2024 :: week 30

July 21

Sister Benedict is always coming up with creative was to conduct singing time. This week she had us put away the chairs and set out blankets so we could "picnic" during the summer.

July 22

Elliott finished his Barnes & Noble summer reading challenge earlier this month and I finally got around to taking him to pick out his free book this week. Of course he chose the Big Nate. Elliott became an avid reader this past school year, which makes me so happy.

July 23

We had a picturesque evening at the Atomic Cowboy Tuesday night. Michelle texted and invited everyone because kids eat free on Tuesdays. We weren't planning to stay too late, but then the trivia started and the adults couldn't say no to that. The kids had a great time running around, playing the outdoor games and getting trucks to honk their horns. It was truly a magical summer night!

July 24

I have been wanting to visit the observation deck at City Hall in KCMO for awhile, but it has limited availability. It is only open Monday through Wednesday from 10-2p when weather permits, seasonally. We tried to go over spring break, but it was not open then. Wednesday the stars finally aligned and we got our change. It was pretty cool to see the city from this vantage point. We could see many landmarks--the KC Temple, Arrowhead and Kaufman Stadium, Union Station, City Market and Children's Mercy. On the way home we had a strange experience. I was driving behind a truck hauling a trailer that was filled with rolls of carpet. It was going slow so I passed it. A few seconds later the rolls of carpet started to roll off the trailer and across traffic. Every vehicle behind us had to stop. It was a little surreal watching it happen in our rearview mirror and having no cars behind us for a bit. I was definitely grateful to be spared damage to our van, and hope the cars behind us fared okay.

July 25

Lauren spent three days this week at a volleyball camp with friends CL, Allie, Ella, Cat & Brena. She had a good time playing volleyball and spending time with her friends. Thursday Miles, Elliott and I met the Allreds at the zoo and had a great time. It was quite hot and the boys had fun running through the misters placed around the zoo to help people cool off.

July 26

I love going to the pool in the evening. Elliott and his friends spent the evening walking around

July 27

Saturday night Will and Lauren had their pre-MAMA festival recital. Will and Lauren played a duet and Lauren also had a solo piece. Will was gone for too much of the month to do a solo piece as well. 

2024 :: week 29

July 14

Will only got to sleep in his bed two nights before heading off on High Adventure. This year our ward went to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. They left early Monday morning, but loaded up their gear Sunday evening to save time. Tony made smashburgers for dinner to eat with the Gessells.

July 15

We had a really fun week with the Gessells. Lauren did a theatre camp with her friend Brena, so she was busy most days from 10-2pm, but she joined us the in late afternoon and evenings. Monday was pool day! We went to Young's Pool right at noon and swam and jumped off the diving boards and used the big slides there. After a few hours we went home and rested for a bit. Many games were played--Eye Found It!, Sleeping Queens, indoor baseball, How Well Do You Know Your Family, etc. Then we went to Tomahawk. I picked up some Costco Pizzas for dinner and we swam until the pool closed. 

July 16

We were all feeling a little tired, so we had a slow morning. Tuesday we celebrated Alicia's birthday! We went to Union Station and saw Despicable Me 4, which exceeded my expectations. My favorite part was when all the villains started to sing "Everybody Wants to Rule the World."  Then we walked along the skybridge and visited the Daniel Tiger exhibit at Crown Center. We all had a fun time at the exhibit! Daniel Tiger is one of my favorite PBS kids show. On the way home we stopped at the original Joe's KC for dinner. The food was delicious, and it was pleasant enough to eat outside. We went home and had ice cream for dessert and to celebrate Alicia.

July 17

We had a full day Thursday. In the morning we went to the splash pad at Roe Park. After some quiet time we headed to Science City. Yesterday when we were at Union Station to watch the movie we saw that Science City had a "beat the heat" deal for $5 admission after 3pm. We spent two hours fitting in as much as we could. Afterwards we rode the streetcar to the City Market where we met Tony and Lauren for dinner at Pigwich. It felt a little wrong to go to Will's favorite restaurant without him, but needs must. We were lucky that it was nice enough to dine al fresco most of the time the Gessells were in town. The Gessells bought some specialty sodas at the KC Soda Shop. They found a root beer called "Brigham's Brew," they had to get for Brigham. We walked to the bridge and admired the view, then picked up Betty Rae's ice cream for dessert and then headed home. We had such a fun time with the Gessells! They left early Thursday morning to head home.

July 18

Stevie and the crew put the finishing touches on our deck this week. They stained the privacy wall and hung up the patio lights. Now all we need to do is buy some patio furniture! It is so much bigger and prettier than our old deck!

July 19

Friday we went to Deanna Rose with Kendall. With the Gessells gone, Will in Minnesota and Lauren at theatre camp all day the house was too quiet. We had fun playing with the animals, feeding goats, playing on the playgrounds and eating ice cream. On the way home the kids even convinced me to stop and get ice cream. That evening while we were at Lauren's performance Will arrived home from Minnesota. 

July 20

This week Lauren and Brena were in the Lenexa Rec Production of "Robin Hood." She was one of the Merry Men. There were several friends from our ward and stake in the production as well, including Crew C., who was also one of the Merry Men. The girls had a fun time and did a great job in the performances. Charlotte brought Cat and Sally to watch them too.

2024 :: week 28

July 7

We played a few rounds of Sushi Go after the younger kids went to bed Sunday evening. I enjoy playing games with the family, it's a good way to connect and spend time together. 

July 8

Elliott played in his final game of the "spring" season Monday. He missed a few games while we were out West, so we were grateful he got to play in their playoff game. They did not win, but they played hard. The Huskies were the only exclusively second grade team in the league--most of the teams were comprised mostly of third graders. Elliott got frustrated that the other team got a lot of hits off his pitches, but he was throwing mostly strikes. 

July 9

Will spent the week at FSY on the Mizzou campus in Columbia, Missouri. Most of the teachers in our ward attended this session. He roomed with Adrian, Jude roomed with Darius, Caleb roomed with Elliott Wright and Isom was randomly assigned a roommate that he actually already knew. Will liked the food at the food court--he ate a lot of burgers and fries and drank a lot of Dr. Pepper. His group was called "Joyful Souls," and was made of mostly kids from the St. Louis area. He liked talking smack about how the Royals are better than the Cardinals, and the Royals conveniently swept the Cards that week. Most days they had two classes before lunch and two classes after, though one afternoon there was talent show. There were two dances--Tuesday and Friday nights. Another night was a music night. One night they had a game night, played missionary tag and got pizza. Every night they had R&R--reflect and review--where they shared what they learned that day with their company.

July 10

At Elliott's ball game Miles complained that his arm really hurt. When he didn't want to play catch we knew something was really up. Tuesday morning I took Miles to an urgent care to get an x-ray. I felt validated when the PA told me it didn't look broken, but an x-ray would give me peace of mind, and then after looking at the x-ray she immediately said he had a buckle fracture. She made Miles a temporary cast and sent us to a clinic that specializes in casting kids. Wednesday morning I took Miles to get his official cast. Of course we paid the $30 upgrade for a waterproof cast. He has to wear this cast for 6 weeks, then a brace for 2 additional weeks after that.

July 11

I took Lauren, Elliott and Miles blueberry picking Thursday morning. We had a fun time, but it was getting hot again and didn't stay as long as I expected. I am having a hard time with the fact that we won't be able to do all our summer traditions all together every summer. I am happy that my kids are growing up, becoming increasingly independent, and doing lots of things. But it is also bittersweet for me.

July 12

We have spent a lot of time at the pool this week. The boys have been spending a lot of time with the Svezias and Warrens, Lauren with the Hagmans, and me chatting with my friends. We are really going to miss this pool next season.

July 13

Will has been dying to buy a scooter. I wasn't super excited about it, but after talking to a few parents of his friends that own scooters we decided to let him get one. It arrived while he was at FSY. He got home early Saturday morning and had to work at the pool that afternoon. As soon as he was off he went for his inaugural ride on his scooter. (We got helmets for him and all passengers to wear the next week). The Gessells late Saturday for a few days of fun!

2024 :: week 27

June 30

Tina sent this picture and text from the cabin Sunday morning. "Walking around Silver Lake this morning. Much easier than yesterday--it's flat!" On Saturday they hiked to Lake Mary, which was a much longer and steeper. Elliott reports that while they were on the hikes they played "murder mysteries" where one person would make up a story and the other kids would guess elements of the story. Derek was particularly good at coming up with stories. The cabin is owned by Tina's sister Liz, but it used to owned by Gram Bennett (Tina's grandma). Tina would visit this same cabin with her grandmother and cousins when she was a child. At the cabin the kids played basketball with the indoor mini-hoop, Disney Lorcana (card game), and created funny stories about the old toys. They walked down to the creek and tried play with water guns that ended up being junk so they ended up trying to skip rocks. Each of the kids brought a movie to watch--Elliott took Little Rascals. While Elliott was living his best life at cousin camp the rest of us Johns spent the day driving home. It was a long day. Because of midwestern storms google maps told us some roads would be closed due to flooding, and to take the southern I-70 route home. This was a mistake. The traffic got very congested as we drove through Colorado and we passed through several storms across western Kansas. Meanwhile I-80 never closed. We stayed up very late the night before we left visiting with Meredith, so we got a late start and didn't arrive home until almost 2am.

July 1

We were excited to see that our deck was nearly complete when we got home! There are a few finishing touches, but it is now usable. There are a few It is a bit bigger than our old deck, and is made of composite material--no sanding and refinishing every few years to keep it looking nice.

July 2

Tony took Will, Jude & Adrian to the Royals game Tuesday night. It ended up being a marathon of a game due to a 2+ hour rain delay. Only the die hard fans stayed through the delay, and Tony and the boys can be counted in that group. Their diligence was rewarded twofold--they got to move down and sit very close and also they got vouchers to use at a future Royals game. The Royals did end up losing, but our boys had a fun time. There has been a lot of rain this week.

July 3

I didn't take many pictures Wednesday because we were still recovering from the trip. Miles has been a bit bored without Elliott to play with him. The big kids have been busy too. Both Will & Lauren had piano lessons, and Will worked at the pool. After weeks of cousin time, spending his day with mostly me was a bit of a letdown.

July 4

The happiest moment of our day was seeing Elliott walk off the plane! Tina said we could have Elliott fly home early July 4 before they headed up to Malad with the Maxfields and Matt, or a few days later after they come home. We decided we wanted Elliott back in time to spend the 4th with us. Anthony and I drove to airport to pick him up, but I went into the airport alone to pick him up while Anthony waited at the cell phone lot. Cousin Camp 2024 was the loudest, silliest, most self-entertained group ever--Adelaide, Millie, Derek, Nolan, Elliott &Brigham--and Elliott had a wonderful time. On the drive home we peppered him from questions about his time at cousin camp. He said his favorite memory was when Papa let him order an adult sized meal from Chick-fil-A (I usually make him get a kid's meal). In the afternoon we went to the pool for a bit. Then Uncle Matt put on a fireworks show in the parking lot of the pool. Due to the storms earlier in the week the city postponed the fireworks show to the evening. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the kids had fun playing at the park after. The saddest moment of the day was when Miles fell off the playground at the park and hurt his arm very bad. It wasn't obviously broken, but was very tender to the touch.

July 5

Friday night we watched the fireworks at the golf course, per tradition. It was a little strange having the display the night after the 4th, but since it was Friday it worked out well. Earlier in the day I worked on getting the garage organized. I ordered new shelves that better use the space and Tony put them together for me. Between getting back to real life after our trip and then Tony getting both Thursday and Friday off of work, almost every day has felt like a Saturday.

     

July 6

Now that Will is mowing lawns like crazy our lawn mower is getting a lot of use. I bought a lawn mower tune up kit from Home Depot and TJ replaced the filter and changed the oil. It was surprisingly easy, though we initially put in too much oil and had to dump some out which was tricky.