Thanksgiving Parties

We hosted a little homeschool Thanksgiving party today after the Boys group. It was fun to have friends over and play games and make fun crafts and treats. It was a nice enough day for the kids to play outside as well. 

Boys group was also nice. Kade wanted to make marshmallow guns with his friends. They had fun designing them, painting them, and testing them out. It’s a good group of boys and they had a lot of fun. Tenley, Ry, and Luke got to make one as well.

Improvement

I was tempted to skip school today and take the kids swimming, but then I thought that it probably wouldn’t be a good ide to run away from the necessary thing that we hate. So I tried to start it off differently. We all did a 20 minute workout together, then I had the kids do affirmations and meditations along with prayer, reading, and journaling. Thanks  to the book The Miracle Morning this has become my morning routine and I thought the kids might benefit from it. They definitely seemed to think it was awkward, but I’m glad they tried. Even Luke laid still while we mediatated. And he loves joining in on exercise. I also decided not to try and multi-task while the kids do school. I have to be 100% present with them. And really if you think about it, multi-tasking is the antithesis of being present. I really need to try and stop that habit and desire to get multiple things done at once. And honestly, today went a lot better. Teaching Ryder to read is still a difficult and slow process but it is teaching me patience like nothing else could I’m sure. 

The kids got extra time at the gymnastics place today because it was closed last week AND it was nice enough weather to walk the dog. All the activity helped as well. Now we just need to be consistent about these changes and improvements!

My Kids

Today was tough. I’m not even sure what through us so far off our game. We fought, we got frustrated, and we didn’t even finish school. I may switch things up tomorrow because what good is learning to read if we can’t first love more? 

My kids are the most forgiving little people I know. They love without judgment and are huge examples to me. I’m so grateful for them.

At-Home Church

We’re back to at-home church again for a time. The Covid cases are rising so our Stake President decided it was best to cancel for the rest of the month at least. Brad still had a baby blessing to attend and with our Bishop out of town with his daughter having surgery in Seattle, he and the other counselor are doing tithing settlement. But we still had nice meeting as a family. Kade taught a great lesson about being grateful and recognizing our blessings.

The kids are back in a Lego phase again. Even Luke is getting interested in them! At least it keeps them all busy.

New Hobbies

On Wednesday when Tenley and Ryder were at school I told Kade he needed to find a hobby to keep him busy. He decided to find a video that would teach him how to draw a Lamborghini. He did a great drawing and has continued to draw new things every day. He’s been hanging up his art drawings in his room and he’s getting pretty good!

Birthday Parties

Kade got to have a little afternoon out with his friends for one of his friend’s birthdays this afternoon. They went out for ice cream and Kade had a great time with them. He also had another basketball game tonight. Brad went to watch him play this time. It’s sad not to be able to go! But at least he gets to play.

Time with my Kids

I’ve been making an effort to create a memory with my kids each day. It might sound odd to have to make an effort for that like I would make an effort to do chores, but if I don’t, it gets pushed aside. And that time with them is what I find I’m the most grateful for at the end of the day. This morning I played music while we had breakfast and one of Ryder’s favorite songs came on (“Clouds”) so I stopped unloading the dishwasher to dance with him. Luke was jealous though so I r had to play an Olaf song next for him and dance. He’s a silly boy.

Then this afternoon after finishing up so chores, I went down to play with the kids. Ryder was a little sad because he felt left out by Kade and Tenley who were playing Legos so I asked him what he wanted to do with me. He said he just wanted to watch a show with me. So we did. 

It was a simple, yet memorable day.

15 Years

15 years ago Brad and I were married. 15 years seems like such a long time, but to me it has gone by so quickly! We’ve had a lot of great times and I look forward to many more in the future. 

Brad had a work meeting during lunch and Tenley and Ryder were at school so I took Kade and Luke out to a yummy Brazilian restaurant to celebrate with me! Then Brad made it home for dinner, with flowers, and we enjoyed yummy meal with our kids. Kade even made us a chocolate shake for dessert. 

I’m so grateful for our marriage, our children, the little family we’ve created, and our lives in this home. Life is wonderful.

The Family History App

The sister missionaries came over to our house today to share the family history app with us and specifically the compare-a-face game. They kids had a lot of fun trying it out. It was cute to see who they look like. Ryder was upset he was compared to a golf though. Lol. We had a fun visit with the missionaries!

Basketball

Kade had his first basketball game of the season tonight! It’s so nice to see him playing. Only one parent is allowed to be there and they only allow one game to be played at a time which meant they got to play full court. It was fun to watch! Kade is on a great team and he’s enjoying the season.

Safe Flights

We enjoyed the morning in St. George at a cute little breakfast and brunch restaurant and then headed to the airport. Out flight happened to be with Lesa and Elly to Denver and our seats were right next to each other! It was a pretty amazing coincidence. Tenley and Elly sat with each other. They were so cute together. They played with stuffed animals, colored, read books and sang. We also enjoyed a three hour layover with them. We found a quiet spot in the airport to hang out and then we had dinner together. The time went by so quickly with them and before we knew it it was time to board our flight. 

I had prepared to have to stay the night in Denver because there is a crazy blizzard happening in Great Falls right now, but luckily the flight wasn’t canceled. It was bumpy with no visibility but we made it home safely! It was so nice to hug my boys again!  On the airplane Tenley was missing her cousins and crying, but ever since we’ve been back with her brothers she has been so happy! It’s good to be home and I’m so grateful for the wonderful memories we made!

Elder Dale

We had another nice walk this morning but it was definitely cooler today than yesterday so we didn’t do any swimming. We had lunch and then we drove up to Cedar City to see one of my favorite nephews, Dale, who is serving a mission here. It was sooo good to see him! He such a mature, smart man and we had fun visiting with him for a few hours.

When me made it back to St. George we went to dinner at a delicious restaurant. They had scone fries with raspberry cheesecake dipping sauce that was so delicious! 

We came back and played freeze tag with the girls. They were so hyper and giggly. I think they’ve been having such a great time!

Swimming and Shopping

We had a beautiful day here in sunny St. George! Us moms went for a wAlk this morning and then we all spent the morning at the pool. The water was warm and it wasn’t crowded. 

After lunch we got ready and headed out shopping. We all had fun and had a really yummy dinner at Viva Chicken. Then we got crumbl cookies for dessert and came home to hang out. We’ve been having so much fun!

Girl Trips

Tenley and I flew away on our girl trip today! We spent eight hours traveling in airports and then finally made it to St.George to be with Hailey, Maila, Lesa and Elly. Tenley was ecstatic to be with her cousins! We all stayed up way too late but it’s going to be a fun weekend! Brad is taking good care of the boys. Luke was happy to see us when we saw them on FaceTime he didn’t seem to miss us at all! I’m glad they get to have some extra special Dad time.

Family

Election Day was yesterday and we woke up to still no idea who will be our next President. We definitely live in crazy times and we will have to wait to see what happens.

In the midst of the craziness are my sweet kids who help me remember what is most important. Tenley and Ryder were asked to bring a gift for Jesus for show and tell today. Tenley said she would give Him her memories and Ryder said he would Him his love. It was sweet. And right before we got in the car to leave for school Ryder finished up drawing a picture of our family which now hangs on our fridge with one that Tenley drew. No matter what happens in the world around us, within the walls of our home is happiness and love. That makes me feel like the richest person in the world.

Cute Boys and Beautiful Sunsets

I think our bodies are slowly getting used to the time change. I’ve never liked daylight savings time but after about a week we’ve all pretty much adjusted. 

It has been nice that the kids are out of bed earlier than normal so we can get started with school at a decent hour. 

The weather has been warm but windy lately. While we waited for Tenley to be done with gymnastics we enjoyed the fresh air and the beautiful sunset.

Play-Doh

The kids are still loving their play doh. They’ve been playing with it any chance they get and they want me to go to the store and buy them some more. I’m glad they have good things to keep them busy.

School was tough today but we got through it. Bad days always make me try harder the next day to make sure it’s a good day. Tomorrow is Election Day and may be pretty crazy but I’m going to make sure my and my little peeps have a good day no matter what.

We actually watched a really good movie tonight about a teenager who had terminal cancer but through the diagnosis lived his dream of writing and sharing his music. It was very inspiring and helped put things into perspective. Life is short so you’ve got to live it.

Zoom Church

We drove home from Utah today and we’re able to listen and watch church along the way. It was pretty cool and I’m glad we had service for that.

We made great time and made it home in about 8 hours. The car holds so much for fuel and so we’re able to go much farther. We just stopped once today.

Luke and Ryder went straight for the trail when we got home and then Tenley and Ryder played with play dough the rest of the night. 

We had such a fun trip and we’re so glad we went!