A FAMILY PICNIC

Yesterday we awoke to a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the wind had calmed. It was a beautiful day for a picnic. So, we loaded the kids and the dog into the truck and drove out to Lapie Canyon. The water was still high, but that didn't matter. We were still able to have a nice time. We didn't do much, just sat around relaxing and watching the water rush by.By the time we were heading home big rain clouds were rolling in and it was starting to thunder. At least we were able to make the most of the sunshine.

A BIRTHDAY TO REMEMBER

Naomi had her 17th birthday on Saturday. Brian and I took Hannah and Josh into Whitehorse to celebrate with her. We took her and 4 of her friends to Boston Pizza. They all had a great time eating pizza and pop. What more could a bunch of teenagers want?The staff at the restaurant sang her a special birthday song. Here she is "waving her hands in the air". She wouldn't "stand up on her chair" though.Here is one of her best friends, Jaime (straight hair) and her roommate, Camille.Her friends Victoria and Megan.And, of course, Hannah and Josh.After supper we went back to the campsite for a while, then Naomi drove Hannah and Josh to the theatre to watch Kungfu Panda. Needless to say I was a little on edge until they arrived safely back at the campsite. But she did a fantastic job driving and everyone got back safely.

GRADE 10 GRAD

Today was Hannah's big day. Since our school only goes up to grade 10, the students have a little grad ceremony. It's nothing fancy - they are just recognized and they get a gift from the school and a gift from the Kaska teachers. It's so hard to believe that Hannah is officially finished school here in Ross River. We are so proud of her - she is just a fantastic kid.
Here she is with the other grade 10's receiving her packsack.Hannah and Josh both earned Kaska awards and the academic awards for their grades.

BOIL WATER, TEAR RAGS!

Living in the sticks as we do and having water hauled into our house has some advantages. Can't think of any right now, but I'm sure there are some. At the moment all I can see is a huge water tank that needs to be cleaned out. The government does water testing all the time and yesterday they discovered there is ecoli in the water truck. At least the water source is fine. Just the truck needs to be cleaned out. That means that we have to empty our tank, clean it and flush our water system. Good thing Brian is so thin he can easily fit down into the tank to scrub it out. So much for spending the afternoon golfing. In the meantime we are boiling all our drinking water for a minimum of 3 minutes. A hassle, but not an overwhelming dilemma.

READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD!

Watch out the next time you are taking an innocent stroll in the bush - Josh has a new hobby. He and his friends have been building themselves a great paint ball field. He found some gear online that we ordered and the last time we were in Whitehorse he bought himself a paintball gun. Now he is all ready to hunt down a few friends.