Learning Service

 Sometimes I wonder how much of what I teach actually gets through to my kids. 

Today my sweet two year old surprised me when he grabbed a glass of water and headed out onto the deck saying, "I wa-er wa-wa's plant. Wa-wa be SOO happy!"

I know that most two year olds love dumping water on things, but the fact that he finished his thought with "Camilla will be so happy!" made me feel a small twinge of satisfaction. He wanted to serve his big sister and he did it with a smile!

We cleaned the yard up for family home evening tonight. The combination of evening sunshine, blue eyes and sweaty hair begged me to snap a picture. This kid has a heart of gold, and I love him very much.

Summer nights

Tonight we made a last minute decision to hit up the spray park after dinner. The weather was perfect and the crowds were just clearing out. We found a nice little spot to lay our picnic blanket under the shade of a big tree and the children excitedly ran off to play!

We've all missed this guy so much this week. He just returned from an overnight camping trip with the young men in our ward and even though he was tired, he came along for some much needed family time. The littles were tickled to have him there! 

Hyrum and Cj were best buddies! They bravely ran through everything together. Our quiet Hyrum was not so quiet and we could hear him having fun on the other side of the park. I love when he gets excited about things.

Joe and Finley spent most of their time at the squirt guns...

This sweet boy hung out on the blanket all evening with his Daddy. 

I couldn't get enough of his blue eyes and baby grins. He loves being outside and enjoyed hanging out and watching all of the kids running around.

When the sun began to sink behind the rooftops and the wind picked up we gathered our things and headed for home.

After the littles were in bed Mr. Stannix and I sat out on the porch and soaked in the last of a gorgeous Summer night.

June

The arrival of June has cast a jovial mood upon us all. With the end of school just around the corner we are scheduling less and leaving time for spontaneous adventures and soaking up the sun. Daylight lasts longer and bedtimes are pushed later to enjoy the last of the suns rays as the sky changes colors. With Mr. Stannix working late all week we've made due with simple dinners and nonchalant bedtime routine. After ice cream on the deck, the big kids beg to go to the park and I let them, because the weather is far to nice to stay indoors.

Oliver woke up so happy today. He does every day, but today I thoroughly enjoyed his big gummy grins and bright blue eyes. I am so in love with him. Perhaps it's thanks to one too many episodes of Call the Midwife, but lately I can't help but feel super blessed. My heart is so full of gratitude for these little ones. Last night I found myself in the middle of my show, Ollie snuggled on my shoulder, and tears streaming down my face as I wondered how people could possibly neglect these sweet spirits.   I hugged him extra tight before I layed him to bed. 

 Lemons were on sale at the grocery store this week, so I picked up a huge bag full! This morning Fin helped me make lemon bread. My kitchen smelled of fresh squeezed lemons and it was pretty much the best smell ever. The boys came home from the park shortly after it came out of the oven. Being the growing boys that they are they demolished a whole loaf shortly after I finished putting the lemon glaze on top. In the middle of the island I had bread on the go. I make it six loaves at a time and can never seem to keep up!

 Ollie is crawling all over these days, wreaking havoc on the puppy dish and locking himself in bedrooms. He sits right on the other side of the door making it nearly impossible to open it. Today he took a tumble down our tile stairs and his poor head got quite the goose-egg, leaving me feeling like the worst mother in the world! He recovered quick and spent the afternoon playing fetch with Reese and giggling to no end when she would run for the toy. I adore his belly laugh and rolling giggle.

As the day came to a close a thunderstorm began rolling in from the West. The children played at the park with a gaggle of kids until the rain began to fall. It came down hard just as I tucked the little boys into bed, but only lasted a short spell. I opened the windows to relish in the smell of fresh rain. Welcome June, we're so glad you're here!

Sugar Cones

We are half way through our week! Mr. Stannix has been working late this week so I've been flying solo in the evenings. This means simple dinners, crazy bed times, and staying up way too late enjoying some "me" time. Last night I stayed up late watching "Call the Midwife" while trying out a new crochet pattern. 

Camilla loves her new bunny "Lyla" and hasn't put her down since! I'm pretty happy with how she turned out and if I get some extra time this Summer I may make a few more!

The nights have been beautiful and ice cream cones on the deck was a must tonight after dinner. As we ate our cones our neighbors came out and visited. Reese kept all the drips licked up!

Everybody shared a lick or two with Ollie and he was so excited! Finley hasn't quite figured out how to eat the cone yet. Soon his ice cream melted and his cone became more of a cup. By the end of the night ice cream had dribbled all the way down from his chin to his belly button. We said good-night to our neighbor and Fin went straight to the bath tub!

Water Play

As the sunshine continues to grace us with it's warmth, I can't help but feel happiness creeping in at every turn. Somehow it makes the hard things easier and the troubles melt away. The children are constantly running in and out the front door. It happens so much lately that I seem to flinch less each time the door is slammed shut behind them. 

This morning I made up some strawberry muffins while I watched the boys at the park out the kitchen window. As soon as they came home they raced up to the kitchen before even taking off their shoes. Being the growing boys that they are, I lost count of how many they ate. It's a good thing they are mini-muffins. 

Mr. Ollie is on the move these days. When he became uninterested with pulling things out of my kitchen cupboards he went out to enjoy playing in a bowl of water beneath the sun. 

It got pretty wild! 

The rest of the afternoon was spent ignoring the dishes on my counter, the mountain of laundry on the couch, and the cluttered toy room. Instead, I grabbed some blue cotton and a hook and watched the boys splash in the pool.

The Eye Doctor

Our Monday began bright and early with breakfast and chores and then we were off to the eye doctors! All four boys were booked for appointments but Finley didn't want to go. After everyone else was loaded in the van he sat on the stairs, arms crossed, determination in his face. "I not going to daw-tors!" It took a lot of convincing but I finally got both his shoes on, and his big brother kindly belted him in to his seat. 

We were the first appointment and it wasn't quite open yet, so we waited in the van for a few minutes. Hyrum was super excited to learn that we had the same sunglasses and asked for a picture. The two older boys jumped out of the van and walked  themselves in. I scooted Ollie onto my back in the carrier while coaxing Finley out of the van. "No, I not going mom!" When I finally got him inside, he sat in a chair, arms folded, and pouted.

We all followed Doctor D. into the room and started the check-ups oldest to youngest. Hyrum got to do the letters and totally forgot what an "E" was, so he just skipped it each time it came up. He aced the 3D test and the color test. He is still a teeny bit far sighted but not enough to need glasses. 

Joe aced his eye exam and has perfect vision! She was surprised at his answers and how engaged he was in the whole thing! By the time she was ready to lower his chair, Finley was on the edge of his seat saying "My turn!" He told Dr. D all of the pictures that he saw in the screen ('House" "Duck" "Hor-sey") and even spun around in his chair and tried to cheat by looking at the computer that he had been staring at while his brothers took their exams which made us all laugh. She was so impressed by him and told me that she's never done this much of an exam with a two year old. 

We made a few stops on the way home and one of them was at a new park. As the boys ran out of the van to play I got a hug from one, shouts of "thank-you's" and a sweet little "You da best!" from Fin. Lots of fun was had, but this spinner was a favorite. Joe spun so many times on it that I thought he might be sick. Childhood at it's finest...

Around and around....

There are moments when I wish that they didn't have to grow up. Before long this boy will spend his days at school being influenced and taught by someone other than me. He's such a great kid, and a wonderful big brother. We are going to miss having him around all the time!

Joy

 We had a really good Sunday today. The little boys were up at the crack of dawn, so we hung out downstairs for a little while until I mustered up enough energy for breakfast. Hyrum brought up a jar of peaches and I divided the whole thing between the four of them. While they gobbled them up I put on my apron and cooked up french toast. Once everyone was finished they mostly dressed themselves for church! We were all ready with 45 minutes to spare. When it was time to go I grabbed the little boys out of the backyard where they had been running around in their sock feet.

 Camilla snapped a few pictures of me and my little buddy.

Finley sat on Camilla's lap for most of sacrament meeting and played with her fingers. Joe fell asleep sitting up next to Daddy. I passed Mike the baby to put to sleep after the sacrament had been passed and then layed Joe on the bench in his place. The other three snuggled up close to me and joy swelled in my heart as we listened to the talks and sang the hymns.

 

The rest of the afternoon was pretty low key. Fin fell asleep on the way home from church and we almost forgot about him in the car! I was making sandwiches for lunch and when everyone grabbed their sandwich and I still had one left I panicked. He was happily sleeping in his car seat and had only been in there for like five minutes. Sometimes after church is finished, I wish I could just nap like him!! Happy Sunday!

Yard Work

 Today was our first Saturday home in a little while, so we took advantage of the nice weather and did some yard work. Joe helped Daddy load up all of the sod we dug out last year and they took it to the recycle yard. That boy is such a hard worker! I wish I had snapped a picture of him with his little leather work gloves on. We ran a few errands at nap time, taking turns going in to each store.

Hyrum helped Mike pick out these awesome zero gravity lawn chairs! We were all excited to try them out.

 All of the littles took a break from the pool to see how these cool chairs work.

 Fin and Joe thought it was hilarious when they reclined. They all got along so well today. It made my mamma heart swell with joy.

 This is where Ollie hung out while we weeded and dug things out of the flower bed out back. 

 I can't believe how much he looks like his Daddy at this age! 

 Mr. Stannix enjoyed an afternoon snooze in the new chair.

 It was a perfect day to spend outside!

In the late afternoon, while the big kids were out playing at the park, I came downstairs to find this sweet boy curled up on the couch for a long overdue nap. I think that means he had fun playing outside!

Happy Friday

 After two days of constant wind, it was so nice to wake up to the birds singing in the quiet of the morning. We sent big sister off to school and then I whipped up a few dishes from last night. When Ollie woke up he enjoyed a sink bath and flooded my kitchen floor with water. The world seems so much more peaceful today without all of that noisy wind. Life is good.

Windsday

I fell asleep as the wind howled outside. Ollie slept through the entire night and woke around 5:00am for his morning nurse. The house was quiet and still despite the storm outside. I read my scriptures while cradling Ollie in the crook of my arm. Once he fell asleep I tucked him back in his crib and crept over to my bed. Just as I pulled up the covers the rain started to pour. 

The littles all slept until after 7:00am! Camilla was the first to wake and came quietly into our room for a morning hug, dressed and ready for school. She told me how afraid she was of the wind, but how she was brave and stayed in her bed all night. 

In the afternoon when the boys started going crazy I pulled out the paints and called them upstairs. They sat and painted for hours while raindrops danced on the window outside. We made handprint flowers and then Hyrum decided it would be fun to paint something else. 

When I first saw the yellow crescent shape I asked him if he was painting the moon.

"No," he replied, "I'm painting a banana!"

He then painted an apple and an orange too.

Naps were had by the two littlest while the older boys continued to paint and create.

When Camilla got home from school she made sure to let me know how crazy the weather was and how I should have let her wear her Winter jacket this morning. She went downstairs and put on her crochet headband to dull the noise of the wind gusts. The trees in our yard were practically bent in half and our house was shaking. The poor dog practically blew away when I let her out to pee. Camilla soon began to cry, but Joe rushed to her side and put his arm around her. I suggested she read some stories to Fin to help take her mind off the storm, and it worked like a charm!

I put a pre-made lasagna in the oven for dinner. Half way through cooking the lights started to flicker. I prayed the power would hold out long enough to finish cooking it, and it did!

I finished the afternoon making homemade bath salts with my essential oils. It seemed like the perfect night for a warm, smelly bath and extra bedtime snuggles. Just before bed the older two looked into the yard and exclaimed, "Our trampoline! It disappeared!" It was in pieces along the side of the house next to some shingles that had blown from our roof. 

The littles fell asleep while the wind continued to blow and blow and blow. It was a constant noise all night, that never let up. They cozied down under their fluffy blankets with a favorite stuffy and drifted off.