The Highs (and some lows) of 2025

I love taking the time to reflect on the year gone by to remember all the good times (and not to run from the bad times) and learn from all the opportunities for growth. 

2025 brought a lot of change - here are some of the memorable highs (and some lows too) - with pictures to assist with the lazy writer in me. 

- My first attempt at making sauerkraut - a very proud fermenter here! 

- Monty chipped a K9 costing me a mere $1,600 in vet bills... 

- Ricky got some air!

- An annual ladies ski trip to Kootenay Pass - I love and feel so grateful for this little ski crew I get to be a part of. 

- Reconnecting with a dear childhood pal who I'd lost touch with - if that doesn't fill the soul, I don't know what does.

- A failed attempt at making beet gnocchi for my sweetie

- Getting a speeding ticket on Valentines Day... Max also got an unrelated speeding ticket on the very same day. We didn't see each other that day, but we were feeling romantically connected by cop encounters, I guess.

- My first time on a fat bike - guided by these two lovelies. What a thrill!

- Keira's ski-themed bachelorette in Sun Peaks with all the highschool gal pals. Turning up the 80's on these slopes. 

- My whole family coming to help out at Grand Slam. They're the most supportive!

- Revelstoke ladies weekend with Avery & Marie (an annual tradition that will take a hiatus in 2026). 

- Reconnecting with Ecstatic dance - moving your body freely & expressively in whatever way feels good and true to yourself without judgement.

- A raging bonfire on the rez.

- A Ripple Ridge powder party (and an epic charcuter-ski spread, of course).

- A very late night trek into Jumbo Hut under full moon and starry skies. Crossing multiple paths with hardened slide debris on the sled in delayed our skinning start time! 

- Braille Mountain Initiative's Sorcerer Lodge Trip - always a blast - and this year the group achieved a 1200 meter climb/descent in a single run. And some pretty sweet party lap costumes.

 

- Most wholesome and heart-filling weekend with Hanna & Nancy at the Twin Butte Silos (or graineries as grandma insisted)!

- Signing up, training for (somewhat), and then abandoning a 25-km run because I didn't want to.

- Seeing a Spice Girls' cover band. My inner child was over the moon!

- Paddling/floating from Radium to Brisco on the Columbia River for a very relaxing day of birdwatching. 

- A very rainy & stormy weekend in Penticton that pivoted from a climbing trip to a "hide under the canopy" trip - and an ebike to wineries tour! 

- Finding out we're pregnant!!

- My sister-in-law Tiffani's bachelorette party in Whistler. I requested that it be less penis-oriented than some bachelorette's (given my family relations); however, the penis cake was procured by me.

- Derek & Tiffani's beautiful Deep Cove wedding - immersed in the place we grew up and surrounded by so much love! 

- The Braille Mountain Initiative hiking trip to Doctor Creek - started out VERY rainy (thank god for emergency cabins) but the skies cleared and offered an unforgettable ridgeline summit for some. 

- Saying goodbye to sweet Evie.

- 8 days spent with my Wellies on the Bowron Lakes canoe circuit. An incredibly fun & fulfilling experience.

- Buying a house!! 

- The most incredible display of wildflower glory on our ladies hiking trip to Silent Pass. A true honour to witness mother nature in full bloom.

- Dancing the night away at Keira & Jason's wedding in beautiful Naramata (without wine; a grand ol' time none-the-less).

- A sober Wicked Woods. Seeing the sights from a different perspective.

- Witnessing Lois marry her sweetheart Ryan in a rustic barn

- Participating in my first Witches Paddle with my "witches pet" on Lake Windermere!

 

- Hiking the Rockwall Trail in prime larch season (see the latter part of My Latest Post for more on this).

- Witnessing the joy of three of our close friends have their babies. Couldn't be more grateful to join them on this parenting journey.

- Spending the fall nesting and getting cozy in our new home. How many hours have I spent browsing Marketplace... I don't want to know. 

- A lovely, cozy weekend with Pals at the most eclectic Airbnb in Rossland.

- A disappointing first Halloween in the new house - with a grand total of 1 trick-or-treater.

- Dressing up as the characters from Clue, and joining my Mum & Lou in their passion for curling. 

- Receiving my Great-Grandma's dining room table from the 1950s (!!) which she apparently raised turkeys to save up for! 

- Preparing for the arrival of our bambino - appreciating the fact that my baby daddy is a handy guy!

- Ski touring weekend at Lightning Strike at 32 weeks pregnant. All felt good except the Goretex pants... no stretch in those.

 

- A lino printing ladies weekend with Brooke & Sabs. 

- Having the whole famjam come spend Christmas with us in Invermere in our new home was such a special time! 

- A very scary encounter with a deer travelling at highway speeds - which resulted in 4-hours of monitoring baby (and an A&W dinner in the hospital). Grateful beyond measure to airbags - and good friends who came to the rescue. 

- A New Years Eve in the wetlands cabin with good pals.

When I lay it out like this, my heart just bursts at the seams. I have so much to be grateful for and a life that is truly so blessed. I'm sure 2026 will be a wild ride - and I'm buckling up for it!