2018 :: week 40

September 23

Sunday I got a substitute for nursery and drove to the stake center to get my temple recommend interview with a member of the Stake Presidency. When we got home I harvested a handful of cherry tomatoes from our garden. Our garden did not produce well this year due to the dry, hot temperatures we got in June and July. We've had more rain these past few weeks and we are finally getting a few.

September 24

Monday morning I went to the school district office to get fingerprinted. The school district implemented a new policy that requires all parents/adults that want to volunteer at the school or participate in school sponsored events (such as field trips or class parties) attend a training regarding appropriate behavior and submit to a background check. Part of the background check involves getting fingerprinted. To maintain control the district requires you to get fingerprinted in their office, which only has the capacity to fingerprint one person at a time. It takes approximately 5-10 minutes per person. The district only offers the service for about 15 hours a week on two days. On the days that fingerprinting is available parents end up waiting hours. In my opinion it has been a real boondoggle. We had to wait about 2.5 hours, but luckily a few fellow OPC moms were also there waiting to get fingerprinted too, which made the time pass much more pleasantly. Later in the week the school district approved an alternative way to provide training and background checks that doesn't involve fingerprinting at the district office. Of course! After school we played at the park, as usual. I enjoy watching my kids interact with their friends. Here Lauren was leading her friends in a game of some sort. She has some real leadership qualities. On Thursday I will join her class on their field trip to the Louisberg Cider Mill--the reason I spent almost three hours at the district office that morning.

September 25

Lauren practiced her spelling words via Spelling City Tuesday evening while I tidied up from dinner. As I looked over and watched her study I felt like I was playing house. Every once in awhile I have these moments where it is hard to believe I am actually a mom and I am responsible for the well being of other human beings. My life is far from perfect, but I feel very grateful for the simple moments like this.
 

September 26

Lauren had soccer practice Wednesday night. It was much cooler than last week, which made it much more pleasant. I love watching the girl's line up and do their drills each week.

September 27

Thursday I went to the Louisberg Cider Mill with the OPC first graders. Every time I go on a field trip I am reminded that elementary school teachers are vastly underpaid. The kids were pretty good, but it is a lot of work to keep 20+ 6 and 7 year olds entertained and on task. I have been on the tour a few times before, but it is always fun to see the way the apples are cleaned and then pressed into cider and to watch the doughnut making process. After we ate our doughnuts and drank our cider we rode on the tractor trailer to the play area. The kids ate a quick lunch and then jumped on the giant pillow and played in the giant bed of corn.

September 28

Practicing spelling with my kids is not my favorite thing to do. I'd much rather read with them. Spelling comes easily to Will, so I haven't had to do as much with him over the years, but Lauren needs a little more guidance. This week was the third week of both kids got all of their words correct! Spelling seems to be helping Lauren read better too.

September 29

Saturday morning was cool and a little damp. While Anthony and I debated whether or not it was worth it to go to the parade, Elliott kept asking when we were going to the parade. We decided to go for it and I am glad we did. Even though it was 48 degrees when we left the house, it warmed up quite a bit as soon as the clouds blew past and we had a great time. The last few years when we went to the Overland Park Fall Festival were hot! It's an election year so there was A LOT of candy. Elliott--and the other kids too--were in absolute heaven.

2018 :: week 39

September 16

Laura wanted to visit the sunflower field while her and Trevor were in town. Sunday evening we drove them to Grinter Farms and explored for a little while. The sunflowers were a little past their prime, but were still pretty magical. The kids were pleased to find hundreds of caterpillars.

September 17

Lauren had a Girl Scout meeting Monday evening. She has a new leader this year that is doing a great job. The girls talked about respecting the environment and ways to take care of the earth. They went on a quick nature walk and picked up some trash on a trail and talked about things they can do to make the earth a better place. Lauren said she'd "pick up the trash her brothers throw on the ground." I'm not sure her brothers actually throw that much trash on the ground, but the answer was a little more creative than the "I won't throw my trash on the ground," answer that most of the other girls gave.

September 18

Everyday after school Will, Lauren and now Elliott ask me for playdates. We are lucky the kids have so many friends that live close by, but sometimes I find it overwhelming. The hardest part is trying to juggle who gets to have a friend over each day with what evening activities we have going on and who has to go to them. Knox is Will's good buddy and they are in the same class again this year so he is a regular guest in our home.

September 19

Wednesday was hot, hot, hot! I think it ended up being 91 degrees. We had to get Lauren to soccer practice fifteen minutes early for team pictures and it was a stressful endeavor. I'm not proud of how I let my frustrations get the better of me. I'm grateful to have such patient and forgiving kids. After getting their pictures taken the girls worked hard for an hour. I'm impressed with how much they improve each week.

September 20

Elliott had a playdate with his buddy Nicholas Thursday morning. Those boys get along so well, it makes me happy. After the playdate we stopped at Target to pick up a few things. Shopping with Elliott can be fun. It can also be a drag, but today it was fun. The dollar spot had a lot of Halloween items that we enjoyed testing out.

September 21

Friday evening we went to the Shawnee Mission South homecoming football game and pregame festivities. There were carnival games were the kids earned candy, tatoo and cans of soda for prizes. We were able to meet up with a few of Will's friends--Trevor and Jason--to sit with at the game. Lauren, Elliott and I left after the first quarter. After Anthony and Will got home Anthony and I dragged our three superfluous couches to the curb. Saturday was large item pick-up and I was too cheap to pay to throw the couches individually at the dump.

September 22

Saturday was jammed packed. We started the day at the Ernie Miller Nature Center for a Cub Scout hike. Then we drove to the Louisburg Cidermill for a Customer Appreciation Event put on by my mom's Realtor. In the afternoon my dad helped Anthony replace our garbage disposal. Then we went to the Wilson's to sing Happy Birthday to Mikey and eat cake. After the party we drove to the West Bottoms to shoot our annual family photos. We rounded off the day with Chick-fil-A for dinner. It was a fun, but very full Saturday.

2018 :: week 38

September 9

Lauren had a big day in primary. She was assigned to read the 5th Article of Faith and did it mostly without help! Then she got to dress up as King Benjamin during their sharing time lesson about how the prophets teach us how to serve others. Aunt Emily is in the primary presidency and she makes sharing time extra fun.

September 10

Elliott graduated to a "big boy bed" Monday night. I found a good deal on a toddler bed on facebook marketplace and we picked it up as soon as Tony got home from work. Elliott was so proud of his new bed. Unfortunately we could not find the allen wrench that came with the crib to take it apart so the bed was wedged in his room for a few days. This was very frustrating to me because I have kept it in the same place since we got the crib for Will eight years ago and I spent a lot of time searching for it. Oh well.

September 11

Elliott and I took advantage of the nice weather and walked to the library Tuesday morning. Storytime has started up again and we plan on attending regularly. Elliott didn't participate much until the parachute came out, then he was all in.

September 12

 Wednesday morning Emily had Elliott over to play with Tyler and I ran a few errands. As we attempted to return home around noon we were stopped as about twenty police cars and officers surrounded our block. Apparently one of our neighbor's adult sons was involved in a hit-and-run with the mother's car and then engaged in a stand-off with police. He has struggled with alcoholism and was apprehended without force, but we were not allowed to return home for about two hours. The interactions we have had with him throughout the years have been benign. When Anthony and I were speculating about who or what was going on neither of us suspected him. We had good talks with the kids about how drinking alcohol makes it hard for you to make good choices and can ruin your life.

September 13

Aunt Laura and Uncle Trevor came to town and we went to a Royals game on Thursday evening in their honor. The weather was gorgeous and we arrived early enough to spend some time at the Little K, carousel and playground. Because it was a school night we left early, and of course all the exiting plays came from the Royals while we were listening on the radio on our way home. It's always a gamble staying out late on a school night, and we were pleasantly surprised by how well all three children behaved, both that night and the next morning.

September 14

The older kids had an early release day and Aunt Laura and Uncle Trevor came over to play with the kids for a bit. By this point in the week it was hot, hot, hot again, making the shaded trampoline the only bearable outside play space. Laura wowed the kids we a few trampoline tricks and Trevor engaged in a tickle war. That evening TJ took Will to an Olathe East football game that some youth in our ward were playing in while Lauren, Elliott and I had a movie night.

September 15

Saturday ended up being a very busy day! Anthony spent several hours at the temple with a couple receiving their endowments and then getting sealed together. Will had a birthday party that overlapped with Lauren's soccer game. Then in the evening we had a block party and meet up with the Crane family at the River Market. There was barely enough time for to watch the BYU game! The block party was great! We feel so blessed to have such great, family friendly neighbors who genuinely look out for each other. There was lots of great food shared by all. In addition to this driveway full of people eating, our driveway was full of kids playing basketball and drawing with chalk.

2018 :: week 34

August 12

Sunday evening we went for a walk after dinner and before bed. We ended up at the school playground so Lauren could work on the monkey bars for a few minutes. While we were there a man that was watching his son's soccer practice told the kids they could take a ride in his toy electric car. Our neighbor Blaise was also at the park and so the two of them took a ride around the blacktop together. Elliott was a surprisingly good driver and he and Blaise seemed to really enjoy their joyride. They just needed a little help--strength--the turn the wheel.

August 13

Monday night we finished FHE with a round of UNO. It was the kid's first full day of school and everyone was a little bit tired.

August 14

I took Elliott to his 3-year check up Tuesday morning. He's still our small little guy--almost 35" tall and 28 pounds. We read our Daniel Tiger Goes to the Doctor book before we went to his check up, and then again a few times in the afternoon.  I spent the rest of the day packing, cleaning and otherwise getting ready for our big trip!

August 15

Wednesday Anthony and I got up before the sun to head to the airport. We flew to Boston to meet up with his parents and then together flew to Finland together! Ever since he returned home from his mission Anthony has wanted to go back. Last year, his parents invited us to go with them and we--mostly Anthony and his mom--have spent the past year planning. It was a long day of traveling. We left KC at 7am Central Time Wednesday morning and didn't arrive in Helsinki until 4pm Thursday afternoon (we lost 8 hours).

August 16

Anthony got right to business when we arrived at our Airbnb in Helsinki Thursday evening. After grocery shopping and dinner he turned the sauna as hot as he could stand and got in. I was exhausted and went to bed. None of us got much sleep on the red eye flight, and then we got delayed a few hours in Amsterdam so I was ready to lay my head down. We all went to sleep relatively early, and were all up and ready to go for the day around 4am. Jet lag is a funny thing.

August 17

We spent our first day as tourists in Tallin, Estonia. We took the two hour ferry ride from Helsinki to Tallin early Friday morning, and after a brisk walk from the port to the old city made it in time for the free guided tour. The tour was excellent and I learned a lot about the history of a country I previously knew very little about. The old city is a fairly well preserved medieval city, I felt like we were walking through the world of a fairy tale. The cobblestone streets and old building, churches and castles were what I would envision the world of Cinderella to look like. We logged a lot of steps this day and I slept great that night.

August 18

Saturday we woke up, packed our bags and picked up a rental car. We drove from Helsinki to Turku. Anthony spent 13 months of his mission in the wards in Turku and visiting was a must. On our way we stopped at the temple in Espoo. When he was on his mission the temple had been announced, but not yet built. It was dedicated shortly after we got married in 2006. While we were on the temple grounds Anthony ran into a few people he knew and ended up visiting with them for close to an hour. We then drove for approximately two hours. I had planned on watching the beautiful countryside, but was so tired I slept most of the drive. In the afternoon we toured the Turku Castle. While we were trying to find a place to park so we could eat dinner and get groceries the bishop of the Turku ward saw Tony and yelled hello!

2018 :: week 33

August 5

Will and Lauren drew several pictures of our family during Sacrament meeting. This picture made me smile because I think I look like Peppermint Patty from Peanuts. Will has been learning to write in cursive and now Lauren is trying to as well.

August 6

It's hard to believe we made it to the last week of summer! And it's not even a full week--the kids start school Friday! On Monday Will's friend Knox spent the day with us. In the afternoon we went to the pool and the boys had fun playing catch, swimming and jumping of the diving board in tandem. They are great friends, even though they are mismatched in their sizes. Knox is the tallest kid in their grade and Will is one of the shortest. Knox wears a size 5 shoe and Will wears 13 kids. But they both love basketball, Pokemon and Legos so it works out just fine.

August 7

Tuesday morning we found out who the kids' teachers were going to be and that night was the PTA Icebreaker. We dropped off their supplies, met their teachers, said hi to old friends and paid various dues and fees. Each of the kids got a shave ice. The building was HOT! After we finished we hurried home to change and fit in a quick trip to the pool. Because most of the kids in the neighborhood were at the school we had the pool almost to ourselves. It was a peaceful way to end the night. I have reached the point of summer where I am starting to get sad that it is ending.

August 8

Wednesday we went to the zoo with the Throssells. The kids were bummed when we recently went to the zoo and didn't get to ride the Ski Safari. We wanted to do a trip where we rode all the rides, but it was hot and our time was still a bit limited. This trip was notable because Lauren finally got up the courage to pet the rays and sharks in the new Sting Ray Bay that was opened a few months ago. That evening Lauren had her first soccer practice of the season and Will had his first Cub Scout activity since June. Fall activities have begun!

August 9

Elliott makes me smile every single day! I had a bit of a headache Thursday and tried to stay in bed a little longer than usual. Elliott ran into my room, slammed the door and told me he would keep the big kids out so I could sleep. It was a noble idea, but he was so loud and chatty any thought of additional sleep was quickly forgotten.

August 10

First day of school! I will never understand why our school district insists on starting the school year with a half day on a Friday, but this is the third year in a row where that has been the case. I'm holding out hope for a slightly later in the month but earlier in the week start date next year. Both of the kids' teachers are new to the school this year. Will started third grade with Ms. Shelton. Lauren started first grade with Ms. Barnett. Elliott was willing to go to whatever class would take him, though he told a few people that asked that he was in "fourth grade" as he held up two fingers.

August 11

On Saturday we celebrated Elliott's third birthday with friends at the pool. We invited a few of Elliott's buddies and their families to join us for swimming, pizza and cupcakes. We had a great time! Nicholas and the Ule family, Kendall and the Throssell family, Blaise and the Mansingh family and Tyler and the Wilson family all came to help us celebrate. Elliott is a bright light in our family. Everyone adores him. He has a special charisma about him and draws people to him with his big eyes and easy smile.

2018 :: week 32

July 29

Sunday morning was wonderful! It was a fifth Sunday and Anthony didn't have his full slew of meetings. Since he was home later than normal I was able to go for a walk with the boys. It had rained during the night and there were a few puddles. Elliott is a big fan of puddles. 

July 30

Monday we went to Science City and brought Will's buddy Porter along with us. We got there right when it opened, which was great because it got crowded as the day went on. 

July 31

Tuesday morning we went to the Arboretum and had a great time! All three kids were fascinated by the turtles sunning themselves in the lake. We walked around the lake, took a short hike, spent a long time in the Train Garden and ran into a few friends. I think I will be going back during the school year with Elliott so he can watch the trains to his heart's content. His older siblings were not as into them as he was.

August 1

I love these sweet kiddos. As we were getting ready for bed I was overcome with gratitude for my little crew. We have had a fun summer and I have really enjoyed the time together this summer.

August 2

We went to the zoo for the first time in months on Thursday with our neighbors (Renee, Blaise and Luke). Being that we had a 1 year old, 2 year old and 3 year old in our party, we weren't able to do everything the older kids wanted to do. I promised to take them again next week. One of the highlights was the very active female white cheeked Gibbon. Apparently she is very territorial and does not like people with blonde hair standing too close to the glass. She whooped and hollered and banged against the glass. It was fun to see!

August 3

Friday evening we went to the Loose Park splash pad. It wasn't very crowded and the kids had the run of the place. On our way home we picked up dinner at Chipotle, then paid a quick visit to the neighborhood pool. The kids played in the pool with Anthony and I sat on the side and read my book. It was a quintessential summer evening.

August 4

Friday morning Emily and I went on a sister date in honor of her birthday next week. We went down to the visit the antique shops in the West Bottoms. Real life Flea Market Flip. We had a fun time talking and browsing and knowing we weren't annoying our husbands. It was fun getting together just the two of us. Usually we are surrounded by children. :) In the afternoon we went to a joint birthday party at the splash park for two little boys in our ward. The kids had a great time running around and eating ice cream. In the evening we watched the Wilson boys so Matt and Emily could go out for a birthday date.

2018 :: week 31

July 22

Sunday evening we went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous night and it felt good to get out and really enjoy being outside.

July 23

Monday evening we went out to dinner at Pie 5. On Mondays you can get a personal pizza for $5.55. We ordered four, though learned that three is probably sufficient for our crew. The kids like the carbonara pizza, I like to build my own with ranch sauce, and Anthony likes the meatlovers. After dinner went went to Young's Pool again. The community center is working on the indoor pool filtration system and all water aerobics classes are outdoors for the next three weeks. I worked out while Anthony kept tabs on the kids. It was a fun night.

July 24

Elliott adores our neighbor's cat Max. And lucky for him our neighbor Jan adores Elliott. If Elliott goes outside and sees Max he will wander over and make himself at home. If Jan sees him she will bring out a bag of fruit snacks for him and whatever other kids are around. Unfortunately, Max is getting old and has a variety of health problems, the most troubling being that has been losing weight. I'm not a cat person, but Max is pretty sweet and so gentle with my kids. I will miss him when he dies. Elliott tries to feed him grass and leaves, and is usually unsuccessful.

July 25

Wednesday morning we drove to Lee's Summitt to check out the new splash pad at the Lea McKeighan park. Several friends posted about it on facebook and I figured it was worth a trip. We met the Throssells and the park and had a fun morning. We all agreed it is the best splash park in the area. It is fenced in, with lots of covered seating for parents and a neat fenced-in playground right next to it. The playground has a lot of climbing structures, zipline and musical instruments. All three John kids had a blast! The only downside is that it is so far away. It is worth the occasional drive, but with at least twenty minutes of driving each way it won't be a weekly thing.

July 26

Thursday morning we all slept in a little bit due to overcast skies. By mid-morning it was raining. The older kids played Legos for a few hours and even let Elliott join in. At noon we headed to the $1 movie of the week--Paddington 2. It was really good! I was pleasantly surprised. We stopped at the Dollar Tree on the way to pick up treats. Will and Lauren got gummy worms, Elliott got Mini Oreos and I got Kit Kats.

July 27

Friday evening we went to the pool. It was a cool evening for the pool, but we had fun visiting with friends.

July 28

Will spent many hours playing with our neighbor Curran this week. Curran is a few years younger than Will, but they have a lot in common. They will play catch for hours, pitch to each other and explore in our backyard. It's fun to see them together. We met for lunch at the Mansing's house to celebrate Blaise's birthday.

2018 :: week 30

July 15

Nursery was a little crazy Sunday. We had a full house with nine kids! We have to take the table down and lay it flat on the floor as soon as we finish snack time because we have too many climbers. Otherwise they either climb on the assembled table or try to knock over the disassembled table leaned against the wall. After church we had a meeting with all of the newly called nursery workers. We will now have teams of two coming in once a month, with Shannon and I coming in every other week and as needed. We will see how this rotation turns out.

July 16

Monday was busy, but it was a great start to the week! I got up early to go for a walk and started the laundry. I put the last load in the dryer right before we left to meet up with a great group of friends at the Splash Pad. I had fun talking to my friends and the kids had fun playing with theirs. That afternoon we folded laundry, took Will to piano lessons and went to the pool for our FHE activity. I love it when we start the week of on a high note.

July 17

Tuesday was overcast and we met the Ules for a $1 summer movie. We watched Ferdinand. It was pretty good, but Elliott and I had to take a walk in the middle of the movie to get him refocused. It's hard for a little guy to sit still for two hours. Luckily the theater wasn't crowded and we were able to get some wiggles out on the side aisles without bothering others.

July 18

Lauren, Will and Will's friend Landon started their 3 day art camp at the Kemper Museum Wednesday. Will and Landon attended together last year.  Last year they raised the age from 5 to 6, so Lauren had been anxiously waiting for her turn to go. The theme of the week was miniatures, and at the end of the week they came home with a shoebox sized "studio" of the work they created.
While they were at art camp Elliott and went shopping for school supplies. I let the kids help pick out backpacks and lunch boxes, but have found it is so much easier to buy school supplies without their input.

July 19

We signed Lauren up for a few sessions of "tutoring" with her kindergarten teacher this summer. She meets Ms. Ringgenberg and a few classmates once a week for five weeks to work on sight words, reading and math. I am working on the same things with her at home, but thought it might be a good idea to have her teacher (whom Lauren adores) reinforce the things we are working on. Lauren has loved it and the fact that they meet at the library (an approximately three minute drive from our home) has made it worth the cost.

July 20

Swimming after art camp! The best part about art camp has been playdates with Landon every day after they get home. They played at our house one day, Landon's house another and the pool the next!

July 21

Saturday was a busy day! In the morning it was our turn to clean the chapel. Then I went out to brunch at a restaurant opened by a family that has been investigating the church for the past year with some girls from the ward. While I was gone Anthony and the kids did some household chores and also figured out how to unlock our bathroom door from the outside (it had accidentally gotten locked the night before and it has a different type of lock than the rest of our door knobs). I took a meal to a family in the ward and we dropped it off on our way to the pool. It was our first visit to Young's Pool this year and it did not disappoint! The Throssell's were there, which made it extra fun. Will got to ride down both slides, Lauren rode down the twisty one twice and the both used the high dive. Due to updated state regulations, Young's is the only Overland Park pool with a high dive. Elliott loved the whale slide that is just a little bit taller and faster than the hippo at Bluejacket.