2025, March 3-9

Signs of spring include springing one hour forward. Grr. At least we have longer days and flowers. 

Kai came back on Monday. He's always so happy to see us. Hallie and Kai took selfies to send to Diamond.

Hallie may have used her stars to get herself a gift. Cherry blossom season is upon us in the US and in Japan. Starbucks let us know that.

Eliza had a productive time at her BUH art class. She drew this pony while there and this eye when she got home. Eliza drew the eye for one of Hallie's coworkers at Starbucks. The women Hallie works with treat Eliza so well.

Mom caught Kai lying on top of the sofa after a walk. Hallie can't get enough of our cute dog.

Eliza made it onto some of BUH's social media this week. On May 16, Bridle Up Hope is having an Open House and a horsemanship show. Let us know if you would like to come. Everyone is invited.

Mike enjoys his work at PACE and has been rebuilding his ESL teaching skillset. He continues looking for additional opportunities and had an interview this week. Speaking of which, Diamond also had great news on the job front and is looking forward to becoming a teacher this fall! 

Made with love from Starbucks. Thank you, Ty!

One of our friends from Grosse Pointe sent these images of Eliza and one of her classmates from her preschool.

Kai always has a toy. It is so cute when he put his paw or head on his toy.

Hallie spends most Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights at Starbucks. Hallie enjoys working with people she enjoys and when the regular customers stop by. All the dishes she has to do is not her favorite.

2025, February 24-March 2

Spring has come to town, but winter remains in the background. We had a week mostly bound up in new routines. 

Eliza sewed a pillow at BUH and is very pleased with the result. 

We still can't figure out what's causing Landon's occasional swollen lip. 

Walking Kai this week, we saw some signs of spring in the neighborhood. 

Poor Kai must have slightly injured his paw one morning because he was limping for a day or two. Then he got over it. 

At Hallie's school, students broke open geodes. Some cracked cleanly in half . . . ,

. . . and some didn't. 

Some high school students thought of their rocks as pets, including Nolan (pictured here). This is Theresa and the kids loved her. They were quiet when Theresa came around.

Hallie and the kids got Dutch Bros treats mid-week. 

Here is the boy hard at work at Jimmy John's. He had a couple of shifts this week and is motivated to get his license (so he can get a motorcycle. . . ).

Landon's informed Hallie via text that he had a passenger. Ewww! Ewww! Ewww! OMG. Nonononono. Fortunately, L removed it before it had a chance to make itself at home. This is the drawback of an early spring and having a girlfriend who climbs trees. Again, ewww. 

Mike got to come home a bit earlier than usual on Thursday. He's finally feeling like he has a grip on his new job and is grateful for the support he has received. He taught a first grade class on Friday. Such a contrast, all the different groups he works with! He finally got a chance to catch up with the Melos. They've been doing ESL at UVU, so the three of them had fun comparing notes. 

Friday night we trekked up to Sweet Roll Tacos in Orem for their friends and family reopening event. Nolan works there, and we got some extra TLC. Somehow Eliza escaped getting her picture taken. 

As we have done consistently for the past three years, we stand firmly with Ukraine against continued Russian aggression. 

On Saturday, we had a genuinely fine early spring morning. Eliza invited Dad out to do some art on the back grass plot. 

We drew favorite flowers and felines. 

Eliza also helped Dad deal with making sure Mom's van's headlights worked. We have had an issue with loose wires or something. We're not quite sure, because the bulbs work fine. 

Here we see a tale of one kitty taken at two different times: relaxed, and relaaaaxed. 

Mike saw more spring flowers on one of his walks over the weekend. 

Hallie's relative had a dresser for sale, and we bought it for Eliza to use and so we could bring one of her storage units downstairs to use for Kai's stuff.

Hallie worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday night at Starbucks, which can get to be a little much.

2025, February 17-23

What all went on this week? We had a holiday and then spent a lot of time working and some time playing. 

On Monday, the weather was pleasant enough that Eliza decided to go draw outside. She persuaded the rest of us to join her, and we had a pleasant, if crisp, early outdoor spring preview. 

The preschool had a dinosaur setup. Hallie has great high schoolers. A fun senior created a little version of Jurassic Park this week. The kids loved it!

Ty made Hallie this adorable drawing.

Later in the week, Hallie showed off where it sits in her car. 

Eliza saw this car while out driving with Mom. She sent Dad the image with the caption "Ewwwwwwww !!!!!!!!"

Landon has gotten a few shifts at Jimmy John's. Mom drove by to get an order, and the boy was there at the drive thru window. 

The deer were out in force at BUH. 

E decided she wanted to spend her birthday money from Grandpa and Grandma O. So, Hallie and Eliza headed up to Bridle Up Hope in Alpine to go shopping. A new hat was on the agenda unknowingly to Hallie. Eliza as you can see in the second photo ended up with the second hat. 

She settled on this pink one. 

We got some snow on Wednesday and Thursday. This is what Hallie had to contend with as she picked up the preschoolers. 

Fergus has cozied up to everyone in an effort to keep warm. Hallie even caught him blepping. 

Hallie got some fun new stickers from Dutch Bros. 

Eliza had fun at Yates Place doing science with lemons and electricity. 

The hidden deer kind of peeked their way out through the snow at BUH while Hallie waited for Eliza during E's riding lesson. 

We enjoyed actually seeing each other off and on over the weekend. After doing a teacher collaboration meeting at PACE, Mike subbed for an art class at a local elementary school on Friday. Hallie had shifts at Starbucks all three days, so she got visits from family members for moral support. Warmer weather on Saturday and Sunday meant Mike could take Kai on longer walks and even throw the ball around. 

Landon and his friend Zeke palled around with light sabers to round out the evening on Sunday.