Buddies

Little Luke has been the happiest ever with all of his sibling home all day. They are his best friends and he loves playing with them. It’s been fun to see them together.

We survived another day of online school. It really isn’t too bad. Tenley had basketball practice tonight which was nice. Her basketball league is through the Salvation Army and since they don’t need help from the public schools she still gets to go. Kade’s league is through the Heisey and they use the schools for practice so his games and practices have been canceled for the next week at least. It’s pretty sad but hopefully it will really be just one week!

Creative Dribbling

Our first day of online schooling went ok. The kids had to log on twice each to chat with their classes for a half an hour. We got our work done, practiced piano, and went to the gym to play basketball. I had the kids dribble for five whole minutes and they got pretty creative with their dribbling. They pogo styled it by jumping on one foot. They hard rock styled it by banging their head. It was pretty entertaining.

Brad had a meeting tonight so the kids and I watch Frozen ll after dinner. Hopefully tomorrow goes just as well.

Kids

Ryder woke up early this morning-before I had even started my workout! He isn’t one to normally do that. He said he had a bad dream which isn’t common either. He didn’t want to go back to bed so he laid on the couch to watch me exercise. Not too long after Luke was up as well! I’m not sure why! But the two little boys cuddled for a while which was sweet.

This afternoon we got word that they’re going to remote learning for school for the next week. They say they don’t have enough teachers because most of them are out sick or quarantining. This day felt strangely reminiscent of March 2020. But hopefully it isn’t the start of what 2020 was. I’m happy to have the kids home though. We’ll see how remote learning goes. 😬

Teasers

Luke loves to put hand sanitizer on and with Covid there seems to be hand sanitizer wherever we go. He always makes sure to get a handful and rub it in. My older kids on the other hand can’t stand the smell of it. Luke loves to tease them now and make them smell his hands after he puts it on because he knows how much they hate it. 

After Kade’s orthodontist appointment this morning, Luke found some hand sanitizer and ran after Kade. I got a great action shot of the whole thing. He’s such a funny little man.

General Conference

It’s been nice watching General Conference today even though it still seems weird not to see a big crowd of people in the conference center. The messages have all been so good. I’ve taken away a lot of positive things about how I want to mother my kids and be a better friend. I’ve really enjoyed it.

Between sessions we went for a walk along the river. Ryder rode his bike and did a great job. He’s about ready to try a long trail with us. And as usual Ryder and Luke spent every other moment in our backyard jumping on the trampoline. They love it.

Sugar Cookies

Tenley begged to make sugar cookies today so we did! She did a lot of the work. We actually haven’t started frosting then yet, but at least the cookies are done!

Brad and I went to the church for the zoom meeting this morning. He was conducting and I was playing the organ. There were several technical glitches, but we made it through and hopefully the spirit was felt at home by those watching!

Sunday’s are nice and simple around here and we enjoy it!

Christmas Programs

Tenley and Ryder had a Christmas program tonight and we all got to go see them sing in person which seems like a rare treat these days. The whole program was so wonderful and the kids did such a great job! I was so proud of them. They had a show this morning and tonight and they did a great job both times!

Dressing Up

We had tithing settlement at the church this afternoon  so we all got dressed up in our fancy church clothes to go to church. The kids were so excited to dress up nice and go to church! That never seemed to be the case pre-coronial times. It’s funny what you end up missing when things change.

My Little World

Our air is really smoky right now from the fires that are burning in California. It makes me wonder what it’s like out there! We haven’t been spending much time outside because of the poor air quality, but I think it should rain this weekend and hopefully get rid of the smoke.

Life is still crazy right now with COVID restrictions and riots are still happening all over our country. I’m not on social media or TV during the day though and I quite enjoy my little world of being a mother. We are lucky to be where we are and to have what we have.

The Weekend

I feel like the weekend ended all too soon. We had a really good few days together exploring, playing, and having little adventures. 

We wanted to take Keena to play in the river tonight but the first beach we went to was closed due to Covid, the second beach had a lot of mud, but the third beach worked out. It was pretty hot tonight but Keena sure loved swimming in the river!

Kind Acts

The kids fought a lot this morning. Luke woke up grumpy and he seemed to put the rest of us in a bad mood as well. And then the moment Tenley decided to be kind and do something nice for Ryder, he burst into tears and ran to give her a huge hug. That helped change the tone in the house to a better one. It just takes one kind act to make a difference!

Ryder came with me to Sams Club this afternoon and decided to try wearing a mask. He played with it a lot and didn’t keep it on well, but he may have to get used to it because apparently our governor just issued a mandatory mask rule. Yikes. And masks will be required in schools as well. Honestly the school environment for elementary aged children sounds miserable. I think I’d be miserable if I were them. So I am now 99% sure that I’ll be homeschooling. I hesitate to say 100% because, as with everything else that has happened this year, I keep thinking, “Really? Am I really doing this!?” But I think I really am. The kids seem excited. I better start figuring out what exactly I’ll be teaching them.

Road Trips

It’s been a really really long time since we’ve left the house and gone on a long road trip but we did today! We’re excited to be spending time with family! The kids are all still pretty good at car traveling except for Luke. Hopefully in a few years he’ll rock at it like his older siblings. 

New Games

It seemed as though my kids woke up fighting with each other. I think as much as we’re trying not to have cabin fever, we definitely have cabin fever. I almost had to force them to play with each other this afternoon but after a while I started to hear laughs and giggles outside and Ryder came in telling me about the fun game of tag that they made up to play. I’m glad they can still get along a little bit! 

Tonight I actually got to go hang out with a bunch of friends! One of our friends is moving to Florida so we had a goodbye party for her. We will miss her but it was so nice getting out to see people!

The End of School!

Today was the last day of school! Hooray! We are so so happy. We road bikes down to the school to pick up their report cards. Well, Kade and Tenley road bikes, Ryder ran and sat in the stroller off and on, Luke day in the stroller, and I got pulled along by Keena. It was kind of a weird run as I pushed the stroller and pulled Keena back to try and restrain him from going too fast. It ended up being three miles but we had fun. The kids enjoyed seeing their teacher for a few minutes and Ryder can’t wait to go to school himself. When we got home Ryder wanted me to take off his training wheels so he could ride his bike like the big kids. We spent a lot of the day practicing and slowly but surely he is getting the hang of it!

Friends

We’re glad to say that we feel pretty much done having to social distance ourselves from our friends. It now seems appropriate to get together with small groups which has been so nice especially for my kids. They went to the park and then their friends house today and enjoyed the nice weather!

Kade’s Kave

Brad headed back to work today which made me feel like our countdown of the COVID virus should end. Things are definitely not back to ‘normal’ and at this point I’m pretty sure the life we had before will never fully return. But I can’t tell you how grateful I am that we had the last 63 days the way we did. There were scary, uncertain and hard times but there were wonderful, growing and changing times as well. Brad built us pantry shelves, storage room shelves, and renovated his whole office! (I think he wins for most productive!) The kids learned how to work on their own at home without teachers. They also learned how to better be patient and kind with each other. I learned that schedules and deadline aren’t as necessary as sitting down and spending time with those you love. We made wonderful memories with each other as we explored more of Montana in the past two months than we have in the last three years. It’s truly been a unique and special couple of months that I’m a little bit sad to see end. But responsibilities are necessary I suppose. 

Brad’s first day back went pretty well. They still have some unpacking to do but they’re getting there!

Tenley and Ryder went to a friends house to play so Kade, Luke and I had some quality time to ourselves. We went for a walk and enjoyed the beautiful weather then I helped Kade organize his closet so he could turn it into a cave. The kids all slept in it together tonight. I can’t believe he has a closet that big! And I often go back and forth about allowing the kids to have sleepovers all the time, but I hope they look back on these times with fond memories.

Piano Recitals

Day 63

We had a good Sunday morning with Grandpa and Grandma Judy. Kade taught our lesson. Brad had to leave for a little bit for a baptism in our ward. And our kids had a real, live, piano recital! Our teacher separated us into small groups and made sure to clean the keys between each person. It was so mice to be out at a real recital! The kids did a wonderful job! Tenley played Minuet in G and Colors in the Wind and Kade played Minuet in G and The Superman Theme.

Luke did not want to join the picture 😂

Luke

Day 61

Our little Luke turned 2 years old today! I don’t think he realized it was such a special day for him but I’m pretty sure he enjoyed all of the attention. Grandpa George and Grandma Judy arrived this afternoon to visit for a few days. It added some extra fun to the day. We opened presents after dinner. My parents got Luke and Olaf stuffed animal which he was so excited about! I made Luke a blanket. Brad’s Dad and Judy got him some big trucks and sweet Tenley made him card. We had cake and ice cream for dessert which Luke loved. It was a good day and we love our little Luke.

Picnic Dinners

Day 60

Brad is planning to go back to work on Monday so we have a lot to accomplish this weekend to get the office back together. We were over there all morning doing some cleaning and hanging up more pictures. It is slowly coming together.

Because of all that is going on I did not feel like making dinner tonight. That’s not normally like me, but Brad was nice and decided we could pick up sub sandwiches at the park and have a picnic. The weather was beautiful. 65 degrees and no wind! I’m so glad we got out and enjoyed it this evening. 

Play Dates

Day 59

Yesterday my kids got together with their friends for the first time in 59 days! Kade was shocked when I asked him if he wanted to go to his friends house. They had so much fun together that they got together again today. It feels so good to see other people again! I didn’t catch a photo of them with their friends, but I got a photo of Tenley’s new LEGO creation!