Star Gazing

With the older kids gone at school all week, Saturday family time seems much more special. Sleeping in, a big breakfast, and a long bike ride we’re my favorite parts of the day. We also got a lot of chores and yard work done. Tonight was supposed to be an ideal night to see the northern lights. We planned to head north away from the city lights just before dark, but then Brad had an emergency patient. The kids and I had a picnic dinner at his office while we waited for him to finish, then we headed north. The stars were gorgeous and we spent a lot of time looking at them and teaching the kids about the constellations. It’s amazing the questions they get when looking at the night sky though, I.e. How far away is space? What is a star? Does Heavenly Father have a Heavenly Father? How did He create the Earth? It was fun to discuss different things with them but it also made our heads hurt. Lol. We didn’t see the northern lights so we had to head home. A one year old awake at 10 PM is no fun!

After I got the three little kids in bed, Brad and Kade decided to drive out again to give seeing the northern lights another shot. They actually saw them! And they saw a meteor. They had a fun night!

Friday’s with Brad

We had a productive first Friday with the kids in school. I always thinks it’s silly to have to send my kids to school on Friday when Brad is home, but I try and enjoy the quieter time with him as well. We ran a lot of errands today and got a lot done which was nice. We even found an açaí food truck and it was delicious! 

Ryder and I still got some soccer playing in and he is rocking his drop kids. His activeness can be exhausting but it’s adorable at the same time.

Drool in the Pool and Football

The local water park allowed dogs in to come and swim tonight so we had to take Keena. There were a lot of dogs there and most of them were just running around. We did get Keen in the pool a few times. He’s getting better and better at swimming.

Football season has begun! We let the kids stay up past bedtime to watch a little bit of the BYU vs Utah game. Tenley is probably the least excited about football season, but she still enjoyed watching the game tonight.

Back to School

Kade started 4th grade today and Tenley started 2nd! They both love their teachers and had so much fun with playing with all of their friends again. Tenley’s favorite part about school was art class and Kade’s favorite part was recess and gym.

Ryder and I are starting preschool together. I have loved doing preschool with my older kids and I’m so excited to be starting with Ryder. He did a great job on the reading and writing lesson. We also counted and did our alphabet which he knows already. We finished all that I had planned in about an hour and then spent the rest of our time playing soccer together outside. Ryder is such a funny, cute, active boy! It’s really nice to have one on one time with him like that while Luke is napping. 

It’s nice to be back into a learning routine! I hope this year goes well for all of us.

Waddles

There is nothing much cuter than watching Luke walk around with his hand in the air and his fluffy hair bouncing up and down. He is walking around everywhere now! He walks from one end of the room to the other and back again, almost like he's just trying to get in some practice. I love it!

We had a great last day together before school starts tomorrow. We played outside a lot in this beautiful weather! And we failed at getting the kids to bed early. Hopefully they can manage tomorrow!

Barbies

Tenley convinced Ryder to play barbies with her the other day and he actually enjoyed it! I think he liked the attention and time with his sister more than anything. And Tenley really liked having someone to play girl toys with.

A Restful Sunday

I didn’t have any meetings to rush off to this morning so I was able to sleep in and cuddle with my kids in bed once they woke up. And I was able to come straight home with them after church. As much as I miss the youth, it was definitely nice to have more family time!

Luminary Walks

Kade’s birthday celebrations continued today! We all went to see Lion King at the theater. We did leave Luke at home with a babysitter though which was a great choice! He’s now in the ‘can’t take him anywhere without a scene stage’. As we learned later this evening when we all went out to eat. Luke and I had to leave early because he pitched a fit. Oh one year olds.

After dinner we went downtown to join the luminaries walk on the Rivers Edge Trail. It was a beautiful night and a beautiful sunset! 

Fishing with Dad

Brad took the kids and Keena to the lake today to let Keena swim and help the kids fish. They were gone for four hours and they had so much fun! Everybody caught at least one fish and Tenley caught three! No turtles this time...

I stayed home while Luke napped. It was nice and refreshing to have some quiet time and when Luke did wake up it felt very reminiscent of when Kade was my only child at home. We played in his room, read books, had lunch together, and went for a little walk around the neighborhood. It was the quietest most peaceful walk without all my kids and the dog. Luke didn’t make a peep! And then he went down for a nap. The days of only having one child are pretty magical but I’m definitely grateful for each and every single one of my kids. And for a husband who loves to do fun things with them.

Morning Walks

All of my kids woke up unusually early this morning! Except for Luke, he was up at his normal time, but it is strange to see my other kids before 8:30 am! Since we had so much free time and the weather was cool we went for a walk/bike ride to the park. We were the only ones there the whole time so I was able to let Keena play free and play with my kids. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed being outside!

My 10 Year Old

Kade turned 10 years old today! I’ve now been a mom for a whole decade and that makes me feel old. But it has been an amazing 10 years. 

Kade is an incredible leader and good example to everyone he’s around. He truly wants to do and be good. He has such a pure heart. He cares about others and does what he can to make them happy. He had friends over today and I got them pizzas for lunch. He made sure I had one cheese pizza because two of his friends really like cheese pizza. He’s so thoughtful!

Most of his friends just wanted to play video games, except one who had no interest in playing the Wii at all. So Kade didn’t play video games either and instead played cars with that friend. He’s willing to give up what he wants so that he can make others happy.

We are so lucky to have Kade in our lives.