).

Aside from wasting our days away in the water, we also ventured out to see the sites. On one of our outings, we went to a Macadamia Nut Factory, where Edynn and Shauna took turns cracking nuts (this will come in handy the next time Owen steps out of line). There were many samples of Mac Nuts to be tasted (chocolate, caramel, honey mustard,etc.) and Shauna told Edynn she could select a tin to eat on the way back to the villa. With such an array of sweet choices, the last flavour you would expect her to select (or anyone else for that matter) was SPAM! But sure enough she insisted on the Spam nuts (Spam coincidentally is a big thing in Hawaii). Without getting into to much graphic detail, lets just say that a can of Spam nuts looks the same going in as it does coming out. Our poor girl ended up almost crapping on uncle while he wrestled with her on the floor. After getting her cleaned up she was more concerned with hearing stories about "uncle pooping his pants" than she was with the fact that she had to spend most of the day close to the commode.

The one highlight of this day (and for Shauna and Edynn the entire trip), was not only that they got to feed the dolphins, but Edynn's stomach settled long enough for her to do so with her mom. Dennis and I treated the girls to a session with the dolphins at the Hilton where they were able to get up close and personal with these beautiful creatures.

Of course being the girls we are, we had to get in a little shopping. This may in fact have been a highlight for Dennis as Edynn proceeded to scare the crap out of him by camouflaging herself amongst some mannequins. She stood perfectly still holding the hand of one of the mannequins while he frantically searched for her. One of the sales ladies even put a hat on her! When he found her he was giving her shit and she just stood stone faced playing the part of an ever silent clothes horse! As Shauna and I moved into the bathing suit section, Dennis was tasked with doting on Edynn at the closest makeup counter counter - pretending to do her makeup and give her a manicure and pedicure. This girl has learned so well from her Auntie that she may soon assume the official title of "princess" in our family and I may have to hand over my crown!

As the girls trip drew to a close, we managed to spend Easter Morning taking Edynn to an Easter Egg hunt put on in Waikoloa at the Queen's Market. Here she was able to hunt for Easter eggs with thousands of other children. Ever the sweet girl that she is she was worried about getting any eggs and Shauna had to help her in her passive quest (she is too caring to push others out of the way like most kids did). She got quite the haul but was most excited about spending the afternoon at the pool. Here is one of my favorite pictures of my two favorite people in one of my favorite places!

The girls left us (too many tears) but not before promising to join us in 2013 with Owen and Alex. This was one of the BEST trips Dennis and I have ever had and we look forward to to many more adventures and laughs with the Jones'.

P.S. Edynn skyped with us upon her return home to tell us that she "hates it here" (here being back in Calgary) and she has since tried to convince Shauna to move to Hawaii. A girl after my own heart!