End of Summer

The last week has been the perfect close to a fun and busy summer. My friend Emily (Gavronski) Chute came to Powell River, from Edmonton, with her family to visit her mom. I haven't seen her for about five years. She is pregnant with baby number 6 who is due in 10 days. She has beautiful kids and is a fantastic mother. (I asked for some tips but she seems to think the kids came like that and she didn't have anything to do with it. Silly Girl!) Her kids are: Andrew (10), Gracie (8), Alecia (6), Sadie (3 almost 4), and Eric (2). Emily loved having other kids to play with. We had a great visit on Saturday at my house and then we decided to throw a big potluck Sunday night at my parents house so that we could hang out more. :) My parents enthusiastically agreed to the plan. :) They love Emily as much as I do! We invited the whole branch and had a great turnout. It was so much fun! Sunday afternoon I had fun playing with my kids. I tried to take my picture with them and, as you see in the slideshow, Collin was more accommodating than Emily. I took some fun pictures of Emily on my parents zunga. (For those non Powell Riverites: a zunga is a rope swing.) She has really mastered holding high up on the rope and swinging in the air. She can do it by herself and will swing for hours if allowed. Unfortunately summer has come to an end. I have loved being home with the kids and look forward to the day when I can quit work and stay home with them. I get sad just thinking of everything I am missing. Sometimes I hate being a responsible adult! :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

What did I get myself into?

Today I went in and did a half day at work. It is the first time I have gone in and I am already questioning my sanity. At first I was feeling really overwhelmed, so I broke it into small manageable pieces and thought I can do this. But by the time I got home, worked on timetabling, and tried to be a mom/wife I am back to feeling really overwhelmed. Collin has been taking formula and breastmilk from a bottle until today. He screamed for 90% of the time I was gone. When I got home both Emily and Collin wanted me and I didn't want to say no because I had missed them so much. So my house looks like a bomb went off, we didn't get dinner until after 8pm but I did cuddle and play a little with my kids. I'm a bit worried about the rest of the year....
Oh and did I mention that we need to get a new muffler on the car, so I priced it out today.....
I am now remembering why I am going back to work! Why do I have to live in a world that runs on money?

Cowgirl in Training

We spent some time with the Coe family today taking pictures of the girls to create a special gift for their dad's birthday. I always have so much fun with them. Emily loved the dogs and horses. I took some pictures of the girls and their horses and made a few collages for them. Emily got a chance to "ride bareback" or at least sit on a horse bareback. She loved it. We are playing her first trail ride for some time in the near future. I am so excited! Enjoy the pictures!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Bear?!

I went to my car this morning at 8am to retrieve my wallet. I opened the passenger door, grabbed the wallet and as I stood up I looked over at the clearing on the opposite side of the car. And there was a bear staring at me. Yep, a bear. I heard more rustling behind it but it didn't move a muscle. Just continued to stare at me. I slowly turned around and walked quickly back into the house. I went back out with me camera but he was already gone. The "x" marks the spot where the bear had stood. (I stood at the car and just took the picture. No zoom.)

Question: Why does Collin not nap during the day?

Answer: Emily

This is how I found her after I put Collin down for a nap.

Emily in a white dress?!

I found a really cute dress at the consignment store in town a few months ago. It was white with cherries and yellow flowers on it. For $6 I figured why not! But it has been stowed safely away in Emily's closet for two reasons. One: It was a size 4T so I figured it wouldn't fit her. Two: Emily and white do not mix well. For fun I had Emily put the dress on yesterday and I realized it fit great so I took her outside to take a couple of pictures. Now I am not a photographer, not at all but I really liked the pictures. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Emily and Collin

Emily loves her brother. Every other day she will ask me to take a picture of the two of them.

How do you encourage a Reverant Child?

I have a dream where I sit in sacrament meeting with my kids and I don't have to leave once for timeout with a screaming kid. I'm not wanting to be unreasonable but I would like to go to sacrament without dread. At this point I would like any ideas on how to keep a two year old from running around the chapel, or yelling/talking REALLY loud at her mom/cousin/brother. I'm not looking for a robot (I don't mind if she has to move around but is it too much for it to be done quietly) but I am fresh out of ideas of how to teach Emily the importance of reverence. I have seen a few of you with your kids in church and I admit I am totally envious. (Rita and Rachel to name just two.) Please send me some of your wisdom, because my next plan is to just not attend for a couple of years and I really don't want to do that.

Heartfelt Thanks

My sister Rita wrote about all the wonderful things her husband did for her when she got back and it got me to thinking. I don't publicly thank my husband enough for what he does. Now I was only away from my husband for a few days in Victoria but he was sorely missed. I was so tired at night that I totally forgot to call him. When I got home he was rather sad that I hadn't. I got home to a clean house (which is not what I had left him), a big hug, he told he loved and missed me and then he let me go for a drive so I could have a break from the kids. He always apologizes for not doing anything big or expensive for me but what he doesn't realize is that I don't need those things. Its the small things: hugs, kisses, "I love you", etc that make me love him more. Thank you Landon for the small things.

Ideas Needed....

I know that this is a little early but things don't happen unless I plan ahead. I need ideas on how to celebrate my 30th birthday. A friend wrote on facebook today that she is going to Vegas for hers in November. Sounds fun but not doable for me. What to do?! I love planning parties for others but for myself I never know what to do. You only turn 30 once so I'm breaking the whole "don't plan parties for myself" thing and want to do something. I just don't know what. Help, Please! I'm turning 30 on October 16 so any ideas would be fantastic! Maybe I'll make this into a contest. The winning idea gets a prize or maybe I'll just send gifts to anyone who will give me an idea. Not sure yet....