Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Cait's hair



I remember reading in my Granpa's journal about his children being born...one thing that really stuck out to me was when he described their baby hair and seemed to be very excited when their hair had a bit of curl. I think one of his children was born with straight hair and it seemed to disappoint him a bit. Something like "there's no curl to her hair but she is so cute in other ways". I was just so interested in this view. At the time I read his journal I didn't have any children of my own...and it just seemed so silly to be worried about hair.

And then I had Hailey and Paige, and they had the cutest baby hair. Soft, and whispy and blonde and most importantly: Curly!! I LOVED their baby hair. I would look at other babies and just think how lucky I was to have their perfect little heads of hair.

And then Cait was born...and her hair was bone straight! Not a bit of curl to be found on her head. And then suddenly I understood my Grandpa. It wasn't disappointing that she had straight hair but it certainly was more challenging. I really have to do her hair every single day to make sure it looks presentable. When it's curly, you can just sort of leave it be and it's always presentable.

Anyway...I've decided that Cait has three looks:

1-the "Handsome" Look as Hailey says. It's all slicked to the side and makes her look quite handsome. lol

2-the sticky out pigtails - they just sort of shoot from her head and discourage anyone from getting too close

3-the top-knot...which then just turns into a single sticky-out pony tail which also discourages anyone from getting too close

What do I do about this? Should I just keep on keeping on with the straight hair? Should I break our the curling iron? Should I cut it? What should I do?


I think I'll just love it...because that hair belongs to one sweet little girl who is dearly loved....and it's kind of perfect right?







Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Writing on Stone

It's a tradition. We go to Writing on Stone every single year with our good friends the Allred's and Rasmussen's. We've been going since there was just one baby in our family (and another very close to arriving) see: 2009 2010 2011 & 2012 happened but didn't get blogged (oops). And now we have three babies and it's still just as crazy and fun!

Some of our favourite things to do in Writing on Stone are:

Hair


Watch Movies by the campfire

More hair

Hike the Hoodoo's

Attempt sibling pictures

And sass Mom...just a little...with dirty faces...full of chocolate that 'disappeared'

Anyway, I hope this tradition never ends. It's always a fun way to kick off the camping season, the company is always great, and it's just plain old fun to have traditions!

Monday, June 17, 2013

Just thinking a little bit about dads

You know...it's pretty normal to think about fathers when it's only the day after fathers day. But today I was laying on my bed cuddling with Paige. She's by far my cuddliest baby (who will be 4 in just over a week - by the way). Anyway, I was just thinking about how she's such a sweet well adjusted child...and then I thought about Hailey and how she's just so awesome all the time. And even Cait...who sometimes can be so cranky and hard to get along with (and rightfully so with all her kidney infections), but for the most part she's so fun and silly and lovable. And I just thought how BLESSED I am. I honestly have the best family...and it extends beyond my husband and our three girls, we have the BEST extended family too.

And then I go thinking some more (we cuddled for a long time), and my thoughts turned to Ben and how he's just such a good Father. I feel like so much of the confidence and ease my girls live their life with is because of their sweet and loving father. I'm the soft spot for them to fall (literally haha) - the place where they know their tears will be wiped and their scrapes will be kissed and where they can sit and cuddle for as long as they want. That's my role, and Ben's is that fun, bouncy place they LOVE to be - it's the place where they'll be tickled until they they can't breathe, where they can have pillow fights for hours, and where they'll get teased and joked with but in such a loving way that they learn how to take life a little less seriously and let things just roll off their back. He's just so good at what he does! So good at it. Ben's this quiet reserved guy, he's got a LOT of responsibilities and he never forgets any. Not a lot of people get to really know this guy...and I'm one of the lucky few. My girls are part of that lucky group too. They get to see him when he's silly, when he's serious, when he's quiet, when he's loud. They get to see it all...and most importantly they get to experience that LOVE he's got for them...and boy does he love his girls. Like I said, he's just so good at what he does! He's the type of Dad that teaches his daughters to be tough and independent, stresses the importance of reading and learning, compliments them on their stunning beauty, doesn't let them get away with being brats or mean to others, who will play and play and play with them, and who makes up long detailed stories and dreams before they fall asleep at night. He takes his parenting roles pretty seriously, and they girls know it. They know they can count on their dad to be everything they want and need, and then some!



So then I thought some more and realized that Ben learned a LOT about being this kind of father from his own Dad David. In my short time knowing Ben's Dad I've learned that he's the type of father who takes time to spend with each of his kids - but never makes a big show about it. It's this quiet, simple kind of love. The kind that makes you feel so safe! He skypes with his Daughters who live farther away...and he especially makes sure to talk to those grandchildren of his. I think he's more of the sweet, quiet type like Ben. Ben has really fond memories of farming with him as a child...of sitting on his lap in the combine for hours and hours and hours and just feeling like he was in the best place ever - his fathers arms. David is the kind of father who taught his son everything he knows...which is a LOT. I can thank him for all those handy skills Ben has...and for every thing that gets fixed in our home without a thought. Ben learned that from his Dad. I also see that sense of adventure that Ben has in his Dad. But most important to me is the kind of Grandpa he is to my Daughters. I'm not sure if there is a person that Paige loves more than her Grandpa at the farm (her Grandpa on a mission is in the running that's for sure). But on any given weekend we can ask the girls what they want to do for the day and they will always say "go to the farm". One of the biggest draws to the farm is that Grandpa is always there...and so is his Gator. He will take those girls of mine on ride after ride after ride. He'll let them tag along while he checks on calf's or feeds the cows. He just let's them go anywhere with him and I know there's no place they'd rather be then beside him, safe in his company. He's the kind of Grandpa who will hold the tiny hand of my one year old as she walks across the Barn yard letting her take all the time she needs. He'll even carry her soother in his other hand and keep it safe for later. He's the type of grandfather that always has a knee that's ready for a grandchild to sit and they're always welcome there! One of my favourite things about Ben's dad is that he took the time to talk to Ben and make sure that Ben proposed to me. He was pretty sure his son needed a bit of a nudge, and he made sure Ben did the right thing. And Ben did..eventually. I'm just so grateful for all that David is and for all that he's done for Ben and for us. I couldn't ask for a better Father in law and Grandfather to my children!

And then of course there's my dad! What can I even say about him? He's just perfect! He's so gentle and kind and loving and fair! He worked soooo hard my whole life to give us the kind of life he felt we deserved. He never complained about anything but just made sure he did what it took for provide for us. He wasn't the type of Dad that got you in trouble or ever made you feel bad...and because of that I was the kind of kid that didn't do things to get in trouble. You just don't ever want to let someone down who has so much faith in you! There was NEVER a day in my life that I didn't know my Dad was proud of my and loved me. He has always been very vocal with his love and admiration. I KNOW my Dad loves me and that he respects me and thinks I'm great! No doubt about that. He is the type of Dad that tells you he loves you at the end of every phone call (even when  you're 16 and at a friends house). He's the type of Dad who drove me to seminary every single day and sat and waited in the car in the parking lot (in minus 20 weather) until I was done, and then drove me to school. He is the type of Dad that loved my Mom so much (and is not afraid to show it) that I knew I needed to marry someone like him. And I did. He's the type of person that no one (and I literally mean no one) could say a negative thing about him. He's just that good. And of course he's the type of grandpa that my girls adore. He will have tea parties with them and even let them use real food and water. He'll play dolls, and Barbies and Strawberry shortcake and puzzles and so on! He just gets down there and plays with those girls of mine. He'll also play the same song on the piano over and over and over again just to watch my girls dance and spin and twirl. He'll always bring up an extra Carton of juice for my girls at dinner time even though they usually just drink water...and he'll fill their glasses over and over again (my kids are easy the please). But then, he'll sneak them treats from Grandmas hiding spots and the girls just think they are so special because of it. He's just such a great Grandpa! But there's more to him. He's the kind of guy that wants to serve others...and will always find a way. Church callings are always important to my dad. And if he's asked to serve in anyway, he'll give it his all! Serving a mission for my mom and Dad has always been a dream...and although we miss them we're know how lucky the people of Joliette are to have them there. And even though this post is about Fathers, so much of my dad is also my mom. Because he just loves her so much and they do everything together. I feel like their relationship and they love my dad has for my mom has set the standard pretty high. My Dad is the reason I married a guy like Ben, someone who is so kind and considerate and loving. And I know that Ben being such a great guy has a lot to do with how great his Dad is. And then it all comes down to this...I've got some great Fathers in my life! I certainly could not ask for more!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, and all my brothers and Brother in laws (some of who will be great Dad's one day), to my Father in Law, my Dad and to Ben! I sure LOVE you all!





Monday, June 03, 2013

My Girls

I get together with a few girls once a month to chat and eat yummy food and we call it 'photoclub'. Which really...it is. We always have some sort of theme to follow that month and then the day of photoclub we all remember we have an obligation and quickly go and snap a few pictures in that general theme. And then of course we race trying to get the pictures printed in less than an hour so we send them to both Walmart and Costco to see who's fastest...and it turns out they're equally as fast. Which then means we have two sets of the same picture to share that night - YAY! and by 'we' I mean 'ME'. I do all that! I'm terrible at remembering to TAKE pictures for photoclub!! But I always pull through...except for the time I printed them and then forgot them at HOME!!


But this month we decided to do a little Mother's Day photoshoot in lieu of  our monthly food/chat fest a.k.a photoclub. We all got together at Tanya's lake and took pictures of each other with our kids. I've never looked better! These girls KNOW my best angles!! I also kind of LOVE the pictures because they are of me and my beautiful daughters - I really have the best life. I will honestly treasure them forever and ever!!