A year ago today...

It was a year ago today that Stephen received the call from his dad "Your brother Jason... was killed by a suicide bomb in Afghanistan..."

Gerry, Debbie and Rachelle, we aren't able to be there in Ottawa with you guys on this very difficult day to support you as you visit the cemetery and remember - but we are thinking of you and praying for you. We love you!

Becky's PhotoBooth

Stephen was working late last night so I went over to my friend Sally's house after work because we were supposed to go to the gym and then to a friends house for supper. Instead of the gym, I helped her plant the roses she had just bought for her front yard. Neither of us had ever planted flowers before so we'll see how the poor rose bush does after being manhandled by 2 amateurs. The sales lady at the garden centre insisted it was hardy.

We cleaned up and went to Becky and Michelle's house for supper to bbq some chicken and veggies. After supper, Becky took out her Mac laptop so we could look at a video of Sally's adorable nephew. She ended up showing us some of the features of the Mac vs her old laptop and we stumbled across this photobooth feature that has special effects you can use while taking pictures. We had WAY too much fun with this. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! This is just a sampling of the pictures we took. (The rest are posted in my online photo album.)

Celebrating Canada Day with Alberta Beef

Stephen and I have definitely become fans of good AAA Alberta beef since living here. Stephen has been working on BBQing the perfect steak during the summers and I have to say he does a great job! We recently found a fantastic butcher shop owned by 2 ranchers in Okotoks (a 20 minute drive south) that sells their ranch grown, naturally fed, 40-day aged beef. We go out there every few weeks to get our meat (ground beef, steak, ribs, roast, sausage and fresh farm eggs). With all the boasting Stephen has been doing at work about the difference between this meat and any other meat shop, his coworkers (including some from Ontario who were not convinced that Alberta beef could be any different than Ontario's beef) decided to have a BBQ this Canada Day long weekend to see for themselves.

A couple of the guys came with us to Okotoks on Saturday to pick up the steaks, which we packed into a cooler for the trip back. We stopped and picked up veggies, chips and drinks to go with the meat and headed to the backyard of one of the guys for the BBQ where everyone else met up with us. They each picked out the steaks they wanted and Stephen was in charge of the 'cue. After preparing them with his favourite rub, he got to work cooking the 10 big steaks to rare perfection - a nice crispy char on the outside and so juicy and tender on the inside. Mmmm, so tasty! As the last guy's rib-eye was put on the grill and everyone else was eating their meal, Stephen wasn't going to wait anymore to sit down with his t-bone. There's no need for a plate or utensils, the all-dressed baked potato or the chips when the steaks are this good. And yes, he did convince the skeptics in the group who agreed this 40-day aged Alberta beef was the best they'd ever had.