Take a Picture

"Mom! Come take a picture of us, it's gunna be a cute one!"

"Okay"

click

"Is it cute, Mom?"

"Perfect!"

Little Nature Man

Mr. H is our little tender-heart. 

He is typically quiet, and very thoughtful.

 When he's not with his sister he likes to be in the background

and do his own thing.

He has recently developed a love for nature and can be found outside exploring.

We sure love him!

Happy Father's Day

 

 

 I just wanted to take a few minutes to wish a happy Father's Day to all of the important men in my life. I am so glad to be surrounded by such righteous and amazing fathers. I feel so blessed to be married to Mr. Stannix. He is so great with our children. I love watching him teach them, laugh with them, play with them, and read to them. I also feel privileged to have grown up with an amazing Dad!

Loud Noises

Joseph doesn't much like the lawn mower...

He gets quite concerned.

This is his version of plugging his ears.

Good Morning

Good morning sunshine.

Creating a Childhood

One morning before Mr. Stannix left for work, we were both watching Joseph toddle around the house. Mr. Stannix commented on how lucky Joseph is, and how amazing his childhood is because he has two older siblings and parents who love him. Ever since then I have been thinking about the childhood that I try to create each day for my children. One full of adventure, discovery, laughter, play, imagination, stories, and love. This morning we grabbed a box of timbits and went to our old park for a few hours. I haven't seen Camilla so excited in a very long time. This is the park she learned to slide and climb on. 

She had a really great time rediscovering things that were once so familiar to her.

I had the privilege of following Joseph around for most of the morning while keeping an eye on the other two as they explored the park.

I loved watching him climb and slide. His expressions were priceless.

He also enjoyed checking out the water. I had to restrain myself a little bit when a big kid aimed at him with the sprayer, and then laughed when the cold water made him gasp. Seriously? Thankfully, Joseph managed to laugh it off.

Hyrum was on some sort of crazy adventure the whole time we were there. Daring new heights and swinging from the bars.

There was a few times I had to look really hard for him because he was way off playing on the "ridge" of the hill. He loved exploring and climbing the grassy hills. 

Camilla liked testing herself and climbing up high. Most of the time she would climb up somewhere and then I would have to come and get her down. Sometimes it's hard for me to suppress the "don't climb so high" motherly instinct and let her test her limits.

When Joseph wasn't sliding he was running up this hill. He especially liked it when I would "chase" him and would run away on his tip toes laughing hysterically. 

       It was a fun morning. 

     

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!