7 Quick Takes of Vancouver, BC (after moving here)

— 1 —

Well, we’re in Vancouver now. 🙂 My husband drove back after Christmas to watch the movers pack, load and unload our belongings. I followed him with the girls just after New Year’s. Thankfully, he had most of the furniture settled when we got here, so we’ve spent the last week going through boxes and trying to get organized. I’d forgotten how much work that is… most days I feel like that dog in Up!, starting on something and then “squirrel!!!” something else catches my attention and needs to be done.

— 2 —

Overall, I’m really pleased with our new home. (I think we’ll stay here for a while.) It has hardwood floors throughout, stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, one and a half bathrooms, big windows (with a view of the mountains from the kitchen), a furnace instead of baseboard heaters (hate those), a fenced backyard, a big deck, and lots of space. Actually, I keep noticing how big the bedrooms are. The only downsides are the shared laundry (in the basement—I was spoiled by having my own big, new machines in our last two homes), the short shower head, and the lack of drawers in the kitchen.

new kitchen in Vancouver, BC

— 3 —

The other perk for us when we found this house was that it’s walking distance to church. It takes us five minutes to get there. So we’ve been trying to get to daily Mass in the mornings. It’s a nice way to start the day together as a family. We are also walking distance to a large park, a Starbucks (hmmm, that could change my mind about living in a big city!), two sushi restaurants, a kids’ dance studio, and other shops. And my husband can ride his bike to work, like we did when we were first married.

— 4 —

One benefit of moving right after Christmas is that the girls have had lots of new toys to keep them busy while I’m unpacking boxes. They spent their first day here building LEGO—they got three sets for Christmas, plus the Advent calendar they were opening before Christmas. Sunshine decorated her Frozen jewelry box and Lily decorated a wooden doll. They also rediscovered some Melissa & Doug sticker dolls. Lily has been excited about her new train set, Frozen toddler dolls, and any other toys I pull out of boxes for her.

— 5 —

Vancouver still feels huge to me. Last night I ventured out across the city to a homeschool mom’s group. Today I’m running around various places for a Bible study, girls’ dance class, and a playdate. I’m starting to recognize some of the places we drove through when we were house hunting, and to get a general sense of direction, but I’m still glad we have a Vancouver map book in the truck (which is about twice the size of our Vancouver Island map book!). Everyone assures us that this area of the city is very nice and has a small community feel, but I know it’ll still take time to fit in and find that community.

— 6 —

Something else the girls have enjoyed about moving: boxes. They had a few box forts at our old house, which I destroyed and recycled before we came here (promising to build them new forts), and so I did. Now I often hear, “Unpack another box, Mommy, so I can have one to hide in!” They have three boxes taped together into a T-shaped fort, which they regularly disappear into. Plus other boxes that they pop in and out of while I’m unpacking. Oh, and we have a lifetime supply of large paper sheets…

— 7 —

With this move, I’ve entered into the modern world of smart phones. I told him I wanted a Samsung Galaxy phone because I had the tablet and it’d be easier for me to learn how to use a similar phone. (That plan came in handy when we forgot the phone charger at the hotel we stayed in on the way to Alberta; the tablet charger just happens to work for the phone too.) Plus I heard rave reviews of Samsung Galaxies from my brother (a long-time cell phone user who isn’t particularly gentle with his devices) and nearly everyone else I polled on Facebook.