This weekend, Savannah, Megan, Mariah, Kolby, Evelyn, Cheyenne, Calianne, and Bethany took the van to California for the long-awaited Marathon in the Redwoods! They are running right now so I can't give you a report on how that is going, but everything else has gone according to plan. They drove over eleven hours on Friday and picked up their cousin, Cooper, in Reno on their way to Redding, CA. The next day, they drove the rest of the way to the Redwoods to get in some sightseeing before the big event Sunday morning. I'm so impressed with all of them for undertaking this big adventure! What a great group of people!

Earlier this week, Beth and Ben had a choir concert! It is so fun to have them both in the high school choirs! They sounded so amazing. The choir director does such a great job teaching them to sing and to create music. Also, they both looked amazing! It was a great night.

On Saturday, Kevin and I talked Ben into going on an adventure with us. We went to Heber for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip shakes at the Dairy Keen and then into the mountains for a drive stopping at Cascade Springs. On the way back we went to JCPenney for some new clothes. He had decided he needed a makeover of his style. Watch out world! We had a great time.

Also, I babysat for Sarah on Saturday. Kevin held Oliver while he watched the BYU game. Avery, Lyla, and I jumped on the trampoline, played in the sandbox, climbed the mountain, and took a bath. Avery needed to climb the mountain so she could sing the song from Frozen 2 across the valley. I know I felt the call to adventure! I also got to watch Micah on Friday after Megan left. He had a great time getting into things and babbling to us. What a charming kid!

It has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote! We've had a busy couple of weeks! Two weeks ago, Kevin and I organized and ran a retreat for couples at an Airbnb in Heber! It was so fun! The airbnb was back in the hills nestled among the fall leaves. It even had a stream! Kevin took the couples four-wheeling on one day. We also had group role-plays, group discussions, and teaching. On the last day we saw each couple separately for therapy sessions. We got a lot of positive feedback. Everyone seemed to have a good time and benefit from the experience. Kevin and I really enjoyed being able to spend the time together and collaborate on such a fun project.

That same week was the two-year anniversary of Beth's surgery. We decided to rename it "Do-something-great-for-Beth Day!" So, this year, I took her to get highlights in her hair. It turned out so pretty, and she loved it! We might need a lot more positive days on DSGFB Day in the years to come to outweigh her negative associations from two years ago, but we are up to the challenge and will not lay the gauntlet down!

On the Saturday that we were gone, Sarah Eden, a favorite author of some of my daughters held a tea party at the Provo Library. I think it is so fun that they dressed up and went together! They said they had a great time!

On Sunday, we celebrated Sarah's birthday! We were gone on the day of her birthday so we were so happy to have a chance to celebrate her as a family on Sunday. We met at Megan's pavilion and enjoyed enchiladas. The kids played on the playground and the family even had a rousing game of basketball on the court next to the pavilion. We had a great time and we sure love Sarah! She is doing an amazing job in living her life and raising kids and we are so proud of her.

This past week, Ben ran in regions in Spanish Fork. He finished third on the JV team and took over a minute off his time from the beginning of the year. Go Ben! He has also started Driver's Ed which is twice a week at 5:30am. Ugh! He is getting himself up and ready all by himself and keeping up with all his other things so we are super proud of him, too!

This past weekend, we got to see my sister Amy, Paul, Emma, and Hannah! They were busy with things they planned with Mandy, but it was still fun to see them in the spaces between. Sunday morning, we had Emma take some updated family pictures. 8am was the only time that worked for all of us, but it turns out that 8am provides great lighting! I will post some here.

That weekend was also conference weekend. We weren't all in the same room for it, but it was fun to be gathered with who we could for the sessions we could. Family is such a beautiful thing.

My mom and dad came to visit this weekend! They arrived Thursday evening for dinner and stayed through Sunday morning. I always love visiting with them and having them in my home!  We got to do some special things while they were here, too! On Friday night, the YSA stake had reservations at the Faith Walk at the Heber Valley youth camp. It was so powerful! It's a 1.3 mile walk through the trees on a dimly lit path. You listen to a recorded track on headphones the whole way. Along the way there are pictures of Christ and displays and you hear music and quotes and inspirational quided meditations as you go. It was a reminder to me of the healing power of Christ's love to heal the magnitude of personal suffering all around us. I loved it and I was so glad my dad could go with us, too!

On Saturday, another special event was that my mom and I got to go to the temple together! We didn't have an appointment but we got right in and we were side by side the whole time. I love the beauty and connecting power of God's plan for us. That evening, Sarah, Mariah, Kolby, and their kiddos came over. We had hamburgers outside and then a big group watched the football game. It's been a super fun weekend!

Bethany went to Homecoming this week! For the day date, they went up to Sundance, rode the chairlift to the top of the mountain and had a picnic. Then home for a break and to get ready. Lyla and Avery both wanted to help, but Sarah and Cali were the real helpers! She got picked up for the dance around 5:30, then they met with their group for pictures, dinner, and the dance. She had a really fun time and looked beautiful!

Benjamin ran in the Border Wars cross country meet yesterday and got his best time yet! He has been training hard all week. He even came home from the meet yesterday and ran six more miles to get his mileage in for the week! Wow! Go Ben! He is really sticking to his goal to stay off the computer. He's behind in some classes but he's working hard to get caught up and we see him at the kitchen table working on homework more often than we see him on screens. He's also running alot, too, of course. What a guy!

Chey had a rough week. She's a UVU student and was on campus when Charlie Kirk was shot at an outdoor event there this week. She had been at the event just five minutes before but left to meet some friends in the building next door. She was unharmed and mostly removed from the panic. It's still been hard, though. Classes were cancelled for the rest of the week and part of next. Chey and her UVU friends have spent time together in support and that's been good for all of them. Otherwise, Chey has a million things going on so she doesn't have much time to dwell on it! She worked two all night shifts at the hospital last week. She also worked her 4:30am shift at the temple and coached her girls' tennis meet. She went on four dates this week--two of them in the same night.

Cali has also been busy. She has lots of homework to do now that classes have started. She also has her job as a peer mentor so she is on-campus early in the morning to late afternoon most days. She is also working a temple shift and trying to see her sweet fiance now and then, too! On Saturday, she and her sisters went on a 14 mile run. Afterwards, Cali went and played some tennis. So much to do!

Savannah had a great week. She took Sarah's kids to the park on Monday, cooked dinner for us on Tuesday, babysat Micah on Wednesday, went to institute on Thursday, and on Saturday she took care of her bees and got work done on Mariah and Kolby's t-shirt quilt. Go Savannah!

Kevin hosted the YSA ward at our house on Monday. He personally cooked over 100 hamburgers! We had a great turnout and it was a lot of fun. He also, on Saturday, traded in his leased vehicle for his favorite electric vehicle--a Kia EV6. It's bright red and really stands out against the five white cars in our driveway, but otherwise it's pretty exciting. Plus, it goes 270 miles on a charge. Cool!