The Drive Continues... the Road Ahead!

Hello all!

Can you believe it's already mid-November? Where has the time gone? We can't believe it! This is, by far, our favourite time of year. There's nothing like the start of the Christmas season, setting up the decorations and the tree and of course, listening to wonderful holiday tunes. Another fabulous part of the holidays is baking and we're excited to get that started too!

Anyways, as we have come to realize that our 25th Birthday is fast approaching (12 days!) we needed to figure out what to do with our 'Drive'. We are so proud of what we've accomplished so far and have had a blast! We've completed 16 different things since we've started and we couldn't be more happy and fulfilled! From making the baby blankets, to skydiving, to celebrating Movember for our Dad, we're so thrilled to be doing this and sharing our stories with everyone (thanks for following along!).

However, it is obvious that we are not going to be able to complete the 9 more things before our Birthday. There are actually a couple things that we weren't able to finish yet, like our Hot Air Balloon Ride, due to weather and our 10 km run, because the weather got cold quickly and we were busy moving Melissa to Ottawa. So, those two things will be done in the spring! It is for this reason and because we don't want to rush or just 'do' things to complete our 'List', that  our 'Drive' is going to continue...YAY!

We've been thinking...why not continue to enjoy our 'Drive to 25' while we're 25?! It makes sense to keep the fun going and really make each and every item on our 'List' meaningful, worthwhile and something that we're super excited to do! We have ideas and plans and will fill you in as we go. Thanks for sticking with us and being there! We love to hear from you too, so if you have suggestions, ideas or comments, send them our way: thedriveto25@hotmail.com

Finally, the biggest part of our 'Drive to 25' is our fundraising campaign to raise the $5000 we need to build a Library in Laos. We are over half way - yahoo! We thank everyone who has donated to our cause so far and truly appreciate your support! If you haven't donated or would like to, you can visit our 'Donate' page: DONATE. We can't wait to be able to say that we've raised enough funds to have the Reading Room built; what a way to cap off our 'Drive to 25'.

So there you have it. Our 'Drive' continues and we look forward to the road ahead! :)

Here is the link to the show again: we enjoy rewatching it and can't believe this amazing experience happened to us! We are so lucky! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7VGzhByF3o&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1 

Merry Movember!

We are beyond excited to share with you what we have in store for the month of November, or shall we call it MOVEMBER!

Today marks the first day of November, which can mean a lot of things. A) Your cupboard is full of leftover Halloween candy (which definitely a great thing!). B) You can officially jump on the holiday season bandwagon and have it be 'acceptable'! And, last but not least, C) you will notice that the hair on the upper lips of many men start to grow longer and longer, creating some unique and creative looks. Yup, that's right, even though we will now proudly play our Christmas music and will gladly polish off the Halloween chocolates (there's something about eating mini chocolate bars that makes you feel less guilty for eating them!), what we're most excited about right now is how we are going to support a cause near and dear to our hearts, MOVEMBER!

Just what is Movember, you might ask. If you've never heard of it, here's a brief synopsis, taken directly from the official Movember site http://ca.movember.com/?home

On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts. With their “Mo’s”, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer and male mental health initiatives. Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words, they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

You may be wondering how two girls are going to participate in a moustache growing fundraiser....well do we have an answer for you! We are proud to designate ourselves as 'MO SISTAS', succinctly defined as 'a woman who loves a Mo,...a women who is committed to raising awareness of men's health issues and the much needed funds for men's health.' We are here to support, promote and bring attention to an incredibly important cause.

In the past couple of years, Movember has taken on a very personal meaning to our family. In January of 2011, our dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was a huge shock - hearing the word 'cancer' is definitely a scary thing. We were beyond lucky that the doctors caught it early and that he was able to have successful surgery. It was also a blessing that we were both not working at the time and were able to spend valuable time being his little nurses! As a whole though, this health scare was definitely a life changing experience for us and our family. Seeing the man who has always been there to protect you, the rock of the family, Mr. Invinsible, in such a weak and fragile state just proved to us that life is so precious and unpredictable. We are so grateful that our dad is now fully recovered, happy and healthy, but know that so many others can't say the same.

It is for this very reason that we have decided to include Movember in our Drive to 25! No, we aren't growing moustaches, but we would love for you to support someone who is raising money for this important cause. Last year alone Movember initiatives around the world raised over $125 million!!! That's incredible and more awareness = a  bigger global movement = more money = better funding for men's health programs - how can you go wrong?!

If you don't know anyone participating to sponsor, why not sponsor our incredible brother?! This is his third year as a Mo Bro and we are expecting great things...follow this link http://ca.movember.com/donate/ and type in 'Matt MacFarlane' in the search field.

Personally, we are going to show our Mo Sista support by wearing our newly purchased 'moustache' necklaces!!! We will wear them proudly and do our part in drawing attention to this worthy campaign. To have a look at some of the stylish jewellery, check out the following site, supported by Movember Canada:
http://www.foxyoriginals.com/movember 

So there you have it. We hope you'll join our Movember campaign and become either a Mo Bro or a Mo Sista with us. We'd love to hear how and why you're getting involved!

Stay tuned for updates and pictures throughout the month!