This is what we did this weekend….

http://www.longjohnjamboree.ca/LongJohn_Jamboree/Welcome.html

View

We bought a new house. It’s in Old Town. This is the view from the Master Bedroom.

This is our new address:

3506 Raccine Road, Yellowknife, NT X1A 3J2

Just had to post this…

What an amazingly brave kid.

Self portrait

On Friday we woke up, got ready and headed out for a family photo. No appointment booked with a photographer. Just a last minute decision, my camera and tripod. I am very happy with the result. I got a bunch of other great shots of the girls. When we got home I downloaded, edited the photos and did the family Christmas cards. They are ordered and in process. I am feeling so ahead of the game.

thankful.

Today I am thankful for the time we spent with family yesterday. Becoming a Straker has been a blessing in many ways and being a part of such a large, loving family has enriched my life beyond what I thought was possible. Today we will get together with my sister and her family and I am very grateful for them. There is nothing like a sister that totally understands where you come from because she comes from the same place. I’m thankful for my loving husband and my beautiful girls. It’s amazing how lucky I am. I am always thankful for Benji’s Mom, Carole. I was fortunate enough to learn so much from her before her passing. I am grateful to have had the time I got with her and the lessons she passed on. I am thankful for health and stability, a job that I enjoy, amazing friends….amazing. I am even thankful for the snow today. Like the kids I was excited to see the white stuff on the ground this morning. But most of all I am thankful for today. I am alive and given another day to be blessed with all that is around me. Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Over two months to catch up on….

Hello again. It’s been 2 months since our last blog entry. I am sometimes tempted to shut things down here at Ridilly as I find it absurd how much or how less (I should say) I blog. I try to keep up with it but things have been busy. So there is so much to blog about, just not enough time to do so. The last time I blogged I was counting down until summer holidays, which were amazing. New York City was so great and a holiday I will always remember. I hope the girls will too.

The NYC trip was a blast. Lots of walking, of course but the girls did great. We got there on the 6th at dinner time. Since West Jet does not fly into New York we flew to Newark, New Jersey. Only a 20 minute drive to Manhattan. We went to the Hotel (Hilton New York on 6th Ave and 52nd). Really nice hotel. We dropped our stuff off and then went and walked around in Time Square. Mali was in awe. We went to the Brooklyn Diner for dinner. And then hit up Toys r Us, M & M Store, Hershey Store… The next morning we got up and went to the American Girl Store. The girls brought their dolls to get their ears pierced, hair done and a cleaning. It was the most ridiculous thing ever and we loved every minute of it. 3 hours later we were done. So worth it. Lunch was a pretzel from a street vendor. We took a horse and carriage ride in Central Park. Went to the Central Park Zoo. It was pretty cool. We headed over to Lambardis for dinner and the Pinkberry for some frozen yogurt. We walked around Little Italy, bought some souvenirs. Monday we started the day with walking the Brooklyn bridge. So hot and it took about 45 minutes. I did not have appropriate shoes and my feet got completely chewed up but a very cool experience. We went to the Brooklyn Childrens Museum but it was closed. Grr. So we walked around Brooklyn. We were in a bit of a sketchy part, the girls played at a park, then we hopped on the subway and headed back to Manhattan and headed over to the American Museum of Natural History (Where Night at the Museum was filmed). Taya is still convinced that everything turns to life at night. If there were empty cases she was convinved they didnt make it back on time. Too cute. Went to Serendipity III for dinner. And of course Dylans Candy Shop. Time Square to end the night for Mali and Benj and Taya and I headed back to the hotel. Tuesday we went back to Brooklyn to go to the Childrens Museum. So worth the trip out and all the hassle. The girls loved it and by far the coolest kid Museum I have ever been to. Very interative. We headed back to Time Square. It was pouring while Benji stood in line to get 50% off Mary Poppins Broadway tickets. It took about an hour but so worth it as we got 4 tickets in the Orchestra for $300. We went to the Hardrock Cafe in Time Square for dinner and then went to the show. It was 11 pm by the time we got back to the hotel and had to be up early in the morning for our flight. During our walks we walked through Bloomigdales, Saks, went to the Rockfellar, etc… It was a busy but amazing trip. The girls did great and really enjoyed themselves. I looked over to Mali during Mary Poppins and she had the biggest smile on her face. I hope she remembers the trip for a long time.

After New York we went to St. Gabriel to visit with my Dad and his new place. After a busy trip in NYC it was nice to relax, head to the beach, and just hang out. We had a nice visit with the whole Robidas family.

We had a short stop in Edmonton where we met up with Cindy, Brianne, Kaleigh and Darla. We surprised the girls with Taylor Swift concert tickets. They were so excited and loved their first ever concert.

Coming back to Yellowknife I was excited and a little anxious to start my new job. I have been there for about 6 weeks now and absolutely love it. Being a Secretary for a high school is very interesting. Always busy. I love my co-workers. And the kids are cool and I look forward to getting to know them better.

Just before starting at the School Yellowknife was hit with the most horrific tragedy. First Air had a plane crash and one of the pilots was Dave Hare who unfortunately left his body that day. He was an amazing man who was a great husband and father to Jane and their three girls. Their youngest only being 5 weeks. Death is a hard thing. I know he is in a better place but his wife and kids will suffer here on Earth without him. It’s hard to grasp. After the First Air Crash, there were 3 others. Never in my lifetime here in the North had I ever heard of so many plane crashes. Especially in such a close timeframe. I remember of hearing of one when I was younger. Yellowknife has been hit so hard and it has been devastating.

This weekend is Thanksgiving Weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to you all! It comes at a good time to reflect on the blessings in my life. And be thankful for so much.

Count down

2 days left of day home.

2 days left until Benji and I have  24 days off.

9 days until New York.

13 days until Montréal/St. Gabriel.

22 days until the Taylor Swift Concert (we are surprising the girls).

26 days until I start my new job.

Company

In the last 2 weeks we have been blessed with so much visit from down South. Many of the Strakers made their way up North to spread Moms ashes at River Lake. It was a very special day. So much love and respect for that amazing woman. Her kids decided to make an Inukshuk in her honor. It was a nice way to end the “ceremony”. After we all headed back to the the cabin and had lunch and then headed back to town. Dad (from Regina), Kim and Denny (from Calgary)stayed with us. Carolyn, Parker and Kyle came down from Regina and Carly and Andrew came from Edmonton.

My Dad (from Montreal) came up for 2 weeks. It was another great visit with him. A lot of laughs and nice visits. We saw Prince William and Princess Kate, went on a boat ride, did some shopping and so much more… His sister, my Aunt Lucie and her husband Pierre came for 3 days. That was really special as they had never been to Yellowknife before. They went on a helicopter ride to see Yellowknife. Tomorrow Benji’s Dad and his wife Joan are coming for a visit. We’ve been having really nice weather and it’s just been so nice to visit and enjoy the weather.

On a side note….I got a job at Sir John Franklin as an Administration Assistant. I have less than 3 weeks left of Day Home. A little scary but really exciting. I start at the School on August 23rd.

 

Brian Sumner in Yellowknife

Yellowknife has been blessed this weekend to have Brian Sumner here sharing his gifts at The Rock Skate Ministry. Brian has an amazing story and an incredible gift to tell it. Born and raised in Liverpool he moved to the US by the age of 15. He was soon after picked up by Tony Hawk to skate with his team. By 19 he had it “all”. And then it all feel apart. Maybe it was too fast? Maybe it was too soon? Or maybe it was because he was without God? Find out more here….

http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/

 

Bella Dance Year End, Yard work, House Projects…

It’s been a little while so you’ll get a bit of everything.

First, we survived the Bella Dance Year End weekend. It’s always so busy for the girls. This year Bella Dance split 2 groups dependant on age and did 2 shows. The theme was Circus. Mali was in Under The Big Top performances that ran 4 times and Taya was in Under The Little Top that ran twice on Sunday. It was good for Taya as 4 shows is a lot for her but it was busy for us. Both girls did so great! We were very proud of them.

Benji and I have been busy around the yard. A front deck/terrace was built, rose bushes planted, spirea transplanted, driveway prepped and ready for pavement, pots planted with flowers, an evergreen tree planted, seedlings planted… The driveway should be done by next week. The City finally (after 2 years) put up a new fence. Everything is finally coming together. Our yard is finally starting to feel finished.

We are still doing projects in the house. Benji painted the downstairs bathroom. New floors to replace the tile will be in the Fall.

Summer is slowly getting here. We are expecting a lot of company and then we’ll head out to Quebec for a bit in August.