2022, April 18-24

We had more cousin visits, bought a new couch, and made a fire pit.

Let's start with the couches. We bought them from a sweet lady in Orem, and Shad, Cru, and Dwight were kind enough to help Mike retrieve them. With growing kids, it's nice to feel like everyone has a seat in the front room. 

The girl cousins got to join Eliza out at Creekside. They had fun, of course. Sawyer helped Pippy do some physical therapy.

Eliza caught a pretty sunset in the evening. She ran in wanting someone's phone so she could go take a picture. Mike has trained her well to look for the beauty around us.

 

Tuesday was a hard day for Eliza. It started off on the wrong foot and only got worse through the day. She ended up going to the ER in the evening, and we're grateful for family, friends, and medical professionals who helped get her back on an even keel. The picture below is the crisis social worker that Hallie and Eliza met with in the ER.

On Wednesday after picking Eliza up from Yates Place, we went to the Payson Library as usual to do school work. We saw what seem to be the makings of a Christmas movie setup ("Best. Christmas. Ever.," maybe?). 

 

The views watching Eliza riding outside at Creekside never get old, especially when Eliza has a great day of riding and receives all kinds of praise from Sara. Horseback riding is good for the soul, the body, and the mind. Never is a day wasted at Creekside, and we will always be grateful to the three families who referred us to Creekside nearly two years ago.

Thursday meant graduation at the university. One of Mike's doctoral students, Jaynie, graduated with her EdD, and several Master's students also received their degrees. He's proud of them all! 

Several attempts went into getting this image. Several attempts. . . . 

Finnley is always ready with a smile. 

Eliza had a third day of riding this week. She never gets tired of riding! The wind was wild on Thursday, and Sara did not think Eliza should ride Juneau. So, Rue and Eliza rode together again, and Eliza was successful and had a great time riding! 

This time Landon had to stay at the stables rather than getting to come home. He managed, somehow. He even warmed up to one of the ponies. The funny part is this picture was not even posed. Hallie looked over, and he was petting the nose. It has taken two years for him to come maybe four times and to now pet a pony on his own. Bravo, boy!!! Now the other adults give Hallie props for how far she has come with the horses over the last two years. It is quite amazing to be honest. 

The cat trap is working. 

On Friday, Hallie and Alicia took blueberries from Easter dinner and lemons brought up from California and made a tasty three-layer cake. Hallie wishes they could make the pictures look Instagram-worthy, but here is the process and the finished cake. Hallie commented that making a cake with a friend is a lot of fun and goes a lot faster. Towards the end, Alicia noted that there were egg whites left and asked what we were going to do with them. Hallie would have just thrown them away. Alicia looked up a recipe from Mel's Kitchen, and the two made candy-coated almonds. Both ladies commented on how they are glad they don't bake for a living.

Eliza liked the cake so much, she took Hallie's portion. 

Fergus was full of interesting behaviors Saturday morning. 

Saturday evening, Hallie and Alicia went to see the musical Camelot at the Hale Centre Theatre. They also had Indian food and all around had a great girls' night out. Mike and the kids watched the final episode of the Book of Boba Fett, which Landon had somehow managed not to see. 

On Sunday morning, he shared couch time with Mike and Eliza.

Ferg and Eliza have a bit of a love-hate dynamic. 

The day was super pleasant. Beautiful Utah spring weather with dramatic clouds. 

Eliza has asked Mike to do a fire pit all week, and most evenings have gotten busy or windy. He decided to do one during the day to give her the chance. Given that grubs have made a huge bare patch on our lawn and that it has not yet been reseeded, it made a good spot for a front yard pit. Several neighbors stopped by as they strolled around or walked their pets. 

Later on, Mike even got a second day of kite flying in (he took some time on Saturday too). For whatever reason, the dynamic weather seemed perfect for listening to Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique (one of his all time favorites since Music 101 in college). Having music you can stream on your phone is such a joy! 

The day ended chatting with Grandpa, Grandma, and Alie Owens and watching an X-Men movie.