New Year – New York

We arrived in New York, about two weeks ago, to frigid temperatures and scooter riding obstacles. You see, the last few months have been quite a transitional period for our little family. Within the last 40 days we have weathered a tonsillectomy, a broken ankle, the holidays (don’t forget that yearly madness), our sweet dog Vinnie passing, Olive turning 4, and beginning our homeschooling journey. Most of this happening while Dan was working in New York and the girls and I were in California – I’m exhausted!

Anyhow, we are finally in New York healthy, happy, and ready for our latest adventure. Olive’s throat has healed and she can sleep without constantly waking from having sleep apnea! Putting your baby under anesthesia for a surgery is such a stressful thing, but the fact that she can function and that her growing body can rest properly – I’m so grateful.

Sophia has been in a cast for 6 weeks and has been getting around via knee-board. Tomorrow we will be visiting a doctor in the city to see if we can finally get it removed (fingers crossed). I love the neighborhood that we are staying in here in NY. We are in Brooklyn Heights. It’s a really cute area but it is an older neighborhood, so not every street corner has a ramp. Getting around with Miss Sophia has been a challenge. Plus, the subway is a straight N-O while she is in this cast as not all subways have elevators, and the ones that do are not necessarily always working. Oh, NY, how is that I love you so much while you can be so difficult?

I miss my dog, but I believe at this moment, I always will. On some days I am caught off guard by grief. I never knew I could grieve so hard for an animal. He was my four-legged soul mate. I hope that we meet again; in this lifetime or another…guess I won’t know until I get there. New York is a wonderful escape from the transition to an emptier house. But, I still feel the void daily.

Olive turned 4 at such a busy time, but because of it, she had about 3 different birthday celebrations. So I am pretty sure she is okay with it all. I’m so proud of who she is becoming. She is tough and also full of love. It’s an intense combination but it suits her so well. If anyone can pull off a combo like that, it’s her.

And homeschool too! This will be an ongoing transition. I don’t know if we will put Sophia back in school when we get home to Cali. But for now, I’m trying to gage where she is and build a strong foundation. There were a few things that were slipping through the cracks at traditional school that I didn’t pick up on because I was so detached from her day-to-day lessons. Now that we are working together everyday, I can focus on these things. I’m building her curriculum, but wholly moly, why are there so many options out there?! I’ve spent hours and hours researching and have finally come up with something that works for us for now.

So here we are:  New Year – New York.

Let’s do this…

 

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Tofino, British Columbia

tofino

Ask a Vancouver local where they stay when visiting Vancouver Island and 9 times out of 10 they are going to say Tofino. Tofino is a quaint little town on the West Coast of Vancouver Island that hugs the Pacific Ocean and is also an actual rain forest. You can hike, surf, boat, shop and eat your way through this magical little town.

Tofino 1

The girls and I stayed with my husband in Vancouver, Canada for 2 months over the summer. I knew that I wanted to visit Vancouver Island but didn’t have a plan on where to go until talking to locals and getting an overwhelming amount of recommendations to visit Tofino. When looking into accommodations I realized that I might have waited too long to book, due to the popularity of Tofino. Lucky for us, this guesthouse on vrbo.com had a cancellation and I jumped on it before it got swooped up by anyone else.

Tofino, BC

My brother had mentioned that he wanted to fly up from Los Angeles to come visit the girls, so I invited him to come with us on our road trip from North Vancouver to Tofino. He had no idea what he was in for. He is a single guy who works in investments and I’m not sure that a 6-hour road trip with two toddlers was exactly what he was talking about when he mentioned that he would like to fly up for a “relaxing week away”.

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It started out a bit shaky, as my brother must have asked me about 10 times in the first 24 hours why the kids talk so much. But as soon as we drove onto the ferry at Horseshoe Bay, all of the tension lifted and we began our gorgeous journey to Tofino BC. The drive alone was worth the visit.

Goats on a Roof. Coombs, Vancouver Island

As we drove across Vancouver Island, we stopped just a few times. Once in a town called Coombs.  Coombs Country Market, also called Goats on a Roof, is a market and shopping area.  It was the perfect place to stop for lunch.  The sandwiches and salads that we ordered in the market were exceptionally good, and also there really are goats on the roof!  I mean – how crazy is that? Our second stop was at West Coast Wild Zip, off of Pacific Rim Highway.  My brother zip lined across a river in the forest.  The view was breathtaking.

Goats on a Roof. Coombs, Vancouver Island

I originally planned to try a few of Tofino’s popular restaurants, but the weather was so fantastic that we ended up spending most nights on the beach around a bonfire.  We did happen to catch a bear watching bear tour that did not disappoint.  This tour company guarantees you will see bears and we did see a number of black bears fishing on the waters edge and a ton of bald eagles as well.  I was told over and over to explore the Wickaninnish Inn.  We ended up going for brunch and had a great experience.

Tofino, BCTofino 7

Watching the girls run on the beach was by far the best thing about this trip.  They loved chasing each other in the water and burying each other in the sand.  It was also a great bonding trip.  They are now closer to their uncle than they have ever been.

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Overall the road trip to Tofino was well worth the time and definitely one of the highlights of our summer in Vancouver, BC.

Tofino 10Tofino, BCTofino 12

 

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