A Blanket of White

Monday started bright and early again with sleepy eyed children following each other into the living room, wrapped in blankets for our morning study. We woke to a big dump of snow and the world was blanketed in white once more. Spring is such a tease! After breakfast Camilla loaded up her backpack for her school day and her basketball game in Camrose, and it was giant. Oh the life of a student athlete! 

I enjoyed a beautiful drive into town to pick up Camilla from Seminary and she even treated me to a yummy drink at the coffee shop. I sipped my gourmet caramel steamer all the way home and enjoyed the peace and quiet very much!

Once I got home I shoveled the back pad and watched Dad plow the laneway (so his bus wouldn't get stuck again). Then began the normal hum drum of cleaning and laundry etc. Lily wore princess dresses and sang all day long, and I have a couple of boys home with sore throats.

Cooper is becoming quite the dare devil lately and loves bouncing around on the couch. I always make sure to grab tightly to his shirt so that he doesn't throw himself off onto the ground. After everyone was in bed, a late night grocery shop was in order because we were running really low on school snacks, fresh fruit and milk. It felt good to crawl into bed at the end of the day!

Time Change

The time change kicked our butts! We played musical beds all night. Cooper finally slept in his crib after three nights of snuggle on the couch. He was up every three hours though (he's cutting some molars) and sounds like he has a sore throat. 

Hyrum woke five minutes before we had to leave, hair askew, checking cupboards for food. We all went to the van and when he came out I noticed he had forgotten his tie, so he ran back in quick to grab it. Camilla drove us to church, Hyrum set up the sacrament, and Joe greeted at the door. We had a chaotic bench complete with wrestling and a squealing Cooper. I was exhausted by the time sacrament meeting ended. 

We were gifted a tin of warm cookies from a friend, and I was so grateful for the afternoon snack!

Cooper and I spent a lot of time just snuggling on the couch due to his sore throat and ouchie teeth.

Lily joined in on the fun at some point!

When Daddy got home from Bishopric meetings, he took his turn snuggling our rosy cheeked, cranky boy for a while so that I could make dinner. 

Her Treat

When your girl drives AND treats you to her favorite drink to sip while running errands... you may have hit the jackpot.

Matching Cousins

The girl cousins brought matching jammies and we didn't even plan it!

Cuties!!

 

School Ski Trip

This morning I left the house with Fin before the bus picked up the kids for school. We were going skiing with his class and he couldn't wait! He made sure to ask if I'd be a chaperone the day he brought his ski form home, and since I'd done it for each of the older kids, I made sure to put my name down. We had a fabulous day skiing! 

 

While the class was in ski school, I was able to do a couple of runs, all while muttering to myself on the way down, "Come on, you've got this!" "You're not going to fall!" "That was close! Phew!" I always have to talk myself back into it each season, but once I get going, I so enjoy it! When it came to following Fin and his friends down the bigger hills, I REALLY had to convince myself to be brave! I am not great at skiing, but as we finished up our day Fin said, "Maybe next time I'll be as good as you and I won't have to pizza so much!" My knees are sore and my body is tired, but it felt so so good to play out in the sun all day long! We are hoping to do a family ski pass next year, so I should be pro by the end of next season!

I came home to the sweetest moment and had to capture it. The late afternoon glow, a sleeping babe in my husbands arms.... nothing more dreamy in my opinion!

 

A Day Ahead

Today I did a huge freezer clean out because we have a beef coming in a few weeks. Choke cherry juice was made into syrup, sour cherries have been made into muffins. I've got apple sauce out for a future cake or muffins, raspberries thawing on the counter for syrup or squares...I've been a day ahead all week. All morning I've been thinking, "tomorrow will be syrup making day..." but no, tomorrow is ski trip day and I'm excited to be a supervisor once again for Fin's class! 

I picked up Hyrum and a friend a little bit early from school to take them to a basketball game that was almost an hour away. I took all of the littles with me and had Joe walk to his hockey practise. Hyrum and his team played really well! Afterwards, I brought him back and dropped him at youth activities and then headed to the high school to watch Camilla's play off game with Cooper and Lily still in tow.

The girls played amazingly well and ended up winning by a significant amount (home team). Friday the kids have no school and the break will be much welcomed. It's been a wild week!

Apple Jelly

Today was a kitchen day. So this little boy played at my feet (and wacked my toes with this hockey stick) for most of his awake moments.

I made up some jelly and did up the mountain of dishes covering my counter.

I cooled my jars of jelly on this cutting board that Camilla made and gifted me at Christmas. It is one of my favorites, but it's too pretty to cut on, so I just use it to cool my jams and jellies!

A Heavy Snow

Today we woke to a heavy, wet snow fall. The kids trudged out to the bus on their way to school. When Dad got home with his bus, he ended up getting stuck in the driveway and I had to two him with the truck. I am excited about the side of beef we have coming soon, and I'm excited for sports to wind down, and I'm excited to relax and soak in the Spring sunshine....soon....

 

 

Sawyers Gramma Quilt

We had a lovely day at church today and then the kids played out in the sunshine on the deck. We had a wonderful gospel discussion after dinner with a few of the older kids. It was totally unplanned and spontaneous, which made it the best. The kids left feeling renewed and excited to engage in the gospel and study again!

After dinner, Gramma brought over Sawyers quilt that she had just finished. It started as a tradition when they were baptized, but all of the grandkids are so excited about their Gramma Quilts that she has been working away at them. He can't wait to put it on his bed!

 

Ice Fishing

Today we spent the day out at Phyllis Lake ice fishing with Grampa! There was some moaning and groaning before we left, but once we got out there, everyone had the best time! The big boys were excited to use the auger and drill the holes and everyone helped set up the big tent and cameras. It was so warm and beautiful outside that we only needed sweaters! Inside the dimly lit tent, it was easy to look down the hole and watch the fish swim by and nibble. The kids would get so excited every time they saw one! Watching Lily jump and frantically reel in her first fish is etched in my memory for the rest of my life. She about fell out of her chair with enthusiasm and we were all busting a gut laughing. Hyrum helped her get the hook out and we snapped a picture before releasing it again. Nothing we caught was overly big, but it was still exciting nonetheless. Grampa brought a couple of the bigger ones home and fried them up for us to try later in the evening. The boys told us on the way home how glad they were to have gone and spent the afternoon at the lake.