School ‘Break’

The kids friends that go to public school had fall break this week so mine begged to have the day off from school today. We may not have opened our books, but we learned a lot about Beethoven as we caught up on piano, and Kade taught us about his science experiment from his school group yesterday. We also picked the last remaining vegetables from the garden, mowed the lawn for the last time for the year, and cleaned out the lawn mower. Winter is coming! The kids can’t wait to play in the snow and go skiing!

Little Boys and Cars

Luke’s favorite movie right now is Cars. He hardly actually sits and watches it but while it’s on he runs around playing with his cars and trains. It’s adorable! There are some things that I really live about having a two year old and seeing him have so much fun with his toy cars is definitely one of them!

Scriptures

It was good to be back in our routine today although Tenley was wishing we didn’t have to have school again. The kids were up early so we actually got started with school on time which was nice. They’re all doing a great job with their studies. But since there is no need to be up at a certain time we’ve been having a harder time getting them to bed before 8:45. A few days ago I could heard them all talking downstairs after I had put them to bed so I went down to tell them to stop talking and go to sleep only to find out that Tenley had been reading her scriptures out loud for everyone. It was sweet.

Tenley Ann

We celebrated Tenley’s 9th birthday today! She is growing into such a beautiful, kind, and caring young girl. She requested not to have school today and instead she played with her brothers. Brad came home for lunch and she opened presents. She was excited about them all! Especially the girl trip that she and I get to go on next month with her cousins. 

She also wanted to go on a girl shopping trip today so she could pick herself out some presents with the money she received. However, she couldn’t help but buy a stuffed animal for each of her brothers! I told her over and over again that she did not need to but her brothers a gift. But she really wanted to. I decided to let her do what she wants with her money. I’m just amazing by her big, generous heart! 

Birthday Cake

Tenley’s birthday is tomorrow! Brad will be working and Kade has a football game so we decided to eat her cake tonight. She is so excited for her birthday tomorrow and has been loving all the pre birthday celebrations. We love our sweet Tenley girl!

Date Night

Kade had a football game this morning but Ryder has a cold and was coughing a lot so with COVID restrictions it seemed improper to take him out in public. I had a nice morning with my little boys at home and Kade had a great game. 

I tried to get Ryder to rest today but it wasn’t easy. He begged to ride his bike so I finally let his obit for a bit. It’s so cute how much he loves to ride his bike. 

Brad and I got to go on a date tonight. It’s so nice to have some adult time, even though we really love our kids! 

Ice Cream Outings

Tenley’s birthday is on Monday and the celebrations for her have already begun! We took her out for ice cream tonight at Cold Stone and it was delicious. We also had fun driving around in the new car.

A New Car

Our family has long since outgrown our Honda Pilot. We don’t have much room for luggage or for our dog when we travel and although we’ve been trying to make it work. But our kids are getting bigger and bigger so we decided that with winter not too far away it was a good time to upgrade to a bigger vehicle with more room for us all.

Kade and I went to look at the car yesterday while my middle two were at school. I loved it but Brad wanted to see it, obviously, so after work today he came to the dealer with me and before you knew we traded in the “cubby” for our new car the kids call “Shaq” lol. The kids are especially excited and I had a hilarious text thread from Tenley where I gave her the silent treatment as we drove it home to show them. It should be a good car for all of our road travels!

Nice Weather

These fall days have been amazing and I’m so, so grateful! This afternoon the kids played in the front yard for over two hours with their neighbor friend. The free with chalk, rode bikes and scooters, and played soccer. I love nothing more than making dinner while I hear my kids laughing outside and playing together.

Canning

We have had so many tomatoes grow from our two tomato plants. I’ve already made salsa and marinara sauce so today I tried chili sauce. I used one of Brad’s mom’s recipe and it made a lot! I used all but four tomatoes and then had Tenley go out to pick more. She came back in with just as many tomatoes! My canner arrived just in time this afternoon to can all the sauce. We’re excited to try it out on a roast soon!

Monday Night

I’m so glad we still have our Monday night family night tradition going strong. After Kade’s football game we picked up dinner and came home to watch a movie together. After Luke ate he climbed onto Brad’s lap to cuddle and watch the movie with him. He loves his Dad! 

Ryder has been wishing he was playing flag football like Kade is. He brings a football and plays on the sidelines during the game. Today he found some other young kids to join in with him. He’s such a friendly and active little man!

Conference Weekend

We really enjoyed conference weekend. It was nice to be together listening to such uplifting messages from our church leaders. We also enjoyed yummy food and beautiful sunshine.

A New Bike Track

We enjoyed watching general Conference today. There is still no live audience but it is so nice to hear from our church leaders.

This morning before the morning session Kade had a football game. He played well and loved trying out quarterback for a quarter. And then in between sessions we took the kids to a new skills bike path that we have here in town. They loved it and even I tried it out and had fun with it! Ryder was a little rocket and at times reckless even but he really enjoyed it. The kids were all sweaty afterward but they had a blast!

Going to the Sun Road

After our last trip to Glacier a few weeks ago we’ve been wanting to go back when the smoke cleared. We decided today would be a good day to enjoy some nice weather and beautiful fall colors. It was gorgeous! The colors were so vibrant, the crowds were so small, and the smoke was hardly there. We tried some new hikes and had the best picnic dinner on the Going to the Sun road while the sun was setting. It was a pretty perfect day!