2026, February 9-15

We continue to weather through the storms both physical and metaphorical. 

Here's the family's newest 15 year old. Happy Birthday, Eliza! 

Eliza's birth mom Zoraida sent her some gifts for her birthday, including a stuffed pony. Kai was not quite sure what to make of it. 

Eliza was in love. 

She even got a special drink for her special day. 

Here's another pony pic just to give a sense of its scale. 

Zoraida even made sure that E got cupcakes! Dad got to join in with everyone else on FaceTime. 

Here is a special drink for Hallie. 

She got some Funyuns minis. They look like Cheerios in a Pringles can. It would be a mistake to confuse them either way.  

Fergus has taken to beelining to Hallie's lap (provided it's covered in a blanket).

So here's something funny. Mike and his colleagues uploaded a paper for publication consideration in an academic journal. The editors wanted a picture of the authors, two of whom are not physically with us. So we toyed with using AI to add Mike into a pre-existing image that had the other four authors. Mike's not sure who got added in, but it wasn't him. Also, the AI made a few other subtle but obvious changes from the original photos that you can see if you know what you're looking for.  

Hallie's new school photo, on the other hand, is her through and through. 

We have two Fridays the 13th in a row this year with a third to come all the way in November. Most years only get one. Anyway, here's an interesting feature article on the topic. 

Springville got rain during the week, and Missoula finally got snow on the weekend. Here's the Valentine's Day view from Mike's place. 

Hallie and Eliza went to do a little shopping in Provo. Hallie caught sight of this dress made out of ties. 

Eliza caught sight of this Monty Burns as Dracula (from the 1992 film) sticker. 

Lovely ladies! 

They had to see what Scandi Candi (AKA the Sweedish Moose Candy Company?) had to offer.

Saturday night UM held the Brawl of the Wild basketball games with a pep rally between the women's and men's matchups. Unfortunately, the Bobcats swept the Griz this time around. But at least we had hot cocoa, fireworks, and a bonfire, so that's something. Note that the snow had melted by midday. Mike had mostly rain on Sunday.

People watched Olympics and cleaned on Sunday. Ferg impressed with some massive blep action. Gold Medal effort for sure!