Putting our skills to the test!

Hey there!

As you know, we took a series of golf lessons earlier this spring and had a blast! We actually miss them!

A couple weeks ago, we finally made it out to the driving range to put our skills to the test. When our friends visited for Canada Day, they kindly brought some clubs to share so that we could actually practice. Luckily they are both lefty golfers, and had righty clubs too, so we were able to cover all the bases! It was exciting to finally get back to swinging and taking shots! Surprisingly, we even remembered most of our techniques, including the grip!!! Thanks to Brett for giving us some additional tips and for adjusting our tees, and to Angela for her moral support (everyone has some bad shots right?!?! Just a practice shot!). A couple of jumbo baskets later, we were golfed out! But, it was so nice to get back into it and practice outdoors. We will definitely be going again (we do need the practice!). Soon, we'll have to hit a par 3 course - that'll be a big test! Hopefully it's not too busy, otherwise we will most likely cause some slow downs!

Here are a few pictures to recap our afternoon at the driving range:

Hope you guys are also trying something new this summer!

Laura and Melissa

Up, Up and Away!!!!

We are so happy to finally say that this week, we went on our HOT AIR BALLOON ride!!!

This was our fourth attempt and the weather was finally on our side. So, on Wednesday evening we got to fly in a big balloon, high in the sky, and see parts of Ottawa! It was so much fun!

We called the flight line at 2:30 which was going to tell us the status of our flight and what time to meet (if the weather was good). We had a good feeling as the weather looked good and we were so excited when they said it was a go! We definitely know that they take safety very seriously since we've had 3 balloon rides cancelled already, but it was a relief to finally get the ok and know that the wind was just right and the weather was perfect. It was about time! Although when talking with our fellow balloon riders we did find out that it had also taken them a while to fly, so this must be common for ballooning - don't expect to go on your first attempt!

After meeting, all 12 of us 'ballooners' got in a 'party bus' and were driven to our launching location, where we then saw how the balloon gets blown up and ready for launch. What a cool experience to see the balloon grow so large (it really is massive when you see it up close)! Then, it was time to hop in and take off.
 

It didn't take long and we were up in the air, floating peacefully, calmly and enjoyably over the river, passing beautiful green scenery. Every so often our pilot would press the fire and it was amazing to see! The ride lasted about an hour in the air and we took a ton of pictures!

 

 

Once we landed, in some large field, we had a champagne toast and helped (a bit!) to put away the balloon and get things cleaned up. Unfortunately there were so many mosquitoes - more than we've EVER seen, in swarms and swarms, so we were definitely ready to get back in the bus and head back to our cars. It was all over, and we had a great time chatting about it on our way back. Side note - we met a sweet couple who have 5 year old twin daughters and enjoyed talking to them about our 'twin experiences'. It was fun answering their questions and we hope that her daughters will one day have the relationship we have. Oh how our 'twinness' follows us everywhere!

Now, when we see a hot air balloon in the sky we can say to ourselves, "we did that!!" - a dream come true! It's definitely something we can now cross off our 'drive' and it was an experience we'll never forget! It'd be amazing to be able to go again one day!

So there you go - our long awaited balloon ride blog! We recommend 'ballooning' to anyone and everyone... it was fabulous! (and not scary at all... so you don't have to be too adventurous to try it!)

Golf Lessons Wrap-Up!

Well, we can officially say that we successfully (to a certain extent!) completed our first ever GOLF LESSONS! Tonight was our 5th and final lesson, and boy have we come a long way! We owe a huge THANK YOU to our awesome instructor Bill for his patience, enthusiasm and expertise. I can't imagine what he thought when we walked in for our first lesson without even knowing how to properly hold a club! Now, what seemed so strange and uncomfortable has become, for the most part, habit.

We're so happy that we decided to try something new and challenging. As we've learned, golf is a challenging game, one that is almost impossible to master. As real beginners, we found this out pretty quickly. Although we started these lessons with practically no experience, we have finished with an excitement for the game and the basic skills that will be fundamental in our golfing future. Not only can we properly hold a club, we can use a driver, make a shot that's relatively straight (although this is never guaranteed!), and follow through after every swing (this we've been told is extremely important - "Hold the pose").

Now, we're looking forward to seeing how we do on our own and on an actual course. We're going to take it slow, remember, as best we can, everything that we've learned, and most of all, have fun. That's what we want to take out of the game and that's what's most important to us. This was all about having fun.

So there you have it. Over the last couple of months, we challenged ourselves to get out there and learn something new. And we think you should too! It doesn't take much, just a little push, and you'll be surprised with the results. You may learn skills you'll have for a lifetime. We certainly did. (Thank you Golf Town!). In the end, we had a blast and will actually miss our lessons! Who knows, we may just sign up again another time!

Stay tuned - we may have some funny stories to tell after we get out on the course!!!

Golf Time at Golf Town!

Hey guys!

It's been a little while since we've written, but we've been super busy!! This post will be about our last few golf lessons, but there are a couple of other side notes to update you on first!

1. We had a wonderful, although brief, trip to Nova Scotia to celebrate our brother's graduation from Acadia University a couple weeks ago. It was a fantastic weekend celebrating such a great achievement with our whole family. It was also Mother's Day weekend, so it was wonderful to be all together. Although the weather could have been warmer, sunnier and well, much, much better, it was a fabulous trip! We are so proud and so happy for our brother and super excited for what's to come for him :)

2. I (Laura) have started working!!!! I don't think it was ever written on here, but I moved to Ottawa with Melissa in January anticipating to start work (a job offer was given) but then it sort of fell through for a bit because of some issues, but to cut the story short, (because it sure is long!) I started work May 1st and am happy to finally be out, doing something and making money! It was about time!

So, that's kept us quite busy, but we've still been going to our golf lessons! We just haven't had time to sit and write about them. So, after 3 more lessons, here's the scoop....

Well, we can't say we're any good, and definitely can't say we are ever going to be pro golfers, but we can say that we've been having a blast and are learning a lot! We've improved leaps and bounds for sure... even though some sessions we do have to be reminded of that oh so strange grip!

We've been learning the swing, how it looks and feels, and the follow through (remember to ALWAYS follow through...).

A cool thing they have is that there is a camera and we always get a video sent to us so we can view it and see/remember things from our lesson. There's also a camera while we're taking shots and it tracks the distance of our shots, which is pretty neat. It adds for a little friendly competition.... Melissa's winning right now...

This past week we got to try using drivers for the first time. What a difference! You really feel like you're going to make a hard shot, but it obviously doesn't guarantee that it'll go straight... but nothing ever does! Then, we tried using a sand wedge, which was rather difficult and felt a bit strange. Obviously we'll never need that though... we'll never be in the sand.... right?! A couple lessons ago we tried putting, which we do have a bit of experience in, so we were sure to tell him! Mini putting counts right?! He wasn't so sure... Putting is totally different and you really need to be cautious and patient or the ball will go much further (or shorter!) than you planned!

Overall, we have one lesson left and are going to miss our sessions when they're over. We can sign up for more if we want, but we may take to the driving range or course first to get some outdoor practice. We look forward to putting our knowledge and skills (?!) to the test real soon! We've loved learning something new and improving - its a lot of fun and rewarding. We challenge everyone to do the same!

Happy Golfing and Happy Spring/Summer!

A Hogwarts Graduation!

Hello!

Well, it's official, we have FINISHED the Harry Potter books and movies!!!!!!!!

We're super happy that we read them all and are even sad that they're done... now what do we read?! Since we can't continue on the journey with Harry, Ron, and Hermonine anymore, there will now be a void in our reading! What wonderful, magical and creative books, which inspire so much imagination! It was great that we were able to watch the movies after each book to help bring the story to life. Although we are much bigger fans of the books, the movies were well-done and gave as true of a representation of the books as possible.

One thing we were so happy about was that when coming to the end of the seventh and final book, we did not know what was going to happen. We were lucky to have been kept completely in the dark as to how the story unfolded - the ending was not spoiled and we were able to read with such anticipation and excitement as we turned the pages of the last few chapters. We needed to know.. does Harry survive.. does he die... what happens??! It was fun to not have any clue and to read about it with no idea of what was to come!

Now... we have to visit Florida (somewhere we've never been!) and see Hogwarts in person!!!

Overall, what an amazing, unique and fabulous series of books which have inspired, and continue to inspire, young people to read. It must be wonderful for J.K. Rowling to know that her books have encouraged so many people of all ages to pick up a book and read. Our Grandpa actually started reading Harry just before we did!! Oh, how reading unites us all!

Reading and education are a big part of this "Drive to 25" and we definitely chose a fantastic series to show our support to literacy.

Happy Reading... whatever it is you may be turning the pages of right now!

Tee-Off Time #1

Hey all!

This week, we had our first golf lesson and we had a lot of fun! We actually can't wait to go again! We couldn't believe how much we learned in just the first hour, and we've got 4 more lessons to go (we signed up for a package of 5).

Since we told our instructor, Bill, that we were very much beginners, that we really didn't have much experience golfing before (other than the golfing range), and that we needed to start from the very basics, that's just what we did!

Our first instruction was to learn how to hold the club and get into a position to swing. Ok, that's easy enough, right? We thought so... Well, turns out we actually didn't even know how to hold the club 'correctly'! Oddly enough, there's a specifc grip and when you hold it for the first time, it's rather strange and uncomfortable. Maybe you didn't think we were that basic, but when we said we needed to start from the beginning - we really meant it! Bill kept showing us different tips and explaining different positions for our feet, our shoulders and our hips. He told us where we should be looking and to practice a few swings. We took it all in and learned a new vocabulary too! The funny thing is, we never let go of that initial grip - we didn't want to lose it and forget how to do it again!!!

One really awesome aspect of taking lessons at Golf Town is that they have this special camera and software that tapes you! As we each took a shot, the camera taped us and our instructor dissected our moves in super slow mode. Very cool! The best part is that we can watch ourselves (even though that's kind of awkward and strange!) and learn from seeing what we are doing right, or moreso what we're doing wrong!! We won't be posting these videos here for you all to see, but they are for our own viewing and to improve our skills! We will be anxious to rewatch these videos after our 5 lessons to see how far we've come!

Overall, we had a blast! We did manage to hit a few balls, although emphasis on 'few' - there were definitely more misses, but it can only get better. Our instructor's goal is to make us 'golf crazy'. We'll see if that happens, but we do think we're going to like it! It does make it a lot more exciting when we already feel like we've learned so much! And, what better time than now to start our lessons - the week of the famous Master's tournament! We may have to tune in to catch a glimpse of the best of the best to see how they swing, hit and follow through. It may not be until the final day, and maybe not until the final hours, but we will probably turn it on at some point!

Happy Golfing!

Let's GOLF!

Happy Spring everyone!

We think it's about time we learn something new!

The weather's getting nicer and we know that golf season is starting up so we thought, why not try to learn the ins and outs of the game and challenge ourselves to a round of golf? We've been to the driving range several times, and even done one round of 9 (way back when....) but we really want to learn how to golf properly and to improve our very basic skills (if you can even call it that).

Our previous (and limited!) golfing experience has also been a little trickier since one of us is a lefty. Despite trying to use right handed clubs, it just doesn't work! We're looking foward to being able to excel with the 'right' equipment! That should make things a lot easier!

We've registered for 5 golf lessons with Golf Town here in Ottawa and we're so excited to get started! Our first lesson is this coming week! Hopefully the instructor will be patient and start from the basics, because although we have taken some shots before and have practiced putting a little (mini-putt counts right?!), we don't really know the 'real' or 'professional' way to golf.

Then, this summer, we will be prepared to go out on the course and play, hopefully not like beginners, but like golfers who look like they know what they're doing!! It's the perfect time to learn - we'll have the rest of the spring/summer to enjoy the outdoors and have fun!

After our lessons, we'll be asking anyone who wants to play a round of golf to give us a call because we'll be anxious to get out and put our skills to the test!

So, here's to spring and to learning something new! What's great about this is that it's something we'll have forever, like riding a bike. Once we're taught the basics, we will be set for life!

Happy Golfing! We'll be eager to post about our lessons to let you know how they go!