Those Summer Nights

 This evening Mr. Stannix was going to be late coming home from work. After Joseph woke up from a late afternoon cat nap at 4:00pm, I knew it would be a late night. I ignored the clock and we ate dinner when we were hungry and enjoyed some time in the sun. We went for a big bike ride down to the trail, just me and the littles. I pushed Joseph on his tricycle while the other two rode their big bikes. This was the first time we went more than just around the block. Crossing roads with two newby bikers isn't my most favorite thing in the world and I still get nervous watching them on hills. Just before the trail there is a long downhill slope. Camilla made it fine, but Hyrum was picking up speed like a crazy, and I knew he wasn't going to stop. The look on his face was a mix between fear and excitement. Luckily I turned around just in time to slap the brake on the tricycle and run to his rescue. He was going so fast he almost knocked me over, and all he could manage to say was, "Phew!" It made me laugh. We stopped and played with a few caterpillars along the way and met a few puppies. We took our time and enjoyed the ride. Their little legs worked hard as they peddled uphill most of the way back from the trail. "I have muscles 'cause I eat my vegetables," I heard one of them say.

 When we got home, they hung up their helmets on their handlebars and we went in to make ice cream cones. It was a welcomed treat! I love that these three have such different personalities, but get along so well. We love our backyard and they have enjoyed their new chairs today!

Joseph is our most accident prone child right now and I will be surprised if he makes it to two without stitches or a broken bone. I watch him like a hawk, but it still isn't enough sometimes! He is all boy! I sure do love him though!

Fun with Bubbles

Today I woke up feeling pretty exhausted. Our kids were tired too. Joseph fell asleep part way through sacrament meeting (and so did his brother). I just rocked with him in the mother's room for the remainder of the meeting. I woke up to the sound of the organ playing the closing song. If I had it my way I would have stayed there for the rest of the morning and squeezed in some winks. After a quick lunch, we spent most of the afternoon outside blowing bubbles. It was very relaxing! I sure hope sleeping goes better this week!

Slippery Saturday

This afternoon Uncle Chris stopped by for some play time. He also brought by an awesome new slip and slide for the littles to enjoy. It was quite the adventure helping them learn how it works. 

They loved all the sprinklers.

 And running down the mat with their Uncle cheering them on.

Joe was pretty funny. He wore his rubber boots for some of the time and we all cracked up listening to the water squish around inside as he ran.

Eventually uncle Chris got on some swim trunks and showed them how it was done.

They had a lot of fun!

Thanks Uncle Chris!

Making Memories

Nothing better than spending a lazy Summer afternoon with those you love most!

Snuggle Time

It was late afternoon when I decided to take a break on the couch in the front room. Joseph had been pretty much attached to my leg all day whining. With four teeth coming in and a terrible nights sleep, he had a rough day (and so did I). The older two were engaged in a game of pretend downstairs, using their imaginations to full capacity. I listened as their little play voices echoed up the stair way. I watched the sky out the big front window. It had rained on and off all day and the clouds were finally starting to part. Dinner was sizzling in the slowcooker and the rice was almost finished. Soon Daddy would be home and the missionaries would arrive for dinner. I had only enjoyed a few brief moments to myself before Joe made his way into the front room to find me. He climbed up and tucked his little body next to mine without a word. While I read some stuff on my iPad, he slowly closed his eyes to catch up on some much needed sleep. I snuggled him in close and kissed his head over and over, the smell of shampoo still lingering in his hair from his bath the night before. His forehead was hot to the touch and I hoped the Tylenol would work it's magic with his fever. I listened to his breaths, steady and sure with a few moans since he wasn't feeling well. And then I sat still and enjoyed every moment of that little snuggle time until the littles came up and Daddy arrived home from work.

Some Little Things

Time has been slipping away from me lately. Days start early and nights end late. There never seems to be enough time in a day to do the things I want to do, even if they pass by slowly. The children are growing and changing daily and sometimes I wish I could just freeze time for a while to enjoy them without the added responsibility of house work and other demands. This blog has been neglected big time and sometimes all I can do is post a picture from our day. I have longed to sit down and write, but my writing has been less than mediocre lately, and I usually end up erasing what I wrote and settling on a picture instead. I finally have a few minutes, so here are some funny little things I jotted down from these last couple of weeks to keep me going.

Camilla is an absolute joy! Last week she told me that unloading the dishwasher is now her job and she doesn't need my help (except when she passes me things to put away). She loves to help out with her little brothers or any other "hard jobs" I can think of. She still complains and whines like any other child, but I love when she gets in her "yes mom" moods and adds her bright optimism to our home. The other morning as we were tidying her room she says, "Mom, I know a song about Donald Duck". I reply, "Oh?" Then she goes on, "Yeah, you know, the one with all the animals?" Then I say, "You mean old MacDonald?" To which she excitedly responds, "YEAH! That's it!" and then proceeds to teach it to her little brother as he rocks her baby doll in the rocking chair. She has also started making up her own awesome songs. One afternoon on the trampoline she made up a tune with the lyrics, "I'm your big Sis... I'll take care of youuuuuu". She makes me smile each and every day. One night I stayed for a long time in her room after lights out for a snuggle. She loves when I rub her back and arms before bed. I started dozing off and woke up to her playing with my hair. She is so thoughtful! She always hums along when I play the piano in the afternoon and tells me I'm doing a good job. Sometimes she will sit down and play herself. I love listening to her plunk out the songs that I learned so many years ago. As she plays I can call out the note she is looking for from the kitchen. This week she got so excited when she realized she could play without looking at her fingers! This is such a big step in playing piano and I am so proud of her.

Hyrum has pretty much given up his trouble making ways. He loves to talk and says the funniest things. One morning at breakfast he said, "I'm getting bigger and BIGGER, Mom! I'm almost Camilla's size!" He is constantly asking me to tie blankets on like a super cape so he can "save people". Whenever he wants a kiss he puckers up his lips and moves his face in really close. He loves when Joe gives him hugs and always asks, "I need-a hug Joooooeeee." Then Joe will put his head on his big brother's shoulder and they will rock back and forth with their arms wrapped around each other. THE cutest thing. The other day when Daddy was bringing the lawn mower from the backyard to the front Hyrum sputtered off a million questions, "Are you gunna mow there? In the rocks? Are you sure you can really carry that?" Daddy just smiled and continued on while Hyrum asked a few more questions. Today Hyrum came up the stairs and exclaimed, "Mom! This can't be wight! The TV ran outta batteries!" I love the cute way he says things. He has also mastered praying and makes sure to bless everyone in the room.

Joseph enjoys sleeping in his big boy bed, when he actually sleeps that is. The odd night he has a bit of trouble getting to sleep. One night I went up to tuck him in for the third time only to find that he had stuck his hand in an old dirty rolled up diaper like it was a baseball glove. He laughs when I am stern with him, and giggles hysterically when I get upset with him for getting out of bed for the gazillionth time. One of his favorite things is to watch for Daddy to get home from work. He usually begins window watching around 4:30pm. The excitement in his voice when Daddy drives up is priceless! Usually when I play piano in the afternoon he will climb right up on my lap to listen. I play as best I can with his chubby toes resting on middle C. He loves music and is constantly singing while he walks around the house. He hands me his shoes at least ten times a day wanting to go outside, rain or shine. He has been having rough nights lately, but it's nice to be needed. He has already been up a few times tonight and I haven't even gone up to bed. He stands at his door and calls for me. When I come he puts his arms up wanting a cuddle. As he nestled his head into my shoulder tonight I couldn't help but notice how heavy he is getting! It almost makes me want to cry. So when I get those moments with him, I hang onto them and cherish them. He has hardly crawled into bed with us, and is always a great sleeper. So when those middle of the night calls come, I remind myself to enjoy them. To love the way he tucks his cold feet next to my body as he falls asleep at 4:00am with the early birds chirping out my window. I remind myself to enjoy his sleepy breaths on my neck as he dreams and to love the way he grabs my hair as he sleeps.

These kids are growing so fast, but I love love being their Mamma! They are such a little blessing each day, and even on hard days we are always on the look out for moments of joy. We are loving the warmer weather and Summertime. It's been nice to get out of the house and enjoy an afternoon at the park, away from social media, the computer, and house work. Those are the moments I enjoy most!

Summer Lovin'

 We had a busy day today, but ended it with a relaxing afternoon. Hyrum wanted out in the sandbox at 7:00am but I figured our neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate that, so we got dressed and went grocery shopping instead. The store was pretty empty, and the littles were super well behaved. The cashier asked me if Camilla and Hyrum were twins and she wasn't the only one to ask that today. We spent all afternoon in the backyard soaking up the sun and running through the sprinkler.

Camilla was pretty excited to play in the sprinkler! 

Hyrum was a bit unsure at first, and mostly just liked to play with it and figure out how it worked.

Joseph just followed their lead and giggled his heart out!

He got pretty into it near the end.

After they had enough with the water they moved to the sandbox. Seeing them caked with wet sand made me cringe a bit since I knew there was no way of keeping it out of the house, but they had so much fun!

 

The sun was super hot, so I threw a sun dress on Camilla and put a picnic blanket under the shade of the trampoline. We snuggled under there for a while laughing, and playing together. I love their little pretend voices. I went inside to visit when Daddy got home. I couldn't help but giggle when I looked out the window to see Joseph's chubby toes resting on the blanket as they all played pretend together.

Acreage Adventures

 We have just returned from a very fun filled weekend at the Acreage with family. It's always nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, even if it's just for a few days.

Hyrum fell asleep before we even left the city, Joseph babbled and complained for 3/4 of the drive and Camilla watched for cows and other interesting things to take pictures of.  I love driving the back highway and admiring my favorite view just a few minutes before we pull into town. We've made this drive enough times that Camilla recognizes when we get close and excitement builds.

 Hyrum helped Gramma make pancakes on Saturday morning and we all enjoyed them with whip cream and homemade syrups. My Mamma's a pretty great cook!

 The kids took to the sandbox first thing in the morning just as it started to warm up. 

 Daddy did some cutting and crafting with Grampa out in the garage.

 They pieced together a little sandbox for our backyard at home. 

 My Uncle stopped by for a quick visit and the littles lucked into a short motorcycle ride.

 The littles took turns collecting eggs with Grandma. Fresh farm eggs are always a treat.

 We enjoyed a lot of time outside, as well as some storm watching! 

 Joseph tripped and banged his head on the cement, but it looks much better than I thought it would. 

 We also helped pull the patio bricks. Camilla was such a trooper. She carried one block for every two blocks that Daddy carried and cheered us all on the whole time. 

 On Sunday afternoon we enjoyed visiting Great-Gramma and Grampa next door. It's such a treat for them to be able to spend time with their Great-Grandparents. Hyrum also loved that he and Gramma were matching.

We left Sunday evening after dinner and made the long drive home. All of the kids were asleep before we left town, tired from a weekend of fun and play. I enjoyed chatting with Mr. Stannix until Joe woke up just outside of Calmar and screamed the rest of the way. Because of the late nap, no one fell asleep until well after 10:00PM.

Rainy Days

It rained today. Again.

Sleeping at it's Finest

I know I post a lot of pictures of this kid sleeping, but when I went into his room the other night to check on him before bed, I couldn't help myself. He always falls asleep in the funniest places. Since today is the third cloudy, rainy, cold day this week, I think we will all be napping this afternoon! Maybe, if I'm lucky.