Kindergarten

When Friday's roll around, we all feel it. The mornings are early and the weeks are long. We've adopted a new morning routine this year with Camilla now in early morning seminary. In order to have our whole family together for Come Follow Me and family prayer, everyone is awake and in the living room by 6:30 at the latest. We do a quick ten or fifteen minute study and prayer and then eat breakfast before Camilla and Daddy (and whoever else has early morning activities) heads out the door for the day. The rest of the kids are usually done getting ready for school, packing their lunches, and eating shortly after 7am, which leaves lots of time for piano practise or playing. It has been a tiring adjustment though, and we always feel it at weeks end.

After everyone has headed out the door to catch the bus, Sawyer will sit at the table to do some Kindergarten work with his letters and counting while I tidy the breakfast dishes. It's simple and easy for him, and soon we will get into reading and writing a bit more in depth. For now, he is rocking at counting and recognizing his letters. Happy Friday!

 

Cleaning out the Greenhouse

It's been a rather blustery, and rainy Autumn day! With the cold weather approaching we decided that today would be a good day to pick the rest of the produce in the green house. We still had crates and crates of tomatoes to bring inside to finish ripening.

Lily was more than happy to get right in there and help pick, place in crates, and open doors while we hauled them inside.

She also did a great job picking these cherry tomatoes all on her own! We ended up bringing in almost 300lbs of tomatoes!

When the sun finally came out this afternoon, I had to get outside and enjoy it. My walk brought me to the compost pile to dump tomato stems and peels and then back to the coop to hunt for eggs. I forgot the egg basket, so I stuffed them in my sweater pocket before heading back to the house. The wind teased my hair as I admired the yellow leaves and the grass swaying in the field. What a beautiful day it had turned out to be!

After school we headed to town to catch Joe's volleyball game! So far they've had an undefeated season. Watching triple ball is much different than volleyball, but it's teaching them good skills!

Most of the kids met me at the school instead of taking the bus home. When he was finished, we all loaded up and headed home for a quick dinner!

 

Cross Country and Volleyball

Today I was asked to help volunteer for Fin's grade at the Cross Country meet. With Fin, Joe and Camilla all running at different times today, I ended up being there for the majority of the morning and afternoon. I got a little group of eight boys to keep together while we were waiting. We all walked the trail together early in the morning to show them which signs and colors to follow for their run. When it was time, we all walked to the start line and then they were off!

I was able to watch this guy come in to the finish line!

 I don't remember what place he got (7th? 9th?) but he did so great!

Joe was able to catch a ride with a friend from school since I couldn't leave to pick him up. I watched his race shortly before lunch. He did an awesome job, though he was a little bummed with his time. When he was finished, I helped load my group of boys onto the school bus, then slipped away to grab Camilla for her run after lunch.

I think she ended up placing fourth, which was really awesome! She loves long distance running and is always excited to do things like this! When we had finished up, the school day was almost over, so I just brought Camilla and Joe home for the last little bit of time. I was able to leave the two littles and slip in to watch Hyrum's volleyball game after school.

Mr. Stannix and I were able to sit together and enjoy watching our boy play. 

He's been trying to master his overhand serves and is getting quite consistent with them! His coach is doing a great job and the boys really looked like they knew what they were doing. Sometimes on days like this, I wrestle with feelings of being unproductive, but I have to remind myself that being there and watching these guys do the things that they love is why I stay home each day. Sure, the house could have used a tidy and dinner was very simple given the fact that I was gone all day, but they saw me there cheering them on! That's what matters most!

 

The Egg Basket

Lily loves going to see the chickens with her big brother. She always brings me the egg basket and gushes over the different colored eggs. "Look, Mom! Der's pink and blue ones too!" We only get eight or nine eggs per day so far, but it's so fun seeing Lily get so excited about it!

 

Conference Sunday

Today was a fairly easy going Sunday. We woke and had breakfast then gathered in the living room to watch General Conference.  

The messages that are given always leave us inspired to do/be better each day. We brought some folding tables up from the basement and the kids sat on the couch and colored during each session. It was quiet for the most part, and hopefully they still heard something that inspired them. 

The late afternoon brought everyone outdoors to enjoy the sunshine. This was my view as I sat on the porch swing. Lily sure loves her Sonny boy!

A Clean House

Today I spent a good chunk of time tidying, cleaning and vacuuming the house. As I cleaned I could hear Lily singing the words "All the bridges falling down" to the tune "London Bridge is Falling Down". And I couldn't help but smile, because she always sings it that way and I never want to forget it! And while the house was clean, I decided to snap a few photos, because it never stays this way for long!

 

 

 

Working Together

Today was another full and busy day filled with work and sports!

The morning light made the space we found for one of my favorite paintings all the more beautiful!

After getting everyone off to school, and doing the morning tidy, Lily and I headed up to the garden to start pulling carrots. She was a pretty big helper! It's fun bringing the children into the things we do and see them learn and find fulfillment. We still have a row and a half to get through though!

The afternoon brought us to the middle school to watch Joseph's volleyball game! He was so excited to be able to play sports this year and he's worked hard at all of his practices so far.

He gave it his all, got some skinned knees, and they ended up winning! It made for a fun couple of hours!

Brotherhood

This afternoon as I was making dinner, I glanced up and noticed the boys sitting together with a golden glow behind them. They were watching Joe play games on his chrome book, laughing and giggling together. Sawyer posed on the back of the couch with his leg bent and his chin resting in his hands made me smile. The entire scene brought me so much joy and I had to snap a quick picture so that I could always remember it!

I hope that when my boys are old and grown that they will always remember how lucky they were to have each other.

 

Ram Falls

Today we went adventuring to Ram Falls. My soul was craving autumn leaves, nature & family time! We loaded everyone in the van, including Sonny boy, and started out on our hour long drive. Autumn was bursting with beauty and I was pretty excited about it!

 

 

When we got to the provincial park, it was a short walk to the lookout over the falls.

Hyrum offered Lily a ride, and the two of them were adorable!

Everyone climbed down the gazillion stairs to get as close as we could to the falls. Some lingered to enjoy the view, and others were quickly satisfied and climbed back up.

Once they got to the top, most of the boys were comparing their throwing arms and trying to see who could hit the river with the stones they were chucking. 

When they were all done enjoying the Falls, Daddy suggested we go to the river to skip stones and walk around. The kids were much more into that than seeing Ram Falls.

We found a place to pull off the gravel road and park and then took a short walk to the rivers edge. The big kids raced ahead with Daddy which left me and these two littles trailing behind.

It was such a gorgeous day to spend outside! The sunshine on my face felt so good, and this view did not disappoint. 

It was fun to just hang out with this guy and watch the kids enjoy throwing rocks in the water for a solid hour.

Lily was in heaven!

Oliver found a "tiger rock" and asked me to take a picture of it.

Lily kept watching Camilla tip toe into the river on big rocks to find the perfect skipping stones. 

It didn't take long for her to just start sloshing through the water, shoes and all! 

When most everyone was ready, we peeled the big boys away from their rock bridge building and headed back to the van. It always amazes me how something as simple as skipping rocks and building bridges can occupy them for such a long time. There was a few protests as the bridge hadn't been completed yet, but the littles had cold toes and it was time to start heading home. As we were driving, Sonny plopped himself down in the very back on the middle seat and seeing his head above the seats with his tongue hanging out had us all laughing and wishing we had a pair of sunglasses to put on him. A lot of the kids fell asleep on our way home, full of fresh air and sunshine!

Glorious Autumn

This view never gets old.

 The golden leaves and stormy skies of Autumn are definitely on the list of a few of my favourite things. 

Along with chocolate colored eggs...