Dear Diary, July 6, 1984 🥳 💵 🐶

Today Vanessa had her birthday party. Her real birthday is on Sunday. She got 40$. And clothes and toys and candy. I can't wait till mine! Grandma and grandpa left today. I'll miss them too. We just came home from Tana and Harold's place. They got a whole bunch of little puppies. There cute! Well that's all for now Bye!

Love Crystal

Vanessa my lovely cousin ❤️. To be honest with you all (she already knows this because we have talked about it over beers in the past) she put a cramp in my style when we were little. She came into my life when I was at the epitome of my Most Loved Grandchild career. My nose sure was put out of joint man. Here was this cute little thing taking some of my attention.... how dare she 😉 I managed to get over myself and we do have a special bond and she is one of the funniest/funnest people I know. Love ya Nessa 😘

Tana and Harold's place was/is a ranch by Canal Flats. It is such a beautiful spot down by the river. I grew up visiting the ranch often. Sometimes we were there for branding days, which were always SO much fun, so much food, so many people and so much action going on and PRAIRIE OYSTERS! I won't lie.... I never had them. 🤮. Like who decided eating calf testicles was a good idea??? Do you remember the tv show Dallas? I remember going to the ranch a few times while my Mom and Dad would watch the season finale's with Tana and Harold. Who did shoot JR btw? 🤷🏻‍♀️. I loved riding the horses with my Dad too, it was just a really great part of my childhood. There was also one easter that I remember being out on the ranch and all of us kids had our baskets looking for chocolate eggs hidden everywhere... and at one point we all heard some kid shriek in absolute delight.. so we all came running to see what he/she found! The Easter Bunny had left a huge heap of chocolate eggs in a pile on the front lawn! (I had heard later on throughout my years that the Easter Bunny had drank too much "chocolate milk" the night before and accidentally dumped the eggs onto the lawn. 😂😂

I'm going to add another diary entry because I really don't have anything particularly to write about but I want to write....

Dear Diary, July 8, 1984

Today wasn't a good day! I got sent to my bedroom. But it was good too! I hope Grandma and grandpa are having a good time! I spent the night with Celine last night that's why I didn't write in you. I'm going to recreation tomorrow Celine's teaching. We're gonna go on hikes, camping, make things, play games and stuff! I have to go to the dentist on thursday. Well that's all I can think of. Bye!

Love Crystal

OKAY!!! If I haven't introduced you yet to my Auntie Celine, I will now! She is also one of my Mom's seesters. And because we were close in age and she loves kids we spent ALOT of time together. She is more my sister than my aunt too. So so so many of my favorite childhood memories are because of her! She would always come up with some fricken' cool idea! We would go ride horses, motorbikes, skidoo's, we would go skiing and skating, we would climb the Sandcliff's and have lunch up there, looking over the town. We would ride her moped all the way to Fairmont Hot Springs on the back roads to spend the day at the pools. We would go cross-country skiing to some old treehouse out in the bush someone had built and have a lunch. We would camp at Wasa Lake in a tent, in the rain and eat junk food and play cards. She would also come on trips with us, which were always a blast! She once, stayed over at my house on Christmas Eve because she wanted to see what I would get! It turned out to be the Holly Hobbit kitchen.... My childhood was so fun because of her!!

She is SO important to me that I asked her to be one of my bridesmaid's in my wedding and my daughter Shea has been named after her. Shea Celine Goosney. I really cannot portray here in words how amazing this human is to me. I miss her so so so so so much. Big hole.... big hole.... big hole trip me!!! (Inside joke 😉) One of the funniest memories that I have up in my crusty attic of a brain...

If ever there was a perfect sister out there, she was it! Things happen for a reason. Had I had brothers and sisters of my own I may have not had all of the wonderful times with her. And they probably wouldn't have been as cool as her either... Love you Auntie ❤️

Btw... not sure what got me sent to my bedroom? Because I was such a good child, I can't imagine why I would have been sent there? 😉🤣