We arrived at 6:00 PM local time and got everything out of our vehicles and trailer and into the house. Since everything was well labelled, most stuff ended up where is belonged thankfully. That makes it a lot easier when setting everything up.
This is what our place looked like the next morning.
The living room.
The dining room, which we will use as the office.
The kitchen.
Our room.
Calvin’s room.
The guest room.
I was very much looking forward to the drive through the mountains to our new prairie home, and it certainly didn’t disappoint!
Calvin is all ready to go in his cozy corner of the car.
Waiting in line at the ferry for the last time for a while.
Heading away from the island.
We left midday on Thursday and made it to Clearwater where we spent the night. I was afraid that Calvin would be up all night since he slept a good portion of the driving time, but he only woke up once, which is a good night on a normal basis!
In the morning we got back out on the road for the jaunt through the Rockies.
So pretty in the foggy morning.
Calvin played, slept and cried during the drive. Mostly slept.
Max and Ruby (no, they were not named that intentionally), our trusty wheels.
Calvin is almost as tall as Mount Robson!
Okay, he is a tiny little boy.
Just outside of Edmonton. It is flat.
I’m glad it was an enjoyable drive, and that Calvin did so well too. I am looking forward to more trips back and forth in the future!
I felt pretty organized during the week leading up to our move date. Things were going into boxes at a good rate and I felt like I could leave if given an hour to do the last stuff. But when it came down to it, I was still packing up a good half of the kitchen when Tim and his dad started loading the trailer. It worked out well though, since there were loose items that could be stuffed in the holes between the big furniture.
At the end of the day, the trailer was too small for all of our stuff. We left the glider, some shelves, an armchair, the vacuum, three dining chairs, and some Christmas decorations behind (listed in the order I miss them). We are still working on how to get them back to us, but they are all items that can wait…for now. The glider I miss when it is 1:00 AM and Calving decides he is hungry. The shelving I need because I don’t have enough cupboard space. The armchair is cozy and it would be nice to host more than one extra person for a dinner sometime.
But life isn’t about the stuff we have, and the majority did get to come along, so we are happy and getting settled in as we speak.
Calvin and Daddy took a break before the trailer arrived.
Loading the UHaul.
On one of our lasts evening in town, we went up Mount Doug for one last look down on our beautiful Victoria. We sure are going to miss this!
On top of Mount Doug.
4.5 years ago I knew not a single soul in Victoria. Kate, my roommate, was a friend easily made, as were a large group of young adults at Oaklands Chapel. It’s fun making new friends as an adult, and I am looking forward to doing it again in Edmonton, but it is sad to leave them behind.
My good friend Anna threw us a little goodbye get together before we left. It was lots of fun, and I am going to miss these people all dearly!
Anna the best hostess.
Jessi and little Ethan
Caity
Sarah
Right now we are on the ferry headed away from our Island home for the last time. Yesterday was spent packing up the UHaul trailer, and this morning was spent cleaning our place. The trailer ended up being a tad too small for our earthly posessions, so some had to stay behind. We are thinking of different ways to get it out to us. Does anybody have experience with shipping larger loads?
It is sad to leave the island, but I am looking forward to a beautiful drive to our new home. It is also good that we won’t have to deal with the ferries anymore! When I moved here 4.5 years ago, it cost about $9 in the winter and $12 in the summer, and now it is $15 all year round (not to mention the cost of a vehicle)! Glad to have those expenses out of our lives.
I will be back with photos to share when we get into Edmonton and have our Internet hooked up, but until then, happy trails to us!
One of the hard parts about leaving Langley 4.5 years ago was leaving my home church. I grew up at NLCC, and that is the only church I ever knew. My roommate in Victoria, Kate, went to Oaklands Chapel, so I tagged along with her. I didn’t really feel like doing the whole church shopping thing. I quickly got involved, helping on a worship team, and it started to feel like home. As the years went on, I was involved in a few other areas and made lots of friends. It’s hard not to there! Eventually Tim came along and Oaklands became “our” church instead of just “mine”.
I feel like I lived a lot of my life there. I went from being a single girl to a married mother. Oaklands has seen me through a lot, and now we are parting ways. It’s kind of exciting going to a new place and meeting new people, but I am going to miss the people of Oaklands and the great fun and learning that went on there.
Last night the ladies held a New Beginnings Shower for the 5 babies born in the past year, so I was a part of that. It was kind of funny, since they were welcoming Calvin, yet saying goodbye to us at the same time. It just goes to show how easy it is to become a part of the family.