2023 :: week 47

November 19

Sunday was our first full day in Utah. We were all a bit tired after our long day of driving, but were able to rally in time to go to church with the Nielsons at 10:30am. We got to hear Daniel speak in church, which was fun. The older three kids went with their cousins to class, but Miles stayed with us. Both Anthony and Miles dozed off a bit during Sunday School. After church the older three went to the Nielsons, while Miles, Anthony and I went to Sacrament Meeting with Doug & Tina. Doug and Tina sang a beautiful musical number with their choir. That evening the Nielsons and Matt came over dinner and we all hung out until bedtime. The Nielsons had school Monday and Tuesday so we didn't stay up too late. Most of the kids gathered in the basement while the adults visited upstairs. Nana and Papa's Utah house is a great because it has a lot of space in the basement for visitors and kids

November 20

Monday morning we drove up to Midway to go to the Homestead Crater. Last year a few of my cousins did a "sisters weekend" together and among other things visited the crater. I was intrigued and wanted to make it happen sometime when we visited Utah and this trip was the perfect time to do it. The crater is a geothermal spring located inside a 55 foot tall beehive-shaped limestone rock with a hole at the top. It formed over the course of over 10,000 years, but only was opened to the public in 1996. The water mineral water is always in the 90-96 degree range, so you can swim year round. We got to spend just under an hour floating and gliding around. It was hard to swim too much because the water is very deep--about 65 feet! Unless you were scuba diving, you were required to a life jacket. We had a fun time and I'm glad we did it. That afternoon Anthony and Will went with Doug to Sadie's basketball game at Copper Hills High School in West Jordan. That evening we had an awesome dinner with the Toms and watched the Chief's/Eagles game. Trevor grilled steaks, Laura made alfredo, and there was plenty of pizza and fruit for the kids.

November 21

Tuesday we spent much of the day in Provo and Orem. Papa took Anthony and the boys (along with Grant) to a card shop in Provo. Carly picked her girls up from school a little early and along with Lauren, Nana and me went to Cubby's for lunch. That afternoon Anthony and I took Elise, Millie, Will, Lauren and Elliott to Provo to visit BYU campus. We walked around and marveled at all the changes, as well as met up with good friends Candace (statistics professor) and Darren (Honor Code office). While walking across what was known as Brigham Square when we were students Will pointed out that he is "way closer in age to the college students than [we] are." Ouch! Walking into the library was a little trippy. Much of it has changed, but the 5th floor where I spent so much time as a student looked mostly the same. That evening we went to UVU to watch the women's basketball team take on Westminster. It was so fun to watch Uncle Daniel coach and the Wolverines won 76-42. Almost as much as the game, the John kids loved getting to go to the locker room for postgame celebrations with the team. Shooting hoops and running around the practice gym was the icing on the cake.

November 22

Wednesday was a full day. In the morning Anthony took our van to Provo to get checked out by a mechanic referred to us by our mechanic in Overland Park. We spent over $3K getting our van road trip ready (overdue break and alignment issues) and were very concerned when we started smelling a strong chemical smell when we used our brakes. It turns out it was nothing, we must have run over some brake fluid on the highway that splashed into our undercarriage. Phew! Lauren and Will went with Nana and Papa to Tabitha's Way Food Pantry. Elise went as well and they spent a few hours organizing the various foods that were donated into categories that made sense. After the kids worked at the food pantry they went to movie theater and saw Trolls (Sadie joined them after her basketball practice). While the big kids were at the movies, Carly, Anthony and I took the four younger kids to the Museum of Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point. We had a great time and were able to see most of the museum before we had to pick up the big kids. That evening we headed back to Thanksgiving Point because Nana & Papa treated us tickets to see Luminaria. The grounds were covered in thousands of lights and decorated in various themes (gingerbread, icicle, North Pole, etc.) and music played as you walked along a path that guided you through the park. I thought the fire & ice was cool, and the light show on the hill was fun too. They even had a reindeer! We had a great time.  

November 23

Thursday was full of food, football and family. We ate our Thanksgiving meal around 3. At some point in the late morning we took some of the kids to Harvey's Park. Everyone contributed something for to the feast. Anthony and I were assigned potatoes--sweet potato casserole and mashed potatoes. We made knockoff Ruth Chris sweet potato casserole--substituting extra oatmeal for the pecans. Doug made turkey, gravy and stuffing, as well as a few pies. Carly brought green bean casserole, corn confetti and oreo pie and a pumpkin roll for dessert. Tina made a double bath of rolls. It was a very delicious Thanksgiving and I know our kids are going to want to go back to Papa & Nana's house again next year.

November 24

Friday was nice and laid back. In the afternoon we visited the Toms again. Trevor picked up a Costco pizza for people to snack on while we hung out. The kids had a lot of fun with their various toys. Miles and Elliott jumped with Hannah (and sometimes Riley too) on the trampoline they keep in their basement. Laura had some Christmas crafts for the kids to make while we chatted. Hannah has a doctor's kit and she gave lots of check-ups to anyone who was willing. It was fun to see the Toms on their home turf. Laura is having a baby in about 2 months, so traveling is going to get a bit harder for them. We also spent the day monitoring the winter storm that was making its way across the country. 

November 25

Friday a storm started moving west to east across the US. After much deliberation and consulting with our parents (who have much more road trip and mountain west driving experience than we do) we decided to leave for home around 10am Saturday. This way we were after the storm, and by leaving later in the day the sun would have more time to melt any ice on the road. It turned out to be a good move. We saw very little snow on the road until the eastern side of Wyoming. We passed the time by listening to the BYU at Oklahoma football game. We had low expectations, but the Cougars hung in there and ended up losing 24-31 in the final minutes of the game. That night we stopped in North Platte and no one slept great. Increasingly we are feeling like driving straight through makes the most sense.

2023 :: week 46

November 12

This Sunday was our annual Primary Program. As usual, the kids were charming and the music was moving. I got to sit on the stand next to Elliott and his classmates because his teacher was out of town to attend her grandchildren’s primary program. I felt the spirit strongly while listening to the kids sing “I’ll Walk with You.” Elliott’s part was about how he felt on his baptism day. Miles’ part was about how he tries to be like Jesus by playing with new friends. Unfortunately he was struck with some stage fright and refused to deliver his line. We think he was a little thrown off because Anthony sat next to him at the Saturday practice session because his teacher had to be at work. When his teacher sat down next to him Sunday morning Miles was not pleased. Maybe next year he’ll feel a little bit more brave. 

November 13

I had a terrible migraine Monday and Tuesday, one of the worst I’ve had in months. I spent most of the day in the dark trying really hard to relax and not feel stressed about all I had planned to do to prepare for our upcoming trip. Thank goodness for audiobooks to pass the time, a supportive husband to pick up my slack, and kids that are great sports. Lauren and Will were very helpful entertaining their younger brothers while I was out of commission. 

November 14

Welcome to Miles’ card shop! Miles has claimed this area in our dining room and designated it his “card shop.” Here he displays some of his favorite treasures—Pokémon tins, stretch pennies, birthday party favors and his only Happy Meal toy—along with a rotating set up of baseball and Pokémon cards. He found a chair in our storage room, carried it up the stairs, wrote his name on a piece of paper and then taped the paper to the back of his chair too, just in case anyone was wondering who is the owner of all this stuff.

November 15

We are all very excited for our upcoming trip. I found this list Elliott made of items he was going to pack in his backpack. 

November 16

The older kids had a temple trip Thursday evening. The kids had a nice visit. Thankfully our piano teacher is so accommodating and was willing to reschedule their piano lessons so they could attend. 

November 17

Elliott’s current favorite book series is Big Nate. Most evenings he opts to read to himself while

Anthony or I read books with Miles. Elliott has turned into a real bookworm since the beginning of 2nd grade. 

November 18

Saturday morning we hit the road for our first Thanksgiving road trip. In the early years of our marriage we often travelled for Thanksgiving, but the last time we went somewhere was a trip to Boston in 2013. This summer we decided it might be fun to drive to Utah and spend the holiday with Anthony’s parents and Utah-based siblings. The kids get a full week off—9 days including weekends—which makes a 16.5 hour road trip feasible. To maximize our time, energy and enthusiasm we decided to drive straight through on the way out and divide the drive into two days on our way home. We hit the road around 7:15am CST and arrived in American Fork, UT, at 10:30pm MST. We made good time and had a pleasant drive.

2023 :: week 45

November 5

Lauren has been hard at work making Christmas gifts for family and friends. She finished up the green and white scarf after church and then got to work on the blue scarf. This is how much she knitted before we left to go to my parents house for dinner! 

November 6

Lauren really wanted to decorate for Thanksgiving, which we did Sunday afternoon. Miles was delighted to see the all the lollipops in the turkey, never mind the fact that I took most of them out of his bag of Halloween candy.

November 7

Lauren and Daphne have been spending time with Miles and Gabriel and their buddies at the park after school lately. All of the preschoolers enjoy the older girls' attention, especially Eleanor. The parents love it too, because the kids are in good hands with the veteran big sisters. 

November 8

I would be remiss if I didn't bring up the Taylor Swift / Travis Kelce romance. People of Kansas City are basking in the reflective glory of being part of this national story. Within DAYS of Taylor Swift first attending a Chiefs game (9/24) Hy-Vee and Etsy had many t-shirt option available for purchase. Talk about fast fashion! When Will and I were doing the NYT mini cross-word, one of the answers was "KELCE." We are fans of both Taylor and Travis so we are enjoying the moment. They're everywhere! It is kind of fun, but this level of obsession makes me a little apprehensive for the fallout.

November 9

Back in July Anthony promised Elliott monkey poo (no bake cookies) if he spoke in church with him when an assignment came up last minute. Elliott would occasionally bring it up, but often at a time when making it wasn't feasible. On Sunday we scheduled to make it Thursday evening. Elliott even wrote it on my weekly planner. After dinner while everyone watched the first two episodes of "The Santa Clauses" on Disney+, Anthony delivered on his promise and Elliott finally got his monkey poo. 

November 10

Miles is at an age where he really wants to "help" all the time. For the past few years it has been Elliott's job to put away the silverware, but Miles has decided it is his job now. 

November 11

On Saturday evening Anthony and I got together with Anthony's fellow psychometricians and their wives for dinner and games. Each couple contributed to the meal. Neil made delicious focaccia pizza, James brought salad and we brought Finnish blueberry pie. After dinner we played Monikers, a fun game that we had played different iterations of in the past. I took this photo while Anthony was in the middle of his "charades" round.

2023 :: week 44

October 29

Sunday Elliott was asked to give a talk with the prompt, "Bishops lead the ward as servants of God." We were told that he was picked to give that talk because he is the only kid in Senior Primary who's dad was once bishop, so he would have a unique perspective. He did a good job and is getting pretty good with the comedic delivery. 

October 30

I am going to substitute pictures from trick or treating Tuesday night for Monday's picture because Tuesday was an eventful day and Monday was a day of housekeeping. My dad is out of town for a few days and Monday evening we had dinner with my mom and then I stayed overnight with her. My mom and I watched a Hallmark Christmas movie together and chatted about what is going on in our lives. On Tuesday our four kids went trick or treating in three different groups. Anthony was feeling sick and so he stayed home and slept until Will and his friends left, then he got up to hand out candy. Lauren went trick or treating with a group of 6th grade girls. I took Elliott and Miles trick or treating with the Brainard, Svezia and Warren families. Everyone got a ton of candy!

October 31

Halloween 2023 will be a Halloween to remember, especially for Lauren. A boy in her class dressed up as Forrest Gump for Halloween and carried a box of chocolates as a prop for her costume. During their math class kids were asking for chocolates and he shared them. Lauren asked if the chocolates had peanuts in them and he looked at the label and confirmed that it did not. Unfortunately, she did not ask about hazelnuts. The chocolate she selected had a hazelnut cream center. She told me she knew right away it was bad, but was embarrassed and didn't know what to do so she just swallowed it. She told her teacher she needed to go to the nurse and the nurse called me. The nurse gave her zyrtec and waited a few minutes to see if that would calm things down, but it did not so she gave her a shot of epinephrine. I drove over as fast as I could and then took her to the ER at OVRMC. They kept her for observation for 2 hours, as is the protocol when someone is given epinephrine. She had hives all over her trunk (stomach and back) and was given benedryl for that. Other symptoms she experienced were stomach cramps, swollen lips, a strong tickle in throat that wouldn't go away, and itching all over. She ate the chocolate right before lunch and once things settled down, was quite hungry. The nurse let us order lunch. Since both of us were so hungry, we've discussed since how the burgers, fries and onion rings we got at the ER were some of the best we've ever tasted. The doctor prescribed a steroid she needs to take for the next 15 days and told me "if she rages, blame me." She was able to come home around the time school let out and was feeling up to trick or treating that night with her friends. The last time this happened was in June of 2015. Lauren is usually very careful about her allergies, but does use "peanuts" as a shorthand for saying she is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, sunflowers, etc., and knows she needs to be more specific in the future. We were so relieved that this ended up being something that resolved so quickly. 

November 1

Elliott has gotten very into football this year. He has me bring a football up to the park so he and his buddies can play. I signed him up for an instructional flag football league this winter so he can hopefully learn the actual rules of the game. Also, it was pajama day for his class, hence the pj's he is wearing in this picture.

November 2

Thursday evening we were quadruple booked. Lauren sang in the South Area choral festival with the combined elementary schools choir. Will was also at South, but at the football field, watching his fellow 8th graders at Indian Woods take on the 8th graders of Westridge. His buddy Knox plays for IW, and church friend Nate plays for Westridge. It was a close game, but Westridge came away victorious. Elliott had an activity day activity at the church--roasting s'mores and hotdogs at a firepit in the church parking lot. Then, after I took Lauren out for a post-concert Chick-fil-A milk shake I picked up Emily and headed to Sarah's for book club. Busy night! But we all had fun.

November 3

Miles likes to take pictures of himself on my phone. He was left to his own devices for about an hour Friday morning after the kids left for school because I was so tired I had to take a nap. It had been an exhausting week before I stayed out past midnight at book club. Anthony was still feeling sick so I made him an appointment with our primary care doctor in the afternoon. She confirmed the ear infection and sinus infection diagnosis from Saturday, and added pneumonia of the right lung to the list. She said it sounded like velcro when she was listening to him breathe with her stethoscope. She prescribed stronger antibiotics and an inhaler with steroids and within 24 hours Anthony had more energy than he had had in days.

November 4

Saturday afternoon Anthony took the kids to Collector's Cache. They were anxious to cash in on their good 1st quarter grades and get the free packs CC hands out for good grades. According to Will, Lauren pulled the best card available in the case of cards the packs came from. It's a rare Charizard EX which are pretty hard to get. The store employees told her the card was worth $60. She is weighing her options before she sells.

2023 :: week 43

October 22

Sunday we celebrated Lauren’s birthday after a dinner of fried chicken at Memaw & Pepaw’s house. These tuxedo cakes from Costco have become the birthday dessert of choice.

October 23

These trees in our neighborhood are so beautiful! On several occasions over the past week I have enjoyed looking at them. I noticed that they had red x's spray painted on them and discovered that they are set to be chopped down due to the emerald ash boer moving into the area. The city is cutting down approximately 2400 ash trees and then replanting one for each one cut. They have to be planted several feet away from the spot of the previous tree, and if there is not enough room they will plant the tree at a nearby park or greenspace. I hope they will be able to plant them along the street. I love driving along the tree-lined streets in our neighborhood.

October 24

Tuesday after preschool we made plans to meet Miles’ sunbeam classmate Leo at the park. Leo also attends preschool at the SMECEC. The rainy, cold front came in a bit earlier than we expected and because it was already raining by pick-up, we went to the indoor playground at Matt Ross instead. That was fine with Miles! He had a great time climbing and playing tag with Leo and his little brother while I chatted with his mom. 

October 25

We had SO MUCH RAIN this week! At the afterschool pickup I was hoping the Elliott would want to quickly walk home, but no. (Lauren stayed after for Student Council). Elliott got soaked going down the slide over and over with his friends. He was hooting and hollering and having the time of his life. Miles waited under the awning of the pool house while I collected him and made him come home. Having Nicholas over softened the blow of leaving.

October 26

Anthony spent the week in Colorado Springs at the conference. He stayed at the hotel, which he said was very posh. He sent me this picture of him and his fellow NCCT psychometricians  before they went out to dinner. Anthony wasn’t feeling great before he left and wasn't feeling any better after he returned home. He has had a persistent cough for at least a month. Don't worry, he tested for covid and it wasn't that. When he returned home on Saturday I made him an appointment at the CVS Care Spot where he was diagnosed with an ear infection. That was unexpected, but it was good to get him on some antibiotics.

October 26

Thursday after school Miles and I met Jill and Henry at the zoo. It rained in the morning which kept the crowds to a minimum and we were able to get tickets to visit the new aquarium. It was our first visit to the zoo since the aquarium opened at the beginning of September. We liked seeing all the sea life. I was excited to see a giant Pacific octopus after listening to the audiobook Remarkably Bright Creatures for book club this month. Seeing the baby sea horses getting rides from their parent was pretty fun too. 

October 28

Saturday was our ward's Trunk or Treat. We combined with Mill Creek, and it would have been great if the weather cooperated and we could have been outside. Unfortunately it was pouring rain and it was all moved indoors. Our gym is not meant to hold that many people. After the Truck or Treat Anthony and I headed downtown to see Took Kill a Mockingbird at the Music Hall. We enjoyed it! Though you could tell the dialogue had been written in modern times. I had a teacher say something to the effect that art tells you more about the time it was written than the time period in which it is set. That definitely felt true for this play. Richard Thomas, who played John Boy on the Waltons was Atticus Finch. The actress who played Mrs. Dubose (Mary Badham) was the actress who played Scout in the 1962 movie, which was fun.

2023 :: week 42

October 15

These two look so much alike. It's not just their features, but also how expressive they are, and the way they move. But their similarities don't end there. They also have kind hearts, and don't linger too long on disappointments or hold grudges. They both are positive and upbeat and are (usually) great company for watching sporting events.

October 16

We got the kids' school pictures back this week. The proofs we got from the middle school were much higher quality than the ones the middle school was sharing. (Miles' school takes pictures in January). This week I had parent-teacher conferences with both Lauren and Elliott's teachers. I left both meetings feeling so grateful for their amazing teachers, and also so humbled by the amazing people that Lauren and Elliott are becoming. Both teachers remarked about how well the kids get along with others, and that in both classes the teachers know they can count on our kids to work well with kids that are having a hard time. None of Will's teachers reached out to me about scheduling a conference, which means that he's not a problem at school. His grades are fabulous and he seems to really be thriving. Miles' teacher said he seemed so much more comfortable at school this year, that he is well liked by other kids and is even participating in their music time. (Last year he was a conscientious objector). It is so rewarding to hear such nice things about your kids.

October 17

This werewolf is on display at Hy-Vee, and it elicited the loudest scream I've heard from Miles in awhile while we were shopping this week.

October 18

Miles' is really enjoying the writing center at school this year. He writes letters and puts tons of stickers on paper. He is very proud of his creations and taken to displaying them on the freezer portion of our refrigerator. I am going to have to buy some stickers to send in to his classroom, because at the rate he is using stickers they will be out very soon.

October 19

Two weeks ago the primary boys made bottle rockets for their activity. This week they launched them at the park. Elliott was proud to come in second place for distance with his rocket. Andrew M. came in first, and Jay C. came in third. Miles attended the activity with Anthony and had a blast watching the rockets fly through the air. He is ready to go to Activity Days. Only 4 more years to go...

October 20

Friday the kids had no school. In the morning we had the Wilson boys over while Matt and Emily attended their conferences. That afternoon Memaw and Pepaw took Lauren on her birthday shopping trip to Target. She got a some great stuff--a sweater, Lizzie McGuire Funko pop, diamond art kit, and a few books. That night she played in a soccer game. She scored a goal and her team won 6-2. After the game Anthony and I went to a grown-up Halloween party thrown by the Toblers at the church. The highlight of the night was the double take the woman in the car next to us did when she saw Anthony driving with his Gru nose.

October 21

As has been the case for the past few years, Lauren's birthday has been busy! This year started off with standing in line with me at Nothing Bundt Cakes to win a coupon for 1 free bundlet a month for the upcoming year. Next, we went to the Allreds for their annual Halloween party, which was fun as always. In the evening she headed over to Cat & Sally's to hang out and get ready for the Taylor Swift Concert movie. The friends at the movie were Cat, Sally, Daphne, Brena, Hailey, Sofia, Ariana, Caroline and Maddie. Charlotte, Megan and Cinthya were the parental chaperones for the movie. The girls had fun singing along and dancing the night away. She got her new Stanley cup and Lulu Lemon belt bag just in time to take to the movies.

2023 :: week 41

October 8

Miles has gotten way better at writing his name! He has been able to write the M-I-L-E clearly for awhile now, but his S was all over the place. These doodle boards have been wonderful for church. I think a few of the kids are going to be receiving them for Christmas this year because we don't have enough to go around. 

October 9

Daphne, Cat and Sally came over for awhile after school. The older kids are very nice to Miles, so naturally he assumes he is part of the group when their friends come over. 

October 10

Elliott and I got cozy on the couch and read for a bit. I have had headaches off and on all week. It is starting to get dark earlier and earlier and in turn I am wanting to shut down for the night early too. Elliott has become a big reader this year, especially of graphic novels. He is devouring Dog Man and Big Nate books at a rapid pace. I made Will take this picture of us because we don't have very many pictures of me doing prosaic things with the kids, even though I do them all the time. 

October 11

It was a busy band week for Will. Wednesday night was the IWMS Fall Band concert in the middle school gym. Friday evening the 8th graders joined the SMS pep band and played at the football game. It was freezing! Anthony sat with the Crabbe's, who generously shared an extra blanket with him.

October 12

I took Lauren and Elliott the library after dinner. I wanted to pick up my next Lane Winslow book, and it had been awhile since either of them have been able to peruse the stacks. We found a book on display entitled, 100 Days of Lying About Lauren that we had to get. 

October 13

Will and Lauren helped spread mulch for Alex Bean's Eagle Scout project. The project was south of here and the leaders drove the kids down. Due to some miscommunication I ended up waiting at the church for over an hour for the kids to arrive, only for Will to get dropped off at our house and Lauren to go over to the Wright's house. I feel proud of myself for holding out giving my kids phones, but today is an example of when it would have been very nice to be able to contact them directly.

October 14

A few weeks ago Lauren spent a Saturday afternoon at her soccer teammate Kenzie's house. This week she spent a few hours at our house. 

2023 :: week 40

 

October 1

Our kids listen best when they are able to do something with their hands. Lauren worked on her knitting and the boys built with Legos while listening to General Conference. Sunday evening we had the families I minister over for dessert--the Mirandas, Winkes and Starnses. There were six boys under the age of 12 at our house. Miles and Elliott were in heaven!

October 2

We've spent the week binging the third season of Ruby and the Well on BYUtv. It is turning into our post-conference show. It is nice having a show the entire family can enjoy, though much of it goes over Miles' head at this point.

October 3

Anthony texted me this picture and asked, "how many psychometricians does it take to change a tire?" Apparently while he was taking a SME back to their hotel the tire popped and he had to replace it with the spare. His co-workers came and picked up the SME, then came back to the parking lot and helped him change the tire. That night we ordered a new set of tires from Costco. That car was due for new tires anyway. 

October 4

Lauren participated in her first Math Club competition of the year Wednesday. Math Club is popular at OPC, so kids only get to go to every other competition. Anthony left work early to watch her compete. 

October 5

Elliott and his buddy Eli write books together at school. Their protagonist is Penguie, a penguin. Eli is the author and Elliott is the illustrator, but they brainstorm ideas together. Eli's mom is a published author so writing is in his blood. His mom texted me a picture of Eli working at home, so we texted back a picture of Elliott and the finished illustrations.

October 6

Anthony and I wet to Union Station Friday evening to watch Nellie Don: The Musical. We first learned about Nellie Don when we did the Gangster Tour for TJ's 40th birthday. We went on a bit of a Nellie Don deep dive in the week after learned a lot about her. She really is a fascinating woman. When I saw that they had made her story into a musical I knew we had to see it. It was predictably cheesy, but we were entertained. We were also the only people in the theatre that weren't senior citizens. 

October 7

We participated in the Dunn Deal client appreciation festivities at the Louisberg Cider Mill Saturday (we go as guests of my parents). We ate delicious donuts, played in the corn crib, conquered the maze and jumped on the giant pillow. After that we had a busy afternoon complete with a birthday party (Elliott's friend Eli at Lenexa Rec Center Pool), two soccer games (Lauren's soccer team made it to the finals in their tournament before losing in the championship game) and dinner group (for mom and dad with the Beans and Naylors).