The Excitement of Little Kids

We woke up to a whole lot more snow this morning! Our little city has even made national news with the record 14 inches of snow we’ve received. Tenley and Ryder couldn’t wait to go outside and play in it again this morning. They made a lot of snowmen which Keen quickly destroyed, but they had fun. I’m happy to be surrounded by kids that are excited to see this much snow this time of year because honestly, for me I wasn’t that excited.

Home

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. I'm not even sure what that is even from, but it goes through my head every time we come back from a trip. It is good to be home! I love our bed and all the other comforts that come with being home. Unfortunately we arrived just in time for a crazy early winter storm. I woke up to snow on the ground! We have been warned that we'd see snow every month of the year at some point living here, so September can be checked off for that unfortunate event now. I think it will be a crazy day when I see snow in July! We are supposed to get up to another foot of snow tonight. I'm going to avoid actually having to go outside and shovel as long as possible.

I so wanted to be a fun mom that was so excited to see the snow that I just threw my snow clothes on with my kids and ran outside for a snow ball fight, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Seeing snow this time of year does not bring out excitement in me. But Tenley and Ryder shared some excitement and had fun playing in the snow together. I'm glad they have each other.

Portland, Savannah

Brad and I have been in Portland the last two days looking at new equipment for the dental office. It was a busy, quick, fun trip! Portland’s weather was beautiful today. It was nice to enjoy the fall weather as we toured the A Dec campus. And we both tried calamari last night for the first time ever. It was an interesting experience!

We made it home tonight around 10 PM and the kids had waited up for us. They had the best babysitter ever, as they say. Savannah just graduated from high school this past May and is going to turn her mission papers in in a few months. I was so happy that she was willing and able to be here with the kids while we were gone. After we waved goodbye to her Tenley and Ryder started to cry. “I love Savannah so much! Whenever you get a babysitter it HAS to be Savannah! I want to go visit Savannah tomorrow and play with her,” they kept saying through their tears. I cuddled with Ryder in his bed until he fell asleep-which took about 5 seconds-and Tenley kept popping up out of her bed with new fun stories to tell me about. They went to the Children’s museum, the Candy store, McDonalds, Cold Stone and the park. They made crafts and she taught them how to okay the ukulele. She definitely is the best babysitter ever!

Picture Day

While I drive the kids from place to place I sometimes daydream about living on a farm far out of town. We’d get up early and work and have peaceful, quiet afternoons. A simple life like that sounds so nice. But then I see how much the kids love their activities, their school, and their friends. Maybe we can have a simple farm life later on...

It was picture day at school. My kids looked adorable!

My Webelo

I had forgotten how busy afternoons are after school. I know my kids need some time to wind down when they get home, but often it’s the only time we have to work on homework and practice the piano. Tonight Kade had football practice and then straight from there he headed to scouts. He and Brad didn’t even get to eat dinner until 8. The daytime is getting busy with all of Ryder’s activities as well. On Tuesdays he has gymnastics and a play date, so Luke getting two full naps is near impossible.

I think the challenge for me is finding calm through all the chaos and enjoying all of the friends and activities we are blessed to have in our lives. It’s all about attitude and perspective!

Kade earned his next rank in the scouting program tonight. He was excited and wants to work hard to earn his next tank before the end of the year.

Flag Football, Perfect Spelling Tests

Fall is here and it is obvious! It was really windy and chilly today and we have snow in the forecast for the weekend! Regardless, we still had a lot of fun at Kade’s football game and so did he. Ryder and I mainly played football on the sideline the whole time but I did see Kade make a good run on offense. We got home late and had leftovers for dinner. It wasn’t a normal family night for us, but we still had fun!

Also, each Monday at school Kade's class takes a pre-spelling test and if anyone gets 100% then they don't have to take the actual spelling test on Friday. This is the second time already this year that Kade got 100%! 

Dale

Our quick, less than 24 hour trip ended way too soon this afternoon. Even after the 7 hour drive home, we’ve all concluded that it was definitely worth it!

Dale’s ‘farewell’ talk was so well written and presented. I’ve known Dale for almost 15 years now and we were able to live so close to him for 5 of those years. It was pretty neat to see him all grown up into such a mature and handsome young man. I’m so excited to hear all about this next adventure in his life.

It was also so nice to see family this weekend, a lot of whom we haven’t seen since last year! Luke was our entertainment because he was such a busy boy! But everyone loved to play with him.

Lewiston

We drove out to Lewiston today to hear Dale speak in church tomorrow before he leaves on a mission to St. George, UT! It was a long but beautiful drive filled with a ton of memories. The kids have been running around with cousins ever since we arrived, driving the golf cart, playing guitars, and riding scooters on their ramp. They never ever ever want to leave!

Books and Movies

Brad and George went fishing today and Kade and Tenley went to school so it was a quiet house here. Ryder begged and begged Judy to play cars with him which she did. And then he asked her to read book after book after book, which she also did. It was cute and he was happy to get so much attention!

When the older kids got home we all watched Aladdin with Judy because she had never seen the old one or the new one before! It’s such a good movie.

And I watched the new Book of Mormon video that was just produced by the church. It is amazing!!! I can not wait to see more.

Fishing was fun for the boys! It was a cold day so we had soup for dinner and then ended the day with some fun football games!

Keena

Keena turned one today! We spoiled him with extra yummy food and new toys. He was pretty happy today and we had a hard time putting him in his kennel because he didn’t want to put his toys down. We all, especially my little boys and Brad, love Keena and are grateful to have him. It was a tough year with him because puppies are ridiculously hyper and February was a frozen wasteland so we all got sick of being inside, but we’re hoping it gets better from here on out.

Grandpa Hobson

Today is my father in laws birthday and he arrived just in time for us to feed him a birthday dinner! Brad has a fishing trip planned for the two of them for Friday so we’re lucky enough to get to spend his birthday with him as well. My niece who is serving her mission in Ecuador was also able to video chat with him today for his special day. It was super cool! Even Luke was excited to see Haley!

We had a yummy salmon dinner and his favorite lemon meringue pie for dessert. He’s been on the phone most of the night with family and friends. He sure is loved!

Ryder

All this one on one time that I’ve been getting with Ryder has been so much fun. I love getting to know how his mind works a little bit better. He is smart, he is strong, he is funny, he is caring, and he is opinionated haha. Tuesday’s are his favorites because he has gymnastics and okay time with friends!

Grandma Sycamore Bread

I found Kade’s most favorite bread at the store today. It’s the bread he loves at Grandma Woodruff’s house that they must have just started selling here in Montana! I was excited and he was grateful.

My kind must have been other places today because I totally forgot about the kids having piano lessons! Luckily Kade remembered and we weren’t too late. When we arrived we learned the our teacher’s dog had just passed this morning. She had her for a long time and Koby was the sweetest thing! She always put up with Luke ‘petting’ her. We felt so sad for her.

On a lighter note while we Ryder and I were searching for toys he found a cassette tape and wondered what on earth it was! Haha. He may never need to know...

Mickey Mouse Pancakes

Brad and Kade left early this morning to go golfing. The rest of us slept in and had Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast. The kids even decorated them with chocolate chips. Then we danced for exercise and played legos. It was a great morning!

Later we all went to the river again. Beside the wind, it was a beautiful day!

Throwing Rocks

Brad actually had to go in to work this morning so Ryder helped me do some cleaning. He is an awesome helper! And when Brad did get home we had time to play at the river with Keena for a bit before picking the kids up from school. Luke loved throwing rocks and was wanting to get in the water and play around with Keena. He is a brave soul!

For dessert I was going to make the kids cookies, but the begged for a skookie instead-one of my favorite desserts! It turned out perfectly and we all it ate so quickly that we had to eat another one. Haha. They really are my weakness...

Evening Walks

The weather was perfect today! Sunny and low 70s. After dinner we had to go for a walk to enjoy it. We ended up at a park with a play area that was the perfect size for Luke. He loved the swings and climbing up the stairs to go down the slide. He pitched a huge fit when we left. We need to go to the park more!

Thoughtful Kids

When I picked up Kade from school he was holding my most favorite treat ever; chocolate covered strawberries! Someone brought them to his class for a birthday treat and instead of eating them himself, he saved them for me! What a sweet boy!