The week of June 10 to 16 our computer broke!  That's why there was no Skinner Update last week (you make me feel more loved if you noticed . . .).  So, what happened that week?  I don't really know. It was a whole two weeks ago.  Actually, I know that Sarah and Megan went to tennis Wednesday and Thursday mornings and basketball on Tuesday.  Sarah loved all of it and Megan hated all of it.  Savannah worked and spent time with her new best friend, Scott, who she also finds very nice to look at and smile at and laugh with.  Calianne talked me into making "fireworks cookies" with her which she saw in a magazine.  She can be very persistent!

She also played with lots of friends and has been very diligent in reading 25 minutes every night for the library reading program.  Cheyenne also played with lots of friends, but has not been quite so diligent in the reading department!

As for me, I sewed four pairs of shorts for the twins!  I even did them all in one day!  That's pretty fast, right?  They were super easy and I used fabric I had already and I think they turned out really cute!  Now they can even wear shorts that fit instead of ones that always fall down.  :)

Bethany wakes up asking to play with friends every day.  I always make her wait until ten.  I am not sure if my neighbors appreciate that even though I might be annoying, I am being less annoying than I would otherwise be.  She does find her way home everyday and joins Cali and Cheyenne in their adventures for awhile and always takes a break at least once a day for "a show and some milkie."

I am beginning to recognize that Benjamin's obsessions, while taxing, are only temporary.  For instance, past obsessions (which you may remember from past updates) such as the dishwasher, the sink, the stove, vacuuming, electrical outlets, and the need to never set foot indoors, have, thankfully waned.  I am enjoying his present obsession very much as it actually involves toys (which have the advantage of being safe for himself and the rest of the family) and it can even be done indoors.

Ben has decided that he does indeed like cars.  He got a bunch of these for Christmas but back then he was much more interested in the stove.  Now he pushes them around, lines them up, pushes them around some more, and lines them up in other places.  He once found a Barbie doll at the end of his line.  He was so disgusted, he picked up the Barbie, threw it down the hall and went back to arranging his cars.

The other big event of that week was that Sarah got her hair cut short!

It looks so cute!  She has gotten tons of admiring comments from everyone who sees it!  As for herself, she says it is hard to get used to having her hair in her face.  She thinks everyone is exaggerating how cute she looks.  I just say, "Whatever.  You're totally beautiful."  Then she just says "Whatever!" back to me.  It's totally like having a conversation with a teenager.  Wait a minute . . .

So, finally, the last thing I remember about that week was that I finally got to compete in my triathlon!

This is my friend, Ivory, who did the triathlon with me.
She was great!

This is me zooming into the "transition area" after I was
done with the bike.

This is Kevin trying to keep up with me
because I am going SO FAST!! (ya, right!)

Everyone came to see me finish!
(except Savannah who had to work)

It was tons of fun!  And I really mean that!  The real accomplishment and success of the triathlon was that it kept me active and exercising for nearly four months.  Everything in the triathlon (which was a "sprint" in triathlon distances btw) was doable.  The swim was less than 1/4 mile, the bike was 11.5 miles, and the run was 3.1 miles.  People are very impressed when I tell them I did a triathlon.  They are impressed, that is, until I tell them the distances.  Then they're like, "Oh . . . well, that's not bad."  Yeah, well, I don't see YOUR triathlon shirt.  Heh, heh.

What I liked about it was the variety.  I didn't get bored because I was alternating between three different sports.  Swimming was like learning a whole new sport and how often do you get to learn new things at my age and in my situation?  And it did keep me active for nearly four months.  During that time I watched the world turn from just barely thinking of becoming spring, to the full green everywhere of summer.  I also listen to audio books, so I traveled with Frodo to face Smaug, met Captain Naismith and escaped to Barrayar, fought with Captain Naismith as she fought to save the life of her unborn son, then, in another book met her grown son and cheered as he proved his worth to the house of Vorkosigan, and finally traveled with Captain Nemo as he escaped mankind and hid in his submarine under the sea.  See?  Doesn't that sound exciting?  Being active CAN be very, very fun.

And then on one bright, sunny morning in the summer, I get to be treated like a super-athlete while I compete in the real thing and have my whole family there at the end to say, "Go, Mom!  You did it!"

Doesn't that sound like fun?  Wouldn't you like to be a triathlete, too?  ;)

Sunday was Father's Day.  We made Kevin buttermilk pancakes for breakfast and went over to his mom's for a lovely roast dinner after church.  We gave him some presents back at our house.  Isn't he cute?  We love him so much and are so glad that he's our dad!!

That night Beth decided to help him out by cleaning his computer -- with a spray bottle of shower cleaner.  Sweet girl, but not such a sweet result.  Then, of course, we were without both of our computers!  It's a good thing that he loves our sweet Beth more than he loves the computer . . . or our ability to financially take care of ourselves . . . or the chance to stay in our budget this month. . . You get the idea.

It was a busy day because on that day we also drove to Fillmore and picked up the Gillespies and dropped off suitcases and sleeping bags at the bishop's house for girls' camp.  But that, my dear readers, is a story for another week . . .