The boys continue to really enjoy school. We had their fall conferences this week and got positive reports for both of them. We discussed their strengths and set some goals that they will work towards over the next few months. I’m really impressed with their teachers and the way that they work with our children on such a personal level.
Zack and I continue to press on with language school. We will have our level 2 language testing soon. October 28 will be the written portion, and then we will take the oral exam on October 30. We are nervous and excited about this next milestone in our journey to fluency!
 |
| It’s always fun to get postcards from friends around the world! |
 |
| Livingroom Slumber Party! |
 |
| Celebrating two friends’ birthdays last weekend |
 |
| Hanging out at the park after church |
 |
| The boys return from fotball in the park (soccer) |
 |
| Sometimes you just need to lie down on the heated tiles in the morning 🙂 |
 |
| Just outside of their school |
 |
| Celebrating our language teacher’s birthday |
 |
| Our neighbor’s son celebrated his birthday yesterday, and brought us some of his cake – YUM!! |
I remember that first day in Vancouver. We were exhausted, nervous, a little sad, and very much overwhelmed. We boarded the (wrong) SkyTrain towards our apartment in Surrey, and finally made it there. We were excited about the cool views from a very hip high-rise apartment. We were hungry. We needed to go grocery shopping. We didn’t know where anything was. We wandered aimlessly, searching for what would become our routine: grocery stores, shops, restaurants, coffee, etc. While it wasn’t always easy, we really enjoyed our short time in Canada.
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we left our normal. And yet in some ways, it seems like even longer than that!
A few photos from our journey out of the US a year ago…
Some problems were cosmetic, but some were much more. The plumbing was all exposed. The drainage pipes were too small. Everytime we stepped in the shower, I worried someone might fall through the base of it. The floors were cold, uneven, and mismatched. And the toilet. Well, it was in the corner and difficult for anyone over four feet tall to use. I’ll just leave it at that.
But now – all I can say is our landlord spoils us!
Here are a few BEFORE pictures:
 |
| Mismatched flooring, toilet on the short side of the ceiling, exposed electrical and plumbing |
 |
| Tiny shower cabinet (too short for tall Zack), with a drain that was too small and caused problems |
 |
| An incredibly nice – and large! – shower, and a great vanity & sink |
 |
| Panoramic pics always distort things, but you can see that things look a LOT different! |
 |
| More lighting (over mirror & overhead), where we only had one small light before |
 |
| New toilet, new (much higher capacity) hot water heater, new walls, new ceiling & floors… new everything! |
 |
| So glad to have this much-improved room – including heated floors (important for cold Norwegian winters!) |