2024, June 10-16

We played on new toys, got inspired, and enjoyed time outdoors.

The e-bike Landon bought arrived on Tuesday. It came "95% assembled" and with a dead battery. After some assembly and a little consternation over how to get the battery to charge, we were able to get the bike up and running. Landon is thrilled and he has spent a lot of time with his new-found freedom of movement.  

Eliza is already counting the days until she can get her own device. 

We've noticed an unusual number of bumblebees this year in the neighborhood. They seem to have taken over from the yellow jackets, which seem to have moved elsewhere for the most part. 

On Wednesday evening, Hallie, Eliza, Marilyn, and Joanie went to see Amberley Snyder, whose story was dramatized in the movie Walk, Ride, Rodeo, (Netflix) at BUH, where she told her story and talked about her foundation. Eliza came away with a lot of deep thoughts. It was nice for Hallie and Eliza to talk about those things on the way home.

While the girls were out and Landon went riding with his biker friends, Mike and Fergus hung out together on the front porch. They were just chillin', so chill, in fact, that the neighborhood fox came running by within about 10 feet of them. 

Eliza caught bumblebees in another couple of photos. 

Here is Mike opening an early Father's Day present from Diamond and Caleb. They got items we can use on our trip to Japan next year. Fingers crossed that Mike lands a job before then and can get time off in June! 

On his bike ride and walk on Friday, Mike saw tons of cottonwood fluff along the Hobble Creek trail. He's pretty sure he and Landon are allergic. Also, it's possible that the flammable fluff may have added to the reasons for why a local house caught fire this week. The pictures don't do justice to how the fluff fell like snow when the wind picked up. 

Hallie heard about limited edition Star Wars-themed Oreo cookies and brought some home on Saturday. The parents had very few, as the kids devoured both packages between Saturday and Sunday.  

Kai came back and will be here for a few days before going back to Brittany's and then coming back for most of the rest of the summer. We're happy to have him here! Kai doesn't know it but he likes anime. 

Mike got some kite time in on Saturday. We had a lot of heat this week, but Saturday and Sunday cooled down a bit. We took advantage Saturday evening to have a picnic out on the lawn.

On Father's Day, we went to see Inside Out 2 at the movies before going over to Gma and Gpa M's for strawberry and angel food cake. After getting home, on her walk with Kai, Hallie chatted with one of our neighbors, and the neighbor's cat decided to introduce himself to the dog. No one got scratched or bit during the interaction.