Stake Camp

 Kade and Tenley both left for stake camp today. I took Kade up a few hours early because he’s a youth leader, or a part of the ‘hype squad,’ and he needed to be there early to prepare for all the campers. He’ll be great at hyping people up! They both seemed really excited for the week! It’s going to be hot and there isn’t a lot of shade where they’ll be, but there is a river close by so that should be refreshing. Kade fit all of hi gear in or on top of his overnight backpack. It was really heavy! I will miss my big kids a lot! They don’t even have their phones with them and I think that will be harder on me than it will be for them. I love being able to check in on them all the time.

Ryder, Luke and I had fun tonight. Luke broke his cleats at his soccer game last night so we went to the store and bought him some new cleats. When we got home the boys set up the soccer net and practiced. Brad had interviews and meeting tonight so the boys and I watched a movie.

Ryder and Luke

 Ryder and Luke had another soccer game tonight and they rocked it! Ryder scored three goals against and Luke scored two! They both played so hard and were exhausted by the end of the game. It was so impressive to see Luke score against such big kids. I was proud of them both! Ryder was making plays we’ve been seeing in the World Cup like passing to the keeper so he can kick it across the field and passing good crosses. It was fun to watch them play!

Boring Routines

 It’s good to be home! As much as we miss being with family and being in vacation mode, I love our boring routine and it’s good to be back to it. The first thing Luke did this morning was pick out a new kiwi co project to work on. He made a pinball machine today and he loves it. Tenely had volleyball this morning and Kade had soccer practice. Ryder and Luke had soccer practice tonight. We got some laundry and grocery shopping done. It was all boring but it feels good to be home.

250th Anniversary of America

 I’ve always loved the 4th of July! It was such a great day celebrating our Independence and freedom! Kade and I ran the 5k with some of the family and then we met up with everyone at the parade. It was sunny and hot at the parade but it was a fun parade and the kids enjoyed all the freebies and candy. 

We had a great BBQ after that with lots of friends and family. It was delicious and fun to hang out with everyone.

Then we headed to the firework show. The show was incredible! It was a great day celebrating. We’re so grateful for family and freedom.

White Water Rafting

 We made it to Idaho Falls last night and we’re excited to celebrate Independence Day with family! We started off the weekend with white water rafting down the Hoback on the Snake River. It was beautiful! Ryder and Luke were nervous at first but they ended up loving it. We had some great rapids, found some cliffs to jump, and had a nice picnic. It was so much fun.

We spent the night on their patio watching fireworks light up the sky. It finally feels like summer!

Sunsets

 Tenley had volleyball camp from 9 am to 3:30 pm. When I picked her up she was exhausted! I don’t think she ate enough food today. After she came home, showered and ate she was back to her old self. But she definitely loved camp!

We had our Elders over for dinner tonight. They are both leaving our ward tomorrow! We will miss them!

Futbol

 We have been having so much fun watching the World Cup everyday! We hope America lasts a long time. We also got to watch Ryder and Luke play tonight. They played well! Ryder scored three goals for a hat trick. It was exciting. Luke is the youngest on the team and playing with kids a lot older and bigger than him but he also did such a great job as a forward and as a defender. I’m excited to watch their growth this season!

Tenley was my hero tonight. I had to leave to take the boys to soccer in the middle of making dinner so she stayed and finished making it for me. It was a more complicated recipe but she did a great job and it was delicious!

Browning Branch Conference

 We traveled with Brad up to Browning for their branch conference today. The drive was beautiful and the service was really nice as well. Brad gave a great message about living a simple life that I really appreciated. We stayed for second hour and for a potluck after that. The people are so down to earth and humble and we all learned a lot from being there. Tenley was one of two young women and she had to speak up a lot. It was a great drive and I was happy to be together as a family.

Celebrations

 Brad paid off all of his student loan debt a few months ago! It was really exciting! Our accountant sent us a gift card to a yummy steakhouse to celebrate. We finally used it tonight and it was delicious! We bought some ice cream on the way home to celebrate with the kids.

Summer Storms

 We had a thunder storm roll in this afternoon and it was fun to be outside as it came closer. The boys played on the trampoline until it started to rain on them.

Luke got his boy party treats tonight like he does every weekend. We consider Thursday night a weekend night since Brad doesn’t work on Fridays. Luke also said he should change the name of the treat to weekend treats. 

We also enjoyed watching USA soccer tonight. The World Cup has been so much fun to watch!

Goals

 Luke used AI for his first time ever. He had seen Tenley use it to get a workout plan for volleyball so he decided to ask AI if it’s possible for an 8 year to play in the NBA someday. AI told him that it’s absolutely possible! And then he asked AI for drills he can work on to improve his skills. He printed the drills out and got to work! It’s fun to see him pursuing a goal!

Blondie

 Brad calls Tenley blondie a lot because of her beautiful blonde hair, but I guess it just wasn’t blonde enough for Tenley! She asked to get some blonde highlights. So I took her to the hair school in town and let her get some blonde highlights. It looks beautiful on her! The stylist did a great job and Tenley is really happy with it. She looks so grown up now which makes me sad. She’s such a beautiful young woman and more than that she’s smart, down to earth, and kind. We’re so lucky to have her.

Home

 It is so good to be home! The crowds and the traffic wore us down even though we loved our trip. But we also really love home, our beds, and home cooked meals. It was good to have all of those things today. 

St. Louis City Museum

 We got an early start this morning so we could see the Gateway arch before heading to the City Museum. The kids tried to recreate a picture Brad had done when he was here with his family over 20 years ago. 

We got to the city museum just as it opened and spent two hours together exploring everything. The slides were so fun! The huge organ in the cave room sounded so cool. And the outside park was a lot of fun to explore as well. Most of us got tired after a few hours but Luke never stopped exploring until we made him. He had a blast following every maze and trail he could find. 

After the city museum we made our way back to Chicago. We fly home tomorrow! It’s been a great trip! We had Chicago deep dish pizza tonight and the kids all said that Cedar Point was their favorite part of the trip. I think it was mine too even though I’m not the biggest fan of roller coaster rides. I’m grateful for all the good memories we made together!