Saturday 21 July 2012

Mobile Pictures

Do you remember using the rotary phone to dial only 5 numbers to call somewhere in town, and how terribly annoying it was when they made us dial all SEVEN numbers to place a local call?

And, do you remember when voice mail was cool and new and the phone company would give us a whole weekend to make as many free voice mail messages as possible, so we did, but then they went back to charging us, like 10 cents a message?

And, do you remember when car phones were for the really crazy rich people, like in Rainman, when Charlie Babbitt uses a huge honker to place a call, and it was practically larger than the car seat itself?

And, do you remember when we would call it a telephone, then just phone, and now cell (or mobile, if you are feelin' fancy)?

And, do you remember your phone being only a phone, and having a cord on it (sometimes a really long cord)? 
Man, what I wouldn't have given back in the day for my own phone line to my room...

Anyways, this is what my phone has been up to lately. 
I use it as my back up camera when I have momentarily stepped away from the Big Red Beautiful Camera, and need to snatch a great shot.

Hey, do you remember your first digital camera that cost you an entire week's pay?  Yeah, all of our phones now have way better quality than those first dinosaurs (decade old digital dinosaurs, to be exact).

When Eli took me in to get a smart phone prior to our move to the North, the guy at the store actually laughed at my phone.  "Hey!  I remember these!  I had one when I was, like 12."

I digress, and I present to you my mobile pictures (because I'm fancy).
Miss G wanted to help Daddy mow the tiny patch of grass in front of our house. 
It's so tiny compared to our lawn in Nova Scotia, that often Daddy just mows over to the neighbours yard.  It still only takes about 7 minutes. 
Miss G and I went on a bike ride to get ice cream at the Reddi Mart.  Her Kindergarten teacher and I walked her whole class there on the last day of school, and she thinks that's a pretty special treat, still!
At the beach, Miss G is a seagull chasing machine! 
Miss A was very proud of herself for using a butter knife to get a cheese snack ready. 
After a visit to Weaver and Devore, the girls wanted to pose with the cut outs. 
Miss A enjoying a hot hot hot afternoon in the shade in front of our house with the turtle pool. 
This is how Eli brought home the hexagonal picnic table I chose for our front deck (I love it!).  The girls were so excited, "Mommy!!  Daddy's car looks like a prince!" 
I snapped this picture earlier in July.  Time of day? 
Before 3 am!!  Hello, midnight sun! 
Miss A drew this awesome picture of Wubbzy.  She loves Wubbzy. 
The girls love to make mail and special deliveries for everyone at the house.  Here, Miss A made a heart card for Papa with a treehouse she would like him to build.
Here is Dad, caught in the act.  Eli made him and ice cream cone with TWO cones (because that is his favourite part!).  Papa was so pleased. 
Another day, Eli had Papa try his famous barbeque hot wings.  It was painful. 
Very very hot!! 
Here are the girls outside at the Dancing Moose Cafe. 
The best part of the lunch visit to a restaurant in Old Town was being so close to the float panes as they took off.  Can you see the spray? 
The girls were pretty impressed... and man, was this a HOT day! 
Nanny thought it was a pretty cool place to have lunch, too. 
Miss G felt indignant that there was no actual dancing moose at the Dancing Moose Cafe (false advertisement?), but she did like this wall hanging with the dancing moose under the northern lights. 
Miss A is lounging in a chair outside the Glassworks in Old Town (downtown) Yellowknife. 
Ah ha!  Back and the beach, chasing sea gulls.  You know, Miss G can get pretty close to them when she is sneaking, and before she yells caa caa!!  I wonder what she would do if she caught one? 
This month, the girls have been taking swim lessons, and they are really enjoying them! 
Miss G has discovered that frozen yogurt tubes are a lot like ice cream, and she likes them. 
Miss A likes them a lot, too. 
This was snapped at 4:24 am when I was driving Nanny and Papa off at the airport for the family reunion in Saskatoon. 
Back to the pool... this time practicing floats in the deep end! 
Miss A is a starfish! 
Ice cream from the ice cream truck??  What a lucky day!  Thank you, Daddy! 
This was the potty line at the air show... the girls were patient, and the planes provided entertainment. 
Ronald McDonald was there, too, and the girls went back to back with him to see who was taller... I think Ronald won, by almost double! 
The girls thought he was swell. 
But the super fast planes were cooler. 
Another line!  This time, for cotton candy and lollipops. 
While at the air show, Miss A collected rocks, and set them up for circle time, but she didn't have a story to read them. 
She was pretty tuckered out by the end of the day... 
One morning, I was sitting on the deck sipping tea when I head some traffic at the bird feeder Monique helped the girls paint for us as a going away present.  Can you see the bird's tail feathers?
This is the sky at nearly 1 am when I went to get Papa from the airport, upon his return from the reunion.  It was very smoky from forest fires, but you can still see that the sun was not yet set! 
Miss A decided to open up a Movie Store (also called a Woovie Store).  Our little entrepreneur! 
The Northern Bugs are nasty! 
Check out this bite Miss G got on Friday when we rode our bikes to the pool for the girls' lesson. 
I'm told that people build up immunity over time to the bites, but both girls swell like crazy after a year up here!  (Eli and I both do, too.) 
Yesterday, we took Papa to Mark's Work Wearhouse for a mini work clothes shopping spree, and the girls had a wonderful time with the mirrors. 

Mommy!  Six girls! 
And, I took this picture today.

Even the girls laughed as we drove behind this souped up Jeep-type vehicle.

I think it's pretty appropriate to living in the North, too.

As long as you are upright and moving:  no problem!

Monday 16 July 2012

Northern Skies Air Show

We did end up missing Papa's family reunion in Saskatchewan this weekend due to vacation scheduling challenges, but on Friday, we got a tease for our very important consolation prize.
As soon as I heard the familiar rumble, I ran outside barefoot (because I CAN do that when it is not sub-Arctic temperatures), with my sunglasses on and face looking upwards. 

I yelled for the girls to come outside and sit on the grass. 

Confused but compliant, they did, and were treated to a preview of the Northern Skies airshow! 
I think my neighbour, Jaime, and I were much more excited than the kids, seeing as we are of the Top Gun era, and both of our husbands are in aviation, and we grew up with airshows in our back yard.
Yellowknife is about the size of Miramichi, so it is nice to have the busy airport sounds overhead all the time.  I missed it. 

But, the Snowbirds?!  Yeah, baby!! 
The girls FINALLY understood why I was so excited about the airshow this weekend. 
They kept thinking that Snowbirds were ptarmigan. 
Somehow, I can't imagine a ptarmigan getting up to any significant speed. 
While the Snowbirds were thrilling when buzzing our neighbourhood, the girls did find other things to keep them busy during the long rehearsal. 
Like a dirt wheel.  Second only to the puddle wheel. 
Jaime and I kept our eyes on the sky. 
Huh?  What's up mom?  Why do you and Jaime keep yelling and jumping up and down, because I think it's noisy and weird.

I didn't have my camera on hand later in the afternoon when the CF-18 roared through (nor was I going to miss the teaser), but Jaime and I whooped and hollered and had a grand ol' time. 

Top Gun has united a generation of women forever.
The very next day, on Saturday, the family went to the airport for the show.

Eli loves airshows as much as I do.

We had a pretty sweet set up at the airshow with our umbrella, chairs, and picnic lunch. 
The CF-18 Hornet started off the show!  Yeah, baby!
Up-freakin'-side down!! 

And, LOUD, baby!!  I loved the soundtrack they had for the airshow, it was wonderful.  But the Hornet's roar?  Unlike anything else!

Now, you put a Bon Jovi concert together with an airshow overhead, and I think my head would explode.  That would be the ultimate entertainment experience.
Check out how the air is compressing over the Hornet's cockpit.

Bernoulli's principle in action. 
The Hornet was specially painted with these beautiful snowflakes... 13 for the 13 provinces and territories. 
Now, that is just showing off.

Upside down with the landing gear out.  Love it! 
Miss A loved the pita and noise blockers we brought along.  The CF-18 is LOUD! 
Loud and fast.  Just the way I like an airshow. 
The CF-18 taxied right past us, and you can see the polar bear detail on the fin, and the snowflakes on the plane. 
Paco waved at the girls.  They thought that was awesome. 
Here's a vintage plane that treated us to a demonstration, but I didn't get a picture because Miss G had to use the washroom, and the line up was loooong. 
Miss G was also happy that Daddy brought along noise blockers for her.  We were sitting next to some military folks Eli knows, and they were very impressed with our preparedness. 
The water bombers also did a demonstration for the show. 
Eli grabbed my camera to snapped pictures of Super Dave in his stunt plane while I was in the endless potty line. 
Super Dave freaks me out, but what a show! 
The girls were amazed at the stalled plane, and controlled fall Super Dave does with the smoke trailing. 
The Griffin helicopters did a really amazing low show. 

At times, the rotating blades almost seemed to touch the ground! 

It is unbelievable what this helicopter can do. 
Miss A waving at the helicopter. 
This is potty break Number Deux.  This time, I grabbed my camera!  Look up! 
It's the Sky Hawks!! 
I think they were among the girls' favourites. 
I loved watching the formations, and the breaks. 
This parachutist must have spun around almost 20 times before coming in to land! 
Miss G was very impressed with the "rainbow" spiral! 
That's got to be liberating.  And, nauseating! 
All safe landings! 
The girls really loved the Canada flag parachutes. 

It looked beautiful with the blue sky.
This was a crazy formation. 

Check out the parachutist in the centre holding on the other two, while they have their legs locked together. 
And, BREAK! 
See you on the ground! 
Miss A was very focused on trying cotton candy for the first time.  She's not sure she liked it. 
Miss G was very sure she loved her lollipop!! 
And, Miss G practiced the art of relaxation. 
The Aurora did a demonstration for the crowd too. 
Eli has been a navigator on Auroras on previous postings, and can appreciate the nauseating lulling back and forth and in circles necessary to hunt submarines and the like. 
See that panel open?  Eli says that is where the torpedoes are kept.
Eli "helped" Miss A with her lollipop a bit, when she needed a break from the sugar.
And, Miss G perfected the art of relaxation. 
There's the water bomber we saw earlier!  Oh, no.  Wait.  That's a twin otter.  Oh well, they are both yellow.

And then, we had a break of anticipation as the closing act prepared itself... 
THE SNOWBIRDS!! 
It seems like forever since I've seen a show as good as this one!! 
I think it's because I miss the Miramichi Air Shows of days-gone-past. 
The Halifax Airshow just isn't the same... the crowds were larger, and the threat of rain was always there... 
But, Yellowknife was a lot like the airshows of my childhood, with a small enthusiastic crowd and clear blue skies.  I guess it just depends on where you grew up.
I love the Snowbirds. 
And, after this weekend, the girls are HUGE fans, too. 
Their stunts are truly unbelievable, and they make me nervous. 
But the beauty and grace of the demonstrations are breathtaking! 
Up, up, up... 
And, over! 
One of these things is not the same... 
This plane weaved around the other four planes...  I almost had a cow. 
It was amazing. 
They are just SO close together! 
Wow. 
Whoa. 
I popped on my wide angle lens for this one. 
The four-Snowbird heart, just under the Midnight Sun.  It was awesome!

Do you see the planes exiting at the bottom of the heart?   
Miss A was impressed, but the lollipop was still a pretty important priority! 
The girls did very very well for being outside in the sun for nearly five hours straight. 
This one is taken with the wide angle, too, because I didn't have a chance to switch to my large zoom lens in time, but THIS is a special formation designed this year for the Northern tour. 

It's an inukshuk!! 

The girls LOVED it! 
And, this, THIS is my favourite. 

It's the classic nine in a line finale exit, and I got the beautiful Northern sun in behind it.

It may be among my favourite pictures I've ever taken.

So, when the airshow comes to your town, do the Canadian thing and GO!

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