Can Summer last Forever?

Summer is really a perpetual state of bliss. You care a little less about the budget and a little more on adventures and memories. I care a little less about the schedule and a little more in just doing what we want. Looking through our summer so far is satisfying that we actually made an effort to just spend a little more time together and got some great memories packed in.

Second week of July we got to go on 4-H horse camp. It was seriously amazing. 

Ellie left for 4-H camp so the other kids and I took off for the creek with Cherlyn and her kiddos.

A little Wallys beach

I was actually at all these places but I think this might be the rare photo of me! 

Dusty and Ellie got some cow chasing in with our friends Tara and Ally {and Austin and Mike}

More moving cows.

My happy place. We tried to put in an effort to get to "the lake" as much as we could. I am hoping to find another few days down there but it was heaven while it lasted.

Playing at the beach at the lake. Andy may love the lake as much as I do.

Annual fort Steele trip!


So much cards this summer! The girls are all finally old enough to really start playing cards. They learned how to play rook and bugger your neighbour and hearts. Andy tries to get in a few rounds of go fish in between.

BC is on fire this summer and the smoke has been an issue we've had to contend with at the lake and at home but it has made for some amazing sun shots. 

All the kiddos tubed this year. Ellie is hands down the champ. She has really stepped out of her shell and put fear aside. It's helped all the other kids too. 

Our cousins from Manitoba came and visited and wanted a rural farm experience. It was an awesome visit and the kids loved hanging out. Ellie, Kyle, and Penny were the only ones that managed to sleep outside all night!!

We did put them to work! We got the chicken coop partially painted and a loaf of hay stacked!!

We also are one kitten short in the barn. Miko the cat will be living the high life in Manitoba!! 

It was an awesome visit and we have to do it more! Thanks Aunt Jean for the snow Bobs!

This might be one of the biggest highlights for Lucy. She struggles with nervousness while we ride. She has come leaps and bounds this year on her pony but sadly she was outgrowing her. The universe smiled on us and the stars aligned and we found her her unicorn. Meet Reese. She wakes up every morning and begs Ellie and dusty to go riding. 

This has been Ellie's highlight. Kneeboarding. Hopefully we can get back to the lake because she is determined to ski this year!

We have 2 more weeks left of bliss! Fingers crossed we have a few more adventures!

Aye Aye Captain

My parents just got back from a vacation in Florida and they brought back a few gifts for everyone. The most HILARIOUS gift was a captains hat for Dusty. But what was more funny was how much Andy loves it. 

Dusty made a boat/car/truck/semi/whatever Andy can imagine cardboard box toy and this kid for the past two days has been boating around my house and requesting I call him "Captain"

Babies Everywhere!

March and April Whizzed right by! 

The months of March- June is why we live where we do.

 We have babies everywhere

      The grass is greening up.

             The air is warmer.

                   The house gets aired out.

Andy has always loved his goats but this year he is actually particularly helpful!! He is almost my master goat herder!!

{Lucy on Trixie}

{Andy on Molly}

{Andy with a January Lamb}

{Penny and her 4-H lamb, Squirt}

{Andy, Lucy, and Rocky}

{Bailey, Dusty's horse, got a wicked eye injury that almost resulted in the removal of the eye.... the main reason we were married to our house for the month!}

{awe! The lambs}

A Short Sweet Month to remember

We really have been having the best February.

We have been very busy 

but

I have been trying especially hard to slow down and do some extras with the kids

(and having a friend to encourage that is a huge bonus)

We wrapped up basketball and Ellie did great 

and 

I had a great time hanging out with moms that I don't normally get a chance to visit with.

We went to a trampoline park and the kiddos had the best time.

 Dusty took the girls to 4-H foods and they learnt about cake decorating 

AND

seriously we may have discovered ANOTHER hidden talent that Penny has!!

You can expect a bakery to open any day now....

 OH FOR THE LOVE OF HOCKEY

AND BOYS

ESPECIALLY THESE BOYS

Oh man! Dusty gets a gold star because he took ALL the kids to the hockey game SOLO 

and it was with school

SO

ALL of their friends were there.

It was CHAOS

and these two were Captain Chaos and Lieutenant Loud

It's been a great month and we are ending it by playing play-off hockey against a great team and it's been a blast ending our month this way!!

basket ball and trampolines

Oh man! what an awesome weekend!!
Jam-packed as usual but there was some great highlights!

Penny and her little hockey team got to go watch the university team play. They got to be in the dressing room for the pep talk and go out on the bench and watch the team warm up. She hung out with her hockey bestie and came home buzzing. The next day their team won their game and solidified their spot in playoffs.

Lucy was the sheep queen this weekend. She stayed home and hung out with Gramma and Andy and made sure all the new born lambs were up and doing their thing. She also took charge of bottle feeding the bottle lamb and got to have a friend over to play on Saturday.

Ellie was in a basketball tournament and they ended up winning!!! She had a great time hanging out with all her friends and I had a great time watching them play ball.

Andy.... well, his Gramma came and saved him from being toted around all weekend. He had the best time reading books and watching movies.

This week we had a PD day so I took Lucy, Penny, and Andy to the trampoline park and we met Stacey and her mom and the kiddos there and it was an awesome hour and everyone was PLAYED out.
Came home and headed to hockey practise with Penny and she had a surprise pizza party after. It's so much fun to be apart of such a great little team. Her coaches and other players and parents are really great!

This next weekend should be filled with awesomeness too..... 4-H, more basketball, AND the Superbowl!!!!!

Andy Boy

This Kid!! Is the craziest little thing ever!
He kept me on my toes all day.

He literally woke me up with a wet willy that he calls a wet washy and then a big lick to the side of the face.
So gross.

Then he pretty much jumps on me every 20 seconds demanding, in rotation, pancakes or tv.
Yeesh.

He finally scampers off to drink chocolate milkshake and I crawl out of bed.
I make him a little breakfast to go with the milk shake and sit down to do some work. Every 10 minutes I was interupted with a request of snakes and ladders or the need for a drink (which he can get on his own but refused today). Finally after completely just two documents I conceded for an Andy break. I made him more pancakes because he was "starving". He ate 4.
We then rushed and got ready to go visit some neighbour ladies. I took an ipad thinking that it would be the perfect solution since he was media deprived all morning. WRONG.
He pretty much complained the entire time of being starving and thirsty. AND then got out all the other peoples toys and made a mess and was just really freaking annoying.
FINALLY got home. Made him some pickles. He ate the entire jar and then refused to eat dinner.
At hockey he ran away and so I left to get Penny dressed and mid-dressing a mom brought in a very panicked bawling Andy...... We have been to the rink thousands of times... He knows every location AND he ran away from us.... anyways
MOVING on....
so I get her on the ice and then go to fuel up. He runs into the road, won't sit in the car while I pay, loses mittens, and then runs off again when we get back to the rink.

And now, even in sleep he is restless and barking demands IN HIS SLEEP.

He and I are ready for the next phase.... SCHOOL.... too bad it's 2 years away!!

Perspective

I didn't really understand what busy was until I was actually busy. I am sure there are people who are busier than me. I know it. I am not sure how they keep it together. Most days I wish I was on some sort of medication to just coast me through.

This is a rant for another day. There are glimpses of my life that I occasionally catch. And one today was this dude....

He LOVES play dough. I HATE play dough. I am not a good compromiser. He was driving me and his sisters bananas this afternoon and I had to make buns for a community dinner so I left him to his own devices with a chunk of dough that would be his dinner (pizza).

He did great. Who knew he was an OCD pizza maker?!? 

He rolled it out all by himself.

(That's my grammas rolling pin. I have her measuring cup too. I love the little things I get to use of hers almost daily)

And then he put his own sauce on it and pineapples and cheese. He watched it bake. And then he ate it.

All 8 pieces.

He was pretty impressed with himself. 

I was pretty impressed.

Life as an Adventurer

Our day (life) seemed a little more than chaotic than originally planned...

It was a pretty full day yesterday and Andy decided to single-handedly derail the plans. He got into the medicine cabinet and so we spent a good part of the day in emerg. He's no worse for wear today but hopefully his little stint in the er will deter him from any more of his antics today.

And now for some cuddles and paw patrol. (And I REALLY good justification to avoid laundry)

Limes

Two years ago I got a like tree.

I kill everything green

But

Somehow I have managed to keep this finicky little tree alive. 

But today

(After it actually started growing some fruit)

Andy decided to farm it.

It has no fruit.

No flowers

Lost leaves

And pulled up the roots. 

But his tractors did their jobs- they are dirt covered and parked in a neat line ready for the next job..........

First Words

Andy is a man of few words

He is happy to yabber away in baby babble

Unless....

He wants you to buy him a tractor-

In which case he can say that word perfectly.....

July

It's hard to believe that it is already the END of July!!!

We have filled July with lots of memories.

We had our last lamb of the year....

Check out our farm blog for that exciting story!

www.cattailcoulee.blogspot.ca

and we did summer games

(see below post)

and we ACTUALLY FINALLY made it out to our favorite spot

(besides our home)

And mixed into this was a family reunion 

and 

our regular duties.

I can't wait to see what August brings....

Denial

I have a drawer in his dresser full of clothes that are too big for him....

These came out of that drawer.

When Ellie brought them too me

I told her they wouldn't fit

He is little

Too little to wear 24 month jammies

How did this happen?!?

Rock-a-bye

It's a drizzly day

We bundled up and went out for groceries. Normally he likes a costco trip but today.... Not so much.

He came home tired and cranky and totally unwilling to sleep in his crib. 

Now he's passed out and I am afraid to move!