Callym's Top 5

Here are my Top 15 animals that I've seen on this trip so far!
1~Dolphins
2~Seals
3~Crabs
4~Sharks
5~Garden Eels/Eels
6~Beluga Whales
7~Cat Fish
8~Arapaima
9~Pirahhna
10~Frogs
11~Snakes
12~Caiman
13~Parrots
14~Lizzards
15~Bats

Top 5 Fav Things on the Trip so far!
1~Vancouver Aquarium
2~Calgary LEGO Store
3~The really nice Hotels
4~The Swimming Pools
5~Seeing the Seals in the Ocean

Top 5 Things that are not my Fav on the Trip so far!
1~Sitting in the car for about 2 weeks!
2~Hotels with NO pools!
3~When the iPod & 3D~DS batteries run out
4~Being totally bored!
5~Not seeing any of my Friends & not playing Football at Recess!!!

Friday

What a relaxing & amazing day today was. We got to the Sea Side Marina Resort & unpacked knowing that we were going to be here until we found a real true rental. It felt so good to be 'home' for a while. I think Twinkle knew it too, she made herself super comfortable.

It's just a tiny little cabin, but it's perfect for us right now. And on the bright side it will make our apartment look HUGE when we finally find one!

(this is the living room/kitchen, you can see the 2 small bedrooms, the washroom off to the left side)
After unpacking we took a trip to the grocery store. It was time for me to cook again! WHOOHOO!
The first thing I made was Alicia Silverstone's Lentil Stew (you can find a version of the recipe here). Turned out to be a great decision because while in the store we heard that a severe storm was coming in from the north knocking out power & tearing down trees......
Did you know that we have great luck? Well, as it turns out the minute we walked back into our 'new house' the wind came outta no~where & we could see the Ocean turning up things from the deep. It was incredible! Our first storm ~ but lucky for us, it really didn't hit us hard, some wind & rain & it was all over! Oh well, the stew was wonderful anyways. Callym & Chris braved the wind to take a few photos...

The rest of the day was so nice. We relaxed, ate, did some blogging, played lambsy, ate some more, watched a movie & just had a great day together. It was especially nice knowing that we are able to stay here for at least a month, so there is no worries or stress as to where & when we need to pack up.
The boys headed off to bed & Chris & I watched the movie "Food Inc". It was horrible! I recommend everyone to watch it because it really does open your eyes to where most food comes from, how the animals are treated, how the workers are treated, & especially the quality of food (or lack there of) that we are feeding to our selves & our kids! I think it's on shaw on demand under the documentary section. Worth it for sure ~ tomorrow we plan on watching "Forks over Knives" again which is a great movie about eating for optimal health & how to eat to prevent & reverse dis~ease!

Tamara

Getting Closer

Today we went for a drive to Duncan but before that all happened Tamara went to a Health & Wellness talk and gathering.  She'll fill you in on that later.  I have not done any blogs yet.  This trip has been awesome.  two weeks ago it all began and we are feeling good and close to our next step.  Yep we hit a few good towns as Tamara already posted.  I like a Nelson and Mill Bay and Sooke and now am feeling really good about Ladysmith.  Not only to livebut to get that brewery going and i feel sooner than later.  driving these roads is like driving thru a national park all the time which we may very well be doing.  I love it.  I am very certain we made the correct decision in Vancouver Island and I am very glad that we committed ourselves to this move.  Time will tell how it goes but so far it is going very well.  Thanks for the good vibes and thoughts and i'll take them if you keep sending them.  I have learned that Vancover island is a lot more hilly than i ever thought.  Captain is getting a good workout and i am getting really good with the clutch.  Living so closely has also been fantastic although i think the boys are due for some school soon.  Me on the other hand I haVE BEEN BASKING IN THE GLORY OF BEER SELECTION.  the choices are great in most stores and most beers are sold in 650 mL bottles so a good share, but i think i will get hold of some 500 mL if feasible and bottle into those.  it has been super great stoppping in many breweries on the way from Winnipeg as well.  Truth be told i am happy that i finally (besides my family) love somethign enough that i devote so much time and energy to it. yes beer is going really well so far.  hopefully next week i can tlak to a couple places this next week or apply for that baking job at cowichan bay.  yes life is really great right now even with all the uncertainty cause we are making these choices.  it feels right.  tlak to you soon. 

Playing catch up Part 2

Yikes, so there is more to catch up on!
Today is already Saturday, so let's recap what we all did the last few days.....

Thursday.
We woke up in Chemanius eagerly excited to see LadySmith. We got ready & took advantage of the free breakfast & fitness room. We drove the 10 beautiful minutes to LadySmith & sighed........ How gorgeous! (Can I keep saying this? Will you keep believing me?)
We were told that LadySmith was quite hilly ~ & boy were they right. If you've ever been to Nelson I will tell you that it's exactly the same feeling! This really reminded me of the European towns that I always thought were so pretty & quaint ~ the town's literally sprinkled up & down the mountain side, can you imagine it at Christmas with all the lights? We parked (making sure the E~brake was on), & headed to get a coffee. We found an amazing bakery with a lineup out the door. The boys grabbed a peanut butter cinnamon bun & we sat & just took it all in.
Across the street was a health store so after my coffee I ran over to apply (good thing I had some resumes with me). We walked & talked for a long while. The lady at the info centre was a great resource for us, filling our arms with newsletters & names of people who could help. We drove thru town looking for rentals & I even stopped by the school to get some forms started for the boys. (how long is too long for them to be outta school? We were thinking between 2-4 weeks was max, but I dunno......)
Anyways. We headed down to the famous "transfer beach" (they say it's the warmest waters north of San Fransisco) to look for shells & seal's & whales & more. It was so nice to be so close to the Ocean. 
We saw some HUGe leaves & a crazy mushroom the size of my head.

We heard a rumour that LadySmith had a brand new soccer field with real turf, so we had to go and check it out!

it was so cool to run off some steam! I'm really looking forward to seeing Callym kick some butt on this field soon (soccer season here is from now till April)
By this time it was getting dark, so we headed back to the hotel. We were hoping to get into a cabin nearby for the remainder of the month, both for cost & just to feel a bit more settled. It's in a central location so we can still explore & find the place that will be ours. We will move in tomorrow, a cute place right on the Ocean ~ perfect for beach~combing!
Here's a cool photo of us overlooking the Ocean. Can you just imagine seeing this everyday?