Final Frenzy

Apparently we're done packing. Of course everything got left till the last minute. The kid slept about 8 or 9 hours last night, then didn't nap more than a half hour all day. So of course she refused to fall asleep when we got home despite being exhausted and I spent 3 hours trying when I really needed to be packing. Brat. She finally fell asleep around 9.

We've got our camping stuff, food, towels, clothing, medical stuff, kid stuff, dog stuff, camera stuff. The van has been washed and vacuumed. Marcus, Watson, Chelsea and Elf are safely tucked away at Grandma's house (although apparently Elf is hiding; Chelsea, the pig, promptly came out to eat after the trauma of being shoved in a crate with her arch rival).

So, after temporarily freaking out about the amount of stuff left to do and the lack of time to do it, I think we're good to go. Just a few things to pack tomorrow (kit bag, pillow, baby's light box for sleeping).

Too hot to handle

We leave in less than 48 hours and we still haven't packed a thing. It's close to 30 degrees outside and all three of us are hot and cranky. All we want to do it go out and eat, but we should really be saving all the money we can for the trip.

I spent two hours at the mall this morning because it was air conditioned. Got the small bin for garbage in the van as well as a body pillow to help stop the baby from rolling off the bed. And a bunch of new underwear for Josh. Yeah, productive.

Meanwhile, we haven't organized camping stuff, clothing, the baby's diaper bag... nothing. Scott put together a first aid kit. I did a bunch more laundry. I've done at least 10 loads.

I probably got myself a sunburn today. Mary's out sitting in the shade in her swing in a diaper soaking wet. We sprayed her with the hose and she loved it.

The floor of the van has grey carpet

So finally... FINALLY... after 8 months of owning this van, the man finally cleaned it. He agreed when we bought it that he wouldn't let it get like his previous truck, which had a pile of garbage on the passenger side filled up to seat level on a weekly basis that he'd have to clean out in order for me to sit in it. No joke, we couldn't see the floor of the van and none of it was mine. Food wrappers, clothing, shoes, random tools, random parts of cell phones, pop cans, coffee mugs, disposable dental floss sticks... it was nasty.

Promptly after clearing all this crap OUT of the van what does he go and do? Load a bunch more crap IN. Branches and leaves from his OCD pruning adventures. He's off to the transfer station now. Two benefits at least: the branches are finally out of the yard, and the van will smell like pine for a few days. People buy artificial air fresheners to do the same thing!

We're going to wash and vacuum it on Sunday so it's nice and fresh and new. Do I sound optimistic enough?

On the trip, it's not as easy as just putting all the garbage in a garbage bag, since the dogs would just tear into it. Maybe a small plastic bin with a lid to sit between the seats?

Who am I kidding? We're bringing back 12,000 kilometers of garbage with us.

A good job evaluation

Mummy says I'm already good at my main job - sleeping and playing. I've been asleep for an hour and a half now while Mummy makes our webpage, and before that I played by myself next to her while she worked on it some more. I also slept 45 minutes this morning after we dropped Daddy off at work. Aren't I a good baby?

The Countdown Begins

Four days till D-Day (Departure Day) and I finally made the website, so the countdown can officially begin. Are we ready? No.

Preparations so far:

• Candy has been sent to Grandma's house. Does she miss us? Reports say no.
• Lots of laundry done.
• Returns and exchanges of trip-related items at the mall done.
• Talked to neighbours about picking up our mail, etc.

Left to do:

• Send off Marcus, Watson, Chelsea and Elf off to other Grandma's house.
• Clean the van.
• Make list upon list.
• Pack stuff for Man, Woman, Baby, Dog1, and Dog2
• Clean the house.
• Get in touch with family and friends we plan to stay with.
• Make hotel reservations in Alberta for Night #2.
• Many, many other things

It's Scott's last day at Job #1 today. His parental leave starts on Monday, and he's nursing a cold that he doesn't want to get worse, so he's calling in sick tomorrow.