We started the week by celebrating Megan's birthday. Happy Birthday, Megan! We were so glad she was home with us and I think she was glad, too. We played a game and had lasagna for dinner and opened presents and put candles in her cheesecake. Sarah and McKay even made it back for the dinner so we were ALL TOGETHER! It was fabulous.

That was on Sunday and on Tuesday, it was Christmas Eve! In the morning, we watched Sarah and McKay open their wedding presents. People are so wonderful and generous, it was lovely to see! That night we came back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for our traditional candlelight dinner. Afterwards, and part of the tradition, we watched the kids perform skits (including the Nativity), played the pipe bells, had a musical recital, and opened presents from Grandma and Grandpa. A good time was had by all.

New jackets from Grandma and the "gangster" pose!

The next morning was Christmas Day! McKay and Sarah slept over at our house so they could be a part of the festivities. We opened presents from Santa, had French toast breakfast, and then opened more presents. Then, because it snowed, we all went out and made the world's tallest snowman and lots of other ones to keep him company. That afternoon we had a nice ham dinner when Grandma and Grandpa came over. It was a great day!

Tie from Singapore!

Matching Avatar shirts from Savannah

This is the girl who prayed for our snow!

The next day, we still hadn't had enough of each other, so we met at the gym and had a family basketball game! EVERYONE played (at least a little!) and Grandma even came and watched.

The day after that, we got together again! This time to go out to eat together (Grandpa Skinner's gift to us) and then to go to the bookstore where everyone got to pick out a book (Grandma and Grandpa Elton's gift to us)!

What day was that? I don't know. We lost all count of days! But yesterday, which was Saturday, the family finally got Meg caught up on her Marvel movies and the lucky girl got to watch Infinity War and End Game back to back! That night, Sarah and McKay came over for pizza and some Jackbox games.

So, it was a super fun week full of family activities. What a lucky group of people are we! And I do not say that lightly. This week was a blessing for all of us and filled our hearts right up. I'm so grateful for the love that abounds in our home at Christmas time and all year!

It was the last week of school before Christmas break. My mom and dad left Monday morning. I've missed them ever since! But we were so glad for their visit and were so glad they came.

We had no basketball games to attend this week but Cali and Chey had practice Monday through Thursday. They've both been sick: coughing, runny noses, sore throats, the whole miserable deal. Then they've had practices, and on top of all that, intense homework projects that keep them working at the kitchen counter every moment they're home until after the rest of us go to bed. They're both up early, too, doing more homework or practicing piano. I don't know where they get their drive but I admire it and really hope they get better soon so I believe they won't die from it all. Christmas break is much needed as well as the extra love they've been getting from having Megan and Mariah home.

Megan and Mariah haven't been sitting around either! Mariah went to work with Kevin a few days this week to help him with a data entry project they have at work and Megan got to put in a few days back at Funfinity helping with Christmas time busyness at her favorite toy store. They've both been able to do some fun stuff reconnecting with old friends, too. When work and friends and family aren't available, Mariah has been reading and Megan has been dusting off her violin and mandolin skills. They also help me around the house. It's lovely to have them both here.

Savannah had her last week of finals this week. They seemed to swallow her whole! But when the last question was answered, she took herself straight to the movie theatre to see the last Star Wars with a group of her friends. Beautiful light at the end of the tunnel!

Sarah has been gone all week on her honeymoon and went to Arizona on Friday for her mother-in-law's funeral. She will drive home today. We are all looking forward to seeing her again and watching her open her wedding presents.

Beth and Ben finished up their last week of school for the DECADE as they like to say. I don't think they have been working as hard as Cali and Chey but next DECADE we will start working harder.

Kevin B. Skinner turned 50 years old on Saturday. He's seen a lot of decades! I'm so glad that he's spent half of them with me! What a lucky girl am I. To celebrate, we went out with some friends and had a "You're-still-a-manly-man-at-50 Night." We went out for Chinese food and watched him wow all the workers with his Mandarin. Then we went to the batting cages for an hour and then to the mall for some axe throwing. I was even feeling like a manly-man by the end. Anyway, we had a great time and it was fun celebrating his birthday! On Saturday, we went out with all our kids (except Sarah) to see the Star Wars movie. That was pretty meaningful, too, since he saw the first one when he was nine! He's been watching those throughout his decades. We all love that crazy-good man and hope to keep partying with him for decades to come!

Sarah got married this week!  Yay!!!!

She was sealed in the temple on Saturday but ended up getting married civilly on Thursday. So her wedding date on records will be 12-12 which is a beautifully matched date, but not the reason for the change. McKay's mom was diagnosed with stomach cancer in September. They thought she would pull through for the wedding, but it became evident that she was not going to live long enough. McKay's uncle flew all the kids and Sarah last minute to Arizona so that McKay's mom, Phelecia, could witness the wedding from her bed. She passed away about twenty minutes later. It was a miracle and a blessing but oh, so hard, for those sweet Hatch kids as well as for Sarah. The family (immediate and extended) claim they will love Sarah forever for being willing to change plans so last minute and be so accommodating. Sarah, of course, can't think of any other way to have handled it. Of course, she would help McKay as well as his family who she loves as well.

I hear the spirit was strong and the ceremony lovely and because of their belief that Phelecia was in a better place and would be at the temple sealing in spirit, they all flew back to Utah ready to be happy for McKay and Sarah and celebrate for them.

And celebrate we did! The temple sealing was powerful and beautiful, the rainy day cleared to bright sun as we exited the temple and everyone cheered, we took pictures in the bitter cold, and then hurried over to the library for a great dinner and toasts from family and friends. McKay sang "Brown-Eyed Girl" for Sarah to start off the reception and then friends, friends, friends kept pouring in to congratulate the couple and wish us all well! Sarah and her siblings sang, "McKay the very first In-Law" to the tune of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."  Sarah and McKay threw cake to each other instead of using fingers. Sarah and her dad danced to "Turn Around." McKay and Sarah spoke some words in tribute to his mom. McKay sang again to Sarah and they had their first dance. The final act was a dance the couple danced with all their bridesmaids and groomsmen, followed by riotous dancing to the very end where we sent them off with cheering, ribbons, and bells. What a fun night. I wish I had more pictures but this is all I've got until I get the professional pictures back!

The next morning, Sunday, Megan gave her homecoming talk in our ward. All the family who came to the reception were able to be in our sacrament meeting. It was pretty great! Megan did a great job and we just keep getting more and more proud of her. We had friends and family come to our house afterward and we were able to offer them food leftover from the reception as well as WAFFLES! Good times.

Other things of note this week (as if that wasn't enough, right?), Mariah finished her semester at Dixie and came home to us for Christmas break! Yay! Mariah's home! When Sarah got back from Arizona, we were all home together long enough to decorate the Christmas tree! It was so fun to be together again for that.

Believe it or not, in addition to these other things, Bethany had two basketball practices this week with Kevin as coach, Ben and Beth both had karate, Ben had scouts, and Cali and Chey played in three basketball games! In addition, the big basketball breakfast fundraiser with Santa was on . . . can you guess? Yep, Saturday morning! It turned out well because we all needed a good breakfast before our big day anyway and we had a fun time.

My mom has been here all week, too, and that's been fantastic. She has kept us stocked in M&Ms to keep the stress at manageable levels and also did dishes and laundry folding when I fell behind which was kind of often. It's been great to have her here! I'm so grateful for all the family who came! It's been a great week!