Over the Door Basketball Hoops

 Kade played basketball with the boys on their little hoop in their room before they went to bed. Luke tries to get him to do that every night and his face lights up whenever he can talk him into it. He’s lucky to have such nice big brothers!

March Madness

 We have been having so much fun watching all the March madness games as a family. Except having to watch BYU lose last night. That was a huge bummer. But it has definitely become a family affair to watch the games and check our brackets. Luke may be into more than anyone else. He has been so excited to watch Duke and Florida play. 

Before the games we had a lot of errands to run and we spoiled the kids with yummy soda from the soda station. It was a sunny day and the warmest day ever in March in Great Falls. It’s such a weird winter!

Practice, Basketball, Cake Wars

 Piano and flute festival are this weekend and the kids have been working hard on their songs. Luke in particularly has struggled with his Suzuki song but I promised him on Sunday that if he would practice it three times in the morning and three times at night every day before festival that he would get the song down and he already has! He has worked so hard! I can tell how satisfied he is with himself that he can play the song well now. Tonight for practice he, Tenley and Luke all played the song in unison for n different octaves on the piano. It was a fun way for him to get more practice in.

Ryder got to go to a basketball camp with his friends Otto and Thomas today. The semi pro team in town put on the camp and Ryder had a blast!

Tenley’s activity at the church tonight was ‘Cake Wars’. She made a cake based on the scripture she was given. She got Jonah and the whale and her cake turned out pretty awesome!

Selection Sunday

 We had fun watching the selection of basketball teams for the NCAA tournament today and then the kids got straight to work on their brackets. They love this tradition!

Luke’s knee seems to be doing a whole lot better. He even played in the snow with Ryder after church and he’s dunking on his over the door basketball hoop again too. 

Sports

 Tenley and I came home from her volleyball game tonight to find Ryder outside shooting hoops. Our basketball hoop is my favorite thing about our house now and may very well make it hard for me to want to move. It makes me so happy to see the kids using it and doing something I love. 

Tenley’s game went well! They are still undefeated! 

When Brad finally made it home from his church meetings tonight we watched the BYU basketball game together. We actually got to see the Cougars win tonight! They played so well and it was a fun game to watch. 

A Basketball Hoop

 We got the kids a basketball hoop for Christmas and Brad finished setting it up today! Kade and Ryder helped a lot as well. As excited as the kids were about getting it, I may be even more excited. I have so many good memories from growing up of shooting hoops with my little brother. I hope I’m able to make a lot of new memories playing basketball in the front yard with my kids now. Tonight was a good one. It was dark by the time it was ready to be used so the kids got the spotlight out and played for an hour and had the best time.

Basketball

 The kids have been enjoying Christmas break although it really does feel like they have been fighting with each other more. I think it’s because they don’t have a schedule so they’re bored and when they’re bored they fight! Kade drove them down to play basketball at the church eventually and I think they all really enjoyed that. They’ve also been having fun delivering gifts for the twelve days of Christmas to someone every night. So if I think about it they may be getting along more than they are fighting!

Luke’s Basketball Season

 Luke had his last basketball game tonight. He’s missed a few weeks of games and practices so he seemed a little out of sorts on the court but he told me afterwards that he had a lot of fun with his friends. That makes me happy! I’m glad he enjoyed playing and I hope he tries again next year!

Packing List

 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.

Luke’s Basketball Games

 I was so excited to finally watch Luke play in his first basketball game ever! It’s pretty adorable watching 2nd graders try to dribble and shoot. A few of the kids were pretty good but for the most part, they are all learning. Luke’s team lost, but Luke got a basket! He shot the ball several times throughout the game and finally made it! He said he shocked himself making the shot. It was pretty exciting. I’m excited to watch more of his games!

Ryder’s Basketball Games

 Ryder had his first basketball game of the season tonight. I think they played the best team in the league. They had a rough first quarter and ended up down by 20 but the next three quarters they fought hard and ended up only losing by 7. I was impressed! He has a great coach and great teammates!

Basketball

 Ryder and Luke had their first basketball practice of the season tonight. Luke’s was at the elementary school and Ryder’s was at the Salvation Army across town so thankfully I have a teenager driver to help me out! Luke was so excited that Kade got to take him to practice! The boys did well. I’m so excited for basketball season!

Silent Basketball

 Last weekend at Tenley’s volleyball tournament I noticed a mom and daughter passing what looked like a stuffed basketball back and forth, but then I noticed that the daughter could also dribble the ball like a normal basketball but it wasn’t making any noise! Eventually I learned that it’s called a silent basketball. It’s soft and doesn’t make noise but it still handles like a real basketball. It is genius! I picked one up for my boys today so they can practice dribbling inside. They’ve been enjoying it so far!

Spring

Luke and I heard the birds chirping while we ate breakfast this morning and it was the best. I love this nice weather! Tenley and I also saw a beautiful sunset tonight on our way home from volleyball practice. Spring is a beautiful time of year.

We’ve been loving watching the NCAA tournament with BYU in it. The kids even begged for tator tots (thanks to Richie Saunders) for dinner tonight so we could eat them while we watched BYU play Alabama. Unfortunately the cougars are now out of the tournament after their loss to Alabama. It was such a great season though! And we can’t wait for next season.

Kade’s Basketball Season

 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!

Fake Birthdays

 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.

Ryder’s Basketball Season and Kade’s Choir Concert

 Ryder had his last basketball game of the season tonight. It’s been a great season and he’s had a lot of fun. The game was intense tonight and it was fun to watch the boys play their hearts out.

Kade’s Christmas choir concert was tonight. I can’t believe he’s halfway through his freshman year! His choir sang some great songs and Kade looked so handsome up on stage!

Math Box

 Luke and Ryder were in really good moods this morning which made school so much easier and way more fun! Luke made some really cool designed with his shapes from his math box. I love watching him get creative!

Ryder had a basketball game tonight. He played hard! He’s a great defender and had four rebounds!

Friends with Basketball Hoops

 I love our house. I really do. And I love our neighbors. But one thing I really wish we had is a basketball hoop in the front yard. Our driveway is pretty slanted so Brad has been looking into putting a hoop on the street. When his hygienist heard him talking about it she said our kids could go play on her hoop anytime. The kids have taken her up on the offer three times already! Good think she lives just down the street!

March Madness

 All of our kids filled out a bracket for the NCAA tournament and they’ve really been getting into it now! Luke is surprisingly into it the most. He chose the Florida Gators as the champion mainly because he loves alligators. He was excited to watch the game but was nervous the whole time since the gators were down most of the game. When they finally tied the game with just a few seconds left Luke was jumping up and down like crazy! And then just like that the other team scored and time ran out and the gators lost. Poor little Luke was crushed! He cried! Oh it kind of made me laugh. We couldn’t even console him with the news that Yale had won which was an upset he had chosen. He must have a competitive spirit…

Kade played in a scholarship recital tonight and played beautifully! We took the kids out for a blizzard afterward. They are the best kids!!