Adventures for the Kids

 My little family is spread out in three different places right now. Tenley is still at BYU and Brad and Kade left for Canada this morning. It was a long drive for them but they made in time for dinner and to walk around the city and see the World Cup venue with Kyle and Max. I think they’re having a great time!

Tenley must have been really busy today because I didn’t get to hear from her very much. But from what she did say it was a good day!

Ryder, Luke and I had a good day as well. They had their last soccer game tonight and they rocked it! Ryder kicked a cross to Luke and Luke scored a goal! It was such a fun season having them on the same team!

Messages from Tenley

 I love hearing from Tenley every night. She gives me a fun update of her day and she’s so happy. She also sends pictures! My kids know how much I love pictures so I’m so grateful that she’s been taking pictures every day for me so I can see what she’s been up to. 

We had a pretty normal day here. Kade found some snapper fireworks and the boys had fun playing with those. It’s hot and smoky!

BYU FSY

 Tenley made it to BYU Provo today for FSY! She is so excited to be there! She’s across the hall from her cousin and she says she has a great company and room mate. Her room mate is from New York City! I’m so excited for her and I know she’ll have a great week.

Being All Together

 Kade and Tenley made it home today!! I’m so happy to have them back. But I’m also really happy that they had such a good time at FSY. They definitely loved it and want to do it again next year. They both said they want to be FSY counselors as well when they’re old enough. 

We had a fun night together tonight. We ordered take out and watched the new How To Train Your Dragon movie. It was really good! And it was so nice to be all together again.

Ryder and Luke

 We are definitely all missing Kade and Tenley but it has been good for us to have this time with Ryder and Luke. Ryder is such a big helper when he’s relied on as the oldest kid. I’ve appreciated him so much. 

We had a long day planned today and the boys were awesome! We left the house at 7am to get to the Helena Temple for a morning session while we towed the boat because we planned to meet some of Brad’s staff members at the lake after the temple. The boys hung out in the waiting room at the church across the street while Brad and I were in the temple and they were still happy when we were done. We made a quick stop at Costco to pick up supplies for boating and dinner and then headed to the lake! Jayden, Brad’s assistant, came with her husband Tylor and her daughter Ramsey. Brad’s hygienist Linsey also came with her little baby Rhyett. Luke loved having Ryhett with us! And Ryder had a lot of fun with Ramsey. They are just a grade apart. The two of them rode on the tube for over 50% of the time we were on the lake until they were thrown off! 

Kade and Tenley both checked in late tonight and had great days again! We get to see them tomorrow and we can’t wait!

Ice Cream After Lunch

 Kade and Tenley both had amazing days today. It was the talent show, testimony meeting day. Kade’s text to sum up his day was one sentence; “Today was Celestial.” I’m waiting on more details right now. But I can’t tell you how much I love FSY and the testimony builder it is for the youth!

The boys and enjoyed ice cream cones after lunch because we needed a pick me up. I can’t believe how much they Miss Kade and Tenley! But that also makes me happy.

Ryder had a game tonight. He always impresses me! He played really well!

A Small World

 Kade and Tenley have met some great people at FSY this week. We learned that Kade’s counselor is from Boise and was in Brad’s brother Jared’s ward so that was a fun connection! And then the regional seminary coordinator spoke and Brad had just met with him for his new calling so he made some connections with our kids. The kids still seem to be doing great! It’s quiet here at home but we are enjoying the cooler weather and our nightly walks.

10:30 PM

 It’s been a weird day with Kade and Tenley gone. I miss them! I tried real hard to leave them alone all day and not bother them with messages but at 10:30 tonight I finally checked in because I knew they’d be headed to bed. I loved hearing about their days and seeing some pictures. I’m so grateful they’ve been having so much fun. 

We got chores done at home and then Luke had a soccer game tonight! Brad was at meetings and luckily nothing chaotic happened today like it had the past two Tuesdays!

FSY

 I drove Kade and Tenley and some other kids from our ward down to Bozeman for FSY this week. It’s Tenley’s first year going so it will be strange having two kids gone this week. They’ve both been looking forward to it though. 

Kade had a friend to room with, but after he backed out he wasn’t able to find another roommate so he was randomly placed with someone. It turns out it’s the same guy he was randomly placed with his first year. So strange how that worked out! I guess he isn’t a very talkative guy so Kade was a little disappointed, but he’s found some good friends  in his company to hang out with.

Tenley was also assigned a random roommate. She’s from Ennis and she is really sweet. She’s also homeschool and uses the same curriculum so they have a lot in common. Tenley was excited about that! She sent me a long text tonight updating me on her day and it was happy and positive. I’m glad it’s been going well for her.

Kade and Tenley are amazing. I just love them so much and I’m missing them for sure! But I’m glad they get to have this good experience!

Kade’s Testimony

 We had extra time in sacrament meeting today and since Brad was conducting the meeting he asked Kade to come up and share his thoughts and testimony about FSY. Kade did get a five minute so we had time to prepare his thoughts. He did such a great job sharing why he went and what he got out of it. He said he really wanted to go to strengthen his testimony and he felt like that happened. I was so impressed by him. He’s really growing into such an amazing young man!

FSY

 Kade came home from FSY today! Luke gave him the biggest bear hug and didn’t want to ever let go. He really missed him. We all did. But he had such a good time. It was fun to listen to his stories about all the cool people he met, the amazing counselors, the good devotionals, the girls, the cheer he helped create for his group; “Listen to me in every thought. Doubt not! Fear not!” And of course the crazy storm! FSY is such an amazing opportunity for the youth. It builds their testimony and strengthens friendships with good people. He told us of a few examples where he felt his testimony strengthening. One when his friend encouraged him to read Alma 32 about faith. Another when there was a devotional about the way to be a good missionary is to be a missionary now! And he also said the most spiritual day was the day after the storm when the university lost all power and everyone’s phone died. He said they were all more focused on each other and on feeling the spirit. He loved it. I loved hearing all these stories. I’m so glad he was able to go with such a great friend. I’m so grateful for all the people who work hard to make FSY happen and especially to the sweet members in Missoula who offered generators so they could continue the week after the storm took out the power. What an amazing week!

After Kade got home we headed to the lake and it was the perfect way to get some family time in after weeks of not all being together. The lake is my happy place.

Fear Not

 Apparently the storm in Missoula last night was more intense than I realized. Missoula is a bit of a disaster right now and the university where Kade is lost power and won’t have it back on until Saturday! His phone is dead so I haven’t been able to talk to him again but I did talk to one of the counselors there who said they have plenty of food and water and are still planning to keep FSY going as normal. I can’t wait to hear more details! I do remember asking Kade last night if he was scared at all and he said, “No mom! Fear not!” It’s his companies theme for this week and it’s a perfect one! I hope he goes through life with that mentality!

Luke and the Piano

 Luke had his very first piano lesson today! He seemed too young and little to be starting but he did such a great job and was catching on really quickly. He said he loved it! We’ll see how much he loves practicing. 

I got to talk to Kade on the phone tonight. He is still having a blast and loving FSY. They had a big storm in Missoula tonight and the university even lost power. Hopefully it won’t be too long before they have it up and running again!

Brad has been bringing fresh water home from his office for us to drink. The boiled water did not taste good! We are grateful his office water is clean.

Tenley had her first late night with a friend Olivia. Olivia moved in just down the street earlier this summer and they hang out frequently. I love how well they get a long and how close we live to each other! Tenley is pretty lucky!

FSY

 My friend and I dropped our boys off at FSY today in Missoula. They were so excited! I hope they have a great time. I will miss Kade again but with how often he keeps leaving, I really need to get over that! I’m grateful that he’s had so many good opportunities this summer.