2020, December 21-27

We celebrated Christmas at the end of a vacation week from school. The kids worked hard at gymnastics, played in the snow, and enjoyed their presents. 

On Monday, there was no rest for the wicked as kids went to gym in the morning and early afternoon. Hallie and Lily ran a lot of errands in the morning before the party the gym had for the girls. The truck pictured below is at one of Hallie's favorite soda shops (she doesn't drink soda, but their flavored waters and cookies are yummy!), Soda Retreat!

Eliza attended the girls' party and made out like a bandit. Thank you, Emma! You know Eliza very well! Coach Lauren gave her yummy treats and some scrunchies. A girl growing out her hair can never have enough scrunchies.

That afternoon, Mike, Hallie, and Eliza went up to Provo, where Hallie and Mike gave blood. This time Mike had an easy time of it, and the phlebotomist couldn't strike a vein on Hallie. As we drove back home, we managed to get a few pictures of the "Christmas star" conjunction. Happy Solstice! 

We were greeted Tuesday morning with golden light on Mt. Timpanogos. The winter really does have pros and cons. Right now, Hallie is not a fan of the cold so that is at the top of her con list. The sunrises and sunsets are on the top of her pros.

Eliza accompanied Hallie on errands. It is hard to tell in this picture but Hallie tried spiking her hair and it didn't turn out too bad. Hallie said there are people who look way crazier out there, so why not try and join the party? On most days of the week Hallie and her brother Riley talk or text. The picture was to show him her attempt at her fancy do. Eliza loves to play with the camera on Hallie's phone and take over her Instagram account.

As Mike left the house in the afternoon, he found this sign wedged under the back tire of his car. The end (of the year, certainly) is near. It was a really windy day, and Hallie is hoping that the wind blew the sign under the car rather than someone having deliberately placed it.

Landon spent the afternoon after gym practice at Sonny's house learning how to make fried chicken. It has been a fun week for him, and the Drew/Blas Family taught Landon how to cook two nights in a row. Now if we could just get him to use this new found skill at our house.

Mike's advent calendar micro cityscape is shaping up nicely. All three kids have enjoyed building their scenes. 

Eliza loves Fergus. Fergus puts up with her attentions. The stuffed cat came from her Secret Santa at gym on Monday. 

After their date this Wednesday, Mike and Hallie had a bit of a chance to see both kids practicing. We didn't take a picture of the amazing lunch we had, but Magleby's did it again. We had great service and great food!!!

On Christmas Eve, Eliza was determined to stay up for Santa's arrival. He managed to sneak past her. Eliza made it until 3:30 a.m. Both Mom and Dad were super tired on Christmas, but as parents you plow through.

Both children suffered for their late-night exploits on Christmas morning. 

Mike gets a picture of the kids on the stairs in their pajamas every year before they open their presents. So here is to 2020. The picture fits the year.

After enjoying a bit of time opening gifts before breakfast . . .

. . . we then went to G. & G. M.'s for some more family time. The kids seemed excited by their gifts: Light sabers and a drone for Landon 

(with a bird's eye view of the neighborhood)

and a skateboard and an iPod for Eliza. 

(with FaceTime and opportunities for making silly faces with friends).

On the day after Christmas, Eliza rode her new board over to her friend Morgan's past the church. 

The two of them had fun making slime and walking on a frozen pond (yikes!). https://photos.app.goo.gl/VLDGRnfa3toAvGcP6  

Mike participated in a Secret Santa with his Discord Heraldry group. He received this cross-stitched emblazon from a friend in Portugal, suitable for (tiny) framing. 

Oh! And this was the dawn that greeted us Saturday morning. Winter mornings lately are brisk and beautiful. 

On Sunday, we attended a Christmas-themed service at church. It has been a long time since Hallie had the chance to lead the music, and today she had the opportunity. Definitely different seeing everyone in masks. Later, Mom and Eliza played with each other's hair. Eliza's hair sure has grown in a year's time. Eliza really wants to grow it out, and she is so happy with where it is. Hallie is happy that Eliza did not make her look like a troll this time.

Dad and Eliza tried their hand at coding. It's a complicated business. But, when it is Star Wars themed, it made it a bit more fun. Thank you, G & G O.

Dad and Eliza also finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, so we watched the movie as a family to round out the night. Eliza received a Hermione outfit for her doll, and now Hermione and Eliza look like twins. Thank you, Destiny, for the books! It is a great time for Dad and Eliza to spend together before bed.

2020, December 14-20

We had our last days of school for the calendar year, more snow, and a bit of fun sledding. 

We have tried to make remote learning fun and festive with activities at home supplementing the fun and festive work from school. For recess on Monday, Eliza dressed her mini snow lady and went sledding in the front yard with neighbors. She ended up missing her reading time, she was enjoying herself so much.

Hallie brought cupcakes to the kiddies in her class on Tuesday as part of National Cupcake Day. Really, any reason to celebrate is Hallie's motto.

On Wednesday, Eliza and Lily accompanied Mike and Hallie on BYU campus for some errands. This meant treats and sitting with Cosmo too for the kiddies.  Eliza had a make up horseback riding lesson and boy did Hallie think it was cold! The other little girl fell off her horse so Eliza and the other little girl had a bit of a learning experience. Hallie was so cold she did spend a few minutes in the van trying to warm up.

On Thursday, the students in Hallie's class got to break open a piñata. The week before the class talked about Las Posadas, so why not break a piñata?

On Friday, after he went to the dentist, Mike joined Eliza and Hallie at the school for a final party day. Mike and Eliza each cut a paper snowflake, and it is clear that the apple does not fall far from the tree as far as these two are concerned. 

In the evening, Eliza went horseback riding in the chill. Hallie chipped the ice from her feet when she got home. She only wishes she was kidding. Hallie dressed a bit warmer than she did on Wednesday and kept warm by sweeping the tack room.

We went with Sonny on Saturday to the Grands' house to take advantage of the snow they got and go sledding down the hills. While it was a bit chilly and wet, the sun felt warm and the valley views were clear. Grandma and Grandpa M. have a neighbor with a little girl near Eliza's age, and she came to hang out for a bit. The two girls had a lot of fun, and we are proud of Eliza's willingness to play with someone new.

Eliza is a goof who love to mug for the camera. She has taken over Hallie's Instagram when she is not using her phone. Technology savvy is this young one.

Both kids worked hard at gymnastics this week, and Landon's first scored meet will be January 2nd. We are looking forward to him being brave and giving it his best!

2020, December 7-13

We did festive art, played in the snow, and got Landon's meet season started. 

On Monday, Mike and Eliza took their customary field trip to the library, this time coming home with an art project. Eliza has missed out a bit on some of the "specials" classes she might get in regular school despite some of the perks she gets being Dad's star student, so we appreciate these projects or activities the community offers! Her project this time was an elf-themed ornament. Mom enjoys receiving text messages with the final picture and project. It makes working out of the house slightly bearable.

Dad got in on the action too.

We also tried our luck at making an ornament out of a hollowed-out egg. Cracking one open without braking it is surprisingly hard. So, we got eggs enough for breakfast sandwiches and one shell that Mike painted up to hang on the tree as a kind of Christmas pysanka. 

For date night on Tuesday, Mike and Hallie went to an empanada restaurant named (appropriately) Empas in Provo that Mike recently discovered. We were very happy with what we had. We also had Rockwell's peppermint Oreo ice cream. While out we ran an errand for a friend who has Covid and stopped by the university bookstore to see if there were any last minute Christmas presents.

For her writing assignment this week, Eliza had to write a persuasive letter to Santa Claus. She did pretty well, Mike thinks. 

Mike found these funny facemasks that look like and flap like a beak, and Hallie went and bought us a couple. Hilarious! 

We got snow on Saturday morning. Hallie braved the snow and made it to her hair appointment safely even though a lot of the roads had not been plowed yet. The snow stuck, and we got enough to shovel and to make snow sculptures. Here's a snow cat we made. 

And here is a snowman she made in the afternoon. 

As we were walking in from the outside, Mike happened to notice the exquisite snow crystals that had fallen on the car. He tried his best to capture a few of these beauties. 

Landon had his Cold Turkey practice meet to start the season. Usually this meet takes place with other teams but due to Covid the meet took place at our home gym. One parent per athlete attended and Landon did receive scores. He has some work to do, but he's made a lot of growth since meet season ended in the spring. Can you spot the handsome gymnast that belongs to us? It is fun to see how he has grown physically and in the sport. We are crossing our fingers that the next meet on January 2 will still happen, it will be our first meet away from home since last March. Landon has been working very hard we hope that as he continues to work hard he will see the improvements he has set his mind on. 

Eliza committed to her Coach (with a gift of yummy salsa and chips from Salsa Madre) that she will attend practice at 1:30 (the time that the Level 5's practice) for at least the rest of the year. This could mean that at Eliza's first meet of the season she will be competing a level higher than we thought. Eliza said she wants to practice with the Level 4's one last time, which she will be able to over Christmas break but seems quite happy and excited for this next level of gymnastics. Eliza has been through a lot this last calendar year and Hallie's Gym Mom heart is happy to see here wanting to be at gym and making strides in a positive direction. 

Eliza loves taking pictures of Fergus. Enjoy!