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.

Bekahism #33

While at hunting camp ...

(Miriam starts to spit up, so I tip her head so her output lands on the ground and not on her/me.)

Bekah: Miri, when we're at hunting camp, the world is your burp cloth.

Hunting camp

We went a-huntin' and a-campin' this weekend. It was Miri's first time sleeping in a tent.

Grandma Susan holding Miriam at hunting camp in Island Park.

She fared pretty well, except when Seth woke the entire tentload of people to go hunting at 5 a.m. Gratefully, she fell asleep pretty quickly after I brought her into bed with me. I, on the other hand, didn't fall asleep at all after that because I was paranoid about squishing/smothering my five-month-old.

Seth got a shot at a cow Saturday morning, but the darn thing ran away. (Stupid elk ... why don't they just HOLD STILL and allow themselves to be shot?!) When he and the other hunters got back into camp, we had some lunch, some chat-time, and some s'mores.

Seth holding Miriam. When does one end and the other begin? That camouflage makes it hard to tell ...

Analee's s'more proved to be the messiest thing at hunting camp.

Bekah enjoyed her tasty treat.

Proof of Ana's sticky mess.

Miriam also had her first taste of solid food while at camp. Most (read: sane) people start with cereal. We cut straight to the good stuff.

Miriam sucking on Seth's toasted marshmallow.

She quite enjoyed it.

Seth stole Miri's treat.

Still more proof of Ana's mess.

Stay tuned for further hunting camp shenanigans in a few weeks. Archery season lasts all September, you know!