San Diego Zoo

This morning we woke up and had breakfast at our hotel. We then made our way to the San Diego Zoo for the rest of the day! We grabbed a map when we arrived and tried our best to chart out the best paths to take so that we could see as much as possible while we were there. By lunch, we were tired and ended up stopping at one of the restaurants in the zoo to eat (a very expensive sandwich mind you) and rest our feet. Once we were rested up, we were able to walk around for a few more hours. We saw a lot of really neat things! I think Mr. Stannix's fav was the polar bear swimming. After checking out some shops at the end, we were all ready to head back to our hotel for a swim and rest. 

San Diego, CA

This morning we jumped on a plane with friends and headed to San Diego for the week sans kids. We have been planning a trip like this for years with these long time friends, and it was fun to finally make something happen! For the last six months we've been getting together for date nights and making plans. The Millers had been before, and knew all of the fun places to go and the passes to give us the best discounts. We scheduled activities for each day we would be there together. 

We arrived at the airport bright and early and watched the sun rise while we waited for our flight. 

We were greeted with the perfect weather when we arrived! We caught a quick bus ride to the car rental place and then made our way to our hotel and explored the neighborhood.

Our room had a tiny little balcony overlooking the marina. It was so fun to see all of the different boats!

In the late afternoon we took a drive to the San Diego temple. We had hoped to be able to attend this temple while we were visiting, but alas it was closed for extensive construction and renovations. The entire thing was covered in scaffolding. It was still beautiful to see the grounds and the building!

The palm trees surrounding us were also a delight.

As well as this bird of paradise plant!

The evening brought us back to the pier for a walk in the sunshine!

The air was salty and sea-foody smelling, and I loved it! I so enjoy the ocean.

It was also pretty fun to have this guy to myself without any parenting responsibilities. Huge thanks to Gramma and Grampa for holding down the fort back home (I left them a two page schedule of events). They are champs!

We finished the evening with a dip in the pool before heading to bed early so we were well rested for our full week of fun ahead!

 

Putting Things in Order

Today I spent a good chunk of time putting the house in order before Mr. Stannix and I head to San Diego for the week. I made up a batch of raspberry jam this morning while Mr. Stannix ran errands and grabbed some groceries to stock the fridge and school snack cupboard.

We enjoyed spending time with the children in the afternoon and chatting with my parents before we left. 

In the evening we checked into our hotel and then met up with the Millers to begin our holiday together! We went for dinner at an Italian restaurant and enjoyed visiting together. It's not often we are able to get together without all of our littles, so it was nice to sit and relax over a warm meal! Tomorrow we wake bright and early to catch our flight! 

 

Big Shoes to Fill

Happy Friday from Miss Joy who insists on walking around in her big brother's shoes today!

 

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.