March was probably one of the most challenging months we've ever lived through. So many things had to come together and we were only able to accomplish this great feat through the gracious help of friends, neighbors and our very supportive families.
We wrapped up February with Allison having her last day at All About Women, and me finishing all my 2010 team performance reviews from Lancaster. This was my last major activity with my team in Lancaster before transitioning my focus to the office in Burnaby. Before a send-off dinner with the management team in Lancaster, Allison and I were killing a half-hour, sitting in the car together having a coffee and the sadness of leaving our work relationships hit us both pretty hard. It's dark and raining....and we're both crying. I would have laughed out loud at you if you said that I would react like that a few weeks earlier to changes at work...
I guess it was the gravity of realizing what I was leaving..... I'm proud to have served as a manager that my direct reports felt comfortable communicating with openly. In speaking with every one during appraisals, I was humbled by the genuine thanks for my support and dozens of examples shared recalling where I was able to make a difference for them.
So March began with me in Vancouver for the first week... On the 5th when I got back, we sat down around the kitchen table and nailed down a plan to try and get this process over as quick as we could. I have to laugh as we did this with Molly's crayons on some calendar templates. The plan was to prep for the final move as much as possible in the 2nd week, I would return to Vancouver in the 3rd week and be back home on the 18th. We scheduled the movers to arrive at the house on Monday the 21st, with the truck leaving mid-week. Then I would travel back to Vancouver for the last week of the month, to meet our household items on the truck at customs... unpack into the house, fly back to Lancaster... gather up the family and make the final trip to our new home on April 6th. Craziness "eh?".
So plan in hand we went to work. Thankfully we had been "purging" during the month prior, going through closets, the basement, pantry, shed, garage and getting rid of stuff we just didn't need any more. We staged all the stuff for storage in the garage during the week, rented a truck on the weekend and with the help of a good friend we moved it into storage. Here's Owen after helping unload.
Just for the comedy of it, here's Molly practicing her Pilates with Allison,
During my travels, we talked quite a bit over the phone.. I have to laugh at this one as Allison called and Molly was telling me about Bailey wearing her glasses. Owen took some pictures to document the deed.
and more for poor Bailey.. the victim of Owen's creativity. Why wouldn't a fun-loving Westie enjoy being adorned with a purple feather boa! Look into his eyes... I think this was a new low point for him. :)
Both of our parents were 100% behind our plans, all mixed with some pain in knowing we would be thousands of miles away instead of hours up the road. We have always had great relationships with our in-laws and the kids loved and enjoyed quality time with their grandparents over the years. This was a really difficult part of this decision for us... knowing that we would limit to some extent the personal interaction we would all have in the coming years. As we worked through this month, we couldn't have done it without their help.
Here's Molly mixing up some yummy cookies with Grandma Lynn
Owen helping to patch and paint with Grandpa.
When I returned on the 18th, my parents graciously offered to watch Molly and Owen over the weekend so Allison and I could make the final push for preparing the house and packing before the movers arrived. We also had to plan and pack enough clothes for the remaining time in the states.. all while considering we would have to travel with whatever we kept behind. The kids had a wonderful time with mom and dad over this weekend and I'll post edit this with some pictures later as I don't have them with me.
The movers showed up on Monday morning en force! There was a scheduling error that resulted in two packing crews... so what was a 2 day job was completed in about 8 hours. We changed our plans in the middle of the day to move into a local hotel because the house was just full of boxes. Also Allison's car was getting packed into the trailer so we rented a vehicle that we would also use until we made the final move. Thus began our nomadic life! Owen was still in school during this last week, so it was up early in the morning to catch the bus at school.. then meet the crew as they planned for loading. They couldn't bring the moving trailer right to the house because of length restrictions on our road, so they setup a shuttle with a uhaul truck and parked the tractor/trailer in a parking lot about 3 miles up the road. There's a long story here also about the driver's tractor breaking down on a local hill, and losing a day in the process, but that's all in the details. Tuesday night, our house was empty. The next few days we spent cleaning and painting to leave the house in show condition.
Thursday was Owen's last day of school and he was a little sad, but excited at the same time. Thursday night we transitioned over to living with Allison's parents where Allison and the kids would stay for the following week while I was in Vancouver.
Here's Molly with Grandpa checking out the birds!
And Grandma with her little girls...
Allison made time to have some fun with the kids while I was away on my last trip, visiting the hands-on house. Owen is the consummate propeller man....
And Molly loves to dress up...
Play shopping...
And of course drive tractors... what every girl dreams of... Uncle Donny would be proud!
More tractor riding together...
So for the last week of March, I was in Vancouver working, waiting for a call from the driver to let me know when he would be in town. I had to meet the goods at customs to receive them and pay for the import duties. Downside is that some of the driver's schedule was mis-communicated and instead of arriving mid-week, he was in town on Friday afternoon. I had to extend my trip by a day so we could get the truck unpacked. I also went through the process of buying a car in Vancouver during this week. April 1 was our 11th anniversay...
I met the driver and the unpacking crew early Saturday morning and I was amazed at how quickly it went. Thankfully the weather cooperated and it didn't rain. By 2pm, they were done and pulling away. The move was mostly a success with some minor casualties, including the windshield of Allison's car. Credit to the moving crew as they arranged for the repairs and had it fixed by the time we arrived back in Vancouver.
I stayed up most of Saturday night getting bedrooms unpacked, beds made and the kitchen unpacked to a functional level. I got a few hours of sleep and caught an early morning flight out of Vancouver on Sunday.
Owen enjoying a cream filled... his favorite.
Molly usually goes with the brute force method. Jam as much in as possible and chew... sometimes laughing and once in a while sneezing if she get's a powdered one, which is usually quite funny until we have to clean up all the bits of sneezed donut.
And we collected a few pictures of our little Molly over the month... She's taking on such a bigger than life personality. Constantly telling us stories and making sure we know how she's feeling and what she thinks should be going on around her.
Probably a year ago now, we gave Owen some goggles to wear in the bathtub because he was freaking out about getting soap & water in his eyes when he was washing his hair. Well, Molly of course, needed to have some also after seeing brother wear these super cool things... she calls them her "goggies" and they are too big of course, but I have to laugh out loud every time she wears them...
Allison picked up a pair of big-girl sunglasses a few months back and Molly has become obsessed with them also. She has been known to nap with them on, and there doesn't need to be sun out for her to insist on wearing them. Try to not smile and say hi to this little diva when she greets you on one of her shopping trips. :)
Seth and Mary drove down with their family, and met us at Epcot on the first day. Seth gritted his teeth and did not vomit after riding Space with Alyssa. The first characters we saw were Chip & Dale. Dale has a red nose for those of you that are wondering.
On to the sea where Molly just loved the aquarium. I think the kids would have spent most of the afternoon there if we let them. As usual, Turtle Talk with Crush was a huge hit.
Still in Epcot for dinner and we ran into the Chipmunks again.
First Mickey sighting of the trip!
Making memories.
Magic Kingdom on day 2. Molly on the ever-favorite carousel.
And brother right behind her.
Molly was so silly with her 3D glasses. Here she is laughing it up with Aunt Mary.
Two peas in a pod. Owen and Riley in Tomorrow Land.
I can say enough how happy we were with how the kids played and occupied themselves during meals. This was a pretty typical picture of the gang as we waited for food. Busy coloring, filling in mazes, playing tic-tac-toe. It was great to see.
Molly's birthday was a rough day... for Owen. Unfortunately he came down with a 12 hour bug that we discovered as he bolted to the bathroom at 7am in the morning and threw up. Then again... and again.. and again. My poor little guy must have thrown up at least 10 times or more every half hour or so during the morning and early afternoon. Finally during the middle of the afternoon I packed him up and we drove to the resort store and picked up some ginger ale... after some sips the sugar and hydration kicked in and he was able to sleep for a few hours. When he got up, we hydrated some more, no more puking and we were on the mend. We met the family for dinner at downtown disney, where Grandma and Grandpa joined us as well. Allison, Molly and the rest of everyone enjoyed Animal Kingdom during the day.
Dinner with the family... Molly's birthday cookie and scoop of icecream!
The next day, Owen was back in shape and ready to take on the world. For his birthday we took him to the new RC car shop at Downtown disney, Ridemakerz. Here, the kids can pick out the type of car they want, wheels, stickers, build the car and test it out. Owen was in his glory.
Chef Mikey's
Riding the teacups with crazy Uncle Seth!
My princess.
Owen with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible.
At Hollywood Studios on our last day... waiting in line at the Toy Story ride. Molly was watching Mr. Potato head. :)
After we made it home to Philadelphia, we told Owen about our decision to move to Canada. He took it reasonably well initially, then as he started thinking about it more, he really took it pretty hard and cried about moving away from our house, his school, his grandparents and all his friends. Allison is in the back-seat crying with him and I'm trying to hold it together piloting the car down the turnpike. After talking things through with him for 20 minutes or so, he fell asleep and we had an awful quiet ride home. The next morning, he was like a different kid... we looked at pictures of Vancouver, and he started getting excited.
