This week we had great fun visiting with our cousins from California (previously known as the cousins from Ohio . . .)!  The Mike and Sanae Gazdik family were here dropping Kayla off for her second year at BYU.  Monday night, their youngest, Julia, turned nine years old!

We went up the canyon that night with Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik where they had hung streamers and balloons in the trees.  We had a picnic dinner and cake and played games in the grass, and, of course, opened presents.  It was great fun!

We love that crazy bunch of people.  They teach us how to be more crazy in our own lives.  I don't know how we got to this point in our family's life without the very loving experience of a family dogpile.

It was a great thing to do Monday night because . . . Tuesday morning was the beginning of the school year.  Sadness and Happiness, Excitement and Dread.  Beginnings hold all these things in some degree for all of us.  At least they all looked stunning.

Savannah, now a junior at the high school.

Megan and Sarah, eighth and ninth graders at the junior high.

Calianne, Mariah, Cheyenne, 3rd, 6th, 3rd, at the elementary school.

There they go.  The last group walking away from me.

Ben captured the moment well for all of us!

All in all, I think everyone had a good first week.  Savannah is taking some hard classes, but when she told me she had FIVE books for her AP US History class, she couldn't help smiling.  That girl likes a challenge.  Sarah has honors English and will be in choir again.  Megan has foods and, of course, orchestra.  She and Sarah have lunch together!  Mariah has the same teacher that Savannah, Sarah, and Megan each had for 6th grade.  This helps Mariah feel that all is well in the cosmos.  Cali and Cheyenne have Mrs. Evans who loves them from our ward already.  She's also the mother of Elder Evans (otherwise known as Savannah's Scott)!  The only sad thing to report there is that the very first thing that is taught in third grade is cursive and Cheyenne can barely write with her cast on.  Poor girl.  It hurts her when she tries -- though try she does and will continue to do so.  September 12 can't come quickly enough!

Mariah had two soccer games this week.  She played Wednesday night and Saturday morning.  Saturday she scored two goals and they won 4-2.  Way to go, Mariah!

Savannah ran in her first cross country meet on Saturday -- the American Fork Grass Relays.  She ran as the second runner on their five-man varsity relay team.  She wished that she had done better, but I think she did GREAT!  She ran 15:38 for two miles in 90 degree heat while jumping over hay bales.  Who thinks of these things?

Sarah had her second tennis meet on Tuesday (yes, that would be the first day of school).  She didn't get a chance to play, though, because we had more tennis players than they.  However, she did get her uniform and she was excited about that!

Anyway, we made it through until Saturday and as I have two little girls turning eight-years-old next week, I took them to WalMart to get their ears pierced.

 They were very excited at the store.  Their enthusiasm dimmed only for a moment when they felt the pain.  It would have been completely uneventful, except the lady accidentally pierced her glove and attached it to Cheyenne's ear along with the earring.  Poor Cheyenne.  She said, "Why is it always me?"  She got teary when she thought it was going to hurt to get it off, but it didn't hurt.  The ladies worked together to cut it off and she doesn't have to wear a glove behind her ear for six weeks.  Hurrah!  Instead, she has these lovely peace signs to wear:

And Calianne chose rainbow-striped dots.

They are growing into such beautiful girls!  I can't believe they will be eight years old!