I was so proud of Tenley today. She has caught this awful sick bug but she took some medicine and went to her volleyball game and played her hardest. She was up to serve first and had seven aces in a row! She slowly lost her energy by the third set but did her best to push through anyway. The team lost the semi final game but I was impressed with how well Tenley played when I know exactly how awful she feels. She’s a tough girl and she inspires me!
For Christmas my parents gifted Brad and I freezer meals from Beehive Meals. I got them last week and I’ve been looking forward to using them when we have busy sports nights but because of how badly this sickness has taken me out I’ve already used four of the ten meals! All I have to do is add it to a crockpot and then when it’s dinner time we have a healthy, delicious, home cooked meal to enjoy. It’s honestly been the best gift ever because I’ve needed it more than I could have imagined. I haven’t been this sick in years and I’m hoping I’m back to normal soon but if not, dinner is taken care of for several more nights. Thank heaven for my parents.
Kade had his last basketball game tonight and I was too sick to attend. I was so sad but gratefully Brad kept me updated the whole time. Of course, Kade made it his best game ever. He had 9 points! 3 2-point shots and one 3-point shot. He played so hard. They were up at the half but ended up losing the game. It was being able to watch him play this year! He was so sweet to play basketball for me because he knows how much I love it. And he loves playing too!
I’m sick. Ryder is sick. And Luke seems to be at the beginning stages of the sickness as well. It’s a bad cold with aches and chills. I’m pretty miserable. But while we were eating dinner tonight and music from Music and The Spoken Word was playing in the background we recounted a lot of memories from our trips. Especially when we were in Florida and we all got a throw up bug. We laughed a lot. And I just realized how much I love these people of mine and how lucky I am and how much JOY I have in my life. I think being sick makes me more emotional though because even watching Bluey with my littles this morning had me in tears! Maybe being sick just helps you focus on what is really important and what brings you the most happiness. And for me, that’s my family.
I loaded up on medicine this morning so I could see Tenley play! She and her team won again! Tenley has gotten more confident with her abilities. She’s amazing. She’s a team captain with her friend Aurora and they both do a great job of motivating the girls and helping them all learn how to improve. Next week they’ll play in the semifinals!
After Tenley’s game Brad took Kade and Tenley to watch the CMR basketball game while Ryder and I rested and Luke played and painted. Luke has so much energy and Ryder and I are jealous of it! Haha. Hopefully he can stay healthy.
We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day around here but I still make it fun. We had a yummy dinner at home and I made some homemade brownies for dessert with a vanilla creami. The brownie was very chocolaty which I loved! It was a delicious dessert. We got to watch Tenley and her volleyball team play in their first game of the tournament and they won in 2 sets! They have another game tomorrow morning.
Ry Ry caught the sick bug and I think I’m feeling it too. This crazy cold going around is no fun! Hopefully it won’t last long.
Kade and Tenley went to a Valentine's Day party at the church tonight. They played a lot of games and ate a lot of sweets!
It warmed up to 17 degrees today! And the sun was shining which was so nice. Cold temperatures are coming again but today was definitely a nice reprieve. Luckily my kids are playing indoor sports right now and I love watching them play. Tenley had a volleyball game. She played really well. She had a lot of aces because her serves are amazing and she had a really great kill. They lost 2 sets to 3. Tournament play starts now. We’ll see how she does!
After Tenley’s game I hurried over to the high school to watch Kade’s basketball game. They played well as a team tonight. I always enjoy watching them play!
I don’t think I can accurately describe the misery of these below 0 freezing temperatures! It hurts to be outsides. My body instantly shivers and breathing the cold air makes me cough. It was -16 degrees Fahrenheit this morning. Oh man. I just have to remember how beautiful the summer season is here or I may start planning to move right now. But I did notice the sun rising on my way home from dropping Kade off at seminary so longer days are coming soon. It’s nice that it isn’t so dark for so long. And it was sunny all day! I LOVE the sunshine!
Ryder really enjoys singing in the car to the music. Often other people in the car get annoyed, but tonight it was just him and me on our way home from his soccer practice and we sang “Time After Time.” I loved it. It made this crazy -20 degree weather a little less cold. We also talked about why it hurts your throat to breathe in such freezing cold air. I love his curiosity. I love one on one time with my kids.
Ryder’s activity day class is planning a pinewood derby race! Ryder is so excited. He got the car a few days before we left for Hawaii and immediately started begging Brad to help him build it. We made him wait until we got back from our trip but they got to work on it over the weekend and it’s just about finished! I’m excited to see it race!
We watched the Super Bowl after church today and the kids’ favorite tradition on Super Bowl Sunday is fondue for dinner! Luke was actually my big helper getting fondue ready. He read the recipe for me and measure things and stirred a lot of things. I loved having him in the kitchen with me! The game wasn’t fun to watch but we still had a good night as a family.
Tenley went to her first stake dance tonight! It was much more comforting sending her with Kade and knowing he’d watch out for her. She said she had a fun time! She danced with four different boys and hung out with her friends. Kade danced with several different girls and had fun with his friends as well. It’s fun seeing these two grow up and be friends!
Ryder got money from my parents for his birthday and he was looking forward to spending it as soon as possible! So we went to the store and he picked out a planetarium and a Bingo stuffed animal. Luke also had some money left over from Christmas so he bought a treasure box filled with sand and treasure and a Bluey stuffed animal. They played with their new toys the rest of the afternoon.
Tenley was gone from 1 to 7 with volleyball friends. She had practice and then a volleyball party. She really enjoys being with her teammates which is great!
Because Ryder’s birthday was on our travel home today we used today to celebrate with more of our normal birthday traditions. I made him waffles and got him some chocolate milk for breakfast. Then we had homemade pizza like he had requested for dinner, opened presents, and then had his birthday cake! He said his favorite part was opening presents!
Tenley had a volleyball game today which was fun to go to and I also got to see Kade play on his intramural basketball team at the high school. He put his own team together of freshman boys but they play all the other teams from all the other grades as well. Tonight they played some very good Juniors. It felt like watching street ball. It was a lot of fun.
Kade made it back to school today and Brad was back at work. It actually hasn’t been too bad getting used to the timezone again although I have been frequently daydreaming about what time it is in Hawaii and what we’d be doing there if we were still there.
The boys have been having fun with their toys and Ryder made some hot chocolate with Tenley’s help. It was a simple day but a good one.
We made it back to frigid Montana today! -9 degrees is not fun after such a warm vacation but we’ll adjust.
Before we left Kade had just finished his semester finals with straight A’s but today he logged on to check his grades and he has all Fs now! Lol. Poor Kade. He has a lot of work to make up! But he says it was worth it.
Ryder turned 10 years old today! I wish we could have celebrated but staying an extra day in Hawaii but unfortunately it was time to head home. It’s hard to leave such a beautiful place where we made so many great memories especially when you know you’re coming back to -10 degree weather. But it is time to get back to reality and routine.
I really can’t believe Ryder has reached double digits! We stopped by a bakery on the way to the airport to get him some malasadas to enjoy for his birthday breakfast. He loved how every time he asked me for something that I might normally say no to I would instead say, “Sure! Because it’s your birthday!” I felt a little guilty that his birthday landed on our long travel day but we’ve already decided to give him a real birthday celebration day later this week when we’re back at home. He, of all my children, is so patient and kind hearted that he hasn’t even pitched a fit about it. And I love him for it! We are so lucky to have him in our family!!
Kade really wanted to watch the sunrise on the beach so we woke the kids up early and headed out to Poipu. The sunrise was behind an inlet but it was still pretty!
We headed back to the rental and got ready for another beach day! We found a spot and enjoyed our last full day here on this beautiful island. More seals and turtles were hanging out with us on the beach and we found some crabs as well. Kade scooped it up in a bucket and then we watched it run around. It was exciting!
After cleaning up we got dinner to go to enjoy the sunset over the ocean. We will miss it here!
