On Sunday of last week, Bethany turned 17! Happy Birthday, Beth! We love that girl so much. Her sisters came over early to play games and we had hamburgers for dinner. We sang Happy Birthday over strawberry shortcake and opened some presents. Then we played her favorite game, Betrayal in the House on the Hill. I think she enjoyed the day very much. We sure enjoy being with her!

Beth also continued to work this week. On Saturday she even worked 10 to 5! It drained her, but she made it! Way to soldier on, our fighter! 

Ben worked this week and did pretty good at practicing guitar. I asked him to spend some time not on screens and he cleaned his room! It looks great!

A lightbulb exploded in Savannah's room this week and though she wasn't hurt (so grateful!) her comforter had holes burned through it and glass melted to it. She also had to cut some melted glass out of the carpet. It was scary!

Cali is still working for BYU custodial and is trying to get in as many hours as she can. But she also got to go to Stadium of Fire with Richmond on Friday and to a play at the Hale Theatre on Saturday with that same guy. Fun times!

Chey worked all night at the hospital Thursday night. On Friday night she worked all night again and then did a morning shift at assisted living. She worked 17 hours! Holy cow! That girl is getting initiated into healthcare in a major way. So, that exhausted girl came home and slept for some hours. Then she went to the temple on a date. Still not done, though because they're training for a marathon, remember? So Saturday they got their run in at 10pm running 10 miles. !!!

Friday night was 4th of July! Grandma invited us over for hamburgers and jello salad and all the fixins. Afterwards, we went over to the Koger's to watch fireworks all over the valley from their back deck. It was beautiful!

This morning (Sunday), Mariah and Kolby blessed their sweet baby Evelyn Brook Carter. We all went to be a part and took up two big rows. What a gift that little girl is. We love her!

 We didn't travel anywhere this week! It was nice to have a rest week.

Benjamin ran everyday this week with the Cross Country team and even ran 10 miles on Saturday. Wow! Go Ben! He also worked four days and went to his friend's house Saturday night for a group movie.

Bethany worked three days this week. Woot woot! She also invited her siblings over for a movie (Now You See Me) on Saturday night and all her sisters came. So fun!

Savannah had a Savvy Seven reunion with her friends and their spouses from college. They went out to eat, played games, and floated the Provo River! Fun times!

Cali worked full-time this week and did things with friends and spent time with Richmond and with us!

Chey worked two nights this week at the hospital and a few days for the nursing home. She went to the stake dance Monday night and on a date with the guy she met there on Saturday. She also drove up to Ogden for an Elder's homecoming today and had a mini-reunion with lots of missionaries from Taiwan. She loved it!

On Wednesday, Mariah invited us over to her pool and we had it to ourselves! It was so fun. We had sandwiches for lunch and enjoyed the sun and the water and Marco Polo and good summer vibes together!

On Thursday, we did two more temples! We went to Jordan River and Oquirrh Mountain. On Friday, Beth and I needed some recup time but Kevin drove Chey, Ben, Cali, and Richmond to Ogden and Syracuse and they did two more! Afterward, they went out for authentic Chinese food and had a great time using their Mandarin skills!

Also on Saturday, our marathon preparers (Megan, Mariah, Kolby, Chey, and Cali) did their first nine mile run down Provo Canyon. They are getting stronger and stronger!

Bethany had YW camp this week! They went to Lava Hot Springs this year and stayed in an AirBnB. She had some hard moments with food and emotional support, but overall had a good experience! They played in the pool and floated the rapids. We're so glad that she was able to go!

The day after she got back, we headed to the Elton Family Reunion!! It's been a while since my parents' family have gotten together. This time we wanted to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday and we had an almost 100% turnout of the 6 kids, 29 grandkids, and 9 great-grandkids! That is a triumph and special occasion, indeed. We rented a cabin in Duck Creek up the mountains from Cedar City. Some stayed in the house and some camped in tents. We had two evening occasions, one highlighting each family and what they'd been up to and the other highlighting "8 Decades of Larry Jack." During the days, we talked, played games, held babies, and talked some more. It was really fun! I can't wait until we do it again! Megan and Samantha designed our shirts. Aren't they so cute?

Bethany got a job at Funfinity and had her first day last week! Savannah's friend, Jesse, was excited to have another Skinner to work at the store, and Beth was excited to work the job she's seen almost all her sisters work when they were teenagers! She's only worked once but she thinks it will be a job she can handle even with today's energy levels. Yay, Beth!

On Wednesday of this week we went to the Art City Days carnival! This year we started by having dinner at Sarah's house and then all walking over together to the city center. It worked great! Also, we were all together!!! We love it when we manage that. At the carnival, we walked around the vendor booths, ate scones next to the splash pad, and some even went on some rides. It was a ton of fun!

That was the only thing we got to enjoy from Art City Days this year because we accidentally scheduled the Skinner Reunion for the rest of the week! Which is great because we love the Skinner Reunion, too! We stayed at Cub River outside of Preston, Idaho, this year so on our way up we went to two temples. We went to Brigham City and Logan. We are racking them up!

We had a great time at the Skinner Reunion visiting with the family who came! We went on four-wheeler rides into some beautiful country! We played with grandkids and introduced Grandpa to three great-grandkids that he hadn't met yet! The cousins played games together, all of us played games together, we ate good food, and we had a great time together!