Landon Finally Broke Something

And it wasn’t even gymnastics related! More on that later.

Shortly before the month started Mike and Hallie decided to see who could get the most steps every day and a bit of money would be put on the table for the winner. We will let you know who wins at the end of the month, but one of the two is already ahead. Not by much, though!

Monday, was definitely a “regular” day. Work, school, gymnastics, and more work. By the end of the day we were all definitely tired.

Tuesday Mike took advantage of the fact that we have ample construction materials to build the kids a chess set and thus build on their interest in the game. 

Shall we play a game? 

The pieces are blocky and simple, but they get the job done.

Mike picked up our meat order from the big rig (AKA Zaycon Fresh). They have the best bacon, and thank heavens Landon has a fast metabolism because this kid downs the bacon like it is candy. Well, to some of us it is candy. The rest of the day was filled with work, school, and gymnastics like usual.

What a difference a year makes. On Wednesday, May 3, Hallie celebrated her one-year anniversary of having the vertical gastric sleeve. 103 lbs marks the most weight Hallie has lost to date. May 3 also marks the date Landon was sealed to our family nine years ago. Wow, time sure does fly!

Today we had a man come out and give us a quote to move us to Utah. Boy, moving is a lot of money! But it sure would be nice to have the help this year as we have so much happening in the next 2 ½ months.

Hallie went to lunch with her friend Yackie from school, and they had a great meal at a Thai restaurant in Ventura called Jasmine’s. The two then went to pick up their girls from school, where Hallie was given a tray of lumpias (Filipino egg rolls). Yum! Then a kind mom from school knew Hallie had been packing and sent her home with some extra steak she had. What kind and generous friends we have!

Several of the preschoolers and Kindergartners played after school at the park until their older siblings and friends got out of school, and they all had so much fun.

Landon went to Scouts and had a great time planting seeds with his friends, and he brought home bell peppers, peas, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes. Hallie is a bit nervous as we haven’t been too successful with gardens (well, wait. We have managed to grow cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers in past years), but we will give it a go.

Mike had a busy day Thursday with a dissertation defense, meetings, and a potluck. The kids and Hallie did work, school, and gymnastics. We are sure more happened today but our memories fade quickly these days.

Landon has said many times, “Can we just do nothing today?” So, Friday we let them sleep in and skip school for Cinco de Mayo. Yeah, that’s it. 8:00 a.m. came, and we all decided to get out of bed and start our day with yummy Krispy Kreme donuts. After cleaning out the car, we headed north on the freeway to Santa Barbara. The four of us stopped off at Carrillo Plaza Mall to see our friend Debbie who works at Pottery Barn. We arrived a bit early, so we spent some time walking through the mall and stumbled upon a great dress for Eliza to wear to Diamond’s wedding this July.

Pottery Barn was fun and the coolest place to go—even Michael Keaton showed up there later in the day!

Mike drove us down State St, and it is sad to see so many storefronts empty. We grownups can’t wait to come back when the kids are not with us. On our way back south, we drove through neighborhoods in Montecito because why take the freeway when you can gawk at the big houses along the way in the neighborhoods?

We stopped at Padaro Beach Grill in Carpinteria for a super tasty lunch and for the kids to get their hands dirty in the sand. We all had yummy food to eat, and there was great atmosphere.

Some good lookin' people right there! 

The locals are totally chill with us hangin' out on their turf. 

Landon built his own custom Ninjago plane. Hey, LEGO Corp, you have a budding designer here! 

(Heartbreaker, this kid, by the way)

The night was topped off by watching Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The kids both liked the movie. The parents had their own movie, La La Land, in the evening.

This Saturday was our least busy day of the month. The kids went to gymnastics while Mike went to a Cub Scout Day Camp training. Later he went home and did some more packing/building boxes. After gymnastics, the kids and Hallie helped do some cleaning and packing. We know it seems early, but Hallie will be out of commission for six weeks come the end of the month, so we are trying to get as much done as we can. Landon and Eliza made packing up a little more dramatic when Landon stepped wrong over an Easter basket Eliza had filled with stones from the back yard and injured his toe.

On Saturday and Sunday, we also had rain and stake conference (yes, again. This time, it was our normally scheduled conference). Elders Ren S. Johnson (an area authority seventy) and D. Todd Christofferson (an apostle) came to speak.  Mike attended the priesthood leadership and adult sessions while Hallie hung with the kids. They watched some shows, had pizza, and spent time cleaning in Landon’s room. While Landon convalesced at home with a cake pop, Hallie and Eliza returned the DVDs and went to Ice Bar for some shave ice. 

On Sunday, we attended the general session of conference. We appreciated the testimonies and advice. The kids and Mike got to shake the speakers' hands. Both children were impressed, and hopefully this is a life-long memory for them.

Good ol' camera phone never fails to fail in the clutch. 

Afterwards, Landon’s toe still hurt, so Hallie took him to the urgent care. Turns out that he actually managed to fracture his toe with that bad step. This means a boot, crutches, two weeks without gymnastics, and a probable upcoming podiatrist appointment.

Our home teacher Matt was kind enough to come over and help Mike give Landon a blessing. Thanks, Matt!

Time Keeps On Slippin'

The end of spring semester brings with it a couple of major anniversaries for Mike. He graduated from college 20 years ago on Monday, and next week will mark his 10-year PhD anniversary. It also brings things like speech tournaments, which Landon had this week. 

Monday was a pretty normal day starting out: work, school, therapy. Then Mike dropped Eliza off at gymnastics, and Hallie took Landon to participate in the 3rd Grade Speech Tournament sponsored by the Pleasant Valley Educational Foundation. There were 10 kids from Las Posas Elementary School who participated, and they all had a wonderful time. Landon performed Crocodile's Toothache by Shel Silverstein. There were two rounds, dinner, rewards, and a third round. None of our kids made it to the third round, but we are still proud of all them! For participating in the tournament, the kids received a pizza party on Friday hosted by the third grade teachers, and they each received a Las Posas Leopards t-shirt.

As we look back at Tuesday, things seem pretty boring. A lot of the same old things happened. However, while Landon was at gymnastics, Hallie was able to hold and feed baby J again. He is so little and precious. Eliza found a few new friends to entertain herself with at gymnastics, and it is fun to watch them play together. We are also grateful for Davenport for giving Eliza three new leotards that she is in love with.

Wednesday, Hallie subbed at school as yard duty when three other yard duties called in sick. As Eliza had gymnastics in the afternoon, Mike picked up Landon from Hallie and took him home. Mike tutored, and Landon hung out with him at the library. There was Cub Scouts Pack Meeting in the evening where Landon earned a belt loop. (We actually forgot it was pack meeting and just dropped Landon off. Oops!)

Thursday was quite busy for Mike with lots of meetings and work to be done. Hallie worked, the kids went to school, and Landon ended the day with gymnastics. Eliza and Hallie spent the whole time there chatting with their friends and just plain hanging out. We love Victory!

Grandma and Grandpa B. came for a brief visit on Friday. They came out to the LA area on a work trip. We were sure glad to see them and catch up on old times! Afterwards, we had pizza and watched Queen of Katwe. Everyone really liked the movie, and Landon is now on a chess kick. If you have a free or cheap chess set, let us know.

We had to pause part way through the movie when the missionaries came over and talked with us about previous commitments we had made with them.

On Saturday morning, Hallie took the kids to gymnastics while Mike went to breakfast at the Hidden Café with his friend Grace, whom he has known since junior high. That’s some 30-odd years! Where does the time go?

Later in the morning, Mike joined Hallie helping the Kawai family from our ward to pack up for their move next month.

While at gymnastics, Hallie did some more packing at home. Not a whole lot, admittedly, but every little bit counts.

In the late afternoon Hallie headed to Westlake to have her hair done by her friend Kasea.

Mike and Eliza enjoyed a leisurely walk to and from church today. Hallie and Landon went on their second (of 3) Disneyland Resort trips in celebration of Hallie’s weight loss. This time they went to California Adventure. The two rode Radiator Racers three times in a row. Thank you to our friend Lissa and her insight of riding as a single rider. The day was beautiful a little warm but they came back reporting a lot of fun adventures, one of which Landon won two stuffed animals from the Boardwalk games. 

Field Trip, Photo Booth Fun, and a New Job

Landon is in the spotlight this week. He went on a field trip to the Camarillo Ranch House as part of his grade’s community social studies curriculum. Hallie got to join as a volunteer (lucky!). Mike had some employment news of his own.

On Monday we were able to work our schedules out so that Hallie was able to attend a bariatric support group in Woodland Hills. Everyone was really nice, and Hallie enjoyed seeing her friend Shirley (who has gone through this whole process with Hallie) and how successful she has been.

Tuesday was the day Hallie joined the 3rd graders on their field trip to the Camarillo Ranch House. Hallie reported that it was a great field trip! It was a beautiful day even with the bit of rain they experienced as they were leaving. The kids saw period toys and tools, and they even had the chance to make their own butter.

During the morning on Wednesday Hallie spent time with Eliza’s class making cards for a friend who needs a bit of cheering up. The kids were so thoughtful and took their time with the cards they created.

Thursday and Friday seemed to be a lot of the same old routines. Mike had a busy Friday with a couple of dissertation defenses to oversee and class to teach. He also volunteered a bit at the elementary school in the morning. Hallie and the kids watched Frozen for Pizza and a Movie Night while Mike taught his last class of the semester. A great family at gymnastics is fostering an infant, and what a joy Hallie found it to be to hold this little precious one-week-old baby!

For some of you who do not know yet, Diamond’s boyfriend Caleb officially proposed to her a few weeks ago. On Friday she headed to West Virginia to visit with Caleb and to take the engagement pictures. We are so excited for Diamond and Caleb and can’t wait to celebrate with them in Oklahoma City in July!

The kids and Mike headed to gymnastics on Saturday morning, and Hallie stayed home to make a mess of the house. Okay, she was supposed to be cleaning/packing (read below). Everyone headed home close to 1:30. Landon hung out with his friend Sampson for a while, and then it was time to invite the kids to help with the sorting and cleaning of rooms.

In other news of the week, Landon decided to take Dad’s iPod for a spin.

Eliza did a little of her own selfie action.

Mike put in notice at Cal Lutheran and has accepted an offer at another university's school of education. As with CLU, he’ll be working as an educational leadership professor. As with the move from Wayne State, we’re taking this one with mixed feelings. We’re definitely going to miss living here and being so close to family and the new friends we have made (Landon said he will miss “standing tall for Victory”), but we’re looking forward to new opportunities and reconnecting with old friends. Apparently, the kids are even looking forward to snow for some peculiar reason.

Easter and Birthday Greetings

Happy Easter! Not a lot to write this week. Mike celebrated his birthday, and we enjoyed his day and the holiday with visits with family and friends. 

Mike took his little princess to see Beauty and the Beast at the movies. It was a sing-along version, but (for a while at least) only Mike was singing. In fact, until she finally got into the spirit of it, Eliza actively tried making Dad clam up! Eventually, though, she snuggled up, and they followed the bouncing tea cups to the tunes, some well-worn, and some new.

Landon and Cru went to Young Art at the Oaks Mall while Eliza was at gymnastics. Landon painted Mike a storm trooper for his birthday. Very cool! 

Meanwhile, Hallie looked at dresses for Diamond's upcoming wedding.

Grandma, Grandpa, Alie, and Haydn all came over for an Easter-themed birthday on Friday. We had Sharky's and chocolate cake covered in jelly beans, and then we colored eggs and visited. The time flew by!

Mike got his wish! There was a lot of smoke. 

On Saturday, Eliza left gymnastics a little early to go on some Easter activities with Mom, Marina, and Ellie.

On Sunday, we finished celebrations with a meal and an egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa M.'s.