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! 

First Impressions

The adventure has reached Canadian soil...

Last week I spent 6 days in what will be our new home.  My eyes first landed on Ft. McMurray, AB at 1 o'clock a.m. after a grueling day of delays and flights with an infant in tow, so I must admit, I didn't see much.  When I awoke later that morning it was to the sun beginning to come out, at about 9a.m.!  I think I can get used to that, as I am not much on mornings!  However, the downside is that it is dark by about 6 p.m.  The landsacpe itself was quite beautiul, white with snow, hills, a large river and lots of trees.  In that respect it felt a lot more like home than Houston, while a great place to live, it doesn't earn points on the pretty scale.

My first day was filled with house hunting.  Let me say at the very begining, be grateful for what you have and the American lifestyle.  I expected to find homes on large lots and with nature all around given the remoteness of the location and the sheer size of Canada itself.  The American missed that one...I discovered that the houses are situated very close together and that people live on top of one another, quite literally.  It is not at all uncommon for the top levels of a home to be occuppied by one family and the basement by another.  I found this to be more than a little unappealing....Not only are the living quarters close, but small by our standards as well.  Now, I openly admit that everything is truly bigger in Texas, but these homes reminded me more of starter homes and they are for established families.  Wait until you hear the prices!  A 1800 sq. ft. newer home is pushing the million dollar mark!!!!  My house in Texas would be worth close to 2 million....CRAZY!!!!!  As we are not Canadian citizens it is unadvisable for us to purchase, so we will be renting...for $5500/month.  (Close your mouths, flies will get in)  Day one was definitely an eye opener!

Days 2 and 3 were spent about the town and getting to know the shopping....what can loosely be called shopping anyway.  There is a Walmart, several groceries(which I will expand on later), a sporting goods store and a small mall for lack of a better term.  Not as bad as it could be, but I will be making a pilgrimage to Edmonton(home of the LARGEST mall in North America) 4 hours south rather often in an effort to maintain my sanity!  Now for the grocery experience...I HATE to grocery shop and this trip about had me in tears!  I paid $10 for 5kg bag of flour(roughly 11 lbs.), saw the largest jar of Cheez Whiz on the planet(a Canadian staple, eeww) and was unable to find a can of Rotel!  The metric measurements made my head hurt and it was all so expensive!!!  I do not want to ever go back!  Thank God Chris does most of the grocery shopping!

We also visited the community center and I must say, it is impressive!  I was so worried that we would be spending the long winters indoors with not too much to do, this trip alleviated that fear.  It houses a library, 3 pools, water slides, a gym, 3 ice rinks, a concert hall, a daycare, numerous classes and more.  I was happy to see it busy and full!  Days 2 and 3 receive a combined score of 6.5.


Day 4 was back in the house trenches and an overall stressful and unfulfilling experience.  More of the same, different day.  I would not recommend this to anyone. 

Day 5 brought no progress on the house hunt and the sinking feeling that I would be coming home with no house to go to and a moving date a few weeks away.  Tears and yelling ensued...

Day 6 packing to come home and no signed lease-despair.  But God once again came through for me.  At 9 p.m. just hours before we were boarding the midnight flight home, our prayers were answered and we signed a 3 year lease on the only house I liked during the hunt.  SUCCESS!!!!!

Now sitting back at home on my couch and after a week of sleep in my beloved bed, I can honestly say I think it's all going to be OK.

Home Fires

Home Fires...a highly romanticized concept of keeping a light burning for your loved one until they return to you.  Reality is it is a HOUSE FIRE, it is some poor spouse sending up an SOS, a desperate attempt to get some help and attention!

Those of you who know me know that I am not a whiner, I am a survivor.  I take what life throws at me and somehow manage to keep my composure...I think my crown is a little tarnished.  We are in the front half of week two without Chris and I think that I just may have lost my mind.  This isn't my first time alone, we do this often, but I must say flying solo and planning an international move is a challenge that even the most organized of souls would find impossible.

My very dear friend Joanne, who is also living the expat life gave me some excellent advice long ago when we were asked to put our name on "THE LIST" of those willing to take international assignments.  She told me if I had any doubt in the strength of my marriage not to do it.  She was right.  If my marriage was less than what it is, it would not survive the stress.   This week alone has brought more tears and drama then I think I have seen from my children in the last 6 months, the baby hasn't slept since Chris left and I am wading through logistics like I have never seen before just to look at a house up there.  A happy and contented wife I am not.  I am afraid my poor husband is married to a lunatic.  He is handling it well all things considered...

My home fires are burning, the house is in FLAMES! 

I Will Survive...

For those of you who know me, hello my friends!  For those of you who don't, welcome and I hope you find this helpful, entertaining or perhaps both.  I felt compelled to begin this journey into blogging for several reasons;
1:  To keep all of our friends and family actively engaged in our life abroad.
2:  To give myself a place to vent and rejoice in what I am sure will be an experience of a lifetime.
3:  To perhaps give a little insight for the next family in our shoes.

And what exactly are "Our Shoes"?   " Our Shoes" are moving from Houston, Texas to Fort McMurray, Alberta, CANADA.  In less than 1 month we have gone from a settled family living in Houston for over 3 years(which is something of a record) to negotiating employment terms, putting our house on the market and basically throwing our home into complete chaos.

My title for this post is the current theme song of my life.  "I Will Survive...".  The process of moving to another country is the most challenging thing that I have ever done.  Every day I wake up I feel like a general going into battle and at the end of the day I fall into bed knowing that the war is far from over. 

The biggest battle...sadness.  Everything will get done and we will wind up in Canada at the end of it all, but the leaving is brutal.  This week everyone in our house has ended up in tears over something related to leaving our life here.  We have been so blessed to have our time here filled with good friends and wonderful experiences.  I can only hope that the next stop on our journey will be as kind to us.