The Morins

I had a lot of fun social time today. This morning I got to have brunch at my friends house. It was so nice! We had yummy food and a great conversation. 

Then tonight Brad and I got to go out to dinner with the Morins. They are one of the kindest couples that I have met here. It was fun to hear all their stories and enjoy a night with them. She even sent us home with her delicious cookies!

River Walks, Crumbl Cookie

Luke and I went for a walk along the river this morning. It was so nice and I really need to make the time to do this every morning! Or at least until the snow starts to fall which hopefully won’t be soon.

We also drove out to Crumbl Cookie for their opening day! My friend is managing the store so it was easy to go show some support! The cookies were delicious!

Braces

Kade hasn’t been very grateful for braces these past few years, but now that he got them off today and can clearly see the results, I think he’s very grateful! His teeth look great! He asked Brad to make him popcorn tonight so he could finally enjoy it without braces. 

Nights out with Tenley

Tenley and I snuck out tonight to catch a little bit of the crosstown volleyball game. She loves volleyball so much and knows and understands the rules so well. It was fun to have time with her.

10 Years

It’s been over ten years now since I’ve started this blog! It’s crazy to think how our life has changed and grown over the years and how this gratitude blog has helped me find things to be grateful for  even during challenging times. I hope my kids enjoy this little timeline of our life someday and I hope it teaches them to find goodness each day!

Luke has been begging to play with his friend Callen for a while now so we finally got to meet up with our friends this morning. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the boys loved playing with their monster trucks and dinosaurs.

Apple Crisp

Right when we got home from church and we all went to our rooms to change, I heard Kade playing a Star Wars song in his violin. I love the sound of the violin! It’s so much fun to hear him play. And then Tenley got out her flute and played as well. She’s so cute! 

The weather was gorgeous again so we spent a lot of time in the backyard. And Kade made us apple crisp tonight! It was so good! We also had a long discussion about smart phones. Kade is in the 1% of students in middle school that does not have a phone (so he says). He wishes he did but he says he understands why we don’t want him to have one. It’s such a tough situation for him and for us to figure out. We need to decide when he can have a phone but it definitely won’t be a smart phone! Our kids might hate us. 😬

Sports

It was another beautiful fall day today and we all got to enjoy it in some way or another. Ryder had a football game and played well. Luke got to play with his new friend Liam the whole time and had a blast. Tenley had a primary activity outside and loved seeing her friends. And Brad and Kade drove to Kalispell for Kade’s soccer tournament. It was beautiful weather there also. Kade had some epic saves and enjoyed playing. I love watching my kids play sports!

The rest of the day I was at the church helping with a funeral. It was busy! But it turned out nice.

Sunsets and Fall Weather

We are still enjoying some beautiful fall weather here which I’m so grateful for! Every sunny, fall day we have without snow makes me so happy! Although the kids are already asking when we get to go skiing again. They love the winter. 

We took the kids out to dinner tonight and enjoyed this beautiful sunset on the way home. 

Tenley’s Thoughtfulness

I got to go to the kids’ school this afternoon to teach a small group about music composition in preparation for the Reflections contest. It was actually a lot of fun and I’m glad I had the opportunity! 

When we got home, Tenley decided she wanted to make Brad some jalapeño poppers with the jalapeños from our garden. She found a recipe online and made them on her own! And they were delicious! It was so sweet and thoughtful of her!

Ryder’s Football Games

Today was such a beautiful fall day! I hope Montana gives us more than one this year. We got to enjoy the nice weather tonight watching Ryder play football! I love his coach and his team so much. They played well and won, not that it really matters, but the boys were definitely happy about the win!

Keena

Yesterday was Keena’s birthday! He turned four and I can’t believe we’ve had him for almost four years! He’s been a pretty good dog for the most part and he’s always so sweet with the kids. I’m so glad he’s ours.

People

I got to spend a lot of time with adults today and that was really nice! Not that I don’t love my time with my kids, but it was nice to get together with the ladies I serve with in my caling and discuss ways to help people. I love serving with them and I love getting to know the other people in our church better. I’m really enjoying it right now!

Little Yoda

Luke was so excited to get home from church and dress up in his yoda costume so he could be Kade’s little buddy when Kade is the Mandalorian. It was cute. Luke also taught us a great lesson tonight about the war in heaven and resurrection. He had great primary teachers who teach him well! 

Tenley and Ryder helped me make dinner tonight. Tenley cut up the onion for us because she didn’t believe it would actually make her cry. And it definitely did make her cry!

Kade’s Soccer Games

Kade had two great soccer games in Helena today. His team won both and no one from the other team even shot on Kade when he was at the goal. Since his position was so boring the coach let him play forward for a little bit and Kade scored a goal! It was pretty exciting! 

I actually had to miss the games because we had a big Super Saturday activity for Relief Society. I had a lot of fun with the women in our ward but I was definitely missing the family! 

Luckily we all got to be together for dinner. We had oven fired pizza and chocolate fondue for dessert. The fondue was leftover from the activity and the kids loved it!

Family Walks

It was rainy this morning so Brad and I had to save our walk for this afternoon which was actually great because then all the kids got to join us. Kade didn’t walk though, he just drove the go cart around like a crazy race car driver! 

Luke and I played a lot in his room, Brad and I went out for lunch together and we finally got Kade caught up on the immunizations he needed for middle school. 😬 It was a great Friday.

Soccer Games and Popcorn

We had such a fun afternoon! After school we took the kids to the boys cross town soccer game at the football stadium. Most of Kade’s soccer team was there and it was a beautiful night. Afterward the kids were begging to pick up take out for dinner but Brad told them that if we came home and had leftovers then he would make them popcorn. They chose to have his popcorn. We ate it while watching Alone. 

Legos

Our life was all about legos today it seemed, even at piano lessons! When Luke wasn’t building something new, he was staring at the Lego sets on the instructions letting me know which new set he wants for Christmas. He’s so funny.

Ryder

Ryder’s football season started today! He is so excited to be playing and to be playing with so many of his friends. Practice was great tonight. His coach is a high school football coach here in town so that makes it fun. 

Luke and I played at the playground while Ryder had practice and Tenley went to soccer practice with Kade. She wanted to try and score on Kade. I don’t think it worked out.

I also found the cutest Halloween costumes for the boys! Spoiler alert!!

Luke

Why are kids so cute when they’re asleep? Luke was actually cute all day today, but especially when he was sleeping. He’s a big helper and loves picking everyone up from school. I think that’s his favorite part of the day! He loves Kade, Tenley, and Ryder so much!

Tenley

I had an early meeting at church today so I had to leave the three youngest kids at home. They were in their pajamas still when I left. After my meeting I raced back home to get them in the car real quick and head back before our church meeting started. I was pleasantly surprised to see Luke open the door all dressed and ready for church with his hair done and a bow tie on! It was adorable. I really should have taken the time to take a picture! Tenley was SO helpful in getting those boys ready. I appreciate her so much!

Kade

These past few days have been tough for Kade. His asthma got really bad and he had soccer games this morning so he was trying his hardest to rest and get it all under control. When I woke him up this morning he was still feeling awful but he decided to go to his games in Helena anyway with Brad and Tenley. He even played! He wasn’t at his best but he tried hard. Luckily he seemed to get better throughout the day. He’s a fighter! His team won one game and lost the other.

The little boys and I enjoyed the nice weather at home with a walk to the park. And I got to go to my friend’s baby shower this morning which was really nice! 

Siblings

I love seeing the kids get along and play well together. I love when they’re friends. They often fight, but when they’re nice and kind to each other it makes having four kids worth it!

Kade stayed home from school today. His asthma is really bad right now. I think he’s sick and for a young mens activity on Wednesday they road bikes in the dirt during a wind storm. I’m sure that didn’t help. I hope we can figure how to manage his asthma because whatever we’re doing now doesn’t seem to be helping. I sure hope he’s doing better tomorrow.

Football Parties

Ryder’s football team had a little party tonight eating pizza and watching the Bills. He has a great group of friends and had a lot of fun tonight! 

The weather turned old this afternoon! I’m already missing the heat, but it looks like it will come back next week. 🤞

The Flute

As a fifth grade student you have the opportunity to choose an instrument to play. Tenley had a hard time deciding what to pick but she finally chose the flute! I was so excited by her choice. Ms Jody, their piano teacher, also teaches the flute so she’s letting Tenley rent an instrument and she taught her a few things after her piano lesson today. She’s getting the hang of it and she’s so excited about it!