Kicking butt and taking names!

Well, a qualifier needs to be made first: we'd be celebrating much more if Brent wasn't missing his Lady so much!

Okay, the update: Brent and his brother Dennis did the CityChase in Ottawa again this year. CityChase (www.citychase.ca) is technically called an "urban adventure" race, but really it's a like a big scavenger hunt where teams of two run/bus it around the city completing various physical and mental challenges. It's a lot of fun.

This year saw 30+ degrees and humidity, so there was much sweating going on. Last year we finished 22nd of about 300 teams. However, this year, B&D did really well and surpassed their expectations by finishing 11th of 350 teams! Woo Hoo!

That's us at the finish line looking a little giddy and already making plans for next year...

The best three years... ever!

Rosalee and I celebrated our third anniversary yesterday. It also happened to be our first full day off work for the summer, so we decided to have a B&R-play-day.

We started with a nice relaxing breakfast out, then it was off to the National Shooting Complex. Rosalee had never fired a pistol before, so it was a unique experience for her. I hadn't fired a weapon since my time in the reserves, so I was quite excited as well.

We each had an opportunity to fire a SigSauer .40cal semi-automatic pistol, and I later re-lived the experience of firing a true assault rifle, the 5.56mm Steyr Aug (which fires the same round as the C7, the Canadian version of the M16).

As for the results, Rosalee's a natural, and it was nice to see I hadn't completely lost my aim.

Afterwards, we went to see the new Narnia film, had a couple of relaxing coffees, and just chilled out. Very nice, indeed.

B&R

Sri Lanka, April 2008

It's taken me awhile to get these up, I know, so my apologies for that.

For spring break this year, Rosalee and I decided that rather than heading on a all-out-see-all trip, we'd go low-key. So, after researching a number of beachy type locations we settled on Unawatuna Beach in Sri Lanka. It was wonderful. Sunny mornings and rainy afternoons--you could set your watch by the thunderstorms--meant that we could beach it until lunch then explore a bit of the surrounding area.

Definitely a recommended location. And we've gained a new appreciation for tea.

B&R

Rosalee and I took an afternoon to walk in the Sinharaja Rainforest Preserve. Just when we thought we had gotten a handle on dealing with the leeches--wow, the leeches--it absolutely poured rain (in the rainforest... I know, I know, imagine that) and we had a true taste of the jungle.

A few scenes from inside Galle citadel.

Inside the citadel, Galle. Dad Van: see, we made it to the Reformed Church!
In the second shot, notice the umbrellas: underneath each is a young, amorous couple seeking to avoid being seen.

A couple of views of the beach from our hotel. Thaproban Resport, Unawatuna.

Dusty days... on camera!

Hey, folks!

Wow, the wonders of technology. Here are a couple of dust-storm videos I shot yesterday at work. Check out the colour-contrast between the first and second video (the colours are accurate and haven't been modified at all).

The colour effect is amazing... however, the lung-effect isn't so spectacular.

Enjoy!

B(&R)

P.S. My apologies for the use of the word "unadulterated": I dunno what I was thinking... :)

Juuuust before Spring Break...

Rosalee found a nice spot to grade some papers on a quiet weekend evening just before Spring Break. (We wanted to get our marking done so we could head to Sri Lanka with clear heads.)

Looking good, my Left!

Dusty days... times ten!

We had almost no rain this past winter, so whenever the wind picks up above a whisper, Kuwait is blanketed by loose dust from the surrounding deserts. It's been a tough spring, actually, as three out of every five days are dusty, which makes exercising and walking around (two of our favourite things) very unpleasant. Not to mention, of course, that the dust fills our classrooms... in short, we're almost always dusty.

Rosalee and I finally said "that's it" and bought ourselves some dust-masks to wear whenever we go out. We've always been fahion-plates, of course, and now to add to our mystique we look like renegade surgeons running around Kuwait City!

This shot was taken on a day when the worst of the orange dust (from Saudi Arabia) was being carried over the city, making for some interesting lighting. You can see that there is still dust at ground level too, so we weren't spared all of the misery. Blech.

Winter Goodies!

What a great holiday we had!

Seeing so much of family and friends gave us excellent memories to carry back to Kuwait. We also enjoyed re-acquainting ourselves with freezing temperatures and snow. However, Kuwait had record low temps this winter and this pic of Brent's phone was taken afew days after our return. Northern Kuwait actually had snow for the first time in a long time, and we found ourselves the objects of blame as everyone accused us of bringing the cold back with us in our suitcases!

Boxing Day found us at the Blaine's in Stratford for the van Staalduinen Christmas doings. We awoke to crisp, cold temps to find that Stratford had been covered by an amazing coating of ice.

Roth Christmas

We made it back to Canada in one piece (Yay Emirates and their seat-back entertainment systems!) and spent a nice couple of days at Russell's house in London. It was great to see everyone in the same place at the same time, and we had a nice celebration with Mom & Dad, Randall & Carrie & Ben, B&R, Russell, and Ryan. And Russell pulled out all the stops for a huge and fan-tab-u-lous Christmas meal that took at least three days to digest... as all great meals do!

Blasting through Larnaka, Cyprus

Thanks to the super-cheap fares on Jazeera Airways, we were able to make a quick getaway to Larnaka, Cyprus. We had planned on staying there for almost three days, but a Larnaka airport renovation (which the airline neglected to inform its passengers about) meant that our flight was delayed by about eight hours, so we arrived quite a bit later than we'd hoped. The same renovation meant that our flight was delayed going back to Kuwait also, so we arrived back in Kuwait after the school day had started--fortunately we both had preps in the morning so no harm done.

But despite the whirlwind, we enjoyed spending a day on the beach next to our hotel (see pic) and wandering around old Larnaka before flying out. We'd like to go back someday and get away from Larnaka, as we hear the island is quite stunning when you get away from the city. Next time, eh?

B&R

We had a nice time in Larnaka, which isn't the most exciting location in itself. But it was nice to get away even for a weekend, and we enjoyed walking around the old city.