And while I'm at it ...

Here are a few outtakes from our Christmas card shoot:

Seth and I have super powers. I can make my eyelashes disappear by blinking hard.

Seth can touch his chin with his tongue.

Christmas project #2

So while I was busy with the Barbie house (see previous post), I was surprised when this showed up near my work space:


Back story: A while ago, Seth's mom gave us the pieces of a cradle that her father had made for her as a little girl. She thought maybe my dad could fix it up for our girls. I had nearly forgotten about it until it showed up unexpectedly. Apparently my dad had found the time (or made the time) to finish it.

Since it was so close to Christmas, I thought it would be perfect to finish it up for the girls as a present from Great-Grandpa Hendricks, Grandma Susan, Grandpa Scott, Seth and me.

You can distinguish the original pieces from the new ones in this shot.

Close-up of the headboard.

Lately I've become a craft-blog junkie. I've read all about refinishing furniture on this blog, and I really wanted to try her glazing technique on something. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity. I'm rather pleased with the results.

The family heirloom doll cradle, all fixed up and purdified. I made the quilt out of scraps of fabric given to me by Grandma Hendricks.

I stole another idea (scroll down to see the addition of the decorative wooden scroll) from the aforementioned blog and bought an extra piece to add to the headboard to give it more detail.


Now that I know how to glaze and have a nearly full quart of the stuff, I think other pieces of our furniture might be undergoing some changes ...

Christmas project #1

Months ago (like, pre-Halloween) when Bekah was writing her first of many letters to Santa, she put "Barbie house" at the very top of her list. I knew that a store-bought house would cost anywhere from $50-$250, and I figured I could do better than that. So I Googled "Barbie house tutorial" and found this little beauty. I think I searched for a month before I found a five-drawer chest of drawers at a garage sale and snatched it up for $15.

After hours of hammering, priming, painting, wallpapering, upholstering, caulking and carpeting, it finally came together. (Good thing Bekah's kindergarten and Ana's preschool times overlapped so I could work without the prying eyes of little ones.) I wish I had "before" pictures, but alas ... I don't. So imagine a brown, stinky chest of drawers and then feast your eyes on this:

I can't claim all the glory; my dad helped, too. He built the peaked roof for the top.

Yeah, it doesn't have all the little extras that come with a licensed Barbie house (elevator, jacuzzi, flat-screen TV), but it will hold up a lot longer than a glorified hunk of plastic.

What's that you say? You want to see some close-ups? Happy to oblige.

The bedroom. Notice the jellyfish chandelier. I don't care how aquatic it looks; there was no way I would redo it. You don't realize how many hours it takes to thread beads onto floral wire and cut and shape them until you try it. The bed is made out a shoebox lid, four empty ribbon spools, part of a Kleenx box, scrapbook paper, an old sheet and some luxurious costume satin. I found the little dresser at a craft store and painted/Mod Podged it. The mirror came out of an old compact of mine.

The living/dining room. The table is a pre-cut wooden rectangle with an empty curling ribbon spool glued to the bottom of it. The couch and chairs are foam I already had with more luxurious costume satin. The tea set I found for $2 at Fred Meyer.

Pretty sweet, if you ask me. Especially since I found the wallpaper at D.I. ($2) and the carpet samples on clearance ($1/each).

Seth kept saying that one of Santa's elves must have worked really hard to make such a neat Barbie house. I'll tell you this: one of Santa's elves smiled extra-big as our girls saw the house Christmas morning and squealed with glee.

Christmas spirit

The other day, I let the girls watch some TV while I got ready in the morning. They were spellbound, as always.

Just ignore Ana's finger placement. We're going to assume that her finger is NEXT to her nose.

Some of the shows they like to watch are annoying at best, insanity-inducing at worst. But I wholeheartedly approved of their choice that morning.

It just isn't Christmas without watching the Grinch.

From the other member of the Grover family

This one has visions of sugarplums stuffed in his head.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Elf Yourself 2010

(apologies for the low-quality rip/encoding...)

The Book of Grover

The hard copies are in the mail (minus just a couple, but I'm getting more stamps today!) so here's the grand virtual unveiling of our annual Christmas card and newsletter. Enjoy!

Little elf

It would be cool if her ear did that naturally. Alas, it was just her hat pushing it out.

Miriam the elf hopes you're being good this Christmas season, because she's watching!

Bekahism #37

After I helped the girls trace and cut out hand turkeys, I left them to their own devices. Upon completing her turkey, Bekah asked me to come up and take a look at it. This is what I saw:


Bekah: It just didn't seem right without a hunter next to the turkey. (Check the blue illustration to the right of the turkey.)

I bet Seth's buttons pop right off his shirt when he reads this one.

#2 is growing up

Bekah LOVED the preschool put on by the high school students last year. So when I found out that 3-year-olds are allowed to attend, I made sure that Analee would have a spot in this year's class.

Although Ana had informed me that she might be a little bit nervous on the first day, she didn't cling to my leg or even seem the least bit concerned when I dropped her off.

Ana's outfit she picked for the first day. I can't remember what the kid was eating at the time, but she obviously has her cheeks stuffed full.

I had asked Ana if she wanted me to take her picture on the front porch like I had done for Bekah on the first day of kindergarten, but she wanted her first-day photo shoot on the mound in the front yard. And she had to show the camera her beautiful new jeans with the fairy on the leg.

Ana again showing off the jeans while the high school students and Mrs. Child come to pick up the preschoolers.

Instead of dropping her off with the kids, I took Ana in on the first day so I could fill out the paperwork and write the check. Miriam was very well-behaved in her car seat.

I'll admit ... it's pretty awesome having just the wee-est one at home for a few hours every other day. And it makes the ... ahem ... Christmas project I'm working on easier to work on without little prying eyes. I'll just have to make sure that Miri doesn't give the secret away.

Bekahisms #35 and 36

Yesterday at church, the girls sang a special musical number in Relief Society. After they sang, I returned the Rebekah to Primary and Analee to nursery. Unbeknownst to me, Bekah shut her finger in the door of the Primary room as she returned to sharing time. After her bloodied finger got all patched up, a little Sunbeam got a bloody nose for no reason.

Bekah: If Primary lasts much longer, everybody in here is going to be DEAD!

Then after church, many of the women who had been in Relief Society and heard them sing complimented the girls on their number.

Bekah: Why are all the Relief Society women going, "Blah, blah, blah," about our stuff?

All Hallow's Eve

Happy (late) Halloween from the Grovers!

I swear, Halloween just gets more and more fun as we have more kids and they get bigger. This year's festivities included the annual pumpkin carving:

As far as carving skills go, this is a level one. But the underlying awesomeness makes up for it. Seth did the traditional jack-o-lantern; I did the skull.

Halloween costume back story: For months, the girls had said they would dress up as Gandolf and Bilbo for Halloween. My nerd heart soared as I heard this, but my practical mind sunk as I tried to figure out how to transform my pretty little three-year-old into a 100+-year-old hobbit and my five-year-old into a wizened sorcerer.

Eventually, however, the girls decided to be fairy princesses. And Bekah even said, "We can just wear the same dresses we wore last year to be princesses." Hallelujah. I can manage flower wreaths for their hair and wings. Just don't ask me to how to make hairy prosthetic feet and a three-foot beard.

To include Miriam in our pretty, pretty theme, we dressed her up as a flower.

Analee, the pretty golden fairy princess.

Rebekah, the pretty pink fairy princess.

Analee and Rebekah giving Sophie some love. Sophie is Aunt Jessica's dog that we are dog-sitting for a few days. The dog is dressed up as a human, I guess.

So on Saturday, we got all dressed up to visit the grandparents, have a barbecue at Old Grandma Grover's house, participate in the local trunk-or-treat and ring a few doorbells in the neighborhood.

The day was definitely a success, as evidenced by a quote from a weary Analee trudging down the street: "Mom, my bag is too heavy."

(To be said in a Montgomery Burns voice:) Excellent. All the more candy for me.

For you, Holly

No, I didn't take pictures of the me-gagging/Ana-parading episode last night. I was too busy trying to laugh it off and keep my previous meals contained.

But I DID take pictures of her doing the same thing today!

See how she's entirely unconcerned?

And because she asked me to, I also took a picture of Ana's abstract art.

Seriously. She asked me to take this picture of the head. And the elephant rattle. Holding a carrot. She set the whole thing up.

And then Bekah requested that I take pictures of her modeling her new snow boots.

Nice and shiny.

It's official ... I'm a wuss

So I thought I had a pretty good handle on the whole hunting/dead animals thing (although you wouldn't guess it from a previous post). My husband's a hunter. I get it. He comes from a fairly long line of hunters. They shoot things. Then they hang them up. Then they skin them. Then they cut them up. Then I cook them up. Then we eat them up.

I've never been squeamish when it comes to handling raw meat. I've cubed chicken, sliced ham, flaked crab and pounded pork.

But after tonight's experience, I know I still have a long way to go before I can claim that I'm no pansy.

See, tonight Seth decided to skin and cut up the deer he shot last weekend. And after he got most of the skin off the animal, he needed someone to hold onto the deer's hind legs while he yanked the hide off. He asked me to do it.

I warily approached the deer carcass, trying not to think about it. He asked if I thought I could handle it.

"Sure," I replied. I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. But as soon as I touched the thing's furry leg, I shuddered and dropped it like it was hot. Seth tried to reassure me that it was okay and I needn't make myself sick, but I told him I could do it with gloves on so I didn't have to feel the thing.

As I retreated to the garage to find my work gloves, Ana followed me in. And she was carrying something. By the antlers.

"You can touch its head, Mama," she said.

Yes, my dear, sweet little three-year-old girl was bravely parading around with dead animal's head that had been hewed off its body only minutes before. And she wasn't wearing any gloves.

It's apparent that I've got a way to go before I'm a true she-woman (like my wee daughter). That's why I'm inside a-typing on the blog while Seth's in the garage slicing and dicing.

Baby carrot

Teehee.

P.S. Would you look at the size of that thing? (The carrot, not the baby.) I'd like to say that it came from our garden, but alas, we had a puny harvest again this year. This veggie behemoth came from the garden of Ted and Lu Berrett, our incredible neighbors.

P.P.S. Isn't Miri's fluff head amazing?

Unexpected

Yesterday morning as I was packing the church bag, I experienced a little pre-Halloween fright. I glanced up from the bag and its contents on the couch to the mirror hanging on the wall and saw this:


But here's the deal: I helped (read: "watched") Seth, his uncle Doug and his dad hang it from the tree the night before. So you think I wouldn't have jumped when I saw it through the back door via the mirror. Guess I'm just a scaredy cat.

Bekahism #34

Bekah: Girls should be fairies. Daddies should be stormtroopers.

Rude

The other day, Seth and I had the pleasure of eating at the Thai House in downtown I.F. 'Twas a delight. The dessert, on the other hand, was less delightful.

In Seth's fortune cookie, he received a typical (confusing and irrelevant) fortune:


I had the misfortune (ha!) of receiving this:


Was the waitress trying to crack a joke about my post-pregnancy pounds?

Magic trick

Now you see them:

Now you don't:

Strange visitor

I was sure it was a skunk.

Bekah had come running inside to report that a strange animal was in our front yard. "I've never seen it before!" she exclaimed. She reported that it was black and white with yellow eyes.

I don't know if it's just the season for skunks or what, but I've seen many squashed specimens on the roadside as of late. And the other day when I was walking Bekah to the bus stop, I smelled the very distinct aroma of the Mephitis mephitis.

We live in a rural area. Our yard borders two fields. We once had a skunk die in our yard (another story for another time). It wouldn't be unheard of to have one of those stinkers slinking about.

So I told the girls to stay inside while I checked out our visitor. I cautiously approached the front corner of our yard. If it was, in fact, a skunk, the last thing I wanted to do was startle it.

Instead of the beady eyes and white stripe I expected to encounter, I saw a fuzzy little black kitten with white spots and, yes, yellow eyes.

As much as I dislike cats, I must say I was relieved. And I didn't feel the least bit worried as I sent the girls out to chase it away.

Hunting camp again

I told ya we'd have more!

On this trip to hunting camp, the girls got to play with Cousin Cooper, who celebrated his first birthday. Here is photographic evidence of our latest excursion to search for elk (which proved elusive once more):

Analee "reading" Cooper a book. He seemed to enjoy it.

Cooper scampering around and sampling the playpen. Yummy!

Bekah enjoying the party favors Aunt Rachel prepared.

The ghastly head wound inflicted by the gnasty gnats. Poor Miri!

Cooper's first taste of puppy dog cupcake.

The "hedgehog" Bekah created on the lid of our Rubbermaid bin. She was very proud of it.

To see more, click here.

Ana-ism #10

Ana's prayer before lunch.

Analee: (Arms folded) Heavenly Father, we thank thee for the day. And that I love EVERYTHING (swings her arms out wide) and EVERYBODY (swings her arms out wide again) and EVERY beautiful thing (swings her arms out wide again) and EVERY thing chocolatey in the WHOLE WORLD (swings her arms out wide yet again). In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Yet another new 'do

I'm so flippant when it comes to my hair. I grow it out, then chop it off, then try something else. This time, I decided to chop off the front. Since then, this song (by the ever-awesome TMBG) has been playing in a continuous loop in my head:

Bangs
Above your eyes your hair hangs
Blow my mind, your royal flyness
I dig your bangs

Bangs
To drape across your forehead
To swing concordant angles
As you incline your head

And although I liked you anyway, check out your haircut
A proscenium to stage a face that needs no makeup

Bangs (bangs)
Are that on which the world hangs (bangs)
I'm only holding your hand (bangs)
So I can look at your
Bangs

The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round ...

Several people have asked how I'm doing with Bekah starting kindergarten. I must admit, I feel almost guilty as I smile wide and proclaim, "Great!" There were no tears shed as I dropped her off the first day. No butterflies in my stomach as I showed her to her classroom. No fingernails nervously bitten as I waited until the afternoon bell. That's because for the first week, the parents were responsible for getting their kindergarteners to and from school.

All my kindergarten-related anxiety came in vehicular form this week as Bekah started riding the bus.

See, I didn't ride a bus (excepting the occasional field trip) until 6th grade. In Cloverdale, everybody walked to school. So the thought of my precious five-year-old boarding a behemoth with dozens of crazy kids scared the living daylights out of me.

Okay, so this isn't Bekah OR a bus. But Analee was doing cute ballerina poses as we waited for the arrival of the bus on Tuesday. I couldn't resist taking/posting this shot.

There she goes! Will she survive?

Whew! Everything went well, and she even made it home. But she didn't want to walk with me on the way back; she had to accompany Taylor, our next-door neighbor who's in fifth grade.

I'd like to say that we've had no bus-related mishaps thus far, but Bekah nearly missed the bus this morning. I guess we can't blame that one on her since she can't read clocks yet ...

Fair-ly fun

We HAD to go to the Eastern Idaho State Fair again this year, (1) so we could see how my pictures did, (2) to let the girls play and see the animals, and (3) so we could eat a Tiger Ear. I'm happy to report that we succeeded on all accounts.

Bekah and Ana playing in the sand pit. Last year, there was a huge booth with all sorts of agricultural toys: a fake cow to milk, hay to rake and tractors to ride. That was absent this year, so it's a darn good thing this kids' booth was there to make up for it.

Analee playing in the sand. I know, I know ... her hair attire is ridiculous. I tried to steer her clear of the humongous flowers, but she was not to be deterred. She reminds me of this guy.

Bekah peddling the magic bubble bike while Seth and Ana watch.

Ana's turn on the bubble bike.

The girls squeezed every last quarter out of Seth's wallet. First it was feeding the goats in the petting zoo (which was very short-lived because the goats nudged the cups of feed out of the girls' hands and spilled their contents on the ground 30 seconds after they had procured them), then it was the mechanical horsey ride.

Ana is so skilled that she can ride with only one hand.

Seth, Analee and Rebekah have a baa-ing contest with the sheep in the livestock building.