The fires continue to rage behind the mountains around us. We had to go to a pre-pre-evacuation meeting at the high school, but the fire is still pretty far away from us. There are about 2000 firefighters working on these fires as well as planes and helicopters and crazy amounts of other resources. I am humbled to see so much effort put into saving people and property and land and livestock. It seems that we spend a lot of time criticizing our nation, but some things they do really, really well and it's so good and beautiful to watch.

So, the smoke continued to be a problem all of our mornings, but the afternoons always cleared up. So, the kids could still do cross country and tennis and flag-football. They were grateful for that! They've had plenty of practices cancelled because of it this fall!

Savannah had a couple of sick days this week with a stomach bug. Other than that, she's been doing well. She got to attend a baptism for a convert in her singles ward and she loved that! It reminded her so much of her mission.

Mariah, Cheyenne, and Calianne attended the Bob Firman invitational cross country meet near Boise, ID this weekend. They left super early Friday morning, ran Saturday, and got back super late Saturday night. They all ran super races though and had a great time with their friends. The varsity team placed 8th and Mariah PRed by 15 seconds. The JV team, where CC ran, placed 1st and the twins both improved their times, as well!

Cali and Chey also had their final regional tennis tournament this week. It was Thursday and they played in the alternates tournament. They won their first two matches and then lost to some friends who are also on the Springville team! They were very sad to lose but their friends were really sweet and supportive. The end of the tennis season is always jarring with these single-elimination tournaments! But Chey and Cali had a great time being on the team, improved their tennis game, and made some great memories!

Bethany decided this week that she would like to get her hair cut! It really wasn't my idea, at all. I know that I have been behind most of my kids' brief forays into short hair and they have almost always been mad at me about it! Maybe I have learned a lesson? I don't know but I really stayed out of Beth's decision. She told me she was thinking about it. She asked to look at pictures of cuts on the internet. Then she told me she decided and could we do it Saturday? So! There you have it! She looks adorable! (But then, she always does!)

Benjamin had karate with Beth and also did flag-football and guitar and cub scouts. His friend in the neighborhood, Nico, has been coming around about everyday, too, so that is fun! Cheyenne bought a hoverboard with her very own money this week and the last thing she told me before leaving this weekend was to make sure Ben didn't use it while she was gone. After the second infraction, Ben has been grounded from all screens for the next week. We will see how that goes!