2022, August 8-14

The last full week of summer. Where'd the time go? 

Landon got the chance to be a "stunt double" of sorts on a TV program called Studio C. Here he is with the cast member whose role he covered, Tori Pence. 

The kids got some Studio C swag. Eliza promptly stickered the whole bottle up except for the "C".

Fergus blessed Hallie with the gift of his company. It was so shocking we had to take a picture of it. 

We had to make a really hard decision over the last couple of weeks. As we all know, the price of everything has gone up -- a lot! So we had to find a new barn for Eliza to ride at. We opted for Eliza to change where she gets lessons from Creekside to Guide N Gallop. The horse Hallie is pictured with below is named Rocky. The big positive in the change in barns is that the new barn is five minutes from our house. Yes!!

Eliza went over Creekside to get the last of her things and to say goodbye to Echo. Hallie sat in the car with tears rolling down her face. We have loved having Eliza at Creekside and what Sara did for Eliza. The friends we made and the experience we had were ones we will never forget.

On Thursday, Eliza and Hallie went up to Payson Lakes with Grandma M. When they got to the parking lot the weather was a balmy 68 degrees; down in Springville it was 85. The lake was mossy and full of weeds. Eliza was brave to go out into the lake, and Hallie and Grandma thought it was gross! Eliza loves being out in nature, and we got some fun pictures with her with nature and what nature looks like from Eliza's point of view.

Eliza got several nature pictures in. 

 Landon continues to hone his drawing skills. 

We got some rain over the last few days of the week. This view is in the direction of where the Maygrens live. While talking to Hallie's mom, she said it was raining with thunder and lightning about 20 minutes south of us. We didn't get a lot in Springville. Bummer.

The threat of rain didn't stop Eliza's friend Lexi from celebrating her birthday with friends at Wayne Bartholomew Park. Since we homeschool Eliza, we are grateful for friends like Lexi who invite her to parties where Eliza sees friends who she used to go to school with. When Hallie picked her up, Eliza reported that a good time was definitely had.

Eliza decided that Kai (the neighbor's dog who she walks) needed a sweater to keep warm. We had to remind her that Kai has a built in sweater and that 75 was really not that cold. 

In the late afternoon/early evening on Friday, Eliza spent some time with the local ponies. Most of the pictures below are from Dad's view.

Later on, in lieu of our regular pizza-and-a-movie, we had a coloring party. On Sunday evenings we chat with Mike's parents and niece. To make it kid-friendly, Hallie sent a horse color-by-number book to Alie and the same one to us so we could all show off our pictures on Sunday. Looking back, Hallie is not sure how well that activity went but may try one more Sunday.

Landon (who hates being around bugs--but honestly, who doesn't?) was less than enthusiastic about being outside. Also, this is the most decent picture we have of him in his work attire. 

Fergus got really involved (or at least as much as a cat can get involved).

 

On Sunday, Hallie, Eliza, and our neighbor Lincoln went back up to Bartholomew Park. While there, they found that some other friends had come to play too. It was fun to run in to another neighbor and their family and some friends from school and gymnastics. Hallie was grateful Lincoln could come along to give Eliza some company. Otherwise Hallie would have been the one getting buried, and she doesn't think that sounds like the best way to spend a Sunday.

Landon wanted each of us to draw Gojeto from Dragon Ball Z. For better or for worse, here are our renderings at 10:30 at night. Nailed it!