2023 :: week 38

September 17

This summer has been pretty dry, except for a few huge thunderstorms. So many branches come down in these types of storms. At the beginning of August during one of the storms a large tree in my friend Alexa's neighbor's yard was hit by lightening. A limb from that tree fell and landed on and ripped out the electrical meter box at the back of Alexa's house, causing the power to go out and their sump pump to stop working. They have had extensive damage to their home due to the power surge and flooding and their house is currently uninhabitable (I am grossly oversimplifying everything, but this is the general gist). On top of this their home was broken into and they had a bunch of tools, jewelry, cash and construction supplies stolen, and their insurance company is being very unhelpful. Our book club decided to put together a goody basket with gift cards to a few places for them to replace their lost things. Kate and Sang did most of the organizing and assembling, and on Sunday afternoon we brought the basket to Alexa and her family who are currently living with friends in their ward.

September 18

Monday afternoon my friend and former (sob) neighbor Renee called me and asked if I could pick up Gemma from preschool for her. Her van wouldn't start and her neighbors weren't home. Miles and I were happy to pick up Gemma take her home. Then Renee and I attempted to jump her van. Unfortunately we were not successful. Renee called her roadside assistance and we waited with her until they came. It turns our she needed a new axillary battery, something I didn't know existed. Even though it has only just over a week since they moved, it was good to see them again.

September 19

Will has an enviable metabolism. Here he is with three slices of white bread spread with nutella. Sometimes he washes it down with a cereal bowl sized serving of apple sauce. 

September 20

Wednesday evening was the OPC PTA Restaurant Night at Chick-fil-A. We got there nice and early, and while I placed our order Miles and Elliott went to play in the play place. Almost immediately Elliott ran out to tell me that "Miles peed on the slide." Ugh! I was so annoyed. Miles waiting until threat level midnight before he stops to use the restroom is a continuing problem.  (Anthony took Miles to the outside tables to eat his food while the rest of us ate inside.) Cesar, an employee at CFA was so kind to me when he cleaned up Miles' mess. He made me feel like we had done him a favor by giving him something to do. That night I went online and submitted feedback complimenting Cesar on his wonderful customer service. A few days later I received an email thanking me for my comment and gave me coupons for 2 free CFA meals and 2 free CFA kids meals.

September 21

Miles has some sweet friends in his class this year. He is really loving school, and has become especially fond of his classmates Olivia, Julia and Estelle. Outside recess is his favorite time of day, and pretty much the only thing he tells me about when I ask him questions about his day. When his teacher sent this picture she captioned it, "this should be in an advertisement!" 

September 22

Lauren and her friends looked so cute and grown up while playing Mafia after school on Friday. I can't believe this is their last year of elementary school and of hanging out at the park after school.

September 23

A contingent of Cranes went to the BYU v. KU game Saturday in Lawrence. TJ took Will, Lauren and Elliott while I stayed home with Miles. There was a lot of excitement going into the game, being that it marked the first game BYU played against a Big 12 opponent since joining the Big 12. The first half of the game was pretty exciting, with BYU taking a 3 point lead into half time. Unfortunately, in the second half BYU couldn't stop KU's running QB and they ended up losing 38-27. Everyone had a fun time, but was pretty disappointed with the loss. The crowd was full of LDS people we knew from different eras of our life, and the kids and TJ especially enjoyed seeing friends.

2023 :: week 37

September 10

Sunday Tony and I taught our recently rebranded "Living & Sharing the Gospel" class. We are using the updated Preach My Gospel manual as a guide. This week we taught about putting on the armor of God as it relates to the use of technology. Pictured here you can see youth walking on a "balance beam." We were trying to illustrate the principle that you are more likely to "stumble" when you look down at your feet as you walk, as opposed to looking ahead at a focal point (we taped a picture of Christ on the wall). You are also able to walk faster looking up than down. Technology is here to stay, it is important for everyone to learn how to make it work for them and use it wisely.

September 11

Monday was a gray day. We got a lot of rain which our grass desperately needed after a long, hot August. Miles and I stopped at the library on the way home from preschool to pick up some Dog Man books I helped Elliott place on hold. Kristen and Sadie and her parents were heading out after attending a story time, and it was fun to say hello to them. Miles picked out a few DBDBs to watch this week as well as a few books. While at the library Stephanie texted to see if we wanted to meet for lunch at Costco, and while we were eating we ran into Jill and Henry. It was a fun afternoon of unexpectedly seeing several friends.

September 12

The Chick-fil-A on Metcalf is giving out free chicken sandwiches on Tuesday evenings during the month of September. I love the face Miles is making in this picture. 

September 13

Elliott, Ian, Carter and Cole enjoyed the new playground. We spent between 30-60 minutes after school playing with friends at the park, and Elliott still complains that I "never" let him have playdates. I'm grateful the kids get this time to spend time with friends, I wish they appreciated it and would count it as as playing with friends. 

September 14

Thursday evening while the big kids were at mutual and TJ was at a work dinner, the little guys and I  cashed in some of Elliott's baptism money and bought a big pack of Pokemon cards at Sam's Club. On the way home we stopped by and said hello to Memaw and Pepaw. The boys were excited to share about the recent purchase and other recent exploits.

September 15

We finally got the evaporator coil on our AC replaced. When I say it has been a long, hot month I mean it! The kids were off school and Will spent the day with the Bensons. Tyler and Mikey came over to play with Elliott and Miles in the afternoon. 

September 16

The Pink Thunder was back on the pitch for the first time in a month. They played well, despite the break. Lauren spent the afternoon with her teammate Kenzie. The rest of us watched the first half of the BYU-Arkansas game at Memaw and Pepaw's. It was a fun game, a real roller coaster of emotions. Tony and Will are feeling extra excited to go to the BYU-KU game next Saturday.

2023 :: week 36

September 3

Sunday evening we went to the Throssells for dessert. The Wolfs came too. The kids had so much fun eating treats and hanging out with their friends. Gretchen and Holden have motorized scooters and the kids road them to their neighborhood park and back. I would have liked to stay longer, but Tony and Will had another fantasy football draft to get back for at 9pm. 

September 4

We had a fun Labor Day. Brena's family generously invited over a bunch of us over to use their pool after Tomhawk had to close early. (On Saturday immediately after we got to the pool a family was having a water fight in the pool and they dropped their glass water bottle into the water. Because there was glass in the pool they had to close to pool early because the only way to ensure the pool is safe is to drain the entire thing.) We spent a few hours hanging out and enjoying the cool water before heading to the Howell's open house in Tonganoxie. The Howell's have been working to build their own house over the past two years and were finally able to move in the past summer. They hosted an open house for friends to come and see what they built. Their home is impressive! It was fun to run into friends we don't often see at the open house as well. In his photo Miles and Harbor O. were playing a Crocodile Hunter game with Lisa.

September 5

Tuesday afternoon Jill and her boys came over for a bit. Our washing machine is slightly larger than hers and she wanted to see if she could wash her comforter here instead of at the laundromat. It worked! While we waited for the washing she used my sewing machine to fix a few items of clothing that had ripped or needed to be rehemmed. We I enjoyed chatting with Jill while she worked and the boys played.

September 6

For the first time in my memory, KC has had bad air quality. I think it is the same Canadian wildfires that caused the bad air quality last month when we were in WV.

September 7

For the youth activity Thursday night the kids watched the Chiefs kick off the season against the Detroit Lions. Unfortunately, the Chiefs ended up losing 20-21. 

September 8

Friday morning I helped with Dudes and Donuts. While I handed out donuts Elliott and Lauren feasted in the cafeteria with their friends. Elliott sat with a few of his best buddies from the past few years--Townes (2nd grade), Carter (1st grade) and Cole (Kindergarten). 

September 9

Saturday we hit another mileage milestone on our van. In the eight years we've owned our van we have driven just over 110,000 miles. I'm very grateful for how reliable this car has been. 

2023 :: week 35

August 27

Sunday afternoon Lego build. Our kids seem to be into Legos cyclically, and right now Elliott is into Lego. This is the "Store of Everything." There is Salvy Section (hence the #13), the food, the mini zoo and the check out area.

August 28

After school Elliott got to go on his 8 year old birthday shopping trip with Memaw and Pepaw. He got three types of cards (basketball, baseball and football), candy and a rocket Lego set. This was Elliott's second birthday shopping trip. Nana and Papa took him to Target when they were here for his baptism. Lucky boy.

August 29

We took our van to Auto Doctors to get an oil change and our door handle repaired. Unfortunately they had to take the door apart to diagnose the problem, but don't have the part to fix the handle in stock, so it will be a few days until we get the van back. In the meantime I am driving Anthony to work and using the Kia to get around. Miles and I ran some post-school errands and he fell asleep on the way home. School is tiring him out!

August 30

Miles and the little brother crew had fun digging for cicaidas at Bluejacket after school. The little brother crew includes Hudson (Cole), Gabriel (Nicholas), Luke (Carter) and Miles. They have a mutual love for getting dirty and annoying their older brothers. In other news, the new playground equipment is completely in, now we are just waiting on the turf to be installed before the kids are able to play on the park again.

August 31

Lately Miles and Elliott have been swinging on the backyard swing. It made me smile to hear them sing "It's Been a Hard Day's Night," at the top of their lungs over and over.

September 1

Friday night Tony hosted a draft for the fantasy football league Jake started the league, but is full of friends from our stake. It is an auction league, where each team gets a set budget to acquire players for their team. There were a few tense moments when someone quickly raised the price at the last second before Tony and Will bought players, causing them to greatly overpay and blow their budgets. 

September 2

Saturday night Will went with the Allreds to the Royals-Red Sox game. We thought about taking the family, but we spent a fair amount on baseball tickets this summer. Will wanted to go and paid for his own ticket. Will had a fun time and the cousins seemed to really enjoy having him there too. Ned Yost was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame before the game. Several former players were there (Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain). They spent some time at the Outfield Experience, where Will, Arthur and Jake did the mini golf.  It didn't take long after the game started for things to quickly get out of hand, starting pitcher Alec Marsh gave up a bunch of runs and the Royals were down 8-1 after the fourth inning. The Royals comeback attempts weren't enough to overcome the rough start and they finished 9-5. The Allred boys vied for Will's attention on the ride home, which made the ride home seem a little longer than usual.