A Cold? Allergies? Whatever It Is, We're All Miserable

We’ve been under the weather this week, so we didn’t do a whole lot. We’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Monday daytime: 

The future's so bright, she's gotta [insert 80's music reference here].

You can't tell from the photo, but Landon has now learned to stop closing the van's sliding door.

Monday night:

Mike attended Wayne State's commencement exercises at Ford Field. Here's the view from the visiting team's tunnel as we began the processional. 

 

Proud students, their families and professors, with some of us right on the 50 yard line!

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Saturday morning:

Saturday evening:

Grosse Pointe Clampets with popsicles after a BBQ.

Sunday, Mother's Day:

We bought this cement stepping stone last year. Only took us 12 months to do something with it. . . .

Sweet angel! 

Hungry helper!

We love our moms and grandmas so much! Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to help us grow.

Fun Finds on the West Side of Town

After much deliberation, we decided to enroll Landon in the half-day kindergarten program offered at our school district for the coming fall. He’ll be an “early 5” with his birthday so late in the year, but we figure if he needs another year we can place him in the full-day program next year. We have given serious thought to options ranging from home school to virtual school to private school, and we’re still not settled on which direction we’ll finally take. It will all depend on what we feel is best for him and Eliza down the road.

On Wednesday, Hallie took the kids out to the TreeHouse in Chelsea.

Thursday brought a treat in the mail. Kira had gone to Europe and brought the kids a couple of T-shirts from her travels:  

French Kiss from Eliza

Our little Dutch Boy

On Friday, Hallie and Jen attended the Michigan International Women’s Show at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. She brought home lots of goodies. Meanwhile, Priscilia helped out around the house while Mike worked. When he came home for lunch, he, Landon, and Priscilia played Wii Bowling. In a nail-biter of a finish that came down to the very last frame, . . .

Landon won. Again. In fact, he now holds the high score in our home. Priscilia put it best when she reminded Mike that between adults and a four-year-old it should never have been close. However, he did set the record, and 180 is hard for even an adult to reach. Mike chalks it up to the child’s prodigious athletic skills.

The children put their skills on display earlier in the week when both showed the grown-ups how to do flips and cartwheels.

Like Landon, Eliza appears to have no fear of heights or movement. The two of them ride, slide, and swing like little monkeys at the local school’s playground.

Cinco de Mayo Saturday started early with Mariachi and Tejano music on the radio and a bit of LEGO tightrope walking courtesy of a book we received a little while back from Grandpa O.

We improvised with the materials we had on hand. If you look closely at the minifig, you may notice he looks like someone you might know.

Following our contraption adventure, we went to music class at the MSU Detroit Center. Here’s a taste of what goes on during our hour there:

"We are piRATES! We are piRATES! We are piRATES! ARR!"

Dancing a salsa for Cinco de Mayo

Waiting their turn to strum the guitar

We then headed out to Northville to the Guernsey Farms Dairy for some light lunch and homemade ice cream. Mom had a scoop of Mackinac peanut butter fudge, Landon and Eliza shared a dirt pile (chocolate ice cream, gummy worm, Oreo cookie crumbs, and crushed M&M's), and Dad indulged in some McGuire's Irish mint cream.

M'mm! Dirt!

We ended our day out with the coin operated oddities at Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills.

The museum is listed in the World Almanac’s 100 most unusual museums in the US. To say the place is a trip would be putting it mildly.

The owner, Marvin Yagoda, cites P. T. Barnum and Walt Disney as sources of inspiration.

Landon has done a great job at therapy this week, so he earned himself a surprise:

In our house, the handsome princes work for a living. Time to slay dragons and rescue damsels! 

Make Sis. Evans' Day: Send Her Mail!

Some of our favorite memories as missionaries were receiving mail. Now that Sister Evans is in the Missionary Training Center, we're sure she would appreciate hearing from you. If you know her, you can catch her up on all your activities. If you don't know her, you can strike up a friendship with a remarkable young lady. You never know what you might gain from the experience!

Mike has many memories of sharing his mission with family and friends. His mom would write about the antics of the house pets and people in his home town, and Mike would share his observations and growing appreciation for Argentina. Her witty observations and anecdotes were a big hit both with him and his roommates in the missionfield. Mike's sister Emily mentioned to the grandma of another student in her class at school that her brother was serving his mission far away. She gave this nice lady Mike's mission address, and for the next two years Mike and Mrs. Williams (who, incidentally, is not a member of our faith--you don't have to be a member to write a missionary) shared a long-distance correspondence that Mike will always remember. Hallie enjoyed getting to know members of her congregation who helped keep her motivated while she served in Atlantic Canada.

If you have ever wondered what it's like to be a missionary from the missionary's perspective, now's your chance. If you feel like lending someone far from home and family some moral support, here's your opportunity!

You can reach Sis. Evans at the following addresses:

While she's at the MTC (May 2-May 22)
Sister Diamond Lacrista Evans
MTC Mailbox #146
DC-South 0523
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

In the missionfield (May 23, 2012-November 23, 2013)
Sister Diamond Lacrista Evans
Washington DC South Mission
5242 Lyngate Ct
Burke, VA 22015

By email: diamond.evans(at)myldsmail.net

Last Minute Mission Preparations and Grand Days Out for Kids

Mike and Landon went to see the Tigers play the Mariners at Comerica Park on Thursday. Landon lasted longer than last time. The weather was a bit chilly, but he was so excited to show off his Tigers T-shirt that he insisted on taking off his jacket. Good thing he’s so warm blooded!

After the game, he accompanied Dad to one of Dad’s work locations before they came back home so Mike and Hallie could take Diamond to Bloomfield Hills. On their way to the stake center they had dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Troy. Diamond (now Sis. Evans) was set apart as a missionary to serve for 18 months in the Washington, DC South Mission (basically suburban DC, western Maryland, and eastern Virginia), and then she received her own endowment at the Detroit Temple. Hallie took her to the airport on Friday morning for her flight to Salt Lake, where she will stay with the family of a former SVU roommate until she enters the Provo Missionary Training Center next Wednesday.

Hallie and Mike aren’t quite old enough to have a daughter Sis. Evans’ age, but we got a small flavor of the sense of pride and accomplishment parents must feel seeing their child making choices that will set them on a positive life path. Sis. Evans has worked hard to get where she is, and we know she will experience a lot of personal and spiritual growth as she continues to work hard as a missionary. For all our scurrying around to help her get ready to go, we never took any pictures! Thanks to everyone who has and will chip in to send her on her way.

Sis. Diamond Evans

After Hallie sent Sis. Evans on her way, she came back home to pick up Landon for a Mom’s club gymnastics day out at Cutting Edge Athletics in Clinton Township.

On Saturday morning, we joined Sara, Jason, and Chase at Greenfield Village for the annual Day Out with Thomas. Weather had been cooperating better earlier in the week. However, in spite of the chilly threat of rain, the kids dove into the festivities.

But I don't want to play on the airplane!

Much better!

Someone's geeked out. 

Members of the Detroit Historical Society built a model railroad layout and let Landon try his hand at running the trains. 

After we came home and put Eliza down for a nap, Landon and Mike played some games. First we played a Thomas-themed game Hallie had found on one of her mom-to-mom sale outings. Landon won.

Then we played Wii Sports. The new TV and the extra space make for a better experience, at least for Landon. He trounced Mike at bowling.

A strike and/or a spare in 8 out of 10 frames. Wow!

Of course, Mike did beat the boy at tennis and golf, but who’s counting? 

The Young Women of the branch are raising money for Girls Camp this summer. This year they are offering babysitting services. We took advantage so we could spend a romantic evening . . . rearranging furniture in the kids’ rooms. The parents out there can relate. “Yes! Three free hours to actually get something accomplished together!” Once Mike finally gave up the idea of a shared office/Eliza’s bedroom, it was only a matter of time before his stuff had to go. Thanks, babysitters!

Later on, after the kids were back home, had wound down from their high energy, and had finally gone to sleep, we watched a movie in peace and quiet with the knowledge that the kiddos now have rooms of their very own. Hallie is busily making plans to thoroughly girlify Eliza’s expanded space. She hit upon her theme after finding an Eric Dowdle puzzle named “The Fairy Family” at Sam’s Club:

Image courtesy Dowdle Folk Art 

On a completely different and tragic note, a young soldier named Andrew Britton (Mihalo) was killed in action in Afghanistan on Wednesday. He was a 12-13 year old when Mike worked with him in the Young Men’s program before we got married. Mike didn’t know him very well, but he remembers Andrew as outgoing, happy, and vivacious. The kid had a lust for life that showed as he continued to grow up after we left Simi. What can we do but express our deep grief and gratitude to his family for their loss and his sacrifice? We are so sorry! Thank you so much!