My day, turning 47, was filled with
love and wonder...

Starting the day right with a birthday breakfast !!



We collected our dear friend &
headed out for a family hike in the Park...

stopping for a chocolate break :)

Thomas joined in the fun...

My handsome honey!!

 

the FitzGerald Innukshuk!! 

What an awesome day!
After a hot breakfast we
headed out to the Rock Glacier Trail.
Sarah Grace was SO excited about "Climbing (her) first mountain!" 
She glowed all day!!
Adelaide couldn't get enough
of the berries and other plants. 
Thomas took a quiet moment
in the sunshine
while the four FitzGeralds
built a unique Innukshuk...  

 

Madly in love :) xoxo

 Snuggles and giggles were shared...



Perfection in the forest

Autumn was all decked out with her Cranberries in abundance
 

 

And the girls were thrilled
with the great outdoors!!

 

Perfection on the breeze

And then back to enjoy our comfy home..

a spot of food colouring goes a long way...

My beautiful flowers from Adelaide & Sarah Grace!!

 In the end...
the best part was
spending an entire day
 focused on family...
there is no greater gift :)

Making wishes ...





Me and my girls :) 


Hummmmm...
I'm one lucky Mum :)

 

Once upon a time,

a woman lived in a

 big grey house in the far North.

 Tucked into the Boreal Forest,

she toiled away in her garden,

 making it a fragrant paradise of

 texture and colour that fed her senses.

  While she loved this place so,

 the day came when she had to move away,

 leaving her cherished little garden behind.

  The little paradise waited

 day in and day out

 for its gardener to return

 with loving hands and heart,

 but she did not

so,

 eventually, the flowers and trees

 fell into a deep state of mourning...

  

  Years passed

 and while the gardener did not return,

 and the place became
unrecognizable with weeds,

 the beautiful plants persisted

 holding onto memories
of happier days gone by,
 in spite of their
saddened hearts.

Then it happened...

a family,
 though different than the old gardener,

 arrived on cool summer day

 and chose to call the place home!!

  The children played and the dogs romped,

 the man inspected the buildings

 and the woman,

 with hope in her heart

 and a bottle of robaxicet in pocket,

 took to the garden...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and once again...

the little garden knew love.
:)



Big news!!

You'd better sit down for this one...

So..life has changed a bit, for us, as of late!!

We got it into our heads that it was a time for a change & in the blink of an eye,

 the sign was nailed to the tree...

Our humble little cabin was listed for sale!

Who was going to buy this, our, crazy piece of the Yukon

with all of its quirks & cracks??

Who would walk through the door of our little cabin

 and fall in love with her?

Who could possible see her imperfections & still call her home?

Well...

it only took one week for that special person

 to knock on our door!!

 

 

And the deal was struck!

S.O.L.D

And four weeks later...
 we found ourselves owing 2600 sq' of modern amenities!

 

 

Offering ample room for two four year olds to tumble!!

 

 

Now the big choice is ...
 Which of the three bathrooms should we use next?

I can't believe there is no more outhouse Nor
 will I ever have to clean another chamber pot!!

Heck, no more outdoor potty &
no more indoor mosquitoes!!!

WOW!!!
 

 

OH... and a functional kitchen with SO many cupboards that
 there is no mess on the counter!

AND cooking is actually FUN!

 

hummmmmmmmmmmm....

BIG CHANGES??

You bet'cha!

 

Do I miss our little cabin in the wood
with all of her crazy imperfections, quirks & cracks?

ABSOLUTELY!!

 

But...

I'll adjust ;)  

 

December started off with a Flurry of furry!!

I invited Leonbergers from the Territory to our first ever Yukon Leonberger Gathering ! And what a fine success it was!!

Nine out of ten were able to attend!! It amazed me how these massive dogs, mostly all strangers to one another, could get along so brilliantly!! So often when we are out and about we get stopped by passers by, "Wow, what kind of dog is that?" Followed with, "a WHAT?" It was so awesome to see the different dogs at our gathering and also to meet their families, who know all about this magnificent breed :) Each of these dogs are equally stunning examples of what make Leos so outstanding!!!

It was also wonderful to see how consistent their dispositions are!! They really are gentle giants! It was also interesting to see how small Winnie (second from left) was beside the older dogs!!

To my good fortune, Kelly came along with her big boy Bruce (the largest of the group that day at 136 lbs) She spent the entire time hanging out with the girls, leaving me available to get my full Leo-Fix!! The fact that Kelly is also a ballerina had Sarah over the moon from the first day they met :) and Adelaide was rather excited to have Kelly there too...even if she isn't into mighty machines ;)

This is my Winnie getting a typical drink of water...

and in fine Leo style, she promised it share it with EVERYONE...over and over again!!

That day, she played her heart out keeping up with the big dogs!! In fact, she was determined to become best friends with all who attended!! This pup could have cared less if you were dog or human...in her books everyone was a potential playmate!!

While others were getting their photos taken, dear little Winnie found the water again!

She was SO happy to sit in her puddle & cool off! Needless to say, all that observed Winnie's antics were completely amused :)

At this moment I was grateful that I'd thought to bring a few towels because this girl was on deck for her photo op and she was soaked to the skin!! I'd wager she held half of the contents of the bucket in the fur on her snout & ears!! What a turkey!! Before we called it a day, we towelled down my girl before Sheila (owner of the Neighbourhood Pup where the party was held) & Val (Loyal Mummy to three Leos) showed me how to "stack" Winnie for conformation shots & the show ring! All she wanted to do was go back to the play-room (and her bucket, no doubt!)...she was worried that she might miss something...
Sortly after our photo shoot, we made our good-byes & promises to do it all over again sooner than later! Then it was off to truck. From that point Winnie slept the entire 4 hours it took us to run a few errands & drive home! Even when she made her way into the cabin, my puppy basically headed straight for her kenel & crashed all over again!

Hummm....note to self: Too tired to chew!!!!!

Yes, we MUST do this again soon!!

November brought lots of wonderful moments to photograph!!

While Winnie continued to prove herself to be an awesome buddy & playmate for the girls, it has been Adelaide who gravitates to her the most! This child is so proud of her dog and possess a confidence that is astounding...this massive puppy actually LISTENS to her tiny friend!!! A rather amusing scene to witness...

She even continued to make room for the girls in her bed...even though she had managed to outgrow it herself! Sarah Grace grew to be even more stunning...not sure how THAT could be possible but, every time she'd wink at me, I'd simply melt!

At some point I suddenly noticed just how low the sun was in the sky! while I miss the bright rays of summer, I DO love the look of the sun peeking through the snowy forest...
And weekends took us to Whitehorse for Dance classes :) Every time I look at the girls dressed in their ballet suits, I pause and wonder when exactly they grew up...and the moon seemed to keep dazzling us in all it's phases...

while Winnie kept dazzling us with her ability to behead her stuffies!!!

Hummmmm....I can't seem to get enough photos of these three :)

This photo is not unique to November...Adelaide & Sarah have been best friends from the beginning and both Sean & I are grateful for that :) While I can well remember life before kids (and it DID have its merits), these two girls have made it so much more interesting! I'd not wish away a single day with my girls :)

With winter well entrenched, November did end on a rather beautiful note this year! And while the mountains created their own magic, like they always do, the Ravens put that magic over the top, Like THEY always do :)

Adelaide & Sarah had their birthday on November 10th. Turning 4 years old is a VERY big deal, such a big deal that Aunt Maureen flew North to help celebrate!

AND such a big deal that one of the birthday presents was delivered in a FIVE TON TRUCK! Aunt Maureen & Uncle Ian had 3 1/2 bush cords of fire wood dumped in the front yard! Not only will this incredible load keep the girls warm this winter BUT it will also provide the girls with more Daddy time!! This amount of fire wood would take Sean at least three full days to harvest & bring home!! AND needless to say he'd be rather tuckered out & sore after that!! & not only did the girls get winter warmth & Daddy time out of this deal...they also got a ride in a VERY cool mighty machine! Now THAT is a might cool gift :)

The three gals had fun together, hiking on the magic trail too! The Birthday Bunny (a close relative of the Chocolate Smartie Goblin) was pooping on the trail...and WHO was first to find his scat? The FitzGerald girls! In fact, it was chocolate money they found...the only thing better than real money is the chocolate kind ;) I sure hope one of these creatures make use of our trails again soon!!
While in Spain, Uncle Ian found this gem...a beautiful hot pink Flamenco dress! Sarah was SO thrilled :) She has even worn it to her ballet class now so that her instructors and classmates could see it! She looks so gorgeous AND grown up...

When you turn 4, there has to be a fancy cake involved so in Dodds style I baked Grandee's carrot cake & smothered it in cream cheese icing (Must say...I killed the icing this year LOL) but it looked fun no matter with a princess doll & a back hoe on top!! In this photo the girls are covering their eyes so that the cake is a surprise although I am sure they saw it a FEW times before it make it to the table! It's pretty hard to pull of a surprise in a small cabin ;)

The next day we had friends at Kathleen Lake to continue the celebrations :) This is both Adelaide's and Sarah's favourite place! We decorated cupcakes & soccer. Everyone seemed to have a great time and the weather cooperated! It was relatively warm out & not a breath of wind was to be had so, by the time we left at the end of the afternoon, the grounds were covered with the best snow angels ever:)

Isaac, a dear friend was one of the party goers...the only boy & a VERY good sport! Being a rather grown up six year old, he was patient with the younger crowd and a real charmer to boot! Adelaide worships Isaac and the sparkle in her eyes here tells the tale ;) She'd follow him to the ends of the earth...good thing he is a fine boy ;)

It was a busy birthday weekend and at the end of it, I treated us out to our new favourite restaurant. It is a cozy little place in the heart of town with a perfect view of the mountains! Not only are the owners as wonderful as can be and the view worth a million bucks, the food is superb! It was a nice treat to be there...
This little munchkin was exhausted & yet bouncing with glee over yet another parcel! Apparently the novelty of receiving gifts had not work off yet!

And the novelty of having Aunt 'Reen with us could NEVER wear off! They LOVE this woman & as you can see, the feelings are mutual :) She lights up as much as they do when together :)

Before dinner came to an end, Adelaide was falling asleep on the table & Sarah's head was on my lap! It was no wonder...we'd had a very full weekend of parcels and cake, family time and party time...

and they were little troopers ... my little troopers ;) Where DID the last 4 years go? You know, four really is my new favourite number ;)