2022 :: week 30

July 24

We spent a nice, relaxing Sunday with the Johns. Papa and Nana prepared a Come Follow Me lesson for the kids. We spent several hours playing games. Disney Family Feud was a big hit with most of the kids. Through the many rounds that were played--some with adults and some without--we learned that the most common answers weren't necessarily the most creative or best answers. The adults played many rounds of hearts. That evening we ate more ice cream and started packing up for the drive home.

July 25

While we were in Utah Will was most excited to spend time with Sadie. The oldest two cousins got to sleep on the basement couches and enjoyed less parental monitoring at bed time. Will told me they didn't say up too late with a sheepish grin on his face, but then fell asleep so deeply that I had to carry him out of the van when we arrived in North Platte. Will and Sadie have always gotten along really well and I am grateful their friendship continues to hold strong.

July 26

Tuesday we drive the remainder of the way home. It was about a seven hour drive and it took us about seven hours. We are always spoiled when we drive through Wyoming because you can make amazing time. At one point I really had to use the restroom and mentioned it right after we passed a sign that said no services for the next several miles. Tony made the kids laugh by coming up with scenarios where we would get pulled over for speeding and I would hop out of the car to relieve myself on the side of the road and police officer would radio out "we've got a runner!" The kids--especially Will and Elliott--thought this was hilarious, and have brought it up several times since we've been home. 

July 27

Elliott and Miles spent a lot of time playing with the Mansingh boys after we got home. They had been out of town before we left so it had been over two weeks since the boys had last played together. Miles was very pleased I let him walk over and play in the back with the big kids. He usually only gets to play when Blaise and Luke come to our house. Elliott told me that his happy was that he and Blaise had the most fun playing together that they ever had in his entire life..

July 28

Thursday evening we met up with the Throssells in Lee Summit for an evening of fun. We ate delicious dinner at McAllister's. I tasted extra good because dine-in kid's meals were only a dollar each. The only place we can feed our family for less is the Costco Food Court! Then we headed to the Lea McKeighan Park. We hoped to cool off in the splash park, but it closed just as we got there. The kids had fun playing tag on the ropes course and zipline while the adults chatted. Going to the splash park with the Throssells has become a fun summer tradition.

July 29

This summer you can find Will playing basketball with friends at our church building most Friday afternoons. At the end of Will's basketball season Anthony and another dad (Chris) decided the boys needed some additional coaching if they were going to make their middle school basketball teams this fall.  Anthony organized a "basketball boot camp" for Will, Josh and the boys from their respective Deacons quorums. Each week the boys spend a few minutes shooting around, then Chris would lead them in stretching. Anthony prepared a different drill for the boys to focus on each week--dribbling, screening, shooting through contact, pick and rolls, etc. Then the boys would scrimmage for the final half hour. Both Anthony and Will had a lot of fun and hope to do something similar next summer. 

July 30

On the road again! This time we were headed to St. Louis. Will and Lauren are participating in the MAMA Festival and we decided to make a family vacation out of it. Before we headed out of town we had a busy Saturday. The day started with our annual chapel cleaning assignment and was filled with various chores and preparations for our trip. We ate an early dinner of ribs at my parents before we hit the road. My dad recently got a smoker and he has been perfecting his ribs. 

2022 :: week 29

July 17

Anthony had his second high council speaking assignment this week, this time in the Kaw River Ward. He had to prepare his talk a few days early so it could be translated into Spanish and then projected onto a screen behind him--real life subtitles! I spent a few hours in the afternoon with my mom, then TJ brought the kids up to say hi and give her hugs before we headed west on our trip to Utah. Mom is doing really well and is expected to be discharged home on Thursday morning! She will continue to receive PT, OT and Speech at home. I am so excited for her to be in her own home.

July 18

Anthony, Lauren and I woke up at 3:15am Monday to get Lauren to the airport for her 5:35am flight to Salt Lake. This week was the 2nd biennial John family cousin camp. Cousins ages 8-11 are invited to spend a week with Nana and Papa in SLC. They plan a variety of activities and spend a few days in Big Cottonwood Canyon at a cabin Nana's sister owns. Two years ago Lauren and Will flew to SLC together, but this year Lauren flew out by herself. I was hit with a jumble of emotions as I watched Lauren board the plane--nervous, sad, excited--and the realization that my kids are only just beginning to embark on their own adventures.

July 19

Presenting the 2022 cousin camp crew--Millie (8) and Elise (11) from American Fork, UT; Weston (10), Nolan (8) and Derek (8) from McMinneville, OR; Lauren (10) from Overland Park, KS; Adelaide (8) from Lexington, VA. This photo was taken in the Timpanogas Cave. The hike was fairly steep and about 3.5 miles round trip. Other activities include visiting the Days of '47 parade floats at the Sandy Expo Center, swimming at the Cottonwood Heights pool, riding on the chairlifts at Solitude as well as hiking around Lake Solitude, hiking around Silver Lake, getting ice cream at Brighton and playing in the stream next to the cabin. Doug and Tina planned a few crafts as well--mini-birdhouses for the kids to paint and diamond art stickers. On their own the kids decided to write and preform a play for their parents on Friday and they spent many hours working on that. Lauren had a great time at cousin camp and Elliott is already looking forward to his turn to go in 2024.

July 20

Mom and the John boys hit the road bright and early Wednesday morning. Well, it wasn't actually too early, but we were on the road before 8am. We made great time and around lunch time we realized we were going to be at our hotel by 4pm. After some deliberation we decided to cancel our reservation and drive straight through. We made it to American Fork around midnight and spent the night in Papa and Nana's new house. This was the first time our family has driven that far in one day. It went amazingly well and we will probably do it again in the future, though Anthony and I both agreed that pushing through is a better plan for the way out than the way back. We tend to stay up late when visiting with family and much more tired on the way home.

July 21

We spent Wednesday with Carly and Meredith (and Sadie and Grant and Lola Rose). In the afternoon we went swimming at the AF pool. Elliott was delighted to be able to go down the slide, that pool was much more relaxed than our pool here that requires you to be 48'. After the pool I met up with two of my favorite people, Candace and Melissa. We visited for four hours and could have kept on talking for four more hours if family responsibilities hadn't called us our separate ways. While I was with my friends Anthony and the boys were at the Nielsons. Family friend Ben and his family came over to catch up. I thought I was late when I got there just before 11pm, and we proceeded to continue visiting until after midnight. Miles fell asleep in my arms, he never does that but it was kind of sweet.

July 22

Friday we got to spend a few hours with the Toms. Laura had been feeling pretty sick earlier in the week so we were glad we got to see them. We didn't get to spend very much time with them when they were in town at the end of June because things were so chaotic, so it was nice to spend a little one on one time with their family. Miles was grumpy and we couldn't be too mad because we knew that we kept him up way too late. That afternoon we took naps, went to a park and met up with the family at a house Nana and Papa rented in Draper for the weekend. The cousin camp crew performed their play and we ate pizza and enjoyed an ice cream sundae bar provided by the Maxfields. 

July 23

Saturday morning we hiked to the Bear Canyon suspension bridge. It was a hot morning and the hike ended up being a little longer than we anticipate, but everyone survived and most of us had fun. Poor Anthony got stuck carrying Miles most of the way. That afternoon we went to the Cottonwood Heights Pool. The water felt amazing! The pool has the traditional high and low dives, as well as much higher (5 and 7.5 meter) rock platforms you can jump off. Many of the older kids wowed the adults by jumping off the super high platforms. 

2022 :: week 28

July 10

Lauren worked on making bracelets for her cousins in preparation for cousins' camp with Nana and Papa next week. Lauren and Elise have been FaceTiming on Sundays and talking about and making plans for their week with Nana and Papa. As one of the returning campers Lauren is very excited to lead activities for the first timers. Lauren is a woman with a vision, and I am constantly impressed by her.

July 11

The big kids started theatre camp this week through Lenexa Parks and Rec. Miles and I stayed with Memaw at the rehab facility while they were at camp, and afterward I took the kids to 7-11 to get free Slurpee's. After a cool June, July has turned out to be incredibly hot.

July 12

It was some sort of little league night at the K Tuesday, and Will got to go to the Royals game and batting practice for free with his baseball team Tuesday night. Will was excited to get to go and was positively gleeful when he told us that Zach Greinke signed his hat. The Royals found a way to lose, but Will was so full of excitement from the game he barely cared. Will rode to the game with his friend and teammate Benji, but he also saw several friends and neighbors at the game too. 

July 13

Wednesday night was activity night with the church. Anthony was asked to help with the deacons at the pool. I had him take Elliott with him since they went to a Lenexa Pool, and he is tall enough to go down their slides. The height requirement at OP Pools is 48" while in Lenexa it is 42". While he rode the slide over and over the deacons were busy having a belly flop contest at the diving boards. Will came home with a red stomach and grin on his face because he got first place, bragging rights and a Slurpee for his efforts. Lauren and the Activity Girls had a Just Dance dance party and ate healthy snacks.

July 14

While the kids were at camp Miles and I spent Monday, Thursday and Friday at the rehab facility with Memaw. I packed up some toys, books and snacks to entertain Miles. He was a bit hesitant to get up on the bed with Memaw at first, but he came around. One of his favorite books to read with my mom is this book with classic kid songs, like "B-I-N-G-O," "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," etc. It made my heart happy to see them singing together again. We also brought some pictures of the family to hang up on the wall to brighten the room up a bit. 

July 15

Friday evening the kids put on their first performance of The Jungle Book. They performed it again Saturday afternoon. They did a great job, and I was very proud of them. Lauren was part of the body of Kaa, Elliott was a monkey, and Will was in the wolf pack. Unbeknownst to me, there were several kids from our stake and even a girl from our ward in the production as well. I pushed for all three of the kids to do this theatre camp together, not all the kids were equally as excited, and I am glad they all agreed to humor me. They each said they had a good time, though only Lauren would commit to doing a play again. At the very least they got the experience of working on a show and a few inside jokes with their siblings. 

July 16

On Saturday evening Lauren got to go horseback riding with her Girl Scout troop. It was one of the activities they were able to do because of their cookie sales. Lauren loved it! She last went horseback riding two years ago and cousin camp and said it was better that time because they let them have a little more freedom. It has been a busy few weeks of girl scouts. Last Saturday Lauren and I went and helped distribute food at a mobile food pantry with the troop and other parents. 

2022 :: week 27

July 3

This bomb pop garland is a Lauren John original. She came up with the idea on her own and made several to sell at the summer craft sale her and Daphne planned. I think they turned out pretty cute. We hosted a small gathering for dinner on the 4th, and Lauren helped me decorate the house in preparation for our guests. She has quite the flair for decorating. 

July 4

We had a full and festive Independence Day. In the afternoon we went to the pool with the entire Crane family. That evening we hosted the family, plus the Throssells and Dana for dinner. Tony made smashburgers and everyone else brought sides and treats to share. The kids had fun playing games in the backyard, but it hot enough the adults ate and mingled inside. After dinner we walked to the park for Uncle Matt's 3rd Annual fireworks show. The kids had fun shooting off Roman candles and a variety of other smallish fireworks. Matt bought something about as big as Miles for the grand finale, and it was impressive. Then we went to the golf course to watch the OP Star Spangled Spectacular. It is always fun to see many old friends scattered across the grass when we go to watch fireworks. When I tucked Elliott into bed that night, he excitedly declared that the 11:40pm bedtime was "a personal record."

July 5

It was such a hot week! We talked about going blueberry picking or to Deanna Rose while the Staritas were in town but decided to just go back to the pool. This time the Allreds and most of the uncles weren't able to come. I wish I had remembered to get a group picture of the cousins when the Allreds were there. The kids had fun playing in the water. That evening Leah hosted Lauren for a girl's only sleepover at Memaw's house. Leah organized a few games for the girls to play, they sang some karaoke, and worked on some rainbow loom bracelets while watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. 

July 6

Wednesday afternoon we had the cousins over for some summer fun. We turned on the sprinkler, ran the bubble machine, busted out the freezer pops and filled up our wading pool and water table. The Staritas needed to go to bed that night because they had early flights to Minnesota for a Starita family reunion. It was fun spending time with them, though we had to adapt a few things with Mom in the hospital. Melanie spent a lot of time at the rehab center with Mom while she was in town. 

July 7

Lauren had her final softball practice Thursday night, and game Friday evening. Thursday evening the team took on parents and siblings at practice. Tony represented the John family in that match up. Will was disappointed he couldn't make it, but he was at a going away party for his friend Gunnar who is moving to Florida. Friday the girls went on to win their division in a hard-fought match-up. Lauren was excited to get some hardware. The team had a really fun energy this season and grew a lot. The team had two tournament games on Sunday, though Lauren did not play. 

July 8

After a busy Friday evening where Will, Lauren and Elliott each had an activity we picked up pizza and headed to Theatre in the Park. Thanks to the Sunflower Summer App we were able to get in for free. The show we saw was School of Rock, and though the actors did a good job, we enjoyed it less than other shows we have seen at TITP. We recently rewatched the movie and definitely preferred that.

July 9

Saturday afternoon Anthony's friend Kevin and his boys arrived, and we were able to spend the evening with them. They were en route to Utah from Florida and stayed with us for the evening. After going out to Joe's KC we used the sauna, played Boomerang Fu on the switch and hung out. Elliott and Miles played floor is lava with Coen, Kevin's youngest son. It was fun seeing them again, though Lauren was disappointed the Tame girls didn't come too after getting to know Avonlea at the Orioles' game we went to on our trip this spring.

 

2022 :: week 26

June 26

Elliott requests word searches, math worksheets and quizzes during Sacrament meeting. This week I made him a word search of some of his favorite baseball players. He made a quiz for me too. He drew pictures of baseball players and wanted me guess who they were. He gave me their initials as hints. I knew that the F.W. was Frank White, but before I got a chance to tell him Elliott gave me the additional hint that "he played in the 19s!" Elliott has a way of making me feel old in funny ways.

June 27

Elliott doesn't like to eat scrambled eggs, but he sure does like to crack and scramble the eggs. 

June 28

Miles and Elliott have started turning their room into a floor is lava course. On the plus side, they aren't spreading toys all over the house. Unfortunately, their room is right above mine so I hear lots of jarring thumps throughout the day. No furniture has been irreparably broken and it is surpringly easy to put the room back together after they are done.

June 29

Because of the rain this spring Elliott's baseball season keeps going and going. This was supposed to be their last game, but they still have two more next week. Elliott loves playing baseball so that is fine with him. The league scheduled his team for team and individual pictures before the game, so Tony took one for the team and got Elliott to the game an hour early and toughed it out in the 90+ degree heat. We didn't buy any of the pictures, but Elliott needed to be there to complete the team pics. 

June 30

Laura and Melanie and their families flew in to help with things related to Mom for a few days. Laura and Trevor worked on getting the house more accessible and Melanie spent many hours at the hospital with Mom. In the evening we had a family meeting to make sure we are all on the same page regarding our mom's care and to make a tentative plan going forward. The five sisters were all in the same place at the same time for less than two hours, but it was good to be together. It has been a tough summer, thankfully we have each other. 

July 1

Friday afternoon we met up with the cousins at the splash park. It was another hot day and the kids had fun running around in the water and playing on the playground. Lauren was pleased that her and Leah were wearing the same swimsuit. My mom bought the swimsuit for Leah before she had her stroke and Lauren picked it out herself. After playing at the park we went to my parents house to eat Costco pizza and watermelon. We have utilized Costco pizza more than once this summer to inexpensively feed a crowd.  

July 2

After a week at the Olathe Medical Center my mom was transferred to the Healthcare Resort of Leawood. Yay! Mom is in a unique situation. First, her stroke is unusual and in many ways presents more like a traumatic brain injury than a stroke. Second, she is too young to be on Medicare, which means she is still has private insurance. Those two factors made it hard to find a skilled nursing facility that would be able to do the long-term rehab work Mom needs and work with her insurance company. My sisters and I visited many facilities throughout the area during the week. Sometimes we knew from the minute we walked into the place that it wasn't going to work. Sometimes we were excited about a place but then got rejected. We feel like this was yet another miracle in a long line of mini-miracles we have witnessed this summer.