First Auntie Once Removed

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My cousin, Jody, was determined to be our first out of town guest.

She almost beat US here!

She came very close to beating my car here.  It arrived the morning she arrived with her family.

It was a four day drive for their visit, and we are so grateful they decided to seek out summer weather in the North.  Truly, we had five glorious LONG sunny days.  Every bit of it was wonderful.

I'm so glad they came to visit!

I feel very lucky to have so many cousins.  Some of them are like siblings to me, and Jody is one of them.  We are "Auntie" to each other's children, but what are we really?

Well, Jody and I are cousins.

John is my cousin-in-law.  Eli is Jody's cousin-in-law.  So far, so good.

My kids and Jody's daughter are second cousins to each other.

Now, take a moment.

Jody's daughter, Sweet M, is my first cousin once removed.  My girls are Jody's first cousins once removed.

I think that would make me a First Auntie Once Removed.

Sounds royal, yes?

They arrived late in the afternoon, so my girls we outside playing with water when they arrived. 

Jody and John decided to rough it in our driveway.  They had it rough. 

Jody brought Bailey the Cat along.  She came out of the camper twice.  Once here to see Twofour (she hissed and was perplexed by this non=dog non-mouse mammal).  The second time, she hid under our front deck, and possibly the house for a while until she snuck out and Jody put her back in the camper. 

The three girls loved riding their bikes around the cul-de-sac.  

(From the left, G, M and A) 

They had a blast together. 

We had hot sunny days, so the girls played with the hose and pool. 

Hmm.

Odd.

No water coming out of that hose.

Look to the left, behind the leaves...

It took the girls a while to see that John was pinching the hose. 

It was great fun when he let go and the hose went wild!! 

John almost got me wet a few times.  He says it was a mistake. 

The girls were loving the summer weather! 

The next day, we all went out on to the boat for a ride. 

It was another perfect summer day.  Seriously. L-U-C-K-Y. 

John with A and M. 

Me with the three girls at the front of the boat. 

We did a little tour around Yellowknife harbour. 

A like to steer, but Eli has to keep a good grip when she is sitting with him.  She's strong and likes to wiggle the wheel! 

Colourful house boats are around the harbour.  Wouldn't it be fun to live in one? 

We docked the boat downtown, and went for a short stroll in Old Town. 

We stopped at Weaver and Devore, and Jody and John had lunch at Bullocks. 

While they had lunch, we took our girls (who were a little cranky-- moving across the country does catch up with you, you know) to a small island in the harbour to explore.  The island was really a rock. 

With baby rocks on it for your throwing pleasure. 

This is Eli guiding the boat back out into the lake. 

We had perfect timing to pick up Jody, John and M at the dock. 

Sweet A enjoyed it when Eli would go slow so she could look at the sparkles on the water. 

Then, she snuggled with Uncle John for a thumb break. 

Eli walked the girls back to the car to get the boat trailer, and we called it a day. 

NOPE!  It was only 4 o'clock, which meant we had loads of time for some beach fun! 

The beach has a beautiful park for the kids to play. 

The long days make for looong shadows. 

We met our cousin-- a true Knifer-- Lena at the beach.   

Look how high that sun is!  It's supper time! 

The lake was warm and shallow for the kids to play in. 

Little G is off!! 

She loves to chase sea gulls.  She can sound like them, too! 

Aaah.  I'll need to remember this come January!   

Me with Lena and Jody 

Our cul de sac does provide for lots of entertainment.  Just add chalk. 

We took the girls to Arctic Farms to meet with Lena and her boys. 

They had some farm animals and lots of flowers and plants. 

Farms are stinky! 

The girls found a perfect place for a snack. 

The geese were crazy for attention.  And LOUD. 

Little G inspected the bales of straw. 

Three boys.  Three girls. 

All second cousins.  

The last full day, Eli was working, so I guided us downtown so Jody and John could get a few souvenirs and see downtown from land.  Here, the girls are waiting outside of the Gallery of the Midnight Sun. 

These girls are so very cute together! 

Here, we're at the Visitor Centre.  Three monkeys looking in the mirror. 

Goof balls. 

They really liked learning about diamonds.  Boys, watch out.  These girls are educated in the Three C's. 

Peek a boo! 

All in all, just a wonderful visit. 

Bye!  Bye friend!  Come back to our brand new house soon!