Saturday, June 27, 2009

Boise Boise Boise

I fell asleep in Utah and woke up in Idaho. Strange...

We were driving to Boise in the rain to my friend Kelly's place. I met Kelly at Guerilla Business School in March. It's so easy to meet new people and make amazing friends! Especially when we share the same name. I mean, every Kelly I know is pretty damn cool. We got to Kelly's around dinner time and we were greeted by his dog Cocao...she's a cutie! We filled our bellies with AMAZING Mexican food and we were pretty much done after that! OMG, best Mexican food I've ever had! So delicious!

The next day we chilled most of the day with Emily, his girlfriend's daughter, until he got home. And then the adventure of Idaho began...




The guns weren't really scary, it was how comfortable I felt with them that scared me. I had a pretty good shot too, it felt quite natural! I had a better shot. Beat her everytime..sorry Kel, had to rub it in. I was pretty nervous about holding a gun let alone shooting one, but it was an awesome experience and I had a blast! I felt pretty fierce. I'm hardcore now. haha I'll just tell myself that!

We went for a drive to Warm Springs Mesa where we looked over the 'City of Trees' (Boise). It's wierd to think that you can look out over a city and see more trees than you can skyrises! Then we hit up Olive Garden for dinner. Oh baby...that was damn good!

Thanks again for everything Kelly! We made it to Wyoming no prob!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Utah Yeehaw!

After leaving Las Vegas, we headed north-east through the Nevada desert towards Utah. That was an absolutely beautiful drive. At one point I'm sure we were driving through a canyon of sorts. It reminded me of the Grand Canyon only looking from the inside out. I didn't know that you had to cross through Arizona to get to Utah, so we were in Arizona again... :P technically.

Utah is a beautiful state. The I-15 runs straight through the state with mountains and large hills on both sides. I'm guessing that the majority of the population of Utah lives in that valley that runs through the ranges. It's beautiful, so beautiful we decided to camp there!

We stopped at Yuba State Park to set up camp. It was a really pretty lake with campsites along the beach. We set up camp and built a wicked fire and pretty much soaked up the stars and nature, including the rain. Yes, the rain didn't stop us. It did inconvenience us slightly when we had to cover all the food and ourselves just after we got everything out and ready. But we managed to beat it out and thank goodness we have rain jackets.




The next morning we packed up and drove up to Salt Lake City. We didn't stay long and I know Stacey and Grant will be disappointed we didn't check out the Temple....woopsy. :) We liked Utah, but we wanted to get to Idaho!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

VIVA LAS VEGAS!



This was my first time in Vegas and I must say it is Disney World for adults. There is sooo much to see! You can't fit it all into 2 days. And that's all we had. And of course I wanted to see every hotel, inside and outside, on the strip. So that took up most of our time. I LOVED the Paris casino. It was my favourite! Old downtown was also a must. Freemont Street is very cool. The digital roof show thing is amazing and there's lots of interesting people. Like chipanddale guys who hit on Kelly. haha. Anyways, I can't wait to go back. We didn't get much nightlife in due to time, exhaustion, and money, but that's ok. Next time!

Ooooo Vegas was fun... not really sure there's much else to say about that! Sweet room, sweet deal, sweet weather. It was damn sweet!

Once we left Vegas we headed to the Hoover Dam which was only about an hour drive. It was quite cool. We didn't take a tour because it cost money and we thought it wouldn't be anything special, but apparently, we were told a day later, that it's the best thing there. So if ever at Hoover Dam take the tour!! lol. I just thought it was cool that on one side of the bridge I was in Nevada, and when I crossed to the other side I was in Arizona. The Dam is right on the state line.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Goin Goin Back Back to Cali Cali

After our relaxing few days in Oregon we pretty much booked it South to get to L.A...Back to California....ahh, how I love thee. I absolutely love California. And the week was none other than pure relaxation...again! lol. While Kelly was off at Extreme Wealth, I was hanging out with Christiana's mother Lois. We stayed with Chris, Lois and Jack and Lucy (the dogs) in Universal City.


The majority of my week was filled with reading....5 books in 4 days. The books were by Nora Roberts...a four book series, Captivated, Entranced, Charmed, and the last one Enchanted. So good!! And yes, I read that many books > to anyone who is reading this right now and thinking to themselves, 'Katie was reading? 5 books?'...lol. Anyways, it was lovely, and Lois couldn't have been better company. We had mini-reading parties, as I would like to call them, we also walked the dogs in the park, made our way to Universal City and made mushroom chowder together. And our Saturday night was filled with excitement! lol. We watched all 3 Cheetah Girls movies thanks to Disney Channel while enjoying a roaring fire. Yes, we had a fire. It was actually fairly chilly in L.A. while we were there. Ok, so not an extremely exciting night, but I enjoyed it none the less. Along with my new friend Lois, was Jack the dog. lol. He was adorable and I loved him. And he was more than willing to let me give him my love in the form of belly rubs and back scratches.

And I learned all about investing and played with my friends...that sounds like a 10 year old, but I really do have a tonne of fun every time I'm at an event! Learning about investing made fun? If they can keep my attention for 4 days on that topic, they must be doing something right.

But of course I had to create a little fun of my own...


Monday, June 22, 2009

Crater Lake

On our way out of Oregon we took a detour to Crater Lake. It was formed from a volcanic eruption a long time ago and Wizard Island (which you can see in the pictures) has been formed over the years by lava. It is actually a mini-volcano...

The lake itself is fed only by snow and rain and it has no river run-offs. It's sooooo blue and eerily quiet when you're up there. It's at or a bit higher than the cloud line, at least this day, and there were thunder storms going on around us. Very cool to watch from a higher perspective. A must see when in Oregon.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Multnomah Falls and Remnants of Twilight!


Because we had such beautiful weather while we were in Oregon we decided to hit up Multnomah Falls for the afternoon. It was amazingly beautiful and wonderful. We then decided to have a picnic overlooking the Columbia River Gorge. After our lunch Kathy showed us the spot where the final prom scene from Twilight was filmed. It was gorgeous and had an amazing view! And it was really cool being just being there. It wrapped up our 'Twilight tour' quite nicely. Hopefully the next step will be to actually meet some famous celebrities! lol.

Friday, June 19, 2009

A Saturday in Portland

We went downtown Portland on Saturday to see some of the city and to check out the Saturday market. We came across a very cool man-made ski hill in an outdoor plaza, and it was definitely a great surprise! It was very hot so was least expected, but got to see a good show, and a good competition.

The actual market was pretty big and had lots of cool vendors and entertainment. There were also a lot of different artists, which I think a large portion of the people of Portland actually are. Portland definitely has a different vibe to it though. Can't quite put my finger on it yet. It's actually a little strange. There's a lot of punk-pop youth there. Sounds odd but there's no other way to describe it. lol...Anyways, I bought a hat, and we browsed all day, there were some amazing booths! And of course, we ended the afternoon with a beer at a local pub.

That night we hung out at Kathy's and had a delicious dinner which consisted of taco ingredients in the form of a lasagna. So good! And then hung out all night and talked. It was a good girl's night in!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Just Do It!

Our morning on the Nike Campus was a sweet part of our stay in Portland. Well that and being able to shop at the employee store! Danger, Danger! That place had so many good deals and there's no tax in Oregon so you're actually just paying what the tag says. The campus is huge and you really do feel like you're on a campus rather than at work. There's like 3 soccer fields, a running track, beach volleyball courts, 2 gyms, a pool, spa, yoga studios...you name it, it's there; pubs and all! They even have a hair and nail salon.




I have 2 favourite parts. The walkway at the main entrance where you have to walk over little gaps in the cement that signify that the path to success always entails overcoming some obstacles, and the museum thing with Prefontaine's quote. "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. "

My favourite part was all the beautiful people. Everyone there is so gorgeous! haha. I also loved the huge basketball court, and of course all the free Canadian gear Kathy got us! :) Watch the second half of the video for a fashion show/weird picture montage/crazy outfits from Kel and I. Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

We Have Family In Portland?

After we passed through Oregon on our way up to Vancouver a few months ago, we found out that we have family in Portland. Of course, she knew way more about us than we did about her, but we finally got to meet her at the end of May.

Kathy is cool beans! She's a total Mullen; strong willed, stubborn, loud and adventurous. I know that not everyone in our family fits that bill, but it's a pretty strong trait! Kathy's dad and our Grandpa Mullen (who died before we were born) were brothers. As Kathy tells the story, our families were really tight! I must say it's interesting listening to what our family is/was like from a different perspective. We've got some dirt to play with now! hehehe

Another thing about us Mullen's is that we're too modest and tend to downplay some of the greatest successes of our lives. Kathy, in my books, is a pretty big success. She's lived in a handful of different states doing stuff from restaurant work to youth minister to now being a part of one of the biggest sporting companies in the world; Nike. She's beaten cancer 4 times (correct me if I'm wrong) and has got great experience to share!

Now those are all amazing things, but being the young, media driven generation we are, these are some other things that really tipped the scale. When she was younger, she went on a few dates with Troy Aikmen of the Dallas Cowboys. This was after they won the SuperBowl!


Sorry Kathy! I couldn't resist!! She's kind of a celebrity magnet. When she was at the US Open in NY with her Aunt, Tom Cruise was sitting in front of them. This was way back when he was still dating Minnie Driver. But my favourite story comes from the Nike World Head Quarters. A lot of sports stars actually have offices at the HQ, such as Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods to name a few. When those guys are on 'campus' as they call it, you can't ask for pictures or autographs or ask questions or anything. So one day Kathy was working out in the gym next to a big black guy. It took her a while to put the pieces together until he asked if she was OK. Her reply was, "I can't believe I'm working out with next to Michael Jordan." And his reply was, "I can't believe I'm working out next to Kathy Mullen."

We're all just people doing our thing...we're all put here to do exactly what we do best, whatever that may be. Yes or yes!

Love ya girl!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

May Marvels!

Although we spent the month of May off from travelling around the country (with the exception of Calgary and Portland) we still managed to have some adventures with old friends and some with new ones. Thanks to all who made our month off the road, one that was filled with fun and good times! ox

Friday, June 12, 2009

From Baked Lasagna to Black T-Shirts

Katie and I decided to head into the city for some lunch on Robson on Friday afternoon. The sun was shining, it was nice and warm, but no humidity...at least in comparison to Ontario. We actually wore sleeveless tops out! Woohoo!

We went to a Greek restaurant past all the hype on Robson and ordered up the special of the day...baked lasagna. It was ginormous!!! We really should have split one! And of course it was amazing. We chatted lots about what we've been learning so far about ourselves, what kind of Warrior lessons have been appearing over the last few months, but most of all, how much fun we've been having. (We do intend to share with you the lessons we're learning, but we're still not sure how to articulate them to ourselves yet) 'Deep stuff' ya know! lol

So after lunch we mosied around on Robson and we knew that the Millionaire Mind Intensive event was going on downtown so we decided to pop in and say hello to our friends! We had no idea who would be working, but it's always nice to say hello anyway.

Well, we walked up the stairs and I've never seen someone so excited to see us as Andy was. Needless to say we got recruited to volunteer for the rest of the weekend and I know I'm glad we did! We had a friggin' blast, met so many amazing people and got to help light up people's lives. There's nothing sweeter than watching people see their potential and open up to the possibilities that await them. It was a perfect weekend.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Hey YooHoo!

Katie and I have been logging a lot of hours on our blog and doing creative endeavours. Apparently that book I was going to write next year wanted to be started now! But as a result of all this work, we needed a night out, so we geared up and headed to Granville Street.

It's hard to find a place to party when you're not from the city. We knew we didn't want to dance, which ruled out half of the bars on the street, but to find a pub that had a little action was also a bit of a task. We picked up a traveller on the way. His name was Tino, from Germany, and he was in the same boat as us. A german named Tino....yes I thought it was quite strange. lol

We ended up going to Lennox to grab a beer and then figure out a game plan. A guy that I started chatting with from Nova Scotia decided to make the plan for us. He offered to buy us some drinks so we graciously recieved the offer and what started off as one beer turned into many beautifully combined with an assortment of shots and Redbull.

On our way home in the midst of a serious tree hugging session we met our new favourite yoohoo from New York.


Brian was a little wierded out by us. First we were hugging a tree, second we started talking to him. This is apparently unheard of in NY...people get defensive when you say hello there. Gee must be fun! lol. But we didn't scare him too much because he decided to join us on our search for food. After blocks of walking to finally find a sacred 7-11 we learned a heck of a lot about Brian. He's got a pretty cool story. Hopefully he'll write about it and we'll get to read about it someday. Hint hint...

Just remember to mention your two favourite Canadian yoohoos...you know you love us!