Service on Order

This week we learned about different ways service can be rendered at church and by our local public safety officers. Sometimes it's the things we do, and sometimes it's the things others do for us in the line of duty. Either way, we appreciate service given and received this week. 

On Monday after gymnastics, Mike, Landon, and Eliza went camping at Grandma and Grandpa’s. The kids sure enjoy sleeping out of doors! Hallie is starting to adjust to the alone time. The kids are wild at home, but then when they are gone it is too quiet. The nurse for Hallie’s options class told them about an ice cream called Halo Top. The unique thing about this ice cream is that it is low in calories and has a bit of extra protein. On Monday night Hallie finally found some at Whole Foods and has been enjoying small servings of the ice cream all week. Yum!

On Tuesday morning, Hallie came up to Simi and traded Mike places visiting with everyone while Mike went back home to get ready to go on a temple trip with some members of our ward. He enjoyed getting to know new people from the new ward and from the stake whom he had not met before. He got home in time to set to work for the rest of the day and into the night. Classes that run from 7:00-10:00 pm can be a little much, but when they give him the chance to use the daylight hours in ways he otherwise might not, he won’t complain.

The trio made sure to stop at Aldi and Fire Island Grill on the way home from Simi Valley to Camarillo. They made it just in time to attend the Pampered Chef Party at the Cox’s. The kids had so much fun playing with the other kids in attendance and Hallie had fun chatting with the other ladies and sampling some yummy fajitas that they made.

Eliza enjoyed treats at the party! 

On Wednesday morning Hallie met with Jessica her trainer, and they did all kinds of fun things to Hallie on her road to good health. Weight-wise Hallie stayed the same this week, and she is handling it a lot better than the first plateau she encountered back in May (Mike says she’s building muscle).

For some reason walking Roxy slipped Hallie’s mind, and thank heavens her gracious owner Mian let us skip the day. We picked Roxy up on Friday a little more like usual.

Landon got a fun summer haircut. 

Thursday started early with a trip to Dr. Mick’s today with Eliza, and we all learned how to help her when she has trouble handling her strong emotions. The rest of the day was mundane as we did school work like most days this summer and tried to get the house cleaned up. In the evening, Mike taught at the CLU Oxnard Center, and Hallie, her mom, and the kids went shopping at IKEA. We needed more storage for all those LEGO bricks. Hmm. 

Friday Landon had gymnastics in the morning, and Eliza came with to give Dad time at home to do some work. The girls ran a few errands and then ended up in Thousand Oaks visiting Aunt Carly, Cru, and Sawyer.

Cru read a story to the girls. What a good guy! 

Eliza and Hallie ended up back at gymnastics right before it ended. Pizza and a movie night was really popcorn, watermelon, and a movie night. Hallie learned the hard way that popcorn is no longer her friend.

On Saturday morning, Hallie participated in the Relief Society Day of Service. She originally was just going to drop in real quickly and then run some errands, but she thought it was so cool that she stayed for the whole event! Last Sunday Hallie had signed up to help set up the breakfast, but by the time she got there it was done. Marsha Pyne quickly put Hallie to work separating items for the hygiene kits and then put Hallie in charge of the Hygiene work station. What a rush it was to work with so many enthusiastic and hard-working sisters from our stake! When we ran out of items it was great to see women willing to go and buy more items so we could finish the kits. At least 200 kits were put together by the end of the service activity.

Blurry flurry of activity! 

While Hallie was out (getting her hair done after the service activity), Mike took the kids to Coppers and Choppers at the Camarillo Airport. This year, the kids had the opportunity add their well wishes to a couple of large thank you cards made for our local law enforcement and public safety officers. These are trying times, and we want foster in our kids a healthy attitude about the many jobs the police, fire, and other public safety service officers do for our community.

After Mom got home, she cleaned up the house while Dad took the kids to the pool. Didn't want to mess up her new 'do! 

At the pool, Eliza especially likes being thrown into the air and landing in the water with a big splash. Landon likes using the pool noodles as water cannons. Mike prefers not to think about the chemical swill they're all swimming in. 

In the evening Hallie headed to Sam’s Club to pick up a few things with their coupons before they expired today. Landon has taken a real liking to the Chobani flips that Hallie has been eating for breakfast in the morning, so that was a must on Hallie’s list.

On Sunday, Hallie had a lot of kids in her Primary class. 

Aww, they're all so cute! 

Note Eliza in the patriotic bowtie.

Hallie's getting to be quite the hottie. . . .

Eliza has taken to hiding out and scaring people. Landon has other ideas.