School ended this week and we went camping! Cali wants us to go to all the temples in Utah so we started with Monticello. It's a little temple about an hour south of Moab. That's four hours for us, so we needed to stay the night. For frugality's sake, we decided to camp. We found a place six miles from the temple where someone had made a campground in their field (thank you internet!). It had portapotties and a picnic table. That was all we needed! On Friday, Kevin and I with Chey, Cali, Beth, and Ben drove down to Monticello, put up our tent, ate dinner at our picnic table, and went to the temple for baptisms. It was lovely and the temple workers were welcoming and wonderful. Back at our campsite, we made a campfire and watched the stars come out. What a view!! No trees, no people or houses, just SKY. It was actually the very best place to spend the night.

The flash hurt their eyes! It was very dark!

The next day, we had breakfast at our picnic table and headed back north. We stopped at Wilson's Arch and at Hole in the Rock where we bought Ben a hat and enjoyed all the free gimmicky stuff. Then we found a trail that Megan and Sarah told us about called Mill's Creek. It was beautiful! (And popular! We almost couldn't go because parking was so bad!) The trail followed a creek between red rock cliffs and ended at a waterfall that fed into a pool. You crossed the stream three or four times on your way there by walking through the water. It was so fun! We had a picnic lunch at a park in Moab afterwards and then headed home. It was a great trip!

In other news, Ben finished his school year this week. Yay! He also went on the school trip to Lagoon with all his buddies and had a fantastic time!

Max invited Beth and Ben to go ziplining with him for his birthday. He works there and had free passes. They had a ton of fun! Kevin and I went to a neighborhood party without any kids because they were ziplining and Cali and Chey were with friends. We enjoyed our hot dogs.

Also, Micah turned 7 months old! He can army crawl now and wants to go everywhere!

And Evelyn is on vacation in Hawaii with her parents and her dad's family. We get to see these amazing pictures:

Aren't they so cute?

Benjamin's choir concert was this week! He sang great and did such a good job. I love seeing him up there in a shirt and tie enjoying singing! He also had guitar this week (more singing!). He had YM on Wednesday night. It was combined with the YW and they did quilting. I think it might have been revenge on the part of the YW for all the dodgeball activities. Ha ha! Ben enjoyed it for the most part, I think. He went to a party on Friday night. Saturday he played basketball with the fam, tennis with the twins, and Roblox with Beth, Claire, and Max in the evening. Good times!

Bethany also had a couple of performances this week! Unfortunately, Kevin and I couldn't go to either of them, but she has sisters who got to see the fun! They were performances for her music theatre class. They did different numbers from Broadway shows and Beth got to do a singing part. She did great from the videos I saw! She sure loves to perform! We're grateful her body is giving her enough energy to do them. She also played two games of basketball with the fam on Saturday! Woot! Go Beth!

Calianne is keeping up with all her homework and even aced some midterms this week. Go Cali! She has been working, too, and thinks it is kind of boring. But, she enjoys talking to Ellie while she works so that is fun! She has a Friday afternoon session at the temple and she loves that. She and Richmond went to the Art Ball here in Springville on Saturday. They have been having so much fun together!

Cheyenne worked two nights this week and did a training on one day. She is transitioning right into the hospital life! She has an early morning Thursday shift at the temple and she loves that (but not the early hours)! She went on a couple more dates this week and had fun on those. 

Savannah worked this week. She checked on her bees. She went to a singles activity. She went to JoAnn's with Jesse and they had a fun time reconnecting. She also went to both Bethany's performances and to our basketball activity!

Speaking of which, Mariah is the one who planned our basketball activity! It was her and Kolby's one year anniversary on Saturday and they wanted to celebrate it by playing basketball with their family. Fun, right?? Afterwards, we had lunch in the pavilion outside the building. It was so much fun and so happy they were able to start their lives together a year ago!

Also! She cut her hair!!

Bethany's choir concert was this week! The music was beautiful and Bethany looked so tall and elegant as she sang with evident emotion. I loved it!! She finished up her fifth session of acupuncture and agreed we didn't see much change in her energy so we are on to the next thing! I'm thinking hypnotherapy or a sleep study or ... maybe both! She went to a friend's house last night and had a terrific time. She also loves to draw while listening to audiobooks.

Benjamin took the AP Chinese test this week! We don't know if he will receive college credit for it, but to me, it doesn't matter. He stuck with the program all the way to the end and he has gained a lot of Chinese along the way. I'm proud of him! On Saturday, he went running with Cali and Chey, mowed our lawn, and met up with his friends to play pickleball. I'm glad he's choosing active ways to spend his time!

Calianne had school, homework, and work this week. She and Cheyenne and their friends planned a group date on Friday night where they had a ton of fun. Every couple chose a theme and dressed the part. Then each couple made a pizza that fit their theme. Both Cali and Chey had a ton of fun! On Saturday, they helped their friend break the world record for number of fist bumps in one minute. Each fist bump had to be with a unique individual. They brought Beth and Ben and they did it! Their friend got 171!

Cheyenne worked every day this week. At first she had training days and then on Thursday night she had her first 12 hour night shift working 5:30pm to 5:30am. Aargh! She worried about it but it turned out just fine. She said it will take some getting used to but she is liking the people she is meeting and liking how well she feels like it will fit into her life even after school starts. Some of her close friends got married on Saturday and she was a bridesmaid! Cali was there, too, and a lot of their friends from high school. They had so much fun!

Today was Mother's Day and it was so wonderful to have all my kids in the same house!! We even decided to recreate a Mother's Day photo from 13 years ago. Crazy it was that long ago! I love them all. They are such great kids and I love being a mother!

Cheyenne bought a car this week! It is a Honda CRV 2009 and in great condition. Her dad and her grandpa are both super excited about it! Cheyenne feels pretty good, too, although it is a big purchase and comes with a bit of anxiety! She tried to make the most of her last week before her job starts including hiking with Cali, going to a Daughtry concert in SLC with Party, and having a hot pot party at our house Saturday night.

Calianne started school this week! So now she has school, homework, work, boyfriend, family, and scripture study and running. The homework is more than she thought it would be, but she is getting it done! As she does with all the things! She is a wonder of drive and organization.

Benjamin had his final track meet of the season this week--JV Regionals. Cali, Chey, Kevin, and I all came to watch. He ran the mile, the 400meter, and the 4x400. His mile was 5:21 and his 400 was 1:03. He felt good about his races and is hoping he will get faster every year. He went to practices the rest of the week but doesn't need to attend anymore. With the weather getting better, he has gone on a couple of very long, adventurous bike rides. On Saturday, he met up with his friends to play pickleball for three and a half hours. Fun times!

Bethany didn't feel super great this week. She did make it to choir and theatre once this week though! She also ushered for Outsiders on Thursday night with her friend. They had fun, but she was pretty worn out the next day. She had Claire and Annaliese over on Friday night and that's always fun for her. We went to WalMart on Saturday and bought paints and markers and she has been using them ever since!

Savannah worked this week and also babysat for Avery and Lyla on Friday night. She always takes them on a walk to Reams. This time she bought them balls. I love that she takes time to build relationships with them!

On Saturday I took those same two girls to feed the ducks! It was a beautiful day!

Kevin went to Philadelphia Thursday through Saturday of this week to talk at a Catholic convention. He had a really great experience and got to see the Liberty Bell!