We celebrated father's day last week! We had a really nice dinner at the pavilion behind Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik's house. Julia came and Megan, Mariah, Kolby, and Sarah with her little girls. We enjoyed the food and visiting! That night we gave some gifts to Kevin one of which was a hat that he says he won't ever wear in public which I think is a terrible shame. He is a great dad and I'm so thankful for him as well as my own dad and all the dads in our lives!

Bethany had driver's ed this week! She reports that it is not nearly as bad as she was afraid it would be. On the whole I think she's liked having something to do and learn about. It was three hours a day Monday through Thursday and she'll do it again next week. She hasn't had to do driving range hours yet as that will be in July. Overall, she had a good week except on Thursday karate she hurt her shoulder. It seems to be ok, but initially, it caused a large jolt of pain and that reminded her of the hospital and that brought on a panic attack. She rallied and was doing better by the end of the night. We've also had Claire and Annaliese with us this week and Beth has enjoyed having them here to play games with. They even were her buddies for a driver's ed assignment that had her watching the intersection outside the library. Good times!

Benjamin and I worked hard on the kitchen this week! It was time to switch out the sink. He and I worked three hours on Wednesday getting everything done as close to the sink as possible. Then Thursday it took us four hours to get the old sink out and the new one in. Even then, we needed some help from Kevin in the evening to get things hooked back up. It really doesn't look that hard from a conceptual standpoint. Reality, though, is a bit different! Ben was a great help and I'm glad he is willing to have this as his project this summer! In addition, Ben ran cross country in the mornings and had tennis afterward. He played two matches this week losing one and winning one. He also had guitar and karate and lots of computer time. On Saturday he spent the day with his friend, Ben, and they earned money spreading gravel. What a hard working kid!

Savannah had work this week. She had Wednesday off for Juneteenth and thinks it would be ideal if all her weeks could be structured that way! Her car is in the shop getting a new transmission so she has been driving the van which comes with all its own challenges. She and Kevin went to Deer Creek for a multi-ward singles activity. They reported that the weather was hot but the food was good.

Kevin is busy with the YSA ward, work, website and content development, and all the stuff. He thinks that eating potatoes might be making him feel sick. This is very bad news for our Idaho boy.

I spent all of Friday with finishing touches on the sink/countertop install to make it look decent in order to lower both Kevin and my anxiety over the fact that Thursday night it looked a wreck. All part of the process, right? I'm happy to report that I'm feeling good about it again. (Not so sure about Kevin!)

On Saturday we got to be part of something fun! Cheyenne sent us a message midweek that someone she had briefly met in Taiwan had a sister in Springville and was being baptized there this week! She sent us the info and said it would be fun if we could go. The service was half in Chinese and it kind of felt like we were sharing a bit of Chey's mission! It was so special.

 Benjamin got to go to stake YM camp this week! He's never been to a stake camp, so as we're pulling into the parking lot and seeing all the kids, Ben says, "Oh. I don't know if I'll like this camp." Crowds are intimidating and he was honest! But he gathered his courage quickly and dove right in. He ended up having a great time! The camp was split into teams and they competed in different events over the four days they were there. His team did great! At the end of the week, they had an Enos experience and it was powerful for Ben. He really liked it. I really liked seeing him again and getting a big Ben hug!! We missed him. Before he left, he played in another match for Springville tennis and he played great. He also had guitar and reports that went well, too! On Friday night, he went out with his dad for food and new shoes. While they were in Wendy's, the lights went out! They had great stories to tell of shopping and traveling with the power out throughout the city.

Bethany had a chance to do something fun this week, too, because Megan planned a getaway! Megan rented an AirBnB outside of Heber in the mountains by a little lake. It was beautiful! She invited Savannah, Sarah and her little people, Mariah, Bethany, and me (but I could only go Friday night). They slept there Thursday and Friday nights and enjoyed being in a beautiful place. They played games, checked out the lake, hiked, did nails, talked and laughed. I think a good time was had by all! I know I had a fun time for the little time I was there. I think it's super neat that they did that. Beth said it was so good to get away.

A fun thing for me this week was that I got to sit in on Kevin's intensive. He had a couple here from out of town for three days of intensive therapy. He offers that from time to time. I asked if I could sit in and observe as part of the direct hours I need for school. I really enjoyed having the chance to see him work! We also had Thursday night to ourselves and we went out to eat and enjoyed our time together. Fun times!

Megan and Ammon presented us with a gender reveal on Monday! Ammon had to leave on Tuesday for boot camp so it was a tender mercy that the gender results came back on Monday and they were able to find out together. Then they planned a quick party for that evening to tell the rest of us! Megan made cupcakes--some with pink frosting and some with blue. We each chose a cupcake with our guess. We bit into them at the same time and found blue M&Ms because . . . It's a boy!!! We are so excited for this new little baby.

This was funny, too. Afterwards, they dug out this book they remembered from their childhoods, How Was I Born? It's got great pictures.

This week was Art City Days! We decided to meet at the carnival on Thursday night. Kevin and I, Bethany, Benjamin, Savannah, Mariah and Kolby, Megan, Sarah, Avery, and Lyla all came! I got buddy wristbands for Beth and Ben to go on the rides. Sadly, Ben got sick after the first ride. Beth went on a couple by herself and we finally slipped Ben's wristband off and gave it to Kolby who was a fun partner for her on the Zipper. Dad got everybody dinner from the food trucks. We watched Avery ride the car ride and watched Lyla eat the limes out of the fancy lemonade. Then Ben had karate and Avery and Lyla needed to get home to go to bed and Beth was invited to a friend's house . . . so that was the end of Art City Days Carnival 2024.

Mariah and Kolby left town the next day to run a mega race in Tahoe that Kolby's family helps to organize. So, they weren't able to come to the parade and Ammon was at boot camp and Cali and Chey are doing the Lord's work in far away Taiwan! But the rest of us went to the parade on Saturday and Grandma Gazdik came, too! We had great seats in the shade of the trees outside the Art Museum. The best part was watching Avery wave to the princesses and put candy in her bucket and dance with Beth to the music.

Later that day, Dad and Ben fixed the trampoline and Avery tried it out. That night Beth, Ben, Kevin, and I watched the fireworks from the path above our house. Smaller than going up close and quieter but . . . peaceful? Ha ha! Peaceful fireworks. Happy Art City Days!

We also got pictures back from Mariah's wedding. There are so many beautiful ones!! Here are some favorites:

 This week we did something fun and went camping Sunday night so we could hike Sulphur Creek in Capitol Reef the next morning on Memorial Day! Sulphur Creek is a hike that the girls in our ward did for YW camp three years ago. That time, I started the hike and got sick, sick, sick. I promised myself I'd go back and do that hike! This was my chance. When I mentioned we were going, our friends, the Koger's volunteered to come with us! They even knew of a beautiful spot on BLM land really close where we could camp. So, Savannah, Beth, and Ben came with us and they brought their son, Max, and the Mila's: Claire and Annaliese.

Savannah enjoyed bonding with Beth and Ben in the car.

The Kogers made a fire in the evening and in the morning, and we enjoyed foil dinner and foil breakfast. Yum! Unfortunately, Beth felt really sick. We decided she better stay and wait for us to get back. Annaliese volunteered to stay with her and they did their best to entertain themselves while we were gone. The hike was absolutely beautiful! 5.8 miles through a river bed with towering canyon walls. I'm so glad I got to do it!

We got home to the last week of May and the first full week of summer vacation. Beth and Ben had a big week for karate that didn't allow them to rest completely! Tuesday and Thursday evenings they were preparing and Ben was writing essays. Saturday they had their practice exam for their black belt. You can't test for your black belt until you've passed a practice exam so it's a big deal! They had to run 5 miles, do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, perform over 20 forms from memory, demonstrate blocks, kicks, strikes, and one-steps, break 20 boards, and fight black belts--2 against one. We dropped Ben off for his run at 7am and they were done at 4pm. Crazy! So much hard work! Beth did all the same things but they let her do it over two weeks instead of all at once. I'm so impressed with both of them!

Ben also had tryouts for summer tennis league this week. They played Wave to decide teams and had ladder play the next day. They'll play M-F through the month of June. Right now he's feeling kind of ambivalent about it. I think he likes the idea of getting more play time but he doesn't know the kids on his team. We will see!

Afterwards, he mowed the lawn. What a rockstar!

Ben also found time to go on a run with his friends and then hang out all day afterward. Which is fun. I totally approve! Here's them on Friday having helped one of the friends get his (mom's) car washed.

Beth is doing great on her driving skills and we got some more days of practicing in! On Wednesday she even drove from Lindon State Street all the way home!

Savannah had a great time hiking with us! But, before the last mile, she took her sandals off to slide down a waterfall, landed on a rock, and cut her foot. It's been really painful! She tried work this week but couldn't stand on her foot! Poor gal! We're hoping next week is better! She did get to go to a play on Friday night with her friend Jessica and loved it. Also, she taught Sunday school today and did a great job.

Mariah came home from Hawaii this week! It was so fun to see her again! We went over Wednesday night to watch her and Kolby open wedding presents. What fun! People are so generous and that is fun to see, too!