Monday was Megan's turn for the Hershey Track Meet. She ran the 100 meter and did the long jump and softball throw. She placed fifth in the long jump. Go Megan!! It was a nice day and she had a fun time.
Thursday was Sarah's day at the Hershey Track Meet! She ran the 100 meter and the 400 meter and did the softball throw. This picture shows her passing a whole bunch of people in the last stretch of the 400 (which is one time all the way around). Go Sarah!
On top of track meets, this was also the first week of softball games. We were supposed to have games Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. (Yikes!) But, the games were cancelled due to rain and wet fields on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thus, Thursday ended up being our grand first day out at the softball park. Sarah and Megan played on the East field and Mariah and Kevin (as assistant coach) played on the West field. I stood in between and watched it all! I know I sometimes make a stink about how much softball we do the first part of the summer, but I must be getting used to it, because it was nice to be back. I also realized, standing there, that this was a gift Kevin has given to our girls -- the chance to love a game and look forward to it. It's cool.

Unfortunately, Mariah also had a school program on Thursday night. It was a little later than her softball game, but I still had to take her out early. She was not a happy camper!! It was a great program, though, where they presented what they had learned about America and sang oodles of patriotic songs. Dad and company even managed to make it back from the field in time to see the whole thing!My favorite part, though, was when they all played their ukuleles which has been part of the 3rd grade curiculum this year. (Free music lessons. Love it!) I had Mariah play the song for me again at home. Here is my future star on the ukulele:



Friday was the last day of Kindergarten. I can not believe that my little twins are done with this big milestone. They've had so much fun this year. I know they will miss it! I know another thing that they will miss. Ever since they were born, they've been going to their Grandma Gazdik's house one day a week every week so that I can run errands and get other things done. I don't know what I would do without her! Cheyenne and Calianne love going to her house and she loves to have them. They will just have to find other times to go to Grandma's when school starts next fall and they go ALL DAY. Good thing Grandma will still have Bethany -- and now Benjamin, too!

Saturday was another busy day for us. We got curbing put in our yard around the flower beds and we bought sod to fill in the back corner of our yard that we have been trying to coax into carpet-like life for the last umpteen years. Now it is finally carpet-like!! We are pleading with it to last (please don't die! please don't die!) It looks so nice and Kevin worked so hard! For my part, I drove up to SLC and picked up our new tent. We are ready for summer adventuring!

I get a lot of questions about how Beth is reacting to Benjamin. There are times when she wants to be held and can't be because I have Ben, but usually she doesn't let this stop her and she just climbs into my arms next to Benjin -- which is what she calls him. (Calianne saw me holding both of them one day and she laughed! "Hey! You're holding TWO babies!" Yeah, I wonder when I've done that before?!) She is very attentive and loves to tell me if "Benjin is cryin'!" Once when I was getting him dressed, she went to her own clothes and gave me a "dancing girl" dress "for Benjin" which is all she'll wear! Also, whenever she plays with dolls now, their name is always "Benjin." She gives them lots of kisses. For your viewing enjoyment, here is one last video of Bethany with Ben:

Hi All! Look at those chubby cheeks! He really is growing this little guy. Sometimes when I pick him up after a nap he looks bigger than when I laid him down! He is still a sweet little guy and he's doing great. When he's hungry, though, watch out! He sure can scream! Then everybody can't hand him off to me fast enough. Heh, heh. That's okay, though. I like being his only savior.

We had some more exciting events this week. Not the least of which were the 5th grade plays on Thursday night. The fifth graders acted out plays (with commercials) from three popular story books. The first one was Stephanie's Ponytail and the part of Stephanie was played by our very own MEGAN SKINNER! (Thunderous applause!)


She did really super and really hammed it up, which isn't too surprising since being silly is one of her specialities. She keeps us all laughing around here! Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, you can even watch Megan in her play. I have included it and even cut out the commercials for your viewing pleasure! (She is especially funny near the end when the ponytail is in front of her face and she keeps running into things!)



On Friday, we took the kids up to Salt Lake. We are looking into buying a new tent and wanted to look at the really expensive, highly recommended ones that they sell at Kirkham's (in SLC). So we took the fam and made an adventure of it. Since no adventure is complete without ancient Indian temples, waterfalls, and Mexican food, we stopped at the Mayan on our way up! I love how being there makes me feel like I am in a different world. Apparently, though, it gives Cheyenne -- and Savannah -- nightmares. Heavy sigh. I guess you can't make everybody happy all of the time. It's a good thing dinner came with french fries!

Kevin didn't beat himself quite as much into the ground as he did last Saturday, but he still managed to go for his run, take three of the girls to the church for grounds clean-up, practice softball with the girls, mow the lawn, and fix the swing set (thanks sweetie!).

That night, Savannah's children's choir performed at "The Big Red Barn" in Mapleton. She did fabulous, as usual and we got to see that beautiful face wreathed in smiles and excitement as she sang!

We recorded one of the songs for posterity. Savannah is the gorgeous one on the second row, second in from the right:

Hey Ben! This is a bird's eye view of Benjamin, or how he looks to me when I am holding him. It's a "mom's eye view."

Ben has a blanket that says, "Thank heaven for little boys." Mariah read it to Calianne, but she didn't hear it quite right. She said, "Oh! Thank Kevin for little boys." Something like that . . .

We've been struggling with pink eye this week. Bethany got it first (and still has it) then Cheyenne got it although hers cleared up within a couple of days. As it was just begininng, Calianne heard us talking and said, "Bethany and Cheyenne are lucky because they get to have pink eyes!" Well! I think that is taking the love of pink a little too far! Calianne agrees with me now that she has the same thing. :(

I got a call this week from a woman who works for Springville City. She told me that my daughter, Sarah, had been chosen by her teachers as a student who was making a positive difference in her community and would be recognized at the next city council meeting with an award from the mayor. She wanted to know if I could come. Could I!! How exciting! Kevin and I went to the meeting and Sarah, along with students chosen from each of the other elementary schools in Springville, were given a certificate and a goodie bag and got a picture with the mayor. Isn't that cool? I just looked at that sweet girl up there and marveled at how much she had grown up and wondered how many more exciting things I would get to watch her do in her life. I already know Sarah is a marvel of a soul, but it is neat when other people see it and want to recognize her for it!
On Friday, I had the good fortune to be able to attend the kindergarten Mother's Tea starring Cheyenne and Calianne Skinner! (Or at least it seemed so to me!) It was very precious. They sang songs and recited poems and we learned about what they are learning. It was so cute!

Here, for your enjoyment, is one of the songs they sang for us:

Savannah has started taking pictures of clouds. These are the cool clouds she spotted this week:

I think they are much better than the pictures of rain clouds that she took a couple of weeks ago, but she would disagree. On our way back to the car after Sarah's concert that week, it was raining. Savannah spread her arms, spun around and said, "Isn't this weather GREAT???" I had to laugh. She was absolutely serious! She was so thrilled with being rained on. Anyway, I digress. Friday was Savannah's district and final track meet. I couldn't be there to take pictures, so the picture of the clouds is here in her honor, instead! She flew around the track -- like the wind she so loves -- in a new personal record time of 6:24 -- for the mile. Isn't she cool? She borrowed a phone and called me right away to celebrate. Go Savannah!!

On Saturday, Kevin woke up at 6am to run 5 3/4 miles with a friend of his from work. Then he went and played football with some men from church. Back at home, he installed two new lights for me, mowed the lawn, helped clean the carport, played softball with the girls, went to the store, made dinner, and vacuumed the house. I might've left something out . . . Anyhow, Sarah and I replanted the garden! We weren't quite as tired at the end of the day as Kevin, though. Imagine that!

Today was Mother's Day, but I don't think Kevin had to work quite as hard as he did yesterday. Still, he made me breakfast and helped with the meal we had at his mom's house. He also grabbed the camera and got one of the few pictures of me with my son! He is a great man and I love him and I couldn't be a mother without him

-- and I love being a mother!

Ahh, Father and son. That's a newborn, size 0-3 month sleeper that Ben is wearing. That size finally fits him! Yeah! And he is three weeks old! It took him a long time to fit into a size that my other babies have mostly skipped altogether. Also, when I put on the size 1 diapers, the tabs don't overlap anymore! There is a little space between the tabs. C'mon! These are milestones! He is still sweet and peaceful and we love him to pieces.

Well, the weather was nice last weekend and Kevin got the garden all ready to go, so for family home evening we started planting. Not everything, just tomatoes and zucchini. Fun, huh?

I would post a picture of the garden as it looks now, but it is too cold to go out there . . . and it is covered in SNOW!! Ah spring, you cruel, cruel thing! It wasn't even snow that falls and then melts within the next few hours. No, no, no! The snow has been on the ground for the last FOUR DAYS!! That is going too far and I really must protest. I've noticed, though, that my protestations never do any good. I'm just kicking against the pricks. That's okay. We will just have more pictures of us in the garden later -- when we replant!

On Wednesday night, Cheyenne and Calianne had their recital for their Let's Play Music class. Don't they look pretty? They each played a song. They've learned a lot and practiced hard. I'm really pleased with all they've done!

Here is Cheyenne playing, "Love Somebody." My picture of Calianne didn't turn out, so you will just have to imagine it. She looked really cute, too!

Here are our two budding musicians!

Otherwise, we mostly stayed inside this week and tried to hide from the rain and the snow. All the softball practices my family would have gone to were even canceled. Bethany still wanted to go outside eveyday when her sisters got home from school, so she wasn't very happy with us most afternoons.

It will be very nice when it gets warm again. Which I hope it will. Very soon.

This week, we had our first Hershey track meet for the year. So, we took the opportunity to go to the track as a family and practice! Some of us didn't practice as much as the others. :) Still, it was great fun. Cali and Cheyenne have the unending endurance of youth and kept going around and around. Beth would have, too, if her little legs didn't take her so very long to get all the way around the track once. She did keep at it, though! Dad ran the older girls -- especially Mariah, as it was her track meet that was the next day . . .

And, oh my goodness, look at that!! The little tyke WON!!! That's her up on the winner's block. She took first place for the whole city of Springville in the 400 meter (that's once around BTW). She is a speedster!

Then, as if that weren't enough, she took third place in the 200 meter! Kevin lamented all day that they hadn't held finals for the 200, because he is confident she would have beat the first and second place girls if they had been in the same heat. Be that as it may, she is still a very fast girl with a lot of endurance! She gets to go on to a regional meet in the 400 this summer. We think it is very exciting! Go Mariah!

Kevin got to take some paternity leave this week, and he mostly spent his time going to track meets. :) You gotta love the spring! He definitely loves to coach his children and see them do well! In addition to Mariah's track meet, Savannah had two junior high track meets this week. She's been running the mile and the last leg of the medley and been doing really well!

On Wednesday night, Sarah got to participate in Springville's 6th grade orchestra Monster Concert. All of the 6th grade orchestra students from all of Springville's elementary schools (144 kids!) came together to play their songs. Sarah had a great time and the orchestra sounded great. Here is a picture of just the cello section. Sarah is three rows back, one chair in. Do you see her?

There. Can you see her now? They let the parents come on stage at the end for close-ups. Nice, huh? She is one cool girl!

This week, the girls also had their first softball practices. Sarah is playing again this year and she and Megan are on the same team. Kevin is assistant-coaching Mariah's team. Savannah will be umpiring again. Let the softball obsession begin!

Between doing yard work and getting the garden ready for the summer, Kevin had time Saturday to see his dad for a quick visit, too! He was in SLC and came down to see his new grandson! It is always fun to see Grandpa! We're glad he could stop by!

Benjamin is doing well. He is such a good baby -- besides the day when I took him to the doctor and let them torture him and I felt guilty all day long! He is back to his sweet self, though, and we even brought him to church today. I even put him in a little collared shirt that was still too big for him. He still looks pretty snazzy, though, I'd say! What a good looking little guy! We are all so in love with him!

We had Grandma with us this week!

It was the greatest! She took such great care of me and Benjamin and was Bethany's very best friend and helped with all the other girls, as well. I loved having her here. Her loving presence is such a blessing in my life and just knowing she is there has always been such a support to me. Of course, having her in the same house . . . well, that is the best of all!

We are all doing well (probably due to Grandma being here!). Benjamin was fussy his first few nights and needed to be held all night. He was fine as long as he could snuggle with me in bed. So, I did get sleep, it was just a bit uncomfortable and involved waking up often. After the first few nights, though, he accepted the basinet as his sleeping accomodation and just woke up to nurse. He's doing great now. He is a super baby so far, only crying when he is hungry and sleeping a whole lot!

Bethany is adjusting well, I think. It is hard to tell because she did have Grandma to monopolize while she was here -- and monopolize she did! She even slept in the same room as Grandma and woke up every night between about 2 and 4 a.m. to chat with her -- for the full two hours! Grandma did not appreciate that so much, but it is hard to get a 21-month-old to understand her social faux pas. Bethany is learning a whole lot of new words and she loves to talk. What she doesn't know, she fills in with gibberish. We only understand about half of what she says, but it sure isn't slowing her down! She likes "baby" and thinks Ben is an adorable, moving doll. She only gets mad when we won't let her play with him how she likes. She's starting to understand, though, whenever she approaches him, the first thing she says is, "Soft!" I guess we've already told her that a time or two.

The other girls are enjoying Ben, too. They really like holding him, but I have not talked anyone into changing a diaper, yet. Savannah says over and over again, "I have a little brother!" It is an amazing thing.

Savannah had her first track meet this year on Friday. She ran the mile in 6:53. Pretty good, huh? She also ran the 800 meter leg of the medley. I didn't go, but Kevin hung out with her and reported that she did a fantastic job.

My mom left on Saturday *sob!* so I suppose now I've got to get back to regular life. Bummer. Back to doing my own laundry and grocery shopping and dishes. Wish me luck!

Actually, we started off the week with bowling. It was spring break! This is a picture of Cheyenne showing how strong she is Monday afternoon at the BYU bowling alley. Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik came, too. I didn't bowl, I just took a bunch of bad pictures, but we all had loads of fun! I loved watching everyone bowl. Check out the video of Calianne. She really got into the running part! Afterwards, we went to Brick Oven (our new favorite restaurant, as you know) for pizza! Yum! What fun!





On Tuesday, the girls played with friends here in the neighborhood. On Wednesday, I had an appointment with my midwife so all seven of the girls came, too, and heard the heartbeat and watched my belly move. Then we went to some stores up in Orem that the girls wanted to visit: JoAnn's, Toys R Us, and DI. That night I had Savannah make dinner because I was having contractions and needed to sit down! She made tacos and did a great job!

On Thursday, I took Beth to Grandma's and the rest of the girls and I went to see the morning showing of How to Train Your Dragon in 3D! It was a lot of fun to see all the girls lined up with their 3D glasses on! Afterward, we stopped at McDonald's for lunch. We were just finishing up and I was turning Cheyenne's happy meal box into a Viking hat for her to wear . . . when my water broke. Uh oh. Sarah and Savannah got our table cleaned off and everyone in the car.

We made it home without a problem. Yay! But then it turned into a problem as the hours went by and no contractions came my way. I had some in the middle of the night for a few hours but when I got up Friday morning, they had stopped. Friday was a hard day as Kevin and I and Suzanne, our midwife, tried several different things to get my labor going and nothing was working! It was looking like we might have to go to the hospital and all our other plans would go to naught. Argh!

Finally, around 6:30, something worked. Then contractions came and went without ceasing and got more and more painful, which is good but also bad, bad, bad. :) We'll skip to the happy ending . . .
Isn't he cute??????? Benjamin Kevin Skinner was born at 10:04 p.m. Friday, April 9, 2010 weighing 6 lbs 9oz and measuring 20.5 inches long.

Here is father and son looking at each other for the first time just after he arrived.

And mother and son, done being tortured for the day and ready for a rest. Together forever.

Look at that! THE SKINNERS GOT A BOY!!!!!!! At last, our prince has come . . .

As promised, here is a picture of all the princesses in our family in their Easter dresses as they went to church today. I, of course, was not with them, but Grandma Elton has come and is taking pictures and telling me to lay down -- which I love. :)

And here you can see the older girls a little better. What a lot of blessings in this family!