Drives to the Temple

 Brad and I made it to the temple tonight. Our original plan was to go last week but the crazy winter storm changed our plans so we went today. The high wind made it a little difficult but not as bad as the snow and ice would have made it last week. We had a great session doing sealings and we were able to seal all the couple family names that I had brought. I brought 10 not thinking we would get to all of them but there was only one other couple there with two couples to seal so we had plenty of time. 

The kids had a fun pizza party at home together. They always love their kid party nights. I’m grateful they all get along so well!

Brothers

 Ryder woke up sick this morning so I kept the boys home from piano lessons. I’m really hoping Ryder feels better soon and this doesn’t start weeks of sickness for our family like last year! But it was nice to slow down today and rest more. Luke was a happy bundle of energy roller blading around the house and taking care of Ryder so luckily Ryder was able to get plenty of rest. I love how they take care of each other. I know Ryder would be doing the same thing for Luke if the roles were reversed. They’re such good brothers! 

The Pinewood Derby

 Ryder and Luke raced their cars in the pinewood derby tonight. Brad helped them finish the cars a few days ago and he even got to come and watch them race a few times before heading to his stake meetings. The boys did well but didn’t place in the top 3. They still had fun though. Luke got awarded ‘most creative car’ and Ryder was awarded ‘most sizzling car.’ 

Boredom

 Luke will often tell me he’s bored which is usually his way of asking if he can watch TV, so Brad and I talked to Ryder and him a few days ago about the great things that can happen when we’re bored. And today, great things happened when Ryder and Luke were bored! They cleaned their room and closet and then read books! It really was a picture perfect moment and I’m glad I caught it. 

Youth Led Sacrament Meetings

 Today the young men and young woman planned and led sacrament meeting for church. Kade was the organist! He did a great job. We practiced together at the church last night and he was having a blast playing with all the stops. I think he really enjoys playing the organ. All the speakers were youth and all the youth sang a hymn together for a musical number. I loved it. It was a wonderful sacrament meeting.

Family Date Night

 Brad’s staff gave us a coupon to the escape room in town for Christmas and we finally cashed in on it tonight! We took the kids to dinner before hand which was delicious and then headed to the escape room. None of the kids had been to one before so they weren’t sure what they were in for. It was a pirate themed one and Brad was teasing Luke by telling him we might get stuck with the pirate skeletons if we can’t figure out how to get out! Haha. But we all had a great time, especially Luke, and we made it out in time even though we needed a few hints. It was a really fun family date night!

Crosstown Basketball

 I was so happy it was Friday today! I love Friday. We all seemed to go in different directions tonight though which I didn’t totally love but it was all good things! Kade headed out for a church campout. He said he was excited but I think he’s crazy to camp in the snow in negative temperatures! They did build a tent with a heater, but still! I hope he stays warm and enjoys the night!

Ryder went to his friend’s birthday party at the pizza buffet and arcade and then back to his friend’s house for a movie. He had so much fun fun!

Brad, Tenley, Luke, and I headed to the highschool to watch the crosstown basketball game. Our team played great and won the game! 

Undefeated Champions

 Tenley’s team played in the championship volleyball game tonight and they won! It was such a close game and my stomach was in knots almost the entire three sets! I was so happy for Tenley and her team to get the win! It was a fun season! She had a great coach and amazing teammates! It couldn’t have been better.

Rollerblade Bros

 Luke is still obsessed with rollerblading. Ryder still want to as well though, so they made a plan today. They each get a rollerblade and they roll around the house like you would on a scooter. Haha. In fact Ryder went into the garage and had a rollerblade on one foot and a scooter on the other. It was hilarious! But I’m glad the found a way to roll around still because we actually got a lot of snow today and the temperatures dropped to below freezing. Winter may actually be here now! 

Tenley and her team played in the semi finals game tonight and they won! They’ll play in the championship game tomorrow night! I’m so excited to watches! Brad surprised Tenley and I and showed up to watch her game! He was able to leave work early. It was so nice of him to make it over to watch.

A Three Car Garage

 Winter has been so mild that Kade hasn’t been too bothered about having to park his car outside, but when he saw negative temperatures in the forecast he decided to organize and clean the third bay in our garage so that he could park in there. It only took him a few hours with Ryder and Luke’s help and he found a way to get it to fit! It’s tight with our three vehicles in there but it should work!

We’ve been enjoying watching the Olympics every night. It’s fun to cheer our country on and to see the amazing athletes. Luke decided to strap on Ryder’s rollerblades tonight to see what skating might be like. He’s figuring it out OK!

Kade’s First Date

 It was nice to sleep in today! I was pretty worn out after our ski day yesterday and extra rest felt so nice. I cashed in on the coupon Kade and Tenley gave me for my birthday to detail my car. They spent a lot of time on it and it looks so nice! 

Tenley, Ryder, and Luke went to a party tonight and Kade went on a double date so Brad and I picked up take out and had a date at home watching basketball and the Olympics. It was a lot of fun and my kind of date night! Kade’s group went to the roller rink and out to dinner and they had a great time as well! It was Kade’s first date and he took a girl who has been one of his good friends since elementary school. I’m so glad she was his first date!

Adventures on the Ski Hill

 We took the kids up to the ski hill today and had a blast! Kade spent the day with a friend so we didn’t see him very often but the rest of us stayed together. Tenley, Ryder, and Luke are all so brave! They all did tricks in the terrain park and tried to find every jump on every run we went down. Luke took it all too far, though, when he decided not to get off the lift when he should have. Ryder and I were a few chairs back and we saw him heading back toward us when he should have gotten off! It was scary. The workers stopped the lift, found a ladder, leaned it up against his chair and went up the ladder to take of his skies and help him climb down. It wasn’t fun for me to watch as his mother. But luckily he made it down safely! He told me he was thinking of jumping off in the powder and I’m so glad that he didn’t do that! It was definitely a day filled with adventure.

Kade and Tenley went to a stake Valentine’s dance tonight. They said it was a lot of fun!

Beautiful Drives

 I had to make the long but beautiful drive to Bozeman today to check up on the scar on my face. The doctor thinks it’s healing great which was good to hear. 

The kids did well at home. They called me when I was just an hour away because Luke and Ryder were fighting but we worked it out and they were great the rest of the day! They even played monopoly together.

I made it home just in time to watch Tenley’s volleyball game. It was the last game of the regular season and they ended undefeated! They’re the one seed in the tournament and they’ll play next week. It should be exciting!

Pinewood Derby Cars

 Ryder and Luke got to make pinewood derby cars at their activity tonight. Luke is so excited for his first pinewood derby! He asked his leader to make it into the shape of an arrow. It looks pretty cool! I can’t wait to see how fast it goes. Ryder made a bacon car. It looks awesome too!

Sports

 Tenley and I came home from her volleyball game tonight to find Ryder outside shooting hoops. Our basketball hoop is my favorite thing about our house now and may very well make it hard for me to want to move. It makes me so happy to see the kids using it and doing something I love. 

Tenley’s game went well! They are still undefeated! 

When Brad finally made it home from his church meetings tonight we watched the BYU basketball game together. We actually got to see the Cougars win tonight! They played so well and it was a fun game to watch. 

Nutty Buddy’s

 The kids saw some sort of ad or commercial for the little debbi snack Nutty Buddy’s the other day and were begging me to buy them. They also beg for pop tarts but I never buy them those, so I decided to give in to this request. Nutty Buddy’s actually used to be one of my favorite snacks growing up so it was nostalgic for me. I made them all wait to try them until Kade got home from school. Everyone seemed to love them, except Luke. He was not a fan! But he’s a hard one to get to love something new. At least he tried it!

Fondue and Football

 Brad was in Fairfield today for their ward conference. He said it was a really great meeting. I always wish we would have gone with him to his conferences. We may start doing that so we can be with him more! 

We made fondue tonight to have while watching the Super Bowl. The kids love it! The fondue was fun but the game was a little boring. We still had fun hanging out together.

People

 Today was a very long and busy day but it was filled with some of my most favorite people which made it a pretty wonderful day. Tenley’s volleyball team had a game bright and early this morning. They won again and are still undefeated! It was fun to cheer her and her team on. 

I came home to get ready real quick and headed to the church to set up for the funeral for Maryellen and then stayed after the funeral to serve the luncheon to her family. Maryellen passed away last week. She was Tenley’s art teacher and one of the sweetest older women from our ward. She would sit with my kids for me when Brad was a Bishop and I was the ward organist. It was so nice of her! We will miss her! It was a beautiful funeral service and I was happy to be able to serve the family with some of my closest friends.

Tonight I went to a Galentine’s party that my friend put together. There was a lot of yummy food and we all exchanged our favorite gifts with each other. It was a lot of fun to have a night with friends! 

February Picnics

 It was another beautiful February day! I honestly feel like I’m on vacation somewhere else. This is crazy. Brad had patients that have lived here all their lives and have never seen days like this in February. We enjoyed the outdoors again today with a walk, lots of playtime outside, and Luke even ate lunch outside with me on our back porch. It felt so nice.

Brad and I went on a date tonight and we had to wait about 20 minutes for our table so we went for a walk downtown to enjoy the beautiful weather. I am loving this.

Outdoor Walks

 It was another beautiful 70 degree and sunny day here in Montana in February! We spent a lot of time outside and when Brad made it home from work just after lunch we even got to go for a walk outside with the dogs. It’s been too long since we’ve been able to do that!

Warm Sunshine

 I usually love to leave Montana in February because of the frigid temperatures, but this winter has been so different than any other winter I’ve experienced here. It has been so warm! It was over 60 degees today! We actually really need some moisture and we are sad to be missing some good skiing in the mountains, but I LOVE feeling the warm sunshine. The kids played outside a lot today and they even ended up putting some shorts on. What is happening?! I’ll enjoy it while I can.

Ryder’s Birthday

 We celebrated Ryder’s 11th birthday today! He’s growing up way too fast! We had co op this morning so we were a bit rushed but he was able to have his crepe breakfast and all his friends sang to him at co op. I made him lunch when we got home and Tenley made him a Frappuccino for a dessert. He requested chicken fettuccine for dinner and ice cream pie for his birthday treat. Brad had a shorter stake meeting so he could come home and have dessert with us and watch Ryder open his presents. He got a Lego set, an outdoor basketball to use our new hoop, church socks, and a magnifying camera which was pretty cool!

We’re so grateful for our Ryder! He has such a big heart, is always willing to help and work hard, and is a smart boy! 

A Rubik’s Cube

 Ryder worked hard most of the morning to solve his Rubik’s cube. He hasn’t played with it in a while but he and Luke were cleaning up their desk and he found it again and wanted to solve it. He found a YouTube video to help him and after a lot of effort he finally got it solved! 

Tonight was Ryder’s turn to plan family night and he chose to watch the first Harry Potter movie because he just finished the first book. He liked the movie but he said he liked the book better.

Birthday Dinners

 We took the kids out to Ryder’s restaurant of choice tonight for his birthday. He chose the pizza buffet restaurant. It also has an arcade which the kids have never played at but have always wanted to so as a special treat they got to play in the arcade as well! Ryder and Luke had so much fun together! It made for a very enjoyable family night out!

Cucumber Land

 We went skiing as a family today and it was the best snow of the year! It’s still not great but it was a significant improvement. We had so much fun. We stayed together the whole time and could keep up with eachother for the most part. More often than not I was the last one to the lift. Luke is a speed demon! Luke also kept requesting to go down the Cumberland trail. He calls it cucumber land lol. He loves it because it goes through the trees and has a lot of jumps. I was impressed with the air everyone got. We stayed until close and were pretty exhausted by the end of the day! 

Survivors

 I have to admit that my subject heading is over dramatic but we do feel something like survivors today. This afternoon while Tenley and Ryder were at the kitchen table working on school and Luke was in the kitchen with me making lunch we had a 4.2 magnitude earthquake. I can’t remember ever feeling an earthquake like that before. It took me a minute to process what was happening because it seemed at first that maybe a big truck was driving by or an airplane was flying over really low, but then we realized it was an earthquake. Luckily no damage was done!

Tenley had another volleyball game tonight and they won again! I love watching her play!

Big Hugs

 Luke was so bored this afternoon and was begging all of us to play a game with him. I was making dinner, Kade was practicing the piano, and Ryder was outside playing basketball. Tenley played a few games with him but when she stopped he was sad again. Ryder made his day when he came in from playing basketball and asked Luke to play chess with him. Luke gave him the biggest hug I’ve ever seen! I love seeing my kids do nice things for eachother!

Rare Days

The kids and I were all so tired after co op today. I know Tenley was tired because of her early volleyball practice but I’m not sure what was wrong with the rest of us! I decided to throw all of our rules out the window and we turned a movie on and relaxed on the couch together before we even had lunch! 😂 My kids will know how rarely that happens. But sometimes it’s fun to do things like that. It creates a memory they’ll remember. And we all definitely needed some rest.

Ryder and Luke must have had plenty of rest because by dinner time, I gave them several assignments and they willingly helped with everything! It was great!