2018 :: week 38

September 9

Lauren had a big day in primary. She was assigned to read the 5th Article of Faith and did it mostly without help! Then she got to dress up as King Benjamin during their sharing time lesson about how the prophets teach us how to serve others. Aunt Emily is in the primary presidency and she makes sharing time extra fun.

September 10

Elliott graduated to a "big boy bed" Monday night. I found a good deal on a toddler bed on facebook marketplace and we picked it up as soon as Tony got home from work. Elliott was so proud of his new bed. Unfortunately we could not find the allen wrench that came with the crib to take it apart so the bed was wedged in his room for a few days. This was very frustrating to me because I have kept it in the same place since we got the crib for Will eight years ago and I spent a lot of time searching for it. Oh well.

September 11

Elliott and I took advantage of the nice weather and walked to the library Tuesday morning. Storytime has started up again and we plan on attending regularly. Elliott didn't participate much until the parachute came out, then he was all in.

September 12

 Wednesday morning Emily had Elliott over to play with Tyler and I ran a few errands. As we attempted to return home around noon we were stopped as about twenty police cars and officers surrounded our block. Apparently one of our neighbor's adult sons was involved in a hit-and-run with the mother's car and then engaged in a stand-off with police. He has struggled with alcoholism and was apprehended without force, but we were not allowed to return home for about two hours. The interactions we have had with him throughout the years have been benign. When Anthony and I were speculating about who or what was going on neither of us suspected him. We had good talks with the kids about how drinking alcohol makes it hard for you to make good choices and can ruin your life.

September 13

Aunt Laura and Uncle Trevor came to town and we went to a Royals game on Thursday evening in their honor. The weather was gorgeous and we arrived early enough to spend some time at the Little K, carousel and playground. Because it was a school night we left early, and of course all the exiting plays came from the Royals while we were listening on the radio on our way home. It's always a gamble staying out late on a school night, and we were pleasantly surprised by how well all three children behaved, both that night and the next morning.

September 14

The older kids had an early release day and Aunt Laura and Uncle Trevor came over to play with the kids for a bit. By this point in the week it was hot, hot, hot again, making the shaded trampoline the only bearable outside play space. Laura wowed the kids we a few trampoline tricks and Trevor engaged in a tickle war. That evening TJ took Will to an Olathe East football game that some youth in our ward were playing in while Lauren, Elliott and I had a movie night.

September 15

Saturday ended up being a very busy day! Anthony spent several hours at the temple with a couple receiving their endowments and then getting sealed together. Will had a birthday party that overlapped with Lauren's soccer game. Then in the evening we had a block party and meet up with the Crane family at the River Market. There was barely enough time for to watch the BYU game! The block party was great! We feel so blessed to have such great, family friendly neighbors who genuinely look out for each other. There was lots of great food shared by all. In addition to this driveway full of people eating, our driveway was full of kids playing basketball and drawing with chalk.