2018 :: week 4

January 21

On Sunday evening Anthony hosted BYU at our house. Our primary and youth programs are pretty small, but two families with ten kids between them moved into our ward around Chistmastime. It was our most crowded BYD ever! In this picture you can also see the cased in wall. We still need to sand and paint the trim, but I am loving the look of it already. Now to decide what color to repaint the TV room and kitchen...

January 22

Lauren is in constant motion. I took this picture of her telling me about something that happened to her at school and she was moving all over the place. Elliott wanted to get in on the fun too. Anthony and Will have had basketball practice from 6-7pm most Monday nights since November. I try to have dinner ready around 5pm so we can eat as soon as Anthony gets home. Sometimes this works out better than others. Then Lauren and I get ready for FHE, practice reading and play with Elliott. I enjoy our quiet hour together.

January 23

Elliott loves our Magna Doodle. Will got it for Christmas four years ago and both Will and Lauren have enjoyed playing with it from time to time (they still do), but Elliott has already used it more this year than the ever two have ever used it. He carries it around the house and draws pictures throughout the day. I wonder if he is a budding artist?

January 24

Hop, hop, hop.  It was a nice day, so the kids spent awhile jumping outside together.  Lauren and Will have been very good about following the trampoline rules. We are only a month in but I have no regrets about the purchase. It has been great this winter for the kids to go outside, even when it is really cold, and jump for a few minutes. It seems to help them get rid of some energy, or at least chanell energy into something productive. As opposed to wrestling with each other in the front room that inevitably ends up in tears. I try to get Lauren to put her hair in a ponytail or braid while she jumps because her hair can get very tangled, but she prefers to let it fly wild and free.

January 25

Elliott and I met Emily and her boys at Scouting Park for a playdate. The boys were happy to be outside. Elliott and Tyler started out making laughing sounds of pure delight while they were swinging, but that devolved into loud fake laughs after a few minutes. Elliott has a very loud fake laugh.

January 26

In honor of Kansas' Birthday (January 29) the kindergarteners dressed up as Cowboys and Cowgirls. I'm not sure why they celebrated a few days early other than the 100th day of school was the 30th and the teachers most likely wanted to spread the fun. Coincidentally Will's class earned a pajama party, so he wore pajamas to school that day. Non-traditional school clothes for everyone!

January 27

Lauren was way overdue for a haircut. If combing out the trampoline hair taught me anything, it was that Lauren's hair tended to tangle quite a bit. And excessive tangling can be a sign of dead ends. We serendipitously received a Great Clips coupon in the mail earlier in the week. Her hair looks great, is much healthier and so much easier to comb.

2018 :: week 3

January 14

Because of Stake Conference we were done with church at noon (as opposed to 4pm). We wanted to have a few friends over for a dessert night, but about an hour before people were supposed to arrive Will threw up. He had been a bit restless and throughout the afternoon and it seemed like he didn't feel great. I think he was keeping his discomfort under wraps because he was very much looking forward to having people over. After he threw up and our dessert night was postponed he seemed very relieved and relaxed enough to fall asleep.

January 15

Will slept in on Monday, but was back to his usual cheerful self. There was no school due to Martin Luther King Day, so we didn't have to worry about him missing anything. He watched several episodes of Star Wars Rebels and drew quite a few Star Wars related pictures. Anthony was off of work and basketball practice was moved to Thursday so we had a quiet day at home with no obligations.

January 16

Tuesday morning we met the Throssells at Union Station so we could go to Science City together. They recently got a family pass so now we have more friends to meet up with when we go. I thought we had our little umbrella stroller in the back of the van, but we did not, so Elliott got to walk. My kids looked so grown up as they walked the halls together. I'm so grateful that Will and Lauren are so conscientious and look out for each other and Elliott.

January 17

Well...we survived our first Pinewood Derby. Will got the "Sportiest Design" award. He decorated his car with blue paint, white flames and a KC for the Royals. It looked good, but didn't weigh enough to win a single race. At the weigh-in we learned that Will's car was several ounces under the maximum weight. Turns out weight is important when speeding down the track. Will had a good attitude and cheered on his friends' cars, even though he was pretty disappointed by his lack of success. The saddest moment of the night was when his car was racing against another blue car and he thought for a few seconds that he had finally won a heat.

January 18

Elliott takes great naps. He sleeps most days from 1-3pm and gives me almost no trouble. We read a few books, usually a Clifford, Caillou or Daniel Tiger. Then he lays down on his teddy bear and I cover him up with his softee. I tell him goodnight and he responds, "Night, night, Momma."

January 19

Friday night was Pancake and Bingo Night at OP-C! All you can eat pancakes and bingo with White Elephant style prizes brought by the students themselves. It is actually a lot of fun. This is the first year we have attended as the past two years our ward was hosting the soup and break dinner on the same night. We had a lot of fun and both kids came home with some interesting prizes.

January 20

Steve Ule helped Anthony case the opening between our family room and kitchen. We've been wanting to do it for over a month, but have had various things going on on Saturdays that have made it difficult to get done. Steve is so generous. Elliott and Nicholas played for hours together in the basement. Elliott and Nicholas seem to share a language that only they can understand. It is fun to see Elliott with his buddies.

2018 :: week 2

January 7

Elliott threw up after dinner Saturday evening, which meant he needed to stay home from church Sunday. My mom picked up Will and Lauren and took them to church and Elliott slept the entire time they were gone. While they were gone I watched BYUtv which was airing a series of President Monson's conference talks and BYU devotionals. As I watched I felt uplifted and more sad about his passing than I was when I originally heard he had died.

January 8

For family night we played a game called "Lead Me, Guide Me," from the Friend magazine. Will got to use the scripture set he got for his baptism to look up some verses about things Christ has provided for us to help us find our way back home (to heaven). We used Skittles as our place markers and keeping Elliott from eating said Skittles became a game in and of itself.

January 9

Storytime at the library is back after a month long sabbatical for the winter holidays. As per usual Elliott was so-so about the stories and songs but all in on the arm stamps.

January 10

Our new couch arrived! We had next to no furniture when we moved to Springfield ten years ago and bought a couch and a loveseat within our first few days of living there. Over the years they've served us well, but they've really started to decline this past year. We took our first trip to Nebraska Furniture Mart earlier this year and were immediately drawn to this couch. It is extra deep and fits all five of us comfortably. Now we just need to figure out what to do with the old couches. Craigslist? Trash?

January 11

I've been bundling up and taking brief walks in the evenings when Anthony gets home from work. Even though it is cold, the fresh air and limited vitamin d help me survive the winter months.  It's been four months and I am loving Anthony's new job where he is home most days by 5:30pm.

January 12

The kids and I have walked to school every day this school year (besides the days we were staying with my parents while we got new floors). As the temperature has dropped we've seen fewer kids and their parents walking. Thursday morning it was six degrees and the John kids still toughed it out. I was proud of them!

January 13

Our Saturdays have gotten very busy. Saturday morning I went to the gym, then headed to my parents' house to help watch my cousin Lexi's children while she and her husband went to the temple. Then Will had a basketball game. In this picture he 's going in for a layup. He has gotten pretty good at shooting layups this season. Saturday and Sunday were Stake Conference and Saturday afternoon Anthony had a priesthood leadership meeting. That evening Delia Chase watched our kids for us while we went to the adult session and then picked up dessert at Dairy Queen.

2018 :: week 1

December 31

While Nana was here she bought each of the kids a new church outfit. The kids wore them on our last week at the 9am meeting block  I have really enjoyed this year with early meetings, but it has been a bit hard on TJ. Anthony has been leaving for church around 5:45am, so he is looking forward to sleeping in.

January 1

We had a nice, slow day Monday. That evening we read some Harry Potter before bed. I love hearing the accents Anthony, Will and Lauren adopt when they read. Will's Professor McGonagall is my favorite.

January 2

I had hoped to take the kids to the open skate at Skate City Tuesday morning. Unfortunately I wasn't the only one with that idea. When we pulled up to the rink right as the open skate was beginning we saw a line that was out the door and wrapped around the building. We decided to wait and skate another time when it was less crowded and headed to the Johnson County Museum. It was a good choice because the kids had a great time running around and playing at the various exhibits. It was late enough in the day that it wasn't very crowded either, making it much easier on me to keep tabs on the kids.

January 3

Will went to his first official Cub Scout den meeting Wednesday night. Because Anthony goes to mutual on Wednesday night it is not too disruptive to our usual routine. I miss Will, but it is nice to have a little alone time with Lauren after Elliott goes to bed. Will had a great time at Cub Scouts and can't wait to go back next week.

January 4

Elliott really appreciates a good beverage. It's pretty dry in our house and he has been chugging cups of milk (which he calls "Oak!") and water. He makes this satisfied "Ahhh!" sound when he finishes. Oh to be so uninhibited.

January 5

Friday I took things slow. I had a nagging headache and after a busy morning opted for a slow afternoon/evening. Anthony made some "Dad's chicken," which is a bag of $5 frozen orange chicken from Trader Joe's. We keep a bag or two on hand for nights when I don't feel up to cooking or Anthony is unexpectedly tasked with dinner. We watched a few episodes of Star Wars Rebels on Netflix with the kids, then Anthony and I watched an episode of The Crown.

January 6

Another Saturday, another basketball game. Anthony has the boys rotate positions and Will is starting to excel at playing point. He is a pretty good ball handler and does a good job of getting to the basket. All of Will's basketball games this season have been at Corinth Elementary. Their mascot is the Dragon and Elliott gets very agitated when he sees the dragon likeness on the walls.