Last Sunday, we had Kim and her family over for dinner! So fun to catch up with my old friend and get to know some of her kids better. I should have taken a picture! Love that lady.

Bethany took her belt test on Saturday and passed! That included a three mile run and an essay and all the kicks, blocks, forms, and strikes needed for her level. She's now a brown/red belt and she received two sais to start training with. They look like swords and I'm pretty sure she could kill someone with them. Yikes! Ha ha! It's a great accomplishment!

Bethany also had play practice all week. Friday night we had a YW sleepover. I went too! We did a cute, crafty service project, snacked, played games, and also sang and danced quite loudly to YouTube videos like Just Dance and karaoke. It was a fun time! A movie was watched and some sleeping done before we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and headed home. Good memories!

Benjamin decided to wait on the belt test for karate. He's had a barking cough all week. It is only today sounding a little better. On Wednesday for YM, his group went snow shoeing. It was a great day for it as we'd just got another foot that day. He had fun and he was sure sore the next day! It can be hard work!

Savannah went to the doc on Monday and he put her on antibiotics so she has started to feel better. Yay! She was able to go back to work at Funfinity and at Earth Harbor where she is really enjoying the challenge of organizing the inventory as well as working with Sarah and Megan!

Kevin is writing and walking and creating content for work and doing many great things. He found out that his friend and mentor, Ken Patey, passed away this week after a bad fall. He had a big impact on our lives, gave Kevin his first job after college, and was a great man. We our sad to see him go and so grateful for his life.

I worked this week and watched sweet Avery, as well. I got some taxes done and a bit of writing. I also got a letter from BYU informing me that I wasn't accepted to their MSW program. That's a bummer and I am disappointed. But, Kevin and I have talked and I will go forward with my "plan B" which is to get a master's degree from an online program which might be better anyway!

Savannah turned 27 this week! Her birthday was on Monday, but we celebrated on Sunday. Sarah, Megan, and I collaborated for dinner. We each made a different gluten-free Chinese dish! We had orange chicken, beef and green beans, and potstickers. Yum! We later opened presents and had gluten-free cake. We even played a game of Seven Wonders. Good times!

On Monday, Savannah went out to lunch with her friend, Jessie, and then went shopping and spent the afternoon with Megan! They even got to see Savannah's friend Joanna's new baby.

Bethany had a good week. She went to play practices and to karate. For young women's, we had a gallentine party at our house. We talked and made tootsie roll grams to bring to school and give to people who would look like they needed a pick-me-up. On Saturday, Beth had a free afternoon, so she texted out to her sisters to see if anybody wanted to do anything. She ended up going with Sarah and McKay to get burgers. Fun times!

Benjamin had a good week, though he seems to be coming down with a bad cough. He didn't go to school on Friday because it was Career Day and you were supposed to shadow your parent at work. I dropped the ball on figuring out how to make that happen, so instead, he stayed home and studied up on becoming a chess champion and (once I got possession of the controller) we watched YouTube videos on what it's like to be a doctor, engineer, and architect. (Apparently, no one really likes their jobs after they graduate and they become YouTube video makers instead. This is what I learned on Career Day.)

I worked all week and watched Avery three days so I didn't get much accomplished while I was home! Kevin bought me flowers for Valentine's day and he brought home Indian food for dinner. Yum! We ate that while Beth and Ben had a heart-shaped pizza.

We got to see Cali and Chey on Saturday which was so fun! They stopped by and did some homework and laundry. I got good hugs and updates. They are both working super hard!

Kevin is keeping up with his writing and walking and creating goals. He is very energized by them and for the most part, his health is staying good. Yay for that!                                   

Bethany decided to challenge herself to a week without screens. So, as a reward, on Saturday night Kevin and I took her out to eat at Red Robin--just the three of us. We had a fun time walking the mall before our table was ready, playing "Would you rather?", and eating yummy food! What a sweet girl Bethany is and so impressed with her week off of screens!

In other news, on Wednesday night, we had a combined YM/YW activity where we went to the mall and tried to find four of our adult leaders who were dressed up to look very different from how they usually look! Afterward, another couple in our ward brought homemade beignets to the food court for our treat! It was a really fun activity. I have this one picture of Bethany's group finding the bishop:

Tuesday night was fun, too, as we had my friend Kim's son over for dinner. Greyson is here going to EMT school in Orem. Cali and Chey came home to meet him, too, so he could have some contacts in the young adult world. We had a lot of fun getting to know him better and I loved getting to see Cali and Chey in the middle of the week!

Other than that, life ticked on as usual. Ben had guitar and karate and his last day of chess club. He will miss it, but he is playing alot more now so maybe it played its purpose in rejuvenating his interest!

Savannah interviewed with Sarah's boss at Earth Harbor and she is going to start helping them with inventory a couple of hours a day. It will be a nice supplement to her Funfinity job!

Kevin is working away at his book, making sure to hit a thousand words a day and making excellent progress. Speaking of his goals, he told us this week that he has now successfully walked 10,000 to 11,000 steps a day for ten years now! He did the math and determined that he has walked the same distance as the circumference of the Earth. What a great accomplishment! One day at a time sure adds up. You know what they say about the journey of a thousand miles!

Bethany and I went to see the school play with part of her youth group on Saturday night. It was Little Women the musical. We really liked it! They did a good job and it was fun to be there with Bethany!

Bethany had her first opportunity to be a basketball referee Saturday morning. She reffed one and a half games of fourth-grade-boys basketball. She says she did terrible, but everyone starts terrible! We are proud of her bravery.

On Friday morning, Kevin took Beth and Ben, picked up Chey (who stayed the night at Cali's) and Cali and went to the old Provo temple for baptisms. Beth missed early-morning seminary but otherwise everyone still got to school and work on time. They all said they were really glad they went because they get such a good feeling at the temple. It made it worth the early morning!

We saw Chey later that day when she came to cover someone's shift at the assisted living center she worked at over the summer. We saw Cali on Saturday when she came home to write an essay and gave her dad some time to help stop the Jeep from leaking. It was fun to see both of them during the week!

Savannah worked this week at Funfinity. She also worked on her college class. She went on a date where the boy said he isn't ready for a relationship. Sad face. She went out to eat with Sarah and Megan on Saturday for lunch and that was fun.

Benjamin had karate and chess club and guitar. For young men's, they learned to make spaghetti! I taught him to make waffles on Saturday. He's getting lots of kitchen knowledge! He's also pretty pro at Roblox and Minecraft which he likes to play with his friends while they are on the phone.

I worked every morning this week. I also got to babysit for Avery three days this week and that is always fun! We went to the mall and walked a couple times and I let Avery play in the play area.

I had some extra time that I didn't know what to do with, so I sewed the jumper that I've been wishing I had and can't find in stores or online. Simple but fun!