I made the new calendar for September and we have a busy month ahead! It’s filled with a lot of fun sports though so I’m excited! I’m sad that I won’t make it to every sporting event but the kids will be having fun regardless of if I’m there or not I’m sure.
Tonight Brad and I went to a dinner with people from his church calling. It was fun to socialize and eat good food!
The boys and I started school again today! It was really nice to have a schedule again. We started working on things inside but then Luke wanted to have school outside. It was great weather and we enjoyed it. The boys would rather be free but they actually did a pretty good job focusing and getting the work done. We practiced the piano and read books as well! We felt very accomplished. I hope every day goes so well!
Ty spoke in church today and gave such a great report about his mission and such a good talk about immersing yourself in the gospel and not letting other things take the gospel’s place in our life. He has matured so much and it was so so good to be there. We got to see a lot ot the Hobson’s as well and enjoyed a delicious steak taco meal with everyone. We left after eating to try and make it home before 10. The whole trip was less than 24 hours but it was definitely worth it to give Ty a hug. We love him! He’s Kade’s closest cousin and I’m glad we were able to make it down there.
Ryder and Tenley both had two games today but luckily they were both in town. Ryder enjoyed playing competitive soccer and he did well. We had to split up so Brad was at his games and didn’t take any photos. Tenley had a blast playing volleyball and her team did well. Tenley had some amazing serves! She had at least nine aces. We stopped keeping track. I was so proud of her!
Her game ended at 6 and we ran home to get the boys and head to Idaho Falls so we could finally welcome Ty home from his mission. It was a long drive but it was worth it to see Ty again!!
It’s sad to have Kade and Tenley gone on freedom Fridays. Friday doesn’t feel so free anymore. We went for a walk this morning and the boys rode their bikes. When we got home Brad got to work on his projects. He changed the thermostat in the boat and it seems to be working better than it was before! Yay. I’m hoping we can take it out at least one more time this year. The he finished putting up the new Govee lights. He had to get creative with getting the lights up on the highest point of the roof. He decided to put a ladder on top of the shed. I did not like this idea at all. I left to pick Tenley up from volleyball and got a call from Ryder on Brad’s phone. He sounded frantic and then hung up. As I was calling him back I thought something must have happened to Brad and I was freaking out. But no, this was Brad’s idea of a funny prank. He just wanted to scare me. It was not funny. But I am definitely grateful that he’s ok and the project is now done! It looks great!
Ryder was a huge help to Brad with the projects and Luke worked on his own space project inside.
Kade and his team had their first game of the season tonight! It was fun to see them all play so hard! They lost but I think they learned a lot.
I think Kade and Tenley both had a great day at school. Tenley’s life has definitely changed a lot. She came home with a lot of homework. But she’s loving all the positive things about school so that’s good!
I dropped Tenley off at High School this morning! That was crazy but she was excited so it made it easier for me. She actually had a really great day too! She has friends in most of her classes and she always has volleyball practice to look forward to which is her favorite so she’s happy!
Kade didn’t have to be at school until 11:30 so he met up with some friends at McDonald’s for breakfast. He had a great day too!
Ryder got to go to Starbase and learn about space and science with friends today. He loved it.
So that left Luke and I at home! The quiet in the house was crazy and I was missing my kids but Luke and I had a lot of fun together. We took the dogs to the park and had lunch with Brad. Luke was so happy and fun even though he was wishing he had been old enough to go to Starbase with Ryder.
Kade and Tenley finally made it home at 6! They have long days away from us during soccer/volleyball season. It was fun to catch up with them tonight and hear about their days. That was my favorite part.
Tenley and I went to the high school again today to take care of a few things. We also found her locker and walked her schedule one more time. I think she’s ready to go!
I ran all the kids around tonight, Tenley to volleyball practice, Ryder to soccer practice. Kade was gone at soccer practice and then to a movie with friends. Brad has meetings at the church. But finally just before 10 we were all together enjoying homemade popcorn and a show before sending the kids to bed for the first day of school tomorrow! I hope they have a great day!
Kade and Tenley’s high school had an open house
We got to spoil Kade a little bit more for his birthday today. I made him his favorite home cooked meal and dessert. We had chicken cord on bleu, air fried potatoes, caesar salad, and fresh rolls for dinner and snickerdoodle cookies for dessert. We love our Kade!
The talks in sacrament meeting were so good today. They were focused on charity, meekness, and selflessness which are perfect things for me to think about as we head into another year of homeschooling with Ryder and Luke. It’s time to dedicate most of my time to them and they’re definitely worth it. I’ll be missing Kade and Tenley like crazy but I’m excited for them as well. Brad gave each of us a blessing tonight for the school year and we all appreciated it. I hope it’s a great week!
We put a simple table out on the patio today for Kade’s friend party tonight. I love the way it looks! Luke was excited to eat lunch out there. Kade and I set up the projector screen as well so they could watch a movie out there. I think he’s having a fun time with his friends partying in the backyard!
Tenley, Ryder, and Luke got to go the Budenbender’s today to float the river and watch a movie. They had a blast!
Brad and I spent the evening putting up his new Govee lights. I sat on the ladder so it wouldn’t slip and read a book while he took care of getting the lights up. We made a pretty good team!
Kade turned 17 years old today! It’s crazy how much he looks like a man and how mature he is. But I’m so grateful for the person he is becoming. Brad was talking to his friend whose daughter was recently on a date with Kade and she came home and told her parents what a gentleman he was to her and how he would open doors for her. I was so happy to hear that! He has a good heart. We’re so grateful for him.
He started his day off with soccer practice and then I made him sourdough waffles for breakfast. Brad is usually the one that makes the waffles and I overlooked some important directions and ended up adding 3 cups of sugar when it should have been 3 tablespoons! Yikes. The waffles were way too sweet. But we did enjoy the sugary treat!
Then all the boys loaded up to go boating. Tenley and I had to stay back because she has volleyball practice that afternoon. When they got on the lake something went very wrong with the boat. It was smoking and taking on water. They got off the lake immediately and had to come home. It was sad. But Brad is a Mr. Fix-It so I’m sure he’ll figure out the problem and get it working soon.
The rest of the day went a lot better than the first half. We took him out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and Brad let him order a 28 oz porterhouse t-bone. It was huge but he enjoyed it and ate the whole thing! We opened presents and watched a movie when we got home. We had homemade waffle bowls with cold stone ice cream for dessert. Yum!
We had a parent meeting for Tenley’s volleyball team and then we got to watch them scrimmage! It was so fun to see her play with her new team. It was a really short scrimmage but it was still a lot of fun!
This morning I could tell Luke was sad. When I asked him why he told me that he was sad that he had to fold his clothes and put them away. I said, “I bet it will take you less than five minutes to get your clothes folded.” He said, “Do you bet me cookies?” I said yes and he ran to get his clothes folded. It ended up taking him eight minutes so I lost the bet and had to make him cookies tonight! But honestly that was the easiest way to get him to fold his clothes without a fight. It was totally worth it!
And speaking of food, Ryder made a delicious lunch of grilled ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches and chocolate Frappuccinos for Kade, Tenley, and himself. It looked delicious and it was so sweet of him!
With Kade, Tenley, and Ryder all in sports right now we are running around like crazy and Luke gets to tag along with me! After Luke and I dropped Ryder off at soccer practice we went to the high school for Kade’s soccer parent meeting and to pick up Tenley from volleyball practice. Brad had meetings at the church tonight which is why he wasn’t able to help. When we got to the high school we had a few moments before the meeting and Luke ran around chasing squirrels. He also tried to feed them his pretzels but they weren’t willing to come out of the tree for that.
Tenley found out today that she made the Freshman volleyball team! I was really excited for her! She’s very excited and grateful to be on a team and to be able to play with her friends. It was a long weekend of tryouts but she’s glad to know that she’s on a team moving forward.
Ryder had his first soccer practice tonight for Rush. He really liked his coach and his teammates and he’s excited for this season!
Our church is normally at noon but I went to church with Brad at 9 because he was helping to reorganize a bishopric in that ward. Kade came with me but the other kids wanted to sleep in and go to our own ward. Luke especially didn’t want to miss primary with his friends and his favorite teacher Brother Crook! Luke even sent me a text while I was gone to show me that he got himself all ready for church! It was so cute!
After Brad’s long day of church responsibilities he came home and played Mario Kart with the boys. Our Stake President had talked with us recently about worrying that our kids will have hard feelings toward Brad’s calling and the fact that he’s often gone. But Brad does a really good job about trying to be present when he’s home and still make time for them.
Luke really wants an RC car that he found on Amazon. His current car isn’t fast enough to keep up with Ryder’s and Kade’s so he did some research and found one that is fast enough. The only problem is that it’s $90. We told him he could ask for it for Christmas. The next day he told me again that he really wants it before Christmas so I told him he could ask his Dad if there’s something he could do to earn it. He asked Brad and Brad and I thought about it and finally came up with a deal. We told him if he could do the dinner dishes every night for 8 weeks then he’d be able to earn the car. He agreed! Brad printed out a calendar with a picture of a car on the day he’d earn it. He hung it on the fridge and is pretty excited about it right now! I hope the excitement lasts! He happily did all the dinner dishes tonight!
Kade has been learning one of my favorite piano songs, “Clair de lune.” I love hearing him practice it every day. It’s so beautiful and he’s getting so good at it!
Brad and I got to go to the temple tonight which was such a good experience. And the kids had a party together which they loved!
Ryder and Luke woke up earlier than normal today so they decided to join me for my workout! I loved having them join me. They did a great job and we had a lot of fun. They also helped me weed the garden which was hard work. But they did a great job. And we got it all done before Kade and Tenley even woke up for the day! Those two have been loving staying up late to watch a movie and eat popcorn. It will end soon so I’ve been letting them live it up while they can.
The kids and I tried a new ice cream place today and it was so delicious! Summertime is the best and it must include delicious ice cream with fresh waffle cones! I’m glad we got it in finally. We have a few more fun things to squeeze into summer still and it’s going by too fast!
We bought a new freezer so we could hold all the fish the boys caught. Luke and Ryder helped me organize it today. I love organizing and they were great helpers! When we were done they got to enjoy a popsicle!
We had Brad and Kade’s freshly caught salmon for dinner tonight. Brad grilled it for us and even though I’ve never loved fish I thought it was delicious! We all enjoyed it.
Tenley found a fun new hobby of painting nails! My sister in law Hailey told me all the things she needs to create her own beautiful fake nails and it all arrived in the mail yesterday. She spent most of the day in her room designing her nail set. They look amazing! She is so creative!
