Over the last few years, as I’ve spent more and more time away from Canada, I’ve really come to appreciate my summers at home. The days are long, the weather is great, and there is so much fun outdoorsy stuff to do! This summer seemed to go by so, so quickly, and I’m sure that’s due to how busy we were. 
We arrived back home from Asia at the beginning of June, and I spent the first week incognito (ie no one knew I was home), before I head to Kelowna for one of my best friend’s bachelorette parties. My friends and I pulled off a seamless surprise, which I have never done before, and had a fabulous weekend drinking wine, hanging by the pool, and celebrating my friends upcoming nuptials.
Quickly following that, Ryan and I made our way back to Canmore where we moved into our new place and I took on a more intensive roll at the yoga studio I manage, covering for one of the other studio managers while she went on mat leave.
We jumped into life in Canmore, meeting up with our friends, eating at our favorite restaurants, and enjoying time outside. We celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday, drank a ton of Caesar’s and said “eh” as much as we could (kidding about that last one!).
We were home for about 3 weeks before we took a 10-day trip to Montreal and Toronto. Both of these places were new to me, so it was awesome to explore 2 new cities, both of which happened to be Canadian cities (people give us a lot of flack for not traveling Canada!). We had an awesome weekend in Montreal, catching up with a couple of friends, eating all the poutine, and experiencing French Canadian culture for the first time, before making our way to Toronto. While in Toronto, we stayed with my cousin, met up with more friends and ate more great food, before we heading to the suburbs for family stuff with Ryan’s family.
I had the opportunity to see the iconic CN Tower AND Niagara Falls, both things I have wanted to see for a number of years now!
We got home in mid-July and spent 2 more weeks at home. During that time, I celebrated my 10 year high school reunion (apparently I am that old), and had the chance to catch up with some of my best friends from high school who I haven’t seen in a number of years. I also got to watch my cousin get married and be there for my grandpa to turn 80! Then, we headed down to the US for nearly a month, splitting our time between Atlanta, Charleston, and LA,before zipping back home for my brother’s wedding.
We arrived midday on the Friday, picked up my car from a storage unit, went to the mall to get Ryan a dress shirt and shoes, before making the trek to Banff for the rehearsal dinner, and then the wedding the next day. The wedding was really fun and even though my brother and I aren’t super close, it was pretty cool to see him tie the knot and gain an awesome new sister-in-law. 
We spent 2 weeks settling into a routine before we made our way into the city for our friend’s wedding. This was one of the funnest weekends I’ve had in a long time. All of our university friends were back together in one room, and it felt like it was 2010 all over again, except we were doing more adult things, like celebrating a wedding! 
We made our way back to Canmore, where I was settled for 4 days before I flew out to Victoria to spend 7 days hiking the West Coast Trail and 3 days exploring Tofino. I flew back with one week left in Canmore.
At this point, I couldn’t believe how fast the summer had gone by. I only had a week left to see my family and friends, to eat all my favorite foods, and to pack and repack my stuff before I made my way back to the US and then on wards to Mexico. It was as crazy as it sounded. My schedule was jam packed every single day, and I was barely staying afloat with my work tasks on top of my busy social schedule.
Overall, this summer was a blast! I watched my brother and one of my best friend’s get married, I did the hardest hike of my life with 2 amazing ladies, I got to spend quality time with my family and friends and remember how much I love where I come from, and how valuable it is for me to spend quality time with the people that I love…. but it was way too busy. Next summer, I want more chill, outdoors time and less running around like a crazy person!