Moving On...

So, a few weeks ago we found out that I (Ridley) had been selected for promotion at work.  It was bitter-sweet news; it had been my aim since joining the Royal Navy in 2000 to get to Commander, but at the same time it means leaving Canada and heading back to the UK (at least for a while).

We have absolutely loved living in Canada for the last 4 and a half years; we've explored some amazing places, given the boys some awesome experiences, and met lots of great people we're lucky enough to call life-long friends (you know who you are!).

It's hard to capture just how much we've done in Canada, so far we've: 

• lived in two Capitals (Ottawa and Victoria);
• lived in our RV trailer for 6 weeks;
• visited 10 out of the 13 Provinces and Territories; 
• driven from Coast to Coast; 
• visited over 30 National and Provincial Parks; 
• some of us have learned to swim, SUP, kayak, karate, sail, water-ski, ski, skate, and snowshoe (our activities don't have to begin with 's' or 'k', but it helps!); 
• and lived through a global pandemic.

The boys have both lived in Canada for more than half of their lives and have only been back to the UK twice; they don't really remember much about our lives in the UK and are sad to be leaving their new friends.  It's an unsettling time for all of us, as we don't yet know where in the UK my next job will be, or where we will live, but it's an exciting time too.

We're looking forward to catching up with friends and family back in the UK, and we're determined to continue adventuring when we get back.  It's easy to stay motivated to explore when you know you have a limited amount of time in one place, but as we've learned with the loss of my mum and cousin in the last two years - life is short, so keep exploring.  In the words of Cody Johnson:

    If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance,

    If you got a dream, chase it, cause a dream won't chase you back, 

    If you're gonna love somebody,

    Hold em as long, and as strong, and as close as you can,

    Til you can't.

We've got about six months left in Victoria, so have lots of exciting things planned; including lots more camping, visits from friends, and a trip to the Northwest Territories which will take us up to 11 of 13 Provinces and Territories.  Maybe we'll squeeze in the last two before we go!

If you can think of anything else that should be on our 'bucket list' before we go, drop us a line in the comments.

Our First Post!

 Well, hello World!

This is a first for me, but I thought I'd give blogging a try.  

People often comment that we do a lot of "cool stuff" as a family, so I'm hoping we can inspire other families to get out there and Explore Your Home.  We're currently based in Victoria, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada; but hopefully the content will be relevant wherever your home may be.

We're extremely lucky to have been posted abroad with my work; first to Ottawa, and now Victoria.  Living abroad for a pre-determined period of time (although extended twice at our request), really does focus the mind and encourage you to make the most of the limited time you have available to adventure and explore.  I think we've always been adventurers at heart though!  

Born and raised in the North East of England, I joined the Royal Navy at 18 and travelled widely with work, before being posted to Canada.  Sarah was born and raised in Scotland, travelled to Australia and China as a student, and lived in Honduras working as a PADI Dive Master, before we met at University in Glasgow.

Most of my military career has been spent in Plymouth, Devon, in the South West of England.  Our two boys were born there, although Innes (6) considers himself Scottish and Struan (8) definitely speaks with a Canadian accent!

I hope you'll follow along, as we try to capture some of our adventures.

Ridley