Megan graduated this week!!!!  Yay, Megan!  Congratulations on a job well and completely done!  We are so proud of you!  Graduation was on Wednesday and Meg wanted a barbecue in our backyard so that’s what we did and Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik came to help us celebrate.  We even decorated and I made graduation cupcakes!  Then we went over to UVU and listened to Pomp and Circumstance and speeches and lots and lots of names and then they said Megan’s name and we cheered!  It was good.  She went to the all-night party at the high school after that and she won a camera in the raffle!  She is an awesome girl and we love her and all the happiness she brings into our lives.

Beth and Ben had a dance performance at their school this week and I went and got pictures and then deleted the best ones!!  Dang it!  But they were adorable.  Ben did a Mexican hat dance and Beth danced to “You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful!”  This was their last week of school and they are looking forward to school-free summer days!

Cali and Chey celebrated their last week of school, too!  They both got 4.0 certificates in their award ceremony and they played night games with a group of friends on Thursday night and walked home with another friend Friday after school for more partying!

Mariah has enjoyed a WHOLE week with no sports practice!  We did go to the Track banquet Tuesday night where she got a certificate for her varsity letter and ate really good food.  She did try her hand at tennis this week and got a sore arm to show for it!

Savannah started attending the YSA ward last week and continued working part time in BYU’s IT department--learning, learning, learning!  This was the first time she got to watch a graduation and we were so happy she could be with us for Megan’s!

Sarah wasn’t at the graduation, but she came home for the weekend!  Yay!  We are a family of ten again!  We’ve had fun, playing games, watching movies, visiting Grandma and Grandpa, and hiking the Y!  We love that Sarah girl and it’s fun to have her home.

Megan really is a senior!  She really is going to graduate this week.  And they really did put a banner on our house just for her!  She's so cool!  The Big Summer Blowout was on Friday and they got their yearbooks and partied at the Arts Park.  Meg worked this week and finished up a couple of big projects for school.  The end is in sight!

Savannah went back to work this week.  She joined a team of 30ish programmers to be trained on a new project.  She is the only female and is trying to keep her morale up!  She went looking for an apartment for the fall with her friend, Jessica, who also just returned from a mission.  They might stay at the Riv.  She also met up with her past mission companion, Sister Liao, to have dinner and watch a movie.  Fun times!

Mariah finished her last week of track practice!    What a privilege to be able to compete in the state track meet!  Not many runners ever get there.  She ran the 800 leg for the medley team.  She PRed at 2:27 on Friday and helped her team qualify for the finals.  Then PRed again at 2:26 on Saturday to put her team in 5th place and even earn some points for the school!  Way to go, Mariah!  Seriously, though, she's so ready to be done.  Now that she is done, she is like a sailor kissing the ground after weeks at sea.

Some of her friends from the team cheering her on on Friday!

Mariah also joined the Springville Youth City Council this week and got sworn in by the Mayor.  It was pretty cool and she should get the opportunity for lots of fun service in the next few months!

Cheyenne continues to hunt for a dog on the Animal Shelter website and in KSL classifieds at least every day.  She is determined that her life will be full of purpose and meaning as soon as she gets one and not before.

Calianne is usually curled up with a book somewhere while Chey does that.  I sometimes ask her to come upstairs and read up here where we can at least see her, but otherwise I let her be!

Cali and Chey and Beth performed in their spring piano recital on Saturday.  They all did a wonderful job and even got medals for passing their theory tests and progressing to the next level.  Way to go!

Bethany and Benjamin had belt tests for Karate this week.  I have to say, that I was very impressed with all their punching and kicking and moves!  Plus, they're very cute in their fighting uniforms.

These are the boards they broke!

It's been a cold week, but Saturday warmed a little, and they opened the splash pad, so I took Beth and Ben, and their friend Josie.  Fun times!  Hopefully summer will bring more times just like it!

Kevin went to the state Republican delegate convention (or something like that!) on Saturday and got to see Jason Chaffetz, Governor Herbert, Orrin Hatch, and Mike Lee.  What a cool opportunity, huh?

Benjamin gave his Great Brain report this week!  He chose Karate as his topic and he did a great job presenting in front of his class.  He even showed them a Karate sequence.  His confidence impressed me!  I loved seeing him shine!

Bethany continues to be her sweet, social self.  This week the weather was nice and I heard the voices of seven or eight kids playing in my backyard!  I haven't heard that for awhile and I am happy to have it back!  She had activity days this week and they made Mother's Day surprises.  She also had her first Springville track meet on Wednesday!  She ran the 50 and the 200 and jumped long jump.  She made it to semi-finals in the 50 and placed 6th in the 200!  All that chasing after siblings has made her fast!

Calianne read three books this week in addition to school, track, piano, and young women.  Cheyenne researched dogs and pleaded for a dog for many hours this week in addition to the same things!  Her dad even took her to the pound--just for a look-see!  No dog was adopted, . . . yet!  Calianne and Cheyenne also had their last track meet this week!  Cheyenne got to run in the seeded mile and ran a 6:29!  They both ran in the 7th grade sprint medley.  Chey ran the 200 and Cali ran the 100.  The next day, Cali ran in the open mile (6:52!) and Cali and Chey both ran in the open 800.  They have had a fun time with track and their friends there!

Mariah would have had her last track meet this week (Regionals), but those darn, super-fast sprinters made her join their medley team and now she is going to State running the 800 leg of the medley.  She's soooo ready to be done!  This week she also played on one of the school's powder-puff football teams.  Her speed came in handy but football-catching she found to be a bit tricky.  Their team came in third AND she got to wear a cute pink shirt and silver bow in her hair!  Ah, powder puff!

Megan and Mariah went to see the school play, "And Then There Were None," this week and had tons of fun.  Megan also went to senior night at UVU where they got to hear a devotional at the institute building and then have full rein of the games center.  Fun times!

Savannah and I went to the LDStorymakers conference together on Friday!  We learned a whole bunch about writing and got motivated and basked in the presence of authors we know and love and the food was good, too!  Plus, I got to be with Savannah.

On Saturday, I went back to Storymakers for the last day, and Savannah, Megan, and Mariah, packed up Kevin's car and went to Rexburg to have a party with SARAH!  Their favorite band, National Parks, was having a concert at BYU-I, and they all needed to hear them sing their favorite song, "Monsters of the North" -- together!

Two weeks ago Savannah came home!

We did a lot to get ready.

Her plane was scheduled to arrive at 7:44pm on Wednesday night.  Kevin watched the Delta site all day and kept us appraised of her whereabouts.  For a while we thought she'd arrive early, but then she got delayed and was scheduled not to land until 8:32pm.

It was the longest day of my life.

My parents came to stay on Tuesday and were at the airport with us.  Jim and Naoma and even cousin Kayla (who lives in SLC), came to the airport, too!  We had signs and balloons and we waited and waited.

This is Ben long before the plane had even landed.

The plane did land and then we waited and waited for her and the other sister missionaries to come down that long escalator.  Finally, she did!  And we screamed and we cried and we hugged as if gravity had failed and if we let go we might all float away and lose one another forever.  It was a wonderful moment.

So that HAPPENED!  She finally came and we finally calmed down long enough to walk back to the cars.  Savannah's siblings made her a love tunnel into the van and chanted, "We are proud of you!"  They do that.  They are cute -- and supportive!

The next day the younger kids all stayed home from school and we had a big breakfast and we all just listened to Savannah talk and talk until her poor voice went out.  It was pretty wonderful, too.  We could have just sat and listened to her and soaked in the sight of her all day!  She's home!!!

The minute that Sarah's last class was over on Friday, Grandpa Skinner picked her up and they both headed down here so they could squeeze Savannah themselves!  Sarah and Savannah got their own personal reunion.  Happy, happy day!

Earlier that day, we decided to take advantage of the super spirit we were all feeling and go to the temple.  My mom and dad, Jim and Naoma, Kevin, Savannah, and I all did a session together in the new Provo temple that Savannah went through for the first time!  She loved it, of course, and we all loved her!!

On Sunday, we had an open house for Savannah at our house before church and a lot of friends from the ward came to see her and hug her and welcome her home.  Friends brought food and we had quite a spread!  Even one of her first mission companions came!  At church, Savannah spoke in sacrament meeting on obedience and did a fabulous job.  We missed Sunday School to take some pictures!

Sarah had to go back to BYU-I after pictures.  She is doing great things and having her college adventures.  We are happy for her but sad to say good-bye!

My parents had to leave on Monday and that was sad, too!

Guess what?  SAVANNAH STAYED!!

It's been so great to have her home.  I had people tell me that while missionaries are gone, you feel like they've been gone FOREVER, but when they come back, you feel as though they never left.  This is so true and it's been miraculous to feel.  We've all gone around with a Savannah-sized hole in our hearts for 18 months, but when she came back, she filled it perfectly and we are all whole once again! 

Love that girl.

On Monday, another notable event occurred in that Mariah was inducted into the SHS Chapter of Honor Society.  We are proud of her and her scholastic achievements.  Go Mariah!

On Friday night, Cali and Cheyenne performed in a giant play written and enacted by their 7th-grade drama class!  Cali and Chey's part was the best, of course, as they acted out the part of telepathic twins, one bubbly (Chey) and one surly (Calianne).  They were adorable.

Their sisters came to cheer them on!

On Saturday, Savannah's childhood friend, Ana Smith got married and asked Savannah to be a bridesmaid.  I drove up with Savannah and we spent the day in Ogden going from sealing to luncheon to reception.  We had ice cream after pictures and a nap in the car after the luncheon and we made friends with the other bridesmaids and I got to catch up with mom of the bride who was my friend way back when, too.  Savannah and I had a fun day together.  Did I mention that she is HOME??

Creative wedding party pictures!

Cali and Chey and Mariah all ran in track meets this week, too.  Cali and Chey had to run on Friday before their drama performance and in the BLAZING HEAT (80 degrees).  They still had fun, though.  Mariah ran in the BYU Invitational on Saturday where she ran a mile in 5:28 and the 800 in 2:30.  Kevin watched her run and they both had fun, too.  :)

Also, the ward had a talent show Saturday night and not many people showed up but my family were so supportive and went even though Savannah and I were still in Ogden.  They had lots of open spots for talent, too, so Cali and Chey added Megan and Mariah to their drama-class skit and performed it for all!  Cali played piano and Beth and her friend, Josie, did a song too!  Such good sports all!

Kevin went to Arizona Monday through Thursday this week for an IITAP Conference.  He taught three workshops and sold lots of books and overall, made himself more famous and valuable than ever!  We're proud of the good he is doing in the world.

I did take some time to go hiking with Robin this week.  The mountains were calling.  My legs ached for three days. . .  But this picture makes me look super cool.  Plus, it was beautiful.