Halloween

 When Luke woke up this morning he went straight for his treat bucket, dumped it all out and sorted them into piles. It was so funny! And then he built houses with them. He’s a funny man! The kids were all hoping that school would be canceled since it’s Halloween, but we still got our work done! Phew! 

They wore different costumes again tonight! They have too many costumes. We stopped by some our friend’s houses and a few others and then came home to watch a movie. I much prefer that to trick or treating! Tenley was with her friend Olivia all night. They handed out candy for a little bit and then went trick or treating. Kade went to a party with friends and he’s still there! I’m not used to having him out this late! 

Trunk or Treat

 Tenley cut six inches off of her hair today! And she looks adorable. She really likes it. It’s definitely different and it will take a while to get used to but I’m glad she loves it! 

We had our church trunk or treat tonight and the weather was nice! We didn’t have any snow on the ground and we didn’t even have to bundle up that much. Luke went as Blue, the raptor from Jurassic World, Ryder was a secret service agent with his friends and one of them was Trump, Tenley was a Target worker with her friend, and Kade was a surfer dude. It was a fun night with friends!

Co op Parties

 We had a little Halloween party with friends after co op today. The kids had so much fun! They’ve made such good friends at co op and they look forward to going every week. I didn’t take any pictures but luckily my friend took one of Luke in the Photo Booth.

Blessings

 I try to keep my thoughts pretty light on here and normally I just talk about the day to day but since this is a record for our family I didn’t want another week to pass without sharing our scare and eventual good news with Brad and skin cancer. 

Brad had been wanting to go to the dermatologist for a while now. His Dad had stage four skin cancer and Brad has several moles that he needed to be looked at. The wait to get into the dermatologist that he wanted to see was over two months! But he finally made it in. She took a few samples of skin tissue and then gave him radiation treatment in cream form to take care of a concerning spot on his left temple. He had to apply the cream for three weeks and he got a noticeable burn spot on his face and it was painful! Then he got the news that they did find cancer cells from the skin they took from his leg and he was asked to come back in so they could take an even bigger sample to be sure it hadn’t spread even further. The next sample they took was huge! He will definitely have a gnarly scar from it. When the kids saw it for the first time, Luke called it a hot dog because that is kind of what it looks like! But we did find out last week that no more cancer was found. Technically he has to report from here on out that he has stage 0 cancer though. And he’ll have to have much more regular checkups. But at least he’s on top of it now and they should be able to treat anything serious before it progresses too far along. So that’s definitely a blessing. I consider it a blessing from his service as a Bishop. Just tonight our family plans were canceled due to someone needing him. That can be sad and disappointing, but I’d take that everyday over him having cancer. And I’m grateful that he’s healthy and willing to serve.

The Primary Program

 Today was the primary program at church! I love this Sunday and Luke was so excited for it. Ryder did such a great job speaking and saying the closing prayer. They both sang loud and the songs were beautiful! And I got to sit with Brad which is always a bonus. Kade and Tenley along with the rest of the youth joined the primary children for the last song. It was so good. I love the primary kids!

Beautiful Utah

 We left beautiful Utah this afternoon. It was another quick visit but we loved it. We walked around the neighborhood a little bit to see the spooky Halloween decorations and then took a ride up the canyon in Dan’s jeep. Our drive home was uneventful although Ryder is sad to have had to leave Grandma and Grandpa’s house so early. 

Family and Fun Times in Utah

 We had such a good day in beautiful Utah today with family! We drove down here last night for a dental conference that Brad has this weekend. I love Utah this time of year. I got to walk in the beautiful gulley by my parent’s house. My Dad and Ryder played a trick on me when I got back. Ryder was drinking what looked like an energy drink but then I learned it was actually just water. They got me good! 

We met up with Jason and his family at the aquarium. 10 years ago I took Kade and Tenley so Ryder and Luke were so excited to go for their first time. Luke was beyond excited to see sharks but he ended up loving the Komodo dragon the most. 

We had In N Out Burger for dinner and then BYU creamery ice cream for dessert. Can a day get much better than that!?

Notes from Kade’s Teacher

 Kade had a presentation in his English class yesterday. They’re learning about Greek mythology and his presentation was on Helen of Troy. He made a really creative PowerPoint filled with good facts and humor and he shared the story so well that his teacher gave him a standing ovation when he was done. He said he doesn’t give those out very often. And then he sent Brad and I a note letting us know how well he had done. The best part of this whole thing to me is the fact that I had no part in helping him with his presentation. I didn’t even know he had one until yesterday morning. I’m so glad that he’s so independent and successful. He doesn’t need my help at all in fact he’s probably better off without it. I guess that makes me a little sad as well but mostly I’m just so proud of him for being able to work hard on his own. 

He said that after someone else’s presentation today he clapped for them but then said, “That was good, but it wasn’t Kade Hobson…”

Carving Pumpkins

 Every year my little boys beg to carve pumpkins and every year I somehow convince them to paint pumpkins instead. Carving is messy! But at Ryder’s church activity tonight he actually carved a pumpkin! He was so excited and he kept telling me how easy it is and how we should do it every year! Haha

Tag

 The kids came up with a crazy tag game that they like to play when their electronic time is over. Basically they run around the house, backyard, and front yard like crazy. But they laugh a lot and I love it! 

Riverview Friends and Volleyball Friends

 Well we didn’t get too long of a break in between sports…Ryder had his first basketball practice of the season tonight. He’s on a team with a lot of his friends from elementary school and he’s SO excited! I’m so glad we have sports to put the kids into so they can have fun with friends. 

Speaking of kids in sports, Tenley had an end of the season volleyball dinner tonight. We made some great friends from this team! 

Ryder’s Talk

 Ryder gave his first talk in sacrament meeting today! He did an amazing job. He was calm, spoke clearly, and even looked up at the congregation occasionally. Brad asked him to speak about his favorite conference talk from the past general conference. He chose Elder Kearon’s talk about the church of joy. It was one of the talks from the session we attended. He also talked about hearing the children’s choir sing Gethsemane. It was hard for me not to take a video or picture because he was so handsome and mature up there and I wanted to capture it! I was so proud of him!

Flag Football Season

 Ryder and Luke had their last flag football games this morning. It was a cold and windy morning but they had a blast. It’s fall break at school so several kids were missing which meant Ryder got to play the whole game! He had some really great runs as running break and great plays as quarterback and he played great on defense as well. 

Luke also had good runs. He loves to kick the ball off which his coach is always so nice to let him do. It was a great season! 

Soccer Season

 Kade had his last soccer game tonight. He played in goal the whole time and was back up for the varsity goal keeper. They played hard but lost. I love that Kade controls his temper and stays cool even when things are frustrating. He had a fun season and is already looking forward to next year. It’s been so much fun to cheer him on!