A Typical Labrador Day?

Woken up by a loader clearing snow from the driveway at 4:34am.  We parked the cars in next door’s driveway last night so the snow from yesterday’s snow storm could be cleared properly as the snow was half way up the garage door from the wild wind blowing the snow everywhere.  Got ready and out the front door by 6:30 to find that snow had covered our bridge (pathway) and most of our steps.  Shovelled for 15 minutes to make sure Steve and the boys can get out to the car easily this morning.

Called past Tim’s for a double double and a cream cheese bagel.  Windows frozen so had to open the door to order at the drive through.  At my desk for a 6am start before the New Year weekend.  The snow storm has passed now so I am sure today will be cold but the sun will be shining on my typical Labrador day!

Snow Storm

Short break at the cabin

On Boxing Day we headed out to the cabin.  We let Steve get out of the car first to go inside and get the oil stove going.  When we did finally get out of the car, the snow was knee deep and the cabin was still -15 degC inside!  The boys were crying because of the cold so we sat in front of the oil stove with my Canada Goose jacket on top of us.  We talked Steve into lighting the wood stove for us as well to get the cabin warmer quicker and then he went back outside to shovel more snow.

We watched the temperature guage slowly creep up towards zero degrees, funny how goals and expectations change, all I wanted was for the cabin to get to a positive temperature.  It took at least two hours to warm up and we even put our propane stove on to warm up the other end of the cabin!

Our cabin in the snow

On Tuesday Steve and I tested out our snow shoes, they are awesome.  You can walk in deep snow, sinking far enough to give you a good workout.  A nice solid track is laid as you walk so Cooper and Ryder had fun following me on our adventure into the woods.

In my new snow shoes

Getting a ride

 By Tuesday afternoon heavy snowfall was setting in and we were worried we wouldn't be able to get out.  At about 3 o'clock we headed back to Lab City as a snow storm hit, we took the drive very slowly as visibilty was extremely poor all the way home.  A relaxing time again at the cabin.

Another white Christmas

We had a very relaxing Christmas this year, avoiding the rush of Xmas day by celebrating with friends on Christmas eve.  Despite seeing the massive turkeys for sale at the IGA we decided to go with roast pork and finished with a delicious pudding made by Simone. 

Santa was good to all of us, Steve and I received some awesome Canadian made snowshoes, Taylor got some seal fur winter boots and the boys were very impressed with their snow moto's.  We got some great Aussie gifts from Nat & Jus, tea towels, pencils, an Aussie icon calendar, very Australian books for the kids as well as koala and kangaroo tattoos!!

Cooper and Ryder on Christmas morning

We spent the day playing with gifts including some time outside testing out the snow moto's.  Our evening meal better known here as supper, was spent with our neighbours, the Whittington's.  A great Christmas Day!

Taylor with her gifts

Too cold for snow

Ryder going out to help Dad with the BBQ

Hard to believe but it has been too cold for snow!  We had a bit of snow then it got really cold fast, this meant clear skies and no snow!  Our temperatures have been around the -14 to -18 degree mark. Now we are waiting for some warmer weather, closer to zero, so we can have more snow.

Cooper's first figure skating badge

This Wednesday at ice skating Cooper came off the ice and showed me his very first badge for figure skating.  He was so pleased with himself, he said "Can you believe it? I can't wait to see Dad's face".

Last winter Cooper completed the pre-Canskate program but this winter he is in the Canskate program.  Badge 1 is the first of seven badges and focuses on Balance.  Coops is getting so fast on the ice, speeding around as quick as her can!  He can skate backwards also but not as quickly.  He was tested on quite a few other skills to pass his first badge too.

Toronto, Niagara and Montreal

Last weekend was a busy one.  Fortunately I had a meeting in Montreal on Monday so I decided to make the most of it.  I flew to Montreal on Friday night and then to Toronto on Saturday morning.  I was so excited to be going to a Prince concert at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night!  I had purchased a VIP ticket, a table seat right next to the stage.  The concert was amazing, it went for almost three hours and Prince played all of his hits, Purple Rain, Kiss, Let's go crazy, 1999, Controversy, Cream, Nothing compares 2 U, I would die 4 U, Sign O the times, Raspberry Beret, Alphabet St and the list goes on. 

On Sunday I took a day trip to Niagara Falls.  It is the low season right now and it was overcast and drizzly, although there weren't many people there so I had great views of the falls.  I didn't realise that the Canadian and US sides of the falls are two separate falls (same water source) and it is true that the Canadian side is more spectacular!  The falls were really noisy and at this time of year more of the water gets diverted to power stations downstream so it would be even louder in summer.

I went up the Skylon tower nearby for a different view and had a bit of a look around the place.  To be honest, apart from the falls the town is a bit dreary.  A casino, lots of tacky tourist activities and the US border.  The facilities were pretty old looking with paint peeling off and hardly any good signage to read. The drive along the river was lovely, especially with brown and gold leaves still on the trees.  We also visited a town called Niagara on the Lake which had some great little shops and a bakery with pies! The day trip was good and I was glad to have visited but I don't think I would make the trip back.



At the top of Niagara Falls

USA side of Niagara Falls

Horseshoe Falls, the Canadian side of Niagara Falls

Trick or treat - Halloween 2012

We were more prepared for Halloween this year and much more excited.  Everyone left work at around 4pm so we could go home and get the kids ready for trick or treating.  I bathed and fed the boys, dressed them in their PJ's with thermals over the top and then their costumes.  Ryder dressed up as Batman and Cooper was Optimus Prime.  They were so excited and couldn't wait to get out the door, it was a pretty good night but they still had to wear their snow boots, mitts, hats and scarves.  We were out on the street by about 5.15pm and knocking on doors, TRICK OR TREAT??

We did a big lap of the block, criss crossing across the road, looking at all the Halloween decorations.  We were amazed.  Some houses had their indoor porches all decorated with characters, sounds and lights, lots of people were dressed up, we even saw a dog with a pumpkin costume on, Cooper thought this was hilarious!  Best of all, everyone had treats galore, handfuls of candy and suckers (lollies and lollipops), loot bags, cans of pop, gum, chips, crayons etc.  It didn't take long for the kids to fill their bags.  Ryder couldn't wait to eat his candy, on the walk he ate two bags of chips, three lollipops and a Kit Kat.  By 6.30pm it was starting to get dark and colder, the kids were worn out so we headed back up the street to go home.

Trick or Treat?

Back at home Steve had started to give out the loot bags Cooper, Taylor and I made up a few weeks ago.  Everytime the doorbell rang the kids would race to the door to check out who was there and give them a loot bag.  The costumes were great; twin chickens, Hoops and Yo Yo, fairies, princesses, monkeys, gorillas, witches, Harry Potter, wrestlers, Flinstones, babies, super heroes and more.  We made 60 loot bags and ran out, Taylor ran downstairs and brought up a giant tub of candy leftover from her Halloween party on Saturday night.  By 9.15 we were out of candy, we had at least 80 kids stop by our door.  We turned off our porch lights and our second 'real' Halloween was over.



Impersonating pumpkins

Our inflatable halloween decorations



Our cat is 9 feet tall

Ryder's first ice skate

Today we went to the town Halloween ice skating  party at the Lab City Arena.  Every time we go to Cooper's ice skating classes Ryder asks if he can go on the ice and skate so I bought him a pair of bob skates which have two blades on each skate.

Waiting to go onto the ice

The arena has plastic frames to help kids learn to skate so Ryder used one of these.  At first he was trying to lift his feet, almost running, causing him to slip all over the place but it didn't take too long for him to slow down and glide using the frame for support.  Ryder kept skating across the rink and banging into the wall before turning around and going back again.  He was on the ice for the full hour, getting more confident and telling me, "Me do it myself!" and skating away from the frame.  Meanwhile Cooper was skating around with his Spiderman cape on, zooming past Ryder and giving him plenty of encouragement.

On the ice.

Cooper helping Ryder skate

On the Rock

This weekend just gone I flew to St. John's, the capital of Newfoundland province.  I went with my friend (and neighbour) Leighann for an Xmas shopping trip and some sightseeing.  We had a great time, St. John's is such a beautiful city, right on the water it is the oldest city in North America.  The crooked, hilly streets are lined with adjoining colored houses, downtown is full of quirky little stores and you can smell the salt air and the fuel from the fishing boats.  We drove up Signal Hill and took photos of the view and a giant black Newfoundland dog, he had an enormous glum face and was so hairy.  We also ate out at some very trendy restaurants downtown and had a massage and pedicure at the Spa at the Monastery.

On Sunday morning I ate a Newfie breakfast of fish cakes, eggs and toast and we took a walk along Battery Road, checking out the houses set into the rock of 'the island' as it is known.  We were very fortunate with the weather as St. John's is known for being rainy and wet but we had sunshine and clear skies for all three days we were there. On our return to Lab City we found that the snow fall from Friday had melted and the grass is still green.  Stay away snow!

The city of St. John's NL from Signal Hill

A typical street in downtown St. John's

Newfoundland dog on Signal Hill

A sprinkle of snow

We got through the whole of September without any snow! Today we were out the front at 8am and there were very fine snow flakes falling.  There is a light covering of snow on the ground and it almost looks like frost.  I am hoping that we get a couple more weeks of fine weather before the snow begins, not looking forward to putting on coats, boots, mitts and hats before we step out the door.

Buddy Wasisname

Last night we went to the local Arts and Culture Centre to see Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers These guys are icons in Newfoundland and the place was packed.  They trio sing traditional Newfie songs, play piano accordians, mandolins and guitar, tell jokes and perform skits.  We were warned that we wouldn't understand a word but much to our surprise we understood most of it and could laugh at all the jokes.  Most of the songs and jokes were about Newfoundland and the Newfoundland way of life; moose, duck hunting, salt beef, codfish and their funny accent.   It was a great night.

Halloween Preparation

This weekend we went shopping for Halloween!  There are three aisles of costumes, decorations and trick or treat loot at Walmart which appears to be moving fast, we didn't want to miss out.  Top of the list was an inflatable decoration for the front yard.  Would you believe we found a 7ft inflatable pirate ship with three skeleton pirates on it?  Straight into the cart it went!

We also bought a pumpkin carving kit, pumpkin stencils, a battery operated pumpkin saw, flickering pumpkin lights, black cat solar lights, spider webs, spider web lights, a ghoul for the front door, gargoyle trellis for the garden and a big pumpkin shaped bowl for our trick or treat bags.  For our trick or treat bags we have two boxes of 100 chocolate bars, gum and popping candy, plus rubber rats, glow in the dark skeletons, spider rings and plastic flies. 

I think we are ready for our second Halloween in Lab City!

Cooper's First Day of School

Cooper started school today! He is in Kindergarten at AP Low primary school in Labrador City.  There are 16 kids in his class and his teacher's name is Mrs Buckley.  Steve and I both took Cooper to school today, he sat at the table and was happy for us to leave.  Well done Coops!

Cooper and Gavin, very excited on the first day of school

Cooper at school



Waiting at our bus stop - Nadia, Cooper, Mia, Georgie, Andrew, Gavin, Jack, Brock & Luke!



Relaxing in Hawaii

After a flying visit to Australia, seeing our Mum's, Dad's, sisters, aunties, Nanna and our friends we flew out to Hawaii.  We waited at the outdoor car rental stand at Honolulu airport and the consultant kindly told us that the car we booked would not fit all of our luggage!  As other travellers drove off in their Mustangs we drove off in our white Toyota Tarago van.  A short drive around Honolulu made us glad that the house we rented was on the North Shore and out of the hustle and bustle of the city.  It took us about an hour to get to the North Shore and we were over the moon with the house we chose on the Internet.

Hone Wai

Our backyard was the beach

Within minutes of walking in, Steve was walking on the beach and calling us to look at the Green Turtles feeding on the weed on the rocks.  Taylor even fed the turtles on our first swim, until we read that this was not a good idea.

Taylor swimming with turtles

We had a truly relaxing time in Hawaii.  The nearby historical town of Haleiwa was wonderful and had all we could ever need.  We did our grocery shopping at the Farmer's market on Sunday and ate out once a day at all sorts of small restaurants in Haleiwa which was also good for a bit of clothes and souvenir shopping.

Our visit to the Polynesian Cultural Centre

Australia Bound

We departed for our first trip back to Australia since arriving in Labrador City at the end of July.  We had gorgeous weather that week but on the day we were scheduled to fly out it was pouring rain.  We took our seats and were waiting on the Wabush tarmac at 11.30am for our Provincial Airlines flight to depart when the pilot announced that there was a problem.  The weather radar had failed and it was critical for the flight to Montreal on a day like today.  Off we got, back into the terminal to await furher news.  After a couple of hours we were booked onto the next flight out of Wabush at 6.30pm, meaning we would miss our flight to London that night, oh well, not much you can do.

Instead of catching our onward flight we booked into the airport hotel and spent the next day in Montreal.  It was Cooper's birthday so we went in search of some playgrounds.  We made the mistake of doing too much on our first day of holidays and by the afternoon we were hot and tired and we still had to get ready for our overnight flight to London.  Fortunately we all slept well on the flight and were excited to be in London the next morning.

We spent another three days in London, trying to see the sights with some rest time too.  We took a Thames river cruise, went on the London Eye, browsed at Harrods and by far the highlight for the boys was the Tower of London. Knights, swords, cannons, a castle, what more could they ask for?

Cooper & Kristy at the London Eye

Ryder and Cooper at the Tower of London

A Scorcher

We had our hottest day this year on Saturday, a scorcher at 27.6 degC.  Actually it did feel really hot so we decided to head down to Tanya Beach at about 11am on Saturday morning.  There were only a few families there when we arrived but by the time we left it in the afternoon it was the busiest place in Labrador City!

Now when I say beach I mean the sandy part of Tanya Lake.  The sand is a light brown colour and pretty coarse but it is like a beach.  Steve was extrememly keen and took the plunge out into the lake, he said it was the coldest water he had ever been in!  The kids don't seem to mind the cold water and were happy to play for hours in it.

For reference, it was the hottest recorded day this year and the coldest was -40.3 degC (without windchill factor) on Feb 14th.

Steve swimming in Tanya Lake

Tanya Lake in cooler days

Our first Canada Day

Last Friday the first of July was Canada Day.  We went along to the celebrations which were also the 50th anniversary celebrations for Labrador City.  There was a Newfie band playing and lots of free stuff for the kids,  we got flags, pins, tattoos and a show bag.  I was surprised when I arrived to see most people dressed in red or wearing Canada tops. 

In the afternoon we went to a Canada Day party with the some of the HSE team from IOC.  Fortunately the weather was awesome so we had a great first Canada Day!

Ryder waving his Canadian flag

Eating Fairy Floss

P.S. Steve has finally completed his dog sledding blog, check it out under April.

Our Cabin

We are now the proud owners of a cabin on Ashuanipi River!  It is very common for Newfie's to own a cabin but most people are surprised that some Aussies now have a cabin too.  I saw it for sale on the Labrador City Virtual Flea Market and suggested to Steve that we check it out.  A week later we are the new owners.

We had our first night at the cabin last weekend, we spent Saturday morning shopping for some essentials, such as new linen, and then Saturday afternoon we tidied up a bit so could enjoy our BBQ dinner and rest on Sunday.  The cabin has two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room and kitchen and is very comfortable. It came with everything in it including a generator shed and generator, with a remote start inside the cabin, a very full wood shed, a shed for the skidoo and an outhouse.

We also had our first visitors on Sunday, Jeff and Simone (recently arrived from Karratha) called in, as well as Leighann and Richard and their three boys.  The kids had a great time mucking around outside.

Ashuanipi River is about 60km away from our house towards Churchill Falls.  The road has only been paved in the last few years and our cabin is on a dirt track along the river, about 2km in.  In fact, we are right before the train line and can see the iron ore trains from our cabin!  The train has to sound it's horn because of the road crossing, it is very loud but I only heard it twice on Saturday night and no one else stirred at all.  Just like Dale Kerrigan says in The Castle "Location, Location, Location".  No really it's not that bad and there are other cabins nearby too!

The living room with an oil heater and a wood heater.

Looking towards the kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms on the left.

Our cabin from the driveway

Ashuanipi River, rail bridge



Returning to Labrador City

I must admit that I was a little worried about returning to Labrador City, we had quickly gotten used to the warm weather and I wasn't sure if I could cope with more snow.  There had been snow on the ground in October when we arrived and when we left in the first week of May it was still snowing.

Fortunately when we returned all the snow had finally melted.  The town looked very different but sort of dirty because all of the dirt and litter caught in the snowfall over the past eight months was left on the ground.  The town council had commenced lawn sweeping which is something I have never seen or heard of.  Basically they use a sweeper to sweep the sand and debris off your front lawn.  Once your lawn is swept it looks really nice, we also had a little bit of rain last Monday which is also greening up the lawn which had turned brown under the snow.

Tuesday night must have been cold as the Monday rain turned to snow and on Wednesday the whole town was white again!  I couldn't believe it!  However when I drove home from work on Wednesday it had melted again; thank God.  Our idea of nice weather has changed significantly from our days in Karratha.  The past week has been up to 18 degrees but mostly around 12 degrees.  This prompts everyone to get out and about, there are people out walking and gardening, the local park is busy with kids and even though it's not really that warm you feel like it's ok to wear t-shirts and sandals.  After a week or so back here I can say that we are happy to be back in our home.

Lawn sweeping

Ports of call

We stopped at three different ports while on the cruise. St Maarten was our favourite, this island is half French, half Dutch.  The beach was a short way from the ship and the shops were right behind the beach.  It had a real Caribbean feel with colorful buildings, music playing and a gorgeous beach.  We spent the whole day on the beach which was really relaxing.

The island of St Maarten

Ryder on the beach at St Maarten

Our second port was in the US Virgin Islands, St Thomas.  While this was lovely too we just didn't have the same good feeling like in St Maarten.  It was more expensive and it was 20 minute drive across to the other side of the island to get to Magen's Beach which was great but too crowded.

The third port was our last day on the cruise, Castaway Cay is an island in the Bahamas owned by Disney.  Again, we spent the day on the beach.  There was a water park and water slides for the kids and the water was a perfect temperature to stay in for ages.  We made the most of the beaches as this is something we really miss in Labrador City!

Busy beach at Castaway Cay

A photo opportunity!!

Cruisin’

The next two days were spent at sea.  Cooper enjoyed himself by playing Fooseball, swimming and spending time on the waterslide.  Ryder enjoyed the babies water play area and just being outside in the sun for a change.  Taylor went to learn how to draw Disney animations and we all watched a couple of 3D movies plus some other Disney classics on the big screen by the pool.  The pool snacks were hard to resist; pizza, tacos, burgers, fries, chicken strips plus some healthier options of salads, sliced fruit and delicious wraps.  The kids went to the kids club and nursery for a few hours while Steve and I relaxed by the adults only pool.

Looking off deck 10

All Aboard!!

We arrived at Port Canaveral, Florida just after lunchtime.  There were two ships in Port including our ship, the Disney Magic.  Check in was very smooth with the excellent service that was standard for the rest our cruise.  All my last minute panicking about whether we needed visas for the Caribbean islands we were visiting was allayed as he scanned our passports but then we came across a glitch, passport control had not stamped Taylor’s passport for the US.  We had a few tense moments as they checked this out, but since Taylor was under 18 and the other four passports were OK they allowed us to board, phew!

Disney Magic at Port Canaveral, Florida

We stepped on board the Disney Magic and they announced the Campbell Family!  The ship is described a modern classic with design features that you might imagine on the Titanic!  A gorgeous lobby with an atrium, wooden handrails, marble bathrooms.  Our room was roomy enough with a double bed, a couch, three fold-down beds, a split bathroom and a balcony.

Disney Magic Lobby and Atrium

We headed straight for the buffet lunch then out on deck for a look around, and a welcome drink of course!  We set sail just after 4pm when the ship sounded its horn with a Disney tune. 

The bow of the Disney Magic

Walt Disney World, Orlando Florida USA

Cooper was very impressed when he woke up in the morning in his pirate ship bed at the Disney Caribbean Resort.  The weather was lovely and warm so we headed off to Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios.  It did feel a little surreal walking into Disney World, there was some great street entertainment and it wasn’t too busy so Steve and Taylor went on some rollercoaster rides.  Cooper and I had a long wait for the Toy Story ride but it was great fun in the 3D shooting gallery once we got there.  After a long lunch we went back to the resort pool and took the kids swimming in the pirate themed pool which again was a hit with Cooper! 

 

Day two at Disney World started with a character breakfast at the Magical Palace with Pooh bear and friends.  Ryder was scared but Cooper had a photo with all the characters.  The kids got to go on lots of rides today including the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the Jungle Cruise.  I had real trouble getting Ryder off the carousel and he threw a big tantrum once I prised him off the horse.

The pirate merchandise was hard to resist

Day three was overcast and as soon as we entered the Disney World Animal Kingdom Steve was off buying us all plastic ponchos for the rain.  It didn’t rain too much and we had a good look around, our favourite ride was the Kali Rapid ride which is similar to the rapids ride at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast.  I got saturated as we slid to the bottom of a big rapid and all the water rushed in on top of me.  As I walked back looking for Steve lots of people said ‘I guess you’ve been on the rapids ride?’ I didn’t see anyone with wetter clothes than me.  Cooper loved it and wanted Steve to come on with him again so they lined up for another turn.

Tree of Life at Magical Kingdom

After three days at Disney I am happy to say I have seen it and don’t feel the need to go back again.  There were a lot of shows and rides I didn’t do but it was great to be there and see everything going on around us, the level of detail they go to was amazing, in the Animal Kingdom it really was like being in a street in Kathmandu, the street entertainers were great and the parades with all the characters were definitely a highlight.

On Friday night Taylor and I headed to Downtown Disney to see Cirque du Soleil La Nouba.  This was a great night out and we were amazed at the circus as this was our first Cirque Du Soleil.  It was hard to say what was the best but the five little girls with Diablo’s doing acrobatics got the loudest clap at the end.  We finished with a dinner at Planet Hollywood.

Taylor enjoying a non-alcoholic cocktail at Planet Hollywood