The Many Delights in the Life of Desirée: Our Deal With Alison

As you may have heard, we made the move out to Victoria. A few days before departure, Matt's uncle was giving us a hard time about leaving, saying we were traitors and such. Matt responded in a flash with one of the most clever remarks I have ever heard. He told Uncle Darrel that we had made a deal with Alison that if we left Alberta, she would resign. His uncle responded that that was most selfless thing he had ever heard and was so proud to have him as a nephew. It was epic. So, you have us to thank for Alison's resignation, Alberta. :)

Anyways, we took the trip out over three days. It was probably a better choice than doing it fast but we were all glad to be out of the car by the end. The first night was spent in Revelstoke (Cristin, you convinced us to go the scenic route) and Oakley was so excited to go "whimming" in the pool. He talked about it every few minutes for the last hour of our journey and then in the hotel he was off the walls with anticipation. Day two we made it to Vancouver and stopped in with some friends. It was a great visit with Jon and Dana. It was 18 degrees and sunny so we enjoyed a nice stroll to the park to let Oakley burn off some energy. Day three, we did some final errands before leaving the mainland - IKEA stop, vitamix purchase, etc. Matt's great aunt also welcomed us into her home for a quick catch up before we hopped on the ferry. As we neared the ferry, my emotions were welling up inside. This was it. I was leaving the mainland. First time in my life. No going back. It all seemed very permanent at that moment. But, that was that and I got on the ferry. Let me just tell you that having the flu a few days before did not make me like the rocking of the boat. I walked around for a bit to explore but after awhile, I curled up on a chair and snuggled my baby, trying to catch up on sleep while Matt chased Oakley all over the ferry. We docked and after pulling away from the ferry and driving a short ways, I honestly didn't (and haven't since) feeling like I was on an island.

Our little house is sweet. It's smaller than our last place but we fit. The boxes are slowly getting unpacked and flattened so it actually feels like a home. We've gone on quite a few little adventures since we arrived. The first was a trek up to Goldstream park. It was our intend to check out the waterfall but due to some rain and growling stomachs, we went back early. We checked out Island View beach next. Holy windy! Emmett did not enjoy the wind. He'll get better, right? Or the wind will die down? On our first Sunday, we found a trail near our home to hike up Bear Hill and that was pretty awesome. Matt and I both discovered that we need to improve our stamina but the view at the top was worth the huffing and puffing up. Witty's Lagoon was our next stop. Matt didn't remember the waterfall being there or the trail being as steep so we came to the conclusion that there must have been some major tectonic shifts since he left the island in '97. Thus the waterfall and steep descent. ;) Once Matt's work started, our adventures slowed down. We were able to head to the beach in Sidney today and see some tide pools and collect some pretty neat sea glass. Oakley was highly amused when a crow picked up the cracker we threw at it and flew off with it in its beak. :)

In the short time we've been here, there have been so many things to enjoy. It really is a beautiful piece of the world. Everyone I have met has been friendly and welcoming, which has been much appreciated. We are excited to have many visitors. Hint hint wink wink. :) We love you all and I hope to keep the blog up a little better so anyone who wishes to follow our adventures can.

And here's some pictures, because let's be honest, you're only here to see the pictures...