Explaining Iqaluit to your kids

..............when you don't really know what you are talking about. 

When we told our children we would be going up to Iqaluit "for awhile" they were initially pretty excited.  They knew hubby and I had gone up without them before, and felt left out. This time they were excited to be able to join us.

"Will we see northern lights?" asked DJ, age 7.  "Not in the summer, no.  In fact, in the summer up there its daylight most of the time.  Even at night."

"WHAT?" exclaimed Coraline, with the typical drama of a 10 year-old girl. "How will I ever sleep?  This is a DISASTER! Can we put boards over the windows?"

"NO," I told her firmly. "We will not be hammering boards over the windows.  I will look into getting you a sleep mask and we'll put up blackout blinds."

Slightly mollified, she quickly changed the subject.

Sleep masks from Amazon.  I hope we don't need the earplugs...

Later I showed them some books I had picked up online so they could read about where we are going before we actually get there.

"This is their LANGUAGE? Weird!!" exclaimed Coraline, again with much drama, as she perused Nunavut's Discovery Magazine for Kids.  The slim magazine is half in Inuktitut, half in English.

Inuktitut page about beluga whales

"There are no trees?" said DJ, in shock, after we read Lyn Hancock's book, Nunavut.  "How can we breathe?" Slightly panicked. "Will we be able to breathe?" Yes, we will be able to breathe.

"Arctic char and caribou?  Do we have to eat those?" I reassured DJ that while arctic char and caribou are common dishes, when hubby and I were there we were also able to order pizza and buy other food. "Oh, good" he sighed, visibly relieved.

Needless to say I am expecting some culture shock, but I hope know the kids will roll with it.

On Friday two of Coraline's friends from skating had a "farewell" dinner for her!  It was at Wacky's, a restaurant with an attached arcade (I was unfamiliar with Wacky's, but quickly learned its kind of like Dave and Buster's).  The kids had lots of fun playing arcade games and eating junk. Coraline received a photo frame with pics of her and the girls figure skating to hang in her room in Iqaluit!  It was really sweet, and will remind Coraline of home.

Coraline with friends from figure skating

In addition to prepping the kids, I'm trying to get the dog (Buffy) ready for the trip.  We adopted Buffy from a rescue group about a year and a half ago.  She came to us as a terrified little girl who had just had a litter of puppies. The puppies were all adopted quickly, after all, everyone loves puppies! Sadly Buffy--who was only 2 years old at most--wasn't wanted.  She is a quiet, friendly dog who LOVES people. She has been the perfect addition to our family. (Plug for rescue dogs: please keep in mind if you are ever adopting that all dogs need homes and lots of mature dogs have wonderful personalities.) Nothing makes Buffy happier than a belly rub. She is content to lounge around on the couch all day. She is not, however, excited about her travel crate. We're working on that.

Helping Buffy get used to her new crate,
 with freeze dried chicken treats!

Our next post will be from the road or after we arrive!  Our internet may take several days to install, and then will be slow, so please be patient.