This weekend, Savannah, Megan, Mariah, Kolby, Evelyn, Cheyenne, Calianne, and Bethany took the van to California for the long-awaited Marathon in the Redwoods! They are running right now so I can't give you a report on how that is going, but everything else has gone according to plan. They drove over eleven hours on Friday and picked up their cousin, Cooper, in Reno on their way to Redding, CA. The next day, they drove the rest of the way to the Redwoods to get in some sightseeing before the big event Sunday morning. I'm so impressed with all of them for undertaking this big adventure! What a great group of people!

Earlier this week, Beth and Ben had a choir concert! It is so fun to have them both in the high school choirs! They sounded so amazing. The choir director does such a great job teaching them to sing and to create music. Also, they both looked amazing! It was a great night.

On Saturday, Kevin and I talked Ben into going on an adventure with us. We went to Heber for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip shakes at the Dairy Keen and then into the mountains for a drive stopping at Cascade Springs. On the way back we went to JCPenney for some new clothes. He had decided he needed a makeover of his style. Watch out world! We had a great time.

Also, I babysat for Sarah on Saturday. Kevin held Oliver while he watched the BYU game. Avery, Lyla, and I jumped on the trampoline, played in the sandbox, climbed the mountain, and took a bath. Avery needed to climb the mountain so she could sing the song from Frozen 2 across the valley. I know I felt the call to adventure! I also got to watch Micah on Friday after Megan left. He had a great time getting into things and babbling to us. What a charming kid!

It has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote! We've had a busy couple of weeks! Two weeks ago, Kevin and I organized and ran a retreat for couples at an Airbnb in Heber! It was so fun! The airbnb was back in the hills nestled among the fall leaves. It even had a stream! Kevin took the couples four-wheeling on one day. We also had group role-plays, group discussions, and teaching. On the last day we saw each couple separately for therapy sessions. We got a lot of positive feedback. Everyone seemed to have a good time and benefit from the experience. Kevin and I really enjoyed being able to spend the time together and collaborate on such a fun project.

That same week was the two-year anniversary of Beth's surgery. We decided to rename it "Do-something-great-for-Beth Day!" So, this year, I took her to get highlights in her hair. It turned out so pretty, and she loved it! We might need a lot more positive days on DSGFB Day in the years to come to outweigh her negative associations from two years ago, but we are up to the challenge and will not lay the gauntlet down!

On the Saturday that we were gone, Sarah Eden, a favorite author of some of my daughters held a tea party at the Provo Library. I think it is so fun that they dressed up and went together! They said they had a great time!

On Sunday, we celebrated Sarah's birthday! We were gone on the day of her birthday so we were so happy to have a chance to celebrate her as a family on Sunday. We met at Megan's pavilion and enjoyed enchiladas. The kids played on the playground and the family even had a rousing game of basketball on the court next to the pavilion. We had a great time and we sure love Sarah! She is doing an amazing job in living her life and raising kids and we are so proud of her.

This past week, Ben ran in regions in Spanish Fork. He finished third on the JV team and took over a minute off his time from the beginning of the year. Go Ben! He has also started Driver's Ed which is twice a week at 5:30am. Ugh! He is getting himself up and ready all by himself and keeping up with all his other things so we are super proud of him, too!

This past weekend, we got to see my sister Amy, Paul, Emma, and Hannah! They were busy with things they planned with Mandy, but it was still fun to see them in the spaces between. Sunday morning, we had Emma take some updated family pictures. 8am was the only time that worked for all of us, but it turns out that 8am provides great lighting! I will post some here.

That weekend was also conference weekend. We weren't all in the same room for it, but it was fun to be gathered with who we could for the sessions we could. Family is such a beautiful thing.