Last week was Mother's Day! Kevin made French toast for breakfast and fried chicken for dinner! It was very yummy! Grandma and Grandpa came for dinner and all of us were together! Sarah, McKay, and Avery as well as Megan and Ammon, as well as the eight of us who live at home. Do you know what my girls did for me? They practiced together to sing "Walk Tall, You're a Daughter." Naoma played the piano. I cried through the whole thing. I cherished that song when I was a teenager and then taught it to my daughters hoping they would hold on to the beauties in that song with its hope and promises. Then there they all were in front of me with their own beauty and strength and promise. How could I not weep? Life is so, so good. How I have loved being a mother!

We had a very busy week! Cheyenne ran in the regional varsity track meet and WON the 300 meter hurdles! She beat her PR by 3 seconds which is a crazy big jump in speed. What fun to celebrate with her coaches and teammates and get to stand on the podium! That qualifies her for state which will be next weekend. She is so surprised to be going, but THRILLED! As are we all.

Bethany ran in district finals for track this Friday. She ran in the 4 x 400 relay and her team came in very last, but they sure looked like they were having fun! She also ran in the open mile (not the seeded) and I heard she did really well, though she didn't know she was going to do it and so I wasn't there. Ha ha! She also found out that she made it into the summer play and she had her first rehearsal this week, so that is something she is looking forward to!

Calianne's sweet boyfriend, Richmond, got his mission call this week! (On Tuesday, the twins went to FOUR mission call openings!) He is going to Barbados, English speaking, and he will leave Sep. 4. Cali is happy to still have him around for the summer! We are all excited for him.

Cali, Benjamin, Bethany, and I went to our ward's "high adventure" this weekend. This included going repelling at Red Ledges in Diamond Fork Canyon and then camping at the campground nearby which is near a river and very pretty! We had a devotional around the fire that night after dinner and after breakfast in the morning the rest of the crew hiked to Fifth Water Hot Springs. The Skinners had to leave before the hike but we still had a great time! (Cheyenne couldn't come because she had to work!:( )

Ben headed over the edge.

That's me! But look at the view!

Cali and Beth headed down!

All the youth on the trip!

That same night, Kevin was scheduled to speak at an Alex Boye concert. Alex Boye has been using his concerts to teach about mental health and try to reduce suicide among young people. Kevin was the therapist who spoke for ten minutes before the music. Conservative estimates put attendance at 2,500. Crazy! Kevin had free tickets so Savannah, Mariah, Megan, Ammon, and McKay all went and they said that he did great! Alex Boye was pretty good, too. See! Kevin really is a rockstar!

The next day, Grandpa Jim turned 80! Naoma has been working on a surprise party for him for over a month and at 1:30 pm at Little America in Salt Lake City, it all worked out! His brother and sister and their spouses came, Mike and Tyler and Kevin and all their families came, and Todd's kids came. What a great group! It was so fun to be together. We don't see each other nearly enough! We are all so grateful to have Jim Gazdik in our lives! Oh, and Megan made a Cahoot game with fun facts about Jim's life and McKay learned and played his favorite song from his youth, "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation." It was really fun.