Twenty-Eight Weeks

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees and only the tamaracks are left to color the landscape. Everything seems to be moving at a slower pace as the change in seasons slowly approaches.

At twenty-eight weeks I'm feeling a similar change of pace as I navigate the never ending to-dos and demands. I am tried, but content, ready to slow down and enjoy the last few months of this pregnancy!

 

Potato Harvest

Tonight we all worked together to harvest our four rows of potatoes before the weather turns. We are supposed to get rain most of this week and we needed to get them out of the ground before Winter. Daddy and the older kids worked hard shoveling the hills, while the littles and I pulled the potatoes to the side to let them dry a little bit before putting them into storage. As always, there was some complaining, but for the most part everyone happily chipped in and got their hands dirty. We then sorted them into buckets, keeping the smaller ones separate to use as seed next year, and the chopped ones to bring inside and use right away. 

I was so grateful for Mike and the big kids who took the brunt of it. Watching everyone work together to complete something is one of my favorite things to see. It is moments like these that help build family unity and strengthen relationships. Watching kids work together who wouldn't normally work together, or seeing a bigger sibling guide and help a smaller one with patience does my heart good. With everyone's help, it didn't take us long!

We then transferred them into the extra crates we found to take to the cellar that our neighbor so graciously lends us space in. After transferring the potatoes into the cellar, we walked around Lloyd and Willa's property, admiring their garden and talking about the bears they've seen in their fifty years of living there. As Mike, Willa, Oliver and I rounded the corner of the shop, there was a black bear walking parallel to us on the other side! This particular bear has been sighted frequently in our little country neighborhood recently (which means the boys haven't been able to bike alone to friends), so it was exciting (and scary) to see it twelve feet away from us. Just the day before, it had broken into their shed and eaten the apples and produce they had put in their freezer for Winter. It must have been back for more. 

 

Thankful Trees

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Grateful

Thankful

Blessed

Thanksgiving Dinner

Today we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with some of my siblings and their kiddos. We started the day with a trail ride, now that Daddy's bike is all fixed up. 

The boys were pretty excited about that!

They were gone for over an hour, exploring the nearby trails together!

The cousins started arriving early afternoon and entertained themselves on the trampoline and the dirt pile that still hasn't been spread. It's so fun to watch them play together!

My Sister brought shirley temples for dinner, and we were all pretty excited! It was such a fun touch to the meal!

There was loads of stuffing...

And a giant turkey! 

Look at that handsome turkey carver!

And my Mum's homemade pies! (Yum!)

And Auntie Chris brought some delicious rolls which was the finishing touch!

Some of the little cousins ate together at this table and it was so cute listening to them chatter away!

The older kids took over the island seating.

And the adults (and Camilla) filled the dinner table! I love the space this new home has provided to host large gatherings and have us all together for occasions like this. It was a blessed Thanksgiving indeed.

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!