Back at Home & Sam at Camp

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The week heading up to Utah, overlapping with while we were gone, Sam attended a camp in upper State NY. They got to see the pageant in Pamyra too!

He went with some of the younger guys from church, and a great leader who took them and posted all these pics!

I haven’t seen Sam yet as he came home and went on vacation right away with his Mom, but Rob saw him for a bit and said he had a great time! Here are the pics his leader took:

Meanwhile, Rob spent a lot of time with this guy:

And got to have a date with this beautiful gal at a wedding:

A good time for all!

BYU Soccer Camp

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Last week the boys attended soccer camp at BYU. They would both like to play there one day, so this was a great chance to check the soccer program out.

I decided to head out with them and spend some time with my brother and sister in law and their family.

We flew out on a Friday night. It was weird just going with the boys as the three of us haven’t traveled together since I was a single Mom.

When we were standing in line in security at the airport, a woman behind us was watching us and listening to our conversation. She asked me if they were my boys and when I replied, “yes”, she told me she thought they were adorable and hoped her son grew up to act like them and treat me the same way.

I do have good boys:)

We laughed at Josh’s carryon. Ketchup chips for my niece, and candy and earphones!

We arrived and were met by my brother.

On Saturday, we hung out a bit and the boys hung out with their cousins. I’m so mad I didn’t take any formal pics of them. They went to the temple with Tanner. He leaves on a mission to Peru at the end of August.

Ellen did my hair and played soccer with the boys too:

On the Sunday we went to church where Judy’s nephew was returning from a mission in Tahiti and was speaking. We went back to her brother’s home for a nice brunch. That afternoon, the boys and I did a little temple hopping. I’ll share all those pics in a separate post so this one’s not too long!

That evening was when we heard the terrible news that our Danforth had been the location of a mass shooting. 13 shot, and 2 of them subsequently died. Terrible. I was so grateful that we all were away (kids were away with their Mom), but my thoughts and my heart were with my home and neighborhood. We love living on the Danforth and we’re shocked that something like this could happen right in our community. Crazy world.

The next day we took the boys to soccer camp. Tons of people! I wish I had taken more pics. It’s always hard to remember and it’s a fine line between being present and taking too many pics. (Plus the boys aren’t always keen on the mamarazzi!)

While they were off at camp, I went on a hike that afternoon with my sis in law, and cutie niece and nephew.

Have to admit, the altitude got me, and a few tricky parts of the trail were unexpected! Ellen and Drew, of course, we racing up and down and back again!

It was fun though!

The next day we celebrated Judy’s 50th birthday!

We spent the day at a park playing pickle ball and Cam Jam.

Tanner and I enjoyed the swings too.

The girls then went for pedicures, while the boys decorated for a little surprise party for Judy.

Ellen adores her guinea pig, Winter:

The next two days, Ellen and I did a little “food tour” which was so fun but I’ll dedicate a separate post to it!

I managed to get some work done so it was a productive week too!

We picked the boys up at soccer camp. When we arrived, they were in shoot out of a final game against each other. Josh happened to be up!

Zach had a huge bloody nose from being hit in the face with the ball and looked a bit messy, but of course, no pic. What’s wrong with me? I’m gonna get my act together for our family vacay!!!

Josh’s team won.

They had a great week overall!

We went to In n Out for dinner (wrapping up our food tour too!):

Then we had to head off on the red eye to get home for a soccer tournament Josh was in in Windsor (4 hour drive from home). Long night with very tired boys!

Overall, a great trip! Minus the pics that I didn’t get:(

Monthly snaps

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Summer is whizzing by and before we head off on some family vacays, I figured I’d better get all caught up!

The teens ran a church service one week:

We had a hilarious doctor’s appointment where Josh told the doctor he wasn’t sure it was safe to be left alone with her (bcs she was going to give him a needle but it came off sounding hilarious and we had a good laugh!) :

All the way back at Easter! We had a fun egg hunt and then a yummy middle eastern style dinner (our newest Easter tradition); Gran and Di we’re here too:

These two are a little competitive:

Rachael’s sis is a professional photographer so I always get some great shots sent my way and have to share!:

Fresh haircut:

Zandra’s school vocal group sang in Nationals at Massey Hall!!! Pretty impressive when you look at who has sung there!:

Another shot of our cutie! I think he wonders why everyone can’t just hang out with him all day:

Josh has a yogurt addiction. Normally it’s the big tubs though. This is what happens when only small ones are left:

Our fave Vietnamese place. I guess they liked it too:

Such cuteness:

Zach’s best crazy. His friends shaved off their sideburns and he opted for this. Smart:

Youth conference. Our kids were there sporadically due to conflicting events!:

Zach got his driver’s license:

Always fun when a school friend realizes you knew each other in kindergarten (and used to live across the street from you in your old house!); and isn’t Josh the cutest???:

First solo ride:

Zandra’s dance recital. She rocked it! She’s such a good dancer! She was in a few out of city competitions too this year:

Church shenanigans. I know, we are the irreverent ones. But hey, I get my teens to church:

Love our little backyard set up:

Rob and Sam went to a father/son overnight camp:

Josh started his first job Reffing:

Love when Shannon sends us pictures of their daily lives. Makes us feel more connected daily:

Robbie can fix everything. Our dishwasher kept popping out bcs it was never mounted properly (we found this out the hard way). But he fixed it:

Prepping for HEFY:

Celebrating 10 years of marriage at our fave sushi restaurant downtown:

Zach had his friends went on a canoe trip in Algonquin Park. No pics except for some prep of Rob helping with the Thule:

Birthday boy/Father’s Day:

Traditional Father’s Day exotic car show stroll:

Working boys:

Church:

May 24 celebrations at the beach:

Sunday afternoon:

Gabe celebrating his Bday! (Thanks for pics, Shannon!) :

Heading to the church dance:

Josh gokarting with his soccer team:

We have quite the collection of church selfies over the years!:

Worker Bee driving the camp’s broken truck:

And that brings us updated to mid July! Looking forward to the rest of summer! Lots to look forward to! Gabe coming home (Shannon coming for a visit too), visiting family in Utah, cottage time with friends, a fun business trip, YLC with kids, and a family vacay to the Maritimes! Stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Zach!

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I bumped into a woman the other day that I used to work with at a hospital. She was the physiotherapist on the same floor that I was the SLP. She said she’ll never forget looking across the table at me during one of our team meetings and noticing how sick I looked. She then noticed that I wore seabandz on my wrists (used for nausea on cruises – and morning sickness!) and she recognized the signs. I was pregnant.

I laughed and told her that the kid I was pregnant with was turning 17 this week.

She almost fell over.

Where does time go?

In my office I have a whole bunch of my favourite pictures on my wall. One of my favorite pictures is this one. This was Zach‘s first day in grade one. (And coincidentally it was taken hours before my second date with Rob – my first real dinner date with him though!)

Zach had been playing on the monkey bars and fell and hurt his arm. One of my friends came over and wanted to take a picture of all the kids on their first day. I couldn’t get Zach to smile. For some reason though I love this picture and I keep it very close to me in my office and look at it frequently wondering how we got from there…

To here:

And all the amazing stuff in between.

I consider myself a very lucky person to be the mom to this kid. I must be pretty special to get him as my son forever:) (ahhh, I see where his arrogance comes from….)

Here are 17 of the many things I love about Zach.

1. He is an extremely hard worker. As he gets older, he just works even harder. Very impressive.

2. He has a great sense of humor and can always make us laugh.

3. He’s a very responsible guy. Responsible for himself and responsible for others, including looking out for his siblings (most of the time.)

4. He is a storyteller. He likes to share information, and he gives lots of details which I appreciate! I love that he’s a recorder too – photos, videos, journals.

5. He has a strong sense of justice and tries to be fair.(But sucks to learn that life often isn’t fair, but I love that he’s going to try to treat everyone fairly.)

6. He’s a very loyal guy. He is a very good friend, brother and son. He’s got your back. And your front. And will give you fashion advice.

7. He is filled with enthusiasm when he wants to do something (another story if he doesn’t want to though…)

8. He’s direct. He says it like it is. (Hmmm wonder where that comes from?)

9. He’s good at sports and is a great captain of his team.

10. He’s really organized. Sets a plan and then follows it. Likes to think ahead and anticipate things.

11. He’s not afraid to be himself and stand up for himself. He’s has a very strong sense of self and character.

12. He’s also not afraid to apologize and is usually quick to forgive

13. He has a strong spirit and desire to serve.

14. He always responds to my texts quickly and let’s me know where he is. He’s quick and witty too. On text and in person.

15. He’s smart. He’s curious and investigates and searches and learns.

16. He has a deep passion for travel and plans to see the world and I have no doubt that he will!

17. He’s sensitive. He loves beautiful things and is in constant search of thin places and thin moments. I love that he has a playlist called “beautiful songs”.

Happy birthday Zach! You bring so much to our family and I couldn’t love you more!!

Some birthday celebrations.

On his actual bday:

See how quick he pulls those candies off!

We went out for Chinese food the next day (he was with his Dad for his bday dinner). Rob and Sam were at a soccer tournament unfortunately. Zach, Rachael and Zandra were all at Center Island in the afternoon and then I picked them up and we went for dinner :

And back home for cake:

She’s home!

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Two weeks sped by and this girl is home!

We are so so proud of her! She worked hard, pushed herself completely out of her comfort zone and made some amazing new friends! Of course, she was also completely exhausted and brought home a tiny bit of an infection (but luckily was asymptomatic). You can see in her countenance and her confidence that this tripped changed her and enriched her in many ways and I’m thrilled that it was that kind of experience for her. HEFY is the best program ever.

I will have to get her to write a post about her experience – which she described as being “amazing”!!!

We did get one letter from her while she was gone (which I won’t post but we happily read it over many times!) Other than that, we appreciated the trip leaders for posting on Instagram to keep us up to date on their adventures. I snapped screen shots of the posts because I want to have them documented here always. (They may be a bit out of order).

And that’s a wrap! Glad to have our girl home!

Happy Birthday Sam

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Aaaaand birthday month continues….

This one has the NERVE to go ahead and enter his teenage year!!

Unbelievable.

Happy 13th Sam!!

Sam is a trooper being the youngest of 5, but he’s quickly gaining in stature and catching up with his brothers!

Here’s 13 things we love about Sam:

  1. His enthusiasm – he has an energy about him that is so invigorating!

2. His appreciation. He is a grateful kid, and is always the first to say thank you and show appreciation.

3. His willingness to help. He is sure to ask if you need help, and will pitch right in and help the he clearly sees you need help!

4. He is a leader. He has the ability to lead naturally and it shows in all things that he does.

5. His commitment and dedication to soccer. Over the years he has become quite the little player! He puts his energy into it.

6. He is a hard worker…(despite maybe his socializing getting in the way of some of the hard work he is capable of this year….)

7. He is a friendly guy. He’s friendly to all: kids, parents, random people. He’s just a nice guy!

8. His curiosity. He is following his older brothers’ quest for knowledge and desire to be curious. He s becoming more and more like his Dad each day in this way!

9. He’s an awesome little brother. At times you might think he is their slave, but despite the abuse he endures being the youngest brother, it has also toughened him up and really does look up to his bros.

10. His smartness. He really is a smart guy and quick to learn.

11. His laugh and smile. He’s usually got a smile on his face and he is a very positive guy.

12. His willingness to try new things. He is courageous, and open and always up for anything.

13. He has a good heart and loves to serve and to help others. His character is growing and his Spirit is soaring.

We are truly blessed to have Sam be the caboose in our little family. He really does add a little bit extra zest in our lives and we couldn’t love him more or be prouder of him!

Happy 13th Sammy Bear!

Here’s a glimpse of his celebration :

Birthday Boy Gabe

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Well birthday month has started around here! And even though this guy is far away on his birthday, we have a lot of celebrating to do! Happy 20th!!!!

It’s official. Gabe is no longer a teenager. That means we have one full fledged “adult child.” That’s frightening.

But despite time marching on and making us feel rather old, we are also loving every minute of watching this guy grow up. I’d say the past year has been a tremendous year of growth. We couldn’t be prouder of him!

Here are 20 things that we love most about him:

1. His amazing smile that will brighten anyone’s day.

2. His incredible sense of humor. We certainly miss him around here on a daily basis making us all laugh. Especially at the dinner table.

3. His love of good food and how he’s so appreciative of home-cooked meals. Although he’s pretty appreciative of fast food too!

4. The various passions that he has nurtured over the years. Airplanes, technology, cars, finance. He’s a man of diverse interests.

5. His loving and caring heart. Even embracing Reggie (and we know he misses him too!)

6. His ability to work the crowd in a room. He’s really a great networking guy. He’s “business savvy” already – and always been!

7. His ability to strike up conversation with anybody and have a real opinion on what he’s talking about. He loves to debate too!

8. His relationship with his brothers. I certainly miss hearing him and Zach talking and laughing late into the night.

9. His loyalty to his friends and pals. He’s a committed and loyal guy all around.

10. The pranks and jokes that he pulls. He is a fun loving guy all around!

11. His desire to find truth and willingness to search for it.

12. His curiosity. He digs deep and finds out all the details, just like his dad. The random things they both know! Lol

13. His intelligence. He’s one smart cookie.

14. His growing testimony and desire to serve and love others. His generosity of spirit, level of gratitude and appreciation does not go unnoticed.

15. His leadership abilities and his ability to influence and persuade others.

16. His independence. He sure has grown and matured over these last couple of years. Living away at school can be tough for everyone, but it’s such a joy watching him spread his wings and build his own life!

17. His knowledge and love of all things technology related.

18. His commitment to working hard – both for his grades and for a job. He’s really buckled down this past year, and his hard work is really showing. His efforts are commendable.

19. His love for his Dad and the similarities the two of them share!

20. His love for his new found love. His goodness really comes out and he is willing to be lifted by her too – love that humility and desire to be equal partners!

We can’t wait to have Gabe home in a few weeks for a little while! We are super excited to have him join us on a little family vacay at the end of August where we will have all our kiddos together finally for on final trip before others start leaving the nest too! Ahhh!!!

Happy Birthday, Gabe!!!! We love you so much and couldn’t be prouder!

Xo

Prom date

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I missed posting this a few weeks back.

Zach had the opportunity to go to prom with a very beautiful girl. She’s a girl we have grown very fond of around here!

Luckily her sister, a professional photographer, took some amazing pictures and they sent them to me.

I can’t believe that my babies are growing up so fast!

Zandra and HEFY

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This girl.

Headed off on an adventure of a lifetime on Thursday.

She headed off with an organization called HEFY to Dominican Republic where she will serve a small community there helping to build an addition to a school, and teaching English to children. Their group of 20 kids ages 16-19 will break into groups and rotate between the worksite and the teaching the kids.

Zach went last year with HEFY to Cuenca, Ecuador (you can read about that here, and here, here, and here). He had the time of his life and it seriously was a life changing experience for him. Both Josh and Sam are excited to pick their own HEFY adventures when they are 16.

Zandra’s trip was scheduled right after her exams, so didn’t give her much time to prepare, although she was all packed the weekend before! She didn’t know anyone, but had been on the group chat that they set up talking to people ahead of time.

She slept at her Mom’s the night before so we met her at the airport at 4am so she could hop on her flight to Miami to meet the group there before travelling on to Santo Domingo. The airline woman at checkin was less than friendly and proceeded to make comments like “She’s travelling on her own? Miami is a confusing airport, especially for a 17 year old girl travelling on her own!” Always amazes me the negativity and fear some people try to instill. Why not say: “You are travelling on your own for the first time? That’s awesome! You got this! And if you are nervous or run into difficulty, then just go find one of our agents and we will gladly help you out!”

Anyhow, luckily Zandra does have this. She’s been through enough airports and travelled enough foreign countries to know the drill (she laughed when the women said Miami was confusing (she’s been to Miami airport twice) and said to me: “You think Miami is confusing, try Cambodia”. That-a-girl! You so got this. She’s also not a shy person when it comes to asking questions or getting help.

She headed off into the security line all smiles, bubbling with excitement and some quick hugs.

We chatted while she was on the plane for a few minutes just before takeoff, just reviewing some last minute details and she was off!

Next we heard she had landed safely and checked in her baggage. She met up with her group and that was it!

At the airport, they hand over their phones so they can really live in the moment, be connected with those they are with, and focus on the service they are providing and relationships they are building.

We aren’t completely out of touch though. HEFY leaders send an email letting you know they arrived safely and are well, and the leaders post pictures daily of their group adventures on instagram. The first weekend is a bit of a vacation so we saw them boating, snorkelling, dancing and socializing. Looks like she is having an amazing time already! (And it looks like her trip leaders are posting way more pics than Zach’s did so that makes it much easier too!). Here’s a few samples from their Instagram feed (you know I’m gonna want to document them all:))

How awesome does that look??

HEFY is such an incredible organization. We had the opportunity to visit them at their head office in Utah in the spring and were so impressed with all the planning and organization that goes into these trips! Everyone was super nice too! They are doing such a great thing building up these youth and serving those communities they visit. They have parent leaders on every trip and of course, I’m dying to go, but I know it’s so good for my kids to do these trips solo. I really believe they are life changing trips and I am so excited for Zandra!

Quote of the Week

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“The path of least resistance is a terrible teacher”. Ryan Holiday

Lots going on in our little home right now!

My high school kids just finished off exams and boy did they push themselves! I’m happy to get my dining room table back as it has been littered with books and bodies slaving over the books (a bit of an exaggeration, but I am so proud of all the effort they each put in).

Poor Sam has to get up early still though for another week+ to head to school. What a trooper. Especially when the world cup is on!

But in addition to pushing to get their exams done, a few of them are bracing themselves for some new adventures!

Zandra is heading off to HEFY Dominican Republic tomorrow! Will write more about this tomorrow after we send her off! So proud of her though as it’s big to head out to a foreign country, knowing no one, and losing yourself to service!

Zach is heading off on a solo adventure with his friends this weekend on a canoe trip. While exciting for them, it’s a bit nerve wracking to be sending six 17 year olds into the wilderness. We may be crazy, but after many, many back and forth with parents, they are heading off.

I am busy setting up a new side business which I’ll be sharing more and and more of! Very exciting, but also a new world for me.

Lots of resistance everywhere. Nothing ever goes smoothly – but I love how this quote reminds us that when things go perfectly, we aren’t learning.

Need to get into discomfort to grow. That’s where we are all sitting this week. Discomfort soup.