New-to-Us Wheels and Victory on the Gym Floor

We spent the two years we have lived in California as a one-car family after leaving our Buick in the care of our friend in Michigan. This week we finally had enough money saved to take advantage of the opportunity to buy outright a new-to-us car from Hallie’s parents’ neighbor, a sweet mid-sized sedan not too different from our Buick: a 1995 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Royale. What this car has in number of years it makes up for in high level of care and low number of miles over those years.

The rest of the week the kids spent winding down the school year, which ends next week, and preparing for Victory Games at gymnastics.

Memorial Day we spent quietly around the house. It was nice to not have to go anywhere. We spent the afternoon at the BMX track and then grilled hot dogs before Mike had to go out and work in the evening.

Tuesday the kids had school as usual, and Mike worked for several hours away from home. When he got home, he saw Landon tooling around on some electric wheels. 

Landon had Scouts in the evening where they did obstacle courses outside due to the church being carpeted. 

After Scouts, Mike took the two kids to Baskin Robbins where if a month has 31 days you can get an ice cream for $1.31 per scoop. The kids were very excited to have a yummy treat so close to bedtime.

A lot of weeks Wednesday seems to be a busy day for us. Hallie made her usual several trips up the hill to Thousand Oaks, Westlake, and Newbury Park taking everyone to their destinations. 

It's been a little bit since we have shown off Eliza's art, so here's some for your viewing pleasure. 

It had been nearly a week since we had seen Roxy (the dog we walk) and since we had seen her she got a haircut and new walking harness. She looks so good! Mike mentioned it was a lot easier to walk her. Hopefully Hallie will never have to worry about her running into a busy street again. Mike had a brief work assignment, and while he did that Hallie and Eliza headed to Chick-fil-A for a yummy lunch. We headed home for a bit to pick up Landon and to have our friend Natalie practice French braids on Eliza’s hair for Saturday’s big gymnastics recital. In the evening Hallie and Landon attended Cru’s baseball game. His team went quite far in the season. Mike and Eliza ran errands during part of the game and joined the other two later on. We needed to be home by 7:30 so a member of the bishopric could meet with Hallie and extend a calling to her in the Primary. Late in the evening Hallie received a text from her mom that her neighbor was selling her car and asking if we were interested. After reading the details, you bet we were interested!

We all left the house at 8:00 a.m. Friday morning. The first stop was dropping Landon off at school, then Hallie dropped Mike and Eliza off at a friend’s house so the men could work on a literary project. Details to follow. Hallie moved on to the doctor’s office where she had get her bloodwork done for her one-month check-up since surgery. Some results have come back, and so far so good. Hallie went back and picked up Mike and Eliza and then we headed to Rolling Pin for National Donut Day. Eliza purchased the very last donut before Rolling Pin closed for the day. The three then headed up to Thousand Oaks to check out the car and give it a little test drive. Everything went well, and we headed home with a new-to-us car!!! 

Yes, they both technically fit. No, we won't be doing this sort of thing all the time.

It has been sinking in little by little that Hallie will have a bit more free time on her hands. Good thing she has some new shades with which to contemplate her bright future! 

The first taste of summer heat arrived. Fortunately it has been mitigated in part by a marine layer in the mornings, AKA June Gloom.

The kids spent time in the pool on Friday instead of watching a movie. Unfortunately, Landon had a moderately strong allergic reaction to the unpleasantness floating in the water. Eww. Wash before going in the water, people, and don’t pee where you swim, OK?

On Saturday, both kids participated in Victory Games while Mike started his third year at CLU with doctoral student orientation. Eliza took top honors in her level on the floor exercise, and Landon took first place overall in his level. We’re proud of them for being such hard workers! We also appreciated having so much family support there! What a great benefit of living close to family! 

We celebrated with the kids afterwards at Islands Grill, and they were so accommodating to Hallie’s new eating style. So thankful for nice restaurants and their willingness to help out.

A big hug to loved ones far away

Sunday, Mike had to attend the remainder of orientation at CLU while the three amigos attended church. Everyone made it through the day and we are grateful for the end of the week and for new things to come next week.

Renewals, What-ifs, and Trifle

At the risk of sounding boring, not a lot happened this week that merited photos or attempts at witty remarks. After nearly two years of living in California, we have settled into our rhythms and routines. The biggest change from Michigan seems to be that (with money tighter here than there) we travel less, somewhat to our lament. There are compensations, so we’re fine with it on the overall. Definitely grateful for blessings old and new.

We have opted to renew the lease on our current home, which means that for the next little while the kids will attend the same school and we will go to the same ward at church. This period of our lives seems to be one of settling in for the moment until we figure out long-term work and home decisions.

It wasn’t all the same thing, particularly on the weekend. Mike received a gift in the mail from one of his graduate students at Wayne State who successfully defended her dissertation (Congratulations, Dr. Green!) called Detroit Is: An Essay in Photographs. Eliza in particular enjoyed perusing the images of a home she doesn’t quite remember anymore.

On Saturday, Mike, Landon, and Eliza placed flags on the graves of veterans at Conejo Mountain Memorial Park.

The cemetery is near a home we briefly considered renting two years ago. Pretty far out there, now that we have actually driven the route. It’s down a long gravel road at the base of some foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. And it turns out to be home to On the Lamb Herding, a ranch that trains herding and stock dogs. The kids would have had a BLAST living next to a working ranch! About the dogs, Hallie says, “Oh, they bark.” Probably best we opted for suburbia with its cars and fire truck sirens and other non-barking noises. Oh, and barking neighborhood dogs. Of course, the trip to school is shorter. Interestingly, we’d still be in our current ward.

Mike opted to take a picture of the house that had been for rent. As he got set to turn around for home, a lady in a bathrobe came out of the larger house on the property. “Can I help you?” she called. “Just wanted to see where the road led,” he replied with a smile. “Well, this is the end of the road!” she laughed back in good humor. Good times.

In the afternoon, we celebrated the baptisms of Liberty and Tyler, friends from our ward. Landon and Eliza have become close to these two, and we were excited to see them take this important step in their religious lives.

After church on Sunday, we celebrated Carly’s birthday with chocolate trifle. Yum! Mike has an uncanny knack for taking bad birthday pictures. Sorry! 

Mostly Short, Sweet, and to the Point

We celebrated two birthdays, attended Open House at Landon’s school, and had company over the weekend. The End!

No, there’s more, but we’re a bit pressed for time this week. Here’s a quick rundown:

Hallie got a spray tan in anticipation of her birthday. Now she’s thinner and browner than she’s been in a long time. It’s going to get to a point where people hardly recognize her!

Hallie’s birthday didn’t feel much like one: she played taxi to Mike and the kids. Mike had Campus Community Day, and the kids had school and gymnastics. After gymnastics, Landon showed off all the fun activities he has done in his class. We also checked out the classes of the potential teachers he and Eliza might have next year. We have our picks, but we’ll have to see what we get.

On Friday, our friend and former Detroit missionary Naomi and her friend Kimberly came to visit and take in some of the fun sights and activities of SoCal.

Back when Naomi was Sis. Longhurst, she and her companions helped us pack up for our move to California.

Every so often, the kids act like they like each other. Then there is everyday normal, where they’re like oil and water. This weekend, it seemed like they were determined to get on each other’s (and their parent’s) last nerves.

After Mike helped clean the church meetinghouse and participated in a training for Cub Scout day camp (to take place later this summer), we drove over to the LEGO Store, where Mike got some belated birthday gifts (3-in-1 building sets to add to our emerging little town) and Hallie got some Disney-themed minifigs.

After church on Sunday, we went to Grandma and Grandpa M’s to celebrate Sawyer’s 2nd birthday. 

Return to Routines

Mike had a pretty busy week at school with end of semester meetings and graduation. Hallie got back into some of her normal routines. The kids trekked along as if they were at the center of their own little worlds, which (of course) they are.

Monday was a busy day for everyone but Hallie. In the late afternoon, she had her first follow up at the surgeon’s office. Everything went well for the most part. A little more water and protein is what the nurse ordered, so every day that is what Hallie is trying to do. We are grateful to Paula for driving Hallie to her appointment and Mikayla for meeting the kids at gymnastics and bringing them home.

The household doesn’t get all we need to get done without Hallie in the driver’s seat, so after a few days of getting chauffeured around, she returned to taxi duties on Tuesday. The first day back was a long day, but everyone survived. All the stuff we did on Tuesday wore Hallie out, as the rest of the week she has been a bit tired. Hallie was invited to the ultrasound of her sister’s third child. Hallie was super excited as she has never been to one and marveled at the 3-D technology. The little bundle of joy looks to be doing amazing!

On Wednesday Hallie attempted to walk Roxy with Mike and Eliza. Out of the hour walk she got about 20 minutes done. Gymnastics happened in the afternoon, and both of the kids are learning routines and skills for Victory Games on June 4th. They are both so excited to be able to win medals at the meet. 

In the evening our new bishop came to pay us a visit. It wasn’t just a social call though, and before he left extended a calling to Mike: Sunday School President. That's a new one! Mike was hoping the visit was to extend a big time calling to Hallie, but he is out of luck for now.

Eliza continues showing off her creative side both at school or at home. 

Fergus is back to his old self, including playing escape artist. 

Troublemaker. "Who me?"

Mike had to go to the dentist on Thursday, fearing a root canal was needed. He got off with only a filling. Tonight was Hallie’s first support group meeting at Kaiser. Hopefully next time it will be a bit different than it was tonight because she came home slightly disappointed. Dr. Billy her surgeon also offers support groups, and she will be trying one of those in the upcoming weeks. Hallie talks often of the support she has received in a new Facebook group of others who have or will be having surgery this month and also the friends Shirley and Beverly she made during her Options class at Kaiser. There have also been several friends that have had this surgery more than a year ago that she has relied on for help.

Hallie got to start eating small amounts of protein-rich regular food on Friday. Never has a person been so excited to eat Greek yogurt or refried beans. For two weeks it is mushy foods, but that is fine by her!

A few of Mike’s doctoral students graduated, so he hooded them at the commencement ceremony. All us faculty and students fussing and flapping in beastly black like a murder of crows, so funny to see. Eliza liked seeing the selfie he sent to her pre-ceremony.

Saturday we did a few chores around the house and attended a birthday party at the park for a cute little neighbor boy who turned 2. 

With the week being so busy it is nice to be able to have some down time. In the evening Landon and Hallie spent time reading Anne of Green Gables. Landon’s teacher finally implemented a reading log, and it has been fun reading different genres with him. We started with Harry Potter, next it was Rush Revere, and now Anne of Green Gables. We will have to see what comes next!