Playing around town

What I received in the mail yesterday

Don't you see the resemblance?

Both are big, both are grey, both have big ears.

Meet Dumbo. :)

5 year plan

When we first decided we were going to move to the North, we had a 5 year plan. We were going to save every penny we made, and high tail it back to Nova Scotia to continue the life we left. We assured everyone, including ourselves, that when we left we would be moving back in 5 years. We made a promise to each other that even if we hated it, we would stay for at least the first 12 months to give it an "honest try". Well, within the first month I was ready to pack up and move back. I was so lonely, we had no internet, and for the first time in my life I was the victim of racism on a daily basis. We were the minority. It was made clear to us that we were "tolerated", but would never be accepted. Then something changed. We made great friends in the manager and his wife, who stepped into the role of surrogate grandparents for our kids. They took us under their wing and protected us. And something else was beginning to happen. Rob and I, for the first time in a LONG time, were actually spending time together. Albeit, he was working A LOT of hours at the store, the boys and I were able to walk over and physically see him. This is something our lives were missing. When we lived in Nova Scotia, we literally passed each other throughout the day. I went to work 2 hours before he came home, and by the time I came home he was sound asleep. This was our life, and we accepted it because there was no other option. It wasn't feasible for me to work days and put the kids in childcare, as my entire paycheck would have been paying someone else to raise my children. So I had to work nights, because we needed both incomes.

If I knew then what I know now, would we have still moved? Without a doubt I would answer yes. People have asked me if I regret moving when we did, seeing my dad passed away 6 months after that. I spoke to my parents everyday when we moved, either on the phone or webcam. My dad would webcam us every morning to talk to the boys. As selfish as it is, I am glad Colby has the memories that he does of Dad, the ones before he got sick and ended up on oxygen.

If, at the same time, someone would have told us that we would end up in a community that welcomed us with open arms, that we would make friends that are just as close if not closer than family, I would have laughed. There is no way I would ever believe that an aboriginal community would accept the "white family", and support us through good times and bad. (We had so much support from the community when our house was broken into it was amazing). I have landed an amazing job, thanks to the encouragement of the women who work in the building that I do. Rob has earned the trust and respect of the community, and everyone says how happy and proud they are to have him running "their store". He has been asked to be part of a focus group here in town, a group that is trying to promote Ile a la Crosse and increase employment. I have earned the reputation as a really good photographer, and I now have people that won't let anyone else but me do their pictures (including people that live out of town). My boys have surrogate grandparents here, and I have women in this community that treat me like their own daughters. We have amazing friends here, so much that we have planned a 3000km journey this summer with them throughout the west coast.

This June marks the 3rd anniversary of us living in the North. In that time, our family unit has grown stronger than we could have ever imagined. Our children are independant, strong, beautiful boys who are non-judgemental and accepting of everyone. They know what it is like to be discriminated against because of the color of their skin and I hope that this has instilled a tolerance and acceptance for everyone. I see it everyday with Colby, and I hope as Joey grows he will be the same. Our marriage has never been stronger. We have learned to rely on each other for everything, and I feel I am a better person for it.

The point of this ramble, you ask? Well, I dunno actually. I started this post with the intention of showing off "the beast". Rob has always wanted a truck, and with the new toys we have acquired through some great deals ($300.00 for a skidoo, hello!) we wanted something to be able to haul them around. Rob has become quite the negotiator, and has managed to negotiate a deal for the truck (brand spankin' new, full warranty!!) for almost the same price as we were paying for the Explorer.

The one thing I have learned more than anything else over the past 3 years is to enjoy life. Our kids are only going to be young once. We only have one chance to make lasting memories. People think I'm crazy sometimes for never leaving the house without a camera. I'm not taking pictures, I'm capturing memories. The boys and I often look back through pictures we have taken over the past few years and talk about them. It keeps the memories alive.

Do I see us leaving in 5 years? Not at this rate. We have an opportunity that many don't get. We have jobs that we love. We get paid good for them, and we live in a beautiful area where if we want to, we can drive a quad down the middle of the road to go to the store. People don't honk if you stop to talk to someone on the road, they just go around, and if there is a line up at the store when you're buying groceries, well, you at least get to find out the latest gossip. People don't get mad if you forget something, and hold up the line while you run back and grab that one thing. We love this town, and it loves us.

"The Beast".

Mother Nature is a B*tch

Before the snow. I was so mad I didn't even take pictures of the snow this weekend.

So here we are at the end of Easter break. It's been a great week home with the boys, although 2

of the days were spent travelling to Meadow Lake. We had to go on Tuesday to get some work done on our truck, so while we were there we decided to buy a 10x10 gazebo for the back deck. For anyone who has not been to the prairies, the black flies in the summer are horrible. Just gross. So we wanted something to allow us to spend time on the back deck. Extra Foods had a great sale on, so we bought one, only to realize it wouldn't fit in the truck. We decided since Rob's work truck (a full size Silverado) needed some minor repairs, I would bring his truck in on Thursday, get the work done and bring the gazebo back. We also had plans to finally put up my clothesline that has been in a box for the last year. We bought the final things we needed for it, and I bought a whole bunch of clothes pins. We were in there shopping in +18 weather and it was beautiful. When Joey and I went back in on Thursday, it was all over the news that there was a huge snow storm on the way and we were in the direct path. At the time I heard this on the radio, it was +16 degrees and blue skies. There was NO WAY there was a storm coming. Well, Mother Nature got the last laugh. It has been snowing here since Friday. It's now Sunday and it finally stopped. Luckily it's warm and it's melting fast. But it was gross. And needless to say, my clothesline is STILL in the box.

For Chris

Which do YOU prefer? And to think, there was a time when I HATED Photoshop. :)

Joe's future wife??

These two played with this little container of bubbles for the better part of 15 minutes. I must have taken over 50 shots of them, and kept and professionally edited 10 of them.

The greatest thing since sliced bread

When we were in Winnipeg on our way to our new home in NWT, we stopped at a drugstore on the way to the airport for medication for Joey. Rob found this great little thing that neither one of us had seen before. It fits on top of a liquid medicine bottle and makes a seal. Because of the shape of it, it fits a variety of different sized bottles. It has a hole in the centre for a syringe, so when you put this in the bottle, you fit the syringe in the hole and turn the whole thing upside down, so you can accurately measure the proper dose. No more fighting with syringes that don't fit in the bottle!! It also has a little stopper on the top so you can leave it in the bottle and throw the lid away. We have not been able to find another one since that time, so we have been coveting the one we have. I told the pharamist at the Northern about it, and he had not seen them either and was intrigued. When we went to Meadow Lake last week, look what Rob found at the local drugstore for a whopping 1.59!!! Seriously, if you don't have one of these and you have kids, you should have one. Our pharmacist is bringing some in to sell in our pharmacy, and if you can't find one let me know, I'll send you one! It will change your life! (Well, not really but who hasn't had a crying child and had to deal with the frusteration of the damn syringe not fitting in the Advil bottle?!)

A super fun session last weekend

The family we moved to the North to become

Help I'm stuck!

Like the rotten mother I am, when my son yells "Help, I'm stuck" the first thing I grab is a camera. He has become very independant and insists on getting himself dressed. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for me and my camera, the shirt he picked was too small.

Where the moose live

This is the new Youth Centre that is being built here in town. Everytime we drive by it, I ask Joey what it is and what is in there. It first started out as a barn, which chickens, who were eating grill cheese sandwiches. Now, it's still a barn, with 5 moose who are pooping. I love my son's imagination.

What I've been up to

Gotta love the North

Mr. Attitude already.

Snowshoeing!

My little skiier.

The end of another week

Twinned highway, Northern style.

To say this past week has been stressful is an understatment. We (and when I say we I mean I) dropped the dog off at the vet on Tuesday on my way to Saskatoon to get her spayed. I arrived back there on Wednesday expecting to take her home to be told that she had a massive heart attack on the table. It took them 5 minutes and the use of an epinefrin injection to get her back. When I saw her Wednesday, she was blind. It was heartbreaking. As of today, we think she is almost 100% back to normal, with the exception of her hearing. We know her hearing has been impaired, but we are still trying to figure out the severity of it.

The weather here in town has been beautiful. The temperature averages +10 everyday. With this drastic of a temperature change, comes mud. LOTS of mud. Our snow is melting so fast everything is muddy. I had to take the boys out today and take a few more pictures on the lake before it becomes unsafe. People here tell me that it is still safe for at least a few more weeks yet. No thank you!

And of course, the mandatory updated pictures. This made me laugh. This is at the beginning of the ice road.

Colby said he was going to "jump in the water" (this is the edge of the dock)

"Swimming", Northern style.

Of course, it quickly turned to wrestling. They are getting so big!

And bad!

Seriously, would you feel safe driving on THIS ice road?? People here still are. Not me!

Scott Alexander Power

My newest nephew! He arrived safely last night at 9:15PM, weighing in at 8lbs, 10oz. I'm soo happy for BJ, Kelly and new big brother Alan!

Tropicana Commercial: Arctic Sun - Brighter mornings for brighter days

Stole this from Megan's blog. I just love this.

Now that it's finally warming up here we have been able to get outside and play. Colby's quad is finally back after being at the mechanic for a few weeks getting a well deserved clean up / tune up / anti-smoker thingie so now it works well. He's becoming quite a pro on it, and I made sure to post pictures of them ALL in helmets just for you Kara. :)

We were at a Family Day activity day last week and I couldn't resist snapping this picture. This little girl is the daughter of a friend of mine and was really angry about something, as you can see. Can you believe this girl won't be 4 until April!

Someone help me now

Your laugh, just in case you need one

BJ, Kassie and I were laughing about a joke just like this in the airport in Halifax on our way to Newfoundland when we went to bury my dad's ashes. It was a super stressful time for all of us, and for some reason this cartoon had us in tears we were laughing so hard. I found it tonight and it still makes me smile, not so much about the joke, but remembering us laughing like fools in the airport. I'm sure everyone taught we were crazy, and we are.