My Dad, Yard Work, Kade’s Dates

It was my Dad’s birthday today and his last day of work! Luckily my brother lives near and was able to celebrate his retirement and birthday with him! I’m so excited for him to enjoy this next fun phase of life. He worked so hard for so many years. He’s the best Dad and he deserves this!

 It was a beautiful day today so we were able to get a lot of yard work done. I cleaned out the garden beds and the kids and Brad dig holes for the sprinklers. It was hard work but it felt good to get it all accomplished! Brad planted seed in the dirt surrounding our new patio so hopefully soon we’ll start seeing grass grow there. 

Kade went on a fun date with friends tonight. They picked crazy ingredients out at the grocery store and then went to a friends house to make dinner with it. Then they played a lot of games. He has such fun friends.

Co op Showcase

 We celebrated the end of the year of co op tonight! It was a fun celebration down at the church. We got to see all the kids’ projects, hear some of them sing, and eat dinner together. We have such a great group of families! The kids had such a great year.

This morning was so nice that the boys decided to do school outside. I love our patio!

Acts of Service, Walks

 Luke was sad this afternoon and Tenley went out to the tramp where he was pouting and cheered him up. Afterwards Luke came back in the house and went straight downstairs to make Tenley a bracelet out of pipe cleaner. It was so sweet to see the two of them serve each other.

We were able to get out for a walk after dinner. My favorite thing ever!

Travel Volleyball

 It’s Tenley’s last week of travel volleyball but the team is making the most of it. They had practice last night and a party tonight! She’s had so much fun with her friends and it will be a fun time this weekend in Billings!

Kade’s Choir

We got to go to a special choir concert for Kade tonight. It was in a nice church and their voices sounded beautiful. Last week he tried out for the highest choir at his high school and made it! He lives being apart of choir and I love going to his concerts.

Also, the sun was shining bright today so Luke came for a walk with me! 

Days with My Kids

 Travel sports split our family up again today. Brad and Kade headed to Kalispell for soccer. They had warmer weather there than we had here. Kade loved playing and they won both of their games. They’ve been having a great season!

Tenley and I headed to Helena for volleyball with Ryder and Luke. It was cold but the boys and I still got to play some football on the fancy turf field in between watching Tenley play. Ryder made a field goal! That was fun to see. He tried several times and was really excited to see his kick finally go through the uprights. Tenley’s team played pretty well. Tenley always does great and she’s so much fun to watch! But the team lost in the first round of the gold bracket. But that did mean we were able to head home earlier than normal! We went out to dinner together, cleaned Brad’s office, and started a movie together tonight. I love hanging out with my kids!

Branding Part 2

 It is still freezing! I keep checking the weather to see if there are warm days ahead and luckily there is warm, sunny weather in the forecast! Brad, Kade, and Tenley went out to help with branding again at the Giles ranch. They had a good time! Ryder, Luke and I stayed back this time and got a good deep cleaning done on the house. I think my older kids wish we were ranchers!

Tenley’s Help

 It turned so cold again. We woke up to frost in the house and snow on the distant mountains. And more wind… I think I hate being cold. But we are lucky to have a warm house and warm clothes. 

The boys got to run some errands with me this morning. We took Ryder to the orthodontist and then we went to get the car tires rotated. We made it home before Tenley had even woken up! I’m always amazed by how long she can sleep. She was so helpful with the boys when she was awake though. She helped Ryder with his math and piano while I helped Luke. And she was so patient. I was so thankful for her help. 

Luke had a football game tonight in the frigid weather. I’m seriously wondering if spring sports are worth participating in here in Montana! But he played his heart out and had fun!

Gifts from My Boys

 Ryder and Luke had activity days tonight. This is the one year they get to do it together because Ryder will be in young men’s next year. They love going and they have some great leaders! Tonight they painted flower pots for me for Mother’s Day and even planted flowers in them! I love my gift and the thought they both put into it!

Dogs

 I had always considered myself a dog lover before becoming a parent. We had an Alaskan malamute named Kodiak growing up and I loved him. I’d take him on runs with me a lot. He was a good dog. But lately the dogs we do have are stressing me out. They bark, they stink, they ruin my house with all their hair, and they need a lot of attention! I have five human beings also in need of my attention so adding two dogs to the mix is a lot!

But then Luke and I went on a walk tonight and he tied Ozzy to his scooter and was giggling and laughing the whole time! He had so much fun with Ozzy. Our dogs really do make our kids happy. So today, I’m a dog lover again.

70 Degrees

 It was the most beautiful day today! I enjoyed being outside as much as I possibly could. I’m just realizing that when we have some furniture on our new patio we’ll be able to have school out there! That will be a dream. I love being outside when the weather is nice. I took Keena for a walk, watched Luke’s football practice, and cheered on Ryder at his football game. We should get another day like this tomorrow and then the weather will probably turn cold again. We’ll enjoy it as much as we can!

The Backyard

 We’ve been enjoying our pergola in the backyard even though it isn’t fully finished yet and we have yet to buy furniture for it. The boys played football on it before church and all the kids played outside tonight as the sun was setting. I can’t wait to make a lot of memories in the backyard! 

Safe Travels

 Tenley and I left this morning at 5:15 am to make it to Butte for her first volleyball game of the tournament and Brad and all the boys left at 5:40 to get to Billings for Kade soccer games. We both got home after 9 pm! Such crazy long days but I’m so glad that we all traveled safely!

Tenley has a bad cold but she powered through and played the best she could. She and her team made it all the way to the gold bracket but then last two round in. I had fun hanging out with Tenley and walking around the track at the school. It was beautiful weather today!

Kades games went great and they won both! Ryder and Luke were good and got to play a lot of football. 

Luke’s Trailmix

 Brad and Kade were supposed to go fishing on the Missouri today but it was a snowy and cold day so they had to postpone their fun adventure. They’ll hopefully be able to go in a few weeks if the weather cooperates! 

We enjoyed family time instead, cleaning the office and getting yummy sodas at the soda shop. Kade and Tenley got to go to the Temple with the ward tonight so the rest of us had a pizza movie night at home. The boys even popped popcorn. It was a fun party! And then we got to bed as early as possible because we all have really early mornings tomorrow traveling all over Montana for sports! The boys got all of their snacks and meals packed for tomorrow and Luke came up with an interesting trail mix; pretzels, goldfish, cheeze it’s, and chocolate chips! Haha

Movies and Flag Football

 Thursdays are the best! And today was really good. It was so quiet and peaceful while the kids worked on school today. I love it when it’s like that. I think they were so focused because they knew that when we were done we would get to go to the movies. Motivation is always helpful. 

We all went to see Project Hail Mary this afternoon when Brad and Kade got home. It was such a good movie! I’m glad we went to see it at the theater. But it was really disappointing to get there and find out that the popcorn machine wasn’t working! But the kids still got a soda at least.

After the movie we headed to the football field for Luke’s first game of the season. It was freezing! But he played hard and couldn’t wait to get home to warm up. Ryder’s game was a few hours after that so it was even colder! It was below freezing with light snow falling. Montana spring weather is so unpredictable. But he played hard at well! I hope it’s sunny at their next game!

Clean Teeth

 Ryder, Luke and I had dental appointments really early this morning! The boys did a great job sitting still for their cleanings. And they felt pretty special to be able to leave with a new toothbrush and a toy! Haha. They only ever get a toy after an appointment so it means something to them. The little boys always make me smile!

Patio Progress

 I have been wanting a pergola in our backyard for a really long time and we finally decided that now was the time. I love the company we chose. They do such amazing work! They started over the weekend and they’ve already made so much progress. It looks so good and I’m so excited to use it this summer!

BYUI Choir

 The BYU Idaho choir is on tour and one of their stops was here in Great Falls! We all went to see them preform and it was such a great concert with uplifting messages and inspiring songs.

Spring Sports

 We are in the thick of spring sports for all four of the kids right now. Ryder and Luke had flag football practices this week and games start next week, Tenley is still going strong with volleyball and Kade had his first soccer games of the season today. Luckily the weather has been nice so we can enjoy the outdoor games and practices. Kade has a great soccer team! They won both games. The games were here in town which I always love. 

I’m glad the kids enjoy playing sports so much because we really enjoy watching them play! 

The Helena Temple

 Brad and I got to escape to the temple today. It really does feel like an escape from the stress of life and I love it. One year ago this month I committed to make going to the temple a consistent priority in our lives and it has been such a blessing. It’s isn’t easy but it’s so worth it. I hope we continue this habit forever! I love what I heard someone say once, you don’t leave the temple to get back to the real world, you go to the temple to remember the real world. This life is a temporary preparation state for a wonderful eternity.

Missionaries

 I received a fun and exciting phone this morning. Elder Petty called to tell me that he was coming back to Great Falls for his next transfer! He won’t be serving in our ward but he wanted to come say hi. We got to have him and his new companion over for dinner tonight. It was so good to see him again!! His companion Elder Taff is a great missionary too. We’ve been so lucky to have so many great missionaries serve in Great Falls and to be able to get to know them all. They’re hard working, dedicated young people. I love hearing them share their testimonies and I love the example they are for my kids.

Elder Despain

 We’re losing another great Elder! Elder Despain has been serving in our ward for 3 months now and has been awesome. Kade really gets along with him and they were taking down cattle together on Monday. But he’s headed off to a new area tomorrow. He came over for a quick goodbye tonight. We will miss him!!

Social Time

 We were back at co op today after a week off for Spring Break. The kids were so excited to be back with friends! Luke also got to bring something for show and tell for his class. He chose one of his kiwi co projects. His classmates thought it was awesome. And then after co op Luke and Ryder got to go to Otto’s house to hang out all afternoon which they always love. It was such a good day!

Cattle Branding

 Our Stake President invited us to his home with the missionaries in our area to help with cattle branding. It was our first time being apart of something like that and we all had a great time time! Tenley helped give them vaccines, Kade helped hold them down, and Ryder and Luke tried to ride them! It was a fun adventure and we feel a little more like true Montanas now! And it’s always great to be with the Giles and the missionaries. Such great people!