Soccer and Piano Recitals

 Kade’s state soccer tournament is this weekend here in Great Falls. He had a game at 7:30 this morning and at 7:30 tonight. It was a weird schedule. We had a lot of fun cheering him on even though it was so cold! The team won the first game and unfortunately lost the second game. 

The kids all had their end of the year piano recital this morning and Tenley also played her flute. Tenley, Ryder, and Luke had all practiced their songs 100 times! Kade practiced a lot as well and they all sounded so good! They got to play at the history museum on a 1925 chickering 9 foot piano. It was beautiful! Luke got a flower for graduating from book one of Suzuki!

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.