Sarah applied, interviewed, and was offered an internship position to teach at Brookside Elementary next year! Yay, Sarah! That means that instead of doing unpaid student teaching, she will have a full-time position at half-salary and full benefits. What a blessing for her and McKay! We are so happy for her!

Savannah took a computer science exam this week and did well! Going to Las Vegas over the weekend with us put her a little behind at work but we're glad she came anyway!

Megan's brand-new fiance left town for a week but she has been busy hanging out with sisters and friends. Last night she went to the college men's volleyball game and then watched the Cougar basketball game with some friends. She is still working hard and doing alot and is super happy.

Mariah ran in her very first college track meet yesterday in California. Her relay team set a new school record and came in 4th! Way to go Mariah and the Trailblazers!

Cali and Chey started track season workouts on Tuesday. Cheyenne already has foot pain. She is working with the school trainer to get better but she is so frustrated she can't run with the team! Meanwhile, they have both been attending their varsity girl's basketball team's games as they work their way through the state tournament. So, this week they attended two games and their team won both. Go Red Devils!

Cali and Chey also had a Valentine's party at our house Saturday night. 15 girls exchanging valentines, playing games, and watching Hitch. Fun times!

Beth and Ben got invited to go to the BYU volleyball game last night with some friends. It sounds like they spent most of their time running around the indoor track, but Ben did know that BYU won, so that's something? :) They both had an extra day of karate this week practicing for belt exams on Saturday.

Kevin is in the homestretch on his book! He officially pushed the "submit" button at Amazon and once it is approved, he can order a copy, review it himself and call it good! We are so proud of him and his hard work!

I went hiking on Friday with my friends Robin, Gwen, and Deann. We started at Slate Canyon and hiked back to my house. Six miles along the side of the mountain above the city. It was a beautiful day with great ladies and I had a marvelous time.

Monday Bethany had a basketball game. She'll have one more game after this, but it was the last time her team would be all together, so we took pictures!

Tuesday was Cali and Cheyenne's last home game of the season. Cali dressed up extra fancy for fun! They both played great and we got a team picture afterwards.

Wednesday Bethany stayed home from school sick. Actually, she stayed home Monday, went back on Tuesday, but Ben stayed home sick, and then she stayed home again on Wednesday. It was a week of sick days! When Beth was home on Wednesday, we played with my new pyrography kit and she made our first necklaces!

Thursday was Savannah's birthday!! She turned 24. We tried to find a time when the whole family could get together to celebrate but the only times we could find were really early in the morning and late at night. So . . .  we did both! Sarah and McKay joined us for fancy French toast breakfast at 7am and then Grandma and Grandpa (and Sarah and McKay) joined us for cake and presents at 9pm. We love that girl and are so glad she is part of our family!

Oh, and I made her traditional pineapple buns a favorite of hers from Chinese bakeries!

Friday was Valentine's Day! It was also Cali and Chey's last sophomore basketball game! So, Kevin and I went out to eat and then to the basketball game and it was fun. While we were out, Megan sent us a Marco Polo to tell the family that Ammon asked her to marry him and she said Yes! She is now engaged!! He is a great guy and we are so happy for both of them.

Meg got this fortune at Panda Express earlier in the week. Lol!

He proposed to her here!

On Saturday morning EARLY, we jumped in the car, swung by and picked Sarah up, and drove to Las Vegas for the weekend. Mariah was already there, having taken the shuttle from Dixie to LV the day before. We were so happy to see her but she was especially anxious for us to arrive because she was waiting for us in order to open her mission call. That sweet, fiesty girl of mine is going to Vietnam, speaking Vietnamese, leaving July 1st! We still can hardly believe it!

So, Dad and the kids went for a walk and Grandpa and Ben played chess and I even have pictures of Megan leading some Tai Chi at the bus stop followed by some tree-hugging! Later that afternoon, we headed to Boulder City to see my niece, Hannah, get baptized. It was beautiful and so fun to be there with family. Bethany got asked to be a witness which was so cool and my dad gave the confirmation blessing and it was beautiful! Afterwards, we got to see Amy's new house and she fed us and my brother Pete and some of his boys came over to visit for awhile, too. It was really great.

We're gathering quite a few rings of love around here!

All of us at the church!

The next day we slept in. Yay! Then we went to church with Amy's ward and walked to her park afterward and let the cousins play. Then we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's where Grandma had dinner and cake waiting for us! Samantha and her little family joined us and the cousins played games and did their nails and the baby got held by many--including me! So fun. We had a great trip and are so glad we got to go--all ten of us for the first time since Megan left on her mission! What joy. What blessed and happy people are we! <3 p="">

On Monday, we had a snow day. No school! We ended up not having very much snow, but the twins have been so overwhelmed with homework and piano lessons and basketball that it was a relief for them to have some more time at home to catch up and get things done. Savannah and Megan still had to go to college classes, but since Sarah attends with Nebo, she got the day off, too and came over to hang out for a little bit!

Cheyenne and her dog checking out the "snow day."

On Tuesday, school was back in! The kids were sad but managed somehow. I had accounting to do all week since it's a new month so more of the same for me. Afterschool, Beth and Ben had karate. That evening, Cali and Chey had a basketball game in Payson and Kevin went to watch.

Wednesday was piano lessons for Chey and Cali. They were supposed to have their pieces memorized in preparation for Festival at the end of the month. The teacher told them that if they played now for Festival that they would "fall apart." I am here to witness, though, that they sure have been working hard and tried very hard to meet her deadline! Chey wakes up at 5 to practice and Cali at 6. Hmm. That alone would make me "fall apart." Ha ha!

Thursday should have been a snow day. The snow piled up and up and the roads were a mess! It took Megan an hour to get to BYU and it usually takes 20 minutes! Savannah decided to work from home. The afternoon was a bit better and we had karate, play practice for Beth, and another game for the twins. They played in Provo and Grandma, Grandpa, Sarah, Kevin, and I went to watch. Also, Ben finished his science fair board!

Isn't it great??

Friday there were no basketball games (because they had another on Saturday) but Kevin and I had to cut our date night short so we could pick them up from basketball practice. Ben and Beth had friends over late and they had a great time playing sardines, hide and seek, and cops and robbers. (Wow! What is this? The 1970s??)

Saturday Ben had guitar and then played with Nico all day. Bethany and I went shopping for some new clothes for her and then she went to a friend's house that night. Cali and Chey worked before heading to the high school for all the basketball games. Megan worked at the temple before coming home to spend an evening with Sarah at our house. Savannah spent most of the day on campus "getting things done" and then went to a friend's house for games until late in the night. Kevin went to the temple in the afternoon and then got his hair cut. That night most of us went to the twins' basketball game 

-- which they won by 10 points but Cheyenne thought they lost until today. Maybe watching four games before hers got all those points scrambled up in her brain? Maybe. She played great, though, and so did Cali. Afterwards, they had twelve kids over to our house for a very noisy game of "The carpet is lava" boys against girls and other good times.

I texted Mariah during CC's Saturday game and found out that she had just gotten back from rapelling. I told her I was happy to see she was taking advantage of all the cool things in St. George, and she said, "Mom, I love it here!" Which just makes a mom heart happy.

All these busy kids make me happy! They are great kids and I love being a part of their lives!

Kevin left us on Thursday of this week to teach for IITAP in Phoenix. He enjoyed the quiet of his hotel room after hours of teaching to work on the recording of his next book which is super close to being done! We look forward to having him home again today!

Ben had karate this week and his guitar lesson. He continues to work on his Chinese with his dad. He also still snags whoever will play a chess game with him. He doesn't much like to lose, though, and maybe gets a little mad. We're working on it. I grabbed proof this week that he can have fun outside:

Beth had a basketball game on Monday but didn't go on Wednesday because she went with the youth in our ward ice skating! Fun times! I think she likes being a Young Woman. She had karate this week and play practice. On Saturday, I talked her into coming back from her friend's house to go see the high school play with me, Aida. We had a lot of fun together! I actually didn't need to talk her into it at all.

Chey and Cali had a basketball game Tuesday night but not on Friday night. Instead they went to their friend's house for a low-key girls night. On Saturday night, they had a boys and girls night at our house and watched Groundhog's Day and Hoosiers. (Only our VCR was working. Ha ha!) They seemed to have a lot of fun. When they're not at school, basketball, church, piano, or work, they are trying desperately to understand chemistry and math and get their homework done. They are so busy.

My college girls all seem to be doing well. Sometimes it blows my mind that I have FOUR in college. I'm so proud of them. They are all working hard.

I walked and wrote this week and also did a lot of fun-reading. It was a good week.

We started this week with Martin Luther King, Jr. day and we were lucky enough to have Mariah still with us! So, we just had to have a family basketball game in the morning. We had everyone there including Sarah and McKay and Grandma and Grandpa. Ammon even came! It was lots of fun! Afterwards, Dad made us burgers on the grill and we had a big family lunch before Mariah left us again for St. George. I'm so glad we made great memories first!

In other news, Ben was in a chess tournament this weekend! His friend, Nico, was participating and Ben begged me to sign him up. I didn't need much encouraging. That's how Ben and Dad ended up spending their Saturday morning at a local elementary school with a hundred other kids! Ben got to play five rounds. He lost twice, then tied, then won. I fully support this new interest of his and I hope it lasts!

Bethany had karate this week and play practice. She also finished her science fair project: Which brand bubble gum blows the biggest bubble? (Bazooka!) On Saturday morning, she had a practice belt exam for karate and even with the mile and a half run and all the hard work, she reported it was a lot of fun!

Chey and Cali continued to drive us around town this week. They're getting better and better! They also had two basketball games and won both. Yay! Go team! They worked Saturday afternoon and that night went to the Mr. Springville competition at the high school. They had a lot of fun!

Meg and Savannah continue with their college classes and I happen upon them studying together in our sunny, downstairs room quite often.

Kevin and I got to go see the musical, Bright Star, performed in Salt Lake City last night. We went with friends of Kevin's. It was so fun and we just loved it. It was written by Steve Martin and the music was all bluegrass. It was really fun.

Last Sunday at the Skinner house was a party! I love those kids. They are so fun.

We had a full week of school this week. Ben had karate twice and is running a half mile after school everyday for his science fair project. He and Dad are trying to learn two Chinese characters every school day. It's hard work! Whenever he has a chance, he plays with Nico. They like Minecraft and Roblox and I like when they play in the great out-of-doors. We try to strike a balance!

Bethany also had karate twice but she also started practice for the school play. Their school is doing Peter Pan this year and Bethany gets to be one of the mermaids! She is excited. She got invited to go ice skating with a friend on Saturday and they had a great time!

On Wednesday of this week, Bethany got welcomed to Young Women's, and Cali and Cheyenne got recognized for completing their personal progress award. Way to go!! The medallions are back-ordered until March so we will get a picture of those sometime in the future. They both gave great talks on how their projects in the program helped them in their lives and they both talked about how their sisters' examples had motivated them. What great kids! Even Beth mentioned her sisters. When asked in her get-to-know-you questions, "What do you like best about yourself?" She said, "That I look like my sisters." Awww! It was a fun night.

Cali and Chey had two basketball games this week and they did great! Chey played almost the entire game on Tuesday but Cali played hardly at all. On Friday, they had more even playing time and while Cali was in, she made two baskets right in a row. They are fun to watch. In addition to homework and basketball practice, they are also working a few hours every Saturday for Springville Rec. We also took them out for their first driving experiences this week! We are 'jerkily' making it to all our places now. Ha ha! They'll figure it out.

Mariah came home for the long weekend on Friday night. Yay! She is feeling a little bored at Dixie this semester so we talked about adding some things to her life. I also got to hear lots of stories about her last two weeks and I love that!

Megan and Savannah continue to trek off to Provo every morning. I think they are liking their classes. Megan is especially enjoying her internship class where she is aiding a company in their efforts to better the world! Savannah switched into an easier computer programming class and was told that she writes beautiful code. Nice!

Sarah and McKay came to the YW Recognition Wednesday night and Sarah came to the twin's basketball game Tuesday night and the two of them went on a double date with Megan and Ammon on Friday night. I love that we still see them so much and that they are so happy!

Kevin continues to work on his book and I continue to work on mine. The sun shines and the wind blows and the snow falls and then the sun shines again and time continues to tick on by day by day. Love you all!