Bets with Luke, Ryder’s Cooking

 This morning I could tell Luke was sad. When I asked him why he told me that he was sad that he had to fold his clothes and put them away. I said, “I bet it will take you less than five minutes to get your clothes folded.” He said, “Do you bet me cookies?” I said yes and he ran to get his clothes folded. It ended up taking him eight minutes so I lost the bet and had to make him cookies tonight! But honestly that was the easiest way to get him to fold his clothes without a fight. It was totally worth it!

And speaking of food, Ryder made a delicious lunch of grilled ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches and chocolate Frappuccinos for Kade, Tenley, and himself. It looked delicious and it was so sweet of him!

Ice Cream

 The kids and I tried a new ice cream place today and it was so delicious! Summertime is the best and it must include delicious ice cream with fresh waffle cones! I’m glad we got it in finally. We have a few more fun things to squeeze into summer still and it’s going by too fast!

Fresh Salmon

 We had Brad and Kade’s freshly caught salmon for dinner tonight. Brad grilled it for us and even though I’ve never loved fish I thought it was delicious! We all enjoyed it. 

Summer Storms

 We had a thunder storm roll in this afternoon and it was fun to be outside as it came closer. The boys played on the trampoline until it started to rain on them.

Luke got his boy party treats tonight like he does every weekend. We consider Thursday night a weekend night since Brad doesn’t work on Fridays. Luke also said he should change the name of the treat to weekend treats. 

We also enjoyed watching USA soccer tonight. The World Cup has been so much fun to watch!

Time to Relax

 I dropped Brad off at his dental conference this morning and then I had the day to myself! It was strange but also very relaxing. I exercised at the gym, had breakfast, laid out at the pool, had lunch, and went shopping. It was a pretty nice day. I also got to check in with the kids and I loved seeing their sweet faces! It sounds like they’re all getting along and having fun!

When I picked Brad up we went and picked up some Thai food and then went to my favorite ice cream shop for dessert, Sweet Peaks! It was delicious!

Mom and Daughter Lunch Date

 Tenley took me out to lunch today at our favorite restaurant Qdoba. It was a late Mother’s Day gift and it was so much fun! She had leap up day this morning at the high school and I’m realizing how sad it will be when she’s at school all day this fall. We need to have several more lunch dates before then!

She joined the middle school for leap up day and had planned to tag along with her friend Addie. We were sitting in the auditorium while dozens and dozens of middle schoolers streamed in from three different directions. We were scanning the crowd for her friend and she ended up walking right by us! I was so grateful that worked out so smoothly. She seems excited to start high school!

Luke’s Trailmix

 Brad and Kade were supposed to go fishing on the Missouri today but it was a snowy and cold day so they had to postpone their fun adventure. They’ll hopefully be able to go in a few weeks if the weather cooperates! 

We enjoyed family time instead, cleaning the office and getting yummy sodas at the soda shop. Kade and Tenley got to go to the Temple with the ward tonight so the rest of us had a pizza movie night at home. The boys even popped popcorn. It was a fun party! And then we got to bed as early as possible because we all have really early mornings tomorrow traveling all over Montana for sports! The boys got all of their snacks and meals packed for tomorrow and Luke came up with an interesting trail mix; pretzels, goldfish, cheeze it’s, and chocolate chips! Haha

Nutty Buddy’s

 The kids saw some sort of ad or commercial for the little debbi snack Nutty Buddy’s the other day and were begging me to buy them. They also beg for pop tarts but I never buy them those, so I decided to give in to this request. Nutty Buddy’s actually used to be one of my favorite snacks growing up so it was nostalgic for me. I made them all wait to try them until Kade got home from school. Everyone seemed to love them, except Luke. He was not a fan! But he’s a hard one to get to love something new. At least he tried it!

Take-out and Football

 Tenley is turning 14 tomorrow! Sunday birthdays aren’t as exciting so we let her plan the night tonight. She wanted to get Qdoba takeout and watch the BYU football game! I’m not even kidding! She loves sports. We also picked up some McDonald’s shakes for her for dessert and for the kids’ help with cleaning Brad’s office. It was a fun night but it went way later than we thought it would. The game was delayed because of lightning and it went to double overtime. Luckily the Cougars got the win! It was an exciting game!

Earlier today, Kade and Tenley got to go to the temple with ward. They saw a dove while they walked around the temple grounds which they thought was so cool. They enjoyed being at the temple.

Conference Weekend

 We had a nice and relaxing day! We made what has become our traditional conference breakfast: Brad’s omelet and my cinnamon rolls. It was such a good and uplifting day!

A Full Table

 I was so happy to make dinner for everyone tonight and set the table for all six of us! It was a nice Sunday with the whole family together back to our normal nightly tradition of Kade’s shakes for desserts and watching The Chosen. It was the best!

Filipino Food

 We had a guest teacher for co op today. Thelma grew up in the Philippines so she came and shared with us a lot about her country and even made the kids some delicious Filipino food! It was such a fun day!

Luke also learned how to cut his own chicken today. He was pretty excited about it. Haha. He’s growing up!

Five Guys Shakes

 Since the restaurant Five Guys came to our little town we have taken the kids several times and almost every time Ryder has asked to get a shake. We’ve never bought him one there though because they’re expensive so we’d come home and make shakes instead. But for his birthday he got a coupon for a shake from Five Guys and he finally cashed it in tonight! He let us all try a little sip and then he drank the rest of the shake all by himself! He was really full afterwards. And the funny thing was that he thinks Kade’s shakes are better than Five Guys shakes! I guess he’ll stop begging for a shake at that restaurant now. 

Dinner Help

 We got through a whole week of school this week! With our trip the end of January and so much sickness in February it has felt like we have not been consistent. It felt good to have so many good school days in a row. 

After school I got to meet up with friends for a belated birthday lunch for me. Again, the trip and sickness pushed it back. But it was so much fun having girl time!

Luke is feeling so much better that he was asking to help me with dinner. And he ate a lot of dinner and asked for cookies for dessert. Luke is back!

My Parents

 For Christmas my parents gifted Brad and I freezer meals from Beehive Meals. I got them last week and I’ve been looking forward to using them when we have busy sports nights but because of how badly this sickness has taken me out I’ve already used four of the ten meals! All I have to do is add it to a crockpot and then when it’s dinner time we have a healthy, delicious, home cooked meal to enjoy. It’s honestly been the best gift ever because I’ve needed it more than I could have imagined. I haven’t been this sick in years and I’m hoping I’m back to normal soon but if not, dinner is taken care of for several more nights. Thank heaven for my parents.

Football and Fondue

 We watched the Super Bowl after church today and the kids’ favorite tradition on Super Bowl Sunday is fondue for dinner! Luke was actually my big helper getting fondue ready. He read the recipe for me and measure things and stirred a lot of things. I loved having him in the kitchen with me! The game wasn’t fun to watch but we still had a good night as a family.

Eating on the Lanai

 Our first full day here in Kauai was wonderful. We started the morning off with a walk and then breakfast on the lanai. Brad remembered how much I loved eating outside on the lanai when we went to Maui so when he was planning this surprise birthday trip for me he made sure our house had a lanai. And I love it. It overlooks palm trees and a walking path. We actually had breakfast and dinner there which was amazing. Brad grilled some delicious grilled chicken for dinner and we bought a pineapple which was so so yummy.

Luke woke up to the rooster this morning. He came down and said, “That rooster is going to pay for waking me up this morning!” Hahaha. We found several roosters throughout the day and he chased everyone of them down.

We spent the day at Poipu beach playing in the sand and waves. Brad, Kade, and Tenley did some snorkeling as well. After most the day we did head a little way down to Brennecke beach. There were better waves there for bodyboarding which was a lot of fun. It was a really good day!

Yummy Dinners

 I made Cuban sandwiches for dinner tonight. They are one of our favorite meals. When Ryder took his first bite I heard him say “Mmmm…” That’s the best response after working away in the kitchen to prepare for dinner everyone. 

Also, have I mentioned the really handy menu board that Tenley got me for Christmas? She said this way, if the menu is written down where everyone can see, then I won’t get asked multiple times in one evening what I’m making for dinner! Tenley even wrote the menu for me which was great because she has such perfect handwriting. The menu has been working well!

My Priest

 Kade was ordained a priest today at church. It was just our little family in the Bishop’s office when Brad ordained him to the office. It was special. We love Kade and are so grateful for his goodness and his example. 

I made a recipe out of my new Gordon Ramsey cookbook for dinner tonight. It almost look exactly like the picture in the cookbook! And it was delicious!

Waffle Cone Maker

 One of my gifts for Christmas from my kids was a waffle cone maker. I love fresh waffle cones with delicious ice cream. We tried out the waffle cones tonight and they were so good! It was the perfect treat after a long day of taking down all the Christmas lights. The kids worked so hard getting them all done. It took many weekends to put them up and they got them all down in a day!