Mariah left us Monday morning and we are all so sad! We are happy for her and that helps. It also helps that she got to call us twice last week! Missionaries in quarantine get to call twice in a week. I love that rule! She is in a trio in Harlem and she says her companions are really nice. She says they are teaching a lot and one day did six lessons in a row! She is adjusting to being inside all day. The only time they go out is to sit on the fire escape while they do companion study which is an image I kind of love. It seems just right for New York City! Plus, while she is "confined to quarters," I don't worry about her safety, so that is nice. She seems to be doing really well.

Cali and Chey finished tennis season last week, as you may recall, so this week they also had to adjust to life without the tennis team. Cali started going to group tennis workouts twice a week in Spanish Fork with our old teacher, Craig, and that helps a bit with the loss of tennis. She is driving there herself! At the same hour, Chey is doing open gyms for basketball twice a week. Other than that, they are trying to keep up in their Physics and Math classes and have also found that they have time to practice piano again! That's a nice perk.

Bethany continues to enjoy junior high and the cross country team. She keeps getting better in her races! She likes to experiment with makeup and watch her favorite YouTube shows. I guess those two things make her pretty typical pre-teen, huh? We can't believe how tall she is getting.

Benjamin and his new buddy, Max, built a fort this week in the wilderness between our two houses. (Yes! That's the kind of play I want to see!) They even worked into the night with flashlights a couple of nights. They also do Minecraft together, but I suppose I can take a compromise of a little of both.

I tried to keep myself busy with projects around the house on Monday and Tuesday, to keep my mind off Mariah. Wednesday, I had a wisdom tooth removed and I replaced Mariah-absence-pain to tooth-absence-pain. Ouch! It is still hurting but seems to be healing up without infection. I was supposed to go walking with Robin on Friday but she woke up sick, so I went anyway. It was beautiful!

Kevin played in a tennis tournament that started last Saturday and finished this Saturday. He can hang with some pretty good tennis players! Yesterday he won one and lost one. He is sore today but he had a lot of fun!

We had a busy week! It was the end of the tennis season for Cali and Cheyenne. They played in meets on Tuesday and Thursday and then had the final JV tournament on Friday. One of the JV singles players got sick so Cheyenne ended up playing that spot all week long, which was fun for all of us because she had been playing much lower and we got to see her with some tougher competition. Calianne and Brianna as a doubles team stayed at first JV doubles and remained undefeated all week long including at the tournament. They are region champs in their spot! Way to go!

Cheyenne did really well winning all of her matches until the last one. We are impressed with her since she didn't play singles all season like other people had at her position but she still jumped in there and did really well. Both girls will miss tennis so much but they've had a great time being with their team and have had a great season. They love it.

Bethany continued to run in Cross Country practices all week and had a meet on Friday. Dad and Savannah and Mariah and Cheyenne watched her run and said she's getting faster!

Benjamin had football this week on Monday and Wednesday. He played great and the weather is nice for sitting outside to watch football games! He continues to love playing with our new backyard neighbor, Max, and especially to ride his four-wheeler!

Bethany and Benjamin both had a belt exam on Saturday. It started with a 2-mile run and continued for the next four hours--not the running part. :) They had to demonstrate all of what they knew in kicks and punches and defenses and fighting. In the end they passed and are now blue belts, four belts from black. We are proud of them and their discipline and hard work. They also broke a whole bunch of boards.

Savannah worked all week for Earth Harbor. They really needed the extra help and she was glad she could help. She did slip on Friday and hit her head, poor girl! But she is recovering fine.

Cali and Cheyenne also had Homecoming this week! They participated in the paint fight at school and Cheyenne went to the outdoor movie. They were both invited to "the dance," but a few days before the actual dance, Cali's date had to be quarantined because of exposure to someone with Covid. She was heartbroken. Still, another friend in their friend group came forward and invited her to go on the day date with his group. So she ended up going out Friday night and did a lot of fun activities. So that was fun.

What she would have worn!

Cheyenne did get dressed up and went with her date on Saturday night. There was actually no dance, though. The big event was canoeing on the reservoir, which was a lot of fun and even more fun when Cheyenne proposed a race between her and the other couples in the group! Then they came back to our house and made pizza and played games. I think everyone had a great time.

It was Mariah's last week with us before she heads out into the mission field for real. So we all tried to have some special moments with her. She and I went hiking together on Wednesday to Stewart Falls. The colors were beautiful and the company exceptional! We had a great time together.

Cali and Cheyenne and Mariah decided they'd better paint their doors like they've been talking about doing and they got the job done with minimal paint on the floor but a lot on Calianne! Savannah joined in the fun, too and painted the bathroom door very creatively.

On Sunday, Megan and Ammon and Sarah and McKay and Grandma and Grandpa came over and we spent the day together. We had our last at-home sacrament meeting (because church begins in a limited form next week). Mariah spoke and dad spoke. Later, we had a big roast dinner on the picnic table outside.

Then McKay got his guitar out and we had a little dance in the front yard. He and Sarah sang a song they prepared for Mariah about "Preaching the Gospel." Then we had a hymn sing along in our front yard. We sounded like a Baptist Revival! (I think. I've never been to one.) It was so fun to be with the whole family, laughing and being together. Those will be great memories to treasure.

Kevin and I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to drive her to the airport this morning and everything went smoothly. She's off to New York. We are happy and excited for her and proud of her. And we hope that we will stop crying soon. Good luck our dear missionary girl.

 On Sunday we traveled through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. It was crowded and smoky but beautiful! We went to the paint pots, grand canyon of the Yellowstone, Bridge Bay, Colter Bay, and Ginny Lake. We drove a LOT and after night fell, drove another hour and a half to get to our hotel in Afton, but the kids were great sports and played games in the car and entertained Kevin and I with their laughter and good spirits. It was a fun day!

We saw a bear!

Monday was Labor Day and no school! We spent it driving home through traffic and heavy winds. We got home in time for the mountain just south of our canyon to catch fire. Sirens blared, the sky glowed into the night, but an Arctic storm blew in and Tuesday morning saw low-hanging clouds, a steady drizzle, and snow on the tops of the mountain. I've never felt such a feeling of true welcome to a snow storm!

Monday also meant we met our new neighbors who moved behind us. They have a son Ben's age WHO EVEN GOES TO HIS SCHOOL! We are so excited! And by "we," I mean Ben and myself and our whole family, but also Max (the son) and his whole family. So far, things have been spectacular. Ben and Max play every day and even take turns riding Max's four-wheeler around his property. Did I mention that Max has four older sisters? He needs a brother as much as Ben! Now they have each other. I'm so happy with who God picked out! :)

Cali and Cheyenne had two home meets this week afterschool on Tuesday and Thursday. They played great and had a super time. They've been very busy with homework, as well, and have been wishing they had more free time! Still, Friday night they helped their friend with the "Midnight Marathon" and didn't get home until 1am!

Bethany has continued with cross country and had her second meet on Friday. Cheyenne and I went to watch and she plugs away all the way to the finish! Go Beth! She had Siena over Friday night and the Mila's and Eden over on Saturday. I'm happy to see her with her friends.

Savannah worked for Earth Harbor (McKay's brother's company) on Friday and again on Saturday. She is not sure this will be her new job, but they certainly need help.

Mariah also helped at Earth Harbor on Friday but she did it for service! She continues to have personal study and language study and companionship study. She's hoping to make masks for everyone in her district this week! We received her flight plans and she flies to New York at 8:30am, September 21. We only get her one more week!

Megan and I played a duet in church this Sunday! So, she came on Friday to rehearse with the pianist and then stayed the night! What fun to see her a little more! Extra bonus is that after we played this morning, she is hanging out with the fam all day. Yay! (We played beautifully, by the way.)

We also saw Sarah a couple times this week when she stopped by to visit us (and see Meg on Friday). She tells us stories of her funny sixth graders!