Football Season

 Kade was in Belgrade today at a soccer game but Tenley was here in town for a volleyball game. It was sad for us not to be able to see both games! But we stayed here in town to watch Tenley’s game and they played great! They swept the team!

Kade’s game was tough. I got a few messages from other parents about it. I guess the refs were awful and hardly called any fouls. And when fouls aren’t called the boys just play more and more rough. They lost 0-2 and they were all frustrated. I hope the team has a good game soon!

We picked up pizza for dinner and watched BYU football tonight! We love football season and it’s fun to be able to watch our favorite team play again.

Freedom Friday

 Ryder and Luke were so excited to hear that we still get Fridays free from school! Instead we went to the lake and Kade even came with us! Tenley felt like she had too much school work to catch up on so she went to school. 

Brad wanted to see if all his work on the boat got it fixed and it did! The boat worked great. We even drove it all the way through the gates and to Upper Holter without any problems. Kade wakeboarded and skied with his go-pro on his wrist. I’m excited to see how those videos turn out. It was a beautiful day and it may have been our last boating day of the season. I’m glad it went so well!

Kade and Tenley went to the high school football game tonight. It was Tenley’s first game in the student section and it was such a blast! Our team was down by 4 but on 4th down with seconds left they scored a touchdown! It was pretty exciting and they had so much fun!

Volleyball, Crosstown Soccer

 Tenley had her first travel game with the volleyball team. She had to leave school early and she got to party with her friends on the bus ride to Helena. The Freshman B team doesn’t travel so when the A teams is away they play the opposing teams A and B team. She said they swept them both! She had a blast cheering on the JV and Varsity teams as well. I’m so glad she’s having fun!

Kade’s team played the crosstown rival game tonight at Memorial Stadium. It was a beautiful night. I love watching them play at Memorial Stadium! The ended in a tie at 0-0.

Wind Storms

 The boys and I have been enjoying getting into a routine. We have breakfast and then go for a walk every morning. I will be sad when winter sets in. We may just have to bundle up and keep the tradition going!

This afternoon a crazy windstorm blew through. The winds got up to 80 mph! The boys enjoyed running around in it. Thankfully we didn’t lose anything or have any trees break. Our basketball hoop is still standing as well!

September

 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!

Back to School

 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

 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.

Soccer and Volleyball Games

 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!!

Brad’s Projects

 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. 

Rustler Soccer

 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!

First Day of School

 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. 

The Night Before School

 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!

Rustler Round Up

 Kade and Tenley’s high school had an open house

night tonight. I got to walk Tenley’s schedule with her which was fun. I think she’s going to have a great year! They both will. They both got to stand up and represent their sports teams as well, Kade with soccer and Tenley with volleyball. I’m glad they get to be together going to seminary, school, sports, and then finally back home again.

Birthday Weekends

 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!

Lunch on the Patio

 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’s 17th Birthday

 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!