Halloween

For weeks Brad and I have been keeping a secret from the kids. He and Kade are headed on a super fun trip to California tonight to hang out at Six Flags with Kyle and Max. Kade had no idea. After school we brought them home and had them change into their Halloween costumes. Then we took them trick or treating at an RV Center that happens to be right by the airport. After that we drove to the airport and said goodbye. Kade was shocked but so excited. Tenley and Ryder were really upset and I feel awful. It's hard to give one child fun one on one time without the other ones getting jealous. I wish we could all have gone, but this is definitely a big boy trip. I will make sure we have a fun party together this weekend at home!

The three littles and I were able to do more trick or treating at our ward trunk or treat and around our neighborhood. They also loved passing out candy at home. We watched a movie and ate lots of candy. Now we're going to have a sleepover upstairs. We're having lots of fun!

My Girl

Tenley saved the day for me today! Kade left to ride his bike to his friends house and I forgot to shut the garage door for him. I realized later that it was open and Keena was out. Keena was no where close. Tenley and Ryder took his leash and ran out to find him while I stayed in with Luke. She said after a while of calling his name she decided to follow his paw prints in the snow. Just a few houses away he finally ran right up to her, sat when she asked him to, and she was able to leash him up and bring him home. Phew! I'm so grateful for my smart, helpful girl!

Gymnastics

I love watching Ryder at gymnastics. It helps me remember how much our bodies are capable of doing and how important it is to keep moving. He sure is an active little man and he loves to move his body!

My Parents

My parents drove home today in a horrible snow storm. The roads were terrible and I may have cried for an hour after they left, feeling sick to my stomach and worrying about their day ahead. I watched road cameras and tracked them all day. The roads in Montana were all terrible. They had low visibility and snow on them. After 10 hours on the road they finally made it home safely. I was so relieved and happy! They sacrificed a lot to be up here for Tenley’s baptism on their anniversary and I’m so grateful to them. I know my kids are as well. We really appreciated the extra one on one time that we had with them yesterday even though it did cause some stress today. Luckily my little boys helped to keep me distracted most of the day. My parents are amazing!

The Primary Program

The primary program was today at church. It was the perfect Sunday for both sets of grandparents to be in town! They all sang well and Ryder did a great job on his speaking part. It was fun to watch all of them!

It was sad to say goodbye to Jason and his family, Danny, and George and Judy. Ryder was especially bored with Yesul gone. After church he fell asleep and took a long nap. He was really worn out!

We had a really nice afternoon and evening with my parents still here. My kids showed them all of their favorite shows that they like to watch each  Sunday. It was nice to relax!

Baptism

Tenley’s baptism day went so well. Having so much family here definitely helped make it so amazing. Lesa came with me to the church at 6 am to start filling up the baptismal font (it takes over three hours to fill!) When we arrived we learned that someone else had come before us to start filling it up for us. Oh well. Haha.

The program went so well! My mom gave a great talk on baptism, the actual baptism went perfectly, the kids singing was the sweetest thing ever, and Grandpa Hobson’s talk was great. Tenley was happy and smiling the whole time.

After the baptism we went to the symphony. The had a free family matinee today and it was so much fun! Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Tenley moved her baptism time up just so we could make it to the symphony. I'm glad that it all worked out!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and eating delicious food. Ryder and Yesul are best friends. They tried on lots of costumes and played so well together. Tenely received many gifts and spent time writing in her new journals. It was a perfect day!

Family

We had a lot of family travel far distances just to be here for Tenley’s special weekend. She is so loved and we are so lucky. They all arrived in time for dinner. Lesa was nice enough to braid Tenley's hair for me. I think we are ready for her big day tomorrow!

Morning Hugs

After Ryder wakes up each morning he comes to find me and gives me the best hug. I love it! This morning Luke noticed Ryder and I hugging and went straight to Ryder to give him a big hug of his own. It was the sweetest thing!

Happy Boys

Ryder and Luke played so well together today. This morning Ryder would run around and Luke would run right after him giggling. Then they would playfully yell at each other in the car and Luke giggled even more. And tonight while Tenley was at Activity Days Kade carried Luke while they chased Ryder around the house. I loved hearing all of Luke’s giggles today!

This was Tenley after her pie eating contest. She really hates whip cream, but I think her competitive side helped herself get through it.

Haircuts

I got a lot of grocery shopping done today in preparation for our big, fun, family filled weekend coming up. Ryder had a play date so Luke and I were extra efficient. He was so quiet and easy going which was helpful.
Kade had pack meeting tonight and received his Webelos badge! He has been working hard and is getting so close to earning his Arrow of Light. I'm proud of him for working hard toward his goal.
When Kade and I returned home I found that Brad had cut Luke's hair!! We had talked about him cutting his hair, but I definitely wasn't prepared to see it so short! He looks so big and so different! He was confused as to why Kade and I were looking at him so much. Haha. Hopefully I get used to it soon.

Luke and I played around with my camera setting while Ryder was at gymnastics.

Booed

We got ‘booed’ tonight and the kids were so excited! Someone left us a bucket of treats and Halloween toys on our doorstep and the kids were feeling pretty special. Now we get to choose a neighbor to go spoil as well! Halloween traditions are fun.

During our family night tonight Brad got a lot of random snuggles from Luke. He isn’t often very cuddly so I was a bit jealous!

The Cougar Run

This morning we went down to Provo to run in the homecoming races. Ryder ran a 400 meter, Tenley ran a half mile and Kade ran one mile. They all did a great job and had a lot of fun. I ran the 5K with my brother. The route went straight through campus and it was such a beautiful fall day with hardly anyone on campus. It was beautiful. I loved it and it made me wonder why I don’t go running more often!

My parents and Danny were so nice to take care of my kids while I ran. Brad was sad to miss all the fun but he had to go to his dental conference again.

When we got home Tracie and her family came over to hang out with us all night. I love them! It was so good to see them and relax with the family. It will be hard to leave tomorrow.