Cali was our last college kid to move out and she did so on Monday! She is living at Heritage Halls building 12. This just happens to be right next to her on-campus job at food services where she frosts brownies and puts cookies on trays! She's thrilled about being so close and not having to drive there and back everyday like she's been doing for the past month and a half. But she does miss us and we miss her!!! Thursday through Saturday was New Student Orientation and she had a great time meeting new kids and feeling the spirit and getting excited about BYU.

After we moved Cali in on Monday, Cheyenne had convocation at UVU. It was a pretty great show and they even dropped balloons on the freshman at the end as the rock band played the fight song! Afterwards, all the families and the freshman got a free dinner! Yum! It was fun! 

We stopped by WalMart before dropping the girls off at their respective dorms and WalMart conveniently had BYU and UVU signs right next to each other. What a great photo op!

Cheyenne had a pretty intense first week of classes. She's pretty much been doing just classes and homework. With her 19 credit hours, that's pretty much what we told her to expect. It's still been an adjustment, though, and will continue to be! She did manage to play some basketball at her apartment building and even catch some downtime on their outdoor hammocks. Nice!

Back here on the home front, it's been very quiet. It's weird. Especially Friday night when there weren't twenty teenagers in and out the front door. Ha ha!

Bethany, after much deliberation and even missing the first two practices, decided that she would, indeed do junior high cross country this year. She started Wednesday and seems really happy to be back! She had karate and helped with the YW activity which was to give a water party to the primary. She hung out with her friends Friday night and no one was (too) seriously injured.

Benjamin had guitar, karate, tennis, and YM this week. I am trying to find time for him to study Chinese at home and am having a seriously hard time! He still finds time for computer games every day! He also listens to Harry Potter and finished Book 6 this week.

Kevin was released as Elder's quorum president today. It will be different for him to not be in a leadership position for a minute. I feel confident that he will rise to the occasion, though.

I am taking an independent study research methods class from BYU and I worked on it some more this week. I also really want to submit the book about engineering that I finished in the spring, but I need to do some editing and rewrite the first chapter. I'm gearing myself up for that. It'll happen. I will be happy when it is in my past and not in my future. Ha ha!

This week my grown-up kids started leaving me. 

We needed a last Hurrah so we had a picnic up Hobble Creek Canyon on Monday evening. We were all able to be there and it was such fun! We ate food and afterwards played Bocce ball and spike ball and ultimate Frisbee. I mostly sat on the blanket and cooed at Avery and watched. What a crazy, active, loving crowd of people. I love them so much that my heart aches, and that I had something to do with the creation of them and who they are is just a miracle. It's a miracle for which I'm grateful and awed by every day.

SO WHY ARE THEY LEAVING ME???

Alright. Just kidding. I know they need to. They're all off to do great things!

Early Tuesday morning, I got in Mariah's car with her and we drove down to St. George! We were a little early for check-in, so we went to WalMart first and bought groceries and other sundries. Then we drove over to the apartment office, checked in, and drove to Mariah's new apartment. We had high hopes. They were dashed on walking in to find the place dirty, smelling of drugs, and with the obvious signs of a canine inhabitant. What to do? Cry? Pray? We did both and moved her things in anyway. She needed to be at an athletic meeting at one and she needed to drop me off at the bus station before then and we were hoping to grab some lunch. Leaving her there, as she confessed with tears in her eyes, "I do not want to be here," was one of the hardest things I have ever done. We both called on our faith and optimism and moved forward with our plans.

She is doing better now. She met her roommates and she reports that they are very sweet. She has had lots of opportunities to be with her new cross country team and she loves them! She has reunited with some old friends and that has been super good. Today she went to church and found out that her old bishop (who she loved and who wrote to her on her mission) is now the high councilman over her ward and she is thrilled. She also found a group of girls in her ward who said she could come hang out with them whenever she wants. Things are looking up! She also might still change apartments. We will see, but she is busy making St. George into a place she does want to be. I'm very proud of her.

Mariah in St. George with an old friend from high school, Karlee.

Wednesday was the first day of school for Bethany and Benjamin! It was the first time in probably two decades that when public school started, the majority of my kids weren't there or at least half. (Having twins really increases the impact of everything they do!) BUT Beth and Ben are keeping me in the public school game for awhile yet. Yay! They both had good days back at school. Beth started 9th grade still at the junior high and Ben started 7th grade still at the middle school. Beth had fun seeing all her friends. Ben was bummed that he didn't see any of his friends. He doesn't have any in his classes. Hopefully he will immerse himself in his work and become 4x smarter than he otherwise would! He doesn't really see it that way, but I am hopeful.

On Thursday, I helped Cheyenne move into her new apartment at Wolverine Crossing across the freeway from UVU. She had an orientation for the honors program that morning from 9 to Noon. She really enjoyed it and met some great people. Her check-in time was between 1 and 1:45 and she wasn't all the way packed... So that was a little crazy but we made it by 1:45 and all her friends had already checked in, so they were right there to grab her stuff and bring it to the apartment before I even parked! Her apartment is super nice. An RA is living in their apartment and she has the outside hallway decorated sooooo cute! Chey and I went to WalMart and grabbed groceries and sundries. After we brought those into her apartment, I gave her a tight hug, told her she was going to have so much fun, and left her there. It was easier than Mariah because I am only 25 minutes away, but still hard!!

On Friday I actually shopped for myself and the family that lives in the same house in which I reside. Crazy, right? My sister, Amy's, daughter, Mandy, is here staying with us until she can check into her apartment next week.Kevin and I went out to eat which is what we do every Friday night and we talked about all the kids we are worried about. I think only two didn't make the list. All the people who keep telling us that just because they move out doesn't mean you stop worrying about them? Well, they were right!

Early, early Saturday morning 12:30am, Cali and Chey and six more of their friends left to hike Timpanogos. They hiked through the night to see the sunrise from the summit. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and rainy. They saw a bit of view from the saddle but the great victory was just making it, and the fun was being with their good friends. I was glad to see that even though they will be living in different places, that won't stop them from doing things together.

On Saturday, I read a book and then went to the adult session of Stake Conference and marveled at the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the most normal day of my whole week. Onward and upward. Time keeps marching on. Good thing I keep recording things here. That way the experiences are not really gone, right? Right.

Savannah worked at Funfinity this week as usual. The owners are out of town so she got called in to help with problems here and there. She knows that store inside and out! She went back to the health doctor this week and things are looking better, but she will be starting a new food regimen next week! She stopped dating Jared and went on a date with a new boy on Friday. She will keep looking!

Mariah worked her final days for Provo Rec and Springville Rec. She interviewed for a supervisor position at the student rec center in Saint George and she got the job! Otherwise this week she has been making sure she has the things she needs for her apartment and getting other odds and ends done including working her last shift at the temple. She will miss that! She ran 40 miles this week and is looking forward to meeting her team next week and having teammates to run with!

Cheyenne worked at Heritage assisted living. She has one more day next week and then she'll be done. She has made great friends with the residents and will miss them very much! She's also been able to do things with friends and with siblings. She and Cali hiked Squaw Peak with their friends Friday evening. 

Calianne worked for BYU food services everyday this week. She is starting to rake in the Cougar Cash! She also is getting some odds and ends done in addition to making time for friends and siblings. She really enjoyed the Squaw Peak hike and also made sure that the siblings got a night this week sleeping on the trampoline. Aw traditions!

Bethany and Benjamin went to Splash Summit with the Francom's this week. They also had karate on Tuesday and Thursday. They did lots of things with their neighborhood group, Max and the Mila's. We were hoping to take the church youth to float Provo River but we cancelled because of rain and possible lightning. They were really bummed that it got cancelled! Beth went to a church dance Saturday night and had a good time there!

We did two really fun activities as a family this week. On Thursday night, we took everyone in the house (Ben, Beth, Cali, Chey, Mariah, Savannah, Kevin, and I) to the movie theatre to see Top Gun Maverick! We very, very rarely take everyone to the theatre so it was a real treat! Plus, we all loved the movie and we keep talking about how awesome it was and our favorite parts. Cheyenne has wanted us all to go see it since the beginning of summer and I'm so glad we finally made it happen!

On Saturday, Savannah, Mariah, Kolby, Chey, Cali, Beth, Ben, Kevin, and I went scouting for adventure! We found it in the form of the hike to Bald Mountain Peak above Kamas. We went early to avoid any lightning showers. We did avoid lightning but hiked in rain for about a half hour at the beginning! It's only a mile and a half to the summit, but it's almost like climbing stairs the whole way. The air is very thin, too. Beth said she felt like a giant was sitting on her lungs! Beautiful hike, though! Lots of wildflowers and very few trees make it so you can see the view the whole way and it just keeps getting more stunning the higher you go! Afterwards, we stopped at Dairy Keen for lunch. We got home later in the afternoon very exhausted but happy with our new memories together!

This week we had the Skinner Family Reunion! We haven't had one since 2018 and it was so good to get together! We missed Michael's family very much as well as Bryen and Brady but we got to see everybody else and catch up on all the goings-ons in their lives!

We drove up on Thursday in time to grill hamburgers for dinner and get started on our visiting. We stayed in a campground just below the Jordanelle Resevoir Dam. It had nice grass and trees. We got rained on a couple of times, but not too badly and it kept the temperature relatively cool.

On Friday, we visited more, had more great food, and took some of the cousins to see Provo River Falls. The cousins had a pretty great game of ultimate Frisbee. Megan and Ammon, Sarah and McKay joined us for activities on Saturday when we had a giant kickball-with-a-yoga-ball game, more visiting, and McKay played us songs on his guitar. After another great meal and more visiting, we headed home. We had a really great time.

Uncle Todd with Avery

Mariah, Calianne, Cheyenne, Bethany, Savannah, Benjamin, Lilah, Quincy, Natalia

Avery, Jordan, Kasey, and Marley. Avery and Marley are second cousins!

The whole gang!!

Watching bocce ball.

Bocce ball players

Look at all them bracelets!

Avery can wear a hat, too!

Kevin, Naoma, Todd. Two boys with their Mama!

Kevin, Val, Todd. Two boys with their Pa!