A Year In The Life Of...

Just for fun, I thought I'd take you through a year in the life of the Temple's and Mitchell's.

This is what 2012 held for us.

January

2012 did not exactly start off on a good note... in the evening of January 6, 2012 I received a panicked phone call from my Dad to tell me that their garage had caught fire and burned to the ground.  Thankfully nobody was hurt and the house only suffered minor damages.  I will not forget having to call my Mom at work that night to tell her what had happened.  They lost everything in the garage, including their new boat and trailer and my 2006 Saturn that was parked in front of the garage.  They would've lost their Tundra if Dad had not gone into the fire and drove it out, suffering only a burn to the forehead and the front end of the truck melting.  It's taken 1 full year to buy all of the things they lost including another new boat!  It's also taken 1 full year to complete rebuilding the garage and it's not completely finished yet.  The garage burning down has caused nothing but heartache and headaches and we hope that nobody ever has to go through that situation ever.

On January, 11, 2012 we celebrated Nixon's 1st birthday.  It's amazing how fast our puppy turned into a 110lb horse!  We could not imagine our lives without Nixon!

January 18, 2012 marked 2 significant days in our life.  2 years had gone by since Chad's death so Travis and I went out for dinner and a drink to celebrate an amazing life lived instead of mourning at home.  We miss Chad every day and he plays a huge role in our lives in so many different ways.  This day also meant that 1 year had gone by since we moved in Chad's house in Sylvan Lake, Alberta.  Moving to Alberta and living in Chad's house was one of the best and most difficult decisions we ever made.  We wouldn't be where we are today had we not made that move.

February

Thankfully, February was a quiet month for us. 

On February 6, 2012, Travis started working in Calgary which lasted for 3 months.  He worked Monday-Friday and typically travelling from Sylvan to Calgary early Monday mornings to be at work for 8am and he would come home Friday evenings.  There was a lot of travelling done in 3 months!

We enjoyed some time in Banff with friends of ours, did a little shopping and a little skiing and on February 20, 2012 I crossed one off my bucketlist.  We went horseback riding in the mountains, just outside of Banff at Rafter 6 Ranch Resort.  It was a beautiful, mild day with fresh snow on the ground, perfect for a first time rider!  This was also the day that my brother called me to tell me that he was finally in a relationship with Allie Vincent... after years of telling them they should be together! 

Mom and Dad came for a visit in Sylvan on February 21, 2012 for one night and one day before flying out for their trip to Hawaii which included visiting the islands of Maui and Kauai.  They had the best trip of their lives and everytime they called us, they sounded like 2 kids at Disney Land! 

March

On March 23, 2012 we headed to Sparwood, BC to visit Barb and Scotty and Bob and Maggie also made the drive out to join us!  It was a great long weekend! 

March 28, 2012 marked our 2 year anniversary which seems crazy in the sense that our relationship moved so quickly in the beginning. 

At the end of March, Travis and I made the decision that I would start looking for a new job which meant a huge career change for me.  Things weren't going well at the funeral home I was working at and it was making our home life pretty miserable. 

April

On April 4, 2012, I had my first job interview at the Red Deer County Center.  I ended up not getting the job due to lack of experience but was informed that another job was being posted within a couple weeks that they wanted me to apply for. 

Near the end of March, Travis and I decided that we wanted to purchase a bumper pull camper.  This was a big decision for us, as it was the first major purchase that we would make together!  It all happened pretty quickly and on April 23, 2012 we made an offer on a 2004 27' Travelaire Travel Trailer.  They accepted our offer and that was that.  The camper would soon be our summer home!

May

May marked the best month of the year for us.  On May 10, 2012 we flew to Winnipeg to spend Mother's Day weekend with both sets of parents.  May 10, 2012 was also the day I had another job interview with Red Deer County.  On Sunday, May 13, 2012 ~ Mother's Day ~ Travis proposed to me in my parents' driveway.  As this may not sound romantic to most, it was most certainly the most special moment of my life.  I turned around to find Travis on one knee and thought he fell, only to see the ring box in his hand.  He managed to muster a few words through tears and trembling.  It was such a genuine and sweet proposal.  Of course I said yes!  Then, after standing there for a few minutes, giggling and shaking, we decided we should tell our family who happened to be sitting in the yard, oblivious to what had just happened!  I wouldn't have changed a thing and I was so thankful to be able to share the moments after the big question with our parents and Keith and Allie! 

We decided that June 1, 2013 would be the day we would officially commit our lives to each other and share that day with all our family and friends in Winnipeg at St. Boniface Golf Club.

On May 16, 2012 I accepted a job offer with Red Deer County Center for Planning and Development Support Assistance which would allow me to work Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm and have every holiday off!  I also gave my resignation at the funeral home this day. 

On May 18, 2012 we set out on our first camping trip in our new camper!  It was a great weekend and would be the first of many camping weekends to come!  It was also a huge learning curve for us and is ultimately a huge task to go camping and be prepared for all situations!  We worked really well together and would soon learn how much easier it would get to go camping as summer went on.

May 30, 2012 marked my last day working at the funeral home which was a huge change for me as I had been working in the funeral industry since I was in highschool, but I knew I had to do what was best for myself, my health and my relationship with Travis.

June

On June 6, 2012, I flew to Winnipeg for 5 days to start with the wedding planning before starting my new job.  That weekend, I was able to reserve the wedding day (June 1, 2013), book the venue (St. Boniface Golf Club), book the Pastor who will marry us (Pastor Paul Winter), find the bridesmaids dresses and almost find my dress!  It was a very successful weekend with much thanks to Mom and Allie for helping me through it all!

On June 11, 2012, I started my new job at Red Deer County.

On June 23, 2012, I found my wedding dress which I would later purchase in September.

On June 24, 2012 we had our Engagement Photoshoot which turned out to be a really fun afternoon with great results! 

July

On July 3, 2012 we celebrated Travis' 26th birthday and went camping the weekend before.

On July 6, 2012 Keith celebrated his 26th birthday!

On July 12, 2012 we had very special visitors come to Sylvan Lake all the way from Woodstock, Ontario.  Jeff, Joanna, Ryley and Landon made the long trek to Alberta to have Ryley participate in the 2012 Summer Transplant Games in Calgary.  They spent the weekend with us in Sylvan and we were able to take them to our favourite camping spot for an "outdoor wilderness adventure" as Joanna called it.  It was a blast to show them what real camping is all about and the kids had tons of fun!

For those of you who don't know... Jeff is my dad's first cousin and his daughter Ryley had a heart transplant when she was 7 months old... she is now 7!

On July 19, 2012 we made our way to Calgary to watch the Transplant Games and stayed in our camper at Calaway Park (A first for us to ever stay in a campground that we had to pay for!)

On July 20, 2012 we went to Banff with the crew which was a great experience.  There is nothing like showing people the beautiful Rocky Mountains when they've never seen anything like it!

On July 21, 2012 we were fortunate to attend the closing ceremonies of the Transplant Games.  It was an absolute honour to sit in a room with so many transplant recipients that were so full of life and energy.  As soon as dinner was over and the music started, you couldn't make enough room on the dance floor for everyone and you couldn't get them off the dance floor until the music stopped.  They truly live life to the fullest and enjoy every second of it!

August

August was a very quiet month for us but it marked the 9th time we went camping!  We definitely made lots of use of our camper.  We had decided when we bought it that we would be happy if we could use it 5 times. 

September

On September 8, 2012, friends of ours, Patrick Hetherington and Allison Miller said their "I Dos" and we were thankful to be able to enjoy their day with them!  It was a beautiful wedding ceremony, short and sweet and Allison was a gorgeous bride!

On September 18, 2012 Mom came to Sylvan Lake for a visit and to help with the wedding planning!  We were able to go dress shopping together and she was finally able to see for the first time the dress that I had chosen.  We worked on all kinds of stuff, attended our first ever bridal show and I appreciated so much, her being able to come out to help and keep me partially sane!

On September 25, 2012, I start the Temple of Love Blog!

On September 27, 2012 we ordered my wedding dress!

October

On October 6, 2012, we celebrated my 24th birthday at Crescent Falls, just passed Nordegg, Alberta which was amazing!

On October 7, 2012, we left Alberta on another trek back to Manitoba to spend some time with Bob and Maggie in Waskada before we headed to Winnipeg for Bob's bypass surgery. 

On October 9, 2012 we attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Chad Temple Play Park in Waskada, Manitoba.  It was a tearful and joyful day for us to be able to attend this event and see how many people helped and came out to support the Play Park.  We hope that it is a fun and safe place that we can someday take our future children too and explain to them why this park exists and how much their Uncle Chad was truly loved!

On October 11, 2012, Bob had his surgery and did amazingly well!  He started a speedy recovery in the hospital and was soon driving back to Waskada to get better at home!  We hope that this is something nobody in our family ever has to go through again and we truly want to promote healthy living and eating to everyone!

On Tuesday, October 16, 2012 my brother asked Allie Vincent for her hand in marriage!  We could not be more excited for them to spend the rest of their lives together.  They make a great couple and we're sure they will have a wonderful future together!  They will be getting married on March 28, 2014 in Las Vegas which will mark mine and Travis' 4 year anniversary!

At the end of October, on October 27, 2012, I crossed another thing off my bucketlist!  I flew to Victoria, BC to spend a long weekend with Gramma and family.  It was an amazing trip, short and sweet, filled with fun and memories!

November

Three days after coming back from Victoria, BC, on November 1, 2012 I had 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted.  It was a painful and dreadful way to start the month.  It meant being off work for 8 days.  I endured excruciation pain, inability to eat and sleep and control the pain.  I never thought this surgery could have such a long recovery time.  I don't wish that upon anyone!

On November 17, 2012 after finally feeling better after my surgery, Travis and I decided that we needed a night away so we got a suite at the Holiday Inn Express in Calgary and just had a fun quiet weekend together and were able to pick our wedding bands!

December

And then all of a sudden it was December.  It's amazing how 12 months flies by and how much happens in that amount of time.  Our biggest decision of December was trying to decide what to do for Christmas... finally... after much deliberation... we decided that we would stay in Sylvan Lake for year 2 and have Bob, Maggie, Barb and Scotty join us again.  This would allow my parents to spend a quiet Christmas alone in Winnipeg, probably their first Christmas alone ever!

On December 15, 2012, we attended the Sanjel Christmas Party at the Sheraton which hotel which was a wonderful evening of great food and good company!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE AND MAY 2013 BE YOUR BEST YEAR YET!

Love from Christine & Travis & Nixon