First....Day of school

Hailey started Preschool this year. Last year a few friends and I did a little "joyschool" program for our kids. We just created our own curriculum and met once a week. So it was a HUGE change for me (and Hailey and Paige) to send Hailey off to school 3 days a week for 3 hours each day. It was even a BIGGER change because her preschool class is smack dab in the middle of the elementary school. So she shares the gym, the bathroom, the library and the park with older kids. She also will have grade 6 reading buddies come in to read with her and the other kids. WOW!! This seems like real school to me! It's a good thing she loves it, because I'm still a bit mixed on the whole thing.

The night before, I let Hailey pick her outfit from 6 different options. Apparently NONE of them were acceptable because not a single outfit was going to be big enough for her on her first day of "high school" as she calls it. She was also very worried as we put her to bed that night that she was going to break the bed when she magically grew up while sleeping! So adorable...so innocent...so perfect!

Somehow when she woke up she was BIGGER...but magically still fit into her clothes - AND her bed was still in decent shape.

Paige was certain she was going to school too...and therefore insisted on being in the pictures with a backpack too).

I think this little girls is so precious! So sweet, so tender, so kind so loving.

These two friends didn't seem so excited...me thinks they were just playing it cool in front of the bigger kids. Either that or they were sick of my camera in their faces (I needed something to cover up my teary eyes)
When I had her to myself she gave me one last smile before running off into her classroom to start the rest of her life.

First...Dentis Visit

So Hailey and Paige both had their first visits to the dentist this last month. Hailey's a thumb sucker and has two cavities that even I could see. So we knew we had to get her in soon. Paige just came along for the ride.

Hailey...what can I say about this child? She just breezes through life like she already knows what's going to happen next. Nothing phases her. She had no problems with the lights, or the glasses, or the loud buzzing of the polisher, or any of the visit. She was such a trooper!




Paige warmed up pretty quickly and let the hygienist count her teeth and inspect them. She wouldn't let the dentist anywhere near her. Which was fine...really she's only two.


"Mom look...I have teeth!!!"


I was the proud, sappy mom with the camera. I've been a little extra emotional lately and even the simplest of milestones has me nearly in tears. I thankfully held it together for this appointment...and will hopefully be ok when they freeze Hailey's mouth tomorrow to fill her cavities. She'll be fine I know...I'm the concern:)

The rest of our summer

The rest of our summer was spent...(can you guess?)...CAMPING!! We spent every single weekend of August travelling around BC and Montana. We camped with friends and family and by ourselves. It was a fun and busy month. We would get home late Sunday or Monday night...then I'd spend all day Monday recovering and unpacking. Tuesday was usually spent just having fun with my girls (i.e. spray park, Calaway park, the regular park) or running errands/completing necessary tasks (i.e. groceries, dentist visits, doctors appointments, paying bills) then Wednesday and Thursday I did Laundry and packed for the weekend, and then we'd leave Friday and start the whole cycle all over again. We made August the month of the quad. Every trip we went on had to be planned around our quads and we made sure we got some good use out of them. I also made August the month without my camera. I just got tired of taking pictures and therefore boycotted it almost altogether. I wanted to make some memories instead of just record them. And boy did we make memories!

Tie lake with the Hills...we were too lazy to walk anywhere, so we road this quad around the whole time. Hungry? Ride the quad to the trailer. Want to swim/boat? Ride the quad to the dock. Want to sit by the fire? Ride the quad to the fire pit. There was NO walking done this trip!
Hailey decided to test her mother's fear levels and swim in deep water!! That's her in the pink box (and blown up larger to see). She wore a life jacket the whole time and was very very brave. My heart on the other hand was beating very very fast.
Paige (bless her heart) was too afraid of the water for most the weekend. The old me would have encouraged her to swim, the new me was fine with her staying far far away from the water.
In Elkford with Ben's family - the girls LOVED the bubble machine
Hailey also loved the crafts she got to do during quieter times
I wasn't feeling very good this trip...and Ben's dad was feeling even worse (if an ambulance trip to the hospital with a very painful kidney stone is any indication of how poorly he was feeling), so my camera sadly didn't get much use at all after this picture. But we did a LOT of quadding in. We saw some spectacular views and just really enjoyed the time together as a family. It was a good way to end August.

Stay tuned for my next post...all about "Firsts"

Life changing

Sometimes you just can't pretend that things are normal...or ok. Or that nothing happened. Sometimes things happen in your life that change you forever. I've experienced a few of these kind of events in my life. The kind of life changing event that has you figuring out how to be YOU again....but with this new knowledge/experience. These kind of experiences aren't always bad...sometimes they are the best things ever, and sometimes they are important lessons disguised in heartache.

The first is when we lost the twins. I changed in so many ways during that time. I lost my innocent view on life. I found a deeper love for my husband. I longed for a baby more then ever. I grew up. I learned how to laugh and smile again. I learned what sorrow was.

The next was when Hailey was born (and Paige too of course). I learned how to love like I never had before. I learned what motherly guilt really felt like. I felt exhaustion like never before. I joined the 'motherhood club'. Again I found a deeper love for my husband. I learned what true joy was.

This summer our family experienced something else that changed me...and everyone involved. It's not really my story to share, but it's also something I feel strongly about. I feel like it wouldn't be fair to share the rest of my summer and not talk about this at all. I also feel like others need to learn from this. So I will share in minimal detail what it is that changed my life again.

My little family camped with my husbands family this summer. At one point we lost my sweet little toddler nephew and then found his lifeless body floating in a pond. We watched as his courageous mother performed CPR and brought him back to life. I can describe in great detail how horrifying this was for everyone there, and how awful the nightmares have been the haunt us still. But I won't. Like I said it's not really my story to tell. But, I do feel like sharing this with everyone:

PLEASE update your CPR! We're so grateful that my nephew's mother had recently re-certified her first aid/CPR.

PLEASE always watch your children. It literally takes 5 seconds for a child to disappear from sight. Be especially careful around water.

PLEASE always appreciate the beauty of your children...life is so precious!

Like I said earlier, this has changed my life in many ways. I have learned that no matter how difficult life with little ones can be, I need to be grateful for the blessing they are in my life. I've felt true fear. I've found comfort in my family and feel like family is more important then most anything. I've cried as my desperate prayers were answered. I'm still struggling to balance life with this constant fear I now have. I've learned to rejoice in every single breath my children take. I've learned to love a little bit deeper and a little bit more.

And then we had a Birthday Party!

I'm still working on July here. If I blogged for any other reason then to keep a personal record of our life...I'd just skip it all and write something truly witty. But the main reason I blog is to document this fabulously normal life I live...and therefore, I must and will slowly work my way through each and every little thing we do. If there are actually people out there who read this blog (and I suspect there are few), just deal with the deal. My life is boring, my documentation of my life might be more boring...so if you're reading this - what does that say about you? Sorry Mom....and anyone else who reads this thing. I'm just kidding.

Anyway, between camping trips this year I decided to have a VERY last minute, VERY small and VERY unorganized birthday party for Hailey. Basically we invited Hailey's cousins and whoever happened to be at church the Sunday before. Who knew so many people would be at church on Sunday...and who knew everyone who was there was also available!! It ended up being a very last minute, very HUGE, very unorganized party. I also didn't even have a chance to invite half the people I would have wanted to...but I'm sure they're glad they didn't have to participate in this gong show:

Pin the clothes on the princess
A million little mouths to feed
Hailey marrying her prince charming
Me - more excited then anyone to open presents (either that or a woodchuck impression)
And Hailey blowing out the candles on her Ice Cream Sunday (my kids don't like cake...I don't like to make it...so why bother?)

Anyway...I make it sound like it was this terrible party. But it wasn't. I did do lots of decorating and cute things for the party - and I enjoyed every minute of it. Hailey and her friends seemed to have a blast. And it was well worth the little bit of craziness you get with 12 Four year olds running around the house! I'm glad and feel very blessed every year that I get to have Birthday parties for my kids. I'm one lucky lady.

Camping with My sister

This summer my sister Becc and I decided to try something new...something crazy...something never to be done again...we camped for an entire week with our kids and without husbands!

Now when I say "camp" you have to understand what I mean. We both have well over 30ft long trailers with popouts, we have AC, plumbing, microwaves, and any other modern convenience you could think of. So it really shouldn't have been that bad, but somehow a week with no dads and camping on the beach with 5 kids was a LOT more work then we'd anticipated. I could easily do a week without Ben at home, but I also have a fenced in backyard, and cable TV, and the Internet. We didn't have those luxuries...so it made for a busy week. But it was still a lot of fun!

Paige and Max got along surprisingly well this trip...seeing how they are both the babies of their families and are both 2 years old. That could make for a tough situation, but they seemed to hit it off:

Especially when they were getting into things (like my toothbrushes) without their moms noticing...

Or when we went for walks and they couldn't touch or tease each other...

My girls had fun with their cousins...even the one's who look nothing like them (it's so funny to see how dark his skin is compared to his brothers and my girls. Genetics...so fascinating)

And they especially loved the cousins who gave them piggy back rides (I officially want a 10 year old)

Hailey even had fun all by herself...on the muddy beach after a late afternoon summer storm (which I will add was quite scary in a trailer)

Paige kept herself occupied with all sorts of activities...namely stealing her cousin's toys/bike

She also particularly enjoyed snapping and unsnapping this life jacket...ALL...DAY...LONG

And she really enjoyed pushing her cousin and 2nd cousin on the swings

And I really enjoyed it when my camera ran out of batteries! So convenient. I also really did enjoy spending the evenings chatting with Becc, hanging out on the beach all day long, eating whatever we felt like eating and not what our husbands wanted, and working out (Beachbody Insanity) on the beach...in front of EVERYONE!! Ok maybe I didn't enjoy that last one so much, but it was still a good idea! Overall it was a fun week...tiring but so worth it! I'm not sure if we'll do this again any time soon though, but we're glad we made the memories we did!

Still in July Here

My goal is to catch up on July sometime before September hits...so here's another attempt:

Hailey turned 4 this year. I still clearly remember the day she was born (that's what us moms do though). It was a HOT HOT night, we had no AC, I had a bad case of PUPPS (google it), I was D-O-N-E being pregnant. Ben had just had wrist surgery that day and was knocked out on pain killers. I said a little prayer that night when we went to bed, pleading with my Heavenly Father to let this baby come ASAP. Then at midnight on the 14th of July Ben and I both woke up...me from pure itchiness due to the PUPPS, Ben from pain in his wrist. We gave Ben another strong does of Painkillers and then went for a walk to work off the pain...or something. We came back an hour later and went back to sleep. At 4 am I woke up...heard a pop...then saw my water break all over our nice new mattress! I tried as hard as I could to wake Ben up but he just wouldn't stir (darn pain meds/wrist surgery), so I called Ben's Aunt to drive us into the hospital in Calgary. We arrived with labour in full force...along with half of Calgary! I spent the next 11 hours of my labour in triage as I watched girl after girl deliver her baby in the HALLWAY!! It was a record breaking night in the hospital - and boy were things crazy! My mom arrived and we waited until a delivery room opened up for me. Soon after I made it into the delivery room I got my epidural, Ben also got a few pain killers snuck his way (shhhh...don't tell anyone, I'm sure that was breaking a few laws), and then Hailey arrived!! I was exhausted! I was emotional! I was so in love with that little baby!

I think all babies are special and miraculous...but there's just something so special about your first. And something even more special about that baby that comes and heals your heart after a devastating loss. I honestly never thought I would hold a baby in my arms...and that she would be breathing...and that I would get to take her home. It was such an amazing and lovely feeling! I'm always so grateful to have her in my life...that I get to love her and cuddle with her every single day!

I'm also grateful that I get to celebrate Birthdays with her...like her 4th Birthday!

4 year olds are fun because they get VERY excited to open their presents
4 year olds are fun because they make faces like this

4 year olds are fun because they still look so adorable blowing out their candles

Happy Birthday Hailey!! I'm so lucky to have a 4 year old to love and play and just enjoy!

Shaking the head

This is my favourite picture of the summer:

It just totally sums up girls and boys. Paige was pushing these two cousins of hers on these swings (classic girl...taking care of the boys in her life), and the boys just weren't saying the kind of things that she wanted them to say (like "thank you" or "I really appreciate all the hard work you've done" or "your hair looks exceptionally beautiful today"). So she just covered her eyes and shook her head and said "Oh booooys". It's good to know that there are things she can change in her life, and there are things you just have to shake your head at.

I do this same shaking of the head when I have conversations like the following with Hailey

Hailey: Mom, is 'what the freak' a bad word?

Me: Yes

H: Is 'What the' bad?

M: Not really

H: Is 'What the heck' bad?

M: Yes

H: Is 'Underpants' bad?

M: ummm...yes it's kind of rude

H: Is 'Banana' bad?

M: uhhh...no?

H: What about 'banana pants'?

M: uhhh...??? (shakes head)

Shuswap

Early in July we camped on Shuswap with our good friends the Chantelle and Sheldon and their beautiful kids. Do you have friends like these? Let me explain them to you...AMAZING! We met them years ago when Ben and I were managing an apartment building in Calgary. They were tenants there and even though I'm not even sure how it happened we very quickly became close friends. Maybe it's because Sheldon's one of those guys who gets along with everyone and had lots in common with Ben...or maybe it was because Chantelle and I could sit forever and just talk about anything. Whatever it is...our friendship just works. It was so sad when we both moved out of the apartment building and ended up an hour away from each other...somehow we need to live closer to this family because they're just so easy to be friends with.

Anyway, we planned our one major camping trip this year with them and I'm glad we did. We started the week out by spending a night at Chantelle's parents beautiful property near the lake. Stunning is all I can really say about where they live.

Then we headed to our campground and set up camp....nice set up hey?


Our kids got along great! So great in fact that they couldn't help being a little silly once in a while (well at least Hailey couldn't help it)

We made sure to keep our kids spotless at all times...camping is no fun when you're dirty. Ok I lie.

But Paige was especially easy to keep clean...in my dreams

What was surprising though was how horrified she was by the sticky stringy mess marshmallows made

We LOVED our evening campfires...can you see the baby sleeping behind that blanket? That's Chantelle's 3 month old baby who was AMAZING the whole week!

The kids spent a lot of time lounging and rearranging and lounging some more in these chairs

my girls and I figured our best bet at a decent picture was to just look silly...at least we're consistent right?

The best shot I could get of the guys...as they were getting the quads tied down to the trucks for a little fun

Popsicles...oh popsicles - we ate a TON of these all week!

Hailey explored and found little bugs to play with...she especially loved this caterpillar

Paige was a perfect doll and would sleep at the Beach during the day...seriously, isn't she so cute?

Hailey was a perfect doll and never sassed me at the beach

I occasionally asked Ben to take a picture of me to document the fact that I actually exist...most the time the pictures were blurry or over exposed. BUT at least I exist!

One evening we went for a walk to the nearby waterfalls. Ben and Hailey clearly didn't bring their faces.

another picture of me! Yay...I still exist!

Our little family at the falls

Anyway, the trip was soooo fun! I'm so glad that we finally got to camp with Chantelle and Sheldon! I hope to do it again next year! Thanks for inviting us and showing us around!