This was the week of the eye doctor.  Although getting your eyes dilated is no fun, the sunglasses they give you can be theatrically inspiring.

I actually took Megan in because she is getting CONTACTS!!  She is very excited about them.  I took the opportunity to have an exam for new glasses for myself.  While we were there, the receptionist came over with a list and said, “We’ve never seen any of these members of your family.  With your nice insurance, wouldn’t you like to get their eyes checked?”  I thought, and I decided that actually sounded like a pretty good idea.  So that’s how Sarah and Cheyenne and Calianne all ended up at the optometrist this past week, as well.  No one else needs glasses!! YAY!!  Megan thinks that is the pits and the cosmos is picking on her.  But, after her second trip to the optometrist, she was able to successfully put in and take out her contacts and was allowed to bring them home.  Since then, she has been getting better and better.  I am thinking that seeing Megan in glasses is quickly becoming a thing of the past.  It’s a good thing, because we do so want her to be happy and realize what a beautiful young woman she truly is.

So, not only is she beautiful, but it turns out that she can play tennis pretty well, too!  Sarah and Megan have both been playing on Springville’s city rec minor league tennis team this summer.  There were only four other girls on the team with them, so it is a largely overlooked program here.  It’s too bad, because it was a good program!  I was really pleased with it.  The girls had practice twice a week with their coach and a competitive match each week.  So they played tennis three times a week.  The program ended this week with a tournament.  I thought they’d be sitting around a lot, waiting for their match, but it wasn’t like that at all!  This is how it worked.  Every player was put in a position on their team.  1st thru 7th (our team obviously didn’t have a 7th).  Then all the position 1sts play each other, all the 2nds, etc.  There were six teams there and they played everyone in their position.  Then points were totaled and final places were battled out in “pro matches.”  Sarah was in position 4 on our team and Megan was in position 6.  They both played in final pro matches and Sarah placed 1st in her position and Megan placed 3rd.  Isn’t that cool?  They both got trophies AND they both got to play tennis all morning and into the afternoon!  I am liking tennis.  There is no sitting on the bench and no being relegated to the outfield.  Everyone participates.  It’s too bad this sport isn’t as popular as others.  Not only that, but there are free tennis courts everywhere you live and you only need one other person to play.  Come on.  Those are some big selling points.  Sarah and Megan have sure had fun with it!

This was also the week of Dance Camp for Cheyenne and Calianne.  We just heard about it last week.  A teen in our stake holds the camp in her backyard in the mornings, teaching a small group of children several dances over the course of a week and has a recital Friday night.  They also made t-shirts.  Cali and Cheyenne had a ball!

They danced beautifully Friday night, too!

 

They had fun and we had fun watching them!

This was also the week of the Skinner Girls Harry Potter Marathon.  Savannah’s friend invited her on Saturday to go see the last Harry Potter film on Thursday.  Savannah asked if Sarah could come, too.  She could, but now Savannah had a problem – Sarah never read the books nor had she seen any of the movies past the first one!  Horrors!  Savannah quickly set about to rectify the problem.  She borrowed the whole set of movies and had her sisters sit down with her to watch the whole lot of them according to this schedule:  Movies 1&2 on Monday, 3&4 on Tuesday, 5&6 on Wednesday, 7 part 1 on Thursday morning – then they were all set to go to the theatre Thursday afternoon!  Finally, Savannah saw her sisters turned into Harry Potter fans!  Sarah did go with Savannah and did love the movie.  Since then, she has been back to the theatre to see it again (with Mariah this time since now SHE had to see it, too!).  She’s also borrowed the books on CD and is halfway through the second book already.  Silly girl!  We told her it was good!  Anyway, Megan wasn’t quite as impressed as her other sisters, but they all had a good time together watching all those movies.

Meanwhile, Benjamin continues to strive for tyrannical leadership over our home.

See how he is?  He knows he’s not supposed to be on the table.  He knows he’s not supposed to play with the phone.  Does he hide from us?  Does he try to do these things while we’re not looking?  Nope!  He cries and hollers at us for taking him down or telling him, “No!”  then he defiantly goes right back to what he was doing – and SMILES once he’s got there!  It’s a good thing he is so cute.  We’re actually pretty laid-back parents, but we do have our limits.  For instance, we watch while he crawls up on the table and starts throwing the forks off the table and onto the floor, but when he reaches for the plates – well, we draw the line.  The phone is another good example.  We let him play with the phone and push all the buttons, but when he wants to put it in a cup of water – well, we draw the line again.  In spite of this completely reasonable stand, when we draw the line, it makes him absolutely furious.  Holy Cow!  We apparently do not understand the importance of the investigative work we have so rudely cut short.  This week has actually seen a decrease in his most commonly used weapon against us – hitting his head against the floor when he does not get his way.  Hello!!!  Crazy kid!  Sometimes he will even laugh while I try to get him to stop.  Benjamin!  I worked hard on making that head!

On a more pleasant note, he has mastered a very adorable wave which he lavishes on neighbors and family alike.  It is a wrist rotator wave!  It is very cute – and high tech!  He has also started babbling like he means it.  We have conversations often.  I have no idea what’s been said, but it is fun. 

Goodbye until next week!

We started out this week with a Family Home Evening of water balloon tossing.

Nobody got wet enough, though, so Dad got out the hose.

  Everybody had fun, but Dad especially had fun since he was behind the hose.  :)

This week, Benjamin mastered the art of climbing up onto things.

Dinner will never be the same.  He won’t stay in his highchair.  Then when dinner starts, he won’t stay off the table.  He screams at his sisters if they try to squeeze together and deny him space on the bench.  From the bench it is an easy jaunt to the table and on the table he helps himself to whatever he can find -- which is usually quite a lot!  He also can climb up onto the piano and the game table where we keep the computer.  Benjamin!!  Where are we going to keep things we don’t want you to touch?!  What can we do with a boy who climbs everywhere in the house?

Well, leave the house, of course!

This week we went on our 2nd annual trip with Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik to Palisade!

We had a beautiful campsite right by the lake.

We also had beautiful weather.  Except, of course, for when we first arrived.  When we got there it looked like this:

  Yikes, right?!  Pouring rain, thunder, and HAIL!  It’s a good thing we don’t scare off easily, because we had a grand time.

     

We got there Wednesday afternoon and stayed three nights, leaving Saturday morning.  We did a lot of swimming and raft floating.  We did some canoeing and sand-digging and even some hiking around the lake.  We also did a lot of minnow catching – at least Megan did with the help of Mariah, Cheyenne, and Calianne.  She got quite good at it!  Dad and Grandpa even got to go golfing at the adjacent golf course TWICE!  Grandma and Megan tagged along the second time and Megan got to drive the golf cart.  FUN! 

Savannah’s favorite part was canoeing.  (She even went with me for a night paddle.)  Sarah’s favorite part was swimming.  Megan’s favorite part was when everyone would go to the beach.  Mariah’s favorite part was floating on the rafts.  Cheyenne and Calianne’s favorite parts were swimming and playing at the playground.

We were sunburned and worn-out and glad to see home Saturday.  But there was still fun ahead.  Kevin and I went to an afternoon showing of Harry Potter!  Aww, for air-conditioning and a great story to fuel the imagination!  It was a lot for one day, but it was a lot of fun.

What a week!

Well, the big day finally arrived.  Bethany turned three!

We had balloons and dinner and cupcakes on Monday night over at Grandma Gazdik’s.  It was a good thing, too, because by the time Wednesday rolled around, Bethany was asking for presents from the moment she got out of bed!  Kevin came home for lunch and we were all happy that she didn’t have to wait all day for presents!  We bought her way too many things, as usual, and she had a marvelous time.  We love that little girl!

 

They grow up so fast!  Benjamin is finally saying his first word.  It is “Hi!”  He can open all the screen doors and the dishwasher -- even when it is locked and running.  Not really nice, huh?  He loves to be chased and to knock down towers.  He really likes to be outside and that works alright for us, since we can shut the gates and he can explore the backyard.  His favorite person in the whole world is his daddy!  He has even been known to smile at me, but push me away if he is in his daddy’s arms.  He knows where he belongs!

Last week was also the last week of regular season softball games!  That meant that Sarah had her last game!

She even got to pitch!

She had a great time playing in the “big leagues” this year.  I had a great time watching her.  It is so fun when the girls finally know what is going on and how to make a great play, and they have the skills to make it all happen.  Great season, Sarah’s team!

Megan and Mariah had last games, too, but they also get to play in the tournament next week.  I already put in pictures of Mariah playing, so here are some pics of Megan Rose. . .

  . . . and her awesome team!

We also had a great time on Saturday of this week.  We took the family (even Dad!) and went to the Spanish Fork Pool.  Sarah stayed home with Benjamin.  All the other girls had a great time going down the water slide with Dad!  Kevin even got Calianne and Cheyenne to swim across the pool!  Yay, Dad!

We Love Summer!

We started this week with the Fourth of July and a visit from my big brother, Pete, and some of his kids!

Yes, that’s just some of his kids.  He’s got eight!  Holy cow, huh??  Actually, he drove up to drop off his oldest daughter and her friend for a church history trip that started up in Salt Lake.

It was fun to see Samantha even if it was only for one night, and it was way fun to see the other kids who we don’t see very often not to mention Uncle Pete!  That night we set off fireworks with the Groslands, (as is traditional!) and those nephews of mine sure seemed to enjoy lighting things that exploded!   It was great fun.

The next day, Megan and Mariah started softball tournament.

We had the great fortune of having Megan’s tournament at our neighborhood fields this year!  So cool!   Mariah’s tournament was in Salem where the umping was terrible and led Mariah’s team to two very excruciating loses.  She was not a happy camper.  Megan’s team, on the other hand, kept winning which Megan wasn’t all that thrilled about since she was ready to be done with softball and on to other things.  So, she was not a happy camper, either.   Kevin and I consoled ourselves by being grateful that at least it isn’t until the last week of softball that we think, why do we do this anyway??!!??

Actually, Megan’s games were really fun to watch.  Her team has really gotten quite good and they made a good show.  They ended up playing four games in tournament and played a good game each time.  Mariah was fun to watch, too, since we got to see her pitch on the same field that Savannah once pitched on when I was pushing the twins in a stroller.  Things have indeed gotten easier!

Savannah started cross country practice over at the high school this week.  They practice every morning at 7am.  Their first meet is before school starts!  Holy Cow! 

On Thursday I was going to take Savannah to get her learner’s permit and I could not find the social security cards.  I spent the better part of the morning cleaning out every square inch of my closet.  Hello?  I have eight children!!  I can not lose everybody’s social security cards!!  But, somehow, unbelievably, I did.  I think I threw them away when I was moving everything around for the new carpet.  To add injury to insult, as I was turning around to leave my closet, some frames on the top shelf slid off and hit me in the back of my arm.  I thought I had broken it.  My whole arm buzzed hard for a full minute and I stared helplessly at my crumpled fingers!  I even took myself to the doctor where they xrayed my elbow and assured me that no bones were broken but I had very likely hit the nerve.  I’ll say.

On Friday, I went to get my haircut and then Sarah wanted her hair cut, too, and Megan wanted her hair cut, too, and Mariah wanted her hair cut, too!  Goodness gracious!  What an event!  Afterwards, though, everyone wanted to play at Grandma’s (nice!) so I took myself on over to the social security office to confess my sins.  I discovered that you can lose your social security card up to ten times in your lifetime, although no more than three times in a year.  It doesn’t even cost anything.  I decided I could handle those kinds of second chances.  They didn’t even blink an eye when I turned in six forms.  Weird, huh?

On Saturday, we had one more excitement.  Kevin and I ran in the Hobbler 5K which is also really close to our house and I WON A MEDAL!!!  OK, Kevin won one, too, but he wins all the time.  Also, there were only about 150 runners so there couldn’t have been too many people in the female age 35 to 39 category, but come on!  It’s still exciting!  Oh!  And I got a yellow shirt!

Alright, I just looked up the results and there were ten people in my category!  I came in second with a time of  29:17.9.  Someday I am going to want to know that.  That is my best time in recent memory but I really thought I was going to die before I ever reached the finish line.  Fortunately, I was mistaken.  Kevin came in first in his age group with a time of 22:08.8.  Isn’t he cool?  He came in like three minutes before the second place guy in his group.

It was a fun race.  The 5K was actually secondary to the main event which was a half marathon so the after-race festivities were really fun.  We had free french toast, massages, and hot-air balloon rides!  Sarah, Megan, Dad, and Bethany went up in the (tethered) hot-air balloon ride.  Mariah, Cheyenne, Calianne, and Bethany opted for face painting.  They waited in a super long line, but they looked marvelous!

What a fun (and very full) week!