2024 :: week 29

July 14

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

July 15

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

July 16

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

July 17

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

July 18

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

July 19

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

July 20

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

2024 :: week 28

July 7

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

July 8

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

July 9

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

July 10

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

July 11

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

July 12

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

July 13

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

2024 :: week 27

June 30

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

July 1

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

July 2

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

July 3

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

July 4

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

July 5

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

     

July 6

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

2024 :: week 26

June 23

Sunday LMC families members began to leave Bennington. The Wilsons left in the morning and the Allreds after church. In the early evening Pepaw gave us a "family history tour" of Bennington and surrounding area. We drove past the Maple and Buttercup Fields where my dad owns land and stopped to see the area where my Grandma Crane was born 1917. We drove up into the beautiful Pine Canyon and walked to the Red Fern bus and to an overlook with a gorgeous view of the valley. We visited the cabin my grandpa built to homestead the land in the 1930s. We visited the Bennington cemetery and found the graves of my dad's paternal grandparents, parents and siblings that have passed, as well as his maternal grandfather and Miles Franklin Weaver--my great-great grandfather and father of my great-grandmother Idella (my middle name comes from her). Anthony and I loved all the family history, and hope our kids will remember what we saw too.

June 24

Monday morning we stopped at the Butch Cassidy Museum at the Bank of Montpelier. The Bank of Montpelier was established in 1891 as the first chartered bank in Idaho and became famous after Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch Gang robbed the bank on August 13, 1896. It is the only bank in the United States that was robbed by these infamous outlaws that is still standing.  The old building was restored to reflect the 1890s time frame and original elements and artifacts were preserved, though not in the same layout. The museum docent was very knowledgeable, though he seemed to be a big fan of "hearsay." The kids were good sports and agreed to pose for this picture. After the museum we headed down to American Fork. We made a pit stop in Logan and picked up In-n-Out for lunch. We agreed the burgers were pretty good, but the fries were just okay. We arrived at Nana & Papas around 3pm. That evening around 8:45 we walked to their neighbors home to witness moonflowers bloom. They were fascinating to watch!

June 25

Tuesday afternoon the Toms hosted our family and the Allreds for pizza and water fun. The Toms have an awesome blow up water slide and pool the kids enjoyed using. The adults visited on their patio while the kids cooled off and played. We feasted on Costco pizza, fruit and veggies. Then Trevor got out their snow cone machine and treated us all to dessert. Will helped grind the ice. It was great catching up with the Toms since we don't get to sese them as often. Madeline was born since our last visit to Utah seven months ago. She is very alert and happy, but rumor has it she isn't a great sleeper. While some of the younger kids were taking turns jumping on the trampoline in their basement Trevor let Elliott and Miles use his workout equipment. He coached Elliott and Miles on their form as they attempted to do sit-ups at an incline. 

June 26

Tuesday evening the Maxfields arrived from Oregon! Since none of our kids had ever been to Salt Lake, and it is shrinking at a concerning rate, we decided to drive up to Great Salt Lake State Park and float in it at least once. We were warned that there were a lot of bugs, and there--gnats!--and that because the water was so salty it would really hurt if it splashed in your eyes--it did! But everyone in the John family (besides Miles) successfully floated. The Maxfields floated as well. After our quick visit the the lake we drove the the Cottonwood Heights pool. We visited the pool back in 2022 after cousin camp and had a great time. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. 

June 27

Thursday was a very Harvey Fletcher themed BYU day. First we hiked the Y. Apparently Elliott told his Maxfield cousins that he had hiked the Y, and they were bummed they had never done it. Turns out Elliott had never done it either. When we hiked the Y back in 2016 with Will & Lauren, Elliott stayed back with Carly. How is the Y connected to Harvey Fletcher? Before the Y was originally whitewashed on the mountain in 1906, Harvey was one of three BYU students in the Junior Class that surveyed the letters "B," "Y," and "U," on the side of the mountain. When class members assembled to begin the letters, they started with the "Y" to keep it centered. Students stood approximately 8 feet apart and created a human chain carrying buckets of lime, sand and rocks to construct the letters.  It took hours to create! Because it took so long the students never completed the other letters. I can testify that it is a very steep incline and not for the faint of heart.  When we hiked the ~1 mile trail Wednesday morning it really pushed me. Will called me when he was sitting on the Y and it took me another 15 minutes to get there.  After the hike we met Doug and Tina for lunch at the Creamery on 9th. After lunch Tina arranged for us to visit the anechoic chamber Harvey Fletcher built at BYU when he was a professor in the 1960s (after he retired from Bell Labs). It is inside the Eyring Science Center, so we walked across campus and marveled at what has changed and what hasn't. An anechoic chamber is used to study sounds. The walls, ceiling and floor of the room are covered in acoustical wedges that are held in place metal grates. When you walk into the room you walk on a wire floor that is several feet above the actual floor of the room. Being in the room is a lot like wearing noise cancelling headphones. We were in there for a few minutes and my ears adjusted to the muffled sound, but as soon as we walked out the cacophony of noises hit me. The BYU professor that gave us the tour is married to a friend that also grew up in the Lenexa Stake. We found Nana's name on the wall, listed with other BYU physics students throughout the years. After the tour we walked to the BYU Library and the enjoyed the hand-on Lego exhibit.

June 28

Thursday Elliott headed to Liz's cabin with Nana, Papa and the cousin camp crew. The rest of us went to the water park formerly known as Seven Peaks--Splash Summit--in Provo. Carly and her family had been at a family reunion with Daniel's side of the family until Thursday evening. Will, Lauren and Elliott were anxious to spend time with Sadie, Elise and Grant (Elliot and Millie were at cousin camp). Anthony and I got season passes to Seven Peaks in both 2006 and 2007, so it felt a little like coming home for us. We spent most of our time in the tadpole area with Miles, while Lauren and Will went down the various slides with cousins. We floated through the lazy river a few times for old times' sake. We stayed until closing, then headed to the Nielson's for dinner. We got Costco pizzas for the kids and ordered Costa Vida for the adults. It was such a gorgeous evening we hung out on the back porch after dinner. Will and Sadie challenged Anthony and Carly to an epic game of pickleball. The John adults do not go easy on their kids, and the kids will be better competitors for it, though they didn't seem to pleased in real time.

June 29

We were all pretty tired Saturday. I wanted us to have a relaxing day because we would be driving the entire way home the next day. I did some cleaning and prepping for the trip. Anthony, Meredith, Carly and kids went up to Harvey Park and played a lot of pickleball. That evening we got the kids Chick-fil-A and then the adults got tacos at Holy Taco in Orem. We finished the night with s'mores in the Nielson's backyard, visiting while the kids jumped on the trampoline, played "ghosts in the graveyard," and games of pickleball and pick-up basketball. I made the kids go to bed around 11pm while Anthony and I finished packing. We probably stayed up too late visiting with Meredith (considering we had a 17 hours drive ahead of us), but the late night chats with siblings are one of the most important parts of getting together. We had a great week in Utah!

2024 :: week 25

June 16

Happy Father's Day to Anthony! He's a great dad and our kids are lucky to have him. We had a relatively simple day. I made breakfast casserole. The primary kids sang in Sacrament Meeting. That evening we had a potluck dinner of Hawaiian Haystacks with the local Cranes.

June 17

The John men were pretty excited that the Celtics won the NBA Finals Monday night. We let Elliott stay up late to witness "history." 

June 18

Will is assigned either the "cashier" or "rover" at work. He prefers to be cashier. The rover takes out the trash, sweeps, picks up trash, walks the perimeter to make sure the grounds are clean, etc. Whenever I see him walking around I think in my head "they see me rovin', they hatin'," to the tune of Chamillionaire's Ridin'.

June 19

This week was Elliott's turn for baseball camp and it was hot! Several of Elliott's friends participated, including Elliott G who got sick from the heat. We carpooled with Townes and Cole. Dave was extra nice and got the boys some Gatorades on the way home.

June 20

We left early Wednesday morning to visit family out west. We decided to drive through Colorado and  sneak in a Rockies baseball game. The game started at 1:10pm, so it was hot, hot, hot in the sun. We bought tickets in the bleachers that had no shade. After the first inning (where we saw Shohei Otani hit a lead off home run on the first at bat). We ended up moving to a row of purple seats in the upper deck that were in the shade. The single purple row is located at 5,280 feet above sea level, or a "mile high." After the game we went to our hotel, swam and ate some pizza. We were disappointed with how bumpy the Colorado roads were. As soon as we hit state line, the roads got significantly worse.

June 21

Friday morning we hit the road for Bennington. It took us about 8 uneventful hours. When we got to Bennington we set up camp up Maple Canyon at Camp Bare Toes. We set up two tents for our family, with Will, Lauren and Elliott in one tent and Miles with Anthony and me. The kids had fun exploring with their cousins and second cousins. The Allreds and Wilsons also came out for the reunion, though both of them had been in Bennington for a few days. For dinner we had a weenie roast and s'mores. Then people told stories, recited poems or told jokes around the campfire. 

June 22

I had such a great time at the reunion! It was so good to see family that we don't get to see very often, and it was fun to see my kids explore with their cousins the same places I enjoyed exploring as a child with my cousins. We survived the night camping, even though the ground was rocky and pretty uncomfortable. We went on the beautiful hike up the canyon to the rocks. In the afternoon the kids went on the stick pony hike and participated in the egg drop. In the evening we ate a dinner of sloppy joe sandwiches (my first time going when they did not serve lamb cooked in the dutch oven) and potluck sides. Uncle Melvin's homemade root beer and Aunt Norene's fudge were my favorites, as always. After dinner was the program, where each family does a skit. Our family had all the kids being loud around my dad as he sleeps totally unbothered. Then someone whispered, "While Pepaw is asleep let's throw away the 13 year old ketchup," and he instantly wakes up and says in a grumpy voice, "who's talking about my ketchup?!" 

2024 :: week 24

June 9

Operation new deck begins this week! I wanted to record what our deck looks like before it gets torn down later this week. 

June 10

A few weeks ago Joi mentioned that she would be willing to help me tint and lift my eyelashes this summer. Now that school is out she reached out and asked if I would be available Monday. I already was planning to meet with Charlotte and Michelle about the OPC carnival so we combined the meetings and Joi did our lashes or brows while discussing the carnival, among other things. It was such a fun night! Joi is the ultimate hostess.

June 11

I took Miles to Children's Mercy to get his annual leg x-ray to check make sure his osteochondroma isn't growing. It seems to be stable and isn't causing him any pain so we won't do anything for now. Miles was a little nervous about the x-ray, but he did great and walked into the room all by himself.

June 12

We spent a lot of time at the pool this week. Joi brought freezer pops to share (Miles ate one but did not want to be in the photo). Will had baseball camp at SMS Monday through Thursday mornings this week. He enjoyed it, though he was older than most of the kids there. 

June 13

Our deck is gone! They started tearing it out on Tuesday, and finished the job today. Thursday evening we "cleaned up" all the junk that was hiding under the deck and did our best to fit what we could in the dumpster. The dumpster filled up faster than we anticipated, so we are going to have to figure out an alternative way to get rid of some of this junk. 

June 14

Friday was the Pink Thunder's final hurrah. Her teammate Madelyn's dad has a connection with the KC Current and was able to schedule Lauren's team to be part of the pre-game ceremonies at CPKC stadium. The girls got meet players before the game, walk onto the field with the players at the start of the game, and then stand on the field during the National Anthem. The only downside was they had to wear blue "Amazon Prime" shirts when they walked onto the field, because the game was broadcast on Amazon Prime. We were hoping that family at home could see her on the field, but apparently Amazon Prime doesn't broadcast the opening ceremonies. It was a fun game to watch with the Pink Thunder family. The Current tied the Chicago Stars 2-2.

June 15

Miles is loving his new bed. He often perches at the top of the ladder reading books. I am tickled every time I hear him reading to himself in that spot.

2024 :: week 23

June 2

Elliott is still our #1 snuggler, and there is no where he'd rather snuggle and read than on Mom and Dad's bed. In the background you can see our newly painted accent wall.

June 3

It's the first official full week of summer! Elliott started basketball camp and Will had to work. We went to the pool, but it was a little overcast and almost chilly when the sun was behind the clouds. The pool is more fun with friends, and hardly anyone was there because it wasn't that hot. Lauren and Miles had fun being silly together.

June 4

JAW Lawncare is keeping busy! On Tuesday I drove the boys to KCK to mow Sarah's lawn. I always enjoy chatting with Sarah while the boys work.

June 5

A big project we've been working on the past few week is getting Miles' and Elliott's room deep cleaned and bunk-bed ready. For the past few years Elliott has slept on a twin bed on one side of the room and Miles has slept on the other side first in a crib, then a twin mattress on the floor. The boys have a lot of stuff and really struggled to keep the room clean and it was driving me crazy. Talking to Charlotte, I found out she was preparing to have her girls move into separate room and would be getting rid of their relatively new bunk bed. She offered to sell it to us at a deep discount and so Wednesday after piano we picked up the bed and Rob and Tony reassembled it within an hour. Yay! Miles is now the top bunk buddy and Elliott will be sleeping on the bottom full-sized bed. We have an extra twin mattress that we will keep under the boys bed (a "trundle") that we can pull out when we have company. The boys have been a big help getting the room ready. This weekend Anthony will put together their new IKEA dresser, we will move the Lego storage over from Will's room, and we are passing our old bedroom set on to friends from church.

June 6

Elliott had a fun week at the SMS Sunflower Basketball Camp. He made a few new friends, and had a great time with Townes and the Wilson boys. 

June 7

Friday was a very Royals day. A few weeks ago I got an email from Elliott's baseball league letting us know about an event the Royals were hosting for young baseball players in the community. Teams in the MLB host "PLAY Clinics," to promote a lifetime of healthy activity for youth. In the email it said there were limited spots, but all kids that came would receive complimentary tickets and parking passes for their families to the game that night. It sounded like it would be something Elliott would like, plus free tickets to the game was something the entire family would enjoy. Friday morning after stopping at Lamar's and Krispy Kreme for free "donut day" donuts, we headed to the K. I asked the event coordinator if Will and Lauren could participate in the activity too and she said they could. After the entire group--including parents and younger siblings--listened to a lecture about the dangers of fentanyl, the kids split into three groups and went on the field to learn about nutrition, strength & conditioning, and injury prevention. A Royals player was at each station--Michael Wacha, Michael Massey & Kyle Wright. The kids were excited to get their shirts and hats signed and Will took pictures with each player. Miles and I waited in the bleachers. That evening we went back to the game. We arrived early enough to get the free t-shirts and hung out for a bit in the Kid Zone. The game got off to a rough start. The Royals' starting pitcher pitched through the entire Mariners lineup (10 total at bats) in the first inning and the score was 0-7. The next few innings were pretty slow, though the Royals made a bit of a comeback in the 4th and brought the score to 4-8. After the 6th inning it was 7-9. When it started to rain and there was no runs scored by either team in the 7th or 8th I all but assumed the game was over. However, in the bottom of the 9th the Royals came back and won after a clutch triple from Bobby Witt Jr., tied the game, followed by 2 intentional walks and a walk-off fielder's choice from Nelson Velazquez. It was the most exciting baseball game I've ever been to in person! The crowd was electric and people went crazy (especially Will). After the game was a fireworks show.

June 8

We had a "lazy" day Saturday after our late night. TJ worked on the dresser for the boys room. Lauren went to Cat & Sally's house. I took the boys to the pool. Will mowed some lawns. 

2024 :: week 22

May 26

At dinner we celebrated both of the upcoming birthdays--mine (5/27) and Matt's (5/31). Earlier that day at church I taught a combined Primary lesson while the Sunday School president did a teacher training for the primary teachers. The theme of the lesson was "hearts knit in unity," from Alma 18:21, and it went really well.

May 27

Monday was my birthday, and it was a good day. The kids didn't have school and TJ didn't have work so it felt like a "bonus" Saturday. In the morning TJ worked on assembling our new dresser from Ikea. The pool was open and I got to see many friends. Charlotte asked the cashier to wish me a happy birthday over the intercom which was fun, albeit embarrassing. That evening we went to Sar Ko Park for a ward party that wasn't well attended. The ward didn't provide food, just rented the shelter, and not many people came. It was still fun to see people. My parents stopped by to wish me a happy birthday in person, and my dad made my favorite peanut butter rice krispy bars that my mom has made for me throughout the years. I felt very loved.

May 28

Tuesday was Miles' last day of preschool. Here he is with his teacher, Miss Emily, and favorite classroom aide Miss Amanda. Miles has grown so much this year, and has really come out of  his shell. The fact that he let me take this picture is evidence! Last year not only did he refuse to take a picture with his teacher, he refused to take a picture at the school and didn't want to stay for the field day activities. This year we took this picture AND stayed and participated in most of the field day activities. 

May 29

Wednesday was the last (half) day of school. I somehow missed getting a picture of Will before he left to catch his bus. Miles, Anthony and I walked up to the school and lined the sidewalk to clap out Lauren and the other 6th graders. There are always a lot of emotions involved with "endings," but I think Lauren is ready to move on to middle school. She had great teachers and made many good friends at OPC. Immediately after school a bunch of kids headed straight to the pool. Unfortunately, Lauren could not as she had to head to the church to depart for Girl's Camp 2024. The stake was hopeful that SMSD would move their last day to before Memorial Day, but they did not and the SMSD girls had to leave basically as soon as school got out for camp. It was the only week the campground had available, so the stake leaders snagged it and hoped for the best.

May 30

Elliott slid into home during his baseball game Wednesday. He has really grown as a played this year and has made some great plays!

May 31

Will had band camp Thursday and Friday, and with Lauren at Girl's Camp, I decide to do something fun with Miles and Elliott to celebrate the start of summer. We went to Crown Center and explored the Daniel Tiger exhibit. It was pretty fun! Though Elliott was a little older than the target audience. We are a Daniel Tiger family and so we enjoyed the details. After enjoying the exhibit we ate a yummy lunch at Spin Pizza.

June 1

Lauren arrived home from Girl's Camp Saturday evening. She had a good time, though probably not quite as much fun as she had last year. This year the stake wanted to focus on ward unity and had the girls divided up by ward. (I was disappointed with this approach). They did have "sister wards," and Oak Park was sister wards with Mill Creek.