Volleyball and Basketball

 It’s Tenley’s last week of volleyball! The season seemed to go by so slow at times but it’s still crazy to think that’s it’s actually ending. She has loved it but she’s excited for a break. They had a game tonight and their last game is Thursday. They played the best team in their conference tonight (Bozeman). They lost pretty badly in the first two sets but they didn’t give up. They fought hard and won the last three sets! It was so exciting!! I was so proud of them!

Luke had his first basketball practice of the season tonight. He’s with his coach that he had last year which makes him happy. It will be a great season!

Luke’s New Favorite Dessert

 Luke has been missing his normal snacks and normal desserts that he can no longer eat. But today he finally discovered a dessert he LOVES. A plate full of whip cream!

The Primary Program

 Ryder and Luke had their primary program today at church. It was so good. It was Ryder’s last program so he gave a longer talk and sang a song with the other kids graduating from primary. Luke said his part well and sang the songs so well. The primary program will always be my favorite Sunday of the year.

Brad’s Lights

 The sun came out and melted most of the snow today! Brad got out and finished putting all the lights on the house! Ryder and Luke and Kade were a huge help! Brad added light to the two windows. It looks so fun and festive! I need to take a picture and share it!

Tenley had another great day of volleyball! They swept the B team and A teams again! Her game wasn’t being filmed today which made me so sad. She had an epic play where she hit the ball as hard as she could and the girl over passed it towards her and it ended up being a joust and she won! She made it home in time to get ready for a church dance. High schoolers are so busy!

Volleyball Trips

 Tenley left for Billings today with her volleyball team. They played one of the high school tonight, went out to dinner at Olive Garden (one of her favorite restaurants) and then spent the night at a hotel. She played great! Her team swept the B team and the A team. They’re having a great season! And she had so much fun with her friends tonight! 

Kade went to the crosstown football game in the snowstorm. If the weather had been nicer Brad and I would have been there but we watched it on the internet instead!

Luke’s teeth were definitely hurting him today. His favorite dessert is pretzels with Nutella but he won’t be able to have that for six months. He was pretty sad today and didn’t eat much. I hope they feel less sore tomorrow!

The Pool in October

 Luke got braces on this morning! It’s a short little phase where he’ll have the braces on for six months to help pull back his two front teeth. He was a trooper about it! 

My friend provided the best distraction for the pain from his braces when she invited us over to swim at her pool this afternoon. I can’t believe it was nice enough to be at the pool this late in October but it was! They loved the slide and the basketball hoop. It was so nice!

Outdoor Kade

 Kade loves a YouTube channel called Outdoor Boyz. He’s been especially impressed by the bread this man makes on his camping trips. He’s been wanting to try it for a while and tonight his young men activity was a campfire activity so he decided to make bread dough to take and cook on the campfire. He said it turned out pretty well! 

Tenley painted a pumpkin for her activity. She is an amazing artist. I need to take a picture and post it soon! She painted Winnie the Pooh for a Disney trunk her volleyball team is doing.

The weather was amazing again! So we got out for another walk. I love this weather!

Luke’s Creations

 We learned about Florida at co op today and the kids were asked to make a building that could withstand hurricane strength winds. They got all sorts of materials and Luke chose a bunch of pipe cleaners and created a teepee with it. It held up pretty well she she brought out her fan to test its strength. It was a creative design!

Sunshine

The weather made me so happy today. Somehow we got a few more sunny fall days! I decided to avoid my afternoon responsibilities and go for a walk with the dogs. I love the sunshine. 

It’s another dress up week at school for the crosstown football game this weekend. Today was Adam Sandler day and Tenley pulled it off pretty well! 

BYU Handshakes

 Ryder and Luke came up with the cutest BYU handshake last night. They showed it to Kade this morning. It’s a lot of fun. We’re still in such a high from last nights game!

Brad was an hour and a half away in Chester today but the rest of us stayed in Great Falls so the boys could practice for the primary program. They’re excited for that next week!

BYU Football

 It was a great day to be a BYU fan!! We watched ESPN’s college game day in Provo this morning which was a lot of fun! We watch college game day every week so it was crazy to see them in Provo. The kids all woke up to watch it with us too. 

Afterwards Brad and Tenley got to work on finishing the lights on the roof even with the wind whipping like crazy. I’m glad they were safe and that they finished the roof! 

Then we had a fun night watching BYU play Notre Dame! It was such a great game but we were all so nervous the whole time. It was a nail biter to the very end. It was so much fun to see BYU pull off an incredible win! Brad and the kids went crazy. Luke made sure to write about it in his journal. I think the kids will remember it for a long time!

Our Goalkeeper

 Kade had his last soccer game of the season this afternoon. And it was the first game Tenley was actually able to attend! It was SO windy but it was a good game and thankfully Kade was not injured at all. They lost, 1-2, but they played hard!

Family Date Night

 Brad had today off in case Ryder wanted to go on the youth hunt, but since Ryder didn’t want to hunt Brad decided to start on Christmas lights! They started on the roof today and hopefully they can get that part done before  the snow comes again!

The roof is too dangerous for Luke so he hung out with me inside. We played card games and then took the dogs on a walk.

Tonight we finally got to take Tenley out for dinner for her birthday. She chose pizza ranch! She loves the pizza and the ice cream. It was a fun night out. I love family dates. 

Fall Break

 Fall break starts tomorrow which made today feel like a Friday! Kade and Tenley are really excited for a break from school and they’re especially excited to be able to sleep in! Tenley came home and fell asleep on the couch and Kade came home and played basketball with the boys! 

Tenley Ann

 Tenley turned 15 years old today!! I got her donuts to share with her seminary class and surprised with a cake pop and Frappuccino for lunch. We also picked up Qdoba for dinner (her favorite) but she was still pretty sad that her birthday landed on a busy school day. She had a band concert tonight that she really wanted to skip, but it was fun to see her play! She did a great job!

We really love Tenley! I’m so grateful to have such a fun, down to earth, kind, beautiful and talented daughter. She’s the best!

Tenley’s Birthday Eve

 We woke up to over eight inches of snow this morning! I’m glad we made it back last night and didn’t have to drive through the storm today. Ryder and Luke had fun playing in it and helped brush the snow off the trees.

Tenley’s birthday is tomorrow but she has school, volleyball practice, and a band concert so we decided to celebrate tonight. I made her favorite dinner, Ranch Chicken and potatoes with homemade rolls. We opened presents and she seems happy with them! She got new volleyball shoes and we surprised her with tickets to a BYU volleyball game and a BYU football game! We’re all so excited for the trip at the end of the month! We also had Tenley’s favorite ice cream pie for dessert. We’ll do our best to celebrate as much as possible tomorrow as well!

Bryson and Ro

 We drove down to Idaho Falls early this morning to be with the Murdocks for Bryson and Ro’s wedding. It was such a beautiful day and I’m so glad we got to be there. The temple sealing room was filled with so much family and so much love. 

We stayed for the luncheon which was delicious and we enjoyed more family time but then we had to head home and miss the reception because we realized a big snow storm would be hitting Montana tonight. The storm was bigger than we expected and the roads were slick and snowy. I’m so grateful we made it home safely! It’s still so crazy to me that it can be 80 degrees one day and snowy and 36 degrees the very next day!

Kade and Tenley both stayed home for sports. Tenley’s team swept their opponent again! And Kade’s team lost again which was sad. What was even worse though was that we learned on our way home that Kade got kicked in his face by his opponent with cleats. His teeth are fine but he has some pretty big gashes and a pretty big bruise.