March means flying kites!!  We had a super windy day yesterday and it was Calianne who asked me if we had any kites.  Why, yes.  We do!  Cali, Cheyenne, and I went to the field behind our house to fly this one made of sail canvas and no sticks.  It just stuffs into a bag and is ready when you are.  I love it!  It's pretty, too.  Cali and Chey and I had fun flying it and being out in the wind!  Thanks to Calianne!  Why didn't I think of that?

Savannah got offered a job this week!  There is a man in our stake who runs BYU's computer systems.  He hires BYU students to work for him.  Lucky for Savannah, my visiting teaching partner is his daughter and Scott's brother, Eric, has been working for him.  They both asked him to look at Savannah as a possible hire.  He seemed glad to!  So, this summer, Savannah will be able to work full-time and in the field in which she would like to major!  Won't that be great?  We are all pretty excited for her.

Sarah played tennis and had study groups.  She went to the church dance last night and came in the door exclaiming, "Best dance, EVER!"  She told us all about it.  When Sarah is happy (which is often!) she gets us all happy with her stories and laughter.  She is great fun and she shares it all with us!

Megan has been stressing over her math and biology grades.  This past week she turned in some extra credit for biology and brought her A- up to a 100%.  Wow.  She is feeling better now!  This next week will be the last week of the term so she still gets to stress about math.  :)  We're glad that she wants to do so well.  On Saturday, she sewed a new dress for herself, too.  It was all her design and it was easy and cute.  I love it when she takes charge of her own fashion like that!

Mariah had a bantam game Monday night.  They lost!  It was the first time they'd lost in a while but they did lose to a really good team.  She got to play in another game this week, though, as our ward was asked to represent the stake in the regional YW tournament.  So, Sarah and Mariah played with four other girls in our ward.  (Megan couldn't play since she was on a school team this year.)  It was fun to watch them play together.  We won by one point and will play again next week!

Chey and Cali had tennis and craft club and this week for Activity Days, they got to walk to the art museum and stop for ice cream at Reams on their way home.  They were in heaven!  They thought it was such fun!

With the weather warmer, Beth has been out with friends just about every day after school this week.  She gets home, tells me whose house she's going to, and is out the door.  She even met a new friend in the neighborhood and is really taken with her.  It's great to see her so active!

Benjamin's friend did move away.  :(  So, Ben has watched a lot more TV this week.  We have some promising new friendships brewing so hope is not lost.  Cali and Chey do try to include him, too.  This morning I heard them trying to get him to play "orphanage." (That's where they bring all the dolls and stuffed animals to one room and take care of them.)  Ben said, "No.  I don't like those kind of games. I like games with trucks and ships!  Let's play that kind of game!"  So much for socialization theories on the difference between boys and girls!  We cut Ben's hair last night.  Here's a picture of it:

 

Oh alright, here is the redo:

 

 

Kevin has really not felt well this week.  In addition, he has been working non-stop on the DVD of interviews he is making into a show for the Brookside Celebration next week.  At work, he has been working non-stop with clients and new workshops and he will present at the UCAP conference next week.  He is miserable and busy and the rest of us, in addition to feeling bad for him, feel bad for ourselves because we miss him!  Still, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  We will burst back into the sunshine soon!

We started the week with a visit from my mom!  It was so fun to see her and visit and visit.  She arrived while we were at church so she came during the last hour and after church we were all surprised and thrilled to see her earlier than expected.  She stayed until Wednesday and we loved having her!

While Grandma was here, Dr. Seuss had another birthday!  Isn't Beth a happy kindergarten celebrator?  She loves all things kindergarten and she is learning so much!  I love it . . . and her!

On Tuesday night for Young Women's, Sarah taught everyone how to make sock monkeys.  She is making sock monkeys to donate for her Honor Bee project.  The other young women were really excited to learn how to make them and had varying degrees of success.  It was a fun night and Sarah did great being in charge!

Megan had a busy week with biology tests and math assignments.  They caused her a lot of grief but she did  well on them and got them done.  We're glad she cares  about doing well and that she is such a hard worker!  She finally found some time to read this weekend and to play a little tennis with her friend, Alyssa.

Mariah had an assignment this week for Utah Studies where she was supposed to make a model of an Indian home.  It was just about the coolest assignment ever for her, I think.  She went out in the dirt hills and made one out of grass.  She had a great time.  It's so great that the weather is warmer and they can be outside again!  I'm so glad they have a bit of wilderness where they can create like that.  She also had two games this week on Monday and Saturday.  They won both!

Cheyenne and Calianne started a craft club at school this week.  They made bookmarks  this  week with ribbons and plastic grids.  They really had fun.  They also started tennis again this week.  Craig moved them up to the older class and they came back on Monday thoroughly distressed.  "We're so bad!" they told me.  I convinced them to go back on Wednesday and when I asked them how it went they said matter-of-factly, "It was good.  We're better now."  That was some quick improvement!

The weather has been warmer and so Ben has been able to be outside more, too.  He has been with his friend, Mason, almost constantly all week.  They've rode bikes, dug in the dirt, collected worms, and peed from the top of our stump throne.  (I missed that last one, but according to my neighbor, it was the cause of great hilarity!)  By the end of next week, Mason will have  moved away permanently.  It is going to be a hard  adjustment for Ben!

Savannah started this week deep in her convalescence from her wisdom teeth surgery.  We wondered if she'd ever be well again!  Grandma assured us that she would turn the corner soon, and she did!  By Saturday, she was  ready to dazzle her Preference date and make some really fun memories with her friends.  My favorite part (well, one of them) was that she drove our van so that all four dates in her group could be together and she and  Sarah cleaned it thoroughly before they went!  Awesome!  She borrowed the dress from some friends in our church ward and they even came over and did her hair and make-up, too!  So nice! She had a great time and looked gorgeous.

The big news of the week is that Savannah received notice that she has been accepted to BYU!  There was much screaming in the house Wednesday morning when she got the email.  It was pretty exciting!  We are all proud of  her and of all her  hard  work that qualified her to get in!  Go Savannah!

Mariah and Kevin had their last Bantam game of the regular season on Monday night.  It was the championship game and they won by a lot!  They played great.

Their coach was even chillin' out for awhile and just enjoying his front row seat!  It was pretty fun for everybody.  They got trophies!  They won't have to put their skills on the shelf for long as their next season starts on Monday. . .

 Tuesday night Kevin and Mariah finished their Springville Recreation season.  They finished that season undefeated.  No one could even touch them!  They had a good time there, too, and they got championship t-shirts!

Afterwards, Mariah lined up all her awards in the past year for championships seasons: Last year Mapleton, Springville, this year soccer, Mapleton, Bantam, and Springville.  That girl has a lot of wins under her belt!

In Mapleton, you win socks.  It's very practical.

On Thursday, Cali and Cheyenne and I had our last Springville Rec game!  It was tons of fun, too, with Cali and Cheyenne both scoring baskets!  Afterwards, I made the traditional giant cookie and the girls all got participation medals.  We had a lot of fun together.

On Friday, Savannah had all four of  her wisdom teeth removed.  The procedure was actually very quick and according to the dentist was super easy.  However, recovery is a bear.  She's taking pain meds every three hours.  She has to be on a liquid diet for 5 - 7 days!  Poor girl.  I don't know when she'll feel well enough to go back to school!  She is still swollen and hasn't moved far from the couch.

Saturday, Sarah and Mariah competed in the Fun Shot.  Kevin took them up to Pleasant Grove.  The event is great for developing their shooting skills, but is not well participated in.  There were only three in Mariah's age group and  none in Sarah's.  They both won!  They got a Gatorade.  :)

We had no school on Monday so as a belated Valentine's gift to all his family, Kevin took us all to see The Lego Movie!  Yes, all ten of us in a movie theatre!  Good thing it was a matinee!  I had to take Ben out once to use the bathroom, but otherwise he did great.  I guess he really likes Legos . . . and Batman and pirates and things crashing and breaking apart.  Anyway, we all had a great time and we've been singing, "Everything is Awesome!" all week.

On Friday, Savannah had a Jane Austen tea party as part of her English class.  We found a neighbor who had a Regency-style dress, and I googled Regency hairstyles on the internet (oh! The things at your fingertips nowadays!). She came home at lunch and we dolled her up:

It was pretty fun.  Savannah had a good time too.  :). Actually she had fun once she got there, drinking hot chocolate in her tea cup, playing whist, and learning Regency dances.  The guys dressed up, too!  I just wish I could have been there!!  What fun.

Other than that, we had young women's, basketball, tennis, work, piano, fiddle, and homework, homework, homework.

Kevin and Mariah's club basketball team played in the semi-final game of their tournament and WON.  It was a great game Saturday night.  Afterward, they went to one of their teammate's houses to have pizza and ice cream and watch a movie.  They loved it.  Monday they will play in the championship game.  Exciting stuff!

Other than that, the weather has been warming up and we are loving being outside now and then.  Maybe winter really won't last forever . . .

This week we celebrated Savannah's 18th birthday.  Wow!  18!  I can hardly believe it!  She is beautiful and confident and strong and if she is "done" being a kid, I'd say she turned out well.  Really well.  What a treat it has been to be her mom . . . and will continue to be!  We love her to pieces.

For her birthday, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik's and had a lovely dinner, cake and ice cream, and opened presents.  It was great fun. 

 

Friday, of course, was Valentine's Day.  Kevin took me out to an early dinner since the restaurants were packed and then we came home to eat the chocolate-covered strawberries that I made him and to watch Sherlock.  Fun times!

 

The rest of the week was pretty much the same as other weeks, basketball games for Cali, Chey, and Mariah.  Tennis and working at basketball games for Sarah.  Work for Savannah.  Piano lessons for lots of kids and a fiddle lesson for Megan.  Lots and lots of homework.  Oh! And some Olympics watching in the evenings to spice things up.

 

On Saturday we had a surprise as our two "female" rabbits had baby bunnies!  Oops!  They only lived a few hours, though, which wasn't surprising since first litters rarely survive.  We decided to go ahead and put the rabbits back together and let them raise at least one litter of bunnies.  It will be fun for the kids.  After that, I am planning on taking them to the vet.  We will see how it goes!  Right now, it is raising lots of questions about how babies are made!  We will see how that goes, too!

 

On Saturday there was also another BYU Women's basketball game. The older girls were busy so we just brought Mariah on down.  Ben made it to half-time but then started wandering the empty rows. Kevin was watching him, but then lost sight of him.  We searched everywhere in that stadium and had all the security guards at the doors looking out for him.  We couldn't find him anywhere when suddenly he comes walking out of the Men's bathroom a few doors down -- with his pants down around his ankles.  Nothing like having a three-year-old take himself to the bathroom in a stadium built for 20,000!  Fortunately, it was mostly empty.  Still, it made the day pretty exciting.  Not that the game needed extra spice, it was a great win and we had fun!  We were glad to have all our children when we left at the end!

We watched the BYU Dunk Team at half-time.  Cool stuff!

The twins and Bethany danced the chicken dance.

We even made posters!

 

Monday was Meg's last basketball game!  She played great and they had a lot of fun.  They did lose, though, so that was their last game of tournament and for the year!  She has had such fun being on the team.  She has already bemoaned its loss repeatedly this week!  Happily, we did get together one last time for their team dinner/party on Wednesday night.  Meg got the "Best Shooter" award which Megan claimed should really say "The Best-Try Shooter Award."  We think she's great either way and are glad she had such a good time!

Savannah has still had some pretty "blah" health days but managed to go to school and work nonetheless.  We are hoping her strength will return soon!

Sarah worked some days this week.  Saturday she worked most of the day running the clock for the high-school boys games.  That's a pretty awesome job -- getting paid to watch cute boys play basketball!  She also played tennis and she and her friends met for movies on Friday and Saturday night.  She had fun!

Mariah played two games for Springville and one for Bantam.  Her Bantam game was on Saturday and Cheyenne and I went to watch.  It was a great game.  They were close, then down by twelve, and then in the last two minutes, tied up!  They lost but it was a fun game and they played well.  Kevin is a great coach.

Chey and Cali still love school.  When they get home, they like to invite friends over or go to their houses.  They are still taking great care of their rabbits.  They played basketball on Thursday and their defense was terrific!  They are still best of friends and work hard together and play great together.  I love those sweet girls!

Bethany had dance and kindergarten and played make-believe.  While I write this, she is by me drawing a picture.  Isn't she sweet?

Ben is growing and talking and playing with friends and trying not to destroy things.  He helped Beth and I clean his room on Saturday.  When I gave him an assignment, he would put his hand to his forehead and say, "Aye, aye, Captain!"  It was great.  Much better than earlier this week when I asked him what he wanted for lunch and after he told me, he said, "Now, get to work!"

Beth and Ben came to the dentist's office with me Tuesday when I took the twins in for their check-up.  Not only were there no-cavities, Beth and Ben had a great time in the play area!

Grandpa Skinner and Maria have been trying to get down here for a visit and to give us Christmas presents, but they haven't been able to.  So, this week they mailed down the presents, and we had great fun having another Christmas party.  Ben especially was excited as he was here when the package was delivered and had to wait all the way until everyone was home!  The package came on Thursday when Mariah and Kevin had a basketball game and then Chey, Cali, and I had a basketball game and also Sarah was at tennis until 7.  I had bookclub here at our house at 7:30, but Ben could not wait another minute!  So we opened at 7:15.  :)

Thanks Grandpa and Maria!!

Our new couch is being very much enjoyed!  I think this next picture makes it look especially comfy!

Or deadly!  He is still alive, I promise!

Well, the week has rushed by us again!  Savannah felt well again for about two days and then fell under the weather again.  Poor girl.  She has really not had a good month.  Still, she has plugged along catching up in the classes she has missed and finishing half of her online financial literacy class.  She is enjoying her app design class and her jogging class.  This week was also Chinese New Year, so as the TA in Chinese 1, she helped make water dumplings and other Chinese delectables and had a good time with that!  Funfinity opened again on Saturday so the employees worked many long days getting the shelves re-stocked and cataloged.  On Saturday, Savannah worked 11 hours.  She was really wiped out.  I am sure she is glad that is all over!

Sarah played tennis on Tuesday and Thursday.  She watched movies with friends on Friday and Saturday.  She is staying on top of her classes and they are hard ones!  She has another sewing class this semester.  She is crocheting a scarf.  How fun to take a break from hard stuff to sit and crochet with friends!  She also was off being employed several times this week, scorekeeping for games or directing crowds of people in the right direction for team pictures.

Megan had her last full week of basketball practice.  We can't believe it is over already!  She has had a great time!  She played games on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I got to watch her on Wednesday.  It is always such fun!  Some days it is hard for her to be at practice for two hours and then be doing homework still at 10 at night, but she never lets herself go to school without being ready for class.  That's a really good trait and I'm so glad she's such a hard worker.

Mariah had games Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  She's still playing great!  She also does well in school and works hard.  On Friday, though, she got to go to work with Dad and she was very excited about that!  It was job-shadow day and she had been looking forward to it for a long time.  I think she was even more tired coming home from a day in Dad's office than she is after a day at school!  But, she had fun and really enjoyed it!

Cheyenne and Calianne had TWO basketball games this week, one on Monday and one on Thursday.  It was lots of fun.  I love watching them play because they are getting better and really enjoy it!  Other than that, they played with friends everyday, did their homework, and even found time to watch some TV.

Bethany had dance and kindergarten.  She spent one whole morning playing the songs from the new Disney movie, Frozen, on our ipad and singing along. She's so cute!  I recorded her just for you!

 

Benjamin has been playing with Mason and toting around his favorite blanket and watching tv and playing on the ipad and begging to go with whoever is going anywhere.  He gives great hugs, too.