Craziness Makes For a Bit of Fun

We celebrated America's birthday with family and friends, Eliza lost not one but two teeth, and the great mess that is a house only partially packed continues to overwhelm us. Of course, that meant a trip to the beach! 

Monday Mike started out the day working with his doctoral students. While Mike was working, Hallie went to the Hopkins/Maygren house to pick up Landon from his first sleepover with Uncle Shad and Cru. It sounds like the kids had a lot of fun, and we are grateful to Uncle Shad for being willing to hang out with the kids and all of the craziness that they brought. Landon and Hallie went shoe shopping for Diamond’s wedding but were unsuccessful when it came to finding black dress shoes.

Hallie had her regular Monday therapy appointment, and she will be a bit sad leaving her therapist. This setup was meant to be, and Hallie is grateful that Jody made it possible in her schedule to work with Hallie.

We slowly began to pack the master bathroom and kids’ bedrooms. We know it will look better soon, but, man, it sure looks crazy right now.

Independence Day was a well-deserved day off. We attended the combined ward pancake breakfast held at the stake center, where there was a flag raising and a nice talk by Brother T. (who is an immigrant to the United States). He was followed up by a lady who sang America the Beautiful—it was beautiful. Hallie even recorded a bit.

We also got to marvel at an American original, a "rat rod" owned by the Sullivans.  

A bit later Grandpa and Grandma O. and Alie came over to hang with us for a bit. Alie loves the kids, and they love Alie. This is one bond we will definitely miss when we move.  The kids rode bikes, played for a long time together, and had a blast! Right at about noon, our great friend Jenny Bruner showed up to spend the afternoon with us. We love it when Jenny comes to visit! When we move to Utah, Jenny will need to make sure she visits us there as well.  We all enjoyed yummy pizza from Toppers (because pizza is what makes America great!) for the last time before we move. There are a lot of “lasts” happening, and we hope to remember them and cherish these memories.

We read about a fire that was happening just off of the 101 in the direction Jenny had to go home. We are grateful to the Ventura County Fire Department, who kept the fire to 50 acres and were able to put it out before Jenny headed home. Shortly after Jenny left, all the Owens headed over to the Growing Grounds Nursery palm tree field to have dinner, socialize, play, and watch the fireworks. This year did not disappoint: Great food, amazing friends, kids who played hard and got dirty, and amazing fireworks that more than made up for last year’s disappointment!

Wednesday we were back to the grind. In the morning, Hallie drove all the way to the Simi Valley Costco to meet a mom to buy Landon another one of the Diary of Wimpy Kid books. Landon LOVES to read and even is known to fall asleep with the books in his bed. Afterward Hallie stopped by Grandma and Grandpa O’s and then went on to the Maygren’s house. Hallie finally returned home near 1:00 and started packing Landon’s clothes. Gymnastics followed in the late afternoon for both kids, and this mom was glad to have the kids back in their routine. The kids had Slurpees in the evening, thanks to a mom who earned a discount on her 7-Eleven app. 

We tried throwing out garbage and slowly packing in the extreme heat on Thursday morning. Then Hallie took Landon to get his hair cut for the wedding. Snazzy 'do, Dude! 

Later, Landon and Hallie went to watch Alie at her gymnastics class at the YMCA in Simi Valley. Alie did a great job, and it was so fun seeing her show off her skills. What a fun class she is in! It brings back fond memories of Landon and Eliza being in Pipsqueak P.E. and Recreation Gymnastics. Who knows? We may have more than two gymnasts in the family.

The two had to dart to Landon’s gymnastics in Newbury Park, where we made it about two minutes late. Hallie loves going to Landon’s practice, because in the summer Maura has brought all of the kids to drop off and pick up Moe from practice, and Hallie gets to play with cute little Eli and hold three-month-old Jonah. Older brother Will is a good conversationalist and fun big brother.

At 5 o'clock, Hallie met up with her long-time friend Janet Schaub in Westlake at Sharky’s, and what a great time the two ladies had. The two women ate yummy food and talked non-stop for nearly 2½ hours before Hallie had to be back to pick up Landon.

While they were out, Eliza and Dad hung out at home. While watching a TV show, Eliza kept fiddling with her very loose bottom tooth, and (surprise!) out it popped!

Friday Hallie celebrated 6 weeks since her 2nd surgery. Where has the time gone?! The weather has been brutal here this week, and so we decided a last last-minute trip to the beach was in order. The whole family went, and even Carly, Cru, Sawyer, Finnley, and their friend Debbie joined us at Zuma Beach. We arrived a bit before 10:00 a.m. and stayed until 2:00 p.m. We are glad we got there early because the rest of Southern California decided a beach day was in order as well, and as the day wore on the beach became more crowded.  The kids had so much fun and of course were disappointed when it was time to go home. Mom brought red skin home as a souvenir. Dad always seems to avoid getting too much sun (too many sunburns as a kid taught him a thing or two), and Eliza looks like we baked the perfect chocolate brownies; even with sunscreen she managed a tan. Landon just got sunkissed. In the evening, Mike taught class at Cal Lutheran while the rest of the gang watched a movie. 

Eliza decided that her other loose tooth needed to come out tonight. This one wasn't quite so ready, but she didn't that fact stop her. 

It was an early start for all of us Saturday with little sleep for Hallie. Mike taught at Cal Lutheran at 9:00 a.m., and Eliza had gymnastics at 9:00 a.m.  Landon and Mom dropped off Dad then Eliza, and then we headed to the Maygren/Hopkins house to either drop off or pick up something. We chatted for a while with everyone, and then it was soon time to go return something to Sears and then back to pick up Eliza from gymnastics. The trio headed to home to eat lunch and rest.

Diamond had her wedding shower in Detroit, and we sent our love! 

The kids were great while Hallie took a much needed nap, and before we knew it, Mike called for us to come and pick him up. One of the teachers at school gave us a gift card to SweetFrog Frozen Yogurt, where we stopped on the way home for a cold treat. Thank you, Ms. B! We sure enjoyed our cool and refreshing sweet treat. Hallie and Mike did some more packing in Eliza’s room. Now she and are both living out of a suitcase until we get to Utah. Hallie sure hopes all of this preparation works out, but if it doesn’t, oh well.

The kids watched Zootopia in the evening as we all tried to cool down.

Sunday we had church. Mike was released as Sunday School President, and Hallie taught her last class with her very talkative six-year-old Primary class. We enjoyed the company of friends.

In the afternoon, we ate a lunch of toaster pastries and sausage (as we are trying to eat from our freezer and pantry). A bit more packing in the kitchen took place, and a yummy dinner of homemade spaghetti and zucchini was had by all, even thought Landon did not like the zucchini. Hopefully he will in the future. Landon and Hallie ended the evening playing Mario Bros., where Landon keeps kicking Hallie’s rear end in this newfangled version of a game Hallie used to do very well in. 

Happy Reunions and Moving Muscles

Mike came home from teaching his seminar, the kids took in some summer fun, everyone enjoyed some LA attractions, and we kept preparing for our big move.

On Monday, Mike, fresh from his week-long doctoral seminar, went to a quick benefits presentation at BYU before rushing back to Springville to get some gymnastics scheduling information for the kids from Airtime and to the new house to catch the shuttle up to the Salt Lake Airport. A late departure out of SLC meant he had to run to catch his connecting flight in San Jose. The gate had closed, but he did manage to get onto the plane as the very last passenger. Back in California earlier in the day Hallie took the kids and seven bags of cans and bottles to the recycling center where we scored a whopping $11. Then the three amigos headed to gymnastics for a while before they headed to LA to pick up Dad. After picking him up at the airport, we went to Café Rio for salads, soup, limeade, and horchata. The drive home was actually pretty manageable.

Mike took the kids to the movies on Tuesday. Well, sort of. While the kids watched, Mike napped (with Hallie napping at home). A dumpster was delivered so we could get rid of some things that have been lingering around that we just couldn’t get rid of, and boy did it fill up quick.

Our friend Mrs. Dennis came over on Wednesday morning and helped us in the garage for three hours. The garage looks amazing, and our stuff is finally coming together when it comes to packing. It’s shocking what four people and a cat can accumulate.

Thursday Hallie had her hair cut and colored super dark. She looks different, and she loves it! Why not get a new ‘do for our trip to Oklahoma and our move?

Hallie hit her five-week mark since surgery on Friday and is recovery very well. The tiredness still persists, but she is taking precautions and trying to get a handle on this. Mike and the kids have been super helpful by letting her nap and picking up some of the extra slack. Here's Fergus, our resident pro, showing how it's done: 

The kids’ big activity throughout the week was (drum roll): gymnastics.

That is until Friday. Hallie received word that Goorin Hats was having a sample sale down in LA’s Garment District, so we ventured down and got a couple of hats.

The mom of Landon’s teammate Moses from gymnastics told Hallie about their trip to Muscle Beach Venice, so since we were already in LA, we drove down so the kids could show off their mad skills. And show off they did, garnering notice from passersby and the other adults working out. Gymnastics makes you strong!  

Speaking of strong kids, on Saturday we all got together to tackle a major project related to the move. It involved demolition, and Landon managed to splinter the handle of the sledge hammer with his super strength. Eliza held her own wielding the big hammer too. In all, the kids were very impressive helpers who made it possible for Dad to get the job done.

Hallie is applying for school at BYU, and as part of that she needs to have an interview with the stake presidency, so after church on Sunday she met with President Maddux for her interview. Mike treated us to slow cooked ribs on the grill as we slowly empty of freezer and cupboards full of food before the big move. Yummy!!!!

New Home, New Class, and Hanging Out

Both of the boys kept busy this week: Landon had Cub Scout day camp, and Mike made the long trek up to Provo to teach a week-long doctoral seminar at the Y. He also got the keys to our new house and camped out there. Meanwhile, the girls had their own fun hanging out with friends and family.

On Monday morning, Mike and Landon went with Landon’s friend Luke to Westlake for Cub Scout day camp. Mike worked with a couple of Boy Scouts as a program leader, guiding all the boys’ dens through six sessions of Bug Olympics (various relay races and games of tag). His assistants were super helpful, and their great attitude (plus the ample shade of the area we held the events) made for a relaxing and enjoyable day with the cubs.

Once he dropped Landon off at gymnastics and took Luke home, he packed up the Momobile in preparation for his drive to Utah. He thought to pack almost everything he would need—almost. Hallie thought to include some items he forgot, and both forgot to remember other things until Mike was already on the road or at the new house. Such is moving!

Landon continued in camp throughout the week, earning credit toward his advancement and learning how to shoot BBs and arrows. The kid has great accuracy and enjoyed getting out there and having fun. He also sweat and smelled like a pig at the end of each session. To top it all off, he had gymnastics all this week in the afternoon. Let’s just say that he didn’t work quite as intensely as usual, and he missed a day just to rest some.

Mike woke up before 3:00 a.m. Tuesday in order to hit the road quickly and beat both the LA and Vegas traffic (which he did). The Momobile did him well, with the minor exception that it started to overheat every so often (another reason to keep moving at a steady pace). Mike anticipated that there might be an issue and took it easy, making the trip to Springville in about 10½ hours or so. Ugh. The car is comfortable, but he was glad to be done before the day’s heat set in. As he was a bit early to meet with the rental agent at our new house, he got a Beto’s breakfast burrito for lunch (and dinner too as it would turn out. Two meals there—so huge! So good!) and got a library card at the Springville Library. He also made a stop at the giant Smith’s Marketplace on 400 South, just a few blocks south of our new house. Turns out that the store was not quite yet open. Its grand opening was set for Wednesday.

After getting the keys and walking through the house, he rested some before getting a few necessities at Walmart, which also turns out to be quite close. In fact, everything we like or need seems to be tantalizingly close to where we will be living: School and church are less than half a mile north on Center Street, Airtime Gymnastics is just down by Walmart and the DI Thrift Store, and Hallie even has a Starbucks by the new Smith’s. The library and the art museum are along Mike’s route to and from work, as is Sam’s Club. Costco is not too far from Walmart and gymnastics. Hobble Creek Canyon is just a few miles up the road. All we need is family and the beach, and things would be pretty near perfect!

While we have electricity in the new house, we don’t have gas. Moreover, Mike forgot to bring a towel and a pillow. He did think to bring two sleeping bags, a ground pad, an air bed (kid-sized, unfortunately), and other toiletries. So he ate well, ran the A/C, kept his food cool, and slept OK. But oh, what a cold morning shower! After chattering his way through that, Mike went up to the university campus Wednesday morning to get a haircut, take care of his hiring paperwork, and unload his office boxes in his new digs. He has a corner office on his floor—which is great. It’s just that it’s a dark inside corner with a wee transom window to let in whatever natural light leaks in from the transoms of his neighbors’ offices across the hall. He thinks it’s awesome and keeps chuckling about the situation to himself. It’s not likely that he will have anything like the view he had from his WSU office anytime soon.

Everyone at the new office was super friendly and helpful, which made getting ready for his class at 1:00 that afternoon a bit less overwhelming. All too soon, though, it was time to get to work. This educational leadership EdD seminar on multicultural education is being taught with another seminar on the history of American education. Dr. Ferrin took all day Monday and Tuesday along with Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Mike took Wednesday and Thursday afternoons along with all day Friday and Saturday. Let’s just say that is a lot of intense time for both teachers and students. And Mike thought one Friday and Saturday per month was a lot to do teaching-wise! Still, what a fun class! He and the students had a great time and learned a lot about the topics covered from each other. Unique aspects of the class include the custom of opening with a prayer and of openly bringing church-related concepts and ideas into the discussion, both elements which he appreciated. We had a couple of profound moments of the sort he has not had in the last 10 years of his teaching. Humbling and awesome, to be sure.

When he wasn’t teaching, Mike ran a few job-related errands on campus and went to the university bookstore and the library. After getting home in the evenings, he ran some home-related errands and unpacked the boxes we’d brought up for the house (the Momobile held a massive amount of cargo: boxes upon boxes along with several pictures, the sleeping gear and luggage, and so on). Mike continues to marvel how we live in a magical time, technology-wise. Just with the data plan on his cell phone, he could not only prep for each day’s class and answer emails but could watch TV and otherwise keep entertained with everyone else so far away.

I spy a university bowtie! 

Posted speed limit? Where? Oh. . . .

He went to the Smith’s Marketplace grand opening on Wednesday (along with everyone else in Springville, it would seem) and then again later in the week when it was a little less overwhelming. He also did some walking around in the long twilight hours to gauge the distance to stores, schools, and church. Seems pretty nice all around. He even made it to church on Sunday (to the 9:00 a.m. ward. No sense babbling about our moving in given that we won’t really be here until August, right?).

Still, with all the adventuring, Mike was more than ready to get back to Hallie and the kiddos and to hear about all their activities while he was away. 

Tuesday, while Mike was headed to Utah, Hallie and Eliza took the boys to camp. As they arrived they saw Grandma M and chatted for a bit. Then Hallie saw her friend Libby. They have been friends for over 20 years, but it has been a while since they have seen each other in person. How fun to chat! Eliza and Hallie decided to go visit the Maygren/Hopkins and play for a while. Sawyer and Eliza played so well for nearly 3 hours, and Hallie got to hold and play with Finnley while she chatted with her parents. What a great time! The girls headed over to get Hallie’s nails done and set up an appointment for them to be all glammed up before Diamond’s big day in just about three weeks!!!

After taking the boys to camp again on Wednesday Hallie and Eliza took our cute as a button neighbor Annabelle with us to see Ice Age Course Collison at the local movie theatre. The girls had a great time.

Both kids had gymnastics, and let’s just say this is where Landon started losing his steam. It has been quite warm every day, and then gymnastics has no air. Poor guy. Coach Wu didn’t quite understand what was happening and why Landon couldn’t push himself more. We appreciate each coach's dedication and love seeing him give our little ones those extra pointers to improve. 

Now that Hallie’s portion of transporting the boys was over, it was time to rest. At the end of last week Hallie started feeling really tired, which is a bit of a turn since surgery. So, Hallie emailed her doctor and asked some questions. The answer was take your iron and rest. Grandma M. came over to visit for a while, and we went out to lunch. They had a very nice time and ran an errand afterwards to buy sandpaper. A while back Eliza decided to put green handprints on the newly installed fence in the backyard and now that we are moving we are trying to get it off. No luck with the sand paper. Everyone hung out the rest of the evening.

On Friday morning the girls headed to Sam’s Club for a few items and then it was time to do some chores around the house. Grandpa M. came over with an electric sander to take his shot at the fence. His shot worked!!! It was so exciting to see it clean and to know that little thing was off our backs. Grandpa also helped Hallie empty three large water containers that they will be getting rid of; no heavy lifting for two more weeks.

Landon came home a bit later in the afternoon and laid around after a long week. For pizza and a movie night we watched a movie called Magic Ice Skates which was quite cute.

A late start was had Saturday when Hallie woke up with only 20 minutes to get to gymnastics. Everyone went really fast, and we were only five minutes late even with getting some gas on the way. Hallie went back to Camarillo for a little bit and attended the Farmers Market where her friend from school was selling homemade bath products. Then it was back up the hill to watch the kids at gymnastics. Landon is learning how to do giants on the high bar, and Eliza is perfecting her skills on the beam.

In the late afternoon we headed to our friend Jack’s surprise birthday party at Valle Lindo Park. All of the kids had so much fun playing. Their energy always amazes Hallie. Moreover, how do the kids always make it on top of the playground structure?

Shortly after getting home, Carly sent us a text about meeting her and the family at Panera for dinner. We try never to miss a chance to meet up with family! The kids had a great time hanging out and walking around the Outlet Mall.

Sunday we went to church. Hallie taught her primary class and had an interview with the Bishop so she can apply for school. Wah hoo! We called and sang our nephew/cousin Porter Happy Birthday and talked to his parents for a few minutes. We are trying very hard to find a time to go and visit the Maygrens in Washington. Hallie has continued to be very tired, and so the kids watched TV L most of the afternoon as Hallie drifted in and out of sleep. Mike won’t be home soon enough in Hallie’s mind.