Brad’s Projects

 Brad and I got to go to the temple this morning. Ryder and Luke came with us and we all went to Costco afterwards. I can’t believe how much they love Costco samples! 

When we got back Brad started into his projects! Preparations for his Christmas lights are underway. He is welding Christmas trees out of rebar. I’m sure they’ll look amazing. 

Kade is taking an AP US history class this year and his teacher lectured the whole hour on the events and history of 9.11. Kade was fascinated. I’m sure it was more than Brad and I have ever really shared with him. Brad, Tenley, Kade and I got to talk about it more tonight as well. It was a good conversation of hope and unity through difficult.

Luke’s Morning Routine

 It’s been a busy week with co op and piano starting again. Our mornings have not been as free as they used to be. So Luke was excited this morning to hear that he was able to do his morning routine! He feeds the dogs, eats breakfast, gets dressed and brushes his teeth, and then takes the dogs for a walk. Today he and Ryder actually rode their bikes while I walked the dogs and they decided to go around the big, BIG block. It was a beautiful morning and I loved Luke’s morning routine as well! 

Kade and Tenley got home from their sports practices and then quickly left to go to the football game. They are so busy!

Family Dinner

The transition to school this fall has been tough! It’s weird having Kade and Tenley gone all day until dinner time. I think Tenley has had to go through the hardest transition. She was staying up late and sleeping in and her days were very low key. Now she’s gone before 7 am and home after 6 pm. And then has homework to complete! It’s a lot. But she’s handling it all with a lot of poise and she’s loving all the friend time she’s getting. Kade has been enjoying that too. But we miss them! We did all get to have dinner together tonight, though, and that made me so happy!

Game Night

Ryder, Luke and I had co op this morning! It’s crazy to be back after having the summer off but the boys were so excited about it. And they had a lot of fun!

Kade and Tenley both had games in town today so we got to cheer them both on at their games! Brad was able to leave work early which was so nice. Kade’s team looks a lot better! They’re definitely improving even though they lost their game today. 

Tenley’s team played great and they swept their opponents! Tenley had some great kills and serves. She’s doing a great job!

Labor Day

 It was so nice to have a long weekend together! All Kade and Tenley really wanted to do today though was sleep in. Luckily they go to so that. Last week was long and their bodies are still trying to get used to the school schedule. Hopefully they’ll get there soon!

Tenley wants to update her room. I think she’s transitioning from my little girl to a young lady. It’s crazy! She had AI help her design it and we spent some time shopping today to get it updated. I think she’ll love it!

We all got to go out to dinner tonight. It was nice to have a night out. I remembered to snap a picture in the car wash!

Dinner with the Giles

 We got to go to Fairfield for dinner tonight with our stake president and his family. He’s a rancher and he marinated some delicious steaks that he shared with us tonight. They were so flavorful and tender! It was delicious! And I love being with them and their family. Their son has some boys Luke’s age and Luke loved running around with them.

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.