2023, October 23-29

The boy had a birthday, and Halloween festivities started early. 

Landon celebrated his "sweet sixteen" this week. The girls thought it would be adorable to play into the "sweet" part of it by wrapping one of Landon's gifts in fun unicorn-and-rainbow themed paper. 

Here is the sword he got. 

He also got a homemade cake (well, box-made, but the frosting was homemade). 

Landon really enjoyed it. He probably ate half of it himself over 24 hours. The rest of us were lucky to get a piece.

Here's Hallie at work. 

Here are some pictures of Eliza's hair. A local salon was looking for a hair model. Hallie took some pictures hoping Eliza would qualify. We haven't heard, yet.

Mike took the kids to TKD and tricking a couple of days after school this week. He saw that the local high school is sporting the new Utah flag. 

Kai is a cuddler. So is Eliza. They're a pair. 

Hallie will dress as a gnome for her class next week. She's not really thrilled about the idea. Here is the start of the costume. Hallie would rather most of the holidays be skipped this year. DIY costumes are not her specialty.

Gma and Gpa M. got snow this week. It didn't last, but it's a sign of things to come. 

Hallie is perfectly fine with the snow staying up in the mountains rather than in the valleys. Here's a view of Buckley Mountain from the Smith's parking lot. 

Landon also received a much-anticipated nano-pixel light saber later in the week. This thing is pretty amazing. Unfortunately, after a couple of days it stopped emitting sound. These are pretty sophisticated electronic devices, and we guess that means they can be a bit touchy to work with. 

Here he is with his friend Thomas geeking out in the dark. Later in the week he went to a party with friends dressed as a Naruto character. 

Eliza dressed in costume for school on Friday. When Hallie bought her the dress for her ballroom dance performance in the summer Hallie told Eliza she would have to wear it again for Halloween. In the meantime Eliza has grown a little. That may have been the last time she will wear the dress.

Here's a view of the sunset as Hallie saw it as she worked the football game on Friday. SHS won the first game of the state playoffs. 

And here's the rising full moon from the school. Hallie wishes she could take a picture of what her eye actually sees.

On Friday evening as he was walking the dog, Mike heard the loud lowing of cattle off to the west. Sure enough, local ranchers have brought their cattle in from the high country. Mike saw them moving from one field to another, but he didn't get a picture until they had already gotten to the larger west field. Here's a picture he took of them early Saturday morning.

Eliza chose a cowgirl costume for her trip over to Jaker's. We went there with our new neighbors Miguel and Priscilla. It's fun to look at US/Utah traditions through newcomers' eyes. 

Hallie ran into her friend Tara who works at the school sporting events with her.

Art City Donuts never fails. Just the right amount to share with 4 adults. It's fun describing to newcomers what Pumpkin Spice flavor is.

Our neighbors have a new Labrador/Heeler mix named Val. Kai was quite taken by Val. Tucker (the older big brother) doesn't like most dogs so he stayed back.

Saturday twilight brought a return to the field. Kai seems to like seeing the animals. 

Hallie took this shot of the fur babies in the evening as she waited for Landon to get home from his party. Fergus has healed up well, and he wants out even in the cold. As you can see, Fergus is thrilled to be sharing space with Kai. If looks could kill. . . . Hallie took the picture because it is not often that the two kids are so close together. 

We chatted with Gpa and Gma Owens and Allie for a bit before our social. Tonight we are doing soups for the social. Crossing our fingers more than just our friends the Crossettes and us bring soup. It is chilly outside, so it will be nice to eat something warm.