Bloggeversary

Today is my blog's bloggeversary.

Happy bloggeversary, by SHANNON LEE.

I began this blog on June 12, 2011, on the road to Yellowknife. 

You can read all about the monumental cross-Canada drive that started it all by clicking on the Yellowknife or Bust tab on the top of the blog anytime.

I have posted all the links to the trip in chronological order there.

So, what has a year done?  Well...

1. I have bangs. 

2. We discovered that working two full-time jobs with two full-time school girlies requires balancing.  AND, we did it!

3. Autumn and Spring do not exist in the North.  In fact, you might remember last summer about me blogging about Autumn in August (I was wearing a toque on August 20th last year on an evening walk).

4. The Northern sky is huge, spectacular, and unlike any other perspective in Canada.  I would say that it is my favourite thing about the landscape and climate up here.

5. The girls are happy where their little family is.

6. It's freakin' cold up here, and there is snow from September to May. 

7. Spring is sloooow coming.  The picture above is the first day of spring.

8. Northern means EXTREME... extreme darkness, extreme daylight, extreme coldness, extreme sun.

9. The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) are worth living here for.  Period.

10. Eli loves his boat.  And, boats in general.



A few stats on the year... 

10421+ page views in one year (excluding my computers, for checking on formatting and the like)... wowsers.

The highest readership was at the beginning, peaking on our arrival in Yellowknife the end of July 2011, and again in December 2011 and March 2012.

Most of you read more when I was posting links on Facebook.  I'm not on there now, so I wonder if that is very inconvenient for you?

I've made 160 posts, including this one, in a year.

I've had web traffic from all over Canada, the United States, Belgium, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Indonesia, Argentina and Mexico.

Thank you for reading!!

Best of 2011

I only began this little blog in July 2011, and I think it's the best project I've taken on this year.

It forces me to reflect on our family accomplishments, and highlight the fun and human tales of our family adventure. 

It keeps me positive. 

And, perhaps most importantly, it keeps me feeling connected.

I'm so glad you've been reading along and leaving comments from time to time.

I think most of you are family and friends, but the circle might have grown a wee bit. 
And, if so, welcome to my crazy version of reality!

So, here is a recap of the most popular blog posts YOU'VE read this year.

... 5

So beginning the top 5 countdown, you've clicked on my experience begin duct taped to the wall a record number of times! 

Thanks, for supporting your Fly on the Wall.

... 4
The girls' first day of school took the 4th most popular position.

Highlights were Ponies, Play Dough, Kitchen and Books.

... 3
Our visit in Edmonton, when Eli's brother's family-- by some wonderful  and lucky twist of fate-- was able to join us for a whole day of Family Fun was the third most popular post.  It was a highlight of our year, too.

... 2

Nana's Acadian Meat Pies was my second most read blog post.

Mmmm.... I don't blame you one bit!

... 1

Celebrating my Nana was the most read blog post I've created this year. 

You've collectively clicked on it over 200 times! 

I think she would have been so touched that so many of you wanted to read about her life.

Now, most people clicked on our adventures as we travelled across the country from Halifax to Yellowknife. 

It really has been our biggest family adventure yet.

UPDATE!!
I have created a NEW PAGE which is always at the top of the blog called Yellowknife or Bust. 
You can click on this tab, and I have collected all of the posts about our two-week trip.

Truths About Our Trip

Truth #1: Convenience is a Luxury

On some legs of our trip, we've stumbled upon convenient pit stops for lunches and breaks, but on many stretches, there were no amenities or rest stops.

The girls have been excellent at adapting.

It didn't hurt that they LOVE Cheerios and crackers with peanut butter!

We are so proud of them.

They complained very little, and were happy with the predictability of our family unit, and their routine snacks and meals.

Truth #2 Canada is Big

It's true. 

Eli and I have made a cross-country trek by car once before, exactly eight years ago (I'll blog about that another time). 

Now, throw two girls in the back seat with a bunny, and you realize just how large, diverse and beautiful a country we live in. 

If you haven't driven across the country before, I think you should. 

At least once in your life. 

It's amazing.

Truth #3 Learning Happens Everywhere

It's been really rewarding to have our family crammed into a car for the last two weeks.

Really. 

 I'm not kidding. 

The girls have learned the different place names as we've travelled along. 

They've learned that drinking too much water means potty breaks much more frequently. 

Little "G" has learned to tell time on an analogue clock (to the hour), and Little "A's" vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. 

The family love for books has only increased. 

The girls have learned sisterly tolerance for each other, and have grown even closer as friends with only each other to play with. 

They've also become excellent backseat drivers: 

"Daddy, green means go!!" 

"Daddy turn right!" 

"Daddy, follow the green path (on the GPS)!" 

We visited Margaret Lawrence's childhood home. 

Hotels are full of learning, with all the floor numbers in the elevator, numbers on the hotel rooms, and menus to check out. 

Not to mention a fire evacuation!

Truth #4:  Big Country = Big Numbers

We stuck to our travel plan, and got here right on time!!

6356

. . . How many kilometres we travelled by car (for reference... that's a long way!)

70

. . . How many hours of just driving we did, not including frequent potty breaks, stretching and playing time and lunches

1581 

 . . . How many pictures I took on my DSLR in under two weeks.  I filled my 8G card!!  (I have more photos on my phone, I must admit!)

12

. . . How many bison we saw on the Frontier Highway

3

how many "rest" days we took on our travel across the country (Miramichi, Saskatoon and Edmonton... all with wonderful family visits!)

 

The Final Frontier

DAY 13 on the Road to Yellowknife: 

High Level, AB  to Yellowknife, NT (716 km)

FINAL TOTAL:  6357 km

We made it!!

This is the route we took today:

 We passed the 60th parallel (to the equator) as we entered

the Northwest Territories

 We took this ferry across the Mackenzie River.

 It's small, and works perfectly for getting us across the strong current.

 The not-finished bridge across the Mackenzie River is right next to the ferry route.

 As soon as we got off the ferry, we were on the Frontier Highway.

This warning sign was there, and Grampa John had emailed us to remind us on the bison "who, unhelpfully, do not wear reflective tape." 

Love it!

 SECONDS later, I saw my first bison.

Little "A" said, "An elephant!" then quickly stalled, waiting for a new word.

Very cute.

 He was battling the mosquitoes and black flies... the truly dangerous animals in the North!! 

Holy cow, the bugs are vicious!

 We saw twelve bison in total today! 

Often, they were in family groups, like this, just lounging on the side of the highway and watching the traffic (or ignoring it). 

They were very friendly and photogenic!

 After a long 9.5 hour day of driving, we got to Yellowknife!

 We stopped to see our house (we get the keys tomorrow).

 Check out our funky backyard!  The girls liked it.

Gramma and Grampa were ready for the girls with chocolate pudding.

YAY! 

We're here!

I'm the Map!  I'm the Map!  I'm the final MAP!!