The First Week

I am behind, so bear with me...

Our first week in Canada was a rough one.  The movers came on the first and after a full day of unloading our house was full of boxes...and nowhere to put the contents!  I have said before, the homes here are much smaller and this one, while lovely, is not well laid out and lacks storage(a man designed it!), so the task of emptying the boxes is proving to be a challenge.  The house currently looks like an episode of Hoarders and I see no end in sight.  It is making me more than a little nuts.

Adding to the insanity, Chris went directly to work on the second and he is gone roughly 15 hours a day, for 12 days straight.  Me, 3 kids and boxes-ALONE.  I cried, a lot.  Topping that off, Aila was vomiting all last week.  Needless to say, I accomplished nothing and it was a truly awful week.  Nothing makes you want to pack up and go home like that.  Thankfully, God saw my need and Chris was off unexpectedly Easter weekend.  Not as much as I wanted got done, but a small dent was made and I was so happy not to have to spend Easter alone.  I was heartbroken at the thought of him missing Easter, for all of us.

It was also a hard week for the kids, the adventure ceased to be one and there was and still is a lot of homesickness flying around(for kids and adults alike).  It is so hard to leave your home and start again, especially when everything is so different!  You wouldn't expect Canada to be different, it is just like America, right?  WRONG!!!!   Where we are is very remote, we are 4 hours away from the next spot on the map-literally.  The town itself is not overly small, just off on it's own, with nothing to do, nowhere to shop and miles away from the world.  Our highlight last week was going to Walmart, y'all know I HATE Walmart.  The food choices have also proven to be quite a issue.  Jackson may never be the same...after the chicken nuggets were brown inside(I don't think they use breast meat) he sent an email to my mom the subject line read "SOS",  the content "Get me outta here, this place is a dump".  Unfortunately, my sentiments exactly...

.But, it's time to put Debbie Downer away and focus on all the good things.  We are all together, we are healthy and IT WILL GET BETTER!!!  Life is what you make it and we are going to make it good.

At Last-Day 6

We finally arrived!!!  After 6 days in the car, we pulled in to Ft. McMurray around 2 in the afternoon.  Thank God.  It was a long week, full of ups and downs and we were ready to be out of the car and in a room for more than a night.  All in all, I would say the trip was a success.  We made it without any major mishaps, no blood was shed and we arrived ahead of schedule.  Now the real adventure begins.

Welcome to our new home and our new life in Canada.  This is where the action will be taking place, our home in Ft. McMurray, AB.  Hopefully there will be more ups than downs and I can keep all of you coming back for more!

You (We) Had A Bad Day-Day 5

Day 5 was the worst day of our journey hands down.  We were all exhausted when we got up, breakfast took and hour and a half, the gas station had no ice (in Canada of all places....), our credit card was denied(Chris forgot to call and say we would be out of the country)...all of this before 10 am.  OMG.  The day continued downhill from there.  Day 5 was the day the whole family decided that we were all sick of each other.  Enforced closeness is a great thing, for 4 days.  The bickering followed us to Calgary where we met our shipment at customs.  That was the smooth point in our day, everything passed inspection and was admitted into the country.  Big sigh of relief.  After hearing the good news, we loaded back up and drove some more!

We finally landed in Edmonton, where the badness continued.  The hotel, was for lack of a better term, ghetto....a hundred and fifty dollar a night ghetto, complete with bums in the parking lot.  At 7 pm, it was too late to cancel so we had no choice but to grin and bear it.  Our other small highlight of the day was the mall.  AMAZING!!!!  We had dinner and rushed through a couple of stores before the mall closed at 9, a shame, a place like that should be open 24 hours a day for maximum shopping pleasure.  Back to the ghetto we went and all children proceeded to have a meltdown of epic proportions.  Canada bashing went on for a good hour, as did the tears.  It was heartbreaking to see them so upset, especially when you yourself are dying inside to and you have to put on a brave face.  We talked it through and focused on the positives and reminded them and ourselves that every day would not feel like that day, that normalcy would come and while it may never be HOME, we would be happy.

Here Comes Goodbye-Day 4

Today we left Billings on a mission-to cross the border into Canada.  The drive today was more of the same, beautiful but boring.  I will say I now understand why they call Montana "Big Sky Country".  The sky somehow seems closer and seems to go on in an endless span of blue.  I have also discovered that there are 10 cows for every person and that half of the state resides in Billings...the other half are certifiably nuts, in my not so professional opinion.  Living alone on a prairie somewhere is not the charming picture we all know from Laura and Little House on the Prairie.  It honestly looks like a reason to drink, heavily.

The end result of our mission left me feeling sad.  Today was the last day I will  live on American soil for 3 years, the last day I will see our flag flying...you never truly understand the depth of the love you have for your country until you have to leave it.  I am proud to be an American, flawed though it may be, I can honestly say that there is no greater place on earth. 

For every goodbye there is a hello and today we said hello to our home for the next while.

And tomorrow we drive some more!

On the Road Again...Day 3

Day 3 had us leaving Denver and driving all the way to Billings, MT.  577 miles of driving through beautifully boring plains with mountain views and the occasional interesting rock formations.

Prairie Dogs were the scientific subject of the day...there are scads of them all across Colorado and Wyoming.  The little beasts eluded my picture taking mission....but if you're wondering, they are rodents, there are 5 genus', they eat grasses and are outlawed as pets. 

We crossed into Wyoming around mid-morning...

Day 3 was a the day of animals.  We chased antelope for the whole day, I was determined to capture them on film and I FINALLY won!

I wish I could give all of you a tale of excitement, but the reality of the day was a little on the boring side.  We drove and drove and drove, breaking it up with Brain Quest and a few stops to stretch our legs.  The road in front of us went on and on and looked like this:

We found Montana around 7 pm...and drove some more!

Day 3 ended in a heap of exhaustion in Billlings.  Next stop, CANADA!

Home, Home on the Range to Rocky Mountain High-Day 2

Day 2 proved to be a much more interesting drive.  We started our day leaving Amarillo and crossed over into New Mexico, a first for every member of the Evans family! 

New Mexico was an educational experience!  We actually used our geographical terms; plateau, butte, and canyon.  We saw science class come to life with herds of wild antelope, wind turbines and a sand storm.



Social Studies made an appearance in the form of trains...we saw more trains in a few short hours, than I believe I have seen in all my life.  We got the conductor of one hauling tanks for the Army to blow his whistle for us!  It was amazing to see how much we rely on these huge iron beasts for the things our country needs.

With 200 miles to go...



Colorado was not quite what we expected.  The mountain views as we crested the hill coming into the state were breathtaking and everything you would imagine Colorado to be.  When you think of Colorado you think green forests, huge mountains and a Kodak moment at every turn, the road into Denver turned flat and brown quite quickly. The Mile High City was a welcome sight with a mall that warmed this shopper's soul but unfortunately did not have the credit cards smoking as well....but tomorrow is another day!  :)





God Bless Texas-Day One

Yesterday was one of the hardest days in the life of our family.  We drove away from our house, our friends and our life.  Somehow, without us even realizing it, Texas became not the place that we lived, but our HOME.  We left in a sea of Texas sized hugs and Texas sized tears....and then we drove and drove and drove.

Houston to Amarillo with 3 kids and 2 dogs, not the stuff that dreams are made of.  Despite the raw emotions and the most awful scenery known to man, we made it in tact and without bloodshed.  The conversation centered around how sad we were to be leaving, but how blessed we had been to have had the time that we did and our hopes to return to our home at the end of our adventure.

We are not Texans by birth(with the exception of Aila), but we are Texans at heart and I hope that we can bring a little bit of Texas to Canada and leave a lasting impression when we go.  We will still say y'all, I WILL learn to make fried pickles, wear our bling with pride and say hello to everyone we meet!