2022, July 25-31

We wound down July doing several favorite activities. 

Landon had fewer hours of work this week. He does quite a bit of gymnastics, and when he's home we frequently find him on the laptop. 

Eliza also likes using the laptop, but she also spends quite a bit of time outdoors. 

Not only did she ride on Monday, but she also started taking photos of her secret area by Reagan Elementary throughout the week. Maybe she'll become a photographer. 

Ever-loving Fergus gave us a blep. 

On Wednesday, E went riding again. She's getting good practice at jumping. Starting in August she will be practicing only one night a week because she is resuming recreational gymnastics. 

Two cute grey ponies at the barn and one amazing young adult rider who is a great example to Eliza.

On Thursday, we got more nature photos, this time from Hallie as she took a walk around the industrial area she works. The last picture was a panorama of the secret field from Eliza.

In honor of Harry Potter's birthday, Hallie bought some sorting hat cupcakes. It was fun to surprise people at work and home with a surprise house selection inside.

For some reason, the kids wanted to show off their physiques. Neither kid looks their age (for different reasons, lol). Landon thought he could rip the too small shirt. Eliza definitely wants to be her brother's shadow. They are both strong in their own ways, and we love them for that.

Saturday brought some interesting weather and dramatic skies, which Eliza again caught on camera.  

On Sunday, we went up to Salt Lake for the US Classic at the Maverik Center. On the way, we had a short visit with Natalie at her work. Landon managed to break out a smile! Natalie is so proud of him, and we are so proud of her! We are grateful to have the chance to see her on occasion. 

We also went to Michael's for their monthly art project, a back-to-school make-and-take. Mike and Landon chose to make other art. 

After taking in Thor: Love and Thunder, we made our way to the gym meet. We didn't realize it, but we might have met more gymnasts and Olympians had we arrived earlier. 

As it was, we sat in the same row as Sam Mikulak, and he graciously let us take a pic with him (smile, Landon!). The last time we had a chance to see Sam in person was when Landon did recreational gymnastics. We lived in Michigan, and Sam was competing for Michigan. That seems like ages ago.

To round out the evening, we enjoyed pizza at the Pie Pizzeria. Landon really made an effort (to avoid getting his picture taken), probably because we found a smile and he wanted us to avoid getting a photo of that amazing smile.

2022, July 18-24

July zooms by. We had a low-key Pioneer Day, among other activities. 

We're catching the tail end of monsoon weather, so along with heat we also got some rain this week. Eliza enjoyed some riding time outside with rain to the north. 

Up north where Hallie was working, they got quite a bit of rain. The rain finally made its way to Provo where Landon works, so while Eliza was at horseback riding Hallie had to go pick up Landon early because when it rains water parks don't stay open.

Coach Sam got ahold of Landon's phone with the expected selfies. This wouldn't have been the first, and it probably won't be the last. We recognized Sarah, but we don't know who the other folks are, unfortunately.

Later in the week, we went to the rodeo as part of Spanish Fork Fiesta Days leading into Pioneer Day. Hallie loves the rodeo, but with the lingering effects of COVID we left early because Hallie wasn't feeling well. 

Landon has been developing his drawing skills at work. 

Eliza had the chance to go to Bartholomew Park with Grace, one of the coach's we know from gymnastics while Landon worked and Mom and Dad went on a date to get shelving units on Friday. 

The parents went up to Gardner Village on Saturday when we were lucky enough to have two dates in a row, something we haven't done in a super long time. We enjoyed a meal at Archibald's and window shopping.

We stopped by the Fiesta Days festivities where Hallie got some stickers for her laptop. She loves Lollipuff's cotton candy. 

Hallie got Mike a surprise LEGO gift, the Statue of Liberty from the Architecture series. Here's Eliza for scale. 

At Eliza's request, we had a fire pit out in the alley tonight. Landon thought he could make a light saber from a stick covered in embers. Cool effect!  

We are grateful to celebrate Pioneer Day today, and the real truth is that we are most grateful that some of us have bits and pieces off of work or gym tomorrow.

2022, July 11-17

The heat is on. We'd be fine for it to be off. 

Monday started off kind of rough for everyone. Mom and Dad still had COVID symptoms, and we were hoping to avoid the kids getting sick. As of today, it appears they were not affected. That said, on Monday, Eliza really wanted to sleep in. Funny, she got up and interacted with us, and then next you know she was asleep.

Mike stayed home to teach, and after classes, Eliza invited him to go see the stream and pond across the street from our house next to Reagan Elementary where she likes to hang out. You literally can't see it from the road, and Mike found it to be a huge surprise.

Here's the view from the road. The pond is some 30-40 feet back. You can see the upper part of the Russian olive in this picture. 

Landon had a gymnastics camp from Monday through Wednesday at USA Gymnastics World in Woods Cross. It was a bit of a commute to take him there and back. Speaking of backs, this is his. Hallie sat through the camp every day last year, so it was less of a commute. However, this year work did not allow for that, so the only picture we got of him at the camp was a screenshot Hallie saw of Landon on Instagram. He said he was glad he attended, and this year he was in less pain than last year. He was happy to work on vault with former Olympian Jake Dalton.

 Mike got another gift commission this week. That is one angery sunn-o. 

After Mike's work, Hallie's work and Landon's camp on Wednesday, we went up to Park City. All of this was because USAGW WX invited all of the coaches, athletes, and their families to a VIP event to see a freestyle ski jump show in the evening at the Olympic Park. 

We enjoyed a walk down Main Street, where we stopped at Roots, Sock City, and Wasatch Brew Pub for dinner. 

Eliza managed to get footage of Landon smiling. Ha ha ha! It has become a running joke with some family and friends how he doesn't smile. Landon says he doesn't like his smile. 

We arrived at about 7:00 p.m., and so did Mother Nature. She decided that she would put on a storm.

 

In a nod to her joining the XCEL Gold team at USAGW American Fork Eliza thought she should do a little gymnastics move as we entered the Park.

The flag in the background was whipping around like mad, and we thought the pole holding it could snap, the winds were that strong. The storm was a hoot to watch. 

Eventually, the storm did slow down, but by then it was dark and getting late. We did manage to see one round of the freestyle jumpers doing their thing. Landon had an MRI in the morning, and we were over an hour from home and were not sure how the roads were going to be going home.

Hallie rode in the back with Eliza. Eliza thought they should take selfies and then mess with the filter. Hallie wasn't in love with any of the pictures but told Eliza whatever picture she wanted to use was great.

Landon had an MRI Thursday morning bright and early on his right knee. He had one on his left knee last year. Hallie has since seen the results but we are patiently waiting on the doctor to call us next week. Landon said he would prefer to hear it from the doctor instead Hallie telling him what she has read.

Ferg will frequently impose himself upon whichever warm lap is available. On Thursday, Landon had the magic touch. 

On Friday, Eliza took the ponies over by her pond some carrots. They're getting to be quite tame around her.

On Saturday after we dropped Landon off at Splash Summit, the rest of us went to the Provo Farmers Market. It was quite busy! It is great that there is a splash pad in the middle of the Farmers Market and Eliza had to run right through it. Seemed like a smart thing to do.

We got a choripan, gran lomito sandwich, and empanadas from El Puestito. Soooo gooood! Lemonade from Squeezed hits the spot!

Afterwards we went to Momo's to celebrate National Ice Cream day with cheesecake shakes. The shakes were good, but a sign in the store said each shake would take 7-10 minutes to make, so we got two to share.

For Hallie the COVID/cold seems to ebb and flow. Hallie took a nap Saturday afternoon because she was tired. Sunday started out better, but again as the afternoon wore on she was tired. We had received several zucchinis this week, so Hallie made fried zucchini spears. After the first batch the neighbor took the rest so Hallie could take a nap.