three oh

What do D.A.R.E., the McNugget, Reading Rainbow, Trump Towers, the American mini-van, moonwalking and I have in common?

We all turn 30 this year. Some of us have aged more gracefully (I'm looking at you mini-vans) than others (D.A.R.E.), but we all came to be in 1983.

Summer 1983

During the first decade of life I learned to talk, walk, read, and ride a bike to name a few accomplishments. In my second decade I endured middle school, four years of braces, learned to drive, started college and made a lot of great friends. My third decade brought college degrees, marriage, two children, home ownership, and more great friends. Hopefully my fourth (fourth?!?!) decade will be another decade full of growth and friendship.

My birthday fell in the midst of funeral-related travel, but my family did a great job of making me feel special (except at 6am when Will decided to sleep perpendicular to me in the twin bed we were sharing).

To see more things turning 30 this year, click here.

Also, if you want to see a video of my sister Laura trying to get away with stuff because it's (not really) her birthday, click here.

aunt wilma

Aunt Wilma and me :: Summer 1990 :: Bluebell Ice Cream Factory

On Saturday, May 18th my Aunt Wilma passed away. It had been a week since she returned to Bennington, ID, (the Crane family homestead) to spend her final days, and just over a month since she found out she had lung cancer.

Aunt Wilma is an awesome person who lived life to to its fullest and made the world around her a better place to be. That sounds like a cheesy cliche, but it's the truth. She was a true adventurer. You could talk to her about anything! Because she had done so many things she could relate to any topic. She was a runner, artist, family historian, optimist, nurturer, scriptorian, teacher, gardener, storyteller, caretaker, connector, lifelong student, world traveler, poet, cheer leader, comforter and friend to name a few. Among her many talents was her ability to make everyone feel important. You couldn't spend time with her and not feel like she liked you a just a little bit more than everyone else. She made you feel good because she believed everyone is good.

Late last year my Aunt Louise passed away and Wilma wrote, "the clouds will pass, the sun will shine again...and there will be laughter." I've found myself comforted by her own words during this time of her own passing. I'm feeling sad now because I miss her and all the the time I assumed she would be around to go on adventures and get to know my kids better. But I am grateful to know I will see her again and that families are forever.

The news that there was nothing more the doctor's could do for Aunt Wilma came the Friday of  Mother's Day weekend. I couldn't help but think that even though she was never a mother herself, Aunt Wilma embodied everything that a mother should be. I am so grateful for the sisterhood of women who enrich my life and inspire me want to be better person.

2013 :: week 21

Sunday afternoon I tried to take a nap and Will wouldn't leave me alone. He wanted to "read scriptures." I was kind of annoyed because I was pretty tired, but I couldn't be too mad, because a mom shouldn't get too upset at her kid for wanting to read the good word.

After dinner Monday night the kids and Tony played with the blankets. Will's going through a "fort/house/nest" phase so we often have lots of blankets out. And Lauren is always up for hiding under blankets, so it made for a simple, but entertaining FHE activity.

Both Will and Lauren spent a lot of time Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday playing in the diaper box. Why do we buy toys again? I decided to chalk up my failure to put away the diaper box to fostering my children's imaginations. Sidenote: I love how few diapers we are going through these days now that Will is daytime potty trained.

All the rain we've been getting this spring has made for some gorgeous blossoms. Our rose bush puts me in a good mood each time I open the front door. Will loves to climb on this fence post (not really sure what purpose it holds other than decorative).

Woof. On Thursday we flew to Utah via Denver on our way to Idaho for Aunt Wilma's funeral. Naturally since I was traveling without Tony (but with my awesome sister Laura) our flight was delayed over four hours. Consequentally we missed our rescheduled connecting flight in Denver by a mere five mintues (five!) and got to spend another four hours waiting for a flight. When all was said and done we arrive in SLC around midnight (1am to our bodies), after leaving our house a little after 10am that morning. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement. I owe a major shout out to Laura for keep me sane, the kids for being so well behaved considering the circumstances, and all our family that prayed for us. We felt those prayers.

Friday morning we got a late start and then went downtown to visit Aunt Jill at work. Here Aunt Emily is pushing Lauren around on the roller-chair.

Saturday was the day of Aunt Wilma's funeral. I felt like I had already grieved her loss when I first found out she was going to die soon, and then again when she actually did die, but as soon as we got to the church I was hit with a wave of sadness. I miss her so much! Even though I cried a lot, I loved hearing the stories told about her at the funeral and being around so much family. She is such a lovely person and I feel blessed to be connected to her.

feeling festive

We've spent the past two Saturday's at area festivals.

May 11th --- Mission Family Fun Festival in Mission.

We made a special point of getting there in time to watch the parade, since, you know, Will loves them.  Apparently not this parade. It was "too loud" and "scary." He did an effective job of modeling to Lauren that loud, whiney crying gets mom and dad to pay extra attention to you.

I'm not quite sure what was so scary to Will because it was a pretty tame parade. The drum lines were a highlight. There were a disproportionate amount of mascots considering the size of the parade, which both kids really dislike. At one point Will freaked out about a scary ghost that was really just an ice cream cone (mascot for Culver's Custard).

Speaking of mascots, after the parade we saw Slugger, of KC Royals fame and took a few photos with him.

Lauren was blissfully unaware Slugger was behind her. 

Slugger was offended by the "B" on TJ's Red Sox hat, and attempted to brush it off.

The kids had fun climbing in a variety of vehicles.

Lauren manned to WWII army jeep.

Hopefully the only time they spend in a corrections department bus.

Will got to spray a fire house with the help of a kind firefighter.

There was an area set aside for children's activities.

The boys built a plane, while the ladies played beach ball basketball.

The kids spent a lot of time playing with marbles. We only had to tell Lauren to take them out of her mouth a few times.

Before we left Will and I paid way too much money to go on one ride, the helicopters. Best $6 we spent all day.

Our day got off to a rocky start, but we ended up having a great time.

---

May 18th --- Turkey Creek Festival in Merriam.

After the previous week's excursion, we were excited to get out again. Our first stop was the lake, where we paddled around for a few minutes. 

It was a hot, humid day, so it felt extra nice on the water.

Lauren was freaked out by the exotic birds, but the bubble machine helped her calm down.

Will was proud to ride a horse.

They had a fun petting-zoo, with animals from A-Z. They had a baby kangaroo, sheep, monkey, antelope, cow and turtle to name a few.

Lauren got acquainted with the camel.

Will fed the zebra with assistance from Dad.

I was shocked when Will wanted to go in the bounce house.

The worker let the two of them bounce by themselves for a few minutes without any bigger kids.

At this point we had been there over an hour and were getting pretty sweaty. We finished our time at the Turkey Creek festival with a ride on the train. 

All in all another successful family Saturday. Will was excited because he got to ride in a boat, a horse and a train. Lauren took a great nap when we got home. Can't ask for more than that.

2013 :: week 20

Mother's Day. Due to pre-church meetings we didn't get our obligatory Mother's Day picture in the morning. Even though I had to force them to take a photo with me, these two are my favorites. I'm grateful to be their mom. They light up my life and make me want to be a better person.

On Monday we met up with some friends in downtown Overland Park. The kids splashed in the water and I got to visit with the other moms. Lauren was fascinated by the water, but was scared to actually go in. It was a gorgeous day and I look forward to many more like it this summer.

My dad spent some time in Idaho this past week spending time with his sick sister. When he would go out and visit the sheep he would facetime with us so we could see them too. Lauren LOVED seeing the sheep on my phone, and "baahhhed" at my phone for a few days so she could see more.

The kids were in silly moods while we went grocery shopping last week. The fingers-in-the-mouth is now Will's default pose, and Lauren is working on perfecting her duck face. It is worth noting that after a grumpy afternoon and a refusal to nap, Will fell asleep when we were less than a mile from home. He truly crashed, and it took me a good half hour to get him to wake up.

Thursday I was doing a deeper clean of our dining room, so I moved the chairs into the kitchen. Will decided he was going to pretend he was on an airplane and had great fun being the captain while I vacuumed and dusted.

We took a stroll Friday evening after dinner. Will found a huge stick in a neighbor's yard, and proceeded to carry it around the block. I think he said it was a trombone. Lauren stretched out in the stroller because it was so hot and humid.

It was another hot and humid day Saturday, so naturally we decided to spend the afternoon outdoors at the Turkey Creek Festival in Merriam. Among the many fun activites we did, we went on a ten minute paddle boat ride. Will was really good. Lauren...apparently has a fear of the open water. It was a fun afternoon, even if we were all dripping with sweat by the time we left.

empty nesters

Our little birdies have flown away. We've really enjoyed watching them grow, but we are all ready to move on the the next phase of life.

 5/6

getting crowded

 

 5/7

everytime we look at the nest we can see the beaks sticking out and mouths open wide

 

 5/8

piled on top of each other

 

 5/9

the first baby has left the nest

 

 5/10

tired of my picture taking

 

 5/11

about one second after I took this picture the bird on the right took flight

 

 5/12

finally has the nest to himself

 

5/13

empty

 

It's nice having our porch back. Every time we've gone out the past two weeks the mother bird has squacked at us menacingly from a nearby tree. Our deck is also full of bird turds which has curbed my desire to go out there recreationally with the kids. Now we've got to get out there and clean!

2013 :: week 19

How do traditions start? In this case, with a craving. A few weeks back I needed an activity to entertain Will while I was in the mood for some chocolate chip cookies. Boom. Three weeks strong and I think we are now have a tradition. Usually more than three weeks are required to make something a tradition, but I have a feeling cookie baking on quiet Sunday afternoons won't be hard to keep up.

I spent a few hours Monday afternoon cleaning out our garage. I swept out the leaves and other debris that had found their way in over the past winter, broke down boxes, grouped like items together, and organized our "to donate" box. I've been wanting to do this for awhile and I felt really accomplished afterwards.

Tuesday we visited Deanna Rose for the first time this year. I was shocked when Will told me he wanted to feed the goats like his friends. In the past he has been rather scared of the animals--the goats in particular--but this week he was ready, willing and eager. I bought him two rounds (about 12 pellets each) and then made him pick up dropped pellets (not sure of the correct name for goat feed) by the machines because I was out of quarters. Lauren is very freaked out by the goats, FYI.

Wednesday evening was gorgeous. In fact, this week has probably been the best week of weather all year. While TJ was helping a family move the kids and I went on a walk around the neighborhood. We ended up at the elementary school playground. They have this swing that is designed to be used by kids in a wheelchair (I think), but our kids like to ride it more like a magic carpet. It was an almost idyllic evening: I pushed the kids of the swing for quite awhile while Will pretended they were on a pirate's ship, then they both climbed and ran around the playground, and left without a flight when it was time to go.

These two kids really enjoy each other. Lauren has always adored her big bro, in an awestruck kind of way. Now they are starting to play together. They kept pushing each other over while we were at Costco and thought it was hilarious.

Lauren had a endocrine check-up Friday morning. The doctor's were really pleased with her labs. Will was really pleased by the toys in the office and waiting areas. Lauren really liked spinning around in her gown.

Saturday we went to the Parade at the Mission Spring Festival. I thought the kids would love it, but it was a bit of a bust. The parade itself was fine, but they both were freaked out for various reasons. Too loud. Too many furries. Shriner's cars driving a little too close for comfort. Not getting enough sleep the night before (main source of the problem). But we did learn that Santa's off season ride has some pretty sweet lifts, so it wasn't a total bust. We also got some candy and bunch of coupons for ice cream at Culver's. The girl handing out Culver's coupons dropped several near us and told us they were ours if we wanted them.