Vacation

Today after church, we drove to Calgary Airport and hopped on a plane to Vegas! The two boys have been waiting for their special trip (after the older three went on their trip at the end of Summer). It's always fun being able to spend time with the children in smaller groups!

As the sun set, we watched planes land and take-off from our gate. The boys were fascinated!

We got to our hotel rather late, and ended up getting an upgrade since there were no more rooms available that we had booked. We ended up with a two bedroom suite with a great view! The boys were thrilled when we got to our room.

After dropping off our luggage, we wandered around to find food. Not many places are open around midnight, so we settled on this pizza joint.

We then walked back to our hotel and explored along the way.

The boys loved all of the lights!

We were all exhausted by the time the night was through!

Halloween on Main

This morning we found some costumes and dressed up whoever wanted to come and enjoy Halloween on Main Street. With Mr. Stannix having his office near the top of main, they decided to participate in the even this year and hand out candy to the community. It was a lot of fun to see people we knew and to see all of the creative costumes!

 

Dance & Double Date

This afternoon Camilla had to run to town to pick a few things up for her halloween costume. There was a youth dance tonight in Red Deer and her and some of the girls in our Ward were dressing up together. 

She decided to take Lily along to keep her company and she sent me this picture of them on a hot chocolate date.

Her costume turned out super cute! I love her zest for life and ability to make things fun no matter what!

Normally, Camilla would just drive her and Hyrum in, but Hyrum ended up bring along five other friends, so we all loaded up in Big Red and went in to the city for the night. It worked out well because our old friends were also driving their teens in and we were able to meet up at the Keg for a nice dinner together!

It was so fun to catch up with them over good food and good conversation. We got home shortly after midnight and had a house full of boys stay overnight. While they were quiet and respectful (they're great kids), I still lost sleep listening and getting up with Cooper. Hoping I have the energy I need for tomorrow!

 

A Mini Shoot

While my sister was here visiting she took our oldest girl out for a mini photo shoot! Camilla is beautiful inside and out and I'm so grateful for the pictures she captured in the golden Autumn. I can't believe how fast time has passed by and how lovely and mature she is. We are so grateful she is a part of our family!

 

 

 

 

 

Maternity Photos

This morning we woke to frost and my sister told me to quickly get ready so that we could take advantage of the morning light and frosted trees! We wandered out into the brisk morning air together and scouted out a few fun places to take maternity pictures. I'm so grateful for her talents and for the memories she captures. We also made a lot of memories tripping over tree stumps and laughing through the woods together! Just over a month to go before we get to meet this little one!

 

The Cusp of Change

As we drove along the highway tonight and I noticed the orange tamaracks frosted in snow, it reminded me that we are on the cusp of change in so many ways. Mike is on the brink of a significant birthday, we have a new babe on the way shortly, we have kids driving and learning to drive. The dynamic in our home is about to shift once more as we grow and rearrange bedrooms to accommodate. Time seems to slip by so quickly.

While the teacher strike has been unfortunate and the children are missing their classrooms and sports, I can also see them breathing a sigh of relief. It has been a nice reset/break in our home. We've enjoyed slow mornings, worked together to complete projects etc. Hearting Hyrum mention at the end of his talk on Sunday how grateful he was for the "extra time with his seven siblings" actually made me tear up. We've been adjusting and learning together and they've genuinely enjoyed being together for the most part. 

The change in seasons always seems to lead me to ponder the changes in the seasons of our life, the seasons of motherhood, and the seasons in our home. I feel like we are juggling multiple seasons with bigs and littles, but it is beautiful and wonderful in it's chaos and I'm grateful to mother so many unique little souls!

 

Thankful Trees

 

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Dinner

This morning I woke up at 7:00AM with Cooper. I had looked at the clock around 5:30 this morning and wondered if he was even alive because I hadn't heard a peep. He actually slept through the entire night for the first time in a really long time. Alas, I was woken in the middle of the night by the dishwasher beeping an error message at 1:00AM and then Lily crawling in claiming a thistle was stuck in her foot in the wee hours of the morning. Then, just as I was dozing off, a fly began buzzing around our bedroom. 

I put our turkey in shortly after 8:00AM and it started smelling good just as we were preparing to leave. We got a huge dump of snow last night, so our leaf picture was foiled. I decided instead we would all just gather in the living room and make the circle on the rug. 

After fighting with one boy over his wardrobe all morning, dealing with others who were grumpy, remembering all of the things I had to remember to bring to church etc, my patience was wearing thin. We were running late, so I just snapped a few quickly and then we loaded up. None of the pictures really turned out. Sawyer had something stuck in his eye, Lily was feeling punky, & Cooper refused to lay down. It was one big fight. "Why do we have to do this stupid tradition?" they whined... So off to church we went.

Lily began a fever during Sacrament meeting and then accompanied me to Relief Society where she fell asleep on my lap. On the way home the children were all fighting and somehow we got on the topic of the picture and someone asked if we were re-doing it. We couldn't because everyone was coming home in three different vehicles. I whispered, "no, it's a stupid tradition" as tears welled in my eyes. I drove home in silence, listening to a moving instrumental piece and willing myself to be filled with more gratitude given the fact that we were celebrating Thanksgiving.

When I pulled into the driveway, I knew the turkey would need basting as soon as I walked in. Cooper had fallen asleep and Lily was still feverish and begging to be put to bed with a heat bag. The boys were asking what I was making for lunch and I felt myself break as emotions were already close to the surface and feelings of inadequacy caused them to boil to the top. I put myself in my room for a time out and then sobbed to my pour husband after he got home (even though he had just dealt with bishopric meetings and a burst pipe at the church). 

Coopers powdered donut face with his hands stuck in his pockets definitely cheered me up as we sat and visited with my Dad and my sister in the living room!

I snuck a picture with my dear Mr. Stannix later in the afternoon.

Dinner was delicious! It was so fun raising our own turkey this year. Mom's pies were perfect! Clean up was fast with many hands on deck. I ended the night with a few boys asking to verse me on the pool table. We had a movie, snacks and a house filled with company.

The teacher strike is still on, but seminary is beginning again next week on zoom. It will add a bit more structure to our days and I'm looking forward to getting the house back in order and putting everything in it's place. And while it was a tough day, I am still so grateful for this family of mine and all of the many things we have been blessed with!

Last of the Harvest

Today Grampa, the children and the cousins all worked together to pull the last of the potatoes out of our garden. We got a pretty sad potato crop this year with the packed ground and all of the weeds we fought with, but we are grateful for what we were able to get and will enjoy them immensely over the Winter months. 

All of these little cousins worked hard together bending down and picking up potatoes as Grampa dug! It seems we got them out just in the nick of time, because the old North wind blew in snow late afternoon. 

I took a few moments to admire my tidy kitchen before bed and was filled with gratitude for our home and the gathering place it is.

Before flicking out the lights late at night, I noticed Camilla's lesson on the counter and was also filled with gratitude for wonderful teens who take their responsibilities seriously and put in the effort to fulfil them. Hyrum spent most of the evening downstairs in his room writing his talk for Sunday. The furnace kicked in just as I crawled into bed and I fell asleep to the sound of the dryer humming and the wreath rattling against the front door in the wind. 

 

Cooper's First Haircut

This morning I decided on a whim to give Cooper a hair cut. He has needed one for a while now, but I love leaving their wispy, white blonde toddler hair for as long as I can because it's my favorite! But it was getting in his eyes and the back was constantly tangled from sleeping and it was time... Daddy helped keep him distracted while I quickly trimmed the back and got the front out of his eyes. He was wiggly!