The end of this week wrapped up the Official Nanny and Papa visit to Yellowknife in summer weather, which was in stark contrast to the
cold visit they had in March.
We got up past 30 degrees on this visit.
In March, we got below -30 degrees.
Papa will return for Summer Part Deux after the family reunion they are attending in Saskatoon this weekend, and Nanny will fly back home.
Papa found a wee bit of work up here, so he's going to stick around for a few more weeks, like an ant, to prepare for the winter.
To show off the Yellowknife summer weather to Nanny, we spent a few days lounging in the sun at Long Lake beach.
Clearly, Miss G has mastered the art of beaching.
Lena and the boys met us there, too, and we all had fun in the sand and water.
Mr. S was very taken with my waterproof camera, and thought it was awesome.
The sandy bottom made the water to cloudy for really clear underwater shots, though.
Miss A, I think, could easily adapt to living in a place with more summer!
Eli, how about a Hawaii posting next? That only seems fair after a posting to Yellowknife!
There is a great play structure on the beach, so that when the kids are tired of digging and swimming, they can play.
Lots of Miss A's classmates were at the beach, so she was happy to find her friends!
Now, this being Nanny and Papa's only visit so far with an unfrozen lake, we thought it would be fitting to Nanny and Papa on the Big Lake (Great Slave Lake) on their last evening in town.
Nanny was not so sure about this.
But, she was a brave soldier (in the Mustang survival jacket), and got in the boat!
Papa had gone out fishing with Eli twice so far on this visit, so he was able to help out a bit, and the girls are ol' pros.
Miss G helped to tie the boat to the dock.
And, Miss A was also diligent about helping to tie.
(If you look back to
other posts about trips on the Big Lake, you will see that the house boat in the background is nearly ready for new owners! Should we buy it??)
So, we took off under sunny skies and a few big puffy clouds to take a short ride around Yellowknife harbour.
We spotted a float plane coming in to land on the lake.
And, in fact, saw a few others land and take off on our tour.
I sat in the front of the boat with the girls, to make room for Nanny and Papa.
We had a chance to see the houseboats up close and point out where the ice road was, that both Nanny and Papa had an opportunity to drive on in March. In fact, they got to walk around the
Snow King's castle on the lake.
This was a totally different experience with the lake!
As we putted along, the girls had their bedtime snack on the boat, as it was creeping in on bedtime, even though it looks like it is mid afternoon with the sun.
And this picture, I love.
It truly captures fear and joy.
Nanny does not love boats, and did not like moving fast over the waves.
Miss G loves boats, and loves moving fast over the waves.
The more bumps the better, she says.
As we approached land, she asked Daddy to make circles.
Nanny almost had a cow.
Then, when we docked, Nanny looked over the dock to see how deep the water is, and her sunglasses slipped off her face and to the bottom of the lake. She almost cried.
Yet, she lived to tell the tale, and can now say that she has been on a
snowmobile, a
dog sled, the
ice road, and Great Slave Lake in Eli's boat in Yellowknife.
With NO guarantee that she will do any of those things again.
Good job, Nanny!
