Matchy Matchy

It's a big job getting three littles ready and out the door for church on your own, but we did it. I made the boys some matching ties with some left over scraps my Mom had while I was at the Acreage. They turned out pretty cute, although Joe will have to grow into his. I tried snapping a nice picture of them before church, but Hyrum was in such a goofy mood so this was the best we could do!



I've had so many thoughts and emotions swimming through my head today. Last night I watched the General Relief Society broadcast with my sister. It's such a priveledge to be apart of one of the largest womens organizations in the world. I loved the talks and thoughts that were shared. I also taught Young Womens today. My lesson was on being in the world but not of the world. I asked the girls to share some of the worlds standards and some of the Lord's standards. One of the girls said that the world pretty much doesn't have any standards now days. In preparing my lesson I realized how important it is to give our children a strong foundation so that when we send them out into the world they won't be afraid to stand up for what they believe in. 

I took the children to a new park around here last night before dinner. They needed to burn some energy and I needed some fresh air. The Fall weather was perfectly crisp and the sun was just getting ready to set. I felt so much joy as I watched Joseph from a distance, playing in the sand (and eating it mind you) with the sun glistening through his blonde whisps of hair. I reminisced as I watched Camilla navigate the big kid equipment all by herself and run around trying to make new friends. I smiled as I observed Hyrum playing in a big car, making sound effects with his mouth and steering like it was the real deal. I then watched Camilla go up to a little group of kids and ask if she could join in their game. They told her she couldn't right now because they were doing something cool and she wasn't allowed. My heart totally sank! She walked away and came closer towards me and sat in the wheel for the firetruck. She acted like she wasn't sad, but I could totally see through her "playing it cool" as she sank into the wheel and forced a tiny smile. I almost cried. I wanted so badly to do something or say something to those kids, but one of life's hard lessons to learn is that it isn't always fair. I then watched this little group of kids who were not much older than Camilla snickering about the other's around them and saying crude things. I was suddenly glad that my little girl wasn't playing with them. It was totally a hard Mamma moment. Of all of the places I want my children to feel loved and included, our home is at the top of that list. I never want to do anything to degrade my children or make them feel like they aren't loved at home. It is such a sacred duty and calling to be a parent and I pray every morning that I can fulfil it to the best of my ability.

I thought about this incident lots as I taught the Young Women. At the end of the lesson I presented each of them with a little handout with a special quote.

"At times you may feel lonely because you don't fit in with the crowd. Be grateful that your righteous life molds you so you don't fit in where you don't belong. This is a period of personal testing that will be replaced in time by true friends and greater happiness."

~Richard G. Scott

When I was in highschool I struggled big time with feeling alone. Although I seemed to have friends I just felt like I never really fit in. I was never a part of the parties or things they did on the weekends and had a hard time joining in their conversations on regular school days. One night after feeling particularily lonely for a long time, I stumbled across that quote and it became a huge comfort for me. I kept it on my mirror and eventually had it memorized. I testified to the girls that although things may be hard now, they will get better. I have the best friends I could ever imagine and still keep in touch with close friends from highschool. And there is no greater happiness than the joy that I have received from having a temple marriage and building an eternal family with my best friend. My greatest happiness comes from spending time with my husband and children. I couldn't have imagined being this happy way back in highschool and am so grateful for the Gospel and that simple little quote for pulling me through.

Anyways, on a happier note, church was super good and smooth considering I was solo. I sat with some dear friends who were able to lend a hand when it was needed. At one point Hyrum decided he didn't want to wear his shoes anymore. When he took them off he left a pile of sand on the bench, even after dumping them out last night when we got home from the park. When it was time to leave half the bench was covered in sand. Where was he hiding it all? In his diaper? Behind his ears? I had to smile. He is oh so boy! We are all looking forward to picking up Daddy tonight at the airport.

The Sweet Spot

Although Joseph is not fond of sleeping during the night, he sure loves his naps!

Back in the Groove

We are home.

I have done a good few loads of laundry.

The house has been decorated for Autumn (thanks my sis).

Rooms are tidied.

Children are excited to play with their "old" toys.

And we had a fabulous breakfast as per Hyrum's request.

I think we're gettin' the hang of this thing again.

Sardines

The littles and I headed home from the Acreage today. It was so great to spend almost a full week with my parents getting caught up, relaxing, enjoying fresh air, learning some canning techniques and just plain loving life. Here are some of the things we are going to miss including fresh eggs, fresh picked strawberries, limitless quad rides (going to the forest with Grampa), being in the kitchen with my mamma and listening to the children enjoy life.

 

 



Thankfully they slept pretty much the whole drive home for me. Two and a half hours can be a long time with grumpy children. At one point I glanced back at them in my rearview mirror and chuckled to myself. They were like little sardines smooshed together again in the backseat of our little old car. Camilla was most excited to get home because she said she forgot what our home looked like. The first thing she wanted to do was see her bed and make sure her teddies were okay. I suppose two weeks away from home can seem like an eternity to a four year old. Now I just hope we can all survive until Daddy gets home on Sunday!

Getting Along

Dear Mr. Stannix,

Just thought I'd quickly write and let you know how we are getting along.

Fall has quickly come and our days are brisk and cool.

The children don't mind though!

They have been busy helping in the garden and collecting eggs each day.

We started off our morning with a quad ride around the Acreage in the crisp air.

Hyrum practically spends his entire day sitting on that thing and

waiting for someone to take him on a ride.

Everything smelled delightful, but after a few rounds we were cold!

Now that the weather has changed I am looking forward to

making our children some new Fall hats.

 

 

In the late morning Hyrum helped Gramma with the carrots.

She heard him say, "I spray you Gramma" and before she could turn around he soaked her pants.

He's such a character.

Mom and I spent the afternoon canning.

We pickled some carrots and did up some jam the day before.

In the middle of canning I looked out the kitchen window and my heart melted.

Hyrum and Camilla were walking across the yard hand in hand.

Those little moments make all of the fighting from this morning just melt away.

 

 

It was so great to see these two getting along so well!

We miss you like crazy, and hope you're enjoying your time.

 

I Missed This

It's amazing how much you miss the simple pleasures of life when you are on vacation. It was such a nice break, especially on the sleep end of things, but I missed bathing my babies. Tonight I gushed over Joseph as he quietly played and splashed in the tub. When the water became cool I pulled the plug and snuggled him up in one of Gramma's white towels. He smelled so good and I couldn't get enough of kissing those chubby cheeks of his.

These pictures remind me of something that happened a couple of weeks ago. It was one of those funny moments in motherhood that I might want to remember and laugh about later. It all began when I heard Joseph cry in his crib just as I was getting ready for bed. I slowly pushed open his cracked door and picked him up only to discover he was pretty smelly. Everyone else was asleep, so I quietly opened the closet and grabbed a diaper. We crept down the stairs and into the bathroom to change him. Just as I got his bottom all cleaned up, I realized that I grabbed a swim diaper instead of a real diaper. Joe was still half asleep, eyes closed, humming to himself and blowing spit bubbles. I figured I could run up stairs and make the switch before he moved. I came downstairs to discover him sitting, grinning, in a puddle on the floor. Before I could grab him he crawled towards the door through it all. Yuck. I completely stripped him down and ran a quick bath in the sink to rinse him off. Then I had to dry him and go upstairs to find some new jammies. It was quite the ordeal for eleven at night. But still funny.

Goose Bay: Mike's Beginning's

Addie and I flew from Honolulu to Vancouver on the red eye and our eyes were red when we got into Edmonton!  With about two hours of sleep under our belts we headed out to the family reunion; which I am sure Addie will write about later.  It was nice to reunite with my mom's side of the family and see my Auntie Cathy who I lived with for a short period when I was in elementary school.  When I would come home from school every day for lunch I would hear the loud opera music playing and she would ask what I wanted for lunch, and without hesitation I would say grilled cheese and tomato soup.  Now almost every Sunday our family has grilled cheese and tomato soup!  Thank goodness for a loving wife who tolerates the tomato soup every Sunday, even when it's not her favourite. 

That evening Addie and I said our goodbye's for a week and my brother, Andrew, and I headed to the airport for our long journey to Goosebay, Newfoundland.  We flew from Edmonton to Toronto to St. Johns to Halifax to Goosebay, a total of 10 hours of flying, not including layovers.  Andrew and I were pretty tired and I took my first sleeping pill (melatonin), and it worked!!  That evening we BBQ'd steak and had a nice dinner with Dad and Melissa.  When I called it a night my head hit the pillow and I slept for 13 hours, I haven't slept that long since before my mission........that felt good!!

After brunch we headed out on the side by side (souped up golf cart completely closed in with a heater and wipers that has a winch and acts like a quad)

Dad took Andrew and I around Goosebay on the trails and showed us the following locations.

Dad took me to the place where I was born.......no I was not born in a field, where I am standing is where the hospital was on the military base.  The hospital was torn down 12 years ago.  Not many people can stand in a field and say that is where they were born!

It was neat to see the place where my Mom and Dad were married on June 15, 1985.  The church is located on the military base.  My Dad was in the air force and my Mom and Dad met on the base while my Dad was stationed here.

 

We then drove around the base to the runway for the airport where we landed.  My grandfather designed this airport, he was a civil engineer.  One of my favorite things to do is to watch planes land and take off (I don't like being in them though).  So we waited at the end of the runway for the next plane to land and it came right over our heads.  Andrew snapped a quick picture before it went over us!

We then headed over to where my Dad works.  He was trained in the military and works as a radar technician.  He is responsible for doing the maintenance work on military radar equipment.  He spends about 30% of his time in Goosebay at the central location where all the radar information from the satellite stations is sent.  In this station they are able to monitor the other stations all along the northern coast.  I asked him why there were so many radar stations north of Goosebay and he told me they were all built during the cold war because the shortest route for Russia to attack the states was over the north pole through eastern Canada.  It's neat driving around Goosebay and seeing all the bunkers which are covered with earth to hide ammunition from potential bombers.  This is a picture of one of the moitors which feeds live images of the satellite radar stations.  The station in the top left corner is the furthest north and it was snowing there! 

We finished off the day by going to a traditional Newfoundland restaurant, Mary Browns, and grabbed dinner.  It was a great day to learn more about the place where my life began.  I am grateful to be in the place I was born and learning more about my roots; it helps me understand better who I am and the culture I come from, and so far I am proud of the newfoundland culture!

Acreage Adventures

I finally made it to the Acreage late last night. All of the littles were in bed, so I anxiously waited to get my arms around them. Joseph woke up for his night time feeding just as I went down to bed. It felt SO GOOD to hold that chunkster in my arms again and he instantly cuddled in close. He was happy and good for Gramma and Grampa, but I think Gramma will enjoy getting a full nights sleep again! I fed him his bottle and snuggled him on my chest for a little while. It just felt so natural and good to have him back in my arms after a week. I couldn't kiss his chubby cheeks enough! Since Daddy is away in Goosebay I get to share the bed with Hyrum. A few minutes after I crawled into bed he scooched across and snuggled his tiny body into mine. It's so great to be home! In the morning I surprised the kids with their presents. Camilla wore her new dress to church and it looked darling! She also managed to con her brother into letting her play with his new Ukulele.

 

 

After church the littles changed to help Gramma with the chores. I couldn't get over Hyrum's "farmer John" look and his stance as he talked with the chickens. I missed that little man and his curly blonde locks so much!

 

 

Camilla and Hyrum helped Gramma collect the eggs. Just as we left the hen house we noticed the rooster was out. We got him back where he belonged and then noticed a whole bunch of chickens were up in the top garden. Hyrum was all over it and gladly helped coral them back to their pen.

I think we will be spending a few more days here before going home. It was so bittersweet driving away last night, looking at Mr. Stannix in my rear view mirror, but looking forward to seeing the children all at the same time. While he's away at his Dad's we are going to enjoy the Autumn air at the Acreage and help Gramma with some canning and gardening.

Stannix Reunion

 We got home from the airport today at 10:00am. Mike was flying out tonight to Goosebay so we ran around in a whirl for a few minutes unpacking and organizing and doing laundry. Then we both crashed and ended up waking up just when we were supposed to be at the Stannix reunion. We scrambled to get ready and then we were off! Mike's Aunt Cathy was down and wanted to see everyone before she went back East, so we gathered at Hawrelack Park for a little BBQ and visit. It was really great! Thanks for all the work everyone put in!

Mike's Aunts and Uncles

(minus Uncle Bill)

The Cousins

(Minus a few)

Hawaii: Diamond Head

Mike really wanted to do a hike before we left the island. Since we had a ton of time to kill today we decided  to hop on a bus and climb the Diamond Head Crater. Part way up a couple asked us to take a picture for them. They were driving up to the park and later asked if we wanted a ride. We decided to walk through the tunnel and up so that our entrance fee would be less. The funny part is that just as we were heading down, we passed them on their way up. The view from the top was spectacular, but the hike itself wasn't particularily impressive, it just made me miss our mountains at home. It was however pretty steep and included a few stair cases and a dark, narrow tunnel.

 

Waikiki from the top.

Awesome reefs and blue blue ocean.

 

Since we were heading to the airport before dinner we decided to eat early. We wanted to eat at the cheesecake factory the entire time we were there, and finally did. The place was busy, and huge! The food was great quality and super good! I ordered a pizza and Mike got this chicken avocado sandwich with yam fries. I ate one half of his sandwich and he helped me with the small pizza. I really love splitting meals and getting a taste of everything.

 

My favorite part was the million types of cheesecake they had on their menu. Mike ended up ordering vanilla bean and I got a raspberry white chocolate swirl. They were so sweet that it was almost impossible to finish them. I do think that cheesecake may be my favorite dessert.

Yumm-o!