Glacier National Park

This morning we woke early and finished packing up the van with a few last minute things. We had managed to get most of it packed up late last night after the littles were asleep, but there's always a few things you miss. We stopped to drop our puppy off at my sister's place and then made our way to southern Alberta. About an hour into our drive we made our first bathroom break of many. It didn't take long for the little one's to fall asleep. 

As we drove through Claresholm, Hyrum asked where we are. "Claresholm," I replied. "Camilla! We are at Clara's home! We're in Edmonton!" was his response. Mike and I had a good chuckle.

The children woke up one by one as we made our way into Cardston. We decided to stop and stretch our legs at the temple. My parents were married here, and any excuse to visit the temple and share it with our children is a good one. 

While they were mostly reverent, they couldn't resist running on the open green space. It felt good to be out of the car!

Finley, who had just woken up from a long nap, was a bit on the grumpy side. As he yelled and protested his way around the grounds I tried to quietly remind him that the temple was Heavenly Father's house. "Whose house is this, Finley?" To which he loudly growled back, "MINE!" It left Mr. Stannix and I snickering under our breath all the way back to the van.

We crossed the border to the States at the Piegan, Montana crossing. The wait wasn't too bad, and we made it in without any trouble. As we were waiting a grabbed a chip out of a snack bag that Finley had given me. After one bite I realized the chip was soggy and spat it out into my hand. Turns out he had licked all of the flavor off his Ruffles chips and put them back into the bag for me to enjoy (yuck). 

After we crossed the border Hyrum noticed a lot of bulldozers and construction equipment and said, "Wow! There's lots of construction on the States..." Then Joe rolled his window down and Mike quickly rolled it up again because the air conditioning was on. Hyrum then puzzled, "Why aren't you allowed to roll your windows down in the States?" They figured that things would be super different in another country and were quick to point every difference out. It was pretty funny!

We decided to take the scenic route and drive the Going to the Sun road through Glacier National Park. It was a beautiful drive! As we drove the children listed similarities and differences between the trees, mountains and waters here compared to home. A lot of it was the similar to what we see back home.

Even with the extra smoke, the views were breathtaking!

Half-way through the park we pulled over for a little hike to a water fall. 

The littles were pretty gung-ho about the whole thing and had lots of energy to burn after being in the car all morning.

We followed a trail alongside this gorgeous lake for most of our walk.

We tried to stick together as best as we could as we wandered the windy, narrow trail.

Finley was such a trooper and walked the entire way without any help.

After crossing over this little bridge, we had finally arrived at the beautiful falls!

We took a little break, tried to judge what time it was as best we could, and then decided to keep going and see what else was down the trail.

We stopped at the edge of the lake to dip our toes in the cold, glacier water and play.

Daddy showed the boys how to put water in their hats to keep cool.

We tip-toed across the rocks and enjoyed the cool water washing over our toes. 

When everybody had enough of the lake, we hiked back, hit up the bathrooms, and grabbed a snack for the road. As we drove I found myself shouting to the backseat quite often. Things like, "Keep your hands to yourself!" and "Stop putting chips on your baby brother's head!"

Even though the kids were the craziest for this part of the drive, it was still my favorite part. The views were incredible with waterfalls and cliff edges along the way.

We made plenty of stops along the way to hop out and snap pictures.

It was pretty slow going with traffic and switch backs, but it gave us lots of time to soak in the beauty that surrounded us. 

We pulled off at a little picnic area for dinner and pulled out our cook stove and dishes. I set Ollie up in the playpen and he was tickled to be out of his seat and moving around again. He giggled and danced away as we enjoyed some kraft-dinner. The kids helped me work a pump and fill our wash basins after dinner. The older three fought over who would do the dishes and eventually we decided that everyone would wash their own dish and spoon. It's funny how pumping water and doing dishes can be such a novelty!

Ollie: Ten Months

Time has escaped me this month. We have been having so much fun visiting family, planning a birthday and baptism, packing for our big camping trip and driving all over that I almost forgot to take Oliver's ten month pictures. Yesterday morning I stole a few quiet moments and plopped my wiggly baby on the couch. With all of the forest fires in the next province over, the morning sun cast a pink glow on the living room. Each time I backed away for a picture, he would move forward on the couch. 

 I envisioned perfect photos, but the reality was more like this...

 This boy has grown up so much this past month! He still smiles all the time and likes to show off his eight new teeth! He can wave "bye" now and has started picking up on social cues. He laughs when we laugh, and likes to make us laugh!

 He still has that adorable piece of hair that won't go down and I am in love with it in all it's whispy-ness. 

 Sometimes I can't get over how much he looks like his Daddy! He can crawl faster than a speeding bullet and he is already standing at any chance he can get. I'm sure it won't be long before he tries to take a few steps on his own. This boy is already a thinker and a problem solver. I love watching his wheels turn as he figures out the world around him. I could smooch his cheeks all day long (and sometimes I do). He has the perfect rolls all over his legs and wrists. He makes it hard to stop at five!

Camping Prep

 Today was a busy day full of camping prep, laundry, and house cleaning. We are planning on driving to the coast and camping for a few weeks for our family vacation this year. There are some days where I think I was crazy to book this and attempt it, and other days that I am excited to make memories as a family. 

 Mr. Stannix purchased a huge tent to fit all of us comfortably as we seem to have outgrown our last one. We set it up in the backyard today to test it out. The kids were super excited about the space and the room divider!

 I made up a huge double batch of monster cookies for the road. They have peanut butter and oatmeal in them so I consider them totally healthy and okay to eat for breakfast. They make easy car snacks and they're delicious.

A double batch of cookies meant that I was putting pans of cookies in the oven all evening. After tucking in the boys I had to go grab a pan out of the oven. I came back a few minutes later to find this sweet boy and his pup sleeping soundly. It was the first time in a long time that I didn't have to lie with him to get him to sleep. My heart absolutely burst at the cuteness of the moment. I sure love this boy!

Camilla's Baptism

Today was a day that Camilla has been looking forward to for a long time. Last year we attended all of her friend's baptisms and now it was her turn. We had friends stay the night and family arrive in the morning for the big day. 

A couple of months ago we picked up a set of scriptures and had her name engraved on the front. She was tickled when she opened them this morning!

Clara gifted her a matching dress for her birthday and they loved wearing them all morning. We all pretended we couldn't tell them apart and it made them laugh. 

After lunch we made our way over to the church for the main event. Auntie Naomi was kind enough to snap a few pictures for me.

I still can't believe that I have an eight year old. She is wise for her age and I am so proud of her for following the example of Jesus Christ.

Coordinating all five kids proved difficult. Finley ran circles around us and only paused for short bursts of time. We managed to get a few decent ones. These cute kids are all ours. I feel so blessed.

This girl has set the way for the rest of her siblings. I am so grateful for her example and the care that she takes with each of her brothers.

I was already holding back tears before we even made our way into the chapel. So much joy for this little girl of ours!

Camilla had asked Great-Gramma to speak on baptism and she almost wasn't able to make it. Grampa wasn't feeling well so I prepared to give her talk for her. A little while later she called to let us know she would be catching a ride with my cousin Jenny. Our girl was so glad she could make it!

Daddy was super proud to be baptizing his girl!

Grampa confirmed her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and gave her the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

We had sweet second cousins their to share in the moment as well! After she was baptized we made our way back to the chapel and Camilla played "I am a Child of God" on her violin without a single mistake. She was so brave and it was so neat to see her play in front of a crowd.  

Auntie Emma spoke on Baptism and Auntie Naomi helped out with music. Camilla is so lucky to have such great women in her life to look up to!

Great Gramma did such a wonderful job on her talk! She was a little bit nervous given her failing eye sight. She memorized her talk and delivered it with much grace and elegance. She began by telling Camilla how Grampa was among the very first group to get baptized in Edmonton in the very first chapel (white avenue). And Gramma was among the very first group to get baptized in Manitoba. She talked about how little she new when she was baptized at twenty and how blessed Camilla is to grow up in a home where the Gospel is taught. She spoke on the baptismal covenants and the things Heavenly Father promises us in return. She ended her talk with these three little bears and talked about the three things that we "bear" after baptism. "Bear" one anothers burden. "Bear" the name of Jesus Christ. "Bear" witness. 

After Camilla was baptized Auntie Emma gave a great talk on the gift of the holy ghost and how important it will be in Camilla's life as she makes decisions and strives to follow Jesus. She shared some cute stories and poems and Camilla smiled through the whole thing! 

We finished off the day with a later dinner at the Roadhouse. Wings for all! We enjoyed our time with family and enjoyed celebrating this girls special baptism day.

Spontaneous Camping

 Yesterday some good friends called us to tell us they were camping nearby and invite us to join them for a night! We packed our overnight bag, five kids, the tent, sleeping bags, and the dog in twenty minutes and hit the road! The littles ate a snickers bar on the way (great dinner, I know) and talked non-stop. They were so excited to go!

 Half-way there, Ollie started fussing and when I went to make him a bottle I realized that in all of the commotion, I forgot the diaper bag at home! All of the bottles, formula, baby food, and dog food were in that very important bag. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten it! When we finally pulled into town we made a quick stop at Wal-mart for the things we forgot. Mike waited in the car while I quickly ran inside. I got back to the van with everything except the bottles (probably the most important thing!!!) I've been losing my mind this week. Mr. Stannix being the great husband that he is, volunteered to run in and grab the bottles for me. We finally pulled into our site an hour after bed time.

 The boys played in the dirt while we set up camp. Hyrum tried climbing a tree and got a bunch of prickles stuck to his only shirt. Before long they were running around camp without shoes and their bare feet were black with dirt. They were all having so much fun though! 

 Once the kids were fed, we started a fire! It was a highlight!

 Pop was had and enjoyed by all.

 And our sweet little pup was glad to be with us!

 Once the kids were asleep the adults sat around the fire and visited until well after midnight. It's always fun to catch up with good friends! 

We crawled into the tent next to these cute boys and went to sleep. The kids all slept great, but I did not. I was busy keeping Ollie asleep and quiet most of the night, and when he was asleep I was worrying about how I would calm him when he would wake again. Most of our crew was awake shortly after 6:00am. We all took a trip to the bathroom and then snuggled back into our sleeping bags for a few more minutes. Finley slept until 8:00am! Perhaps we should sleep in a tent every night.

His World

This afternoon as I swayed in the hammock I watched this boy play with his car. He stood, he sat, he crawled around, he pushed, he pulled. He was in his own little world and loving life! He is growing up so much!