Light up Okotoks!

Last night we went to our first town event - Light Up Okotoks. The main street was shut off to traffic for the evening, and shopkeepers open up their stores until late, offering free food and hot chocolate to the townspeople. All the Christmas lights are switched on and at 7pm the tree in the town square was lit up. Local children gathered to sing xmas carols in the square, and there were horse and cart rides, wandering reindeer and occasional wood burning stoves to stand to warm yourself by.
One of the car parks on the north side of the street became an unofficial skating rink due to the unmelted ice that had accumulated there over the last few days! Jas had a blast running and slipping around in her snowboots, and then decided to buy possibly the largest bag of kettle-korn you've ever seen swearing that she was going to eat it all! I think not! There was a lovely community feel to the town with lots of people greeting each other warmly and wishing each other glad tidings of the season - and it's not even December yet!
There are so many lovely little gift shops and craft stores along Elizabeth Street - I can't wait to explore them, and we saw some interesting little restaurants and cafes that we've missed just driving through. We had a lovely evening and felt very at home.

We have found a new home!

Well, after a day of house viewings in the Drake Landing area, we have found the home we want to buy. It's a brand new 'ready to go' home just around the corner from where we are renting. It's a lot bigger and nicer than we thought we could afford, and I think we've got a really good deal - which has cheered us up after taking such a drop on our UK home price.
Much nail biting was done once we submitted our offer, and after a little negotiation, we had a deal! The house is detached, with a south facing rear yard, 2150 sq ft of developed space inside, with an undeveloped basement (one of our first projects as we have to have space for the rellies and friends to come and stay!) It has a front den, a large kitchen/diner/sitting room across the rear of the house, a HUGE bonus room at the top of the stairs, a large master suite with a double shower, large tub and twin basins, and 2 good sized other bedrooms. There are views of the Rockies from the rear bedrooms and our bathroom, hardwood floors through the downstairs and granite worktops in the kitchen! It's a fabulous house and we feel very lucky to have found it! Completion is set for the 4th December, so fingers crossed all the legal stuff goes through quickly. Our container of furniture is due in Calgary on the 1st of December, so this should tie in really well.

School stuff!

This Monday, the children started school at Dr Morris Gibson Elementary in Crystal Shores, Okotoks. It is a 15 minute walk from where we are staying in Drake Landing, and there's nothing like being woken up by a brisk walk in the cold morning air! The children have been put in the 3rd and 5th grades so are now closer together grade-wise than they were in the UK - which is nice. Although the school years run from September just like in the UK, in Alberta, the children are graded differently - from March birthdays through to February birthdays the following year. This has made Jake (7th March b'day) one of the oldest in his grade, and Jaz (23rd December b'day) one of the younger ones in hers.
The children met their teachers on an orientation visit last Friday, which was great for them as they could visualise their classrooms and stuff over the weekend before they started. Both teachers were really lovely and very welcoming. They are in smaller classes than in the UK (around 22 students) and are really excited about not wearing uniform anymore!
Both Jake and Jasmine thoroughly enjoyed their first day, and came out of school unusually chatty, really keen to tell me about their experiences. Both had made new friends but said all the children were really friendly and helpful. Jake had really enjoyed Language Arts (literacy in the UK) and really loved a game of street hockey he'd played at recess (playtime). He went in goal (of course!) and his team won! I guess that made him popular!
Jas came home with a lovely postcard and lolly from her teacher saying how delighted she was to have her in the class. She loved the morning rendition of the Canadian National Anthem and was particularly proud as she had learnt the words over the weekend - so could sing along confidently!
First impressions were really good all round. The children seem to have settled in really well and are adjusting to the new Canadian terms for things in school, and new systems and routines really well. I've noticed Jaz is getting a slight twang to her accent already - I knew it wouldn't be long!

Our first week

Well, what a packed first week we've had. The first few days were filled with the boring admin type stuff of registering for Alberta Healthcare, SIN numbers, car hire, driving licences, appointments with our bank manager to sort out bank cards, savings accounts, credit cards etc, and shopping for basic food supplies and other essentials such as a hairdryer!
We also reminded ourselves of the areas of Okotoks and quickly decided that we really want to live up on the ridge to the north of Sheep River. Crystal Shores or Drake Landing for us! (and we're veering towards Drake Landing at the moment).
We've tried to keep the boredom in check for the children by interspersing the mundane jobs with more interesting things such as trips to local restaurants, the trip into the city, to the movies, etc but it's been a little dull for them so far.

Yesterday we decided that as we plan to live up on the ridge, and we're currently renting up here anyway, we may as well bite the bullet and get them into school. Jaz has been desperate to start for the last few days although Jake is less keen (no surprises there then!). So we went up to Dr Morris Gibson elementary school yesterday afternoon and enrolled them. They start on Monday but are going to visit their teacher this Friday and take a tour of the school.

We live too close for the school bus (which they are gutted about) so they will need to walk about 15 mins. It's a nice walk with one main road to cross - and here's the difference with back in England - they will walk by themselves. It's not cool for your parents to walk you and not really considered necessary here. Even 5 year olds walk by themselves, cross the roads etc. Here in Canada, the pedestrian is king, and when we tried the walk out yesterday, the traffic just spontaneously stops to let you across at any junction! I've never experienced anything like it. It's going to seem quite alien to us at first to just let them go, but there is something really nice about it too. It is like going back in time to when I was small, when you could play out for hours without supervision. All the subdivisions (housing developments) here have very strict speed restrictions and there isn't the paranoia of 'stranger danger' at all. Nevertheless, we will walk with them for the first day, then up to the main road on day 2, then they're on their own! I've been drumming it into Jake that he needs to take care of his sister, hold her hand across the road etc, so fingers crossed he takes it on board - you never can tell with Jake!
We've got a mortgage pre-approved now, so we start house-hunting in earnest over the next day or so. It's more expensive up here on the ridge as the school has a fantastic reputation so it is a desireable area. We will have to compromise on the size of house that we were considering as we don't want to overstretch ourselves before we get jobs sorted. Neil is already being offered jobs in sales! He's not sure it's for him, but it might be a starting point until he finds his niche. Once the kids are in school, we'll have time to start writing resumes and job hunting in earnest.
Here are some photos of us at Princes Island, on the Bow river just north of downtown Calgary. It was darned cold (-4) but a beautiful place, and we enjoyed the afternoon sunshine, followed up by a lovely hot chocolate!

We're here!

Well, we've made it! We 'landed' in Calgary at 8pm local time on 5th November.
Gary and Lisa drove us to the airport (thanks so much guys) and the farewells were hard - as we expected! After tearful hugs and promises to see each other next year we waved them goodbye. As we sat in the airport lounge, and then aboard the plane, I started to have my 'Oh God what are we doing????' thoughts. I was warned that it would happen by those who've been there and done it before us, and wondered when it might occur. I don't think it helped that I was so tired after very little sleep the night before. The nerves really started to kick in as we taxied down the runway and I felt really sick. It took a few hours before I began to feel more human again (a little nap helped) but by the time we were over Greenland I think I'd sorted myself out!
The flight was good, and the whole 'landing' process was really smooth and uneventful. All the immigration officials were really friendly and polite 'typically Canadian!' and put us at our ease. We made it through to the exits within the hour and Ian and Jayne were there to meet us and give us a ride to our apartment.
The apartment is a 'walkout' in Fiona and Terry's house in Drake Landing. It is brand new and gorgeous! It has everything we need for now and is very comfortable. Jake and Jaz are particularly impressed with the real flame fire that automatically turns itself on and off to keep the heat regular! We all had a good night's sleep and woke up raring to go!
There was a snowstorm as we landed on Wednesday which excited the kids no end! There's not much by Canadian standards but enough to get Jake and Jaz excited! Our first full day dawned bright and sunny with crisp white snow-covered rooftops around us - better than another grey English autumn day any time!
We packed a lot into our first day - registering for Alberta healthcare, Social insurance numbers, driving licence applications, car hire, new simcards for our phones, and an appointment with our bank manager at RBC - not to mention a trip to the pet store to buy our cat Domino some goodies for her arrival on Friday!
Lots more to do over the next few days, including shopping for a car (test drives - yippee!) and a meeting with our mortgage advisor before we start house hunting. The children have been really good so far so we also need to reward them with some treat time - maybe a trip to the cinema or the ice rink is on the cards!

We're off!

I can't sleep, so I'm up at stupid oclock in the morning writing this instead. After 3 years to the day that we sent off our application to become permanent residents of Canada, we are finally going!
I can't believe this is really it. We've waited so long and now it's finally going to happen...today!
I'm feeling quite emotional - probably because I'm not sleeping well at the moment. Lots to miss...but lots to look forward to.
I think the airport goodbyes will be tough today. We went to Gary and Lisa's for farewell drinks last night and I started to well up! I'm rubbish! They are taking us to the airport today as we thought it best not to have family there. We aren't going to say goodbye - just 'see you soon'. I really want to thank everyone who's been wishing us well with texts, emails and Facebook wishes over the last few days. My phone hasn't stopped beeping! Love you all xxx
I think we'll be over our weight limit on the baggage but I don't really care any more. I've done so much packing and sorting and have got it down to the bare bones of what we need.
The last few days have been a bit fraught. Neil has been quite stressed with all the final letters, phone calls and arrangements for our departures. The children have been fantastic really. They have managed not to kill each other in spite of sharing a small room, having no toys and no space to call their own - this is progress! Maybe once they have a big house to run around in, they might appreciate it more...who knows.
So, looking back at the last few months since we received our '90 day letter' back in January, it has flown by. We've achieved so much in such a short time. I'm so relieved we managed to sell the house as now I think we'd have no chance in the current financial climate. We've seriously de-cluttered our lives and feel the better for it. We've also really begun to appreciate the value of friendship, and appreciate each other more as a family. I think, in spite of the stresses and strains of emigration, we are closer than we've ever been.
Now I'd better go, as I've finished my Lemsip (getting a cold....lovely!) and I've still got a few bits and pieces to do before we leave. My next post will be from Okotoks! Our new home...sounds so strange!