Good Morning Sunshine

Well, it's finally happened. One morning last week Camilla snuck out of my bed after morning snuggles and jumped into the crib with her little brother. He was already awake cooing and blowing bubbles, so he didn't mind. I love watching them play together. Hyrum will often scream playfully and grab at her hair or face and give her his crazy eyes. Camilla sometimes calls him a "pay-zee doof" and tells him how "tee-oot" he is.

Hello Josh Groban

 On Friday night I got to go to a Josh Groban concert with a great friend of mine. My dear Mr. Stannix bought me the tickets for my birthday, and offered to watch the children for the evening. As my friend and I got out of the car and started walking I felt naked. I had no kids, I had no husband, and I had no diaper bag to cart around with me. Thank-goodness I brought a semi-large purse, the weight on my shoulder was comforting. It was the first time I've had a night on the town in a very long time. I felt like I was in high school again or something. It was fun to feel giddy and excited.

This amazing contemporary pianist, Elew, opened up for him. This guy was so good that the lady beside me joked that the music was pre-recorded. I wish I could have seen this guys fingers move. He was amazing! At one point it sounded like he whipped out a guitar, but he was just playing ON THE STRINGS of the piano. I'm pretty sure he used his elbows at one point too. He played a huge mix of stuff from Gilligan's Island to The Rolling Stones to Katy Perry and some other stuff that I wish I could remember the names of.

There was a brief intermission while they reset the stage for Josh Groban. I enjoyed people watching and I think Jessica and I counted like 10 pregnant ladies. It was amusing. Finally the lights went low and his orchestra began playing main stage. I loved that even the orchestra music was live and not pre-recorded. It made the experience so amazing. I immediately missed playing with the Symphonic Winds. 

Then, Josh Groban ran out from the Zamboni hole and onto a tiny stage in the center. I didn't even notice it until he ran out. Suddenly people were flocking around the stage, standing and dancing. It was awesome. He joked that the audience were like "swarming sharks". At one point he was singing on center stage and there was a cute couple in the front (but it was the back because Josh was in the center) who danced together to this super romantic song. It was sweet.

He alternated between center and main a lot of the night and played his best tunes. At one point he walked onto the floor and said to a man, "You look like you've been dragged here. For all you husbands, don't worry, it's only two hours. And remember...I work for you!". That made me laugh.

His voice was really great, but I was seriously in love with his orchestra, back up pianists, guitar players and drummers. The music was phenomenal! They did a few songs without words and I was able to just sit back and close my eyes and soak in all of the sounds. I missed playing in a band like that so badly. One day, I will play again! He pulled a couple on stage who had been married 26 years and sang to them. He also sang with a 19 year old girl from here who, if I do say so myself, had an amazing voice! He was very interactive. At the end he finished with "You Raise me Up" and had the crowd join in and sing.

All in all a success. I felt like such a lucky girl! I went home to sleeping babies. Hyrum tried the bottle for the first time and took it! I am now excited to be able to get out more with my Mr. Stannix for some awesome dates again, starting with a Maroon 5 concert next weekend!

I Love Autumn

Autumn is pretty much here!

Mr. Stannix reminds me at least once a day that this is his favorite season.

I think it's starting to be mine too.

I love the brisk Autumn air and the beautiful colors.

I love how cute my children look in hats.

I love Mr. Stannix in his hot brown jacket that he whips out every Autumn around this time.

I love wearing sweaters on the crisp evening nights.

I love the excitement that starts to build inside me for Christmas.

I love raking leaves and jumping in them.

I love watching leaves dance to the ground as they get blown down by the wind.

I love remembering how Mr. Stannix and I first met in this very season.

I love Autumn.

Family Vacation: Final Chapter

On Monday we woke up around eight in the morning. It had been a super cold night given the altitude that we were at. Hyrum slept nestled close to me in my sleeping bag, but he kept sticking his little hands out of his blankets and they would turn into popsicles. When I woke up, I looked for Camilla. Because of the slant we were sleeping on, she had made her way to the bottom of the tent and all I could see were her little green socks sticking out the side of her sleeping bag. When she finally woke up, I got her dressed and sent her out of the tent. It was a chilly morning, but her little feet couldn't resist splashing in the water and not even 5 minutes later her pants were soaked! Her and Daddy spent the rest of the morning skipping rocks together.

We packed up camp again and drove to Wasa. We thought there might be less wasps there and we might have more fun at the sandy beach. We said good-bye to the quaint little campground of lazy lake and all of the nice people that we met while we were there. After we got our tent set up in the national park, we took to the beach for the rest of the day. The girls enjoyed some sun tanning and swimming and Camilla loved playing in the sand! Her and Daddy built a pretty spiffy sand castle. 

Hyrum spent a lot of his time chilling under the red umbrella. He loved just laying there in the cool breeze, nicely shaded from the sun. I also noticed how much of a boy he really is. He loves to try and figure out how things work. The whole time he was under the umbrella he was playing with it, moving it, pulling it. The look in his eyes was priceless and it was so fun to watch him figure things out. 

It started getting pretty warm, so I took my little man for a dip in the lake. It was his first experience with water outside of the bathtub. He actually didn't mind the chill of the water on his little toes and got in up to the top of his diaper. For his first time swimming he did pretty good!

 Soon it was time for afternoon naps. Camilla was so tired that she didn't argue much when we put her on the blanket to take a snooze. Hyrum wasn't too far behind after being nursed. They both slept for almost two hours together on the picnic blanket. It was a precious moment. We had noodles for dinner and with each bite that Mr. Stannix spooned into Camilla's mouth, he had her make him promises. Promises that she would always love him, always talk to him etc. With each new promise and each new bite, she would recite the other promises from memory. It was so sweet watching them.

 After the lake I decided the kids could use a bath. They had so much sand caked up in unmentionable places, and Camilla was just plain dirty from four days of camping.

We got some hot water boiled up on the stove, added some suds and called 'er good! The kids slept so good that night. The next day we ate our instant porridge for breakfast while running away from the wasps again. We packed up the car and headed for home. On the way we stopped at the White Swan hot springs. They are beautiful, but I'm not a fan of the narrow mountain gravel road to get there. Check it out!

Alas we made it, safe and sound. These hot springs are just off a fast flowing river. There are three different pools. The top one is super hot, the next one is nice and warm, and the final one is nearest to the river making it the coolest, but still comfortable. We spent most of our morning there relaxing and enjoying and left just as it started getting super hot outside. 

Hyrum slept for the five hours that we drove. We hit some rain near Banff. The weather was still beautiful though and the view was amazing! It was great to be home though and sleep in a comfy bed for the night!

Family Vacation: Part II

After Waterton, we spent Sunday afternoon driving to B.C to the best kept secret around. We pulled into Lazy Lake late in the afternoon and set up camp. We ended up moving camp a little while later after a nice couple left for home. It was right on the lake shore with a gorgeous view!

After camp was all set up, we changed into our suits for a quick dip in the lake. The girls went swimming across the lake and back and had a fun encounter with a few leeches. Camilla tried out her water wings, but wasn't quite brave enough to use them on her own.

 After our swim, we made up tinfoil dinners while running around the camp like crazies to keep the wasps off of us. It started getting chilly, so I changed CJ into some pants a sweatshirt and her sneakers. Within a few minutes of leaving the tent her sneakers found the water. Camilla pretty much refused to wear her shoes the rest of the evening, she takes after me I guess.

 

Sunday night was possibly one of the most romantic nights of maybe my entire life.

These were taken by my talented sister

 After dinner we skipped rocks on the lake. Mr. Stannix told me that this is the very lake where he first learned how to skip rocks. I enjoyed watching my Mr. Stannix skip rocks in the sunset and miss Camilla copy her daddy. The campground consisted of maybe 15 sites. It was quite small and quaint. Lots of people camp there for a few weeks out of the summer each year and know each other quite well. We finished our s'mores just as dark was setting in. We had the picnic blanket out because we were short a chair. The campsite above us started playing songs on the guitar and people from other sites were making their way over to join in. The two girls went up for a bit to join in on the fun and singing. The harmony was beautiful and the guitar players were talented. Mr. Stannix and I stayed back at the fire so that we could keep an ear out for our children who were sleeping soundly in the tent cuddled up next to one another. We layed down on the picnic blanket while the flames in the fire pit danced around. I soaked up everything I could of that moment with all of my senses. We star gazed for the first time in forever together. We were so high up the mountain that the stars seemed so close. We saw two shooting stars streak across the sky. I told Mr. Stannix to make a wish and he told me that he didn't know what to wish for because he had everything. It was so sweet. We continued to star gaze while we held hands and listened to the guitars play. By the end of the night we had counted six shooting stars! SIX! I had never seen that many in a row before. These weren't just little ones either, some of them were pretty awesome and lasted a long time! Nothing could have topped the way I was feeling that night. S'mores, a picnic blanket, shooting stars, guitars, and good harmony....It felt so good to be so close to Mr. Stannix, just looking at the stars.

Family Vacation: Part I

We just got home on Tuesday from a fabulous family vacation. Last Friday we loaded up my parents car and took off for Cardston. We spent the afternoon/evening at the Cardston, Alberta Temple. It was a beautiful day. My awesome sister and her friend babysat the kiddos for us so we could do a session, and later in the evening Mr. Stannix met up with the youth to help out with baptisms. It was so nice to be there and admire the temple.

The girls did a great job watching the kiddos and even snapped some cute pictures of Camilla and her little buddy Isaac together. While we waited for Mr. Stannix we sat out on the cool grass in front of the temple and enjoyed the lighting and beauty all around. This cute old Grandpa even asked the two kids if they wanted a ride on his walker. I love Cardston.

We finished up there in the evening and then picked up a few groceries for our weekend of camping. We then drove to Waterton to find us a campsite. The drive was breathtakingly beautiful. The sun had just dipped behind the mountains and the sky was orange and pink above the winding highway. I'm pretty sure I was talking about how beautiful the drive was every two minutes. Waterton stole my heart that night and I would move there in a heartbeat! We pulled into our campsite rather late, and set up our tents in the dark. It was chaotic and stressful for a bit while we made up beds and dinner and got the kids to sleep. We have such good kids, they slept so awesome in the tent. 

The next day we slept in a little, had breakfast, moved campsites (carried our tents while they were set up), and then decided what to do for the afternoon. Camilla has been having fun singing songs lately and has quite the repertoire from "Sing, sing sing" to "Twinkle Twinkle" to my personal favorite, "Mr. Golden Sun".   I just love the way she says "Golden". It always brings a smile to my face!



In the afternoon we actually drove into the park for some hiking and adventure. We went to a little place called Red Rock Canyon and did the 2 km hike. We then let the kids play in the water in the canyon for the rest of the afternoon. They had a blast together. Even the "big kids" had fun in the water. We were all pretty wet by the end.

After the kiddos were done with the water, we took a drive into Waterton to walk around and check things out. The weather was beautiful! We eventually made our way to the lake shore just as the sun was going down. We spend most of our evening skipping rocks in the lake and watching the kids play in the water again. I love the evening glow of the sun!

I think Mr. Stannix held the record with 12 skips in a row, but we're still unsure as they both cheered at the same time, it wasn't ever clarified whose rock it actually was.. It was fun to sit back and enjoy as the boys competed and laughed together. 

Camilla was picking on Isaac, so he took her shoe and threw it in the lake. I got a kick out of watching those two together. They get along pretty well, and they are so stinkin' cute together! On Sunday morning we packed up camp. I went into the tent to start packing and my sleepy boy woke up and grinned at me, then turned his head and went back to sleep. I'm pretty sure I washed Camilla's face a bagillion times that morning before we attended church in Waterton. After the first meeting we said good-bye to our friends as we parted and went to our next destination.

Farewell Waterton!

Our Independant Girl

Right now we are soaking up some sun at a lake in BC! Here's a picture of our miss Camilla one morning last week. She likes to pick out her clothes and dress herself. It has it's ups and downs though. Check out this crazy hooligan!

At least everything pretty much matches! I do believe it's almost time for a hair cut though!

An August Afternoon

Dearest Hyrum,

As your four month birthday approaches a sweet memory is brought to my mind from mid August. Your big sister had just gone down for her nap and I was busying myself around the house. You started calling out from your play mat in the living room. I picked you up and you smiled up at me, safe in my arms. It was a beautiful day, but I could feel Fall in the air when we went outdoors that morning. It was crisp, and there was a gentle breeze, blowing in change. A change of seasons, a change in the leaves, a change in the air.

 I sat on the couch with you, placing you gently on my lap. Your long body stretched from my knees to my stomach where your little legs curled up for warmth. You continued to coo and smile at me while you squeezed my fingers with your little hands. Your grasp felt so strong, and I didn't ever want you to let go. The house was quiet, it was just the two of us. We stared into each others eyes for a few minutes. My heart swelled up with emotion. I got lost in your big, beautiful blue eyes and dark eye lashes.

I looked at your little feet pressed against my stomach and realized that you had grown so much in these four short months.Then I looked at your hands as you played with my fingers and tried to bring them to your mouth. You found my wedding ring and you became so still as you turned it around on my ring finger. I thought about what that ring meant to me, that we were a forever family. I thought about how your Daddy made all my dreams come true as we were sealed in the temple and I later became a mother. It wasn't long until you drifted off to sleep after a short snack of course.

Your eyes slowly closed as I hummed a lullaby. The grasp you had on my fingers loosened slightly, and your tiny breaths became deep and heavy. At that moment, in our quiet old house, I felt so much love for you. I just sat and watched you and listened to your sweet little breaths.  Babies are a miracle, and I felt so blessed to have you as a part of our family. I wanted to hold onto that moment with you forever and ever. It was such a brief time, but it felt like a life time. I love it when time slows down so that I can soak up every ounce of joy and emotion I can out of one little moment with you. I write you these letters so that one day, when you leave the safety of our home, you will know that you are special, and more importantly, that you are loved...

xoxo

Mum

Somersaults

Yesterday, Camilla learned how to do a somersault! She was quite excited about it and has been somersaulting in circles ever since. It's so fun to watch her learn new things! She also gave herself a nice tattoo all the way down her leg with her dry erase marker yesterday at Gramma and Grampa's.

Little Feet

My kiddos already have the sibling thing figured out. You know the "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" thing? Except, in their case it's, "I'll tickle your feet if you tickle mine".  We are busy bees today running around gathering everything up for a last minute holiday. After the dishes are done and the garbage is taken out, we will be loading up to spend the night at the acreage, and then we will be off for a week of camping!