Guess what crazy thing we started this week (because even though we know we've had enough, it just keeps coming)? Spring basketball with the high school! The good news is that even though on Monday they had Cheyenne and Calianne on two separate teams, for the Thursday games, they moved Cali up and now they will play on the same team. Phew! So they played in games on Monday and Thursday and made Mariah supremely jealous! Cali and Chey also practiced track all week and had a meet this Friday. They placed fourth and fifth in the mile and 2nd and 3rd in the 800!

Ben and Beth had karate, guitar and piano respectively, and played outside some more because the weather was nicer. Yay! Bethany had a whole bunch of friends over on Friday night and made slime and played games. Benjamin got a letter from his favorite missionary sister!

Sarah drove to Idaho for two days to attend her friend's wedding and reception. She got to be a bridesmaid with her other roommates from BYU-I. She had a great time!

Savannah finished her classes for the semester and has been working on final papers and final tests! The end is in sight and we are all excited for her. We all watched Infinity War yesterday and we are all properly excited for End Game's release next week as was her hope!

Mariah went to prom on Saturday with Kolby Carter. They went to Provo Beach for some surfing for the day date, then came back and changed before the fancy part of the date. We had our biggest formal dance crisis yet when we spilled foundation (makeup) all over the four layers of her dress as we were doing makeup and hair. Ahhh! We called in Dad and put him on dress-recovery duty. With much water and a hair dryer, we got that dress back on her and got her out the door! Yay! She looked lovely and had a great time.

She wore her basketball necklace!

On Saturday morning, we colored Easter eggs and had an Easter egg hunt as a family! So fun! McKay and his brother, Dakota, came, too. We had everyone hold up their favorite egg. Cali's hands got colored as well as her eggs, as usual. The older kids hid eggs for the younger kids. It was a really fun time. Afterwards, basketball got played in the driveway. Really fun times!

We got a text message later that Megan was enjoying Easter on the other side of the world and having a nice dinner with some nice family. We love that Megan girl and are glad she's having a great Easter, too!

We hope all of you are having a wonderful Easter, too. It truly is the greatest event in all of history to celebrate. Because His tomb is empty, someday yours and those of all who you love will be empty, too. He Lives! What a message. Happy, happy Easter.

Benjamin turned nine this week! He is so grown-up! I can hardly believe it. We had the Gazdik's over on Sunday night to celebrate Ben's and Grandma's birthdays. On Wednesday (the day of his birthday), we had his favorite dinner (black-eyed peas and ham, much to Bethany's chagrin) and chocolate cake with green frosting, and we opened presents! On Saturday, after his karate tournament from 9 to 2, we had his party with friends from 5 to 7:30. The weather was perfect and the boys loved learning Gaga ball and also eating pizza and playing Kick the Can and Ghost in the Graveyard in the backyard. Fun times! We love that Benjamin kid and had tons of fun with him this week!

This is Ben's imitation of the emoji with hearts in its eyes!

Ben got 2nd place in sparring for his division!

Bethany didn't want to do the karate tournament this time so she played make-believe with Lily all day Saturday instead and they had a fabulous time. She is still doing karate and piano and had activity days this week, too.

Cali and Chey had their first track meet on Friday! Calianne ran in the mile and did the 800 leg of the medley. She had a dramatic finish in the mile passing two girls in the last 100 meters. Cheyenne ran in the 4x100 relay, the 400, and the 200 leg of the medley. She placed first in the 400 and her relay teams came in 1st and 2nd. It was exciting and they had tons of fun! They also were my super-great helpers for Ben's party and I think they are awesome to have around.

 

Mariah went to St. George for a track invitational this weekend. She ran the 2 mile, the 800, and PRed in the mile with a 5:22. She had a really fun time and even got a sun burn! She has started working for Springville rec again with the start of spring soccer games and she hangs out with Kolby every chance she gets.

Sarah is feeling the pressure of deadlines as the end of her semester draws near! Still, things are looking good. She played kickball for FHE with her young adult ward at the ball field by our old church which was apparently "epic." She also went to a concert with McKay Saturday night. Fun times!

Savannah has deadlines, too, and is working hard to get her assignments in for school and her hours in for work. We still had fun at our Marvel movie night last night, though!

Kevin taught a workshop on the Karpman Triangle on Friday and Saturday to therapists who flew in from all over the U.S. to learn from him. Cool, right? It was kind of stressing him out because he hadn't taught it in this way before, but he felt like it went really well and we are all super proud of him (even if he did have to work on a Saturday)!

I ran pack meeting on Wednesday. We judged genius kits! This was my idea because I remember my brother doing genius kits when he was a scout and I thought it was so cool. The scouts had fun making stuff with their bag of supplies and I was pleased. I just wish I had taken some pictures! Silly me. 

We had spring break this week! So, we tried to fill it with fun times. Mariah beat us to the fun times by leaving Sunday morning for a trip to St. George to tour Dixie with Ella, one of her running buddies. They stayed with Ella's grandma that night and the next day got to tour campus and meet the distance running team. They had a great time.

Meanwhile, back on the homefront, Cali, Chey, Beth, Ben and I started the day with some tennis. B&B are just learning but I think they will be naturals! After that, we did some geocaching. The kids had never gone before and they thought it was great fun. We enjoyed lunch at McDonald's and then took advantage of the good weather to do some work in the yard. We started some stone steps into the wilderness at the edge of our backyard. We didn't finish, but our dad did! He's pretty great.

On Tuesday, Cali and Chey organized a one-on-one basketball tournament with their friends, so after they went to basketball open gym at the high school and got their hour of tennis practice in, I took them to the rec center. I also took Beth and Ben who swam for three hours while their other sisters played. Mariah joined them later, too! They were all pretty exhausted when they got back. Cali and Chey did go to a party at a friends' house that night, too.

On Wednesday, we had a picnic lunch with Sarah at UVU and saw their pretty stained-glass windows! We saw a lot of campus and had lunch next to some giant windows in the hallway which was lovely since it was raining outside. We left Sarah for more classes and Mariah, Chey, Cali, Beth, Ben, and I went to The Quarry for some indoor rock-climbing. Mariah and I mainly had to belay the whole time but it was still quite the adventure and everyone had a good time!

Thursday we had plans, but it turned out everyone wanted a day off instead! So, that was fine, too.

Friday morning, I had Cali and Chey signed up for a doubles tournament. They played in two matches and lost both! But the weather was lovely and it was good practice and they were having fun by the second match. That afternoon, we got our schedules aligned with Savannah and Sarah and Dad and we all went to see Captain Marvel in the theatre! It was great fun. Afterward, we went out to eat at Chuckarama.

Saturday morning, Cali and Chey had another tennis tournament. This one was singles and round-robin so they played for three hours straight and switched partners three times. Chey only lost one of her matches by one point and Cali won all of hers. They had a great time. Back at home, General Conference was in session so we came back and watched the rest.

We watched it today, too, and in between sessions, we had the Gazdiks over for a nice, big meal! Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Mike and all his kiddos. We always love visiting with them.

It was a great week!

Thursday night was Beth's performance of The Wizard of Oz! Beth was one of the apple-throwing trees. She was great at being super mean! I would have been afraid to meet her in a forest for sure. We all had a great time watching her performance and hearing her sing so many great songs. She really had a great time doing it!

Savannah has had another paper due all week. Hopefully she will get it in today. She did go with her sisters to a movie-night at Grandma's house! The other girls all liked the movie (Sarah especially) and Savannah thought it was terrible! I laughed when I found out they had watched An Affair to Remember. Ha ha!

Sarah continues to be terrifically happy about everything! We think it is that McKay boy. They both are always laughing and smiling! She is really enjoying her tennis class at UVU (even though McKay is not in it) and likes her guitar class. The weather got a little warmer this week and I snapped this picture of her enjoying the sunshine.

Cali and Chey are still enjoying track practice and piano lessons. They are really sounding good on the piano! Cali got to go on a school trip on Friday and had tons of fun, but Chey didn't get to go, so Chey ditched school (with my permission) and had her own fun! They are hoping the weather stays warmer (it did snow this week) and clear so they can play more tennis!

Mariah ran in a track meet on Saturday. She ran the mile and while she wasn't pleased with her time, she has a plan to nail it next time! School would all be daisies and rainbows if it weren't for Calculus. She has made me promise to not let any more of my kids take that class their senior year. I just shrug and say, "I did give you the choice!" She wishes I hadn't. Ah, such is life.

On Saturday, Ben and Dad made a Ga-Ga Ball Pit! If you remember, this is the game Ben learned at our campground during the Elton family reunion last year. He loved it so much, I really wanted him to be able to play again. So I researched, and found a cheap, portable way! Kevin made it a reality and made it a fun father-son activity to boot! Yay! We played with Ben when it was done and within minutes, kids from the neighborhood came and played for the next couple of hours. So much fun!