Beth and Ben went to prom last night!

Bethany went to prom with her friend, Taylor, who she has taken to other dances and this time, he took her! She loved her dress and she looked beautiful! Megan, Cali, Sarah, Savannah, and Chey all helped or watched her get ready. She had a tan, beautiful nails, curls, gorgeous makeup--the works! I hope her younger self was watching her make all her dreams come true! Because I remember little Beth watching her big sisters do the same thing and wishing it were her. They had a great time. They went to an escape room for the day date. In the evening they took pictures and out to eat at the Social in Provo. They went to the dance and then played Jackbox games at one of the guy's houses. Fun times!

Ben took Abby to prom. She is one of the girls in his friend group. They had a group of 12 couples at prom which is crazy but also a ton of fun! For their day date, they met at one of the guy's houses and had a nerf war. That evening, they picked up their dates for pictures and dinner at another of the guy's houses. All the parents brought something. Kevin was volunteered to bring over the hamburgers! Then they went to the dance where Ben was crowned as Sophomore prom royalty. What?? I know. What a guy. After the dance they went to another guy's house for games before they drove all their dates home. I say "they" but really they got parents with vans to drive half the couples each. So, yes. That was us with a van that drove 12 kids all over Springville, Provo, and Spanish Fork last night. Kevin took the first half of the evening and I took the last half. I started dropping kids off at 11:30 and Ben and I got home at 1:00am. !!! Crazy. Still, so glad that they had so much fun!

The other fun thing that happened on Saturday was that I got to see my sister, Amy, and her family! They were in town for Mandy's graduation from BYU. Go Mandy! It's always so fun to see the people we love!

Ben got his driver's license this week! He can officially drive himself places! He got his license on Thursday, and we didn't see him again until Sunday morning. Just kidding! We saw him for a few minutes in between adventures such as going running with his friends, going to work, hanging out at so and so's house--you get the picture. He wasn't sure what the big deal about having a license was, but now he is loving the freedom!

This week Kolby planted two apple trees for me in my backyard! Yay Kolby! Then . . . it snowed. Boo snow! But the apple trees are fine and I am super excited to have them grow and shade my backyard and give me apples and have grandchildren climb their branches.

I have been trying to think of something outside that would hold my active, adventurous grandson, Micah's attention. Celebrating Ben last week made me remember how much he loved the Little Tikes red car. So, Kevin and I bought one for the grandkids to use. Savannah and Megan put it together and it has been a hit!

Micah looks just like Ben in there!

On Saturday, the fam got to together to play softball. It was a beautiful day and Beth and I played at the playground with Avery, Lyla, and Evelyn!

Today (Sunday), after dinner we went outside and the kids rode on the driveway and we sat in a circle and talked and played a game. What a fun day and what a great family I have!

Lyla and Avery like the car, too!

 This week Ben turned 16!! What a great kid he is! We are so impressed with the young man that he is. He is kind. He is hard-working. He listens. He thinks deep. He betters the people's lives who know him. He is just amazing! Everyone came over on Thursday evening to help us celebrate. (We were only missing Chey who was on a trip for her spring break). The weather was terrific so we ate outside. Kevin grilled hamburgers so we talked and ate. Ben opened presents, we sang to him, and ate cheesecake! Afterwards everybody played ga-ga ball. It was a great party for a great kid.

This week was also spring break! Chey also had spring break. On Tuesday Beth, Ben, Kevin, and I all had a free afternoon so we went to Coin Crazy. We went head-to-head at PacMan, PopaShot, and SkeeBall. Watch out! Then Chey and Tyler joined us and we played a game of bowling! We all had a really fun time.

That night Chey left with her friend Haley to visit her home in Washington state. They had a great time paddleboarding, doing touristy stuff, and even attending the professional ballet! We sure missed her, though!

Ben had a great time planning for his spring break. He ran every day with his friend, Ben. They also spent a day on the phone together while cleaning their rooms and then another day while Ben cleaned the bathroom. Ben had such a feeling of accomplishment from reorganizing the bathroom that he said it was his best day of spring break! He also got together with friends (guys and girls) a few different times for games. Of important note, on Saturday, he and Ben and Spencer went on a birthday run -- 16 miles for his 16th birthday. Crazy! Then they came to our house and made crepes (they were very good at it) and played ga-ga ball. One of their game nights was that night. He came home EXHAUSTED but still got up before church to prepare his lesson for priests quorom. What a guy!

We also had lots of chances to play with grandkids this week and we even bought an inflatable waterslide for summer play. So far, Avery really loves it and the jury is out for our other cute grandkids! Also, when they came over Saturday, Beth made crowns. So fun!

Last Sunday, for Easter dinner we ate outside at Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik's pavilion. It was a lovely day and so good to be with family! This Sunday after dinner we played a game of Jeopardy featuring trivia about Ben in honor of his birthday. Ben's team won! Ha ha! As it should.

We celebrated Easter yesterday by coloring eggs as a family! We thought we had worked around everyone's schedule as well as General Conference and then discovered that Ben had to work just an hour before. What? So everyone was there except for him. That was sad! But the rest was fun. Most of us gathered in the morning for French toast made by Kevin. Yum! Then we watched the first session of conference together. Afterwards, we had finger foods for lunch in honor of Passover dinner and then we colored eggs. Fun times! Avery and Lyla probably had the most fun and colored the most eggs. Evelyn went down for a nap. Oliver watched from the high chair and Micah inspected his and then smashed it which sent his mom into a fit of giggles! When we were done, Cali, Richmond, and Beth hid plastic eggs for Avery and Lyla to find. It was a beautiful day even if a bit cold!

Also, on Good Friday I have often made hot cross buns. I bowed out this year and Sarah surprised us by bringing over a fresh batch of her own making! They were super good! I love passing the baton!