2024, February 19-25

The last few days have felt like April. We made sure to get outside. 

On Presidents' Day Monday, Mike and Eliza went to visit the horses down the road.   

Hallie and our friend Amanda went up to a couple of stores in Utah County and Salt Lake County. The first store is called Heirloom Art Company.  

This second store is called Moon's Rare Books. 

This restaurant called Kumo Cafe served these delicious Japanese desserts. 

Finally they went to the R & F (Restaurant and Family) Mart and found all sorts of goodies to bring home.  

Later in the evening, she brought the rest of us home burgers from a new restaurant in Springville called Burger Spot. They were super tasty! Unfortunately, and unrelated to the food itself, Mike started feeling under the weather and ended up vomiting in the night (likely the result of getting whatever Landon had last week). This meant missing doing plasma donation and work not only on Tuesday but on Wednesday as well. Fortunately, as happened with Landon, after two miserable days, he was back to work feeling relatively better by Thursday. 

On Tuesday, Eliza and Hallie went to Hobby Lobby and noticed lots of Sanrio and Disney merchandise.  

Kai came back on Tuesday too. We do so love our pup pup. We have him for most of the rest of the month. 

Check out this adorable pastry Hallie brought home from Kumo Cafe! Hallie did not share this particular treat with the rest of us. We got seaweed, yogurt soda, and chicken-flavored Cheetos, among other yummies. 

Eliza got to have a riding lesson on Wednesday at BUH. She rode Rome, who not a lot of other girls get to ride because he requires someone (like E) with a special set of skills. Rome is not part of the Bridle Up Hope program.

Hallie saw some local deer, again. 

Hello, bleppy boi!

Eliza wanted to make sure we got a picture of the bois actually tolerating each other. We are so fortunate that both our fur babies are generally mellow and tolerant of each other. 

The weather warmed over the week, so much so by Friday that Eliza wanted to go to school as if it was a summer day at the beach. Dad said no. With a fair bit of arguing and persuading, E finally relented, but we ended up forgetting to get her pills taken. She was feeling quite tired in the evening as well as a little depressed. Poor thing! 

Mike has been studying the classrooms in which he has been teaching for ideas about classroom management and organization. As you may know, he stopped teaching elementary school full time over two decades ago, and while he has kept on top of a lot of things both as a professional and a parent/informal teacher of our own brood, it's not the same as being in a self-contained classroom of 12 to 30 anklebiters. He found this portable calm corner to be a unique idea. 

Hallie found Fergus looking at himself in the TV on sleep mode to be amusing. 

With the warmth and sun of Saturday morning, we took on the task of cleaning out the left side of the garage. Having all the bins and extras up off the floor makes Hallie so happy!  After cleaning, Hallie and Eliza went to visit the grandparents. Eliza got a Winnie-the-Pooh-themed crochet kit earlier in the week, and we were hoping to get grandma's help. No such luck. There is a young girl near Eliza's age that lives across the street, and the two girls spent some time together.

Aww, Kai! Why so glum, chum? Hallie thought he looked cute so she had to take his pictures. We noticed Fergus has over 1,300 pictures over his nearly 11 years with us. Kai has some catching up to do at only 9 months or so.

Hello, there! Eliza thought he needed an extreme closeup.  

There is a wasp nest in the (non-functioning?) wall vent for the dryer. Mike started taking on the task of dealing with it, only to find out that it was a metaphorical wasp's nest, what with a blocked vent, cheap ducts, and wrong-sized replacement parts. This along with waterproofing the upstairs bathroom are DIY tasks Mike doesn't relish just because he doesn't want to make the problems worse!  

We took advantage of the sun to play badminton together in the front yard with the set we received from our Secret Santa. It worked really well! None of us can play very well, so it meant lots of whiffs, laughs, and the occasional hit. One even to the forehead of Hallie. She was a good sport and laughed it off.

 

2024, February 12-18

We had a week full of loving gestures. 

On Monday as Mike got home from work, Hallie called in a panic because water was coming through the light fixture over the front door. Turns out, however Eliza was using the shower, she had allowed a bunch of water to pool on the upstairs bathroom floor, and it started leaking through to the ceiling below. After some consulting from some friends who know more about these things, he suggested we let the fixture dry out for a few days.  

Kai got a haircut. Doesn't he look adorable? All too soon, he was back with his other family. 

Mike had an interview for a job at UVU, and Hallie suggested he shave his beard for it. He's not too sure he's happy about the outcome. Hallie suggested maybe he turn that frown upside down. He was nervous, but the interview went well. It turned into a second interview later in the week and a request for references, so we're feeling cautiously optimistic. 

Hallie decided to go back to short hair. She looks a lot cuter with a new look than her hubby, Mike thinks. 

Landon woke up under the weather on Wednesday. He ended up staying home from school for three days. On Valentine's Day, Eliza exchanged cards and candy. One of Hallie's students decorated their hair festively for the season. 

Eliza wanted Mike to get this portrait of her and Ferg on Saturday morning. 

On his walk on Saturday afternoon, Mike came across some early signs of spring.  It's February. Don't forget.

On Sunday, the girls went up to Michael's Crafts to do the art project. 

We had a little black bird invasion. These ones are the ones that like to flock in large numbers. 

2024, February 5-11

We had a bit of a house divided this weekend, but only because Mike wanted to keep it spicy. 

On Monday, Ferg showed his . . . discomfort as Kai and other family members played with Kai's rings. 

Kai can get a little enthusiastic. 

Hallie got up close and personal with some local deer near BUH. 

Mike had some interesting experiences teaching this week, including getting to sub for the teacher Hallie works with at the preschool. He saw these little elves hanging out on a class tree, and they looked very familiar.  

Hallie went out looking for worms with the preeschoolers while Mike stayed in with the high schoolers not doing lab hours. Hallie said everyone needed to get outside. So, glad the kids are up for anything, including the high schoolers.

Ferg (AKA Granny O.) sent Mike an early birthday card. 

Hallie and Eliza got a chance to meet the new puppies from our neighbors' litter. So adorable! 

We celebrated Eliza's birthday on Friday and Saturday. She's especially proud of these boots. They look great with Great Grandpa Ace's spurs. 

She also got a LEGO ukulele that she put together on Saturday. All of us fans of the Brick think it's pretty neat. Eliza made a point of building it all by herself without help. 

Hallie heard some banging and drilling outside the house. Utility workers are installing lines for Google Fiber. It is hard to see the man behind the blinds outside, but Hallie was a bit startled to see someone out there as she had been sleeping.

Hallie caught sight of more deer near Spanish Fork Hospital on the way to meet Mike and the kids at Texas Roadhouse, where Eliza got a huge steak and a great big "Yee Haw!"

Prior to the dinner, Eliza and other BUH girls painted a lovely cow for art. She shared cupcakes with these kids and the ones at Yates Place. 

On Sunday, we invited the Melos over to watch the Super Bowl. Hallie and Landon committed to the 49ers, but Mike wasn't feeling it. Maybe he was still salty about the Lions-49ers game, or maybe he was just more familiar with the KC team, but he found himself cheering when Hallie was booing and just went with it. Landon complained about conspiracy theories and scripted games, and Mike had to explain to him that it would take much more work to hide a scripted conspiracy than for the game just not to go the 'Niner's way tonight. The Melos generally found the game interesting and fun considering they don't watch a lot of American football. Also, we ate well.  

Mom and Dad and Margarita helped Eliza make a Stitch-themed Valentine box for E's school. 

Emilio may not have found the game as interesting as the rest of us did. He did find Fergus worth his attention though. Ferg didn't know what to make of his new guests.