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!

Freshman Volleyball

 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!

Bets with Luke, Ryder’s Cooking

 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!

Squirrels

 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. 

Soccer for Ryder and High School Volleyball

 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! 

Mario Kart

 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’s Goals

 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!

Clair de lune

 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!

Workout Buddies

 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.

Ice Cream

 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!

Popsicles

 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!

Fresh Salmon

 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. 

Nail Art

 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!

Fridays at the Lake

 We took the boat out as a family today. I love the lake on Friday! I think the smoky air kept a lot of people away today as well. The water was smooth and there were hardly any other boats there! We had such a great time! I will miss these days when school starts.

A Box

 Brad bought a new freezer for us on his way home from fishing in Canada so we’d have enough room to freeze all his fish. Kade and I opened the box today and Ryder and Luke were so excited to use the box to make a fort. They’ve colored the inside and cut a window on the top so they can stick their heads out once in a while. They’ve been having a lot of fun with it. I love that a box can be so entertaining!

Kade took all the kids to the new Spider-Man movie today. They’ve been begging to go and they were so excited to be able to see it! They had so much fun together.

Everyone Home

 It was so nice to have everyone at home today! The kids were happy to be together and played together a lot. It’s nice to see everyone to hear everyone’s laughs. I’m just so happy to be back together as a family! I’m grateful for the adventures we’ve had but being together is the best.

Pizza Ranch

 Tenley was hugely disappointed in the food at FSY last week. She hardly ate anything. She practically begged me to take her to the pizza ranch buffet for dinner tonight. Luckily it was her night to choose dinner so we did end up going to Pizza Ranch! The kids loved it. They even had an ice machine there and Ryder made a pretty perfect soft serve swirl. 

Video Calls

 We traveled back home today and had to say goodbye to the Murdocks. We got to go to church with them which was nice and our road trip home went really well. It’s nice to be back home with the dogs.

Brad video chatted with us tonight. It was so good to see him and Kade and all the other boys! He took us on a tour of the floating lodge. The sun was setting and it was so beautiful.

Tenley

 We got Tenley back today! It’s so good to have her back with us. It was fun to hear all about FSY in person from her, Elly, and JT. 

We helped the Murdocks hang their basketball hoop in their gym. Well, we didn’t really help, but we watched! It was a big project but they got it done! We got to hang out with Cannon and cuddle with Rooke all day too.

Brad and Kade caught a lot of fish and are having so much fun!

Safe Travels

 Brad, Kade, all of his brothers and his Dad finally made it to their fishing grounds. It took a lot longer than they expected it would to get there. Because of the weather they weren’t able to fly the small plane to the lodge so they weren’t able diverted to the other side of the island and took a bus and a boat ride instead. They finally had dinner after 10 pm! I hope tomorrow is a better day for them! 

Tenely had a great last day at FSY. I can’t wait to see her tomorrow! And Ryder, Luke and I made it to Idaho Falls! 

Adventures for the Kids

 My little family is spread out in three different places right now. Tenley is still at BYU and Brad and Kade left for Canada this morning. It was a long drive for them but they made in time for dinner and to walk around the city and see the World Cup venue with Kyle and Max. I think they’re having a great time!

Tenley must have been really busy today because I didn’t get to hear from her very much. But from what she did say it was a good day!

Ryder, Luke and I had a good day as well. They had their last soccer game tonight and they rocked it! Ryder kicked a cross to Luke and Luke scored a goal! It was such a fun season having them on the same team!