Keaton came to PEI!

It wasn't too long after I got back from Edmonton when Keaton decided he wanted to come out to PEI to visit me and see some other places from his mission. 

Keaton flew into Moncton on August 19th and travelled by train to Miramichi for a wedding (on the 20th) of a couple he taught while on his mission. From there, he went to Amherst and attended church there on the 21st. I had to work 10-3, so he was able to get a drive to the bridge and take the shuttle bus across. I drove to Borden to meet him there. It was exhilarating to see him get off the bus, drop his bags while walking to me and going in for the hug was one of the best. My heart was pounding.

We then spent some time around the bridge so he could see it up close and look at the nice views. From there, we went to Victoria by the Sea for a picnic dinner I had packed. He got to see PEI's oldest tree and the lighthouse there. Again, the views are stunning. We came home and my parents had made dinner. We had already eaten, but Keaton had some fresh corn on the cob. We then had a small family celebration for Winnie's first birthday! We fed her some cake and ice cream which she loved! We then went to see my friend Timothy to discuss some things for the YSA conference we held over the weekend. After that, we came back home and had a bonfire with my family.

Monday: I took Keaton to Maid Marian's in Charlottetown for brunch and he loved it. We went downtown for a bit, touring Peake's Quay and visiting a few different stores. We also went to visit my best friend Emily so she could finally meet Keaton after only talking to him on the phone.

After dinner with my family, we went to visit Bob and Pat Steen from my ward.

Tuesday: When Keaton was on his mission out here, he served in Summerside. We decided to take a trip there to visit some friends and tour a bit. We went to Spinnaker's Landing and the Fox Museum. The branch president and his wife at the church there own a new ice cream shop in a historic home. It's called Holmans Ice Cream Parlour and it was really great! We both got ice cream cones; Keaton had s'more and I had raspberry cheesecake ice. We came back to Charlottetown since I had to work 4-9:30.

Wednesday: I worked 9:30-3. After work, we got in contact with Elder and Sister Edwards who are a missionary couple serving in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland. Keaton and I both met them while in Grand Falls, and they were travelling on PEI while Keaton was too! We took them to Richard's Fish and Chips in Covehead. My family came with us as well and we all had a good time talking.

After that, Keaton and I drove down to Stanhope to spend some time on the beach and watch the sunset. We went back home after that and went downtown again with Alyssa and Haig. We saw Freak Lunchbox and Victoria Row. And we might have gone to Victoria Park to hunt some Pokemon (mostly Haig and I though, haha).

Thursday: Although it was a little cloudy, we went to Cavendish Beach for a little bit. We didn't really swim but we did go in the water, and it was pretty cold! We also visited the Cavendish boardwalk and got t-shirts at Cows (We got the Star Wars ones). Then we got Beavertails because they are delicious!

We came back to town and got changed since I had to work again from 4-9:30. Keaton came to get me when I was off and we met Tim at Superstore to buy some groceries for the YSA conference. Keaton and I went downtown once more to get Cows ice cream ... then went to Taco Boyz around 1 a.m. to get nachos. We were both really tired, but those nachos were so good and we watched a bit of late night shows on TV.

Friday: I had to work 10-3, so Keaton went with Tim to organise some more things for the conference. I picked him up when I was off and we came home to pack up everything we needed to take to the camp. I should also say we rented out a Camp Keir here on PEI for the conference. We took everything out and started a few things to set up. Keaton and I did come back into town to get a few more things, then went back out to start registration. People from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine and Quebec came. (Aside from Keaton, we also had another guy from Edmonton!)

Once everyone was registered, we started our bonfire and heard from one of our guest speakers named Thad Mandin. He is a Seminary and Institute director in Calgary and he is also very involved with church music programs. He spoke to us for a little bit near the fire and that was good. After that, everyone was free to stay at the fire or do their own thing. Keaton and I wandered around for a bit on the camp grounds and the beach. We wanted a late night snack, so we came back into town for some McDonald's. When we got back, we went to the beach for a little longer to stargaze before going to bed.

Saturday: Everyone got up for breakfast, then we split the group of YSA in half. One group went with Brother Mandin, who did a singing lesson/program for 90 minutes, The other group went with President Fox and his wife Sister Fox (He is the Halifax Temple president) for 45 minutes, then the other 45 minutes with Rick Cartier and Blair Aitken. They worked together to do a Q&A for anyone who had questions with things pertaining to the gospel. Even if you didn't have your own question, it was still good to hear others being answered. Before lunch, both groups got together and performed the songs we had practised with Brother Mandin. After lunch, we gave everyone free time for sports or swimming at the beach or whatever activities they chose. Keaton and I walked on the beach a little more, then decided to go to Cornwall for ice cream at Deckers, then I took him to a nearby park I played at when I was kid. When we got back to the camp, we set up some decorations for the dance and helped a bit with dinner preparation. We had a turkey dinner and then let people get ready for the dance.

We did a tacky 80s prom for the theme. The dress I chose from Value Village was more so a 90s style, but I thought it still worked. Plus, the dusty rose colour matched so well with Keaton's burgundy suit coat! The room where we had the dance was pretty warm, so a lot of people left early unfortunately. I was happy with the people who stayed in and danced with me and Keaton the whole time. After the dance, we all cleaned up and everyone did their own things again. Keaton and I sat near the bonfire for a bit with some other YSA, telling riddles and stories. Then we went to stargaze at the beach again.

Sunday: My parents came in early to help take some things back to town. We set out breakfast and told everyone to pack up before coming to eat. Once everyone was done eating breakfast, we had them make their lunches and put them in the fridge. After that, we got everyone rallied to help clean the facility since we had to be gone by 1 p.m. that afternoon. And with all that teamwork, we got it done with time to spare. We set up chairs to have our sacrament and testimony meeting. While waiting for it to start, Keaton and I read from the scriptures and talked about it. The meeting started a little after 10. Keaton and I both got up to share our testimonies with the YSA group, and that was amazing. We ended around 12, cleaned up some more and said good byes to our wonderful group.

*QUICK SHOUT OUT to everyone and anyone who came out for the conference and helped in any way! We really appreciated it!*

Keaton and I and the rest of the Charlottetown YSA came back to town to go to the church to drop some things off and to meet other members for a linger longer after church. I was able to introduce Keaton to members in my ward so they could finally meet him.

After church, we came home and put some of our things away. We started to watch a bit of The Office, but I fell asleep. Keaton and mom woke me up to tell me we would start making supper soon. We shucked some corn and set the table. We had some visitors over for supper. They are the Corries from Edmonton. Mom and dad invited them and they know Keaton!

After we ate, Keaton and I drove to Fairview for a bit to visit my Aunt Karen since she wanted to meet him. We were able to talk to her about some life things going on with us.

Alyssa got off work at 10, then she and Haig came over to see us again. We also had a visit from our lovely friend Megan who had just returned from Honduras! I loved seeing her and she got to meet Keaton for the first time as well. After she left, the four of us had some hot chocolate and had a chat.

Alyssa and Haig left before midnight, so Keaton and I decided to watch some more of The Office. Although, we didn't get very far since we both ended up passing out on the couch. 
Monday morning: We slept until a little after 4 a.m. and woke up when my parents did. They were taking my brother Bryan to the airport as well because he's going to China to teach English! By the way, he made these plans like a week ago, so that was interesting to see my boyfriend and older brother leave at the same time...

I drove Keaton to the airport in my own car. Just like when I left Edmonton, there was a lot of crying and hugging.

We actually weren't sure if this goodbye was going to be easier or harder ... I have to say it's a bit of both, almost bittersweet. Although we had an amazing week together, it was still the hardest thing to leave the airport by myself and having so many emotions all at once. One good thing we can remember though is that Megan and I are going to Salt Lake City in a month for general conference and Keaton is making plans to drive down and come with us.

We have so much determination to keep going, even as tough as long distance can be. We still have our faith in God and trust in each other.

Until next time, my love :)

Parties and new cars

So Pokemon GO is a cool thing. And it's really awesome! I'll be honest, I haven't been playing it a lot lately since I can't overuse my data when I'm out and about, but it's still really good. Alyssa and Haig have been my best partners for it.

On July 30, we had a 30th wedding anniversary party for my amazing parents. Their anniversary is actually August 2, but we had to pick the right date so family and friends would be able to come. We had a really good bunch of people come. And we had good treats and music and pretty decorations. I'm really happy we did this for my parents. They've done a lot for us, so this party was a really good way to return the favour. We love you Mom and Dad! :)

I haven't been to church in a while since I work most Sunday's. That sucks and kind of upsets me, but I know as long as I keep praying and reading scriptures, I'll be given the strength I need. I had an episode last week where I was very stressed and crying puddles. I ended up on my knees beside my bed praying that I would feel comforted and to just breathe and try to make it through. Next thing I know, Winnie was laying in my bed and came right up to give me a hug but resting her head on my shoulder. I did receive the comfort I desired and got an awesome hug from my awesome dog. (This picture is not from that experience, but it was still cute when Winnie decided to rest with me while I was reading one morning.)

I also made these crafts at a relief society meeting one night. I'm super proud of them since I'm normally not a crafty person. Both of them are hanging up in my room now :)

On Sunday August 7, I had some visitors on P.E.I. 

Keaton's sister Courtney and her husband Tom were making a east coast trip before they move back to Alberta (They were living in Kingston ON, where Tom was going to school.) This was my first time meeting them so we invited them over for dinner. It was awesome to talk to them and get to know them a little bit more. 

I made a really good adulting choice this week as well. I got my own car! She's a 2005 Toyota Corolla and her name is Carla. which is not a pun on the word "car". Keaton and I decided to pick a name together and we were going to go with Carl but I thought the Corolla looked a little more feminine, so we both decided with Carla. 

Lastly, I'm very excited for next Sunday for when I'll be driving to Amherst NS to get Keaton because he's coming to visit me! We are going to have so many things to do, so hopefully I'll have plenty to write about! :) 

Bye for now folks!

The first time in long time

The last time I went to the temple was on Thanksgiving Day weekend in October 2015. On Saturday (July 23) I got to go for the first time in a long time. And what a great time it was. 

I was so busy over the past months of this year, I wasn't able to go. Luckily, this relief society trip fell right into place when I found out I had that day off. I went to see my Bishop for a new temple recommend a couple days after I came back from Edmonton. 

Mom and I got up Saturday morning and went to pick up a sister in our ward named Nicole Cleaveland. I'm really happy she decided to come with us. 

When we arrived, we were waiting for some other sisters to get there as well. I walked on the temple grounds a bit. I sat on a bench and called Keaton. He was kind of sleepy, but he was fairly awake to say a quick prayer with me over the phone. It was really great that we did that. 

Once I went in, a worker took myself and Nicole and Sister Shellagh Reynolds in to get changed to do some baptismal work. In the temple, we can act as a proxy, to stand in and perform baptisms for people who are already deceased and who never experienced the gospel of Jesus Christ in their time on earth. 

If that is confusing to you, here is a helpful pamphlet explaining a few different things we do in the temple - https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/manual/missionary/PD10054235_000-Families-and-Temples.pdf?lang=eng

Shellagh went first because she was doing the baptism and confirmation for her mother, who has passed away. It was a raw and emotional experience. I felt the love and devotion of everyone in the room who was thereto support her. I cannot tell you how hard I was crying. It was absolutely amazing. 

Nicole then did some baptisms and so did I. A sister from our ward was happy to share some of her family names with us, so that was really great! Another cool thing was that our temple President was in the font doing the baptisms for us, so that was really nice of him. After I got changed, I did the confirmations for the people I was baptised for. When that was done, I went back into the waiting room while mom did some work inside. I read some articles in the Ensign magazine. 

After mom was done, we decided to head out. And we stopped for lunch at Masstown Market, which is right outside of Truro. It's such a cute little spot! I always love going there.

This temple trip was very inspirational. I cried so much and thought about a lot of things for right now and the future. I know that during that time I had, God was right by my side, letting me know I came to the right place at the right time. I'm so grateful to know that and feel all the things I felt while I was there. 

"Maritime Couple Accepts Mission Call to Alberta"

Back in June, I was asked to write a story for Mormon Newsroom Canada. It was definitely a cool and wonderful opportunity to complete such a unique task and I was happy to do it!

I hope I'll get to write more stories with the Mormon newsroom. Everyone is so patient and cooperative and there's always good things to write about!

Here is the story link!

http://www.mormonnewsroom.ca/article/maritime-couple-accepts-mission-call-to-alberta

This story is about George and Lisa Pattison, who are currently serving as the Mission President and wife in the Canada Edmonton Mission. They were featured in my last post about my trip out there to visit Keaton! :)

They are an amazing couple and the missionaries in Edmonton are lucky to have them around!

Whirlwind

First of all, let's start with July of last year. When I went to Newfoundland for my first journalism job, I was able to meet two of the missionaries from church who were serving in Grand Falls-Windsor. One of them was Elder Gibb.

Fast forward to April of this year when Keaton was home after his mission. I learned that he really liked the new Star Wars, which I really like as well. We started chatting on Facebook a little bit. That led to texting and ultimately Skype.

Our first skype call was pretty easy going,but our second Skype call was the best. We decided to share the screen to watch Star Wars but the sound wouldn't work for me. We ended up turning the volume off and improvised the lines for a while. Keaton stopped the movie to ask me something. It was along the lines of liking each other. It was pretty big and happened fast but we decided to try "online dating"

It didn't take long to decide I would come visit him. It took a lot of sacrifice, but here is the story of my time in Edmonton, Alberta. 

I flew out of Charlottetown on June 30 at 4:35, first to Montreal then a stop in Ottawa. We left there for Edmonton, all the while I felt so much excitement. 

We landed in Edmonton around 10:30, but there was lightning so we couldn't get off right away. After about 20 minutes, I was walking off the plane, legs shaking and so many thoughts going through my head. While everyone else took the escalator, I bolted down the stairs instead. I saw Keaton, standing behind some people. All I said was hi and ran right in for the first hug. 

[We have remember here that Keaton and I hadn't seen each other in person in a year, and he was on a mission the last time I saw him, so there would have been no hugs anyway, so this was a pretty big deal]

Anyways, after our first hug, I was out of breath and pretty flustered. He took my bag for me and we walked to the car. We made a stop at the Edmonton Alberta Temple to see it, which was great. We drove to Sherwood Park and we went to McDonald's which had been our plan to get dollar drinks. However, the car started acting up so we had to call his parents. While waiting for them, a nice drunk fellow came to look at the car and tried to give some advice. Once Keaton's parents came, we had to leave the car there and take the van to Keaton's grandparents to get their car, since neither of them were home.

We went to Keaton's house and I was able to get settled in. We watched an episode of The Office, then Keaton's twin brother Austen and cousin Jeremy came home. 

I was sent to bed from travelling all day. 

Day One

We got up Friday morning and got ready for Canada Day festivities. We started at the pancake breakfast, then Keaton and I walked around to see different things going on in a nearby park.

His mom picked us up and we went with her to the hospital to visit her mother, who had knee surgery. After visiting her, she took us to a popular bakery called Duchess Bake Shop. 

She got us some delicious treats and dropped us off at the legislature grounds. Keaton and I ate and walked around to see a lot of what was going on for Canada day.

Keaton's mom came back for us and took us home for a bit. The three of us went to a BBQ for a bit to see some of their family friends. 

Around 10, we went back the park we went to in the morning to watch the fireworks and they were so good!

Day Two

Saturday was great. Before heading to the mall, Keaton drove me to see the Edmonton Alberta Temple again. And it was so nice to walk on the grounds and see it!

We then headed for the West Edmonton Mall. We started with the amusement park called Galaxyland. We did a lot of the good rides, like the Mind Bender roller coaster. So much fun! 

We got one free game with our day pass bracelets so we played one and Keaton ended up winning a stuffed Pikachu. We felt bad and were going to give it to a kid who played but they all were gone. Now it's in Keaton's room since I couldn't bring it back!

Our post roller coaster faces

With our Pikachu Carl

We went to a few stores like Hot Topic where I got a Star Wars phone case and we went to Rockport and I got my employee discount on new shoes and for socks for Keaton! 

We didn't go to the water park, but we did go look at it (it's huge by the way), and we also saw the giant pirate ship. 

We left the mall and went back to Keaton's house. His brother Theo and sister in law Kenzie decided to come up from Calgary to meet me which was great! We had family dinner, then played Apples to Apples and Charades.

We also went to a place called Escape City, and for anyone who doesn't know, it's basically being put in a room and you're given puzzles or clues to find something.

Keaton and I went into a room with his parents and Theo and Kenzie. We didn't finish in time and a worker came in at the end and told us all the steps it would have taken us.

Day Three

Sunday morning meant church time. Keaton and Austen and I all got ready to go pick some people up to attend the singles ward. It was fast and testimony meeting and it was really amazing. We heard so many good testimonies. 

We then had Sunday school, then Keaton and Austen stayed for priesthood and I met with Rebekah Mahoney for relief society. Rebekah is from Nova Scotia and I know her from youth when we were teenagers. She served her mission on Temple Square in Salt Lake City and moved to Edmonton when we was off her mission. It was so great to see her!! After church, we stayed for choir practice and then took someone home. 

Rebekah and I 

We had to run to Keaton's family ward to see his parents quickly, then we went to visit his nana again because he and Austen were going to give her a priesthood blessing. It was incredible to be there for that. We went home after visiting her and Keaton and I called my mom to chat with her and tell her what we had been up to. 

When all of the family was home from church, we started preparing dinner because we were having the new mission president and his wife and daughter over for dinner. Their names are the Pattison's and the reason we invited them is because they are from New Brunswick in my stake. Keaton also met President Pattison while on his mission. It was really awesome to see them! 

Sister Pattison, President Pattison, Keaton, Kayla, Chaya Pattison

After cleaning up, Keaton and Austen and I went to their friends apartment to visit him and his girlfriend. We stayed for a little bit to play a couple games. 

Keaton and I Skyped with his sister Courtney and her husband Tom when we got back to the house. That was pretty funny and good to meet them, even over Skype.

Then, the moment had finally come - we finally watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens in real life with sound on a big screen. We were so excited! After it was over, we stayed up talking, which was pretty great.

Monday morning

Keaton woke me up at 8 and asked when we should go to the airport. I told him we could go once I was ready.

The flight was at 11:40, but we left after 9 to drive there together and chill before hand. Eventually, I had to get in line for security and he had to leave and get back to go to work. I won't go into too much detail, but it was pretty emotional and one of the hardest things we've had to do in the relationship. Although it was sad to leave, the trip was such a blessing on our lives and we're very grateful for the opportunity. People thought I was crazy to go to Alberta for three days to visit a guy I met once, but it was so worth it.