2023 :: week 24

Summer Week #4

June 11

Baking cookies is a regular Sunday afternoon activity in the John house. I think that licking the mixer attachment and being "taste-testers" are equally as motivating as the actual cookies.

June 12

I have an entire series of picture on my phone of Miles sleeping in the car. Despite the fact that Miles "doesn't need a nap!" he falls asleep in the car almost anytime we drive somewhere after 4pm. Monday evening Lauren had her second to last softball game. The girls played well and Lauren had fun.

June 13

The boys finished their swimming lessons this week. Miles barely participated and is on track to repeat the level one class again next year. Though I am frustrated with his failure to acclimate more quickly to the water, it has been unseasonably cool this June, which means the water was quite cold. Elliott passed level five and will move on to level six next year. A big focus for his level was crawl strokes--both forward and on his back. He was the youngest in his class and also first in his class to jump in the chilly water each class.

June 14-17

Lauren spent Wednesday through Saturday our Stake Girl's Camp held at Camp Galilee (a non-denominational religious campground) in El Dorado Springs, MO. She had a great time! The girls slept in cabins divided by wards, and our ward was definitely the smallest. The girls did a lip sync battle, Lauren's group performed "I've Got a Dream," from Rapunzel, that was well received. One day they did a spiritual walk, where there were mirrors the girls could look into that would say things like, "I am a child of God," and pictures of Jesus. There were crosses symbolizing different periods of history. During their free time they could choose to go to the pool, snack shop, craft shack, and play gaga ball or tetherball. One day they did team building activities by year where they did trust falls, had to get each girl onto an elevated platform, balance the group on a small platform, etc. We know Lauren did girl's camp right, because she came home and slept most of the afternoon on our couch. 

June 15

Anthony and I snuck away to Wichita for the evening and saw Hamilton perform at the Century II Concert Hall. On the advice of my friend Sang, I entered the lottery for the Wichita performances because the competition isn't as fierce and I won! The Allreds agreed to watch our younger boys overnight and we made a mini-roadtrip out of it. Coincidentally Sang and Devan also won tickets to the show and so Devan drove with us. (Sang drove separately from Girl's Camp because she is a diehard fan). We had a great trip, even though we got caught in a speed trap and Tony got a speeding ticket despite being passed on the right and the left. The play was amazing! We had watched the recording on Disney+, but seeing it in the theatre was so much better. Our seats were incredible, second row, two seas right of center. 

June 16

Tony and I were tired from our late night drive, and we had a slow start to the day. Anthony went to work, but then we went to Firehouse Subs for lunch, where they were giving away free medium subs to people with the names "Thomas," "Linda," and "Asia." That evening we let the boys pick our adventure. Elliott wanted to go to Crown Center, so we did. We explored the "Fairy Tale Village" installation, got dinner at Spin! Pizza, and did some people watching just outside the gates of the Boulevardia festival that was taking place over the weekend. Then we walked across the skybridge and rode the streetcar down to the City Market. We hoped to get ice cream at Betty Rae's, but the line was way out the door, so we decided to head back home and Frostys from Wendy's instead. It was a fun evening and reminded me of how much more simple things were when we just had two young kids. 

June 15-17

Will spent Thursday through Saturday biking part of the Katy Trail, heading east, from Sedalia to Tebbetts, MO. They rode for three days, riding for 26, 43, and 25 miles per day respectively. On Thursday evening they stopped at the Pilot Grove and were able to play basketball and swim in the pool at the camp ground. The second day of biking was the longest day riding, a few of the boys (not Will) had to stop and ride in the car for a bit. The boys stopped in Hartsburg for the night. They were all pretty tired, so they just ate burgers and hung out at the campsite. The final day the boys rode to Tebbetts, then drove to Columbia to feast on pizza at CiCi's. Will and Jude came across a deer on the trail and Jude was almost knocked over as the deer jumped right in front of him across the trail. The boys spent a lot of time talking about basketball players, debating who is best, with lots of the guys dissing Jason Tatum. Will said it is okay, because he "knows they're wrong." Overall Will had a great experience. And thus ends the busiest week of our summer so far.