It's That Time of Year Again

It is a day that he has been anxiously waiting for.  He has been counting down the sleeps until school started, until last night.  Then it became reality that he will be in school every day this year and won't be at home.  But then I reminded him that he will be home before Lexi gets up from her nap and we have tons of time to hang out after that.  Then he was ok.  This morning when he got to wear his new hoodie he was stoked.  At the pancake breakfast this morning he reconnected with several friends and he was ready for it to start.

 Here he comes Grade 1. 

 I love these 3!

A Little Piece of Paradise

Today was one of those days that I wish I could repeat over and over again.  It was awesome.  Yes I had the kids with me today and I did have to play referee occasionally, but a lot of memories were made. 

 

It did take me nearly till 10 this morning to get breakfast cleaned up and coffee made; but in between all of it I played with all 3 kids doing various things.  I know that may seem kinda "what is so big about that?" attitude.  Lately I feel that I have been pulling my teeth out with the kiddos - ready to blow at any minute.  Then I remembered that they are kids and although I tell them I love them; nothing tells a kid you love them more than getting on the floor and playing with them.  We played castle, puzzles, colored, and hung treasured pictures up.  When I sat out on the deck to enjoy my coffee, I had a little girl sit snug tight next to me helping me read my Bible.  "My cockee (coffee)" I was told as she had her sippy cup close by.  Although the level of noise in the house was unbearable: it was because of squeals of glee and laughter. 

 

The boys decided to go cut hay with Tim after lunch, but he had to let them out at the end of the field because they were too bouncy and wanted to wrestle.  Lexi and I quaded up after her nap and they had tramped out a rather cool fort in the grass. 

 

After that we decided to explore the local wilderness at William Bagnall Wilderness Park just west of Water Valley.  This is a place that we will visit frequently. 

 It was a little walk that started with about 100 stairs leading to the creek.  There was  a simple playground and several picnic tables at the bottom.  After a quick play time we continued down the trail.

 Little Lexi was running as fast as her little legs could carry her. (She out ate me at supper tonight due to all that running I'm sure).

 Around the curve was a bunch of cool rocks/dirt that the boys just had to climb up.  Connor climbed up to the top and ran down in complete control.  His athletetism (I just made that word up) astounds me.  I wish I could run and jump as well as he does. 

 When her brothers went off the path, she quickly followed.  Just as quickly they were there to help her get out of the thicket!

 We walked along the creek the whole time but it wasn't until the end that there was a good place to play in.  We stayed here for quiet a while just throwing rocks.  They were so happy.

On our way back to the vehicle we ran into my friend Lori and her 4 girls - had a nice visit and then headed home.

 While I was mowing the lawn after supper the kids were biking.  By the time I finished mowing the lawn (about 35 minutes later) they looked like this....The tub was disgusting when they were done, but again the house was filled with laughter.

 

Who could as for more?  Today was a Little Piece of Paradise that I will treasure for a long time.  

Happy 65 Birthday Tom

Yesterday we celebrated Tom's 65 birthday.  Greg and Laura made a trip up from Lethbridge.  We had a beautiful KFC picnic in the park with the whole family.  Unfortunately Jesse was at camp.  It was a great afternoon visiting and playing - and super nice that Granny came out to celebrate with us. 

 As mentioned previously Lexi loves purple and so when she saw Laura's purple vest she had to try it on.

 The chaos getting a picture ready.

 I'll have to figure a way to put Jesse into this picture.

 These 2 are definitely cousins and love doing the same things. 

While the boys were playing soccer, little Lexi wasn't going to miss out.  After taking Granny back to her room we all headed to the skateboard park to have some fun.  I even got on the skateboard for a few minutes.  But as I am the picture taker in my family it is not documented for proof. 

My Little Helpers!

After spending the day at the science center; the kids and I stopped at a local hutterite colony and picked up 60 lbs of cucumbers to pickle.  Hutterite colonies fascinate me.  I hope that when the kids get bigger I can possibly take them on a tour.  I had 2 girl friends coming over to get some pickles done.  As I was getting the prep work done I had 3 children bring their stools in to help.  So I put them to work.

 

 

 

This girl LOVES purple.  While we were driving in the parking lot we passed a purple car.  She gets all excited and says "purple car".  Her vocabulary for a 22 month old surprises me.  I love getting her to copy different words.  The boys found a few "funky" cucumbers in the mix.  It was funny hearing Lexi copy that word!!

 
 

 Lexi was fascinated by the old jar lids and played numerous games with them.

 Kale and Connor rinsed all my jars and then started cutting the heads of dill off.

In the end we made 56 jars of pickles.  It was a great evening of work and visits.  

 

Am I crazy?

I am asking myself daily if I'm crazy.  The kids cousin Damon is upgrading from his quad to a dirt bike.  When he approached us to purchase his quad my initial reaction was NO WAY.  If you ask me today my reaction would lean towards no.  But Tim convinced me it was ok.  So Friday night Damon dropped the quad off.  Saturday morning came and I had 2 anxious boys.  

Connor is a typical first born child.  He listened closely to the rules and did his best to follow them.  So much concentration on his face.  On Sunday when he went for a ride he couldn't hide his smile.

Kale on the other hand scares me.  That twinkle in his eye shone even brighter when I was telling him the rules.  I could just read his thoughts as I was explaining things to him - "I'm on a quad all by myself and I'm gonna go fast".  Thank goodness he isn't big enough to get it out of first gear.  That way he can't go too fast.  

Am I crazy?  I think so.  But the smile on their faces is sooooooo worth it!

Playing Catch up

How is it that summer flies by so fast?  I realized as I was catching up on other blogs that I hadn't posted anything since our holidays.  So here are some complete random pictures of some of our summer.   

 This cutie has figured out how to turn on her noise machine.  I caught her turning it on the other day and then crawling into her chair to read a book.  Books, especially brown bear brown bear what do you see, are becoming a favorite thing for her.

 We were blessed with a visit from my brother and his family.  The kids get along tremendously.

 Connor continues to love looking for birds.  Now he has started looking for bugs and loves it.  We found this fellow just off our deck.

 A few Sundays ago I enjoyed spending the day with a dear friend hiking up to Agnes Tea house by Lake Louise.  The day was perfect. I've never been to Lake Louise, and although it is beautiful, I do not think I'll be going back again soon.  It is way too busy for this country girl. 

 After a full week of soccer camp put on by Athletes in Action, we heading to Medicine Hat for the weekend for a family reunion.  Between August 08 and December 09 there were 8 cousins born.  Although these kids only see each other once a year, they had a blast together. 

Although my nephews have a large outdoor pool just up the hill, sometimes the little kiddy pool will do the trick on a hot day.