It was Sarah's birthday this week! To celebrate, Megan planned a surprise birthday party for her, made soup and invited all her friends. Since Megan moved into our house this week, that meant the party was downstairs! Sarah wanted to play games at "mom's house" with her sisters before dinner so Megan just rerouted the friends to the back door while Sarah was upstairs playing games. Kevin and I had the assignment of keeping the little kids out of the way, so since we also wanted to watch Ben run in his cross country meet, we took four grandchildren with us! Sarah thought we were crazy for wanting to take the grandkids with us but shrugged her shoulders and let us use her van with the carseats. When she went downstairs to eat the dinner Megan had been making for her, I'm told she was so surprised by all her friends! She had a great time and thanked everyone lots of times! What fun!

Beth was home on Friday because Snow College has a September break and it just happened to be September 25! We love Snow College! That is also the anniversary of Beth's surgery and it has historically been a rough day emotionally for her. Last year we renamed it, "Do Something Great for Beth Day!" So this year she and I went out for lunch at La Casita (which reminded us of our cruise to Mexico) and then did some shopping at her favorite store (5 Below)! We had a fun time! Then she came home and got to participate in all the fun for Sarah's birthday. I think it gets a little easier every year. I sure love that girl.

Kevin and I had a lot of fun watching Ben race on Friday! The grandkids interest was spotty and the corraling was a challenge but we kept everyone alive and got everyone back home so we're calling it a success! Ben was disappointed in his race time but he was still my favorite runner on the course! 

That was just the start of his busy weekend. He has a friend, Jens, who got Ben and Spencer and himself dates to the Mapleton homecoming dance. After the race, Ben went to the Springville/Mapleton football game with his friends and the three Mapleton girls and sat in the Mapleton section. Springville won by a large margin and it was a little sketchy for Ben and his friends at times! Afterwards, they played pickleball and had ice cream, and Ben said that was fun. On Saturday, Ben had a 10 mile run and three hours of work before dressing up to take the girl he just met this week, Kenzi, to her homecoming dance. What a great guy!

Cheyenne and Tyler both did a lot of work and school this week. Stuffed in the cracks between those obligations, they have been working on getting documents to the mortgage officer to see if they can qualify for a loan. They finally got the preapproval on Friday with limitations. We went to see the two options that were a possibility on Saturday. We will keep you updated but I know they will both be more at peace when the housing decision has been finalized! Otherwise, they are good and still crazy about each other! I can't believe in just two weeks, they will be married!

We started this week on a very sad note. It was time to put down Sadie, our dog for nine years (we got her when she was 2). Kevin, Cheyenne, and Ben all came and cried and cried. She has been part of our lives for a long time and provided a lot of love for my kids. I think she enjoyed living with us, running through the mountains and bringing back deer bones to stash in our yard. It was a hard day.

Kevin ran another retreat this week. This time he was in Park City, and instead of helping couples, he was training other therapists to help couples. He said it was very different in emotional intensity but still a lot of very intense teaching! He was there Tuesday through Saturday although he came for a visit on Thursday. He was in a very beautiful place and did go four-wheeling again. This time he had one of the thrills of his life when a cougar ran across the trail in front of them! Never seen one of them in the wild before!

Benjamin also left the house for a few days this week because he went on a team trip to a cross country meet in Irvine, California. He had his best time ever running three miles in 16:42! He placed sixth in his race and earned a medal! He had a fun time being with the other teammates who came as well as the coaches (of whom Mariah was one!) They even got to go to the beach! Fun high school times!

Cheyenne and Tyler both had busy weeks with school and work. On Friday night, Chey and fifteen friends attended her bachelorette! Cali and two other friends were in charge and they rented an airbnb in Lehi where they could all spend the night. They made t-shirts, went to the silent disco, and played games! Cheyenne had a great time! Thank you, Cali!

Savannah and Peter had a fun activity on Saturday! They hiked to Timp cave and went on an introduction to caving tour. It's 1.5 miles straight up, so they are sore today! But they had so much fun!

On Saturday, Cali and Richmond came with Kevin and I to visit Bethany in Ephraim and attend the open house for the new Ephraim temple! It was beautiful and we loved seeing Bethany and her dorm room. She came back with us and is hanging out with Ben and her littlest fans, too!

 

I spent a lot of time this week cleaning--carpets especially. Also, our kitchen downstairs was finished! I love how it turned out.

Sunday of last week we went to Heber City to be there when Mandy's baby girl, Mary, was blessed. The blesssing was beautiful, the day was beautiful, and being with family just filled us right up! Kevin and I went as did Beth and Ben, Savannah and Peter, Cheyenne and Tyler, Calianne and Richmond, and Mariah and Kolby! We got to see Amy and Paul and Kayla with her two children and Hannah and Mandy and Parker with Mary. Parker's family was there, too and we had a lovely luncheon afterward in the park. What a special day and we were so glad we could be there!

Monday was Labor Day, and Beth got to stay with us an extra day! Megan, Beth, and I went to see the new Spider-Man movie in the theatre in the morning. It was so fun! In the afternoon, we met up with the fam to have a picnic in the canyon. Yay! This year we played a game of kickball. The goal was to help us all feel like heroes, and I think we did it! It was a great day.

Tuesday, Kevin left to start the retreat he held in Park City this year for couples. He had three couples attend this year and was aided by a fellow therapist and her husband who are partnering with Kevin. He stayed there most of the week only coming back Wednesday night so he could bring the four-wheeler up Thursday morning. I also joined him Thursday morning for the four-wheeling and it was beautiful! He felt like the retreat was a success! He was very tired when he got back Saturday afternoon. Good thing he had lots of football games to watch.

On Wednesday, I had a free morning so I hiked Stewart Falls. That is a beautiful hike! I had a terrific time filling my soul with all the beauty around me!

I also have been helping Cheyenne and Tyler look for places to live. I've looked at a lot of places online and toured a few this week, as well. Rent prices are so high that we are now encouraging them to buy instead. I think it will be a good option! They are both so busy with school and work that it is hard for them to give time to this project as well. I'm glad I have the time to help.

Benjamin ran in a meet in Taylorsville Saturday morning. He was playing a little "two-hand touch football" before the race. He made the touchdown but hurt his hamstring! His race time suffered because of it, poor guy. He had a great time the rest of the day, though, because he and Max took the train up to Salt Lake City to see Kyler for Kyler's birthday. Fun times! And so independent! Wow!

Ben had a busy week as he is trying to figure out homework in addition to school, work, and cross country! So far, so good. I have confidence he will figure out this time management thing! He had a meet on Friday and he placed 4th in the Jr/Sr race and got a free t-shirt! So fun! He did a great job. Also, on Saturday, he went with the bishop and some of the young men to the BYU football game! That was his first time going to one. He had a really fun time.

Bethany had three good days at school and then got pretty sick on Thursday and Friday. Poor girl! She came home Friday for some home-loving and has started to feel a bit better. She's been working on her homework here at home so she can stay up on all her classes and is happy that she can get herself to do them!

Chey is busy, busy with school and work! But she also made time to do a terrain race with Tyler in Ogden on Saturday morning. They jumped obstacles and ran through water and mud and had a super fun time! Crazy kids. We are also making progress on wedding planning and apartment hunting. So much to do!

They ran with two of Tyler's brothers!

Savannah had a lot of days she didn't feel well this week, but she still found time to snuggle with Peter and he always brings her spirits up which we love to see!

On Saturday, Sarah had a birthday party for Miss Lyla! She is three years old! We met at the splash pad and watched the kids play, visited, and ate pizza. Then we watched Lyla open presents and ate cake and ice cream. It was a beautiful day and so fun to celebrate that girl!

Kevin has been busy, busy with planning the retreats he has scheduled for the next two weeks and has been using every minute that being released as bishop freed up in his schedule! He keeps himself very busy.

I have been working on getting invites to the wedding sent out. So far the invites were designed (by Megan!), addresses and names gathered (joint efforts), sorted into who gets what invitation (joint efforts), ordered in the right amounts, picked up, addresses printed, stickers on envelopes, and envelopes stuffed. Whew. Now for sealing and postage! I also had some clients this week, watched some grandkids, did payroll and bookkeeping for Addo, and kept up with my part in getting the basement kitchen put in (ordering things and making payments to the contractor). This was a good paragraph for me to write because when I look back I wonder if I did anything productive with my week. Turns out I did!

Beth started college this week! Right there is a life event we didn't know if Beth was going to get. We are all so excited for her and it is wonderful to see the excitement she has for herself! On Monday, she and I drove down to Snow College. She'll have her own car while she's there so that she can make the 80 minute drive home when she wants. She got there in time for orientation that morning. Afterwards, we got her checked into her apartment and met her roommate and brought her stuff upstairs. Then . . . I left her there! What?? Crazy! She is emotionally ready to be an independent person and I love it! She had a good week. She went to three dances, met people, signed up for institute, ate so much free food that she didn't need her meal plan, and started classes. Yesterday, she came home to visit so that she can keep her connections and support with us alive and she'll go back on Monday, this time with the t-shirt quilt her grandma made for her to put on her bed!

Also on Monday, Cali and Richmond did a gender reveal for their first baby who will be arriving at the very beginning of February. It's a girl! Cali created a tic-tac-toe game board and revealed each square separately until the last square won the game with three pink pictures in a row! We are so excited for them and for this new member of our family!

My mom and dad came to visit on Thursday! It was so fun to see them. On Friday we drove to Heber to see Mandy's new baby and that evening we were back home to celebrate Cali and Chey's birthday. We had such a good visit. We love those two people very much!

On Friday, Cali and Chey turned 22! What?? Crazy. We had Poke bowls for dinner, had brownies and ice cream, opened presents, and played a truth or dare twin version game created by Megan. It was super fun and what a great reason to celebrate having Cali and Chey in our lives! We love them so much!

On Saturday, Ben ran in another cross country meet. It was a beautiful day and he ran well! He even cut another 20 seconds off his time. Go Ben!

Kevin will be released today as YSA Bishop of the BYU 189th ward. So, last night, he and the ward had a party in the park and invited all current and past members of the ward. We had yummy food and a lot of people showed up. It was a fun way for Kevin to spend time with these great young people he has served and loved!