Another Tournament

This weekend took us to another basketball tournament! We enjoyed cheering on our favorite big sister and Cooper especially loved running around the court during half time.

 

Divide and Conquer

This morning Mr. Stannix made sure to water all of our new plants! For the first few weeks it's super important that we keep them well watered so that the roots develop properly.

His little side kick followed him around and loved patting the step so that Daddy would come and sit beside him. It was the cutest!

Up at the garden, Lily was helping Gramma pick asparagus! We are getting basketfuls a day and it's pretty yummy!

Then It was off to Calgary for Camilla, the big boys, Cooper & I for a basketball tournament.

And off to Camrose for Daddy, Fin & Oliver for an intense soccer tournament.

Sunshine

This little boy keeps my on my toes all day!!

But I wouldn't have it any other way!!

 

Multitasking

The day began early like always! I got all of the kids off to school and even managed a picture of my big girl before she left for track and field.

Cooper and I went for a morning walk and I loved watching him wander around in his overalls!

I was trying to fix the underground dog fence (that hasn't been dug underground yet) because I think it got split by one of the big machines that were here moving dirt. The sight of this boy in his farmer overalls just cracked me up all morning long!

The landscaping is officially complete and we are able to park out front again. I'm super excited to finally have stairs to our front door and a lovely patio to enjoy!

After dinner I took Joe to town to ref a soccer game, dropped the other kids at the church for activities, unloaded bikes and then turned on my Relief Society zoon training. With my mic muted, we drove to a park where I watched them play on the slide and pushed a few of them on the swings while listening and taking notes. 

We ended up leaving the park just as the meeting was wrapping up and made it to the stinky outhouse at the soccer field just in time to avoid a bathroom emergency for one of the littles.  

We picked up Joe from reffing and then made our way to the church to grab the other boys from their biking activity. 

When we got home, Grampa and Daddy were chatting at the canoe trailer, so we joined them and watched the sun sink down to the trees. I was so tired after the kids went to bed that I went to the freezer for my tiny tub of ice cream and ended up leaving my phone on the freezer shelf. It took me a while to find it and I laughed at myself when I did. This mamma needs some sleep!!

 

Sunset

I live for moments like these...

 

Playing with Bees

Today a dear friend invited me out to play with the bees. A few years ago I picked up a bee suit and a couple of new hives with the idea to grab a few nucs come spring. After painting them and getting them ready, our order ended up being cancelled. I ended up pregnant shortly after, so it was kind of a blessing. I have such a great desire to get into beekeeping in the future, but finding the right time is so tricky with everything else we've got going on.

This morning we installed five nucs and I learned a lot in the process! It was so fun and something I could definitely see myself doing in the future! 

It fascinates me.

I loved checking each frame for the queen before setting it in its new hive.

Nature is incredible!

 

Special Announcement

We have another sweet bundle joining our crew at the end of the year and we couldn't be more thrilled! 

I went to visit my midwife a couple of days ago to see if we could listen to baby and she picked up the heartbeat right away! I was so relieved! I haven't been sick at all this pregnancy and was worried it meant I had miscarried or something. She told me I just had a very considerate baby and to enjoy it. We can't wait to meet him/her in December!

 

Blossom Season

I love blossom season! The Big River Crabapple trees that line our driveway have just started to pop and the pink flowers are stunning!

I had to go out and admire them up close this morning.

When I decided to sit and relax for a little while, Cooper found me and climbed right on up.

Then he proceeded to climb even higher and turn the lights on and off a million times... 

In the late afternoon we had the opportunity to take Hyrum & Joe to the Edmonton temple to do baptisms. We left the littles at home with Gramma and Grampa and it was nice to spend time with these two!

Afterwards we ventured to a restaurant for some yummy food and good conversation. They are growing up far to fast and I so treasure moments like these!

 

Landscaping

For the last few weeks we've had a crew of landscapers here working away on the hill out front. They moved a lot of dirt and placed a lot of blocks and it's fun to see this space finally come together!

 

Finishing the landscape has really added the finishing touch that the house needed. Now people can finally use our front door without having to walk through the mud/grass that was once here. They did such a great job and we are happy with how it all has come together!

 

Back to School

We are back to school after the long weekend.

This was our morning...

Afternoon....

And Evening.

 

Sleeping on the Job

Today we dug the last of the tiny spruce trees from the middle of the property and kindly disposed of them (they were sad and tiny) and then filled in all of the holes with top soil. 

Oliver was thrilled to be allowed to drive the side by side in the field and help us out!

Cooper quickly played himself out and ended up falling asleep on the job!

 

Tie Game

Today we planted some more trees! Camilla, Hyrum, Joe & a neighbor boy were a huge help all afternoon!

Shortly before 10pm I went out to call the boys in from the "soccer field" and Fin, putting both his gloved hands on either side of his head, hollered back, "We can't quit NOW! It's a TIE GAME!"

As I watched the sun set and listened to the frog song I couldn't help but take a deep breath of gratitude.

The boys were wrestling and laughing in a two on two game that was doomed to be tied all night.

It was a beautiful sight.

 

A Days Work

Today we worked on planting trees on our new acreage just behind us. We dug over twenty holes and then went around the open field digging up the tiny spruce trees and transplanting them. Pretty well all of the kids helped out at one point or another. The big boys were a huge help lifting the trees in and out of the side by side. 

Oliver and Fin filled a lot of buckets with nice topsoil to help mud the trees in. They also enjoyed playing with Cooper on the dirt hill! It was fun to work all together at something.

At days end, we took Lily out for a ride on her new big girl bike! She caught on super fast and can totally balance all on her own. Peddling is new to her though and she's not sure she likes it. She won't ride yet unless Mike and I are at either side to "release" and "catch". Hopefully she gets the hang of it all on her own soon!

 

On the Road Again

This morning we were up bright and early to say goodbye to the park and all of the fun things we've discovered! We decided to do the drive home in one day instead of two, and knew it would be tricky (Cooper hates the car). We got all loaded up mid morning and headed out.

Cooper liked to shriek to get out of his carseat, so Daddy used his noise cancelling head phones so that he could concentrate on driving through the mountain construction. It was a long haul! Sawyer and Lily slept on and off and played really well. I may or may not have gotten sick on one of the winding roads around a lake and ended up needing a barf bag.

Tonight we were welcomed home by each of the children as they ran out to greet us after a great week away with the littles! Even the sky went above and beyond to make the night special. The view from my front porch (both looking in and looking out) will never get old!