Oh Canada (& America)! Part III: Viva Las Vegas & Vancouver

Where did we leave off? Oh yes, YYC to YVR. After a brief visit to beautiful Vancouver and seeing some long overdue, lovely faces (I'm looking at you Aubrie, Connor, Erin, Leigh, Tyson, Mel, Craig, and Robyn--did I miss anyone?), I decided to get-outta-dodge for a weekend away with my favourite girlies in the whole entire world. Where to, you may ask? Well, Vegas of course! Elaine and Dean were so gracious to allow us (5 girls, 1 boy) to crash at their unbelievable pad at the MGM for four days of sun, fun, and catching up for the first time in 18 months.

With our carry-on bags packed, we all threw our toiletries and other liquids *coughdutyfreecough* in the communal checked baggage. Most of us got a much needed doze on the plane after getting up at 5 a.m. to make our flight.

Once we arrived, we spread out through the entire apartment (how we fit 6 people in 2 beds still boggles my mind and warms my heart) and made our way down to the pool for some sunshine. Then we got all dolled up for dinner and entertainment at Zarkana, Vegas' newest Cirque de Soleil show. And the fun didn't end there. Cue a change of clothes as we headed onto the town (Marquee was it? Or Cosmo? I can't remember, my nights have all blurred into one big fat fun partytime, excellent, etc, etc).

Holy crow my friends are beautiful.

The next day, more sunshine including an all-day hangout at the Lazy River at the MGM. And yes, we stood around in the water for hours, pruning ourselves with a few thousand of our closest friends... Ew.

We then got back to the apartment, dolled up (as we do), did a bit of gambling (aka losing), and went to the Wynn to see Above&Beyond. Apparently New Zealand driver's licenses look counterfeit and I had to make a round trip back to the apartment and back to get my passport. Other than that, an amazing night (and morning, as we didn't get home until after 6 a.m.)!

We spent another day by the pool and then to Hakkasan and then with a very little amount of sleep over three nights, made our exhausted ways back home. It's funny how you can run on pure adrenaline, and not to mention oxygen that's pumped into the casinos and hotels, for days and not feel tired. But as soon as you get into the airport, you're at complete zero.

I parted ways with my gorgeous friends (so long, not goodbye) as I returned to Elaine and Dean's condo, reuniting with my other half, who had his own adventures over the weekend. Kevin, however, is less apt to document his shenanigans and so we'll just have to take his word that he had a great time with everyone he saw. That evening, we enjoyed an amazing meal with Kevin's family. It was so lovely to spend time with the Spaceys (and guests) before leaving Canada.

Two days later, Kevin and I said our final goodbyes as we slowly made our way back to New Zealand. But first, a stop to Hawaii along the way. But this will have to wait until next time.

Oh Canada (& America)! Part II: The Wedding

So the big day finally arrived and we could not have asked for more beautiful weather. I have to give it to you Calgary... you look good in the sunshine. The groom's side of the family, 15 of whom were bunked up/camped out on my dad and Juanita's property, barreled our way into the party bus (yes, there was a stripper pole...) on our way to the Delta Hotel. For those of you who didn't hear, the wedding was supposed to be hosted at the Calgary Zoo. But unfortunately, due to the insane flooding at the end of June, the building where the wedding should have been was so debilitated that it is now set to demolished. But onwards and upwards! Once again, these photos are a combination of my own and my photo-savvy cousins Kai and Forrest.

The ceremony was held on a private outdoor patio for family and close friends. The groom's party looked on as we all took our seats in the beautiful sunshine, overviewing the spectacular Bow tower downtown Calgary. I was lucky enough to snag one of the best seats in the house, right in front--it's good to know people in high places.

The ring bearers looked unbelievably cool and clearly took their job seriously. And let's be honest, my big bro is a bit of a goof. But he has never looked so handsome and grown up as he did on his wedding day. 

Finally, the lovely bride made her way down the aisle accompanied by her father. A few tears were shed through the short, but sweet ceremony (I won't point any fingers, but let's just say the front row went through a tissue or two).

And the moment we had all been waiting for... Presenting Mr and Mrs Stephen and Kellie Rozitis!

Yay!! Such a proud lil sis! Following the ceremony, we all made our way down to the river, which thankfully had settled down, for the professional photos. We then moseyed around downtown for a few hours until it was time to wine and dine at the reception. 

The theme--peacocks--was terrificly executed throughout the entire wedding, right down to the handmade peacock centerpieces on each table (Juanita, you can stop dreaming of peacocks now!). Dinner was followed by speeches and cake cutting, and then all of the guests were WOWED by the hosts' incredible choreographed first dance. This was followed up with some serious boogying by the rest of the guests, in particular our resident photographers Kai and Forrest (who said Rozitis men can't dance?!?).

And when all the hustle and bustle was over, I made sure to get two of the most special people in my lives together (and our better halves) to capture a glimpse of one of the most wonderful nights of my life.

Typical. Love you guys! xo.

Up next... Kevin and Sam fly over to Vancouver. What will they get up to next? Stay tuned til next time...

Oh Canada (& America)! Part I: WLG-->YYC & The Rehearsal Dinner

Phewf! We're back.

 

After 3.5 weeks of pure socialising and bliss, Kevin and I have settled back into our routine here in Wellington. But routine is boring to talk about via blog, so let me enchant you with our first trip back to the homeland. We had such an amazing time, it is hard to put it into words. There is so much to say and so many photos to post, so I thought it would be best to break it up to keep up the anticipation. It will also force me to be a more responsible blogger and update more regularly. So here we go...

 

After a sleepless 26 hours of travel, we made it from Wellington to Sydney to Vancouver to Calgary quite delirious. A good 3-hour nap and early to bed in the evening got us back to Mountain Time before we jetted off to Canmore for a long weekend of "glamping" with my bestie-in-the-whole-wide-world Deana and her handsome sidekick Cole. The weather was not favourable to camping conditions and the misquitos were rampant, so we spent a good portion of our time hunkered in a motorhome that is likely to be bigger than our old apartment in downtown Vancouver. We thought it be best not to waste red cups, so it was imperative that we find a way to sort out this conundrum (can you guess whose cup is whose?).

 

 

The rest of the week, we were in full wedding prep mode. Each day, a few more family members trickled in and eventually we ended up with about 15 people staying on my dad's property. Friday night, my dad and Juanita hosted a twangy Western hoedown of a rehearsal dinner and we were lucky enough to have beautiful weather, good music, uber-fashionable western apparel, and best of all, campfire smores. The photos below were taken by myself and my ridiculously talented 12 year old cousin Kai.

 

Next up, wedding day! I don't want to give anything away, but it was kind of spectacular.