This Week's Top Five

Here are the highlights (if you can call them that) of our week!




1.   Nate gets put in his place:

Nate has been 18 months for a few weeks now, but today was the first day that he stayed by himself in Nursery. (well...he stayed there for a good hour at least, it was pretty much downhill after that)    At one point, when I went to check on him he was happily gazing out the window towards the temple while the other kids played with toys around him.   I don't know if he did much else-because when I peeked through the window awhile later, he was still in the same spot!  He wasn't crying or anything-  he just looked a bit confused.    I think he is a bit overwhelmed with this whole nursery thing.  He's not used to being around so many little kids his age.   But he's got great Nursery leaders and I'm sure he'll settle in quickly.    Besides, after literally chasing him around Relief Society every week for the past 4 months I hardly feel bad for him.   Oh no I don't! 

2.   I finally do what most parents have been doing all along:

  I realize most well behaved and properly raised children have been doing chores ever since they can remember - but my kids are a little bit late to join that club.    (Mostly because it is way easier for me to clean up then to deal with the drama that comes with making them do it)    However, I reached my limit this week and came down hard.   Before the kids even knew what was happening they all had specific cleaning assignments.   And not even fun cleaning assignments but the worst ones I could think up.   Things I'm not even willing to do- like wiping down every single chair and stool.   

 I have to admit- it felt good to crack the whip a little and exercise a little parental authority.    

I like to think that perhaps I've just saved them from a future life of lazy and riotous living.  

3:   John attempts to teach Jessica/ME all about Repentance:

Jessica spent most of last weekend picking dandelions off of all the neighbors lawns in an effort to give me the prettiest bouquet for Mother's Day.    Of course I showered her with praise because really, is there anything better then a wilted bouquet of dandelions from your neighbor's yard?    

Actually, Yes there is.  

A bouquet of Hyacinths from your neighbor's yard is nice to!

It didn't take long to figure out which neighbor Jess was stealing these flowers from, and when we did- John made me take Jessica over to their place so that she could apologize.   He thought it would be a valuable lesson on repentance for her to speak with our neighbor personally about what she'd done.     The only problem is that Jessica was too shy to say anything, so I ended up apologizing for the flowers that I didn't even pick!!!    

Thanks for the wonderful teaching moment there John.  I really learned a lot!

4.   I missed the fashion event of the year:

Apparently I missed the 2011 American Girl Photo Shoot.  Nobody even told me about it.  Luckily  somebody  (somebody sneaky and obviously tall) was able to get their hands on my "off limits" camera and document the event.  

4.   Sam astonished us with how well he really knows me:

Is there anything better then reading the response your kids give to questions about yourself?   I thought it was cute that Sam thinks I'm only 15!   And John laughed out loud when he read that I "wasn't afraid of anything."    My favorite part of this card though is where Sam told his teacher that my favorite thing to do was "go to Church every Sunday."   Obviously I've given the kid lots of Sunday morning pep talks:

"Oh Sam you will have SOO much fun at church today!"

or

"What are you talking about 'you don't want to go'.   Church is SOOO awesome!!" 

or

"Home drools- Church Rules!!!"

...etc

  

5.  The Garden is IN!

The power went out (again) on Friday which left me feeling completely useless.    I ironically and  shamefully "powered down" as well into a useless blob of a Mother who wondered how anyone could possibly function without electricity.    I just walked with Nate around the cul de sac - bored and unsure of what to do.   

Luckily John and his Dad were much more productive.    Max came over and tilled our garden and then helped us plant all of the vegetables.    And when I say we that does actually include me because once the power came back on hours later I did perk up and plant some onions and strawberries. 

 I know.  Big Whoopdi doo.   

It's nice to have everything planted though and I'm looking forward to all that we've got growing back there.   Along our north fence we have some space designated for some wicked cool Haskap Berry Bushes which we are really excited about.   Along our west fence we have:  Raspberries as well as Elderberry and Saskatoon Bushes.   Then in our garden we planted:  Corn, potatoes, onions,  chard, beats, carrots, and peas with beans, squash and tomatoes still to come.    

 That's a lot planted, and I hope that I don't run out of steam come harvest time.    

So long as the power doesn't go out - I think I should be ok;)

   

That's it from our happy little home.  Of course, we did enjoy the usual weekly activities - soccer, baseball and MORE fishing.    We're looking forward to the summer when things slow down a bit, because as you can tell- it's just way too busy around here;))

Have a Great Week!!!!

I'm happy to report that our first fishing outing of the year was a HUGE success!    

I mean sure it was cold.   And windy.   And overcast.  And possible the worst time of day ever to fish.

But the kids enjoyed themselves and that's all that matters, right?

We took the kids to a nearby lake on Saturday and attempted to introduce them to the wonderful world of pike.   (I have to admit I was pretty curious to see how they'd manage reeling in one of those things;)

The kids were a little disappointed that the fish weren't biting but at least they got to work on their casting skills!   

And after fishing...there was time for a little bit of exploring!

Now that spring is here- the weekends can't come soon enough!!!

Why being a mom is so much fun!

 This morning I went into the kitchen expecting to say good morning to John just before he rushed out the door for his Sunday morning priesthood meetings.    Instead, I found him at the stove preparing a yummy breakfast feast!   Apparently our Bishop cancelled the presidency meetings in honor of Mother's Day.    Which is why our Bishop is now my favorite person.   Perhaps ever.    It was so nice to have an extra set of hands helping as we tried to get the kids to church in time.

During breakfast-the kids peppered me with home made cards and other gifts.   Sam brought a plant home from school and John had kindly built that cool lattice and put it in a pot without me knowing.   Abby gave me several notes and letters, and by far, my favorite one is the heart shaped piece of paper that contains the incredibly sweet and heartfelt words:  "Mom.  You the woman!!!   Love Abby;)"   Touching isn't it?     The beautiful vases of dandelions were from Jessica and I laughed as John described how she ran wildly through the cul- de sac yesterday gathering them secretly.     She'd hidden them in the bathroom overnight.    Sweet eh?   Yup-there is a whole lotta love in those little gifts and I am so glad that I get to be their mom!


This week was a big week for Abby as the baseball season got underway.   This is Abby's first time playing baseball-but as you can see- it didn't take her long to settle in to it.    I have to say, for someone who has never picked up a baseball bat before, she did pretty well and I'm excited to watch her improve.      

A couple of weeks ago we received a list indicating what team she was on and who she'd be playing with.  John and I looked it over and realized that she was going to be the only girl on her entire team.   When I told her that, she took a minute to think that through and then said, 

"So...you mean, I'm going to be the only girl playing with all the guys?  Okay ...I think I can handle that."

Yeah, that girl will be just fine;)

Sam and Jess began soccer this week and they were both thrilled to be playing a team sport as well.  Sam's team consists of a lot of kids from our ward as well as a previous ward so he instantly felt comfortable.    This is his third year playing and he's definitely improved.  The weather wasn't great that day so they ended up practicing drills on the school's front lawn, but Sam didn't seem to mind.  And he only used his hands a couple of dozen times;)!

To say Jessica was excited about soccer would be an understatement.    In fact she honestly and truly wore her soccer shirt every day of the week (and night) since she got it.    I realize that is pretty gross and I'm not proud of it, but it shows how much she enjoys it all.    And it meant less laundry to clean and fold so it's all good.

On Saturday our neighbors across the street brought over this huge box that was leftover from a freezer purchase.   Clearly they know how the mind of a 6 year old works and thought that our kids might enjoy playing with it.  

Within minutes they had the paints out and were going to town on that box like nobody's business.    They spent a good hour at least painting that box.     It was our intention to cut some windows or perhaps a door into it and turn it into a little play house for them.   Unfortunately I went inside for a bit and the kids found a different use for it in the meantime. 

After a good 20 minutes of hearing them laughing hysterically, I figured I'd better go see what they were up to.  (Laughter like that usually only happens when they are doing something they shouldn't be doing;) 

I found them playing in it much like a hamster plays in a running wheel.   They must have circled the cul-de sac a half a dozen times before I caught on to what was going on.   Of course I had to video tape it prior to scolding them and warning them to "never play on the road."   (Blog before Safety right?)

   Despite the occasional injury-this kept them happy for yet another action packed hour!

Yup.   Never a dull moment when you have kids right?   

Just a few of the moments why I love being a Mom to these 4! 

Have a great Sunday, and HAPPY MOTHER'S Day to all of you amazing Mothers and Women in our lives!

Our awesome week of nothing

This was holiday week around here and it was so much fun to have John around each day.    Most of our days began late as we managed to quickly train the kids to stay in bed until at least 7:30am.     (I love how that is considered "sleeping in" to us now;)   It was glorious!

* On Monday we made a quick trip up to Calgary.   The kids and I got to play at my brother Chad's house for the day and John was able to visit with his Aunt Jean and Uncle Bruce for a bit.    It's always fun to take the kids on little road trips, especially ones that take us through Claresholm.   Nothing keeps my kids happier while travelling then a box of 7-11 chicken!

*   Nate surprised us earlier in the week when he leaned over and gave me the noisiest and most slobbery kiss ever, right on my cheek.   Nothing melts my heart more then kisses from a baby, and as a result I've been hounding him every few minutes for just one more kiss.   

He's officially sick of me now.

*   I am proud to say that I got completely and hopelessly caught up in the royal wedding this past week.    I know that half the people reading this right now think that is pathetic, but I  simply don't care.    Yes-  I watched the wedding from start to finish and loved every bit of it.

   Heck I even took notes during the Arch Bishop's sermon!

It was pretty beautiful!

*  Can you believe it, on Friday we got another big dump of snow, so of course we had to dig out the boots and mitts for one last morning of snowman building.    Of course it would snow seeing as I had every intention of doing some yard work this week.     

Let's hope that this is the last of the snowmen for awhile!

It appears after typing this recap that most of the week has been spent in a very lazy fashion.   Apparently we have gotten very good at doing absolute nothing at all!

I loved every second of it!

I'm actually quite sad that it is coming to an end.

This Monday will surely hit us hard as not only do John and the kids return to school, but Abby begins baseball while Sam and Jess start soccer.    I don't know- it's beginning to feel like too much "schedule" if you ask me- but hopefully the kids enjoy it.   ;)

Happy Sunday!

Where I wish I was

It's the end of April.

And it's snowing.

Not just a little bit of snow, but lot's of big fat ugly snowflakes.   

A few months ago I would have thought this "Christmasy scene" to be quite pretty.

A few months ago though, it was Christmas and weather like this made perfect sense!

What is the deal?

I have to share some photos that were sent to John (via email) a few weeks back that keep popping into my memory on days like this.
   Does this not look like the most breathtaking scene?  

  Mark my words- this time next Spring...I will be standing in some European field enjoying these lovely little flowers in the flesh!    

No, that's not an announcement of any sort,   I'm simply sending my little wish out to the Universe with hopes that the powers that be will somehow make it happen for me.    

One can dream right?

If you could go somewhere to escape this weather, where would you go?   

I'm officially ready to be inspired.

Easter Weekend

We've had a real fun time the past few days.  On Wednesday our neighbor Katie came to stay with us for a few days, and it has been fun to have her around full time.   It's amazing how much I can accomplish when my kids have someone to play with;)   

Good Friday could not come soon enough for us here, but as soon as the sun started to rise we loaded up and headed to Sparwood to spend the day with our friends the Salmons.    Having Kate with us gave us the opportunity to see what our van looks like at full capacity.   

(Note to self:   A full mini van = a LOT of noise!)

The drive to Sparwood is definitely a pretty one.    I literally had the camera on my lap most of the time.    Unfortunately I missed getting shots of the wildlife we saw.    Deer, Elk, and lots of mountain sheep.    Beautiful!

This has become a bit of a tradition for us to visit the Salmons each Easter, and we are always grateful for their hospitality.   This year the kids painted eggs, played games, ate a delicious ham dinner and finished the day by going swimming at Sparwood's AWESOME indoor pool.    It's a great kid friendly pool and I doubt we'll be able to go visit our friends again without the kids begging to swim!

Thanks Salmons for the fun time!!!

On Saturday some wonderful neighbors of ours, (the Gladdings) surprised our kids with their very own Kites!   It was an Easter tradition of Brother and Sister Gladding's  to always give their kids/grand kids kites at Easter.  Now that they have nobody nearby to spoil - they've begun to spoil our little brood.    It was so sweet of them, and our kids were just thrilled to get out to give it a try!

Easter Sunday has been gorgeous!   Finally some sunshine!    To celebrate we went for a little walk, and of course I had to snap a few photos;)  

I feel so grateful this Easter for all of the blessings in my life.   Mostly though, I feel so grateful for my favorite 5 people in the world, and for the fact that I get to live with them forever and EVER!

Happy Easter!

Bunny Week - My Girlsl

Last weekend some neighbors of ours went down to Kalispell for a couple of days and asked Jessica to take care of walking their little dog Monty.   Jessica loves that dog and pretty much wanders over to their house to see if "Monty can play," on a daily basis.   I suspect our neighbor gave Jessica this task more for Jessica's sake then Monty's.        

I'm pretty sure that dog got walked more in those two days then he usually does in a Week!    John and I could tell that the poor little thing was getting tired-but our girls were having too much fun.   So walk him they did.   Again. And again.  And again. 

To thank Jessica- they brought home this adorable bunny bike helmet for her.   Isn't it awesome?

I get a kick out of watching her play outside now.   She usually mistakes Abby's coat for hers (which is extra long), and wears bright pink gumboots.   As if that wasn't cute enough, seeing her ride around with this helmet added to the ensemble just makes my heart so happy.

******

Sometimes after dinner, Abby and I take advantage of the slightly warmer evenings we've been having to go for a walk.   It gives Abby the one on one time she loves so much, and it gives me an excuse to skip out on the after dinner clean up.    (funny thing is though-the dishes and mess always seem to be waiting for me when I get back.   huh.)

Anyways-we've found a fun spot that we often like walking to not very far from our house.     It's basically nothing more then a large empty field that over looks the outskirts of town.    There is one particular tree there that is probably dead, but is the perfect size for Abby to easily climb into.    She has dubbed this our "Secret Tree," and the rule is that everything spoken at this tree must be honest and most importantly kept between us.    As in her and I only.    

(I'm hoping that I'll still be able to drag her to this tree with me when she gets older.   Say...16(ish)

Anyways, last night as Abby sat in the secret tree she divulged to me who she has a crush on.    I wasn't shocked, but I pretended to be because that's the reaction she wanted from me.     It provided me with a great opportunity however, to explain to her that boys actually have cooties and that cooties don't go away until you get married.   Therefore (ergo) it is pointless to really have a crush on any boy right now. To which she agreed.    ...I think.

Just as we were about to leave Abby paused and asked me to tell her something secret now.   Not just any secret though.   She had one particular one in mind.    To quote her she said, "Mom.   I just really need to know.   Honestly.  What is the truth?    Is the Easter Bunny real or is it just you and Dad?" 

Seriously?    What am I supposed to say to that?   The truth?  And if she questioned the Easter Bunny then what next.    Leprachans?   SANTA?     Was I really supposed to be the one who ended all of that childhood magic?    And where the heck was John?   There was no way I was going down alone! 

So....I lied.   

Standing right there under our "Secret Tree", I looked her straight in the eyes and I told her that 

"her Dad was definitely not the Easter bunny." 

 (and really, in my defense he isn't.    I am the one who gets all the gifts and treats for the kids.  John's just the one who merely works to pay for it all;)    By the look on Abby's face I could tell that she was not totally convinced so I proceded to tell her some make believe story about the time that I actually saw the Easter Bunny with my own eyes!      

That convinced her nicely.    

Though I must admit,  it is nagging on my conscience a little, and I'm beginning to think that her little heart already knows the truth - she's just waiting for me to say it.   

We'll likely be making a little trip back to the Secret Tree.

....but I'll wait 'till next week;)

HAVE A GREAT EASTER WEEKEND!!!!        

Parenting 505 - My Boys

Sometimes when I think about my boys, I am reminded of my favourite talk from Conference this year given by Lynn G Robbins.   

This quote in particular always helps to put things in perspective:

"A sweet and obedient child will enroll a father or mother only in Parenting 101. If you are blessed with a child who tests your patience to the nth degree, you will be enrolled in Parenting 505. Rather than wonder what you might have done wrong in the premortal life to be so deserving, you might consider the more challenging child a blessing and opportunity to become more godlike yourself. With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed, and refined? Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?"

With that in mind- let me tell you about Sam:

********

A couple of weeks ago John and I took the kids over to Jewel's house to watch General Conference with them and my Brother's family. The morning was going great. The kids were off playing somewhere, and us adults where all comfortable sleeping...ahem...I mean listening to the talks when I realized it had gotten much too quiet. So naturally I went searching for Sam, confident that I'd find him up to no good.

Sure enough, I found him in his cousins room perched at the top of their bunk bed. I couldn't help but notice that he had a skipping rope tied around him with the other end of the rope tied around the top wrung of the bed. As I walked in the room, Sam clearly saw the look of alarm on my face and he instantly tried to reassure me:

Sam: "I know. I know. I was going to do it (as in jump) but then I decided that it was a bad idea so I didn't."

I replied: (somewhat relieved but still wanting to warn him against this in the future): "Oh Sam no. Kids have died that way before. That could have been very dangerous!"

Sam shrugged his shoulders and simply said matter of factly: "Well?.... it's a good thing I decided  not to do it then isn't it."

Heaven help this kid. 

***********

One thing that I love about this time of year, is that we get to enjoy beautiful morning sun rises. As we wake up each day the sunlight pours into our front window and I can't help but adore the effect it has on anyone who basks in the rays.   Doesn't Nate look delicious?

 For one brief second - all is calm and right in my day.

But moments like this never last very long.


 By mid day Nate has usually managed to tear through our house creating one mess or another. John and I sometimes refer to this destruction simply as a Nathan Tornado. He rarely ever stays in one place long enough for us to catch him in the act-but messes like this have his name written all over it.

On top of his new found love of destruction, he also gets kicks out of grabbing fist fulls of his sisters hair and refusing to let go until a) they cry for mercy, or b) he collects enough strands of hair to make him feel as though his efforts were worth it.

And to think that he used to be my favorite child!   

(kidding)


They are teaching me something important, these boys.   At least, that's what I will keep telling myself!

The Week long Party

What a week!!!

It isn't often that John's family makes it up to Canada, and this week we were lucky enough to get to visit with THREE of them all at once.    Unfortunately John and our kids were still in school most days but it was fun to see everyone, even if we were a bit tied down by our schedule.  

Some of the highlights in point form:   

*  Libby and Jessica picked up right where they left off the last time they were together.   These two enjoyed their "twin..." jammies while playing all sorts of princess type games.

*  When the wind wasn't blowing too fiercely, the kids could be found out on the trampoline.   (And yes, Uncle Jordan counts as one of the "Kids" if you ask me.)

*  The kids snacked and ate a lot, but ice cream cones seemed to be a favorite treat this week.   Whether at home or Dairy Queen the kids were happy to eat them anywhere.

*   Our board games were put to good use, (which provided a welcome break from the Wii).   Clue, Battleship, and Picturieka were a few of the favorites!  It was VERY cool to watch our nephew Kaden preform his many cool Yo-Yo tricks!

*********

*And what would a visit from John's family be without the customary trip to Waterton for a picnic?   

Ahem...I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that this was partly my idea.    We ended up hauling lunch back to my house.   

In case you were planning a spring picnic out in Waterton any time soon...I wouldn't if I were you;)

************

 * On Monday night we all got together for a little Murder Mystery Fun.   We had the Sheriff, the Creepy travelling Carney, the Reverend and his wife, the town "hottie", the wandering ex-convict, the aspiring country singer wannabe, and I was elated to play the part of the proud owner of the local trailer park.   Trust John's sister Rachel to come up with an idea as fun as this.

(PS Family:  I am happy to forward any pictures on to you for all of your blackmailing needs.)

*************

On Saturday we took the kids (and their cousin Libby) down to the local museum for the annual Easter Egg hunt.   The kids always love watching the movies that are played on the big screen, LOTS of chocolate eggs were gathered, and they even met the Easter Bunny.   

The last of our company left this morning and it was back to normal for us here.   

John left early for Church meetings, the kids argued about getting dressed up, and Nate ran around the entire Relief Society room in the middle of the lesson.    Again.    Therefore, I spent the remainder of our church meetings pacing the halls for what I'm hoping will be the last time EVER.   

Like I said...back to normal around here.

Have a Great Week!!!!

What Lunch time looks like...

I love witnessing those little moments in a day when one of my kids learn to do something new for the very first time.    Lately Nate has been trying to use a fork when eating, and I just love the sequence that so often unfolds now when I put food in front of him.  

1.  Spend 3 minutes attempting to actually pick up some food. 

2.  Give up with frustration

3.   Resort to the tried and true method 

(which involves jamming as much food as you can into your mouth with your pudgy little bare hands)

He's got so very little manners this one;)

Weekend Forecast

We are expecting some company for the next week or so, and our kids are bursting with anticipation!   John's brother Jordan and his wife Luci phoned us last night and told us that they were halfway here, and rather than stopping for the night somewhere, they were just going to drive through the night and get here in the wee hours of the morning.   As in 3:30 am!!!     There is a time when I would have waited up for them like a good hostess - but I'm old now, so I simply left a key for them under our front door mat.
  Of course I did be sure to leave a welcoming note for them:

When we woke up this morning-the kids were a little disappointed to see that nobody had arrived.   Perhaps it was something I said....?    

Unfortunately, the same bad weather that we have dealt with for the last couple of days hit them harder and they were forced to spend the night in a hotel after all.   To make it worse, they've spent the large part of today battling through a blizzard and changing flat tires along the way.    And just think, all of that just to see us!!!  (well not really-but that's what we like to tell ourselves)

Luckily, the snowy weather has moved on and I dare say the sun is trying its very best to poke it's way through.   The blanket of snow we woke up to this morning is completely gone, so that's good, right?

Basically what I am saying is... there is a chance that our relatives may or may not be arriving soon, and an even slighter chance that spring may or may not actually be here.   

I'm just going to go ahead and predict a great weekend!


What can I say, I'm an optimist!

Sure Kid

Abigail had a fun week and got to attend Activity Days for the FIRST TIME!   She joined her leaders and the other girls at the local salon for some hairdressing fun and came home feeling pretty stylish;)    I remember when Abby was a baby and I got to serve as an Activity Day leader for a few months before we moved away.    It was my favorite calling and I remember thinking how fun it would be to have an eight year old girl of my own.   And now- I do!  (And I was right, by the way, she is an entertaining little thing!)     

Some of the funny things Abby has said this week:

Abby (one night before bed):    "Mom?  Tomorrow do you think that you could put something new or just maybe sorta different in my lunch?    Because, well my lunches have just been so predictable lately."    

Me:    Fine...sure kid.

 Tonight on our walk Abby was listening to her ipod when the song Firefly started to play.   Part way through the song Abby looked at me and said wistfully:   "Mom, if I could just see a group of fireflies, like just 20 or 30, then I know it would like totally make my life."   

Me:  Uh...sure kid.

Abby was telling me once about a boy in her grade who always chases the girls at recess.   I tried to explain to her that perhaps he is chasing her and her friends because he has a crush.    Abby quickly interrupted me and said, "Oh no mom.  He's not the type who chases for love.  He just chases for fun."

Me:  Yeah...sure kid.

***********

This past Monday evening, during dinner Sam got all ambitious and begged us to let him plant his very own garden.   Thinking little of it at the time- John and I both gave our approval of the idea.    Well Sam, taking our okey dokey to heart instantly scooped the peas and corn off his plate and headed to the deck to begin planting.   It was cute to see him (aided by his sisters of course) carefully plant and water the food that moments ago had sat on their plates.

I suppose John and I could have stopped them and explained that there was little point in watering the veggies- but we'd grown tired of asking the kids to actually eat them so instead we just said:
 "Sure kid.   Good luck with that"

***************

Nathan has impressed us this week and has proved that he is every bit as smart as he looks.    He recovered from his week long bout of the flu with a mouthful of new teeth and a vocabulary to boot!

Some of the words he can say are:   cacka (cracker),  dis (this), mi (mine), tooba (toothbrush), Dad (dad),  Dad (mom...It's ok,I'm flexible;),  puppy, and wi (which sadly does in fact mean Wii).   

It makes me proud of him, and proud of myself for actually being able to understand his little language.   He's at that stage where he'll talk to someone and they're all like, "Oh sure kid...I know exactly what your saying.....?????"

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 And what would a post about the kids be without a shot of Jessica.  This little one was sick for most of the week with the worst flu ever.    For a good five days she just laid in bed and watched Toy Story 3 while trying unsuccessfully to hold down even water.

  It's not easy watching your kids suffer through sickness-but this one handled it like a trooper.   I dare say she even got a bit fond of the whole "sick kid" routine.    All week she pretty much got whatever she wanted.    

Pop in bed...while watching the 5th movie in one day?  

"Sure- you bet kid.  Whatever. You. Want!!"

Happy Sunday!   

We had a great day, spent with some of my siblings eating food and enjoying Conference Talks.

  I'm so excited to re-read some of my favorites!

Have A Great Week!!!!

A VERY long post, with WAY too many pictures, about the BEST day EVER!!!!

   Alright... perhaps I was a little over zealous in declaring this to be the BEST day ever!  After all, there was my wedding day, not to mention the days that each of our children were born...

But this day is right up there on my list of favorites-that is for sure.

On Friday afternoon as soon as John had finished work we loaded up the van, and the kids, and a LOT of snacks, and made our way to Choteau, Montana.    Now this may not sound like much of a destination to you, but there is a cool little thing about the Choteau areat that we learned about from John's sister Sarah and her family.   Every year at this time, thousands of birds, particularly snow geese and tundra swans, migrate through the area and spend a couple of weeks grazing in the nearby fields and resting on Freezeout Lake.    (Just google Freezeout Lake Montana and see for yourself)    Anyways- we had planned to go last year and meet up with Sarah and Ed but ended up backing out, though I made John promise me that we'd check it out this year.

Hence our trip this weekend to "the middle of nowhere Montana."      AKA...Choteau.

This is a picture of the hotel lobby of the Stage Stop Inn where we stayed.   I know this doesn't look too exciting to you, but my kids apparently thought this was pretty darn cool.   Really.  You would have thought we'd arrived in Disneyland the way they kept going on about it.  

Suffice it to say that a lot of time was spent at the hotel swimming with the kids, eating junk food, relaxing, watching America's Funniest Home Videos while eating popcorn (not junk food), and visiting with John's sister Sarah who met up with us.   I think it is safe to say that if we never had gone out to look for birds,  my kids would have been perfectly happy with all of the above.

 Oh yeah, and Nate spent the night puking.  

I was not happy with that.

Alright- now for the amazing part.   The birds!

So there is this lake (as I mentioned earlier) called Freezeout lake.    And true to it's name, it was pretty much frozen over and sat fairly empty for a large part of the day.  

But this lake won't stay empty for long,  because the 70-100,000 geese who are passing through the area are currently out feeding on leftover grain from farmer's fields.   

Like clockwork, right around 11:00 am, you begin to hear the faint sound of geese in the distance, and soon a dark cloud of birds begin to make their way to the lake.

It's a pretty impressive sight to see as they get closer.    This photo shows just one group of snow geese.    From every direction, groups of similar size begin to make their way back to the lake.

It's a bit of a frenzy as they all try to find somewhere to land, and the noise is unbelievable!    Even from as far away as we were, it was still an incredible sound.

The weekend we were there, the bird count also indicated that there were about 4000 tundra swans at the lake.

Every couple of minutes another flock comes in to land.    Sarah made the comment that the lake was more like an airport, the way some birds came and others left.

Sure enough, some smaller groups would take off, and I suspect they were beginning the next leg of their journey.     (I've heard that the next stop is in northern Alberta)

Aside from the 70,000 snow geese and 4000 Tundra swans, we also saw a cool flock of pelicans.

And we saw a LOT of other birders out.    Some people camped in this cold weather right by the lake.   I suppose they are what you would call "enthusiasts."         ....I wish I could be like them.

The landscape was dotted with these mounds of dirt, which we suspect are nests for the Canadian geese in the area.     

The snow geese were beautiful to watch when the lighting was right.    

This particular flock was HUGE!    The trail of birds flying in seemed relentless and I would never have been able to really capture the size of it.   Which is a pity.   But really- this isn't the type of thing that really can be captured on camera.    There is too much to take in.   Too much to hear!

One of my favorite moments came on Friday night.  We had just arrived and were excited to see our first "Fly In" but the weather was really poor which had thrown off the bird's normal routine.    It was freezing cold, and snowing and very very foggy.    Finally after what seemed like an hour, and just as the sun was going down the birds began to come in for the night.    It was such a serene moment, and as John, Sarah and I stood watching these birds lift off and soar right above us toward the lake, you could literally HEAR their wings beating the air!   

I put my camera down and didn't even try to take a photo.   I guess I just felt like that was a moment I wanted to experience completely.     That moment made the trip down totally worth it.  

  Every thing after that was just icing on the cake!

Speaking of icing on the cake:  This afternoon when we got back- John had me go wash the van and I couldn't help but notice that there was not a single bit of bird poop on our van.   Not a speck!    

Now how lucky is that? 

John was so awesome to video tape a couple of the fly ins and he has added some of my photos to make a bit of a slide show.   Feel free to check it out - you'll feel like you were there yourself!