2026, January 12-18

Another full week has gone by. Be prepared for lots of pet pics. Hallie is getting back into the classroom starting next week. 

Eliza continues her new school with Limitless: The Arena. We think she likes it and is motivated to do her work. Here she is reading from The Candy Bombers, a text our neighbor Lisa gave her a little while ago and that E is using as part of her reading curriculum.  

Fergus says hi. He's not winking; his right eye has an occasional problem. 

While E was doing schoolwork, Ferg decided to insinuate himself into the lesson. Happiness is a warm lap. Thing is, Hallie was sitting right next to E with a blanket on. The cat could have gone over there too. 

Mike was feeling (as) photogenic (as he ever feels, which is rarely), so he took a new profile pic at the office. Classes start in earnest next week. He has one in-person and some other online courses this semester. 

Diamond asked Hallie what she was doing, and Hallie responded with a selfie, saying, "I'm working at Starbucks!" Diamond has been recovering from her surgery, slowly but surely. The health insurance system can be a challenge when the company changes providers at the beginning of the year. 

Cozy Fergus was zonked out mid week all snug and cuddly. 

Landon was also zonked out. He was not so snug and cuddly. 

His friend had come over to visit and work on their business project. Instead, Al Bundy Landon dozed while Deacon watched YouTube videos of the Outdoor Guy. 

Fergus seemed curious about the other sleeper. 

Mike will walk up and down and all around his building most days, and sometimes he comes across interesting sights. The picture is a little hard to see, but a pigeon slammed into an upper story plate glass window on the building's south side. Got the dust knocked right off the poor thing. Apparently, it did not survive, as evidenced by the bird corpse on the balcony below. 

Hallie follows an Australian guy named Christian Hull on Instagram. He collects miniature blind boxes called ADLI Mini Collectables. After opening at least a hundred small packets, he finally completed his collection.  

Kai had been gone for a few days but came back this week. 

Hallie successfully applied for a new job in Provo School District and had orientation on Friday. Earlier in the week, she and Eliza went on a shopping trip to Old Navy to get some new work clothes and then to Five Below. Eliza saw this shirt for Kai that she thought would match his Christmas chew toy. 

Fergus seems to be back to his hunterly habits. Hallie chose not to investigate and identify what the cat caught here. 

Hallie was trapped by two warm bodies later in the day. 

"What? You think you're going to move or something?"

On Saturday, Hallie and the kids joined Natalie, Josh, and some family and friends to celebrate Josh's birthday at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. 

Eliza went over to take Kohar's dogs out to potty and took this picture of "fat" Ruben. Him's not fat; him's just fluffy.

And as parting shots, here are two pets on blankets . . .

. . . and pigs in a blanket that Landon made. He's building a skills set for when he's out on his own, which will be sooner than any of us want. 

 

2026, January 5-11

This was our last week of nearly a month with everyone together in Springville.

Eliza took some of the money she earned from the sale of Leslie's pony and bought art materials, including embroidery floss to make bracelets. 

Fergus seems fully recovered from his surgery. We even let him get some time outdoors this week. While some chillier temperatures came in toward the end of the week, this has been an atypically warm and dry several weeks. 

We had a few Japanese-themed goings on, including the purchase of accessories for Hallie's fake Labubu, a Hello Kitty pendent, and a family trip to Hana Mart (a self-described "family-run conbini" in Provo), where we had onigiri and bento lunches.  

Landon must have had a long day that day, because he conked out at around 7:00, which is something we never see him do. 

The boy has been letting his hair grow long. A few days not washing it, and he gets this. 

He and some friends are looking into several entrepreneurial ventures. The photo below could be their HP garage moment. 

We had to take Mike to the airport Sunday to get his car for the long drive back up to Missoula. He made it there safely and in good time. It's a strange feeling to miss being with everyone back in Springville while enjoying being back in his now-familiar university setting. 

Back at home, Eliza had Fergus make his mark on a stamp ornament Hallie had gotten for him and Kai. We didn't get a picture, but Kai got a haircut before going back to Brittany's for a few days.  

Eliza always surprises us with her adventures. Sunday night was no different when she heard and saw a cat in a storm drain while walking the neighbor's dog. Eliza called Hallie and Landon to come and help. Possibly with all of the commotion the cat hid, because when they got down there, no one could see or hear the cat. Eliza even found two metal poles to help Landon pry the grate off, but all it did was bend the pole. We hope the cat will find help soon.

  

2025, December 29 - 2026, January 4

Here we go 'round the calendar again, another year gone by with a new year started.

Fergus continued recuperating. He wouldn't quit licking, so he had to wear his cone and be supervised until having his suture removed.  Mike and Hallie had a few late nights to make sure Fergus was successful.

On Monday, Hallie, her mom, and her sister went to have a spa treatment. Korean facials were a hit!

Eliza has spent time doing art and expressing herself. At the end of the year due to an end in her current insurance coverage, we had to unenroll her from Summit. We're in an unusual spot in that regard. When Mike was unemployed full time with benefits, the kids qualified for different insurance. Now we're in limbo until the Montana University System kicks in once we jump through the hoops of getting everyone onboarded. 

Mike finally relented and let Ferg go without the cone. He only licked occasionally. Now he gets to stay indoors for the next several days.

He stayed with the cat while everyone else went to Gma and Gpa M's to celebrate Dwight's birthday.

The morning of the last day of the year dawned sunny. The neighborhood flock of starlings were out in force as we walked the dog. 

In the evening, a few neighbors set off fireworks. Kai wasn't a fan. 

Ferg seemed to be over the need to lick his wounds by the end of the year. 

New Year's Day dawned rainy. Drops clung to the naked twigs on the tree branches. 

We didn't do a whole lot other than some cleaning, packing, working, and taking down Christmas decorations. Eliza decided to do a solo run to DI and the library on Saturday, bringing home a sewing machine on her bike. That girl! Super independent and resourceful. Ferg decided he wanted to be involved in her project, which consisted in repurposing some of the fabric from the kimono she bought in Tokyo to make a bag. 

Hallie spent a few hours each day at the end of the week at Starbucks. We are grateful to Starbucks/Smith's for being able to give Hallie hours to work while Mike has been in town.