catch up

I can't believe how fast the first three months of school have been. The big boys are thriving and loving being in school. The little boy is growing so big, and his hair has fallen out on the sides and now he has an awesome mohawk. Yes, a mohawk. Princess has just entered the right of passage of all Stone kids; and now she has glasses, too. Basketball season is in full swing and we miss seeing Daddy.

Some things that I want to remember:
Enoch was reading really well the other night, and Levi noticed and praised him and really encouraged him. Enoch loved the attention and it made my heart warm up a bit. Its a little nerve racking having 2 so close together, I don't want competition to hurt their relationship.

Dinnertime is a little crazy most nights. We have started playing two games that bring lots of laughter onto the menu. It usually starts out with Knock Knock Jokes that make absolutely no sense, and then we move into movie quotes. Last night Josh quoted someone from Atlantis, but no one (as far as kids go) was getting it. Monet piped up Finding Tyrus (instead of Nemo- Tyrus is a most beloved cousin) and for some reason we were all laughing hysterically.

Thad really is such a sweet sweet baby. He is getting older now and likes to play with toys and cries when it falls or is taken away. I think this is so cute and could just eat those chubby little cheeks of his.

enoch turns 5

Enoch turned 5 way back in August while we were in Utah. We celebrated there with ice cream at the creamery. Then we celebrated again with my fam in Waterton with a cake on the long weekend. Just when I was beginning to think I was off the hook as far as a party was concerned, we celebreated again in Sept with a party. he had 5 friends over for a Pirate Party. The boys all really loved to throw water balloon "cannons" at eachothers boats, trying to steal the other team's treasure. It was fun to do and I was amazed at how well behaved all those kids were.

thank you september

Has this not been the September of a lifetime!??! When school started cold and windy on Aug 31 I thought we were in for it. But everyday since has been beautiful, with even some days that hit the 30s in the fall. I can never remember that happening before in my life.
Other than great weather, September has added some more great memories to my life this year....

I turned 31. I love having a birthday at the beginning of September because often I get to celebrate with a long weekend. I remember feeling pretty honoured as a child that the whole country took a holiday to celebrate the day my mom was in Labour with me. This year was no different, and my family got together in Waterton for a weekend of camping and yes, some bears.


The boys are in school. And loving it!! Levi is in grade one and has adjusted to the longer school day very well. Enoch is in kindergarten and only wishes he had school in the mornings, too.


Thad is getting too big for words. All I can say is it is not fair. September has really been a growing month for him.

Monet is a cute as ever, with an attitude to match. September for her means lots of trips to the park and extra long swingtime with no big brothers to spoil the under-ducks. It also means baking together.

September has brought to me a new love in my life; family history. We went to the family history centre in Lethbridge for one of our Young Women's activities and I have been back a couple times since. It is seriously fun, guys!! It's like facebook for dead people.

student life

Josh and I headed back to student life for a solid week. It was great.

At first I was totally and completely opposed to the idea of going to BYU education week in Provo. We have four kids, we can't afford it, Thad is too little to leave my side, we have a flourishing garden to tend to, my calling at church..... all sorts of reasons not to take off for a week.

But, like usual, persistence wins and I conceded. And am I ever glad we went!!!

The kids travelled great (on the most part), and Thad was not even a problem. Not in the slightest. He took a bottle when needed and timed his feeds and poops on the long drives as though he knew what was most convenient. My cousin and her husband graciously let us stay in their house for the week. Did I mention they live 2 minutes from BYU???? I did miss my YW, but we made it back on time early Sunday morning for me to attend YWs. My parents also took care of our garden when they got a chance and picked veggies and watered for us. Thanks Jamie/Rob/Mom/Dad!!!!!

The week was incredible! We swapped kids back and forth and attended great classes on a variety of topics. From symbolisms in the scriptures to temple like homes to parenting to money matters to hope in the atonement to teaching kids a through z. The kids had more time with their Daddy than they have had in forever!!! And I had some alone time listening to great teachers. Ahhh, how peaceful. If anyone has been there before, they know how great it is down there. If you haven't been but are thinking about maybe going in the future, I highly recommend it. There are so many things to do with your kids down there, and many of them are free.

Here are some pictures for a quick run-down of what we enjoyed:

Conference Centre and Temple Square

Bridal Veil Falls

BYU Creamery

Fun activity at one of the many FREE museums on campus

Kangaroo Zoo

Went back to Temple Square on our way home

good reading

What do you do for scripture study? I am usually pretty lame and do nothing but read with the occasional underline. Josh started a discussion blog for the Book of Mormon. If you are interested in reading cool info and/or adding your own, please check it out.

word from the wise

We just spent a really great weekend with my extended family. My father is the oldest of 11 kids, and so when we all get together it is quite the event. We hiked in Waterton, went to the good ol' family fishing hole, and of course had a family sunday dinner. It was great to catch up with aunts, uncles and cousins. My sister-in-law asked my grandma what is the one piece of advice she would give to someone raising kids. My grandma answered: To never yell at your kids. A couple of my aunts overheard and affirmed that they had never been yelled at.

So, if Grandma, mother to 11 children could get by without needing to yell, I guess I can, too.

july in a nutshell

Thad's Blessing Day (technically this was June)

A couple weeks ago we went to Montana and stayed at a cabin on Ashley lake for a week. That was fun, as always. 15 kids 8 and under makes quite the household, believe me! I am just glad there are people out there crazy enough to rent to us. Highlights of the week would have to include Monet falling in the water twice on the first day, going for little runs/bike rides with Josh, listening to Brian Reagan (water?), and all the yummy food. I think the week was maybe a little overwhelming for my new brother in law, who is used to life as a bachelor most of the time. HA! Just wait till next weekend when we do this again only this time with all of my dad's siblings.


Another memory to record is when we went to Harry Potter 7 Part 2 in Kalispell. I have never been one to take babies to movies, but Thad is so good that I thought, why not? He is always asleep by 9:30 and the movie starts at 10. Turns out he doesn't like movies very much. I spent the first half of the movie in the back of the side aisle burping and nursing the little guy, feeling a little sorry for myself that I was alone while all my family was watching from their comfy seats eating popcorn and the cheap candy I had snuck in from Wal-Mart. But then I really thought about it, how much I love my little boy. Would I really want to trade any moment I have with him for a silly movie? Of course not. Now that I think about it, why did I even care at all in the first place? Where were my priorities? Its amazing how a change of attitude turns a situation around.
We also did bears hump way back for Canada Day. That was fun, the boys did it all by themselves, I was impressed and they really enjoyed it. Josh had Monet on his back and I had Thad in a sling.


Enoch is now a crazy man in the water. No problems with waterslides or getting his face wet. Lessons have done wonders. Monet erased the last 4 months of footage on our video camera. Levi gave a great talk in church last week and even bore his testimony at the end. Thad smiles at us when we play with him. I did a super sprint tri yesterday in Raymond. Josh started tearing down two of our three chicken coops. That was the fastest July ever.

All our boys.

Monet likes to pretend she is a baby.

Can you believe his hair? It does that all by itself

everything enoch

Enoch finished preschool. He will be in Kindergarten next year, I can hardly believe it!! He is pretty excited and has a very positive attitude towards school. I think it helps that Daddy is down the hall, how cool is that?
Soccer for Enoch has been a little trying. He didn't enjoy it too much and was glad when it ended. He still enjoys playing soccer in the backyard, and when the mosquitos are gone we will be doing that more often.

Swimming lessons are on for Enoch right now. He is still nervous of deep water but is being brave and listening to his teacher and doing everything she asks with a little coaxing. A promise of a new lego set next week when we go to Montana might help a little bit, too.
Enoch really, really, really loves his baby brother. I will find him sitting by Thad just staring at him. Enoch is always so excited when Thad's eyes are open - which is still not all that often. He loves to help me and is always willing to throw out the dirty diapers and fetch me things that I have forgotten.

A new love Enoch has found is banana bread. He loves it!! Aside from Lego, his interests right now are Thad, Ninjas and Star Wars. Spiderman is starting to be replaced..... We are also working on riding a two wheeler. This is slow going, but if he keeps at it I think he might be able to by the end of summer.

all about levi

With four kids keeping up is a little difficult. There is always so much going on and so many little people that want my time and attention. Here is what is going on these days with Levi:
Soccer ended last week. The mosquitos were so bad! He got bit on his ears and they puffed up to twice their size and stuck straight out. I really should have gotten a picture, it was something else. Levi was able to play for the last couple weeks and got some goals and has improved quite a bit. He even has some moves and is learning to pass.

Kindergarten Grad was the night I got home from the hospital. My parents were nice and stayed in town so that I could go without having to take either of the younger two kids. Levi was very cute and the whole class participated. He got to share his favorite kindergarten memory, which was "going to the police station and making orange julius'." The teacher also spoke about what everyone wanted to be when they grow up. Levi's desire is to be a Lego Engineer. Sweet, eh?

Josh (and I when he is not around) have been reading Harry Potter to the big boys. They finished it last week and we watched the movie Sunday night. It was fun to see the boys be so excited as they saw things they had read about. Enoch could not contain his excitement when Harry caught the snitch in his mouth, and Levi was beyond delighted when Griffindor won the House Cup. Levi really enjoys reading, especially when it is with his dad.
Having read Harry Potter, Levi has become very interested in chess. I taught him how to play and was surprised he actually can follow the rules. He taught his babysitter to play, too. We have been playing lots of chess lately as a result, and have tried out checkers, too.
Levi has been fantastic with his new baby brother and has been a big help around the house. He now does most of the vacuuming has started to help clean the bathrooms, too. Swimming lessons are in full swing right now and he loves having it every day. Lego is still the best thing on earth as far as this kid is concerned.