2021 :: week 35

August 22

Memaw had desserts for the August birthdays at dinner Sunday night. Elliott was willing to spread out the birthday festivities as long as possible. He has an infectious enjoyment of life. 

August 23

Will and I finished reading the New Testament together on Monday night! After we finished reading the Book of Mormon together last fall we decided we'd tackle the New Testament next. Now we are on to the Doctrine and Covenants. I have really loved reading the scriptures with Will and hope I am able to read with my other kids too.

 

August 24

Miles is so happy to greet the big kids after school. Thankfully he has stopped asking to go get the big kids all morning. He will look at me with his big eyes, tilt his head and say, "Miles go park. Get big kids!" And then he jumps and attempts to put his shoes on, usually on the wrong feet, and will stand at the door and beg. Seven hours is a long time when you're two.

August 25

I cut Miles' and Elliott's hair after dinner and wanted to get a picture of my handsome boys. If Miles isn't looking at the camera when I request a photo and Elliott is in the picture too he grabs Miles' face and tilts his chin towards the camera. It makes me laugh, but I know it confuses Miles. Elliott is Miles' hero and best friend.

August 26

Anthony and I celebrated 15(!?)  years of marriage with a lunch date at Louie's Wine Dive and Kitchen. Anthony's foodie co-workers recommended it and it did not disappoint. They have this really yummy "SCB Burger" that has serrano cream and bacon jam on it. Super good! Miles came along for the occasion and did not understand why I would try to take a picture without him in it. Every time I got my phone out to take a pic he leaned in. Anthony got there a few minutes before Miles and I did and mentioned he was meeting his wife to celebrate our anniversary. Another couple decided to pay for our meal and insisted we order dessert when they saw we didn't order wine. 

August 27

The weather this week has been so hot and humid and I have had trouble sleeping. I wasn't feeling well Friday evening, so Tony took the kids to meet up with some ward friends at Shawnee Mission Park. They roasted smore's and took turns taking the McCall's kayak on the lake. The kids came home filthy and happy, a sure sign of a good time. 

August 28

Will has wanted to get a pet for years. About a month ago his friend Holden got a hamster. Ever since then Will has been lobbying to get one too. He researched what it was like to have a hamster, the best breeds, cages, food, etc. Because he is so responsible we decided to let him get one. He paid for the cage, hamster, food and care supplies himself with money he earned doing odd jobs over the summer. He ordered the cage and it said it would take 7-10 days to arrive. I told Will I would take him to the pet store to buy the hamster as soon as it came. We estimated it would come by Labor Day. Will was ecstatic when it arrived three days after he ordered it! We were all feeling tired as we arrived home from an afternoon of baseball and soccer games. The kids spotted the box on the front porch and suddenly the kids were full of energy and excitement! Lauren and Elliott loved to be a part of the acquisition process.  

2021 :: week 34

 

August 15

We decided to take advantage of the nice weather and invite some new church friends over for dessert. It has been 18 months since we had anyone besides family over socially, and with fall/winter on the horizon and Delta going crazy we decided we want to take advantage of being able to socialize outside while we can. I made a blueberry pie, and Will and Lauren made a batch of cookies. They made a video tutorial of their cookie baking for their youtube channel too.

August 16

Monday was Elliott's first day of school. This is our one and only year with all the kids going to school in the same building. Next year Will starts middle school and Miles will probably do preschool, so I am going to cherish this relatively "simpler" time while I can. I was a little sad when I waved goodbye to the three big kids, but also excited for them and their adventures. We decided to have Elliott wait until this year to start kindergarten, so Miles and I got a bonus year to spend with him, and he is more than ready to start this year. After school I asked him if he learned anything new and he told me all they did was talk about schedules and rules. When told him that understanding how  things work in his classroom and at the school was important he responded incredulously, "more important than math?!" Touché, Elliott. 

August 17

Anthony went on his first work trip in...quite a while to Chicago this week. I am out of practice for this! I am used to him being busy, but not totally unavailable to help for three days! We talked to him over the computer before bed Tuesday night. We had planned on going to Tomahawk pool with the Hagmans and Ules that afternoon, but right as we got in the pool lightening was spotted on the radar and they closed the pool. The moms decided to salvage the situation by going to the indoor pool instead. The kids had a lot of fun! The storm was small and passed rather quickly. Will was able to go to the youth pool party that evening as planned. 

August 18

I'm really hoping to avoid putting child locks on our new cabinetry. Miles is really enjoying the easy access to our food. Most of the "good stuff" aka snacks, are up too high for him to reach. "Not today," is a phrase Miles says a lot lately, especially when he means no. For example, I will tell Miles it is time to brush his teeth and he will reply, "not today." Or when I tell him it is time to take a nap he will say, "not today" and run away from me.

August 19

Thursday nights are baseball nights because both Elliott and Will have 90 minute practices that overlap for 30 minutes. From 5-7:30 someone is at practice, not including driving time. Elliott loves being part of a team and practice is a highlight of his week. I have had to make a pared down dinner meus and "Aldi pizza and salad" is becoming a Thursday night staple. I bake a cheese pizza from Aldi and then prep a bunch of salad fixings--lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, bacon bits, carrots, ham, etc. It works well because people can eat what they want when they are able. 

August 20

The Pink Thunder kicked off their season with a Friday night game at the Garmin Fields in Olathe. Lauren's team joined the Sporting Blue Valley League this fall, which is bit more competitive than the rec league she has been in since kindergarten. It was a hot and humid night and the girls held their own, though they ended up losing. The field is larger and they are playing 9v9 instead of 7v7. Lauren is turning into a pretty good forward. 

August 21

Lauren and Daphne decided months ago that they wanted to have a craft sale. The two girls have been busy crafting their hearts out over this past year, but especially this summer. Their inventory included  pillows of various shapes, bracelets, bookmarks and felt flowers. The girls hawked their wares in front of Daphne's house for 3 hours midday Saturday and made $13 each! I was proud of them for working hard and putting themselves out there. They made signs advertising their booth they hung around the neighborhood as well. Lauren has a strong entrepreneurial spirit. 

2021 :: week 33

August 8

Sunday evening we went to the Allred's house for dinner to celebrate Arthur's birthday. Emily's birthday was last week and Lauren stitched her a sampler that said, "I'd rather be watching K-Dramas," because we don't know anyone who loves K-Dramas as much as she does. 

August 9

I decided to be a fun mom and buy the kids Chick-fil-A for breakfast to celebrate the last week of summer. Miles' SLP came for a visit mid-morning and told us that Miles has made so much progress over the past six months that he will probably not qualify for services by the end of the year. Yay, Miles! Miles has started repeating most everything we say and often gives two word answers to questions. He is counting a bit and saying my favorite little kid phrase, "hold you" when he wants to be held. 

August 10

On Tuesday evening we got to go up the school for "Meet the Teacher" night. Originally the event was going to be held indoors, but when the district updated the masking rules for the upcoming school year (all students and staff must wear masks regardless of vaccination status) our principal decided to move the event outside. It was a good idea in theory, unfortunately it was 97 degrees and humid. We waited in line to meet each of the teachers, then left early and went to the pool. This year Will has Mrs. Rockey Lauren has Ms. Boresow and Elliott has Mrs. Phipps. Fun facts: Will's teacher taught my sister Melanie when she was in 6th grade and Lauren's teacher was born the year Anthony graduated from high school. 

August 11

Wednesday was Elliott's 6th birthday and the last day of summer vacation. This picture makes me smile, because when I asked him to hold up six fingers because he turned six he held up four and two "because a thumb is not a finger." It is hard to describe Elliott because he is such a character. Elliott is smart and loves to surprise people with the things he knows. A few weeks ago a young couple from our church was impressed by his up-to-the-minute knowledge of everything that was going on at the MLB trade deadline (we have Will to thank for that). Speaking of baseball, at any given moment he is in the middle of an imaginary game. We often catch him swinging for the fences and then "watching" his hit sail away. We have literally had to hold his arms down to keep him from "hitting" while we are saying family prayers. He lives in the moment, and is willing to share his bag of Reece's peanut butter cups with any and everyone, while eating several himself. He decided he was okay with water this year, which I am still processing. In April he was crying about getting water in his ears when he washed his hair, and now he regularly jumps off the high dive and challenges himself to "treadmill" in the water for as long as he can. He has an eclectic taste in music--requesting everything from Hall & Oats to Post Malone to Jason Derulo. Most of all Elliott brings light and energy into our home. He is a man of passion and wears his heart on his sleeve and we couldn't love him any more.

August 12

Thursday was the first (half) day of school! The kids got up without any problems and I was up at 5am because I've been having trouble sleeping through the night this week. Since I was up I was easily able to make the kids scrambled eggs for Breakfast, take a few first day photos and leisurely walk the kids up to school. The morning went by fast because Elliott and I got to go up to the school and visit his classroom together and drop off his supplies. In the afternoon each of the kids was able to have a play with a friend while Miles napped. It was a great first day and made starting school so early feel less abrupt. That evening the boys were supposed to have baseball practice, but while Elliott and I were driving it started to downpour. We got hailed on and saw over a dozen flashes of lightening. I read that we got about 5 inches of rain overnight.

August 13

Friday evening the Olsen's invited us over for ice cream sundaes. The timing was great because after the big rainstorm the temperature dropped about 15 degrees. It was a very pleasant evening eating ice cream, visiting and watching the kids play outside. 

August 14

The random pumpkin plant Will and Curran planted as an afterthought and has already been thriving, seemed to respond really well to the rainstorm. I think it has grown half a foot wider since the start of the week! They have two pumpkins on the vines, and a few other blossoms that will hopefully be pollinated by the bees. I have seen several bees on the pumpkin plant this summer, so we will keep our fingers crossed. I hired the boys to do some weeding for me and they did such a great job. It is nice having a kid that is old enough to do a task well. 

2021 :: week 32

August 1

Laura and Trevor are in town! They taught the kids how to play "Bang!"(a shooting game similar to Rock, Paper, Scissors). It is mainly to played while trying to pass time, like when you are in line at an amusement park or driving in the car. Laura and Trevor are young at heart and do a great job of connecting with their nieces and nephews. 

August 2

We had dessert at my parents' house and said spent some Toms for the last time Monday evening. It was fun to get to see them in person, especially sweet Hannah. Girl cousins are few and far between on the Crane side so Lauren was especially grateful to spend some time with her.

August 3

The end of summer has me feeling all maudlin about how fast the kids are growing up. I snapped this picture of the four of them brushing teeth together. Bedtime is frequently a time when my patience is frayed and more often than not the kids try to push their luck with staying up late. But my heart felt full seeing them all together, compliant but goofy.

August 4

Blueberry picking is something I look forward to each year. This summer has been a different kind of busy for us. In the past we were all on the same schedule, the kids were in the same activities or at least overlapped. This year most weeks just one of the three older kids has something going on, while the others did not. I haven't wanted to go blueberry picking and not take all the kids because I like us all going together. I'm going to have to get used to doing things without everyone in the coming years, but I am very glad we got to go together again this year. We got lucky that the weather was gorgeous AND we had week free of daytime camps or lessons. We had a great time picking berries then snacking on the yummy blueberry muffins sold in the bakery. Emily, Tyler and Mikey joined us as well.

August 5

Elliott made his baseball "debut" Thursday evening, attending his first "official" practice. He had to wait an extra week because last Thursday we were under a heat advisory. He is on a co-ed team that is made up of ten kids in his grade from OPC. If you have spent more than five minutes with Elliott this summer you know just how obsessed with baseball he is right now. This is hands down the most exciting thing to happen to him all year.

August 6

Lauren wrote and original novel and she read it to me before bed Friday evening. I love most everything about Lauren at this age (9.5). She has so many ideas and is always creating something. This past week she wrote a graphic novel, wrote letters to a few cousins, made several original designs with her perler beads--including a monster truck for Arthur's birthday, and a felt baseball for Elliott's birthday.

August 7

Jill organized a tour at the Lenexa Fire Station for Arthur's 3rd birthday. It was interesting learning about the different trucks and all the useful tools the firemen use. In our area the firemen spend much more time backing up medical assist calls or helping with car crashes than putting out fires. The fireman pictured showed us all of his equipment and how each item would protect him if he was responding to a fire. It turns out that he was fresh out of the academy and we were his first tour. Miles wasn't sure what to think of his Darth-Vader-sounding oxygen mask. Anthony had to work from 9-1pm and then 5-8pm facilitating item refining, so he wasn't able to join us. 

2021 :: week 31

July 25

Now that we have barstools and a kitchen island, Miles sees no need to use a high chair. He can easily climb up, but gets nervous when climbing down, so he often will call out if no one is in the room. It makes me feel a little bad that I like hearing his cute little voice call out, "Help me! Help me!"

July 26

It is the dog days of summer. I had a bad headache today so I made the kids play outside as much as possible. We didn't get to go to the pool or do anything extra. Times like this make me especially grateful for neighborhood playmates.

July 27

Elliott participated in a theatre camp a friend from the ward held. It was a small group, and all the kids that attended are in his primary class. They made props, learned about the parts of the play, then acted out the story of The Three Little Pigs. It was very cute. Elliott was little pig #1, AKA the lazy pig who built his house out of straw. I know I am biased, but his facial expressions and pantomime stole the show.

July 28

Lauren and Elliott started their art camp, and while they were at camp I took the little bros to Crown Center. We visited the "Under the Sea" exhibit, the first exhibit they've had in there (besides Santa) since March 2020. The boys had fun exploring and running around. It wasn't very crowded so it was easy to keep track of the boys. It reminded me of how I used to take Will and Lauren to these rotating exhibits back when they were the ages of these boys. We stopped at the candy shop next door and I let each of the kids pick out a treat. We walked out to the fountains and ate a healthy snack that I packed, along with their candy. It was a hot day so we went to Young's Pool that evening.

July 29

Thursday ended up being a crazy-busy day. The kids had Camp Kemper, but we were carpooling with the Wilsons, so Emily dropped the kids off. My good friend and college roommate Nikki was in town with her husband and she stopped by and visited with me for about an hour. I wish I had had more time to catch up. Tony came home early to watch the little bros and then I picked the kids up from art camp and we headed to Independence for the Mid-America Music Association (MAMA) Festival. Will and Lauren each played two songs from memory and received superior ratings, though we didn't find out until that evening. We had to wait a long time between the kid's performances, next year we will do better with the scheduling. It was again so very hot, so that night we went to Stonegate Pool after dinner.

July 30

The kids last day of art camp. Tyler was old enough to come this year and the cousins had fun doing interactive art together. As has become the tradition, I took the kids out for doughnuts at Donutology on the way home. Unfortunately it was insanely hot in the building and they were severely understaffed. It took a long time to get our treats and we were all pretty grumpy by the time they arrived. 

July 31

Saturday night we went to the Theatre in the Park production of Newsies. It was fabulous. The kids fell in love with the music a few years ago after watching the movie and also the BYU Vocal Point medley. The Lenz's invited us over for a potluck cook out and swim at the neighborhood pool so we were all nice and cool before the show started. I was a little nervous about how Miles would do, and he was great for the first 80% of the show. Towards the end he started to get a little slap happy and I followed him as he ran around the back of the park (no one was sitting back there). Apparently the state used federal COVID relief funds to create an app where families could register and get into various museums and performing arts venues across the state, so we were able to go to the play for free. We had a great time!