2008 Retreat

You should have all received the 2008 Retreat information package in the mail by now. The next retreat will take place at the Hills Health Spa and Ranch in 108 Mile, BC over 3 nights from May 24 to 27, so start saving your pennies now!

In your information package you should have received a pamphlet showing you the difference packages the Hills has to offer. Feel free to pick which ever package suites your desires for the weekend. The prices for the weekend will vary from around $500 to $1100 but all of them include your meals while you are there. When looking at the prices use the quad rates. Most of the packages are based on 2 nights stay but you can usually find the cost of the additional night directly below on the pamphlet.

We will be staying in the cabins which room 3 to 6 people (6 if we are all sharing beds). Should we get enough people attending they will book off 2 cabins beside each other. I will be confirming with them what the minimum is needed to book the 2 cabins, however depending on the size of the group attending next year we may need 3!!!!

The inital booking will be set up at the beginning of November. The group booking will be set up by me and then each individual will have to call in and set up their own account under the group booking. Once the group booking is complete I will notify the group through the blog. You will each then be responsible for your our bookings, packages and payments. Each individual will be required to make a deposit of 25% of the package that you choose at the time of the booking. Just remember when booking to confirm the actual cost of your package as the pamphlets we have are the 2007 prices and may change at anytime.

We are requesting that your deposit be made no later than November 30, 2007. This will give you the whole month of November to make your booking. We are setting this date because we need to know how many cabins to reserve and we will be putting together a special package for each attending retreat member and will need to know the numbers involved as early as possible. Once again it is only the deposit we are asking that you make, the remainder of the package can be paid at a later date. If for some reason you are not able to make your deposit by this date but have every full intention of attending the retreat, please contact me directly so that we have a full numbers count.

Should life happen... as it sometimes does and you cannot make the retreat but have already made your deposit, you can receive 100% refund of your deposit if you advise the resort in writing 30days or more before the arrival date.

If there are any other questions, please contact me directly at mscrackerjack@hotmail.com, or call me at home at 250-964-1186. I request that any questions to be directed through me so that the resort is not dealing with calls from each of use as we may all have the same questions. If you have misplaced your information package or would just like to take a look at what's online the link is http;//www.spabc.com. Any questions that I get I will respond to the individual immediately and I will post the questions and answers on the blog for everyone else to view at least every 2 weeks.

Well that is enought babbling from me! Hope to see you all at the retreat!

Dani's update

Hey guys! geez it's been a while.. sorry! i can't remember if i emailed you guys about my finger but here's the story. basically i broke my pinky finger playing floor hockey. when i got the xrays done the doctor was concerned about a 'csyt-like mass' in the bone where my finger had broke. so he called his friend (a hand specialist) and got an appointment for me. the hand specialist and he said the mass was a tumor and would have to be removed or i'd just keep breaking the finger. but the bone had to heal from the break before he could fix it. i had my hand into a cast upto my elbow for a few weeks then had to wait for a surgery date.

My boyfriend Phil (from Scotland) came to visit me on June 29th, and then on July 6th i went in for a 2-hour procedure.. but they kept me in the hospital overnight. i had some problems with the morphine they gave me (kept throwing up) ubtil they put me on Percocet. i was released the following afternoon.. which was good cause my friend Andrew (from England) came to visit. the drugs made me able to manage taking the boys to the stampede, but my

hand was still pretty sore. on the 10th the 3 of us flew to BC where i showed them around Vancouver Island. Andrew went home on the 14th but Phil and I stayed until the 25th. it was a nice visit with my family!

Phil went home on the 2nd :( and i'm still off work until September 1st. but i've got some good news! my aunt, mom, and sister were planning on going to the UK (and ireland and paris) in september and i was so bummed out i couldn't go. but i just found out today that work is giving me the time off!! i'm so excited! i feel guilty taking more time off... but this would be the trip of a lifetime to have the girls of the family on a trip together!

So that's a little update. the cast comes off on August 20th and then i'll be in physio. oh! and i forgot to mention the tumor was benign :)

The pics - top: my floor hockey team the Dirty Birds; top right: my hand all casted up; bottom left: Phil, me, and Andrew in Cathrdeal Grove; bottom right: Stotan Falls in Courtenay