Eliza’s Special Week

Eliza celebrated lucky birthday number 7, and we all traveled down to California for work, a meet, and a visit with family.

We celebrated the whole week as Eliza’s special week, starting with celebrations at school.

On Monday she took her All About Me poster to school and shared a bit about herself with her class.

Tuesday Eliza was asked to fill a birthday bag with things that are special to her, and that included a bear that her tummy mom bought her, a favorite book, and a few other special items.

After Hallie picked up the kids from school and headed to gymnastics, Eliza started to complain of being sick. So instead of going to gymnastics, Eliza had to run three hours of errands with Hallie because, well, that is what the mom had to do and was going to do while the kids were at gymnastics. There was going to be a meet on Saturday, and the fundraising momma had to prepare before she hit the road.

After work Hallie dashed off to Sam’s Club to pick up Eliza’s cupcakes to celebrate with her school class before she headed to California. They seem to be a big hit with the class.

We're leaving Ferg in good hands with the neighbors to look after him. 

On Wednesday evening, we flew to California, staying in Orange County near where Landon would be competing on Thursday. Everyone was tired, and it was a long day by the time we got into our hotel.

Thursday morning we went to Downtown Disney, meeting up with our friend Jenny for some window shopping and lunch at the Earl of Sandwich before going to Soka University in Aliso Viejo.

Landon put forth a great effort, gutsing through some tough faults to end up 19th overall in his category. He wasn’t happy, but he’ll keep improving. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Another coach approached Landon’s coach telling him how impressed he was with Landon’s attitude on the floor even when he knew he was having a hard time. Way to go, kid! Thank you for being a good example! We are so grateful for a hard working son and for coaches who keep working with him along the way.

We drove from Orange County to Ventura County in the evening, stopping in Huntington Beach to pick up Eliza’s birthday cake. It has a custom gymnast in pink, and her favorite color red in stars and as a ribbon along the base. Thank you Kim Roberts for making a beautiful cake both inside and out. Landon said he wants you to make him one now for his birthday. Too bad you don’t live in Utah.

Friday morning Hallie and the kids took to the beach while Mike went to Cal Lutheran for his student’s dissertation defense. 

Hallie was a bit cold, but it didn’t seem to affect the kids as they played in the sand and ran in and out of the water. If you ask Eliza what is one thing you could do in California, she will tell you, “Go to the beach!” So we granted her wish.

After everyone got home, we went to Build-a-Bear Workshop to have a little party with family and friends. Alie, Dietrich, Violet, Landon, and Eliza each made a little pal to love, and everyone gave Eliza’s puppy dog an extra heart and wish. Steve and Lois, the employees there, did an amazing job corralling the kiddos and making sure everyone had a good time. We are so grateful for those who came to celebrate with Eliza. Everyone was well-behaved, and we had a great time celebrating.

From the store we returned to the Maygren’s for pizza, cake, ice cream, and gifts. Yummo! We were super sad when the Hopkins all got sick and couldn’t party with us. Grandpa and Grandma O. surprised Eliza with a ukulele, and she is so excited!  

On Saturday, Hallie and the kids paid a visit to friends at Victory. In a short two weeks since Hallie and Landon’s last visit a bit has changed at Victory, but you know in gymnastics change is inevitable, so hopefully the next time we come we will get to see more of our friends.

Grandma and Papa M. had a garage sale in the morning, and we helped a little bit. Landon made sure to unload his heavy wallet at their yard sale. He is very happy with his new-found treasures. We were able to spend a little bit of time with the Hopkins, as they were on the mend, and they came by the yard sale toward the end.

Later, we stopped at ALDI on our way to Simi Valley. We spent time with Grandma and Grandpa O., and the kids had a blast in their backyard. Alie loves spending time with the kids and really could be Landon’s shadow. Badminton was the game of the afternoon, and Hallie even tried her hand at it for a bit. In the evening we had our favorite Red’s BBQ Chicken Salad and garlic rolls. A trip to California is not complete without a meal from Red’s.

Sunday we spent time in Carpinteria and ate lunch at a favorite Padaro Beach Grill. We even bought a little something at the A Frame Surf Shop – needed to help the local economy a bit after so much of it was weakened by the fire and floods in Ventura County. Afterwards, we spent time driving around the areas that burned and tried to comprehend how this all happened.

In the evening we had dinner with the Maygrens and the Hopkins. The kids played so well together and Eliza opened her last set of presents. Num Noms are a huge hit with Eliza, so Aunt Carly picked very well.