Hard to come by

This past weekend the owner (Lori-Ann a.k.a - LA) of the school I work at treated all of the staff to an all-expenses paid trip to Whistler. Every now and then she treats her staff as a way of saying "thank-you" for a job well-done. She is an extremely successful business woman who is extremely generous when it comes to taking care of her staff and showing them a good time.

I started working back at CSLI at the beginning of September and it was around that time the staff had been talking about where to go for their weekend getaway (Whistler vs. the Okanagan). They had asked everyone if they were available the weekend of September 21st. The majority of the people were able to go, except for me. Jamie was scheduled to work at that time and I had told my sister in law that I would babysit my nephews that same weekend so they could go to a wedding. I was a little bit bummed out, but not totally because a weekend with the boys is just as good in my eyes :) Anyways.....one day I was eating lunch in the staff room when Jamie called me. He wanted to let me know that he had spoken to a co-worker and basically re-arranged his shifts so that he would watch the boys therefore allowing me to go to Whistler with my crew. I was above and beyond excited and at the same time thanked Jamie profusely for thinking and doing that for me. I know I have a wonderful husband, but this act reiterated that fact. Not a lot of men would step up, let alone volunteer to watch a 4 year old and a 2 year old for three whole days!!

After graduation on Friday we took a bus up to Whistler. The ride was a bit slow, but great because we watched 'Zoolander'. As soon as we arrived at the cabin we ate dinner and continued on throughout the night with drinks and fun conversation.

On Saturday morning we all woke up pretty early, ate breakfast, and some of us went for a walk around the lake. At 1pm half of us prepared to go on a 3 hour zip-trekking tour. The weather was pretty wonky most of the day. When we got to the base of the mountain it was pretty warm. Our instructors Fawn and Ross told us what we were going to do and allowed us to do a "test run" before we took a bus to the real deal at the top of Blackcomb.

Once we got to the top it started to pour, but it didn't matter because we were all pretty stoked to try zip-trekking. There were 3 girls that were pretty nervous (and I mean really nervous) about the whole thing, but they totally amazed everyone with their courage! They were great:)We all had an absolute blast. It was definitely a huge adrenaline rush for me and I stepped out of my comfort zone since I too have a bit of a height phobia (see the 2nd to last picture). It was a great bonding experience and wouldn't have happened had it not been for our awesome boss!!!

**group shot before our 5 big jumps**

**Christie with an amazing view**

**Christine**

** Erika**

**Kara**

**LA**

** Lindsay**

** Mikey**

** Nicolle**

**Rach**

**moi--a thrilling experience**

After our exciting afternoon we headed back to the cabin and had a delicious and massive steak dinner. The night was once again followed by more drinks, dancing, and conversation. It was a huge bonding session for all of us. It got me thinking how rare it is to work in a company where not only your boss is extremely giving and fun, but all and I mean ALL of your co-workers great along so great.

Thanks to all of my friends and boss for such a fun and memorable weekend and a big thanks to my wonderful husband who made it possible for me to go in the first place!!!

x0x0