Shoes Equals Joy. Obviously.

This morning I was hurriedly tidying up my house before I had to leave for gospel study group.  A group of women from church meet up every other week to discuss a certain topic and I was in charge of the topic today.  It was all about "joy."  People come as prepared as they wanna be.  One of my friends read SEVEN talks in preparation for this morning (Tami Doney.  Not surprised.  Love that woman).  I read two.  Which I already thought was excessive.  Haha!  I have often come not prepared at all and still walked away feeling uplifted.  But as I was "in charge" I figured I should probably have a couple of quotes I could spurt off during a lull.  Well, I didn't quite get to my front entrance (among many other things) as I walked out the door to this lovely meeting.  There are always shoes.  Not just here, but also in our back-door/not-back-door entrance.  And because I have a four year old, let's just say they're all over the house.  This picture does not even include the kids' outdoor school shoes OR Joe's shoes as he is out of town and the kids are at school.  Why the heck am I talking about shoes?  Well, one of my friends that was there this morning, Tamara Grigor, made a comment that really spoke to me.  She said that it often used to bother her having all these shoes around!  Yes.  I can relate to that.  And then she went on to say that now that she is in a different phase of her life (kids getting married and going on missions, etc) she looks at the shoes in her front entrance in a different way now.  People fill those shoes.  If there are shoes in your front entrance, that means there are people there who love you and that you love and people who bring joy in your life.  What a great concept.  And a fantastic reminder to just be grateful!  I may not find joy in everything, but I will never look at my front entrance the same way again.  All these shoes means I have all these people to love.

Crowsnest Pass

We went to Crowsnest Pass with Riley and Anona Adams and their family.  Well.  We invited ourselves.  They do crown-land camping, which we have never done and all Summer we kept saying, "We need to do this together!"  So finally, during the long weekend in September, we went.  I was a little hesitant to go, partly because the kids had JUST started school and we were all wrapping our brains around our new schedules, and partly because... it was COLD!  The other part of me said, "be adventurous!" and "you only live once!"  So, I listened to that voice.  And off we went on yet another camping adventure.  We usually take Joe's parents' fifth wheel, but this time we thought we would try out their motorhome.  All I truly care about is if there is a toilet.  And having a fridge makes life a little easier.  And a stove.  Haha!  It was a little smaller, but Jane is still so little that we were able to make a little bed out of the shower.  Each time I would close the divider and watch her look at me with her pleading eyes, I felt so bad!  And then I would do my business on the toilet right next to her like a good Mom.

I always feel like we never have enough time.  I find we are always trying to squeeze in as much as possible, and if we are not trying to squeeze everything in, then what is the point in packing up our lives and going in the first place?  I DO enjoy being able to feel like I can relax (that's what that extra day would be for), but often we are just trying to see and do as much as possible.  Well.  We went with the right crew for that.  Riley and Anona have quads and scooters and side by sides (for kids and adults) and they were kind enough to take us on rides.  I think one of my favourite parts of the trip was night-quadding with Anona in her side by side.  Joe fell asleep early and I didn't have the heart to make him stay up with me, so I hung out with Anona and her fam.  I didn't get to go quadding during the day, so Anona offered to take me on a little drive in the dark (and she let me drive on the way back).  It was fun.  But after a while it got really spooky!  And all I could think of was "it feels like we're on the set of a movie where all the sudden a person is standing right in the middle of our path and we have to slam on the breaks!  Oh wait.  It's a ghost!  Aaaaaah!"  Well.  Anona and I kept freaking ourselves out no matter how hard we tried to change the subject.  Haha!  The freakiest was swapping driving places in the middle of nowhere!!  Oh man.  It was fun.  I have also never seen a sky more smattered with stars than I did here.  Glenwood would be a close second. But oh man.  It was so beautiful.  After everyone went to bed, I looked up at the sky for a solid five minutes in awe!  And then I creeped myself out again with that silly ghost business and ran back to the motorhome!

Something I've learned about myself is that although I like to have things organized to a degree, I also really love a good spontaneous decision.  The Adams' stayed back while our family went to drive around and find a nice fishing spot.  We didn't really know where we were going to fish, so we just drove, enjoying the beautiful scenery, when BAM.  Let's stop here.  And when I say "we" went fishing.  I mean Joe.  The rest of us played in the tall grass, hiding and pretending to be wild animals while I fed Jane and enjoyed being in the sun, watching it set.  It was probably our warmest day, so I was determined to soak it in.  Joe loves to fish.  In fact, he is in Whitefish with Matt at this very moment on a fishing (and golfing) trip.  He never catches anything.  But he still keeps at it!  I think that would drive me a little mental, but he says it's not really about that for him.  He finds it relaxing and peaceful and he likes being out in nature.  I have a feeling he would like it more if he caught something!

Oh the boys.  We had some REALLY ripping fires this weekend.  And they LOVE being able to stay up with the adults.  On one particular night, they decided they were totally going to steal the show and kept telling ghost stories or silly jokes.  It was cute at first, and then all the sugar buzzing inside of them turned them into obnoxious little toots!  Bed time!  Haha!  Actually, I think bed time when you're camping is such a fun time!  Way more opportunity for ghost stories and such, so I told the boys my Dad's "Ivory Soap" story (for the millionth time) and they loved it.  And then I proceeded to do the same thing to the girls the following night.  Man.  My kids think I'm hilarious.  And that is why I like telling them that story.  The girls asked me to tell them another story, ...and I failed.  Miserably.  I guess my brains don't work so good on the spot!

Noah LOVES Jane.  This hammock has become a camping-staple for us.  The kids live in this thing.

I think my two most favourite moments of this trip (there were many) was going on a Mommy-daughter bike date with Ellie (I didn't get any pictures but it was so fun bonding over bikes with this little sweetie!!) and going on a nice long walk just me and Jackson.  I am so glad Jackson can talk with me.  This year in grade four, the kids start learning about body parts with both genders and how and why certain things work they way they do.  Jackson said he was nervous about learning about this stuff.  I knew this conversation needed to happen, so I'm just glad it happened naturally.  I only wish that Joe was there because I don't know much about what Jackson might be going through as a boy at this particular age, but I know girls!  I didn't quite go into the birds and the bees (although I know that one's coming up soon as well), but we talked about "feelings."  Like, physical feelings.  I tried to make it as natural as possible so that he wouldn't get embarrassed.  I think I succeeded??? ...because he kept asking me questions.  So, I guess that's a good sign. Oh Jackson.  I love you.  I wish you could be innocent forever!  Maybe by the time I get to Jane I'll know what the heck to say.

Our living quarters.  We had a few rainy moments that kept us indoors, but I kind of didn't mind it at all.  Sometimes it's nice being forced to be lazy.  One of those rainy days was Sunday.  After church Joe took us on an eternal drive!  It was meant to be a "look at this beauty" drive, but when you're driving in the rain, it's hard to really see all that beauty. We drove all the way out to a waterfall and we literally got out of the car to look at it and went right back into the car and drove back to our campsite.  We all fell asleep.  Well most of us.  I did anyway!  It was glorious.

Our last day was almost beautiful!  The day started out so nice that we decided to all have a picnic up to this secluded lake across the border in BC.  But by the time we got there, it clouded over and started to sprinkle.  BUMMER!  It was okay.  Honestly, it was a little stressful.  The drive there was meant for those ATVs and we had our massive mini-van going over these crazy bumps and looming over cliffs.  I was holding my breath probably the entire time.  We listened to a John Mayer CD that Joe made me when we were dating.  Yes.  I still have it.  And listening to it brought back so many memories.  I would listen to it driving back and forth between Calgary and Edmonton to visit Joe.  Those were some fun times!  Made me have butterflies all over again just thinking about it.  I'm a lucky woman to have him.  Anywho, Joe tried to fish but it seemed that each time he'd finally have a chance to cast his rod, a child would need him.  I had Jane (who was... ready for a nap!), so the other kids were his.  Let's just say, it wasn't ideal, but it was still a fun time.  The girls walked around collecting little sea shells while we all huddled around the fire trying to keep warm and feeling pretty dang hardy, earning the name "Canadian."

 Am I glad we went?  Absolutely.  We always walk away from these trips feeling closer to each other and making way more fun memories than we otherwise would have just sitting at home.  Is the garage still untouched because you were supposed to clean it together that weekend?  Yes.  Worth it.

Omelette Master

Jackson has been in Cubs for over a year now.  Aaaaand we are just kind of getting going on his "Faith in God" goals.  He's done a few.  But.  Well.  It's time to do some catching up.  Plus I wanted Noah to get excited about accomplishing some goals in there as well as he is brand new to Cubs.  I told the boys they could choose one goal to work on and they both decided on making a meal for our family.  Noah has yet to make his meal, mainly due to the fact that his Mom can't get her act together and still needs to buy the groceries for his favourite meal, "Taco Soup."  Jackson's meal happened to be something that we just so happened to have in the fridge already.  Omelettes.  He did all the chopping (except for the tomatoes), all the egg-cracking, whisking, and by the end he had mastered all of the flipping.  He insisted on serving us all before he sat down to devour his own.  Now he has a taste of how I feel every evening!  Ha!  Well done Jackson.  We now have a master-omelette maker in our home!  He can't wait to make them again and wants to learn new recipes.  I'll take it.

Yikes Bikes

This Summer I have really come to love biking.  I got into it when I lived in Burlington because we had such great trails by our house and it was always beautiful weather for it.  Here in Okotoks, we have such LOVELY trails right by Sheep River.  Also, my joints stink so running isn't always super fun.  This is a great alternative.  Plus, I am trying to make my bum work against gravity a little bit.  Summer biking is great, but Fall biking is ever better! 

Now that I have just Zoe and Jane at home during the day, I decided to make a day of it last week.  Partly because I was having a stressful week and just needed a day of no lists.  I hooked the chariot up to my bike and we went to the library and then had a picnic lunch by the river.  But because I am semi-paranoid it was a little hard to enjoy because I was worried that every single sound I heard was a serial killer coming up behind us.  Why can't I just fully enjoy life?!!  Don't ask me.  Aside from my being crazy, I really enjoyed our time.  Zoe threw rocks into the river and was climbing up and down whatever she could while I held Jane.  It was just beautiful!!

And then I got to bike up an eternal hill.  It is the only way back to our home so it had to be done.  Without a chariot, it's a pretty decent huff up that hill but doable.  WITH the chariot I wasn't sure how much more of an effort it would be.  Well.  I wanted to die about halfway through!  Haha!  But I told myself I wasn't going to stop.  Partly because if I did, what the heck was I going to do?  Walk that thing up?  Heck no.  And it felt AMAZING once I got to the top!  If I can do it once, I can do it again.  Can't wait to have another little jaunt with my girls.  What a perfect day of just loving nature and not worrying about blah!

p.s. Instead of listening to music, I recommend listening to a great audio book while biking.  Just finished listening to "The Red Queen" and "Girl On The Train."

 Post-eternal hill.

Jane fell asleep on the hill.  Then a few minutes later I turned back to see that Zoe joined her.  Cute.

Summer Review

I feel like our Summer was well spent.  I didn't feel like it flew by, nor did it feel too long.  I feel like we used every minute wisely.  Some minutes were busy and super fun, and some were super chill.  This Summer we decided to buy a Calaway Park pass.  Best.  Idea.  Ever.  And bless Jane's heart.  She could have made it a really terrible time for all but she managed to be a Saint each time we went (and all of her existence thus far).  Ellie and Zoe surprised me with their ability and desire to go on super crazy rides (even rides that gave ME butterflies).  And I surprised myself by going on rides with the boys in the name of being a "fun" Mom.  This last trip I went on the "Cosmo" ...and my glasses fell right off.  They also almost fell off on the roller coaster.  Future note:  Don't wear glasses.

My friend, Sarah Champion, came up to Edmonton to visit her Grandma (who passed away the following week).  I drove right on up when I heard she was in town and although we only got a couple hours of visiting in over lunch, it was well worth it.  She was such a huge part of my life during our single adult years and I love her to bits.  She still has the ability to make me laugh.  My sister from another mister.  Always.

While I was in Edmonton, I decided to visit Grandma and Grandpa Burnham so they could meet Jane for the first time.  It's always a nice time and Grandma always surprises me with her spunk.  I can tell Grandpa has declined since the last time I saw him which is hard to watch, but he was lively and happy and tried to interact.

Camping.  We got in a few camping weekends this Summer.  More than I thought we would!  Thanks to the Burnhams we were able to borrow their fifth wheel or motorhome so we could "glamp" in comfort.  I already blogged about Sandy McNabb, but we also did Gull Lake.  Not my favourite place, but still fun.  I really enjoyed Nordegg which is where all of these pictures were taken.  We met up with Matt and his kids and Joe's Dad.  We found a place right by a lake and spent a lot of time swimming and fishing there.  We also drove around to check out properties (Joe's parents have been considering for quite some time possibly purchasing some land out there).  I feel like camping has really brought me closer to the boys.  I make a special effort to play with them, talk with them, be silly with them, spoil them with treats and late nights, and straight up have a good time.  They are getting more fun as they get older.  I think my favourite thing was sitting around the camp fire with them once the girls were in bed.  One night Joe and Matt took their pontoons out, so it was just me and the boys (I think Grandpa was taking a nap or working).  We were playing "would you rather" and after a while I asked if they still wanted to play or just chat.  Noah said he just wanted to chat.  I love that.  He is coming into his own more and more.  Not as quiet and reserved.  He is becoming more confident in who he is and I love it.  He still has a ways to go though.  There was one night he was telling us all a ghost story in their tent right before bed and he sounded so cute that I told Joe to get his camera out.  Well.  As soon as he realized what we were doing he got shy and insecure and told us that Jackson knew it better and he should tell it.  Jackson has no shortage of confidence, so of course he was more than willing to take over!  Ha!  And Noah doesn't seem to mind.  Honestly.  I love that these boys are best friends, but I do wish Noah could have more opportunities to shine a little more.  The other day he was crying because Ellie liked the same song as him.  When I asked him why that was so upsetting he said, "I just want to be unique and have my OWN thing!"  It was adorable and sad all at once.  In a family of five?  Good luck.

Jane is usually a decent sleeper, but with growth spurts and teething and her not being in her own crib, we just didn't know what kind of experience we were going to get with Jane.  She was not amazing on our first camping trip to Sandy McNabb, and at Gull Lake I just took her to the Burnhams overnight because I didn't want to take my chances.  And because there was no room at the inn for us.  But all of our other trips, she was great!  We just finished camping with the Adams' over the long weekend and she slept in the shower like a champ.

Camping highlights in Nordegg: Taking the girls to look at the lake at sunset when the fog was lifting and the fish were jumping.  Taking the boys to the lake first thing in the morning to swim (crazies).  Eating Joe's yummy camp-fire meals.  Going on a walk/hike in the woods with just the boys and talking about bears (Noah decided after that walk that he really likes nature and hiking now).  Evenings around the campfire with the boys.  Hearing all about Noah and Jackson's early morning nature walk with Grandpa.  Seeing Jane in her bonnet that Celeste made.  Slingshots.  Having a quiet moment to read a book.  Matt bet the kids to dunk their heads under river water for 30 seconds.  Matt walked away a poor man.  Jumping in the lake with Joe JUST before we were about to go back home.  Joe committed to me in a spontaneous moment that we would do it after we were done packing up (we were both pretty gross from not showering all weekend) and when it came down to it he was acting all tired and in a hurry.  Well.  I made him slow down and be spontaneous and romantic and it was fun and worth it and refreshing!  Nothing like a naggy wife to make your husband have "moments" with you!

My friend Anona Adams invited us to tag along with them at the zoo.  I thought it would be wise to choose a cooler day so that it would be less busy, but that didn't seem to help much!  I thought it was awesome, but the kids were done after about an hour.  Ellie's favourite place was the butterfly area.  My sister Jenny is terrified of butterflies so all I could think of while I was in there was how I could persuade her to enter one of these places.  Haha!  I'm not "terrified," per se, but I don't like things flying around my face so there was the odd time I had to close my eyes and mouth until it fluttered away!  Haha!  Zoe loved the dinosaur section.  Each dinosaur we passed made a sound, so we had to pass every single one, of course, and wait for them to perform for us.  My fav section were the giraffes and hippos.  Just as we were about to head back to our cars it started POURING!  I might as well have been swimming in a very cold pool.  Our umbrellas did NOTHING for us.  I had to crank the heat in the car on the way home just to keep my teeth from chattering.  Note to self: Just go on a Sunny day.  Who cares how busy it is.

Went to Kayben Farms with the kids and some friends (Gilchrists, Johnsons and Doneys).  It was such a last minute thing, I was glad that so many of us were able to meet up!  We had a couple nasty weeks of weather in August so I think we were all just happy to have a chance to be outside and get our kids together.  Oh.  And ourselves!  Other than Noah getting lost in the corn maze (prob the worst person that could happen to), it was a great time.  There were bouncy trampoline things (where the kids spent most of their time), animals (Ellie's fav were the horses), super long slides (Zoe's fav), and a corn maze all in a cute farmy atmosphere, etc.  I love places like this.  Oh, and five minutes from my house.  Win.

Back row L-R: Emma Doney, Paisley Johnson, Maryn Johnson, Zoe, Noah, Ethan Johnson, McKenzie Johnson (holding Jane).  Bottom row L-R: Ellie, Lydia Doney, Jackson, Sophia Doney, Jack Doney.  (Missing the Gilchrists as they left early).

Towards the end of the Summer, Jane was finally big enough to ride in the bike chariot that we bought last Summer, so we have been trying to squeeze in as many family bike rides as possible.  I think Ellie loves these the most (other than me).  On this particular ride we were being chased by a massive and dark storm cloud.  We managed to make it home just in time for it to pour!  It was sunny when we left!  That's Alberta for you.  Nothing like hot chocolate in the Summer!

Add sunny beach days with friends (and occasionally Sarah) and that's about it.  My beach highlights were when there was someone willing to hold Jane so I could swim out to the dock with Ellie and her friend Maryn, or take a kayak with Zoe and Ellie (it only happened a few times, but it was so nice to have that freedom).  I'm not sure what next year is going to be like at the beach with Jane.  She won't be a little babe-in-arms any more!  So good luck future Maren.  Probably means we won't be doing Calaway next Summer either!  Jane is wrecking everything.  Haha!  We'll just have to discover other fun places.  Or not go anywhere.