I'm afraid we didn't do anything on President's Day. Kevin worked. I did homework. Beth was super tired after her big weekend and Ben alternated between computer games and VR games. Ben actually had a terrific day according to his self-report. That night was fun, though. Every Monday Megan and Ammon have Beth and Ben over for dinner! Kevin and I go to the YSA FHE. This week we got done early and found them playing Mario Kart together. Fun times!

              On Tuesday, Beth and Ben went to karate and it was a fateful day for Beth. She did 40 squats with a medicine ball. She wanted to get stronger and she used to be able to do that many and she felt ok while she was doing them. Unfortunately, she did not feel ok the next day or the next or the next! The poor girl could barely walk! On Wednesday, even though she could barely walk, she taught swing dancing as scheduled for YM/YW. That probably made it worse and she could only crawl to bed. So, that made the week harder for Beth but it was a nice change to be able to know exactly what was wrong!  She actually had a pretty good week.

    Ben had tennis this week and karate. He had fun learning swing dancing at YM on Wednesday. He also had his friend Kyler over on Friday and Saturday. They had a good time playing games. I told them they should make a band. They didn't stop playing games in order to plan their band, though.

    On Thursday night, Mariah came home for the weekend!! Yay! She needed to see her cute fiance and make wedding plans. Megan and Sarah are both helping with wedding plans. So, Friday they came over and we all helped Mariah choose outfits for engagement photos. Megan curled her hair. When Beth got home she did Mariah's makeup. Then we went to a bridal shop and watched her try on wedding gowns! After that she and Kolby got their engagement photos taken. Yay that's done!

    It was a busy day and Friday was busy, too! In the morning Mariah and Kolby went to the temple with Kevin and some of his elders. Then Savannah and I took Mariah to look at some more wedding gowns and we found one we LOVED! So we bought it and that's done.  Megan and Kolby came over to our house after that and we decided on a venue and a schedule and some other things so that's done! Finally, Mariah and Kolby went to look at places to live after they get married and found one they like! So, lot's of things have gotten done!

    Saturday night Savannah, Kevin, and I went to the adult session of the YSA stake conference. We really enjoyed it. Bethany had her friend, Maddie come over and they had a nice time together. I got to babysit for Lyla when we got back! Mariah got to take a test.

    Sorry there's not more pictures!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Bethany went to the Sweetheart's Dance last night! She asked a boy from our ward named Taylor and they went in a group of five couples. During the day they went bowling. They put the bumpers up and competed to see who could get the lowest score! Apparently this is not only surprisingly difficult but also very hilarious. They had a lot of fun!

Afterwards everyone went home to get fancied up. Megan came to help Beth get fancy and we all offered moral support! At five, we took pictures, picked up Taylor, and dropped them off at the Barn in Mapleton for more pictures. Then they went to Tess's house for dinner, to the high school for the dance, and to Macie's house for games. Beth said she had a really good time. AND she looked beautiful!

On Tuesday of this week was Savannah's birthday!! She wanted to have a gluten-free Chinese dinner like we did last year. So I made orange chicken, Sarah made fried rice, Grandma brought fruit and salad, and Megan made meat buns! We had a feast and it was super yummy! Savannah almost didn't have room for the gluten-free cupcakes I made for dessert! We did sing and open presents, too. We had a fun night and are super glad that she is part of our lives.

Wednesday was Valentine's Day! Benjamin, Bethany, and Kevin went early to the temple to do baptisms. They started out the day with lots of love!! We had steak and potatoes for dinner that night and Kevin brought me a rose. The best part of the day was seeing the hearts that Megan and Sarah and Avery made and put on our door! So so cute!

Thursday the Chinese classes in all the schools in our district put together a celebration for Chinese New Year. This year the celebration was at Springville High School and Ben's class did a dragon dance. Kevin recorded it for us. If you watch the video, Ben is the one with the moves in the navy blue hoodie! I love watching him dance!

Friday Kevin and I went to the temple. They will be closing the original Provo temple next week and it will be closed for a long while for a remodel. Kevin and I were very nostalgic as we thought of all the times we've been there and all the great memories. We had a nice time.

We've had a few opportunities to hang out with Avery and Lyla this week and we always love that!

This week was much like last week. I did school and work and love it. Kevin worked on projects at work and at home. Beth made it to school everyday even though she is still very tired when she comes home. She did make it to YW and one day of karate! Ben did some running practices, tennis, guitar, and karate. Savannah worked 6 to 2:30 everyday!

This weekend was different, though! A few weeks ago Beth asked me if we could please go on a road trip. She wanted to go to Vegas, drive at night, see the lights, visit Emma. We thought of going for President's Day but it turned out Emma's play was the weekend before! What a great reason for a road trip! So we planned it and went this last weekend and it was super fun! I loved seeing my mom and dad. On Saturday I got to see Amy and Maggie, four nieces and even a nephew! Beth and Emma went thrift shopping in the afternoon and that night we went to see her play which was Grease and Emma was Rizzo. She did great and it was a lot of fun! We went to church with my mom and dad this morning and drove home. One last bonus visit was on our drive back we stopped for lunch with Mariah! I'm glad Beth asked to do the trip. It was really good for both of us.

Kevin taught for IITAP this weekend but when he was done on Saturday, he took Savannah and Ben out to Chom for burgers and shakes. I hear they had a great time!

It's February!! Yay!! More hours of sunshine, still possibility of some beautiful snow, and a nice short month. What could be better? Oh, I know a holiday in the middle that celebrates love! 

Speaking of love, guess who got engaged last night?? Mariah Marion Skinner that's who! She reconnected with her long-time friend, Kolby Carter over the holidays and it turns out that now is the right time for their happily-ever-after! We couldn't be more thrilled. They are excited. We are excited. The big day will be in May and we are going to par-tay!

Kevin is still enjoying being bishop at the YSA ward. We provided an FHE dinner on Monday night and had a great turnout! Also, we went to the temple to do sealings on Saturday and when we couldn't fill the spots with family, we had three ward members come. It's fun to get to know all these good young people. Kevin continues to work on content and created his first new podcast this week with guest star appearance by McKay Hatch. He's always doing great things!

I had work and school this week. I finished listening to The Happiness Trap, The Hilarious World of Depression, and started Calming the Emotional Storm. I'm learning a lot of good things that I hope I will be able to use to help people. I also went on some beautiful morning walks!

Savannah had work this week. She got a super-light-sensitive headache on Friday while at work and had Megan come drive her home. Poor gal. She has been feeling better since then. She even went to a sword-fighting club at UVU on Saturday morning and seemed to have a good time. Could be a fun, new hobby!

Bethany was too tired to go to karate this week, but she did go to the church activity on Wednesday night. She also went to every day of school and didn't come home even though she texted me saying she really wanted to more than once. She is sticking with it but is feeling very discouraged that everything is still so hard this far from the surgery. It is hard to watch. We are trying some new things this week that I am hopeful about. We'll see how it goes!

Benjamin ran for indoor track this week. The club is indoor track but in actuality they go for long runs in all sorts of bad weather! He is a trooper! He also has tennis and karate, guitar and church activities. He still manages plenty of time on the computer and his VR.