2018 :: week 53

December 23

Classic Christmas Sunday family photo. We had a quiet morning before church. The service was great, with beautiful music and narration. At the end of the program Tony spoke for a few minutes and gave one of his best talks as bishop. That evening we went to a potluck Christmas party hosted by a family in our ward.

December 24

We had a nice Christmas Eve. Anthony was off work and we were both able to run some errands as well as get relevant household chores done during the morning. In the early evening we gathered at my parents' house with the Wilsons to share Christmas Eve rituals. We had delicious soups, performed the nativity and let each kid open one present. On the way home we drove by some light displays and then set out cookies and carrots for Santa. Anthony and I wrapped gifts and got in bed the earliest we ever have on the night before Christmas.

December 25

Elliott has been an EARLY riser this past month, and he is mischievous, so we knew we would have to get up early. We told the older kids that they couldn't come down before 7am, thinking there was almost no way Elliott would make it that late. He did! It pained me to wake him up, but the older kids were very excited and had clearly been patiently waiting for awhile. We had a great Christmas Day! The kids were excited about their gifts, and had been quite thoughtful of others as they picked out gifts earlier in the month, so we had a fun time taking turns and seeing what everyone received.

December 26

Will and Lauren each received a few LEGO sets and spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday putting them together. They have gotten so good they rarely ask for help, usually just to help find a specific piece or to unhook to pieces that have gotten stuck together. This was a day of clean-up and errands. I had a doctor's check-up in the morning, then we packed and got ready for our road trip to San Antonio.

December 27

My due date is March 1st, and our kids have 10 days off of school March 8th-18th for Spring Break just a few days later. We will not be going anywhere for Spring Break. When I realized this I started to feel stir-crazy and wanted to plan a road trip to somewhere warm. The stars aligned when we realized that TJ gets a day of paid vacation for his birthday, giving him a five day weekend December 28-January 1. As I researched and consulted with friends, San Antonio came up as a nice option. We left Thursday morning and drove the 800 miles in just over 12 hours. Not bad for a family of 5 with a pregnant mom and slightly stir-crazy kids. The kids were excited to add two new states to their list of states visited.

December 28

Unfortunately, the weekend that we were able to come to San Antonio was also the coldest weekend of the winter (so far). We decided to go to the beach on the warmest day we were there, which was Friday. It was 60 degrees and windy, so not ideal beach conditions, but much nicer than we were used to in Kansas. The kids played in the sand and splashed in the waves for a bit, but no one went deeper than their knees (Elliott did fall and get his body wet, but the water was barely ankle deep). The boys ran up and down the sand dunes and Elliott got out his Paw Patrol pups and pretended he was in Adventure Bay. Anthony helped the kids build a sand castle. We didn't stay as long as we had planned, but we had a fun time being out in the sunshine. After we got back to our hotel we took brief naps, then swam in the hotel pool for a few hours. Not quite as exciting as the beach, but much less windy.

December 29

Saturday morning we visited the Alamo. I had really looked forward to taking the kids here, but I think the gloomy weather (it was only about 40 degrees and cloudy) and subpar sleep affected morale. It was exceptionally crowded, even for a holiday weekend, because the Alamo Bowl was the night before. We saw so much Iowa State paraphernalia, if I hadn't known I was in Texas you could have convinced me I was in Iowa. The kids loved the movie and artifacts in the museum. We started listening to a "Living History Encampment," that started out quite interestingly about the medical knowledge that was around in the early 19th century, but had to leave quickly when the docent went into graphic detail about tooth extractions. One of our children has a dentist appointment to get a cavity filled in the coming days, and was becoming extremely horrified. Suffice it to say, I'm grateful to live in a time when dental care involves less gore. Also, this was Anthony's birthday. He is a good man to humor me and take our family on a roadtrip instead of stay home and watch football all day and eat game food.

2018 :: week 52

December 16

Anthony's parents have been working hard to get their house in order and sent Anthony a box of pictures and other memorabilia. Sunday evening he got out his old scrapbook and the older kids enjoyed looking at pictures from Anthony's past.

December 17

Monday we celebrated Will's 9th birthday! It's hard to believe I we have a nine year old child. I can remember so many things about his early life so clearly, but time has obviously gone on because some things I can hardly remember at all. Thank goodness for journals, blogs and photos! Elliott, Anthony and I met Will at school with Arby's for lunch. That afternoon we played at the park and then outside at our house for awhile. We ate an early dinner and then Memaw, Pepaw and the Wilsons came over for presents, cake and ice cream. Anthony and Will had to leave at 6:45pm to get to basketball practice. Will got a Chiefs hat and hoodie, Lego set, Dog Man book, baseball cards, tennis rackets, Pokemon cards and a lot of gum.

December 18

I made the mistake of scheduling a dentist appointment for Will on the same day as his 9 year check-up, which meant Elliott and I spent a lot of time in waiting rooms on Tuesday. To make matters worse, I incorrectly remembered the times and we arrived at the doctor's office 45 minutes earlier than we need to. It's not like I had nothing else to do this week. Oh, well. Will read books to Elliott to help pass the time and it was pretty sweet. All of our visits went well. We learned that Will is in the 10th percentile for height and 17th percentile for weight. Later he got sealants put on four of his teeth without issue.

December 19

On Wednesday morning I went up to the school and helped Lauren with her "gingerbread" bakery. During the fall the first graders learn about communities and then each choose a building in the community to research, draw plans for and then build. Lauren chose bakery and was very thoughtful about the Dot/Airheads benches for her Sour Patch Kid customers. She also had a play date with her friend Hailey for the first time after school that day.

December 20

Continuing with things I didn't want to do on my last kid-free week of the year theme, I took my 3 hour glucose test Thursday morning. I have never had any trouble with these tests in the past, but I suppose I'm due. When I got home from the test I was so tired. Twelve hours of fasting with only a very sugary drink led to a major energy crash. My major accomplishment was getting Elliott to rest with me. He is very resistant to naps these days, but if we read a few books and snuggle I can still get him to sleep about half of the time.

December 21

Friday evening Will had his first piano recital. He played his piece, "Jingle Bells," from memory and played well. His only mistake was skipping ahead to the second verse, but he recovered well. He has a good musical ear and it is fun seeing him grow both his musical knowledge and confidence in performing in front of others.

December 22

After a busy morning we went to Crown Center and Union Station to experience "Christmas in Kansas City." The kids played on the toys next to the Mayor's Christmas tree, then we walked to Union Station via the Link. All three kids rode the mini-train and Elliott was in heaven looking at all the model trains. His favorite was a set up that included Chase and Marshall from Paw Patrol and the Conductor from Dinosaur Train. Will and Lauren like looking at the Lego scenes for inspiration. After we finished up at Union Station we headed to Red Robin for Will's birthday dinner.

2018 :: week 51

December 9

Man oh man! What to say about Elliott? He has been very difficult this week. We woke up Sunday morning to a family room littered with slices of bread and overturned yogurt containers and my purse with a bag of Chex Mix emptied in and around it. Later than day he got into a tub of Vaseline and used his toothbrush to "paint" the mirror and walls in my bedroom.  He committed other messy and or/destructive acts as the week went on, culminating in the unwrapping of several Christmas presents Friday. This is uncharted territory for us as parents, Will and Lauren didn't do stuff like this very often. I hesitate to say ever, but I really cannot remember either of them doing anything as purposefully destructive as the things Elliott did this week, but I may have just forgotten.

December 10

I love watching the kids play together after school. Now that football season is well underway and everyone in town has Chief-fever, several boys play touch football at the park after school. Will loves to participate! I think it is really cool that pretty much anyone can play--there are first graders and fifth graders in this picture (though the older kids monopolize throwing and catching the ball). We had a lot of sunny, relatively warm days this week, which means we played at the park after school almost every day.
 

December 11

Tuesday was dentist day for 4 of 5 Johns. Anthony went before work, then I took the kids during the morning. Everyone got a clean bill of health and new toothbrushes. Elliott kept telling the hygienist, "no thank you," and tried to squirm out of the chair when she was brushing his teeth. He thought the spinning brush tickled too much.

December 12

Elliott and I ran A LOT of errands Wednesday morning. We did some returns, made some exchanges, and picked up 10 gallons of OJ for the upcoming Dudes and Donuts event at OPC. Despite his shenanigans this week, I genuinely enjoy the one-on-one time I get to spend with him while the older kids are in school. We have a fun time together, and he regularly makes me smile with his quick wit and creative way of articulating his thoughts.

December 13

Lauren came home with a library book she just couldn't wait to read.  Her reading skills have skyrocketed this past month and it is fun watching her dive into her books. I've been doing a lot of reading as well. I've read or listened to all four book in the Lunar Chronicles in the past month--a fun YA story that kept me entertained.

December 14

December is the month of dates for us, and we went to an Ugly Sweater party Friday evening hosted by some friends in our ward. We raided my mom's old Christmas sweatshirt bin and found these beauties. We had a fun time eating yummy treats and exchanging white elephant gifts. Saturday evening we went to holiday party hosted by Anthony's work at Pinstripes. Good food and free bowling. We both bowled a few turkeys and strikes, but I also had my fair share of gutter balls, so Anthony beat me handily in both games we played.

Will had his last preseason game Saturday. His team didn't win but they played good defense and are definitely getting better at scoring.  Will scored several baskets and did a good job making adjustments and going to his left when his defender shut him down going to the right. In the afternoon Anthony took him to the aquarium for his birthday date. Will told me the coolest thing he saw was when a ray swam over the glass hallway while they were underneath.

2018 :: week 50

December 2

Sunday was a long day. Anthony hasn't been feeling well for a while so he had a backlog of people to meet with before and after church. We had a full house in nursery and the couple that was supposed to help called in sick so we were shorthanded. We went to a friend's baptism immediately after church which made the day feel extra long. Luckily we were able to stop at Memaw's house for an hour before going home to watch the Christmas Devotional. Lauren and Tyler snuggled in Memaw's chair.

December 3

The entire family went up to OPC Monday night. Will and Tony had basketball practice and Lauren had her monthly Daisy meeting. There was a parent meeting regarding the upcoming cookie sales and so Elliott and I went as well. After the meeting we went back and forth between watching practice and helping at the Girl Scout meeting. Also a miracle, Lauren lost one of her gloves the week before Thanksgiving. We checked the lost and found but it wasn't there. Lauren was sad because she had prayed we would find it and was confidant we would, but it had been two weeks. When we went to check Monday night her glove was on the top of the HUGE pile. It was such a relief to find it (she loved the gloves) and not have to dig through the two large tubs of items.

December 4

We sometimes refer to our basement as Elliott's layer.

December 5

We had a rough week, sleep-wise. Between Anthony's never-ending respiratory virus, Lauren's bad dreams, Elliott's nighttime shenanigans, and me being pregnant, Will was the only one in our house getting any sleep. The worst part wasn't even the rough nights, but the terrible behavior during the day due to exhaustion. I spent much of the day researching ways to get better sleep and melatonin was one of them. Most of our issues are due to extenuating circumstances but I did buy some melatonin to keep our options open.

December 6

Elliott's buddy Kendall turned 3 on Thursday and we helped celebrate her birthday that night. The party was fun, and it always makes me smile when the kids descend upon the newly opened gifts, hoping to play with the new toys.

December 7

On Friday we pulled the kids out of school during their lunch hour and went to Tuba Christmas. Unlike previous years where the concert was held at the Kauffman Center, this year it was moved to the Municipal Auditorium. I assume it was moved to accommodate a larger ensemble as they were going for--and were successful in their attempt--the Guinness World Record for largest Tuba Ensamble. To achieve this they had to play a single piece over five minutes long, in this case they played "Silent Night." We had a fun time despite the fact that we had to walk several block in twenty degree temperatures to and from our van.

December 8

Another busy Saturday. Basketball game for Will, haircut for Lauren, lots of errands to run and yard work to accomplish. We took an hour to pack boxes of food for food insecure families in the area at the Harvesters shop inside the mall. For $10 a box you can put together the dry ingredients for a holiday meal that will be paired up with a ham and given to families in need. That night we had a babysitter come watch the kids so Anthony and I could go and see the Crimes of Grindewalk movie.

2018 :: week 49

November 25

It was forecasted to snow overnight and into Sunday morning, but I was hoping the meteorologists would be wrong. I don't know if I am ready for the cold, snowy part of winter yet. Regardless, it did start snowing in morning and the stake made the decision to cancel all meetings. It turned out to be a wise one, because when all was said and done we received about 6 inches of snow! That is the most snow we've gotten in any one storm in years. We drove over to my parents' house and hung out for awhile, though Will, Tyler and Leah were the only ones brave enough to go out in the snow. We went home for naps, but came back for dinner and brought a bunch of snow gear with us so the kids could play outside more comfortably if they wanted to. It was a nice, quiet day of visiting, playing games and watching the snowfall outside.

November 26

School was cancelled on Monday, even though it stopped snowing the evening before. The roads were pretty bad, none of the side streets were plowed before Monday and ours didn't get plowed until that night. I was disappointed they cancelled school being that we were coming off a nine day break! Give me a snow day on a random Wednesday, not after a holiday break when I need to dive back into a routine. Despite my pessimism it ended up being a fun day. Will worked hard and shoveled our driveway pretty much by himself. His friend Curran came over and helped a bit, but their main project was building a snowman.

November 27

Finally back to real life! Even in the snow Elliott and his buddies Nicolas and Tanner like to play with their Paw Patrol toys at the park during after school pickup. One nice thing about the snow is that all three kids don't fight me when I remind them to put on boots, gloves and hats. When it snowed a few weeks ago I realized we didn't have any snow boots in Elliott's size. I had him wear his rain boots with extra socks, but knew that wasn't a long term solution. We went to Target and Kohl's looking for boots, but the cheapest boots in his size were $25. I decided I'd give Savers a look before forking over that much cash and happily found 2 pairs--one in his size and one the next size up--for $9. Also, Elliott calls footprints paw prints. When we were walking to the park for pickup he told me he was going to "put his paw prints in my paw prints so it was easier." He's constantly saying clever things and I enjoy being his mom and getting to hear them.

November 28

Will has been having a hard time with his glasses lately. Especially while playing sports. We decided to get him a pair of glasses with spring hinges and rubber temples, which won't be as fragile when they are hit. Will and I had a fun outing where we also did a little Christmas shopping. He was thoughtful and deliberate in selecting the gifts he wanted to buy. I was able to take just him because Anthony had taken a sick day. He has had a nasty virus this week which involves a sore throat, a lot of productive coughing and a fever that seems to spike at night.

November 29

We finally got around to decorating our Christmas tree Thursday after dinner. We got it from Costco on Monday night, but between Anthony being sick and me not wanting to put up the lights (my belly gets in the way!) it took us a few days to finally do it.

November 30

I guess it is finally time to document my belly. I am officially 27 weeks and about to enter the third trimester. For the most part this pregnancy is going very well. I have hit the stage where I wish I was about 6 inches taller and can't eat very much in one sitting. For the past few weeks I've had a lot of sciatic nerve pain, but this past week hasn't been nearly as bad. I am tired, but seem to have enough energy to get the things done I need to. We took this picture before heading out to a stake leadership Christmas party.

December 1

Will's basketball team--the Raptors--had their first basketball game Saturday. They played really well, especially considering they were down two players and they hadn't practiced together in two full weeks due to Thanksgiving break and the snow day. They lost by 2 points in overtime. I was so proud of their hustle and energy.

2018 :: week 48

November 18

Will and Lauren participated in the Primary Program on Sunday. They each sang well and delivered their parts beautifully. Will read 3 Nephi 27:27 with no mistakes and Lauren said that going to church was a way she learns about Heavenly Father. Hard to believe that Elliott will be up there next year!

November 19

For FHE we went to Chick-fil-A to share Peppermint Milkshakes. We love them! Anthony was skeptical, but he ended up liking them too. Elliott didn't eat his dinner so he didn't get one. He didn't seem to upset about playing int he play place the entire time we were there. I did give him a few little sips as we were getting ready to leave. We had to get home to watch the Chiefs-Rams game. We let Will stay up and watch because it was not a school night. It ended up being a week of disappointing losses for Will's football teams.

November 20

Tuesday morning we went to the zoo and literally had the place to ourselves. We counted 16 other cars in the lot! It was a cold, clear day. We had talked about going to the zoo over Thanksgiving break and the kids were not willing to wait another day. Luckily there are a fair amount of indoor things to do. We watched the "Wings of Wonder" show and visited the Tropics, Discovery Barn, Stingray Bay and Penguin Plaza. After it warmed up a bit (got to be about 35 degrees) the kids played at the playground, we fed the goats and road the carousel. We had a really good time, despite it being our coldest zoo visit yet. I'm trying to instill an attitude in my kids that weather is not an obstacle to having fun. If it's cold, we bundle up! That being said, I often find that I am the one with the worst attitude about cold.

November 21

Almost the entire Crane family came to town for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Allreds arrived Monday night and the Staritas arrived Tuesday night. Only the Toms were missing (due to Laura's poor health). Wednesday was forecast to be beautiful! I think it ended up being almost 60 degrees! We visited my Dad at work and took a photo of him and all his grandkids. We've grown quite a bit in the past few years. Then we went to City Market for lunch and a walk along the Missouri River. Elliott always sequels with excitement when he first sees the Kansas City skyline. He likes to "go on adventures in Kansas City."

November 22

Thanksgiving was perfect. We had a leisurely morning, after a rough night of sleep due to issues with Lauren and Elliott. We watched the Thanksgiving Day parade and worked on our food assignments. Later, Anthony taught Will to play Dominon and Lauren and I went for a walk. I worked on my cross-stitch while we watched Home Alone 2. In the afternoon we went over to my parents and shared a delicious meal that everyone contributed to. If only I had realized the horrific acid reflux that would result from my tiny serving of cranberry sauce.  It was a great day with great food and family time.

November 23

Friday evening we attended the Luminary Walk with the Ule family for the second year in a row. The paths at the Arboretum are lined with lights and musical performers that put you in the holiday spirit. We got to sip some apple cider while waiting to go for a hayride, then paid a visit to Santa. Another fun night!
 

November 24

We spent several hours at the temple Saturday doing temple work for my maternal grandparents and great-grandparents. Anthony and I received endowments for Robert and Caroline Flynn, my namesake. Other siblings and in-laws did proxy work for my grandparents and my mom was sealed to her parents. It was especially meaningful to do temple work for people I have personally known.

2018 :: week 47

November 11

I was taking pictures of the nursery kids for an ornament we are going to make next month. Elliott really struggles to deliver a natural smile on demand. He looks like such a little John kid to me in these pictures.

November 12

Monday we woke up to a falling snow. It snowed all morning and into the early afternoon. By the time the kids came home from school it wasn't actively snowing anymore, but the ground was covered in a blanket of white. This first snow came earlier in the year than usual, so we did our annual survey of winter apparel and I realized that the gamble I made in buying Lauren pink snow pants when she was three and I was pregnant with Elliott but did not yet know if he would be a boy or girl did not pay off. Almost all the pants and shoes we own are gray, blue or black except this pair. Elliott eventually came around, but he was NOT happy to put on "girl clothes!" The kids had fun playing in the snow while I made dinner. On Saturday I turned on my Christmas station on Pandora for the first time and I have been loving it. I usually don't do much Christmas-y before Thanksgiving, but this year it is helping me feel excited about life in the midst of the cold weather.

November 13

We walked to school this morning. I didn't check the temperature before we left, but could tell it was pretty cold. Usually there are a dozen or so families that walk up the back way. On Tuesday we only saw one other kid. I checked the temperature when Elliott and I got back home and it was 15 degrees!

November 14

What a difference a day makes! The sun came out Tuesday and Wednesday and by Wednesday afternoon most of the snow had melted. We stayed at the park and played for about 45 minutes after school got out. Lauren and her friends jumped off this bench over and over.

November 15

Thursday was a day of getting stuff done! The older kids are out of school all next week, so I tried to run all the errands I could done with just one kid instead of three. We got Will's glasses fixed, the oil changed at the Honda dealership, picked up flowers for the kid's teachers and grabbed some groceries. The dealership has Otis Spunkmeier cookies and a kid room that plays PBS kids, which makes the wait much more pleasant. 

November 16

To commemorate the first anniversary of my Grandmamere's death, Mom, Emily and I went to the temple Friday morning to start doing her temple work. We were baptized, confirmed and did initiatories for my grandmother Joan LeBaron and great-grandmother Caroline Hopwood.

November 17

Elliott and his crew (Blaise and Bennett) rode toys and played out front while Anthony worked on the lawn and I did chores in the house. Our neighbors are great and I feel so blessed to live near families with similar values. As is becoming a recurring theme, we couldn't find Elliott at one point in the late morning. Anthony, Will, Lauren and I all thought he was with someone else in the family. It turns out he went inside Blaise's house and when I knocked on the door they didn't hear me so we searched the street for about five minutes trying to find him. I was fairly confidant he was at Blaise's house, so when they did not answer their door I got really scared. When I called Renee (Blaise's mom) she answered her phone and said they were playing in the basement and didn't hear me knock. We are all  going to have to be more vigilant in our supervision of him. Will tells me when he is going to play in the basement of our house. Lauren never goes outside without telling me. Elliott walks out the door and into the neighbors house without a second thought. I appreciate his independence, but I am starting to wonder if I need to get him one of those GPS watches so I can track him at all times. In the afternoon Anthony officiated a wedding. It was the most unique wedding he had ever participated in.

2018 :: week 46

November 4

Sunday morning was wonderful! Not only did we get to sleep in a bit because of Daylight Savings, but we had an Area Conference broadcast at 11am. The meeting meant we didn't have regular church and Anthony didn't have his regular pre-church meetings. He did have to go up to the church for a few hours in the afternoon, but that wasn't so bad because the conference ended at 1pm instead of our usual 4pm. We were lucky this year and the time change did not wreak too much havoc on our children. Elliott came in and snuggled with us for a bit after he woke up and it was heavenly.

November 5

Elliott loves the music from The Greatest Showman. He can hardly be bothered to sit still for the actual movie, but he requests songs whenever we are driving anywhere. We had a few friends over for dessert Sunday evening and while they were here the kids got into our dress-up clothes. Elliott came across this Abraham Lincoln souvenir top hat that Anthony and I bought when we went to Washington DC together in 2014.  He has been wearing it ever since claiming he is "The Greatest Showman." He also thinks we should name our new baby The Greatest Showman. This boy has an active imagination, that's for sure.

November 6

On Tuesday evening I took the kids to Hy-Vee to meet the KC Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt. My brother-in-law Matt was going and offered to take Will too. Lauren was devastated when she learned that Will was going to get to meet somebody famous without her. So a few minutes after Will left with Matt, I loaded Lauren and Elliott into the van and we waited with them in line to meet Kareem. Elliott and Will were both excited to get their footballs signed.

November 7

Wednesday was an unexpectedly pleasant day. It was supposed to cold this week, so we enjoyed as many moments outside as possible until it did. The leaves in our neighborhood have been brighter and more colorful this year. I feel like I'm walking in a fall wonderland.

November 8

Lauren worked on her "Grateful Feather" this week. Unfortunately I recycled ALL of our magazines and catologs this week, so she was limited to Friend magazines for her collage. Luckily, there are lots of pictures of good things to be grateful for in said magazines. It was really cold when we got up Thursday morning. Below freezing. By noon it was snowing!

November 9

Friday was a busy day. Anthony arrived home after an hour delay from a 3 day conference in Austin, TX. I got a call from the school nurse asking if I could come pick up Will about 90 minutes before school was to get out. He had a terrible headache. It was hurting him so bad, he was moaning. I think it was a migraine because as soon as we got home he threw up and then fell asleep within two minutes and slept for over and hour. When he got up he was fine. That night was movie night at the school, and I volunteered to work the concession stand during Christopher Robin. Will stayed home with Tony and Lauren and Elliott came to the movie with me. It was a packed house!

November 10

Saturday Anthony left bright and early to go to with the youth to Omaha for a temple trip. It has been a week without much dad time. It ended up being extremely cold again--barely 30 degrees and windy--so outside activities were out. I decided to take the kids to Science City and we invited Tyler to join us. I lost about five years off my life when I lost Elliott for about ten minutes. He wandered off while I was helping Lauren and Tyler roll up their sleeves at the water exhibit. The first few minutes I wasn't worried, but when I couldn't find him after five minutes I started to get really scared. We eventually found him wandering out from behind a counter in a closed exhibit. The counter was too high for us to see him. After that things calmed down, thankfully!