Family Day in Cavendish

Haig and I had no plans for our Saturday, so we were happy when my family texted me to spend the day with them in Cavendish. We headed out around 11:30 and went to the Boardwalk to look around and we all got Beavertails. Then we went over to the National Park. The water was cold, but once you were in it wasn't so bad. Most of us swam, Haig and I took a walk and skipped some rocks and we watched a seagull eat someone's Cheetos, so I would say it was a pretty decent time ;)

Golf at Glen Afton

Haig took me out to Glen Afton to watch him golf on Friday night. We had a lot of fun. Haig didn't play very well in his opinion, but I was happy to be there as his cute and supportive wife. He is really interested in golf and has great aspirations of getting better at it and learning more about the sport. I was happy that I could see him in his element and taking time to figure out what he needed to do. We joked that I probably wouldn't be going with him again soon because I sort of threw off his game, and golf is a sport that men play to get away from their wife ;)

My husband is a great man. 

Also, drove a golf cart for the first time and it was pretty fun. I was really scared but it was exciting. 

Love Story in Halifax: preview

Photography by Laura Dunford 

august things

made some delicious ice cream cone cupcakes for my cute kids at work

bought some new books for my after-school program!

started joint banking with my husband (!!!)

happy to see these beautiful flowers coming up in my parent's front yard

Meeko cat being a little bit crazy with a pop can box

loving this beautiful butterfly at the PEI Preserve Company

making some dinner for my husband and sister-in-law

preparing little presents for the kids at work going to kindergarten so soon!

Emma came to PEI

Once we got home, we went to my family's house to say hello and get a bite to eat. We took Kayla and Emma to Victoria  Park and played on the playground. We felt pretty cool at one point, we are a bunch of big kids. Kayla came back home with us for a little bit and we played a round of Skip-Bo. Emma won and it was only her first time playing.

I am happy that I took the day off on Monday. I am really glad I could spend some time with Emma. I dropped Haig off at work and then I went to do some grocery shopping because we threw out most of the food that was in the fridge before we went away for the weekend, which wasn't a lot of food anyways! Once I got home, I did a couple things around the apartment and then I woke Emma up and she started to get ready for the day. We picked my Mom up at 11:30 and we made our way out to New Glasgow to the PEI Preserve Company for some lunch.

I just love being out there. The PEI Preserve Company shop and restaurant are both so great. We all really enjoyed our food. I had a BLT on ciabatta bread and tostitos chips with peach and cherry salsa, both were really good. Emma had the lobster chowder which she said was better than she had anticipated. My mom had the most deeeelicious PEI potato pie. I defiantly want to get that next time I go out there. We also looked around the restaurant and theater venue some more, getting some ideas for a birthday party we are planning for next summer...

We walked through the Garden of Hope towards the Butterfly House. I visited here last here with my sweet friend Megan. I felt pretty lucky to have a day off with my wonderful mother and my beautiful sister in law. The butterfly house was really nice, but I enjoyed it a little more last year because more butterflies would land on you without holding any oranges. It was still really great though. I think my mom really liked it too. When I was younger, she called me her little butterfly.

We drove back into town and Emma and I went for some ice cream. We picked Haig up from work and brought him back to the apartment to shower and get changed. We went to my house for dinner with my family. We ate some waffles with strawberries, peaches and whip cream with bacon and hash browns on the side.  We went to the mall and a late show movie.

On Tuesday, Haig and I both went to work and Emma spent the day with a friend from church. In the evening, I made us some pork and potatoes for dinner and we took a little drive around town. When we got home, we watched a movie and ate some snacks.

I drove Emma to the shuttle this morning, and I was really sad as I drove away. We are so glad she could come visit with us and it was nice to have her in our home. She is an amazing young woman and she has so much potential. I hope she has a really great year at school and I know she has some really exciting things in store. She is on the right path.

I feel really blessed with my life right now. There are challenges that arise everyday. Right now, I am very tired from this "extra-long" weekend but it was all well worth it. I just made a tuna casserole for dinner, and I also just took chocolate muffins out of the oven. I am about to read the scriptures with my husband and prepare for our Strengthening Marriage course tomorrow night. As tired and sore as I am, I am happy.

Weekend Away

This past weekend was an "extra-long" weekend in my words. I had a hard time going back to work on Tuesday because of all the fun we had. We left PEI on Friday afternoon. I had the day off for the Gold Cup and Saucer Parade. Haig had to work, but luckily he was able to get off a little early to leave town with his wife. We are super grateful for our gainful employment, and we are very satisfied that we both enjoy the work we are currently doing. Haig was really fortunate to find such a good place to work this summer, after working at a not so good place for a very long time. I am comfortable with his work environment and that really helps too. I am glad that he is happy there and that he comes home happy mostly every day.

Never again will we buy a car without air conditioning. It was a hard drive to Nova Scotia in the muggy humidity. Haig drove to the Cobequid pass and I drove the rest of the way. The heat was tough to deal with, but the drive was pretty gorgeous in the sunshine and passing through a couple of areas of sun showers. When I made the exit into Cole Harbour everything was dark. The change of atmosphere was drastic. I missed the sunshine so much, and we didn't really see the sunshine again until we drove home on Sunday.

Once we were in town, we saw some of our family before getting ready to go meet Laura for our photo shoot. Laura was not feeling well most of the day, so we are happy she did agree to come meet with us. I hope we didn't wear her out too much, but I think we had a good time. We took pictures near the Halifax Waterfront Historic Properties and Citadel Hill.

We were lucky enough to stay out our Aunt Sharon and Uncle Christian's house on this stay. They were away with their three kids on vacation. Our Aunt Helen who lives with them was there to greet us on Friday night and we are always happy to see our Nova Scotia family.

We went to the 9am session at the temple on Saturday morning. It was a great session and I always love being at the temple with my Eternal Companion. We left pretty quickly after the session was over because we wanted to get home to see if anything was planned for the afternoon. Nothing was really going on, so we decided to go on a little adventure to superstore, mic mac mall and value village. Later we picked Hannah up and went for a swim in the Oliver's pool.

I took Hannah and Mom over to Halifax on Saturday night to attend Laura's doTerra party. It was a lot of fun and I am getting more and more interested in using essential oils. I think they are really fabulous. My small collection has helped me a lot already, so I hope they will continue to work well for me and our home. Haig went out with Luke and when we all got home later in the evening, we went for another swim. Mom and Dad came pretty late too and we had lots of fun. My family is pretty great. I swam in the middle of the pool at one point while Haig, Emma, Luke, Hannah and Dad swam in a whirlpool motion around the pool and Mom was sitting on the edge of the pool. In that moment, I felt grateful to be part of this beautiful and loving family.

We went to church as a family on Sunday. Mom gave a wonderful lesson in Relief Society on Sabbath Day observance. Haig and I are not perfect with what we choose to do on the Sabbath Day, but I am glad we do have standards in place and we know that we can counsel with the Lord about what things we should and should not do on Sundays. We went home for a delicious lunch and then we decided to leave so we could catch the earlier ferry home and get Emma to our beautiful Island sooner rather than later.

comparison is the thief of joy

Recently, I have been pretty disappointed with social media and blogging. Seeing what other people are doing on social media sometimes made me sad. I can't even find time to blog most of the time so you can imagine how I might feel when I saw that so and so's husband bought her flowers, or that super cute couple is on their honeymoon in Europe. I am a little envious of the posts of cute outfits, a clean apartment, a day spent at the beach or a date night with your close girlfriends.

My husband has bought be flowers maybe three times in the past 5 years. Mostly for holidays and birthdays. Flowers only last about a week or so anyways. We've never been to Europe together and probably won't be for a very long time. I seriously do not know where I would find the time in a week to dress up into different outfits to take pictures to post for everyone else to see. Our apartment is sweet and simple, and occasionally I will share simple things that I make or do at my home. My husband and I both work Monday-Friday, eight AM - five PM sort of deal so you probably won't be seeing us spending the whole day at the beach together. Date night with my close girlfriends is a challenge. I love them and all the hard work that they do, and I also value that they like to spend time with their significant others and family members. 

I was reading 10 Things Women In Their Twenties Need to Stop Worrying About when I came across this statement: 

The truth is, most of us only share the exciting, positive, ~glamorous~ things we're doing, and often we're rose-tinting our lives for the benefit of onlookers.

I realized the truth in this statement. We post the things we want other people to see on facebook/instagram/blogs because they are exciting, wonderful and thrilling. We don't do it to make other people jealous, but sometimes that is what happens. I am tired, exhausted actually of comparing my posts to the others that I see on these platforms. 

Another lovely lady I know found herself in a similar situation of "comparing herself to other moms on Instagram" shared that

'comparison is the thief of joy' 

With all of these statements lining up with how I was feeling about social media in my own life, I realize that I need to change the way I see things. I need to realize that people post what they want the world to see. We all do. We need to realize that these posts are just a glimpse of someone's life. No one is trying to make me jealous of their new watch, trip abroad or spending time with their friends. I just need to realize that we are all submerged in this idea of capturing the best moment and posting it for everyone else to see. I want to fall in love with my own life and keep some of those best moments to myself. I want to commit myself to posting less of the "ideal", "glamorous" and "exciting" moments. I would like to commit others to do this as well. 

#BestDay

What Keeps You from What Matters Most?

work

social media

managing finances

running errands

researching for work

Life can get a little distracting.

I choose to keep the Sabbath Day holy because the Lord has commanded me to. On Sundays, I can go to church and spend time with my family and friends. I can hear uplifting words from speakers that are guided by the Spirit to say what needs to be heard. The week brings many challenges and distractions.  Sunday is a day that fixes all of that. I can sing hymns of praise and rejoice. I can be instructed by teachers who are led by the spirit and sweet sisters that I admire. Most of all, I can feel the spirit, especially as I partake of the sacrament and remember the covenants I have made with my Heavenly Father. I get to see faces of happy children. I hear reverent and fervent prayers for our Bishop, our local leaders and our beloved Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. My husband will walk me to Relief Society and give me a quick kiss before I leave his side. I give and receive hugs from friendly faces, or those who might be having a hard day.

Sunday is a day to Focus on What Matters Most.

Our Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ

Christ's Atonement

the Scriptures

Prayer

Temple, Family History & Missionary Work

Family 

"as we follow the Lord's counsel to take time to be holy each Sabbath Day. we will reach peak performance in our lives". 

Sunday is The Best Day.

learn more at lds.org 

Richard's

Haig and I recently started a marriage course that our church has started. We really felt that it was a blessing for us to be able to take a course like this early in our marriage. We are willing to do anything that we can to strengthen our marriage, while it is just the two of us. 

At our first class, we were asked about some of the problems in our relationships as couples. We made a list on the board. Work, family, finances, and distractions were some of things that were mentioned. We were then asked about tools we have to resolve those problems. Prayer was the first thing that was mentioned, along with scripture study, going to our church meetings, attending the temple, and utilizing other church resources. When we were asked if there was anything else to add to the list, my husband added that perhaps it was because we were a newly married couple, but dates really strengthen our relationship. We enjoy getting out of the house and especially when it is not to go grocery shopping or run errands.

A couple of weeks ago, we went on a date to Richards. Haig and I have been there together before and in my opinion it is part of a good Island summer. We had a really nice evening together as we visited with another couple from church and then headed out to Covehead to have our delicious dinner. Obviously, they were pretty busy but their Fish and Chips is certainly worth the wait!

Megan, Kayla, Dogs, Food, and of course my Husband.

So, it has been awhile since I've been around these parts. My writing comes in spurts and usually has to do with events that have occurred. I want to get better at writing posts regularly about other and completely random things about our life, but the timing is just not great right now. I am starting a new position next month with the same Family Center that I work for, so I have been thinking about that a lot and getting some things sorted out with the position I currently have before I start in this new program. I will share some more details about all of that another time.

We have really been enjoying our summer days and weeks. We have been working really hard and although it will be some time before all our hard work really "pays" off, we will take what we can get for now. I wish I could spend more time with Haig. The weekends never really seem long enough and we usually have things to do. Can I just get paid to hang out with him? Is that a thing? No, I didn't think so. 

Sometimes work is good though. Like when your co-worker brings their new puppy to visit the kids. Our weekends have been pretty good too. This past Sunday was super nice because we were able to spend some time with our good friend Megan. We went for a picnic in Victoria Park after church, and then we made a spur of the moment decision to go to the disc golf course. I hope she had a lot of fun with us, because sometimes Haig and I can be pretty cool. We have been making lots of yummy meals. I have been especially pleased with a brown sugar rub I have been making for pork. We are also super grateful for a new waffle maker from our good friend Maia.

I am also happy to be a part of Relief Society. We had lovely bonfire at Pat Steen's house on Tuesday night. Kayla, Megan and I made a new friend and I created a brownie s'more. The weather has amazing lately, I am pretty darn happy about it.