Sunday was Seminary Graduation. There were eight seniors in our ward graduating from seminary this year. It’s so fun that they have such a big group to be faithful with!

On Monday, I took my final exam in independent study statistics. There were 60 problems. It took me an hour and a half. I did not get even ONE wrong! It kind of blew my mind. Statistically, I should have made a silly error on at least one or two. So, anyway, that ended well!

On Tuesday, Cali and Cheyenne had their senior piano recital. They were the only ones who played. They each played four pieces and ended with a stunning duet. It was so. Much. Fun! I loved it. Their current piano teacher was there, of course, but their teacher from when they were kids, Katy Sargent, was able to come, too! We had people from our old ward come and people from our current ward as well as Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik and high school friends of the twins, too. We bought special dresses and paid for a nice recital hall. I’m so impressed with how well they can play and am so glad they have this skill to take with them to enjoy throughout life.

On Wednesday, Cali and Cheyenne graduated from high school! Woot! Woot! We had a luncheon for them. Grandma and Grandpa came and so did Sarah and Megan. We had sliders and potato salad and graduation cupcakes. The girls opened presents. Then we were off to UVU for the ceremony! Afterwards they went to the late night party at the high school which lasted until 3:30am. Then they went to a friend’s house and stayed up ALL NIGHT! They got back at 8am the next morning. Those are kids who really love their high school friends and want to soak up every last minute! I’m glad they’ve had such a good experience.

On Thursday, we packed and scrambled and got everyone to the airport by 1:00. We needed to be there for our 2:30pm flight to New York City!!  Wow! Sarah, McKay, and Avery made it. Megan and Ammon made it. There are 13 of us here in NYC. Do you know how many cabs you need from the airport to transport that many people? Three. The answer is three. We made it, though!!

On Friday, we slept in but then took to the subway to do some exploring in New York City! First we went to China Town. We hung out in their park for awhile and then had some yummy Chinese food for lunch. Afterwards, we went to the Empire State Building but we decided not to go up. We did explore the largest store on Earth — Macy’s. Then we walked to the New York Public Library and hung out there for awhile. Then we saw St. Patrick’s Cathedral and went to the Rockefeller Center and saw some skaters. We finished up by exploring FAO Shwartz toy store. Good times!

On Saturday, Mariah took us to Woodside in Queens to meet with one of her friends from her mission. His name is Dave and he organizes a service project every Saturday to help bring order to chaos by harnessing the power of the common man! We painted over graffiti and we didn’t even get too much on our clothes. It was really fun. There were a bunch of missionaries there, too, so that was fun for Mariah, too! Afterwards, we took the subway to Broadway to see Wicked! Which was amazing! We all thanked Dad over and over again.

Afterwards, Mariah’s friend, John, wanted to meet us. He met us on Broadway just past the theatre. Kevin and I got some NY pizza to eat in the plaza we found. John wanted to show us where he worked, so we got back on the subway and saw some cool buildings in lower Manhattan before heading home for the night!

This is our airbnb. We feel pretty legit.

Sunday, Mariah wanted to visit her favorite ward. Her favorite ward in on Long Island in Lynnbrook, just two hours away by walking, subway, train, and bus. We left at 8am and made it there at 10:10. Not too late! We had great fun meeting a bunch of people who love Mariah and putting faces with the names of people in Mariah’s favorite stories. After we chatted and chatted, we went to Karlo’s for lunch. He is another friend of Mariah’s and he planned a feast for us! What a guy! So much food!