Easy Going Kids

When we arrived at the airport for our flight they told us it had been delayed for one hour. That gave us no time to make our connecting flight. But the employees all assured us that the flight in Denver would hold the plane for us. When we landed we ran from gate B54 to B20 and missed boarding by one minute. The plane was still there but they had closed the door and wouldn’t let us on. The kids were in tears. It was a frustrating night. We found guest services and they put us up in a hotel room for the night. We’ll try again in the morning. We’re just trying to make the best of it.

Sleeping Kids

It’s hard to wake up my kids early in the morning when they’re sleeping so peacefully. Sweet little Luke looked so cozy this morning. 

We did make it to church though and had a good Sunday. We had some friends over for dinner tonight which was really nice. The kids had a blast with their kids. 

We also learned that our flight to Florida on Tuesday was canceled due to a storm coming in. Luckily I was able to call and move the flight up a day, the rental car up a day, the Airbnb up a day, and the dog drop off up a day. We got lucky! But now we’re leaving tomorrow!! Eek! We are so excited. We told the kids about the flight cancelation and Brad waited almost a full minute before telling them we still get to go and we get to go a day early. The kids were a bit distraught but they’re happy now!

Fuller House

We got a lot of chores done today. Brad cleaned out the whole garage and it looks amazing. Brad and I also got to go out on a date tonight. The kids practically kicked us out of the house. They were pretty excited to have a pizza party and play the Wii together all night.

After the little boys went to bed the big kids stayed up with Brad and I. Kade and Brad are watching a show together while Tenley and I watch Fuller house. It’s fun to have some girl time!

The 4th Grade Ski Trip

Each year the 4th graders get a trip up to the ski hill and Tenley’s trip was today! We all joined her on the hill but she still rode up on the bus with her class because she wanted to. She had a lot of fun skiing with her friends all morning.

I was able to do a few run with the kids this afternoon. They took me on some blue runs which was a lot of fun! Slowly I’ll get better. I love skiing with my kids!

Basketball

Tenley had basketball practice tonight and Kade had his first game! Tenley and I missed the first part of his game but he’s playing great and being aggressive. I was proud of him. I’m happy to be watching my kids play basketball again!

Lessons at Miss Jody’s

We had a fun time at Miss Jody’s house today. She taught the kids how to compose using the letters of their names. It was a fun activity and Ryder especially loved it. Miss Jody is the most amazing person and teacher ever and we love going to her house each week!

Kade’s Violin

Kade’s new violin finally arrived in the mail last week and he was able to use it in his instrumental class today for the first time. It’s been a bit of a roller coaster getting to today. I had ordered the violin early last month but it was on back order. Finally I found a friend who was willing to let Kade borrow her mother in laws for a few weeks. The first week he had it the instrumental teacher was sick. The second week he had it school was remote learning so they didn’t have instrumental. And then he had to return the violin without even getting to use it! He was disappointed. He went another week without and was so excited to see it arrive and to be able to use it today. He seems to be taking the learning of the instrument very seriously. I love that he has the desire to play!

2nd Quarter

The 2nd quarter at school has ended and the kids all did so well! Ryder was so excited to show Brad and I his rewards. He is becoming such a good and sweet little man. I’ve loved watching his growth. Kade and Tenley have been good examples and they both got straight A’s and their own stack of rewards as well. I love my sweet kids.

Ryder’s Talk

Ryder gave such a sweet talk in primary today about how God will help us so hard things. He talked about Nephi building a boat and how God helped him. Then he talked about how tries to control his temper with his little brother and he know God is helping him with that. I helped him write the talk but the ideas were all his and he read it well. He’s one sweet kid and he genuinely tries to be nice to his little brother.

Fresh Flowers

Brad and the kids picked me up an ice cream cake from Cold Stone today and it was delicious! I’ve also been enjoying fresh flowers from several thoughtful people. It’s always fun to have your birthday drag on a few extra days.

Brad finished installing the heater in the garage! The kids were a great help with this project. They even went to Home Depot with him a few times. It’s nice to have it done! Hopefully we don’t have to use it too often, but I know when it’s in the negatives outside, we will greatly appreciate it! 

37 Years

It was my birthday today and even though getting older may be negative in some ways I found my self feeling really grateful for my life today and for all I’m still able to do. 

We went skiing as a family today which was so much fun! I tried snow boarding again for the first time since high school. It was actually pretty fun. I just did one run down the bunny hill but it was so crowded with school groups that I decided to put my skis on and do some runs with my family. We even took Luke with us. I skied with him in my arms the whole time which was tiring but he liked it. The snow was great! It snowed last night so there was a lot of fresh powder. Brad made me some delicious hot chocolate that we brought up in a thermos and it was still hot at lunch time.

We picked Cafe Rio up for dinner on the way home and watched Night at the Museum with the kids. Luke and Ryder cuddled with me. It was a pretty perfect day.

Tim Tams

A few months ago my nephew Bryson who is on his mission shared a video of him and his companions doing a tim tam challenge. I had never even heard of a Tim tam cookie before! But I saw them at my grocery store today so we picked them up and used them as a straw with hot chocolate. It was delicious! The kids had fun with it.

Grocery Helpers

It’s super cold again! But tomorrow should be above freezing so I can handle two days of frigid weather as opposed to two weeks!

While Tenley and Kade were at piano lessons, the little boys came to the grocery store with me. I do grocery store pick up most of the time because it’s so fast and convenient and shopping with little kids isn’t always the funnest thing to do. But today there were a few things we needed for dinner so into the store we went. They were great helpers though! It was actually fun!

Luke

It was a cold and snowy day today but the snow is beautiful! I shoveled the driveway this morning and this afternoon. The kids had indoor recess all day because the wind chill was below zero degrees. They actually enjoyed being back at school with their friends though. This morning they were grumbling about waking up early but I was glad they were happy when they got home. It was quiet with just Luke and I home but I’m always glad I still have Luke with me!

Walks in January

It was warm enough for another walk today. It was very windy, but we ventured out anyway while Tenley was at her art lesson. It was worth it. It feels so good to be outside. Brad jokes that since we’re finally installing a heater for our garage this year we’ll probably have a mild winter. Lol. I wouldn’t mind that!

Sunshine

Today was a beautiful day! We had church in the morning but I couldn’t stay inside when we got home so Luke, Keena and I went for a walk. It was warm, sunny, and just a little windy. It felt so good to spend time outside.

Tenley’s Cookies

My older kids were sad that they didn’t get a cookie at the ski hill yesterday like Luke did so I promised to make them some today. But when I was about to start, Tenley asked if she could make them herself. I think it was the first time she ever made cookies start to finish without any help. And they were delicious! She did a great job.

Brad took me out for a birthday dinner tonight because next weekend will be too busy. We went to my favorite restaurant down in Ulm and it was delicious. It was a fun night with Brad! It’s always nice to get a little spoiled.

Skiing

We finally made it to the ski hill! The kids were so excited last night. It took Ryder a few runs to get used to skiing again but by the end of the day he was back up to speed with the big kids. They had a blast.

And Luke and I had a blast on the bunny hill. It was his very first time putting skis on and he did pretty well! He had great balance and he loves to go fast. And he had such a great attitude the whole time. Even when he fell he just laughed and giggled. He needs to work on turning and stopping. Hopefully he’ll be more willing next week. Since he went down the bunny hill 10 times he got a cookie! 

Helpful Kids

With good kids like I had today this online school thing might start to grow on me. They were all so helpful with chores around the house and they got their work done quickly. It was busy but nice morning! 

Buddies

Little Luke has been the happiest ever with all of his sibling home all day. They are his best friends and he loves playing with them. It’s been fun to see them together.

We survived another day of online school. It really isn’t too bad. Tenley had basketball practice tonight which was nice. Her basketball league is through the Salvation Army and since they don’t need help from the public schools she still gets to go. Kade’s league is through the Heisey and they use the schools for practice so his games and practices have been canceled for the next week at least. It’s pretty sad but hopefully it will really be just one week!

Creative Dribbling

Our first day of online schooling went ok. The kids had to log on twice each to chat with their classes for a half an hour. We got our work done, practiced piano, and went to the gym to play basketball. I had the kids dribble for five whole minutes and they got pretty creative with their dribbling. They pogo styled it by jumping on one foot. They hard rock styled it by banging their head. It was pretty entertaining.

Brad had a meeting tonight so the kids and I watch Frozen ll after dinner. Hopefully tomorrow goes just as well.