Fourth of July

We started out our mid-week holiday by packing up the necessities (sunscreen, water, wagon, treats, sunglasses, empty Ziploc baggies labeled "Analee" and "Rebekah" ("... to put our candy in, Mom.")) and heading to the annual parade. Grandma Scott, Grandpa Scott, Aunt Jessica, Aunt McKall, Uncle Tyson and Bennet had arrived early enough to save us a place along the parade route so we could park our stuff and watch.

Analee brought a flag from home. Rebekah made her flag. Grandma and Grandpa Scott watch in the background.

The big girls watch a car on three wheels. I made both their bows specifically to wear on the Fourth, thank you very much.

Miriam waves the flag a man gave her before the parade started.

Analee doesn't like the loud sirens. Every year when I take my kids to the parade and they cover their ears for the sirens, I think of the parade scene from Mr. Holland's Opus when Cole doesn't wake up and Iris realizes that something is wrong with his hearing. I'm glad my girls don't like the loud noise!

The first time the sirens sounded, Grandma Scott covered Miriam's ears. Every time a big vehicle drove by after that, Miriam put Grandma's hands over her ears just in case.

After the parade, we met up with Seth and my parents' house (he had gone golfing with his dad ... they're both parade grinches ;-)) and had a barbecue. Tyson made some incredible Dutch oven chicken, Mom made awesome Dutch oven potatoes, and I brought along a contribution in the form of Jell-O.

The kids ate and played in the inflatable pool and on the swing set. The rest of us ate and chatted and gave underdogs.

When we had had enough sun and fun, we went home and eventually ended the evening with the Grover fireworks extravaganza (which consists of $28 worth of fireworks bought from a roadside stand). Bekah and Ana loved it, and Miri slept right through the 20-foot blazing inferno that we set off outside her window.

Plus one

For the past several months, I've been helping my little brother and his wife by watching their son while Tyson works and McKall goes to school. It was funny to go on walks around the neighborhood or see friends at the store who would undoubtedly ask, "Whose is this? I thought you only had girls!" Countless times I had people mistakenly assume that Miriam and Bennet are twins; their birthdays are only two weeks apart, and they're both little towheads.

I took these pictures of the wee ones while they were playing on the trampoline a couple of weeks ago.

Miriam knows exactly what to do when the camera comes out: pose for pictures. And Bennet assumes that his skateboard goes everywhere ... even on the tramp.

Sometimes these two play nicely together.

Sometimes they don't.

Bennet really loved playing with the big girls.

I have no idea what Bekah is doing in this picture, but it makes me laugh.

Let me root, root, root for the home team

This June we experienced two baseball-related firsts for our two eldest daughters. Analee played her first season of T-ball, and Rebekah played her first season of coach pitch. The girls were, of course, on separate teams, but they both ended up with exactly the same blue T-shirts. Ana's team was the Blue Angels; Rebekah's was the Blue Lightning.

Highlights of Ana's season:

• The ump realizing that the tee can, in fact, be raised the lowered. Poor Ana had to swing crooked for the first game because she was too tall for the tee. When they figured out the tee could come up to her height, things worked out better for her, and she quit knocking the tee over.
• Getting to actually touch the ball once in a while. When you're playing with 3- to 5-year-olds, the ball doesn't travel very far. So if you're playing any position besides pitcher or catcher, chances are you're not going to see much action in the field. Poor Ana was so bored playing any base.
• Learning to line up with her teammates and give high fives to the other team after the game. You'd think this wouldn't be such a hard skill set, but believe me, it is for these young'uns. Half the team would end up at their rival's bench, thinking that the green team's treats were their own.

The many faces/poses of Analee, the Blue Angel:

Sometimes being a baseman is boring.

Her reaction when she knocked over the tee and was instructed to run to first base.

Running home with her hands in her pockets. It was a cold day.

In her sassy stance on first.

Showing the runner where to go.

Dancing on/around her base as a baseman.

Dancing on her base as a runner.

Jumping up and down on her base (hence her hair flying).

Chatting up the baseman.

Being a silly fielder.

See above.

See above.

Happy to either (1) get home safely or (2) take her helmet off.

Her ready stance.

Highlights of Bekah's season: 

• Working with me and Grandpa Scott on her batting stance and swing. Bekah struck out several times early in the season (which is remarkable, seeing as how the umps are extremely lenient with their strikes), but by the end of the season, she was making it onto base every time.
• Getting two outs in a row during one game. When Bekah played short stop against the green team, she fielded two grounders in a row and beat the runner to third base for a forced out. She was ecstatic.
• Learning the rules of the game. When, at a practice, Bekah opted to throw a short grounder to first base instead of home plate when the bases were loaded, she didn't understand why that wasn't the best option. After I explained that runs home determined points rather than how many outs you make, she got the picture.

Rebekah in action:

Running home.

Running to first.

Congratulating the other team on a game well played.

Getting ready to field the ball.

Talking to Grandpa Scott, the first base coach.

Leaping onto home plate.

Trying to make an out.

She beat him to the base!

Chasing a grounder.

Batting.

To see more images (just when you thought there was no possible way there could BE any more pictures), click here.

Bekah is 7

Rebekah enjoyed a birthday celebration similar to Analee: dinner of her choice shared with guests (macaroni and cheese with Mack, Tav, Grandma and Grandpa Scott and our family) followed by present opening, cake and a piñata.

Analee, Tav, Mack, Rebekah and Miriam eating mac & cheese, watermelon and veggies at the kiddie table. 

Rebekah opening a charm bracelet-making set from her cousins. The looks on her face as she opened the presents were absolutely priceless.

The princess dress Grandma Scott made her.

Her array of presents on the ground.

Like I said, priceless.

The cake I made her. Perhaps you remember my last attempt at fondant. (Disastrous.) But I found an awesome fondant tutorial on Pinterest and decided it was worth a second shot. This fondant recipe/instructions: golden. We slapped a Tinkerbell figurine on the top and called it good.

Bekah blowing out her candles. Half of them were already out because of the breeze. I've GOT to remember to take the cake inside next year.

 

Bekah taking the first swings at her homemade Tinkerbell piñata. (Note to self: Sunglasses are NOT a good idea for piñata favors. They will all be broken by the time they hit the ground.)

To see more pictures, click here and scroll down to the bottom of the album.

Miriam's blossoming testimony

Some people may not realize the value of nursery. I'm not talking greenhouses or rooms full of freshly delivered newborns here. I mean the nursery at church (or, Miriam's way of saying it: "Nuh-hee!").

I've heard that some people are reluctant to accept a calling as a nursery leader. I've heard that some people think that nursery is no more than two hours of baby-sitting. But I know that those nursery leaders are teaching important gospel principles to our 18-month- to 3-year-olds.

Case in point: When Seth picked up Miriam after our block of meetings today, she was holding a blossom that had undoubtedly been picked from a bush outside the church. I wondered if she had snatched it while they were getting some fresh air. She did all the things you'd expect a 2-year-old to do with it: hold it up to my nose to sniff it, try to unlock the cupboard doors in the hall with it, twirl it around in her fingers.

She still had a hold on it when we piled into the truck to drive home. And that's when my appreciation for the nursery program deepened.

Without any parental prompting at all, Miriam shared this truth with us while holding up her little sprig: "Jesus Christ made flowers."

I'm so grateful for an inspired nursery program and to the leaders who carefully teach the gospel to our beautiful young children.

Fashionista

Heaven help us. My 2-year-old is already developing a sense of fashion and her own personal taste.

As I was putting away groceries, Miriam came to me in the kitchen and said, "Nakey baby, Mama," as she lifted up her shirt. "Shirt off." So I took of her shirt, wondering what she was getting at.
She seemed happy to be bare from the waist up, but before she could prance off, she turned around with a look of consternation and said, "Pants off, Mama." I took off her pants thinking that she just wanted to run free for a while.

No sooner had I shucked off her drawers, however, than she told me, "Pretty dress." She took my hand and led me to her closet upstairs. I selected one and asked, "How about this one?"

"No. Pink."

So I found one that fit her requirements and asked for her approval. She happily let me pull it over her head and turned around saying, "Pretty dress!"

With two big girls, a toddler girl and a baby girl on the way, I'm afraid this is portentous. How many changes of clothes and shopping trips will we be forced to endure until we're no longer financially responsible for them?

Bekahism #47

While Bekah and I were shopping, she kept climbing in and out of the grocery cart.

Andrea: Hey there, Missy. You be careful.
Bekah: "Missy?!" Missy is my name when I'm in trouble. What did I do?

Yellowstone

Last year, we visited our first national park with the Grover side of the family. This year (June 2), we thought we'd invite Grandma and Grandpa Scott to come along in our van and take advantage of our season pass before it expires.

Last year, I took pictures. This year, I was lazy. But never fear, because there is more than one photographer in the family. Behold, the images of Neal Scott!

 

This is the view out of the van as we left Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks' cabin in Island Park to drive to Yellowstone. Yes, we picked a weekend with a poor weather forecast. 

 We tried going earlier in the season this time because (1) my pass expires in July, and (2) we were hoping to see baby animals. These bison did not disappoint.

We also went several new places this time. Here's our family at Gibbon Falls. Miriam was excited to get out of the van to see the sights. She kept telling Grandma Scott to "Run!"

Stopping at the Artist Paint Pots was a bad idea (I'll admit it because it was MY idea). It poured on us almost the entire time. The majority of us turned around and got back to the van just as the rain let up. Only Analee, Seth and Grandpa Scott were courageous enough to walk the whole loop. Poor Miri's pants got soaked; I took them off her and laid them in front of the heater vents (going full-blast) so they'd dry before our next stop.

The group at a familiar Grover-Yellowstone stop: Norris Geyser Basin. (Take a look at my 22-week pregnancy pooch.) When we've gone in past years, Norris has been our last stop on the loop, and we've kind of given it the short end of the stick because we were so tired. This time we saw more sights and spent more time looking.

Seth giving Miri a shoulder ride at our picnic spot. It was lunchtime right after our Norris stop, so we asked a ranger if we could eat our lunch in the campground without having to pay to stay the night. He directed us to the appropriate spot.

See the two brown spots on the right? Those are the first two bears I've EVER seen in Yellowstone: a sow grizzly and her cub. We stopped the car and took a careful look through the binoculars.

Grandma Scott giving Analee a piggyback while Andrea and Bekah walk behind. Our last major stop was the Mammoth Terraces. Canary Spring turned out to be my favorite attraction on this trip. 

The girls spent their hard-earned money (most of it acquired by picking up pine cones in our yard) at the gift shop in Mammoth. I think that's the part of the trip they were anticipating the most. Bekah bought a bag of polished rocks and a charm bracelet with Yellowstone animals on it. Ana bought a bag of rocks and a geode.