They're Home

This morning we woke up with everyone back home again. They had so many wonderful experiences on their trip and it's been fun to hear about them! We had a relaxing morning getting ready for church and visiting. I was able to get pictures of a few of them, except for Fin who was off playing with Ollie and Sawyer all morning downstairs. On the way home from church today Hyrum commented how weird it will be when a few of the older children will grow and go on missions or move away. Being away from their siblings was hard and many of them were more excited to see Cooper than their mamma which made me laugh. When they facetimed me from the airport Camilla asked if I could put Lily to sleep downstairs in her bed tonight so that she could surprise her in the morning. They are all genuinely happy to see each other after such a long time away. I'm so grateful to be all together again. I sure missed my Mr. Stannix! Happy Sabbath!

(Our Souvenirs from Universal Studios)

 

Football

Not much going on around here today except for getting the house clean and ready for our big crew to arrive home! They get in very very late tonight. I snapped a few pictures of Cooper-Duper this morning. He grows and changes so much every day!

 

Ocean Sunsets

Our crew finished their cruise this morning and are passing the time at a hotel until their flight home tomorrow! I can't wait to hug them and hear all about their trip! They won't arrive home until after midnight, but I am happy to wait up for them. Camilla made sure to get some pictures of the sunset for me while they were cruisin'. She's such a beauty inside and out! I'm so grateful she's ours!

 

Leap Day

Today was leap day! I woke to a quiet house. Ollie got himself up for school, but wasn't feeling well, so I sent him back to bed before drifting off again myself. Sawyer and Lily slept in until almost 8am! We spent the day at home together while giant snowflakes danced to the ground outside.

In the afternoon we got a facetime call from our favorite explorers who were enjoying a beach and pool day at CocoCay! They were quite enjoying the wave pool, waterslides, drinks, and sandy beach. 

 

 

The littles all got to say hello and hear a little about their adventures before they had to board the cruise ship again!

 

Reminiscent

This morning as Oliver left for school Lily sat on the bench and looked longingly out the window, "I wish I was a kid like Ollie so I could take the bus!" It made me laugh.

It was a productive morning of snuggling and laundry folding.

At bedtime I found Lily trying on shoes in her closet instead of falling asleep. I checked her before I went to bed to find some fashionable teal sandals with strawberries strapped to her feet beneath her covers. I slowly removed them and pulled the covers up to her chin before placing a kiss on her forehead.

Cooper stayed awake for a good chunk of the evening before I filled his tummy with milk at bedtime. He cooed, smiled and interacted and then quickly nodded off to sleep on my shoulder. He's been giving me a good three or four hour stretch to start the night and it's been pretty amazing. I think he just needed life to calm down a bit to settle into a proper routine. It's been nice not to be running so much with the big kids away. We miss them of course! But my time with just these littles ones has been reminiscent of early years of motherhood when Camilla first started school and I spent my days crafting and playing with the little ones while we waited for her to return home.  Now we have activities and schedules to keep and life can feel a bit more chaotic if I'm not careful. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but I do sometimes miss those early days....

Back at Home

Yesterday we woke to snow much snow! After getting Ollie off to school and putting Cooper down for his morning nap, I bundled up to shovel the walks. 

Cooper has been so content and chill the last few days and it's been nice to be able to set him down for moments throughout the day to tend to the house. 

Gramma brought a brand new chicky over to show us! They have been pipping and zipping for the last few days and Lily and Sawyer have had their eyes on the hatcher window for a good chunk of the day. 

Sawyer managed to stick his tongue to the pole this afternoon and all I could do was chuckle to myself when he came in with teary eyes to show me. You'd think he would have learned from Ollie's mishap not that long ago, but no, he had to experience it for himself.

The children have spent most of the afternoon watching and snuggling the baby chicks. I've hardly seen them all day!

Even though it looks like Winter outside, it is Spring in my heart! 

 

Haiti

The first cruise stop on the Island of Haiti in Camilla's words...

Today we woke up extra early so we would have lots of time to explore the island of Haiti. After we had all got dressed and ate breakfast we headed onto the balcony and felt the heat of the Caribbean sun! Then off we headed down to floor one where we grabbed towels and headed off the cruise ship and onto the bridge that connected us with the island. 

       

As soon as we got on the island we raced for the beach and found a nice sunny spot with lots of umbrellas. The boys and I ditched our bags and ran to the water and it was sooo warm! After a little time in the sun Hyrum, Dad, and I went to our island excursion which was ziplining over the ocean! We walked along a sandy path that led us to where we would grab our gear. We walked inside the wooden building and were assisted by the staff who helped us size up for our gear. After we had put our equipment on we had a short safety video then we headed off the the first zipline which was called Little Dragon where we would practice. 

 

When our turn came to go down we practiced our flying position which was leaning back with our legs straight out in front of us and our landing position, which was a sitting position with our legs spread apart. After we were done practicing we hopped on a small bus that drove us up a mountain to the Dragon flightline where we would zipline over the ocean! When we got up to the place where we could get clipped in I convinced Hyrum and Dad that we would go first this time because Dad made us go last on the smaller zipline. 

 

 

Once it was our turn Dad, Hyrum, and I got all clipped up, then the staff member working the zipline radioed his buddy at the bottom to make sure all was clear and he sent us down. We ziplined over two different beaches and looked out at the ocean and at the beach where we were previously sitting. Dad made it to the end first, then I came flying in and then Hyrum. 

 

 

After we took off all our gear we headed back to the beach and found Joe, Fin, and Grandpa who were playing in the water with the frisbee. Dad and Grandpa went to go grab a pina colada (which was becoming a regular thing) and the boys and I stayed at the beach in the water. We were throwing the frisbee to one another in a circle and trying not to drop it. Joe threw the frisbee to me and I had to run a little to catch it and then I stepped on something that felt like a ball of needles! I threw the frisbee back to the boys and hopped over to my chair to see if my foot was okay. It seemed to be fine with the exemption of a couple pokes but when I looked closer I could see there was a spike in my foot. Grandpa was walking back to the beach when I told him what happened and he insisted that we head over to the medical station. We told the Doc what happed and he said he would get the spike out of my foot. He cleaned it out with like 10 different cleansers then dug around with a needle a little bit. He was unsuccessful and that's when I asked him if I could try and dig it out but he said "No! This is the most exiting part of my day!" After a couple minutes (and a lot of poking around) he finally got it out. Grandpa gave me the rest of his pina colada and we headed to the outdoor lodge building and grabbed some burgers and lemonade. After we ate we went back to the beach and sat in the sun for the rest of the day.     

Sunday Snapshots

This morning we were all ready for church nice and early with only half of the children at home. I sent Mr. Stannix a picture of everyone all dressed in their Sunday best.

Ollie was really excited to wear his new outfit to church today. He has been the "man of the house" this week with Daddy and the big boys being away. He's done such a good job taking care of his mamma and his siblings and even made sure the walks were cleared of snow before we left for church this morning!

I turned on the fire mid-afternoon to warm the house. Sawyer accidently left the basement sliding door open after he let Sonny in this morning and we didn't discover it until after we got home from church. Ooops!

I listened to another snowstorm blow in as I nursed Cooper to sleep, wind howling and whipping around the house. 

The Many Faces

This little boy gets sweet and sweeter every day. Over the last couple of days he seems to have grown up and hit a new milestone. He has started greeting people with smiles and grinning when he hears his siblings laughing around him. I wish I knew what he was thinking, but I imagine he can't wait to join in on their shenanigans. I love watching his personality come to light. He is quite an expressive little guy and my heart literally melts every time he flashes me that dimpled grin of his.

Neck Giggles

This morning I enjoyed some morning smiles from Cooper. He then giggled into my neck as we snuggled on the couch in the morning light. My very favorite thing!

In the afternoon we experienced gusting winds and dark skies. Snow is on its way after these gorgeous days. It's probably for the best as the mud around here could use a pretty blanket.

I made two double batches of bagels. Some to eat, some to freeze, and some to share. The oven warmed my kitchen and they smelled amazing!

When I went to feed and water the chickens, I forgot to bring the egg basket, so my shirt was the next best thing! I sure love all of the pretty eggs we get each day!