30 and spoiled

So what's it like being 30? It feels about the same as being 29 years and 364 days old.

That's what I told Seth when he asked me Saturday. As if he needs to ask somebody; he's been 30 for 3.5 months (and I never let him forget that he's older than I).

Even though I don't think the world needs to revolve around me on my day of birth, my family sure helped me feel like it did.

My day started out with a luxurious extra half an hour of sleep, courtesy of Seth locking our bedroom door when he got up to run interference with the girls. He asked me what I wanted for breakfast (I deferred to the girls, who wanted eggs). We worked together to do the Saturday housework (chores wait for no man ... or woman turning 30). Then we went to my brother's place of employment to do my birthday shopping.

Seth had spilled the beans a few days before to let me know that he would be buying me a bike for my birthday. Now, most of the bikes I've had in my life have been hand-me-downs: the monster blue trike, the blue banana-seat I dubbed "Blue Velvet," the purple and green mountain bike my dad bought at a police auction. The one exception was the mountain bike I received for Christmas when I was 12. It was my first bike with multiple speeds, it was shiny blue, it was brand new, and it was mine. Unfortunately, the kick stand didn't support the bike in the snow, and the day after Christmas I found that the seat and grips had been chewed off/up by our miniature schnauzer.

I've loved all my bikes, but I was giddy with excitement as we drove to Bill's Bike Shop so I could look at/test drive bikes.

Honestly, I don't know a thing about bikes. Tyson and Seth patiently explained some bike tips to me. I got to heft my 38-week-pregnant-self up onto at least five bikes to peddle them around 8th Street all while having monster contractions. In the end, I chose the first one I had ridden: a lavender comfort bike with a step-through frame.

My parents gave Tyson some money so I could accessorize my bike. I rolled it out of the shop with a shiny new kick stand, a water bottle holder and a basket on the front. (It's stinkin' adorable!)

We took my bike out on an inaugural family bike ride yesterday evening. Seth was a little worried because he had taken me on quite a long bike ride (our apartment in Iona to Bonneville High School) when I was super-prego with Bekah, and it was torturous. The already-too-small-for-me frame on my old bike compounded the whole huge-belly thing, and I had to peddle with my knees sticking way out. My back hurt. I felt scrunched.

But with this new bike, I got to sit upright. My legs straightened out as I peddled. I wasn't hunched or scrunched. Our five-mile loop was a breeze. And the fanny pack Bekah had brought and then decided not to wear sat nicely in the silver basket.

In addition to my beautiful new ride, Seth took the girls out to pick out a few cute little gifts for me: two different shades of purple nail polish, an inexpensive watch to wear while we get my super nice one repaired (note to self: never leave your expensive watch on the bathroom counter, or your 5-year-old will snatch it and suck on the face while watching TV), and some headbands from the dollar store that Ana was sure I'd love. The big girls also gave me homemade cards with lots of hearts and smooches on them.

My cute little family sang "Happy Birthday" to me and helped blow out the candles on the caramel apple cheesecake Ana helped me make. (Miriam didn't wait until the count of three and had most of the candles out before the rest of us puffed.) My sister watched the girls while Seth and I went on a date. Seth treated me to a movie (The Bourne Legacy) and dinner (Carino's). The only one who didn't want to celebrate my birthday with me was Gwendolen, who has decided to wait until closer to my actual due date before being born.

I feel extremely blessed to have had such a wonderful 30 years already. I can only hope that the next 30 bring as much happiness and joy.

Another notebook scan

The other day, I was cleaning off the top of the deep freeze in the garage. I came across this notebook and almost threw it away. I have no idea how long it's been there, but judging by the difference in Rebekah's handwriting, it's been several months at least.

I thumbed through the pages, looking for any blank space that would deem the notebook worthy of keeping. Although it's pretty full, I couldn't bear to toss it out after I saw this page:

He loves you too, Bekah.

Rebekah's short story

For the past couple of weeks, Rebekah has been working on writing a short story in a notebook she bought from Barnes and Noble. Here's the finished result:

 

The illustration that precedes the story. Tim is a runty pig who gets left behind by his mother. The pigs are walking through the mud. Tim has to use a snorkel to breathe because the mud goes over his head.

Page 1 (text transcribed below)

 

Once upon a time, there was a family of pigs. The mother pig thought about one of her 4 babys. It's to small. she thought. So she was going to get rid of it. She told 3 of her babys her plan. That evning she named the small baby tim. That moring she took her babys for a walk in the wood. She gave the others a signal! they galliped away. Time was left alone in the woods! awoooo! sudenly he heard a wolf's howl! he was not alone! Wolfs were cosing in on him! there was a Bang! Tim was scard! then the wolfs ran away. a farmer apeared and picked Tim up. and the farmer's name was Mr. Zukermen Mr. Zukermen brought Tim to his farm. There were lots of aimals there. The Goose told Tim all about the farm.

Page 2

 

Tim grew and grew Time made lots of new freinds. The dog, the sheep, and even The barn yard cat. (wich relly didn't have eny freinds.) life was good. One day tim herd a buzzing nouse! It was a helicopter! A rope lowered down it had a bukek on the end. It skooped up tim!!! yikes! The he carid Tim to his old farm The animals welcomed Tim back. Tim cried "Mother! Moter! It's me tim!" Wen she saw he had grown she desided to keep tim. Tim had a family! The end

Ana-ism #21

While at the bank today, Analee was examining the large clock on the wall.

Ana: Mom, where is the hand that moves fast?
Andrea: There is no second hand on that clock.
Ana: (Thinks it over.) Oh. Only a first and third?

Miri-ism #6

Andrea and I were reading our scriptures together after putting the girls in bed. When we read together out loud, I read in Spanish and Andrea reads in English. As we were finishing the chapter, Miriam came down to tell us she needed a diaper change. We just had a few verses to finish up, so she waited and listened while we finished.

Seth: Y miré cuando él abrió el sexto sello, y he aquí hubo un gran terremoto; y el sol se puso negro como tela de cilicio, y la luna se volvió toda como sangre.
Miriam: Like Skippyjon Jones!

Miri-ism #5

Last night, Miriam graduated from her crib to her new big-girl bed (the bottom bunk in the room she now shares with Analee). As expected, she experienced a few set-backs.

Seth: Miriam, should you get out of bed?
Miri: Yep.
Seth: No, Miriam, we should stay in bed. Miriam, should you get out of bed?
Miri: Yep.
Seth. No, Miriam, we should stay in bed. Miriam, should you get out of bed?
Miri: (whispers) Yep.

Hunting camp

The Grovers have a long tradition of hauling half of what we own up to the wilderness of Island Park for several days of smoky fires, golden marshmallows, pretend four-wheeler rides, real four-wheeler rides, treasure hunting and an occasional sighting of a wild beastie. Our usual schedule and accommodations had to be adjusted this year for the benefit of some old, fat lady (that would be me ... the almost-30-year-old pregnant woman).

I slept at Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks' cabin for three nights with the kids and drove back and forth to camp so the girls could play with cousins, eat too much junk food and get filthy and so I could sit in a chair and watch it all happen. It was extremely relaxing and satisfying.

Behold the images!

Rebekah and Analee on the aforementioned pretend four-wheeler rides. Those kids played on those four-wheelers for about half the time we spent at camp. And they conserved fossil fuels by not even turning the key (which had been taken out of the four-wheelers to prevent any tampering).

Miriam got in on the fun too.

Perhaps you can't see it ('cause the camouflage), but Grandpa Dennis is actually holding a small child. Emma made her debut at hunting camp this year, as did her camo duds.

Seth playing guitar at camp. Between the morning and evening hunts, there's a lot of down time, which allows for such fun activities as music-making and ...

... game playing. Grandpa Dennis' friend Bill (sometimes referred to as "Uncle Bill" by our girls) and Rebekah watch Uncle Kent and Uncle Jason play Magic.

Analee giving her cousin some attention. Emma was a huge hit with our girls. I think Bekah, Ana and Miri are ready for a baby sister. They loved the opportunity to give their cousin loves.

Miriam "helping" Aunt Melissa feed Emma.

There was Grandma Susan quietly reading books to Analee, Calvin, Lily and Rebekah when all of a sudden a tickle monster showed up and wreaked havoc on the whole calm situation.

Miriam gets the whole camera thing. That girl knows how to say "Cheese!" and ham it up whenever a lens is in sight.

On a family four-wheeler trip to the quarry, the girls did some exploring,

some pretending (she's a puppy dog),

and some discovering. (There's a cool-looking caterpillar among the rocks there somewhere, if you look hard enough.)

To see more, click here and scroll down.

Bekah's new room

More than a year ago, we knew that our basement bedroom (formerly known as Andrea's sewing/computer/dumpingstuff room) would need a makeover. The previous owner's teenage son occupied the room, and he apparently liked wood and fishing lures, as evidenced by the decor.

As we started this laborious and long-awaited remodel, we discovered several things:

• The little electric baseboard heater that was in the room wasn't adequate. We never knew when it was on or off, and it took forever to heat the room. We replaced it with a wall-mounted thermostat and a heater with a fan to push the heat into the room.
• None of the room had been textured or primed. The wallpaper and wood had been installed directly on top of the Sheetrock. I was worried that we'd have to replace all the Sheetrock in the room, but an employee at Lowe's told us what to do: prime the wallpaper, spray texture on top of it, prime it again and paint. It worked like a charm. 
• There were about a dozen little pieces of Sheetrock put together like a puzzle below the ledge on the west side (the side with the window). They must have been trying to use up all their odds and ends. We (Seth) ripped it down and (Dad) replaced it with one solid sheet.
• Almost nothing in the room is level or square. With some planing of trim, caulking of corners and some extra finishing touches, we were able to get by with what we were given.
• The wood they used as wainscoting, chair rail, molding and baseboard was there to hide all the finishing work they didn't do. Seams weren't taped or mudded. The wallpaper wasn't cut square.
• The light fixture wasn't pretty. The wood wasn't pretty. The wallpaper wasn't pretty. The extremely heavy doors (for the closet and the room) weren't pretty. This room was not decorated with a 7-year-old girl in mind.

Bekah's room isn't completely finished: I've still got to finish (read: "start") her new bedspread, and we've got some adjusting to do on the bedroom door (turns out the doorway's not square either). But she spent her first night in the room last night, and came upstairs smiling this morning, so I'll take that as a good sign.

Here's the before and after:

All the wallpaper and wood in its glory.

Post-remodel. Bekah picked out the colors herself.

I can't post this without acknowledging all the help we got from my dad. He spent countless hours cutting and installing Sheetrock, taping and mudding the seams, spraying texture, installing the heater, moving outlets and doing everything that Seth and I weren't able to do by ourselves. He also lent me tools and materials to do what work I could manage on my own. (Nothing makes you feel like a she-woman like cutting baseboard with a fancy saw and fixing it to the wall with a nail gun when you're in your third trimester.)

I'll admit it--I heaved a huge sigh of relief as we cleared out the paint cans and moved the last of her shoes into the room. With a baby on the way, this game of musical bedrooms is a must so we can have a nursery and crib available.

Brigham City Temple open house

I love taking my girls to temple open houses. They love seeing the lights, furniture, paintings, etc. I love the peace that comes with going. So we try to go to as many as we can.

Rebekah oustide the Rexburg Temple following our open house tour in January 2008. Analee was still very young, so we left her with a sitter when we went.

Grandma Scott, Rebekah, Andrea and Analee outside the Oquirrh Mountain Temple following our open house tour in July 2009. We had gone to Utah for a vacation/post-op check-up (hence Andrea's puffy cheeks).

I heard that the Boise Temple would have an open house preceding its rededication and thought, "Hey! We should go to that one!" But then I realized that, having had a baby just a few weeks prior, I probably wouldn't be in a traveling state. So when I heard about the Brigham City Temple Open House this month, I decided to go no matter what.

Seth couldn't take time off to come with us (something to do with taking off so much time for a bunch of reunions or something). (Wink, wink.) But my parents were eager to come. So we drove on down to Utah on August 22 to stay at a hotel for the night and go to our reserved 7:30 a.m. tour the next day.

Bekah made sure to pick out her white dress for the temple. Analee had to have her fingers and toenails painted so she could be extra-pretty for the temple. Miriam had to drag her extremely colorful teddy bear and blankie all through the temple. (The inside of the temple will never see such loud colors again.) Afterward, we took some pictures on the grounds.

Miriam with her blankie and teddy bear named Rainbow on the outside windowsill of the Brigham City Temple.

Rebekah, Miriam and Analee together outside the temple.

The requisite "silly picture" after all the nice, smiley ones.

Picture of all of us (Analee, Andrea, Rebekah, Grandma Scott, Miriam, Grandpa Scott) taken by the nice lady.

We'll have to see which other open houses we can make it to (my current hopeful list includes these possibilities: Meridian, Idaho; Ogden, Utah; Payson, Utah; Provo, Utah; Star Valley, Wyoming).

A weekend of reunions

The week following the Grow reunion (August 2-4), we had a slew of reunions for the other side of the family. It started out with a rafting trip for the Scotts.

The first time we've all been together since Tyson and McKall were married four years ago. In case you figured much hasn't changed since then, here's a comparison:

We've added 3.75 grandchildren to the family since then.

The trip turned out to be a little more perilous than I had imagined; we got our raft stuck on several rocks, and one time we T-boned a fallen tree in the middle of the river. It took three crafts to get us down the river. The other raft's occupants spotted moose. Our raft's occupants saw a snake. Good times were had by all.

The next day (August 3), the Wirkus clan gathered at a local park to catch up and celebrate Grandpa Wirkus' 90th birthday (his birthday isn't actually until October, but we figured it would be easiest to get everybody out during the summer break).

All the kids/grandkids/great-grandkids who could attend. We had an excellent turnout, but missed those who weren't able to come.

The day of eating, playing, jumping in the bounce house and having our own Olympics was marred by only two things:

The sprinklers, which were supposed to be turned off throughout the park for the whole day, suddenly came on and doused a fair number of Wirkuses who had set up camp with their canopies and lunches on the lawn. This picture is hilarious to me for many reasons: you've got running people, you've got water being sprayed everywhere, and you've got a photographer who decided to capture the moment rather than help the poor soggy sandwiches. (Shout out to my father, the man behind the camera. :-))

While we were eating, a gust of wind blew through our reunion, which quickly became more than just your ordinary gust. A mini-tornado of sorts picked up several paper plates, cups, streamers and a camp chair bag and lifted them hundreds of feet into the air. Most of those items you see in the picture never came down. My guess is that they blew miles away before reentry. One poor canopy was broken. The "Wirkus Olympics" sign my aunt made got ripped off its stakes and taken away. Analee's giant orange ball she won in the Ucon Easter egg hunt blew into a distant neighbor's yard.

I kept expecting gremlins to pop out of the ground next and start eating the young ones. Gratefully, the rest of the day turned out to be quite un-freaky.

My mom, siblings, cousin, nephews, and cousins' children visiting at the reunion.

As my aunt was handing out name tags for the great-grandchildren to wear, I joked that I should get one for Gwendolen. Susan dared me to do it. I couldn't back down.

The day after that (August 4), we drove to Tetonia for the Egbert reunion. I love the Egbert reunion because we get to visit with family and see beautiful country, but the best part of all is the food. We get to have the BEST Dutch oven chicken, ham and potatoes in the world at this reunion. That alone is worth the trip.

Andrea blowing bubbles to entertain Miriam and distant cousins.

Seth singing/playing "Dead Man's Will" and "Falling Slowly" at the reunion. They put out a request for people to participate in a talent show, so Seth brought his amp, guitar and mic.

It was quite the gamut of reunions for us. Seth probably spent most of the time thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?!" Maybe he'll forget before next year's reunions roll around.

Grow reunion

The day following our trip to Lagoon, we got to take part in a family reunion of epic proportions. More than 2,000 distant cousins gathered to Temple Square to learn about our common ancestor, Henry Grow. He's my great, great, great, great-grandfather on my dad's side.

Friday (July 27) night, we had dinner in the Conference Center. The original venue was the 26th floor of the Church Office Building, but once the RSVPs started rolling in, the organizers realized that we wouldn't all fit there. So we sat in the foyer of the Conference Center and ate our chicken enchiladas. Aunt Susan was kind enough to baby-sit/feed/put to bed our wee ones so we didn't keep them up past their bedtime.

Following the dinner, we had a family meeting in the Tabernacle. Henry Grow, a bridge builder by trade, designed and helped build the domed roof on the Tabernacle, hence the reunion being held at Temple Square. There we had a kind of introduction and welcome to the reunion.

Jessica, McKall, Tyson, Andrea and Seth waiting for the family meeting in the Tabernacle Friday night. Everyone had name tags--the colored dot represents the wife through which we descend.

How were we able to have a huge reunion on Temple Square, you might ask? When you're related to C. Scott Grow (of the First Quorum of the Seventy) and Marlin K. Jensen (Church Historian), these things happen.

Saturday morning, Seth stayed with the girls to help them get dressed, eat breakfast, etc. at Aunt Susan's while I got up early and went back into downtown Salt Lake to attend some morning discussions. We learned about the 2005-2007 renovation of the Tabernacle and more about the life of Henry Grow and his wives. Then I met up with Seth and the girls so our family could go on a special tour of the Tabernacle. 

Seth points out some of the Tabernacle organ pipes to Analee, Rebekah, Seth and Miriam at the start of our tour.

They had trapdoors open along the top of the balcony so we could see the roof's trusses. A mirror helped us see the arched trusses. 

Then we looked at the displays to learn more about the Grow family. 

Every descendent present at the reunion was asked to place a blue dot on the child through which they descend. Mine is one of many next to Josephine Streeper Grow.

We also spent a little time enjoying the grounds and getting lunch at the new City Creek Mall before loading back up to go home. 

Rebekah walking along the reflection pond next to the temple.

Analee and Miriam at the pond.

Rebekah, Analee and Miriam check out the live fish in the mall's creek.

I wish I could claim some of the genius that Henry Grow had, but my experience in architecture is limited to cutting and installing baseboard. In case you weren't impressed enough by my heritage, here's a quote from Frank Lloyd Wright about the Tabernacle dome: "[The Tabernacle is] one of the architectural masterpieces of the country and perhaps the world."

Lagoon

As part of a family trip to Utah for a family reunion (post to follow), we headed south a day early so we could take the girls to Lagoon on Thursday, July 26. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera (What the ... ?!?), so I have no pictures of terrified/thrilled girls on the roller coaster/carousel. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to give a quick recap.

Rebekah, our cautious first-born, went on one coaster (you know, the old, rickety white one) at the start of our trip, and that ruined her for all other thrill rides. Even though she's tall enough to ride almost all the rides, after that experience she stuck with the safe and easy ones.

Analee, our little daredevil, rode almost everything she could as her current stature. In fact, she rode one roller coaster, Bombora, no fewer than three times because she loved it so much.

Miriam started out terrified on the carousel and refusing to go on anything until I forced her on Puff the Magic Dragon, but after a few rides in Kiddieland, she warmed up to the idea of rides. She rode Bulgey the Whale at least five times while Seth took the girls on other rides.

Seth reports that Wicked is the best roller coaster there is. Bekah wouldn't go, Ana and Miriam couldn't go, and being in my current pregnant state, I had to pass that one up this time. I can't wait to try it on our next trip.

We rounded out the day with lots of drinks (it was at least 97 degrees the day we went), playing in the fountains, a picnic lunch, and crashing at a hotel that night.

Our only photographic evidence of going to Lagoon this summer is from one of the $3 photo booths. Seth and I have a tradition of getting pictures taken in one every time we go to Lagoon together; it's fun to see how we've changed.

(1) Seth and Andrea at Lagoon during our senior trip in May 2000. Our bus's air conditioning broke down on the return trip, and a wreck on the freeway caused us to be stalled in traffic for an hour while Andrea had a crazy bout of heat exhaustion. (2) Seth and Andrea at Lagoon while on a double date the summer before we left for his mission in 2001. We rode down with Adam Butikofer and Amy Barnard to the park. Andrea had another slight bout of heat exhaustion before we left. (3) Seth and Andrea at Lagoon in August 2004. We had gone to Utah to go to Seth's mission friend's reception, and we made a trip to the park to commemorate our 1-year anniversary. (4) Seth, Andrea, Analee, Rebekah and Miriam at Lagoon in July 2012. Obviously it had been a while since our last trip since our numbers have multiplied. And apparently the quality of the photo booths has gone down.