Here We Go!

The movers arrived this morning and started to pack all of our belongings for our move. They will come back tomorrow to pack the rest and then on Friday it all gets loaded onto the truck. I am in a bit of shock that it is actually happening, but here it goes!

That said, the computer will be packed up this evening and I don't know when I will next have access to it.

Wish me luck!

Friends.... I am going to miss you

Yesterday was one of the best and worst days ever. Mostly it was the best. It was busy, having several different appointments/dates/meetings and everything else that is going on, but it was good.

I went to my last meeting as the secretary for LaFF, wrapped up my time with them and voted in a new secretary. I truly enjoyed my time on the board it was so rewarding and also enlightening not to mention a wonderful way to bring a mom-brain back into work-mode. I had no idea how much work and effort goes into making a successful program for the 0-6 and am amazed at the how much the current board has accomplished in the past few years - I think it will be exciting to see what hapens in the year(s) to come for LaFF. Anyways, the rest of the board and staff at LaFF also let me know how much I was appreciated and gave me a lovely card and pottery vase by a local potter which was such a thoughtful and unexpected gift and that was the start of the tears... but it was lovely all the same.

That evening was to be the last of my dinners out with the ladies too, which we decided should be a bit more adventurous than some of our other dinners, since it would be my last... so we chose Mexican food and dancing!

Dinner was excellent although I don't think I have ever had bad Mexican food... but as per usual the best part was the conversation. There were eight of us there and we had a lot of laughs and margaritas and I think we were there for nearly three hours! As we were wrapping up with dessert and tea the ladies pulled out some gifts that they had collectively bought for me. First the card was a painting of Transfer Beach, which got the tears flowing yet again... then I pulled out a beautiful print by EJ Hughes of High Street in Ladysmith which took my words away. I just got myself under control when Kimberly (who also lives in Saltair) pulled out another print by EJ Hughes, this one of the Lagoon Bridge.

Did you hear me?? THE LAGOON BRIDGE!!!

I was so blown away - the Lagoon Bridge is forever going to be one of those meaningful places... so much so that my family refers to it as the "M"agoon because Maria was convinced that was what it was called to the point of correcting other people who called it the Lagoon. So much so that the moment we KNEW we were moving I took a photo everytime I went over the Lagoon Bridge. So much so that I was totally overwhelmed and crying again/still.

We never did go dancing as we were all tired and or recently sick/injured and a few even have new babies so the few of us who were not quite ready to go home went for another cup of tea and some more talking to cap off an emotional day.

Anyway long story short I was overcome by these wonderful women who have become such a part of my life is a relatively short amount of time. It was so awesome and amazing that they think enough of me to have given me such a wonderful day with such thoughtful and insightful gifts and I will miss you all so very much.

Getting On With It...

For the last month we have been living life as though nothing was going to change... with the exception being that Hubby finished his job down here and started work up there... So he has been up there working for 2 weeks and then home for 2 weeks, up for 2 weeks and tonight he comes home, but when he goes back - we go with him!

My dog chasing a sea otter at our beach... I am going to miss this

So my freaking out has started, but it is fairly minor. This may be because I don't have to pack, or maybe because there is so much going on in the next week and a half that there is no time to panic... I am sure at some point in the next few weeks I will freak out though... I don't know if it is human nature or not, but it is definately MY nature.

Daylights Saving Time... grrr

I hate daylight savings time... Well I don't hate it after the fact, I just hate the change-over... Anything that robs me of an hour of sleep is evil...

Which is another good thing about Fort Saint John... they don't change their time back and forth. They stay on daylight savings time all year long. Which means that yesterday when Michael got off work at 6:30 it was only 5:30 here... but today it will be the same time... and it means that by moving there, I won't have to lose an hour of sleep for a long time... well not because of a time change anyway.

Coastal Limbo...

Well, as we are still on the coast for nearly another two months we are taking advantage of the fact that it is pretty much spring here... Today I spent some time outside photographing the flowers that are blooming ...

"Did you hear me Fort Saint John? The flowers that are BLOOMING... You might have them but you wouldn't know as they are still under the snow..."

Also taking advantage of the fact that we still have a family doctor (who diagnosed me with pneumonia and Allan with Bronchitis - crap!) I don't know what the GP situation is up in FSJ but I did notice that there were several walk-in clinics which I am assuming means that there aren't enough GP's to go around... but that is pretty much a Canada-wide issue not just a northern one... I am thinking that we will keep our family doctors here since we will be coming back quite a bit (that is the plan anyway).

Michael is doing well up north, he is tired and still getting to know the ropes but he seems positive and is looking forward to us all being up there.

I have also been contacting a bunch of different sports clubs/organizations up in FSJ and it seems there is a plethora of things the kids can do to keep busy... baseball/soccer/gymnastics/swimming and just about any other activity you can imagine... even for Allan!

So we are still in limbo, but we are starting to get healthy again and we are going to enjoy our limbo as best we can... in springtime weather

Germs and Goodbyes

Well, I think I mentioned that I got sick while we were up in FSJ last weekend... really sick... more sick than I recall being for a long time... I started feeling better, a little anyway. Now Allan has it, the poor monkey. Yesterday he had fevers all day and night, they finally broke at 4 this morning. Today he has a nasty cold still, but not the fevers, thank goodness. We are just hoping that Maria doesn't get it.

The goodbye was to Michael. He had to go start his new job up in FSJ today so he left two days ago (it takes that long to get there!) I miss him, it is going to be a long two months...

Whirlwind

Well... it is probably easier to say what didn't happen since I last posted! We didn't win the lottery... I didn't grow...

However... a few (read a lot) things have been going on. Hubby and I had the first real trip away from the kids since we had kids - where did we go?? Oh right, I already said we were going to FSJ (apparently that is the common usage)

So after riding a ferry to take the kids to the in-laws then taking the ferry back home, catching an airplane before dawn the next day to then get to Vancouver and wait for an hour or three until the flight to FSJ. Arriving in FSJ driving around to get bearings, meeting the realtor, touring four houses (all of which were large but one was officially gigantic), debating and waffling and deciding and waffling some more to decide on which house, driving past the new place of employment, driving up to see brother-in-law and family, driving up to see friends, getting sick as a dog, finally deciding on a house, placing an offer, getting the counter (these people are not making it easy to buy this house) making another offer which is finally accepted about an hour before we leave to catch a plane from FSJ to Vancouver and then finally to Nanaimo... I would have to say that it was not the best get-a-way I have ever had... although probably one of the most memorable!

The people who currently own the house that we are buying SUCK. There really is no way around it - they suck and we are suckers and I don't wan't to talk about THAT anymore. However, the house itself is lovely and looks like it will be a nice place to call home - it is also three houses from a huge park. I think it will be great.

Our New House

We also checked out Maria's school and got her registered while we were up there (I forgot to mention in my above ramble) The school is awesome. I am so impressed. I think I had my bias brain showing, I was expecting it to be kind of half-assed since it is up North - but I was very wrong. The place is amazingly bright and artistic and friendly and well-equipped (the teachers are not only immersion teachers but also with fine arts background, and the computer lab was excellent) All the doors are painted with different murals, there are paintings and art all over the place... It is a big school, there are about 400 students, and I must say that the secretary seemed to know all the students names! We met Maria's future teacher and she seems great - very bohemian... dreadlocks, overalls, scarves, and very French Canadian. The amount of french that she was speaking to the students seemed a lot more than what Maria is currently getting here - so hopefully it won't be too overwhelming for her.

Part of the Playground at Maria's New School

Anyway, a lot more has been going on too, but that is probably more than enough for now... The big news for today is that Michael has left... He is driving up today and tomorrow and starts work on Monday morning. We are hoping that they will double up his shift during training so that he can double up his time off too (8 on and 12 off) which would make him able to come home during his days off but Monday will tell...

Busy times.