Last Week of School, 2018 Style

Hallie and the kids finished up the school year with plenty of activities, and the kids and cat are ready to spend long summer days out of the house. If the weekend is any indicator, we may see those three at bedtime and (maybe) mealtime.

Monday started another busy week for Hallie. Everyone had work, and then Hallie had an appointment. Eliza wanted another giant Slurpee (Thanks, Julie), and Mondays are early out, so Hallie took the kids to 7-Eleven before the trio headed to the gym. Hallie and Eliza babysat Lily. Monday was so long ago, but we are sure they were busy during the four hours of babysitting. Oh, yeah! We got garden soil at IFA and saw chicks. 

Bien texana, esta nena.

As the week started progressing, Hallie spent more and more time at work helping Mr. Hall get ready for the next school year and to close up the current school year. Most days Hallie spent at least an hour in the cafeteria making sure there weren't any food fights breaking out. While Hallie was doing tasks around the room, Mike came to the school to volunteer with the 4th grade’s Market Day. Market Day is where the kids either made items, created a game, or presented a service for the other kids to buy with tickets. You could hear a lot of what was happening in the auditorium in the Special Ed room, and Hallie was super glad she volunteered Mike for that job. For his part, Mike found the experience fascinating. The whole economy of tickets for goods and services, bargaining, etc. – all of it functioned like a real economy in microcosm. Both kids had gymnastics in the afternoon.

Life was heating up as Hump Day drew upon us. The kids had Field Day at school. Part of Hallie's job as room mom was to come up with a game for all of the kids to play on the field. Ha, ha, ha! Hallie thought she would have to take the day off to do that job, so once again Hallie signed Mike up to take care of the activity, a three-legged race. The kids really love it when a dad comes to school – “Eliza's mom,” as Hallie is called, is a daily sighting.

After school and work, the kids and Hallie went to gymnastics, where Eliza and Hallie babysat four kids for a majority of the evening. Eliza has been a great help to Hallie this week with the kids. The night before the fundraisers Hallie does for gymnastics are always a bit stressful with last-minute things getting settled and tying up loose ends. Everything usually works out, but Hallie is a plan-something-crazy-work-things-out-later kind of girl, which makes life exciting and stressful all at the same time.

On Thursday morning, our new local recreation center opened. Hallie arrived shortly after 6:00 am and came back reporting that it was great to be working out again, especially on a day that was going to be CRAZY!

Work and school went on like usual, right up until it was time to go and grab some lunch before Hallie had to grab the kid's stuff for gym and throw the kids out of the car, load Lily in the car, and head to our big fundraising night at Costa Vida. Lily hung out with Hallie and a few of the other families from gymnastics for five hours and never cried or complained. What a blessing it is to be a part of her life! Hallie finally returned home at 9:30 and was exhausted by the end of the day. She’s grateful to have had Mike's support for a bit and for taking care of the kids so this night could be possible.

What a blessing it was to have Friday be the last day of school! The last day of school was a half day and included Hallie working the cafeteria with the teachers. Something happened after school, but dang that was like three days ago, and who knows what it was? What we do know is that Hallie and Eliza ran by AirTime on the way to a fun pool party with our neighbors, and Mike took Landon to and end of year party with his team. When the girls got home, it was Mac and Cheese for dinner and a movie. The boys joined a bit later, then everyone went to bed.

Hallie went to the Clyde in the morning, and Mike worked. Landon had kept us up in the night with not being able to sleep, so playing was not happening in the morning. After Hallie came home, we did some chores around the house and then we all went to see Solo. Hallie is so glad that it was action packed because those chairs could have put her right to sleep. Tired is something she feels all the time, and the iron infusions did not even pack a punch. This next week hopefully we can look into other avenues to help her feel more rested.

Sunday was church, choir, and s’mores! What a great way to end this crazy week! Church is at 1:00 pm, and it is hard to convince everyone to get ready sometimes, but we made it. Hallie is singing Joseph Smith’s First Prayer set to the music of Come Thou Fount. Cynthia Hallan makes choir an educational experience and listens when even crazy people like Hallie ask if we can sing the hymns in a different way.

In the evening, the neighbors got together in our alley and had a s’mores party. Folks brought treats, firepits, cotton candy (Thanks, Julie!!), and kids. What a great few hours we had to get to know each other better and to meet new people. We are so happy the kids have great friends in our neighborhood.

Another Two Weeks in One Entry

Mike was out of town last Sunday, so this is another two-weeks-in-one entry.

May 6-13:

Mike spent the first four days of last week at a spring seminar for new faculty. He appreciates the level of thoughtfulness and support provided at the seminar, and we look forward to continued success from his efforts.

We had a gymnastics parent meeting on Monday with Eliza’s coaches. She’s continuing to grow in her skills, and she’ll work toward advancing to Level 3 over the summer.

Fergus has decided that outdoor living suits him. We have flea treated him, and we hope he keeps himself out of trouble. He seems to have no trouble finding food out in the wild, and near-daily “gifts” of gutted vermin provide endless morbid fascination for our and the neighbors’ kids. Mike has taken to calling Fergus a stone cold killer and Hallie to calling him a lion.

Mike paid Hallie a visit when she got her iron infusion. It's not so often we get a chance to just visit like that in the middle of the day. Too bad Hallie has yet to feel the energizing effects of that iron. 

Grandpa O. got the kids a magic wand for use with the TV. When Mike showed it off to the kids, they geeked out. They were so excited to try it out for themselves that Mike didn’t get much of a chance to show them how it works. Needless to say, the TV got turned off and on several times as they figured out other commands.

Landon got his eyes checked on Thursday. He’s a bit far-sighted, so he’ll be joining the rest of our bespeckled crew, at least for viewing TV and the whiteboard at school. Later he got a haircut. The boy’s going to look sharp! 

Later in the week he got his haircut.

Mike flew out Thursday afternoon to California for Cal Lutheran’s Grad School Commencement. He hooded his last two advisees and celebrated with the rest of the cohort. He also visited with former colleagues and enjoyed spending some time catching up with them.

He also had the chance to visit with the grandparents and Alie. Dwight and Marilyn will be moving up to Utah soon, and their recently sold home is starting to look more bare even than when Carly and Shad and the cousins moved.

After working in the morning on Saturday, Mike spent the rest of the weekend visiting with his parents and Alie. On Mother’s Day Sunday after church, Emily and her girls came to visit. This is the first time Mike has seen cute little Jocelyn. All three of Emily’s girls are bright, and Laura seems to be following right in Alie’s footsteps (quite literally – Alie took her out to play embracing her with an arm around the shoulder. So adorable!).  

Meanwhile, our kids at home gave Hallie a run for her money on Mother’s Day. Covering each other head to toe with marker is not quite as endearing as breakfast in bed. Hallie puts up with a lot with these two. Mike wishes upon them children just as full of spirit as they are (and he means it in the best sense possible. No, really!).

May 14-20:

Mike returned home, Hallie had her birthday, and Eliza had a meet. Plus, the cat brought home larger prey. Gross.

Monday – The three amigos headed off to school and work while Mike headed to the Burbank airport to head home.

Eliza and Hallie ditched school early to head to a doctor's appointment. On their way, they stopped at a yummy food truck called Porky's Poutine. Who doesn't need a little fries, gravy, and cheese for lunch? When the girls arrived at the doctor, they realized that they were actually 30 minutes late to their appointment. Oops!!! But being late sure was yummy!

The girls got home just in time to pick up Landon, get his stuff together for gymnastics, and go babysit Lily. It sounded like a good idea to go out to a park with Lily, but crazy winds came up and then rains came down. No park for Hallie and Lily. 

Eliza made Mike a fun welcome back card and drew him a picture of his arms. Maybe we have a budding heraldic artist in residence! 

She also wanted Mike to show off what he wears to graduations. Mike's not sure if she's ever seen him decked out in his regalia before. 

Tuesday – There is no adults to work the lunch room this week, so Hallie has put on her "old hat" and has started working in the lunch room again. Hallie will admit this is a lot easier than lunch duty in California, except for on days where taco meat or blueberries are served.

Today Hallie did something she had never done before, and that was to go to a high school in another city to present with a birth mom who she had never met before to students about adoption. The kids were super respectful, and the two ladies did awesome (or so said the lady who invited Hallie).

Both kids had gymnastics in the evening.

Wednesday – This day started out as a regular day. Regular meaning not full of activities that are over scheduled or are back to back. During work, one of the teachers was showing the kids in her class how to write an acrostic, and she used Hallie as an example, but Ms. McNab didn't want her picture taken.

Hallie thought it would be great to spend the afternoon getting Eliza ready for the upcoming gymnastics meet. Well, Hallie made the mistake of walking Landon into gymnastics. Once she walked in, she did not walk out for another four hours. Tonight she not only babysit Lily, but she also babysat three other kids. You know, at $2.50/hr per child sometimes babysitting is not on Hallie's list of things to do. But whatever. No one died, and we all made it to 7:30, barely.

Thursday – Today was the day Hallie chose to celebrate her birthday at work. There is an amazing lady at gymnastics who made cake pops for Hallie to hand out at school. After work Hallie spent a bit of time for herself with a pedicure. Then it was off to pick up Landon, so we could go and get his new glasses. The week before Landon got a flat top haircut, and he looks super sharp with the new glasses and the haircut. We headed home to get gymnastics gear ready for both kids, pick up Eliza, and then headed to gymnastics.

This evening Lily and Hallie joined Mike and many other faculty from the McKay School of Ed at a picnic at Kiwanis Park in Provo. It had rained on Hallie's way over, but thank goodness the rain stayed away. Lily was amazing, and the food was super yummy! We got back just in time to pick Eliza up from gymnastics. Early to bed for everyone as the next day was Eliza's state meet in Layton.

Friday – Eliza had a hair appointment for her meet and as usual looked cute as a button when she was finished. Okay, we just might be biased.

Eliza and Hallie picked up the boys and headed north to Layton for her State meet. The girls on her team try so hard and are so amazingly fearless as they do their best each time they go out. This meet was no different, but for whatever reason we had a few more stumbles than usual and a few more lower scores. But you know what? None of the girls care. They smiled and pranced around and just had a ton of fun, and that is all that matters when it comes down to it.

After the meet we ate at the Habit and did a bit of shopping at Trader Joe's. The kids played until way past dark. We love our neighbors.

Saturday – Mike and Hallie watched the Royal Wedding in bed via our tablet. Technology is amazing!!! We went back to sleep, and Hallie woke up just in time to get to her hair appointment. Hallie was running late enough that breakfast consisted of an amazing piece of birthday cake her friend Serena made. Lemon raspberry. What is there not to love? Then with her birthday money, she took her new shoes and new fitbit to the new recreation center and spent time on the elliptical machine. While she was out, one of our great neighbors invited the kids to go kayaking with their family, so Hallie got home just in time to slap the sunscreen on the kids and send them out the door with some snacks. The kids had a blast! When they came home, they played outside until dark, again. School gets out in one week and we have a feeling we won't see them very often with Utah’s long summer twilight.

Sunday – Play, church, choir, dinner, play/visit from a ward member and friend and bedtime. It is late and it all starts again in less than 12 hours. The cat brought home a dead pigeon. The kids wrote him a note in sidewalk chalk: “Fergus, No!!” Good night!!!!!

Even When There’s No Time Left, There’s Always Something to Do

We had a busy week full of school and gymnastics activities, plus Hallie's aunt and uncle came to visit!

Monday – After work, Hallie took Eliza for her first cavity filling at the dentist. It is crazy how brave this little nugget is, and we admire her for all of her courage.

After her filling, Eliza headed back to school so she could attend her last Art Club class. Whatever she created she did not bring home as it was left to dry. Mom and Dad can't wait to see what it is.

Hallie dropped Landon off at gymnastics with Eliza and picked up cute little Lily so the girls could go all the way to Saratoga Springs to pick up some cute shoes for Eliza. Lily fell asleep on the way home, and our little nugget was hungry, and everything is made better by In-N-Out.

The lake and mountains are pretty this time of year.

Tuesday – Everyone went to his or her respective schools. After Hallie went to work, she headed to Orem where Target resides. Errands done and things thrown into the spot where they belong, it was soon time to get the kids’ stuff ready for gymnastics and to pick them up from school. Hallie was going to leave soon after getting to gym so she could come home and clean a bit before our relatives were to come on Thursday evening, but – wouldn’t you know it – she never made it home. Oops!!! Mike had an orientation meeting in the evening with the newest cohort of EdD students and got home after we did. I

It's been a while since we've posted some of the kids' school work. They're still learning.

Wednesday – Mike spent time working from home and helping Hallie get the house ready for the relatives to come. Hallie was grateful to be able to spend a few hours at lunch with Jennifer and Katelyn Carney. It has been 18 months since she have seen Jen, and it was so fun! Time went by fast, and soon we had to go our separate ways.

Just a bit later Hallie had to pick up the kids from school. She dropped Eliza off at home and took Landon to gymnastics where she then picked up Lily. What a trooper Lily is to go on crazy errands with Hallie all of the time. She rarely makes a peep and always is so good! Hallie contacted her friend Serena from gymnastics to head to the Hobble Creek Boutique. We took Lily shopping with us and maybe even got her a little something for tagging along with us.

Thursday – May 3rd will always be a reason to celebrate in our family. 16 years ago, we went on Mike’s internship to Argentina. 10 years ago, Landon was sealed to us in the Salt Lake City temple. 2 years ago, Hallie had weight loss surgery that changed her life forever.

Today we experienced another first in our school district, a track meet. Landon ran the 50 meters and participated in the softball throw. There was no advancing for our athlete even though he finished 2nd in his heat. This was a great experience for both mom and son, as we have never done anything like this before. Landon was bummed a bit that he didn't get to advance but said he was glad he went and even participated. Hallie was allowed to take him home after he raced, and it was nice that mom and son spent a bit of time together.

While both of the kids spent time at gymnastics, Hallie watched two kids for a bit of time. Then Hallie and Lily headed to our house to play until Karen and Jerry Gonzales showed up. The 5 of us headed to pick up Eliza from gym and then ate dinner at Café Zupas in Spanish Fork. Yummy!!!! Hallie, Mike, Lily, and Eliza left so we could go back and get Landon from gym and to reunite Lily with her mom.

We then got the kids to bed later than usual, and the adults stayed up past their bedtime chatting and catching up. It has been 8 years since Hallie had seen her aunt and uncle.

Friday – We will deem this day as crazy. As we were getting ready for school and work Hallie got a call from her boss asking if she would be willing to teach Eliza's class at 9:00 a.m. Um.... sure. So away we went all of our separate ways, and Hallie did something she never had done before (substitute teach), and she said it went better than she thought it might have gone. It helped that the kids had an assembly to attend. Afterwards, Hallie went back to her regular work with Mr. Hall and then substituted again for Mrs. Johnson, who is one of Hallie's coworkers.

At 1:30 Hallie checked Eliza out of school, and we headed home so Adi could meet up with us and do Eliza's 'do. The hair looked amazing once again! Then we headed back to the school to pick up Landon (Hallie forgot to check him out at 1:30), and then we made our way north for Eliza's 2nd-to-last meet of the season.

Once again Eliza did great! Eliza even placed 1st on the uneven bars in her age group, and the cute little Level 2s placed 2nd overall. Next to come is her state meet on May 18 in Layton.

After Eliza's meet, we headed to Howdy's Homemade Ice Cream (which we adore) and then headed home. Of course, both kids were starving even after giant ice creams, so we ordered pizza and they watched Despicable Me 3 for pizza and a movie night. The adults spent the evening unwinding and chatting.

Saturday – Karen and Jerry left in the morning to head for home. We are sure glad they came to visit! Hopefully, next time we won't be so busy. For the first time in about 10 days we had a day to do nothing (AKA, choose your own adventure day). Landon played a lot, Mike put up our flag and flower hangers, Eliza played and watched some TV, and Hallie went and bought hanging flowers and shopped at the Beehive Bazzar, which has the greatest stuff!

The evening ended by watching Peter Rabbit, and the kids laughed their heads off. When we hear their genuine laughter it fills us with such joy.

Sunday – The weather has been amazing lately, and today was just like the others this week. The kids couldn't resist playing outside before getting ready for church. Hallie took a small nap before church, and Mike kept the chaos under control. Our church meetings were quite good today. We didn't spend our ward’s first break the fast with everyone, but in the spirit of the meal we had tacos too. Soon enough the kids were back outside with their friends, and with it staying light so late now we have to convince Eliza that it really is time to go to bed. Summer cannot come soon enough for the kids.