Ben started school this week!! He is in a brand-new school this year right next to where they bulldozed the SHS of years past. I went with him to the open house so I could see the new building. I loved that he was comfortable enough to let me come along! It is a beautiful building – all clean and shiny and modern with lots of brand new tech. Lucky kid! The seminary building is also new and I love it, too! It’s full of light, open, and beautiful. He is going to have a great year!

He started school on Tuesday with early-morning 6:30am seminary. Then he had history, choir, lunch, math, and biology. Wednesday was B day and he started the day an hour later catching the bus for the advanced learning center (ALC) where his first two classes were architecture 1&2! Then he took the bus back to SHS for lunch, economics, and AP Lang (English). So far, he is really liking his schedule. The new seminary building also has a new ping pong table so friend hang-outs are able to happen just like last year! He has cross country practice after school and he takes the car to school so he leaves in the morning and we don’t see him until 5. We are happy to see him busy with good things.

 

First day of school junior year 11th grade.

Beth had her last week at home this week. She and Mariah and I worked on moving her stuff from her room into the bunk-bed room with Chey. That helped her go through her things and get rid of things she doesn’t need anymore to be ready for her new phase of life! She also took a math placement exam that needed to get done and finalized her schedule. On Friday, in some quiet time, we watched all the rest of The Other Bennet Sister together and had so much fun! She also had some fun times with her sisters—watching movies and going to Mariah’s pool. On Friday night, all the siblings got together for dinner and Chubby’s and games afterward. We will sure miss that girl!

Chey continues to be busy with school and work and Tyler. She had a bit of a “que sera sera” moment and is much happier this week as she let some of the stress go from last week and became more accepting of life right now. It’s good to see!

Savannah was not well the beginning of the week but was doing better toward the end. On Saturday, she even got out to take care of her bees—and she got stung! But she still came to Grandpa’s with us that day!

On Saturday we drove to Idaho! Matt and Lynzy’s son, Connor got home from his mission and we went to hear his homecoming report. It was so great to be there and see Matt’s family and also so good to see Kevin’s dad and Maria! We needed some Idaho family connection and were so glad to have this reason for it. Our kids all love Kevin’s family so almost all of them came! Kevin and I, Savannah and Peter, Mariah, Kolby, and Evelyn, Cheyenne and Tyler, Calianne and Richmond, Beth and Ben. What a crew! It was a quick trip but very fun.

Kevin and his dad cooking breakfast together as they do.

Poor little Oliver fell and bit his tongue this week. He is on the mend and healing well now, but that meant that he spent seven hours in the ER with his parents and that someone needed to watch his sisters. That was us! They colored with Beth and jumped on the trampoline with Cheyenne and Tyler and read books with Grandma. They also spent the night. We were so glad we could help and that they know our house and love it here!

Speaking of Tyler, he moved in this week! He has a couple of months between the ending of his lease and the start of where he and Chey will live together, so he's staying in our guest room. He is a great guy and we are working hard for their wedding coming up on October 10! Cheyenne is back in nursing school this week and her every minute is full. Sometimes she believes she can handle school, work, relationships, upcoming wedding, etc,. and sometimes she doesn't. Keep on running, Chey. You will make it!

Benjamin's school starts next week, but his first cross country meet was on Saturday! Go Ben! It was a beautiful day. The heat broke earlier this week, and we had a couple of days of clouds that brought rain throughout the state putting out all the fires. What a joy! It was a great day to be out at the park cheering for our son while he challenged himself and pushes himself to see what he can accomplish.

Beth's school starts in two weeks, so Beth and Ben and I tried to do some fun stuff this week. Ben had a lot of shifts at work, but we planned around them! Monday afternoon we played Pay Day (a classic that we remember playing together!). Mariah joined us, too! Tuesday morning, we went to an early showing of Young George Washington in the movie theatre. We really liked the movie and loved being in the theatre! Thursday evening we planned a pool party with all our family who could come at Mariah's pool. It was one of the days that it rained so we shivered and ate our picnic dinner with raindrops on it but we still had so much fun! We must really like being together! I love that.

Speaking of Thursday, Wednesday night Beth had a scare when she momentarily lost sight in her peripheral vision. I called her neurolgist's office the next day and he called me back! Then he ordered an MRI for the same day and called and told me the results as they came to him over his computer. There was NOT a regrowth of her tumor. What a relief! We are so grateful for the quick investigation to put our fears to rest and for the good news so we can continue with plans for Beth to go to Snow College. We even found her a car on Saturday! Yay!

Savannah and Peter went to the regional YSA conference this weekend. They stayed at Peter's parents house so they'd be closer to the festivities in Salt Lake City. They went to a lot of breakout sessions and classes and had a great time!

So . . . It's been a full week! Life keeps rushing on.

It's been hot this week and the skies are white with smoke. I think I'm getting the winter blues in the middle of summer. Ugh! Actually, I didn't get either job at New Haven that I had interviewed multiple times for and that has me down. You know, questioning my worth and how to imagine an uncertain future. Just the usual! I really do know that is a normal feeling/thought process we all cycle through. It's not super bad for me--just kind of a malaise that happens to be mirrored by the sky right now. Funny but true!

Benjamin went to FSY this week! He said it was his best FSY yet! He went with his friend, Brayden, and they had a great time making friends with guys and gals alike. They played games and made up dances and studied scriptures and shared insights into the gospel. When he got home, he turned on the FSY playlist and sang along. We're glad he had a good week and are also so glad he is back!

Bethany worked three days this week. Woot! She also went to her trainer twice and to therapy. She went with her sisters to Megan's house Wednesday night for dinner and a movie. On Friday morning, all the grandkids, their moms, the twins, Beth, and I went to Mariah's pool! That was really fun. Beth, Chey, and I went to McDonald's afterwards. Kevin and I looked at a car for Beth on Saturday but we haven't committed, yet!

This was Cheyenne's last week of summer vacation. MTech starts for her next week! So, she and Tyler have been paddle boarding at the rez, playing tennis, and meeting with friends to play ultimate Frisbee, and trying to soak up every free minute. Chey also worked her two nights in a row as she does.

Savannah helped Peter celebrate his birthday yesterday! She took him to an escape room and Megan, Cali, and Richmond joined in the fun. They came to Oliver's birthday party, and then came home to watch old movies. They both had a good time!

Oliver is one-year old!! Sarah had his birthday party yesterday night. We had hamburgers and hot dogs with watermelon and macaroni salad. Megan made him a soccer-ball cake and Oliver had great fun demolishing it. He got lots of fun toys and smiled a lot. We love that little boy with his big blue eyes and easy-going temperment. He puts up with a lot of chaos and generally rolls with it--sometimes even literally! He is a treasure.

We got to be at home all week this week! Crazy! We did still have an important date, though. Wednesday was our wedding anniversary! Kevin and I have been married 32 years. Even crazier! For Father's Day, our kids gave Kevin a gift certificate to see a play and go to dinner on the day of our anniversary. Isn't that sweet? So we went to see the play, which was The Scarlet Pimpernel, and we loved it! I love Kevin and I am so glad that we got married 32 years ago and that we have each other as partners in this crazy life.

To further celebrate on Saturday, I had him take out a brick wall for me. Just kidding! I really was willing to do it myself, but Kevin didn't want me to do it alone because, well, we are partners. There were 778 bricks that made an alcove for some long-since departed wood-burning stove. It just happened to be right where I want to make a kitchenette for the downstairs. I thought, how hard could it be? It turned out . . . very hard. Kevin says it is the hardest thing he's ever done beating out even a marathon and the Red Rock Relay. Cheyenne, Benjamin, and I helped carry out the bricks, clean the bricks, and clear out debris, but Kevin worked the hammer rotary drill that we rented. We worked from 10:00 to 2:00 and got it done! Afterward, our basement was covered in dust, but we had a wall of bricks stacked outside, not inside, and we felt like heroes! So we went to Chuck a Rama to treat ourselves. Kevin had a hard time walking to get himself food. Today he is sore and his eyes are swollen from the dust. It was a hard, hard thing to do.

In other news, Ben bought himself an X-box so he could better play Minecraft and Rocket League with his friends and it finally came on Friday. He was super excited and likes it very much! I like that he paid for it with his own money and that he gets to experience some of the independence that comes with having a job. So cool.

Bethany continues to get ready to go to Snow College at the end of this month! She registered for classes this week and chose a place to live on campus. It's getting very real! She worked three times this week at Funfinity and is looking forward to her last day! Ha ha! Another benefit of going to college!

We are hard at work planning Cheyenne's wedding! She tried on lots of dresses this week, and we combed the internet looking for just the style she wants. We think we might have some good possibilities! We met Tyler's parents on Saturday night and they are lovely people. We think we have a venue and a date, so we are making progress!

Savannah's health has been up and down this week, but she did get to spend some time with Peter and she always enjoys that. She also did get some days in at work.

On Saturday, all my girls came over to help go through some things for DI. It's always so fun to have them all together. Of course, this also meant that all the grandkids were together. It's so fun to see them play together! What a blessing to have kids and grandkids in my life!

Evelyn, Lyla, Micah

 This week we went to Pallisades! We had heard the water was low and boy was it! When we got there it was at 9%. They had a couple of docks they'd still pulled out into the water, but Ben at 6 foot tall, never found a place where he couldn't touch the ground. You could literally walk across. I never even got in the water, but guess what? We still had so much fun!

This year we were joined by the Griggs, the Francoms, the Mohlmans, and the Wrights. My niece, Kayla, and her family came too! We visited and solved all the world's problems. The kids set up Kolby's volleyball net and they played volleyball. The Francoms also set up nine-square and that was played, as well. Kevin brought the four-wheeler and some of us went on rides up Six-Mile Canyon. Games of Blood on the Clocktower, Avalon, and Uno were played. Most people got in the water and did some floating and paddle boarding. I still found moments to sit in the shade, look at the water, and read my book (sun still makes sparkles on waist-deep water)! We ate good food and strengthened friendships and soaked up the beauty of the cotton-wood trees and a place that is as familiar to us as our own homes.

Stuart had a birthday while we were there!

For those of you who have been following along, this was our third trip in three weeks! So, even though we had a great time, we were also happy to get home on Wednesday and sleep in our own beds! Phew. Kevin went back to work in full-swing with an intensive. I had just a couple of clients but also a job interview (fingers crossed!) Beth and Ben had a couple of shifts of work when we got home, too. Work was waiting for us, but we didn't mind. It provides a nice rythym to life. And it turns out, that tents are great but houses are pretty dang cool, too!

 We went on a family vacation to Yellowstone this week! Actually we camped in Colter Bay in Grand Teton National Park because it is beautiful and you are camping and swimming right in the middle of a gallery masterpiece made by God!

Monday we made the six-hour drive in four cars. We arrived at different times but all of us in time for dinner! We had three campsites and Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik stayed in a cabin. They provided dinner the first night and it was yummy!

On Tuesday, after a rough night for many (and an early morning for some) since its hard for kids (and adults!) to sleep in a different place, and a late breakfast, we headed over to Leigh Lake. We went there because it's tradition to take a picture on the hike to String Lake, because the water is a little warmer than Colter Bay, and because it is beautiful! When we got back to our campsite that evening we found out that we had missed an enormous cloudburst of one to two inches in a half-hour's time. The ground and trees were soaked but our tents kept all our important stuff dry! Yay! We had dinner and played games and had a great time.

Ammon was doing a rotation for med school so Megan braved it on her own!

Grandpa didn't come on the hike but Grandma has been training for this hike because she loves it so much!

Wednesday was our day to drive through Yellowstone! Grandma and Grandpa took us to their favorite spots. Their favorite is always Bridge Bay where they camped many times while their kids were growing up. We had a picnic lunch there and saw an enormous elk! Grandpa bought us all fudgcicles which is an important part of the tradition! We also went to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and saw the upper and lower falls. On the way back, we stopped at Leeks Bay to visit a favorite pizzeria and the kids played in the water while we waited for our order.

That night something even more exciting happened! Tyler took Chey on a walk to the lake and he proposed! Cheyenne said yes! They came back to camp and we had sparkling cider and cake to celebrate because even though Cheyenne didn't know it was happening, the rest of us did!

On Thursday we stayed in Colter Bay. A lot of us went swimming, and it was super beautiful, too! We had another good dinner, and that evening six of our group (Megan, Mariah, Chey, Tyler, Cali, and Richmond) went backpacking to a small lake above Leigh Lake and slept there for the night. They had a great time! The rest of us played games and had a great time, too!

This is on the backpacking hike.

This, too.

And this!

Friday we had breakfast and a group picture, took down camp and headed home. We had a terrific time!

Micah and Ben on the swings during a picnic stop on the way home.