2023 :: week 16

April 16

Lauren and Will participated in the Federation Festival Sunday afternoon. They have been working on their pieces for the past few months and received superiors for both their pieces and theory exams. Will played "Nocturne" by Ted Cooper and "Sonata in A Minor" by Georg Anton Benda. Lauren played "Softly Whisper" and "Power Drive."

April 17

This was a busy week with kid activities. On Monday night Lauren performed with her Junior Raiders choir at the South Choral Festival. They sang three numbers themselves as well as participated with the entire ensemble to sing "Bonse Aba" (a traditional Zambian song). Lauren has had a great experience singing in the honor choir this year and is planning to participate again next year. 

April 18

Tuesday evening the entire family went to Will's first baseball game of the season. Will's team played well, but came up short. They lost 4-5. Will was disappointed he didn't get to pitch this game but he will ready to go at the next game. Funny story--I forgot to pick up Will's new white pants and didn't think it would be that big of a deal. I figured he could squeeze into his old pants one last time. They were tighter than I realized, but he didn't have any other choice. Lauren's team ordered their uniforms together and the order was delayed, so she also wore the pants to her first game Wednesday night. The pants fit Elliott well enough that he will wear them to his games which start next week. The siblinghood of the traveling baseball pants!

April 19

Lauren had her first softball game of the season Wednesday night. The official team uniforms were not quite ready, so Gennie's mom put her Cricket machine to good use and made backup uniforms for the girls. At one point during the game there was a subtle whisper through the crowd that Andy Reid was watching a game at the field next to ours. The rumor turned out to be true, he was watching his grandson. Coach Reid was extremely gracious and both kids were able to get a picture with him. 

April 20

I love watching Miles and Elliott swing together in the backyard. Often they sing and swing. They love it when Anthony comes out and pushes them super high. I have been thinking a lot lately about how much I enjoy my family at this stage. Our younger kids are old enough to sleep through the night. Our oldest kids still enjoy participating in family activities. Now that Miles goes to preschool I get a few hours to myself four days a week, where I am able to get a bit of a "break." Life isn't perfect, but we have moved past many of the struggles associated with babies and haven't hit too many teenager struggles yet.

April 21

Lauren and her crew spend a lot of time on top of the monkey bars after school. For a few months Lauren and her friends would hang out under the trees on the far side of the pool, even though they weren't doing anything wrong, I prefer it when they hang out closer. You'll notice a few younger kids in this picture. They are kindergarteners (Ruth and Ben) in Mrs. Phipps class and Lauren and Cat spend the last 15 minutes of the school day helping in their classroom. Sometimes they sort papers, sometimes they read to the kids, they do whatever Mrs. Phipps needs them to do.

April 22

Our neighbor hired Will to mow their law and he was happy to oblige. It is so nice having a child strong enough to push a mower. After a week of idyllic temperatures it ended up being really cold Saturday. Lauren had her second softball game in the morning and when the wind blew it was freezing!

2023 :: week 15

April 9

For the first time in years we were blessed with a beautiful spring Easter. We had a musical program for Sacrament Meeting, and my favorite numbers were the primary children singing, "Gethsemane," and a small group of YW (including Lauren) singing, "Beautiful Savior." We stopped at Shawnee Mission Park on the way home from church. The lighting was not good, and a few people had staked out the best spots for full-on photo shoots, so we snapped a few quick pictures and headed on our way. In the afternoon we did Easter baskets and had our family egg hunt and I made rolls to take to our family Easter dinner at my parents. 

April 10

Elliott threw up Sunday afternoon, and we thought it was possibly due to lots of junk food and staying up really late Saturday when Mark & Meredith were visiting. He stayed home with Tony while the rest of us went to my parents house for Easter dinner. When he threw up again about an hour after bedtime we thought he might be sick for real. Thankfully, that was the end of the vomit. Monday was a day off school, which was nice because Elliott could recover. He made a comfy reading nook in our front room and read the entire Who Was Jackie Robinson? book Miles got in his Easter Basket. The other kids were a little bummed they couldn't have any friends over. All week I kept waiting for someone else to get sick, but no one ever did, phew!
 

April 11

Tuesday was new piano day! We had 1-800-Got-Junk people out in the morning to cart away our old piano (and freezer). I was pleased that besides a bit of dust and a few random Lego pieces it was pretty clean back there. In the afternoon the piano movers delivered our new piano and Juha came over in the evening to set up the piano humidifier. 

April 12

I went for a few walks on Wednesday--one in the morning after walking with Lauren and Elliott to school, and again in the evening. I love our neighborhood in the spring. The pops of bright colors and beautiful spring weather makes me feel so optimistic. 

April 13

We are all loving the new piano! It is amazing how much better everything sounds when played on it. The kids have been practicing a lot this week to prepare for the Federation Festival this weekend. 

April 14

We had week of beautiful spring weather, but Friday was the prettiest. After school on Friday Lauren went hiking with her girl scout troop at Shawnee Mission Park. Will, Tony and I worked in the yard cleaning out the beds, preparing the garden boxes, and mowing. Will mowed most of the yard by himself! We finished just in time for a storm to blow in overnight and again Saturday afternoon.

April 15

Saturday evening Tony and I met up with our second ward dinner group gathering, this Time at Red Door Grill in Lenexa. We enjoyed getting to know Eric and Kammi B, Terry H, and Amy and Travis C better.

2023 :: week 14

April 2

Sunday morning I wanted to get out of the house before General Conference. Especially with Tony out of town I needed the kids to burn some energy. We decided to do some urban hiking and after breakfast we drove down to the Plaza and walked around Mill Creek Park. The weather was beautiful and the park wasn't very crowded, a perfect combination for our group. Miles was excited when he saw the "blue Abraham Lincoln" on the wall. He became a big fan of Abraham Lincoln after our trip to DC last year. We arrived home with just enough time for me to take a quick shower before Conference began. 

April 3

I got an email from the school Monday informing me that the power was out at Indian Woods, but they were working on it. A few hours later Will's friend contacted me and said that kids could go home if they'd like to and that Will would like me to pick him up. Miles and I picked him up after Miles got out of school. There were several parents in line waiting to pick up our kids when I got there, and the line doubled by the time Will came out. The school was using walkie talkies to communicate because the power was totally out and the intercom system wasn't working. In the evening I got an email that said the power was up and running and that school would be back to normal the next day.

April 4

My parents invited us over for dinner on Tuesday to help out while TJ was in San Antonio. At first I didn't think I would need the help, but by midday Tuesday I was very grateful for their offer. Dinner was simple--Costco pizza and orange slices--but what was really nice was how "normal" it all felt. My mom is feeling strong enough to walk to the door and wave goodbye like she always would before she had her stroke. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing her wave goodbye.

April 5

Soccer practice at six makes dinner time a little tricky. It is hard to eat a filling meal before you run around for 90 minutes, but then afterwards when Lauren is ravenously hungry it is a little late to eat a big meal. Breakfast for dinner feels like a good compromise.

April 6

It is hard to know what Miles hates the most--sleeping, going to bed, or staying in his room. Anthony or I regularly have to sit in the hallway to make sure he stays in his room and that he doesn't get out of bed and start playing with books or stuffed animals. It is a nightly battle. :( 

April 7

Friday evening Lauren played a great game of soccer. She scored early on and played great! Lauren usually tries to diminish how well she plays and make excuses for how she scored ("the goalie wasn't paying attention"), but even she knew she played well. Lauren has turned into a pretty good soccer player, and her games are increasingly intense to watch.

April 8

We spent most of the day Saturday with Anthony's cousin Mark and his girlfriend Meredith. They live in California but are in the Midwest to spend time with Meredith's family in Iowa. Anthony and the boys went with the visitors to The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, then we all met up at Joe's KC for some BBQ. In the afternoon we parted ways for some resting and chores, then got together again for dinner at our place. Back in 2009 Mark shot a "pitch" for a potential tv show starting Anthony and Mark's dad, Bob. We he didn't have the financing to take it very far, and so we never got to see the finished product. Mark found what he had put together and we got to watch it for the first time. Anthony and I have aged a lot in the last 14 years. Yikes! In the evening Mark and Anthony used the sauna with a few of the kids while I visited with Meredith and got to know her. It was a fun and exhausting day for all of us.

2023 :: week 13

March 26

The young men in our ward embarked on a field trip during the second hour on Sunday. A ward member that lives a few blocks from our church building has not been able to attend church and the YM walked to their home and administered the Sacrament.

March 27

I dropped Lauren and Ashton off for honor choir Monday afternoon. I have enjoyed getting to know him better this school year and I appreciate that Lauren's circle of friends is expanding as she participates in this choir.

March 28

My friend Alayna invited me to a "Favorite Things Party" Tuesday night. This favorite things party was focused around books and each brought two copies of a book we enjoyed and we each got to go home with two new-to-us books. We also played a few book related games and ate delicious treats. Alayna is a wonderful hostess. I brought The Psychology of Money and came home with The Bookwoman's Daughter and Edenbrooke.

March 29

Finally our daffodils are beginning to bloom! The down side is that my allergies have been out of control! Poor Elliott, Miles and Will are suffering too. Wednesday evening Lauren I and went to the "Back to Camp" meeting for the girls their parents. Lauren is excited to go to Girl's Camp this year and we are excited for her! I have mostly really great memories of Girl's Camp.

March 30

Elliott had his first baseball practice of the season Thursday night. While Elliott practices with his team Anthony runs a mini practice for Miles and a few other younger siblings in the grass. Several of Elliott's friends have younger siblings Miles' age--at least three of his teammates have younger siblings that will start kindergarten Fall 2024. 

March 31

The weather Friday was all over the place, but the one consistent was wind. In the afternoon I worked to throw away a bunch of garbage from our garage and also took pictures of a few items to post on the "Buy Nothing" facebook page. We are exiting the stroller era of parenthood. At our peak we had four strollers, and now are down to one. 

April 1

Saturday afternoon I had another load of things to take to Savers. Lauren wanted to browse for a bit and we ended up making some really great finds! Several Who Was? books in great condition, a Minions memory game and some cute clothes for Lauren (including this outfit). It makes me smile seeing the 90s styles of my childhood make a comeback. Anthony flew to San Antonio for a work conference in the morning so it was just me and the kids for the next four days.

 

2023 :: week 12

 

March 19

Miles snapped this selfie during church. I don't let the kids use any electronics during Sacrament meeting, so he must have snuck it out of my bag when I wasn't looking. Tony spoke in our ward this week for his monthly high council speaking assignment about the purpose of belonging to the church.

March 20

After a few too many mornings when mom and dad didn't get up early enough to make scrambled eggs for breakfast, Lauren has taken it upon herself to prepare them. The large servings are for her and Will, the smaller portion is for Miles. Elliott does not care for eggs. In our defense, Tony and I have not been sleeping well lately. Miles has been waking up at night, coming into our room and waking us up, only for him to quickly fall back asleep while to two of us struggle to do so. Miles has really regressed in the sleeping department ever since he turned 4.

March 21

My goal for the remainder of the school year is to declutter our house. I often feel frustrated with the clutter in our house, and one way to cut down on clutter is to pare down on belongings. The school district is running a clothing drive this week and I spent hours going through the kids old clothes and donating the extras to the clothing exchange. 

March 22

Lauren's soccer team practiced at OPC this week because their other field was unavailable. Lauren has gotten really good at throwing the ball in quickly and down the field. I was impressed with how much farther and accurately she is able to throw the ball now.

March 23

Miles spends a lot of time playing basketball in our front room. Like his brothers before him, he has spends hours each week playing imaginary sporting events. 

March 24

The motor on our garage door has been struggling over the past few months and this past week it finally bit the dust. As with many things in this house, it was well maintained by previous owners and outlived its life expectancy. The technicians at Overhead Door couldn't tell us exactly how old our previous motor was, but it didn't have the associated sensors required with all new installs starting in 1993, so we know it was at least 30 years old. Friday our new motor was installed and it is so sleek and quiet. Seriously, I had no idea how loud our garage door opening and closing was until we had the new one. I have accidentally opened and then closed the door because I didn't hear open. We also now have a garage door key pad and two remote controls! 

March 25

Over the past year Will has gotten into baseball card and sports memorabilia collecting. He saw an ad for a baseball card show in Belton, MO, that he was interested in attending. Anthony agreed to take him and the others boys excitedly tagged along. Unfortunately, when they showed up the show had been cancelled. They were not the only people there who had hoped to go to the show so we know it was a real thing. Anthony looked up card stores on his phone and found Coach's Corner also in Belton. They decided to stop by and had a great visit! The owner was very friendly towards kids and gave each of the boys two free packs of old baseball cards, as well as mini binders to hold the cards. Miles especially loves the binder. 

2023 :: week 11

March 12

Anthony and I taught our youth class this Sunday. This week the topic was gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. At one point in the lesson we had the kids divide into small groups and find scriptures in that testified of Christ. Class attendance is up this year (about 25-30 kids per class). I let Tony do most of the prep work for this class because I spoke in Sacrament Meeting after being asked on Wednesday night.

March 13

I didn't plan much out of the ordinary for Spring Break and I was already paying for by way of "I'm boreds," and "there's nothing to dos," by Monday afternoon. I took the kids to the library to pick up some books and DVDs and while we were there Will helped Elliott and Miles fill out their brackets. It was hard to tell who was having more fun filling out the brackets, Will or the younger boys?

March 14

One of my goals for the week was to check off a few longstanding items on my to-do list. A few weeks ago we set up Lauren's new book shelf, and she had been patiently waiting for us to build the drawers that went inside. I started this cross-stitch of the Salt Lake Temple around Christmas and needed to stitch the French knots that would be the flowers on the bottom. There was a lot of water build up on the glass in our sauna and so I deep cleaned the sauna seats, floor and glass. I also applied another coat of RainX to keep the glass clear longer. Mikey requested a letter M shirt based off  Alphabet Lore on Youtube. I used freezer paper stenciling and patience to get it done. Each task took less than 90 minutes, and I felt so good after getting them accomplished by the end of the week I have some positive momentum towards more time consuming projects I've been putting off around the house. 

March 15

A few years ago my mom started taking the kids on a one-on-one birthday shopping trip for their birthdays. This past year she was out of commission, but lately has been feeling good enough to get out of the house more. Wednesday after her OT appointment we met up at Target for Elliott, Lauren and Will to do their 2022 birthday shopping trips. Squishmallows, sports cards, and Lego Sets were purchased, along with a book and pack of gum each.

March 16

Thursday we got together with the Diggins family for the first time in almost a year! Carrie made us pancakes for lunch and her and I chatted for a few hours while the kids played. We only scratched the surface of things to talk about. 

March 17

Lauren had been asking all week if we could decorate sugar cookies. I was more focused on getting jobs done than starting something new, and finally got around to it Friday. When the Ules came over Lauren and Daphne went through out cookie cutters and had a lot of fun decorating the various shapes. The littlest brothers saw how much fun their sisters were having and decided they wanted to decorate too. Friday marked Miles' first official playdate with Gabriel and they did awesome. Elliott and Nicholas played at the Ules and were happy to partake of the freshly decorated cookies when Jolie came to swap kids.

March 18

The John boys watched a lot of basketball this weekend. The first weekend of March madness has so many basketball games and now that Will and Elliott are invested in their brackets basketball is on even when TJ isn't home. This week Anthony worked a few evenings (including Saturday) working with SMEs to work on item writing for tests. 

2023 :: week 10

March 5

Miles is 4! It's hard for me to believe that he's that old. It's hard for him to accept that he's that young. In the months leading up to his birthday he wanted to turn seven like Elliott. Miles is one of a kind. He is very social and loves being around people, but he's also shy and does not like getting too much individual attention. He has a fantastic memory, and regularly catches me off guard with what he recalls. Miles loves sports--basketball, baseball, soccer--basically whatever the older kids are doing. Miles is fascinated by mascots and can tell you the name of every mascot in the MLB and many in the NFL and NBA. He looks forward to 3pm every weekday so we can meet the big kids at the park to play for awhile. Miles has recently decided he wants to say every prayer every time our family prays and he gets quite upset when we let anyone else take a turn. When Anthony drives Miles to school in the morning they listen to "Daddy's music," which has lead to him requesting "they're going for speed" aka "The Distance" by Cake and a variety of Beatles songs. Miles hates going to bed, probably due to his terrible FOMO. You can't blame him for feeling like he is always getting left out of stuff because he siblings do do a lot of activities. Miles has a fun sense of humor and loves to laugh, but he suffers no fools. 

March 6

Spring was in the air on Monday and it felt amazing! Elliott, Miles and I met up with several ward friends at Meadowbrook park after dropping Lauren off at choir. The boys had a great time running around and playing with their friends. Unfortunately, as often happens to me when there are dramatic temperature swings, I had a pretty bad headache by the time we headed home. That night I had to lie down while Anthony drove Lauren to and from soccer.

March 7

Matt has been traveling quite a bit for work over the past three weeks. I have been going to the Wilsons once and sometimes twice a day to help Emily walk her dogs. Sometimes I stay at the house and keep an eye on Calvin or else I push Calvin in the stroller and walk with Emily. If the kids are home from school Elliott and Miles like to join me and play with Tyler and Mikey while Emily walks and I watch Cal. Tuesday afternoon it got chilly and wet, but that didn't stop Elliott and Tyler from building nature "beds" out of the Wilson's woodpile.

March 8

Wednesday evening Will played in a band concert. The concert was fairly short because only the 6th and 7th grade bands played. Will switched to playing the euphonium because there about twenty trumpets. He is the "first chair," of the seven euphoniums. Apparently when he was in 8th grade Anthony played the baritone for a few songs. 

March 9

Thursday night was the OPC Open House and 5th Grade Wax Museum. The fifth graders spend the third quarter working on their "American Hero Project." The project entails researching and an American citizen that is a positive role model who is known for making the world a better place. The kids prepare a two minute speech they memorize and deliver to their class and then the school community at the open house while dressed up as the hero. Due to covid-related precautions this was the first Wax Museum at OPC since 2019, which means that Will didn't get to do it when he was in 5th grade (he still did the research and delivered the speech to his class). Lauren chose Eleanor Roosevelt as her subject and did a great job capturing her determined and compassionate spirit.

March 10

Friday was the first day of '"spring break." It was overcast and cold and all I wanted to do was read my book, but the kids were expecting more. They were sorely disappointed in my lack of plans. We ended up having a fun day.

March 11

We have been working to revamp Lauren's room and Saturday afternoon we went shopping to pick up a few things to help her organize. Organizing is one of Lauren's favorite pastimes. A new Five Below just opened up and Lauren was excited to check out the new location. 

2023 :: week 9

February 26

Tony's good friend Beth Guterman-Chu was in town Sunday. She was staying at the Westin, so we met her in the lobby and then walked to Crown Center. The kids played and ate ice cream while the adults caught up. That evening Anthony and I went back downtown to watch Beth and the symphony play at the Kaufman Center. My favorite part of the concert was Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony. I had never heard it before, and am not familiar with the poem on which it was based, but could feel the range of emotions. Beth and the other musicians were so talented, it was a privilege to hear them play.

February 27

Miles and I found a spot along Indian Creek to throw rocks after running several errands. The weather was gorgeous and I wanted to do something fun with Miles after he accompanied me on several less fun to-dos.

February 28

On Tuesday Anthony and Elliott visited  Allen Field House for the first time with friends Stevie and Nicholas. The Jayhawks defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders 67-63. Elliott had a blast, but said his "ears were crying it was so loud." He said his favorite part was the fact that everyone was jumping up and down and having a good time. And that Anthony bought him a hot dog and large Gatorade.

March 1

I could not find Miles at the park after school and momentarily panicked. I was afraid he had started to walk back home by himself, which he has done before. I didn't even notice him sitting with this group of 2nd grade girls. His two main playmates--Gabriel and Hudson--weren't at the park so apparently he made some new friends. Miles let these girls read him a book every day after school for the rest of the week.

March 2

Jill and I took the boys to Science City Thursday afternoon. In the three hours we were there we visited almost every indoor exhibit the boys. Miles has fun with this cousin-buddies. 

March 3

Friday night was busy! Will went with Knox to watch some state tournament high school basketball. The rest of us went to Lauren's first soccer game of the spring season. Lauren's team moved up a division, and though they played well, they lost 5-1. A girl from our stake played for the other team. Lauren scored the Pink Thunder's only goal of the night at the end of the game to avoid a shutout. Her coach had her playing both forward midfield. After the soccer game we picked up Dana and drove to Strawberry Hill for Sarah's house warming party. It was fun to see her new place as well as run into a few friends. We also met a friend of Sarah's who served his mission in Finland, is from the Boston area (Hingham) and has kids that go to the same high school ours will. 

March 4

Anthony and Lauren went to a Daddy Daughter dance put on by a girl in our ward this weekend. They had fun. Lauren and her friends danced together and got the crowd going. Tony injured his knee while doing some solo interpretive dancing (he wanted Lauren to dance with him but she was more interested in dancing with her friends). While they were gone and after the little boys went to bed I worked on making Miles a birthday cake.