Memorial Falls

This morning was Kade's football game which was a lot of fun. He has a great team and his coaches are awesome! They have taught the team really well. Kade is very familiar with positions, plays, and the fundamentals of the game now. He played great today and scored his first touchdown! The most impressive part was the 60 yard run to get there! I loved watching him play.
This afternoon we drove up to the belt mountains to go on a little hike to Memorial Falls. After reaching the lower falls and upper falls, Kade wasn't convinced that that was enough of an adventure so we went even further to the top of a cliff. It was a beautiful lookout! Ryder hiked a lot of it by himself. We went and checked out the ski resort as well and can't wait for the snow to come now! It will be fun to go skiing there.
We've been having a great time with Danny here!

Fall Bike Rides

The weather was sunny and warm today and the changing fall leaves are everywhere. It was a perfect day for a bike ride. We rented Dan a bike and took him along our favorite route. It was beautiful!

Building

Dan was kind enough to bring us up some shelving units from IKEA. We built them today with Ryder's help and the toy room looks so much more organized! I love them!
Kade had his first flag football game. He did a great job and he had a lot of fun! It was perfect weather to watch his game too. Its really pretty here in the fall.

Uncle Dan

My little brother drove up to visit with us this weekend and we're all so excited to have him here! The kids were so happy to see him. Especially Ryder. I think Ryder's favorite things are visitors! He is so happy when there is someone here visiting. We didn't do too much today. Just went to Kade's football practice and out for some yummy ice cream.

Puppet Shows

My friend watched all three of my kids for me tonight and they had a blast! When we got back to pick them up they had a little puppet show prepared for us. It was awesome!

Tenley's bike riding abilities

After I picked the kids up from school today it was hard to come inside the house. The weather was just so perfect! The kids ended up getting their bikes and scooters out to ride around. Then Tenley's friend from down the street came over and we saw that she had just learned how to ride on two wheels over the weekend. Somehow that motivated Tenley and she asked to try riding the two wheel bike. It took a few times up and down the sidewalk, but after about 10 minutes, she just started taking off on her own! I was so impressed. I couldn't get her off for the next two hours. They all round around the neighborhood the rest of the afternoon and Ryder trailed behind on his little car. It's probably time to get him a bike.

Sunday

Today was a very different Sunday. We had a one hour church meeting at 10 instead of our normal three hour church meeting at 1 and we met with two other wards to learn about boundary changes. They combined the three wards to two and we have a few friends in our new ward that used to be in another ward so we're excited about that. It will be a good change and we're excited.
Since we had such a long afternoon we went to Giant Springs State Park with some church friends. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice to enjoy it at a park with friends. They had snakes there that Tenley and Kade were brave enough to hold! And our friends showed us a cool tunnel that we hadn't seen before.
When we got home we still had time for a little nap, then dinner, and video chatting with my brother and parents. I love Sunday!

Helena, Conference

The sun came out and it was a beautiful today! Still cold, but beautiful. We drove down to Helena for a Costco run and I loved the drive! I love the sunshine. Costco was busy! But it was nice to get that errand done and be with the family.
We got home just in time for me to leave to go to the church to see the General Women's Meeting. It was amazing as usual. I felt like a central theme of the meeting was for us women to remember that we are of great worth, that our worth never changes, and that we need to always remember that we are a daughter of God. I loved President Uchtdorf's remarks. He talked about three sisters. One who was always sad. One who was always mad. And one who was always glad. All of us can sometimes be one or both of those things, but it's important to always try to be glad! Such a great message. I loved it! The best part was coming home to my happy kids having a boy party treat (pretzels and nutella) with Dad. They were so happy and I was happy to be home in time to put them to bed! They are so cute!

Flag Footbal

Kade's first flag football practice was this evening and I'm so excited for this season! He has great coaches and great teammates and he understands the game a lot better than he did two years ago when he played. It's going to be fun!

Sweet Notes

As I was going through the bills for the office today I noticed a sticker on an envelope with Brad's handwriting on it. Instead of 'My Dentist is my hero!' he wrote it as 'My wife is my hero!' It was so sweet to see that and it's always nice to feel appreciated. I love the simple ways he shows me that he cares.

Ryder is really funny/difficult lately. I try to say funny because I'm trying not to get too frustrated about it, but we sure are learning how stubborn he is! He absolutely hates to wear pants, shoes, and jackets. All he wants to wear is pajama shorts, a t shirt, and naked feet. If he goes outside he'll wear flip flops, but not shoes. Unless it's Sunday. He's willing to wear Sunday clothes. But every other day of the week is a battle! It's gotten a lot colder here lately and it's definitely pants and jacket weather and I'm having a hard time convincing Ryder of the necessity of the warmer clothes. While I was making dinner tonight Kade and Tenley went to play outside and we refused to let Ryder outside until he was willing to wear pants and a jacket. After several minutes in his room he finally, yet very grudingly, came out of his room and was willing to wear his jacket. Aye yai yai! What to do!?

Fulfilling Days

Today was a great day. Ryder's little buddy came over this morning to hang out with us for a bit and we had fun! But they didn't really need me around at all. They had a great time playing with the hot-wheels track and cars together. It was really cute.
We got some errands run for the office this afternoon and I was able to talk to a good friend. It was so nice.
Today was early release day from school so it was nice to have Kade and Tenley home sooner than usual. We had a nice afternoon together talking about school and hanging out and when Brad got home we all watched the finale of America's Got Talent together. Good times!

Kade is always so sweet to Tenley. They walk to school together from the car and today he stopped to help her fix her backpack. He's the best big brother!

Ryder's Pictures

I have really been lacking in the photo department lately. It's sad to admit, but I think I've let all my thoughts become too consumed with decorating the house. The empty house has gotten to me and I've probably gone a little too crazy with finding things to fill it up. Although the 'things' that are now in our home have made it more cozy, comfortable, and inviting, they are not as important as the time I spend with my kids! So I'm going to be better tomorrow and spend more time focusing on what is truly important; Kade, Tenley, and Ryder. And Brad, too!

Luckily Ryder snapped a few photos with my phone today. He has pretty cute feet. :)

Grocery Store Helper

I love having little Ryder around with me everyday. He's so funny and such a big helper. He loves to help me with the grocery cart. He's a sweetheart!
For family night we got to watch a new movie and enjoy some popcorn! It was great!

Primary Program

Today was the primary program at church. Kade and Tenley did such a great job! They both sang the songs and read their parts really well. Tenley read her part all by herself! Their primary is huge with over 60 kids, and it was fun to see them all. It's one of my favorite Sundays of the year!

Museums

The rain stopped today and the sun came out this afternoon! It was a much better day to show George and Judy the city. We took them to Giant Springs State Park and it was beautiful. The kids fed the fish and we enjoyed being outside. We then headed to the Lewis and Clark interpretive center. It was a really neat center and we learned a lot about the history of Great Falls and the Lewis and Clark expedition here. It was very informative! We ended the day with Cafe Rio, football, and cake for George's upcoming birthday. It's been fun to have them here!

Visitors!

We welcomed our first visitors to Great Falls last night! Grandpa and Grandma Judy arrived, but unfortunately they brought some cold weather with them. We went out today and explored as much as we could anyway.
The older two kids went to school while the rest of us went to the C.M. Russell Museum. It was neat to learn more about a famous artist from this city.
After picking the kids up from school we went to show them Brad's new office and then to one of the waterfalls not far from town. It was pretty! But also freezing! It was nice to come home to a cozy fireplace.