If you read yesterday’s blog, you know it was written by Laela! (Well, dictated. She typed the last sentence though, and signed it off.) She didn’t get into too many specifics, but we had a FULL shopping morning, stocking up on all of our staples, becaaaaause *drumroll please* we’re off to the lake! For a NIGHT!!! So, like, TWO DAYS!!! I am SO excited!

We bought all kinds of fresh things, some good snacks, and everything we needed for two lunches and one supper at Waskesiu. We’ll get bakery goods for breakfast while we’re out there. We also picked up a 10L jug of water for $5. The water at Waskesiu is “safe” to drink, but you reeeaaally shouldn’t, lol! Especially not the kids. Especially not Waverly! So we got a big thing to last us a couple of days of water bottles and bottle bottles. 

Of course, as we were on our way out of the city yesterday, Brady’s work called and needed him to do a fix on something before Monday. *sigh* That is one part of his job that I truly hate. So we all drove home and he ripped back into the city for a super dumb few minutes of work. But while he was gone, the three younger ones napped and I put Laela to work. We made our first batch of home made granola bars (wish us luck!) and cleaned off the floor of the van. We don’t do a ton of eating in the van, so it doesn’t get too bad in there, but I noticed today it was covered in french fries and it needed a clean. We put some water bottles in it as well, so its all stocked up for the trip she knew nothing about!

Did I not mentioned that? We didn’t tell the kids about our lake day!

We thought about making it a total surprise, but that always leaves us scrambling hard on the last day. However, we decided this time to tell them a bit in advance! Since its only one day there, none of us need many clothes or toiletries, but we still need playpens, a high chair, a stroller, etc. So while Brady and I packed the big stuff, the kids packed some of their own stuff! Dekker and Rowan packed their stuff in Dekker’s backpack, and Laela and Solly used hers. We had a list of what they all need to bring, and since Dekker and Laela can both read, they helped the younger ones. They packed their clothing and toothbrushes, and Brady and I took care of everything else. It made for an exciting afternoon and evening around here! 

I’ll tell you all about Waskesiu tomorrow. Pictures, too. Today, we’re going to soak it ALL in. This trip was a beautiful gift to us, and there’s no way I’m letting any of it go to waste!

See you back home soon, friends. 

I thought I’d share my list with you of projects we have on the go for the spring, and what we’ve already done!

I should put in here first that I know our basement should come first. Finances have that currently on pause, so we’re trying to find things to busy ourselves with that are also productive but not costly. Here they are, in no order whatsoever. 

Deck stair railings. We’ve had our deck done for two years now, but have not put railings on the stairs yet. We’ve had our reasons, but haven’t known what to do to resolve the problem we find ourselves with. That being said, I juuuuust about have a heart attack every time my children use the stairs, so we want to install the railings this spring. If our problem can be resolved, and the railings need to come off, so be it. Just a little extra work. This way makes way more sense. We currently have one railing installed, so technically the second stair railing is on the list. 

Enclosing the underside of our deck. Now this one will likely have to wait, which is too bad :/ Its not the cheapest project on our list, but its still important and worth noting. The end goal is to close it in completely and use it as a shed! Its not a super tall area but its definitely an effective storage area. We really want to use that space to be able to store some of our outdoor stuff in a shed so it can be out of our garage. Which brings me to our next one. The BIGGEST job. 

We want to clean out our garage!! Like a BIG purge! Some of that stuff has been packed since we left Radisson about 3.5 years ago, and we haven’t missed it. Its tricky, because lots of that stuff does have a purpose. Some of it belongs in a shed, some of it belongs in the finished basement, and some of it belongs upstairs once the tv area has moved downstairs. So there is a lot that needs keeping, but a LOT that we could get rid of. I’m hoping to gut that place in the weeks leading up to garage sale day and sell a TON. But first, I hope to empty out ALL our toy boxes that our children have forgotten about, and offer toys out to our close friends and family who want to come peruse. Then, we’ve given what we can, sold what we can, and will happily donate the rest. I can’t wait!!!

We need to buy/build a toy box for our deck to hold the bubbles, pails, trucks, etc. We previous had just a big rubbermaid tub that was destroyed in the hail storm last summer, so we could just buy another one of those, but if we could, we’d rather have something that looked nicer and maybe could double as a bench. We’ll see!

Weeds! Oy. Our poor yard. Its clear that we’re still a little ways off from getting grass, which is fine, except our lot is loaded down with weeds! It looks a mess, we know this, and we don’t want to be the eyesore of the street. I’m hoping we can mow them down or even dig a bunch of them out, and have our property look just that  much better soon! One day we’ll have grass. Maybe next year.

Speaking of how our property is coming along, a concrete driveway is still a good ways off as well. We could use a load of gravel added to what we currently have, as our bus is heavy and our driveway sinks every year when the thaw happens. It wouldn’t be a big deal, except our bus is so tall, and the bump driving into our garage brings is dangerously close to scraping the roof. We need to order a load of gravel. 

We had some deck chairs gifted to us that need a bit of reinforcing. That’ll be a quick one. 

We need to waterproof the underside of our deck. We want it to last as long as possible, so as with the deck at our last house, we treat the wood elements with a waterproofing spray every year. We tried to buy the stuff for it just the other day, but being the season it is, the kind we buy was completely sold out. We’ll have to keep our eyes open! When we find it, we’ll buy enough for my moms deck as well.

Lastly, I want to buy some flowers for the pot on our entrance steps 🙂 Thats a simple one, but hopefully a really pretty one!

Thats all I have on our list this year! There’s lots more I’d LOVE to add, planting a garden being a BIG one. But that will come eventually 🙂 For now, we’ll work with what we’ve got, which is a lot!

Whats on your to-do list this spring?

After taking Laela to a birthday party yesterday, we spent the evening all together with my mom. It was SO nice. Remember what I said about Dekker wanting to read recipe books? He was insistent that he wanted to show my mom his recipe book.

It was adorable.

After supper and bedtime, I ran to the nearby Coop grocery store to restock a few of our staple items. For a family our size, our staples included four 4L jugs of milk, three 2L jugs of almond milk, three bundles of bananas (would’ve been more but they were ALL bright yellow) and two bags of apples. If you’re localish and you occasionally shop at Coop, did you guys know the milk is cheaper on the bottom shelf?? Its a different brand but still standard dairy milk! Check it out! Its literally the same price as Costco! I’m very excited to have discovered that.

However, when I went into my van to look for my green bins to keep my groceries from flying around, I found our stroller instead. We had put it in the back in preparation for the lake and had clearly forgotten to take it out. So I got creative.

They’re all belted in, if you can’t tell. I think I’m very funny, anyway. Oh, and don’t judge the dirty floor.

I spent this morning with Cher. We went out for breakfast and then she showed me around the university. I saw her classrooms and some of her usual places. Her Tims, her library, etc.

Plus I revisited a few places where Brady and I had wedding pictures taken way back in the day! Was fun to wander around campus, and see what was new and what wasn’t. I liked it.

Brady did some work on the deck while I was gone.

Cher bought Brady and I iced coffee, and we had a quick visit before she headed home for the day. Dekker is now home from school, Wavy is napping, and everyone else is up. I’m going to go join the crew riiiiiiiight…

Now.

I’ve been catching glimpse of what Dekker might be like when he’s older, and I’m truly loving it.

On Saturday, Breakfast Man (aka Brady) opted to make a batch of baked oatmeal for the morning. It went over well, as you’d expect. Dekker loved it more than anyone else. His serving was gone in seconds. He told Brady he wanted the recipe for himself. Brady held up the recipe book he had used so he knew where to find it. But that wasn’t enough.

After breakfast, Dekker went and found the recipe book for himself, found the right page, and copied it onto a page. So he had his own. I thought that was the sweetest. He brought it to show me afterwards and while I was looking it over, he said to me “I’m SO excited to make this for my kids!”

Guys. My heart!!

** I always feel the need to clarify that I do NOT teach my children that they have to have kids. Definitely not! That being said, at least Dekker and Laela both have expressed that they really hope to have a spouse and children. Its fun to look forward to that together 🙂 **

Dekker spent a big chunk of yesterday looking through a recipe book he had brought home in grade one, speculating about what would be yummy and what we should try to make. He would comment which meals they would suit, and always pointed out which ones had dairy in them, for Rowan’s sake. He was SO on the ball. And he is again today, perusing that book, wondering if “The Best Waffles” are actually better than our waffles, or if our cookie dough isn’t safe in comparison to the stuff that has “edible” in the title.

Dekker is an old soul, and I love that about him. I remember someone once telling me they were an old soul, and I wasn’t. I felt put down and at a disadvantage. I don’t think that was their goal, and I’ve realized since that its not bad to have different personalities. But I am very happy to have the opportunity to raise such a soul as Dekker’s, and while we’re different people, I’m positive God will equip me with all the tools I need to do him justice. These conversations with him about wanting to care for people have me thinking more about how I can teach him about these things. I’m excited to see where we end up.