Final Destination: Nauvoo, Illinois

This morning I woke to pictures from Mr. Stannix of our girl on an airplane. They were en route to meet us at the Cedar Rapids airport shortly after noon.

I had shared a bed with Lily and Sawyer to give Hyrum the other bed to himself so that his hand wouldn't get bumped. He was pretty sore when he woke up.

I opened the curtains to let in the morning light, cracked the door to the adjoining room to see if there was any signs of life, and began getting ready for our final day of driving. It didn't take long for the littles to start stirring, and soon we were all dressed and packed up and ready for breakfast.

A few of the kids enjoyed a bowl of cereal along with their chocolate milk from the night before, while others made waffles.

We hurried through potty breaks along the way and only stopped for gas when we needed it as we had a timeframe to keep. I enjoyed spotting these barn quilts on the buildings as we made our way to the airport.

Daddy and Camilla only had to wait about an hour (oops) for us to arrive, and then together, we all went out for a slow lunch at a nearby DQ as we were only a few hours away from our destination. Grampa watched the kids eat their ice cream while Mr. Stannix and I slipped next door to Walmart to grab groceries for the first few days of our stay in the Cabin. Every seat in the van was now full due to our two new arrivals, and the cooler was stuffed.

The kids were all very excited when we finally made it to our tiny, two bedroom cabin in Nauvoo. It was a cozy space to be sure.

We snapped a quick family photo (thanks Grampa) and then began unloading for our two week stay.

My Dad had done basically all of the driving over the past few days while I acted as co-pilot, tossing out treats and breaking up fights, so he was pretty tired when we arrived.

The cute little porch swing was a very popular place to hang out for all of the Stannix littles during the afternoon while the adults relaxed. 

In the late afternoon we took in the temple grounds just down the road from us. It was so beautiful! The kids loved being there and walking around and checking it all out.

I had to snap a picture of Hyrum and Joseph with Hyrum and Joseph on horses.

Lily was so happy to be reunited with her big sister again!!

After dinner, Mr. Stannix and I left the kids at the cabin and went down to the pageant area to see the last bit of the country fair and the Nauvoo Pageant. We wanted to see what we were getting ourselves into for the next couple of weeks.

The performance was incredible and left us feeling excited (and underqualified) for what lies ahead! We came back to the cabin late to find everyone sleeping soundly.

Sioux City Iowa

 Today was one of our shorter days with 6 hours planned on the road. It always turns out to be a few hours longer with all of the potty breaks and pit stops. 

The road side turnouts across South Dakota and Iowa were pretty impressive though!

The scenery was filled with a lot of farm land, much like home. After a few days of travel under their belts, the kids were finally starting to get used to the seating arrangements and routine. 

When we arrived at our hotel and the kids saw the pool from the lobby they could barely contain their excitement! It was decided that there would be swimming before dinner, and they swam for a very long time!

I was glad I had the foresight to pack Lily's life jacket. After swimming lessons this year, she has become quite the swimmer and was basically independent the entire time we were in the pool. She would climb in and out on her own and paddle and kick her way around. 

She could barely contain her giggles and her "Grampa! Watch this!" or "Mommy! Look at me!"

Hyrum was sweet enough to let Oliver use his goggles for the evening, which really made his night.

After expressing a bit of frustration over not being able to actually jump in and swim like his brothers were, Hyrum decided to make the best of it and wrapped his splint in a towel to keep it as dry as possible while he waded around the edge of the pool.

When they finally had their fill, we headed upstairs to our rooms to change and go out for dinner. Hyrum found himself feeling blue and one of the little boys noticed his eyes welling with tears and asked what was wrong, did his hand hurt? Hyrum told me a few minutes earlier that he was so so mad at himself for taking that jump on his dirtbike last week and frustrated with his broken hand (he was still on some extra strength tylonel at this point to manage the pain from his surgery). Through tears of my own I provided an explanation, "No buddy, his heart is sad because he can only watch everyone else have fun in the pool and he can't join in." I saw compassion flash across his little brothers face as he climbed on the bed next to Hyrum and asked what he could do to help make it better for Hyrum. A short time after we all wiped our tears, we went to McDonalds for dinner. After dinner, the big kids went back to the pool with Grampa while I put Sawyer and Lily to sleep. When they returned from the pool, I left the door cracked to our adjoining room and Hyrum and I snuck out to Walmart for a little while for some special time together. Just one more sleep until we see Daddy and Camilla!

Rapid City South Dakota

Our second travel day took us from Great Falls, Montana to Rapid City, South Dakota. We got an early start and began our day with breakfast at McDonalds. Everyone enjoyed a breakfast sandwich and smoothie. Sawyer wasn't so sure he would like the egg sandwich, but once he took his first bite, he gobbled the entire thing down. The biggest motivator for completing a long day of driving was that the kids were promised a pool at the next hotel.

A little while after getting on the road someone asked, "Where are we now?" I replied, "Judith Gap, Montana." Lily then said, "Wow, that's a long drive!" We laughed as it had only been a few hours into another eight hour travel day.

We took a pitstop part way through the day at Walmart for some odds and ends we needed to get. I found this cute purple dress and hung it in the cart to purchase for Lily. When we met up with Grampa and the two littles Lily exclaimed, "My NEW dress!" and ran to the cart. She had to put it on as soon as we got back to the van. 

While a lot of our pit stops were taken at nice roadside turnouts, some ended up being at random on the side of the road. I'm always grateful to have a bunch of boys when we have to road trip, if you know what I mean. Grampa was so great at taking Lily to stretch her legs, and she actually ended up being one of my best little travelers with hardly a complaint over the entire last few days. 

The pool at our travel lodge ended up being closed for maintenance and everyone was so bummed after spending the day looking forward to the outdoor pool and water slide. They made the best of it and the pizza and wings for dinner helped brighten their moods a little. Then they were off to bed with fingers crossed that the pool would be open in the morning as promised. 

 

Great Falls Montana

Today we loaded up the van and headed out for the first leg of our road trip. We were finally packed and ready around 10am. The kids asked for snacks and started fighting just ten minutes into our trip. It made me laugh (and cry inside a little). With Camilla at FSY this week, Mike stayed back to finish up work and the two of them will catch a flight on Saturday and we will meet up with them en route to Nauvoo. I am incredibly grateful for my Dad sacrificing his time and energy to accompany us on our four day journey. It would have been extremely difficult for me to stay awake for the long days ahead with six kids in tow all on my own. 

Our first pit stop was just over two hours in where we found a park to stretch our legs and have the lunch that I had packed in the cooler. 

Once everyone was full of sandwiches and had burned enough energy, we loaded up again in hopes of some littles napping for the next long stretch to Lethbridge. Dad drove while I doled out snacks and thankfully a few of the littles did indeed nap.

When we passed through Lethbridge a few of the kids woke and admired the train bridge and change in scenery that Southern Alberta has to offer. We pulled into a gas station for a potty break and then I drove again to coutts and through Montana to our first hotel. 

The border guard asked a lot of questions and had the kids answer when their name was called. He asked where their dad was and if we all lived in the same house. And then he pointed at Grampa in the passengers seat and said, "And who's this guy?" They all laughed, "That's our Grampa!" And with that, we were on our way!

When we arrived in Great Falls, we checked into our hotel and then went in search of food. The first restaurant had an hour wait, and the kids were starved. Boston Pizza turned us away due to not enough seating. So we settled on the Wendy's closer to our hotel. Everyone loves Wendy's, especially the spicy chicken burgers or Junior bacon cheeseburgers. After the chaos of ordering for eight, we grabbed a table to relax and enjoy the meal. Everyone was in good spirits after being in a car for over eight hours and I was so grateful for their smiles and willingness to get along!

Hyrum's Hand Surgery

Last week Hyrum broke his fifth metacarpal while he was out dirt biking.  The timing was awful as we are leaving this week for our big trip to Nauvoo. He was so upset about the prospect of a Summer spent in a cast. After five days of pain and waiting, he was finally able to get in today for surgery. 

They took us back to look at an x-ray, which I was grateful for as the doctor in our hometown didn't ever show it to us. The bone in his hand below his pinky knuckle was completely displaced and sitting over top of the bone next to it.

They gave him the option of having his hand froze, or coming back and being put to sleep tomorrow, with reassurance that it would be a quick procedure and he could probably just do it with the freezing. He bravely chose to get it done today so that we could leave on our trip tomorrow morning as planned. I couldn't believe how much the freezing and the break itself had made his hand swell.

With his hand placed beneath a fancy x-ray machine, they manipulated the broken piece of bone and drilled a pin into his hand beginning at the pinky knuckle and finishing near his wrist to secure the break. They gave him a popsicle, wrapped him in a splint, and sent him on his way for four weeks of recovery with strict instructions not to get it wet while we were in the states. His young men's canoe trip next month is no longer on the table for him as he could jar it or get it wet, but we were okayed to participate in the pageant and dance (as long as we were careful). A few tears were shed with a  different looking Summer experience on the horizon, but I'm so proud of how he's handling everything all things considered.

 

FSY and Trip Prep

Today Mr. Stannix drove Camilla down to the U of C to attend FSY with other youth her age across the province. She has been looking forward to this week for such a long time! She was able to room with one of her friends from town and was looking forward to meeting more people. She will get to enjoy an entire week being spiritually uplifted with devotionals, playing games with new people, and attending dances. Her and Mike will fly out Saturday morning and meet us at an airport enroute to Nauvoo.

 

I spent my day tidying the house and prepping things for our upcoming trip. It wouldn't be a road trip without some Monster Cookies, so I made up a double batch and threw them in the freezer. This recipe card always makes me smile as Camilla wrote it herself when she was small. 

The Even Years

This morning before church I took a Sunday snapshot of the Stannix crew ages 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 & 14. 

We are in an exhaustingly wonderful season of staying up late to hang with the bigs and getting up early to tend to littles. 

It's super fun to watch them grow and to be their mamma!

After church Miss Joy curled up beside me in bed and fell asleep. 

Nursery must have tired her out today!

 

Summer Lovin'

Today the boys biked the loop at Crimson Lake with the other boys their age from our ward. It was a great activity and enjoyed by all! As I don't have a bike yet, I stayed back to watch the fire and keep Hyrum company. 

Daddy took these two crazies in the chariot behind his bike and they loved it!

A few families ended up staying at the lake after and the kids all had a blast together on floaties and kayaks. It was smoky from the forest fires, but the water was warm and wonderful!

 

A New Driver

As of yesterday we have a NEW driver in the house! It is so crazy to me that we are already at this stage of life. I can remember going into this exact same place with my best friend at 14 and taking our tests together. Camilla has been studying hard and after taking the test a couple of times, she passed yesterday morning!

She was pretty excited!

After taking one trip to town with Daddy to practice in the church parking lot, I jumped in the back seat and we let her take us to town. I'm grateful for quiet country roads. Ha! She did pretty good and with a little bit of practice will be pro in no time. 

 

Dirt Biking Accident

This morning on my way home from town I got a call from my neighbor that Hyrum had wiped out pretty badly on his dirt bike while taking a jump. Joseph had rode to their house for help while their friend stayed back with Hyrum who was feeling pretty sore and clutching his right wrist. A kind mamma who also lived in the neighborhood behind us stopped her truck and asked if he was ok and ended up driving him to our neighbors house as he was in no state to ride his dirt bike. I met them there and then we went right to the hospital for x-rays.

He was so brave the whole time even though I could tell the pain was a bit much. We weren't sure exactly what was broken, but he could hardly move his wrist up or down without it hurting pretty badly. While we were in the waiting room he asked me how many bones we have in our bodies. I replied "206" to which he smiled, "I have 207 because I snapped one in half."

After a ridiculously long wait, he got a splint and a hopeful surgery date for next Tuesday. Yes, five days from today, and also the day before we are supposed to leave for our trip to Nauvoo. He took it easy for the rest of the day and pain killers have become his new best friend until they can get him into Red Deer to fix his poor pinky bone.

Later in the afternoon Fin ended up getting a wasp bit under his eye and on his hand after disturbing a nest in the hayloft. The only good thing that happened today was that Camilla passed her Learners!