An Auction, a War Reenactment, and Outdoor Walks

Warm weather this week gave way briefly to rain midweek with a return to sun in time for the weekend, just in time for this week’s major outings: a Boy Scout spaghetti dinner and auction and a Civil War reenactment.

Our friends from church gave us a box of oranges from their trees in their yard. Gosh, are they good! The family has loved eating oranges this week. Hallie picked up some Meyer lemons from the home of another friend from church. Homemade lemonade on a hot day is always so good, and with Meyer lemons you don’t need as much sugar. We cut the sugar in the lemonade with Splenda so Hallie could partake with us.

Monday it was windy, and we recently came to the conclusion that Hallie is not a fan of the wind. So, Mike, Landon, and Eliza walked Roxy. Hallie figured out other ways to get her exercise in. Good for her! The kids had the day off of school due to President’s Day, and they spent most of the time hanging around the house. Landon still had gymnastics, which he was not too thrilled about. He didn’t understand why the team members did not have the day off and the recreation kids did have the day off. Hallie enjoyed her time at gymnastics watching Landon in a rather quiet gym and talking with the front desk staff, whom our family loves!

Our car hit 100,000 miles recently. The little beast needed a new water pump and an oil change to make sure it could keep running us all over Ventura County. The kids love it when we have a rental to tide us over, and the car we rented this time (a Toyota Avalon) was no different. Landon had Cub Scouts in the evening, where they did physical activity involving an obstacle course. When Hallie picks him up Landon never wants to come home and seems to be really enjoying his time with the other boys who are in his den.

In preparation for Hallie’s surgery the nurse that has been conducting the classes she has been attending every Thursday night ordered labs for everyone. The kids were quite intrigued when they heard and saw about all of the different kinds of labs and tests Hallie had to submit. Eliza was a big help when Hallie had to submit seven vials of blood, she was right there with a Hello Kitty band aid to stop the blood.

The rest of the week followed the regular routines. Eliza brought home new art.

Wednesday brought rain around lunch time which is a nice relief for our landscape. Mike and Eliza walked Roxy while Hallie spent some time at a new hairstylist. Since Hallie was getting her hair done that meant Mike got the opportunity to play chauffeur for the first half of the day. After getting her hair done, Hallie walked down to a cute store a few doors down. This will be a store she goes back to after surgery.

Right before Eliza’s birthday Shave It sent Hallie a coupon text, and it was just about to expire this week. So, after we picked up Landon from school we all headed over to Shave It for a little afternoon treat. Shave It offers a great sugar free option with no calories and no fat, which was right up our momma’s alley. Everyone enjoyed their different flavors, and we will definitely be back again. 

Mike taught online from home tonight which meant no babysitter for the kids while Hallie went to her class, and that made Hallie so happy.

Friday morning Hallie and Eliza walked Roxy, and the weather was amazing! After our walk Hallie and Grandma M. headed over to the Camarillo Outlets for a little window shopping, and then they picked up Landon from school. Landon could not understand why grandma would be at his school. The kids had gymnastics in the afternoon and then in the evening we had a spaghetti dinner and auction at church. The kids enjoyed getting a bit wild with friends.

The food was yummy, the company was amazing, and the auction was fun especially when we and the Beckstroms ended up in a bidding war over a BB-8 painted by Craig Mackay, who is our Scout Master and a visual development artist with Disney. We gave up the bidding war and ended up winning the painting Craig did of the San Diego Temple where we were sealed. 

Lots of fun items came up for bid, including fancy food, photography and art, and services. Mike donated two hours of tutoring.

On Saturday, the day began early as Mike had to spend some time at CLU doing his professorial duties. After he got home and changed we drove out to Simi to see the Civil War Days, an encampment and reenactment that took place at the Strathearn Historical Park.

We witnessed Abraham Lincoln give the Gettysburg Address, watched the surrender at Appomattox Court House, and enlisted to fight.

Eliza got a big splinter in the palm of her hand from her sidearm. Dad took her to get some first aid, and the brave girl scrunched her eyes tight shut, gritted her teeth, and let Dad remove it without too many complaints or any tears. By the end of the day she had gone through four Band-Aids, and we are hoping the Neosporin, Hello Kitty Band-Aid and medical tape that is on there now will last until morning. We ended our afternoon out with a stop at Fire Island Grill, a yummy local restaurant that Mike had never been to that was both yummy and healthy, and then we stopped by Costco for a few goods and to fill up the beast.

Eliza fell asleep on the way home, and Landon spent some time watching YouTube videos on how to make a Lego grappling hook. Ultimately, he just tried to make his own and seems to be happy with his outcome.

In the evening we watched a show on TV called Pirate’s Passage. This was a cartoon we found on Netflix that tempted us when we read the description about a young boy in Nova Scotia. It was a pretty good show and it always makes for good learning experiences when we watch the shows together as a family.

Eliza gave a talk in church on Sunday.

Later, we went for a walk down at the beach. Ventura in February: Paradise!