Luke’s 8th Birthday

 Luke turned 8 today! I can’t believe my baby is 8 years old. He planned is whole day out and we all had so much fun. We had crepes for breakfast in the morning and then we packed a lunch and went for a hike to Memorial Falls. Luke loves hiking and being in the mountains with a lot of trees. The last time we hiked Memorial Falls was when I was actually pregnant with Luke! We all loved the hike. Afterwards we decided to drive by our ski hill since we were so close to it. It was weird to see it without any snow! 

For dinner, Luke wanted to go out to Chili’s. It was delicious and we had a nice time out. Then we came home to open presents, eat cake, and watch Super Mario Bros. Luke said it was his favorite birthday yet!

Late Sunsets

 I went to work today for the first time in 17 years! It was a crazy feeling. I’m learning how to do the receptionist job at Brad’s office because Jayden is on maternity leave and Ashley will be taking a vacation soon. There is a lot to learn but it was kind of fun to be out working! Although I definitely felt a lot of mom guilt and I definitely missed my kids. 

Tenley had a volleyball party tonight and Ryder and Luke both had football games. I was running around like crazy but the kids all had such a great time with friends and playing their favorite sports.

The kids were outside playing until after 9 pm which is normally their bedtime. But the sun was still out and when my kids are all playing happily together, I never interrupt!

Mom and Daughter Lunch Date

 Tenley took me out to lunch today at our favorite restaurant Qdoba. It was a late Mother’s Day gift and it was so much fun! She had leap up day this morning at the high school and I’m realizing how sad it will be when she’s at school all day this fall. We need to have several more lunch dates before then!

She joined the middle school for leap up day and had planned to tag along with her friend Addie. We were sitting in the auditorium while dozens and dozens of middle schoolers streamed in from three different directions. We were scanning the crowd for her friend and she ended up walking right by us! I was so grateful that worked out so smoothly. She seems excited to start high school!

Summer Weather

 It felt like summer today! It was hot! It got up to eighty degrees! Our grass is finally greening up and I had to mow the lawn again. Ryder needed to stick his head in the freezer after football practice. Besides having to do school work this morning it may as well have been summer! But the boys did their school work on the patio so that made it nice!

Ryder’s Football Plays

 Ryder had a football game tonight and it was a beautiful night for some football! They ran some great plays. The quarterback would throw it to Ryder, Ryder would throw it back to the quarterback, and then Ryder would run a deep route and the quarterback would throw it to him again. It worked a few times and was so much fun to watch! His team won and he had a blast playing.

Motherhood

 I had a wonderful Mother’s Day today. My kids and husband spoiled me and I got to spend the morning with a lot of women I admire at church. I also got to talk to my amazing mom tonight. I am lucky. Being a mom is the best thing in the whole world and having such a great mom who made me who I am is something I’m so grateful for. 

Road Trips as a Whole Family

 We all got to travel to Bozeman together to watch Kade play soccer. I was so excited to have a fun travel day with the whole family! We even took the dogs. And it was a beautiful, sunny day. I was in heaven! 

After we dropped off Kade, we took the dogs for a walk in a beautiful neighborhood. It was nice to stretch out our legs.

Kade’s team played well and won both games. He was the keeper for the whole first game and then played in the field as forward or defender for the second game. 

We picked up dinner and had a beautiful drive home. I love being with Brad and the kids! It was the best day.

Game Room

 It was chore day today! We got a lot done. Brad and Ryder worked on the sprinklers and I mowed the lawn. I’m hoping the grass starts greening up soon! The grass and trees have been looking so dead but it’s slowly coming back to life. We even have some buds on the trees!

While I was working on bills in the office the kids were playing games together right by me. I joined in on a few rounds of Pictionary. I put the games, a table, and a couch in the office for this specific reason and I’m glad my vision came to fruition! It’s a fun little game room/office.

Helpful Friends

 Brad and I had a temple date planned tonight but Ryder also had a football game and Kade had soccer practice so I was having a hard time figuring out how to make everything work! Luckily a friend of mine has a son on Ryder’s team and she was willing to take Ryder to the game and bring him home. I was so thankful!

Brad and I had a great time at the temple. It was such a beautiful night!

Missionaries

 We got to have six missionaries over for dinner tonight and I loved it. They are my favorite. They’re so happy,  genuine, humble and kind and we’re grateful to have them serving here. I love the example they are to my kids and the wonderful spiritual messages they leave with us. It felt like summer today so we grilled chicken for chicken burgers and made homemade ice cream. It was so yummy!

Luke got a puzzle at piano lessons today for being a super reader! He and I did it together once and then he put it together on his own three times after that. He loves puzzles.

Co op Friends

 Today was our last day of co op for this school year. It’s crazy how fast this year went by. We’ve had so much fun with our friends and have loved this year. I had the best team teachers in Physics and I will miss them! 

After classes we had a huge pizza party and glow in the dark dance party to celebrate. The original plan was to play at the park but it rained and snowed this morning so we went with plan B and had a blast! 

We’re all so grateful for this amazing group of people we get to be with. We can’t wait for next year!

Flag Football

 We got to watch Luke play flag football tonight. He loves it and he had a lot of fun. He did a great job on defense. He almost had an interception but he did pull a lot of flags.

It was Ryder’s night tonight and he wanted to watch Lord of the Rings. I’m not so sure that Luke and Ryder are ready for these movies but the story is so good. They are into it and are loving it!

Sports

 Our last weekend of driving to two different cities for sports went well again thankfully. The boys all headed to Polson with a couple of Kade’s friends. They had to leave at 6 am but they enjoyed a beautiful drive and a beautiful venue near Flathead Lake. Kade had exciting games. The first game was very competitive. It was 2-2 and Kade was in goal and the other team shot on him with 5 seconds left but he saved it! The second game was not as competitive at all so the coach had Kade play in the field and he scored a goal! He’s number 3 in the picture below. They won that game 8-2.

Tenley and I headed to Billings for the Big Sky Volleyfest. She didn’t have to be there until 1 so we got to sleep a little longer than the boys! Her team was placed in a higher division and although they competed hard the didn’t win any sets. It was sad. But the girls still had smiles on their faces and enjoyed their time playing together. They’ve made such good friendships and it’s been so much fun to see! 

The team plays again tomorrow but Tenley and I headed home for church. It was a really late drive and we didn’t make it home until 12:30. But luckily we made it home safe and sound!