Summer 2020

Well, it is about time I update summer of 2020. As I do so, I am sitting here in our dinning room in our beloved falling apart blue rocking chair while the kids busily build a fort with the dinning table chairs. They are getting along for now - yeah! The snow is coming down outside and the colder weather means way fewer flies. And we haven't seen a mouse in over a week so we are doing pretty well.

It rained alot in the spring and the first part of the summer. I love the rain! The crops were lush and full and beautiful which is great for the farmers and for everyone who appreciates them. Mom and Dad had mustard planted on their land and it did okay I believe. But the good crops brought many mice and we have caught about 30 mice in our basement this summer and fall and Chris and I have had a few late evenings chasing mice around the kitchen and living room. Plus one day while I was cooking on our stove, a mouse was poking its head up at the back of the stove. Gross! And one day I was watching the movie "Mouse Trap" and a mouse scurried across the living room. Kind of a surreal experience. And such is country life. But don't get me wrong, country life is the best!

Most of the Summer was spent at the farm. For Mom's birthday, the Nelsons came down and we got Chinese food and did a Scavenger hunt in town to celebrate Canada Day. Nothing else was going on due to Covid. The pool was only open for Swimming lessons and rentals and the rentals were $50 per hour so it was expensive and we were only able to book it twice in August.

We went down to the Nelsons ranch for Camellia and my birthday and Doug saddled up the horses and Camellia, Kamille and I went for a ride in the brush Thursday evening. So. Much. Fun! Thanks Doug! And thanks to Chris for watching Lizzy who was only 3 weeks old at the time. We joined Mom and Dad in Waterton the next day while Doug and Chris took the kids home to the farm (except Lizzy of course stayed with us). Then we went shopping in Pincher Creek and spent Saturday at the Nelsons just chilling, talking, watching Hamilton on Disney plus and doing some odd projects. We met the boys in Granum on Sunday at 1:00 and the kids wadded in the little lake there and we had a picnic.

Chris was busy with computer projects for the Watters propane company throughout July and we travelled to the island on Tuesday July 28th so he could do computer work out there and so that we could visit family. The kids did so well on the way out. I think Elizabeth did the best and Mary struggled the most. We spent 16 wonderful days there. Since we could not do a Watters family reunion at a location on the island, Eric and Racheal planned a stay at home family reunion and we did things with the Watters family most days. We played in Aunt Wendy's blow-up water park, we went to a couple of lakes to swim, we had an at home movie day for the kids and a outside projector movie for the older kids. We had a couple of games nights and family suppers. We had Aunt Mary and her family from Nanaimo come and visit. Racheal and Eric watched our kids and Chris and I were able to go on a date night all alone to the inner harbour - supper at Spinnakers, a walk by the ocean, ice cream and then to Mount Doug at Sunset. We had a girls night where we went canoeing at Elk lake and out to supper at Milestones at the inner harbour. Then Chris and I took the kids canoeing a few days later on Elk lake. The guys had a guys night a Jared's for a BBQ and the kids had several sleep overs - the girls with Eric and Rachels girls and Caeleb with Wendy's boys. We also went and had a picnic with Kurt and Alby at Mount Doug which was special since they do not interact with most of the family. It was a simple yet full and amazing trip. I love my Watters family so much and I am so grateful to be with them for Eternity! We came back on Friday August 14 and it is always such a long trip on the way home but we made it home by 11:30 pm after a stop for supper in Golden BC. We had booked the Champion pool for the day after and I invited a new family in our ward to join us. They have a boy that is Elva's age and is in her grade at Champion school. We will be excited to have any family move into the ward as our Primary is so very small - 5 kids now with Karson.

The next week in August was swimming lessons and Camellia and her kids joined us for that. It was a hot week (made it to the 30s that week) and we also went swimming at Little Bow a couple of times as well as booked the pool on Saturday August 22 for Liams 7th birthday. The last full week in August, Chris was busy preparing for his teaching job in Claresholm. The kids started school on Wednesday September 2 in Champion and it has been so good to be back to school. We have missed it and the kids are enjoying it! There is something to be said about having a routine with a school schedule. For the September long weekend the kids and I went to Camellia and Doug's so that Chris could get more school prep done and he has been working a lot of school prep ever since. He sure puts a lot of time into everything that he does but I suppose it is because he wants to succeed in what he does.

Elizabeth is growing fast. She has not yet rolled over but is lifting her head well at tummy time. She rolls on to her side. I like to "baby wear" meaning I use the Mobey wrap or the other baby carrier to carrier her while I putter around the house or when we go for a walk (Selman goes in the Chariot stroller). She likes to be held but really is a content baby. Except I have to remember not to eat chocolate as it makes her gassy. But I can not complain, she is so good and she takes a soother well while all our other kids did not. I love this stage. I wish I could continue to have a million bajillion newborn and little babies and children and I hope that after this life we can be blessed to have even more children because babies and little children are so wonderful. But I would not have them stay this way forever as I have a testimony of Heavenly Father's plan for us all to grow and become as he is. I will soak it all in and enjoy this stage with little Elizabeth being a baby, he toothless grins, her little giggles, her pure innocence, her perfect trust. I will hold her and snuggle her and love her and all my children. Well it is 7:53 pm so I need to get the kids to bed. I will write about the Fall another day.