Dogsledding!

Hi everyone!

We're excited to tell you about our latest adventure... DOGSLEDDING!

First of all, we love winter. There's just something about this season - being outdoors and just loving all the winter activities. We've always thought dogsledding would be fun and figured, why not do it now?! We're both in Ottawa and there just had to be a place around here to try it out. After researching online for a good spot, we found Escapade Eskimo, which is in Otter Lake, Quebec, and only a 75 minute drive from Ottawa. We were more than thrilled with the experience!

                                                   

After arriving, meeting Sylvain, our dog sledding captain, and getting a brief overview of our trail and the safety precautions, we drove to our starting point. Once we got there, we took out the sleds and got all the dogs hooked up and latched on. This wasn't the easiest job to say the least - 20 extremely strong dogs are hard to keep in line, especially when they are excited and hyper!

There were three sleds in total. Sylvain had his own sled with 8 dogs, another couple had a sled with 6 dogs, and then we had our sled with 6 dogs. So there were 20 dogs all latched on and waiting to go! They were so cute and so ready! Once we were all set, it was time to go. Melissa drove first while I sat in the sled taking in the scenery. What an amazing trail. We were so lucky that just a couple days before there was a huge snowstorm, which left us with lots of fresh, untouched snow. Peaceful, tranquil and so serene, the sledding was so much fun! It's amazing how strong those 6 dogs are and how they can just pull you along. The trail was so picturesque and it was amazing just cruising along enjoying the winter weather!

We sledded along and then half way through, we turned around and switched drivers so that we could both get a chance to drive, and both get the opportunity to sit in the sled and try taking pictures. It was so incredible to see how well trained the dogs were. We were told to yell 'woah' in order to get them to stop (and we definitely needed to yell this loudly and often because the dogs were definitely able to pull both of our weights even when we wanted them to stop!), and 'ok' or 'en avant' to get them to go. It's amazing how they listen (most of the time!).  

In total, we were out for about an hour and a half, and did approximately 15 km of trail! Thank you to all the dogs for their wonderful work! It was sunny, there was little wind, and it wasn't the coldest day on record, so we had perfect conditions for sledding! We bundled ourselves up and were pretty proud that only our feet were cold on the journey.

After returning back to the beautiful little wood chalet, we were greeted by Sylvain's wife Caroline, for hot chocolate and a snack. It was a perfect way to take the little chill off from being outside! We were also given a CD with all the pictures that Sylvain took from his camera while dogsledding. That was a surprise, and it is so nice to have those memories! 

We had a fantastic day and are so happy to have finally gone dogsledding! Thanks to Sylvain and Caroline for their awesome service! Here is a link to their website if you are interested - we definitely recommend it http://www.escapade-eskimo.com/index_en.htm! 

Dog sledding... check! Hopefully you'll get to try it at some point - we can't wait to go again! :) Maybe a two day trip next time...???



After finishing our dogsledding adventure... we want to go again!

A Year Later!

Hi Everyone!

One year. 12 months. 365 days. It's been that long since one of the best and most exciting days of our lives! We can't believe it!

A year ago today, after a whirlwind 12 hours, we woke up in NYC wondering what we had gotten ourselves into! Why on Earth did we agree to get makeovers (which also meant revealing horrible pictures of ourselves), much less on national television?! But we weren't backing down, we were committed! Little did we know how much of a life changing experience this would turn out to be!

We had to adjust to looking drastically different for the first time EVER (although the cashier at Starbucks the VERY NEXT morning looked at us baffled and said 'you must be twins right?' - we really can't escape it). This was a pretty scary and nerve-wracking thing to deal with at first, being known as 'twins' has really been our identity. But taking the risk, a leap of fate, and stepping out of our comfort zones, even just for a day, was actually super exciting!! The thrill, the excitement and the fun we had throughout the day and showing off our 'new' looks to shocked family and friends is indescribable and something we will absolutely never forget!

For those of you who may not have seen the show, here is the clip of both the 'before' interview and the 'big reveal':

Two for One Rachael Ray Show

We can't even put into words how incredibly lucky we were to have been given this amazing experience. We are so thankful to the Rachael Ray Show for being so welcoming, supportive and awesome throughout the day! It was great spending the day with you guys - you work wonders!!

Side Note: We would like to share that we both have jobs now! Was it the new look?! Maybe not entirely, but who knows... we're just happy that we've accomplished that goal! :) Jobs... check!

In all, the Rachael Ray show experience highlighted to us the importance of challenging ourselves and trying new thing because you never know what will come from it. From this experience, where we had a blast out of something so sponanteous and new, we thought, why not continue to have moments like these? They are so rewarding and fun! And thus began our 'Drive to 25'.

So as we celebrate our Rachael Ray makeover anniversary, we have one message to leave you with: go out and challenge yourselves this year - do something you've never done before! Make the most of 2013... and start now!

Cheers to many more exciting adventures,

Melissa and Laura


P.S. Stay tuned for the next couple things on our "List"... we're excited to share them soon! :)

Thank you, thank you!

Happy New Year everyone!

Just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who donated bottles to us over the holidays! We were blown away by the generosity of those of you in our amazing community who went out of their way to think of us and support our cause. The number of people who were willing to help in any way they could was heartwarming and truly special to us. We can't thank you enough and want you to know how much we appreciate you! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Even though there are still a few more bottles trickling in here and there, our grand total so far is....$205.80!!!!! We really can't believe it!!!! That's more than we made during our Summer Bottle Drive!!!! AMAZING!!!!!

With each can or bottle, we are getting one step closer to our $5000 goal, the amount we need to build our Reading Room library in Laos. We are now just shy of $3000 and couldn't be prouder! We know we can do it, and with continued support from all of you, we can all truly make an incredible difference!

So, raise a glass, celebrate, you deserve it! THANK YOU! It means the world to us :)

Christmas Bottles?

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..."

Nothing beats Christmas time, at least not for us! And this holiday season, we're hoping you can help us out.

We all know that the holidays mean lots of parties, family gatherings and celebratations! What fun! We ask that as you collect wine bottles, beer bottles or cans throughout the course of the next couple of weeks (including New Years!!) that you kindly keep our 'Holiday Bottle Drive' in mind. Why not share in the spirit of giving this holiday season by donating your empty bottles to a deserving cause. Save yourselves a trip in the cold weather and let us do the dirty work! All of the proceeds will go directly to our Reading Room in Laos. We're trying to follow up a successful Summer Bottle Drive, and know that we can count on you to help share the spirit of Christmas this holiday season!

So, if you can help in any way, that would be awesome! Also, spread the word as much as you can; have your family, friends and neighbours save their bottles too! The more the better, every bottle counts, and it's for a great cause! Let's all help to build this Reading Room together - we can do it!

Thank you for your support! If you have any questions or want to let us know you've got bottles ready for pick-up, feel free to email us at thedriveto25@hotmail.com.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!!

Happy 25th Birthday!

Hey guys!

So, as many of you know, we recently celebrated our milestone, 25th, birthday! The day was great day, but the weekend was even better! I drove down to visit Melissa in Ottawa for the weekend and stayed until the morning of our birthday. We had breakfast together - very exciting! - and then by 7:15 am,  Melissa was off to work and I drove home. So, the day-of was a little bit strange as it felt weird not being together. It was the first time that we were pretty much apart for our birthday. In 25 years, we have to say that's pretty good!

Since our 25th birthday has come and gone, we just wanted send a little 'thank you' to everyone for their support over the last 9 months as we've embarked on our 'Drive to 25'! We really appreciate everyone's donations to our Reading Room library, and we hope that you will continue to spread the word as we still need to reach our goal of $5000! We are so proud of how much we've raised so far and look forward to reaching our overall goal soon! Thinking about the difference that this library will make in the lives of so many kids makes us so excited!!!  On that note, we must thank all of our family and friends who have helped with fundraising, who have been there to encourage and support us during some of our new adventures and crazy risks, and basically everyone who has helped make this journey all the more fun and meaningful! We're so glad you've wanted to read about and share in this incredible experience with us. This past year started off amazing, with our spur of the moment Rachael Ray makeoever in NYC, and we know that this next year will be just as incredible and exciting. Let's make it happen!

So, here's to 25 - to new adventures, new experiences and to being happy! We can't wait to continue our 'Drive to 25' and challenge ourselves to take risks, to learn new things, to give back and most importantly, to have fun! Thanks for sticking with us and be sure to keep checking back for more updates!

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!