2023 :: week 8

February 19

One of the perks of your dad being a high councilor is that you may be called upon to speak with him on semi-short notice. The ward they spoke in was my parents ward that is filled with many of our friends from our old ward so they boys had a friendly audience. All three John men did a great job.

February 20

Monday the kids had the day off school, but Anthony had to work and I had a late morning PT appointment so we were limited in what we could do. Lauren got invited to go swimming with a friend, so the boys and I went to the zoo. To say it was crowded would be an understatement, I have never had to park so far away from the entrance. Elliott predicted he would see three people he knew and we did in fact see three people he knows and a few others as well. We got to see the crocodile, which both Miles and Elliott were excited to see because they have been enjoying the new Lyle Lyle Crocodile movie on Netflix. 

February 21

The gorgeous weather continued and the boys played for over an hour at the park after school on Tuesday. While we were there someone from the city showed up and went into the pool office. He told us they are planning to open Bluejacket this summer--yay!

February 22

I went to a water aerobics class at Matt Ross on Wednesday and the instructor took a picture and posted it on social media. Not the most flattering photo of me, but water aerobics has been a big part of my life over the past ten years and it is fun to have a picture of me in the water. My kids and grandkids or whoever looks at these photobooks I make can see where I spent many hours of my life exercising. 

February 23

Thursday night we went to OPC for the Kindergarten and 1st grade music performance. Each class sang one song, Elliott's class sang "Teddy Bear." After the performance Anthony took the big kids to a multi-stake youth devotional about religious freedom and I walked home with the little guys. The moon and Jupiter and Venus were so bright! The school sits on a bit of a hill and we could see them very well from that vantage point. It was a bit of an adventure because even though we've walked this route many times before, they've never walked home when it was so dark. Miles especially was nervous.  

February 24

Calvin hasn't been sleeping well. Friday afternoon we watched Calvin for a few hours so Emily could take a totally uninterrupted nap. In keeping with our theory that kids are usually worse behaved for their parents than other adults, Calvin was pretty easy for us. Calvin enjoyed watching Miles play basketball and laughed when Uncle Tony tickled him.

February 25

Another busy Saturday. Elliott played his best basketball game of the season in the morning, scoring 12 of his team's 24 points. Lauren went to her friend Ethnie's Harry Potter themed birthday party. When I picked her up from the party we stopped at Hy-Vee where she inadvertently ingested hazelnut that was in a sample. I gave her Benadryl right away and watched her like a hawk, but aside from a stomach ache and tingly lips she had no other symptoms. In the afternoon Anthony took the kids plus cousin Tyler a Lego exhibit at the Central Library, the Baseball Card Store and Collectors Cache. I went to my parents are prepared my mom's pill minders for the next two weeks. In the late afternoon we drove to Kaw Point Park, a park in KCK where the Kansas River joins the Missouri River. If you look closely at the photo you can see the converging currents. It is also one of the places where the Lewis and Clark expedition camped on their 1804 expedition. The kids have had elevated interest in learning about Lewis and Clark because many of the clues in the National Treasure tv show centered around the expedition. I thought we would spend most of our time walking along the trails, but the kids really liked skipping rocks. Miles liked throwing rocks in the water so much he threw a bit tantrum when I made him move on.

2023 :: week 7

February 12

I took this photo when the Super Bowl was over and Chiefs were *officially* Super Bowl champions again. Will was screaming into the bean bag and Elliott was jumping for joy. It was a very happy moment in the John house.

February 13

I got an unexpected call from the nurse Monday afternoon. I assumed it would be about Lauren, who had been sniffling the night before, but it was about Elliott. During recess he had been playing a hide and seek type game and hit his head on a bolt holding the playground equipment together when he was "found." There was clearly a lot of blood even though he was pretty cleaned up by the time I came to get him. Apparently the teachers made everyone vacate that section of the playground while they waited for the janitor to come clean the area and Lauren said she heard from her classmates who went to the nurses office after lunch for their afternoon pills that the nurses office was temporarily closed because there was so much blood. When I washed out Elliott's red shirt in the sink the water turned very red. That afternoon evening I got several texts from concerned parents of Elliott's friends, wishing him well. Rumor spread that he had been sent straight to the hospital. Elliott loved his 15 minutes of 1st grade fame. Thankfully he had no signs of a concussion and didn't need stitches. The wound healed relatively quickly, but we didn't let him play any contact sports for the rest of the week to make sure it healed. 

February 14

Miles was super jazzed about his Valentines bounty, and I felt a little like a cheapskate, after preschool on Valentine's Day. I feel like every year the Valentine's candy and toys get bigger and bigger. 

February 15

Wednesday was a "Red Snow Day," or the day they cancelled school because so many people would be at the Chiefs parade. Because we elected not to go this year, we felt like we needed to let the kids do something fun instead. Will invited Jude, Adrian and Elliott W over for smash burgers and sauna. Anthony made smash burgers, then the boys used the sauna and ran outside in the cold go cool off. After they finished using the sauna they watched sauna competitions on YouTube until their parents came to pick them up. I think they played video games too. 

February 16

We haven't gotten much snow this  year. Miles was jumping for joy that he could "make footsteps" aka footprints in the snow.

February 17

One of the ways our new ward is fostering friendship and unity is facilitating optional dinner groups. Anthony and I met with Greg & Barbara and Greg & Andrea for dinner at Texas Roadhouse Friday night. We had a fun time, even though we got paired up with two couples we know rather well. The Githins live in our neighborhood and Greg served with Anthony in the bishopric. Will has become fast friends with the Benson twins and we've gotten to know their parents pretty well through that association.

February 18

Saturday was the end of the Stake YM basketball season. Will's team was the lowest seed and we expected them to play one game and then be done. However, their first opponent forfeited. No one from that ward even showed up. They just scrimmaged and waited to play a game in the second round. The team they played in the second round had beat them handily during the regular season. However this time a kid from our ward hadn't been able to play in the early season games was there and with his defensive work was able to keep the game competitive. At the end of the game our ward team was up by two point and the other team quickly fouled Will to get the ball back. Will--the youngest and shortest player on the court--sank both of his free throws, ensuring that his team would win. He was super excited, but I don't know if I have ever seen Anthony so proud. The Oak Park Ward boys went on to the win the championship game that afternoon.

2023 :: week 6

 

February 5

During Sacrament meeting Elliott made a list of his current favorite primary songs to sing, which is very similar to the list of songs we sing with the boys at bedtime. We rotate back and forth with Elliott and Miles getting to chose a primary song we sing together each night. "I Lived in Heaven," and "Gethsemane" are chosen the most frequently.

February 6

Lauren participates in an honor choir that meets weekly at the high school. Typically I drop her and a friend from our ward off at the school and his mom brings them home. However, next  week they will practice at Indian Woods, then sing the national anthem at the beginning of the boys basketball game that evening. 

February 7

This semester Will is taking P.E., which he really enjoys. Recently Will and his handball team came in first in the handball tournament. Phoebe and Landon are fellow OPC kids.

February 8

Even though skating was a big part of my childhood, I have done a poor job passing on the love of skating to my children. When both Lauren and Elliott wanted to go to the school skating party on Wednesday night I couldn't say no. Both kids endured some painful falls, but I was proud of them for getting back up again. I spent most of the night working with Elliott and by the end of the evening he was able to make it around the rink a few times without my help (still using the aid of the skate mate). I took a few laps around the rink myself which was a lot of fun. I think I might need to go skating more often this year. 

February 9

When I got up Thursday morning I had no idea it was a snow day. It wasn't until I got a text about needing to rearrange plans that I figured things out. Luckily we hadn't done too much to get ready for school yet and were able to have a relaxing morning. It rained overnight and the rain froze in the early hours of the morning, so the roads were very icy from approximately 5-9am. After that the sun came out and melted things rather quickly. Our school districts really should look into implementing late starts. Regardless, we had a fun "day off." We met up with some ward friends at the church for a Valentine's Party. Then we met the Throssells for lunch at the Costco food court. Then Kendall came over to play with Elliott and Miles, Will and Holden traded cards at Collectors Cache, and Lauren went shopping at Target and Old Navy with Gretchen and Stephanie. 

February 10

Everyone but Will had the day off from school Friday due to parent/teacher conferences. After I got home from visiting with Lauren's teacher Tyler came over to play for a bit. In the afternoon we spent some time with Memaw. Lauren and Will walked to Target together by themselves to buy some candy and soda.  In honor of Tyler's birthday, that evening we watched his basketball game.

February 11

Another busy Saturday. The day started off with two basketball games--Will's at 8am and Elliott's at 10am. Both boys enjoyed themselves, despite their teams coming up short. Elliott had a tough defensive assignment, he was matched up with a second grader a full head and shoulders taller than him. In the afternoon I made some cookies for a RS service project and Tony took Lauren to IKEA to pick up some new shelving for her bedroom. We spent the evening with my mom, eating stir fry and watching Star Wars. 

2023 :: week 5

January 29

I love technology. While the rest of the family watched the Chiefs/Bengals game, Lauren visited with Elise. We had a busy Sunday. Church, then Anthony and I taught our first youth and temple prep class of 2023. After the class we dropped of Lauren at her YW leader's home to watch the Worldwide Youth Devotional. They also had root beer floats and played games after the broadcast. Will went with Uncle Matt to watch the AFC Championship game with their fantasy football league. Anthony stayed with me and the younger boys and ate dinner and watched the game at my parents. My dad is out of town for work, so I spent the night with my mom. Tony did lots of driving back and forth.

January 30

Since January Anthony has been busy working on creating job analyses for the eight positions his company certifies. There are many steps to creating these certification exams, this is step one of many. Two days a week for the past three weeks subject matter experts have gathered to KC from across the country to work to together to make sure the various job analyses are accurate as they prepare to update the content on the exam. Tony and his fellow psychometrician Neil have spent so much time together lately, they showed up in matching outfits totally unplanned.

January 31

Tuesday we met Hudson, Gabriel and their moms for lunch to celebrate Hudson's 4th birthday. The boys had a ton of fun playing in the play place--climbing up the slide, playing hide and seek and driving the cow car. 

February 1

I took Elliott to the library after dinner Wednesday evening to pick up a few books I put on hold for him. Even though I have taken Elliott to the library many times throughout his life, he was full of wonder when he saw the stack of CatNinja books. That night Anthony started reading the first book to Elliott and Miles complete with accents. 

February 2

Lauren and Will went to the temple with our youth group on Thursday evening. There were 33 kids in attendance--quite a change from our old ward! Afterwards the leaders took the kids to Freddy's for ice cream.

February 3

A woman in our stake teaches an exercise class at the church on Friday mornings. I have been meaning to go for several weeks but for one reason or another wasn't able to make it work. Last week I totally forgot about it and regretted it because Miles really needs things to do on the days he is home from school. Bored Miles=Destructive Miles. This week we went and both had a good time. My legs are sore from all the squats we did, but it felt good to move. Miles loves bouncing balls and running around on the stage in the Cultural Hall with the other kids. After the exercise class one of the mom's does a Music Makers class. Miles acted like he didn't want to participate, but he had a fun time doing that too. 

February 4

Saturday was a busy day and I took very few pictures. Saturday morning Tony took Will to his church basketball game while I took Elliott to his Upward game. After basketball I took Will to get his hair cut. The Great Clips was right next to Collectors Cache (card store) so we quickly popped in for Will to get the free Pokemon packs they give out for good grades. He also decided he wanted to sell some of his Pokemon cards for cash, so Anthony took Will and the younger boys back to the Cache. Lauren and I ran a few errands, then her friend Caroline came over to hang out for a few hours. Will went to a birthday party for his buddy Knox. In the evening I cut Elliott, Miles and Anthony's hair. Then we roasted marshmallows with Renee and her kids.

2023 :: week 4

January 22

Miles was asked to give the opening prayer in primary and ended up being too nervous to do it, so Anthony said they prayer while holding him. Miles wasn't very excited to stay in primary after that, but he loves music and was willing to stay for singing time. I snapped this picture when I saw him and his classmate Leo holding hands and walking to the classroom. I helped out in the CTR 4 class.

January 23

I can't remember exactly how I came across the book Our Only May Amelia. I was scrolling on instagram and a person I follow was talking about how life changing winning a Newbery Award can be for authors. I started looking at past Newbery Award winners and came across this book I had never heard of that was a Newbery Honor book in 2000. When I read in description on our library website I knew Lauren and I had to read it. "As the only girl in a Finnish American family of seven brothers, May Amelia Jackson resents being expected to act like a lady while growing up in Washington state in 1899."

January 24

Jill watched Miles for me while I went out to lunch with some friends from my ward. I did next to nothing social in the ward in the months after my mom's stroke, and am just finally feeling like I am genuinely friends with women from my new ward. We met at Twisted Fresh and visited for almost two hours! Miles had a great time playing with Arthur and Henry and keeps asking me when he can go back. 

January 25

Wednesday was a snow day. We got less than an inch, it only stuck to the grass (none of it stuck to the roads/sidewalks/driveways), and it was about 30° F. The snow day didn't really make sense, but it was nice to have a "day off" from normal responsibilities. I had a PT appointment in the morning, and when I returned home the kids were watching the National Treasure show and I found a pile of books that Miles had cut the covers with scissors. I decided we needed to get out of the house ASAP. After eating a quick lunch and prepping some chicken for dinner we headed to Science City. It was almost empty. The kids could do whatever they wanted without having to wait. We spent several hours doing everything--I don't think we missed a single exhibit. We even went outside for about two minutes, but it was too wet to safely climb and when the wind blew it was quite cold. It was my most favorite visit ever, and I was in such a good mood that when the kids asked for Frosties on the way home I couldn't say no.

January 26

Soni was in town from Chicago and Miles and I met up with her and Naomi at Chick-fil-A. Miles was too grumpy about leaving to be in the picture, but he had a great time too. It is always great to catch up with longtime friends, and now we have even more in common with aging/ailing parents to worry about. 

January 27

Elliott has been playing a lot of football with his buddies after school. Miles reminds me we need to bring "Elliott's football to the pa-wk" as we leave to meet the kids after school. We had gorgeous weather Friday--around 50 degrees--so the kids spent most of their after school hours playing outside. The temperature would drop 30 degrees overnight. 

January 28

Saturday was full of friends and basketball. Both Will and Elliott had basketball games before lunch.  Lauren went to her soccer teammate's (Kenzie) house for a few hours. Elliott went to a stake primary activity, then Tyler came over to play for a bit. Will had Jude and Adrian over for basketball, sauna and videogames. Miles joined in on the fun as much as he could. It made me laugh when the boys walked upstairs to go outside and cool off and Miles trotted up the stairs and marched outside behind them. 

 

2023 :: week 3

January 15

This weekend was our Stake Conference. Lauren was asked to speak in the Sunday morning session about preparing to go to the temple and did an amazing job! Even though she was very nervous she read her talk clearly and was a highlight of the session. She spoke about how the temple connects the family of God together and how learning about the righteous women in her family makes her want to study be like them. In addition Lauren sang in the Youth Choir. They sang two songs, first a medley, "Search Ponder and Pray/I Think When I Read That Sweet Story," and "Trust in the Lord." Both were good, especially the medley. 

January 16

My dad was out of town this weekend at my Uncle Russ' funeral. When my dad has to travel Jill, Emily and I take turns spending time with my mom. I spent the night Friday and Sunday with my mom, and then we went over again and had dinner together Monday and hung out until my dad arrived home. I feel so grateful that I still get to spend time with my mom. In the afternoon we met up with several of Elliott's classmates at the recently renovated Strang Line Park. It was an unseasonably warm day for January and the park was packed. Regardless he had a great time with Elliott G, Lilyana and Jaklyn.

January 17

This week we started watching the new National Treasure show on Disney+. If you can get past the clunky social commentary/lecture in each episode, it is quite enjoyable. We have found it to be pretty fun, even though it is a little predictable. We are already counting down for the next few Wednesdays when the final three episodes are released. 

January 18

Lauren got to participate in her second Math Club meet of the season Wednesday. OPC teams swept the fifth grade competition, with Lauren's team coming in third. This time she was teamed up with Owen C and Theron S. It was fun to watch them compete. Their faces showed a wide range of emotions--contemplative, stressed, frustrated, relieved, disappointed, excited. Who knew a collaborative timed math competition could elicit so many feelings?

January 19

Two years ago I bought this pink 32 Degrees fleece jacket for Lauren at Costco. She has loved it and it has been her go to jacket ever since. Lately she has been frustrated because the zipper sticks. I asked if they were going to have them again at Costco and was told they would not be carrying them this year. I looked online at threadup and ebay and couldn't find the right match. This week Miles and I stopped at Savers to drop off some donations and last second decided to go in the store. I couldn't believe it when I saw the *exact* coat I have been looking for, brand new with tags, one size larger than Lauren's current coat for only $2.49. It felt like a tender mercy.

January 20

On Friday evening I went out to dinner with some of my book club friends. We took advantage of KC Restaurant week and ate at Fogo de Chao (Brazilian steakhouse). Not everyone was able to make it, but it was great to get out with those that could. Alexa, Allison, Fara, Fara's mom, Janice, Elena, Sarah, Sang and Tami are seated around the table (we missed Emily, Kate and Kristen).

January 21

Saturday evening we made Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes for dinner. A friend posted the recipe on facebook this summer and both Tony and I were intrigued. We made it and then decided to try it again with a few adjustments. All the kids like it without complaint which is always noteworthy, with Elliott (our pickiest eater) proclaiming it is now in his "top 10." I decided to ask the kids for their favorite foods list and this is what they said. Will--smash burgers, steak, pizza, salmon soup, zupa toscana, stroganoff, tikka masala, creamy chicken & rice, ham and white bean chicken chili. Lauren--Creamy Chicken & rice, sweet Willy chili, smash burgers, chicken tikka masala, cheese steak sloppy joes, spaghetti, homemade pizza, salad bar, salmon soup and ham. Elliott--Ham, homemade pizza, smash burgers, cheese steak sloppy joes, breakfast for dinner, orange chicken, fried chicken, steak, mashed potatoes/baked potatoes and stir fry. Miles--White chili, homemade pizza, hot dog with ketchup, chicken and broccoli, stroganoff, eggs with tator tots and sausage, chicken alfredo and fried chicken.

2023 :: week 2

January 8

Our new church schedule is awesome. We are in the 9-11am slot and are usually home and eating lunch by noon. The kids spent some time playing games and I enjoyed a luxurious afternoon nap. Lauren attended YW class for the first time and seemed to like it. 

January 9

Miles and Elliott love to read books at bedtime. Currently we are reading through Elliott's Who Would Win? collection, which doubled in size after he received three new 5 in 1 books for Christmas.

January 10

Tuesday morning Will and I drove down the Broadway Clinic for Will's annual eye exam. His eyes are doing well and the doctor made only minor adjustments to his prescription. We went to the same exam room we first went to back in 2013 when Will had his first eye exam. Afterwards we stopped and picked up breakfast before I dropped him off at school. 

January 11

A highlight of Miles' week is when both Gabriel and Hudson are able to play at the park. Because Daphne has gymnastics twice a week and Hudson's mom works 3 days there is only ONE day that all three boys are able to play together and Miles looks forward to it all week. 

 

January 12

Will is playing in the instructional basketball league at Indian Woods. Their practices are Tuesday and Thursday after school. Thursday also happens to be the day Will and Lauren have piano lessons, Elliott has basketball practice and (once a month) I have book club. Thursdays have become the busiest evening of our week! With the kids going different directions between 5 and 7pm we had to make a list of all the rides that were needed and then assigned a parent/driver to each leg. 

January 13

When Will enrolled in classes he chose to take the advanced science class. The major difference between the general and advanced class is the science fair project. Will has spent the past few months working on this project and he turned it in this week. For his project he studied how shoes affect a person's speed. He learned that the heavier the shoe the slower the time. I am grossly oversimplifying the project, but that is the gist. We were pleased with Will for keeping on top of the project and doing the work with little help. 

January 14

Elliott played in his first basketball game of the season Saturday. He is playing with his buddy Cole in the Upward League. His team is called the Wolfpack, comprised of first and second graders. The boys were almost as excited about the concession stands as they were the game. I had totally forgotten to bring cash and Will bailed me out and shared an airhead with Miles. Lauren didn't go to the game. She spent the first part of the day at the church practicing for the stake youth choir. In the evening she went to her friend Taylor's birthday party at Urban Air. 

2023 :: week 1

January 1

New year new classes. Our little guy Miles is now a Sunbeam. He wasn't too excited about it, but ended up deciding he did want to be a Sunbeam when his teachers had playdoh to use in class. He has male teachers (Brothers Ramirez and Rock) which works well because the class is full of boys too. I am in a little bit of denial that we are totally done with nursery. Elliott is now in senior primary, Lauren started YW, and Will is a Teacher.

January 2

Lauren and I did a little shopping Monday. Lauren loves to buy books, and the two places she's had the best luck at finding good deals are Savers and Half Price Books. Luckily they are located right by each other. 

January 3

Just a pile of John kids cuddling on the couch. The kids go back to school on Thursday, but today was the first time I "could hardly wait for school to come again." 

January 4

Will decided he wanted to learn how to solve a rubix cube after watching his cousin Tyler and Uncle Matt play with them over Christmas break. This week he got his "solve time" under two minutes! He was so happy when he achieved his goal. 

January 5

Egg prices have gone WAY up over the past year. I read that there has been a terrible outbreak of avian flu this past year, causing farmers to put down entire flocks of laying hens. This is on top of rising transportation and feed costs. We eat a lot of eggs, so this is pretty disappointing. 

January 6

Friday night was game night! We played several rounds of Connect Four and Yahtzee! Miles was surprisingly competitive with Lauren when playing Connect Four (Lauren went easy on him) and Elliott rolled one of the best games of Yahtzee! I've ever seen. After basketball tryouts Will went with Knox to the Blue Valley women's basketball game and then SMS boy's basketball game. He was gone from 8am-10:30pm, and I felt a little sad that he wasn't there to play games with us. I know this is only the beginning of kids going out on the weekend. 

 

January 7

Saturday evening the daughter of our friends Peter and Michelle was married. We carpooled with the Throssells to the Kansas City Club and had a great time. The venue was a cool old building downtown next to the main library. After the ceremony there was a hot chocolate bar, then dinner and dancing. We sat at a table with friends from the old OP2 ward. It was great to catch up and laugh about shared memories from serving in our small but quirky ward.