French Braids, Sunny Afternoons

I don't know how to french braid hair, but since I have a little girl I figure I better learn! Tenley isn't fond of getting her hair done but luckily she let me try it out today! She kept calling it Elsa hair and was wishing she had an Elsa dress to wear but settled on her sleeping beauty dress instead. She has very fine hair like me so it didn't stay in we'll all day but it was fun to try out anyway. 

This afternoon I tried to weed in the yard a little bit. I had asked the kids to help me and they ended up getting beach towels to lay out in the sunshine. Silly kids! 

Ryder

Ryder is a busy boy but he sure brings a lot of happiness into our home. He loves to be left on his own to explore the house. It's kinds of fun to just put him down and see where he'll choose to go and what he'll choose to get into. Today he got into the cupboards like usual but this time he happened to find the good candy! He unwrapped it himself and everything! I was impressed. We love our little Ryder!

Jumping on the Tramp

Today was a beautiful day. Sunny and over 65 degrees! The kids and I jumped on the tramp together to enjoy the sunshine. Ryder loved it. He loves being outside and is always pointing out the window and grunting (which is what he'll do when he wants something). I hope this nice weather sticks around!

Kade's Lessons

It was Kade's family night tonight and he taught us a great lesson about Easter. He asked a lot of good questions and I was impressed to hear that Tenley knew most of the answers! After his lesson we went to visit Hayden's grave. The kids shared a few good memories of him. It was nice to be there.

Easter Sunday

I love Easter Sunday! And Easter seemed to be more special this year since we studied a little bit about the life of the Savior each day the week leading up to Easter. Preparing for my talk about the grace of Christ also helped most of my thoughts this week be turned to the Savior so it was a really good week. 

I know Christ came to Earth to suffer and die for us and that He was resurrected and He now lives. I know that because of His atonement we will all live again and we can all be cleansed of our sins. I know that we can access the power of God's grace more deeply as we have faith and repent. And I know that the power of grace can heal our broken hearts, strengthen our weaknesses and transform us into our best selves.

Prophets

I went and watched the broadcast of the General Women's Meeting tonight at the church and it was great. I felt spiritually uplifted. I'm so grateful for a prophet and apostles of the Lord that teach and instruct us with knowledge for our day.

When I got home the kids were still enjoying their boy party with Brad so I got to join them and have boy party treats with them (pretzels with Nutella). It was yummy! And I can see why they like it so much. They just sit there and watch a show while Brad gets a pretzel, spreads Nutella on it, then hands it to them. What a life!

Fun Dates

The Simmons invited us on a fun triple date tonight with them and the Hayes. Kent flew us to Spokane for dinner at PF Changs and then we flew back in time to see Batman VS Superman at the movie theater. The flight was beautiful and we had a lot of fun. The kids had a lot of fun as well with their babysitters. I love going on dates with Brad but I always miss our kids when we're gone so I was so happy to hear that they had such a good time.

Bible Videos

Today has been a much better day! Tenley and I had a good morning together doing princess preschool, in the afternoon we enjoyed a trip to the grocery store and picked up sonic drinks afterward and took one to Dad at his office. Then we played Candy Land when we got home. I'm so grateful I gave most of my time to my kids! It makes me happy.

Tonight we watched some bible videos from the life of Christ. We watched The Last Supper and Gethsamane. They are all at this link: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/categories/bible-videos-chronologically?lang=eng. We've been watching a video from the Savior's last days every night this week. It's been really powerful to do this with the kids. They love it and they ask a lot of questions which I love! Some are hard to answer though, but it helps us learn too as we search for a good answer.

The video of Gethsamane filled me with a lot of gratitude for my Savior and for the atonement. I am in awe at what He was willing to go through for us. I love my Savior and I love teaching my children about Him.

Kade tied his shoe all by himself today! He's getting so big!

Soccer Practice

It's been a busy week so far. I'm speaking in church on Sunday helping out with sharing time in primary, and learning two new songs that are a bit difficult on the piano for primary as well. Whenever Ryder is sleeping I've been trying to work on all these things which means there has been too much electronic time going on for Kade and Tenley. I felt really guilty about it today, but luckily Kade's soccer practice got us out the door and into the sunshine. Ryder loves playing in the rocks and Tenley has a sweet little friend that she loves to play with too. It was a good break! And hopefully I'll be better at balancing it all tomorrow 😬.

Flowers, Turkeys

My sweet visiting teachers came to visit me today and brought me the cutest flowers. They are so happy and get me excited for spring! 

Speaking of spring, the wild turkeys are out and about in the neighborhood again. They chase the mail truck which always makes me laugh and I've been trying for a while now to catch proof of it. Brad actually got some pictures of it today on his way to work. Too funny!

Craft Day

Tenley and I got to have some fun mommy-daughter bonding time today. We did a craft at the church with some friends, went to the park, and went grocery shopping to get some yummy treats for family night. It was nice to have that time with just her. She seemed a little lonely at the park without Kade at first but she ended up really enjoying playing with another girl there. I love having girl time!

Holy Week

Today was a beautiful day! The sun was out and it was warm. The kids spent all afternoon playing outside together and never fought once. I could tell they were loving the nice weather!

I'm really excited for this week leading up to Easter. Easter is a time when we're able to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ and I'm hoping to make this as spiritual a week as possible. I hope the kids love it!

Parties with my Kids, Soccer, Nights with Dad

Brad was on a scout camp out last night so the kids and I got to have a party together. We stayed up late watching a movie and had a sleepover in my room. We had fun. 

This morning we went to Kade's first soccer game! He loved it and is excited to be playing again. He did a great job!

We were so excited when Brad got home. We had a really nice evening as a family playing games outside, grilling for dinner, and watching Indiana win their game in the NCAA tournament. Family time is the best!

Match Day

During our time in Indianapolis I became great friends with Becca. Her husband is about to graduate from medical school there and they found out today that he matched with the anesthesia program at the University of Utah which means they'll be in Spokane for the first year which is super close to us! I'm so excited that they will be so much closer and that we'll be able to see them often. Such exciting news for them and for us! They are such a great family.

St. Patrick's Day

Kade was so excited about St. Patrick's Day this year. They made a lot of crafts at school and they went on a treasure hunt! He requested a fun lunch but I hadn't planned anything before hand so I tried to make a rainbow out of some fruit. It looked like a Pinterest fail to me but the kids enjoyed it! 

The weather was nice today so we spent some time outside at the park. Ryder loves being outside! And then we had a lot of green vegetables for dinner. :)

Birthday Brad

Brad turned 34 today! He had to work all day and he had scouts tonight so we were sad that we got limited time with him. We took him cookies at work after we picked up Kade from school and took him out to lunch. We had a quick dinner with him after work/before scouts, and I let the kids stay up late so we could have cake with him when he got home. Phew! It was a crazy day! But we sure are lucky to have Brad in our lives. He is hardworking, dedicated, funny and adventurous and we love him so much. Tenley's favorite thing about Dad is that he plays games with her. Kade's favorite thing about Dad is that he plays with him. Ryder even seemed to try and make the day special by saying da-da a lot! Happy Birthday Brad!!

Kid Toys

Daylight savings time has not been fun for us this week. I keep having to wake the kids up every morning and we're all pretty tired when we do get out of bed for the day. I've never understood the need for daylight savings time, but what can you do?

This morning as I was getting the kids' breakfast ready while they slept it was too quiet for me so Kade's pile of neatly positioned toys on the table made me smile! He loves his Legos and action figures.

This afternoon the kids decided to do some weeding! I love that they think it's fun!

Spring and Sunshine

Spring seems to be on its way! The hills are green and plants are blooming. It is beautiful! The windy day prevented us from thoroughly enjoying the beautiful sun but I was able to sit inside and read in the sunshine which was nice and relaxing.

Tonight was Brad's night and he taught us a great lesson on Easter and shared some wonderful Easter videos from Mormon.org. Ryder was rockin' out to the Hallelujah Chorus! It was adorable!