Happy Easter!! We wanted to wait until Mariah was with us to color eggs so we did all our celebrating today. We had a big Easter dinner and then colored eggs. The tomb is empty! He is Risen!

Bethany got really sick this week. We think it's been a really bad sore throat and cold, but on top of her usual fatigue, it was super scary because we didn't know what was going on. She went to school Monday but didn't make it the rest of the week. She's felt really awful and watched a lot of Dance Moms. We are hopeful that she's feeling a bit better going into spring break this week.

Benjamin is not feeling great either. He made it to school but didn't make it to most of his sports things. Savannah taught him how to play Zelda on her Switch and that has been distracting him. He did help me rearrange the TV room on Saturday and he did a great job with that.

Savannah struggled with anxiety a lot again this week. She made it to some of her days of work. It's been hard on her. She is looking forward to meeting with a therapist this upcoming week.

Kevin and Megan are working hard on their internet marketing class. Kevin makes recordings in most of his free time. He's also busy with the YSA ward and he did an intensive this week. Busy, busy!

I finished taxes this week! I feel like I have time for work and school and family things, but taxes on top? It about pushed me over the edge! I'm glad I don't have to try to find time for it anymore. Yay!

Beth and Ben had a karate tournament on Saturday! I thought they both looked super impressive. So did all the people who came to watch: Savannah, Sarah, Avery, Megan, and Ammon! We took up a whole row to admire our karate kids. Karate has been a great thing for them and I love the strength and confidence they've gained there.

Mariah also had an exciting weekend! They had a home meet at Utah Tech and she was honored as a senior! Plus she had a lot of great races, too, of course. Kevin went down early Saturday morning so he could be there. He got to be on the football field with her for pictures and go on a bike ride with her for her long run and go out to eat. It sounded like they had a great time!

Savannah had a better week than last week. She is still struggling a bit but made it to the majority of her work week and was cheerful at home.

Kevin taught a continuing education class all day Friday and felt that it went well. He continues to work on many projects. He and Megan are taking a class on marketing and promotion together so watch out world!

I focused on work and school and trying to help my kids. I also am getting closer to getting the taxes done. We'll just add that to the list of things I wish were already behind me. Why is that list so looonng???

 

Yes. This is the only picture I took this week. Actually, I took this one too:

I can't decide which one is cuter. What do you think? You benefit from my indecision because you get to see both!

Yes, we did get some visits from Lyla and Avery this week and Lyla is just as cute, too! I wish I could send you the feeling of holding that sweet seven-month-old with her strong, healthy body and giant smiles.

We also got a visit from our favorite college student! Mariah was able to come home on Wednesday. It is Utah Tech's spring break but Mariah had practices through Wednesday. Those college athletes are dedicated! On Thursday, Sarah and Megan came over to watch a movie with Mariah. Fun times! On Friday we picked up Mariah's wedding dress and we all agreed that it is even more beautiful than we remembered it! On Saturday, Mariah went down to the Manti temple open house with Kolby and his family. She was disappointed she didn't get to see the sealing room! We've had a good visit and we sure love that girl!

Bethany got back from choir tour on Tuesday night! She was gone soooo long!!! Before she left, we worried that she'd have the emotional and physical strength to be go go going all the time for five days without a break, but she did it! And she had a great time. Some of the things she loved was going to see the Redwoods on a train ride, a night cruise in the bay, touring Alcatraz, and singing all the time--at a castle turned high school, at a cathedral, on the bus, and just whenever someone would start a song, everyone would join in! Sounds fun to me, too! What a tender mercy for her to have this experience.

Benjamin is still trying to get over his cold but he did make it to school all week and even started track. Add in karate and tennis and the kid is pretty exhausted! He and Beth went to a practice practice exam for their black belts on Saturday morning. Those are always hard work. That evening he went to a friend's birthday party. When I walked in, they were all in floor seating playing a racing video game that was projected on the entire wall. He had a really good time.

Kevin went to Idaho this weekend for the funeral of his Uncle Lyle who made it to 100 years old and was such a nice guy! Kevin loved being back in Idaho and loved seeing his dad, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I think it filled up his soul in a lot of ways. Family can be so good for us. I'm so glad he got to go.

Savannah had a hard week and was not able to work as many hours as she wanted to. She is struggling with a lot of anxiety. She's going to try some new things and is hopeful that this week will be better.

I'm really glad that there is more sunshine and that summer is coming. I love summer.

Bethany went on choir tour this week! We had to get her to school at 2:45am Friday morning which was really like Thursday night. Friday was also the last day of Term 3. So the week was spent trying to get work done for classes and making sure we had all she needed for her trip. After some panic about not being able to find her phone as we left Friday, she was reunited with her phone and left full of happiness and excitement! We've had some texts from her and she is very tired but having a good time. Yay!

On Wednesday, Beth's choir had a pre-tour choir concert. It was so fun to see Beth smile and sing with beautiful animation. They sounded terrific!

Benjamin had karate this week where, according to Beth, he performed the best sweep she'd ever seen. Impressive! He also had a group guitar lesson where he reported that everyone was better than him and he was sure he was being judged but he also felt more motivated to practice. We will see! On Saturday he went with Kyler and Spencer to watch Dune 2. Fun times!

On Friday, my mom and my sister, Amy, and her family came to visit! Alright, they actually came to see Mandy play in her trombone recital but we all enjoyed visiting with them, too! They came Friday and on Thursday we went to the recital in the new BYU Music Building and then out for lunch at Brick Oven. We visited and then had burgers for dinner. Sarah and Megan came over too to visit. Then that night Amy, Paul, Kevin, and I went to the BYU basketball game because Mandy was playing in the pep band. That was a lot of fun. On Sunday they came to church with us to our YSA ward. After lunch they were on the road again. It sure was fun to see them!

Guess what? It's March!! We made it through another month!

Benjamin started a new tennis group class because he got to move up a level! He is really enjoying it and reports that tennis is some of the best parts of his week which is really cool since I almost didn't sign him up because I worried about adding another obligation to our lives. I'm so glad that we gave it a try! He also did karate and guitar this week and lots of video games.

Bethany went to karate once this week, went to all her school classes, and brought her grades up to passing in all her classes except one! So great! Also, she has a plan for that one class so we will let you know. Term ends on Friday this coming week. She will also leave on choir tour this Friday so that is very exciting. We are hoping that her energy continues to improve.

Savannah had a healthy week and was able to work all week. She hit her goal of being able to sew a top in 3 minutes which I think is absolutely amazing! She also attended sword fighting again on Saturday. Fun times!

Kevin was able to be part of a radio show this week and is kicking off his new online class. He is working hard and getting lots of help from Megan, too. He still finds time to talk to me and encourage the kids and help in a lot of ways. He is a great guy!

I am still enjoying school and work. I'm learning so much and I really love it! I also enjoy hanging out with Beth and Ben and the talks we have. I am dreaming up great plans to remodel my kitchen but I don't have the time to make the dreams come true! Beth and Ben might be my only hope. I can teach them how to remodel, right?

I'm afraid we didn't do anything on President's Day. Kevin worked. I did homework. Beth was super tired after her big weekend and Ben alternated between computer games and VR games. Ben actually had a terrific day according to his self-report. That night was fun, though. Every Monday Megan and Ammon have Beth and Ben over for dinner! Kevin and I go to the YSA FHE. This week we got done early and found them playing Mario Kart together. Fun times!

              On Tuesday, Beth and Ben went to karate and it was a fateful day for Beth. She did 40 squats with a medicine ball. She wanted to get stronger and she used to be able to do that many and she felt ok while she was doing them. Unfortunately, she did not feel ok the next day or the next or the next! The poor girl could barely walk! On Wednesday, even though she could barely walk, she taught swing dancing as scheduled for YM/YW. That probably made it worse and she could only crawl to bed. So, that made the week harder for Beth but it was a nice change to be able to know exactly what was wrong!  She actually had a pretty good week.

    Ben had tennis this week and karate. He had fun learning swing dancing at YM on Wednesday. He also had his friend Kyler over on Friday and Saturday. They had a good time playing games. I told them they should make a band. They didn't stop playing games in order to plan their band, though.

    On Thursday night, Mariah came home for the weekend!! Yay! She needed to see her cute fiance and make wedding plans. Megan and Sarah are both helping with wedding plans. So, Friday they came over and we all helped Mariah choose outfits for engagement photos. Megan curled her hair. When Beth got home she did Mariah's makeup. Then we went to a bridal shop and watched her try on wedding gowns! After that she and Kolby got their engagement photos taken. Yay that's done!

    It was a busy day and Friday was busy, too! In the morning Mariah and Kolby went to the temple with Kevin and some of his elders. Then Savannah and I took Mariah to look at some more wedding gowns and we found one we LOVED! So we bought it and that's done.  Megan and Kolby came over to our house after that and we decided on a venue and a schedule and some other things so that's done! Finally, Mariah and Kolby went to look at places to live after they get married and found one they like! So, lot's of things have gotten done!

    Saturday night Savannah, Kevin, and I went to the adult session of the YSA stake conference. We really enjoyed it. Bethany had her friend, Maddie come over and they had a nice time together. I got to babysit for Lyla when we got back! Mariah got to take a test.

    Sorry there's not more pictures!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Bethany went to the Sweetheart's Dance last night! She asked a boy from our ward named Taylor and they went in a group of five couples. During the day they went bowling. They put the bumpers up and competed to see who could get the lowest score! Apparently this is not only surprisingly difficult but also very hilarious. They had a lot of fun!

Afterwards everyone went home to get fancied up. Megan came to help Beth get fancy and we all offered moral support! At five, we took pictures, picked up Taylor, and dropped them off at the Barn in Mapleton for more pictures. Then they went to Tess's house for dinner, to the high school for the dance, and to Macie's house for games. Beth said she had a really good time. AND she looked beautiful!

On Tuesday of this week was Savannah's birthday!! She wanted to have a gluten-free Chinese dinner like we did last year. So I made orange chicken, Sarah made fried rice, Grandma brought fruit and salad, and Megan made meat buns! We had a feast and it was super yummy! Savannah almost didn't have room for the gluten-free cupcakes I made for dessert! We did sing and open presents, too. We had a fun night and are super glad that she is part of our lives.

Wednesday was Valentine's Day! Benjamin, Bethany, and Kevin went early to the temple to do baptisms. They started out the day with lots of love!! We had steak and potatoes for dinner that night and Kevin brought me a rose. The best part of the day was seeing the hearts that Megan and Sarah and Avery made and put on our door! So so cute!

Thursday the Chinese classes in all the schools in our district put together a celebration for Chinese New Year. This year the celebration was at Springville High School and Ben's class did a dragon dance. Kevin recorded it for us. If you watch the video, Ben is the one with the moves in the navy blue hoodie! I love watching him dance!

Friday Kevin and I went to the temple. They will be closing the original Provo temple next week and it will be closed for a long while for a remodel. Kevin and I were very nostalgic as we thought of all the times we've been there and all the great memories. We had a nice time.

We've had a few opportunities to hang out with Avery and Lyla this week and we always love that!