The road to Canada was smooth as silk, the time to pack amazingly SHORT… We followed their saga via texts and then correspondence with the people they saw in Canada. Thank you so much Kristen, Fydo, Chris, Chris and of course Karyn… for putting up with Ken, for holding stuff for us, for keeping track of the guys. A major part of me wishes I could have been there, an even larger part was glad not to be confined to a vehicle for that length of time. Nana figured that it was a much easier drive on the guys due to its 2 hour planning time. No time to focus on the length of the drive.

Thank you so much Karyn for the bag of special stuff too!

That kept us close to home for another day to the great unhappiness of the boys. I, however, managed to write TWO letters in one. I really need to practice my penmanship. After the first page it gets a lot more sloppy than I would like. So more incentive on MY end to add to the letters… again if you are not on our pen pal list… please send me your name and info or email so we can exchange addresses. 

Of course we had time for some photos. She loves this dress and every time she wears it wants to take pictures

Anyway Saturday was nice and quiet and sunny and … lonely. It is amazing how much we miss our menfolk while they are gone. We did get ANOTHER pen pal letter in the mail today though! I honestly am loving the mail on Saturdays. A nice surprise on a weekend. The excitement in regards to our mail has already started. So on Monday we drafted a response!

Saturday night Arby’s picnic in the basement.

Pretty much Saturday, Sunday and then today (Monday) were all at home days. Sunday just after lunch the menfolk made their way here. They actually made the round trip in less than 3 days! That included sleep, two border crossings (both of which went well) and filling the trailer. We rushed right into the U-Haul when they got here and got it emptied well in time to avoid paying for 4 days as well!

Welcome home Daddy and Baba courtesy of Gavin (I had to write it out for him but we worked together on the spelling of welcome)

Waiting for the guys

Time to work

So Sunday was basically, get the U-Haul empty, return it, empty the Envoy and.. NAP! I think we were all worn out. But wow, the guys did an amazing job getting everything to fit in the space they had AND on top of that, it takes up so much LESS space in the garage. I am slightly afraid of when we are able to get our own place… exactly what are we going to have to fill it??? 

All the way from Canada in one piece, my Shandai Kurylo original!

Trying on a find

We did find quite a bit of what we were sure we needed immediately Sunday night… Ken’s second monitor… clothes for everyone… and after a tearful late night search – my dress from Chris and Chris’ wedding to wear to the Renaissance Fair! My friend Shandai works it and is getting us tickets. I am not sure if we will all go or just Ken and myself but I am so excited!! All I need to do is hunt down my hair things or come up with a style to do myself. 

Not THE dress, but the OTHER dress

Anyway… while we did not go far or do much, the kids were over the moon to see Daddy and Baba. And their toys… clothes and whatever we have unearthed so far. Everyone is officially well clothed again… options!!! And the boys have their precious trains and Legos! 

Today was a little more organized though schooling except our pen pal response was put on hold while I worked on opening and labeling buckets. I managed to complete 18 buckets and dismantle one of the few cardboard boxes before running out of steam and having to face that there is stuff in our room that requires sorting first. I am trying to figure out creative ways to keep stuff packed away but available as school and life must go on and I know that it will be some time before we can get into our own place. 

We had another first since getting here… Ken had his very first interview! He thinks it went well and now has code to do. On top of that on recommendation of my friend Shandai’s boyfriend he has applied at another company for 3 different positions. I have to say THAT company would be a perfect fit for him. So here’s hoping either the interview or this new company pans out and moves us along on our goals to getting our own place and starting to get our feet under us once again! 

The only big negative today was sadly related to my eyes. For some reason this year after years of relief I am getting back into the hay fever issues. I think I got some dust in my eye and then with them being so dry from some random plant that apparently I do not agree with it has NOT been a fun day. So tomorrow I am hoping we can get some over the counter remedies from Target. I am not sure what there is here in the states as I know it is different than in Canada where they all are. I was hoping to avoid the medications but I miss my contact lenses… oh and breathing better… 

The plan for the rest of the week… dig out the math books I know are there, find our supplies, educate on the butterflies and Mars rover before the interest fades… Oh and find those toys and other objects of interest that the kids are SURE are there. I still have to hunt down the tv remote for one of Ken’s favourite possessions – our personal tv.

I am hoping to squeeze some sewing in on that list but with the garage full of unlabeled buckets and our bedroom a stack of randoms… well I have my mission and 5 kids to balance so we shall see how it goes! Wish me luck! One more tie to Canada cut and one more root put down here in the USA!

Mobbing the Daddy and Baba

With a bit of a hello tacked on to boot! So let’s start with the most interesting… as was pointed out to me in a comment we should probably have rehung our chrysalis right away. Well we took some mesh and made a hanging sort of bed and gave our butterfly (when it arrived) the means to climb up and hang to dry off… we did not have long to wait! We checked our butterfly in the morning and then after my bath closer to lunch there she/he was! Since our container was tiny and our butterfly… not… it was time to head out to the bushes and give it the best start in life. So we found a portion of the bush that was out of the wind and let it climb out to dry off. It managed to end up behind  the leaves (for privacy?) and we said good bye and let it be. Emanuel was absolutely in love with the colours in the wing. Of course the boys ALL had to draw their own butterfly and once we get to the library we will talk all about the cycle that that lovely specimen went through.

In our container

On the way to freedom

Now anyone who has watched this blog for the last few months has got to have realize that once a plan gets put in place with this family we zip right along to completion. This was no exception. When we came down here we had our massive downsize and accompanying garage sale (thank you so much again Kristen, Fydo, Karyn and Sean!!!). Well the remains of that went into a storage unit, one box to Victoria, a bag forgotten in Karyn’s car (Bob) and Christmas items and tires left at Chris and Chris’. Well… FINALLY the forward motion has been taken to collect those items and bring them here… bring them HOME.

We looked at various options – U-Haul, fill a pod to be shipped, professional movers, the list goes on… and in the end, this morning… we came to the realization that the best thing to do is simply rent a U-Haul and use the Envoy to pull it to Canada and back again. Well, with the knowledge that Ken’s first interview of the Minnesota job hunt is MONDAY (ACK) and not tomorrow… the plan went into overdrive. A trailer was found, collected and hitched up… the menfolk ate supper, collected the necessities for a long drive (Ken turned down our Hello Kitty packed backpack and repacked in something much more… boring…) and off they went! Watch the whiplash! 

Watching a movie before bed

So that leaves yours truly and Nana as the adults in charge and for the first time EVER the girls outnumber the boys!!! 4 to 3! I am not sure what that will mean for the weekend but it HAS put our plans to spend Saturday with the Novak family on the backburner. Thank goodness we have all the weekends we want to fill with visits with them. We are HOME… I can honestly say I feel that now. While I miss A LOT in Canada… the list seems to unexpectedly grow at the oddest times. Did you know that there are no Cheezies in the US? Yup, add to the list… there is a lot to learn, see and do here. 

Working on some art together

Really I am finally starting to see the reason why we are here… we have family and friends to reconnect with, lakes to visit, and a whole new life to live. We absolutely canNOT forget about Canada and everyone and thing that mean something to us there but a new start is nothing to scoff at. Now if we could just get registered here for homeschooling… no word on the hiring and now we may be able to CHOOSE between two school districts we have some research to do. I am not sure if there are uniform benefits but it is worth doing the leg work. 

So we end our week on a brand new note… one full of excitement and all that for our stuff will be here by Sunday… Ken will be interviewing Monday and the rest of the month is there to be planned!!! Oh and did I mention we got our first letter back from our penpals! This was a lovely series of cards from Jimmie’s Gammie. (remember her from the Tyrell Museum trip or Echo’s Early Birthday?) She also included money for them ALL to have a slurpee… or in the case of Minnesota’s availability… Icees. So now we just need to pick a date to head out to a gas station and enjoy a replica of what we are used to. 

Thank you Gammie!!!!

So while life is NEVER perfect (I don’t care who you talk to) ours is pretty amazing! We have some minor ups and downs lately but life is settling down. The kids are happy, the time with family and friends absolutely amazing and the future plans are in the making. Of course a lot hinges on this weekend getting accomplished and Ken’s employment but that all sounds attainable! Feels good to feel optimism.

Trinity and her response to Gammie AND her name written out by her solo (not sure you can see it.. the y looks a little like an x but still WOW)

July 23 NOTE I totally screwed up and posted these out of order, but after weeks of this… not bad, one mess up!!!

The Novaks are not the only kids we are familiar with… so Monday was our chance to meet up with Bree and her son Quinn (I have mentioned him in the past… he is basically Trinity’s birthday buddy who was born the day before Trinity). I am so happy to share that Bree is expecting her second child!!! This is huge for us as when she was pregnant with Quinn and I with Trinity we were a country apart… funny enough, as we were leaving Canada our friends Kristen and Fydo ALSO announced that they are expecting their FIRST child!! Baby time!!!

Anyway… Monday afternoon we had Quinn and Bree over for a visit. Emanuel and Quinn bonded very quickly over Thomas.

Such a cutie

In fact, they brought special gifts for all of the kids except Echo who has to wait the few weeks until her birthday. Emanuel was over the moon with his Angry Birds blanket, and Trinity with her Hello Kitty themed stickers and nail polish. The twins have an iTunes card to use to buy apps once I get the iPad moved over to the US stores. Such thoughtful gifts!

Note the blanket

After fun in the sun room and watching cartoons together it was time to debate supper… since Bree had never been and Ken hadn’t in 3 years we decided on White Castle. It did not go over too well BUT it was fun and it was something we definitely wanted to try once with the kids.

NOT huge fans

Smiles

Echo with her American Godmommy

After sliders Bree took us all out for ice cream at a place a wee bit more familiar – Dairy Queen. 

ICE CREAM

Our 4 year olds

By this point it was sprinkling so we nixed the park idea and decided to head home for bed. It was a wonderful visit, with the promise of many more! 

Sadly through all this Nana had to go out to emergency to be checked out. It turns out she (and we later find out Zachary) was diagnosed with strep throat. Thankfully it seems only those two were caught with it. But not fun for Nana with 48 hours in quarantine. Thank goodness she had a bathroom of her own and a tv at her disposal. 

Of course we started our school time

Trinity and her Pre-K workbook

Emanuel and his Kindergarten review