Looking at homes when you are ACTUALLY in the market is a completely different experience. We were scrutinizing, analyzing and knocking houses off the list left, right, and center. Suddenly, spending somewhere between a quarter and half-a-million dollars makes me very picky. Rightfully so, I guess.
It was fun to do though. It was fun to joke about the weirdness of some houses. It was fun to get in and out of a car 20+ times that day and only have to take care of my own seat belt. Something that is very foreign to me most days. It was fun to be able to hold each others hand as we walked through houses instead of having to carry kids or make sure they're not touching things they shouldn't be.
Fun, Fun, Fun.
I enjoyed flying. Which I mentioned before. An airplane is an alright place to be if you don't have kids with you. It's alright, with kids too, don't get me wrong. Just far less stressful. And far, FAR more relaxing. (The comfort level doesn't change though...those seats are awful). We watched movies, talked, and watched episodes of our new favorite show, The Mentalist. Seriously, we are loving that show. I bought Tyler Season 1 on DVD for his birthday.
Staying in hotels when you don't have to worry about fridges or microwaves for storing and warming bottles, or extra beds and blankets for kidlets, or arrival or departure times...or scheduling naps...is pretty alright too. Although, can I say a quick word about hotel pillows? Why are they SO big? Seriously. It drives me nuts.
When we checked into the first hotel in Ottawa on Friday night, we were given our room key and headed to the elevators. Room 413. As we got off the elevator we noticed this sign:
Now where do you suppose our room is? Is this a joke? It was around the corner, but weird nonetheless.
Driving 2-hours to Kingston from Ottawa was pleasant too. No potty breaks necessary. As we were renting the car, the salesman said, "So, are you excited to take some courses at Queen's for free since your husband is a professor?" "What?!?! I had no idea!!" That's right people. Free schooling. Oh what a perk. What shall I take? How will I fill my mind? The possibilities are seemingly endless and exciting! Thank you random salesperson!
Driving into Kingston was a fun experience too. It is seriously beautiful there. We kept being blown away by how beautiful. The drive between Ottawa and Kingston is on a highway that is mostly lined with very large trees. No leaves yet, but I imagine in the spring, summer and fall it will be beautiful. The whole town is full of giant trees and it right on Lake Ontario. The view from our car as we came across the causeway is outstanding (this picture does not do it justice - but what can you expect from an iPhone in a moving vehicle?)
On the Sunday, we got ready for church in record time, since it was just the two of us (I do love my kids and missed them terribly, so please don't get the wrong idea). As we got out of our vehicle at church, we passed by a group of 'elderly' members and one woman gave me the once-over with a very critical eye. I had decided to wear knee-high boots...apparently she thought that was 'outrageous'. That made me even more nervous, but as I observed her throughout the meetings, I realized that the scowl on her face was pretty common place...so I'm going to assume there isn't actually anything wrong with me.
Their meetings are a reverse time-schedule so Tyler and I went our separate ways right away, to Priesthood and Relief Society. Any worries or nerves we had were completely swept away as people gushed and shouted their sentiments of excitement at the prospect of us moving into their branch. I was also pleased to note that the lesson taught was by someone who was a complete 'straight-shooter' which is my kind of style. Ok, I thought, I can completely make this work!
Sunday School and Sacrament were very similar. Tyler and I were smiling a bit at how foreign it felt to sit in sacrament meeting and actually pay attention the entire time, without having to worry about the reverence of our children. We also laughed that Grandma and Papa were at home dealing with those issues themselves. Did you know that Sacrament Meeting can be relaxing?
After church, a friendly couple in the branch invited us, and another family (The Haslam's) over for dinner. We drove around town a bit and actually took a Sunday afternoon nap (seriously, unheard of!) and then headed to their place. Again, did you know that eating a meal can be relaxing when you only have your own mouth and appetite to worry about? We had a great time visiting and laughing and hearing about what life would be like. It made us feel very at home and excited.
Tyler and I have always said that moving will be a big adjustment. Naturally. We live SO close to family, that most Sundays are filled with visits to either parent's house and hanging out with Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. We haven't really been forced to make a lot of 'friends' because family is so close. (To my friends, I love you and appreciate you and am glad to have you!) Now we will be living in a place where family is NOT around and all we will have is our friends. It will be a completely different lifestyle for us.
Driving around town was one of our favorite things to do. The town is so beautiful with tons of old buildings, churches and landmarks. We took pictures to show the kids and help them get excited about living in a new town. We got lost a number of times, and figure we probably will a few times more. It's weird to drive somewhere that isn't close to the mountains. It's hard to get your bearings when you can't just look out your window and know which way is West.
Monday was spent doing errands. Banking and such. I got a massage, which was great and strange. The massage therapist told me toward the end of my massage, "You have a lot of tension in your lower back. (no surprise) We have a Registered Massage Therapist on staff that you may want to talk to." Wait a minute? What are you? I don't want just SOMEBODY rubbing my back...isn't that weird? She gave me her card at the end and it said "Spa Technician" whatever that means.
We also ate at Five Guys for lunch. Seriously delicious! As we stood at the till to order, I simply stated, "I would like a cheeseburger and fries" to which the teller responded, "Have you been here before?" (IS it that obvious?) "No." "OK, see that picture over there (a huge double-decker burger with EVERYTHING on it)? That's our cheeseburger...most people order the Little Cheeseburger, which is a single pattie." "OH, thanks. I'll have that." I guess he sized me up and figured I couldn't handle that monstrosity. He was probably right. I have been craving 5-guys ever since. Tyler even said, "Wow hun, this rivals your burger." I know!
We saw a "Ho-Lee-Chow" restaurant, which is apparently very common, but I thought it was hilarious;
An "Aunt Lucy's" restaurant, and the Highway police are called the O.P.P. "Yah, you know me!" That song was in our heads all weekend. And yes, I do know what O.P.P. stands for. Oh, and our hotel in Kingston was this old manor house that had been converted into a bed-and-breakfast. The room was old...that TV was fuzzy, and the door-knob was only knee-height. Weird. But the breakfast was delicious and they had this awesome tourist book on Kingston that I took a few photos of, so I could show my family what the lay-out of the city was like.
We had a final visit to our beautiful house before leaving Kingston and then headed back to Ottawa where we drove around down town (again, getting hopelessly lost). I have determined that Tyler and I may not do so well at Amazing Race. Of course, I blame the Ottawa city blocks that are so close together. If you miss your turn, the GPS doesn't have time to re-route before you miss the next one, two, or three.
We visited Parliament Hill, which you can't actually get very close to, because they have it all blocked off and patrolled by police. What could happen? And Tyler showed me the Rideau Canal, which is frozen in the winter and open for ice-skating. Cool.
We headed to the hotel, exhausted, and my sweetheart lovingly took the car back to the rental place by himself while I waited in our room for our Swiss Chalet delivery. We had to be up ridiculously early the next day (3am Calgary time). We called to book our hotel in Ottawa as we were driving to it, and soon came to realize that something big must have been happening because all the hotels next to the airport were completely booked. We ended up getting the last room at the Hilton which was actually a suite attached to a large conference room. So we had a giant boardroom table in the middle of our room. Oh well. It was only a few hours anyway.
Flight home was spent watching "The Next Three Days" with Russel Crowe. Seriously, an awesome movie. And the Mentalist again. The anticipation of seeing my kiddies was killing me. We were cutting it close to make it home before Logan went down for a nap..and we made it JUST in time. He was SO happy to see us and kept giving me hugs. I loved it. Apparently he DOES love me. The kids had made welcome home signs and welcome home flowers out of tissue paper. The house was spotless (thanks mom). It was a glorious reunion.
By 9:00pm I finally sat down, all kids settled into bed, and the jet-lag hit me. I didn't think I'd make it down the hall-way to my bedroom. I was exhausted. It hadn't helped that Max had been grumpy and acting out all day, and we couldn't quite understand why. I kept telling him that it wasn't fair to have all this 'party time' with Grandmas and then not listen to Mom and Dad. We were so excited to show them pictures of Kingston and our new house and he was just not happy. Finally, as the kids sat in the bathtub, he said something that finally made me realize what all the fuss was about. "Mom, we still have to have lunch and dinner tomorrow, right?" "Max, we have lunch and dinner every day." "But I mean before we move to Kingston." Ah ha. My poor little buddy was stressed out because somehow he figured we were moving the next day.
Needless to say it was a completely awesome and relaxing wonderful trip with my husband. Something we have never done before. We have never spent more than one night away from our kids. It was hard, and we missed them...but it was also great. In fact, it was hard for me to get back into the swing of things, and I keep thinking about the next time we can get away.
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