2020, October 26 - November 1

Ten months down, two to go! Mike had seasonal allergies (no C-19, yay!), and Landon got to go back to regular school. Both kids did amazing work this term, and we enjoyed Halloween festivities by the light of the Blue Hunter's Moon. 

On Tuesday date night, Mike and Hallie went to Rockwell's for ice cream. Today's the 22nd anniversary of when we first met! We happened to witness this now-engaged couple as the boyfriend proposed. Congratulations!   

Eliza finally persuaded Dad that it was time to carve the big orange pumpkin we bought for that purpose. Earlier in the week, we had a couple of freezing nights, and our big gourd was frozen. We managed nonetheless. 

At Hallie's school, the kids also carved a jack o'lantern of their own. 

On Tuesday night, we watched the Dodgers win their first World Series in 32 years. Mike was in high school the last time this happened (uff. We're getting old.)! Go, Blue! 

Mike started feeling under the weather on Wednesday, the same day Landon got to return back to school (which meant getting up early again. Ugh!). We've lived in Utah long enough now for Mike to realize it was likely allergies, so he jumped on his regimen to avoid suffering too much. However, as we weren't 100% sure, Mike and Eliza stayed home for school and Mike's class. 

Hallie had a return to do up at the outlets north of where we live, and she took these two cuties with her. They finished their shopping trip with dinner at Village Baker. 

Eliza can sure give Lily a funny look. What a character!

Eliza wanted Mom to take a picture of her bothering loving on Fergus. Often we ask her to leave him alone, but she doesn't, and Eliza is lucky that this cat has not attacked her over the years.

As Eliza's Halloween festivities were substantially reduced due to her not having in-person instruction (thanks to her teacher, Mrs. Buchanan, and the team of remote teachers for making the lessons and activities fun this week!), Mom invited us to her class party. Mike read a fun read-aloud book (The 13 Nights of Halloween) in an appropriately spooky voice. It's become a tradition! We also made potions, built skeletons, and solved puzzles.  

We also had a lesson on shapes and helped the kiddos carve this big guy! Thanks to Jaker's, Eliza picked this big pumpkin out at the end of September.

Landon was happy to have his first junior high Halloween. His friend Aiden is said to be moving so he had to get a picture with him before he left.

Friday morning brought a Halloween parade for Lily and the kids at her pre-school. We were able to join in the festivities (and keep our distance). It was a beautiful day, and it was fun to support our little nugget.

Eliza went horseback riding in the afternoon, where she learned how to control the direction of her horse while playing a ball game. Hallie was really impressed with the horsemanship of these cute girls and their horses.

Mike went to get himself tested for C-19 in the afternoon, just in case. The result came back negative on Sunday. Now it's just a matter of keeping those sinuses clear. Joy, joy. We are grateful for the negative result because, boy, if it was a different result we would be in for a lot of repercussions. 

Halloween dawned bright and clear, perfect for modified celebrations! Hallie started the day by heading to Provo's Farmers Market to get the last of the Salsa Madre before the market closed for the season. While heading to the booth Hallie tripped on a giant pinecone and hurt her pride mostly, but there was a nice man who helped her up, and then she dusted herself off and was on her way to get yummy salsa. Hallie then headed to Orem to receive a facial that she had won in an auction through Operation Underground Railroad. It was a great relaxing time and made up for falling down. As the day went on Eliza kept trying to go trick or treating. So, Hallie said Landon, Eliza, Corbin, Georgia, and Ethan could all head over to Jaker's. More than likely it will be the last year behind our housing complex, so why not live it up one last time? They had fun! Landon was good to his mom and brought her Art City Donuts. Yummy! As night fell, Eliza opted to wear the army uniform Uncle Bryce gifted us years ago. Judging by that arm length, it may be time to pass the uniform on to the next generation. Eliza was so excited to wear the uniform. 

For some strange reason, this is all we got of Landon's costume. He dressed as a ninja, so we're going to chalk it up to his stealthy skills. Landon hung out with his friends Corbin and Ethan in the evening. This boy does not want to miss another day of gymnastics, and so he decided not to go trick or treating. Thank you for making a good decision, young man.

While Landon hung out with friends Corbin and Ethan, Mom, Dad, Eliza, and her friend Georgia went to the new In N' Out in Spanish Fork (woo hoo!) before going to the haunted house of Hallie's co-worker. 

On our way home, we got to view the blue moon, the Hunter's Moon. 

Even though the kids didn't do a whole lot of trick-or-treating, they did get some yummy treats. We also got to watch the football game. It's shaping up to be a winning year! Only Mike and Hallie are really interested in the football game so it is tough to sit through a whole game. Eliza below showing us how she acts while we were trying to watch the game, Fergus thinks Eliza is a bit crazy.

We got an extra hour's sleep with the end of Daylight Savings Time. Most everyone took advantage and got some extra Zzzz. Mike was up early feeding Fergus and got a parting shot of the Halloween moon. 

In the afternoon on Sunday, a fire started on the mountainside near our home. It spread quite quickly, giving an eerie glow to the evening.  

We wish our firefighters good luck with fighting yet another fire here in Utah and we hope it is extinguished quickly.