My four oldest stayed up late Sunday night making cookies and being silly!  They have so much fun together!

Monday was Memorial Day!  Sarah and Savannah had to work, but we were able to all meet together for a picnic dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik's house.  The weather was sunny and calm and we had a great time playing games afterward in the cool grass.  We always have fun at the Gazdik's house!

Tuesday marked the first day of the last week of school!  It was the last day Sarah and Megan actually went to school.  Wednesday was graduation and since it was during the day and all the teachers had to be there, no school classes were held.  As part of the orchestra, though, Megan was required to attend graduation and play.  She said it was long and boring!  Not a thrilling event in her week.  Thursday seemed pretty pointless since all the seniors were already gone.  Meg went to her first period class (where there were all of three in attendance) and was told, "Well, you can either be here or you can not be here . . . "  She got the point and came on home.  They had already gotten their yearbooks at last Friday's yearbook signing party at the Arts Park with a live band.  THAT was great fun.  Goodbye Sarah's junior year and Megan's sophomore!

At the junior high, classes continued throughout the week, but on Thursday, the whole junior high went to Lagoon for the day!  Mariah got to ride on the NICE buses and go on lots of roller coasters--that is, when she could convince her friends that it would really be fun!  Goodbye to Mariah's eighth grade year!

At the elementary schools, school did continue until the last half-day of school on Friday.  They stacked their desks and chairs on Thursday so Friday was perfect for dance parties in the classroom!  Their friend, Lydia, invited them over for an end-of-the-year party at her house Friday and they came home after four hours, soaking wet and sunburned!  Goodbye Cali and Chey's fifth-grade year!

Bethany's school had a dance concert on Thursday.  Every grade had learned and presented a different dance.  The first grade did the Mexican Hat Dance.  It was super adorable, especially since Bethany had an authentic Mexican skirt from Ensenada to wear!  Goodbye Bethany's first-grade year!

Benjamin also had his last week of school.  He had Joy School on Tuesday and Thursday and we had Joy School Graduation Thursday night.  I've been to a gazillion Joy School graduations, but this was the only one we ever held in the evening, so it was Kevin's first!  Funny, huh?  Ben's had a great time this year and told at the graduation how he especially liked going on out litter walk to take care of our beautiful Earth!  Goodbye to Ben's preschool years!

Kevin is attending EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) training this weekend.  It was all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but it was in Salt Lake, so he has been able to be home every evening.  He is super excited to learn this technique.  Every indication seems to say that he will be able to help a lot of people get over their emotional pain through what he learns this weekend.  It's exciting stuff!

As for me, I keep telling myself, "Summer is here.  Summer is HERE."  I don't think it's sinking in all that well.  I did take Ben, Beth, Cali, Chey, and their friend Melanie to the splash pad on Saturday for a couple of hours.  As I watched them dash in and out of the sparkling water, my heart did finally say, "Summer is here!"

I forgot to report last week that Sarah and Megan were both inducted into the National Honor Society last week!  There was the lighting of candles and the reciting of a pledge and the signing in "the book."  It was all very ivy league and I enjoyed it very much!  Megan and Sarah are mostly just humoring me, but I am proud of them!

On Monday of this week, two very exciting things happened for Bethany.  First, we finally got her research project done and she got to present in front of her class.  She did her report on rabbits and did a great time presenting it to the class and answering questions.  She is just so cute!

That night she had her dance recital where she performed in two numbers--one for ballet and one for jazz.  The ballet was my favorite.  She did a great job and was having so much fun that she didn't stop smiling the whole time she was on stage!  I love seeing all that happiness!  Have I mentioned how cute she is??

On Tuesday, I had the carpets cleaned.  While they were drying, Ben and I went to DI.  Happy DI day, we found a boy bike for Ben!  (Apparently the purple one I had him riding was still too obviously a girl bike for his friends to resist pointing out to him!)  It was also, happiest of days, a Spiderman bike!  How cool is that?  It even matches his hat!

On Wednesday, Megan went to a banquet celebrating her track season.  While there, she was surprised to be awarded the "Most Improved Female" award!  She got a really nice plaque.  It was neat to have her recognized like that.  Oh, and guess who won the "Most Improved Male" award?  Yep.  It was her faithful friend, Josh!  They're like twinners!

Also on Wednesday, Calianne and Cheyenne came home with Reading Hall of Fame awards!  To receive this 5th grade award, they had to read 30 books and spend at least 72 hours reading outside of school during the school year.  They got certificates and their name on the wall at school and a couple of free books of their choice!  It was all pretty exciting and they did work hard on it all year.  I'm proud of them.

On Thursday, Sarah and I dropped all of our normal activities and went to "Scholars Day" at Utah State University in Logan.  Sarah got an email inviting her to come participate and learn more about the University and their programs.  She said, "I think I would like to go, Mom.  Do you want to come with me?"  Go to college?  Oh, yes.  I most definitely did.  It's a two hour drive to Logan from here. Once there, we learned about the university's undergraduate research program and their honors program.  Then we both got tours of campus and a complimentary lunch.  After which, we got to go witness firsthand the research being done in our area of interest.  For Sarah, that is the Education department.  We got to go to a classroom where undergraduate students are working with autistic preschoolers to test the success of their program to get them ready for elementary school.  If Sarah, goes to USU, she could get a job there as a freshman.  They have an elementary school on campus where Sarah could begin to train from day 1!  Um, that is a really good program.  The best Education program in the Intermountain West, apparently.  Sarah really liked it!  I was pretty impressed, too.

Thursday night, Mariah had her end-of-year choir concert!  They sang songs "through the ages" including popular songs from the last four decades.  It was tons of fun.  My favorite was when Mariah's choir sang "When I Fall in Love."  Mariah did great and looked stunning under the lights just like she did during her play.  She takes my breath away! 

Friday and Saturday Mariah played in a basketball tournament in West Jordan with her Schapers team.  They lost, won, lost.  She also got her new uniform in neon yellow!  They are really bright!  I love them!  Mariah loves that even the shorts are reversible.  How cool is that?

Savannah spoke in church today!  Her first adult-length talk and she did great!  She will make a great missionary.  I guess we will hear from her again in the fall right before she leaves!  I wonder where she'll go??

Savannah worked 40 hours this week and made significant progress on her mission papers!  Now she just needs to go to the doctor and the dentist.  Pretty close!  She also corralled as many siblings as possible into watching Star Wars I and started on Star Wars II.  She wants her family to be completely Star Wars educated before she leaves on her mission.

Sarah had school and work and tennis this week and even did some shopping for herself.  She wanted her siblings to watch a romance flick with her and finally got her wish Saturday when Megan, Mariah, and Sarah all cried through the end of The Notebook together.

Megan had school this week and in addition to watching movies with Savannah and Sarah, also did some movie watching with Josh.  She also made it to the temple to do baptisms this week and largely due to her prodding got to see the Payson Temple Open House with those who didn't see it before:  Savannah, Mariah, and Dad.  They loved it!

Mariah's stomach flu kept her out of the school and on the couch all of Monday.  She insisted on going back to school on Tuesday, though she didn't eat anything all day except soda crackers and Gatorade.  We kept her home from basketball practices all week, too, but Thursday and Friday were the regional finals for the junior high track season.  She ran in all her races which is a miracle in and of itself, because, really--what fuel was she running on?  But she didn't PR nor place--except for in her 4x400 relay where every runner ran under a 1:10 lap and they took first place!  That Mariah is an amazing girl and you just can't keep her down!

Mariah's First Place 4x400 team

Cheyenne and Calianne started softball games this week.  They are having so much fun and I think Kevin's having a good time being on the ball field again.  He is taking a much more relaxed position this time around and I am so proud of him!  Cali and Chey both turned in state reports this week, too.  Calianne had Missouri and Cheyenne had Colorado.  As part of the report, they had to make a mini parade float that represented their state.  They did a great job on them and they looked terrific!

Bethany had dance and school and friends.  She is our cheerful helper around here and is always willing to help clean or cook or set the table.  She does ask if she can have fruit snacks afterward because she was such a good helper. . .

Benjamin had Joy School at our house this week and it was my last time teaching this year which means . . . it was my last time ever?  Crazy!  I feel like I should throw myself a retirement party or something.  Wouldn't that be great?  Ha, ha.  I will settle with having some happy memories.

We also got to go over to Gazdik's this week to celebrate Grandpa's birthday!  We are so happy to have him in our life!  Happy Birthday Grandpa!

 

My mom and my Uncle John came for a visit the first part of this week!  They came up to tour the new Payson Temple on Monday.  On Tuesday we did some touring in Springville and even went out for a Mexican lunch to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!  It was great to have them because they are both such fun!  I wish I had taken more pictures!

 

This is my uncle with his Corvette and my brother with his!

We lost Ben's glasses this week.  :(  Do you think we'll find them?  He had Joy School and played transformers lots and lots with his friends.  He ignored us when we told him what to do and grinned mischievously and cuddled sweetly with his warm body next to mine when he was tired.  On Friday while I was at tennis, he and his dad walked home two miles from dropping Savannah's car off for repairs.  Apparently at the bridges he went over the bridge once, under the bridge once, and then finally through the river.  He keeps things interesting for himself.

 

Bethany got her ballet costume this week and got to wear her jazz costume for pictures!  Costumes are her favorite part!  When Ben and I went to the dollar store this week, we picked up a little tea set for Beth while we were there.  She immediately had a party for her friends, of course.

 

 

Cali, Cheyenne, and I got to go to a mother/daughter tea party this week for Activity Days.  It was super fun.  We had lemonade in our multi-themed tea cups, nibbled on finger food, and made ourselves some small top hats!  It was tons of fun.  Besides that, Cali and Chey had softball practice and have enjoyed having no homework for the rest of the school year!  Their teacher offered a treat for anyone who finished all the pages in their math workbook; Calianne worked on it all afternoon and early the next morning.  I was so impressed with her tenacity!  For math!  You go girl!

 

 

 

Mariah had track practice all week once again and a meet on Friday.  Before she was done (she had to miss one of her events) she was on her way to West Lake for a basketball tournament.  She played in two games Friday night and was back early Saturday morning for three more games spread throughout the day.  The poor girl got a stomach bug somewhere before her last game and started throwing up before she got home.  She didn't stop until about 2 am last night.  No gagging today but she is still feeling awful and sleeping a lot.  It's terrible!  We are all feeling awful for her!

 

Megan ran in her last track meet this week for Regionals!  She ran the mile on Wednesday and the 800 on Thursday where she did great in both but she didn't break her personal record so she is not as happy with her performance as I am!  She and I went over to the mall on Friday afternoon for a record-breaking-ly quick visit with my sister, Maggie, and her daughter, Becca.  It was great fun to see them even for a half-hour.  Becca was here for orchestra festival which Megan got to get up early Saturday morning and play in also with our high school.  Fun times!

Sarah got to help at Cali and Cheyenne's run-a-thon fundraiser this week at school.  Cali and Chey both ran close to 5 miles!  Sarah, as part of Key Club, got to help run with the special needs kids and she loved it!  She had so much fun.  She also worked and did her homework and improved her tennis skills and even had time left to hang out with her younger brother and sister and take selfies.

 

 

It has been great to have Savannah home!  She worked an almost 40 hour week which has been a hard adjustment for her, but she has been quick to say yes when asked to help us out with driving places and other chores when she is home.  What a trooper!  We love having her around once again!

 

 



On Monday of this week, Savannah left with a group of her college friends for a road trip!  We let them take our van and another girl in the group paid for a condo for them in St. George for a few nights.  They hiked in Zion, did baptisms at the St. George temple, and patronized the local pool.  Then they went on to Las Vegas and stayed a night at my mom's house where they again did baptisms this time at the LV temple and went to see the new Avenger's movie.  They came home Friday having safely navigated their first real independent adventure.  I was proud of them all.  What fun!

Sarah really, really wanted to go see the Payson Temple open house and was going to go with another family this week.  When that fell through, I got online and managed to find a few tickets so that some of our family could go!  Sarah and I took Cali, Cheyenne, and Bethany Friday morning at 8 am so they'd only miss a bit of school.  I'm so glad that Sarah's enthusiasm got us there because it was a beautiful place with a beautiful spirit and so it was a beautiful experience!  Way to go Sarah!  Then Saturday morning, as the last Saturday of the month, was the day that our YW's President takes the girls to the temple to do baptisms and she needed me to drive.  Sarah and Megan and Mariah all went.  We went to the Timpanogos temple and that was beautiful too!  What a lot of sweet experiences with my daughters and with the Lord.

Megan had to do 160 pages of Chemistry homework this week.  I am really not at all sure how this is possible, but she managed to get it done through constant work and late nights.  I am impressed!  Her teacher should be as well!  She also ran track all week (though she had to miss a practice for the Chemistry, too!). This picture about sums up her week:

Mariah had a track meet on Friday.  They were missing some of their runners so in addition to the mile and 800 she usually runs, she also ran the 400 and a leg in the 4x400 relay.  I couldn't be at the meet so I asked her afterward.  The conversation went like this, "How'd you do in _____ (enter event name here)?". Mariah:  "I did alright."  Me: "What did you place?" Mariah, with a sheepish grin, "First.". Yep.  For every single event!

Cheyenne and Calianne had their Springville Track Meet for all the 5th grades this week!  It was pretty exciting!  Cheyenne ran the 100 and the 800 and placed 5th in the 800.  Calianne ran the 100 and the 400 and placed 3rd in the 400!  Mostly they had a great time being with their friends and enjoying being outside on a beautiful day!  They had a great time!

Cheyenne

Calianne

 

 

Bethany told me at the open house, "Mom, I know why temples look like castles.  Because Heavenly Father is our King!". She sure got that one right.  She is such a sweet girl and continues to love playing with her friends and learning Chinese at school.

 

 

 

Benjamin had joy school this week and his day with Grandma. When he's home, he does his twenty minutes of online preschool, watches some transformers on TV, plays with his transformers, makes transformers out of his Legos, and draws transformers.  All that is just to fill time until his friends get home from school and they can reenact transformers.  I am only exaggerating a little.  I love how much he loves to draw, though.