Home Is Where the Heart Is?

I always feel like after a vacation with children that I need a vacation from our vacation when I get home. It has been really nice to get back and have some semblance of a routine.  And by "routine" I mean, sleeping in as long as Zoe will let me while the other kids play Minecraft, then read the scripts (slang for scriptures for those of you uncool scripture-readers out there), breakfast, workout (I DO allow myself the odd day to not work out, like today or the first two days of my period), and then figure out how I'm going to spend the rest of the day.  Summer is awesome, but hard that way.  I LOVE routine.  I like knowing what's going to happen.  I like making plans and keeping them.  When the boys are in school, I am awesome.  I keep on top of things.  But with Summer, I don't clean or do laundry as often as I should and need to, things get undone, etc.  All I want to do is read a book while the kids play in the sprinklers/pool, which is exactly what I did today.  It was amazing.  Totally lazy and selfish.  But the kids were fed and happy.  And so was I.  I promise some days I try.  We went to Gull Lake last week and we've done the Splash Park here in LaCombe a few times which is perfect for my kids because it's gated---WAY less stressful AND there's a port-a-potty on site.  I swear the person who planned that was a Mother.

Anywho, as I was saying, it's nice to be back.  Although, now that we're back we keep getting asked the same questions about how the job hunt is going.  We are at three months.  And it sucks having to answer and say, "Wellllllll, we're still here!"  (We even finally took care of getting our church records switched to this Ward... here come the callings).  Joe has had one opportunity that looks like it might become something, which is exciting for both of us.  But the timing is one big fat question mark.  This guy is retiring and is planning on selling his company and Joe wants to be the guy to take it over and run the business.  And that's about as far as we are on that.  But because we don't know what the timing is going to look like, Joe needs to keep searching for a job, ANY job really, until this other gig gets going.  Joe hasn't slept for two months, and finally when this job opportunity came up several weeks back he started sleeping through the night again.  Phew!  But now that he needs to keep actively searching again, he's losing sleep again.  Ack!  I am hoping that once things become clear about work that his body will settle again and he'll be able to sleep.  And stop snoring.  It's his birthday in TWO days so I am really hoping that he can at least sleep during his birthday week!  C'mon!

It's hard to believe that July is almost over.  Summer is just cruising by and I was so set on being settled in a place of our own with a job all lined up and ready to go by now, and the kids being able to just start school and not have to switch over to another school after a month or two.  Or halfway.  I guess if we are unemployed a whole year, they won't have to go through changing schools in the middle of the year!  Just looking on the bright side.  I am also considering putting Ellie in Kindergarten this year.  Which blows my mind.  I always thought I was going to wait another year since she is a January girl, but it feels so right to get her started now.  Probably because that will mean I will only have ONE child at home.  Then again, if she's gone, who will play with Zoe?  But then again if she's here, how much screaming will I have to deal with?  Today they were really cute.  I set up this little slide in the backyard and Ellie really wanted Zoe to go down with her every time.  And Zoe really didn't.  She let it happen a few times, and then she was like, I'VE HAD IT!  And swatted her away.  Haha!  I also managed to capture these cute pics below from a few days ago.  We had a super rainy day so there was a nice big puddle to splash in in front of Granny's house.  Ellie eventually joined.  They even held hands.  But only because I told them to.  I also love these pictures because Zoe's personality just shines in these.  All of the faces.  It's totally her.  And the french braids are stinkin' cute.  And the overalls.  Pretty sure Ellie just woke up and scrambled out the door.  Even so, she's such a beautiful girl and growing up way too fast.
 
Joe just came home from his run. I was killing time taking pics of the girls while I waited for my turn to go out.  Sarah and Jenny managed to talk us into  signing ourselves up for the "Tough Mudder" race which is happening in about a month and a half.  Yikes!  And only AFTER I signed up did I realize that the race in not only riddled with crazy hard relay things (I knew that part) but it is a 10 MILE race.  Not kilometres.  MILES.  So.  Joe and I have a ways to go.  I am up to about 4 miles without stopping, but my body/joints hate me.  Wish me luck.  I have been really proud of Joe though.  He hates running, and has been sticking to it anyway.  Way to go Joe!  Once Zoe saw him coming, she immediately ran out to him, "Daddy!"  How can you not think of the Primary song, "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home?"  In fact, I think Joe's Dad wrote a poem about this very thing once upon a time.  I remember having a conversation with Joe about this when Jackson was just a baby, and he said, "I can't wait to get to that point where the kids are just so happy to see me come home.  Well Joe.  You've arrived.
 

Montana and Utah

After Canada Day and our little camping trip, it was time to head to Whitefish to visit my parents for a couple days.  There was lots of swimming to be had.  Everyday was a pool day.  It is honestly so gorgeous there!  Joe is already talking about the possibilities of "one day" having a place down here to visit so we don't have to kick my parents out of their one-bedroom home.  Thankfully Jared and Lindsay opened up their place to my parents (same complex) so that our growing family could have some beds to sleep in!  All the kids crashed in my parents King bed (thankfully no one peed.  It's been several months, but I was waiting for THIS be the one time....), while Zoe took the bathroom in her playpen and Joe and I got the pull out bed in the living room.  It all kind of worked out!  Thanks for giving up your place for us Mom and Dad!  On one of our pool days we ran into Brooklyn and her family!  Doug was still at home working, but I guess she was up with her fam and we just happened to run into each other!  I haven't seen Wren since she was born so I made her and Zoe play together for all of 20 minutes or so.  They are cuties!

We also managed to get the kids to go on a "hike"---you know, the kind that my parents would have taken us on as kids.  I was so looking forward to this, because I love things like this.  The kids did a pretty good job.  Only tears once from you-know-who.  And the odd complaint---"How long is this going to take?"  Ha!  It was only about 40 minutes, but they hung in there.  At the end the boys kept hiding and popping out of the bushes to scare us.  It was fun times.  My parents treated us to ice cream to make it all worth it for the kids.  We also happened to be there when the Farmer's Market was on.  My parents ALSO treated us to pizza and fresh lemonade.  I think it costed like $100 bucks!  I wish I had taken my camera more places and got more pics, but this is the best I got, and I stole a few from Joe's phone.  Joe got some video of Zoe dancing along to the live entertainment.  That was my fav part, just watching her go right in front of everyone and get down.  And as always, got a few comments on her cuteness.  I can't deny it.  If she weren't mine, I would do the same.  She's got all the personality to go along with those curls.  Love that girl.  Someone even asked to take a picture of her with her dog---Zoe kept loving all the dogs that crossed our path.  Hopefully her identity doesn't get stolen.  We had such a fun time!  And thankfully enjoyed another $100 dollar snow cone (treated by Joe and requested by me.  I couldn't ask my parents to spend another $100 on us).  Such a fun trip.  Way too short, of course.

Little did Jackson realize that we planned to leave Zoe in Montana for four days with my parents while the rest of us trekked on to Utah.  He missed her so much.  He started crying when he gave her a hug good bye and the tears flowed for a solid hour in the car afterwards.   Did IIII miss her?  Hmmmmm.... I'll tell you what I didn't miss: the crying and screaming in the car for 11 hours there and back, the nap schedule interrupting our day, the leaving early because Zoe isn't going to make it until 9pm for the Family Reunion program, the running around and chasing her and not being able to just sit down and enjoy the Burnham reunion, the being worried about where to put her to bed because the bathrooms were way too small to fit a play pen.  No I didn't miss her.  Four days was the perfect amount of time.

We got to have a very small taste of Temple Square.  We only had just over an hour so we walked around the grounds and then got to check out the Joseph Smith Museum.  The kids were actually pretty fascinated.  I thought they might get bored, but they were pretty interested.  Lots of really great visuals, and I guess it helps that we only spent like 30 minutes there.  Loved being able to do this with my kids.  Will definitely have to do this again when we have more time and when they are a bit older and can really appreciate all the history and the Spirit that is there.

We got to meet up with my Burlington Bestie, Darla, and her fam!  Her sister was getting married the same weekend as the Burnham reunion---THE LUCK!---so we met up at Pioneer Park and let the kids play in the water while we chatted and caught up.  It was so fun and just pleasant and it brought me back to my Burlington days.  I miss Darla a lot.  I guess it doesn't help that I haven't really ventured out and made any friends here in LaCombe yet.  Still don't know how long we will be here for so it's hard to want to try to put down roots when we've got one foot out the door.  Or at least TRYING to get out the door.  Sorry Colette and Rob!  Anywho, it was so nice to catch up.  I just wish I could bring her with me.  There was talk of them coming to Calgary for the Stampede, so I will have to keep working on that!

I also got to meet up with my Utah Bestie, Sarah Champion, for lunch. I got to finally meet her husband, Mike, because that is just how long it's been since I've been in Utah! We had a great visit and Joe was a peach with helping take care of our very-bored-kids while I yapped and yapped.  Being with Sarah brought back so many memories of our YSA days.  She was such a huge part of my life back then and I will never forget the laughs and tears we have shared together.  I miss you Sarah!  Can I take you with me, too?  At least Sarah has family in Edmonton, so I have more of a chance with her than with Darla!  After our "boring" lunch, the kids were promised a chance to play in the Splash Park area for their good behaviour.  And also, it was just dang hot.  They needed it.  This is where I found the chance to buy a book.  I finished one in the car on the way there and so I got another one (The Fault in Our Stars---beware, it's a cry-one).  TWO books in one vacation.  Can I tell you how wonderful it was to be able to read on vacation?  Well.  It was a dream.   Thanks to Joe who drove for the majority of our trip and thanks to my tummy for being able to handle reading in the car.  It is truly a blessing and makes those long trips feel not-so-weary.

Well, after our long trip for the purpose of a family reunion with the Burnhams I managed to take ZERO pictures! Ack! I forgot my camera both days, and Noah got sick the second day so I ended up having to leave early anyway. Friday was a nice little program celebrating Grandma and Grandpa's 65th anniversary after some family pictures, and then Saturday was at a park with various activities where we got to just visit and play. It was nice getting to know some of the cousins better. I was glad to have Joe around to remind me of who was who, but it made me kind of sad that we didn't know each other better. I really liked who I was able to visit with.  I guess that's just how it goes when you live in different countries!

A huge thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for helping us out to get there and for giving us an opportunity to visit with family.  That's what it's all about.  Wouldn't it be nice to just have money tucked away like that to be able to make life a little easier for your posterity?  Not necessarily snow-plowing the way, but rather the odd helpful donation while you are fresh out of school with debt living at your in-laws.  I just hope we can pay it forward one day.  I have felt really blessed lately while living here.  Colette and Rob'e generousity really knows no bounds.  And the best part is the example that I get to witness everyday of just Christ-like service and kindness.  Colette is just one constant ball of service.  And Rob?  Well, he's never home because he's at meetings figuring out how to help people.  And even when they have a moment to be alone, one of them is massaging the other's feet, or head or something.  I'd be like, "Don't ask me to do anything.  I'm tired!"  But no.  They still manage to find energy for each other at the end of their very long days.  Even longer with our family here.  Anywho.  I feel really blessed.

The First

"The First" is what we Gibbs call the first of July or simply put, Canada Day. Everyone in this family lives for the the First. Cousins come from far and wide (mostly just Utah and Alberta) to unite and enjoy the most laughs we will have all year round.  Mostly because of the Weidner family, the rowdy Gibb boys and Matt.  This year was especially special because we got to celebrate Grandma Hazel and Grandpa Lawrence's 65th Wedding Anniversary, as well as the birth of Harvey Lawrence Swainson (Celeste and Rob's little boy---4 weeks early and ON the first.  He wanted to be there for the celebration I guess).  We got there on Sunday which is when we did the program for Grandma and Grandpa (while the kids payed outside).  Colette said I should sing a song for it, ...and jokingly she added, "just throw together an original piece!"  Well, I thought about it (and this was a few days before that weekend) and figured it was a while since I touched my guitar, so I thought I'd figure out if we were still friends.  And an hour-ish later, I found we still were.  Thank you Ruby (that's my guitar's name.  Occasionally it's One-Eyed Willy---nick name).  So I managed to sing it not only for their anniversary but also for the Burnhams, because it was ALSO their 65th anniversary.  Pretty awesome!  It's just a cute little love song about sticking with each other through the years no matter what life brings.  Title in progress.  I am the worst at Titles.

 Anniversary Song
By Maren Ord Burnham

vs 1
Old sky, new sky
You are my guy
Oh what I wouldn't do for you

Grey sky, blue sky
Sunny days and rainy nights
Oh what I wouldn't do for you

Chorus
If I had a wishing well, I'd ask just one little thing
You'll take my hand forever, Dear, and I'll wear your wedding ring

vs 2
Wild flow'rs, birds sing
You are my everything
Oh what I wouldn't do for you

Hard days, warms nights
Summer breeze, you hold me tight
Oh what I wouldn't do for you

Chorus
If I was your wishing well, what would you ask of me?
"Take my hand forever, Darlin', now wear that wedding ring"

Instrumental

(Soft chorus)
Don't need no wishing well, but if I were to ask for fun
I'd want 65 years with you, and 65 more to come

Outro
Old sky, new sky
You are my guy
Oh what I wouldn't do for you

Wishing wells, diamond rings
You are my everything
Oh what I wouldn't do
Oh what I wouldn't do
(slow) Oh what I wouldn't do for you



I am so inspired by these two as well as the Burnhams.  I think about Joe and I in their shoes in 55 years and partly I hope that I am in as good as shape and as spunky and as sweet as Grandma Hazel is, but mostly, I hope we can have as sure of a love as these two do and the Burnhams.  They are constantly serving each other.  I have so far to go.  Where's that wishing well?

Okay, so this picture above might need some explaining.  Melissa was taking a panoramic shot of the room with her iPhone camera, and I happened to start walking through right in the middle of it and cracked a face.  Well, not only was my face nast, but the camera distorted my shoulders and head shape so I looked like Quasimoto.  Hahahaha!  We had a good laugh.  And can I just say something about Melissa.  I SO wish I could live by her and her sister Stacie.  They are just the funniest people I know, not to mention, total rays of sunshine.  Probably because they are constantly laughing.  It makes me wonder if they are like this all the time?  And makes me wish I could be around them all the time.  I miss you guys already!  Thankfully I get her instagram posts which make me laugh daily and make me feel like we are the closest and bestest of friends.  Even though we have never hung out one-on-one before in our lives.  Melissa, you crack me up.  Thanks for being crazy funny.  And please rub off on me.

Below is the day before Canada Day.  Remember when I said I didn't have any pictures of Canada Day?  Well, I kind of lied.  But not really.  I have a lot of random pics of our trip before Canada Day, and then a lot of video ON Canada day, but not a ton of pics.  So these will have to do.  We all met at Aunt Connie's and Larry's for breakfast on their farm.  Well, Larry practically took most of his work day off to let pretty much each and every person go up in his bucket thingy truck hauler something-er-other for a ride.  And it was awesome.  From way up high you could see the entire farm and it was beautiful.  Eventually, someone came up with the idea to bring it over to this watering hole so that the bravest of braves could jump off into the water!  At first it was the crazy boys (Rob Weidner and Swainson, and Carson).  They were doing back flips and crazy stuff that made me scream.  After a while, I asked Jackson if he would want to jump off.  And that crazy boy said yes!  A part of me was thrilled that he was that brave and adventurous.  And the other part of me was worried that he was starting this young!  Ha!  Well, Noah (and Joe because he now had to be a man and join his boys) joined Jackson and jumped off that thing.  Not as high as those crazy boys, but high enough that I wouldn't do it!  I can barely do the 3 meter board at a SAFE swimming pool.  Well, after Jackson and Noah did it, all the other little cousins joined in.  Way to be a leader Jax!  Anywho, here are some fun pics at the farm.  Lots of quad-riding and catching cats and seeing the cows and swinging and more quad riding.  Oh, and lots of eating and visiting.


(Noah with Uncle Rob)

We also managed to get suckered into starting our own baseball team for a two day tournament.  Joe didn't know this about me, but I played for my Junior High's softball team in Grade Nine.  I was one of two girls.  And I had my lesbian hair cut.  And I'm pretty sure I haven't played since.  I hate watching baseball, but I love playing.  It was super fun.  I am so out of practice, but thankfully if you just hang back and yell for someone else to catch the ball, they don't really notice.  "Get it!  Get it!"  It was fun, but maybe one day too long of playing baseball and not enough eating and visiting and enjoying each other.
On day two of our tournament (Canada Day), we played against the Gibb boys team and CRUSHED them. Haha! It was so fun. If you know those Gibb boys at all, you can only imagine the kind of game we played.  Good times.
 
The rest of the pics are just beef and beans and lots of root beer. Leslie won the brew-off this year, but I'd say Colette's was a very close second!! This is sadly the only group pic I have of the kids. Right after the races. Virtually impossible to get them all looking at the camera AND looking happy.  They are so hot and tired from all the fun.  Exactly how it should be.

We got the share Glenwood lodge with the Weidners and I always feel blessed that we get to, because where they are is where the laughter is.  On our last night, we wanted to go out with a bang I guess.  I was trying to force a dance party that only Matt, Melissa and Robbie participated in.  Which I guess was good enough for me.  But when the Gibb boys arrived, we stepped it up a notch.  Apparently there was a family in Hill Spring that they all had to pay back for them leaving toilets on Connie and Larry's front yard one year.  Like YEARS ago.  Well, in Gibb fashion it took us a while to figure out what the pay back would be.  Honestly, I thought it was going to be all talk and we'd just sit there and laugh.  The suggestions kept getting more and more crazy and creepy and hostile.  The best suggestions kept coming from Uncle Rob!  Christie found this voice of a screaming woman on her phone, like she was being hunted down or something, so that we could lure them out of their house.  Perhaps into the woods or something creepy.  There was talk of bringing the gopher hunting guns just to scare them, but I vetoed that right off!  What if they called the cops?  Or brought out guns of their own because it was dark and they couldn't recognize them?  This was getting to be all too much.  In the end we decided to lure them out with that crazy lady-scream and throw water balloons at them.  At first I wasn't going to go because it was already well after midnight and I had to wake up to children and be able to function for the day.  But then when I looked around, I realized that ALL of us were in that same boat, no matter how high-schoolish this was.  Ha!  We were being young and immature and fun.  It was awesome.  When we drove up past their house to sneak into their yard, I was shaking so bad!  It was so dark!  And the scream of that woman---even though I knew it was coming---was so eery.  There was also the unknown of how this family as going to react.  I was clinging to Joe.  And then to Melissa.  And then Kelsey! I was too afraid to get to close so I didn't see anything happen, but I was told that three brave young men came out with flashlights from their phones, and then they got nailed with water balloons.  But they weren't "true" water balloons so not all of them broke---one got a non-broken one to the head.   Thankfully they all laughed and thought it was a pretty good joke.  We will have to see how they get us back next year.  Or if they are anything like the Gibbs, they might wait a few years.

Anywho, it was a super fun Canada Day weekend with family that, as always, went way too fast!  Boo.  Until next year.  Love you Gibb family!