On Monday we traveled home from Florida. We had no complications! Still, it was a long day. We were all exhausted, but Beth especially. She had to walk really slowly and take many breaks to get back to our car. I was really worried about her. We all were. Still, we made it home. Savannah was happy to see us!

On Tuesday I emailed Beth's endocrinologist to see if anything is going on with the chemicals in her body to cause her fatigue and she ordered some bloodwork. Ben went back to school and was super happy to be back! Beth did go to school. We included a caffeinated cola in her lunch and she made it through 3/4 of the day! She was able to do some homework when she got home, too. Ben went to karate that evening.

On Wednesday morning we got Beth's fasting bloodwork done before school, had some breakfast, and made it to class only 15 minutes late. Then she made it through all of school and a rehearsal for Newsies (at half speed). Thank you Dr. Pepper! That night Kevin had to do meetings for the YSA ward even though he was feeling really sick. Beth, Ben, and I went to our ward's trunk or treat and had chili on an unexpectedly warm night. It was really fun.

On Thursday, Beth couldn't quite make it up for her first period class. She made it to school by lunchtime, though, and went to rehearsal. Ben went to karate that evening. During the day, I got to go to my first group supervision at Center for Hope (where I'll be doing my internship in December) and it was fun and I'm really excited to get started. Kevin went to a doctor because he was feeling worse and worse. Turns out he has COVID.

On Friday, Beth made it to all of school and rehearsal again. She also brought home her electronic baby for the biggest assignment of the semester in her child development class. She was dragging by Friday night but had promised a friend to come over and carve pumpkins. Ben had a friend over after school Friday and they did electronic games all afternoon and evening. Kevin and I watched a movie from opposite sides of the room.

On Saturday, Beth felt awful and she'd been up three times in the night with the baby. She tried to do homework but mostly felt miserable and cried when the baby cried. So now we're wondering, does Beth have COVID? Ugh. Not helpful. Ben had a good day hanging out with friends every moment. Kevin started to feel better. I got out of the house to run some errands. In the evening we watched a movie.

Today is Sunday. Beth is feeling better. Yay! Kevin is feeling better. Yay! Neither is 100%. Savannah and I have headaches and a cough, but that could be from anything, right? Ben is great. We all stayed home from church because COVID is so scary. I'm not sure what we will decide tomorrow.

On a side note, Savannah is doing great at her new job. She sews standing up everyday from 6 to 2:30. She's getting faster. She's making friends. She's getting used to a new sleep schedule. So far, it seems like a great thing!

This week Beth and Ben had a short week of school so we took the opportunity to go to Florida and stay in our townhome. But first, on Sunday, we soaked up some family time.

Monday we still had school so Beth and I talked to a couple teachers and tried to get a plan to salvage first term. Ben had a choir concert that night and he did amazing! He is loving being in the choir and I love going to choir concerts again!

Tuesday and Wednesday the kids still had school but we needed to get to Florida before Wednesday so Kevin could teach a class online. Beth is still really tired so that day of traveling was hard on her. Still, somehow, we made it to our place Tuesday night!

Wednesday I made Beth do homework all day. Ben tried to be supportive but he definitely struggled not having his "buddy" to do things with. By 8:00pm, Kevin was done with his class for the day (different time zone), Beth was done with her chemistry (yay!), and we headed over to the big pool. When we got back, Kevin went to bed but Beth, Ben and I watched Ender's Game.

Thursday Kevin still had to teach but Beth didn't have to do homework, so in the afternoon when she was feeling up to it, we went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. There were lots of fun, creepy things and even some jump scares in the museum. It was fun!

That evening when Kevin was done with teaching, we drove to Disney Springs to walk around, look in the shops, and partake of the ambience. We even had some gelato! A band was playing, "Mama Rock Me," while we were leaving so we paused to do some swing dancing. Fun times.

On Friday, Kevin was free! So we went kayaking down Shingle Creek. It was amazingly pretty! We had such a gorgeous day for it because the sky was blue and the air was cool with no humidity. We saw lots of turtles, some cool birds, and the back of a small crocodile. Ben sang to us most of the trip when he wasn't screaming over three-headed bugs. He is so funny!

We came home to rest and then drove to Sleuth's Dinner Mystery show for our evening entertainment. We were really looking forward to it. It ended up not being as fun as we thought it would, but we still had good food and enjoyed meeting the people at our table.

On Saturday, we got to meet up with our family that lives in Florida!! This year we met at Daytona Beach at Ponce Inlet. It was so beautiful! There were those wavy sand dune grasses and fine white sand, super clear water and small waves. Paradise. Dave met us there and Emily and Nic. Diane made it there after fighting traffic with Liam, Ezra, and Roxabelle. We visited and played in the sand and the waves. It was over too soon! On our way back we got some food with Nic and Emily and got to see their house. That night while Kevin watched the football game, Beth, Ben, and I watched Goosebumps.

Today is Sunday and we will go back home on Monday. We've had a good time but we've really missed our family back home!

On Monday, Beth and I drove to Salt Lake City for a follow-up appointment with the ENT, Dr. Alt. After some mixups, we were able to see the doc. He did a scope of her nose and said that everything looked really great. Beth's body went into a little shock, I think, because I barely got her to the car and it took her all of the ride home to get back to being ok. So, we missed all of school that day. Tuesday, Beth went to school 3rd and 4th periods and then watched the Newsies rehearsal. She did really well but was wiped out when she got home. Wednesday she tried to go to school at the beginning of the day. She made it through 1st, 2nd, and lunch, but texted me close to the beginning of 3rd to bring her home. I think it was because her friend wanted to "walk around" during lunch and Beth didn't know how to tell her no. Thursday she felt well enough to go after sleeping in so she made it to 3rd and 4th. The day may have gone better but in child development they watched childbirth movies which can make even healthy people feel woozy. Of all the days she could've missed! Friday, we really wanted her to go to Chemistry which is first period. Still, it wore her out and she was home after seminary (which is second). So, going back to school has been spotty this week. Next week is fall break so maybe she can gain some strength back without missing more assignments and getting further behind. I wonder what it says about me that I find this the most stressful part. Maybe I put too much emphasis on school. Deep breaths. Everything really will turn out fine. (!!!)

Avery can still make Bethany smile!

Benjamin had his last week of cross country this week! He ran varsity for the district meet on Friday. He placed fifth for his team and tenth overall. He even got a medal. It was pretty cool! Good job, Ben!

On Saturday, Beth and Ben had a karate tournament. Bethany has not been back to karate since surgery and you know how school has been going. But, the sensei said she could help judge instead, so that was what she did. She did well with that until she had to stand for kumite scoring. It's hard to watch her be so tired. Ben did really well! He placed second in forms and first in kumite. It was fun to watch him. It was cool to see both Beth and Ben in their matching uniforms.

I cut my hair this week! I had them cut off everything that was colored and leave just the grey. So! My hair is super short. I like it, though. I also have been working on school--finished a class and started a new one this week. And I went to a training on couples counseling for the field experience hours I will start in December. I'm excited about that.

Kevin has been wanting to launch new product to customers at Bloom and finally has the go ahead from his company to do it so he is excited about that. He also taught at a conference in Salt Lake City on Friday. He is enjoying working with the YSA ward. We had a dinner on Monday night for FHE and had a great time talking to lots of ward members.

Savannah helped Funfinity with a conference in Heber City on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The rest of the week she did what she could to help the store get ready for Christmas. It should be her last week! She starts working for Beehive Clothing next week. Here's hoping it turns into something she can love like Funfinity.

Also, there's lots of fall colors in the mountains and it makes for great walks.

AND we saw the eclipse and it was really cool.