2023, April 17-23

We babysat a puppy dog this week. 

Landon got quite a bit of sun on Sunday, and here is the look on Monday. He thought Hallie's ideas of ibuprofen, lotions and aloe vera were not smart. So, after a few days we let him handle it himself.

Eliza got to do some embroidery at BUH. Hallie loves it when whoever does BUH social media posts pictures of Eliza on their story.

Here is Fergus helping E with her schoolwork. 

Here is the view of some forsythia and mountains on campus. 

Mike definitively mastered the Rubik's Cube this week. He even got a speed cube and can routinely solve it in under three minutes. This is quite a feat for anyone. Way to go, Mike!

Hallie responded to a social media post about the JK! Studios upcoming film Go West. We all got to see a test screening of it at the Hive Collective in Provo. Some of us may have been more excited about getting their picture taken. Take a guess. The film was hilarious, and we look forward to seeing the final cut with the fancy editing and music complete. 

Hallie and the preschoolers got to see pigs at the school. Hallie has come a long way with animals. On this adventure, she even put her hand in the pig's mouth. Hallie said later she didn't know pigs didn't have front teeth. A lot of the preschoolers were scared to go up to the pigs, so Hallie thought if the kids saw her put her hand in the pigs mouth they would come up and at least try to pet the pigs. No such luck.

On Wednesday we got to babysit Hallie's friend Amanda's dog Frankie.  

Here he is making friends with everyone. Landon wasn't sure what to make of the dog at first, but by the end of the first day Landon decided this would be okay.

Frankie liked to take trips out with Hallie and Eliza. 

Eliza got to do some sparring at TKD this week. She really got into it!

Even Fergus finally warmed up to Frankie after a day or two. Well, at least Fergus would be in the same room as Frankie. 

Eliza really enjoyed having Frankie around as a travel companion. Frankie went to the lake with us for a walk, to an outdoor boutique, and to school carpool pick up.

At Yates Place, the kids have been doing studies of animal organs. Eliza has really gotten into it (so to speak). 

Look at Frankie endearing himself to the boy! 

At the preschool, the kids got involved with . . . a project where they could watch their flowers/hands grow as they blew into a straw.

Maybe it's Hallie who thinks Frankie makes a great travel companion. 

On Saturday, Mike, Landon, and a couple of Landon's friends went to an anime convention in Salt Lake. It was a bit underwhelming, to be honest. A fair number of cosplayers attended, but there wasn't a huge variety as far as the vendors went.  

Turning 50 means that Mike and the friends from his childhood have transitioned into this strange phase of being nostalgic about some aspects of the "good ol' days" while appreciating that we live in "the future".  

After they got home from the convention, Landon and the boys played games, had pizza, and sparred some at home. Frankie didn't quite know what to make of it. Hallie didn't know what to make of it either, so she went to the bedroom for a while until is subsided.

Once the friends went home, Frankie got to have some lap time. Landon got a haircut on Frida--once again, not his decision. But needless to say, he likes it after it is done.

While Mike went to assist Hallie as she walked Frankie Sunday morning, he spied a new local resident, a groundhog who has found a home in the field across the street next to Reagan Academy. 

Can you see it perched on the tire pile there? 

Here we see one of the tulips peaking out of the raised bed. Hallie is hoping more come up soon as most of the neighborhoods tulips has already bloomed.

We took Frankie on a walk over at Bartholomew Park in the morning and spent some time basking in the early spring sun before Amanda came to retrieve her pup. Hopefully we'll get to visit with Frankie again soon (Fergus says, "Not too soon," though). 

2023, April 10-16

We had a lovely transition to spring as part of Mike celebrating his fiftieth birthday. 

The week started with Mike getting a copy of the Aspilogia Discordiae, a printed version of many of the armorial achievements from the Discord heraldry community of which he is a part, created by Dimitri Prica with drawings by Heikki Halkosaari.  

Landon continues to learn geometry. 

Mike's grandpa had some old family vacation reels that Mike finally got around to sending several in to be digitized. We look forward to seeing what comes back! 

Mike walked around Costco while Landon did TKD, he came across the LEGO set based on the house from the movie UP. He was happy to get it for Hallie as a present.  

He's continuing to try to memorize the algorithms for solving the Rubik's Cube. He's got part of it down pat. Still working on it. 

Eliza continues to make progress in TKD. 

Some good advice from one of Mike's favorite books, Nation by Terry Pratchett. 

Mike received this infinity cube in the mail as a birthday present from his parents. It came in handy at a conference he attended later in the week. 

He resorted to using YouTube videos to help with memorizing the Rubik's Cube algorithms, and he managed to solve it a few times with minimal help. 

Laandon wanted to make sure someone captured Fergus blessing him with his presence. 

Here is the boy channeling his inner Maverick from Top Gun. Landon said recently that they call him the boy of a thousand looks. It seems he does something different every day. It is kind of fun to see.

Eliza received a late birthday present from one of the kids we carpool with to Yates Place. Noelle knitted the scarf Eliza is wearing and the fun bracelet she is wearing can have essential oils put on it.

Mike celebrated his 50th birthday this week. He appreciated all the cards and well wishes. 

He had to attend a conference up at Daniels Summit Lodge, where it is still winter. 

The room was spacious. 

It had a decent view. 

Hallie also got a gift in the mail: a backpack to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary. The short story is she ordered it for herself when she forgot her gift cards at the hotel when she was at Disneyland.

So, here is Mike at 50. Could be worse. 

Here's Mike at 50 with Photoshop filters. Woo hoo!

Here he is with the family at the Back 40 Restaurant in Heber. Hallie and the kids made the trip up just to spend time with the birthday boy. Dinner was yummy, even the leftovers were amazing!

Here's the view from the hotel room as the skies became more dramatic. 

And here's a view the following morning as Mike went for a walk. 

As he walked by the restaurant, he happened upon a scavenging fox. 

Conference ended, he got back in time for him and the girls to go to the Spanish Fork food trucks. The flowers are in bloom down here. 

Eliza attempted to climb a pole, but she had a harder time than she has in the past. She's done a lot of growing in the last few months coupled with no longer training as a competitive athlete. 

Here is a sample of the birria tacos we got from Chimi-Salsa on the Road. Along with these, we got empanadas, a burger, and rolls made with chicharrones (aka pork rinds). 

On Saturday morning, Landon (with substantial help from Mom) made Mike eggs. He was referencing a show you may (or may not) know. 

As he went for a walk, Mike happened upon the nearby field horses basking in the sun. No, they're not dead. 

On a bike ride later in the evening, Mike took a look at the creek north of our neighborhood. That's quite a bit of runoff! 

Hallie worked on the UP house during the week, finishing it Saturday evening (with only a little help from Mike).

Fergus chose to bless Hallie on Sunday morning. Mike caught a quick shot of it.