Basketball, Travel, Speaking Engagement
Kayla Alexander
Senegal Day 1 - SEED Project

I, along with the COC (Canadian Olympic Committee) and Canada Basketball visited the SEED Basketball Academy in Dakar. Our visit to their campus began with meeting the coaches. You could hear their thirst for knowledge in the questions they were asking. They were passionate about what they do and wanted to equip their young athletes with everything they needed to be successful.

Senegal Day 1 - SEED Project
Life, Basketball
Kayla Alexander
Milton Walk of Fame

To think that I have now been inducted into the town of Milton’s Walk of Fame is both an incredible honour and also a bit of a shock. I am honored that my name was even considered for this incredible distinction and I have been incredibly fortunate, but I feel like I’m not done. There is so much I have yet to do, and goals on my list I have yet to reach.

Milton Walk of Fame
Travel, Life, Faith, Basketball
Kayla Alexander
Christmas in Cairns!

After he gave us our wet suit, snorkels and flippers, we jumped into the water. The first sea creature I saw everywhere  was jellyfish! So, obviously I - and the family I was on tour with - started freaking out! It turns out that these jelly fish (which were a beautiful purple color and looked so graceful and soft in the water) were called moon jellyfish. Although they can and do sting humans (it feels like a mosquito bite or small zap), they're not poisonous. Of course, I did not learn this until later in the day, so whenever I saw a large group of them during the actual tour, I…

Christmas in Cairns!
Travel, Faith
Kayla Alexander
Melbourne part 4, Shrine of Remembrance and ...

As I was leaving the botanical gardens, I noticed a tiny garden of poppies. Growing up, I’ve always worn the pins on Veterans Day and have seen pictures of poppies, but I don’t recall ever seeing a poppy in real life. So, obviously I snapped some pictures! This little garden was called The Legacy Garden, with a small plaque in front that said the following…

Melbourne part 4, Shrine of Remembrance and Fitzroy!
Travel, Faith
Kayla Alexander
Melbourne part 3, Royal Botanic Gardens ...

If you were to look at my phone, you would probably find a good 500 pictures purely of nature; plants, trees, flowers, leaves, ponds, the ocean and green sceneries. I am obsessed! I feel close to God in many instances, but when I am consumed by nature, surrounded by it, observing it, sitting or walking in it silently, admiring its beauty, listening to the quiver of the leaves in the wind, the birds chirping, the crashing of the waves, or a disturbance in the bushes - just me and my thoughts - that’s when I always feel engulfed by Him.

Melbourne part 3, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria!
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Melbourne Part 2: Art Vo!

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Melbourne Part 2: Art Vo!

Over the next hour or so, I became well aquatinted with Cody, Alex and Cheryl. They were all super friendly, kind, and made the entire experience a lot of fun! Not only will they take your picture, but they will also give you ideas about how to pose in the most realistic location so that you appear as if you are part of the art. They also have an interactive app that I recommend you download called Art Vo. Through the app, there are certain paintings that move, allowing you to create a movie within the painting. Super cool…

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Melbourne Part 1: Street Art and Eureka Skydeck

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Melbourne Part 1: Street Art and Eureka Skydeck

I will never forget the feeling I had over a decade ago when I first walked the streets of Paris as a teenager. The bustling roads, full of cars and pedestrians of varying races; the architecture, each building a giant standing piece of art. The Seine running through the city (I am drawn to water), and the parks, how trees, plants, and the grass contrasted with the concrete jungle that gave us shelter and food. I was drawn to this city, it was mesmerizing, a new experience yet I felt at home here. I could see myself living my daily life within the streets of Paris. Well, my first night exploring Melbourne on my own, that familiar feeling came back, I felt at home, like I belonged here.

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Wow, just wow

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Wow, just wow

When I was a young kid, even as a teenager planning out my life, I never imagined I would be living the life I currently have now. Every dream I had as a child, God has surpassed in ways I never thought possible - hence, why I always live by the mantra ‘Dream Big’. All the dreams I had for my life were so small (not in a bad way) compared to how God has carved out my life. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of hard work, sweat, tears, sacrifice, blood, more tears and frustration were a part of the journey. However, I am so fortunate and thankful that I, at this moment and time in my life, have a job (if you can even call it that) that I absolutely love!  Some key reflections…

Adelaide Himeji Garden & Watching the Sun Set

At first, it seemed like the sun had no intentions of setting. It descended the night sky quite slowly. However, once it hit the sea line, it seemed as if the sun was in a hurry to disappear. It was so cool to watch the sun, this bright white light in the sky, gradually change to yellow and then a bright orange while it was ducking beneath the sea line for the night. I think my favorite part might have been how the sky changed after the sun had vanished. It was like God had taken His water color paint set out and was using the sky as His canvas. It was beautiful! He’s painted how many hundreds of millions of sunsets? Yet they always seem to capture our eye, and never look the same!

Off Day Vibes Part 2, Clare Valley

First stop was the Spring Gully Lookout. Less than a 10 minute drive away, I was able to get a pretty nice view of some of the surrounding land and wineries in the area. I do appreciate the variation in the land, vegetation and views that Australia has to offer. Being on this hill by myself was so serene, I felt like I had all this land to myself.

Off Day Vibes Part 1, Bumbunga Lake

The second thing I noticed was the texture of the ground as I walked closer to the lake. It didn’t feel like sand, and the hard crunch under my feet reminded me of winters spent trekking through hardened, packed snow.  Except, it obviously wasn’t snow – it was salt. In some of the photos I took you can see a faint pink color but…

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Botanic Gardens of South Australia

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Botanic Gardens of South Australia

We were also exposed to the Corpse flower, yes, you read that correctly, the Corpse flower. It doesn’t look like a flower in my opinion, more like a giant fruit. It may not be the most vibrant or prettiest flower around (in its current state pictured above) but it certainly gets your attention. Not only is it a fairly large flower, but it has a terrible stench. I wonder if maybe that is where it gets its name?