What do we do in the summertime?

This summer has been less busy than some. Probably on purpose because I'm pregnant and tired. We had a low key Canada day, hanging out at home, working and playing. Macy made us a treat. 

We've gone to the park with aunt Whitney. Molly's favorite place is near the snacks. She likes vegetables better from aunt Whitney than at home. 

I found a pattern for this swing on Pinterest and made it. Super easy. She loves it and we don't put her in it near enough. 

We went to Washington for a week. 

Horse back riding for FHE. 

Joel decided to walk on the "dry pond" which turned out to be muddy. He got stuck and Brynn tried to rescue him and also got stuck. 

Grandpa Torrie rescued them and cleaned off the mud with the back of his pocket knife. 

Stan and I have our first great niece! Tinzlee Ruth was born to Tyler and Tausha Torrie on aug 3. 

Marvin and Guinivere Torrie family reunion at the farm in grassy lake. Everyone is gathered here to start a scavenger hunt. 

Friends of ours shared a large plate of fruit with us one night. This was the remains after a few minutes. 

Donuts for Ryan in August. Homemade, so yummy. 

Molly fit perfectly in the box of a new bike helmet. 

Spencer holding a new kitty at aunt Tonya's, while Brynn and Joel took care of the animals for a little over a week. 

Spencer has coloured several of these stripling warriors and taped them on the wall by his bed, to protect him while he sleeps. 

Boys were gone for the weekend

I thought maybe I'd get to relax some but school just got out and Brynn was preparing for girls camp. This is what we did. 

Sidewalk chalk. Molly thought it would be fun to color on herself too. 

Crepes for breakfast. 

Tie-dying shirts. They did all the work while I cleaned bathrooms and vacuumed with Molly in her little backpack on my back. 

Playing in the rain. 

Setting up primary. 

We also watched a movie together, Laughed about silly things, enjoyed the quieter house, stayed up late, made some cookies. There was only a little bit of fighting. And although I was totally exhausted by the time it was over, I was grateful to see my girls have fun together, miss their brothers, work together, laugh together, and that I laughed a lot more than usual. 

Another demonstration of Macy's sense of humor

Happy Father's Day. 

Dangerously delicious berry cheesecake. 

Dreaming

I am not a dreamer, by nature, but I've always been a thinker. For the past 5 years or more, I've felt a need to prepare myself to earn an income, should the need arise. My BYU degree is not enough to get me a job that would pay enough or be interesting to me at this point in my life. So I've pondered, studied out a handful of options, never really holding onto one idea long enough to be excited about it and go after it. I love being a stay at home mom. I feel very blessed that I can be. It's hard and often not rewarding but it allows me some freedom and flexibility and I like being boss of the kitchen and the home, maybe more than I should. I'm happy that I don't have to juggle a paying job, along with my calling, my kids, housework, etc. But because I feel the need to be prepared, I want to work doing something I enjoy. This seems like a daunting task. 

To help in this journey of discovery, I went to Time out for women a few weeks ago and looked up a book from a speaker on the tour who didn't come to us. It's called "Dare, Dream, Do..." By Whitney Johnson. She speaks specifically to women about dreaming. It was a very inspiring book to me. Since I married, one thing I wanted to do was open a prenatal and infant massage practice. But massage is hard on my body and I didn't think I would be able to do it for very long. So I've considered piano teaching, not for me, nursing, not sure I could handle all the yuck. I guess my main goals have been to find something that is flexible, pays well, and is rewarding, not a 9-5 job. My friend suggested midwifery, which I had never even thought of. The idea has sparked something inside of me. In this region I live, there isn't much access to natural childbirth and in the big cities, midwives are in such high demand that many families get turned away, I was one of 

them when I was pregnant with Spencer. So I've looked into schooling, it's intense and expensive, I've been taken in by a midwife for this pregnancy(!), and I'm looking at possibilities of opening a birthing center in this area. Anyway, what I realized from reading that book ⬆️, is that dreaming and doing is so good for me as a person, and as a mom, and if I dream, it will encourage my children to dream as well. I've spent way too many years feeling like I've been sacrificing so much, which is necessary, but not spending nearly enough time dreaming for me, I gave over my mind to my kids, and for me that hasn't been healthy. So here's to a re focus for me. I'm still bearing children and I don't know when the end of this period will be for me but that doesn't mean I can't find me, and become who I'm supposed to become. I'm positive if I'm doing what I should be doing, I'll have the capacity to do all I need to, whatever that may be. 

An injury for Spencer

Spencer is quite coordinated and is confident, sometimes too confident in his abilities. He was balancing on a 1" dowel until he lost his balance and landed face first on the hard floor. No serious injuries, a cut on the inside of his lip, bleeding around a tooth and a fat lip. After snuggling for a few minutes with me, he decided it was still ok to go to pre school. So he did. 

An outing to 'Birds of Prey'

Whitney invited my two youngest and me for an adventure. And it was an adventure. One thing I struggle with in motherhood is getting cooped up and feeling bored, especially with little ones.  I'm kind of a home body but it might be because it feels easier to stay home then go out, but it's good to get out of the house regularly. My kids especially like being out. 

Feeding ducks, they were crazy and we were so happy to be on the other side of the fence. 

Holding an owl. It's full grown, just a small one. I had no idea there were so many kinds of owls. 

Bald eagle sitting there on the perch. 

We got to watch an eagle demonstration. I thought it was interesting. I also learned the big bird only weighs 8-9 pounds. 

Independence

Anyone who's had a child transform from baby to toddler knows all about this word independence. It's tricky. One of her favorites right now is sitting at the table. Or standing and crawling on it. 

I let her do it a lot but I know she will probably fall off and get hurt. But they have to learn, I guess. And who can resist a face like this?!

Farm animal fun

Friends of ours, the Wrights, breed dogs. Every six months or so they have a new litter of cute puppies. My kids enjoy holding them for a little bit. 

And they have access to baby chicks

So they say it's a girl

Joel was so bummed to learn he will have another sister. To be honest, Stan and I were both shocked. I had two early ultrasounds and both claimed it was too early to tell but guessed a boy. Plus, we've alternated genders each time, so of course this would be a boy. But I'm surprisingly more excited than I thought I would be. Heavenly Father will help me raise this girl too, even during the teenage years. If not, I'll trade Brynn for her babies in 13 years!