It was the last week of school! It was Ben’s last week of elementary school ever! And, by extension, mine! How crazy is that? Ben really enjoyed Sage Creek Elementary, so, while he is excited for middle school next year, he is also sad to see these years come to a close. I suppose that is how it should be. Because of COVID, his school didn’t do a lot of the end of year activities they usually do, but they did have field day and a Harry Potter movie party and a read-in and an in-class graduation party that included pizza! Fun times!

We think that certificate says that he won
"Most Improved" in Chinese this year!

The biggest excitement for Bethany during the last week of school as a 7th grader at the junior high was getting her yearbook! She had great fun getting it signed by friends and making plans for the summer. She and Ben also had karate two times this week, but otherwise they played outside more with Max and the Mila’s because the weather was so nice! Also, on Wednesday, she and I got to go with other kids from our church to do baptisms at the temple. I couldn't stop smiling!

Cali and Chey only attended school until Wednesday when the seniors officially graduated. The high school didn’t provide much in the way of end-of-year fun, so they made their own! They watched Pride and Prejudice with their girlfriends, they had a muffin exchange with games with their whole group, they played ultimate Frisbee at the park, and they got their first official hours in for summer tennis practice (they’ve got to reach the 100 hour challenge again, of course!). They had a busy week, but in the way they like to busy!

On Friday, within hours of getting out of school, we got in the van with Savannah, Chey, Cali, Beth, and Ben, picked up Sarah and McKay, and headed to Las Vegas! Two of my nieces graduated high school and we were invited to a picnic/party to celebrate. Even better, my brother, Dave, flew in from Florida and my sister, Diane and her family flew in from Missouri. For a few hours, it was a complete family reunion!!! We were only missing four people out of . . . A lot!! It was super fun to see everyone. I wish we could have spent more time together, but it was still really a good thing.

On Saturday, those of us who arrived early, the Gillespie’s and the Skinner’s, met with the Rich’s at a local pool to swim. 

That night, after Diane and Dave flew in, we met at a park and had a birthday party for the very youngest cousin. Diane’s Jocelyn turned three!

On Sunday, we met at a park for the graduation party and that’s when everyone was there! Great times!

All the cousins!

All the everybody!

The family that started it all.

Luke Carter was killed in a car accident on his mission in Texas this week. He was the younger brother of Mariah's high school boyfriend, Kolby, and the older brother of the twins' good friend, Paul. It has, of course, saddened our whole community, and affected us all. The twins and their friends fasted for the Carters on Thursday and then came to our house to make pizza and break their fast. So sad to see the teenagers crying, but heartening to see them comfort one another.

Otherwise, the twins had a much easier week. They finished up some final big tests and projects. They didn't have sports or piano. Cali did work a couple of days at Funfinity and they both went to umpire training for city rec softball, although they won't be available for the majority of the season. Last night they went on dates with their favorite guys.

Savannah felt better this week! She made grilled tuna and salad for us on Tuesday night and went hiking with a girlfriend on Saturday morning. On Thursday, she and Bro. Berger opened the hive and tested for mites. No mites! Yay! The hive is doing great.

Bethany had a band concert this week! This is my very first band concert for one of my own children! She played baritone and I am so impressed with what kids can learn in one year. They sounded great! She also went back to karate this week and had an end-of-season party for track. On Saturday, she and Ben played together and gathered the kids in the neighborhood for hanging out and games.

Benjamin passed his belt test on Saturday! Go Ben! He's now a purple belt, just three belts from black! He still enjoys getting online with his friends to play Minecraft and try to capture the Ender Dragon. He also has a goal to play a game with a member of his family everyday, so lately we've all had a chance to be beaten by him in Connect4.

Kevin has been working on the sprinklers this week. He's gotten water specifically to my garden spot and the spot over the trampoline where we want to grow blackberries and raspberries. So, it's a little late this year, but I did get some vegetables in the ground and we will watch them grow! Maybe I will remember to post "after" pictures sometime in August or September!

I've been submitting my manuscript to agents and publishers this week. This is usually a very long process, but I did hear back from a small Christian publisher in the South. We have had a very interesting discussion on whether a writer "from the LDS" could conceivably publish with a Christian publisher from the evangelical tradition. If nothing else, I'm giving one man somewhere in the world, a chance to think of my tradition a little differently. That has been heartening.

Savannah got her vaccine for COVID on Thursday. She got the one-shot dose so she's done! It's good she's done, too, because she got pretty sick with chills and then sweats. Poor girl! She followed it up the next day with nausea and all its accompanying charms. The pharmacy doesn't think that's related to the vaccine. Whatever the case, we will be happy when she is feeling better! Before she got the shot, she worked three days this week and made us egg rolls on Thursday night! They were super good!

Cheyenne ran in the district finals meet this week. She did great and I think she had fun. She also had a piano recital. She played beautifully and I was very proud of all her hard work! Things are winding down at school but she did have a math test and she aced it!

Calianne also had a piano recital this week (they had their recitals on different days because their schedules didn't line up)! She played beautifully and I am so proud of her hard work. Cali took the AP Language and Composition test this week and it was hard! She had an hour to do 50 multiple choice questions and then two hours to write three essays. I'm so proud of her effort and desire to push herself. She also worked at Funfinity twice this week. Poor girl is quite exhausted!!

Bethany had her regional final track meet on Thursday and Friday this week. She got to miss school all day Thursday and had great fun at the track with her friends. She ran the 100meter hurdles and did great. Her track friends had a party Friday night watching a movie outside together. Fun times!

Benjamin had a couple of sick days this week. He always tried to go to school in the morning, but sometimes a sore throat and headache would bring him home. He did make it to karate once and on Friday he made it to Max's birthday party. They had a scavenger hunt that led them all over the mountain and included minute to win it games. Fun times!

On Saturday we had a graduation party in the park for Sarah and McKay! We brought the grill down to the park and had bratwurst and hamburgers, potato salad, watermelon, popsicles, cookies, and corn on the cob! Good food! McKay and Sarah both gave speeches to our thunderous applause. We played soccer, softball, and bocce ball. It was great fun to be able to hang out with both families in such lovely weather and celebrate good things!

Also this week, our Grandpa Gazdik had a birthday! We are so grateful for the fun he brings to our lives.

Sarah and McKay graduated from UVU this week!!! We are so proud of them. What a great accomplishment! Because of COVID, a drive-thru graduation was provided and we had great fun. We were one of many decorated cars. We cheered for our graduates, professors cheered for the graduates along the route, everyone cheered for everyone else. We also waited in a long line to get pictures taken by the giant UVU letters, and it was worth it! Afterwards, we took the grads out to eat at Golden Corral. They went back to listen to the commencement speech (from their cars) and watch fireworks. What a terrific reason to celebrate!

Savannah had a good week. Her bird loves to ride around on her shoulder and they spend all their time together when Savannah's not at work! Also, Bro. Berger came over again this week to check on the bees. Savannah came back in the house so excited! The queen is laying eggs (she got to see!) new bees are growing in the "brood box" and honey is being made. She bought herself a notebook covered in bees to record her beekeeping journey.

Cali and Cheyenne took the AP Physics test this week. It took 4 hours!!! They came home with the glassy-eyed look of zombies. Then they had more homework to finish from other classes. They are really hard working kids! In addition, Cali worked at Funfinity this week. Cheyenne ran in the JV finals track meet. Kevin and I watched her run the 300 meter hurdles. She finished second in her heat and looked fantastic! They still managed to meet up with their friends this week and we are happy they get to do that because it always rejuvenates them. Oh, and they got their first vaccination this week.

Bethany had track practice all week and a meet on Friday. She ran the 100meter hurdles and it sounds like she did great. She also had karate this week. Probably her favorite day was Saturday when she went to Annaliese's birthday party from 2 to 10! Fun times.

Benjamin had karate this week. He also helped his dad cleaning the garage and mowing the lawn. Minecraft is still his favorite thing especially when he meets with his friends online. He finished listening to all the Harry Potter books on Alexa. Now he is listening to The Green Ember. He also got a kit for his birthday for making crossbows and catapults and he built one this week!

Kevin continues to play a lot of tennis and is thinking about participating in the senior games in St. George in the fall. That could be fun! He is working on getting our sprinklers to hit spots they have historically missed. Of course, he continues to go to work and help people with their lives.

I finished book ten of my ten-book series this week! Yay me! I need to revise now and write a query letter and a synopsis and research literary agents and publishing houses and while I do all that, I need to not feel too terribly overwhelmed by the odds stacked against me in this publishing endeavor.  :) Obviously I'm not doing very well at that. In the meantime, the world has greened up around me and it makes me very happy! Here is a picture from our canyon. This is the fourth bench which is almost a mile and a half up, up, up from my house. I ran back. It was a beautiful exercise morning!