Field Trip, Photo Booth Fun, and a New Job

Landon is in the spotlight this week. He went on a field trip to the Camarillo Ranch House as part of his grade’s community social studies curriculum. Hallie got to join as a volunteer (lucky!). Mike had some employment news of his own.

On Monday we were able to work our schedules out so that Hallie was able to attend a bariatric support group in Woodland Hills. Everyone was really nice, and Hallie enjoyed seeing her friend Shirley (who has gone through this whole process with Hallie) and how successful she has been.

Tuesday was the day Hallie joined the 3rd graders on their field trip to the Camarillo Ranch House. Hallie reported that it was a great field trip! It was a beautiful day even with the bit of rain they experienced as they were leaving. The kids saw period toys and tools, and they even had the chance to make their own butter.

During the morning on Wednesday Hallie spent time with Eliza’s class making cards for a friend who needs a bit of cheering up. The kids were so thoughtful and took their time with the cards they created.

Thursday and Friday seemed to be a lot of the same old routines. Mike had a busy Friday with a couple of dissertation defenses to oversee and class to teach. He also volunteered a bit at the elementary school in the morning. Hallie and the kids watched Frozen for Pizza and a Movie Night while Mike taught his last class of the semester. A great family at gymnastics is fostering an infant, and what a joy Hallie found it to be to hold this little precious one-week-old baby!

For some of you who do not know yet, Diamond’s boyfriend Caleb officially proposed to her a few weeks ago. On Friday she headed to West Virginia to visit with Caleb and to take the engagement pictures. We are so excited for Diamond and Caleb and can’t wait to celebrate with them in Oklahoma City in July!

The kids and Mike headed to gymnastics on Saturday morning, and Hallie stayed home to make a mess of the house. Okay, she was supposed to be cleaning/packing (read below). Everyone headed home close to 1:30. Landon hung out with his friend Sampson for a while, and then it was time to invite the kids to help with the sorting and cleaning of rooms.

In other news of the week, Landon decided to take Dad’s iPod for a spin.

Eliza did a little of her own selfie action.

Mike put in notice at Cal Lutheran and has accepted an offer at another university's school of education. As with CLU, he’ll be working as an educational leadership professor. As with the move from Wayne State, we’re taking this one with mixed feelings. We’re definitely going to miss living here and being so close to family and the new friends we have made (Landon said he will miss “standing tall for Victory”), but we’re looking forward to new opportunities and reconnecting with old friends. Apparently, the kids are even looking forward to snow for some peculiar reason.