Playing Hooky and a Free Printable

Wow!  It's finally sinking in that the big push to get the first round of packing, the major cleaning, and all that other fun stuff is over!  I can breathe a little easier, spend a little more time focusing on non-move related items. Don't get me wrong, my stress level is still waaaaay up there, I think it will be until we sell and move.  I'm continually reminding myself of all the reasons why we're putting ourselves through this.  But, with the stuff inside my control being done, I am turning my attention to revamping some of the systems I have in place right now.  If anything good came from that frantic rush to do everything, aside from making our home ready for sale, it was that I found many things that just weren't working.  And, being the dork that I am, I took notes!  I kid you not, I would actually stop what I was doing to note a problem area or an idea.  A little on the compulsive side, but I didn't want to forget anything, and if I hadn't I probably would have.

Armed with this new knowledge and insight I have decided that it's time to refresh my Home Management Binder.  I need to work up some new cleaning systems, and other home management type things.  I'm going to share the whole process with you, including ALL the printables!  Since the house is finished and I don't want to mess with things too much, I figured this was a safe project to tackle, buuuuuuut, I didn't really want to think about it today.  In fact, I'm kind of sick of thinking of house stuff, and I need to take a much needed step back before I drive myself crazy trying to keep everything perfect every moment of the day.  So, I'm playing hooky from house thinking today, and working on something equally, if not more, important.  It may seem a little backwards, but I'm starting my project with the fun stuff.


As you know, we're moving, not just to a new town, but to a whole new area, the Lower Mainland of BC to be exact, in a vague kind of way.  There is soooooo much to do there.  So many wonderful new things waiting for our family to discover.  And while we'll be living a little ways away from the West Coast, we're still close enough to enjoy all it has to offer, like two, yes TWO Ikeas, (with a third on the way?)  But I better not get started on the shopping side of things (there's a used bookstore in our town!  eeeeeeek, and according to Travis when you go shopping the stores actually have things on their shelves, and you don't have to climb over and squeeze around all the stock in boxes, I don't know what that will be like!  lol)   And that's it for the shopping stuff.


My REAL focus, the one that really gets me giddy with excitement is all the things we can do as a family.  Parks to check out, beaches in the summer, a trip or few to the ocean .... the list really could go on and on.  Most of what I've been looking up is stuff I can find on line (most charge admission, I'm still hunting up the free stuff) The big ones topping my list are:


Stanley Park

Vancouver Aquarium


Science World


Greater Vancouver Zoo

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Vancouver Whale Watch  (this one I'm torn on, I would loooooove to go out and see the whales, but I'm also of the mind that wild animals should just be left alone)

Vancouver Maritime Museum

Museum of Vancouver

Vancouver Police Museum

H.R. Mac Millan Space Center

And oh so many, many more.  These are just some of the things I found while looking online.  I know that we're going to find a ton more things to do.  We'll find our favorite parks and free activities, and the more time we're there, the more we'll add to our list.  I can't wait to start exploring, and I want to be able to keep track of the places we've been and the places we want to go.  So, I'm adding a whole new section to my HMB, the Family Fun section.  And since I was playing online tourist today, what better way to start off the section than with a list of places to go!  Here it is:

Family Fun Activities

The form pretty much explains itself.  I have a spot to put in the location, the address, admission fees for Adult, Youth and Child, whether or not it would be a day trip, if it's an indoor or outdoor activity, and would we go again!  Always important, especially if it's something you have to pay for.  If the kids don't enjoy themselves, why go again?

Did you notice that part about the day trip?  Stay tuned for a few printables that will help make day trips a breeze!  Up next week, I'm also going to share our linen/bathroom storage solutions, and I haven't forgotten about the mudroom before, during and after reveal.  I'm just playing hooky from that stuff today!

As always, just click the caption to get our own copy :-)  And please remember that all the printables offered here at the Scattered Squirrel are for personal use only.  If you would like to use them for something other than personal use, please shoot me an email (email addy is on the right side bar) and we can work something out!

I hope that you all are having a fantastic day, and wish you a wonderful weekend!!!

If anyone knows of any other family friendly places to check out in the lower mainland, I would totally love it if you would leave a comment and let me know.  I cannot wait to get down there!!!!