Summer of 2016

Well, the summer is almost done. And being that I am using this as a journal right now, I think I will sum up all the fun we have had in the last couple of months. I don't want to forget it. It really has been a good summer. Chris started his studies the beginning of June and has been working hard on those. I am so proud of him and how hard he works. I was right in thinking that it will not be easy for him and our family, but he is studying hard and we are working on balancing study time, family life, finances, etc and we will make this work! I love him so much and would be lost without him. I hope he knows that.

I spent the summer watching Max and Sebastian on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and sometimes other days, along with my 3 kids. We mostly were over at their place as my friend Lindsey and her cat lived at our place June until beginning of August and Sebastian is allergic to cats. It was fun watching my kids play with Sebastian and Max. They are all such good kids. We could not all fit in the van so we mostly played in their house and at the nearby park. It has been such a blessing in our lives to watch these two boys.

July 1st found us at the farm with our Smith family. Mom's birthday is that day and I hope she had a good one. We went to a cousin's wedding reception in Lethbridge that night (Gennie). The next weekend, for Camellia and my birthday, Doug and Chris gave us a night in Waterton. We went out to eat and stayed at a hotel. It was wonderful to spend time with my Twin sister. She and I are so close and I am so grateful for her. She has helped me through a lot of rough times.

Chris, Lindsey and I took the kids to the Stampede grounds for kids day. We had the 5 kids (Max and Sebastian along with our 3) so it took the 3 of us to control the kids on the crowded train and stampede grounds. We had fun at the kids morning grandstand show, dog show and motorbike show. Even though kids days is busy, I like to go as it is free and I like to do something Stampedish every year. I also like to go downtown for the rope square pancake breakfast, stampede show and square dancing but that didn't happen this year.

July 21-24 was the Selman family reunion at Payne lake lodge by Mountain View and it was so wonderful! I love my Selman family and I do not get to see some of my cousin's, Aunts and Uncles very often. We had a blast visiting, going hiking, berry picking, swimming and visiting some more. We had a talent show and played games. We were sad that Uncle Ken was not able to be there as he passed away in February of this year. His wife Sandy and their 3 children came and it was good to visit with them. Even though Uncle Ken was not physically there, I know he was there in spirit. It brings peace to know that families are forever and that there is life after this life. This weekend was such a special time and I wish we could have a Selman family reunion every year.

Wednesday August 3rd we slowly made our way out to Victoria for our annual Watters family visit. We stopped at Lindsey's cabin on the Shuswap lake for Wednesday night and it was so worth the 2 hours out of the way travel on gravel roads to get to the very remote location. It was beautiful! We swam, had a bonfire and made smores and Lindsey's dad took us on a boat ride to a floating store. I really hope we can go again.

We made it the rest of the way to Victoria on Thursday. The Ferry ride is always a highlight for the kids. They like the playroom and the game room. The ocean is beautiful. I love the sights, smells and sounds and wish I could go out there more then once a year. But, it is expensive to ride the ferry and we are students at the moment. We spent the time visiting with family. Thank you LouAnn and Gary for letting us stay at your place. Rachel, Wendy and I had a great walk and talk around Elk lake. There was a BBQ at Rachel and Eric's nice spacious home. Rachel should be an interior designer. We had a game night there as well. Chris studied a lot at a local library during the day but we did manage to get out on a date to the breakwater. We also took the kids to Mount Doug. LouAnn and I took the kids up to Nanimo to visit Aunt Mary. I have not seen her in while so it was fun to see her. And I had some good talks with LouAnn. We started our journey back on Saturday and camped at the Hidden Valley campground by Salmon Arm (we stayed there a few years ago with Camellia and Nathan). We got up early on Sunday and made it back by 3:00 to finish church in our ward. We also had time to stop at the Calgary temple to walk around the grounds with the kids. I hope they learn to love the temple as much as I do.

Jared and Landon came to visit us around August 17th to 19th. Landon played so well with the kids. He is a great older cousin and adapts well to playing with different age groups. Jared played the guitar for us and we had a fun time singing an afternoon away while he accompanied us on the guitar. He is very talented.

Wendy and her 3 boys came out to visit us August 24th to 30th. She is an amazing mom! I can not imagine having to raise 3 kids by myself but she not only does that, she does an incredible job at it! And her little boys are growing up to be great young men. It was fun getting to know each one better. I obviously did not know Chris when he was a kid but I think Quinton is a bit like he might have been in personality and looks. I got a 8 foot trampoline on kijiji for $25 and Quinton pretty much set up the whole thing with a little help from his mother. He is a smart guy. And Calvin is hilarious. And Oliver is a cute little snuggler. It was great to bond better with Wendy and I hope she knows how much I admire her.

Caeleb and Elva did swimming lessons with Sterling and Liam at the Champion pool for the week of August 22 to 26th. They did very well. Caeleb has come so far from being scared of the water and Elva is a natural little swimmer. The cousins played well together in the pool and at the farm. I believe we will do the same thing next year. Thanks to Mom and Camellia for helping with the kids that week while I watched Mary, Max and Sebastian in Calgary.

Well, the weather is turning colder (it seemed like a cool and rainy summer) and I would not be surprised if we are in for a long, cold winter (though I hope not too long or too cold). I hope we get to enjoy the Fall though before the snow comes. I love the Fall! It is my favourite time of year! The last few nights, Chris and I have been going for walks after the kids have gone to bed. The air is crisp and I love it! I also love laying down beside Chris on our new little trampoline and looking at the stars. I love that Chis loves astronomy and can talk all about the stars, planets and universe.

Caeleb starts school tomorrow. Grade one here he comes! He is going to brand new Copperfield school which is only a 10 minute beautiful walk away around the nearest pond. We will miss the Spanish immersion but this school made more sense as we only have one vehicle and our finances are tighter. (I will have to do better at using my Spanish to teach my kids Spanish). I think Caeleb is excited but I know it will take some adjusting to all day school. However, I know he will do well. And Elva starts preschool next Tuesday. We feel like she will benefit from a year of preschool so we made this a priority. She is a spirited little girl, very bright and I know she will do well if she directs some of that extra energy into learning. I am excited for her. Elva gave herself a "back to school" haircut last Saturday morning after she went through my makeup bag and found my hair scissors. I guess she felt like a mullet should be her new style. Silly little Jean bean. Chris took her  for her first professional hair cut after that but there was little they could do. But she is cute no matter what. Nathan thinks the front of her hair looks a little like Haley Mills on the old parent trap. We are continuing to watch Max this year and we enjoy having him around. Even though she will not admit it, Elva likes her friend Max and they mostly play well together. It is fun to watch their imaginations run wild.

Mary is doing well. As cute as ever. She started crawling the first week in August (a little past 10 months old). She has her 4th tooth coming in. She says Dada and Mama with meaning. She is just starting to get into drawers and cupboards and she loves to eat everything except baby cereal (and sometimes she would rather throw cheerios on the ground instead of eat them). She still loves the jolly jumper and was jumping this morning. She is starting to get up on her knees but has not stood up yet. And she loves her brother and sister and they love her. Caeleb and Elva are a great help with her. They hold her hands during diaper changes, they sing to her when she is sad (which is not often), they play with her. They are so great with her. I love my family!

Lets see what the fall brings as I prepare to go back to work. I am nervous and feel a little like the weight of the world is on my shoulders with working but Chris is a great help with the kids and I plan working hard to get back to speed on the unit. I did my CPR course on September 1st in Lethbridge and that helped me gain more confidence in going back to work. I have done this twice before (going back to work after maternity leave) and I can do it again! Life is good! Go team Watters!