It's been a while since I've posted (a long while...turns out being at work full-time with two little kids makes it hard to find time for much else...), but in the interest of documenting life's milestones, it was about time.
In about two weeks we will say goodbye to our first home. The decision to move was one we didn't take lightly, but maybe came a bit more quickly than we'd originally anticipated. While we are excited about the future, this change comes with a huge range of emotions (definitely a few tears), and I know we will truly miss this home and neighbourhood where we started our family and put down a lot of roots.
We moved into 4627 Quentin Street in May 2011. After a few years of renting out one-bedroom condos, we were pretty excited by the huge amount of space this military style duplex had to offer at just over 1000 square feet, and even more thrilled that we'd found a place in the same neighbourhood as our current rental.
Looking back at the house when we first moved in really makes me realize how much this house changed with our family over the last 8 years. These photos below are from the MLS listing back in 2011 when we bought the house, and it almost doesn't look familiar at this point.
This is what the house looked like when we came into it:
 |
| Living Room |
 |
| Dining Room |
 |
| View from kitchen to dining room |
 |
| Kitchen |
 |
| Master bedroom |
 |
| The room that has served as a nursery for our last 5 years |
 |
| Evelyn's current bedroom |
 |
| Our main bathroom upstairs |
 |
| Basement rec room |
 |
| Basement bedroom |
In contrast, here is our home 8 years later. These are photos done by our realtor, though we were extremely lucky and ended up selling to the first buyer who our viewed our house before we even listed, so these photos never even made it to the internet (until now!).
 |
| Main floor....thank goodness this work was done before kids |
 |
| Living room |
 |
| Kitchen/dining |
 |
| Kitchen |
 |
| Master bedroom |
 |
| Nursery |
 |
| Evelyn's room |
 |
| Bathroom - a very quick 1 week renovation that Craig got done before selling (if I'd known he could get it done this quickly, would have done this project long ago!) |
 |
| Basement playroom |
 |
| Basement bedroom |
 |
| Backyard |
As these photos show, there weren't many areas of the house that we left untouched - the one exception being the paint colour in our upstairs hallway - we will leave that darker brown for the next owners to deal with. We created a physical space that worked for our evolving lives, and reflecting on all the work we put into this house, I don't regret any of it. We made these changes for ourselves, and I hope the next owners will appreciate the many days of manual labour that went into this place (mostly on the part of Craig...but I helped out too).
What makes me more emotional, is thinking about the memories we've built here. In the rational part of my brain, I tell myself that all the important things are coming with us; but that still will never change the fact that this is the home where we really started our adult lives together, where we got married, survived multiple DIY renovations together, got our beloved pups Hudson and Ruby, had our babies and watched them take their first steps, and had countless get-togethers and celebrations with our friends and family from near and far. Those memories will always be tied to this place, and I don't want to forget them.
 |
| We planned most of our wedding from this house...still looking fairly youthful and energetic |
 |
| I often wonder what we did with all our time before kids and dogs, but looking back at photos from when we first moved into this house, it largely served as our home base for weekend hikes and adventures - Oh the days when driving 5 hours and hiking 8 hours on a given Saturday seemed like a simple task |
Not long after we got married, feeling the peer pressure from our new friends across the back alley who'd put a deposit on a soon-to-be-born Irish Setter, we made our first really important investment--our puppy (baby at the time) Hudson. Even to this day, he is still our "golden child" - has always been so well behaved and really the most loyal dog you'll ever meet. We spent countless hours lying on the hard living room floor so we could snuggle him (this was back when we still were strong enough to enforce the
No dogs on the couch rule....just meant humans on the floor for us). Hudson loved our undivided attention, and probably wishes it was still just the three of us.
 |
| Those paws |
 |
| Hudson...wolfing down his dinner in 20 seconds since 2011 |
 |
| Seriously - why did we even attempt this rule in the first place |
If only they stay little forever...Ruby came along about a year and half later and made us realize that in fact, Hudson's perfect temperament and obedience was not the result of us being amazing dog owner. Still to this day, she looks more to Hudson as her master than either Craig or I, but her personality is one of a kind and she'll be a puppy for life.
 |
| Hudson was not a huge fan at first, but Ruby grew on him |
 |
| She came with some really bad manners |
 |
| To this day, when we are giving the kids baths and getting ready for bedtime, both dogs still lie right here in this position, waiting for us to come downstairs again |
 |
| We've gone through many different couches and living room configurations, but we always have to make sure that Ruby has her perch for watching and barking at birds, squirrels, people, rabbits etc.... |
 |
| They love lounging in the backyard as much as we do |
I became a mom in this house, and that I will never forget. Given the amount of time you spend in your home in the early days of motherhood (especially with a baby born in the late fall when temperatures are getting colder), I will always think about this place when I remember that phase of my life. Babies stay little for a short time, but I hope that my girls can have some memory of their first home - even if it is something that Craig and I help to pass on.
 |
| Dogs eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new baby sister - the nursery in its finest moment (before anyone actually used it) |
 |
| Evelyn's first day home |
 |
| Ruby welcoming her new sister |
 |
| Being on maternity leave with one baby - seems relaxing now, and I treasure the many hours I spent just holding Evelyn on the couch while she slept on my check (and maybe watching way too much TLC and HGTV) |
 |
| The learning tower that Craig built became a staple of our kitchen (and the source of many fights now that two kids are eager to "help"') |
 |
| learning to walk |
 |
| Evelyn also broke her arm in our kitchen...not really a good memory, but one I won't forget |
Lucy was born in 2017, and that maternity leave was a bit of a different experience. While I still tried to spend lots of time cuddling on the couch, it was interspersed with setting up crafts, cleaning spilled milk, driving to various playgrounds and toddler activities while still trying to make nap time happen, etc, etc, etc. Still though, while it was busy, I wouldn't trade the experience of watching both girls grow and develop and develop a relationship with one another.
 |
| Lucy's first day at home, being welcomed into her crib |
 |
| Wish I could go back for these sleepy baby snuggles |
These next few really melt my heart - we still see some sweet moments like this, but they are too quick to capture on camera
 |
| The scene of many mornings at the breakfast bar |
 |
| Sister mischief |
 |
| Baking with my girls - they are great helpers ( as long as you don't mind a lot of fingers and possibly licking in your cookies) |
While the nature of our social gatherings has shifted over time, we have tons of great memories of fun times with friends and family in this house. Things may have changed from the late nights of
Club Pearce to parties with numerous dogs running around misbehaving, to now those parties where we eat dinner promptly at 5:30pm, every toy is littered on the floor and we're all in bed by 9--but they have all been pretty awesome in their own ways.
A few pictures from Club Pearce - Halloween edition circa 2012....
Strobe lights, lasers, and a fog machine in the club (basement, pre-playroom renovation)
 |
One of numerous thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter dinners - we are lucky to have lots of other 'orphan' friends here in Calgary who act as pretty awesome stand-in family during these holidays
|
 |
| More turkey carving |
 |
| Luckily Mac grew on Evie over the years...still doesn't look too sure here at her first Christmas |
 |
| Adding a few more numbers to the holiday mix |
And now some pictures of what our current parties look like:
 |
| A New Year's Eve rager |
 |
| The kids stayed up until 10pm literally dumping every toy |
 |
| Ready for Santa to visit |
 |
| Lucy's first birthday party |
 |
| And, aftermath of a children's party |
Although these celebrations are now memories from the past, I know these will continue making new ones in the future. Since we've had kids (and many of our friends have done the same), it has become more challenging to host these get together's in our current space--kids are small, but they have a presence. We are excited about this aspect of our new house, as it does give us a little more space and we are hopeful that it's not too sub-urban to deter our friends from visiting :)
One thing we can't take with us though, is the neighbourhood - it is truly amazing. All of the families on our street take pride in living here, and make a real effort to connect with those around them. It is even harder seeing our kids develop relationships and connections with some of the other kids on the street, and these "built-in playmates" will definitely be missed. We are hopeful that our new community will have a similar vibe, but it's one of those things that you can't check for with a home inspection. From annual celebrations, to informal gatherings on the street, to a few great friends we've met as a result of living here--we've appreciated this spot.
 |
Hudson and his BFF Finn - I would love to see these guys together again
|
The Hoidas crew when we knew them from across the back alley - The family has grown a bit since this photo, but we'll always think about you guys when we think about living here. How easy it was to just pack up all our gear and dogs and head out camping or skiing on the weekends!
This awesome family is still just a stones throw away from our Quentin Street home. Play dates may not be quite as convenient as right now, but we'll make them happen - still sad to move away from awesome people like this in the neighbourhood who we and our kids love.
I posted some pictures of this house when we bought it in 2011 and when we sold it this year....it has changed, and there have been so many big and small renovations along the way. Reflecting on this has made me realize that Craig and I are project people....Though I really want to sit, relax and just enjoy, I think that with us, there is always going to be another project on the horizon. Our new house is definitely move in ready, but we've already started a mental list of "things we'll change eventually"....knowing our track record, those projects may start sooner than we expect.
Blood, sweat and tears have gone into this house...80% from Craig, with 80% of the planning and direction coming from me. While it's true that home renovations can test your relationship and require true perseverance, I can honestly say that we are stronger and a better team as a result of doing these projects together. Before kids, we both contributed complementary skills (me planning, Craig with his DIY confidence and instruction on how I could help get the job done). With kids, things shifted slightly, as there always had to be someone watching kids...complementary roles right? I think our biggest bone of contention has been the multiple trips to Home Depot that Craig takes (while I sit home playing with the kids while envisioning him stroll down the aisles, Tim Hortons in hand, pondering what product to buy without really having the right measurements in hand or preparation needed for the trip in the first place). Anyway - Overall, I think both the process and outcome of our renos has been a success.
Early renovations included refinishing the deck (which we later realized would have just been much easier to replace all the boards given the time and effort it took to sand everything down and stain), building a tool bench in the garage (to facilitate completion of more projects), and installing some wall cabinets in our dining room (first sign that our kitchen may have been low on storage).
In 2014, we moved on to more extensive projects - that is a kitchen renovation, that turned into filling in an exterior door and replacing a different door, taking down a load bearing wall to open up the space completely, gutting the kitchen and installing a whole new one, and matching existing hardwood floors throughout the main floor and refinishing all floors to look the same. We did as much of this project as we could on our own with some help along the way from skilled family (thanks Wayne) and necessary subcontractors for some items.
 |
| Ripping out backsplash tiles |
 |
| Filling in an existing door (didn't make sense to have 2 backdoors) - note the temporary dog door Craig built as we couldn't deprive the dogs of their access to the yard during these few months |
 |
| Framing under the load bearing wall, before the beam was installed |
 |
| temporary wall prior to beam going in |
 |
| new back door added in |
 |
| the dark days (literally) of the renovation. We had a bar fridge, microwave and toaster set up in the guest bedroom upstairs. Dish washer still running at this point, but eventually the water source was only upstairs - definitely couldn't handle this with kids around. |
 |
I will happily leave this memory behind...prying off all the particle board that was nailed, glued and stapled to the sub-floor
|
 |
| Old floor sanded and ready for stain |
 |
| Refinished floor - wasn't easy to match the floor, but it looks pretty uniform throughout the space |
The result was worth it - I love this kitchen and will miss the space and functionality it offered (hopefully I can find my groove in our new kitchen, though it definitely isn't as big - hoping for good flow though).
Our basement was the next big under-taking in the fall of 2017 during my maternity leave with Lucy. I reached a breaking point where the toys on the main floor got to be too much, so we decided to turn the basement into a playroom. This wasn't too complicated, as the basement was already finished, but we changed the ceiling from a drop ceiling to drywall, installed pot lights instead of fluorescent lights, and put carpet in instead of linoleum. So it made it a lot cozier. Most of this work we didn't do ourselves, aside from painting and wallpaper (our first attempt at wall-paper...which was definitely not as easy as the instructional video made it out to be).
 |
| Pre-reno |
 |
| The day that Craig decided to get things started by ripping out all the ceiling tiles |
 |
| Drywall on the stairs |
 |
| Ceiling drywalled - looks way better (and this is something we'll need to repeat in parts of the basement in our new house) |
 |
| Wall paper in....this may have been one of my and Craig's bigger renovation fights |
 |
| Final product |
Our last big project was the backyard. We love sitting out in the yard during the spring, summer and fall months and get great sun and warmth with the western exposure of our yard. The one thing that always bothered us was that the yard include a 2 level deck, rubber tiles, paver stones, and grass - lots of different surfaces that really broke up the space and made it a bit hazourdous for toddlers learning to walk and ride their bikes and scooters around. It also felt a lot smaller with the various surfaces breaking it all up. So...we took the deck, pavers, and rubber tiles out and put in new sod and a poured concrete patio area with steps down from our back door. We also made a play area for the kids with sand and rocks (lots of fun, and tons of mess....). We did this project in May-June 2018, definitely thinking we would have enjoyed the space for a few more summers, but we still made good use of it in our time here.
 |
| A before picture |
The way many of our projects get started - we have a few conversations and then Craig decides to rip the deck out one night after bedtime.
 |
| Evie helping out to dig the posts that were frozen in the ground |
 |
| The kids didn't mind that our backyard was a giant mud pit for a few weeks...having fun with flour and mud |
 |
| Prepping for the poured concrete, which was the next step |
 |
| Concrete in |
I don't think I've ever worried more about Craig's well-being than this day. We had a contractor back out last minute (who was supposed to come with a bobcat and fill to level the yard). Not wanting to lose a full day of work, Craig decided to take it on himself - removed all the old sod (that stuff is heavy), and used a wheel barrel to move 12,000kg of new soil into the yard. He came in for dinner that night and was hardly able to string together 3 words in a sentence after being out in the sun all day...Fun way to spend the May long weekend.
 |
| Mission accomplished, and ready for sod |
 |
Sod in - it was a long three weeks of continuous watering and keeping the kids and dogs off the grass (having to take the dogs outside to the front to go to the bathroom really made us see how annoying it would be to have dogs and no backyard)
|
The final product - definitely worth the effort for the many hours of fun we've had out here playing and relaxing.
Our last minor renovation was done this past June when we switched out the vanity and did a few small fixes in our main bathroom. This was a pretty quick job, but freshed up the bathroom quite a bit.
 |
| Before |
 |
| After |
It has been a bit of a whirlwind summer. We put in the offer on our future house on June 15 and had the conditions waived on June 28. The day we put that offer in, we really started prepping our house to for a target list date of July 1 (if you really want to be productive, give yourself the motivation of not wanting to carry two mortgages!). We were working most days and coming home and doing house prep usually until close to midnight during that time....it was exhausting, but in the end, we were able to sell our house quickly [so definitely worth it, as I can only imagine how tiring it would be to keep the house in show-ready condition with two dogs and two kids constantly undoing all your efforts).
We get the keys to our new house today, and our house officially sells on September 5 - so while we still have a few weeks, we are doing the big move this weekend and it definitely feels like we are saying goodbye when you look around and see empty closets, boxes waiting to be filled, and a garage full of items that are ready to be loaded in that moving truck on Saturday (and yes....in true Pearce fashion, we are doing this move without the help of movers...).
4627 will always be our first home - the place of so many great memories for our family. Of course we'll be taking all the important things in our life with us (including toys and beds according to Evie), but I know a small piece of us will stay with this house.
The real purpose of this post is so I can preserve some memory of this house before we go and it all slips away (as seems to happen in these last few years with my memory), but I'm sure it leaves you wondering - if you love this house so much, then why leave? Of course, we have our reasons and the timing was right. Since the beginning of 2019, we had been looking in other neighbourhoods that would offer us a bit more space and still some of the features we love about our current neighbourhood (close to green space and water for dogs, walk-able to some stores and conveniences, mature yards with outdoor space). Our search got really narrowed when we started learning more about the Lake Bonavista community and what it could offer us. Being from Ontario, the one thing Craig and I both agree on about Alberta, is that it is missing that water access that we both grew up with. While a man-made lake is no comparison to the amazing lakes of Northern Ontario, we are pretty excited about being in a lake community that has a great reputation for strong sense of community. In addition to finding a house that really checked off all our must-haves, the community has a french immersion school that had space for Evelyn to start kindergarten as well as good before and after childcare options (In our current neighbourhood, we were in a lottery system in our current neighbourhood and there was no feasible before/after care options for that particular school). So for us, it made sense to make this transition before either of our kids start school. Bonus for me - our house is only a couple kilometers from my office (and only 2 train stops away), so I'm looking forward to that commute (Craig is getting the short end of the stick on the commute, but we'll figure it out).
While it is hard to leave our current neighbourhood and the house we've called our home for the last 8 years, we are excited about our move to Lake Bonavista and I have no doubt we'll continue to make awesome memories here (and maybe tackle the odd project).
Here are a few pictures of our new home
 |
| Backyard - Craig has already been doing his hot tub maintenance research |
 |
| Kids will be disappointed when we move in and this trampoline isn't still here |
 |
| Living room in front of house |
 |
| Family room in back of house (open space room with breakfast area and kitchen) |
 |
| Kitchen & breakfast area |
 |
| View from family room to kitchen |
 |
| Dining room in front of house |
 |
| Main floor bath - nothing fancy, but a big improvement over a potty in your living room for the last 4 years |
 |
| The basement has tons of great play space |
 |
Master bedroom -an ensuite will be nice (I'm sure we'll be changing out the 90s look in there at some point)
|
I'm sure this space will give us a few projects to occupy the next few years - For now, we will just focus on surviving the move, getting settled in, and figuring out our new routine.
Great post Ellen. Your new home looks amazing.
ReplyDelete