Soccer

 It has been the slowest week of the summer for us which has been strange! Tenley does have a volleyball camp the rest of the week which she has been loving but the boys have kept busy playing soccer most of the day. 

Ice Cream

 It felt like today was the first time in a long time that we were all home and had nothing going on. Except for poor Brad, of course, who was hard at work! 

It was rainy this afternoon and the kids needed to get out of the house so we decided to go out for ice cream. We tried a new ice cream place in town and it was pretty good! I tried a chocolate huckleberry flavor which I really loved. I don’t think I ever knew what a huckleberry was before I moved to Montana and now I love them. 

Luke and all the kids are still loving watching the Olympics. Ry and Luke wore very patriotic outfits and Luke found Kade’s swim medal to wear just like the Olympian Luke Hobson!

The Olympics

 We’ve been watching the Olympics almost every night which has been a lot of fun. The Olympics have always inspired me to be more disciplined. The kids are loving it as well. Ryder says his favorite is watching men’s gymnastics. Luke was pretty excited when he saw a swimmer named Luke Hobson win a bronze medal tonight! That was a fun coincidence!

Kade’s Testimony

 We had extra time in sacrament meeting today and since Brad was conducting the meeting he asked Kade to come up and share his thoughts and testimony about FSY. Kade did get a five minute so we had time to prepare his thoughts. He did such a great job sharing why he went and what he got out of it. He said he really wanted to go to strengthen his testimony and he felt like that happened. I was so impressed by him. He’s really growing into such an amazing young man!

FSY

 Kade came home from FSY today! Luke gave him the biggest bear hug and didn’t want to ever let go. He really missed him. We all did. But he had such a good time. It was fun to listen to his stories about all the cool people he met, the amazing counselors, the good devotionals, the girls, the cheer he helped create for his group; “Listen to me in every thought. Doubt not! Fear not!” And of course the crazy storm! FSY is such an amazing opportunity for the youth. It builds their testimony and strengthens friendships with good people. He told us of a few examples where he felt his testimony strengthening. One when his friend encouraged him to read Alma 32 about faith. Another when there was a devotional about the way to be a good missionary is to be a missionary now! And he also said the most spiritual day was the day after the storm when the university lost all power and everyone’s phone died. He said they were all more focused on each other and on feeling the spirit. He loved it. I loved hearing all these stories. I’m so glad he was able to go with such a great friend. I’m so grateful for all the people who work hard to make FSY happen and especially to the sweet members in Missoula who offered generators so they could continue the week after the storm took out the power. What an amazing week!

After Kade got home we headed to the lake and it was the perfect way to get some family time in after weeks of not all being together. The lake is my happy place.

Huckleberries

 We ventured out to the beautiful mountains in Lincoln to pick huckleberries today! It was sunny but not hot so it was a great day to hike around. We found plenty of huckleberries! We even left some behind. They are delicious!

Fear Not

 Apparently the storm in Missoula last night was more intense than I realized. Missoula is a bit of a disaster right now and the university where Kade is lost power and won’t have it back on until Saturday! His phone is dead so I haven’t been able to talk to him again but I did talk to one of the counselors there who said they have plenty of food and water and are still planning to keep FSY going as normal. I can’t wait to hear more details! I do remember asking Kade last night if he was scared at all and he said, “No mom! Fear not!” It’s his companies theme for this week and it’s a perfect one! I hope he goes through life with that mentality!

Luke and the Piano

 Luke had his very first piano lesson today! He seemed too young and little to be starting but he did such a great job and was catching on really quickly. He said he loved it! We’ll see how much he loves practicing. 

I got to talk to Kade on the phone tonight. He is still having a blast and loving FSY. They had a big storm in Missoula tonight and the university even lost power. Hopefully it won’t be too long before they have it up and running again!

Brad has been bringing fresh water home from his office for us to drink. The boiled water did not taste good! We are grateful his office water is clean.

Tenley had her first late night with a friend Olivia. Olivia moved in just down the street earlier this summer and they hang out frequently. I love how well they get a long and how close we live to each other! Tenley is pretty lucky!

Clean Water

 Last night at 4 am Brad and I were awakened by some strange banging noise. I thought it was the kids downstairs but it wasn’t. It ended up being a city problem. Apparently a pipe broke and affected our whole neighborhood with dirty water. We have to boil our water in order to drink it now for about a week. Kind of crazy! Luckily our stove works so we can boil water.

Keena has had an ear infection for some time and he finally had surgery in order to get them cleaned out and taken care of and his hematoma drained. Poor thing has to wear a cone for two weeks now. We’re hoping it helps him!

Kade is still having a great time at FSY! He’s checked in a little bit and sent pictures. I’m so glad he was able to go.

FSY

 My friend and I dropped our boys off at FSY today in Missoula. They were so excited! I hope they have a great time. I will miss Kade again but with how often he keeps leaving, I really need to get over that! I’m grateful that he’s had so many good opportunities this summer.

Kade and Tenley

 It was so fun to watch Kade and Tenley play their duet in sacrament meeting today. For a second I couldn’t believe how big they’ve gotten. It really is strange how sentimental I’ve become as my kids have gotten older. They are amazing. They were nervous but they got up there and did it. 

Tenley spent the afternoon paining the boys’ Book of Mormons like she did at camp for herself. The boys thought it was the coolest thing and are excited to have their own books specially painted by Tenley.

Youth Leaders

 Tenley got back from girls camp today! It’s so nice to have us all together again. She had such a great time at camp. I know it’s a huge sacrifice for all the moms who left their kids to be up at camp most of the week and I appreciate it so much! They made it so much fun for the girls. 

Kade and Tenley got right to practicing their piano/flute duet song that they’re playing in sacrament meeting tomorrow. I think it’s going to be great!

Girls Camp

 Brad went up to girls camp tonight for the Bishop’s devotional and I joined him! I was so excited to see Tenley and be at camp for a little bit. Girls camp is the best and this looked like a fun one! Brad had me say a few words and then he said a few words and then we stuck around for their testimony meeting. The girls are amazing!!! I loved hearing from Tenley and several of the other girls I know. I can’t wait to hear more about camp when she gets home!

The Lake

 Brad was home from work by 2 today so we decided to head to the lake! Kade brought a friend and we enjoyed a very glassy, calm lake! We hardly saw anyone else. It was so peaceful! And the water felt so refreshing. Since the water was so glassy I even went wakeboarding. It was so much fun. And the kids did all sorts of things. The little boys loved tubing and the big boys were getting gutsy jumping the wake on the wakeboard. It was the best evening.

Ryder’s Prayer

 Tenley left for girls camp today! She was so excited, but I really miss her. I didn’t realize how lonely it would be to be the only girl in the house. I needed to make a dessert for the missionaries tonight and she wasn’t here to help me. There were a lot of other moments too where I was just wishing she was here. I’m such a sappy mom! But the best part of the day was hearing Ryder pray for Tenley in our family prayer tonight. My momma heart really melted then! 

Beginnings

 For the first time in over 26 years I went to a piano lesson. I love the piano and I’ve been able to do well enough with the education I did receive but I want to learn more! I am seriously lacking in music theory knowledge so I found an amazing teacher and I’m so excited to start working with her. I’m really hoping it helps me improve! 

Other than my lesson we were mainly at home today. I think Kade and Tenley got a little bored but Ryder and Luke started building car tracks and listening to music and laughing. They had so much fun playing and it made me so happy!

More soccer games tonight…Just Luke this time. Even though it was hot he played hard! And he’s getting so much better at passing and being a team player. That means that he doesn’t score as many goals, but it’s something he definitely needed to improve on.

The Lap Pool

 Ryder progressed to the lap pool today! He swam freestyle the length of the pool and then swam backstroke on the way back. It’s been inspiring to watch him progress so quickly. I think he’s already a better swimmer than I am. Watching him makes me want to take swimming lessons. I told him that the other day and he said, “But you’re an adult! That would be embarrassing!” I probably would have thought the same thing 5-10 years ago, but as I’ve aged I really am caring less about what other people think of me. And if I want to take swim lessons nothing should hold me back! Not even my age.

Family Reunions

 We just got back from a Hobson Family Reunion at the beautiful Williams Lake Resort in Salmon, Idaho. It’s the third time we’ve been there and it really is the perfect location for us. The facilities are great and the view is unbeatable! Not to mention all the kayaks and paddle boards there for us to use. Somehow all 8 children, their spouses, and even all their children and grandchildren made it this year! It’s the first time that has happened in 14 years. For 60 people to be able to make this work is sort of a miracle. I got to meet two of my new great nephews and my nephews fiance! It was so nice to have a weekend to catch up with everyone and make good memories. We are lucky to have such a fun family. It went by too fast!