Art, Birthday, and Conference

Eliza brought home fun art from school, Landon started gymnastics pre-team, we celebrated Grandma M.’s birthday, and we viewed General Conference this week.

Mike has had to rent a car several times this past month, and the last car he rented was a black 2-door Ford Mustang. The kids saw it for the first time when they were getting ready to leave for school, and you would have thought it was Christmas by the looks on their faces and the shouts of glee that came from them. Eliza proclaimed, “That car is incredible! It plays dude music!”

Landon finished his series of occupational therapy sessions this week. Thanks, Mr. Scott, for all your help! Mr. Scott was perfect for Landon. We were grateful for Ms. Maggie too. Scott was Landon’s first male O.T., and the boy has a lot of fun with him, especially on the days when they would challenge each other physically. It didn’t hurt that Mr. Scott had ADHD too and was a great resource to Hallie. Speaking of Hallie, she is a tad bit happy to lighten her driving load on Mondays. Landon’s teacher will be happy he can stay for the last hour of school.

Eliza was supposed to have gymnastics today, but in the hurry scurry of our lives, Hallie forgot to take her. Thank heavens for makeups.

On Tuesday morning while Eliza was at school, Hallie had the opportunity to perform service for a great family in our ward. A sweet young mom had emergency appendectomy surgery last Saturday. Her husband is a doctoral student and is gone often and they have a two-year-old and a set of twins that are six months old. Hallie was more than happy to go and hold babies and to play with a very sweet and smart little two-year-old. Being a stay at home mom can have its perks.

Eliza and Landon both did art with Carrie, making Halloween-themed glass luminaries. Eliza’s favorite part of art class is when she turns the paint on herself, usually her face. We love when Carrie comes over and shares her talent with the children.

Eliza learned all about the letter B.

We celebrated Grandma’s birthday with presents and chocolate cake.

Hallie commented that Thursday was the least busy day she has had since school has started, thanks to Mike. Mike took both kids to school, picked up Eliza, and then picked up Landon a bit later. Hallie was able take care of things in the home she wanted to tackle, and she even showered in the middle of the day! It was a mini vacation she was happy to have. The kids spent the evening with some cute neighbor boys riding bikes and scooters. We are grateful for cooler temperatures in the evening the last few days. They may not last long, but we will relish in what we have.

Friday was relatively calm. This was the first practice for Landon on pre-team. Landon said he was a bit nervous, but when we got there the boys welcomed him with open arms, and he said practice was actually a bit too easy. Hallie met Coach Shane after practice, and he seems to be a very nice man. Victory and their staff have been great so far, and so have many of the moms Hallie has met along the way. After practice, the kids and Hallie headed to Costco for dinner and some grocery shopping until it was time to pick up Mike from work. Hallie has decided grocery shopping for an hour in Costco on a Friday night with our two children may not happen again unless she absolutely had to in case of an emergency. J

Over the weekend we watched General Conference as we ate breakfast of egg soufflé and Costco muffins. To get the kids to pay a bit more attention, Hallie printed up BINGO papers and conference note pages. Skittles ended up being the big hit of the two days. We are grateful for the words of council we received, and we will work to improve our Sabbath day observance and to be better disciples of Christ and parents to our children.

Back to the Track

The kids managed to get back the Freedom Park this week for BMX racing. Both completed and placed in their age group. Both participated in gymnastics too. Rolling stones gather no moss.

Eliza is learning all about the letter A this week, and she brought home lots of evidence of her learning.

We don't have a lot to show of Landon's school work right now, but we know he is loving it. His teacher is great with him, and he loves being there. Landon will tell you his favorite subject is Math, and he says that many days feels shorter than the six hours he is there. All of those comments sure makes a parent happy.

Eliza went with Mike to Oxnard on an errand, and we caught a pretty sunset. We here another fancy sky is scheduled for Sunday. We hope to catch a good view of it.

Mike has had an ongoing project in his spare time over the last few years where he has created some family symbols that represent us and our values, including a coat of arms and a flag, each one chock full of meaningful . When we first got married, we chose Doctrine and Covenants 88:118-120 as a scripture to inspire us in our personal and family goals. While we’re still a long way from it, we have striven to organize ourselves to establish our own home as a house of God.

Flag with stars for each member of the family and a silhouette of the San Diego Temple (the House of the Lord) where we were married

The shield is blazoned "Per fess Azure and Vert a beehive Or surrounded by three bees proper" and mantled with the Sol de mayo and a laurel wreath. The motto is Latin for "Organize yourselves" or "Set yourselves in order," referring to D&C 88:118. 

We had a visit from the Aulenbachs, who came to the LA area all the way from Edmonton, Alberta. Hallie met Jerry when he was a youth when she served her mission in Nova Scotia.

On Thursday, the kids went riding at Freedom Park with Uncle Shad and Cru. Landon won first place in his division, and Eliza won third place in her division. Everyone at the track is so very nice. Eliza has a hard time keep her bike up in the lane, and so a great dad and his daughter held her upright in the gate until it dropped. Eliza is so happy to be at the track and wishes we could go more. Mom loves Freedom Park because it is the one place where the kids don't always get in trouble. They get on their bikes and ride for hours.

Mike had the car on Friday, so the girls took advantage of the Camarillo Trolley as they ran some errands around town, first for Mom’s haircut at Moxie, then to Rocket Fizz, and finally home. The heat has not let up. By the time Hallie and Eliza made it to the trolley stop, Eliza said her hair was burning and her legs were tired. Little did she know they still would have to walk to pick Landon up from school and then home. Eliza was a good trooper, and as long as she had her sour candies with her that she kept calling salty, she did very little complaining.

Eliza got her creative juices flowing and built a dragon.

Landon got invited to join the Boys Pre-Team at Victory Gymnastics. Landon has decided to accept this challenge. He will now be practicing three days a week, two hours a day. He doubles his practices at this rate. Mom thinks she needs to find some good books for her and Eliza. Eliza is a very good sport to sit and watch Landon so often.

Almost like reading a mission call!

The kids had their pictures taken with Grandma and Grandpa M. early Saturday afternoon. Later in the day, we all had our photos taken in Ventura. We got there early, and Eliza had fallen asleep on the way, so we had gelato at Palermo. The gelato was super yummy, and they had some fun flavors. Landon always surprises us with his choices. It was fun going up and down Main Street. We definitely want to go back and peek around the shops when we are not dressed in our finest and have more time to poke our heads into the eclectic looking shops. 

The thrill of it all

Saturday night ended with the kids watching Labryinth for the first time. They weren't quite sure what to make of it, but they did sit through the whole thing. Eliza wasn't sure about some of the Muppets, but Hallie reassured her that more often than not the good guys win. She seemed to perk up and not be quite as scared after that.

Talking Like Pirates, Singing Like Angels

The kids participated in the Primary sacrament meeting program at church. They also did a lot of gymnastics. They missed BMX for the second week, but the kids did get donuts for dressing and talking like pirates. That’s about the same, right?

These kids are always on the go go go, rockin' cheeky attitudes most of the time! 

They do settle down on occasion. Here's the proof. 

Here are some gymnastics highlights from Monday and Saturday.

We also got some more art from school.

She's learning to color between the lines so well! 

Plus some art from her class with Carrie. Good job!

Eliza has developed her big sister's sense of style, at least as far as socks go. And it's practical too! Any of her socks match now. 

Landon had pictures taken for his baptism invitations on Tuesday evening. No sneak peaks! 

We attended Landon’s Back to School Night on Wednesday. Landon has enjoyed his first several days of school, and we look forward to great things from both our little scholars. 

Mike had work in Malibu on Saturday, and while he was doing his thing, Hallie and the kids went to Krispy Kreme to get donuts for Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Avast! X marks the spot where the golden treasure be stored. Y'arrr!

Making off with sweet booty

Prior to parting ways, we drove past Pepperdine University, where the lawn bordering Malibu Canyon Road and PCH has a massive display of American flags honoring the victims of 9/11. Tom Burnett, one of the heroes of Flight 93, was a Pepperdine alum.

Later on in the day, the missionaries came over for dinner and presented an object lesson.

Now you know how to balance three knives on three cups spaced equally far apart. Ta da!

Today, Grandmas and Grandpas M. and O. and cousins Haydn and Alie watched the kids perform their parts at the Primary program, I Know My Savior Lives. The children sang like angels and spoke well. We appreciate all the hard work of the children and all the adults who put the program together. Many thanks!