2016 :: week 22

May 22

I helped out in primary on Sunday. I sat across the aisle from Lauren and enjoyed watching her reaction when "Joseph Smith" came out of the time machine. Our primary has a "time machine" and each month a prophet or woman from the scriptures visits the kids. This particular Sunday was special because a Joseph visited twice, once as a 17-year-old and again as a 38-year old.

May 23

Will's last day of kindergarten was Monday and it was kind of,,,anti-climatic. It started raining around 10am and it rained most of the rest of the day. Instead of walking up to school, playing on the playground and saying "goodbye" to friends over a picnic lunch I parked as close as I could, ran in and grabbed him after he hugged Miss Ringgenberg goodbye. Since we were stuck inside we colored for a bit. I was right behind Elliott except for the few seconds I spent taking this picture...

May 24

We met some half day friends at the Blue Valley Rec Center for some open gym time Tuesday. The rain continued to fall and the kids were restless. Will has been really into climbing lately and was able to get his climbing fix. Lauren did a lot of jumping.

May 25

Wednesday we went to the zoo with Soren, Saffi and Tabitha. It was hot and humid--perfect zoo weather, ha!--but at least it was sunny. We saw a lot of animals, including the koalas, vultures and lemurs. then rode the ski safari for the first time. We were there for about 4 hours and it wore everyone out. The kids were silent by 8:30pm, which almost never happens.

May 26

The Hoopes moved this week, but before they left Boyce and Kennedy hung out with us for a few hours Thursday while their parents finished cleaning their condo. We went to Costco for lunch since I the rain had detoured me from grocery shopping and I was out of bread. We had a fun time, but I'm not quite ready for 5 kids. I'm really going to miss the Hoopes.

May 27

Friday was my birthday! It was a fairly low-key day. The best part was that Anthony finally arrived home. He left Monday for DC and was supposed to return Thursday, but KCI closed down for awhile due to the bad weather and he got stuck in Indianapolis for the night. He had to go straight to the office from the airport, so we didn't get to see him until Friday afternoon. That evening we met my parents at Red Robin for dinner. Elliott loved watching the wait staff clap and sing to me. I've always loved birthdays, and as I get older they are a good time to reflect back on what happened in the past year and how I've grown or changed. 32 was good to me. Highlights include having Elliott, getting to visit with many friends and family members near and far, and getting better at going to bed on time. I'm better at letting go and recognizing what is worth my time. I really do feel one year older and wiser too.

May 28

He stands! Elliott's mobility is increasing each day. He is so pleased with himself when he pulls himself up. His face is all concentration until you make eye contact with him, once he sees you watching him he can't contain his ear-to-ear grin.

2016 :: week 21

May 15

Lauren no longer needs Pull-Ups at night! She earned a set of zoo Legos for this feat and has spent several hours playing with them this week. Lauren and Will worked together to build a pretty impressive zoo.

May 16

The Red Sox are in town and we had planned on going to the game Monday night with our friends the Cooks. Unfortunately it rained all day and the game was postponed. Even though I was really looking forward to going to the game, I was pretty relieved when it was moved to Wednesday. Will sobbed. Emilee invited us over for dessert to soften the blow.

May 17

What was I thinking?! When Lauren said she wanted to take her scooter on our evening walk I obliged and even thought it might make her go faster. I was so very wrong. She pretended it was a puppy and needed to stop every driveway or two and "scratch her," "get her water," or "let her rest."

May 18

Leo's mom Tori invited the half day friends and their families over for an ice cream party Wednesday afternoon. In addition to the ice cream the kids played with bubbles, chalk, water guns and pogo sticks. Weekly playdates with the half day friends were an unexpected highlight of Will's first year of elementary school. I feel like I have become pretty good friends with the other half day moms, not to mention the fact that Will (and Lauren) have made a lot of great friends. Will is wearing his Royal's shirt because he and Anthony went to the Red Sox-Royals game that night.

May 19

Thursday was Lauren's last day of preschool. Her teacher Miss Emilee is amazing. I cannot say enough good things about her. Lauren has really thrived in her class this year. Her favorite parts of school were singing and reading books during group time. Lauren would recite some of the books to me and I could tell she was parroting the way Miss Emilee read it to the class.

May 20

Lauren has been asking me to play with her a lot lately, and I realized that I don't much time actually playing with her. Lauren has assigned each animal a Star Wars character and we played Attack of the Clones, her current favorite movie.

May 21

The Exotic Petting Zoo at the Turkey Creek Festival was the highlight of our Saturday. This camel was in the shade and also the most willing to eat the food the kids offered it, so we spent quite awhile with him.

2016 :: week 20

May 8

I didn't get a very good "Mother's Day" picture this year. Anthony had to be at church before us (though his regular meetings were cancelled) and we weren't ready to get one before, then by the time he got home that evening it was raining. I love being a mom to Will, Lauren and Elliott. I am constantly in awe that they are mine and that it is my responsibility to teach them and empower them to have a happy life.

May 9

Anthony spent the first part of the week in Atlanta. He requested a compact car when he booked his rental, but when he got there to pick it up all they had were BMWs. Sometimes life is hard.

May 10

Half day playdate at South Lake Park. We had our first half day playdate at this park back in August. I remember being frustrated that Will wouldn't really do much on his own--he wanted me to help him climb and was shy around the other kids. He is so much more independent now! He was climbing all over the place and has become good friends with the other kids.

May 11

Elliott is starting to push up to his hands and knees. Sometimes he planks and sometimes he pushes back, but he rarely moves forward. I feel like he's so much older when he's up like this!

May 12

The OP-C Kindergarten classes were scheduled to take a Field Trip to the Deanna Rose Farmstead on Wednesday. Unfortunately there was a really bad thunderstorm that morning and it was postponed. Being that it's so close to the end of the school year they had to reschedule fast, and fast they did! They went the next day. Elliott and I met Will and some friends at the farmstead and spent a few hours walking around together. Will loves being a part of his class. He has made some great friends this year and it was fun seeing how he interacts with them.

May 13

Kickball. Will started playing kickball at recess and now he's got kickball on the brain. All. The. Time. I spent close to an hour playing with him Friday afternoon. Then Tony played with him again before bed. For the past week, when I pick Will up from school one of the first things he tells me is how the kickball game went at recess. I'm starting to think these kids don't play much defense because he regularly "kicks homeruns."

May 14

I spent a fair amount of time Saturday afternoon paining in our dining room. This is the never-ending project. Not because it is so difficult, but because we only work on it in short spurts. With just paining the trim and window and removing the wall paper the room is already so much brighter.

2016 :: week 19

May 1

Sunday evening the kids worked at the table while I made muffins. Will used his perler beads to make a map of the United States and Lauren worked on her letters.

May 2

For FHE we played Monopoly Junior. That game involves a lot of luck and luck was on my side that night. Unfortunately, Lauren seemed to land on one of my many properties every other turn. At least she was a good sport about it. Lauren is dramatic and a lot of fun.

May 3

When Anthony came back from Gettysburg he wasn't feeling great. We just chalked it up to being tired and him catching the cold/cough combo I had. But then he woke up Tuesday morning with conjunctivitis in both eyes. He worked from home and went to the doctor for the first time in years. Turns out he also had an ear infection.

May 4

These are the "storm troopers" lined up to battle. I never paid much attention to Star Wars growing up. In fact, I sort of turned up my nose at it. It wasn't until this winter that I actually watched an entire movie. Now I have seen all 7.  My kids are huge fans and much of their play is inspired by the movies. I'm glad both Will and Lauren enjoy it and that they are using their imaginations to create alternate-Star Wars universes together.

May 5

Thursday was early dismissal, which is silly when Will only goes half a day to begin with. His teacher said he was welcome to stay "all day" (until 12:30) if he wanted to so he did. His class had a parent appreciation program and immediately after the kids went to lunch. Will was SO excited to stay and eat lunch in the cafeteria. I love that simple things bring him such joy.

May 6

Friday the kids were off school, but somehow up and ready to go before we usually wake up on a normal school day! We went strawberry picking, met some friends at the park for lunch, then relaxed at home for a bit. That night Anthony and I attended the tri-stake 16-and-up "Mormon Prom" together. We had a good time, it was fun spending a little time together without the kids. The moment where I felt the most old was when a High School Musical 2 song came on (which many of the kids knew by heart and sang also) and a girl mentioned that HSM2 was so old,  from "like, 2nd grade or something."

May 7

Our good friends the Hoopes are moving in a few weeks. They reserved a fire pit at Shawnee Mission Park and invited friends to come roast hotdogs and marshmallows with them before the craziness of moving begins. The pit they rented was close to the lake and the kids were drawn to water/dock. Of course both of our kids ended up getting too close, falling in and getting soaked. They fell in on the shoreline, not off the dock. We are really going to miss the Hoopes.

2016 :: week 18



April 24

These kids love to play with animals. They have their own little animal universe and game that they play daily. Apparently the zoo animals are the favorites. Lauren tries to hoard them.

April 25

Aunt Meredith made us some green smoothies when we visited them in MN and we decided to make some again for our FHE treat Monday night.

April 26

I was talking on the phone to Anthony before getting in bed Tuesday night (he was in Gettysburg, PA, for a few days for work) when all of the sudden it sounded like someone was banging on our front door. It was hail! The hail only lasted for about 5 minutes, but it was enough to knock all the blossoms off our azaleas. Sad.

April 27

Anthony was originally scheduled to be in Gettysburg through Thursday. He was able to move some stuff around and come home Wednesday night. Unfortunately, the flight he was on got delayed several times and he didn't make it to our house until after 1am. I put my phone on 'Do Not Disturb' when I go to bed so I wanted to check his progress before I went to sleep.

April 28

The reason we were especially excited to have Anthony home a day early is because Thursday was Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day. Anthony and the kids caught the bus at the mall and rode downtown to Dad's work. They toured the building, ate lunch in the cafeteria, watched The Good Dinosaur and had an all around good time. I slept while Elliott did in the morning (I rarely take naps these days) because I have not been feeling a bit under the weather. I've had a terrible cough/cold that I just can't seem to kick. Elliott was bored. Sure, he liked having some extra alone time with me, but he about killed himself twisting in my arms and lunging towards Will and Lauren's bedroom every time we walked past. He knows who the interesting people in the family are.

April 29

We spent a rainy Friday night at the OP-C Carnival. Our kids still have pretty low expectations, so it didn't take much for them to have a great time. Will had fun running in to several classmates. There is just something fun about seeing your friends out of context.

April 30

We attended a baptism Saturday night that for a variety of reasons, ended up starting almost an hour late. While we waited the kids played primary in the primary room. I remember doing that when I was in the church "after hours" with my parents. Lauren was leading the music and Will was giving a talk. At the same time.