2019 :: week 39

September 22

Sunday we celebrated Mikey's third birthday at my parents' house. Mikey loves the color green and so he called it his "green birthday." It was so fun watching his excitement as he opened his presents. Mikey is a spirited little guy who loves cars and balls and baby Miles. He is also so very tender with Miles, and I am excited for the two of them to be buddies in a year or two.

September 23

Monday evening we met the Wilson's at Loose Park and Emily took some family photos for us. I wasn't planning on getting additional pictures taken since we got some pretty good family pictures taken in Florida. However, when I printed them out it became obvious the photographer had touched up the dark circles under both Anthony and my eyes. I don't blame her. When we took those pictures we were less than 48 hours removed from our adventurous drive across the country. It was a gorgeous evening and we got all the pictures we needed in less than thirty minutes. We stopped at Hy-Vee on the way home to pick up ice cream for the kids to reward them for their good behavior.

September 24

Tony took Will, Lauren and Knox to the Royals game on Tuesday night. We bought the kids Blue Crew memberships earlier in the season and couldn't quite commit to what game we would take the kids to. Late last week we looked at the schedule and there was only ONE game that we would be able to take them to. Since it was a school night we decided that Anthony would take the big kids and I would stay home with the little guys. Since we had an extra ticket we decided to let Will invite his friend Knox. The kids had a great time, even though it was a very late night.

September 25

The sun was shining bright while we walked to school Wednesday morning. Wednesday was a busy day. I ran a variety of errands getting ready for our trip the next day. We had Elliott's "mommy preschool" with friends from the church, Miles' physical therapy and two grocery runs. Usually Lauren has soccer practice in the evening, but it was fortuitously cancelled, because I had so much to do.

September 26

Thursday morning Anthony, Miles and I boarded a plane to San Diego. We flew into San Diego, then caravaned to Rosarita, Mexico, to spend the weekend with some of Tony's BYU friends. He lived with or near most of them after his mission, but all of the men lived on the 3200 floor of Merrill Hall their freshman year (1999-2000). The guys have gotten together a few times over the years, but in honor of the 20 year anniversary of their initial meeting they invited the wives and girlfriends along for a couples trip. We stayed in two homes in the Las Gaviotas beachfront community. It was gorgeous and we all walked down to the beach for an hour before cleaning up and going to the oddly-named Tampaco Why Not? Steakhouse. Despite the funny name, the food was delicious and we had a great time catching up with and getting to know each other. Many of the wives did not know each other before this trip.

September 27

Friday we spent the morning surfing, playing pickleball, going to for walks, riding bikes and chatting. We went to a delicious taqueira (Tacos El Yaqui) for lunch. This was by far my favorite meal of the trip. Delicious carne tacos served perron style with beans, cheese and guacamole. I'm hungry just thinking about it. Then we went to a beach where some rode horses and ATVs. Anthony played spike ball and I did some body surfing. This was not a private beach so there were many vendors hawking their wares. That night we went out for pizza and then played games.

September 28

Saturday was much like Friday (pickleball, beach, hot tub, etc.) except we didn't leave for lunch. A food truck came to the community and people filled up on fish and shrimp tacos. That evening we went to another good restaurant and then shopped for souvenirs for our kids. After dinner the men recounted a few freshman memories and we began to say goodbye. I played games while Tony chatted with his buddies. It was a great trip. Many thanks go to my parents for watching our kids so we could go and to Miles for being so happy. I wish we had been such relaxed parents with our one kid when we only had one kid!

2019 :: week 38

September 15

Sunday afternoon Tony played the piano. Lauren likes to sing along, and if she doesn't know the words it's not a problem. She just hums and harmonizes. Miles loves to hear the music and be close to the piano when Tony is playing.

September 16

Our garden is finally hitting it's stride. I am gathering this many tomatoes off the vine every other day now. Two of my tomato plants have failed to produce any fruit this year, which is a big disappointment, but the other three are doing so well I am eating tomatoes daily to keep up.

September 17

Will got his first "job." Our neighbors are paying him $5 a week to take their trash cans out Monday evening and then pull them back in after school on Tuesday. That is a much more generous wage than he is getting for doing the same thing for me. Nevertheless, I am excited for him. He has his sites set on earning enough money to buy games for his Nintendo Switch.

September 18

Miles is such a good sport. Most days he spends over and hour in his carseat as we drive his siblings to and from school and then to their various activities. In addition to that he usually accompanies me on my various errands. When we get to the park after school I am quick to get him out of his seat and let him move around a bit. He is such a sweet little guy and I am so grateful for his patience.

September 19

Our basement is really starting to come together. It is so exciting! Most of the major work is done, and now the guys are working on finishing touches. The floor is officially down as of today.

September 20

Will has been playing "hockey" on the tennis courts with his friends after school. One of my favorite things about our neighborhood is the things the kids come up with to entertain themselves at the park after school. I also think it is really neat how kids from all grades play together. Of course kids gravitate towards their own classmates, but Will routinely plays with kids in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th grades.

September 21

It was a rainy Saturday and the kids got a little stir-crazy. Nothing a little baking soda, vinegar and food coloring couldn't solve. About a week ago Elliott did a some science experiments at school with vinegar and baking soda and since then we have gone through two bottle of vinegar and a full box of baking soda. All three kids got in on the action.

2019 :: week 37

September 8

We hosted a BYD at our house Sunday evening, so the kids stayed up much later than usual. When we start our bedtime routine late the kids tend to push even harder against getting in bed. It is almost like they think, "they already let us stay up an extra our, why not make it an hour and a half?"  Lauren and Elliott like to have Anthony carry they upstairs to bed, so Anthony was much obliged to carry Lauren up to hasten the process. It make me nervous when he carries her upside down and backwards, but she loves it and no one has ever gotten hurt so I just bite my tongue and pray the kids don't accidentally do something to affect Anthony's grip.

September 9

Elliott and his buddy Nicholas eat their lunch "leftovers" at the park after school. I'm starting to suspect that Elliott purposefully doesn't eat most of his lunch so he can eat at the park.

September 10

While we were waiting for Elliott's 4 year well-child check-up at the pediatricians' office Elliott drew Alex Gordon--complete with his hat, goatee and KC on his hat and jersey.

September 11

Lauren had a great soccer practice Wednesday evening. It was quite hot, so the girls got a few extra water breaks. They worked hard on their drill and seemed to have a really great time. I attempted to walk a few laps around the pond, but didn't last as long as I would have liked because I forgot to bring water for myself.

September 12

Miles has a tooth! We worked hard for that baby and I am proud of it! It is one of his two center bottom teeth. I am confident the other will cut through the gum within the week.

September 13

Friday evening we went to the Diggins house for dinner and had such a great time! I was having a  long, hard week and was feeling discouraged when Carrie texted me and asked if I wanted to get together soon. I quickly invited our family over for dinner and I'm so glad I did. It was just what I needed to get out of my funk. The adults had fun catching up and reminiscing about old times. Three of our kids match up perfectly age-wise and they all got along marvelously throughout the evening. Before we left they kids were making plans for our next get together at our house. Poor Cami (Carrie's 11 year old) was the odd woman out. Miles was perfectly content to be held or take a nap in his car seat.

September 14

Saturday was a busy day! We started the day by going to the Cidermill, eating donuts and playing in the corn crib. The jump pillow was out of order, much to the disappointment of our crew. In the afternoon we went to Lauren's soccer game. Lauren played great and her team won. It is so fun seeing her growth as a player. On the way home we stopped at Costa Vida for dinner. That evening I met up with my ministering sisters for Freezing Moo.

2019 :: week 36

September 1

September 2

Our Labor Day looked much like it has for the past few years--ward picnic in the morning, followed by chores in the afternoon, and an evening of swimming. We like to order pizza for dinner and stay until it closes. The pool was more crowded than I remember it being all summer. We ran into several friends, and each of the kids had a great time. We gave Will's buddy Knox a ride home. These two kids are such good boys, they make me smile.

September 3

Lately, while we are out and about Elliott loves identifying Kia Souls. He has an eagle eye and it is amazing how often he correctly identifies them when he is in the car. He claims to hate them, though I'm not exactly sure how he started to feel so strongly about them. Most likely because Will is into cars and comments on various makes and models when we are driving too. For the record, Will really likes Mustangs and Teslas. While we were out running errands we parked next to a green Kia Soul and we took a quick selfie to mark the occasion. May Elliott always be so easy to please.

September 4

Wednesday my sister Laura arrived for a quick visit. Originally she was going to visit at the same time as the Allreds, but life interfered and she came a week later. That evening my dad took Laura, Emily, Miles and me to the Royals game. The weather was great, the Royals played well, and we had a fun time catching up and visiting. Jorge Soler hit his 40th homerun.

September 5

Thursday evening we went bowling with the family. It was the first time we have ever all gone together. I have taken Will and Lauren before, but it was Elliott's first time bowling himself. We all had such a great time, especially the kids! The last time I went bowling was while I was pregnant with Miles and it is amazing how much a big belly impedes your game. My mom ordered some breaded mozzarella balls and they were very tasty.

September 6

Most days we stay and play at the park for a good 30-60 minutes after school lets out. Elliott and his friend Nicholas save parts of their lunch and have a little "picnic" together pretty regularly.

September 7

Laura, Emily and I went to the Backstreet Boys concert at the Sprint Center Saturday night. It was so much fun! So much nostalgia. Amazing people watching. Great boy band dancing. Hilarious outfits. I was excited to go and had an even better time than I expected. Thank goodness for sisters who keep me young.