2023 :: week 47

November 19

Sunday was our first full day in Utah. We were all a bit tired after our long day of driving, but were able to rally in time to go to church with the Nielsons at 10:30am. We got to hear Daniel speak in church, which was fun. The older three kids went with their cousins to class, but Miles stayed with us. Both Anthony and Miles dozed off a bit during Sunday School. After church the older three went to the Nielsons, while Miles, Anthony and I went to Sacrament Meeting with Doug & Tina. Doug and Tina sang a beautiful musical number with their choir. That evening the Nielsons and Matt came over dinner and we all hung out until bedtime. The Nielsons had school Monday and Tuesday so we didn't stay up too late. Most of the kids gathered in the basement while the adults visited upstairs. Nana and Papa's Utah house is a great because it has a lot of space in the basement for visitors and kids

November 20

Monday morning we drove up to Midway to go to the Homestead Crater. Last year a few of my cousins did a "sisters weekend" together and among other things visited the crater. I was intrigued and wanted to make it happen sometime when we visited Utah and this trip was the perfect time to do it. The crater is a geothermal spring located inside a 55 foot tall beehive-shaped limestone rock with a hole at the top. It formed over the course of over 10,000 years, but only was opened to the public in 1996. The water mineral water is always in the 90-96 degree range, so you can swim year round. We got to spend just under an hour floating and gliding around. It was hard to swim too much because the water is very deep--about 65 feet! Unless you were scuba diving, you were required to a life jacket. We had a fun time and I'm glad we did it. That afternoon Anthony and Will went with Doug to Sadie's basketball game at Copper Hills High School in West Jordan. That evening we had an awesome dinner with the Toms and watched the Chief's/Eagles game. Trevor grilled steaks, Laura made alfredo, and there was plenty of pizza and fruit for the kids.

November 21

Tuesday we spent much of the day in Provo and Orem. Papa took Anthony and the boys (along with Grant) to a card shop in Provo. Carly picked her girls up from school a little early and along with Lauren, Nana and me went to Cubby's for lunch. That afternoon Anthony and I took Elise, Millie, Will, Lauren and Elliott to Provo to visit BYU campus. We walked around and marveled at all the changes, as well as met up with good friends Candace (statistics professor) and Darren (Honor Code office). While walking across what was known as Brigham Square when we were students Will pointed out that he is "way closer in age to the college students than [we] are." Ouch! Walking into the library was a little trippy. Much of it has changed, but the 5th floor where I spent so much time as a student looked mostly the same. That evening we went to UVU to watch the women's basketball team take on Westminster. It was so fun to watch Uncle Daniel coach and the Wolverines won 76-42. Almost as much as the game, the John kids loved getting to go to the locker room for postgame celebrations with the team. Shooting hoops and running around the practice gym was the icing on the cake.

November 22

Wednesday was a full day. In the morning Anthony took our van to Provo to get checked out by a mechanic referred to us by our mechanic in Overland Park. We spent over $3K getting our van road trip ready (overdue break and alignment issues) and were very concerned when we started smelling a strong chemical smell when we used our brakes. It turns out it was nothing, we must have run over some brake fluid on the highway that splashed into our undercarriage. Phew! Lauren and Will went with Nana and Papa to Tabitha's Way Food Pantry. Elise went as well and they spent a few hours organizing the various foods that were donated into categories that made sense. After the kids worked at the food pantry they went to movie theater and saw Trolls (Sadie joined them after her basketball practice). While the big kids were at the movies, Carly, Anthony and I took the four younger kids to the Museum of Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point. We had a great time and were able to see most of the museum before we had to pick up the big kids. That evening we headed back to Thanksgiving Point because Nana & Papa treated us tickets to see Luminaria. The grounds were covered in thousands of lights and decorated in various themes (gingerbread, icicle, North Pole, etc.) and music played as you walked along a path that guided you through the park. I thought the fire & ice was cool, and the light show on the hill was fun too. They even had a reindeer! We had a great time.  

November 23

Thursday was full of food, football and family. We ate our Thanksgiving meal around 3. At some point in the late morning we took some of the kids to Harvey's Park. Everyone contributed something for to the feast. Anthony and I were assigned potatoes--sweet potato casserole and mashed potatoes. We made knockoff Ruth Chris sweet potato casserole--substituting extra oatmeal for the pecans. Doug made turkey, gravy and stuffing, as well as a few pies. Carly brought green bean casserole, corn confetti and oreo pie and a pumpkin roll for dessert. Tina made a double bath of rolls. It was a very delicious Thanksgiving and I know our kids are going to want to go back to Papa & Nana's house again next year.

November 24

Friday was nice and laid back. In the afternoon we visited the Toms again. Trevor picked up a Costco pizza for people to snack on while we hung out. The kids had a lot of fun with their various toys. Miles and Elliott jumped with Hannah (and sometimes Riley too) on the trampoline they keep in their basement. Laura had some Christmas crafts for the kids to make while we chatted. Hannah has a doctor's kit and she gave lots of check-ups to anyone who was willing. It was fun to see the Toms on their home turf. Laura is having a baby in about 2 months, so traveling is going to get a bit harder for them. We also spent the day monitoring the winter storm that was making its way across the country. 

November 25

Friday a storm started moving west to east across the US. After much deliberation and consulting with our parents (who have much more road trip and mountain west driving experience than we do) we decided to leave for home around 10am Saturday. This way we were after the storm, and by leaving later in the day the sun would have more time to melt any ice on the road. It turned out to be a good move. We saw very little snow on the road until the eastern side of Wyoming. We passed the time by listening to the BYU at Oklahoma football game. We had low expectations, but the Cougars hung in there and ended up losing 24-31 in the final minutes of the game. That night we stopped in North Platte and no one slept great. Increasingly we are feeling like driving straight through makes the most sense.

2023 :: week 46

November 12

This Sunday was our annual Primary Program. As usual, the kids were charming and the music was moving. I got to sit on the stand next to Elliott and his classmates because his teacher was out of town to attend her grandchildren’s primary program. I felt the spirit strongly while listening to the kids sing “I’ll Walk with You.” Elliott’s part was about how he felt on his baptism day. Miles’ part was about how he tries to be like Jesus by playing with new friends. Unfortunately he was struck with some stage fright and refused to deliver his line. We think he was a little thrown off because Anthony sat next to him at the Saturday practice session because his teacher had to be at work. When his teacher sat down next to him Sunday morning Miles was not pleased. Maybe next year he’ll feel a little bit more brave. 

November 13

I had a terrible migraine Monday and Tuesday, one of the worst I’ve had in months. I spent most of the day in the dark trying really hard to relax and not feel stressed about all I had planned to do to prepare for our upcoming trip. Thank goodness for audiobooks to pass the time, a supportive husband to pick up my slack, and kids that are great sports. Lauren and Will were very helpful entertaining their younger brothers while I was out of commission. 

November 14

Welcome to Miles’ card shop! Miles has claimed this area in our dining room and designated it his “card shop.” Here he displays some of his favorite treasures—Pokémon tins, stretch pennies, birthday party favors and his only Happy Meal toy—along with a rotating set up of baseball and Pokémon cards. He found a chair in our storage room, carried it up the stairs, wrote his name on a piece of paper and then taped the paper to the back of his chair too, just in case anyone was wondering who is the owner of all this stuff.

November 15

We are all very excited for our upcoming trip. I found this list Elliott made of items he was going to pack in his backpack. 

November 16

The older kids had a temple trip Thursday evening. The kids had a nice visit. Thankfully our piano teacher is so accommodating and was willing to reschedule their piano lessons so they could attend. 

November 17

Elliott’s current favorite book series is Big Nate. Most evenings he opts to read to himself while

Anthony or I read books with Miles. Elliott has turned into a real bookworm since the beginning of 2nd grade. 

November 18

Saturday morning we hit the road for our first Thanksgiving road trip. In the early years of our marriage we often travelled for Thanksgiving, but the last time we went somewhere was a trip to Boston in 2013. This summer we decided it might be fun to drive to Utah and spend the holiday with Anthony’s parents and Utah-based siblings. The kids get a full week off—9 days including weekends—which makes a 16.5 hour road trip feasible. To maximize our time, energy and enthusiasm we decided to drive straight through on the way out and divide the drive into two days on our way home. We hit the road around 7:15am CST and arrived in American Fork, UT, at 10:30pm MST. We made good time and had a pleasant drive.

2023 :: week 45

November 5

Lauren has been hard at work making Christmas gifts for family and friends. She finished up the green and white scarf after church and then got to work on the blue scarf. This is how much she knitted before we left to go to my parents house for dinner! 

November 6

Lauren really wanted to decorate for Thanksgiving, which we did Sunday afternoon. Miles was delighted to see the all the lollipops in the turkey, never mind the fact that I took most of them out of his bag of Halloween candy.

November 7

Lauren and Daphne have been spending time with Miles and Gabriel and their buddies at the park after school lately. All of the preschoolers enjoy the older girls' attention, especially Eleanor. The parents love it too, because the kids are in good hands with the veteran big sisters. 

November 8

I would be remiss if I didn't bring up the Taylor Swift / Travis Kelce romance. People of Kansas City are basking in the reflective glory of being part of this national story. Within DAYS of Taylor Swift first attending a Chiefs game (9/24) Hy-Vee and Etsy had many t-shirt option available for purchase. Talk about fast fashion! When Will and I were doing the NYT mini cross-word, one of the answers was "KELCE." We are fans of both Taylor and Travis so we are enjoying the moment. They're everywhere! It is kind of fun, but this level of obsession makes me a little apprehensive for the fallout.

November 9

Back in July Anthony promised Elliott monkey poo (no bake cookies) if he spoke in church with him when an assignment came up last minute. Elliott would occasionally bring it up, but often at a time when making it wasn't feasible. On Sunday we scheduled to make it Thursday evening. Elliott even wrote it on my weekly planner. After dinner while everyone watched the first two episodes of "The Santa Clauses" on Disney+, Anthony delivered on his promise and Elliott finally got his monkey poo. 

November 10

Miles is at an age where he really wants to "help" all the time. For the past few years it has been Elliott's job to put away the silverware, but Miles has decided it is his job now. 

November 11

On Saturday evening Anthony and I got together with Anthony's fellow psychometricians and their wives for dinner and games. Each couple contributed to the meal. Neil made delicious focaccia pizza, James brought salad and we brought Finnish blueberry pie. After dinner we played Monikers, a fun game that we had played different iterations of in the past. I took this photo while Anthony was in the middle of his "charades" round.

2023 :: week 44

October 29

Sunday Elliott was asked to give a talk with the prompt, "Bishops lead the ward as servants of God." We were told that he was picked to give that talk because he is the only kid in Senior Primary who's dad was once bishop, so he would have a unique perspective. He did a good job and is getting pretty good with the comedic delivery. 

October 30

I am going to substitute pictures from trick or treating Tuesday night for Monday's picture because Tuesday was an eventful day and Monday was a day of housekeeping. My dad is out of town for a few days and Monday evening we had dinner with my mom and then I stayed overnight with her. My mom and I watched a Hallmark Christmas movie together and chatted about what is going on in our lives. On Tuesday our four kids went trick or treating in three different groups. Anthony was feeling sick and so he stayed home and slept until Will and his friends left, then he got up to hand out candy. Lauren went trick or treating with a group of 6th grade girls. I took Elliott and Miles trick or treating with the Brainard, Svezia and Warren families. Everyone got a ton of candy!

October 31

Halloween 2023 will be a Halloween to remember, especially for Lauren. A boy in her class dressed up as Forrest Gump for Halloween and carried a box of chocolates as a prop for her costume. During their math class kids were asking for chocolates and he shared them. Lauren asked if the chocolates had peanuts in them and he looked at the label and confirmed that it did not. Unfortunately, she did not ask about hazelnuts. The chocolate she selected had a hazelnut cream center. She told me she knew right away it was bad, but was embarrassed and didn't know what to do so she just swallowed it. She told her teacher she needed to go to the nurse and the nurse called me. The nurse gave her zyrtec and waited a few minutes to see if that would calm things down, but it did not so she gave her a shot of epinephrine. I drove over as fast as I could and then took her to the ER at OVRMC. They kept her for observation for 2 hours, as is the protocol when someone is given epinephrine. She had hives all over her trunk (stomach and back) and was given benedryl for that. Other symptoms she experienced were stomach cramps, swollen lips, a strong tickle in throat that wouldn't go away, and itching all over. She ate the chocolate right before lunch and once things settled down, was quite hungry. The nurse let us order lunch. Since both of us were so hungry, we've discussed since how the burgers, fries and onion rings we got at the ER were some of the best we've ever tasted. The doctor prescribed a steroid she needs to take for the next 15 days and told me "if she rages, blame me." She was able to come home around the time school let out and was feeling up to trick or treating that night with her friends. The last time this happened was in June of 2015. Lauren is usually very careful about her allergies, but does use "peanuts" as a shorthand for saying she is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, sunflowers, etc., and knows she needs to be more specific in the future. We were so relieved that this ended up being something that resolved so quickly. 

November 1

Elliott has gotten very into football this year. He has me bring a football up to the park so he and his buddies can play. I signed him up for an instructional flag football league this winter so he can hopefully learn the actual rules of the game. Also, it was pajama day for his class, hence the pj's he is wearing in this picture.

November 2

Thursday evening we were quadruple booked. Lauren sang in the South Area choral festival with the combined elementary schools choir. Will was also at South, but at the football field, watching his fellow 8th graders at Indian Woods take on the 8th graders of Westridge. His buddy Knox plays for IW, and church friend Nate plays for Westridge. It was a close game, but Westridge came away victorious. Elliott had an activity day activity at the church--roasting s'mores and hotdogs at a firepit in the church parking lot. Then, after I took Lauren out for a post-concert Chick-fil-A milk shake I picked up Emily and headed to Sarah's for book club. Busy night! But we all had fun.

November 3

Miles likes to take pictures of himself on my phone. He was left to his own devices for about an hour Friday morning after the kids left for school because I was so tired I had to take a nap. It had been an exhausting week before I stayed out past midnight at book club. Anthony was still feeling sick so I made him an appointment with our primary care doctor in the afternoon. She confirmed the ear infection and sinus infection diagnosis from Saturday, and added pneumonia of the right lung to the list. She said it sounded like velcro when she was listening to him breathe with her stethoscope. She prescribed stronger antibiotics and an inhaler with steroids and within 24 hours Anthony had more energy than he had had in days.

November 4

Saturday afternoon Anthony took the kids to Collector's Cache. They were anxious to cash in on their good 1st quarter grades and get the free packs CC hands out for good grades. According to Will, Lauren pulled the best card available in the case of cards the packs came from. It's a rare Charizard EX which are pretty hard to get. The store employees told her the card was worth $60. She is weighing her options before she sells.