Cuddle Bugs

Ryder had an incident at recess this afternoon. He says a girl who is often mean tackled his friend so he went to help his friend and get her away from him. In the process the back of her head hit his forehead pretty hard. He had a little read mark and he said he had a headache. Then right around dinner time he started saying he was really cold so he put a sweatshirt on. And then he was acting really tired. Poor little guy! I’m not sure if he’s getting sick or if it’s stemming from hitting his head. But since he was more tired than usual I was able to cuddle with him while we watched a Christmas movie. Ryder chose The Christmas Chronicles. It’s one of his favorites. Hopefully he’s feeling better tomorrow.

Winning

Kade had a basketball game tonight and his team won! Kade even made a basket! It was so good to see them play a competitive team, play hard, and do well. 

Christmas Decorations

The kids were begging me all day to put up the Christmas decorations so after church I got the boxes out. Our living room is filled with decor and it looks beautiful. I can’t even count how many times I heard Luke saying that he loves Christmas. We watched a Christmas movie with the tree lights on tonight and it was amazing.

Safe Road Trips

We traveled back home from Boise this morning. The kids didn’t want to leave. They all had so much fun with family and with their cousins. Luckily our drive went well and the kids napped so it went by quickly for them. We saw a herd of antelope cross the road just agead of us which was really cool. 

We made it home safe and sound!

Boise Traditions

It was fun to repeat some of our fun Boise traditions this weekend. Lesa and I met up with Amy to go for a run each morning. The girls did some fun shopping at Target and the mall. The boys watched a lot of football. The kids went to a trampoline park, and all the adults went out for a dinner date. It was a fun day!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving day here in Boise! This morning Lesa, Amy, and I went running and some of the cousins went and played football. 

Brad and I were in charge of the rolls this year and he helped me make them all. It was a lot of work! But they were delicious. Everything was so yummy. We had fun eating at the Sandpiper house. It’s been years since we’ve done that. They are in the middle of remodeling their kitchen but it all worked out well. 

Some of the kids went go-carting this evening and then all the kids put on a little talent show for us tonight. It was a great day!

Snow

Ryder and Tenley are my little snow bunnies so they were super excited to wake up to snow on the ground this morning. Even though we had a morning full of packing and cleaning they made sure to get some playtime in the snow.

Brad worked this morning so we left right after lunch to make the long drive to Boise. The kids did a great job and Luke fell asleep right when we got in the car! The drive went well and we got to Grandpa and Grandma Judy’s house just after 10. We’re excited that our Thanksgiving plans have actually been working out so far this year!

Ryder’s First Composition

Ryder has been watching Kade and Tenley practice my Christmas songs for the Christmas recital and he decided that he wanted to create his very own composition as well. He has one line done and wants to write a whole page. He’s pretty diligent when he gets his heart set on something so hopefully I’ll be able to help him finish his goal soon. It’s fun to teach my kids the little I know about composition, but luckily I’m learning more!

It rained a lot today and is currently snowing. We’re supposed to drive to Boise tomorrow so hopefully the snow melts by the time we wake up! 

Kids Who Listen

I don’t particularly love the sun setting so early this time of year, but the sunsets sure are gorgeous. Tenley caught a picture of the sunset as I drove her home from art today. It was beautiful.

Kade had a friend over this afternoon and all the kids had so much fun with him. Then we got to go watch him play basketball tonight. He’s playing hard and making progress. We definitely need to keep practicing. The team they played was really good and the score ended up something like 76-16. It was a tough game. When Kade got in the car he told us how bummed he was when he saw the score and realized that they lost by so much and then he realized what I’ve told him before about playing teams that are better than you. When you play better teams it only makes you better. It made me really happy to hear that he listens to me and maybe even slightly believes what I have to say! 

Twinners

Luke and Ryder were cute little buddies today. The kids were all actually really good during church and I was so grateful. It may have helped that Tenley’s friend was able to sit with us so she was occupied. Luke and Ryder tried to dress the same at church and they tried to dress the same in their comfy clothes after church as well. I love it when they get along.

Brad and Kade went back to church this evening for a fireside. A retuned missionary spoke about his mission. Kade said he had a great time and loved hearing all the fun stories of a mission. I had to bake several batches of brownies for the refreshments but I guess that’s what happens as the Bishop’s wife. 😂 

Christmas Lights

Brad started putting up the Christmas lights today! It was cold and windy but the kids went out every once in a while to help him. Tenley was sure to make everyone hot chocolate when they were done. 

The little boys set up a little snack party for themselves in their room. It was cute. 

It was a nice Saturday to get things done and have nothing scheduled!

Walks by the River

It feels like it’s been a while since Brad has been home with me on a Friday. We’ve either been out of town or he’s been hunting. It was nice to have him home and get out for a walk with him along the river. I’ve missed that walk. He even did some cleaning around the house which was hugely appreciated!

Ryder had a game tonight! He’s getting a little bit more confident out there at each game. I love watching him play! 

Girls Night Out

We practiced basketball at the church again after school. They were getting the gym set up for volleyball night so we did a lot of dribbling drills. It’s really nice to have access to this nice gym!

I met up with some girlfriends for dinner tonight. They were close friends that I did homeschool groups with and since my kids are in public school now I don’t get to see them. It was so nice to get out!

The Church Gym

After school and piano lessons today I took the kids to the church gym to practice basketball. They all need practice dribbling so we ran some drills that I’ve seen their coaches do and then we played poison. The kids are all so competitive and hate to lose so a few of them left the gym in tears. But I think we all still had fun and we’ll probably go try it again tomorrow after school. 

Ryder has been wanting to bake something so he made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins to go with dinner tonight. I’m not so sure he measures the sugar correctly but they still turned out pretty good even if he didn’t even finish his! 😂 

Ryder’s Basketball Game

Ryder had his first ever basketball game tonight! He’s been counting down the days because he’s been so excited. The game was supposed to be on Friday but was rescheduled for tonight. It turned a kind of busy night into a super busy night but everyone but Kade was still able to be there to cheer him on. He was a great team player. He stole the ball and had a few assists. His team won by a lot and he was happy about that.

Kade had basketball practice tonight and is still loving his team. 

Brad had a church meeting tonight but the rest of us had fun building blocks, catching up on piano books, and watching Studio C. It was a good night with my sweet kids. 

Kade’s Basketball Games

We all got to go and watch Kade play basketball tonight. Ryder was originally going to have practice at about the same time but luckily his practice was canceled. Kade also got to play at his friends house before his game. They live near the trees and the river so Kade had a blast. 

Luke and I built a lot of Legos today. He really loves building things but he’s always very organized when he does.