2022 :: week 3

January 16

Sunday was Stake Conference. Between the freezing temperatures and omicron cases on the rise, we opted to watch from the cozy comfort of our basement. The visiting authority was an Elder Firmage who we discovered is second cousins with Anthony (both descendants of Harvey and Lorena Fletcher). 

January 17

We invited the McCalls over to sauna with us on Monday. Anthony was off work and the kids were out of school. We had to sauna in shifts because there were so many of us! Will and Chase got so hot they ran up to the school to play basketball. The younger kids ran around in the snow and a few attempted snow angels.

January 18

Our neighbor stopped by Tuesday afternoon to give me six boxes of mixed gummies. He works in a plant that had overstock and he wanted to share his extras with us. While I talked to him I felt a pang of guilt. In Stake Conference one of the speakers talked about not judging people, and I certainly have judged this neighbor in the past. 

January 19

Miles has been making this scrunchy-faced smile recently. He has so much personality! I have been going to the gym a few times a week. I love water aerobics and this gym is one of the only gyms in town that offers both aqua classes and child watch facilities. We usually go in the late morning to avoid big crowds.

January 20

Thursday night was "Back to the Woods," the night where 6th grade families across the SMS area visit the middle school. Students and their families are able to tour the middle school, attend a short presentation about what the middle school day looks like, and visit booths showcasing the extracurriculars available to 7th graders. I haven't been very excited at the prospect of Will leaving elementary school, but being at the middle school, amongst his peers from across the district I could see that it is going to be a great place for Will. 

January 21

Elliott had quite the cheering section at this game Friday night. He has eight games this seasons, all on Friday nights, from 5:15-6:15pm. Knox and Gunnar came to cheer for Elliott and Elliott loved the extra fans. The boys took videos of Elliott playing and sent them to other 6th graders. There is a very affordable snack bar at the games and our kids and their friends have enjoyed cheap candy. 

January 22

I made this cross-stitch for Dana and finally framed it. I wanted to make her a cross-stitch that reflected her personality and Dana loves to be outdoors, spade in hand, amongst plants. Every time I work outside with her she is pointing out the species of bird or butterfly, and the scientific names of plants. When she ran her own landscaping business it was called 'The Garden Guru.' It was a fun project for me. I used my Stitch People book to figure out the ratios on her figure, and looked online (mainly on Pinterest) to figure out the ratios of plants and birds. 

2022 :: week 2

January 9

When I tried to start our Optima before church on Sunday it wouldn't start! I was pretty sure it just needed a jump, but Anthony had left a few minutes earlier and I wasn't able to get ahold of him. My dad was able to come over and the car easily started after we jumped the battery. I think the last time we replaced the battery was in 2016, so we are probably due.

January 10

Mondays are my busy housework day, when I work on laundry and tidy up after having the family home all weekend. Miles enjoyed having unfettered access to Elliott's Legos while he is away at school and I am distracted with housework. 

January 11

Most Tuesdays I drive a carpool of kids to the middle school for Honor Band. In the past the honor band was by invite only, but this year all band students are invited to participate to make up for lost instruction time due to Covid protocols. I drive Will, Liam, Ira and Tristan, and Ira's mom drives them home. The timeline is a little tight, picking up the boys and getting them to the middle school before they get out at 3:45pm and the parking lot becomes insane with jaywalking middle schoolers. 

January 12

Lauren and I had such a great time at Wicked on Wednesday evening! The play was held in the Music Hall downtown, across the street from the Marriott. Thankfully I am familiar with parking on that part of town so were were easily able to find a place to park. We got there early to pick up our tickets at the box office. With lottery tickets you have no idea where they are located until you pick them up. I asked an usher to help us find our seats and we were delighted to discover we were assigned orchestra seats,  on the front row and slightly right of center. We could look down and see the musicians in the pit and could easily see the expressions of the actors on stage. Lauren and I had such a fun time! Lauren loves musicals, and has fallen in love with the soundtrack. Her favorite song is "Popular," though I don't think her brothers care for that song anymore. 

January 13

Bath night! Miles has taken to wearing Royals hats. He frequently tell us he wants to go to a Royals game. I told him we can try to go in the spring and now he tells me, "go to a Royals game in the springtime," several times a day.

January 14

Elliott had his first basketball game Friday evening. He did great! They don't call traveling in his league, and there was a lot of traveling...but it was still fun to watch. The coaches are on the court with the team, reminding them of things they talked about at practice, telling them which direction to go, and stick to their person when they are on defense. Elliott was on cloud nine afterwards. He is a real competitor. 

January 15

Will had his first basketball game Saturday afternoon. Anthony had to speak at the leadership session of Stake Conference, so he was unable to attend. I took a few pictures to send to him. I was proud of how Will played. Some of the kids are pretty physical, and this league is fairly hands off with the reefing. Will is smaller than most of the kids, and despite his height disadvantage he was able to juke his opponents and hit layup after layup. He was the highest scorer in the game.

2022 :: week 1

 

January 2

I made the kids take a picture after church while we were waiting for Tony for finish talking to a few people. We don't typically all drive together, but it felt safest to travel in the van. It was very cold and the roads were a slick, so many people opted to stay home and participate via zoom. There weren't enough teachers there to staff primary, and second hour was cancelled. Normally I would be all for that, but I had spent a lot of time preparing my Sunday School lesson and was excited for the potential discussions. 

January 3

Because the boys were going a little stir-crazy, I sent them to shovel the driveway Monday afternoon. We have had a great break from school! We've done lots of fun things together as a family with Anthony was home for a solid week. Usually when he takes that much time off from work we travel somewhere, so it was nice to enjoy some relaxing time at home. However, by Monday afternoon the kids had really started to bicker and bounce off the walls. That night Elliott and Will had their first basketball practices. I totally dropped the ball and remembered Elliott's 5pm practice at about 5:30pm, but he made it and is excited.

January 4

Another witching hour, another picture of my boys outside expelling some energy. Over the past month Miles has really fallen in love with jumping on the trampoline. It is his favorite thing to do, especially with Elliott.

January 5

Just some Dad/Elliott/Miles wrestling. Like I said before, the kids are going a little stir crazy and Dad is good for a wrestling match now and again to distract the boys while I make dinner. The big kids went back to school today. They were excited, but it was a little disorienting for Miles to be stuck with just mom all day.

January 6

I snapped this picture of the kids hanging out on the couch after dinner. The kids have started watching Phineas and Ferb, and it is a pretty clever show. They are enjoying being back in school and seeing their friends, but struggling to adjust to their comparative loss of free-time. 

January 7

When I saw that Wicked was coming to Kansas City I wanted to go, but wasn't willing to pay $100+ per ticket. I decided I would enter the lottery and if I won tickets we would go. On Friday morning I got a text that I did! I was able to buy two tickets to the show at $30 a piece. 

January 8

We had a pretty quiet Saturday. I ran some errands and in the evening we watched the Chiefs game. Lauren and Tony spent some time in the afternoon reconstructing Lauren's Lego set. They are almost done collecting the pieces of the Hogwarts castle from the Whomping Willow Lego Set she received a few years ago. Now that she has the clocktower she can connect the section of Hogwarts in this set to the section of Hogwarts in the clocktower set. They have spent hours digging through our Lego bins searching for pieces. Sometimes I read to them  while they are searching. Lauren and I are currently reading A Grimm Warning, book 3 in the Land of Stories series.

2021 :: week 53

December 26

We had a wonderful Boxing Day. Church was only one hour long and we had a beautiful musical testimony meeting. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying our new Christmas gifts. 

December 27

Tony was able to take the entire week off work! Monday was Lego day. He spent hours working with Elliott and Lauren, helping them build sets they received for Christmas. Elliott got a cool x-wing from the Salazars and Lauren got the Hogwarts' clocktower from Nana and Papa. 

December 28

Tony and the kids sauned in the afternoon. I decided to skip because I have had a dull headache all week. Stevie and the crew came by and installed the new window in our kitchen. It looks awesome!

December 29

It's Tony's birthday! We celebrated by going out to eat with my parents and the Wilsons at Red Robin. After dinner we shared a cheesecake with Memaw since her birthday is the following day. That night after the kids were in bed Tony sauned with Stevie and Joey. They day was laid back and simple, but full of a few of Tony's favorite things--yummy food, family and friends. 

December 30

A benefit of having Tony around all week was that we could divide and conquer. Nana and Papa paid for part of a Union Station membership for Miles' Christmas present. Thursday afternoon Anthony took the three older kids to Science City. Miles will get plenty of chances to go to Science City this year while the kids are in school, but it was fun for them to go and enjoy the exhibits that are much less fun with a 2 year old in tow. He also took the kids to a baptism and picked up Frosty's afterwards.

 

December 31

I had a coupon to Savers that expired at the end of the year, so Lauren and I made a quick trip Friday. Savers is one of Lauren's favorite places to buy books and she found a few good ones on this trip. She also received several books for Christmas. She mentioned to me that she was going to rearrange her bookshelf. Not even an hour later she called me up to her room to show off her "library." She has categorized her books into different genres and used her new washi tape to make the labels. I admire her ability to complete a task.

January 1

We started the year off with a movie--Sing 2! Between the snow that fell overnight and the early showing we chose, there was almost no one in the theatre with us. We splurged and bought popcorn, something so unlike us that Lauren had to write about it in her journal. Elliott has been watching previews for the movie for over a month and so he was ecstatic to finally see the movie. It was pretty good, though I think I liked the songs from the original Sing a bit better. That evening we had salmon soup and sauned--the perfect start to a new year. Also, three saunas in one week--it must be winter!

2021 :: week 52

December 19

Sunday morning shenanigans. Things get extra wild on the weeks that I teach Sunday school, because usually I am doing some last minute tweaking to my lesson and Anthony is unavailable because he is in pre-church meetings. Pokemon has make a resurgence in our lives, thanks to a live-action game that Elliott and his friend Nicholas have been playing at the park after school.  

December 20

Miles and I have been trying to soak up the last few minutes of quiet time before the kids are off school for the next two weeks. Also, we recently got a new rug for the TV room. 

December 21

The kids got out of school at 12:30pm on Tuesday. Will's friend Porter is moving to Louisburg, so his mom arranged for an "unofficial" skate party at Skate City. Lauren and Elliott decorated sugar cookies with the Ules. Tony took his car in to the shop to get the heater fixed. His car has not been producing hot air since then end of last winter, and it hasn't been a problem until it started to get cold again this year. 

December 22

We had planned on going to see the trains and the lights, but bad behavior determined we were overtired and needed to reschedule. We stayed home and had a quiet game night instead. Clue Jr. is one of my favorite kids games. Elliott played on his own for the first time and did really will--with a lot of coaching/reminding from me to check things off. :)
 

December 23

It was a good choice to wait a day to go to Union Station. Everyone was well rested and had a great attitude. We walked through the photo-op exhibits, let Elliott and Miles ride the train, looked at the train exhibit and took a picture by the huge Christmas tree. There was a cool Lego display that had several scenes from famous Christmas movies, i.e. The Grinch, Home Alone, Elf, Christmas Vacation, Miracles on 34th Street, etc. After walking through Union Station we hopped on the street car and road to the City Market for a delicious meal at Pigwich. We then road back to Union Station and walked to Crown Center via the Skybridge. Miles loves the Skybridge AND the climb-on toys next to the Mayor's Christmas Tree. It was a really fun, Christmay-s outing. We went home and watched Home Alone 2 and I gave Anthony, Elliott and Miles haircuts. 

December 24

We spent the morning and early afternoon at the zoo. Last year Nana and Papa gave the kids a zoo membership for Christmas and it expires at the end of the month. We wanted to get one last visit in while we can. The weather was beautiful and we had fun interactions with the penguins, tigers and hippos. We road the train, sky safari, tram and carousel. That evening we went to Memaw and Pepaw's house for soup and a reading of Luke 2. This year we had a Mary, two donkeys and a sheep. 

December 25

We had a fabulous Christmas. The kids were quiet and didn't make up mom, dad and Miles before 7am as we requested. The kids were generous givers and gracious receivers. Our kids are at a great age for a magical Christmas!

2021 :: week 51

December 12

The little guys took baths before church, then Elliott read to Miles from one of our Christmas books. Miles likes the page talking about the angel Gabriel because one of his best buddies is named Gabriel. As I helped Miles get dressed I told him he looked handsome like dad and he said, "handsome like Elliott." It's no secret around here who Miles' favorite person is.

 

December 13

Monday was a productive day. After school I took the kids to get their second Covid shot. After dinner we headed to Crown Center to use the Giving Machines. Our church sponsors the Giving Machines and they place them in various metropolitan areas each year at Christmastime. This year they are in Kansas City and we wanted to take advantage. We bought several chickens, a space heater, healthy groceries and bus rides. 

December 14

We have had amazing weather recently, which means extra time at the park after school. Lauren and her friends did a "braid chain" that provided a perfect photo op for the moms who were busy chatting about upcoming holiday plans. 

December 15

The warm weather came to an abrupt end Wednesday afternoon. The day started off warm, humid and windy. In the afternoon it reached the mid-70s, but after school the clouds started to roll in and the wind was blowing really hard. We turned on the local news to watch the weather updates when Anthony got home from work. The rain started to pour and the wind kept blowing. Fences fell down, trampolines blew over and tree branches broke off. Thankfully we had our tree trimmed a few weeks ago, so only a few small branches broke off our tree. 

December 16

Henry has a birthday the day before Will, so we gathered at the Allred's house to celebrate the two boys. We had pizza, fruit, cake and ice cream. Beforehand, Memaw picked Will up after school and took him on his birthday shopping trip. Will got a few books, a water bottle and a headset to use when he's playing videogames. 

December 17

Will is 12! To celebrate Anthony took Will and a few of his friends to Main Event after school on Friday. They had fun on the ropes course and playing laser tag, but spent most of their time at the arcade. With Will's birthday so close to Christmas we typically just celebrate with family, so it was a fun treat for Will to spend his birthday with a few of his good buddies. These boys are all in the same class this year and enjoy sports and video games. After Main Event they came back to our house for pizza, soda, video games and air hockey.

December 18

The kid's had their holiday Christmas Concert Saturday afternoon. Will and Lauren preformed their first duet, Joy to the World perfectly. There were bumps along the way, as they first learned their individual parts, and then started playing together. The duet forced them to be patient with each other, and I think they both learned a lot. I love listening to the beautiful music they make. 

2021 :: week 50

 

December 5

Lauren and I stayed home from church because we were both pretty tired from getting sick Friday night/Saturday. Miles stayed home too because why mess with his nap if we don't have to. My dad came by and watched the kids for me so I could go to church and teach my Sunday School lesson. It went alright. I feel like I spend a lot of time thinking about the lesson on the weeks I teach, but usually how well the lesson goes depends on the people in the room and the comments they make. I didn't take a single picture, but I did screenshot a scripture and circled the action words that are important for us to be receptive to receiving revelation and insight. 

December 6

Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää!! Anthony celebrated the Finnish Independence Day with a trip to the sauna. Will threw up in the night and stayed home from school Monday. In the past we have had friends or family over for a dinner of salmon soup, but decided to wait a day until everyone was feeling better. Everyone in the family besides Tony and Miles have thrown up in the past week, so TJ is feeling a paranoid.

December 7

Will was back to school on Tuesday, so Miles and I were able to get out and run a few errands. Miles looks so much like Will did when he was a toddler. Miles desperately wants to be like his big brothers and chose to throw on a baseball hat when we walked to the park.

December 8

I picked up Lauren at the park after math club and then drove her directly to piano. Lauren is a participator and likes to keep busy. Earlier in the week she had girl scouts where she made Holiday cards for seniors and pupcicles for the animal shelter. 

December 9

A nice thing about having older kids, is that you can outsource some of the bedtime story readings. Will read to Elliott and Miles from the beloved Star Wars book before bed. Elliott picked out Who's Who in the Star War's Galaxy on his birthday shopping trip with Memaw last year and it has been looked at almost every day since.

December 10

It was a weekend of holiday parties. On Thursday evening I went to trivia night at Grinders to celebrate two friend's birthdays. On Friday Anthony and I went to the socially distanced Stake Council Christmas dinner. Saturday we went to the NCCT Christmas Dinner at Fiorellas. Will and Lauren babysat for us and successfully put Miles to bed both Friday and Saturday night. 

December 11

Saturday afternoon Anthony and Will met up with the youth and went to Crown Center. They went ice skating at the Ice Terrace and then used some money they earned doing service projects for ward members at the giving machines. They bought a goat, pig, beehive and space heater. 

2021 :: verse 49

 

November 28

The "crazy lights" are back! The kids love watching this light show located around the corner from my parent's house. We try to stop for a song or two each time we visit my parents. A few years ago we started calling this the "crazy lights house," and unfortunately Miles now calls all Christmas lights "crazy lights."

November 29

We scheduled a visit with Santa at Bass Pro for Monday evening. You can't really see it in this photo, but there is a plastic partition between Santa and the public. Good thing too, because Elliott threw up twice between when this picture was taken and when we arrived at home. I wish I could say this was the first time we've had a child get sick at Bass Pro, but it isn't. Will threw up at Bass Pro back in 2013, though then it was much more crowded and people weren't wearing masks. This year our kids "asked" Santa for video games, Lego sets, baseball cards and books for Christmas.

November 30

Elliott stayed home from school Tuesday. He threw up a few times Monday evening, but slept through the night just fine. We had him sleep on an extra crib mattress in our room just in case, and he was up at his usual 6am. Miles loved having his best buddy home. I tried to make him rest, but he wasn't interested in that. While Miles napped we mapped out the different worlds in our Disney Eye Spy game. Elliott is an active kid, and after school he likes to play at the park with friends or outside in our yard as much as possible. It was fun getting some quiet one-on-one time with him, though we were both ready for him to head back to school the next day.  

December 1

Jill and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and headed to the zoo again Wednesday. Since we spent out last visit in "Africa" we explored "Australia" and the Kid Zone. We road the train and carousel too, of course, as well as played at the playground. It was a busy day, that afternoon the kids had piano and then activity days and mutual. The girls assembled blessings bags and the youth bought and wrapped Christmas presents for one of the girls our ward "adopted."

December 2

Jolie and I took the little guys to the park Thursday morning, and the 4th graders happened to be at recess while we were there. Miles and Gabriel were excited to see their big sisters. Lauren was in the middle of a four-square game, but made a quick stop at the fence when there was a lull in the action. Kick ball is a big deal in the 4th grade and the source of many happies and sads at the end of the day.

December 3

As soon as we found out BYU was going to be playing Missouri State in basketball this year we decided we had to plan a road trip to Springfield and go to the game. Anthony reached out on Facebook about things to do with kids and our friend Sara offered us free tickets to Silver Dollar City. On paper we planned an amazing weekend. Unfortunately, life doesn't always turn out according to plan. It was an unseasonably hot day and the park was very crowded. We spent several hours at the park, and while we had moments of fun, we were all exhausted by the time we left. We hope to plan a do-over sometime next year. We didn't know it at the time, but Lauren and I were both coming down with whatever Elliott had had earlier in the week. When no one showed any signs of being sick four days after he got sick we figured we were in the clear to go on our trip. In the middle of the night Friday I threw up, and the next morning Lauren woke up feeling terrible. 

December 4

Instead of a fun, family day in Springfield we had to divide and conquer. Tony took the kids to the park while Lauren and I rested and watched Christmas movies on TV. Tony dropped Miles off at the hotel to nap, and the boys went to a pizza and root beer tailgate party at the institute building and then on to the game. BYU beat Missouri State and both Will and Elliott had a great time. Tony even went and took a picture next to the bear statue with the boys without me even asking. Lauren and I felt good enough to drive home, so we drove home that evening so we could sleep in our own beds. The trip turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, but that's life. Tony and the boys got to see BYU play and we got a taste of how fun Silver Dollar City can be. Memories were definitely made!