April

This past month was really busy, but so much fun! This past weekend was the first weekend of the month that we didn't travel. It was nice to be home, but I'm also so grateful for all the fun memories we made this past month as a family. I love traveling and having adventures!

Good Examples

I went to a stake Relief Society activity this morning and was able to hear my sister-in-law Heidi speak about rising up in strength. She is one amazing, strong, and courageous person. She has been through a lot in her life, most recently losing her 17 year old son, and I sat there completely awe struck as she talked about that experience with such grace and faith and shared how we can get through hard times in our own lives. It was a great meeting. It made me feel so grateful for my family. All of my family. Each individual in my family has had their own share of struggles and trials, but they all keep on moving forward in life trying to find joy amidst the grief. They all keep their perspective and know that this life isn't the end, and that there are much brighter days ahead that are worth sticking around for. The all impress me so much and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such stalwart and brave people who make me a better person.

Heidi and I happened to be twins today :)

Warm, Sunny Days

After picking up Kade from school today neither me or the kids wanted to go inside. The sun was shining and it felt so warm! We stayed outside and played. Tenley wanted to lay on her towel in the grass and she said it felt like we were at beach without the sand and the water. Silly girl. Kade had fun drawing Megalodon with chalk. And Ryder wouldn't stop shooting baskets. He loves playing basketball and he's pretty good at getting his shots in. My kids make life so much fun!

Unplugged Time, The Scriptures

Our power went out last night just as I was about to write a new post and stayed out until after we went to bed, so I never got to it. Ironically, I was going to post about how grateful I am for unplugged time. Ryder had been very insistent all afternoon that I play with him and he always makes sure that I have his full attention so I don't get distracted. We had fun playing with cars and toys and jumping on the tramp. He is one fun little guy to hang out with! The evening with Brad and no possible way to watch T.V. or really even be on my phone because the battery was low, made me appreciate unplugged time even more! It's nice to be free of electronics sometimes.

Tonight we finished reading the Book of Mormon as a family! Last January Kade had asked when we would finish it so we've been reading a few pages most every night to reach the goal of finishing the book as a family. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the good spirit that it has brought into our home as we have read it together as a family. I know it's a true book! I know it makes us better people and brings us closer to Christ as we read it. I hope our children gain that knowledge as well.

To celebrate we took the kids out for ice cream! It was a great night.

Happy Kids

Ryder has been extremely irritable lately. Maybe he's teething or getting sick. Or maybe the terrible twos are really settling in. Whatever it is, it's no fun. Even Kade and Tenley are getting sick of his whining.
But for some reason after dinner, he was a super happy boy! He jumped on the tramp with Kade and Tenley and they were all happy for 45 mintues! We read scriptures and books together and he was so cute and happy for that as well. Then he helped me tuck Kade and Tenley in bed and he actually wanted to cuddle with Kade for a little bit. It was pretty cute. And it was so nice to have happy children for a night.

A Normal Monday

It's been about three weeks since we've been home all day on a Monday and we really enjoyed having a normal routine again. Kade went to school, Brad and I went on a bike ride, we all went to Costco after picking up Kade from school, and we had a fun family night.
Kade was in charge of family night tonight and he was so excited. He loves to plan out his lessons with a video and an activity. The rest of us usually have 5 to 10 minute lessons, but Kade's lessons are about 30 minutes long most of the time. I think he enjoys getting to be a teacher. And we all love his lessons! He taught us the importance of helping each other tonight. He asked me to help him make a writing sheet like he gets at school with a spot for a name, the date, a place to draw a picture, and a place to write. He asked us all to write about and draw a picture of a time when we helped someone. It was a fun to hear everyone's stories. Then Kade chose to watch Lady and the Tramp for a movie. I love family night!

Home

I am sincerely grateful to be home tonight. This month has been extremely fun, but also extremely busy and I'm really excited to go more than three straight nights of sleeping in my own bed. Even though the house we live in right now isn't everything we want in a home, it has become a place we love to be and are happy in. I love being home.

Grandparents and Cousins

We had a great day with family here in Boise. Lesa and I were able to go for a run in the morning, Dad and Judy made us a delicious breakfast, and we took our time getting ready for the day. Chad found a really yummy Mexican taco restaurant that we tried for lunch. I don't think I've had taco truck like tacos and they were really good. We also got to see my niece, Elly, dance in a dance competition. She did a great job and it was fun to be there for her! We ended the day at Uncle Jared's house eating delicious homemade snow cones. So yummy!

Peaceful Car Rides

We are on yet another road trip this weekend! Today would have been Brad's parents 50th wedding anniversary and even though his mom isn't here with us physically, we still wanted to do a little something for the special day. We came to Boise to be with a few of the siblings, his Dad and Judy. Some of us were able to meet at the Temple to do sealings together, and a few more joined us all for dinner. It was a nice evening.
The drive here was perfect today! Our kids must be getting used to car rides! For the first two hours of the trip Kade and Tenley played with toys and with each other without fighting and without begging for electronics. And Ryder sat and looked out the window and didn't beg for a binky. The sun was shining and the hills are all a bright green right now. It felt like a picture perfect moment for a time. I just wanted to freeze the moment so I did what I could with pictures. :)

My Little Boy

When we get back home from picking Kade up from school we normally read a book or have some electronic time, but today Ryder just wanted to play outside with me. Kade and Tenley stayed inside and Ryder and I went out to jump on the tramp and throw rocks at piles of dirt. He's such a silly boy! But I love how much he likes to be outside. And I loved our one-on-one time today.

Soccer Practice

Today was such a beautiful day! It was sunny and 70 degrees. Pretty much perfect. I think it was the first time Kade has been able to have soccer practice without it raining. He really enjoyed it and so did Tenley and Ryder. They loved playing around in the grass and on the playground.
Tenley was getting really good and really brave at climbing all over the jungle gyms. Ryder was having a blast kicking the soccer balls around. He does a pretty good job at juggling the ball with his feet.

Spring

It rained a lot today, but the sun came out this afternoon and warmed everything up! It was beautiful. All the kids wanted to do this evening was be outside. I love when they want that more than they want to watch T.V. After the kids were in their pajamas and almost ready for bed, Kade begged me to jump on the tramp with him so I couldn't refuse. I love Spring!

Easter

We had such a great Easter Sunday even though we were out of town. We woke up and went to church. It was a great meeting and I'm glad we went. Then we went to a beautiful park to have a little Easter egg hunt with the kids. For dinner we were invited over to our friends home to have the most delicious ham dinner ever. Everything was so good. And they spoiled our kids with another Easter egg hunt. It was a great day.

Shopping

I forgot to take pictures today! Which is very unlike me (just ask my husband!), but we still had a really fun day! We got to go shopping at Target and Old Navy which is exciting to me because we don't have those stores in our hometown. And we ate out at Cafe Rio. Super delicious. I even have Kade loving that restaurant now too. :)
We did more swimming at the pool and are just really enjoying our getaway.

My Rock Star Reader

Yesterday Tenley completed her 99th of 100 Reading lessons. We're out of town for the weekend so normally we would have just waited to do her next (and last!) lesson when we get back home, but Tenley wanted to finish! So on our long car ride, Kade did the last lesson with her in the backseat. She did a great job and we took her out to dinner tonight to celebrate. She chose McDonald's (of course).
I'm so proud of her for working hard on her lessons. She didn't always love it and it was definitely hard at times, but she has improved so much. She loves to try and read words wherever we are now and I'm glad she keeps trying to learn.