2024 :: week 51

December 15

Sunday evening we hosted our first ever Finnish Independence Day party. We invited the Derus, Rowes and Sheldons because Landon, Jeff and Ken also served in Finland. Ken and Jeff served in the early 90s, Anthony served from 00-02, and Landon served from 06-08. Each family brought Finnish treats to share and we enjoyed sampling them. The star of the show was the pulla Josh Turner (Jeff's stepson) made. The Derus brought rahka, the Sheldons brought cookies, and we made mustikkapiirakka (blueberry pie).

December 16

Elliott took a tumble at the park Monday and really banged up his face. While he was playing football with friends on the tennis court he was running a route and the wind caused the net to billow a bit and it caught his foot and he face planted. He has a bit of a goose egg on his eye and cut his lip pretty badly. I took some pictures and sent them to Melissa B and asked her to send them along to Alex (a pediatrician who works at the same practice as our pediatrician). He showed them to Dr. Jen and they didn’t recommend stitches (apparently they only do stitches on the mouth if the cut crosses the lip line and his is mostly inside the mouth). We watched him that evening to make sure he didn't have a concussion--he didn't-- and have been giving him ibuprofen for the pain. 

December 17

Tuesday we celebrated 15 years of Will! Will is the perfect first born. He works hard, is a good example to his younger siblings, and is fun to be around. He's a good sport about riding the bus to school, even though it gets him to school 45 minutes early. The Royals are his favorite, and his big birthday gifts this year were tickets to the playoff game against the Yankees (from Papa & Nana) and tickets to Opening Day in Spring of 2025 (from Memaw & Pepaw). Will started high school and seminary this year and is excelling at both. He started mowing lawns this spring and averaged 2-3 lawns a week throughout the summer, and has transitioned to raking this fall. A perfect day for Will is walking to Chick-fil-A with Jude & Adrian, playing some pickleball, then watching a game on TV. 

December 18

We got our annual Santa picture at Bass Pro on Wednesday. We met up with the Allreds, which made the time pass faster. It continues to be unseasonably warm, as is evidenced by the shorts both Elliott and Miles are wearing shorts. 

December 19

The carpool crew met up for breakfast at Chick-fil-A during the late start time to celebrate the end of the first semester of middle school. Nothing says a great first semester like a tray of chicken minis. 

December 20

Friday evening was our ward Christmas Party. Stephanie T was in charge and it was quite the production> We feasted on some of the best food I've ever had at a ward party. Everyone brought a side or dessert, and the ward provided Costa Vida as the main course with Chick-fil-A nuggets for the kids. The primary children sang, and the youth did a shadow nativity. Lauren was one of the angels and Will was a shepherd. 

December 21

Saturday I ran a few errands to prepare for Christmas. That night we met up with neighborhood friends and enjoyed the lights at Sar Ko park. It was chilly, but not too cold. The kids had fun hanging out with their friends. After we looked at the lights we got dessert at Culvers. 

2024 :: week 50

December 8

Miles is enamored with the lights on our Christmas tree. He keeps asking when he can sleep under it, but he usually only remembers to ask on school nights. Most nights we have been reading under the tree. Miles does most of the reading these days. Miles has really taken to reading, and is very good at sounding words out. He can read all of the BOB books we own, and most of the early readers with little to no help.

December 9

It was an unseasonably warm day and Elliott and his buddies had a lot of fun playing at the park after school. In more exciting/scary news, a student in the grade older than Will brought a gun to school today. Several members of law enforcement descended on the school, and they temporarily locked the school down, though they told the kids it was a drill. Will was in his math class, and he texted Anthony and I. It was a scary half hour with lots of misinformation going around. Thankfully no students were injured and the student with the gun was taken into custody without force.

December 10

In the morning I went over to my parents to clean in the basement in preparation for the Tom visit and the Starita move. In the afternoon I met Joi, Amanda, Michelle and Charlotte for lunch at Best Regards Cafe to celebrate Charlotte's birthday. That evening it was a fun surprise when we opened the Shawnee Mission School District Magazine and we saw this photo that was taken in Miles' classroom. Miles is in the red Phillies shirt.

December 11

Winter is here. The leaves are off the trees and we can see our breath more often than not when we walk to school. Miles needed a new coat and I found one last week when I was at Savers. I love how bright it is--it is easy to spot him across the park. I spent a few more hours cleaning at my parents to get ready for the Toms.

December 12

Nana & Papa sent an advent puzzle in their Christmas box this year. When we were in Utah for Thanksgiving last year Lauren helped Papa with theirs, and this year she works on it most mornings while waiting for the carpool. 

December 13

The Toms came over for a bit Friday afternoon. Riley loves all things fans and vents, and Will gave him a tour of the vents on our mail floor. I made a major mistake and left a few melatonin gummies out next to my bed that Riley found. I didn't think there would be any reason for them to go into my room so I didn't worry about hiding them. Riley found them and then ate them and then took a long nap that negatively affected his bedtime. I still feel bad, Laura & Trevor! After the Toms visit I met up with some book club friends for a Secret Santa exchange at the Blue Moose Christmas pop-up. 

December 14

Saturday was a very Christmasy day. We met the Toms at Union Station and walked through all the vignettes in the Holiday Reflections exhibit. That afternoon the kids performed at their piano recital. Lauren and Brena performed a duet of "Angels We Have Heard on High," Will and Elliott performed a duet of "Silent Night," and then Will also played "Christmas Time is Here." I have LOVED having our home filled with the sounds of these songs as they have practiced over the past month of so. That evening Anthony and I went the NCCT holiday party and at the Fowling Warehouse in KC. It was our first time fowling (knocking down bowling pins with a football) and it was kind of hard. We both had sore arms the next day. 

2024 :: week 49

December 1

Will is still feasting on his Halloween candy, though it isn't going to last much longer at the rate he is going. Oh to have the metabolism of a 14.5 year old boy.

December 2

Elliott went with his third grade class on a field trip to visit Kauffman Stadium. It was chilly, but he had a wonderful time. He said it is the best field trip he has ever been on.

December 3

We picked up Lauren up from school about 15 minutes early so we could catch our annual showing of Elf at Union Station. While we were driving to the school to pick her up were trying to navigate around all the cars that were lining early for pickup and Lauren's bus driver honked at us. Lauren said she is grumpy and she is correct! Elf was funny as always, and Union Station in December is always so festive. 

December 4

Miles' ear infection from last month never really went away. The round of antibiotics he got at CVS didn't do the trick, so I made an appointment with our pediatrician. She prescribed him a round of a stronger antibiotic. Miles and I had to take a picture when we saw double Kia Souls at the parking lot at the doctor's office. 

December 5

Lauren brought home several of the projects she worked on in her sewing class this semester. She made an apron, nine-patch pillow, bag, dog bandana and pillowcase. On Thursday I went to Terrance O's funeral. Terrance is the father of one of my closest high school friends, Soni. 

December 6

Friday Lauren sang with the Indian Woods choir at Union Station. They sounded so good! That evening we had our annual Finnish Independence Day dinner--salmon soup, pumpernickel bread and blueberry pie. Jude & Adrian joined us for dinner. It was good to see them as they recently returned from a two week trip to Germany.

December 7

Lauren's hair has gotten really long and she is hesitant to get it cut. I convinced her to let me trim it Saturday evening. Earlier in the day Lauren ate some of the German chocolate the Benson's shared with us and had a mild anaphylactic reaction. 

2024 :: week 48

November 24

Kasey is always coming up with novel ways to sing during singing time. This week, in honor of Thanksgiving she made these pilgrim cut outs. Miles looked so cute as the boy pilgrim (Charlotte is the girl pilgrim). 

November 25

Monday morning we kicked off John Family Staycation 2025 by meeting the Wilsons at the zoo. It was freezing! The temperature dropped twenty degrees over night and it was in the 30s, overcast and windy the entire time we were at the zoo. Thankfully there are several indoor exhibits and we visited many of them. We did have some fun encounters with the otters and kangaroos outside. We also rode the train and carousel. Calvin loved all the animals and his energy was infectious. There weren't many people at the zoo, but we did run into the Priday/Moss family, which was very fun. After the zoo we went home and packed, then headed to the Westin to begin our overnight adventures. We started by riding the streetcar to the City Market and eating a delicious dinner. Elliot ordered a burger and declared, "I've been missing out!" because the last few times we've gone he ordered chicken strips. On our ride back to the motel we ran into my high school friend Michelle and her family. Small world! That evening we went swimming in the indoor/outdoor pool and warmed up in the hot tub together. Then Anthony used the sauna and Will worked out in the gym while the rest of us hung out in the hotel room and watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. 

November 26

Tuesday morning we woke up and drove to Chick fil A for breakfast. Then we tried out the KC Wheel! It was pretty cool to ride up and see the city from the sky. Our ride lasted about 5 rotations, which was plenty for some of the heights-wary members of our group. Then we played a round of mini-golf at the adjacent Pennway Putt Mini Golf. The kids enjoyed the mini-golf more than the wheel, and with Will keeping score on his phone the game became pretty competitive. Miles had the highest score by far, but was the only one of us to get a hole-in-one (though it did ricochet off a wall to get there). After the wheel and golf we dropped Lauren off at home and hit up Science City. It was more crowded than I hoped, with various daycare and school groups. We pretty much tried to avoid wherever the Adventure Club was and were able to have a good time. 

November 27

It is officially soup season! I've made zupa toscana twice in the past week. In the past month we've had white bean chicken chili, willy chili and chicken & wild rice soup. Corn chowder is on the menu for next week and hopefully I can find a good copy cat recipe for Cafe Rio's chicken tortilla soup. Soup is one of the things I enjoy the most about the winter months.
 

November 28

Will, Elliott and Anthony started Thanksgiving off by playing in the Turkey Bowl arranged by Uncle Matt. I opted to sleep in (it was freezing!) and then go for a walk around the neighborhood. During the day we watched football and the Macy's Thanksgiving parade while making our side dishes (sweet potatoes and green beans). We met the local Crane family at my parents for a delicious meal. A quiet but satisfying Thanksgiving Day

November 29

Anthony and Will spent the day at the Chiefs game. They had to get there very early because they scanned tickets as part of a fundraiser for the SMS Speech and Debate team. Halfway through the first quarter they were able to search for a place to watch the game. They found some standing room in a restaurant and watched the game. The Chiefs didn't play like they deserved to win, but they puled off the W. Elliott clearly found me a poor game watching substitute for TJ and Will, but I did my best to understand what was going on. In the afternoon my friend Soni and her daughter Naomi came over for a few hours. It was fun to catch up with her and see Miles and Naomi slowly warm up to each other. That evening we all watched Wonka together. 

November 30

Saturday morning while I was at water aerobics it started to snow. I was hoping it would just be a dusting, but the flakes kept getting bigger and then began to accumulate. It took me about 20 minutes to drive home--instead of the usual 10--because the roads were so slick and everyone was driving slowly. That evening Lauren and I went and saw Wicked with friends from my book club (and Lauren's friend Ariana). I really enjoyed the movie and have been listening to the soundtrack ever since. The music was so beautiful.