would you like otter with that?

As a hunter, I've made a point to make sure Bekah understands what meat is and where it comes from (which has lead to some interesting discussions we've discussed in the past).

Today we were eating lunch at Grandpa and Grandma Scott's house. They had ordered some racks of pork ribs which were set on the table in a large order-out tray. As we were eating, Rebekah looked thoughtfully at the long, skinny, brown racks of ribs.

She asked, "Are we having otter?"

Andrea and I both looked at her. "What?"

"Otter... is that otter? Are we eating otter?"



Actually, there is some resemblance. The funniest part is, Bekah didn't seem to have a problem with the idea of us eating otter. She'd already done quite a bit of work on her helping.

Bekahism #6

Daddy: Hey Bekah, want to play our Wall-E video game?
Bekah: Yeah, let's play it!
Mommy: Daddy, could you help me put away this laundry first?
Bekah: Mommy! You are a girl for folding clothes. Daddy is a boy for playing games.

Merry Christmas!

It's our 100th post! Celebrate good times, come on!

For those of you who somehow missed out on our Christmas card/newsletter, here's your very own, personalized digital copy. Click on it to see a larger version.

Christmas tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I usually stick with wrapping paper. And Seth always has to comment on how my wrapping jobs look prettier than his. It's all about the creases.

2. Real or artificial tree?
Real, fo' sho'. We (the Scott family) have the awesome tradition of going to Fall Creek the weekend after Thanksgiving and cutting down our own tree. Our girls have been real troopers as they've been dragged along the past few years.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Again, usually the weekend after Thanksgiving. If we've got it, we might as well dress it up!

4. When do you take the tree down?
It depends on how well we've watered it. Last year we had to take it down the day after Christmas because it was shedding worse than a dog.

5. Do you like eggnog?
It's in the fridge. Apparently our girls love it too. Bekah asks for "cold eggnog" almost every morning for breakfast, but we hold off until later in the day.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
A bouncy, mischievous black miniature schnauzer named Otto. Santa left a note in our tree one year, and we got to pick him up the next May after he was born.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My in-laws. I don't know why, because they're the nicest in-laws anyone has ever had, but I have a hard time figuring out what they would like/use/want.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Rebekah and Analee. Since they're only 3 1/2 years and 18 mos. old respectively, it's easy to please them.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
My mom has this thing about collecting nativities, so she has started me on the same kick. We have five nativities on our mantel.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail. It's just not the same with the e-.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
There's no such thing as a "worst Christmas gift." But the worst thing that ever happened to a Christmas gift was when Otto chewed up the seat and handlebars on my brand new mountain bike on Christmas day.

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
I can't narrow it down, so I've got two: Muppet's Christmas Carol and A Christmas Story. I have yet to watch either this winter because we've spent our Christmas-movie-viewing time watching Frosty the Snowman and Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas. Bekah prefers those.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
As soon as possible, but never soon enough. I'm a stressball when it comes to Christmas shopping.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Not that I can remember.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
For Christmas Eve dinner, it's ham. But other favorite Christmastime treats include eggnog pie, candy canes and all the yummy stuff the neighbors bring over.

16. Lights on the tree?
We stick with twinkly white lights.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Currently I'm loving Josh Groban's "Little Drummer Boy." Bagpipes rock!

18. Travel at Christmas, or stay home?
We travel the roads of Idaho Falls. With both sets of grandparents living nearby, we have to make stops at their houses.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
"Come Dasher, come Dancer, come Prancer and Vixen. On Comet, on Cupid, on Donder, on Blitzen. To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall. Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

20. Angel or star at the top of the tree?
I'm good with either, but our tree sports a gold star that lights up.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
In our family, we got to open one present from our parents on Christmas Eve and then the rest Christmas morning. I think we'll do that this year with our girls.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The crowds. I shouldn't have to wear football pads and helmet to make my way through Wal-Mart.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Our tree has gold and red balls and ribbon.

24. Favorite Christmas dinner?
I'm a big fan of food, so anything that's homemade.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Clothes. I'm tired of having only two pairs of pants I feel are suitable for public viewing.


Tag! You're it! That means you: Lindsay, Amy, Annie, Tara, and Ashley.

ward party

Tonight was the Colman 3rd Ward Christmas Party. Highlights included a delicious Turkey dinner with four different kinds of Jell-O, Rebekah, Andrea, and I performing "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" (see video below), and Rebekah sitting on Santa's lap to tell him what she wanted for Christmas.

We were a little concerned about that last one, because the Santa Claus at the ward party bore a striking resemblance to Grandpa Grover (my dad). Rebekah, however, didn't seem to notice at all. She dutifully sat on his lap and told him what she wants for Christmas (currently she's focused on a new pair of sunglasses, because she lost her old ones; she says she won't lose her new ones because "I'll keep them on my face all day long"). Afterwards, Santa handed her a little goody bag. She solemnly walked up to me and asked, "Daddy, what's this?" "It's a present from Santa Claus, Bekah." "Can we open it?" So we opened it and she looked over its contents: candy, nuts, and an orange. She looked up at me and said, concerned, "Daddy, this isn't what I want for Christmas!" I had to explain to her that this wasn't her actual Christmas present and that I was sure that if she was good Santa would bring her what she wants.

All in all it was great fun.

-sg

journey through the past

It's been a while since I did the whole music-on-YouTube thing. So today you get a twofer, a journey into my musical past.



I wrote "Goodbye" when I was just barely 16 years old. Click here for the "studio" version, which does have kind of an awesome backwards guitar solo in it.



I wrote "Finally" as part of Andrea's 17th birthday present. Click here for the "studio" version. By the way, just so you know what's going on: towards the end of my recording this this morning, Rebekah came into the room and began jumping on the bed, shaking the camera. I pretty much managed to keep it together, although I think I did miss a chord or two. You can hear her ask "Dad, is this a harmonica?" as I turn off the camera.

Enjoy.

-sg

Sunday

Bekah's choice of hat for a Sunday morning? A Santa hat AND her red visor. It did wonders for her bangs. Bekah's choice of activity for a Sunday morning? Picking her nose while listening to Daddy read a story.

Look at our spiritual giant of a daughter! Analee reading the Conference issue of the Ensign.

This is what happens when Ana throws a fit while I'm trying to get her in the car. She pulled the straight-as-a-board trick, so it was impossible to buckle her up. Don't worry ... we got her buckled before we started driving.

This, too, shall pass UPDATE

I am no longer minus a bracket; I went in last Wednesday for my new one. While I was there, the orthodontist decided to go ahead and tighten everything up. Braces are seeming more and more like a medieval torture device.

By Friday I hadn't seen the missing bracket come through Ana's system, but I wasn't sure if it warranted a trip to the doctor. After all, a bracket IS very small. It could have passed without me finding it. But after a call to my doctor brother for advice, we decided to play it safe.

Analee was wary of the nurse, x-ray technician and doctor, and she really didn't want to lie down on the table for the x-ray, but she did amazingly well. The technician was super, too. He told me to lay Ana down, then he strapped a big vest around me so I could stay with Ana and hold her hands, and he had Bekah stand in the booth with him. He even let Bekah push the button ("The big green button, Mommy!").

The only metal that showed up on the x-ray was on Ana's onesie. So she is totally bracket-free.

I feel better that my bracket didn't somehow get lodged in Analee's spleen, but, as with anything medically related, that peace of mind will come at a price.

Anyone want to pay the bill when it shows up in our mailbox?

Bekahism #5

(While visiting Great-Grandma Wirkus today)

Grandpa: Can you count to 10?

Bekah: I can count to 100. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, eleven, sixteen, nineteen, one hundred!

Grandpa: Wow! Good job!

Bekah: Grandpa, you can't count to 100 because you're old.

This, too, shall pass

Yesterday I was munching on a brownie when I bit down on something hard. My first thought: "Oh no! What did I drop in the batter? Egg shells?" So I spat the culprit out, but thankfully it wasn't anything that was baked in the brownies. (I fed some to my in-laws earlier this week; I would have been totally embarrassed if they had found something inedible in their brownies.) Turns out it was a bracket.

This isn't a picture of my mouth, but you get the idea.

The joys of braces are endless. This is the second bracket I've had fall off.

I put the bracket on the computer desk thinking I would put it in the medicine cabinet upstairs as soon as I had finished my project on the computer, but before I knew what was happening, Analee had picked it up and popped it in her mouth.

What kind of kid pops a bracket in her mouth?! She had no idea what it was! It makes me wonder what other types of non-food items she has tasted.

Immediately I told her, "Ana! Spit it out!" Usually she's really good about following such an order, but I could tell as soon as she opened her mouth that no amount of searching would turn up the bracket. It was gone.

Still, I got the flashlight, laid Ana on the ground and made her say, "Ah!" All to no avail.

The last time I lost a bracket, I took it back in to the orthodontist where they reattached it. To get my bracket back this time, I'll have to wait a couple of days and fish it out of a diaper. Too much information? Ah ... come on. You saw that comin'.

There's no way I'd want that back in my mouth anyway. So today I'm going to the orthodontist to get a new bracket on my teeth. Hopefully this one stays where it belongs.