2024 :: week 4

January 21

Will enjoys hanging out with Calvin, and it appears the feeling is mutual. They are currently the oldest and youngest Crane cousins, but on Tuesday Laura is scheduled to have a C-section and Crane grandkid #16.

January 22

Monday was--you guessed it--another snow day! I really wish our district could figure out how to do a delayed start. This bonus day off the Benson boys came over to hang out. They walked with Will to Five Guys for lunch. Will had some Five Guys gift cards burning a hole in his pocket and what better time to walk there than on a cold, icy day off from school.

January 23

Tuesday after school Daphne and Nicholas came over to hang out with Lauren and Elliott. The girls melted chocolate chips and dipped strawberries in them for a delicious snack.

January 24

Wednesday morning Emily and I went over to Jill's house to help her clean her blinds before her baby comes in the next few weeks. 

January 25

Part of Will's ritual when walking into his piano lesson is dunking on Miss Julie's hoop. Lauren finds this incredibly annoying, while Miles thinks it is hilarious.

January 26

Miles is Mr. Responsible. More often than not he picks up Elliott's discarded coat and backpack and brings them to me. 

January 27

It was another busy Saturday, though not quite as bad as last week. Elliott only had basketball, and he played in the new Nike court shoes I found at Saver's on Friday. Lauren had volleyball and Will had church basketball too, but the times were spread out so we could easily make all three events.

2024 :: week 3

January 14

Sunday morning we woke up and were getting ready to head to Stake Conference when we realized our pipes had frozen! We've never had this happen before! We put the space heater near our water main and a heating pad around the pipes under our kitchen sink. Slowly but surely the pipes melted and we had water again. After that we made sure to keep a stream of water running at all times during this artic freeze. The high on Sunday was -1 degrees. 

January 15

Lauren decided she wanted to knit herself a hat, and even though she had never done that before she found a tutorial online and set to work. Monday was a scheduled day off for MLK Day, but if it hadn't been we almost certainly would have had an inclement weather day. Lauren spent the day knitting while watching the new Percy Jackson series on Disney+. 

January 16

Another snow day. For those keeping count this is the 4th snow day of 2024. The kids have only been in school twice since their early dismissal December 21! We watched Henry and Arthur while Jill went to a OB appointment. In the evening we talked about our family goals for the year. One of our family goals is to read the Book of Mormon together. We know we won't be able to read together every single night, so when we are all together we will try to read a chapter or two. Each person reads two verses and we go around in age order. 

January 17

Miles and Elliott like to jump. It is so cold our trampoline is out of commission, making beds the next best thing.

January 18

Thursday evening was "Look at the Woods Night," for all incoming 7th graders. Will and I went with Lauren after piano and before mutual. As a parent I feel pretty comfortable with all the changes that come with middle school, but Lauren was anxious to learn her way around the school. We ran into a few friends from different elementary schools.

January 19

Friday morning I had my annual physical. While I was there my doctor removed a few skin tags for me. They weren't huge, but big enough they would hurt when I wear necklaces. Anthony worked from home and kept an eye on Miles so I could go to my appointment without him. Afterwards we ate lunch at Houlihan's as part of a Restaurant Week deal.

January 20

Saturday was busy! Elliott had indoor football at 9am. Will had church basketball at 10am. Elliott had basketball at noon. Lauren had volleyball games at 12:10 and 1pm. Then there was stake YW volleyball from 1-3pm. In the middle of all this some of Jill's friends hosted a baby shower for her from 12-2pm. Tony and I were able to coordinate taking each of the kids to their various sporting events with Tony doing the heavy lifting so I could make it to the shower. At the baby shower I was embarrassed when I won the game where you had to name various celebrities' children, but not too embarrassed to refuse the $15 Chick-fil-A gift card.

2024 :: week 2

January 7

Lauren has a spot on her bookshelf where she keeps the books we have read together. If the books are part of a series she has just the first book in the series. I have so enjoyed the time Lauren and I spend together while I read to her and she crafts, cleans, organizes or rests. We have read some great books!

January 8

After just shy of three weeks off, the kids started school again Monday. Miles didn't get to go because he had a cold accompanied by a very runny nose. He stayed home from church the day before too. We did stop at the library to pick up some holds, but I mostly stayed in. The Oak Park branch of the library closed in August for bathroom remodeling, replacing the HVAC system, and a few other upgrades. It reopened in mid-December, and it has been really nice having the library so close again.

January 9

Tuesday was a snow day. I had feelings about this. Especially because Miles missed school Monday. It was very cold and windy, in addition to the snow, but our dentist's office was still open and the kids had their scheduled cleanings. 

January 10

Another day, and other snow day. This snow day was harder for me to understand. There wasn't much new snow, but it was extremely cold. The roads in our neighborhood were slick, but as soon as we pulled onto the main road to drive to Chick-fil-A to get our free mystery breakfast items the roads were fine. I know the logistics of getting kids to school is complicated, but I fear we will regret these snow days come May. Elliott was the only John kid who was up for more sledding, and he joined the Svezias at the park in the afternoon.

January 11

Finally the kids 2nd day of school in the past 22 days. We are struggling to get back into a routine, but having school in session definitely helps! While Miles was at school I ran some errands--shopping at Hy-Vee, Aldi and Sams. That afternoon the kids had piano lessons and then the kids had mutual. For the first time in a long time things felt "normal."

January 12

Friday was another "inclement weather" day. This time for bad roads--primarily black ice. We spent a quiet day at home. That evening we had dinner with my mom and I stayed the night. Tony took Lauren  to SoccerTrainrKC for a training session with Mallory Webber of the KC Current. One of Lauren's Pink Thunder teammate's parents gifted the session to team.

January 13

Elliott played in his first basketball game of the season on Saturday. He played well. I watch him play at our house all the time, but I was surprised by how much energy he had when he plays against others. 

2024 :: week 1

December 31

Sunday evening we had the Throssells over to ring in the new year. Tony, Spencer and the kids used the sauna while Stephanie and I chatted upstairs. Matt did a little of both. We all ate yummy snacks. After they sauned, the kids played Smash Bros on the switch. At midnight the kids went outside, cheered and popped confetti poppers. 

January 1

Monday we all slept in a bit after staying up so late the night before. Anthony had the day off work and we worked on laundry and packing for our upcoming Oklahoma City trip. Matt made us his signature no-bakes for dessert Monday night and we ate them over ice cream because that is how we do.

January 2

Tuesday morning after my water aerobics class we hit the road for OKC. About a month ago I had the idea that we should drive to Abilene, KS, and visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library over our extended Christmas break (the kids had 18 days off, including weekends). Will suggested we drive a little bit farther to Oklahoma City and see the Thunder host the Celtics on 1/2. As soon as he floated that idea the kids were all on board. We checked with Matt to see if he would want to go too (of course he did) and bought tickets. We put the presidential library visit on hold for hopefully this summer. The 5 hour drive was relatively uneventful. When we arrived in OKC we first stopped at the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. It was very sobering. Both Anthony and I have memories of learning about it when it happened on April 19, 1994. We stopped for dinner at Braum's because we wanted to eat from a local chain. Then we checked into our hotel and got ready for the game. We were able to walk from our hotel to the Paycom Center. The game was really exciting! The Thunder had the best record in the Western Conference and the Celtics had the best record in the East. Unfortunately, the Celtics lost. The score was close most of the game and it really came down to the final possessions. This was Lauren, Elliott and Miles' first NBA game.

January 3

Because Matt was with us we didn't fit into one hotel room. Anthony, Matt and Will were in one room, and Lauren, Elliott, Miles and I were in the other. Friday morning we ate some hotel breakfast and then walked around Bricktown. (Matt stayed at the hotel to get some more rest because he had trouble sleeping.) Bricktown is a shopping and entertainment district in OKC that is made out of repurposed warehouses. We visited the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and the Chickasaw Minor League baseball field. Then we road the water taxi through the heart of Bricktown and learned about the history of the area. We learned that the name "Sooner" dates back to the Land Races of 1889. The people that "jumped the gun," aka cheated to get the best land, were called Sooners. We also learned that that Sonic was founded in OK. That afternoon we hit the road and headed back home.

January 4

The kids have played a lot of games this holiday break. Elliott got a new set of Sleeping Queen cards in his stocking because our original game cards are getting bent--this makes them identifiable and changes the nature of the game. Thursday we also said goodbye to Matt as he flew back to Utah.

January 5

Will spent much of the day with Knox. They walked to CFA for lunch, Target for snacks and then hung out at our house. That evening they went to the SMS basketball game. When Will got home after the game he needed a "light" bedtime snack--three slices of white bread spread with Nutella.

January 6

Saturday Lauren had her first volleyball games. She had a fair amount of anxiety about her volleyball abilities, so several times over the break Anthony took her and the boys up to the church. While the boys played basketball she worked on her serve over and over. I was so proud of her when it was her turn to serve and her serve went right over the net and landed in-bounds on the other side. That afternoon the Stake Young Women set up volleyball nets in the gym of the Stake Center for some open play and so she got even more practice in while spending time with church friends.