Still Waters

These last few days have been some of the nicest days we've had this Summer! The temperature has been close to 30 and the skies have been blue. We were planning on heading out to the lake in the morning, but we didn't end up making it out there until just before lunch. The water was glass and everything looked gorgeous!

The big kids were anxious to get on the knee board and enjoy the smooth water, so Daddy and Grampa sacrificed their ski time and let them go for a few runs. It is insane the amount of confidence they have gained just over this past week or so. Both of them are now jumping in and out of the wake with huge smiles on their faces! It's so fun to watch them learn new things and enjoy our lake time so much!

We even got to watch this plane land and take off again!

When we couldn't take the heat we stopped to swim. Pretty much all of the kids get in the water now without a problem and we have a good time.

Grampa took Mr. Stannix for a ride on the kneeboard since it was too choppy to ski. Sawyer had to sit with him and have his hands on the wheel. He loves learning how things work!

We finished off the afternoon with one last tube ride back to the dock. Ollie waited so so long to hop on the tube while everyone took turns kneeboarding. He was so excited to finally have a ride! We took it nice and easy and he giggled the entire way, putting his arms in the air and giving us the thumbs up to go faster.

Sawyer was pretty tired by the time the afternoon was through! I covered his head with a damp towel to keep him cool and the sound of the boat and the rushing wind put him to sleep. It was nice to cuddle him for an hour or so. It's been forever since I've snuggled him to sleep!

We got home just in time to make dinner for the littles and get everyone ready for bed. Sawyer and Ollie were ready to go to sleep an hour before bedtime. We left Camilla in charge (with Gramma right next door) and she put everyone to sleep and watched them for the evening so that we could enjoy a night out with friends. We swung through town and grabbed some KFC and then met up with our friends at the boat dock.

The water was INCREDIBLE! I couldn't stop admiring the beauty that surrounded us as we drove around the lake and watched the sun set. I've always wanted to go boating at dusk, and tonight was so perfect.

After enjoying our bucket of KFC, we each took turns boarding and skiing and it was so much fun! We laughed so hard! We've all been so busy with work and surviving this crazy pandemic with our littles that it was nice to take a break and relax for an evening.

I really loved being on the water with this guy sans littles. It was fun to laugh together and have adult conversation.

I also really enjoyed driving the boat and whipping the boys around on the lake!

We finished off the evening by taking our friends for a wild ride on the tube while the sun dipped lower on the horizon. We all laughed so hard!

When we left my heart was full of gratitude for this beautiful world, good friends and laughter.

I see many more evenings on the lake before this Summer is up!

Hope Smiling Brightly

This morning I was up with the sun. I watched the sky change colours and curled up on the couch while the first rays of the day warmed my face. The children joined me shortly after with requests for food. After breakfast I took the scraps to the chickens and soaked in the morning light.

There is so much going on in our world today and I often go to bed with a heavy heart. I worry about the challenges my littles will face as I watch so much unfold around us. Between this pandemic and the politics and opinions on social media, I wish I could keep them home forever, guard them from what's happening, but I can't.

At almost twenty weeks along people wonder why I would want to bring another child into the world as we know it now. Though I struggle to know what the future will hold, I have never doubted our decision to welcome another baby into our home. I also feel deeply about my divine role as a wife and mother.

There is a gorgeous painting that has been circulating around of a home surrounded by stormy skies. Inside a father and mother, with an infant in her arms, are holding up the walls. fields of flowers line the floors and beams of hope shine from behind them. Right now, it perfectly depicts my feelings. Our homes can be filled with hope, beams of faith and beauty despite the turmoil and storms in the world around us.

Here in the safety of our home we will weather the storms and guard against hate. We will teach our children of a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for each of us. We will learn to love one another, to forgive and to be Christlike. We will fill our walls with hope and faith and endure whatever might come our way.

"You are the guardians of the hearth. No other work reaches so close to divinity as does the nurturing of the sons and daughters of God." ~Gordon B. Hinckley

Mr. Fix-it

Oliver loves spending time in Grampa's greenhouse. Whenever Grampa is out there working, you can bet Ollie is close by. I don't mind so much because the peace and quite is kind of nice sometimes! I came out this morning to find Ollie dressed in all of his construction gear, running around being a super fixer. Grampa watered and chuckled away as Ollie ran up and down the aisles asking what he could fix next. I am loving this age. Three year olds are so fun!

 

 

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!