Egg-citing News

 Ever since we got our new baby chicks back in march I have been looking forward to our very first blue egg! When Hyrum went out to the coop this afternoon he came back with the best surprise!

 Our very first Americauna egg! 

 It's the most beautiful blue-green, almost olive. Collecting eggs has turned into an exciting treasure hunt these days!

I finished up the afternoon with a batch of homemade syrup. The littles love their pancakes and I love how simple and quick it is to keep syrup on hand without having to run to the store all the time.

Summer Lovin'

These warm days haven't graced us with their presence often enough this Summer. We take advantage of the sun when it comes out to play. 

The morning started slow and Camilla loved being matchy matchy with her baby brother!

We are so excited to be getting vine ripe tomatoes! They are delicious.

While I worked outside I asked the older two to care for Sawyer. They put him in this laundry basket in the shade of a tree while they drew pictures beside him on a picnic blanket. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing in the kiddie pool and running through the sprinklers. I had to chuckle when I looked out the kitchen window to see Ollie standing by the pool in nothing but a pair of green rubber boots. He has decided he's ready to potty train and spent majority of the day nakey-nakey outside.

We took advantage of the warmth and headed to Cow Lake for a few hours in the late afternoon. 

Camilla loves jumping off the boat and swimming in the middle of the lake. She is so brave and fun!

The kids convinced me to jump in at the end and it felt so good after a hot day in the sun! Although I get a little freaked out when I can't see the bottom!

Oliver actually asked to go for a tube ride, so we went for a real slow spin around the lake!

I could just eat this boy up!

Oliver enjoyed the afternoon in the co-captains chair taking in the scene.

We lit a fire when we got home and enjoyed testing out the new pit. The view from my chair was pretty great tonight.

I wish time would slow down sometimes. These kids are growing right before my eyes.

Shoveling Dirt

No body liked their breakfast this morning. "I'm not eating it!" "This looks weird." "Mine's not cooked enough." were just a few of the complaints. It was rough. After breakfast I loaded up Camilla, Oliver and Sawyer and headed into Red Deer for Oliver's pediatrician appointment. His EEG came back clear and they are quite certain he shouldn't seizure again. Once we were finished there, we headed to the mall for lunch and a little bit of back to school shopping for the girl.

While I was gone the big boys went outside with Grampa and shoveled over 90 bucket fulls of dirt to move to the new fire pit area. They transported it down with the help of the lawn mower and practiced their driving skills. 

Camilla brought out a water station for the hard working boys and we all admired a job well done. They have crazy muscles now and were so happy and proud of themselves. I was proud of their work ethic and will to keep at the job until the end. 

Bed time was a breeze because everyone was so exhausted from a hard days work under the Summer sun.

Saturday Happenings

We enjoyed a wonderfully productive Saturday! 

Camilla enjoyed playing with KIWI and showing us how much she's taught him. 

We got almost two dozen eggs before noon! 

Daddy and Grampa spent a lot of the day mixing cement for our new fire pit.

Reese sure enjoyed the afternoon snuggles from her favorite girl!

This boy melted my heart!

Rainy Days

We woke to rainy skies this morning. Strong winds whipped the boughs of the spruce trees while the children blinked away the sleep from their eyes. There was a familiar chill in the air. Rainy days are a nice break where I am able to catch up on baking and house work. Weeding the garden was out of the question, but I did sneak away to the greenhouse with my Dad to pick some of the ripe tomatoes. I was also able to join in on a fun game of hide n' seek in the dark with the children. They were taking turns scaring each other and were overjoyed when I joined in. They had fun screeching and pretending to be afraid while Sawyer slept through it all!

Magic

Tonight we spent the most magical evening in the raspberry patch. Not all of the littles were keen on picking berries again, but I was happy to spend the evening with those who did. Finley held my hand and swung the berry bucket in his other hand as we walked. Camilla asked to carry Sawyer and loved every minute! She is looking so grown up lately! As a storm rolled in and the skies darkened around us we enjoyed the gentle breeze and the scents of rain that tickled our noses. When we got back into the house, Camilla offered to feed Sawyer and put him to bed. She made it look so easy and within moments he was fast asleep and she was tip-toeing out of the nursery. 

Summer Days

These days start early and I haven't had a lot of sleep lately. Sawyer has been waking often in the night, likely sore muscles from crawling and pulling himself up on furniture. He still won't take a bottle very well, but I am trying to be persistent. While I cherish the moments nursing, it is nice to have some reprieve every now and then. As I sit on the couch and enjoy the sun pouring in the bay window so many thoughts and ideas spin through my mind. 

Happy sounds filled the house this morning as we ate breakfast and got ready to go outside. We picked raspberries and did some more weeding. My body still aches from all of the weeding this week. It's funny how a simple job can work muscles you didn't know needed working! 

When the three little boys napped, the older kids played in hushed tones. As I enjoyed the quiet and the gentle Summer breeze from the garden, I couldn't help but feel content and happy. 

Also, I have twelve dozen eggs in my fridge that I have no idea what to do with.... So we had Frittata for dinner tonight!

Berries for Breakfast

We woke to a blue sky for the first time in forever. I wrapped Sawyer on my back and told the kids that breakfast was in the raspberry patch this morning. The bushes were dripping with plump, juicy raspberries! They followed me up to the big garden and we picked and ate to our hearts content. Slow, sunny mornings like these have me wishing that time would slow down.

Mother & Daughter

My girl and I ended up matching for church today, so I had Hyrum snap a picture for us.

I sure am grateful for Camilla and the example she is to her younger siblings. She is a pretty special girl and I feel so lucky to be her mamma. She teaches me every day about meekness, patience, and finding joy!

By the Bowl Full

This little boy was looking so grown up today!

He really enjoyed his giant bowl of raspberries, cream and sugar.

 He has at least one bowl full every day.

 It's his favorite.

 He needs to stop growing up so fast!