Running!

If on Sunday before the Grey Cup starts u have a minute. Think of Callym & I, we will be running in the Ladysmith Cinnamon Bun Fun Run! Whoohoo!!!
Thx

oscar & callym

Hi Friends in Grade 3.
We live by the beach now in a cabin with 1 bathroom 2 bedrooms 1kichen and a living room.  This is what we saw at the beach: a small white jellyfish, a trout-like fish about 1 ft long, a little fish about an inch long with wing fins, dead crabs, bald eagles, and about 40 sea lions!  We had a treat at the bakery before the sea lions.  Oscar and I each got a small loaf of chocolate chip bread.  School is fun but no one plays football.  Wylan, Marcus, Owen, Ashton, and Charley K I hope you are still playing even in the snow!  We're only getting rain and the snow doesn't stay.  Are you having fun in the snow?  What kind of Art projects are you doing?  I miss all of you in Grade three and I hope you are all having a fun time. 
From Callym

Hi Friends in Grade 1.
Hi Everybody.  Are your teeth falling out because mine are?  I live in Saltair.  I'm staying in a cabin right now.  I saw lots of jellyfish.  I saw a big trout and lots of litle fish.  The town is pretty.  In Ladysmith they are doing a light up where the town has a whole bunch of lights that Santa is going to turn on tonight.  My class is made of Grade 1 and 2's and for lunch I play outside first and then eat for 10 minutes while the teacher reads to us.  Her name is Mrs. Horncastle.  Talk to you soon.
From Oscar.

say cheese! more random photos

It's pouring out again. I'm not complaining. Better then the nasty windy cold. But I wish I had a rain coat.

Here are a bunch of photos I have laying around. Hope you enjoy!

Everyday Oscar comes home from school & wants to check out the ocean. You know he's found a few washed up jelly~fish, a bunch of crab~shells, a tiny fish swimming around & more!
 This is just outside our door & down a bit. So cool to be so close to the ocean!

 This is a yummy kombucha squash & black bean stew I made. I was so yum! Want the recipe?

Here is Chris giving Twinkle a little taste of the great outdoors. This was last weekend. Was it as nice there as it was here? Sorry, I won't joke like that anymore. Anyways, see how close the sea is? Nice eh?

This is the coolest fish skeleton I've ever seen. We found it in this off to the side area of the Ocean. Maybe you'd call is a bay or inlet. This is where we always see huge seagulls & a few gorgeous ( & massive) bald eagles! Not sure who ate this guy tho...

Callym wearing his winter beach gear! Can't see his 'bogs' but he is, & their cool!

This is in Cowichan Bay (or Cow Bay as the locals call it). We came for coffee & found Sea Lions! This is more a photo of the boats & far off island.

Here you can see the massive Sea Lions sunning themselves!

 And here again!

When you live in a tiny place, don't have most of your toys, have to share a room with your brother & don't have your friends around it can get pretty crazy. Good thing there's LEGO!!!

Oh ya, remember when Callym got his head glued together that day after running into the fence playing football at Angus ...... well, the glue is still in there! It just won't wash out no matter what he does! so we are cutting some of it out here.... poor Callym!

2 bald eagles in the tree top. They're always around, Chris loves seeing them!

 A LEGO creation by Oscar (thanks so much Uncle Wally & Aunty Barb!!)

 A creation by Callym,

 And another by Oz

Here we are in Coombs at the 'Goats on the Roof' store. It was cold the day we went, so I think the goats were hiding inside somewhere dry. Pretty cool place tho, we'll come by again!

Here we are driving home from Coomb near Nanaimo. A cool shot of us coming up to a cloud, getting ready to drive thru it......

 so crazy cool!


 here are a few more shots of the Sea Lions, this crazy (I Mean CRAZY!) guy came so close to them, I thought he was going to be attacked!!! Nuts~O man!!!

another shot of the harbour, this is still Cow Bay!

Here's Callym with the Sea Lions (at a safe distance!)



This is my fav shot of the mountains. I love the look of the cut up rocks along the highway!

Whoohoo, found a pirate ship! (may have to zoom in to see the flag)

Oscar showing us how delish the chocolate chip loaf he ate was!

Here is the mass of big seagulls that came swooping down when Callym dropped his chocolate chip loaf :(

This weekend is a fun adventure with the LadySmith Light up show & our trip to Qualicum, so there should be more photos & stories to come! Have a great weekend! Miss you all!!!

Lukies

another week, another bottle of wine

So it's Thursday already, or should I say it's only Thursday? Yeesh!

A lot has been going on here since the last post. We're still kinda stressed out ~ but it's more because we have been held up in such small spaces together for soooo long & not because we don't have jobs! The job search is going well enough (I guess), it's tough out here. Most people either work for one of two mills, or they make their own work ~ and neither are very reliable for constant income.... But that's why we came right? (to start our own business's not the unreliable income!) We are applying for places around here (Chemainus, Ladysmith, Duncan & surrounding areas), as well as starting our business plans & looking for businesses that are for sale already. Phew, that's a lot! It's fun (for now)...
The boys started school last week and so far find it pretty good. They finally love music, but Callym is really really missing the football he use to play with his friends! He keeps bringing our football to play with his new friends, but forgets about it in his bag. Both boys are in split classes, Oscar in a 1-2 & Callym in a 3-4. So far so good. The school is a K-5 with only around 200 kids, so pretty similar to Angus. B.C. is going thru a labour dispute right now so they have cut out recess & the kids get out earlier. The teachers still take the kids out for a recess in the am, but not in the pm. They're out at 230 so their really isn't much use in a pm recess. Lunch is 30 minutes of play then 15 minutes to eat. Callym says when you forget your lunch they give you a cheese whiz sandwhich & an orange. YUCK!
I've pretty much fallen in love with Chemainus & Ladysmith. They are different in a few ways. Chemainus is spread out closer to the water with a larger area of old downtown. There are newer areas with huge houses, & a ferry out to Thetis Island. Ladysmith on the other hand only has one main street. The houses here go straight up the mountain. Some of the roads are pretty incredible to drive up & down, there is one that shuts down when any amount of snow falls because you just can't drive it. Instead the kids toboggan down it! Crazy!!
We have rented a house & should move in next week. It's tiny & cute, but should be perfect for a while. I'll send photos later! Our addie is
#A 9930 Daniel St
Chemainus, BC
VoR1K1
if you wanted to send us an xmas card! :)
Please email us your addies too please so we can send you all a card or postcard!!!!

Tonight we're off to Ladysmith's light up. It's suppose to be amazing, the entire main street lights up with Christmas lights, Santa comes & there is a huge parade! We will for sure post photos! (sorry we've been so slow on that!!!)
Also, tomorrow the boys are going to miss out on school & we are heading north about an hour to Qualicum. It's a very cute small community that is right along the sea. It's pretty sleepy right now filled with retired people but comes alive in the summer. Cross your fingers (although we love it here, we still aren't set on any one place)

That's it for now, there is more I promise... but it's coming....
T

And on we go.....

The last few days have been an adventure. They have also been long, so long. We are tired - mentally, physically & spiritually. We need a break but there is just so much to do:
Eat 

Look for a home
Look for a school
Eat more

Look for a job
Do Laundry

Meet people
Travel & explore

Keep the kids happy
Keep us happy
Find something the kids will enjoy

Find something we will enjoy
Eat again

Buy more food

Keep looking for a house and job

It's hard to get a break when you are together 24/7. We haven't done this since our Costa Rica trip! Even during the holidays we get a break from eachother (& everyone knows how stressful the holidays are right) Good thing we really really love each other.
And on we go.
We have found a school for the boys, and they are going to start full time this Thursday. (insert Sigh of relief!) Oscar's class is mostly girls and he's pretty excited abut that, It's a 1-2 split. Callym's class is mostly boys and is a 3-4 split. I hope they do well. It always worries me, but they always surprise me too! It's just so much change. Good friends (especially after being spoilt in Winnipeg) are needed by us all.
Speaking of change, we nearly bought a friend for Twinkle today.

The cutest black kitten with a greyish white body. He looked like an old man. If he were to join our family his name would be Milky Way, the boys are considering him as an early Xmas present... dunno what will happen.
We also are applying for an apartment! WhooHoo!!! The move in date isn't until Dec 1, but it will be so nice to have an address & a place for Christmas! (another sigh of relief) I'm still searching for a job, it looks ok ~ not super great, but not too horrible! Wish me luck!
Here's a funny photo Chris took of the boys...

a funny photo of Chris at Toys R Us,

 a photo of a store in Victoria that almost says Callym,

And here's a cute photo of Oz in the Ocean with his bogs, Chris took it with his phone, but it's pretty sweet if you ask me!

Ok, now it's time for some serious rest! We're off to unload the POD into a storage unit on the Island tomorrow while the boys are at school. It will be nice to have some of our stuff finally! Talk with you all later! (pls call of skype) ~ also, if you're wondering, it snowed here a bit today :( but it was a nice surprise!

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.