There was no school on Monday because of President's Day so we gathered all the family we could and had a basketball game at the church! Ben, Beth, Cali, Chey, Mariah, Megan, Sarah, McKay, Kevin, and I had a great time! We came back to the house for lunch and talked and the kids watched some more Castle.

Savannah visited Las Vegas last weekend and came home on Tuesday. We missed her! She worked on a t-shirt quilt with Grandma and visited cousins and talked with Grandpa. She really enjoyed her visit and we're told all the family she saw really enjoyed it, too!

Mariah started her new job at the Provo Rec Center and really loved signing families up for soccer teams and doing whatever else they do in rec center offices! She is still working for Springville Rec, too, and this week was the last week of basketball season so she worked every evening for them either refereeing or score keeping. She has been very busy! On Saturday she worked from 9am to 10pm with only an hour off somewhere in the middle when she drove from the Springville job to the Provo one!

Cheyenne and Calianne also worked every day for Springville Rec. Cali also worked at Funfinity and Chey worked at Heritage. On Saturday they played in their first tournament game for the last week of basketball and they won! They will finish up Monday night. They have been very, very busy, too! They managed to fit in one night of fun. They had a "galentine" party at our house Saturday night.  Cali sure knows how to throw a party!

Bethany planned a party this week, too! She wanted all the neighborhood kids to go together to Provo Beach (which is not a beach--they played laser tag and video games). I drove them. Afterwards, they went to Max's house and had even more fun. Ben was there, too, of course and had a great time, as well!

We celebrated Savannah's birthday on Sunday! We had fried chicken for dinner and confetti cake and opened presents. She wanted to go on a walk by the river near Brookside--just like the walks we used to take when we lived down there. What a great idea! We sure love that girl and the fun and inspiration she brings into our lives!

Other than that, Savannah worked at Funfinity and another day as a substitute this week. On Friday she left for Las Vegas to spend the weekend with her Grandma and Grandpa Elton!

Mariah bought herself a car this week! She also got another job that starts next week, this time working at the Provo Rec Center. She worked a couple of days at Earth Harbor this week as well as reffing in the evenings. She went to the BYU women's basketball game on Saturday and had a great time!

Cheyenne worked at Heritage as well as for city rec. She's been practicing piano and going to track practices for hurdling. She went to the Sweetheart's dance on Saturday with some other girl friends.

Calianne worked for Funfinity as well as for city rec this week. She practiced piano and read books when she had a minute to herself. She went to the movies with Richmond on Friday night. On Saturday, after work, she had friends over to our house to play Catan. Cheyenne and her friends joined them when they were done with the dance.

Bethany had some play practices this week and also had karate. On Saturday morning she had a belt exam. Guess what? She's now a brown belt! That's three away from black, but she is now a Sensei. Pretty cool, right? Just call her Sensei Skinner.

Benjamin was scheduled to be at that belt test, too, but he was sick ALL WEEK! He came down with a fever on Saturday and his first day without a fever was Thursday. He has a lingering cough and runny nose but otherwise is on the mend. He missed school all week long. Poor kid. He was so sick of being sick. We're all glad that he'll be able to go back to school next week.

Kevin went to Mississippi to teach a group of therapists this week. He left Thursday morning and came back Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, he came down with Ben's fever Thursday while traveling and spent a miserable night in the hotel. With the help of WalMart meds and the answer of prayers, he was able to teach Friday. He's home now but still pretty miserable. Poor guy.

I've been working on a new book and taxes and my social work class. Thursday I went to bookclub and saw my old friends and Friday I went hiking with my friend Robin for the first time in a long while and that was great!

Also, we heard back from BYU and Calianne and Cheyenne were both accepted! Yay! Now they've heard back from all colleges and they will work on deciding where they'll go next fall. I sure will miss them!!

On Monday night, Cali and Chey helped with a three-school Chinese new year celebration. They helped run two of the games. There was food, games, decorations for year of the tiger, and entertainment! Beth, Ben, Kevin, and I went and had a lot of fun!

Benjamin had guitar this week (you should hear him play "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain,"), karate, and young men's. On Sunday of last week, he asked if we could invite his friends to go swimming at the rec center on Saturday. Talk about planning ahead, right? So, I had contacted the moms and all the boys were excited about it, and guess who got sick with a fever just hours before we were to pick everyone up? Poor Ben! He's so sick. But not with COVID. Still. Poor guy.

Bethany had karate this week and a couple of play practices. She did "heart attacks" for young women's. She hung out with Mariah on Friday and Saturday nights watching some shows. On Saturday, a friend of hers from karate came to hang out with her for awhile and there was much laughter in the house.

Calianne worked at Funfinity this week as well as scorekeeping basketball games.

Cheyenne worked at Heritage this week as well as refereeing basketball games.

They both had piano lessons and did practicing and went to school and did homework. On Friday night they had an epic adventure planned with their friends. Sixteen of them drove in a big van all the way to the salt flats--ostensibly to go stargazing. Although it ended up not being the best night for that, they did play games and ate food and had a great adventure together. Cali and Chey made homemade pizzas Friday after school to take with them. They have lucky friends! Sarah and I helped with the pizzas a little bit--we even helped them burn one pizza TWICE.  Good times in the kitchen!

This week Mariah applied for a job working at Provo Rec, went running everyday, looked at a car to buy, reconnected with some friends, and attended a good friend's wedding prep, wedding, and reception! That was for Katey Acero all day Saturday. Plus, she hung out with Bethany on Friday and Saturday nights!

Savannah's birthday is today! She went out to eat with Sarah and McKay on Saturday at Magleby's. Yummy chocolate cake! On Friday she had her first day as a substitute! She subbed for language arts at the high school. I think her biggest surprise was how little she had to do. Subbing will be a nice addition to her income.

Ben's youth group on Wednesday went to an indoor archery range. Ben mostly played foosball, but he had a good time! He went on a run with Mariah this week even though he wanted to cancel because it was snowing. He still went and they ran two miles. On Friday night, Max invited the neighborhood kids over to decorate cupcakes for a Groundhog day party. Bethany went too! On Saturday, Beth, Ben, Max, and Eden did some hiking so Eden could show them her fort. Fun times!

Bethany's youth group played games at the church. She acquired a penny which she named Liam because it was the most popular name in the year of the penny. She only had play practice once this week so she joined Mariah and Cali for a run on Monday. She and Ben also had karate this week.

Cali and Chey made cookies and watched Castle on Friday with Megan and Mariah. Ammon came and took Megan away, but Chey, Cali, and Mariah watched Castle well into the night! On Saturday night, the twins went to the high school to watch the "Mr. Springville Pageant" and then brought their friends to our house. They had a great time!

Mariah has been meeting with friends and keeping contact with people from her mission, as well. She also attended a friend's MTC group this week to help out as an investigator. She is looking into a humanitarian trip to Vietnam this summer with a couple of her MTC companions. It looks like she'll be going in July! Meanwhile, she continues to officiate for city rec each evening.

Savannah worked at Funfinity and completed her training to be a substitute teacher. She might be able to start this week. She finished a very exciting Star Wars game this week and got good cuddles from her bird.

Kevin and I went to SLC on Friday to see another play. This time we saw "Treasure Island," which was fantastic! The stage was surrounded by water which they used to roll "dead bodies" into and where our fearless hero, Jim, swung on a rope, let go, and landed in the water at the end of Act 1. "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" We had a fun time!