2023, May 1-7

We had some surprises this week; some were pleasant, some not so much. 

We've had quite a bit of runoff with the warmer weather. Several fields north of our house have flooded. Fortunately, we had cooler weather later in the week. In fact, the weekend was delightful! 

Mike unrolled the screen at his office only to see that a bird had somehow managed to dive bomb his window. He had no idea how that would portend some of what would come this week. 

Eliza and Mom ran a few errands later in the day. See how thrilled Eliza is? 

She had an outdoor lesson for BUH on Monday. The girls rode in the areas around the stables near Bartholomew Park. This was Eliza's last official lesson at BUH. Where did 14 weeks go?

The tulip bed was in its prime this week. We've appreciated having the color in the yard. 

While Mike was up at work, Eliza helped Hallie with the preschoolers. 

Prior to taking Landon to school and Eliza to Hallie's work, Mike got a phone call from an administrator requesting a meeting. After helping a student with his prospectus defense, Mike met with the administrator. "By mutual determination" Mike has agreed to a separation of employment from his now former employer. Needless to say, this news came as quite a shock. Mike's looking into his options, but it appears that he has "graduated" from his former university for the last time. 

In more positive news, Mike got an email from his student loan authority that his student loans are finally paid off! So between paid off car and loan, we've got a couple of debts less to worry about. 

Here's a couple of shots of Hobble Creek Mike took while riding Tuesday afternoon. 

Wednesday morning dawned cool and bright. After seeing Eliza and Mom off to work and school and dropping Landon off at school, Mike had some genuine free time for the first time in a long time. After walking around the neighborhood and enjoying the flowers and trees in bloom, he set to work finding another job. Being that he was already on the hunt since December's bad tenure news, he had some leads in place. Here's hoping he finds something sooner than later.  

Hallie and her students had a party for Mrs. Kelly, who graduated this week from her master's program. 

Fergus is always good for a burry blep shot. 

Here are a couple of images Hallie got as she walked around Bartholomew Park Wednesday while Eliza attended class at BUH. Isn't the view beautiful? 

Eliza had a well visit and shots at the doctor this week. Here she is with our neighbor Julie, who is the nurse at the office, (and three lollipops) right after getting said shots. 

E also got a dress in the mail for the dance she will perform at the end of school in a couple of weeks. She has been learning swing dancing and has really enjoyed it this school year.

The seniors know how to party down at Hallie's work. 

Eliza has continued learning about animal anatomy at Yates Place. Here they are with a pig's leg. 

Fergus has been quite the companion to Mike while he's been looking for work from home. He found out that another paper he co-wrote with a former student got accepted for publication. More welcome news!

We went to see Guardians of the Galaxy III over the weekend. Everyone seemed to enjoy it more than the Ant Man movie. Eliza managed to get a pic of her and her brother on the ride home.