Sunday night we had our whole family there for dinner! Ah! So great!! Mariah was here for the weekend. As you may recall, she came for Calianne´s temple endowment and Bethany´s play. She doesn´t get up here often because of track and work. Not to mention that we seem to constantly be having winter storms! As it was, she had to make it back in pretty bad weather which she did safely. Yay! It was so great to have her here and to have our family together! They are such a blessing and fill me with so much joy.

Bethany had her last day of her play on Monday! She had such fun doing it and said she´ll miss it so much! She told me that the reason she thinks being in the ensemble is so much fun and better than choir is because you can be with a group of people and break into song and dance and everyone knows it and joins in. That does sound super fun! But it has ended and the very next day she started track. So now she will run with friends everyday afterschool which may not be as fun as singing and dancing but still gives her chances to be with friends! What a great girl she is!

Also in big news, I had my last day of work this week! They´ve made changes to the schedule at work and won´t be using a 6-9am shift anymore. They were willing to switch me to another shift because they like me (which is nice!) but none of the hours really work for me. Since I was only going to work until summer anyway so we could go on family trips, it seemed like a good time to bow out. I confess, I felt a bit like Mary Poppins--doing what good I could do and then sailing away on the East wind (or was it the West?). Anyway, it was a fun job at times and I learned a lot and I am grateful for my six months there. But now, I am grateful to have time for more of my own projects and also to be able to sleep in! Yay!

Speaking of sleeping in, Ben had a couple more days to sleep in this week. He and Beth had a day off school on Wednesday (while the juniors took the ACT). Ben had started not feeling well Tuesday evening and was only at about 50% energy while hanging out with the neighborhood friends on Wednesday. Thursday he stayed home. His school went on a field trip to the rec center and that was a good thing to miss. He still sounds a little stuffed up, but seems to be doing better!

Savannah worked everyday again this week and for two days of the week helped with Funfinity´s vendor booth at the educator´s conference in Provo. She likes the novelty of those days but they are alot of work and wear her out! Last night she got us all to watch the new Batman movie with her. It was fun to do something with her!

Kevin helped McKay move drywall into his shop on Monday night and a table on Tuesday. On Wednesday he presented a new class on change to over 200 online viewers. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday he did an intensive for out-of-town couples. He has been very busy and tired-out! He hasn't been able to write as much as he wanted to and that has been frustrating for him. He is still on track for being done by his goal date, though, and had a great day of writing yesterday! He also got to play tennis in the morning with his friends and he really enjoys that.

In other news, Calianne has a new boyfriend. Cheyenne broke up with hers and is working hard toward her anatomy midterm. Megan and Ammon bought a second car so Megan is no longer stuck at the house all day! Sarah and McKay no longer have a front room filled with boxes, but now have a couch, a bed, and a dining table. Mariah had a scare with her health this week, but now we think it might have been something she ate and are so glad she is feeling better!

Calianne went through the temple this week! It was all so beautiful: her desire to show her commitment to God and His ways, the ceremony and its powerful reminder of God's love for us, all the people there who love Calianne as well as God and His ways, and the faith and hope and love of the beauty of life. I'm so, so grateful for this way of life and the traditions that create memories such as these.

Mariah came up for the weekend and it is so fun to have her here!

Bethany's play, The Addams Family, was also this weekend! Opening night was Thursday. Kevin and Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik and Aunt Shirlene went on Thursday and declared it great fun! I went on Friday with Cheyenne, Megan, and Ammon. On Saturday Maraih, Calianne, and Ben attended. We all agree! Bethany makess a great dead ancestor helping the Addams Family in their love troubles. She is fun to watch and has had so much fun doing the play.

In other big news, Sarah and McKay closed on their own first home this week! We've all spent a lot of time this week helping them clean, paint, and move. Saturday was the big day to get them out of their old home where they were blessed by the generosity of their grandma and grandpa and to move them to their own independent ownership! We are so happy for them! And look at those smiles! They are so happy, too! What a great milestone.

In the midst of all that, I got to see my sister, Amy, too! She came to get Mandy from BYU and bring her back to Las Vegas for the weekend. They stayed for a night and it was so fun to visit with her. She and Mandy even helped with some packing and cleaning. What good sports they are! We are grateful for them.

It's been so fun to have all of our family together for these big things and to see them more. So fun to hug Mariah in my kitchen! So fun to have Chey and Cali in and out of the house. So fun to have Megan over and see how much she helps her sister, Sarah. Family is like the greatest thing in the whole world!! This has definitely been true in my life.

 This weekend we went to St. George to watch Mariah run! Bethany couldn't come because she had a mandatory Saturday rehearsal for her play. She stayed with friends instead and was a good sport and stayed positive about it, but we all wished she was there and she did too! We missed her alot! Everyone else was there except McKay. We had Kevin and I, Savannah, Sarah and Avery, Megan and Ammon, Mariah, Cheyenne, Calianne, and Benjamin!

We drove down Friday afternoon and made it in time for Mariah's seven o'clock race--the 5K. It was pouring down rain! We gave Sarah and Avery the umbrella we brought and i wore the rain jacket I brought and we still all got wet wet wet. Mariah most of all! She ran great and we had so much fun cheering for her even in the rain! For all 12 1/2 laps! There were definitely some puddle stomping happening when we headed back to the car!

We had a really nice BnB for the next two nights. It had 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and a nice large common area. We had a balcony with a view of the pool, too!

The next day after breakfast we headed back to the Utah Tech track to see Mariah's other race of the meet which was a 1500meter--3 and 3/4 times around the track. It wasn't raining this time. Yay! Mariah did fabulous and we had great fun wearing the shirts that Megan made for us to show our support for Mariah! They say "Utah Tech Cross Country and Track" on the front and "Team Mariah" on the back. They are epic! We love them and we love that Mariah girl!

We headed back to the BnB to spend the rest of the day. Megan, Ammon, and Benjamin went out to the pool right before it started to rain. They stayed since they were already wet and then it even hailed on them! Wow. Full experience. Cheyenne went out after the rain stopped and they all had fun. Cali had an essay to write and the rest of us just didn't want to get wet. Mariah joined us after a couple of hours and we played games and talked. Kevin grilled us some burgers on the balcony for dinner and after that we played more games and talked some more. It was a super fun day!

On Sunday, Megan, Ammon, Sarah, and Avery headed back. The rest of us went to church for the first hour. Then we went to a park near Mariah's apartment, had a picnic lunch, and put off saying goodbye. Eventually we needed to, however and we got back on the road. Good thing she will come up to see us next week!

Back at home, we were safely reunited with Bethany. Yay! She was a trooper! She spent Friday and Saturday morning with her friend who is in the play with her. They hung out with some other friends and talked and that evening watched a scary movie. After rehearsal on Saturday, Beth spent time with the Koger's who live behind us. They played games and did shopping and had dinner and watched a movie. On Sunday she got to go to church at her own ward. They took great care of her! We were glad that she stil wanted to come home and live with us! We were so glad that she had a fun weekend but so so glad to be together again!

Last weekend, Mariah ran in conference finals for indoor track. She ran the 1600 and beat her PR. She ran the 2K and beat her PR. Then she and her team ran the distance medley relay with Mariah running the 1200 leg and they beat the school record by 22 seconds! She had a great weekend and we pretty much all agree that she is a rockstar!

On Wednesday night, Cheyenne's friend, Dallin, led our young women's activity! He taught us all how to make sushi. He works at a local Japanese restaurant and makes sushi often. He was such fun and now we all have a valuable skill. We had a great turnout for the activity, too! So grateful he was willing to do that for us.

Other than that, life ticked on as usual for us. Beth had play practice and karate. Ben had guitar and karate and played lots of video games. The four of us sometimes watched TV in the evenings.

Savannah was feeling better this week after some rough anxiety at first. She worked both jobs the last couple of days of the week and did terrific with it, although she was tired!

Kevin continues to walk and write and work and do all good things. His health is the best its ever been.

I worked in the mornings and watched Avery three days and when I had time, worked on small side projects like taxes. Yesterday the mountain path going north was clear and the weather was above freezing and I had a good hike! Today I'm watching the snow blanket everything in white again. It is very pretty.

Last Sunday, we had Kim and her family over for dinner! So fun to catch up with my old friend and get to know some of her kids better. I should have taken a picture! Love that lady.

Bethany took her belt test on Saturday and passed! That included a three mile run and an essay and all the kicks, blocks, forms, and strikes needed for her level. She's now a brown/red belt and she received two sais to start training with. They look like swords and I'm pretty sure she could kill someone with them. Yikes! Ha ha! It's a great accomplishment!

Bethany also had play practice all week. Friday night we had a YW sleepover. I went too! We did a cute, crafty service project, snacked, played games, and also sang and danced quite loudly to YouTube videos like Just Dance and karaoke. It was a fun time! A movie was watched and some sleeping done before we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and headed home. Good memories!

Benjamin decided to wait on the belt test for karate. He's had a barking cough all week. It is only today sounding a little better. On Wednesday for YM, his group went snow shoeing. It was a great day for it as we'd just got another foot that day. He had fun and he was sure sore the next day! It can be hard work!

Savannah went to the doc on Monday and he put her on antibiotics so she has started to feel better. Yay! She was able to go back to work at Funfinity and at Earth Harbor where she is really enjoying the challenge of organizing the inventory as well as working with Sarah and Megan!

Kevin is writing and walking and creating content for work and doing many great things. He found out that his friend and mentor, Ken Patey, passed away this week after a bad fall. He had a big impact on our lives, gave Kevin his first job after college, and was a great man. We our sad to see him go and so grateful for his life.

I worked this week and watched sweet Avery, as well. I got some taxes done and a bit of writing. I also got a letter from BYU informing me that I wasn't accepted to their MSW program. That's a bummer and I am disappointed. But, Kevin and I have talked and I will go forward with my "plan B" which is to get a master's degree from an online program which might be better anyway!

Savannah turned 27 this week! Her birthday was on Monday, but we celebrated on Sunday. Sarah, Megan, and I collaborated for dinner. We each made a different gluten-free Chinese dish! We had orange chicken, beef and green beans, and potstickers. Yum! We later opened presents and had gluten-free cake. We even played a game of Seven Wonders. Good times!

On Monday, Savannah went out to lunch with her friend, Jessie, and then went shopping and spent the afternoon with Megan! They even got to see Savannah's friend Joanna's new baby.

Bethany had a good week. She went to play practices and to karate. For young women's, we had a gallentine party at our house. We talked and made tootsie roll grams to bring to school and give to people who would look like they needed a pick-me-up. On Saturday, Beth had a free afternoon, so she texted out to her sisters to see if anybody wanted to do anything. She ended up going with Sarah and McKay to get burgers. Fun times!

Benjamin had a good week, though he seems to be coming down with a bad cough. He didn't go to school on Friday because it was Career Day and you were supposed to shadow your parent at work. I dropped the ball on figuring out how to make that happen, so instead, he stayed home and studied up on becoming a chess champion and (once I got possession of the controller) we watched YouTube videos on what it's like to be a doctor, engineer, and architect. (Apparently, no one really likes their jobs after they graduate and they become YouTube video makers instead. This is what I learned on Career Day.)

I worked all week and watched Avery three days so I didn't get much accomplished while I was home! Kevin bought me flowers for Valentine's day and he brought home Indian food for dinner. Yum! We ate that while Beth and Ben had a heart-shaped pizza.

We got to see Cali and Chey on Saturday which was so fun! They stopped by and did some homework and laundry. I got good hugs and updates. They are both working super hard!

Kevin is keeping up with his writing and walking and creating goals. He is very energized by them and for the most part, his health is staying good. Yay for that!                                   

Bethany decided to challenge herself to a week without screens. So, as a reward, on Saturday night Kevin and I took her out to eat at Red Robin--just the three of us. We had a fun time walking the mall before our table was ready, playing "Would you rather?", and eating yummy food! What a sweet girl Bethany is and so impressed with her week off of screens!

In other news, on Wednesday night, we had a combined YM/YW activity where we went to the mall and tried to find four of our adult leaders who were dressed up to look very different from how they usually look! Afterward, another couple in our ward brought homemade beignets to the food court for our treat! It was a really fun activity. I have this one picture of Bethany's group finding the bishop:

Tuesday night was fun, too, as we had my friend Kim's son over for dinner. Greyson is here going to EMT school in Orem. Cali and Chey came home to meet him, too, so he could have some contacts in the young adult world. We had a lot of fun getting to know him better and I loved getting to see Cali and Chey in the middle of the week!

Other than that, life ticked on as usual. Ben had guitar and karate and his last day of chess club. He will miss it, but he is playing alot more now so maybe it played its purpose in rejuvenating his interest!

Savannah interviewed with Sarah's boss at Earth Harbor and she is going to start helping them with inventory a couple of hours a day. It will be a nice supplement to her Funfinity job!

Kevin is working away at his book, making sure to hit a thousand words a day and making excellent progress. Speaking of his goals, he told us this week that he has now successfully walked 10,000 to 11,000 steps a day for ten years now! He did the math and determined that he has walked the same distance as the circumference of the Earth. What a great accomplishment! One day at a time sure adds up. You know what they say about the journey of a thousand miles!