2021 :: week 30

July 18

The kids were being goofy in the van and I snapped this picture of them while we were loading up after church because I feel like this really captures them right now. Having kids from 2-11 is so much fun. It's stressful and busy, but genuinely a lot of fun. 

July 19

Our kitchen countertops and sink were installed today! Water will be up and running tomorrow! It is so exciting to see things start to come together again. I am looking forward to cooking again too. I have been listening to The Kitchen Front, a fictional novel set in WWII England about four women who are in a cooking competition, hoping to land a spot on a wartime BBC radio show. 

July 20

I made a scheduling mistake Tuesday and somehow thought that Elliott's first baseball practice was Tuesday the 20th instead of Thursday the 29th. Elliott was devastated when we got to the park and no one was there. To make it up to him I decided we'd head to the pool for the rest of the evening. Elliott was feeling amped and decided it was time to jump off the high dive. Lauren was a great hype woman. She encouraged him and then cheered loudly when he went off. He ended up jumping off the diving board many times that night.

July 21

Lauren and Daphne took advantage of our empty TV room and did gymnastics in the all the extra space. Elliott went to the Ules, we often trade kids, one of us taking the girls and the other taking the boys. 

July 22

My parents saved the bar stools from my grandparents house and stored them for us to use once our new kitchen was ready. I really like the midcentury look of the chairs, and the fact that they have backs. My uncle refinished the stools and so they are no longer the green color they were when my mom was growing up. After my dad dropped of the stools he gave Memaw and a few of the grandkids a ride in the back of his truck.

July 23

Friday afternoon the kids and I went to the pool with the Throssell's. It has been so hot no one wants to go outside after about 10am unless it is too the pool. Youngs Pool has been the pool of choice this week because of the high dive. Miles likes the water features in the baby area. That evening I gave blood at the youth blood drive. We stayed at the church and cleaned for a bit because it was our assigned week to help clean the chapel and we had a very busy day planned for Saturday.

July 24

We had a very busy Saturday, but we were able to accomplish everything and have fun too! In the morning Anthony, Lauren and I went to Daphne's grandpa's funeral service. It was held in a beautiful old church in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas. Will got to go to a birthday party for his friend Hank held at Hank's grandma's backyard pool. Memaw took the boys to Hy-Vee to buy donuts and visit Emily on her last day of work. Lauren and Will had their first in-person piano recital since Christmas 2019 and did great! That evening Anthony and I went on a double date to Pigwich and Betty Rae's at City Market with Stephanie and Spencer. Full days make me happy--and tired!

2021 :: week 29

July 11

My cousin Savanna and her family are driving across the country from Preston, ID, to spend a month on the east coast visiting family. Sunday morning they dropped in to say hello for a bit as they passed through KC. I told Lauren that Savanna was "my Elise," meaning she is the girl cousin I am closest to in age and that I spent most of my time with at family reunions growing up. Savanna and I were at BYU at the same time and got together occasionally. We both studied history and took a few classes together as well.  

July 12

Due to excessive humidity this week our floors are taking longer to dry than initially anticiapted. As such we are (gratefully) staying at my parents for a few extra days. One of the unexpected outcomes of staying there a few extra days is that the older boys are spending a lot of time with each other. Will and Elliott have spent hours together watching baseball highlights, playing baseball and basketball, taking online quizzes and reading together. I can tell that they have become better friends this week and it makes my heart happy.

July 13

Lauren spent the week practicing, preparing and then preforming in the mini-musical Compose Yourself. She tried out and got the role she wanted, Student #3. I helped her work on her lines in the evenings, but she got up and practiced in the mornings too. This is the second time Lauren has participated in the mini-musical program through the SMSD Summer Enrichment Program. She was gone from 9am-2pm all week, and I missed her while she was gone.

July 14

Wednesday evening we went out for ice cream to celebrate a fun week at Memaw and Pepaw's house. Living in town we get to see my parents regularly, but we rarely stay at their home with them with no other cousins around. It was a nice treat to spend the extra time with them. Their quiet house was a respite from the chaos of our house amidst the kitchen construction.

July 15

Thursday evening the floors were ready for us, and so were our neighbors! It was so fun to see the kids with their neighborhood besties when we arrived back at the house Thursday evening. Because we went out of town for eight days before spending the week with my parents we hadn't seen much of our buddies for over two weeks.

July 16

We rolled the windows down and rocked out as we drove home along 103rd Friday evening. Anthony was happy to have an work event he organized successfully completed. He spent a lot of time over the past two weeks recruiting people to attend and preparing for this event so to have it go so smoothly well was a huge.

July 17

There were a lot of cloudy, hot and humid days this week. Days were you weren't sure if it was going to rain or not, and if so, for how long. Saturday we weren't sure we would be able to go to the pool, but the clouds parted and we were able to meet up with several friends and enjoy a few hours at the pool. We have been so spoiled with our neighborhood pool. It is a much bigger hassle to travel to Youngs or Tomahawk, but it so nice having access to public pools again this year. 

2021 :: week 28

July 4

Sunday was an exhausting day. We got up early and drove from Hurricane to Salt Lake. Having to return the rental car and make our flight felt starting from four hours away felt slightly more stressful than if the car rental and airport were closer. After we returned our rental car, which went rather smoothly all things considered, we waited and took a very crowded shuttle to the airport. The walk to our terminal wasn't as far as it could have been, but we were all feeling pretty spent by the time we got to the gate. Somehow I messed up when making our reservations and instead of sitting in three sets of two we were randomly spread throughout the plane. Once we were on the plane Anthony was able to persuade fellow passengers to trade seats so he was with Miles and the other three kids were together. I sat by myself a few rows back. 

July 5

We were so excited when we saw our new kitchen! The cabinets are slightly larger than before, all with soft-shut doors and pull-out shelves. I really like the look of the unfinished wood, however as soon as you add polyurethane to protect the red pine wood it turns yellow. If I had realized this back in 2017 I would have chosen a different type of wood. Later in the week the floor guys stained the floor a dark walnut color that looks amazing too. 

July 6

Bedtime is always more fun--and a lot more efficient--when dad is around.

July 7

Wednesday was a tough day. We were all still a little tired from vacation, our house was loud and chaotic due work on the floors in the dining room, kitchen and family room, and I just struggled to get going. The day got off to a bad start when I overslept and totally forgot we had an in-home appointment with Miles' SLP at 8am. Our upstairs toilet was making a loud foghorn-like sound that was stressing me out and scaring Miles and Elliott. (I was eventually able to figure it out and fix it thanks to some helpful tutorials on youtube). I was trying to finish putting laundry away from our trip and also pack for our stay at my parents while the floors were getting refinished, but struggled to make any real progress. The extra clutter in my room bothered me, but I couldn't do anything about it because we had moved things into our room from the hallway and coat closet because if we didn't they would be in the way and get covered in dust from the sanding. The floor sanding equipment made Miles nervous and he was never more than an arms length away from me. It feels weird to complain about a day where I was tired from a fun vacation and had to deal with the noise and minor discomforts that accompany elective upgrades to our home, but I was extra grateful when Tony got home from work that evening.

July 8

Life with a toddler is a study in contradictions. Later, when I was looking at my camera roll I realized I took these pictures less than 5 minutes apart. Miles feels things deeply and is not afraid to express his displeasure, but he is also very sweet and enjoys being comforted. 

July 9

Thursday morning we "moved in" to my parents house for a few days while our floors were stained and polished. We chose the dark walnut stain and I am really excited about it. It was such a relief to go to my parent's. As soon as we arrived I felt a big weight lifted off my shoulders. We had planned on staying for four nights, but because it was an exceptionally humid weekend it stretched into seven. Anthony or I stopped our house every day to check on the progress and pick up a needed item or two.

July 10

Lauren started braiding her own hair and had a lot of fun braiding it into several small braids Saturday evening. I had a lot less fun taking out the many braids Sunday morning. She practiced on my hair, and lamented that her brothers have short hair so she couldn't practice on them. She braided the main of Memaw's rocking horse in to several small braids too.