Bounty

This month has been filled with so many wonderful things! We have enjoyed spending lots of time outside, watching the garden grow and produce and playing in the sprinkler. 

Ollie loves helping out with whatever chores need doing. Picking strawberries is fun for him and I love hearing him gasp at the size of the big ones! He always requests that we go straight inside to wash them so that he can eat them all right away! 

The greenhouse is doing incredible and some of the tomatoes are close to blushing. I can already taste a homemade BLT!

 

Sometimes after I've tucked the littles in, I like to sneak out to the hen house to grab the last of the eggs. The air is always cool and fresh and the acreage is quiet. I couldn't help but be filled with gratitude as I passed by the growing garden with fresh eggs in both hands.

 

There is beauty all around, despite what may be going on in the world!

Crimson Lake

Today we were blessed with more amazing weather! We took the boat to Crimson for the afternoon and had such a blast! The kids are so brave now and loved jumping in and messing around on the knee board.  Finley and Joe even got in the water for a bit to cool off! We also enjoyed a bit of time on the beach with Auntie Emma and little cousins. It was great to spend time with everyone.

 

 

 

 

Lake Days

This morning we made our way up to the Haskap patch to pick all of the ripe berries. The sky was blue and the sun warmed our faces.

 Hyrum came up for a bit to watch Sawyer and I loved listening to them run around the orchard together while I picked.

Whenever I would crouch down, Ollie would lean on me and tell me something fun about his day. Each time he would walk by me to pick a berry he would rub my back gently. When I asked him, "Are you happy today, Ollie?" He said, "I'm BERRRY happy 'cause of the sunshine! It warms my face and makes me glad." Me too buddy, me too.  

 

 I ended up with an overflowing bowl! I was grateful that I had Ollie and my Niece with me to eat lots of them, or else I would have had to go back to the house for another dish.

We spent the afternoon out on the lake with my sister and my dad. It was such a gorgeous afternoon!  We love our little boat and the fun it has provided us so far this Summer.

 

I was able to go knee boarding and it was so fun! Next Summer we will have a six month old on board again and I won't be getting in the water as much, so I'm trying to take advantage of the bit of extra freedom.

 

My Dad was able to go for a ski and did so great! It's fun for the kids to be able to watch their Grampa enjoy water sports and spend time with them.

 

 

And of course there was lots of swimming to help cool us off! The littles are getting braver and we have been able to get a few more of them into the water each time that we go.

 

 

 

Auntie Emma went for a ride with the big kids and they had so much fun! We still can't drive too crazy with our cautious Camilla, but it gets a little better each time.

 

  

Hyrum was super excited about knee-boarding again! He's getting pretty good and makes it outside the wake a lot now! 

 

 

 

Mr. Stannix got a good run on the skis! It's always fun listening to the kids watch him. "We have the coolest Dad!"   

Everyone was pretty tired by the time we packed up to head home! 

 

 

My Sis and I finished up the night chatting over appies at Boston Pizza after the littles were asleep. It was nice to get out together!

Sawyer Bean

Sawyer has grown up so much over these last couple of weeks! Every time I look at him I can hardly believe how big he is getting! This afternoon as he licked his popsicle and giggled, my heart melted. I adore this kid and the joy that he brings to our family.

Haskap Jam

I made jam today! All by myself! The littles were happy that I didn't end up sterilizing enough jars because it meant that they got warm jam and bread for lunch. Hyrum said it's his new favourite! I may have boiled it a little too long, and it's a bit thick, but the lids all popped, so I will call it a success!

 

Relief

This morning before he left for work, Mike walked into the kitchen and embraced me in the most heartfelt hug a girl could ask for. Listening to his work shoes as he makes he way to the door each morning always makes me smile. 

I've been stuck on auto-pilot for quite some time now. I didn't realize until this morning how much I was holding back and not letting myself feel. I've been hiding my emotions, putting on a brave face, and placing one foot in front of the other for days and days. 

Seeing the big red signs posted down main street "STOP! No Gathering!", "Keep two meters apart". It makes my heart heavy. All of the unknowns about school starting, the constant pressure from social media to have an opinion or feel bad about your own opinion. Do I keep the kids home in September, or do I let them go. There are just so many unknowns in the world right now. 

 

I've been consuming my time with housework, drowning my emotions in dishes and approaching life one day at a time. I've been forgetting to get lost in the moment and let my soul feel and enjoy and embrace. 

 

I spent most of my morning in the haskap patch, picking and letting the wind blow my hair all about. The cool morning breeze followed by the warmth of the sun on my face was refreshing. I enjoyed the company of my parents and lots of chubby toddler fingers to help pick (and eat, and dump the bucket).  Listening to the morning bird song and laughter of children playing in the yard was such a treat. 

 

As I walked back to the house in the sprinkling rain, I let out a sigh of contentment. I felt my heart healing and the familiar feeling of joy creeping back in. Today my soul found relief in the haskap patch. 

Sunday Snapshot

 "Mom, I've changed a lot. I don't pick my nose anymore AND I wash my hands with soap now. I'm getting pretty big...." -Finley

Being Productive

 Today we woke to gentle showers and cloudy skies. We had a nice, slow morning inside filled with baking and time together.

 

 Hyrum and Sawyer had a little snuggle on the livingroom floor. I love when the big kids enjoy time with the smaller ones.

 

I made up two batches of cookies to fill the freezer and the cookie jar. They get eaten hot out of the oven and there's never many left by the time I'm finished. Then I began cleaning the house from one end to the other. The bedrooms were tidied and vacuumed, desks dusted. 

 

In between cleaning I started another batch of sourdough bagels. I found a great recipe that is only 5-6 hours start to finish. The overnight sourdough recipes make me crazy. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing dishes.

 

The sun graced us with her presence around 3Pm. Birds began singing again and the door began opening and closing as the children made their way out to enjoy some fresh air!

 

Work and Play

 We began our morning with two huge pans of German Pankcakes. These are a favorite around here and I've recently had to double the recipe because everyone has seconds now. They are loaded with eggs, so I don't mind much. We sprinkle icing sugar and drizzle a bit of homemade syrup over them and they get eaten pretty quick!

After everyone was powered up for the day, we went out to finish working on the hill out back. It's been dirt for quite some time and I have dreams of green grass and a playground there in the future. We've been working hard at making sure the dirt is level and adding topsoil so that we can seed it. The big boys had fun taking turns on the tiller. It's good practise for them! 

When the heat of the afternoon caught up with us, Grampa brought out some ice cream sandwiches from DQ. The littles were pretty excited about it! Sawyers melted all over his lap and down to his elbows, so he ended up taking a good ol' country bath afterwards with a tub and the water hose. While he played in the water, the rest of us got back to work. Once he'd had enough I brought him in to dress him and then he hung out in the greenhouse while we watered and checked on things. He got lost in his own imagination, pushing around a toy car, making sound effects and ignoring everything around him. I love watching kids play!