Google Docs

 Tenley and her two good friends from homeschool co op have been writing a book together. They share a google doc and they all log on with each other and add things to the story and discuss what they think should happen next. It’s been fun for them and I’m excited to read the book myself someday!

Ryder and Luke aren’t writing books but they’re reading them at least! And twinning while they do it! 

Books

 There was a time when I didn’t think my little boys would ever get into reading books on their own. They’ve always loved it when I’ve read them stories but reading a book by themselves never seemed like an interest to them. Until recently. Now the first thing Ryder grabs when we have to go for a drive is a book. And Luke has been copying him. It was so quiet in the car on the way to Tenley’s volleyball game tonight because the boys were just reading books. I loved it!

Kade’s game was canceled due to lightning so hopefully he’ll finish tomorrow and I’ll be able to be there!

The Library, CrossFit, Volleyball Games

We had a busy and fun day today! We went to the library to get some books for the kids and they really enjoyed that. Luke has been bringing his new Bluey book around with him everywhere today.

Kade has been working out at a Crossfit gym for the past few weeks. They have a six week program for homeschoolers and he's really enjoying it. He feels like he's getting stronger which will be great for soccer season!

And then Tenley had her first volleyball game tonight with her homeschool team, the Bulldogs. They did great and won the match! Tenley is in 6th grade, but most of her teammates are in 7th or 8th grade. They will actually be playing 8th grade teams this year. It will be fun to watch! She really enjoyed the game tonight. She mainly plays in the center to set the ball to her teammates and she loves that.

The End of the Day

Today was filled with piano lessons, lots of reading (Tenley has gotten into a series and I’m reading a dragon book to the little boys), more tennis at actual tennis courts this time, and the boys playing soccer in the backyard. It’s chaotic to have the kids with me all day, but thinking back on the day now, it was perfect. 

Reading Lessons

Luke finished his reading lessons today! 100 lessons and he is such a quick learner. I was so impressed with him and I love hearing him read!

‘I Survived’

Ryder has been enjoying reading books lately a lot more than he used to. He got a new book from the I Survived series at school today and he was reading it while he walked to the car. It was so seeet to see!

My Little Bookworm

Tenley had an orthodontist appointment this morning and right when we got there Luke found the books and sat down to read. It was cute. We’ve still been doing our reading lesson each morning and he still loves it!

Reading

Luke and I started the learn to read book that I’ve used with all the kids to get them reading before they start kindergarten. It was a great first lesson!

Dog Training

Ryder took some time trying to train Keena today. I hope he keeps it up! He got him to shake and play dead but it might be a while before he can get him to roll over. That command wasn’t registering so well for Keena.

We went to the library to pick out new books for the kids. Luckily they had a better selection this time of their favorites. 

Coaching

We went to the library this afternoon. The kids always love going to pick out new books. And Luke loves playing with the toys. We sat and all ready books for several minutes until it was time to go home and have lunch. It was nice and peaceful!

Tenley and I had a game tonight. I thought my co-coach would be there with me but he didn’t make it so it was all me. There are things we all still need to work on but the kids have improved so much! They won the game and played so well! They were spreading out better and passing the ball better. They had four goals! I was so impressed. Practice has definitely helped. One of my kids told me that his mom said he could get $20 if he scored a goal. I had him as forward most the game and he made two goals! I love seeing the kids improve and progress and listen to instruction. It was a fun night for me.

Library Trips, Baseball

We made our monthly trip to the library today and the kids got some new books. They enjoy that. Ryder was excited to pick out some new Elephant and Piggie books. He love them so much and I love hearing him read. He’s pretty good with voices.

Tenley had a volleyball game tonight and Kade had his first baseball game! Brad went to Kade’s game with Luke and Ryder and I were at Tenley’s game. Kade got some nice and sunny spring weather for his first game of the season. It was a beautiful day.

Library Books

Our city library is only open in the afternoon now and since that is when Luke takes a nap we haven’t been in a long time. But Kade was begging to go so we made it work today. They all got new fun books amd they spent most of the rest of the day reading them. Ryder feels so cool to be able to read his own book all by himself. His favorite is Elephant and Piggie. 

Stories of Jesus

My amazingly talented friend wrote the sweetest and most adorable children’s book all about the Savior and His life. It is the best children’s book that I have ever read. We got them in the mail today and I read it twice to Luke right then. And I cried. It was the sweetest thing. Then we read it twice again tonight and Luke told me not to cry. So I tried really hard not to. I’m so excited to read this book to my little boys every night so they can really internalize the story of Jesus.

Books

Last night Luke found a lot of fun Toy Story books downstairs and since we didn’t read them all last night Ryder read them to him today while I got ready for church. It was cute and I was impressed to hear Ryder read new words that he hasn’t read before. It made for a really great Sunday morning.

Ryder’s Reading

Brad and Kade went skiing today. The rest of us decided to stay home because with wind chill it was going to feel like -5 degrees. Tenley and Ryder also wanted to switch their rooms up so we spent the whole day doing that. Tenley now has her own room downstairs and Ryder is sharing a room with Luke upstairs. The little boys were so excited to have bunk beds and share a room together. I just hope that they actually sleep! 

It was a lot of work getting the beds upstairs. We even had to take them apart to get through the door frames. I’ll be honest I’ve never really used a drill, but we figured it out! Tenley and Ryder were great helpers getting the bed upstairs. I’m glad they’re so strong! 

Ryder has been reading really well. He’s making a lot of progress and he’s having fun reading. His favorite book is One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss. He read the whole thing to me yesterday. It took over 30 minutes but he did it and loved every minute of it. I love his persistence.

New Books

While Tenley and I were in our girl trip last month we picked up a new book that my sister in law had recommended to us called, “The Book With No Pictures.” The kids love it! Especially Ryder. He wants to read it every night now. Tenley even has it memorized since we’ve read it so many times. It’s a fun one!

Gift Cards

Kade and Tenley both received gift cards to Barnes and Noble for practicing their recital songs 100 times each. We decided to take a trip to the book store so they could pick something out. Kade chose a new book and Tenley chose a new stuffed animal. And Ryder used some of his money for a LEGO set. That’s pretty indicative of their passions tight now. It was nice to get out. Phase 2 or reopening for our state will begin June 1st. 

Anthony Sweat

We had a great day here in Provo at the dental conference. There were great speakers for us dental wives and my favorite by far was Anthony Sweat. I’ve known and loved him for several years now. He wrote a book called Christ In Every Hour that helped me understand the atonement of Jesus Christ on a much deeper level. I’ve gifted his book to my mom, several friends, and even a few of my young women. I use his acronym for Christ anytime I teach a lesson on the Savior and the power of His atonement. I love it! I was so excited to hear him speak today, meet him, and even take a photo with him! Haha. I felt funny, but his work truly has influenced my life for the better so it was worth it.

It was fun to see old friends from Indiana and Lewiston. It’s been great to catch up and hang out. After the conference we went out to eat and then to an escape room. It was a blast!

I was able to FaceTime with the kids for a minute tonight and they had a great day. They went swimming and were just getting ready to play night games. It was fun to see their happy faces!

Book Stores and Soccer Games

Kade earned a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble over the school year. He's been begging me to take him there for a long time now. We finally went today and the kids had a blast. It's an adorable store and Tenley and Ryder took a ton of pictures of each other, their favorite books, and their favorite stuffed animals. Kade had a hard time deciding on one book, but he finally chose the first book in the Fablehaven series. I hope he loves it!

Kade played in his first soccer game today. He played well! It was nice to have a game outside where my other little kids could run around. It's not easy having to sit on benches and hold the babies on my lap trying to watch the game. This was much more enjoyable even with all the mosquitoes!

Summer Chore Charts

Kade helped me put together a chore chart for the summer. He loves to be organized and I love for them to continue learning during the summer so the chore chart is more for them and not for cleaning the house. They’re asked to read for 20 minutes a day, practice the piano, make their beds, play with the dog, and say prayers. A few household chores are thrown in there as well. But I love seeing them read! I thought it was pretty adorable today to see Tenley and Ryder ‘reading’ their Book of Mormon for reading time! Lol. So cute.