2022, October 3-9

Had kind of a bittersweet week. Landon has chosen to stop gymnastics. Fall colors are peaking, so we had to get out in nature to watch the show. 

Here's one of the last photos we have of Landon at practice. There have been some incidents of teasing over the past few weeks and some other concerns, and by the end of practice Landon decided that whatever was going on was the last straw. We're sad to see him end his career without one last competition season, but he made a mature decision and does not seem to regret it yet. He's considering his options for future activities, including stunt work and becoming a spy. (As Hallie reads this to put her two cents in, tears come to her eyes once again.)

Eliza has gotten well settled into her new routine. She is now "interning" and otherwise helping out around the place. For the last two weeks, she has spent four hours each week at her new home away from home. We are proud of Eliza's hard work. 

 

Fergus is such a love. It's sometimes hard to work when he wants attention. No one seems to want to move if he is on their lap.

Here is the handsome fellow in his element. On Sunday, we had a bit of a scare because Eliza thought she saw a person over by the field in a white hat load something small and orange into a box with holes in it. As of this writing, we don't know whether Ferg is a prisoner or will return for dinner tonight. Update: Fergus is home and happily resting on his favorite lap. 

Eliza is likewise in her element there in the fields. She recently found a stick that she has sharpened. She's taken to visiting with the horses and cattle (who are temporarily being corralled until they head to . . . um, not here), and we'd love to meet the owners so they don't get worried about who this wild child and her orange cat who are hanging out with their livestock. Hallie has tried finding out some information on the horses but has not had a lot of luck.

The photo below does not do justice to the vibrant hues adorning the mountains to the east of us. Hallie's route has changed as of late, so she has noticed the colors differently this year and wanted to share them. For whatever reason, the cell phone camera wasn't as good as the naked eye.

Here is Eliza on Thursday with Rue. 

She also is helping the newbies learn the ropes. 

She's a strong one, this child. 

We had a Star Wars-themed activity at the library on Friday evening, so the young Padawan and her dad took part in some activities. Eliza appreciated that Landon let her borrow his Savi's Workshop lightsaber, which elicited the comment of "That's legit!" from one of the volunteers. Speaking of volunteers, we saw Megan from gymnastics, who is now employed at the library. Eliza was a good sport about letting Dad take her pictures. A lot of people attended, and hopefully we can attend more library activities in the near future. 

Mike enjoys biking the roads to the north of our neighborhood. On Saturday afternoon, he came across a rather large flock of sheep grazing in one of the pastures up by Hobble Creek. This picture doesn't do it justice; he wanted a pastoral shot along with getting in as many animals as possible. Turn the shot to the north, and the industrial buildings in the background would give away the reality that we're in the suburbs, not the country. 

On Sunday, we took a drive up to Mirror Lake so we could get a view of the peaking fall leaves. We were not disappointed. Again, photos do not capture the rich palette of reds, oranges, and especially yellows we got from the bushes and trees. The breeze caused the aspens to quake, and we even caught a buck wandering around a neighborhood in Heber City. Here are some views of Provo Canyon leading up there. 

While in Heber, Eliza pasted a sticker of Mike's arms at the local Dutch Bros., joining the many ones posted there. 

Back to the road leading toward Mirror Lake. Once we passed Kamas and got into Wasatch National Forest, the aspens really started showing off their color.  

We enjoyed a walk around the lake, which has a trail going all the way around. Hallie has been really wanting to find a nice trail that was a loop. This really fit the bill. We wish it was a tad bit closer than almost 2 hours.

Eliza managed to befriend a chipmunk. Some nice folks we met along the way taught her what to do. Eliza was very patient to make it happen.

Landon channeled his GQ persona.

It is a joke with many people that Landon doesn't smile in photos. After taking eight photos, Hallie caught one! We are biased, but we think it is a great smile!

The weather was perfect for an easy walk around the lake. In fact, it was cool enough that we even found some ice in a shady area near the lake. 

As you can see, they call it Mirror Lake for a reason. The reflections were out of this world with the dramatic clouds rolling by. 

All too soon, it was time to return home. We continued to relish the views. We had intended to stop by the Fairy Forest, but while we found the campground, we were told that the forest is sort of closed nowadays. Next time!

Hallie noticed this sign on our way up just passed Kamas in Samak (Kamas spelled backwards, go figure). Landon did not notice any nudists parading about the Beaver Creek Nudist Ranch, but we did hear a gunshot. The sign is near a private road (Nudist Rd.), but we didn't think we were trespassing. Who can really tell though? 

In Kamas, we had a late lunch/early supper at the Mirror Lake Diner. Very yummy! Mike noticed California golden poppies in bloom right outside along with other wildflowers. 

Toasted cheese with this kind of stretch? C'mon! You know it had to be good.

We got some final color coming back down Provo Canyon heading home. All in all, we had a grand day out! 

It was nice to be able to end our day chatting with Grandma Owens and Alie. We enjoy catching up with them each week and to see their faces on the Amazon Echo Show. The closest thing to in person we have.

Close to three weeks ago Hallie started a job at Springville High School and she loves it! Three hours a day is perfect, and the time goes by quickly. One of the biggest perks to the job: No Drama!