This week was Bethany's birthday!! She is 18! She's an adult ladies and gentlemen! Beth wanted to play games and go to Brick Oven for her birthday. So we brought the pizza to Kiwanis park in Provo. It was a beautiful day to celebrate a beautiful girl! We had so much fun! Beth got to play her favorite game, Betrayal in the House on the Hill, and the grandkids played and sporty people played pickle ball. We all loved the pizza and the strawberry shortcake. Yum!

We had fourth of July this week! Chey went to a family reunion with Tyler and we missed her! Cali had to work in the evening, so she wanted to do something on Saturday morning. So! We met at my house and Cali, Megan, and Sarah each brought a pan of German pancakes to cook. Then we topped them with blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream. See? Red, white, and blue! After we ate, we played a Jeopardy game that Cali and Richmond made with July 4th trivia. It was super fun! After that, Beth had crafts prepared and we painted rocks, made bracelets, and drew pictures. It was super fun!

That evening, we were invited to Sarah’s inlaws (Papa Hatch’s house) for a barbecue and games. Savannah went to Peter’s family’s barbecue and we missed her! Sarah and her family was there and Megan, Ammon, and Micah, and Mariah and Evelyn and Beth and Ben. Chey even made it at the tail end. We ate great food and had fun playing with the kids and socializing. There was even a water balloon toss! All fireworks were banned in Springville because of the fire danger, but we had a ton of fun, anyway!

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, we got to watch Micah! Megan went to YW Camp as YW president and Ammon had appointments in his rotation through Thursday morning. We all loved having him there! He is such a fun little kid! He loves to talk and laugh at his jokes even though its all gibberish. Also, he loves to wear other people’s shoes, explore, and dance!

On Friday, Cali and Sarah decided to hike the Grotto trail on Nebo Loop and I was free! So I went, too! Savannah also was free so with Sarah’s kids, we filled every seat in her car. She even packed a picnic lunch for us all. She is a rockstar. It’s a pretty little hike and Avery and Lyla did great! (Oliver, too, although he got carried!)

My sister, Diane, came and spent another week with us! She brought Roxabelle and Jocelyn again and this time traded Ezra for Liam. Liam and Ben ran every morning because they are both cross country runners. That was a cool thing to share! The kids had a great time hanging out together again this week. Beth has been recovering well from the surgery and feeling remarkably good. She was still able to play games with Diane's kids all week and even took them on trips to get slushies and to buy lego kits at 5Below. On Thursday, Sarah, Avery, Lyla, Mariah, and Evelyn took them all swimming in Mariah's pool. Afterwards, Beth and I met up with them as well as Diane when her class was over and Cheyenne and Tyler. We met had pizza at the trailhead and hiked to Battle Creek Falls. It was super fun and we loved having the Owens here for lots of adventures this week!

The Owens left us on Friday but they also invited us to Jocelyn's baptism on Saturday. Mariah and Bethany decided to go! They made the drive together and had a fun two-day trip to St. George. They really enjoyed the spirit of the baptism and seeing the family who came.

On Saturday, the weather was cool right in the middle of the day so I hiked to Round Peak. So fun! We've been overshadowed by smoke all week, but wind and a little fall of rain brought us this beautiful reprieve and a peek at that gorgeous blue sky.

Afterwards we went to Ben's guitar recital. He played Blackbird and did fantastic!

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!