ordinary days

Today I'm copying Sarah from Memories on Cloverlane (probably my favorite blog to read) with a post of pictures from our "ordinary days"

Since summer has been winding down, I have been making lots of lists - Hadley has joined in.

the kids have been doing a lot of this

which makes a lot of this

I love it.

lots of this going on too

when we edged our lawn that probably hadn't been edged ever, it left a nice row of dirt. Elijah loves it.

I've discovered how to get Pandora in Canada. Love it.

10 on Tuesday

1. Since our summer has been winding down and family is all gone, I've been trying to get things back in order around here before school starts. I'm trying to become a morning person....it's slow coming.

2. Part of becoming a morning person, is becoming an exercising person. I've started doing crossfit - a very mild dose of it as I am 25 weeks pregnant, - there is even a whole crossfit blog dedicated to pregnant moms like me who want to do crossfit. Cool.

3. I don't like going to the Dr. I've kind of been putting it off this pregnancy. I went once before we went to Disneyland when I was barely pregnant to get a prescription for diclectin, and then had a mini appointment when I took Brian to the doctor a couple months ago. I finally did my bloodwork last week. The plan is to deliver in Lethbridge with a female Dr at Maternity Associates, but I don't really want to have to go to Lethbridge for appointments, so I've been reluctant to make the switch.

4. We are having a girl.

5. John is back to work full-time after breaking his collarbone.

6. I've been looking for some second-hand containers for our coloring supplies for a while, and finally found these at Walmart. Not second-hand. I got them. I love them. I hope my kids don't break them.

7. We've adjusted to having a pet. Our cat, Chase, is still kind of crazy, but he has mellowed since we first got him. I'm beginning to actually like him. I always thought I liked cats, cause we had one growing up that I liked, but I guess I don't like getting woken up by a cat at 4am. Our relationship is improving.

8. I love that I can go on a bike ride with the kids now. Sam goes in the bike seat, and the other 3 can all ride two-wheelers now. It's fun, but my pregnant body doesn't enjoy it.

9. I'm trying to talk myself into cleaning the house.....

10. My new favorite show is Psych - hilarious and clean - it's on US netflix, which we have. Awesome.

crazy July

July was filled with family visiting. John's family was here for the first week or so, and then my family was here for the last 2 weeks, with some staying more/less. There was not a single day that we spent at home all day. It was loads of fun, but it is nice to get back to a bit of "normal".

We  thought we'd start the summer off with a new addition to the family. I'm still not sure how I feel about this little character. He's a little crazy, but the kids sure love him.

We celebrated July 1st in true Raymond style, attending the road race (to watch Grampa finish), pancake breakfast, parade, and main street carnival. The kids loved dancing.

The next week John's family was all here for his Mom's 60th birthday. Elijah followed his cousin Josh around the whole week. I was very impressed with how Josh didn't mind and let Elijah tag along with him without complaining or trying to get away. Nice kid.

The next week we hung out with my sister Jodie (who was here for the whole month of July) and the kids started swimming lessons.

That week we also went to the zoo - did you know you can get passes with airmiles? Totally awesome.

The next week we prepared for the upcoming Freeze reunion (just my parents and kids and their kids). I took over the food department and planned out the food for the whole week. In the past people were having to go shopping every other day, so I organized it all so that we could shop in one massive shopping trip. It was kind of crazy. We ended up with 3 flatbed carts at Costco FULL of food. We were quite the sight.

Melanie unloading one of the carts....

That weekend was the Ellingson reunion (my Grandma's descendants) in Waterton. The turnout was great and we were able to have it at the Kate Parry Lodge at Crandell Campground. Kate Parry is my Grandma's mom and was the cook at the Lodge for 20 years. It is used as a summer camp for churches (I think), and they don't rent it out to families, but they made an exception for us. We started off the reunion at Red Rock Canyon. The kids loved it, and luckily John was willing to trek the whole way with them.

The next week was our Freeze Family reunion at my parent's house. With all of us list-making-organizing ladies in the family, things were planned almost to the minute. It worked out well and included lots of fun activities.

Elijah got 2nd place in the boat race which was part of our family Olympics. We had one event each morning.

Our original plan for a service project didn't work out, so we all weeded our neglected garden instead. It was amazing.

and then they felt like working more, so they edged our sidewalks. It looks great.

Everyone got ready to go to the pool, but then it started thundering, so we had a water fight instead. It looks like Sam was set on swimming though.

Dance party

After everyone left, the kids decided that they needed to have their own parade. They decorated their bikes and we had a quick parade at the Elementary School. Apparently doing it on our own street would be "too embarrassing".

I'm looking forward to a relaxed August.

race day

Hadley had an "endurance" race yesterday at school. I remember doing it when I was a kid too. We had to run 1 lap when we were in Grade 1, 2 laps in Grade 2, and 3 laps in Grade 3. Apparently kids are not as fit these days, cause the Grade 3 kids only had to run 2 laps, the 2's ran 1.5 laps, and the Grade 1's ran 1 lap.

When I was a kid I was very competitive. I still am. I was always so excited for the track meet day that I couldn't sleep. It was like Christmas. All the kids in my family were/are pretty competitive. We would spend hours outside having races, setting up obstacle courses, and having competitions.

To get us competitive kids excited about Saturday cleaning, we would play a game of snakes and ladders with jobs assigned to each roll. Genius.

Even still, our family is competitive. At each reunion we have a race and "the manly cup" - I think we need to add a "womanly cup" or something though.

Anyway, back to the race yesterday. As I was sitting with Hadley, watching other groups race, I talked to her about getting ready for her race. I don't think she shares my passion for track and field day.......that's ok. I asked her if she was going to run the whole thing. She said that she might walk some if she got tired. She said that she probably wouldn't win because she was the slowest in her grade. She wasn't sad about it at all, just matter of fact. I knew that she could run the whole lap because she had done it before, so I told her that. She agreed. I let her know that it doesn't matter if you win or lose, just that you tried your best and worked hard. She already knew that of course.

She ran her race. She started out at a medium pace (like she told me she would), and stuck with it the whole time. I was so proud. She didn't win, she didn't lose, but she tried hard. She was so proud of herself.

kind of blurry, but I like how her friend, Lucy, is turned around waiting for her

The Elementary School track meet is in a few days. Hopefully I can sleep.........just kidding.

ten on tuesday

1. I am ready for summer to be here. Last week we did some work on the yard and it's looking a bit better. Our yard needs a lot of help. The lawn is super uneven and there's a big pine tree that interferes with the power line so it needs to come down. I mowed the lawn on a few days ago and the grass is nice and green. I love mowing.

2. Sam has perfected his scowl. He has a great glare and gets mad when I laugh at him when he makes it. I tried to get a picture of it today.....not much luck. The last pic is pretty close.

3. Last year I got an old chair off of kijiji for free with plans to recover it. I finally settled on the fabric that I want to use - I'm just hoping I don't regret using a pattern that can't be crooked.....and that I can pretend to know what I'm doing......

4. John and I loved this song that we heard to a movie preview ad thing, so I used an app on my phone to find out what the song was called. I'm so cool. Everything at Once by Lenka

5. I'm coaching Brian and Elijah's soccer team this year. Their first practice was cancelled because the field was too wet I guess. Lame. When I was a kid, soccer was only cancelled when there was lightning. Getting wet was just part of the game.......I guess I wasn't 4 though!

6. For the first time in our married life, I have friends. I mean, I've always had friends....but now I have friends that I see regularly and stop by each other's houses whenever. It is nice. A few days ago we invited one friend over with her kids because her husband is gone for work. We had a great visit and I am glad that I have friends.

7. I was listening to this song today and was reminded how much I like the Flight of the Concords -

so funny

8. We went to Disneyland over Easter break with the High school show choir. It was great and the kids did great on the super long bus ride there and back.

9. I made some of this today. I didn't use this recipe, but it was similar.  John's mom makes this sometimes, and always packs me up some to take home cause she knows I like it so much.

10. John came home from work with some seeds, so he is in the backyard planting some with the kids. I like that guy.

Grateful

I have been feeling stressed this week. While putting the kids to bed tonight I was writing a blog post in my mind about how crazy of a day it's been. A total pity party. Then I remembered what two of my friends are going through right now and I felt pretty lame for complaining.

One friend lost her house to a fire and pretty much everything inside.

On Friday I am going to my other friend's son's funeral. He was the same age as Sam. It breaks my heart and it is hard for me to even comprehend that he is gone.


Though I know that it is still ok for me to feel stressed with my day to day trials, remembering my two friends helped me remember what is actually important. I have a home. I have a family who is all healthy. I have a husband who loves me and works hard to support our family. I have the gospel in my life and know that families are together forever.

I am grateful.







“Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others...By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”   President Gordon B. Hinckley

apple fritters fail

On Sunday we had dinner at home - normally we go to either my parent's or John's paren't's for supper. I wanted to make a little treat after supper, so I went to my pinterest recipe board and picked this one. It looked simple and yummy and deep fried....... They look yummy right? Apple Fritters in 15 min? Yes please.

Well I made them. I doubled the recipe and it was really thick so I added a little more milk. I don't know what went wrong. The first batch didn't look too bad, but then I decided to make some a little bigger and they weren't cooked. I mixed up some milk with icing sugar and the icing sugar didn't dissolve, so the nice sugar glaze looked like curdled milk. Super disgusting. Luckily John came to help and saved them before I just threw everything away.

Yup. Pretty nasty. They didn't taste so bad - and all the kids at least tried some....except Elijah. He said he hated them. I hated them too! I had a messy kitchen and only a bunch of super nasty-looking balls of deep-fried dough to show for it! Lame.

My Valentine

I know I haven't posted in forever - let's just skip over Christmas....and the rest of December and January, shall we (for now at least)?

Today, I want to share 14 reasons why I love my Valentine. I'll try not to sound too cheesy.:

1. He loves our kids - and would do ANYTHING to make them laugh, like letting Brian shoot him with silly string - or going down a cold waterslide on a windy day. He seriously is the funnest Dad around.

2. He is kind. He never raises his voice and treats everyone with respect.
3. He is a hard worker. He works full-time, has 2 part-time jobs, and still makes time to be in the town play.

4. He is humble and willing to serve others.
5. He is probably the smartest person I know. He can figure anything out and is a whiz at math.

6. He is handy - (because of #5 - he can fix almost anything - or can at least figure out what's wrong).
7. He loves to cook - I LOVE this about him, cause I'm not a huge fan of making food. John will cook supper whenever he is home. LOVE.

8. He is dedicated to doing what's right.

9. He is funny. He loves making anyone laugh and still makes me laugh daily after 7 years of marriage.
10. He is cute. I find him pretty attractive......

11. He loves me and supports me in my goals.
12. He is sincere and honest.

13. He can talk to anyone about anything and loves making people laugh (especially old ladies)
14. He is my husband and takes that role seriously - he is committed to making our relationship not only work, but enjoyable. We can discuss our differences and work through them. Things aren't perfect, but they are pretty darn good.

I sure love John - (and I think we need some more pictures of us together!)