It was Art City Days this week!!

For Bethany that meant Parade Band Camp all week! She agreed to give marching a try with the baritone skills she developed in junior high. They met every morning this week from 8 to 10:30. She was a bit scared about it, but decided it turned out pretty decent. I think she liked the parade part. I'm not sure she'll do it again but we had a great time watching her in the parade! (More on that later)

Also, Art City Days means the carnival was in town! We pre-purchased discount wristbands for the kids and they used them on Thursday. Kevin and I joined them for dinner from the food trucks and we took pictures and it was fun. Ben also rode his bike down with Max on Friday to enjoy it all a little more. Mariah, Cheyenne, Calianne, and Bethany all signed up to work cleaning up the grounds during the carnival, too, so they were there quite a lot! Fun times!

That also meant the parade on Saturday! Sarah's new house is very close to the parade route, so we parked in her driveway, and tried a new spot for watching the parade! Megan and Ammon joined us, too! It was such fun and cheering for Bethany was our favorite part!

That night Kevin made us all hamburgers and we stayed up waiting for it to get dark because Art City Days also means fireworks! We went to our usual spot. It's all torn up because they're in the middle of a massive rebuild of the high school and its grounds but we found some grass and it all turned out fine. We loved the fireworks on a warm summer night. It is always magical and a fantastic end to a fun week.

I watched Avery a lot this week and we even brought her on our date Friday night! I also cleaned the van and worked on the devotional I'm giving at YW camp next week.

 We had a lot of family fun this week! Memorial day was Monday. Megan and Ammon were camping with the Gerbers, but the rest of us first went to the bookstore! Kevin wanted to congratulate everyone on working hard during their school years and also help kick off summer reading. We bought a lot of books and that is always fun for us. Then we went to a park, Grandma Gazdik met us there, and we had a picnic lunch and played some games. Afterwards, we had a work party at Sarah and McKay's new house. As many of us that could helped for a few hours on some of their projects. It was fun and they were super grateful. Afterward, we went to Jimmy John's for some dinner. It was a fun, fun day.

Then on Wednesday, we all drove to Cedar City for my niece's, Kayla's wedding! We rented an Airbnb and drove down on Thursday so we could be there for the sealing the next morning. First, though, we had a bridal shower. Emma, Cali, Chey, and Megan all helped and we played games, took pictures, unwrapped presents, and had a really fun time!

The next day was the sealing which was beautiful and always so full of grandeur and hope and promises. It never ceases to just fill me up with light. We took pictures outside afterward and then went to a park for lunch together with both families. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful place to be.

That night we went to the reception which was on the farm where Kayla will now be living and of which she will be a part! It rained before and was a little chilly but otherwise it all worked out and we had a lovely dinner and got to all visit, do some dancing, and light sparklers to send them off!

On Saturday, after cleaning up the bnb and packing back up, we stopped at the house of Kevin's past mission president from Taiwan. What a lovely couple! They were so warm and welcoming and so happy to see Kevin and meet his family. They even sent us off with some money for the twin's missions. It was definitely a highlight for everyone but especially for Kevin.

You may think we drove home and that's the end of the stories for the week, but not so! Savannah has been super excited for the next Spider Man multiverse movie, so she got us all tickets and we took up a whole row at the movie theatre Saturday night! Such fun! What a week!