The Girls

When my sister was out visiting last month, she took the girls for a mini shoot. She got some pretty gorgeous pictures and the lighting was incredible! I sure love these two girlies and the relationship they have, despite being eleven years apart. Lily looks up to her big sister so so much! They are lucky to have each other. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chillin'

Today was an airplane sort of day. Cooper put on his airplane sweater and played with this red airplane all morning long!

I moved him back upstairs into Lily's room. I was getting tired of tromping down the stairs in the middle of the night. I'm hoping he sleeps better up here. Sawyer is slightly bummed to be losing his roomie, but Lily is thrilled and has taken to mothering him ever since. 

After his nap, we snuck into the school to watch Fin play some Volleyball! It was fun to see his team play together as I've missed his one or two other games. The season was cut very short thanks to the strike and I'm sure a lot more development could have happened in those three weeks, but they played well! Fin was the only grade six boy to tryout for volleyball, so he ended up on a team with the sevens and eights which has been fun for him!

After the game we picked up kids who were all over town, grabbed some pizza and headed home!

Brightest & Best

The Northern Lights were the brightest & best I've ever seen them tonight! After tucking in Cooper I peeked outside to see if I could still catch the Aurora display everyone was raving about and noticed the pink streaks across the sky. I stepped outside in my bare feet and didn't come back inside until I couldn't take the cold any longer. As I went to the living room for a blanket, I called to the children to come and see the Northern Lights! I wrapped the blanket over my shoulders as we all shuffled out on the deck to take in the beautiful displays of pinks that we rarely get to see. I'm always filled with awe at the beauty of the Northern Lights!

Sunday Snapshots

Sunday's are always crazy around here! This morning I did find time to curl my hair though. Coopers little Sunday outfit was the cutest darn thing and I couldn't help but watch him all morning at church. 

I snapped a quick shot from behind on our way into the house after church...

Then I had to take a selfie with him to show that I do indeed do my hair sometimes.

And then, he fell asleep with his hand stuffed into the buttons because he has to have one hand touching his belly button when he falls asleep.

I wanted to kiss his face a million times! I wish they didn't grow up so fast!

We were blessed to witness the most beautiful sunset!

During prayers I couldn't help but snap this picture. It was adorable watching Cooper fold his arms and be so reverent on top of his big brothers shoulders. It made me grateful for the relationships shared between the bigs and the littles in our family. 

 

New Office Space

Today the boys made some more money reffing, I relaxed between pick up and drop offs, and we managed to move some more stuff into the new office space we recently purchased! I am excited to show everyone what it looks like inside after we get things moved in!

 

Naptime

The only time this boy is still during the day is nap time. And I find myself stuck in his room staring at his sweet face, admiring his pink lips and button nose and long lashes. We sure do love our Cooper trooper!

 

A New Roommate

Today I moved Coopers toddler bed downstairs. Sawyer now has a new roommate! I'm not hopeful this will work out as he still wakes two or three times a night for no good reason, but he can officially climb (and fall) out of his crib now, so it was time. He's pretty good at falling asleep, but I did have to sit on the end of his bed for a bit. Crossing my fingers he doesn't wake and wander too much tonight. 

 

Welcome November

November has blown in with gusting North winds. The last of the leaves have twirled from the trees and fallen to the ground. The brisk, cool air nips at our cheeks and noses. Mornings start with a warm fire and evenings are filled with hot chocolate and tea. We are slowly getting into our back to school routine again and mornings aren't feeling as rushed. Cooper plays trains at my feet while I mix and roll cookies. The oven has warmed the house and the smell of gingersnaps lingers in the air. Welcome November, we're so glad you're here!

 

Sunday Snoozin'

Todays "Sunday Snoozin'" photo is brought to you by Joseph.

There isn't a Sunday that goes by where this guy doesn't nap!

Murder Mystery

 Today was a busy day in the Stannix home.  It began bright and early with a 7:30am drop off at the rink so the boys could reff a game. I juggled kids, picked up McDonalds, and helped Mike get ready for the Murder Mystery dinner at the church tonight. The afternoon flew by and before I knew it everyone was heading out the door one by one for the activity. The gym looked INCREDIBLE all decorated up with candles and name tags.

It was tricky to seat people and make sure tables were full and after being shuffled here and there trying to make things work it ended up being just Mike & I at a table in the far back of the gym. Mostly, it ended up being just me though because Mike was busy juggling the youths questions and eventually got sucked into the kitchen to wash all of the dishes that were piling up. A couple of people at nearby tables offered me to just pull up a chair, but it was fine. I thought I should stay to keep Mike company in case he ever returned. The sweet youth brought out plated dishes for the five course meal throughout the evening and I enjoyed photographing and eating all of them. They did such an awesome job!

After the second or third course I started feeling lonely and sorry for myself as I looked around at all of the full tables. It was so great to see people enjoying themselves though! I pasted on my best smile and enjoyed chatting with the youth who would come by. 

Eventually Mike came to find me because he was having a hard time keeping up with all of the dishes! Seventy plates and soup bowls and all of the cutlery was becoming a little much for one man. His fingers were wrinkly and he needed an extra hand! I filled one of the sinks for the initial rinse, made the middle sink bubbles, and the final sink a rinse sink for the freshly washed dishes. Doing that helped speed the process up and then I could dry and put away and help clear space on the counter tops. We worked away in the kitchen while listening to the youth interact and laugh with each other as they plated each course in the next room over. 

And I managed to sneak out to enjoy a little bit of the main course!

We went to the gym for the final reveal and had the youth line up for an applause. They did amazing dishing up and serving all of the adults in the ward! It was fun being in the kitchen and listening to them work together and enjoy one another. When the night was over, they all sat down to some slightly cold dinner and visited over the events of the evening. When they had all finally eaten, they took over the rest of the cleanup with four youth on dish duty and the rest vacuuming and wiping and putting away. Everyone did a great job! Not many will know the crazy amount of work that Bishop did behind the scenes to make this activity run smoothly from setup to technology to printing/cutting/folding clues and name tags etc. He is also amazing!