oh canada!

so, my job has the greatest perks in the world!! this past weekend i had the opportunity to go to vancouver canada to "work" at a collegiate conference. it was a lot of fun! i've lived in washington most of my life, just 6 hours from the canadian border, and i've never been. until now that is!

i have to say that visiting vancouver, bc and being from vancouver, wa is extremely confusing. but other than that, i loved my time there. vancouver is a great city. lots of culture and interesting people. the conference was great as well. almost 200 college students taking over a hotel in downtown! we had an amazing speaker, steve saccone, from mosaic in LA. he talked about taking advantage of every opportunity you're given. as christians a lot of time we "burn daylight" or spend a lot of time praying about something, or waiting for the right time. i really enjoyed what he had to say. and the worship team, justin cofield band from austin texas, some of the nicest people in the world and sickeningly talented.

saturday we went out to prayerwalk the city. this picture is of us getting lost and trying to find the university we were supposed to be looking for.

sometimes getting lost has its benefits. vancouver, bc has a little nickname, it's called hollywood to the north. if you look real close at the license plate on this taxi, you'll see that it's from new york. as was every other car on this street. also, the banners on the light post are also from new york. in our search for simon fraser university, we stumbled upon a street they had blocked off and were getting ready to film on. unfortunately we were too chicken to ask what it was.

the northwest sun!

when you wake up to a crisp, sunny, northwest fall day, there is no better place to be. i'm not biased or anything, i'm just sayin'. this past weekend, we were blessed with wonderful weather and took full advantage of it.

my parents came into town on saturday and we always try to do something fun and touristy when they come to visit...so, we went to pittock mansion.

it's this cool old house on top of the hill in portland. it was built in 1914, i won't give out all the details, but it's really cool. the grounds have a beautiful view of the city and mt. st. helens, hood, adams, and rainier. it's amazing!

saturday i also found myself at my fourth bebo norman concert. some may say i'm obsessed, i like to think i'm just a loyal fan. for those who might question my motive...i just really like his music!!!

anyway...the concert was in this cool old theater in longview and we had great seats. what i love about christian concerts is that, yes in some aspect they are there to perform for you, but when they do there job well, there is also a heart of worship. aaron shust and brandon heath opened up for bebo. it was a great combination of giftedness. the night ended great and was a lot of fun! i found myself being really thankful that God gave me an appreciation for music. it touches me and speaks to me in a way i don't fully understand, but i'm thankful for.