Coast to Coast

Just 11 months ago we hopped on a plane and traveled from Nova Scotia and moved to Manitoba. I was super sad to leave the East Coast & was not ready to embrace the cold in the Midwest. But I did and it was fabulous. We got into cross country skiing to pass the winter and made lots and lots of trips to visit family. We had a whole bunch of friends come up and we were extremely happy to host them. I think because we were always traveling to meet up with our old pals and family we never made many friends within the community. A lot of days were really lonely with Willow & the fur babes just waiting for J to get home. I suppose I kind of did this to myself! We will have a fresh new start come December as we are moving yet again!

J got a promotion and is now going to be the supervisor for the Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island. We will make the move in late fall so we will have literally moved from coast to coast in just a year. We figured we are only young once and Willow is not in school yet so why the heck not. This leaves a few upset family members, yes, and I am very sorry!

 I am super proud of J for moving up that ladder as quickly as he did. He is a supaaahhhh staaaaahh. I have been doing lots of research on the area and it looks like J has another phenomenal "office".  Jon has never been out there and I lived on the island for 3 short months during my stint with Katimavik. I am looking forward to doing more exploring with my little fam.

Now starts the not so fun part of putting up our house for sale and house hunting in a new area. We have found a couple of beauties online but definitely have to check them out in person. Wish us luck!

The Black Hills

We decided to venture off to South Dakota (thanks for the recommendation Mateya) for our girls road trip. Mom, Auntie & Miya picked Willow and I up at 11:30pm and off we went to start our 16 hour adventure. Mom thought it would be a good idea to start the trip at night so Willow would sleep better. That wasn't the case, she would fuss as soon as mom stopped at a rest stop to have a little cat nap. A couple good hours of sleep were fit in there somewhere!  I think our decision to start the trip at night made the trip a teeny tiny bit longer and more exhausting.

Oh and those darn gps' can't be trusted all of the time. We may have had to drive in neutral for a good while as our gas tank was totally empty and we were legit running on fumes. Whoops! We felt instant relief as soon as we would get on top of a hill and then anxiety all the way down haha. We took the wrong turn and there was not a gas station/town/home in sight. Nothing but some random cattle here in there. Luckily there was a farmer checking up on his land that could offer us some insight about where we were and where the next town was. Phewf! We coasted up to the next town only 10 miles down the road. It really wouldn't be a proper road trip without this happening.

We made our home base at a campground right outside of Rapid City. From there we did all of the touristy things we could do in the short week we were there. South Dakota is full of old history. I loved learning about all of the Native American people and imagining myself living off of the land. As well as imagining myself as an old bar wench in one of the old saloons waiting for my outlaw cowboy to come rescue me. :p My imagination was running wild.

 I was truly taken back by the beauty of Custer State Park. The park is huge with such beautiful countryside and so many animals! Heavenly. I definitely want to go back one day to visit the badlands and get some hiking in!

A lot of the towns at night made me kind of sad.  At one point they were booming with coyboys and miners. Now just the odd tourist here and there.

Willow didn't sleep to well. She clearly didn't want to miss out on a thing. Too much exploring to be done!

Thank You for the wonderful trip gals!! Willow and I had so much fun with you three xoxoxo

August post

Whoops! I wrote this post in the beginning of August and forgot to hit that publish. We got many more beautiful days in August. It shaped up wonderfully :) 

Sooooo the leaves in my yard are definitely changing. It totally looks and feels like fall. I am so sad about this because I was having so much fun playing at the beach with Willow and dressing her in the most adorable teeny summery outfits. Come on August, would yah shape up?!

I am going through some summer photos and although it has been a short one it has been beautiful