Labor Day

 It was so nice to have a long weekend together! All Kade and Tenley really wanted to do today though was sleep in. Luckily they go to so that. Last week was long and their bodies are still trying to get used to the school schedule. Hopefully they’ll get there soon!

Tenley wants to update her room. I think she’s transitioning from my little girl to a young lady. It’s crazy! She had AI help her design it and we spent some time shopping today to get it updated. I think she’ll love it!

We all got to go out to dinner tonight. It was nice to have a night out. I remembered to snap a picture in the car wash!

250th Anniversary of America

 I’ve always loved the 4th of July! It was such a great day celebrating our Independence and freedom! Kade and I ran the 5k with some of the family and then we met up with everyone at the parade. It was sunny and hot at the parade but it was a fun parade and the kids enjoyed all the freebies and candy. 

We had a great BBQ after that with lots of friends and family. It was delicious and fun to hang out with everyone.

Then we headed to the firework show. The show was incredible! It was a great day celebrating. We’re so grateful for family and freedom.

Willow Creek Falls

 We went on a fun family hike today to Willow Creek Falls near Augusta. There were three beautiful waterfalls, the weather was sunny and warm, and the trail wasn’t even that crowded for Memorial Day! It was a tougher trail than we thought it was going to be and there was a sketchy cliff edge that made me a bit nervous but it was a lot of fun! I don’t think little Ozzy has been on many hikes but he did a great job.

We made fire grilled pizza for dinner with Italian sodas and then ice cream in waffle bowls for dessert. It was a good holiday with everyone home.

My Mom, Easter, General Conference Weekends

 It was a very special day today! We got to wish my mom a happy birthday, celebrate Easter, and enjoy General conference and all the yummy food that comes with that. We had cinnamon rolls and Brad’s omelette for breakfast and then a roast turkey with homemade rolls, a salad, and mashed potatoes for dinner. We ate well today! We also enjoyed being able to watch General Conference together all weekend. Usually the Saturday of General Conference we’re on the side of the soccer field cheering Kade on or at a volleyball tournament for Tenley but this weekend was free of any other activities and it was so nice. The only responsibility was one that Kade had. He was taking care of a friend’s farm animals for the weekend while they were away. The rest of the kids enjoyed going to help him as well. I love spring, I love General conference, I love Jesus, I love my mom, and I love a restful weekend so it was a pretty perfect day!

Tenley’s Pranks

 I wonder if we’ll ever have an April Fool’s day around here without a bunch of pranks. Maybe someday we will but today was not that way. Brad stayed up late playing tricks on the kids, writing on their mirrors, putting socks on Luke’s feet while he slept, putting little toy dinosaurs on his steps to get down from his bunked, trying shoes together, throwing their sweatshirts on the ceiling fan, dying their water in their water bottles blue, putting trip wires at the door to their rooms and hiding their Wii remotes. The kids loved it and laughed a lot. 

Brad’s staff pranked him by wrapping most of his office with plastic wrap. And Tenley decided to try and trick Brad as well. She changed the time on his alarm clock, wrote on his bathroom mirror, and put a fake spider in our toilet paper roll. Sadly, I was the one who found the spider and I screamed so loud! She thought that was hilarious! I did not. 

Kade’s First Date

 It was nice to sleep in today! I was pretty worn out after our ski day yesterday and extra rest felt so nice. I cashed in on the coupon Kade and Tenley gave me for my birthday to detail my car. They spent a lot of time on it and it looks so nice! 

Tenley, Ryder, and Luke went to a party tonight and Kade went on a double date so Brad and I picked up take out and had a date at home watching basketball and the Olympics. It was a lot of fun and my kind of date night! Kade’s group went to the roller rink and out to dinner and they had a great time as well! It was Kade’s first date and he took a girl who has been one of his good friends since elementary school. I’m so glad she was his first date!

Thanksgiving

 We had such a good Thanksgiving today! We ate so well and had a great time with family. Lesa and I got a walk in this morning and the kids went out and played football. Then we all spent the rest of the day cooking and preparing the food. We had rolls, orange rolls, salad, pretzel salad, sweet potatoes, smoked ham and pineapple, smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffing. 

We all shared what we were grateful for which was fun to hear from everyone, especially my kids. Kade said he was grateful for Jesus, Tenley said she was grateful to be here on this trip, Ryder said he was grateful for family, and Luke said he was grateful for Christmas. I said I was grateful to be a mom, and Brad said he was grateful for his career. We really do have a lot to be grateful for!

We had Hailey’s homemade cheesecake for dessert with a delicious raspberry topping, got to talk to Ty on his mission and then the kids ended up at the church to play again.

Halloween

 Halloween may not be one of our most favorite holidays, but we actually still had a lot of fun today! Kade had the day off from school so we enjoyed having him home. He was helpful with putting up more Christmas lights. I’m not sure if the Christmas light project will ever be done! 

Kade left tonight to hang out with friends and missed the traditional white chicken chili and cornbread meal. He actually hates chili so he was happy to miss it. Tenley had a friend over who loved the chili so that was nice! Then we met up with friends to do some trick or treating since the weather was so nice again this year. Tenley borrowed her friend’s cowgirl boots and ended up with four blisters! It was not a great idea. Everyone got way too much candy and I’m already itching to throw it all in the garbage can!

After trick or treating we made some donuts. They were a huge hit and we’ll definitely make it a new tradition!

Trunk or Treat

 Our church had their trunk or treat tonight. Ryder and Luke were so excited to go and see their friends. They twinned with Otto and Thomas. They were all fighter pilots. Tenley and Kade had fun as well just hanging out with friends. I was so happy that the weather was nice and we didn’t have any snow on the ground! We’ve been lucky so far this fall to have such great weather!

4th of July

 We had a pretty perfect holiday with family today. We went to the parade and sadly got poured on. It rained during almost the whole parade. But the Murdocks were prepared with umbrellas so I actually didn’t get too wet. We still enjoyed it!

The sun came out for the barbecue at the Murdocks and stayed out the rest of the day. We played some wiffle ball after lunch. Tenley hyperextended her knee trying to slide to first which was so sad. Travis was helpful in checking out her injury and getting it wrapped. It could have been worse. She’s been taking it easy since but still trying to keep up with everyone. 

We made it to the park for the firework show around 7. We walked around, got food from the food trucks and played games. The firework show was amazing! The finale was the best I’ve ever seen! It tuned out to be such a  great day.

The kids ended up playing night games when we got home. They love their cousins!