Chicago

At 6:30am we all woke up after a short sleep in the car parked at a rest stop. The kids had a decent amount of sleep but it was us adults who were seriously lacking. I know that I only got 3 hours total. Anyways, we headed inside to grab some food, and use the washrooms. Then we were on our way. The next rest stop we stopped at had a truckers lounge with nice clean free showers, so we were all able to get cleaned up and feel a bit more positive about the day.

We arrived in Chicago just after noon. After driving around the city and checking out some sites, we found an amazing Chicago deep dish pizza place recommended by all 4 of the locals we talked to. It didn't disappoint.

The beautiful skyline of Chicago.

Waiting for our pizza, something our kids aren't very good at.

Oh so good!

Walking around the splash area/ fountain in the park. It was such a hot day!

Playing around with the huge mirror sculpture in the park.

Looking at their reflections, too cute! After spending the afternoon in Chicago, we drove for several more hours and are now spending the night in Wisconsin. We'll see where we end up tomorrow! Good night.

Moving Day

Saturday, June 30 was our moving day. The day didn't go at all as planned and therefore ending up being a bit frustrating, but in the end everything got done. Our movers were scheduled to arrive between 9am and 1pm. Therefore, we got up on time and took apart beds, packed bedding and curtains and cleaned up as much as possible and then we waited and waited and waited. Well, due to being late in the first place and very bad traffic from Toronto, they didn't end up arriving until 4pm. It wasn't until 9pm that everything was in the truck.

We were all exhausted, hungry and ready for sleep. But with no beds and no where to go we decided to set off on our journey. We had booked a hotel in the morning but knew that we would never make it there in time (and they didn't let us cancel, boo). At about 1 am David stopped the car and we tried to all sleep in the car at a rest stop (hotel budget gone for the night). But the kids woke up and the crying didn't really stop. So at about 2am I decided to let David sleep and get behind the wheel. I drove until about 4:30am until I was feeling fuzzy eyed and then pulled into a service station lot. We all actually slept in the car from that time until 6:30am. Not exactly the day or night anyone of us was hoping for, but what can you do. Sometimes it's just the way it goes.

Our kids having some last cuddles while we were packing up beeding. We'll miss you Ontario!

Four Days Until Moving Day

We're thrilled to finally have a house to move into soon after we get to BC. It's just off the 232nd exit in Langley, in fact you'll drive right past it when you drive to Fort Langley. It's an older home but it has quite a lot of space inside and out. We decided that space instead of new and pretty was the priority. It's also right off the exit, making it a great location for David's commute to work and driving back to Abby to see family and friends.

As you can see, the inside of the home is very dated. Therefore, once again we'll be painting and making some improvements. The landlord has also graciouslly agreed to pay for new flooring in the home (as long as it's affordable) and we do the work. We're hopeful that we can make the house a home that we'll comfortable living in. Any ideas on how to "work" with orange countertops?

We've been making great progress with packing, thanks to the kids for having long naps the last few days. Our wine was shipped out yesterday as well, what a relief! Today I have to set up the phone, utilities, etc at the new house, make address changes, continue packing, etc.

Day 13: Ottawa

We spent the last day of our wonderful road trip in Ottawa. We went on a river cruise for part of the afternoon, checked out the Parliment buildings, Byward Market, etc. It was a lovely but VERY hot day in the city.

Our family in front of Parliment. We sure do have a lot of family photos. At this point everyone was very hot and tired, pretty much impossible to get Sarah to sit still, let alone look at the camera.

Playing around.

Day 12: Montreal

We arrived in Montreal late morning and spent the day walking around the city. There was a huge summer street sale where most of the surrounding stores had things for sale. We then walked around the old city and the port in the evening.

Our happy Calvin!

Took in the end of a concert on the street, prett cool.

Had a little photo shoot with Matt and Libby in front of this awesome grafitti wall we saw.

One of the last things we did in Montreal was check out Notre Dame (every city has one). There just happened to be a whole lot of nuns walking into the church at the same time.

Day 10: Quebec City

It was wonderful to be able to go back to Quebec City! I love the history here, the quait streets, shops, etc. It was a very hot day, and being at the end of our journey we were all pretty tired. But we pushed through and enjoyed the day.

Our family

Sarah loves to pose with this sort of thing. She'll just stand beside the photo opp and keep saying "cheese."

It was great to spend some quality time with my brother Mathew, wish I had the opportunity to travel with all my siblings. Perhaps one day...

Sisters

The boys

Day 9 II: Quebec City

This was our longest day of driving (about 9 hrs). Thank goodness the kids slept most of the afternoon so we could all enjoy some peace and quiet. Once we checked into our hotel we set out to get some poutine and hamburgers for dinner. After a drive around the old city we headed back to our hotel where David and Matt took the kids swimming and I got our laundry caught up.

Day 9: Hartland

We stopped at Hartland briefly on our way to Quebec to go on the longest undercover bridge in the world! We actually ended up going on it three times!

Day 8 II: PEI

Loving the red sand in PEI. We spent a part of the morning at the beach but the weather wasn't great so we didn't last too long. The kids didn't care at all, they could have played for ages.

Most people in PEI earn a living in the fishing/ sea food market, farming or tourism.

Our windy lighthouse family shot.

We saw this super cute honey stand on the side of the road and had to pick up some local honey.

We took a 15-20 min ride around the downtown of Charlottetown. We had thought about doing this for quite some time, especially since our kids loves the horses. This ride was shorter and very affordably priced, so we made it happen. Fun memories!

Doc the horse.