We headed up near Augusta today to take the kids fishing. It was windy but still such a beautiful day! Brad even caught a few fish. Luke had the best time using his sling shot again. Then we took a long detour up near the mountains. It was so pretty and I think we definitely need to come back to camp someday. We saw a raccoon and a giant moose! It was a fun adventure.
We are done with school for the summer! It really has been the best year ever! I’ve loved having all my kids at home with me. I’ve loved seeing them become such close friends. And luckily we still have a whole summer to enjoy together before Kade starts high school in the fall. I’m so grateful for my kids!
Brad and the older two kids had a big BBQ activity for mutual tonight so the little boys and I had our own party. We watched a movie with popcorn and then jumped on the trampoline. Luke wanted to show me his front flips. He’s getting pretty good!
Kade and Tenley got to do a short version of the Murph challenge at CrossFit today but it definitely wasn’t easier! Those kids worked hard today!!! When I got there at the end I ran a few of Tenley’s last laps with her to help motivate her a bit. It was over 80 degrees today when they were running outside! But they all finished which was awesome to see! It always feels good to work hard!
Today was the most beautiful day! There was barely any wind which is rare here so any day my hair isn’t blowing all over the place is a good day. It was nice to have a holiday with Brad home before we really have to get back to reality tomorrow! Brad and the kids got the sprinklers working and planted the garden. Luke can’t wait for the snap peas to grow!
We’ve been enjoying being back in this fresh mountain air. The heat and humidity were thick in Florida! But I do kind of miss the heat! At least we still have sunshine. We walked to our friend’s house for dinner tonight and got to meet and get to know a new family in our ward/neighborhood a little bit better. I love this time of year not only for the warmer weather, the longer days, and the fuller trees, but also for the new families we get in our ward! This family has a daughter Tenley’s age and lives just down the next street from us! Yay!!
Brad, Kade, and Tenley spent all day outside working in the yard and getting our garden boxes ready to plant. Kade also mowed our lawn and our neighbors lawn and it looks so good now! Brad had always been a hard worker and I think he was happy to be home and back to projects!
The little boys and I worked on their kiwi co crates! We had fun experimenting.
Our bodies are all pretty tired! We were ready for bed early tonight. Hopefully we’ll be all adjusted soon.
I actually missed home on this trip! The cruise was a lot of fun but it was very crowded so it was nice flying into Great Falls and knowing it isn’t as crowded here. And we had a beautiful view flying in. Ryder and Luke wish we were still in Florida but they were pretty excited to sleep in their beds tonight!
We did have some time this morning in Miami before we had to head to the airport so we went and saw where the YouTube videos for “The Chit Show” are filmed. The boat dock wasn’t too busy but it was cool to see!
Our flights went perfectly! And, like I said, it’s nice to be home!
We made it back to Miami today! The cruise went by so quickly. Getting off the ship was probably the most stressful situation I’ve been in. There were 4,500 people on our ship and there were several other ships that had also just ported so getting an Uber ride was insane. There were thousands of people! And trying to keep the kids close by was a chore. It didn’t help that when we finally got our Uber driver he made sure to tell me not to let the kids in the backseat by themselves. I held them close to me after that. But we survived and made it to rent a car so we could explore southern Florida! We went to the Everglades first for an airboat tour. We saw wild gators in the river which was pretty cool. They also had a Burmese python at the start of our tour that they let people pet. Luke had no fear with petting it! He must not realize how dangerous they are!
We had another day at sea today. We played laser tag this morning. It was the most legit laser tag game that I’ve ever played. We had a lot of fun. Then we found a family Gaga ball tournament. The rules were a lot different than what my kids are used to and I’m not sure that everyone understood the rules so it wasn’t a very fair game but it was still fun. We spent the rest of the day at the pool. Kade tried the flow rider and did a great job. And Brad was amazing at finding us some lounge chairs in the pool deck in the shade. It’s hard to do that with all the people on the ship!
Tenley’s dream for years has been to ride a horse and swim with dolphins. Since we live in Montana getting her to ride a horse was easy but swimming with dolphins has definitely not been in the cards for her. But her dream came true today! We were in Cozumel Mexico for the day and we went swimming with dolphins! It was so much fun. We all got to pet the dolphin, dance with the dolphin, get a kiss from the dolphin, and have a belly ride. Luke was a little too short for a belly ride so he held onto my back while we went for a belly ride together. It was so much fun! We also did some snorkeling while we were there. We saw a starfish and an octopus. It was a fun adventure today and we loved it! We made it back in time for dinner which made Luke happy. He loves our waiters Christian and Eka. They spoil him! They’ve done such a good job remembering our names and even remembering what the kids like.
