2023 :: week 4

January 22

Miles was asked to give the opening prayer in primary and ended up being too nervous to do it, so Anthony said they prayer while holding him. Miles wasn't very excited to stay in primary after that, but he loves music and was willing to stay for singing time. I snapped this picture when I saw him and his classmate Leo holding hands and walking to the classroom. I helped out in the CTR 4 class.

January 23

I can't remember exactly how I came across the book Our Only May Amelia. I was scrolling on instagram and a person I follow was talking about how life changing winning a Newbery Award can be for authors. I started looking at past Newbery Award winners and came across this book I had never heard of that was a Newbery Honor book in 2000. When I read in description on our library website I knew Lauren and I had to read it. "As the only girl in a Finnish American family of seven brothers, May Amelia Jackson resents being expected to act like a lady while growing up in Washington state in 1899."

January 24

Jill watched Miles for me while I went out to lunch with some friends from my ward. I did next to nothing social in the ward in the months after my mom's stroke, and am just finally feeling like I am genuinely friends with women from my new ward. We met at Twisted Fresh and visited for almost two hours! Miles had a great time playing with Arthur and Henry and keeps asking me when he can go back. 

January 25

Wednesday was a snow day. We got less than an inch, it only stuck to the grass (none of it stuck to the roads/sidewalks/driveways), and it was about 30° F. The snow day didn't really make sense, but it was nice to have a "day off" from normal responsibilities. I had a PT appointment in the morning, and when I returned home the kids were watching the National Treasure show and I found a pile of books that Miles had cut the covers with scissors. I decided we needed to get out of the house ASAP. After eating a quick lunch and prepping some chicken for dinner we headed to Science City. It was almost empty. The kids could do whatever they wanted without having to wait. We spent several hours doing everything--I don't think we missed a single exhibit. We even went outside for about two minutes, but it was too wet to safely climb and when the wind blew it was quite cold. It was my most favorite visit ever, and I was in such a good mood that when the kids asked for Frosties on the way home I couldn't say no.

January 26

Soni was in town from Chicago and Miles and I met up with her and Naomi at Chick-fil-A. Miles was too grumpy about leaving to be in the picture, but he had a great time too. It is always great to catch up with longtime friends, and now we have even more in common with aging/ailing parents to worry about. 

January 27

Elliott has been playing a lot of football with his buddies after school. Miles reminds me we need to bring "Elliott's football to the pa-wk" as we leave to meet the kids after school. We had gorgeous weather Friday--around 50 degrees--so the kids spent most of their after school hours playing outside. The temperature would drop 30 degrees overnight. 

January 28

Saturday was full of friends and basketball. Both Will and Elliott had basketball games before lunch.  Lauren went to her soccer teammate's (Kenzie) house for a few hours. Elliott went to a stake primary activity, then Tyler came over to play for a bit. Will had Jude and Adrian over for basketball, sauna and videogames. Miles joined in on the fun as much as he could. It made me laugh when the boys walked upstairs to go outside and cool off and Miles trotted up the stairs and marched outside behind them. 

 

2023 :: week 3

January 15

This weekend was our Stake Conference. Lauren was asked to speak in the Sunday morning session about preparing to go to the temple and did an amazing job! Even though she was very nervous she read her talk clearly and was a highlight of the session. She spoke about how the temple connects the family of God together and how learning about the righteous women in her family makes her want to study be like them. In addition Lauren sang in the Youth Choir. They sang two songs, first a medley, "Search Ponder and Pray/I Think When I Read That Sweet Story," and "Trust in the Lord." Both were good, especially the medley. 

January 16

My dad was out of town this weekend at my Uncle Russ' funeral. When my dad has to travel Jill, Emily and I take turns spending time with my mom. I spent the night Friday and Sunday with my mom, and then we went over again and had dinner together Monday and hung out until my dad arrived home. I feel so grateful that I still get to spend time with my mom. In the afternoon we met up with several of Elliott's classmates at the recently renovated Strang Line Park. It was an unseasonably warm day for January and the park was packed. Regardless he had a great time with Elliott G, Lilyana and Jaklyn.

January 17

This week we started watching the new National Treasure show on Disney+. If you can get past the clunky social commentary/lecture in each episode, it is quite enjoyable. We have found it to be pretty fun, even though it is a little predictable. We are already counting down for the next few Wednesdays when the final three episodes are released. 

January 18

Lauren got to participate in her second Math Club meet of the season Wednesday. OPC teams swept the fifth grade competition, with Lauren's team coming in third. This time she was teamed up with Owen C and Theron S. It was fun to watch them compete. Their faces showed a wide range of emotions--contemplative, stressed, frustrated, relieved, disappointed, excited. Who knew a collaborative timed math competition could elicit so many feelings?

January 19

Two years ago I bought this pink 32 Degrees fleece jacket for Lauren at Costco. She has loved it and it has been her go to jacket ever since. Lately she has been frustrated because the zipper sticks. I asked if they were going to have them again at Costco and was told they would not be carrying them this year. I looked online at threadup and ebay and couldn't find the right match. This week Miles and I stopped at Savers to drop off some donations and last second decided to go in the store. I couldn't believe it when I saw the *exact* coat I have been looking for, brand new with tags, one size larger than Lauren's current coat for only $2.49. It felt like a tender mercy.

January 20

On Friday evening I went out to dinner with some of my book club friends. We took advantage of KC Restaurant week and ate at Fogo de Chao (Brazilian steakhouse). Not everyone was able to make it, but it was great to get out with those that could. Alexa, Allison, Fara, Fara's mom, Janice, Elena, Sarah, Sang and Tami are seated around the table (we missed Emily, Kate and Kristen).

January 21

Saturday evening we made Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes for dinner. A friend posted the recipe on facebook this summer and both Tony and I were intrigued. We made it and then decided to try it again with a few adjustments. All the kids like it without complaint which is always noteworthy, with Elliott (our pickiest eater) proclaiming it is now in his "top 10." I decided to ask the kids for their favorite foods list and this is what they said. Will--smash burgers, steak, pizza, salmon soup, zupa toscana, stroganoff, tikka masala, creamy chicken & rice, ham and white bean chicken chili. Lauren--Creamy Chicken & rice, sweet Willy chili, smash burgers, chicken tikka masala, cheese steak sloppy joes, spaghetti, homemade pizza, salad bar, salmon soup and ham. Elliott--Ham, homemade pizza, smash burgers, cheese steak sloppy joes, breakfast for dinner, orange chicken, fried chicken, steak, mashed potatoes/baked potatoes and stir fry. Miles--White chili, homemade pizza, hot dog with ketchup, chicken and broccoli, stroganoff, eggs with tator tots and sausage, chicken alfredo and fried chicken.

2023 :: week 2

January 8

Our new church schedule is awesome. We are in the 9-11am slot and are usually home and eating lunch by noon. The kids spent some time playing games and I enjoyed a luxurious afternoon nap. Lauren attended YW class for the first time and seemed to like it. 

January 9

Miles and Elliott love to read books at bedtime. Currently we are reading through Elliott's Who Would Win? collection, which doubled in size after he received three new 5 in 1 books for Christmas.

January 10

Tuesday morning Will and I drove down the Broadway Clinic for Will's annual eye exam. His eyes are doing well and the doctor made only minor adjustments to his prescription. We went to the same exam room we first went to back in 2013 when Will had his first eye exam. Afterwards we stopped and picked up breakfast before I dropped him off at school. 

January 11

A highlight of Miles' week is when both Gabriel and Hudson are able to play at the park. Because Daphne has gymnastics twice a week and Hudson's mom works 3 days there is only ONE day that all three boys are able to play together and Miles looks forward to it all week. 

 

January 12

Will is playing in the instructional basketball league at Indian Woods. Their practices are Tuesday and Thursday after school. Thursday also happens to be the day Will and Lauren have piano lessons, Elliott has basketball practice and (once a month) I have book club. Thursdays have become the busiest evening of our week! With the kids going different directions between 5 and 7pm we had to make a list of all the rides that were needed and then assigned a parent/driver to each leg. 

January 13

When Will enrolled in classes he chose to take the advanced science class. The major difference between the general and advanced class is the science fair project. Will has spent the past few months working on this project and he turned it in this week. For his project he studied how shoes affect a person's speed. He learned that the heavier the shoe the slower the time. I am grossly oversimplifying the project, but that is the gist. We were pleased with Will for keeping on top of the project and doing the work with little help. 

January 14

Elliott played in his first basketball game of the season Saturday. He is playing with his buddy Cole in the Upward League. His team is called the Wolfpack, comprised of first and second graders. The boys were almost as excited about the concession stands as they were the game. I had totally forgotten to bring cash and Will bailed me out and shared an airhead with Miles. Lauren didn't go to the game. She spent the first part of the day at the church practicing for the stake youth choir. In the evening she went to her friend Taylor's birthday party at Urban Air. 

2023 :: week 1

January 1

New year new classes. Our little guy Miles is now a Sunbeam. He wasn't too excited about it, but ended up deciding he did want to be a Sunbeam when his teachers had playdoh to use in class. He has male teachers (Brothers Ramirez and Rock) which works well because the class is full of boys too. I am in a little bit of denial that we are totally done with nursery. Elliott is now in senior primary, Lauren started YW, and Will is a Teacher.

January 2

Lauren and I did a little shopping Monday. Lauren loves to buy books, and the two places she's had the best luck at finding good deals are Savers and Half Price Books. Luckily they are located right by each other. 

January 3

Just a pile of John kids cuddling on the couch. The kids go back to school on Thursday, but today was the first time I "could hardly wait for school to come again." 

January 4

Will decided he wanted to learn how to solve a rubix cube after watching his cousin Tyler and Uncle Matt play with them over Christmas break. This week he got his "solve time" under two minutes! He was so happy when he achieved his goal. 

January 5

Egg prices have gone WAY up over the past year. I read that there has been a terrible outbreak of avian flu this past year, causing farmers to put down entire flocks of laying hens. This is on top of rising transportation and feed costs. We eat a lot of eggs, so this is pretty disappointing. 

January 6

Friday night was game night! We played several rounds of Connect Four and Yahtzee! Miles was surprisingly competitive with Lauren when playing Connect Four (Lauren went easy on him) and Elliott rolled one of the best games of Yahtzee! I've ever seen. After basketball tryouts Will went with Knox to the Blue Valley women's basketball game and then SMS boy's basketball game. He was gone from 8am-10:30pm, and I felt a little sad that he wasn't there to play games with us. I know this is only the beginning of kids going out on the weekend. 

 

January 7

Saturday evening the daughter of our friends Peter and Michelle was married. We carpooled with the Throssells to the Kansas City Club and had a great time. The venue was a cool old building downtown next to the main library. After the ceremony there was a hot chocolate bar, then dinner and dancing. We sat at a table with friends from the old OP2 ward. It was great to catch up and laugh about shared memories from serving in our small but quirky ward.