The Year is Half-way Gone?!

With this week, we turn the calendar to the second half of the year.

Monday was a regular day for the kids and Hallie with gymnastics and babysitting cute Lily. In the afternoon, though, Mike started his summer semester. He will be teaching four days a week until the end of August, which is a bit different for him and for Hallie and the kids.

Tuesday was Hallie's last day at Y Be Fit, for the time being. Hallie has really enjoyed working with Judy and Kirsten over 10 or so months. Since moving to Utah keeping off the weight Hallie has lost over the two years has been a struggle. We were hoping that Y Be Fit would be a good "fit" for her, but the accountability on Hallie's end just wasn't there. Hallie is looking into other options hoping to get some more of the help she needs. On Monday of this next week she will be meeting with a sleep specialist regarding the sleep apnea she still has, and we are hoping this will be a great step in the right direction.

The afternoon was a bit eventful on Tuesday. Hallie dropped off Eliza for gymnastics then ran over to her parents’ house for a bit before picking Landon up. When Hallie arrived back at the gym, Eliza’s coach came out to the lobby to tell Hallie that Eliza had been crying and that her stomach and back was hurting. Eliza came off the floor, and when Hallie picked her up, she burst into tears. A mom knows the difference in her child's cries, and this one was not a faking cry. Not sure what to do, Hallie called the chiropractor, and they were able to get Eliza in the late afternoon. By the end of Eliza's appointment Dr. Phelps told us that a rib was out of place. That now became Eliza's new favorite saying, and to let everyone know she couldn't do anything for the rest of the day, she said her “rib was out of place.” All the fun we have while Mike is at working teaching the future leaders of education.

Wednesday was a bit more relaxed. Landon had gymnastics and Eliza took life a bit easier than she normally does. Hallie spent a good chunk of time going through stuff and putting together bags to take to Deseret Industries. Glad to get it out of the house, but boy there is still more to do. We watched our neighbor, Lincoln, play baseball. So fun!

Mike taught class in the evening. Teaching about the education of diverse populations is both fascinating and challenging.

Thursday was a wildly crazy day to get stuff done. If Lily wasn't such an amazing kid, Hallie could never get it all done. Hallie dropped Landon off at gymnastics and picked up Lily. At about the same time Mike took Eliza to her last day of reading summer school. Hallie and Lily headed to the car, and their first of many stops was Grandpa and Grandma M's house. Then the two headed to more stops around town. During their adventures, thankfully at the end Lily fell asleep and slept in the car for an hour. Eliza captured some bees sipping from the flowers near the house.

Hallie picked up Eliza in time to go to gymnastics. This is an interesting side story. Eliza wants to quit gymnastics. Eliza wants to ride horses. Or so she thinks. Eliza doesn't know a ton about riding horses, and really, what little girl hasn't had some fascination with horses? Hallie contacted a few stables that she had been referred to with moderate feedback. We even drove out to one where they didn't tell us the hours, and so no one was there when we arrived. Eliza's coaches don't want her to quit as she has such potential. Eliza is strong and good at gymnastics and the adults see that, but when you are 7 you don't. We hoping that we can keep her in gymnastics a bit longer if we can do some other things on the side. Later in July she will do swim lessons for several sessions, and possibly in the fall we can then do horseback riding lessons. It is hard being a parent and to know what is right and wrong with your children.

Friday morning started early, yuck! Hallie dropped Landon off at gym at 8:00 am and headed straight over to get an oil change. What was supposed to be an hour appointment turned into three hours. Thank heavens nothing was wrong with the car, just a super busy shop with everyone getting ready for the 4th of July holiday. Hallie made it just as Landon was getting out of gymnastics. We headed home and got stuff together for our adventure to Mt. Pleasant, about an hour south of home. The trip that was supposed to start out at 11:00 ended up really starting at 1:30. We drove straight to the Sanpete County Building to get some questions answered. To back up a bit, Mike's parents have a few pieces of land in Mt. Pleasant, and we needed to go check on them and to do some investigating on their behalf. The kids were super troopers and even marked Grandpa and Grandma's territory (there were no bathrooms in the middle of nowhere). Milkshakes from Wheeler's helped.

Saturday the kids had to clean their rooms before they ventured outside. Neither was too happy about that, but it has to be done. While the kids toiled away, Hallie got her hair done – something had to be done about the grey that the kids point out so well. Meanwhile, Mike watched Argentina lose to France in a tough World Cup match to watch. After getting fancied up, Hallie picked up Eliza and took her to Lehi Round Up Days to support our friends Serena and Kenadie. Serena makes the most amazing food, and her daughter Kenadie is headed to North Carolina this week for the National Trampoline and Tumbling Championship. Eliza had so much fun playing with Serena's granddaughter and participating in fun activities.

In the evening the grownups watched the film Maudie, about the Nova Scotia artist Maud Lewis. Highly recommended.

Sunday Hallie and Dwight practiced a song they will be singing at Porter's baptism next week. The family went to church, and while there, Mike got inspired to write the lyrics to a family anthem for us based on our family values and symbols. It goes like this:

Organize yourselves, dear children.

Listen to each other; be kind.

Build a home of faith, established

On our Savior’s grace divine.

As a grafted tree, our branches

Are forever intertwined.

May our souls be knit wherever

Ties of love together bind!

After church Hallie then went to choir, and Mike and the kids talked to the Owens side of the family while Hallie had a nap. In the evening we watched the Road to El Dorado until it was time to go to bed.