Toonik Tyme

Toonik Tyme was from April 15-20 in Iqaluit. Although there were many activities, we were sorry that we didn't get out to many of them.

One of the events was at Parents & Tots, so we had some country food: frozen char, muktuk and bannock. Oh and there was cake, too...
   

And the craft was making igloos with icing and marshmellows. No complaints from the kids!

Update:

Here are some pictures from the "Sugar Shack" at the Francophone Society. See if you can spot our local "super hero" - Polar Man!

Random catching up

Sunrise, Sunset

For those who have been wondering, the sun is noticeably rising earlier and setting later.

Here are a couple of pictures to demonstrate:

April 8, 2009 at 10:06 a.m.	November 10, 2008 at 10:04 a.m.
Sunrise: 5:28 a.m. Sunset: 7:46 p.m. Length of day: 14h 18m 20s	Sunrise: 7:45 a.m. Sunset: 2:50 p.m. Length of day: 7h 05m 01s

Throughout April, we are gaining approximately 6 1/2 minutes of light every day, so the month looks like this:

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Length of day
Apr 1, 2009	5:52 AM	7:25 PM	13h 33m 15s
Apr 8, 2009	5:28 AM	7:46 PM	14h 18m 20s
Apr 15, 2009	5:03 AM	8:07 PM	15h 03m 36s
Apr 22, 2009	4:39 AM	8:28 PM	15h 49m 04s
Apr 26, 2009	4:25 AM	8:40 PM	16h 15m 07s
Apr 29, 2009	4:15 AM	8:50 PM	16h 34m 38s

Why would bedtimes be a problem?!


Another busy day at playgroup

I believe they counted 44 kids on this day.

March 21-26

March 21 - Miami, FL

The night before we labelled our luggage with the earliest tags (meaning our luggage would be off the ship and we could leave with the earliest group), then ended up ready to get off even before that. We were in a bit of a hurry, because they had announced that the taxi cabs in Miami had gone on strike for the day and there were only 13 working. And we needed a taxi. So "the guy" let us get off with the people who were carrying all their luggage off. Even though he wasn't supposed to, but he had let another family off, as well. Seemed like a good idea to my dear hubby. Really, we could have eaten a snack, or something, as once we got to the bottom we realized, we were leaving the terminal building and we didn't have any luggage. So we got to wait with the other family for them to open the door to the luggage area so we could go in with all the other people who had pink tags. Not much of a time saver. But there was all our luggage, all together and the porter grabbed it for us and got us outside. And there was a whole long line of cabs. I'm guessing if you are a cabbie in Miami, the lure of Saturday cruise day negates any strike action. We figured with the amount of time it took him to get us from the port to the airport (where we were renting yet another car) that he could do at least another 4 trips that morning. Then there would be all the people needing to get to the port to get on the ships. I bet striking could wait until Sunday.

So we got our rental car and headed off for our hotel. And once we got there, we got a message from our house-sitter saying that the cruise line had called and we had the wrong bag. Huh? How could we have put it in a taxi, taken it out, wheeled it around the car rental place, found a perfect place for it between the kids, driven it to a hotel and have never noticed it was the wrong bag? I don't know, but we did. Back in the car (worked out okay, our room wasn't ready yet), back to the Port of Miami, convince all the porters that, in fact, I don't want them to take this bag, and yes, I do want to take it up to the terminal building, get the right bag, realize we should have been able to tell by weight alone, and back to the hotel we go. By this time the kids are absolutely sick of being in a car, soooo..... we strap them in and go for supper! 

March 22 - Coral Springs, FL

We went to a mall. A big mall. With outlet stores and such in it. And we walked around and bought a couple of items of clothing. Ate some more. Went back to the hotel and packed. That's always the most fun of any trip, right? The packing at the end of it?

March 23 - Fort Lauderdale, FL to Ottawa, ON

Some tired boys made it onto the plane and back to Ottawa. I can't over-emphasize how happy a was to have found a non-stop flight. With TVs in the seat.

March 24-26 - Ottawa, ON

We spent a couple of days shopping and stocking up. We had a big list, but we got it all, including a trip to Quebec (unintentional) for an Action-Packer (which they had), the only way to pack stuff to come up north. Another car, this time a van, more tired kids, a visit with a friend for supper (with two surprisingly well-behaved children - ours). Then on a plane back to Iqaluit. With no TVs. Sigh.

I think we had a very good trip. We all got along. Only one major meltdown. No major problems, other than Craig's ear. We learned a lot, I think, but I'm glad we did it. We had a lot of fun and made a lot of good memories! We wouldn't mind keeping our trip in June a little bit more low-key though, okay?

March 19-20

March 19 - At Sea

Craig was feeling a bit better. As in, he came out of the cabin to eat with us. Liam spent most of the day at the Kids' Crew. Craig had decided that the only thing he had really wanted to do onboard was eat at the Teppanyaki restaurant. So we got in on quite short notice. The kids both went to the Kids' Crew, who were taking them to the stage show (a Bollywood production, if I'm not mistaken). And we went out for supper, then for a walk outside, then for a drink at the bar. I know, it kinda sounds like a date, doesn't it? We already knew from previous nights that there is no point in picking the kids up early. And we had bumped into the group coming out of the elevator. The youth supervisor was holding Logan, and he almost looked asleep - and she moved very quickly to make sure he didn't see us, so we took that as a sign.

March 20 - Great Stirrup Cay

Great Stirrup Cay is NCL's private island. All four of us got off the ship and went ashore for some time in the sand.

Since he still couldn't get wet, Craig was in charge of the camera. And he took some really nice pictures, too! Here are just a few of them...

March 14-18

March 14 - Miami, FL

We got to Miami from Disney World without anything exciting happening (whew!). We spent a couple of precious hours sleeping at a hotel before returning the car to the airport and getting a taxi to the Port of Miami. I'm glad we were there an hour earlier than they suggested for boarding the ship - things always go so much more smoothly with the kids when their parents aren't panicking. Go figure!

Here is Miami from the ship.

March 15 - At Sea

I spent the day sleeping off my cold. Craig spent the day developing an ear infection. All good. We introduced Liam to the kids' centre. He wasn't too eager at first, but the promise of a Teddy Bears' Picnic convinced him. Plus, everybody else needed a nap!

March 16 - Samana, Dominican Republic

0930: Craig goes to the doctor, who gives him some drops, but says he doesn't have an ear infection. Craig spends the day in our cabin, his ear/head hurting too much to move.

I took the kids around the ship, but I still wasn't 100%, and Samana appeared to be pretty underdeveloped for me to feel like taking the kids ashore by myself.

1600: The doctor's office opens again and Craig is waiting for them. The doctor says he's never seen an ear infection develop so quickly. At this point fluid is coming out. Not a good thing. Doctor gives Craig antibiotics (oral and ear drops) and Tylenol 3's. Also tells him not to go ashore the next day, or to get his head wet.

A picture of Samana from the ship....

March 17 - St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

I am feeling better by now and decide to venture off the ship with the kids. There are no tenders involved here, which makes it easier for me. Hooray for the new stroller. Having done my research (aha!, told you it would come in handy!) I knew that the gondola was within walking distance. So off we went, stopping in a few shops on the way. I was a bit worried to be by myself - having those little guys to be responsible for sure makes you think twice about things! There were so many sirens when we first got off that I actually thought about turning around; sirens = not safe, to me. Turns out the Holland America ship next to us had a small fire on board. We finally made it to the gondola, then realized we would have to leave the stroller at the bottom because of all the stairs to get up to the platform. They must have felt sorry for me: They only charged for me! We went up the gondola, walked around the top, saw the bird show, bought some water, met some people from Saskatchewan who were wearing their Rider T-shirts, looked through those binocular things that you put money in and went back down. Because by then we were beat! And our stroller was still there. Deep sigh of relief!

March 18 - Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Unfortunately Craig was still too sick to get off the ship. So off the three of us went again. It was a fairly long, hot walk to town, with tents selling things along the way. Once we got to buildings, it seemed like it was going to be a lot further before getting to anything touristy. So I made the executive decision (with the help of some whining) that we would just find a place to sit down and have a drink. I must have gone completely opposite from the touristy stuff, because we ended up at a "real" restaurant where clearly people have business lunches and moms with kids don't come along looking for a cold drink. Fortunately, it was after lunch, so not too busy. We had lemonade, but their other drinks looked very appetizing. I wasn't sure I'd be able to steer the stroller back to the ship, so I had a lemonade, too.

Sunset that night, from on the ship.

March 13

March 13 - Magic Kingdom, WDW

Our last day at Disney World. Craig picked up our rental car, we checked out of the hotel, then off for a couple of rides and some treats.

Mandatory pictures of towel folding:

March 12

March 12 - Chef Mickey's & Magic Kingdom, WDW

As seems to happen so easily, we stayed up too late the night before. We had breakfast reservations for Chef Mickey's at (gasp!) 0705. When it takes at least half and hour to get there, it makes for a very early morning. Fortunately somebody cancelled and we managed to get switched to 0750, I think. We were still 5 minutes late, but it was okay because they build in time to take your picture before you go in so they can sell it to you after. So we just skipped that part. It wasn't with a character, or anything.

Chef Mickey's - Character Breakfast

The anticipation is building...

And here they are!

On the way from the Contemporary Resort, where breakfast was, to the Magic Kingdom, we took the monorail again. This time, though, we were asked if we wanted to sit in the front with the driver (conductor?). I think they try to pick a family to ride up there each time. The boys thought it was pretty cool.

First up at the Magic Kingdom was a return to Adventureland for a stop at the pineapple place. On our first day we had a pineapple float kind of thing and Craig was pretty sure if we only did one thing that day we had to go back for more!

We finally convinced Logan to put his puppy backpack/harness on, instead of carrying it. Take a good look, this was the only time!

The pictures of our day in the Magic Kingdom end abruptly here. After pineapple, we went back to Tomorrowland for another Buzz Lightyear ride. And then Liam had a meltdown. I have some awesome video of him screaming allllll the way from Tomorrowland to the bus. I can't share that though. I'm saving it for his wedding.....

We went back to the resort. Everybody but me had a 3 hour nap. I did laundry. Which sounds like I got the bad end of the deal. But honestly, I got to spend a couple of hours sitting by the pool, talking to a complete stranger. And my children were nowhere in sight. And I didn't have to figure out another time to do laundry. And the laundry wasn't busy. It was perhaps the most relaxing part of the trip for me!

After everybody was refreshed we went to Downtown Disney. We waited for the bus. It never came. And we were getting hungry, and tired of wasting our day in a bus line. So we hopped on a bus to Epcot, which in our minds would take us to the monorail. Not so. However, there are many, many taxis at Epcot. And Craig was pretty much done with us figuring out a free way to get there that at this point was not going to be quicker. So we took a taxi. Worth every penny. 

We ate supper at Wolfgang Puck's Express, which is as close as we will probably get to eating at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant. Is was delicious! If you are on the quick-service dining plan, you must go here. It is not really quick-service, but it counts on the plan!