We got away for a day

When a free Saturday presented itself we hopped in our car and headed a little south to check out the Joseph Smith Birthplace memorial near Sharon Vermont. It was a little chillier than we were expecting but we had some really pretty snowfall on our drive down. Not to mention, Vermont is beautiful, and we saw it "between" seasons as all the gorgeous fall leaves had long since fallen and the ground was not yet blanketed in snow. We still enjoyed it though.

It's probably no surprise that we were the only ones at the memorial. We were there right when they opened and it isn't peak visitor season. That meant we got a nice little tour of the small exhibit and the memorial all to ourselves. The exhibit is really nicely put together with beautiful paintings, books, statues, and some pieces from the time that Joseph was born (including the hearth that was in their home). 

We saw a layout of the land in it's entirety and the kids were pretty amazed with how big it was. And we also learned a lot about the early years of Joseph Smith's life. A lot of the items we already knew but there were definitely some tidbits in there we had not learned yet. It's always nice to learn some new things. We were so busy listening and taking a look around that I forgot to take some pictures of the inside, so I made up for it with some outside pictures. 

The stone layout here outlines the size of the Smith family home where Joseph was born.

The kids were pretty enthralled with how small it was and declared that it was smaller than our home but big enough to still run around in.

The kids were also pretty enthralled with the cookies that they were given inside the exhibit and the big empty space to run around in.

The base of the memorial.

Family picture in front of the memorial. The kids are still chowing down on their cookies.

The top part of memorial is exactly 38.5 feet tall, one foot for every year of the prophet's life and is one solid piece of granite - without blemish. So, as you can imagine, it is quite tall and it apparently was quite the feat to get it up.

Our guide was great and did a really good job at involving the kids so as we drove away (and stopped to snap a few more photos on the way) the kids had plenty to say about the memorial and what their favorite parts were.

There is a chapel down the road from the memorial that is really beautiful and looks out over the rolling hills below it. I had Jason snap this photo out the window seeing that I was driving.

 He still had some time before we really needed to start heading back across the border so we stopped in this small little town that was full of all sort of factory tours (including Ben & Jerrys!). We opted for the apple cider mill and headed on in. It was seriously cool.

There were homemade jams, along with hard to find products, artisan pieces, and lots and lots of apple cider and maple syrup. This inactive beehive was pretty neat as well. 

The kids enjoyed seeing all the machines that the apple cider was made on, including this old fashioned apple press.

This isn't the best picture seeing that I missed getting a picture of Milayla sitting in this cute little wooden lounge chair by just a few seconds. She quite liked it, it was just her size!

When we were waiting in line to purchase our adequately large jug of apple cider, we noticed that they had some treats called Cider Donuts. I asked Jason what they were (not sure why I thought he would know) and there were a few people that heard me and turned to give me this look of "did she seriously just ask that!?". Yes, I did. And I made up for my poor knowledge by ensuring we got a few to share on the way home. As near as I can figure, they are cake donuts that have apple cider in the dough. The kids quite enjoyed them.

Then it was back across the border. The kids were really curious about the border. It was the first controlled border that we have ever driven across (other controlled borders have always been in the airport). It was fun to get to start some intro discussions with them about world politics. And I mean, verrrrry intro. But it's a start. And they love getting into the conversation in any way possible. And since our trip they have made many duplo controlled borders where Milayla drives cars and animals through and Atticus will ask her questions such as - Where are you from? Where are you going? and, my personal favorite - do you have any cider?

Of course the border guard didn't actually ask us if we had cider, just the usual questions of dollar value we purchased and such. It's just fun to see watch and listen to the kids' recreation of it.

It felt nice to get away together though. Getting out of the city just felt so relaxing and I always enjoy the conversation that two little toddlers come up with. The questions are creative and never ending. Their curiosity is wonderful!

Fall Family Photos

A friend of ours from our church congregation, who is a wonderful photographer, agreed to do some family photos for us. We're so happy with how they turned out. The weather was great and all the fall colors were beautiful. Can't wait until we can get some of these up in our home!

If you want to check out some more of her work you can see photos from her other sessions here. She has some beautiful photos!

But first, make sure you check out this handsome guy.

The leaves were incredible!

My favorite part of this photo - that you can't see all the spiders that were crawling all over the rock and our legs. So worth it for this cute shot!

Milayla was not smiling for us this day. I think it was in large part to someone other than Mommy being behind the camera (not a usual site). While I am sad that her gorgeous smile isn't in all these photos, she still looks just as beautiful. I love these photos of the kids together.

The closest thing we got to smile until we tried a new technique a little bit later.

Those eyes!

And the smile emerges! Nothing quite like being tossed in the air to get some smiles!

Leaves!

More going in the air for smiles!

Those handsome boys.

Atticus getting his turn in the air.

Sweet kisses from that awesome little boy of mine.

It was a fun morning. Thanks for the fabulous pictures, Robyn!

I am a Triangle

Oh man. I knew us coming back to Canada was going to be an adjustment. Not just for the kiddos, who had never lived in Canada, but also for us who had been gone for 5+ years (Jason being gone longer of the 2 of us).

I thought we were saving ourselves a bit of shock by coming to Montreal - a french speaking and quite diverse city. But if it did save us any shock, it wasn't enough.

Shortly after arriving, around the time of the meltdown actually, a friend who is very accustomed to moving around the world with and without children sent me this article about repatriating and I devoured it with wide eyes as pretty much every word rang true with me. I'm different since I last lived in Canada. Canada - not so much.

Don't get me wrong. I love Canada. And I love Montreal. But at the end of the day I am still closer to the worlds biggest ball of yarn than I am to places like Egypt or Greece. I have to work harder to share history with the kiddos because, well, Canada is still pretty young in that realm.

I'm pretty grateful that we moved to Montreal as I still stand by my feelings that Quebec is one of the most culturally and land rich provinces. It's beautiful. And Montreal is filled to the brim with museums which I adore. Though those museums are surrounded by busy streets and busy people and life is just different. And we still have little bits of our hearts and so many friends scattered throughout the world.

I suppose we had it simpler with our previous moves. We could travel a short distance to experience a different culture and a different language without our way of life needing to change too much. It also meant we could easily travel back to the other places we have lived. We had grown quite accustomed to European living which, in many ways, is so much simpler and enjoyable than North American living.

So why did we move? Because it was time for us to grow in a way that we couldn't there. And while we're still discovering the all the 'whys' of it all I think it's important for me to establish that there was a very firm 'why' that we followed and it was right for us. Because I need that anchor when I am trying to find the balance between empathizing with our kids about missing our old homes and reaffirming to them the greatness of our new home. And there are certainly times when those kids miss their old home.

It varies on what they miss. Most recently it's been our bright German home, Atticus' friend Evia from The Netherlands, and trips to the temple in the Hague. The funny thing is, Atticus picked now, of all times, to start liking to use German. I think it is all for the sake of reminiscing, but I am working to build it so he can keep at least a basic knowledge. At those reminiscing moments we do our best to let them express it, join in conversation with them, and make it a happy thing to discuss rather than a sad thing to discuss because it certainly doesn't need to be sad. We do have a lovely home and are making many lovely friends here yet I think it is natural to miss elements that aren't so large a part of our life anymore. And we need to help these kids figure out this star life of theirs (read the article to learn more about them).

They have so many different reference points, the best thing we are trying to do for them right now is anchor them in this family of ours with love, consistency and communication, work on adaptation and friendshipping skills, and let them explore and adapt on their terms and schedule.

It isn't an easy or quick process, but from time to time, when I catch a glimmer of all the polishing and refining that this change has wrought upon all of us (especially the kids) I feel joy. A deep, rich and filling joy. And it's then that I know that this is exactly where we are supposed to be. I am a triangle. Slightly out of place but in the right place to help these little stars of mine shine.

Exploring the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

I love outings that help the kids and I fall in love with this city that we live in. This trip was one of those outings. We waited until the weekend to make the trip to the museum so that Jason could come along. It was nice to have all of us there. It was so great to explore some new streets and admire all the artwork.

I've got to say that I really love some of the historical apartment buildings once you start working your way into the downtown exterior. Just really beautiful entrances. All of them. And the churches here are quite beautiful as well.

And then there was this statue that we happened upon which made my heart swell. The bond between a mother and child is so tender. 

We didn't realize how many buildings the museum actually encompassed - it's huge! It was great. We were ooohing and aaahing before we even got inside. Jason was pretty keen on this plastic tree.

The kids and I were pretty keen to get inside and start looking at all the paintings.

I had been working with the kids on pointillism so when we stumbled upon some lovely pointillism in the museum the kids were pretty over the moon about that.

I really loved observing how Atticus and Milayla preferred to explore the museum with very different approaches, yet both enjoyed themselves so much. Milayla always opted to sit on the benches, chairs or couches that were there to observe from and point at her favorites. Atticus would get as close as humanly possibly and remark on the individual colors and strokes. It was just awesome to see them find which way works best for them and to see little glimpses into their personalities.

We all loved the renaissance art sections, and I was impressed when Atticus made connections between the artists at this museum and the artists that we had seen at previous museums in europe.

This piece that was in the main hall fills my heart with mixed emotions. While the baby is beautiful and makes my heart happy, their was something about it being so exposed and alone that made me want to cradle the baby in my arms to warm it and keep it safe. Maternal instinct. In any case, it was beautifully sculpted.

I think the modern art exhibit pretty much snatched up the hearts of Atticus and Milayla the second that we stepped into the exhibit room. 

This was one of Atticus' favorite pieces. As you can see, he is diligently holding the map. Always eager to make sure we didn't miss seeing anything.

By the time we started venturing into the second building the kids were starting to get a bit tired so we started working our way back.

 Though I am pretty sure the kids could have stayed in this room much longer than the few minutes that we let them. It was a moved picture to show the difference in perspective and movement that depth differential can create. It was a really neat idea and it definitely had the kids asking questions, which I love!

Once we had our coats and outdoor gear back on we raced for the bus and snacked on our lunches.

Milayla is really favoring oranges these days (perfect season for it) and every time she eats one she furrows her brow on the first bite. It is pretty cute!

I am so grateful for this family and love getting to share these experiences with them. There are some places where I feel so comfortable and adequately intrigued that I always love going there - art museums (and most museums in general) are one of those places (theatres are another big one) and I feel pretty grateful that I get to share some of that love with these great kiddos and a supportive husband. It feels pretty special.