NEWS OF THE WEIRD

This past week has been a week of excitement. Naomi arrived home for the summer and has been busily looking for work. She walked into the school on Monday afternoon and the principal immediately signed her up for substitute teaching. In fact she is filling in for Brian today and tomorrow, and for another teacher on Friday. She is working with small groups of students and managing extremely well. The secretary saw her with some students in the hall and commented that she is a natural. I guess it runs in the family. She has some very good job prospects too. Now it's just a waiting game while government officials try to make decisions.

The other exciting news is that Hannah has just landed a job at a spa in Whitehorse. She starts on Thursday. Also she has been accepted into the Interior Academy of Hair Design in Kamloops. We are so proud of her. Her and Ben are all set for graduation and life after that. Ben's parents bought them a mobile home in Whitehorse which they are fixing up. It will be much cheaper than paying $1000 rent.

So, that pretty well sums up all the activity happening in our family for now. It's such an exciting time.

HANNAH'S CREATIONS

Hannah has amazed me with her creativity. She made this dress from wrapping paper in her textiles class last semester. She even had to have someone model it. It is absolutely fantastic.
The picture is made from many, many tiny dots. It was done in her art class.

I am so proud of her, not just for what she has created, but for who she has become. She is beautiful inside and out. She must have flower bones.

"I'M UP ON TOP OF THE WORLD, LOOKING DOWN ON CREATION"

It seems that once you make one large purchase a second seems to follow. When you buy a house, you have to go buy new furniture and appliances. Last week we bought the trailer, this week was a new truck. It is a 2006 with just 40000 km on it. Even though it was second hand, it had all the features we were looking for on a new truck. It is even our colour of choice. It drives like a dream. I feel like I'm on top of the world looking down on everyone, just like a queen should.

GONNA BE CAMPING IN STYLE

Brian and I have been considering buying ourselves a travel trailer for a couple of years now. We have been getting more serious about it as time goes on. So, we decided to take our legal/travel days away from work on Thursday and Friday and see what we could do. We arrived in Whitehorse on Thursday and meandered over to the RV dealer. We had done a lot of research and had our eye on a Jayco trailer. There were certain things we were looking for, like a full queen size bed. The dealership turned out to be an adventure all on its own. When we arrived the trailer we wanted was on sale for $18500. So, after looking at everything else available, we decided to talk to the salesman. Turns out they were just about to raise the price before we walked in. He was in no hurry to sell it to us because he knew someone else would come in right after us and nab it up at a higher price. To make a long story short, he gave us the royal run around and we just walked away. The next morning we decided to look at buying private, second hand. So, we grabbed the paper and checked the ads. There were only 2 listed, but we phoned and began the search again. We fell in love with the first one we went to. It is a 2003 26' Frontier. It is in immaculate condition. The couple that owned it used to live in Ross River and she is a teacher in Whitehorse now. We are so excited about our purchase and can't wait to go camping.
The queen bed at the front:

Jack and Jill bunk beds at the rear - we are thinking ahead to the days of grandchildren. They won't be happening anytime soon, but eventually the day will come. Until then Josh will have a nice bed of his own.

20 YEARS OF WEDDED BLISS

I was just thinking that it has been a long time since I've posted anything new on here. I've just been so busy taking courses, working, and making trips to Whitehorse I just haven't had time for blogging.
But, I cannot let our 20th wedding anniversary disappear without acknowledging it on my blog. It astounds me that 20 years have elapsed since our wedding day. I remember all the excitement of ordering invitations and planning every detail. The frustrations that naturally follow all the planning. I remember visiting my mom and dad and having fittings for the dress my mom made for me. Who ever imagined that 20 years would go by so fast, or that we would have 3 amazing children. I never imagined that we would be empty nesters at this point in our lives or that we would be living in the far north.
I have truly enjoyed that time Brian and I have had together. There have been ups and downs. Definitely more ups than downs. We have had, and continue to have, so much fun together. We have taken some wonderful family vacations to Disneyland, Yellowstone,and the Grand Canyon. As well as some closer to home like Edmonton, Calgary, Drumheller, and Vancouver Island. We are living an adventure way up north - some days are more adventuresome than others. We laugh together almost every day, and are there for each other during the difficult times. Almost every weekend we hop on our bikes (skis in the winter) and roam the countryside.
I can honestly say I love my life. I am married to my best friend and we are looking forward to the next 20 plus years we have together.
I love you Brian.