My Parents

 I had to say goodbye to my parents tonight which is never easy for me and felt even harder this time with their move to St. George. But luckily I had all day to hang out with them! Brad and his Dad and Kade and Tenley spent the day driving to Billings and back for Kade’s soccer games so Ryder, Luke and I got to be with my parents and Judy. We all enjoyed sleeping in which was nice and then the rest of our patio furniture showed up so my Dad helped me build it and get it all set up! It looks so nice!!

Then we went out to lunch at Qdoba and decided to go swimming at the hotel my parents were staying at. My Dad wanted to pick up a swimsuit at the store so he could swim with the boys and they got new swimsuits as well. They had a lot of fun swimming! 

We headed home to enjoy the patio, but the rain kept us inside. We enjoyed leftovers for dinner and more ice cream for dessert! 

I couldn’t be more grateful for my parents making the long drive here in the middle of their move. It wouldn’t have been the same without them! They are the best.

Everyone made it back safely from Billings and they had a great time. Kade played great! He was a forward the first game and then goalkeeper the second game and had some great saves and helped the team win. It was his last game of the season. It was the best team he’s played on with the best coaches. I’m so grateful for all the fun memories he’s made and the growth he’s had.

Luke’s Baptism

 Luke has been looking forward to this day for a while now! The first thing he said to me this morning was, “I get to be baptized today! He was so happy and so happy to have both grandparents here and Lesa, JT and Elly! It was a busy day getting some yard work done and food ready for our guests. Brad even put up our outdoor pergola lights with his dad’s help. Grandpa Hobson gave Luke an American pin and Grandma and Grandpa Woodruff gave him an American tie! He looked pretty sharp! 

The baptism service was so nice! Tenley played the piano and did such a great job! She practiced everyday and played all the music perfectly. She works hard! Ryder gave the opening prayer and it was sweet and perfect. Kade gave the baptism talk and taught Luke about Jesus is there to help us fix our mistakes and about how he’s now on Jesus’ team. Then Brad baptized Luke. We should have given the font more time to fill up but luckily it was deep enough for Luke to be fully immersed. His Grandma Woodruff and Grandma Judy were the witnesses. Then the kids sang “Families Can Be Together Forever” together. It was so sweet! Luke chose the song. After that my Dad, Grandpa Woodruff, gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. He taught Luke who the Holy Ghost is and the many ways he can help him. Then he shared some neat stories about my life and his. I loved it. Then Brad blessed him with the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a special blessing and my friend sent these notes of what Brad said:

Luke Hobson confirmation 6/5/26 by his father:

Bless you to:

-Learn to recognize the language of the Holy Ghost and to follow promptings

-Live life in a way you are able to receive those promptings

-Be able to further your natural disposition to do good 

-be a disciple of Jesus by expressing love to all

-Grow strong in the gospel and be a good example to those around you 

-With the things you need to accomplish those goals

-To be a future worthy husband, father and son of god

It was really special. The whole meeting was done in 30 minutes! We got some pictures together and then came home to eat dinner that was thankfully catered by Smoked and enjoy our beautiful pergola! We had homemade ice cream and waffle bowls for dessert as well. It was so nice to sit and visit with everyone and enjoy such a beautiful evening after such a wonderful day. I’m so grateful for Luke and for my family!

Kiwi Co

 I really don’t mean to just talk about Luke all week, although it is his special baptism week so maybe it is appropriate. He was just so resourceful with his setup today. He, of course, had another kiwi co box to build and he set up his trashketball build from two days ago to the side so he could throw things away, and then he set up his tools box build from yesterday to the other side so he had all of his tools nearby. He even begged Brad for a wrench so Brad found some old tools that he doesn’t use anymore and look added them to his toolbox/workstation. It’s so adorable! 

Baptism Towel

 The primary presidency came over tonight to talk to Luke about his baptism. They showered him with gifts! They gave him a quiet book for sacrament meeting, a Kit Kat to help him remember the covenants he’s making, and a towel with a CTR shield on it. He was so excited! It’s going to be such a fun weekend for him!

Luke’s Projects

 I think Luke is a lot like Brad. He loves to tinker and build and he seems the happiest when he has a project. Kade has a lot of old kiwi co crates that he never built and Luke found them all and has been building one each day. I’m actually impressed that he’s been able to handle builds meant for teenagers! He has loved it and I love seeing his serious face as he concentrates on building!

Mr. Fix-it

 A huge rain storm has come our way but luckily we got a lot of yard work done this morning before the rain started. The boys cleaned out the window wells and we got the lawn mowed. I hope all this rain helps the grass green up even more!

Luke found an old RC car while cleaning his room but the charging cord was broken. He was really sad about it but I told him to ask his dad if he knew of another charging cord, Brad didn’t but he knew of a way to fix it! So Luke went out into the garage with Brad and together they soldered the chord back together. It was cute to watch them work together and they got it to work! It charges his RC car again. Luke was so excited!!

Dental Conference

 I went to Brad’s conference with him today because the presenter talked all about fitness and nutrition which are two things that really interest me. We listened to him lecture for six hours but I was so interested in all that he had to say that I really enjoyed it. We both learned a lot! And it was fun to hang out with him for the day. If we learned anything we learned to eat 30 grams of fiber a day, get at least 7 hours of sleep, and exercise consistently. 

After the conference he took me to the mall so I could shop at one store real quick then we picked up dinner and headed home. We drove through more rain and more beautiful green scenery. It’s so great to be back home with our kids! I loved putting Ryder and Luke to bed. I’m so grateful for how well Kade and Tenley took care of everyone! We have such amazing kids!!

Time to Relax

 I dropped Brad off at his dental conference this morning and then I had the day to myself! It was strange but also very relaxing. I exercised at the gym, had breakfast, laid out at the pool, had lunch, and went shopping. It was a pretty nice day. I also got to check in with the kids and I loved seeing their sweet faces! It sounds like they’re all getting along and having fun!

When I picked Brad up we went and picked up some Thai food and then went to my favorite ice cream shop for dessert, Sweet Peaks! It was delicious!

The Drive to Missoula

 It was Kade’s last day of seminary for the school year today. He had a friend who has a tradition of biking to seminary and school on the last day so Kade and several other friends joined him. I think he had a lot of fun. And I think he’s excited to have a few months of sleeping longer!

It was such a beautiful day so the boys and I had school on the patio. It is heaven and I’m so grateful for the nice patio!

We were supposed to leave as a whole family for the weekend to Missoula with Brad for his dental conference but Kade has so many tests and projects for school that he just couldn’t miss. Brad and I decided to get away together and leave the kids at home. The kids are excited for a party but I will miss them!!! 

The drive to Missoula was gorgeous with everything getting so green. We also drove through a crazy rain and lightning storm. It was neat to see over the mountains. It is beautiful here!

Our Patio

 Brad had the day off today so he got to help me and the boys with school! Tenley is pretty independent and doesn’t need our help. But it was fun to have someone there to help me with the boys. Then we got some yard work done. It was hot today! It definitely felt like summer time. After getting his work done I found Ryder relaxing on the patio reading his book. The patio is my favorite place right now. I can’t wait to get it fully furnished and then I’ll love it even more!

Willow Creek Falls

 We went on a fun family hike today to Willow Creek Falls near Augusta. There were three beautiful waterfalls, the weather was sunny and warm, and the trail wasn’t even that crowded for Memorial Day! It was a tougher trail than we thought it was going to be and there was a sketchy cliff edge that made me a bit nervous but it was a lot of fun! I don’t think little Ozzy has been on many hikes but he did a great job.

We made fire grilled pizza for dinner with Italian sodas and then ice cream in waffle bowls for dessert. It was a good holiday with everyone home.

Family Movie Night

 Tenley made it back safe and sound from her campout this morning. It sounded like she had a lot of fun! Except for an incident with some coyotes in the middle of the night. I guess a pack of coyotes were howling and one of the youngest girls was terrified. It took them a few hours to calm her down. So Tenley didn’t get a lot of sleep. But they had fun exploring the ranch and playing games.

Since we were finally all together tonight we had a family movie night. We finished the last movie in The Hobbit series. The kids enjoyed it but the fighting scene lasted way too long for me. But I loved having some family time!