Playing with Bees

Today a dear friend invited me out to play with the bees. A few years ago I picked up a bee suit and a couple of new hives with the idea to grab a few nucs come spring. After painting them and getting them ready, our order ended up being cancelled. I ended up pregnant shortly after, so it was kind of a blessing. I have such a great desire to get into beekeeping in the future, but finding the right time is so tricky with everything else we've got going on.

This morning we installed five nucs and I learned a lot in the process! It was so fun and something I could definitely see myself doing in the future! 

It fascinates me.

I loved checking each frame for the queen before setting it in its new hive.

Nature is incredible!

 

Special Announcement

We have another sweet bundle joining our crew at the end of the year and we couldn't be more thrilled! 

I went to visit my midwife a couple of days ago to see if we could listen to baby and she picked up the heartbeat right away! I was so relieved! I haven't been sick at all this pregnancy and was worried it meant I had miscarried or something. She told me I just had a very considerate baby and to enjoy it. We can't wait to meet him/her in December!

 

Blossom Season

I love blossom season! The Big River Crabapple trees that line our driveway have just started to pop and the pink flowers are stunning!

I had to go out and admire them up close this morning.

When I decided to sit and relax for a little while, Cooper found me and climbed right on up.

Then he proceeded to climb even higher and turn the lights on and off a million times... 

In the late afternoon we had the opportunity to take Hyrum & Joe to the Edmonton temple to do baptisms. We left the littles at home with Gramma and Grampa and it was nice to spend time with these two!

Afterwards we ventured to a restaurant for some yummy food and good conversation. They are growing up far to fast and I so treasure moments like these!

 

Landscaping

For the last few weeks we've had a crew of landscapers here working away on the hill out front. They moved a lot of dirt and placed a lot of blocks and it's fun to see this space finally come together!

 

Finishing the landscape has really added the finishing touch that the house needed. Now people can finally use our front door without having to walk through the mud/grass that was once here. They did such a great job and we are happy with how it all has come together!

 

Back to School

We are back to school after the long weekend.

This was our morning...

Afternoon....

And Evening.

 

Sleeping on the Job

Today we dug the last of the tiny spruce trees from the middle of the property and kindly disposed of them (they were sad and tiny) and then filled in all of the holes with top soil. 

Oliver was thrilled to be allowed to drive the side by side in the field and help us out!

Cooper quickly played himself out and ended up falling asleep on the job!

 

Tie Game

Today we planted some more trees! Camilla, Hyrum, Joe & a neighbor boy were a huge help all afternoon!

Shortly before 10pm I went out to call the boys in from the "soccer field" and Fin, putting both his gloved hands on either side of his head, hollered back, "We can't quit NOW! It's a TIE GAME!"

As I watched the sun set and listened to the frog song I couldn't help but take a deep breath of gratitude.

The boys were wrestling and laughing in a two on two game that was doomed to be tied all night.

It was a beautiful sight.

 

A Days Work

Today we worked on planting trees on our new acreage just behind us. We dug over twenty holes and then went around the open field digging up the tiny spruce trees and transplanting them. Pretty well all of the kids helped out at one point or another. The big boys were a huge help lifting the trees in and out of the side by side. 

Oliver and Fin filled a lot of buckets with nice topsoil to help mud the trees in. They also enjoyed playing with Cooper on the dirt hill! It was fun to work all together at something.

At days end, we took Lily out for a ride on her new big girl bike! She caught on super fast and can totally balance all on her own. Peddling is new to her though and she's not sure she likes it. She won't ride yet unless Mike and I are at either side to "release" and "catch". Hopefully she gets the hang of it all on her own soon!

 

On the Road Again

This morning we were up bright and early to say goodbye to the park and all of the fun things we've discovered! We decided to do the drive home in one day instead of two, and knew it would be tricky (Cooper hates the car). We got all loaded up mid morning and headed out.

Cooper liked to shriek to get out of his carseat, so Daddy used his noise cancelling head phones so that he could concentrate on driving through the mountain construction. It was a long haul! Sawyer and Lily slept on and off and played really well. I may or may not have gotten sick on one of the winding roads around a lake and ended up needing a barf bag.

Tonight we were welcomed home by each of the children as they ran out to greet us after a great week away with the littles! Even the sky went above and beyond to make the night special. The view from my front porch (both looking in and looking out) will never get old!

Lake Life

Today was another day of exploring! We went for a drive in the morning and then spent the afternoon hanging out at the beach again. There aren't many people here yet as the season is just beginning, and the pool hasn't even opened, so our dreams of afternoons swimming in the pool haven't become a reality. It's ok though, because Sawyer, Lily, and Cooper are quite happy to play at the lake and build sandcastles with Daddy. Whenever he has work calls, we just head to the park for a bit and swing. It's been fun to vacation with just the little ones and soak all of their goodness in!!