Smiles All Around

Well, our smiles are going to be changing around here shortly so I figured I should post a couple pictures of this past week-end when our current smiles are still relevant.

Nathan came home today with his first wiggly tooth.

Last year he told me one of his teeth was loose.  A lot of his friends were losing their teeth so I guess he must of wanted in on all the action.  He still has the original loose tooth so I guess it must have decided to stay put awhile longer ; )

Today when i picked him up off the bus his driver, Mr. Taylor told me he's been wiggling his tooth the whole way home.  I'd love to go for a ride on that bus just to see the shenanigans.

He hopped off and immediately showed me.  There is definitely a wiggly tooth in there.

So here's a few pictures of beautiful teeth.  Some on the way in, some on the way out.

5 teeth and counting.

5 for the last two months

I know there are more coming

C'mon teeth

Look at all those beautiful teeth!!

Bottom, middle, left

Is on it's way out

He seriously has such an amazing smile

....and amazing heart

....and amazing spirit

....and amazing personality

...and amazing laugh

...and amazing memory

...and amazing

ok, ok, ok

He's amazing and I could go on forever.

Corn Boil

Every fall my Mom and Dad host their annual corn boil.

My Mom has a great garden and she grows the corn herself.  It takes a lot of effort to grow corn.  I know many years she's had to replant half grown corn a few times because wind has knocked it over. I also know she oils it....I think it has something to do with bugs, but I'm not sure.  All I know is that come corn boil night - the corn is ready, and it's GOOD!  Mom takes the little kids and sometimes big kids, out to the corn and everyone picks it and bring it over to the pot in her trusty wheel barrel and then we all husk it.  It's fun, and the kids really get a kick out of harvesting their own corn.  Mom usually has a pretty big grin on her face too.


This year the weather was perfect.  We went down early to get into the River one last time for the year and to help finish setting up for the big party.  Everything was set up and looking great so we went swimming.

Corn, beans, salads, desserts, lots of family and friends.  Could the night be any better?  Oh yes, guitars, bon fires, lots of stars, laughing adults and giggling kids.  It was another great night.

It feels really strange that N is not in this picture but he was

far too busy running around with all his cousins and friends well 

into the night to stop to get a picture with us.  

He had so much fun!

Delivery from the North

Arctic cotton is like little clouds growing on the ground.  It is as soft as it looks.  

I remember when we first moved to Paulatuk it was everywhere and I thought it was coolest thing ever.  I still do.  

This is still one of my all time favourite pictures from Paulatuk.  Everything about it feels Northern to me.  The fact that Nathan is so cute and little in this picture only adds to it.

This was the very last picture I took in Paulatuk

before we headed up to the airport.

The day before we were moving Nathan and I hopped on the quad for one of our very last quading adventures with scissors and a bag.  We went out to cut some Arctic Cotton to bring to our new home.

I cut it as he played and I carefully packed it in paper towel and a ziplock bag.  

Big mistake.

I've moved enough and should have known better.  I hadn't thought about the fact that it was not dried and that it was in a ziplock bag to sweat and be packed in a box for the next 2 or 3 weeks. 

The result wasn't pretty.  I was so excited to unpack it, only to find it covered in mold.

When our friend from Paulatuk came to visit us last Spring I mentioned to her that I would love to have some Arctic Cotton in our new home.  

She wrote me a few weeks ago and told me that it was in the mail and that hopefully it would arrive safely as she had dried it while she was on a trip of the lifetime paddling from Tuktuk Nogait National Park back to Paulatuk.  

Yesterday this arrived from Paulatuk!!

Finally - we have Arctic Cotton in our home.

Thank You Lanita 

For sharing a piece of your home with us!

Off to the races

Last September Nathan started school.  The first day of school we were all up making sure everything was just right for him to head off to big school for the first time.  It was all going as planned until we ended up having to run to catch the bus.

Nathan started Grade 1 this year.  He is pretty proud and excited.  He talked about turning 6 and starting grade 1 all summer.   After running for the bus last year you'd think we would have learned our lesson.  Nope.  Nathan and I were upstairs looking for his sneakers when I heard what I thought was the bus driving by our house.   It was, I caught a glimpse of it going by.  I yelled down to Ryan to go wait at the end of our driveway and we'd be out in a few seconds.  Thankfully the bus turns around just up the road so it gave us the extra time we needed to get out.

Later that morning people were posting sweet pictures of their kids heading off to school.  I didn't post anything because this is the picture I got, he's in full sprint.  It makes me laugh, two years in a row.  I kind of feel like this should be our new tradition.

 The bus does not normally stop at the end of our driveway.  

We walk up the road a little bit where it's safer for other cars to see us.

 I had this cute sign made up for our morning pictures.

I missed out on those so I brought it out on the way home.

It works.

Look at these two!

Nathan was the clear winner and likely

will be for the next number of years 

but

I have a feeling Miles will be giving it his all

to try to keep up with him for the next...forever.

Just hanging around

So today Mr Miles decided he'd shock his Mama by standing on his own.  It was by accident and of course there was food involved.  This boy loves his food.

 He spotted me eating a bagel and he headed my way.  I handed him a piece and he was so excited he let go of the coffee table, grabbed the bagel and stood there before realizing what he was doing and he lost his balance.  I held him up a few more times to show off his new trick and he loved it.  Smiles from ear to ear.  Slow down baby!!

Here's a little photo sequence of how many activities go in our house these days.

 Oh, Hi Mom!

 Ummm, I had a Cheerio here somewhere.

 I lost my Cheerio, and it IS the worst thing in my world.

  Then there's this guy.

He wakes up with a smile on his face 

and ends it the same way.

Just having a little fun in the downpour. 

 There's that smile.

Look at that, the world isn't ending after all.

False alarm

Resume life a normal.

Until I lose my Cheerio tomorrow morning.

So it's been awhile.....

There is no way in the world that I can possibly ever catch up so I'm just going to continue as if I have not missed any time away, let alone years.  Maybe I'll do a throw back Thursday and fit in some of my favourite pictures and memories of the missing years.

I'm also going to change how I do this.  I'm going to try to post something short every night.  This way I can track of all the cute things the boys do.  I'm going to try to use this space as a way to watch them grow and help me remember all the cute things they do.

Hopefully one day they'll look back at this and smile the way I smile at them each day.

N swimming at Upper Clement Park - Aug/15

Somebody is 7 months old

We don't live in the Arctic anymore.  

Now we have views like this from our home.

We miss the North - ALOT, but this is nice too.