Sam's Birthday

This past Wednesday, Sam celebrated his 8th birthday!   

Eight!!!   

It's crazy to think that eight years ago I had a 2 year old and a little newborn baby.     When Sam was two weeks old, we moved from Edmonton to Calgary so John could get his teaching degree.   Every day John would go to class,  I would put Abby in the stroller, strap Sam to my tummy and walk the two blocks up to Market Mall.  I liked to spend my time there letting Abby play in the kids place while I cuddled with Sam.   Then we'd get frozen yogurt, and I'd spend some of John's student loan on clothes before calling it a day and heading home.    

Why am I sharing all this?   

Well...because that was Eight YEARS ago, that's why!!  

And would you believe that back then - I thought I was sooo busy.    

(oy.  perspective eh?)  

Sam is truly a special little guy, and has been such a blessing in our home.  No one else can make me cry, yell, or laugh as much as this kid, and I love him for it!

We had Jewel and Kendall and their kids over for dinner on his birthday.  He'd requested a supper of pancakes, bacon, hash browns and Dad's homemade orange Julius.   Instead of birthday cake, we had home made sugar donuts.   (Perhaps you can imagine how some of us felt by the end of the night?)  

(We got a kick out of this donut that came out in the shape of an 8.   Coincidence?   I think not!

The highlight for Sam was opening presents.    

John and I flaked out and gave him money and his first set of scriptures.   When he first opened the scriptures he excitedly proclaimed, "Yes!!!   Now I can read scriptures with my DAD!"  

I suppose that was kinda sweet but all I could think about was how I was going to have to start reading my scriptures a little more (or at least in front of Sam more often).  

I don't want John to get all the glory every time, you know?

Oh and next to the scriptures he LOVED this box of pop its that he got from his cousins.   We could barely make out what he was screaming, he was so excited, but it had something to do with "finally being able to blow everything up."

Not to be forgotten, Nate reminded us of the injustice of having to watch somebody else celebrate a birthday.    He couldn't believe those gifts weren't for him, and got more and more upset with every one opened.    I really shouldn't laugh at him, but I just love how narcissistic little three year olds can be.    

My entire family got together this week for a two day reunion, so we decided to tag Sam's baptism on to the end of it.     We were so grateful for all of our family who helped out with the program, and all those who helped Sam feel so special that day.    

John was the only Bishopric member around this weekend, so he ended up having to conduct as well.   

John baptized Sam, and as per Sam's request, Grandpa Max confirmed him.    

Sam took this day very seriously, and I was so proud of the thought and consideration he put into it.   He was certainly a proud little guy!!    

Love him!!

Fishing at lake Josephine

This past week has been crazy. As in CRAzy!  

 Whoever said Summers were full of lazy days anyways?  

I'd like to go on record saying that Summers are not relaxing, and while I'm at it I'm just going to go out on a limb and also say that Sunday is actually not a day of rest either. 

  So there.    You heard it here first.  

I will say this though, we've gotten awfully good at pulling a fun little outing outta nowhere, and to our credit, we're getting a little bit better at dropping things (to do lists etc) and making time for family.  

Last Saturday was just such a time.

We made an impulsive decision to load up supper, pick up Grandpa and head down to Glacier again, this time to do a bit of fishing.

Supper was alright, (thanks to the amazing wonder box method) we had a fresh garden soup.  Unfortunately, due to the fact that I never salt our food...it could have been better;)    It's a good thing we were eating outside, as that always helps make food taste yummier.  

After the mediocre meal though, we took a little hike around Swift current lake, past the boat dock, and up another short trail to Lake Josephine.

I'd say it took us about 20 minutes tops to walk the two trails.   

And this is where we ended up!

Such a beautiful lake, and we were the only ones up here too.

We walked around to the rocky side of the shore (because clearly we were feeling dangerous) and all found our own spot to fish.  

Nate sat and watched, dipped his toes in the water, and cried to "go back to the van" a large chunk of the time.  (But that's just because that's where the ipad was;)   We made him just suffer on the rocks though.   As parents we feel that it is important to occasionally separate yourself from technology a bit and connect with nature.    

Here is Nate - connecting with Nature;)

Abby was the first to catch something.   (From the looks of this, she was about to eat it raw.  haha)

Then me!   I was super proud to have caught a fish when John never did;)  John says we weren't competing, but that's not true.   We were.      

It might look like I'm squeezing that poor fish to death, but that's not true either.

Jess was super excited to catch a fish.    Again, it was a little teeny one, but still!   

It turned out being a very adventurous night on the lake.    In total we caught 6 or 7 fish (everyone got lots of bites except for Sam), Grandpa got a bit wet (the rocks were definitely hard to navigate.  A few minutes later then Nate and Abby fell in the lake!   And then in an angry act of revenge Abby got PUSHED into the lake.    Then I got mad and said we were done for the night!  

Of course, on our walk back down to the van we had to stop and fish from the dock at swift current lake too;)   I gave in, despite the quickly setting sun, because I didn't want them to remember that I'd gotten mad at them.    

By the time we left, most everybody had had a fun and productive time fishing.   

Every body but Sam.

He did not manage to get a single bite that night, and was quite distraught about that.    I suppose it must have been hard to see everyone else catching fish and not catch one yourself.   (sigh...that doesn't happen to me very often though, so it's hard to relate;)   kidding.

As we walked along the trail back to the parking lot, I tried to console Sam and assure him that he really is a good fisher.    He wasn't about to be consoled anytime soon, in fact the harder I tried to cheer him up, the more defiant and determined he was to stay upset!   haha.  

 Take these two conversations for example:

Mom:  Sam, you realize that you do have the power to change your attitude right now, right?

Sam: Yeah. I know that.  But I don't have the power to catch a fish!  

Sam: This is the worst day ever!

Mom:  Sam, there is more to fishing then catching a fish.

Sam:  Like having fun?

Mom:  Yes, exactly.  Like having fun.

Sam: Well great! I'm not catching any fish, AND I'm not even having any fun.

I seriously love that kid, and I loved the whole night.

Carnival Party (Hardy Style)

John's Aunt and Uncle, who happen to also be my Brother in Law's parents, (got that?  understand the connection?) organized a family carnival during their family reunion a couple of weeks back and invited us to join the fun.    (I say it was a carnival for their immediate family, but really, it was a carnival that their immediate family put on for all of the extended family.)   John's Grandma was there, Aunts and Uncles that he hadn't seen in a long while were there, and Hardys I had never even met before were there.  

 And it was AWESOME! 

The perimeter of their yard was full of fun carnival style games.   The kids were given a handful of tickets and had every opportunity to play each and every game!   Nate spent most of his time at the cake walk, often playing alone.  I'm not sure why he liked that booth so much?  Perhaps it was because Stacey, (John's cousin in law, or our Brother -in -laws Sister-in -law, depending on how you look at it) was so nice to him.   All I know, is he kept playing, and he wasn't playing for the cake!  

 (Oh boy, I ate a lot of his winning cupcakes that afternoon;)

Grandpa Hardy was operating the pinball booth at the carnival, and Sam surprised us all by getting top score!   Woohoo right?    

Like I said, all of these booths were set up and operated by Clark and Deanna's immediate family.

They also had the cutest, most delicious array of teeny tiny treats to enjoy for a ticket each!

Little miniature hot dogs, mini burgers, veggie/fruit cups, mini cookies, mini pizzas, mini EVERYTHING!   

Is it just me, or does food just taste yummier when it is mini?

This zip line that they'd set up was a huge hit!   It spanned the depth of their yard, and had my kids standing in line constantly wanting another turn.   (Some of my kids didn't necessarily wait for their turn too often.  We'll work on that:)

It was a great afternoon, and a wonderful reminder to me of how important it is to stay acquainted with our extended family.   We can get so busy that years go by without doing much to stay connected.
 I am particularly bad at staying connected (tsk tsk) so I was so grateful for this chance for my kids to get to know this awesome family more:)

It was the perfect way to spend a summer day!!

Sick things that Slither

Yup.

Another post about snakes.

There is not much I want to say about these photos except that they document yet another "snake hunt."

Apparently John and the kids have discovered a major hide out, and they find snakes EVERY.TIME!  

Which is AWESOME! (sarcasm intended)

Then they come home and taunt me, and make fun of me for not liking snakes.    Haven't they ever heard that it's not nice to make fun of someone because of their beliefs?   ;) 

This has sssssseriously got to sssssssstop!

Baring Falls!

A year or so ago my chiropractor told me about a great (very kid friendly) hike in Glacier that ended at a beautiful waterfall.    I went home that day and vowed to John that we would do that hike during the summer.    Like most things put on my "to do list" this nagged at me all summer long.  

Finally, we were able to hike the trail to baring falls this past week, and it was indeed super kid friendly.   It's a good thing too, because the hike started out with Sam saying:  "This is boring.  Why did we always even have to do stuff like this?"   haha   Luckily, we'd brought along one of our neighbor kids and she helped keep my own four a little more motivated;)

This trail begins just opposite of Sunrift gorge.   We love stopping at the gorge, and never even realized this little gem of a hike existed!   It's a walk that is lined with berries.   Saskatoon berries...thimble berries...raspberries....    

Part of me was wishing I'd brought a pail along!  (I'm not sure if berry picking in a natural park is allowed?  Don't tell, but ...we ate ALOT of them;)!

It is one of the most dense and lush hikes we've ever taken the kids on.    A few steps into the trail and we couldn't even hear the nearby traffic anymore.

I tried my best to point out all the wildflowers I've learned to recognize this year (I'm a little bit proud of the fact that I now know what pearly everlasting is ok!) but the kids were completely disinterested.  They were all engaged in some imaginary game that involved a lot of texting, a concert, and of course a journey through the woods.   

Baring Falls!

I took some time to try and play around with the shutter speed, because I like the effect on the water.   Clearly though, a tripod would have been helpful, and would have perhaps prevented the blurriness in the rest of the photo?

meh...I had 5 kids in tow.   They weren't about to stand around and wait for me to set up a tripod;)

After the hike to baring falls, we headed over to Many Glacier and fished in front of the hotel.  

We'd already discovered and proven the week before that this is not a very ideal place to fish, but old habits die hard I suppose.   Luckily for some of us - it isn't about whether we catch anything or not;)

We headed for home much later then planned and empty handed nonetheless, but so grateful for a fun family filled day!    

I'm sure loving Glacier!!!

Pickles and Jelly

My sister Jewel makes the best pickles.   THE.Best.Pickles!

In the past I always tried to get together with her to make them (which really just entailed me sitting around pretending to be useful while she did all the work) but for the second year in a row - I was on my own!    Last year, I was determined to do it alone because I felt I needed to learn how to do it, which ended up being a big mistake!   Most of the jars didn't seal and ended up being thrown out, and I swore that I'd never do pickles without Jewel again.    

When the hutterites called me this week and said that cucumbers were ready - I snatched up 20 lbs quickly, without even remembering that Jewel was at a family reunion all week long.    Crap!!!!!!!

Me again.   

Well, me and 20 lbs of cucumbers;)

So, I did my very best to make my sister proud. 

I filled each jar with dill, garlic and a pinch of cream of tartar.  

 (Jewel says that's to make them crunchy:)

Then I filled them with cucumbers.   This year I made sure to put more then eight in a jar.   I really crammed those babies in!!      

Then I filled the jars with Jewels fabulous brine recipe and sealed them the way she recommends.    

I fell asleep that night listening to the glorious sound of lids popping!   

It'll be a few months before I know for sure, but I'm thinking this years pickle making endeavor just might have been - a Success!!!

As if that wasn't enough though, the same day the hutterites called for cucumbers to be picked up, was the same day John picked hundreds of crab apples off our back yard tree, AND happened to also be the same day my Father in law stopped by with tonnes of delicious juice from his home grown berries.    

But of course this would all come on the same day, right!

Seeing as the kitchen was already a hot and sticky mess, we decided to just keep going.   

First we washed the apples and threw them into this handy dandy steamer that we bought for Max last year.   (That makes us sound awesome doesn't it?   Well, we bought it for him after we had melted his into complete nothingness, so really, it was the least we could do;)

This juice was the prettiest color coming out, and made the kitchen smell oh so sweet!

Then I divided this juice into about a kazillion batches that took about 80 hundred thousand hours to boil.    The nice thing about all of this, is that John was home and stuck with me for the whole project.   I'll tell ya, that was some major quality time we spent together that day!   

Then we threw them into a water bath (which is a process that still totally freaks me out).

....And Oila!

Just like that, we had a year supply of Jelly!

(Which won't last nearly a year because my kids go through one of those a DAY the little bums!)

Garden in July

Here's a picture of our flower beds in July.  I really do love to track the changes that go on out front throughout the course of the year.   Sometimes reds dominate, other times yellows and purples.   I'm hoping that in the next few weeks the burgendy plants start to take over;)

The Tiger Lillies were huge, and multiplied a bunch this year!

Our Raspberries did great!  I've made several quarts of freezer jam already.  Yumm!!!

(And we planted transplants on the other side of our fence, technically in the alley, in hopes of having even more next year!)

July was such a hot month that this little garden got big real fast.   We went away to Utah for a week, and all of this was more then double in size!

Our garden and yard did have to put up with a few hailstorms in July, but thankfully, I think everything survived pretty well.    I don't think we've quite gotten over the storm of 2012.  

One Friday night, in particular, a small hailstorm rolled through town, and the kids were more then a little traumatized by it.  (ie: Jessica was found hiding in a closet praying;)   John and I tried our best to calm them down and assure them all that this was not the same type of hailstorm that did so much damage last year.   Well,  as I was laying with Jessica an hour later, we could still hear the sound of thunder off in the distance.   She turned to me and said dramatically (still a bit nervous), 

"If I don't make it - find me a husband, and tell him I love him!!"   haha.  She kills me!

Wild flowers (part 2)

In the course of our playing this past week or so, I've been able to use my handy dandy "Flower Twitcher" to identify 12 new flowers that I had never seen (well never NOTICED) before!  

Here are some of the flowers I discovered this week:

So far, my favorite flowers are the Wildrose, Pink Spirea, and the white Lady Slippers. 

It's crazy that these flowers have always been growing in these places that I have always been going.

   I just never stopped to notice them before!

  So beautiful!