Mommy Time

Today the kids and I rode our bikes to a park to play together. We were the only ones there and the sprinklers were on, but that just made it more fun! I love care free mommy time with my kids!

Breaks

Things are pretty busy around here lately as we try and get settled into our home and I try and get settled into my new role as a bookkeeper. It's hard to remember the quiet afternoons while Ryder napped and I'd play the piano. I hope those times aren't gone forever (because I miss my piano!), but I know it's important to learn, understand, and keep up with my new responsibilities. I kind of like it, too!
I didn't have too much work today, though, so when Ryder woke up and before it was time to start making dinner we went for a little bike ride together around the neighborhood. Tenley took lots of pictures in the stroller with Ryder and I tried to keep up with speedy Kade. It was fun.

Parks

We went to the neighborhood park this morning with friends. We enjoyed getting to know them better and getting to meet new friends. We're lucky to have so many friends so close by.

This afternoon a local endodontist was delivering ice-cream with an ice-cream truck to some dental offices and he invited me and the kids to come have some as well! The kids got really messy, but they loved it. And then we headed to another park with other friends to play some more. The parks here are awesome! We have a lot to choose from!

Lessons

Brad's lesson was so good tonight. I love hearing him teach the kids. And I learn a lot too. He talked to us about The Family: A Proclamation to the World and the roles of a Mom and a Dad. Then he talked about baptism specifically to Kade since it's just a few weeks away! Kade was able to meet with the Bishop yesterday about getting baptized and I can tell that Kade knows this is a good decision and he's excited about it. I'm happy for him!

Saturday

We had another busy and productive day! The kids' rooms are pretty much done. I'm glad they have a comfortable space of their own. Someday the whole house will feel that way, but I'm learning it will take time. Brad just barely finished installing all the hardware on the cabinets. That was more labor intensive than we thought it would be! I'm so grateful for him.

We took a break for dinner altogether at Cafe Rio and a quick run to Home Depot. Then the kids cuddled and watched a little show while Brad continued to work. They're so cute!

Hard Work

Today may have been Brad's day off, but little did he know that I had plenty of work for him to do at home! Blinds to hang, cabinet hardware to install, and a bunk bed to build! I actually felt bad so we started the day off with a family bike ride. This Montana summer weather is amazing and we're loving it! We decided to do the same trail that we biked last week because Kade really wanted to challenge himself and get up a hill he didn't make it to the top of before. He made it all the way this time! I was proud of him! I love seeing him achieve hard things, and this definitely wasn't easy.

When we got home, Brad got to work and he accomplished so much! I'm thankful for him. I'd have to learn how to use a drill if I didn't have him around. The kids loved helping him as well. It felt good to get so much done!

Fast Friends

A family that had invited us over for dinner last week had us over again tonight. They are so nice and giving and are definitely becoming fast friends! The kids had a water gun fight most the night and had a blast.  They came home soaking wet, but full of smiles and laughs!

Ward Parties

We attended our first ward party in Montana tonight and had a great time. We met everyone at the park for a picnic dinner and then headed to a baseball game. We love watching baseball and having picnics so it was perfect! And it's fun getting to know everyone a little better!

House Warming Gifts

We got the sweetest gift on our doorstep today from someone, but I haven't figured out who sent it yet! It's a scentsy candle and it smells amazing! I'm so grateful!

A Children's Museum

We had some friend invite us out to The Children's Museum of Montana today and we had a lot of fun there. It's definitely not comparable to The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, but Ryder doesn't know any better and he didn't want to leave! We're excited to have a fun place to hang out at!

Neighbors

We have such great neighbors! Kade and Tenley are constantly outside playing with their new friends. Their friends even came over to invite them out to play today. I love how often we see them outside playing with friends. It makes me so, so happy!

Bike Rides, The Fair

We tried out part of the river trail bike path this morning and I loved it! There are over 50 miles of paved bike trails here and we only road on 5 miles of it. I'm so excited to explore the rest. We saw a few of the falls, deer, and even a bald eagle. We learned we were in black bear and grizzly bear country, but luckily we didn't see any of them! Kade is getting strong legs. He's going faster and he hardly ever stops on the big hills. I'm proud of him!

This afternoon we took the kids to the fair. It was fun to see the animals and a few shows. Then we had the kids do a tractor pull. They had to pull the tractor to 25 feet to move onto the next round and depending on their age they had weight added to make it harder as well. Kade and Tenley were 6 of 15 kids to make it past the first round where they had even more weight added to their trailer to see if they could still pull it to 25 ft. Tenley was the only one to pass that round! She went from 50 pounds of weight to 100 pounds and she still made it! Then she got to do it a 3rd time with 150 pounds of weight and she made it to 16 feet! I was so impressed! She is my tough girl!

I love fun family days like today. We needed it after this crazy week!

Short Days, Resilient Kids

The weather has finally cooled down so we went to Kade and Tenley's new school to check out the playground there. They had a lot of fun playing. I'm anxious to meet their teachers and tour the school! Through all these changes I'm just so impressed by how resilient they all are! They are so happy! They have made two new friends on our street. One is a boy about Kade's age and the other is a girl around Tenley's age. They're both gone all day at daycare, but right when they get home the four kids meet up to ride bikes and scooters. Kade and Tenley love it.

Today's was a short day for Brad at work and we loved having him home early. We had errands to run-like buying a lawn mower and other yard care things. Having a new house has been expensive for us! We have a lot of things to buy to get settled. It will take time, but we definitely needed a lawn mower today.

Friends

Our new friends had us over for dinner tonight. The dinner was so delicious and the family was so nice. They have five little girls and my kids loved playing with them. They have a three year old that Ryder adores. He followed her around everywhere. We're so grateful to be surrounded by such amazing people!

Evenings

Our house is coming together little by little! I have a lot of decorating and organizing left to do, but I think I've finally gone through all of the boxes. After dinner I went outside with the kids and it was nice to enjoy some cooler weather in the shade. It was relaxing all up until Ryder decided to throw rocks at our windows and break one. That put a bad ending to a good evening. (Insert super angry emoji face). That little two year old is a difficult one.