When I put Ryder and Luke to bed tonight they told me that their favorite part of the day was when the adults left to go to dinner and the cousins were alone at the house. They played mafia and other games together. They had so much fun with them. I love that even though they range from ages 6 to 23 they still find ways to all hang out and have fun together. They have such great cousins!
We’ve tried to keep up with all of our old traditions from years ago when we used to more frequently get together for Thanksgiving in Boise. That meant today the boys watched football while the girls went shopping. Tenley joined us shopping with her cousins which she loved. It was so much fun to have her along with us. We went to an outdoor mall. It was cold but the sun was shining! We went to several stores, stopped for lunch, and then went to several more stores.
The boys went to shoot shotguns after watching football. Kade thought it was a lot of fun shooting clay pigeons.
Then the adults went out for our traditional date night and we had to go have our traditional TCBY treat after that. It was a very nostalgic day.
It’s been so great to be with family. My kids have been entertained non stop by their cousins. They played basketball this morning and then a lot of games at Jared and Angie’s house. The food was delicious and I especially loved dessert!
Angie had us all go around and say what we were grateful for. It was fun to hear everyone’s answers. We definitely have a lot to be grateful for!
We made the long drive to Boise today. The roads were clear and for the most part not even that crowded which made it a great road trip. We did run into traffic right outside Boise though. A dump truck had rolled somehow on the freeway and we had to merge down to one lane. But while we were sitting there the kids were looking out the window at the beautiful sunset in the best moods. Nothing could damper their spirits. They’re so happy to be here with cousins!
We met family at the church to cut up fruit cocktail and play ultimate spoons. This will be the first time in over 20 years that the whole family has even been together for Thanksgiving! It’s pretty amazing that it all worked out this year!
We had our co op Thanksgiving party today which was a lot of fun! We played minute to win it games and the kids did such a great job. Luke and Ryder tried real hard to win the pudding challenge. It was so funny! Tenley won her kernal challenge and felt pretty dizzy afterwards!
Tonight we talked about faith while we read scriptures and I had the best conversation with my kids. I asked Luke what faith is and he wasn’t sure for a bit but I made him give me some sort of answer so he finally said, “Believing in Jesus?” I said, “Yes that’s right. Faith is believing in things we can’t see that are true. Can you see Jesus?”
“No.”
“Can you hear Jesus?”
“No.”
“Can you feel Jesus?” I have to admit I was expecting another no to this question but he said yes. I asked him when he can feel Jesus and he said it’s when he prays. Then I asked him what that feels like and he said, “Like His hand is on my back.”
It was the sweetest conversation with Luke! I love his sweet answers and his faith!
Ryder then taught us about the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon and how their faith was tested and how they were blessed.
I’m so inspired by my smart kids! They taught the whole lesson tonight and they didn’t even need me!
The general session of stake conference was today so Brad actually sat with us! Ryder and Luke loved it because they got to color on his writing pad. Kade and Tenely were actually the ones up on the stand today. They sang in the youth choir and did a wonderful job! I LOVED having a youth choir!
The Christmas lights are all up and we turned them on tonight to see how they look. They look amazing! I love the candy canes. It’s so much fun. I’m so proud of the kids for working so hard on it. I hope they feel like it was worth it!
We ventured out on the snowy roads yesterday to go to the library. The kids love to read so they were excited to pick out new books and they’ve been reading ever since. Luke already finished one of his! And I woke up to see Ryder and Luke reading together. Adorable!
Brad and I had a couple church meeting tonight for stake conference. The kids were excited to see us leave so they could hang out. Ryder even turned down a hang out with his friends to be with his siblings at home! I’m glad they all get along so well.
Ryder and Luke were so excited to wake up and see it snowing this morning! I’m not as excited because now we need to shovel and the roads are slick to drive on, but I love seeing these two have fun outside again!
The bulk of today was spent working on Christmas lights again after Brad got home from work. The little boys just found crazy things to do instead. They kept coming inside and begging me to watch their cool tricks! They are wild little men!
Kade had a soccer banquet tonight. They all got awards and Kade loved hanging out with his friends again.
