Ryder and Luke finally made it out to play in the snow after church today. They’ve been wanting to since they saw it yesterday. It’s still below freezing but they didn’t mind. I’m glad they like the snow!
It’s a little hard being home after such a fun trip but it’s good at the same time. It was a fun trip and we’re glad we were able to make it work!
We left Kyle and Hailey’s house early this morning. The kids were exhausted and slept the whole two hour drive to Mesa. We had plenty of time after getting through security before our flight left so we spent it in an outdoor area soaking up the sunshine. We knew we’d be coming home to several inches of snow and negative temperatures. The flight went well and we arrived home to a shoveled walk way! Our amazing Elders came over and shoveled our driveway for us. It was so nice! It may be freezing but the snow is beautiful especially with the Christmas lights shining on it!
We enjoyed sleeping in this morning. I’m not sure how Ryder and Luke are handling these late nights but they seem to be doing well so far! Lesa, Hailey and I enjoyed a walk this morning. It snowed several inches in Great Falls and is below freezing so I’m so grateful to be here enjoying some nice weather.
The boys headed to the Stake Center to play basketball this morning so us girls went shopping. We had a fun time out but forgot to take a picture. We all went out for dinner tonight and got a tour of Kyle’s office. Then the kids headed out to the Stake center again to play more games!
We had such a good Thanksgiving today! We ate so well and had a great time with family. Lesa and I got a walk in this morning and the kids went out and played football. Then we all spent the rest of the day cooking and preparing the food. We had rolls, orange rolls, salad, pretzel salad, sweet potatoes, smoked ham and pineapple, smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffing.
We all shared what we were grateful for which was fun to hear from everyone, especially my kids. Kade said he was grateful for Jesus, Tenley said she was grateful to be here on this trip, Ryder said he was grateful for family, and Luke said he was grateful for Christmas. I said I was grateful to be a mom, and Brad said he was grateful for his career. We really do have a lot to be grateful for!
We had Hailey’s homemade cheesecake for dessert with a delicious raspberry topping, got to talk to Ty on his mission and then the kids ended up at the church to play again.
We woke up early and headed to the Grand Canyon this morning. It was Brad, Kade, Tenley, Ryder, and Luke’s first time there. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I loved showing my family such a beautiful place! We walked along the ridge and even hiked down the canyon a little bit. We had lunch and found some other beautiful lookouts before heading home. It was a beautiful day!
When we got home Tenley got to ride Maila’s horse. She was in heaven! We had pizza for dinner and then cut fruit cocktail. The kids went to the church to play games and then we played more games when they got back home. We’re having such a great time being here!
We made it to Arizona today! We brought Ozzy with us so he could see the Murdock’s and because we love him. He did a great job on the flight even though we were quite the spectacle traveling with a dog. We left 24 degrees in Montana and landed in 70 degree weather in Mesa. It felt amazing to feel the warm sunshine on my face. It took a bit longer than we had expected to get our rental car but I couldn’t complain because it was more time to enjoy the sunshine! We stopped for a late lunch and the made the drive to Flagstaff to see Kyle and Hailey and the Murdocks! We got a tour of the house and had fun hanging out with them all night. We’re so excited to spend the rest of the week with them!
We get to go to Arizona tomorrow to be with family for Thanksgiving! We’re so excited! The kids always like me to write up a packing list for them so they know exactly what to bring. Tenley decorated it really cutely for me. It should be a great trip!
I got to go to Ryder’s basketball game tonight. I’ve missed his games the last few weeks because I’ve been at Luke’s. It was fun to see Ryder play again! His team is pretty amazing and Ryder is learning a lot.
We made it through our first stake conference with Brad in the stake presidency! They saved our family a bench right up in the front which was different. We’re used to sitting on the hard chairs. I was hoping the kids would sit perfectly and not fight, but of course that didn’t happen. They’re just kids. But they were pretty good for the most part! It was another good session and a great weekend. Hopefully we’ll be better at this the next time.
All of the Christmas lights that Brad owns are now on the house or in the yard. We turned them on tonight to check it all out. It looks pretty amazing!
