Happy Half-Birthday - SKYDIVING!

WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE DID IT!

Skydiving = check! As we sit here and write this blog post, we can't believe that just this morning we were jumping out of a plane 10,000 feet in the air!!!!!!! What a surreal experience, one we will truly never forget!! It was filled with excitement, thrill and adventure, making for a very momentous day! Here's the scoop on what went down....

Before coming to Vancouver, we had put in writing that we were going to go skydiving. The main reason for this was so that backing out was NOT an option! We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate our 'half-birthday' (a day early because of weather) than by doing something we've always wanted to do, but been to scared to try.

This morning we drove all the way to Abbotsford for our skydiving adventure at Skydive Vancouver. A big shout-out to everyone there for being so friendly, helpful and supportive! You really MADE the experience for us and we are so happy that you were a part of our 'Drive to 25'.

After signing our life away (literally!), we were given very flattering jumpsuits to wear and harnesses which were extremely tight (but better safe than sorry right?!). We had a brief training session and then anxiously waited for our flight. At this point, we had figured that we would be extremely nervous and jittery, but we were suprisingly calm. There was much more excitement than nerves!

Before we knew it, we were boarding the plane each with our own instructors - thanks Fritz and Brian - and our own videographers - thanks Veronica and Mitch. (We decided to buy the video and pictures from our flight - we needed proof of our crazy adventure!) As we flew higher and higher, we knew we were just about ready for the big moment. Strapped in as tight to our instructor as physically possible (so it seemed!), there wasn't any time to think before our little legs were dangling out the door of a tiny plane. Neither of us had any second thoughts - we were all in and ready to go. BRING IT ON! No nerves, nothing - we were shocked!!! First out of the gates was Laura and her team, falling out of the plane doing a back flip (unbeknownst to her until afterwards!). After waiting for another guy from our plane to jump, Melissa and her team jumped face first overboard and the free fall began. The rest of the trip down went by so fast, before we knew it, we were gliding by parachute while taking in some of the most breathtaking views - picturesque snow-topped mountains, waterways and lots of forests. We couldn't have a picked a more gorgeous, sunny day! Before long, we landed smoothly and the after-dive RUSH set in! WE DID IT!

WE DID IT :)



Melissa free-falling




Laura taking in the views!



Overall, we didn't really know what to expect. We thought that we'd be really nervous, but for some odd reason, we were calm, cool and collected! Falling out of a plane thousands of feet in the air is no big deal right??!! There was really no need to be nervous though, we had fun with it and conquered a huge feat! We're proud of ourselves for not only trying something new, but something that is deemed VERY risky. You only live once and the fact that we were more excited than freaked out to skydive really proves to us that 'you can do anything you set your mind to'! Who knows, you might love it and want to go again....??!! We're not ruling it out!

Celebrating with the fancy certificate

So there you have it - maybe this has inspired you to take the plunge? We know this experience has certainly been a dream come true for us. Our Skydiving Saturday = EPIC! A day we will never forget!

The 'Drive' heads WEST!

Tomorrow marks the start of a Western swing for 'The Drive to 25'. We are sooo excited!! We are headed to Edmonton for our cousin's wedding this weekend and then make our way to Vancouver (our home away from home) for 10 days! It'll be so nice to spend time with family that we don't get to see very often - our family has done of good job of 'speading out' across Canada, making it difficult to get everyone together. That's the best part about weddings: family time :)

We have a couple of things planned for our Vancouver chapter of the trip. We have our skydiving adventure all booked, including a videographer to capture every moment! At this point we have mixed emotions - partly excited but also terrified!!! We're keeping the date under wraps for now...our Mom has stated that she'd rather know AFTER we've gone, so she's not worrying for days. We will certainly update on this risky experience as soon as we can - we'll have lots to say about it for sure!

We will also be going on a hot air balloon ride, which is super exciting! We're looking forward to gliding over one of the most beautiful and scenic cities in the world! Better have our cameras ready....

On top of everything, we're just looking forward to a change of scenery, to seeing friends and family, and to new adventures! Who knows what else might come along...? We're open and ready for anything!

Stay tuned!

Melissa and Laura

***UPDATE - as of today, we have raised.....$1608.35 towards our Reading Room in Laos. Still a ways from the $5000 we need, but we're making progress :) Thanks to everyone who has donated and contributed to our campaign so far - we are so appreciative and grateful - THANK YOU!

Garage Sale Success!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness.....we are literally beaming with excitement!!!! What a FABULOUS day we had (with sunshine too)!!!! Saying our garage sale was a success is almost an understatement - we exceeded our goal by leaps and bounds and raised.....wait for it.....a grand total of $674.11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it??? We were definitely beyond shocked - and the best part about it all is that EVERY PENNY (even those 11 cents) are going towards funding a Reading Room/Library in Laos!!!!! We just can't stop thinking about how huge of a difference this will make in the lives of so many people, not only children, but their families as well.

But, ALL OF THIS could not have happened without the MASSIVE support we received from SO many people. We thank, thank, thank every one of you who kindly donated items to the sale, who came out to see us at the sale, and who donated to this amazing cause! Like we said, without you, none of this could have happened!! You all deserve a huge pat on the back and we thank you for being a part of our 'Drive to 25' journey!

Also - sorry to everyone who came after all the cupcakes had sold out! If we knew they were going to be a hot seller, we would have made more!! Next time....we definitely should start a business!!!!

One of the best parts of the day was explaining to people about our campaign and having them react so generously! It's so great to promote Room to Read and to get the community aware and involved in such a worthy cause!

This post wouldn't be complete without a THANK YOU to our parents (although a thank you isn't nearly enough). The amount of time, energy and committment they put into supporting us means everything! They definitely deserve a ton of credit! There's no way we could have done it without them!!

In all, even though we're all exhausted, we know that all the hard work leading up to the sale has been worth it. We still have a long way to go with our fundraising, but we're confident that we can reach our goal! Let's build this Reading Room!!!!!



Sporting our NEW handmade shirts. We're going to decorate it with all the 25 things we accomplish :)


Thanks again to EVERYONE for making this event such a success!!! Let's all celebrate!!!


Melissa and Laura

Fundraising Event!

Hey everyone!

Just a friendly reminder that we are having our huge fundraising garage sale this Saturday, May 5th, starting at 8AM. Mark your calendars! This is for such a great cause and we're really hoping to have a great turnout. We have a ton of stuff and a huge variety! A big thank you to those who have kindly donated items for the sale - we really appreciate it! This afternoon we're making our special 'Drive to 25' t-shirts which we will be sporting at the sale! So much fun!

Again, all of the proceeds, yes 100%, are going to our Reading Room fundraising campaign, so we hope to see you all there! We can't wait to update you after the sale with the final results!

If you can't make the sale but would still like to donate, you can visit our 'DONATE' page to find out how! Thanks so much!

Until then... let's hope for sunshine :)