Tuesday, July 29, 2008

We're Moving - AGAIN!

Yup, that's right, you read it right - we are moving after only being in this house for 10 months! Many of you have already heard this news, but I'm going to answer the most frequently asked questions in this post. So, here goes my self-interview!


Where are you moving to?
St. Albert, Alberta - a suburb of Edmonton, about 3 hours north of where we are now.


Why in the world are you moving?
During the last week of June, Joshua was invited to be included in an audit to learn about the process. The bank branch that he ended up going to was St. Albert. While there, he really connected with the branch manger, Jeff, who offered Joshua a job there. At first mention of this outrageous proposition (at least that's what I thought!), I was sincerely hoping it was all a joke. But, alas, it was not, and the discussion turned serious very quickly. Right now, Joshua's title wit the bank is retail account manager. He has wanted to get into the commercial side of the bank, as he moves towards his goal of eventually being a branch manager. This new position that he was offered was for commercial account manager. Long story short, he decided to go for it. This move jumps him ahead about a year and half.


When do you actually move?
We already bought a new house in St. Albert (on July 19th!) and the possession date is September 5th. Because we are moving with the bank, they pay for us to have movers! It feels so weird to not be packing right now. I feel like I should be doing something! The moving company packs everything in one day - can you imagine?! So, they'll come Sept. 4th to pack and then we'll be moved into the new house the next day.


How do you feel about this?
This was pretty tough for me to swallow. I cried a lot during the decision making process. I'm still accepting everything - it happened so fast. I would not say that I'm excited, but the last few days have been more positive for me. I would say that I'm mostly apprehensive, sad and stressed out at this point. Change is usually not exciting for me. I am a very loyal friend and it hurts so much to say good-bye. I am spending my summer, hanging out with friends as much as possible, and visiting all the places I will miss most in the Calgary area. I am thankful for the movers, so that I can truly enjoy these next 5 weeks.


Have you sold your current house yet?
Not yet, but we are hopeful! We listed it 6 days ago. Last night we had our first showing. Then there were 2 this morning, and another one this afternoon! Please pray that we will soon have an offer. Showing a house has got to be one of the most stressful things out there. While we were cleaning up the house for the showing yesterday, I kind of lost it. I was screaming at Joshua because I was just so frustrated and mad. Mad that I even had to clean my house, so that I could show it to someone who might buy it. Deep down inside, I don't even want to sell my house. I know it's just a house, but Joshua and I are both having a hard time letting go of this one for some reason. It is "just a house," but it's a house full of memories and maybe that's the difficulty. We have a lot of great memories from this home.


How are the kids taking this?
Sara and Sky are being way more mature about this than their mother at this point! They are excited to move close to Grandma and Grandpa, who live in another suburb in Edmonton. They love the new house and can't wait to move in and have new rooms. They even seem to be O.K. with the fact that we will have to make new friends. I'm grateful for their positive attitudes. It might get tougher for them once we actually move, but for now they are their normal, happy selves!


What is the new house like?
Well, it's beautiful and I just happen to have pictures from the MLS listing! Here are a few of them. There's not a good picture of the backyard, but it's amazing! There's a stream that flows over rocks and runs into a pond. Lots of mature trees, a gazebo, and even a hot tub! We will be quite comfortable, and I know that over time, it will feel like home again.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

100th Post!

Wow! This is my 100th post! I'll celebrate by making it one of my shortest posts ever... Tomorrow morning we're heading to Jasper, AB for the big family vacation camping trip! It's been a busy day, doing laundry, packing bags and tubs, washing fruit, etc. I think it's about ready... I just have to grate some cheese... (Should've bought the pre-grated stuff, but couldn't bring myself to pay the price!) Joshua had all of last week off of work as well. We had such a fun week, but I'll have to post all about it when we get home. The highlights were shopping at the mall, visiting the Science Centre, and a day at the Calgary Stampede. Oh, and learning to play Guitar Hero - Joshua found one at the mall on Wednesday! The kids are worn out, so maybe that will help them sleep really good while we're camping... I think we'll have fun, as long as it doesn't rain too much and the bears stay away... :-) Jasper is just beautiful and there are so many lakes and waterfalls and canyons to explore there! I'm really looking forward to it!

I'll leave you with a few pictures from this weeks activities.

Here is astronaut Sky...

This is Sara being elevated on a bed of nails at the Science Centre! We all tried it- very freaky!

And now we have cowboy Sky, chewing on a piece of grass...

And the very adorable cowgirl, Sara! Doesn't she look great in a cowboy hat?!

I'll be back to report on the camping trip next week! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

This year was the first time I got to celebrate Canada Day as a Canadian citizen! It has been a really fun day so far. We met some friends on Main St. this morning for the Canada Day parade. Our friends are early risers and we are not. So, they got went early to get a good spot and save some room for us! That's my good friend, Penny, under the umbrella. Her 2 boys are sitting on the blanket with Sky. Zachary is 8 and Micah is 6. Sara and Jennadee (4 1/2) are sitting in the little chairs on the left. (Both not looking at the camera!)


And here are the two dads. Richie and Joshua. They were gentlemen and stood the whole time, so the moms and children could sit! Thanks guys!

A better look at Sara and Jennadee... They are such sweet little friends and I love to see them play together!
The parade started out with the Royal Mounted Canadian Police (RCMP).


Sky, having never been to a Canada Day parade (or any parade, for that matter), said, "I really like Canada Day!"
Sara was all smiles! She loves to people watch, so this was heaven for her!
Snuggle time!
Sometimes the horns were a little loud....!
And this was Jennadee...the whole time! She enjoyed that parade with every part of her being! Her mom said, "I don't know what's better - the parade or Jennadee!" She was so cute!
It was a wonderful parade and a wonderful time with friends! We all walked away happy and proud to be Canadians! We all came home to our house for lunch together. It was a yummy meal of sausages and hot dogs, potato salad, Caesar salad, mac and cheese and pink lemonade. Then, there were chocolate ice cream cones for dessert!



Happy Canada everyone! Stay tuned for possible fireworks pics... We're going tonight and I have a fireworks setting on my camera. We'll see if it works...