There are very few good aspects of kids being sick. They tend to be grumpy and uncooperative, which is justified and understandable. But its not fun to be around.

My children are fairly mild mannered when they’re sick, which means we have these nice quiet days of (you guessed it) music, lego, and crocheting. Also reading…

Meanwhile, I’m across the living room, blowing my own runny nose, stifling my own coughs, and crocheting beautiful things. I am so close to showing you what I’m up to, and I’m really really excited about it! I feel this woman’s vibe SO strong.

Just. Stay there. So I can do this.

I tease. Sort of. Everyone is content here, and doing what they want to be doing, with kleenex and water within reach. This might be our last sick day with this stretch!! 🤞

Dekker was well enough to hit up school this morning, so that was a relief! The kiddos at home are down to two. Waverly – who is a little bit sick but barely, and Solomon – who seems a little bit better overall but says his body is achy. I don’t know how sick he actually is, but I know he would’ve been miserable at school today.

So the two of them are home today.

Listening to Hamilton.

Playing lego.

Eating muffins that auntie baked.

Naps are next, for all three of us. I don’t feel very well this morning either, so the downtime is much anticipated! I hope I overcome this illness as fast as the older kids seem to have!

I guess I’ll just spend the afternoon crocheting. There could be worse fates.

Oh, and also preparing to hit the lake again this weekend. It might be our last. I’m not sure yet. Lots to put together still this week…

I cannot believe we have another cold in our house. But we do. We have some coughers. Because we didn’t cough all summer. I knew we’d all catch something in September, as we do when school starts, but it feels like we just got over the last thing. Ugh.

Anyway.

I have extra kids at home today. Dekker and Solomon have joined Waverly and I for the day, just until we see some upswing in the coughing.

I am very grateful, however, that we had the most peaceful of mornings. All three kids played lego unceasingly all morning. We had music going in the background. I crocheted. That is all we accomplished this morning and I am not at all mad about it.

Solly built Kinasao’s dock area all on his own.

Wavy built some boats for him.

Dekker built a crazy lego shooter with a new piece a friend from school gave him.

I worked on a labour intensive blanket border that I will absolutely abandon if I don’t finish it in the next couple of days.

Nap time was a great success, also, and now, the house is bustling again and about to get much louder when the other kids make it home! My head already hurts, so perhaps some preemptive tylenol is in order…

I really can’t wrap up the weekend so simply, but I can tell you we had an absolutely beautiful time out in the boonies with Tom, Rae, and their people 💜 It is a true pleasure to be part of that family.

I didn’t take a ton of pictures at all. I rarely thought of it, and I think thats pretty ok 🙂 We just enjoyed the quiet and the downtime and being together! I don’t have photographic evidence that everyone was even there, but I have a few pics of a few people. Here’s what I’ve got.

Fruit face. Cherries, specifically.

Very matchy-matchy styles.

Quad ride after quad ride after quad ride after quad ride after quad ride…..

Eating garden carrots that grew in the potato patch. With a helmet on, because safety first.

And one last quad ride for the grownups. That was a pretty excellent ride. The best ten minute date I’ve had. Five stars.

Followed by a very serious drive home.

I can attest to the fact that everyone is absolutely exhausted, but that everyone had a complete and utter blast with all the room to run and ride and get dirty and eat outside and breathe in the crisp morning air. Our kids are almost never outnumbered by adults, and this weekend, they were! It was a fun dynamic 💜 I am so grateful for people who rain love down on our children who don’t have an obligation to.

Thank you for hosting us again 💜 We are honoured to be included in your lives.

We’ve been up camping with Tom and Rae and their people for the weekend, and I can confidently say we have had such a beautiful time. Nothing is difficult here. It’s all very easy going, without expectations or deadlines. The kids have been granted quad and razor rides galore, and Brady and I have even enjoyed a ride or two! My ride in the razor wins above all else, as usual. We bushwhacked for what felt like forever. I loved it! Thank you, John. That is always such a breath of fresh air for me. 

We had a nice supper together, with a mix of meatloaf, potatoes, and hot dogs. And even some grilled asparagus! 🤤 Sooooo good. After a blazing campfire, Solly was nodding off in his lawn chair, so we decided to call it a night. 

Dekker and Laela are tucked into Tom and Rae’s camper. Wavy and Solly are sharing a bed in the next room to us. Rowan has his own room just next to them. And the furnace is whirring away, working to keep everyone toasty warm. 

We are so grateful to be welcomed here and loved by our people. And then by default, their people 💜It is truly special to be part of this group of humans. 

Tomorrow is already home day. It feels early. But, as life goes, we need to get everyone washed up and ready for the new week of work and school! 

And music and puzzles and Lego and crocheting and toasted tomato sandwiches…..

Yesterday was a bit of a cute day. But also a very long day. A tiring day. I’ll tell you all about it.

Wavy invited me on a walk, so we did that first thing. It was very cute.

She wanted to bring a dandelion to grandma’s, so we left one by her gate, lol! And then went home for lunch!

While she napped, I crocheted a cute coffee sleeve with pumpkins on it. Thanks, Cher, for the WAY nicer picture than the one I snapped in my house!

I thought it turned out cute 🙂

Brady finished his workday a little early and went into Saskatoon to test drive a minivan. It was a total bust :/ PLEASE keep your eyes open for something for him! Minivan. Dual sliding doors. Stow and go seats. Dodge or Chrysler, usually. Please and thank you.

Once that was done, he took on the massive chore of doing a HUGE family grocery shop. The first big one since probably June. ALL on his own. I would love to do these shops with Waverly in the week, but the aspect of only having one vehicle makes it extra tricky. So yesterday, he took that hit, and did a gigantic Costco shop for us 💜

Thankfully, a couple of loving people have filled our fridge with fresh fruit and veggies, so that was one less section to hit, haha!

Brady also hit Walmart and got some of that off-white “parchment” yarn we chatted about in the comments a couple of blogs back. I’m SO excited for that next blanket! Ack!

While Brady shopped like crazy, our day wore on like usual. Kids got fed. Did homework. Played. Fought. Read. Etc. Bedtime came on time, and everyone went down pretty nicely. Until I heard a door crack open from where I was sitting in the living room. I looked up and could see which door it wasn’t, meaning it was Wavy’s door. And it is very unlike her to get up when she’s tucked in.

She stepped out into view, and her chin was quivering. She was trying to keep her composure but finally burst into tears, saying her curtain was falling down. So I went to her and we went to check on her curtain.

Sure enough, one side of the curtain rod had popped off the wall. It was totally fine. I could easily put it back up there. But she was spooked. I turned around to reassure her, and she was surrounded.

The big kids had tucked her back into her bed and had joined her, being close and comfy and trying to reassure her and cheer her up. She wasn’t having it…

But she did stop crying, lol!

Once she was tucked back in and settled, Brady drove up, and the mad unpacking of groceries began. It was a gigantic haul. There is really no reasonable excuse for anyone eating that much food ever in their lifetime. But hey. Now we shouldn’t have to shop for a while again! Hopefully we have a second vehicle by then, lol!

Yesterday was big. Today is big too, but in a more fun way 💜 Thank you Lord for constantly blessing us!

If you live around here, you’ve probably heard all about the huge stabbing spree a little further up north. Honestly, you probably don’t have to live around here to have heard about it. It was an unbelievable time of crime and loss. Yesterday, after a four day manhunt, Myles Sanderson was apprehended, and everyone could finally breathe out again.

The kids had heard about the situation for a few days, as it began not very far from us at the lake, and then became a topic of conversation at school. So when I found out the state of emergency was lifted, the kids were SO stoked. Relieved. As was their mom.

It wasn’t long after that when I heard Sanderson had passed away while in custody. So I knew this. But I hadn’t told the kids.

As the day came to a close, the kids got ready for bed and we all gathered in the living room to pray together. Rowan went first.

“Dear Jesus. Thank you for this day. Thank you that the bad guy was caught. Please let him learn his lesson, and try harder next time. Amen.”

And guys, I don’t know what to tell you, but thats still sitting with me today. While I can’t explain it in specific detail, I feel like that prayer was a window into Rowan’s heart. His understanding. His desires. His clarity. His character. I loved it 💜 So I wanted to share it.

The weekday mornings are sooooo chill over here. I imagine there will be days where I’ll do more work around here. I have some goals for this season of life, but I’m not even thinking of them until October, so we can talk more about those later. For now, we are enjoying our very relaxed hours.

So far, Wavy plays lego, and I crochet.

For the most part, Wavy plays with the lego guys and decides who is who. Today she chose for me to be a pink princess while she opted to be a villain. I secretly loved that, hahaha!

Today also held some gems from Waverly. My favorite was “This yego guy has some smoke coming out of his butt cheeks! Like a hot toot.” 💨

Meanwhile, I try to get the blog up in the morning. I have good music going. And for the most part, I crochet. I’ve been having a LOT of fun with a new method of crochet that produces the most beautiful items. Blankets don’t stretch in a huge way or have big holes for your toes to stick through. But they’re time consuming and tedious. Yet I LOVE them.

A question I have for you:

If you were to purchase a blanket made with Hudsons Bay colors, would you want the white to be stark white or off white?

In my research, it is originally bright white, but does anyone actually want to temp fate and use a WHITE blanket?! I’ve seen some people changed it to ivory, but it almost cheapens the look. Thoughts? I’d welcome your input!

I know we’ve talked about all of this before. Like a number of times. I’ll be brief.

As the season changes, its hard to ignore the fact that our life in winter would be SO much easier in a different house. A garage that was long enough that Brady could park the van in it and still open the back and get his chair out. A mudroom where wheels could drip and clean and change. A concrete driveway that was there from the start.

Regardless of the season, there would also be the added bonuses of everything being within reach. A microwave on the counter. A different island height. Main floor laundry. Bigger bathrooms. An accessible shower. A permanent stair lift to the basement. Barrier free, wide doorways. It would just be SO much easier.

Remember what stood in our way last time? It was income. Lol! Don’t get me wrong, I do understand that. People need money to buy a house. I get that. But now we have that. So we could get a mortgage. Plus, Brady’s job would open the door for us to actually get some of the materials at a discounted rate, which could make building a beautifully accessible house possible!

But the whole point of building a new home would be to make it fit a wheelchair appropriately.

Meaning a wider floor plan.

And NO LOTS in town are wide enough!! ACK!!! It is SO maddening how skinny the new lots have been developed!

We did speak to Northridge about getting two lots for one house, and they were willing to discuss it.

Would there be any discount with buying two at once? NOPE.

So that leaves us being on the hook for about 200K JUST for property.

*sigh*

Forgive my rant. I know we are very fortunate to have the home we have. It has been perfect for us for a long time, and we have been so grateful for it 💜 But man. Winter is so much harder now. And I wish we had a better set up.

That is all. ✌️ Thank you for listening.

It was kind of a strange weekend in some ways. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful. It was flawlessly calm and peaceful, and oddly quiet for the last long weekend of the summer. And it was a HOT one!! Where was everyone??

Don’t worry, I am NOT complaining. It was incredible!

We did unfortunately have our first sting of the season at the beach today. Poor Dekker :/ But he recovered after a little while and totally asked me to harass him, so I did.

But as we sat on the beach today, playing in the sand, swimming, playing frisbee, paddling and kayaking, we witnessed SO MANY of our regulars come down to the water and retrieve their boats, canoes, and other items. They all seemed to come down to the water for what seemed like one last deep breath, and then they said goodbye for the season. It was so strange. So final for so many.

Lucky for us, we have intentions to still go back a time or two, weather permitting.

I’ll also feel a lot more at peace when some of the people are caught who have been causing so much heartache and pain in our surrounding area. Our lake felt a little close to the crime spree than I would have preferred, but we were fortunate enough to stay safe all weekend.

Everyone bawled when we left the beach today. They were tired. No joke.

We continue to be SO grateful for our home away from home. I am absolutely looking forward to some things simplifying once camp is packed up, but I am also sad to think it will end for the season. I’m ready and not ready. You get it.