Beth, Ben, and Cheyenne went on Trek this week! They got to dress up in pioneer clothing, be driven to Martin's Cove in Wyoming, and walk--pulling a handcart--for six miles a day for two days. During that time they listened to devotionals and learned more about the significance of Martin's Cove in our church history and about the faith, devotion, and sacrifice of the early church pioneers. They also got to line dance--both modern and pioneer style! They put the teens in pretend families with a Ma and Pa (a married couple) and older sisters and brothers (young single adult leaders). Cheyenne was an older sister in Ben's family. Beth had her own great family. They all had a really good time. They returned dusty, sunburned, and with a new appreciation and understanding of how God can work in their lives.

We were so glad that Beth was able to do trek! She wanted to be able to do all the walking and SHE DID! It's a good step in learning to trust her body again. We are especially glad though, because on the drive home she started getting a familiar pain in her chest--the kind that got diagnosed as esophageal spasms last time we went to the emergency room for it. It's very painful. It's always gone away in an hour or two before, but this time, while the pain would decrease for a time, it wouldn't go completely away. She was also nauseaus and threw up. Saturday morning, for the first time, she woke up without pain. We even went through with our plans to go see Daddy Long Legs at the local theatre that morning with Cali and Richmond (which was great, by the way!). But during the play, her pain came back.

At Cheyenne's urging, we went to the hospital Saturday afternoon. After running tests, they diagnosed her with gallstones that were blocking her bile duct and admitted her to the hospital with plans to operate in the morning. Crazy! but guess what? Cheyenne was her CNA as she was already there on shift last night. Also, the doctor on call was the same one that we saw about a year ago when we were first worried about the gallstones so we had already met him and liked him. Doesn't it just look like God scheduled that surgery? It was in His hands the whole time. Trek first. Surgery and healing with loved ones next. Perfect.

Last night as we were just waiting for time to pass, we realized we should call the Bishop to let him know Beth couldn't speak in church the next day. It just so happened that he was on his way home from the Payson temple and he offered to stop at the hospital and help Kevin give Beth a blessing. Again--how perfect.

This morning Beth had the surgery and everything went great! As Dr. Allen removed the gall bladder, he was also able to flush out the stuck stones which removed the need for an additional procedure. Very cool! As I talked to him afterward, he told me that Beth won't have to experience these painful attacks ever again. Yay! That is the outcome we have been wishing for. Perfect!

My sister, Diane, came to stay this week with three of her kids:  Ezra, Roxabelle, and Jocelyn! Diane needed to take a teacher training class from BYU, so she went to school everyday and her three kids hung out with my kids! We had a lot of fun with them. Diane was always fun to talk with every evening and during the day, her kids hung out with Beth, Ben, and Avery. They went to work with Ben one day at his pool and on another day went with Sarah, Cali, Megan, and Mariah to play at Mariah's pool. It was Art City Days this week so on Thursday night we went to the carnival and that was fun, too!

On Friday, all the cousins on the Elton side of the family gathered at Kayla's farm for a cousin reunion! By all accounts, they had a great time! None of the older generation planned or attended. What cool kids that they wanted to do that! Savannah was the oldest at 30 years-old and Jocelyn was the youngest at almost 8. They also had cousins once-removed (babies belonging to cousins). I think there were four of those little littles but overall, 29 in attendance. Wow! I hear they talked, played party games and night games, and even went on a hay ride around the farm. How cool that they have this group where they all belong.

Ben wasn't able to go to the cousin reunion because he went to HOBY this week. HOBY stands for Hugh O'Brien Youth leadership seminar. Kids are nominated by their schools throughout the state and come together for training and activities on leadership, service, and living by your values. Ben did not know what to expect but ended up having a great time! We dropped him off at Wasatch Academy on Wednesday morning and picked him up Saturday afternoon. He made lots of friends (and friends who are girls) and has new ideas on service and living that we love.

Kevin and I were completely alone Friday and Saturday! Friday I watched Avery and Lyla until their daddy was off work. On Saturday morning, Kevin and I hiked to the Timpanogos waterfalls. It was a BEAUTIFUL morning and a BEAUTIFUL hike!

Bethany went to YW Camp this week! They left Tuesday morning and came home Thursday morning--short and sweet! This year they camped at Green River in Wyoming and started with a float (row) down the river. The next day Beth was not feeling well but enjoyed being at camp talking and doing crafts. They had devotionals and good food and she had a good time. On Saturday she went back to work for the first time in a couple of weeks! But there she did not have a good time and she is thinking of getting a different job.

Benjamin ran every morning again this week and worked every day but one. Wow! He is going to get a big paycheck. He mostly likes being a lifeguard and says "It's not too bad." He's also been able to get together with his friends playing pickleball and getting together for breakfast. Minecraft and YouTube are also playing heavily into his summer so far!

Savannah changed her work schedule to work 2:30 to 6:30 but reports that it really messed up her sleep schedule! Hopefully this week will be better. She and Peter watched Savannah Smiles together this week since Peter had never seen it.

Cheyenne "accidentally" agreed to coach a tennis camp this week in Lehi 40 minutes away every morning from 8 to 11:30. She loves coaching tennis so that part was fun. The hard part was that she worked Tuesday and Wednesday nights back to back all night long at the hospital. So . . . she was pretty tired! She is still working hard on her summer semester class and seeing Tyler as much as possible! On Saturday morning they volunteered to help with the Provo Marathon and she got a cool "Medic" shirt!

Kevin and I went four-wheeling on Saturday morning! We went up Diamond Fork Canyon to an ATV trail called "Monks Hollow." It was BEAUTIFUL! I don't think I stopped smiling the entire ride!

I also played with grandkids this week. So fun!

Beth and I went on a cruise this week to celebrate the end of high school and the beginning of adulthood! Definitely something to celebrate! Yay! We flew to California on Monday and boarded our ship. Tuesday we were "At Sea," Wednesday we were in Catalina, Thursday we were in Ensenada, and Friday we disembarked back in Long Beach. While on board we went to two shows with singing and dancing and two comedy shows. We learned to salsa and embroider, we read books on deck chairs in the sun, and we ate lots of food, lemonade, and ice cream! In Catalina and Ensenada we shopped and wandered and enjoyed the cities. On Friday we had a whole day before our plane was scheduled to leave so we toured the Queen Mary which is a famous retired ocean liner that is now a museum and moored right next to our cruise ship. That was fun, too!

That night, our plane got delayed four times and then rescheduled until the next day at 2pm. Beth and I were itching for adventure, so we rented a car to drive home instead! This meant that we got to stop in Las Vegas and see my mom and dad which was awesome! We got to exhange stories and hugs! What a great bonus to our trip! The next day we drove the rest of the way home with a week full of terrific memories stored in our hearts!

While we were gone, Ben and Dad went on our ward's young men camp high adventure. They camped in Flaming Gorge. Leaders brought motor boats, and they enjoyed skiing and rock jumping. Kevin did some fishing, too! There were devotionals and campfires and games. They both reported having a good time and were glad they came home early on Friday night so they missed Saturday's storm. I think it's super cool they got to do that together!