Yukon River Day 1

As you can well imagine, this epic adventure will take a few blog posts to cover in appropriate detail.
So, Day 1: June 15. We left Whitehorse in the morning and made it about a third of the way down Lake LaBerge.
Our gear beginning to pile up in preparation for the adventure.

Our canoe all loaded up and ready to go.

Brian ready to get going.

All the canoes are in order ready to be put in the water.


A look at what's ahead.

This was the weather for the first 4 days - not a cloud in the sky.

We saw this van at the bottom of a cliff, so we paddled across the river to check it out. Obviously this was at the beginning of the trip when we had energy for such adventures. There was also another car in the water.

Kendra and Phil enjoying the sun while they paddled.

Our first picnic lunch. We found a beautiful picnic spot along the river.

Rachel getting in some last minute texting.

We had gorgeous scenery the whole way.

The remains of a pier on lower LaBerge.

A look at the long lake ahead of us. It is 50km long. Lucky for us we had a bit of a tail wind instead of a head wind, so we made pretty good time.

Rachel and Phil setting up our first camp. I must give due credit to Brian for finding such a fantastic campsite. It was gorgeous.

Brian down at the canoes. It looks a little like a pirate cove.

I was finally able to relax a little. This was before the day 1 muscle aches set in.

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY NAOMI

June 14 has arrived again. And with it the birthday of Naomi. I'm not sure where the time has gone, but here she is turning 20! Once again I am left reminiscing about my precious daughter. There are so many memories and experiences we've shared. She has grown into such a beautiful young woman. We are so proud of her.

I hope you have a fabulous birthday Naomi. I'm proud to call you my daughter and my friend. I love you with all my heart.

THE PROM

Saturday evening was Josh`s prom. This is an event we were all looking forward to. How often do we get to see the kids dressed up and looking so spectacular. The pictures really tell the story for themselves.

The girls were all trying to share one mirror in the hotel room.

I enjoyed some much needed pampering from Hannah. She gave me a manicure and pedicure.

The finished product.

Josh didn`t need as much pampering:

Naomi and Hannah looking very beautiful.

Brian and I on our walk to freedom.

The theme was vintage Hollywood. The hall looked amazing.





Josh and his grand march partner, Brittany. She is also from Ross River.



Josh and his girlfriend, Karoline.

The highlight for the evening for me was the grad and parent dance.

After the prom we drove Karoline to her home in Tagish, a 2 hour round trip. This meant we were dropping into bed at 1:00 in the morning. We picked Josh up from his dry grad this morning shortly after 6am. He walked into the hotel room, flopped onto the bed and was asleep within seconds When Brian and I returned from dropping Naomi off at the airport it was about 7:30 am. Josh was snoring as though he was trying to set a world record and Hannah was grumbling in the other bed as she tried to sleep in spite of Josh's snoring. Now that it's all over it will take a few days to recuperate.
Josh, we are so proud of you. You have a world of opportunities ahead of you. We know you will succeed in whatever you choose to do. We love you.

JOSH'S GRADUATION

Once again I can't believe how the time has flown. Our youngest child has graduated. Some of you may know the struggle it was to get through this last semester, but it was worth every moment to see the smile on his face. He didn't stop smiling all evening.
I went up front to get a picture of him getting his diploma. After his pose he came right over to me and gave me a big hug. Then after the ceremony was over he hurried over to us and every family member received a big hug from him. This was a very special evening for everyone. Here are some pictures to commemorate the event.

RECONNECTING

I didn't realize it had been 9 months since I last posted on my blog. It has been an eventful time - some good, some not so good. So, a quick recap of the time I've been gone.

September was a time of learning to adjust to a life without Oscar. After 10 years of having him as a part of our lives and under our feet it wasn't an easy task. But we have managed. It was also a month when our little family became more scattered as Naomi went to the University in Calgary, Hannah settled into Kamloops to learn esthetics, and Josh once again relocated to high school in Whitehorse.

October was not exceptionally good to me. After suffering with laryngitis at the beginning of the month, the middle brought an infection in my thyroid, and the end brought a complete physical collapse. In the past 2 years I had completed 18 university courses while working full time. Near the end of the month I felt like I had hit the proverbial brick wall. I was completely burnt out. I went through the motions at work each day, then would come home and collapse. It has taken me months to overcome this, but after some much needed rest, I finally feel like I've made it through.

November meant a rush trip down to Kelowna when my mom became very ill and was in the hospital. Thank goodness she pulled through and is doing well now.

December began with Josh being in a car accident in Whitehorse. He was uninjured, but the truck suffered a hole in the side and a dangling muffler. This month also brought about some very exciting news - I was accepted for educational leave from work for the 2011-2012 school year. This means I will receive 70% of my salary and a guaranteed position when I return after obtaining my teaching degree. We were also privileged to have Naomi and Josh both come home for Christmas and were able to spend boxing day with Hannah. The month ended with Hannah being in a car accident and breaking her hand, thus being off from her esthetics course for 2 months. But at least she was not seriously injured.

January was just cold!

February was very busy and full of not so great adventures. It began with us bringing Josh home from Whitehorse to complete his grade 12 from the comfort of our home in Ross River. He was just having too much fun in Whitehorse. The middle of the month saw me go to Vancouver to have 2 root canals redone. This resulted in me spending a week lying on the couch crying in pain. So much fun!

March began with a trip to Edmonton - I was a chaperone for the grade 9/10 trip. It was a lot of fun, but so cold. It ended in much excitement when I was accepted into the teaching program at SFU for next year.

April was low key personally but was filled with trips to Whitehorse for work. Between Brian and I we made 6 trips to town in 5 weeks. That's a lot of traveling.

May was another busy month. It started with yet another field trip to Whitehorse and bringing Josh into town to write his LPI tests. Then I spent 10 days in Kelowna assisting my parents after Dad's hip replacement surgery. I arrived home just in time to send Brian off on yet another field trip and Josh to Tagish to spend time with his girlfriend and her family.

Now here we are in June and the school year is quickly winding down. I have just 2 days left in my career as an educational assistant. The next time I work in Ross River it will be as a certified teacher.
After such an eventful year if will be nice to just relax for the summer.