Update 2022

 Hello all, it’s been a decade since we left Cape Dorset. We still have very fond memories of our time up there. Actually we lived Nunavut so much that we returned to Nunavut after a couple for another 4 years. This time we went farther north to Pond Inlet, Nunavut. It was an amazing community surrounded by the most stunning landscape and ocean, national park and glacier capped mountains. We absolutely loved it and felt a part of the community, had many adventures and made many friends. Lily has a younger Brother, Beckett. They are both healthy, smart and athletic. They loved the north and talk about it fondly. Sadly we had to move south for personal reasons that made it impossible to stay in nunavut. We now live in a small town in British Columbia surrounded by large mountains, lakes and rivers. 

A part of our hearts will always be in Nunavut and I have no regrets living and working in Nunavut. It’s a rugged, isolated place that requires a special kind of person to find happiness and community in. It’s important to be comfortable with yourself, capable in fixing and problem solving, in good physical condition as the medical care can be very challenging (not that the medical staff aren’t terrific and try very hard) it’s just a taxed underfunded system.

Pond Inlet did not seem to struggle with as much violence and suicide as Cape Dorset. It certainly was not perfect either, but our time in Cape Dorset we did experience far more lockdowns and violence. I’ve heard it’s proximity to Iqaluit may play a part, but I’m not in a place to speculate. It’s hard going back and reading some of the posts from so many years ago. It brings back some painful memories. Nunavut is complex and has many challenges, some communities more so than others so be sure to do your research before you decide to relocate. 

I appreciate and am shocked that over 50,000 people have read our blog and hundreds still read it every month. We have not placed ads or tried to get any financial remuneration from it, as I think it’s a unique perspective on a place not many Canadians get to really experience. 

I’m sorry for not responding to questions or comments, life is busy and we all move on. But, I will endeavour to check the email account connected to the blog more often, so please drop me a line if you’d like.

Be bold, go on an adventure. Life is short, make the best of it. Take care and thanks for stopping by! 

My baby biker

Last night after dinner I had to go out and put the ATV's away (in the box) and Lily asked if she could come out. Generally this would be an easy yes but it was getting late as everything yesterday was about an hour and half later than normal due to my getting three geese and Margot shopping ($150 for two small bags of groceries!). So we head out around seven with my telling Lily it would only be for a few minutes. Well, next thing you know she has her bike out and riding around all by herself on our rocky, muddy roads and is having a great time! Then a few of her friends show up on there bikes and Dieter, my niehbor comes out with his son and it's a an arctic evening street party. There is snow shoveling, finish line rocks being laid out and bike races. We did not make it in for bath until 8:20 so it ended up being a late, but really fun night.

I ofter reflect on living in the north and the pros and cons of the choice Margot and I made coming up here. I am not going to list them here, but I have been feeling somewhat negative since returning with Beckett about the apparent danger of our little hamlet and the lack of a hospital to name a few cons. It is a scary thing to think about needing to be medivaced out and having one's flight grounded due to extreme weather, which is a common thing. However, there are some really cool things about having a young family up here. The kids are very friendly and include Lily in everything. We have kids over at our house for play all time. I have so much time with my family and I know many parents who don't get to say that. And I would say it is quality time, not just time spent driving around from place to place on the weekend. Well, it may be driving around, but we're on a snowmachine or ATV and lily is sitting in front of me as we sing and laugh and bounce about. We have a great time. I am trying very hard to focus on the good of being here versus the rose coloured glasses rememberings of the best places at the best times from our lives down south that cloud my judgement. The grass is not always greener. Life here can be a lot of fun.

-Richard

My goose is cooked... soon.

Well, summer fast approaches and I must admit, I am really excited about standing barefoot in cool, soft, damp grass and wiggling my toes! We are going to southern BC for most of the summer holidays (yes, the dogs too) and are looking forward to seeing the house and van we bought after Christmas that we have yet to see. My parents have been really great about helping keep an eye on it for us and getting it ready for our upcoming arrival. It is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house near parks, downtown and Lily's mama and papa. The main floor is rented and we are setting up the basement suite as our summer place. I think it will work well. In preparation for having the kids sleeping together over the summer we re-arranged rooms at our place here in Kingait. Lily and Beckett now have the master suite with the walk-in closet and Margot and I have Beckett's old room and Lily's old room is now guest room/gym/storage. It has been going alright, but I know Margot is quite tired because Beckett is eating more frequently. He is getting huge! A few days ago he weighed in at 16 lbs 10 oz at 3.5 months old. He is wearing nine month suites. I will try to get a few photos of everyone posted in a few days.

It is light here pretty much all the time now and I am having a hard time with it. ATVS and snowmobiles racing around all night, people out and about at all hours and carver with power tools who started carving near us at 4:30 am make it very hard to sleep.

Things are warming up here quickly. The inlet is melting/breaking up fast and the snow has become very slushy. A couple of friends went out for a ride/hunt yesterday and I opted out due to my concerns over the thickness and stability of the ice. Luckily they made it home without incident.

I have been lucky hunting the last week or so and have gotten a few Canadian Geese. Yesterday I learned (thanks Internet!) how to pluck and singe geese so they end up looking like turkey one would buy from a store. Margot said she would be much more willing to handle and cook them looking like that which is nice. A month ago Margot made Walrus stew with the walrus I helped bring in on the flow edge during winter. She got nothing but compliments! It was actually pretty good and not too fishy tasting. I have not really enjoyed Walrus in the past.

Life is pretty good these days. Margot is home with the kids and I am still working. Lily goes to daycare in the mornings so she can play with her friends and most days, this allows Margot and Beckett to sleep in while Lily and I have breakfast, cuddle and watch the news, pack and head out to school. I pick Lily up from daycare at lunch and we head home. Margot has lunch waiting for us. We all eat together, chat, have coffee, then I head off to work while Margot gets the kids into nap mode, some days more successfully than others. Lily is in the process of not napping these days. By the time I am home from school Lily often has friends over or they are all out and about (shopping at the stores).

Work is alright but I will admit I am getting a bit burned out. The kids are extra hard right now with cheap candy for sale at the Northern and light all the time. They are either wired or completely exhausted if and when they bother to show up. Oh well. It's the end of the day and I am going to go goose hunting before dinner. Wish me luck.... or not if you don't like hunting!

-Richard

Lockdown

April 16, 2012

I know that I am behind on updates about baby and my time in Ottawa however today’s events deserve to be written about sooner rather than later.  Today is the last day of Spring Break for Richard but Lily was still headed to school to get in some playtime with ‘her kids’.  Beckett was happily cuddled up with Richard so Lily and I got dressed and I took her to school.  I hadn’t been home more than 30 minutes when I got a call from Kootoo the director of the Daycare telling us that they were in Lockdown.  Richard and I are co-chairs of the Daycare Board of Directors so are involved in making decisions about closures and such.  Richard was not happy with Lily being away from home where he could keep her safe.  So he hopped on the snowmobile to go get her.  Meanwhile Kootoo and I discussed whether it was safer to keep all the kids there off the roads or get their parents to come and get them.  One of the other Board members was trying to get information from the police and so we’d wait to see what they said before calling parents.  As Richard headed home he stopped on the hill outside our house to take a look at the house down the road where we heard someone was hiding.  He got honked at and waved on by the dump truck driver who was parked blocking the entrance to the circle road we live on.  Richard zipped home and came inside.  He brought with him our neighbour and her son Benjamin who had also been at daycare.  We invited Ben in for a play since they were not at school.  The kids had a great time.  Meanwhile we got a little more information.  Apparently this morning a man stabbed a teenager and the boy died.  If it is who we think it is Richard knows the boy and he was part of Richard’s drum club.  The man came up to our road and barricaded himself in his cousin’s house which is at the end of the road.  The police were on scene but nothing seemed to be happening.  Just before lunch we got word that both stores had been closed and I called the police station to confirm.  The woman I spoke to confirmed the stores were closed, confirmed there was a standoff in the 2300 block (our road), and agreed that it would be safer to close the daycare and get the children home while things were calm.  Nothing changing, nothing changing.  So we just stayed inside, ate lunch and put Lily to bed for a nap.  We have had the blinds closed all day but I caught sight of movement out the window.  I went to peek and saw a pickup truck full of SWAT guys pull up in front of my house.  Crazy!!  For over 4 hours we waited hoping things would be safely resolved as we watched the policemen move across the snow towards the house.  And then it was over.  Since we can’t see the front door we didn’t see how they went in but we saw the man in handcuffs being put into the RCMP truck.  I heard he surrendered.  Later we saw the police dog searching the hillside.  Lily said she wished she was a police so she could work with the dog!

All of this leads us to again question what we are doing here.  There are lots of good things about Cape Dorset but the violence is hard to take as in such a small town we are all affected.  We should not have to explain to our 4 year old why someone was murdered, why it is not safe to go outside, be near the windows or why men with machine guns are standing outside our house.

 The boy who died was a student at Richard’s school and a member of his drum club.  School still opened on Tuesday.  There was no support offered to the staff or students.  They were just expected to carry on as if nothing had happened.  The language also poses a problem as the staff are not able to understand what the students are saying to process things or if they are in trouble.  There has got to be a better way.

Margot

We're still here!

Hello all, we're still here. Sorry for the lack of updates but life has been quite crazy. I have been meaning to update but have been overwhelmed by the amount of info I felt needed to be included. However, I have decided to give a simple update and we'll go from there. I am sure Margot will also give an update and fill in a few holes.

So, before Christmas, Margot started having to fly out every two weeks (weather dependent) to have a special ultrasound done in Ottawa to ensure the baby was okay. This is right around the time Lily and I got hand, foot and mouth disease which was extraordinarily unpleasant. I later learned that it made its rounds through town and one of us must have picked it up at school. 

Margot was on one of her checkups in early January when things started "happening" and I got the call Friday morning that the baby might be coming in 2 hours, 2 days or full term (March 3). So I frantically got  2 months of prep done for my class, did report card marks and wrote final exams for my subjects. This along with booking flights, cleaning the house for house sitters (our friends are AMAZING!!!!) and packing kept me and Lily busy for the weekend to get ready for our flight to Ottawa Monday. 

Meanwhile Margot was able to get us into the hotel we had planned to all stay in during the baby's birth time. It is right downtown, one block from the mall and one block from the Byward Market. It's rooms are set up as small apartments. After we were moved from a stinky, shabby 2 bedroom  at our request, we were put into a new renovated 2 bedroom suite. It was a nice space with a full size kitchen, dining table, 2 bathrooms and laundry in room. 

Margot, Lily and I really enjoyed being in the city, but we refer to our time there as a stresscation. Margot was very uncomfortable and we spent many days at the hospital with all the tests. But we also squeezed a whole lot of fun things in. The pool was the biggest hit of all. The winter carnival happened during our stay so we went ice skating on the Rideau Canal, checked out ice carvings, ate frozen maple syrup, went sliding at Jaques Cartier Park. We also spent time at the Museum of Civilization. What a place! They have THE coolest stuff for kids there. I highly recommend it. We also toured the Parliament buildings and the Fairmont. We did High tea twice and Margot surprised me on Valentines day with dinner at the Fairmont. What a treat. Our first date in forever! My mom also came to stay with us to look after Lily while Margot, baby and I were in the hospital. It was so great having her around. We also had lots of time to visit with Margot's dad and stepmom who live in Ontario, we even got a visit to Ikea in. Thanks for the ride David! Margot's sister Megan came out from Halifax to meet Beckett and have a visit also.

The baby decided to stick it out in the womb until the doctors felt it was time to induce. So we went to the hospital all prepared and they broke Margot's water after she assured them she did NOT want drugs of any sort. The staff looked at her like she was crazy, but I am so proud to say she stuck to her plan and had a natural birth. She was great!

We now have a little boy, Richard Beckett Haworth 5th, or Beckett. He was born 8 lbs. 4 oz. We had to stay in the hospital 5 days due to the blood complications. He was having trouble processing destroyed red blood cells or billy ruben (not spelled right). He was very jaundice and they put him under special lights that helped him break them down. They also did numerous blood tests to ensure things were progressing well. Poor little guy had lots of cuts on his feet because that is how they draw blood on newborns. 

We were released from the hospital but stayed in Ottawa for a few more days to ensure Beckett was doing alright. Our flights home to Cape Dorset were uneventful and it was great to come home again. It had been 7 weeks away for me and Lily and over 2 months for Margot since we had been home. It was so nice to see the dogs again, boy I really missed them. Lily was so excited to have her toy and her room back.

Shortly after getting home, we started getting ready for Lily's birthday, the big 4. What a lucky kid, you should have seen all the gifts. That little girl has a lot of people who care about her! Thank you everyone!

Mom flew out a couple of days ago and should have arrived in Kelowna, BC late last night. Dad drove over to pick her up. 

Thanks again Mom!

kms, got four ptarmigan and two adult Caribou. I also broke my qamotic and barely got my snowmobile home after using a large nail to make an out on the land repair and breaking two of my springs. I have been considering buying something a bit newer and bigger, but this experience convinced me. So the next day I bought a used 2009 Skidoo GTX (grand touring) 550. Dieter and I also did a 4 hour round trip to go and rescue my damaged Qamotic. 

Sadly Margot came down with a bad cold a few days ago but is feeling a bit better. Beckett is eating a lot and growing lots. He is sleeping pretty well, but we are still getting used to the lack of sleep. Lily is very happy about being a big sister and wants to do everything. She has started spending afternoons at home after I pick her up at lunch and we all eat. It is nice for her to spend the morning playing with her friends at school and the afternoons at home with Margot. 

This is the very fast update and we'll post pictures soon. 

-Richard

birthdays and doctors in Kingait

What a busy few weeks! Margot went to Ottawa for more extensive tests for her and the baby. I will let her give the specifics about what is happening but the basically she has a super rare blood disoder (0.2% of the population) in which her red blood cells attack baby's red blood cells. This can be very, very, very bad. Margot has been having blood tests every 2 weeks and had to fly out to Ottawa have a special ultra sound that can show how much blood is flowing in baby, then met with an O.B. specialist. He told her not to worry as her blood work indicated that baby may be in trouble. That it can often go up quickly earlier in a pregnancy but what we were all hoping for was that things would level off soon. This was huge news for us as no one knew anything until this doctor about Margot's condition so we had been operating in emergency mode for weeks not knowing if baby was okay or we would have to have an emergency trip down south for an invitro blood transfusions or a c-section. It has been a hard time. Margot will be going back down for more tests in December right before Christmas.

After her doctor's appointment, she then headed off to Calgary for a special math conference, so its just been me and Lily for the week. Sadly I had a bad cold when she left and was off work until Wednesday and I am starting to feel like a human being again. We have had a fun week together.

The weather has been all over the place up here but always cold. It's hovering around -25 C on my front deck today. A couple of days ago after coming home from school, we were playing outside in the dark (4pm, pitch black outside) with the dogs under amazing northern lights. It was a pretty neat way to end a day.

Sorry, no pictures yet. I must spend some time fixing my mac so I can upload. One day I will have both the time and the energy I hope.

-Richard

You want to leave Cape Dorset? Hah, not today.

This month has been plagued with travel delays. Both Margot and I have been trying to get to and from Iqaluit for medical appointments (don't be alarmed, we're doing just fine). I got stuck there for two extra days due to booking issues and Margot has missed two trips and is now working on leaving Thursday. I hope she has good weather. It is a lot of work for us teacher's to miss work so I hope she gets out and back this time.

I decided that during my time in Iqaluit that anyone who lives there does not get to complain about how hard it is living in the North. It is a proper city with many stores that carry everything you could need (I did not say want). They had a huge (southerly) selection of fresh fruit, veggies, baked goods and a full size department store filled with hardware, clothes, housewares, and so much more at cheaper prices. You can go swimming in a pool, watch a movie at the cinema, go out for a beer and a burger, even see a doctor at a hospital. It's feels like the south. But, I wouldn't want to live there. It lacked all the charm of our small town. The Inuit people here are more friendly to outsiders, they speak Inuktitut, wear more traditional clothes and seem happier. Cape Dorset feels like somewhere different, like the Arctic. Being here feels like an adventure in a unique place that has it's own ever-changing culture and people. Now, I know that I will catch flack for this statement, but it's how I feel. Iqaluit felt more like a small southern city with all the cars, traffic (seriously right?), English, consumerism and such. I like my little town (most of the time.) There are some things about it that I don't like, but overall I am happy here, well, for today at least. I think that experiencing alternatives gives me a better appreciation for what I have.

Lily, like all kids, is getting very excited about Halloween. Margot told her she could paint her face as part of her costume and she was so amped up that she could not wait. So last night while I was outside working on closing in our ATV shed, Lily was getting painted like a Monkey, or at least what she thought her Monkey should look like.  This is the picture that was on the packaging that she really liked.

What a funny little girl!

It's snowy and cold here. People are out on their snowmobiles already. Cape Dorset is a much happier place in the snow. Everything is clean, the kids are out sliding, the adults and teenagers are zooming around.

Thanks for dropping by and let us know what's up with you.

-Richard

So you think we're a circus now, just wait until March

Richard has created this great title and so I am adding to the blog to let everyone know that I am pregnant. The March part is that baby is due in March two days before Lily’s birthday.  We found out during the summer and have been trying to figure things out ever since.  Now we know where babies come from but we are not sure where they arrive in Nunavut.  I saw my family doctor while down south so got the preliminary tests done and he sent me for an early ultrasound so we got to see the baby nice and early!  Still trying to figure out how things are going to work here.  There is a prenatal nurse in town and she has been great but she is also new so is learning the system too.  So we are working on learning and I figure either way the baby will come so we better be ready.  Tomorrow I am being sent to Iqaluit for a regularly scheduled ultrasound.  I am pretty excited.  I will be there two nights and so far I have barely been out of the airport so am looking forward to seeing the town!  I also get to see an obstetrician and have a nice long list of questions to ask.  So we will keep updating the blog with details as we get them (and no we are not going to find out the sex of the baby).  Thanks for reading!

- Margot

Hello all, other news (from Richard):  


I have recovered from my zombie energy zone. I had a few good nights sleep and now with Margot finding out more information about our baby that seems to have helped.

Our "new" Honda atv is giving me frustration. Skip this if you don't care about broken atv's. This is a post I put on a Honda atv forum looking for some suggestions. 

Hello all! I have recently bought a used 2003 trx350fm. It was rode hard and the electrical system was in need of repair when I bought it. Oh, side note, I live in Nunavut (the high arctic in Canada) and there is no Honda dealer here to take my machine to. So, I removed the engine, put in a new starter, regulator, alternator, battery, oil filter, spark plug, oil (10w30), a used cooling fan that worked when bench tested, and tires. It started and ran like a charm for a few weeks. It is starting to get cold and it snowed the other day. I took it for a drive to the store and it did fine. The next morning when I choked it to start it (because it needs it) it ran for a bit then died. It did this a few times then it would not fire. So I left it a couple of days thinking maybe the float needle got stuck after having some bad gas go through it, or the carb had gotten gummed up after sitting for a while (although I doubt it as it has run fine for 2 full fuel fill-ups). I tried starting it tonight before I took out the carb and away it went. Sounded just fine so I thought I will go get some fresh gas and drive it around a bit just to make sure it has sorted itself out. Well, after driving hard for 20 minutes the engine was noticeably warm/hot (ticking after shutdown) the engine sounded like it was missing and not firing on every stroke and promptly quit again. I walked home, had a friend tow me home and then I tried it again and it fired up and idled fine for the five minutes I let it run. Oh, and the fan never kicked on. It was about -3 Celsius outside.

So, I am wondering if maybe there is a blockage in the oil passageway that is causing a restriction, carb problem or some other mystery. I really could use all the suggestions anyone has as this is my family car up here and it's not snowmobile weather yet!

Stupid atv's!

We had an interesting thing happen. We often get emails asking specific questions about moving and living up here. Last year, a couple with a little boy asked us a lot (!) of questions about coming up here and what life was like. Well, they ended up moving to Cape Dorset and now live two doors down from us! So now we have new friends and our kids love playing together. It was a funny thing though, because they got to know us through the blog, it was like we fast forwarded our relationship and bypassed much of the friendship foreplay that is required when getting to know new people. It has turned out to be a really nice byproduct of this blog. Yay technology!

A sad bit of news.  A couple with whom I work with adopted a puppy last year, had their dog shot by our bylaw officer after it escaped from it's leash to which it was tied in front of their townhouse. It is my understanding the dog took off two nights ago and they could not find it.  The dog was shot yesterday because the bylaw officer thought it was a loose dog instead of checking it's collar for tags. I feel very bad for them, I know I would be devastated if something to our dogs. Sorry about your dog guys, we really do feel for you!!!!!

Thanks for dropping by, drop us a line.

-Richard

 

My energy is fading, just like the sunlight

It must be this time of year up here for me, but I have no energy, patience or internal drive. All I want to do is nothing. The more (or less) I can do the happier I am, seriously. I don't think I am ill, I get a normal (for a parent of a toddler who wakes up too much at night) amount of sleep and my work is busy but not overwhelming, but I just want to crawl in a hole and sleep for a week. Yuck. I am wiped out.

Since this is a bit of a negative post, I can let everyone know there was an ATV accident here a couple of days ago up near tea lake. A couple of middle age men were found dead near what I have heard looks like where they crashed their quad. It has been quite a blow to a few of my students who are related to the deceased.

It is still rainy, foggy and blowing here. It has been trying to snow or the snow has been trying to stick the last few days also. So, it has been relatively cold as well. I wish winter would just come. I miss the snow and want all this mud and sand to be frozen and buried.

Lily has really come into her own with her three year old tantrums. Yesterday we were at the Hamlet office after school and I had some business to attend to and Lily wanted me to pull her rain paints "all the way down" over her boots immediately (for the third time in a row). I told her I would as soon as we got ready to go. Well, poor Lily lost the plot and started crying, yelling and melted onto the ground. When finally, after talking and such didn't resolve anything, I put her in time out. Well, she was upset and crying. The next thing I see is her rolling/crawling across the foyer floor while crying her lungs out. I reminded her that if she could not make good choices we would be going right home and not going to the store or a friends house to play. Well, that helped straiten her out and she calmed down, asked for a hug and sat on the counter quite happily while I attended to my paperwork. It was one of the moments as a parent I was so frustrated, embarrassed and very upset my child was so upset, but there was nothing I could do other than what I did. I realize this is the end of her day and she was already tired, so I am going to give her an after school snack as soon as I pick her up to see if that helps her attitude. I am sure low blood sugar has something to do with it, but still. I wonder if this has anything to do with my new-found lack of energy, patience and such? Hmmm....

So that is what's going on today.

Oh, we have our house sports at school today instead of Friday because tomorrow is our school's Terry Fox Run. I sure hope the weather is descent.

-Richard (I am so wiped out it took me four tries to type my own name correctly!)

Alive and well, sort of...

Hello all. Sorry for the absence from the blogging world. Life has been filled with work, getting back into the swing of things and the fall illnesses that seem to plague our house every fall. Since we both work in germ factories and now we have Lily bringing home god knows what, our immune systems get a workout. But, we all seem to be doing better now. 

I thought I would just give a bit of an idea what we did this summer. Sorry no pictures yet because iphoto won't let me load any new ones for some unknown reason. We spent a week in Downtown Ottawa getting our city fix and it was amazing. We stayed at the Lord Elgin that is right downtown and was fine with pets which was important because we were travelling with Kala and Smoot. Right across the street from us was Confederation Park which was hosting the Ottawa Jazz festival. So after I helped get Lily and Margot sorted out in the evenings I would wander across the street and see a show. I got to see an all time favorite of mine: Elvis Costello, who was followed up by Canadian rapper Shad. The next night I saw KD Lang who also put on an amazing show. What a welcome back to the south: ice cold beer, a fancy hotel and an amazing music festival! During the days we shopped, ate out, played at the surrounding parks and just had fun. Lily loved the pool. I think she may be part fish. One afternoon I stopped in to have a pedicure (you need to treat yourself sometimes right?) and thought I would surprise Lily with getting my toenails painted with sparkles. The day before Margot and her Mom had their nails done and she was so excited about shiny nails that I thought it would be a fun surprise if we all matched. Well, the ladies in the shop all thought it was hilarious that I asked for nail polish. Lily and Margot joined me as I was about to pick which colour to have applied. I told Lily she could choose which shade and luckily for me she chose blue sparkles, instead of pink or purple. She was quite delighted once they were done and I felt great with my happy feet. As well as Margot's Mom visiting her Dad and Step-mom, Rosamond, came up.  This worked out very well for us because West Jet screwed up our cargo booking for the dogs and said that we would have to wait two days to ship them. So after a few very intense and long conversation we found an alternative to shipping the dogs as cargo we had to go buy two new smaller dog kennels ($550!!!) and they flew as extra baggage. David and Rosamond drove us the hour round trip to go and buy the new ones. What a pain it is flying with extra baggage, kid and two large dogs. 

We then headed out to Rossland which is in southern BC. We rented a house there for the summer. This is the same town we moved from prior to moving up here. It was great to be home and near my family. We had lots of our friends come and stay. We spent the summer eating at great restaurants, swimming (Lily had lessons) in pools and lakes, hiking, playing and having a great time. 

I fulfilled a bucket list item. I went on a motorcycle trip with my dad! After getting new leathers and a fancy helmet, we hopped on our bikes and headed off from BC and went through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Southern Alberta and headed back to BC. We put on about 2500 km in 5 days. It was spectacular!

Then at the end of our summer trip we headed back to Ontario to visit with Margot's family and took a train (Lily and my first time) to hook up with everyone. We had a wonderful visit in southern Ontario and then began our stressful trip home. It's always expensive, stressful and exhausting to return to the north with our circus. 

We had a great summer and it was sad to see it end but it is nice to be back and get into the swing of things.

Once we got back I got right to work fixing our "new" 2009 Yamaha 125 grizzly atv. It has been a very frustrating experience trying to get the local Yamaha shop to get it done right, but I think after basically setting my wallet on fire it's running great. I also bought a 2004 Honda fourtrax rancher. It also needed some parts shipped up and a couple of full days work done to it, but now it runs like a top. However with this one, me and another fella spent two days fixing it up. Then we had to build something to house the new machines which was quite a debacle as there is not much space in front of our building it. But we got it all worked out and I spent this last weekend building it so now we're all set. Luckily it seems as though it was just in time as the ground was covered in snow this morning. 

Anyhow, that's what we're up to these days. We will be blogging much more frequently now I hope. 

Thanks for stopping by and drop us a line!

-Richard