Family Reunion

Since it's been chilly, we've all been sleeping on mattresses in the daycare. All of us, except Keegan, that is. He is in his glory, sleeping in the cold, AND in my comfy feather bed. He's been too hot at night ever since we got here. And he's got no ventilation through his window because he covered it up with cardboard to block out the sun.

I should tell you how Ezra has been amusing us. Lynn wants the kids to call her by her first name. However, I have so ingrained in my children's brains that they should address their elders as 'Mr. of Mrs.', they find it difficult to do otherwise. Ezra, being his usual precocious self, has had no qualms making toy and food requests, but he calls her with, "MR. Hanthorn. MR. Hanthoooooooorn!" Naturally, I don't think Lynn always realizes Ezra's talking to her, which just makes him say it louder and more insistently. I've given up trying to correct him.

We had another Math morning on Tuesday. I made viking cereal so the Hanthorns could try our daily breakfast. Then Annah and Ruth taught guitar chords, and Bronwyn showed everyone the ropes- or should I say STRINGS-on the violin. Would you believe, after our 'lessons', Lynn informed us that someone gave their family a violin that very day. Now they have one of their own. God works in mysterious and wonderful ways.

In the afternoon, we cleaned and packed so we could pick Kurt up at the airport. We waited for Kurt's call, and it finally came, but Kurt said his plane was delayed until 2 am. We decided to wait until the morning to make the drive.

Scott, one of the biologists, had a meeting in Inuvik and thought it would be a good idea to drive our vehicles to Inuvik together as a safety measure. It's kind of nice that up here people traveling still have to depend on God and the good will of their fellow man instead of their cellphones. We got off to a good start, but Scott forgot his wallet and had to turn back.. We continued on alone and made the first ferry. It was late coming over so Scott managed to catch up with us on the ferry. He asked me if I had asked the deckhand to hold the ferry for him. "No", I said sheepishly but I sure wish I had thought of that. I'm glad he didn't miss it on my account. So much for looking out for MY fellow man. The roads were the worst I've driven on here. They were wet, slick, with potholes you could get lost in, by Scott's description. We had to dodge them the whole way. It was a long 3 hours, but the conditions sure kept me alert. It was not like a head-nodding drive to Edson.

We picked up Kurt and it was so good to be together as a family again. We immediately drove back to the fruit truck we passed on the way in. I've had to buy some produce in McPhoo, and not only is it even more expensive than in Inuvik, but often of poor quality. so we leaped at the chance for some fresh food and other staples. I was elated and told Bill, the fruit man, he made my day. Kurt joked, "She didn't even say that when she saw me." Bill retorted, "Well, you better trade her in then!" OK, maybe I should have rephrased that. Bill made my day great day of being reunited with my husband EVEN BETTER.

We went to the crew house and gorged ourselves on fruit. It was wonderful. We picked up some Northern souvenirs, played some fun games we learned from the Hanthorns, and went swimming.

We stayed overnight at the crewhouse and went swimming again on Thursday. It was gratifying to see how the kids' swimming skills have improved with some skilled instruction. Bronwyn did her 40 lengths in half the time it took her before. Keegan's front crawl is looking great, and even Josiah and Mackenzie did 40 lengths each. Diana and Naomi were like fish, with their flippers on. Naomi looked so funny swimming underwater with her eyes wide-open. They bugged out like she was in a perpetual state of surprise. Estelle and Evangeline floated on their backs in the hot tub. Ezra floated calmly on his back or crunched up like a ball, like he was born in the water. Come to think of it, he WAS born in the water!

We ran into Paul again at the pool. (He was the one who recommended us as tourists of the week.) We rendezvoused with his later at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse. It is the most northern greenhouse in North America and the only community greenhouse of its kind in the world. Its purpose is to ensure a more successful harvest and allow production of a greater variety of crops in an area where fresh economical produce is often unavailable. Paul gave us beet greens, bok choy, lettuce, and a bunch of herbs from his plot. You can't get fresher than that.

Kurt had a good stint at Johnson's Point. He saw two polar bears and some seals floating by on some ice in the distance. I hope he adds to my blog and fills you in on all the details. (Hint, hint, Kurt) I drove Kurt to the airport this morning, and maybe just maybe, we'll get to see him in 10 days or so.