Cousin Play dates

We took things easy today since we’ll be busy this weekend with early mornings and long days. Lesa and I sat and talked while all the kids played. It was nice and felt like a play date! It was fun to see the older cousins playing hot wheels with the little cousins. They had fun together!

Kade and a few of his cousins tried to sleep in the tent outside tonight but they were only out there for an hour before a big rainstorm came. Unfortunately they came in and slept inside.

Family Visitors

We took lunch into Brad's staff today and then stayed and had a picnic with Brad. It was a nice change!

The Murdock's arrived tonight just in time for Kade's last soccer game! Kade was so excited to have his cousins there to watch him. He scored a goal right out of the gate. It was such a beautiful night and we are so excited to have family here!

The State Fair

We took the kids to the state fair for family night tonight. They mainly just wanted to ride the rides. We had fun and caught a beautiful sunset! Summer in Montana is the best.

I Spy

We parted ways with the Murdocks this morning. They drove to Coeur d'alene and we drove home. We made it home just in time to pick up Keena from the kennel. We missed him!
Sundays are typically days when we have no electronic time so we tried that in the car ride and the kids did well! I sat in the back with Ryder and Luke and played a lot of games with Ryder. His favorite game was I Spy. It was fun hanging out with him!

Road to Hiawatha

We rode our bikes on the Hiawatha trail today! It was so beautiful and so amazing. And so crowded! Lol. We had a slow morning so we didn’t end up on the trail until noon. After the first big long tunnel we stopped for lunch. The mountains, the tunnels, the bridges, the waterfalls, everything was so beautiful! We loved the trail and had such a great time!

We made it down the 15 mile trail, which we took slow and enjoyed, in about four hours. Then we had to wait in a super huge line for two hours to get shuttled back to our car. We made the most of it and had fun talking with each other but it made for a late/long day. Everyone was in a good mood though and the kids were all patient. They all did an awesome job on the trail today! Pool little Elly did fall and scraped her knee up a bit, but luckily that was the only incident. And Elly got right back on the bike and finished the ride!

I did not expect to get so dirty, but with the muddy tunnels and dusty trail we definitely got very dirty. An actual mountain bike, gloves, and maybe even some padded bike shorts would have made this trail a bit more comfortable, but we all enjoyed it still. There were kids with training wheels on the trail and even a Grandma with a motorized chair! She was awesome. 

Weekend Trips

We’ve had a lot of fun weekend trips this summer and we’ve been looking forward to this one for a while now! We met up with the Murdock’s in Northern Idaho to ride the Hiawatha trail with them tomorrow! I can’t wait! It’s fun to be with them and I know the bike ride will not disappoint tomorrow. 

Fun Days

This summer feels like it has been non-stop busy! It’s been fun, but I worry it will end and I’ll wonder why it didn’t feel more carefree. I tried to make sure we had a bit more fun today so we went to the library. Usually the kids all have a good time at the library and we definitely did today. They have stacks of new books ready for our next road trip!

Pioneer Day

One of the funnest things about living in Utah was being able to celebrate Pioneer Day. It was always a party! But since we had mutual tonight we celebrated it with the young women. We told stories of our ancestors, played pioneer games, and had homemade ice cream for dessert. We had a blast!

I’m super passionate about being able to find joy no matter what is happening in our lives and the pioneers are a huge testament to that. Their lives were extremely difficult. They didn’t have a place to live, they were hated by many, their loved ones passed away often, and they were tested physically as well. Yet we hear stories of the games they would play, the songs they would sing, and the relationships that would develop. They found joy through all the hardship. They saw past their current difficulties with a bright perspective of what was to come. They were amazing.

The Jump Place, Hot Wheels

We met up with friends at the jump place today! It was actually too hot to play outside here which doesn't happen too often. The kids loved jumping around and playing with friends.

The three oldest kids have finally found something that they like to do together! They have set up a hot wheels track, divided up their cars, made 'garages' for their cars, and then they race them down the track. It's so cute. Normally they have a hard time all playing together, but this has them all interested. It's great!