Day 4

Already! Rain, rain and more rain today. I don't even want to go to the beach. We went to UBC where I found some nice books. Then we took Morgane to drop-in gym where she played on the trampoline (me, too :)) and the bars, etc. Then we got some lunch at Capers (and my chocolate cake!). Now Ghis is going to play squash while Morgane and I take it easy here.

Day 3

We woke up and Ghis came over to meet us at my parents' house. We went to the wave pool which Morgane adored! She spent most of the time trying to surf. Before that, we went to MEC and had a super lunch with real cider to drink and the best key lime pie. After that, we went to the library (the new one) in Lynn Valley and took home a pile of kids' books and DVDs. Then we had a great dinner of halibut that my stepdad, Glen, made us. After watching Charlie and Lola, we headed back to Lawrence and Wendy's to sleep. My mother fell in love with Ghis' iphone and now Ghis has promised to help her shop for and set up a new computer.

First Day in Vancouver

On our first day in Vancouver, Morgane woke up and quickly became friends with Lawrence's kids. They liked the gifts we brought them, especially the little iguanas with sticky tongues that pick up toy flies. Morgane and I got dropped off at the seabus and we took it over to Lonsdale Quay to meet my friend, Claire, who lives in London, but was here visiting her parents. When I got to the place where we were supposed to meet, she wasn't there yet, but my best friend from highschool, Jennifer, was there! We all got to spend a few minutes together, like when we were fifteen.

Then Claire and I and our three kids took the bus to Capilano mall where we ate and let the kids play at Go Bananas. Morgane was pretty tired, so the outing didn't last too long. The two of us decided to take the bus up to Grandma's. After a short stop at the mall (and the toy store), we took a taxi for the last stretch. In the cab, Morgane commented that she wanted to go to India. The taxi driver asked, "What did she just say?" because he was from India. He said it would be too hot right now.

Grandma was happy to see us. We hung out and slept over while Ghis played tennis and had a nice dinner at Lawrence and Wendy's. Their hospitality is amazing!

The move is complete. The trip begins.

Okay, okay, I'm writing. I'm writing. Everything happens so fast when we're on the road. We seem to have less time to collect ourselves. Hopefully, that will change.

Monday, we moved the last stuff out of our house and into storage, handed over the keys to our house and caught a plane from Montreal to Vancouver where we will spend around six weeks. We had a good flight despite the fact that a storm came up while we were waiting in line on the runway. The rain poured down and the winds shook the plane while lightning flashed in the sky. But it cleared up quickly and the rest of the flight was uneventful. Except for the huge, noisy man who kept trying to pick fights with everyone. The hockey playoffs were on - the finals - so the staff kept the TVs on for as long as possible while the plane was landing. We didn't get to see the final goal though.

Lawrence came to pick us up at the airport, and luckily he had his truck which was big enough to carry all of our luggage. We lost a few things while getting on the plane though - a bottle of wine and two bottles of organic maple syrup. We had forgotten that you can't bring liquids on a plane anymore. In fact, we had also brought Morgane's scissors (which they let us keep) and Ghis's knife (which he went back to check-in). My mom and stepdad also came to the airport

Let the Adventure Begin

We've sold our house and are heading across the country to spend time in Vancouver this summer. We're going to put our stuff in storage and look for a place to live when we get back. Almost ten years ago, we travelled from B.C. to Quebec with most of our belongings (and our two huskies) in our car, and I wondered: will we ever be this free again?

Now we are going to do it again. We are having a huge garage sale (like the one I wrote about ten years ago where I sold everything, even the toilet paper). Then we'll be on the road again, heading across Canada with one twelve-year old husky and our five-year old daughter. No more house. No more suburbia. No more debts. Free.

Why My Companion Thinks I'm Crazy

My daughter was using my big scissors and she cut her hand. Nothing too serious, but it definitely required a bandaid. For two days, I noticed all the bandaids I put on her would mysteriously come off. So, before bed, I was thinking about how people prevent their dogs from ripping out stitches and licking their wounds - they put those big plastic collars on them. I wondered to myself why they don't make something like that for kids. And suddenly I had an image of a person wearing one of these. So, at this point I opened my mouth and said to Ghis, "I have the perfect idea for a Halloween costume."

He said, "Do you realize I'm listening to this show on the radio right now?"

I said, "Oh, sorry."

"What did you want to tell me."

"Well, I know what I'm going to be for Halloween."

"You do realize it's April?"

"I'm going to be a dog wearing one of those huge, plastic collars."

How Early Can You Go Kayaking?

Actually these are from last November. Ghis is still trying to find the kayaks under all the snow.