Sweet Sixteen

Today our oldest turned SIXTEEN! We had a wonderful day celebrating her with birthday waffles, presents, balloons, beach volleyball and boating. Camilla is kind, determined, thoughtful, fun, easy going & always lives life to the fullest. She has surrounded herself with amazing friends and we have loved watching her grow into the beautiful young lady she is. We are so lucky she's ours and look forward to seeing what she accomplishes this year!

She ended her night with a birthday sleepover with a few friends. Daddy saved the night and got the projector working for their movie on the trampoline. Happy birthday sweet girl!

 

They're Home

Today was the last and final day on the river! Mom, Naomi & I headed out with the tiny kids early this morning to meet them at Mackenzie crossing around lunch. The last day is typically shorter and with the clouds looming, we wondered if they would be there earlier. Judging by the pictures, they had a good final day of fishing on the river! Uncle Arland and Auntie Naomi headed back to Edmonton and the rest of us headed back to the acreage.

 

The little ones were pretty excited to see Daddy's and siblings again!

Sawyer couldn't wait to hug Cooper!

Another trip for the books....

Cousin Time

The second full day of canoeing sure looked like a blast despite the crummy weather. The trip was a little bit on the chilly/rainy side this year, but the littles are keeping their spirits high! This little group of cousins is so fun!

 

 

 

Back home we are enjoying the quiet, the early bedtimes and the "mom time" in the evenings! Tonight the sun set was gorgeous and I couldn't help but sneak outside for a few photos. With the landscaping done the house has transformed!

Good night!

 

Annual Canoe Trip

This year we had a whole bunch of the little cousins join us for the annual canoe trip. Naomi & I were the drivers and got to go see them off down the river and haul home the vehicles and trailer. We've done this so many years now that it feels super easy to gather gear, pack, and load the canoes. We also have older kids who are great helpers!

We made sure to snag an obligatory group picture before everyone left!

The little cousins had a blast playing in the water while we loaded and organized canoes.

Near the end of packing, the older boys walked out a ways and started fishing.

Sawyer and Daddy also got some fishing in while we waited for forgotten gear to arrive!

They  did their annual wash in the river before bed and it looked like a pretty good day!

 

Canoe Training

This Summer we had the opportunity to sign the oldest three up for some canoe training on the North Saskatchewan! They spent all day Saturday, and all day today on the water and learned a lot. Truth be told, none of them were really looking forward to it and we may have had to bribe them to go with the friends that were also going, but after their first day they came home super excited! The boys were both asking to do it again next year! Since they are paddling the North Saskatchewan for young mens camp this year, we thought the extra experience would do them some good. They had a fun group of friends and adults to do it with and really enjoyed learning new things on the river and hitting the rapids. 

Check out their awesome reel here if you'd like a glimpse into what their days were like!!

Choosing Joy

Trying to "Choose Joy" as my toddler wakes with the sun each morning. The golden glow pouring through the fireplace definitely helped! Our Summer days have been full and our July is booked, so I'm cherishing these quiet moments early in the morning when no one else is awake except for me and a few littles. 

Mid-morning snuggle Lily turned her head and looked up and me and whispered, "I love you, Mom" and it was just the best! My eyes are tired, but my heart is full!