70 Degrees

 It was the most beautiful day today! I enjoyed being outside as much as I possibly could. I’m just realizing that when we have some furniture on our new patio we’ll be able to have school out there! That will be a dream. I love being outside when the weather is nice. I took Keena for a walk, watched Luke’s football practice, and cheered on Ryder at his football game. We should get another day like this tomorrow and then the weather will probably turn cold again. We’ll enjoy it as much as we can!

Movies and Flag Football

 Thursdays are the best! And today was really good. It was so quiet and peaceful while the kids worked on school today. I love it when it’s like that. I think they were so focused because they knew that when we were done we would get to go to the movies. Motivation is always helpful. 

We all went to see Project Hail Mary this afternoon when Brad and Kade got home. It was such a good movie! I’m glad we went to see it at the theater. But it was really disappointing to get there and find out that the popcorn machine wasn’t working! But the kids still got a soda at least.

After the movie we headed to the football field for Luke’s first game of the season. It was freezing! But he played hard and couldn’t wait to get home to warm up. Ryder’s game was a few hours after that so it was even colder! It was below freezing with light snow falling. Montana spring weather is so unpredictable. But he played hard at well! I hope it’s sunny at their next game!

Cattle Branding

 Our Stake President invited us to his home with the missionaries in our area to help with cattle branding. It was our first time being apart of something like that and we all had a great time time! Tenley helped give them vaccines, Kade helped hold them down, and Ryder and Luke tried to ride them! It was a fun adventure and we feel a little more like true Montanas now! And it’s always great to be with the Giles and the missionaries. Such great people!

Safe at Home

 Tenley had big plans today that she had been looking forward to for over a month. She and her friends were going to go to Helena to do temple work and then go to a tri stake dance. But then a crazy blizzard hit us and her plans were cancelled. She was sad and I was so sad for her. But the conditions were so bad that it was dangerous to even drive across town. They definitely made the right decision to cancel but I hope they can reschedule their fun plans for another time!

Instead we hung out at home as a family in our warm house and to me, that was a perfect night.

Beautiful Drives

 I had to make the long but beautiful drive to Bozeman today to check up on the scar on my face. The doctor thinks it’s healing great which was good to hear. 

The kids did well at home. They called me when I was just an hour away because Luke and Ryder were fighting but we worked it out and they were great the rest of the day! They even played monopoly together.

I made it home just in time to watch Tenley’s volleyball game. It was the last game of the regular season and they ended undefeated! They’re the one seed in the tournament and they’ll play next week. It should be exciting!

February Picnics

 It was another beautiful February day! I honestly feel like I’m on vacation somewhere else. This is crazy. Brad had patients that have lived here all their lives and have never seen days like this in February. We enjoyed the outdoors again today with a walk, lots of playtime outside, and Luke even ate lunch outside with me on our back porch. It felt so nice.

Brad and I went on a date tonight and we had to wait about 20 minutes for our table so we went for a walk downtown to enjoy the beautiful weather. I am loving this.

Outdoor Walks

 It was another beautiful 70 degree and sunny day here in Montana in February! We spent a lot of time outside and when Brad made it home from work just after lunch we even got to go for a walk outside with the dogs. It’s been too long since we’ve been able to do that!

Warm Sunshine

 I usually love to leave Montana in February because of the frigid temperatures, but this winter has been so different than any other winter I’ve experienced here. It has been so warm! It was over 60 degees today! We actually really need some moisture and we are sad to be missing some good skiing in the mountains, but I LOVE feeling the warm sunshine. The kids played outside a lot today and they even ended up putting some shorts on. What is happening?! I’ll enjoy it while I can.

Sunsets

 Summer time is the absolute best time to be in Montana. It makes living here through the winter worth it. It was beautiful today and the sunset on my way home driving along the river was even more beautiful! 

Sunlight

 I don’t think I can accurately describe the misery of these below 0 freezing temperatures! It hurts to be outsides. My body instantly shivers and breathing the cold air makes me  cough. It was -16 degrees Fahrenheit this morning. Oh man. I just have to remember how beautiful the summer season is here or I may start planning to move right now. But I did notice the sun rising on my way home from dropping Kade off at seminary so longer days are coming soon. It’s nice that it isn’t so dark for so long. And it was sunny all day! I LOVE the sunshine!

A Working Car

 We woke up to so much snow this morning. Brad had to get out the snow blower. It is beautiful but the streets are covered and it isn’t easy to get around town. Brad’s four wheel drive isn’t working in his truck and he’s tried many things to fix it but to now avail. He got stuck in the snow just outside of our driveway. We’ll have to become a one car family now until his truck is fixed or the snow melts. But at least we have one working car! 

The boys loved playing in the snow. I’m glad they love it so much. They chose to go outside in the snow over playing video games! That definitely makes me happy. We got some other projects done around the house and are slowly trying to prepare for Monday. 😬

Fall Weather

 We have had the best fall weather this year in Montana! I was grilling pork for dinner outside and noticed the beautiful changing leaves. I love it.

Shopping with Tenley

 Tenley wanted and needed new clothes for her birthday so we went shopping together today to find her some! It was fun to have a day out with Tenley! Even though there aren’t many places to shop her she still found plenty of cute things!

Kade had a soccer game this afternoon and Luke had a football game after that. It was a beautiful sunny day to watch sports!

The northern lights were out again tonight! We saw red this time. And then we drove out of town and saw them dancing! It was the best northern lights show that I’ve seen. It was stunning.

Northern Lights

 Brad is on a tight schedule to get our new boat winterized because he needs to take it to storage on Thursday. He was working on it from 5 to 9:30ish and while he was working he noticed the northern lights in the sky. We have lived here for seven years now and it wasn’t until this year that I was finally able to see the northern lights and this is my fourth time seeing them! They are incredible and it’s always a fun experience every time we see them.

At swim lessons today the teacher had Ryder and Luke wear clothes and jump into the water so they could see how it feels and how to roll in their back to get their bearings straight. They both commented on how heavy their clothes were. But they both did an awesome job about getting in control and yelling for help as if it was a real emergency situation. I love watching their progress!

Tenley had her last volleyball practice tonight so they took some team photos. It’s been a great season and I’m so glad she played! She improved a lot. We get to watch one more game tomorrow night!

Surprises

I picked up Kade from the high school at midnight last night and on the way home I noticed the northern lights in the sky! It was beautiful. I love surprises like that.

Brad called this morning and had openings for the kids at his office for teeth cleanings. We had a squeeze it into our day but it worked out. I’m not super thrilled with surprises like that. But the kids did need cleanings! So it was probably for the best.

Morning Skies

 Kade had his first day of early morning seminary this morning! It was so early that we were watching the sunrise. But it was beautiful. And he has a great and amazing seminary teacher so he really enjoyed it. 

I didn’t get to see Kade until 5 pm tonight. After school he went to his first game. It was fun to watch him play keeper. He did well and had a lot of fun. 

Beartooth Highway

 We slept in today which we all needed! It felt so good to get some rest. After a pancake breakfast we headed up the Beartooth Highway. There were a lot of switchbacks and we got to nearly 11,000 feet in elevation! We hiked up a little bit to make sure we hit 11,000 feet. The views were incredible! We found a fun little family hike to Beauty Lake after that. It was a great hike at first until a thunder storm rolled in. We got soaked! And we were so close to the lightning that the flashes were so bright and the thunder struck less than two seconds after the flash. It was such a loud thunderclap it hurt our ears and Luke was terrified. It was kind of a fun adventure! Luckily it didn’t last for too long and we were all safe. The lake was so pretty but we were too cold to stop for lunch so we just hiked the two miles back to the car. The sun quickly came back out and we found a delicious spot for ice cream. Then we headed into the north east entrance of Yellowstone. We saw a lot of Bison and adventurous little Luke hiked really close to them, but we didn’t see many other wildlife. We eventually headed back to the VRBO while the kids played corners on the crazy switchback roads then enjoyed some time in the hot tub and some s’mores!

I love little getaways with the kids and all the memories we make! They definitely fought with each other and complained, but for the most part they got along and it was such a good day. Going through the hard hike and the scary thunderstorm together definitely made for some good memories and life lessons! Luke fell asleep on the couch with us pretty quickly after his bath while we watched USA men’s basketball win the gold! I’m sad we’re heading back home tomorrow.