2022, May 9-15

We went from snowy weather to nearly summer this week. Eliza spent time with horses, and Landon got in a couple of sword fights.

Monday morning, we awoke to snowfall on the grass and cars. Our little garden had a couple of casualties.  

By mid-morning, the snow had melted off the grass, and the air felt pleasantly warm. So we spent some time outside -- Eliza whittling, and Mike flying his kite. 

We had an OK wind at first, but then Mike noticed just in time that the wind was dying down. He avoided getting it stuck on a neighbor's roof, but the string snagged a tree branch. 

Eliza scrambled up to see if she could get it, but Mike managed to get it loose before Eliza needed to go out on a limb, so to speak. 

That evening, Mike went for a neighborhood walk. 

Fergus decided to join him, as he is sometimes wont to do lately. 

He spied this robin-red-breast and tried to snag him. 

Alas, the bird was faster than our hunter. 

Better luck next time, killer.

Eliza had her last days at Yates' Place for the school year this week. On Wednesday, they had a gift exchange. Here Eliza is preparing her gifts. 

Hallie had bought some paint pens, and Mike and Eliza painted a couple of the trays we use when eating and watching TV. 

After Yates' Place and schoolwork at the Payson Library on Wednesday, Eliza had her horseback riding session. We had pleasant spring weather, and Mike thought the girls were going outside. They did, eventually. 

Here is Loki. He and Mike got off to a bit of a bitey start when they first met many moons ago, but now we're friends. 

Thursday started off drizzly. Mike and Eliza walked down to see the ponies in the pasture west of our subdivision. 

On our walk back, we were treated to dramatic skies. 

Fergus spends many days snoozing in Eliza's room. Here he is blepping. 

On her afternoon ride, Eliza showed off her developing skills on Echo. 

Fergus spends many evenings snoozing with people on the couch. No blep to be seen this time. 

Hallie bought Eliza a long pillow to replace one Landon had damaged. Fergus took it over, of course.

Because Eliza had a last day of school party on Friday, Mike and Hallie had time for a lunchtime date. We went walking over by Hobble Creek. As we did so, Hallie thought she saw a twig on the path. As she started to step over it, it moved! Yup, it was a little snake, and it promptly slithered off the path, much to Hallie's relief. 

In addition to using the paint pens for drawing on her food tray, Eliza used it to draw little hearts on herself. 

For a school task, she needed to do a scavenger hunt for items having specific geometric shapes. This puff ball is pretty spherical, right? 

On Saturday, Landon participated in an all day gymnastics seminar from Complete Performance Coaching. While he was one of the few boys in attendance, the advice worked equally well for girls, boys, women, and men alike. Pictured below is Chellsie Memmel, an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2005 world all-around champion and the 2003 world champion on the uneven bars. She was a member of the United States women's gymnastics team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

He also had a job interview for a summer job at Splash Summit. We don't know what the result will be, but he felt pretty confident. As his parents we hope he gets the job but it is also a great opportunity for practice.

 

Once he got back home, he got right back with the seminar. Technology is amazing in that he was able to keep participating in the car to and from the interview and not miss much of the all-day proceedings. 

We had another backyard get together. We were far fewer in number but had no less fun. Fergus even joined us, and he was kind enough to bring his own vittles. 

On Sunday while she was playing, Eliza ran into a bumblebee (we think). She got stung, and she was a trooper while Mike tended to her.  

Landon's new friend Marshall came over as well. Here the boys are sparring on the front lawn. Landon broke a wooden sword, got a sunburn, and a splinter as it should be. 

Eliza enjoyed watching from the sidelines. 

The week ended with weather at 85 degrees. Hallie and Mike spent a bit of time clearing out the garage so we can get stuff donated, put away, or thrown away. Had to try to get some work done before it got too hot. Hopefully, the parents will keep up the organization trend over the next week and Hallie will be able to get her car back in the garage.