Roller Coaster Girls

DAY 3 on the Road to Nova Scotia

Staying in Edmonton, AB

We had a recovery day in Edmonton today, and to burn the girls energy, Stella and I hit the West Edmonton Mall with the girls.  We've been to the mall many times while living in Yellowknife, and have done most things at the mall... the water park, the sea lions, shopping like crazy... but today, we visited Galaxy Land!

Pure J.O.Y!

Hakuna Matata

DAY 2 on the Road to Nova Scotia

Peace River, AB to Leduc, AB (515.2 km)

1524.3 km in total from Yellowknife

We "slept in" a bit, and hit the road.

We had a very important reason to arrive in Leduc early in the afternoon.

Well, two reasons.  One, Stella's lazagna.  Two, ROAR!

I was so excited to see The Lion King, and to take the girls!

A Beautiful Autumn Day on the Water

It really was, by all accounts, a beautiful autumn day today.

We took the boat out. 

The wind was a tad strong, so we had big waves, but it was quite nice for short trip on an autumn day.

No, this isn't one of my posts that I didn't get around to until months later.

We did have a lovely autumn day today, only today is July 14th.

Give me my summer back, Yellowknife! 

NOW!  I've earned beach weather, damn it!

Catching Up: March, Part 2 AKA Family March Break Vacation

I'm not going to comment on my lack of blogging. 

I'm just going to write, because that's the best way to write.  One letter at a time.  Tap, tap, tap...

This is the Big Burning Thing (official name) on Great Slave Lake during the Long John Jamboree, near the Ice Castle (March Break).

The build it up and then light it on fire to watch it burn.  It was fun.

Catching Up: March, Part 1

In so, so, so many ways, this has been the longest winter I've ever gone through.

First of all, it really was the longest winter.  Winter has a cold, unfair, and icy grip on Spring.  Miss A tells me that Winter is so stuck to Spring, that Spring just can't come this year.  For the record, Winter also hijacked Autumn, which is typically my favourite season (typically = southern, southern = the Maritimes).  Winter began at the end of September, and was firmly in place by the first week in October.

We are finally in the "sometimes it's above 0 degrees Celsius, but that's not a promise" phase, but usually the lows over night drop well below 0, sometimes as far as -20 or more if you factor in the wind. 

Tonight, for example:  April 28th, the low is -17 with a freaking -27 windchill.  I have nasty words in my head for you, Yellowknife.  Tomorrow's high is -17 with a -13 windchill.  It's almost May!  We want to pack up the parkas and snowsuits, people.

I will seriously karate chop someone in the head if they complain about the heat this summer.  Suck it up and get some ice cream.

So, with all of this wintering, you'd think that I would have loads of time to blog.  But, winter has won, and I don't have much fight left in me, or energy for almost anything above and beyond "getting through the day."  I think that Eli and I do a pretty good job on making the girls a priority, but I've done a crummy job lately of making me a priority (and the blog falls under "me").  In short, I think my brain has some permafrost, and is a little sluggish and stupid, just like the ptarmigan.

And, so, I bring you a jam-packed post about our March adventures, in three parts.

Part 1:  Birthdays

Daddy's birthday was the first day in March, and he had to work late due to some flights that got changed at the last minute.  On a Friday. 

Henoch-Schönlein Purpura - Are You Freakin' Kidding Me? (Also known as my 200th post)

This is a post about HSP.  If you are reading this sometime in the future, and you have stumbled upon this blog, please know that I am not a health care professional, but I am a mom documenting our family's history.  So please read on, but know that this is our story, and should not be used to diagnose or treat HSP.  If you think you or your child has HSP, trust your gut and go to the doctor.

It all began a few days before Christmas. 

Miss A had a high fever one night (Dec. 23), and we decided that she should not come to the Nativity practice. 

On Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), I called and arranged to have Miss A seen by the doctor at the clinic in town. 

School Christmas Traditions

What's not to love about Christmas?

Here is a recap of some of the fun things the girls got to do during Advent, leading up to Christmas.

Longtime Traditions.  

Daddy's Christmas Present

Christmas cheer is so much fun to share!

Once school was out, the girls and I found time to make Daddy's Christmas present.

The project was Miss G's idea.

An Angel's Work is Never Done

The girls were invited to join the Christmas Nativity Pageant on Christmas Eve night during the Children's Mass for our church.

We practiced a few nights over the weekend, and I made the angel costumes for the Nativity play.

Miss G was an angel.

Christmas Memories with Gramma and Grampum

Saturday was our first official day of Christmas vacation, and Gramma and Grampum invited the girls over to the house for a few hours on their own (without Mommy and Daddy).

The girls were very excited!

They helped to decorate Gramma and Grampum's tree, had hot chocolate WITH candy canes in the mug, decorated gingerbread cookies, and had plum pudding (actually, chocolate pudding, but Strawberry Shortcake has a strong hold on the girls!).

Miss G's Grade 1 Christmas Concert

Tuesday was Miss G's big Christmas Concert Day!

On Monday, the school got to see the dress rehearsal for the Grade 1 to 5 concert, and that's my big chance to figure out the best place to sit for the best concert pictures of my girl.

I managed to sneak down to the gym to catch her matinee performance, and Daddy got to see the whole afternoon show.

Miss A's Christmas Concert

I was just looking at the girls' Christmas Concert picutres from last year, and my-oh-my they were cute!

But some of these ones... well, it's just too hard to pick a favourite year, and so I won't.

This year, Miss A was in the Preschool and Kindergarten Christmas concert, "Waiting for Jesus... Songs from theh First Christmas," along with my Kindergarten class, so I went from teacher (directing the class in song with gestures and my off key voice, but with loads of enthusiasm) to Mommy in as much time as it takes to get 26 kids off the stage and for me to get my big camera hung around my neck.

Daddy was away this week, and scheduled to land in Yellowknife a few minutes before the concert began, so above you can see Miss A searching the crowd for Daddy. 

She had just asked me, "Mommy, is Daddy here?"

Miss A and the Ledge

Christmas traditions are repeating themselves once again this year, and Miss A got to go to the Ledge this year to decorate a Christmas tree, just as Miss G did last year, and as every Kindergarten student in Yellowknife has done for nearly 20 years.

The tree decorating for Kindergarten classes at our school was last Wednesday, December 5th.

I had a chance to come by in the morning to wish Miss A a fun time, but I had to stay behind at school this year, because I had a Kindergarten class of my own to take later that morning! 

Daddy's work is very close to the Legislature building, so he was able to meet Miss A at the Ledge.  This was taken at 9:00 am, dawn... before sunrise. 

Miss A's Rabbit Camp

Miss A went on her Rabbit Camp this week.

Last year, you might remember Miss G going on her Rabbit Camp in November.

It was so memorable for her; she still talks about it all the time.

This year, I also went on a Rabbit Camp with my own Kindergarten class.

We went last Thursday.

Eli went with Miss A on Tuesday, and he took some great pictures of her and her classmates learning about the snowshoe hare.

Daddy arrived at school before the bus arrived, and got to see all the Kinders getting their snow gear on.

It was COLD.  Below -30.  COLD. 

Presenting...

When I called Eli in Winnipeg, after I discovered Twofour on Friday afternoon, he said, "But, Shannon, we need to have bunnies."

It's true.  The more I thought about it.  It is totally true.  I've ALWAYS had bunnies in the house (since my first apartment when I was 18, going on 19...).

We've never been bunniless, not even for a night, as we've usually had bunnies in pairs. 

Twofour's buddy, Scooter, did not make it to our move across Canada, and we didn't want to have a baby bunny make the long trek as one of their first experiences...

We'd had told ourselves at the time that we'd get a northern bun later. 

But we hadn't gotten around to it.

Eli was going to Edmonton for the night before flying home (flight times are a little weird, sometimes), so he said that he would look around in Edmonton for a bunny (selection and supply is limited in Yellowknife).

I told him to look for two.

(Picture drawn by Miss G.)

Miss G's Journal

It's -20 outside.  -26 with the windchill.  Just thought you should know.

Miss G came home with a collection of school work on Monday.

I want to share with you her school journal.  I love it so much.

I used labels to record precisely what she intended to say in the journal, but I LOVE her phonetic spelling.

Today is Tuesday, September 18, 2012.

Santa is coming to town.

Why can't she write that in September?  Don't even pretend that your kids don't watch Christmas DVD's all year long! 

Miss G's Tooth!

Miss G lost her first tooth!!

Last week, she discovered a loose tooth.

It was only barely wiggly, but definitely wiggly, and we rejoiced!  This is a BIG deal to a six-year-old!

Last night, on her way to bed, Miss G was wiggling her tooth, and after she had been in bed for a while she popped out to show me just how wiggly her tooth was...  She had made a major jump in wiggliness!

This morning, Daddy told her that, if she wanted, he could use pliers to take out the tooth.

"Daddy, do you mean tools?"

Yup.

She thought about it, smiled, and decided on "maybe," but she wanted to try on her own.  No rush, after all.  Daddy is so funny!

There is no school on the days after Halloween here. 

The school district strategically plans professional development days after Halloween, and the parents seem to love it. 

This year, it is two back-to-back days, so it's a long weekend for families. 

This morning our girls went to Jaime's house for the day, our lovely neighbour in the court with the girls' good friends.

When I arrived to pick up the girls, Miss G had a brand new smile!

Happy Halloween!!

Halloween is SO MUCH FUN in a school.  I almost wish it were twice a year... Halloween in April, anyone?

My teaching buddy, Holly and I dressed up to celebrate with our Kinder Kids. 

Miss A was Super A. 

Miss G was a rainbow butterfly.  The Big Kids in the school put on a great Halloween carnival for the Little Kids, and Miss G had her face painted there!

Pumpkin Time!

On Friday, I decorated six pumpkins with my class... I forgot to take pictures of the finished pumpkins, so hopefully tomorrow I'll have some to share with you, because I think they are really great!

Eli bought me some pumpkins for my class, and the girls picked out their own pumpkins at the same time.

We promised the girls that we would carve pumpkins on Saturday, and we kept our promise. 

Miss G wouldn't let us forget, anyways! 

Can you see that is is night outside the window in the drawing? 

It is dark here a lot more, now.

On our weather chart the other day, Miss G asked me where the "dark" picture was for the weather. 

I told her that dark wasn't weather, it was more about time, and in Yellowknife winter means dark, and summer means sun.

She agreed, and settled on "snowing" for the weather, since that is a continuous state outdoors now, too.

We're already two weeks into one-piece snowsuit weather.

The girls helped Daddy scoop out the insides... a bit.

Mommy's Classroom

My girls are so well trained at school.

When the bell rings, Miss G walks over to Mommy's Classroom to bring her backpack and outside gear (and usually Kid Doggie).

Miss A waits on the bench outside Mrs. F's classroom for me to come once all of my students have been picked up by their parents, and then she carries her things to Mommy's Classroom, too.

You see, the perk of having Mommy as a teacher is Mommy's Classroom, and all that comes with it!

Every Thursday, there is early dismissal for staff meetings and professional development.

The girls LOVE it when they get to stay in my room on their own on early dismissal days. 

I pack them a tasty snack, put on a movie, and they get to have fun.

Sometimes, other teachers' kids come to play, or the girls go play with them, and other times, they play on their own in my room.

I lock the classroom door from the outside, and they stay inside unless they have to use the washroom (right across the hall) or go to see the secretary in the office for help for very important things like for crayons or tape, and sometimes stickers or balloons.