Cafe Rio

Tenley’s birthday is tomorrow so she strategically worked our calendar so that it would be her night tonight. She chose Cafe Rio for dinner, of course, and we watched Beethoven. She couldn’t be more excited for her special day tomorrow!

Falling Leaves

Ryder and Luke love to play in all the leaves in the ground. It seems as though we can’t walk outside without them picking up all the leaves they find. The things that bring little kids joy are so sweet and so simple. I love it.

Uncle Bryan

Having Brad’s brother Bryan here was a lot of fun! It’s just so nice to have visitors and to be able to share with them what we love about our city. He went on a run this morning to Giant Springs state park and then Brad made him a big breakfast. He flew back home this afternoon.

The three oldest all had games again today. Ryder’s football game went well! He ran over half the field on his way to get a touchdown but had his flag pulled right before he got there. It was a great play!

Tenley was really aggressive at her basketball game. She made two baskets! And had a lot of great assists and rebounds. 

Kade had soccer games in Bozeman. With Brad’s brother here we decided to send Kade with friends. We were sad not to be there! He played goalie the whole time! And he loved it and loved the challenge.

Brad and I went for a nice walk this afternoon to enjoy the fall colors. It was beautiful.

After School Snacks

Ryder added mint Oreos, double stuff Oreos, and birthday cake Oreos to my shopping list so Luke and I headed to the store and actually bought all those Oreos! Luke requested chocolate milk as well. Then we picked up the kids from school and went home to enjoy our Oreos and chocolate milk. The kids would love to make this an after school snack tradition! 

Brad had a great day fishing on the Missouri with his brother Bryan. The fishing was good! We went out to Roadhouse Diner for dinner and Bryan braved the windowmaker burger. Luckily he’s still breathing just fine. 

Early Morning Risers

I like to wake up early and get a good start to my day. Normally it’s just me up early in a very quiet house. But a few weeks ago Kade started waking up at 7 to get some things done before school starts. He always sets his alarm as a song as well. I’ve heard him woken up by Queen, Led Zepplin, AJR, and his current favorite, the song Come On Eileen. He usually gets dressed, practices the piano, and then takes a ride on the go cart all before any of the other kids are awake. Today Luke got up early as well and went for a ride on the go cart with him. It’s fun to have someone in the house who enjoys the morning as much as I do. 

Big Brothers

Luke is a really happy little man when the kids are gone but when they get home Luke just wants to play with them. But the other kids don’t often feel like playing so it causes a lot of tears. Poor little Luke really wanted Ryder to jump on the trampoline with him but Ryder didn’t want to. And Luke didn’t want me to jump with him. Somehow Kade convinced him to let him jump with him and Luke brightened up after that. Kade may be nine years older but he sure knows how to play on Luke’s level. It was so sweet!

Three Year Olds

Luke was my funny little buddy today. At one point he had put his hat on backward and asked me to tie his jacket around his waist. I’m not so sure where he gets his fashion sense. But it was cute!

He also asked me to make him a snack with apples, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. That he definitely got from me!

Ice Cream

When we were in Glacier over the weekend and the ice cream shop was closed we were pretty sad so we took the kids out for ice cream tonight. It definitely doesn’t compare to the Glacier ice cream shop but the kids were happy!

Conference Weekend

We loved having Brad at home with us all day today. I think he enjoyed a day to finally sleep in. He made his omelet this morning and I made cinnamon rolls. It was all ready right when conference started. All of the sessions were wonderful and I’m looking forward to going back through and watching them again. 

After the sessions today we went for a walk by the river to enjoy more of this beautiful fall weather!

Saturday Sports

All the kids, except Luke, had a game today! Ryder’s football team did well. He was able to play quarterback again and helped get his team down the field for a touchdown. 

Tenley had her first basketball game. She played really well! She was aggressive and ran fast up and down the court. It will be fun to watch her progress.

Kade had two soccer games today. The first game was against older, bigger kids and our team was missing one of our best defenders so Kade had a lot of shots on goal. He managed to save several of them, but several got past him as well. Honestly it’s all just great experience for him and will only make him better. The second game was more evenly matched and his team won! 

Luke had fun cheering the kids on with me and Brad and I got away for a date tonight. We picked up our favorite salads from Mackenzie River and ate them along the river while listening to conference. It was a really fun date. 

Fall in Glacier

Last year we went to Glacier during the fall for our first time and we loved it so much that I had to make sure we did it again this year. It was a perfect fall day today and the colors were beautiful. We almost tried a new hike, but it was 7.5 miles and we just weren’t sure if Ryder would be ready for it so we hiked to Avalanche Lake instead, an old favorite. I’m glad we did because any longer than the 4.5 miles would have been too long for Ry. We had fun at the lake and then ended the day with a picnic of soup and bread at St. Mary’s Lake. The only thing missing today was the Glacier ice cream, but they just closed for the season last week. We’ll have to plan better next time!