Happy Easter! We had many reasons to celebrate this week.
Monday was spent running errands, per usual. This was Mike's last week of the semester at PACE, which meant administering final exams the first two days and celebrations the other two.
Eliza had a riding lesson and taekwondo.
On Tuesday, E had some more riding time at Leslie's, and she and Hallie spent some quality time with the baby animals.
Landon has allergies (we think). He stayed home from school Tuesday and woke up with poofy eyes on Wednesday. Some allergy meds seem to have helped the situation.
Having finished their finals, Mike's students celebrated in their classes on Wednesday and as a school on Thursday.
Here are the girls on their way to E's BUH classes on Wednesday afternoon.
Eliza made the egg on the right and received the one on the left as a gift.
Kai went back to Brittany on Thursday. We'll see him back next week.
"Feed me" Friday morning blep.
Hallie's class had a visitor on Friday, a 36-year-old tortoise.
Between his morning and evening shifts on Monday, Mike received a phone call from the dean of U of Montana's College of Education inviting him to join their faculty. We took a couple of days to consider the offer seriously, and on Wednesday Mike called back to accept the offer. We're thrilled to get started on a new adventure. This one may be more complicated than others we have undertaken in the past, but bring it on! Mike's parents sent him his first T-shirt from his new workplace.
Wanna pink drink? Hallie and company will set you up! Thanks, Nevaeh!
On Saturday, Mike and Eliza returned to Provo for the "No Kings" Rally at the Provo City Hall. Among the many signs and placards on view, some alluded to themes resonant with LDS theology. Echoing a story from the Book of Mormon coupled with Paul Revere's midnight ride 250 years earlier, one read, "The Kingmen are Coming!" Another cited Doctrine and Covenants 98:10: "Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil." We feel strongly that the current administration is headed by a self-interested would-be despot who is not aligned with the Constitution, and it is heartening to see so many others whose views align with our own.
Signs of spring continue to abound in the neighborhood despite a surprise snowfall on Friday morning (which had all but melted by the evening).
Easter morning dawned bright and crisp. Eliza went downstairs for some TV time and ice cream. Mike captured this scene of her indulging in the moment.
Of the Easter holiday itself, Mike wrote the following reflection: "Over the past few years, my thoughts and beliefs on the risen Christ have evolved as my spiritual path has developed. What remains vital to me is a profound gratitude for the positive influence Christ’s teachings have had on me. I will be pleasantly surprised if there is a literal resurrection, but until then I’m determined to live this one life I know I have in a way that resonates with the best of what I have learned from Christ’s example as well as the examples and teachings of other holy individuals who inspire the best of what humans are capable of becoming. While I appreciate the esoteric on holidays such as Easter, my day-to-day life hinges on meaningfully applying lessons learned about bravery, kindness, and compassion in the face of oppression and evil. Christ is risen indeed, but as He is not yet present with us to teach us more, on this day I remember and try to live by the treasures He and the wisest among us have left behind in their passing."
Later in the day Hallie had to work, so Mike and the kids went to visit her there. Afterwards, Landon drove Mike around while Eliza followed on her bike. Dad found it a bit harrowing, but both kids had a blast.
We had dinner outside as the sun set. Spring is here in all its glory, and we're going to soak it in! Also, Fergus says hi.
