This week was pretty normal except for Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.  I decided it was a good time to do a tennis session for Cali and Chey since basketball hasn't quite started yet.  So, yes.  It turns out that while they have time for tennis, I don't!  I pick up from elementary school T-Th at 3:15.  Ben has Karate at 3:45 on Tuesday and 4:45 on Thursday, and Bethany has ballet on Thursday at 4:00.  Tennis is from 3:45 to 5:00.  Oh, and my one other driver, Megan, worked on Tuesday and Thursday!  Never fear.  It turns out that I really can do it all myself.  It's just tricky and requires some kids to be early and others to be picked up late.  And it's only two days a week!  Actually, Kevin came home early on Tuesday and helped me out.  That's nice, too!

Wednesday thru Saturday Kevin attended a training in Salt Lake City for Emotionally Focused Therapy.  He really liked it, but it was a lot of time and ate up his Saturday, as well, so we've missed him!  He's trying to write 2000 words a day for his new book and he didn't want to stop during the seminar so he's had late nights and early mornings.  What a guy!  We're proud of him!

I happened to be in the kitchen when he came in with his certificate, so I had to take his picture!

Calianne made us dinner on Saturday night!  Sliders and carrot soufflé (the carrot soufflé was my idea, but she sure loves sliders!)  It was a great dinner.  She needed to make some food as an assignment for one of her school classes.  She got 30 extra points for making a dinner instead of a desert.  Shooting for the stars!  Plus, she loves to cook.

Saturday night we carved our jack-o-lanterns!  We missed Savannah and Sarah!  We did our best though and came up with lots of cuteness and a pile of roasted pumpkin seeds.

Oh and earlier this week, I hiked the Y again with Robin.  They've made significant improvements to the trail including binocular stands, picnic tables at the Y, and benches lining the top of the Y.  It's nice!  Robin and I were feeling so good, we decided to keep going on the path that leads to the top of Y mountain.  We hiked another hour probably before deciding to turn around, but we discovered that it is really pretty up there!  It was probably even worth how sore we were for the next two days!  Ha!

Guess who came for a surprise visit this weekend??  She got a ride down with her cousin, Justin, on Thursday night and then had him knock on our door.  The squealing and hugging commenced not long after!  It was a great weekend for her to come down, since we had Fall Break but we couldn't go up to see her because Meg needed to take the ACT Saturday morning.  We had great plans for Friday and she got to come!

But FIRST, we got to go to the State Cross Country Meet which was on Wednesday.  It was the culmination of a big season for the team.  Only varsity teams ran, but everyone on the team went up for moral support, including Meg!  The girls ran great.  SHS had the winning runner and all the girls improved their time significantly from last year.  Last year SHS placed 11th and this year they placed 6th.  Pretty impressive!  Plus, they all had a great time.

They always pray before a race.

On Friday, Sarah was down from school and Kevin took the day off work and we had a day to play together!  First we hiked Donut Falls and had a picnic lunch.  Then we drove into Salt Lake City and stopped at the palatial library for Sarah to have a quick online meeting for one of her classes, hiked to the top of the library (you can!), and then went next door to Megan's favorite place on Earth--The Leonardo Museum.  We saw exhibits on flight, homelessness, spooky stuff, and Legos.  It was pretty great.  After Kevin led the kids in a quick game of "follow the leader," we finished the day with dinner at Denny's!  Guess what?  Kids eat free!  I think we came out ahead with that one.  What am I saying?  All these kids make my life great every day!  It was a super day.

On Monday of this week we revived an old tradition and went to the tennis courts for a picnic dinner and some tennis instruction from dear old dad.  The older kids still talk about how I used to make homemade bread and bring it to the tennis courts.  Well, I forgot that my breadmaker broke so I bought white bread from the store--still a treat in their books!  Anyway, it was tons of fun and we all played some--except for Ben who contented himself with running wildly from one end of the courts to the other.

We got the practice in on Monday, because Cali and Chey had their junior high JV tournament all day on Tuesday!  They played as JV third doubles and the tournament was structured so every team played every other team to 4 points.  So, Chey and Cali got to play in six games from 8 to 3 out in the sunshine and didn't even have to go to school all day.  That's when being on the tennis team really rocks!  Anyway, they had a great time and placed 4th!  Go Cali and Chey!

On Tuesday night, Megan's high school team had their end-of-season banquet at her coach's house.  It was a tennis day!  Megan got a nice certificate and the coach said some really nice things about her, plus we got to eat delicious food and watch Meg laugh with Alisa.  Good times!

On Wednesday, I went for another hike!

On Thursday, it was time for Cali and Chey to shine again!  They had their first choir concert.  Their 7th grade group of all girls sounded really delightful and Cali and Chey sang with enthusiasm.  I loved it, but I love me a good choir concert.  Mariah came, too, and it brought back great memories for her.  Meg had to work, so Beth came willingly and Ben a bit unwillingly. He said, "Mom!  All we are doing is just sitting here!  How can you even DO that?"  Some things are just beyond a six-year-old's comprehension.  Choir concerts are apparently one of them!

On Friday, Mariah's basketball team hosted a pre-season tournament at her school.  Her cross-country coach asked her not to play as the state race will be Wednesday and she needs her to be in tip top shape!  So instead, she and dad went to the tournament and helped by bringing water and scoring games.  They were busy with that for all of Friday and a good part of Saturday.  Friday was also "Wear a Sports Shirt to School Day" for Beth and Ben!

Saturday morning, our Relief Society hosted a Super Saturday with crafts, service, and emergency preparedness.  We had a small turnout but a great time!

My big news of the week is that I finished sewing new covers for the cushions on my couch!  Cool huh?  Now I just need covers for the base and a new chair to go by the piano.  Woot!  It's going to be fabulous!