Gwendolen's mealtime carnage

It looks like blood and gore, but I promise it's just raspberries. And in case you were wondering, that's the look she gets on her face when she snuffles at you. The big girls call it her "grumpy old man face."

Miri-ism #15

Miriam and I were sitting on the back porch petting our new puppy Peach and having a chat.

Andrea: Miri, did you know that no matter how big you get, you'll always be my baby?
Miri: What the WHAT?!

Cache Valley family history

Seth's grandma is perhaps the most incredible family historian I know. Not only does she find names and dates to more fully fill out the family tree, but she also does temple work for them and shares her knowledge of dates, places and stories with anyone and everyone with a willing ear.

So it wasn't a surprise when Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks invited us to go on a weekend trip July 19-20 with them to northern Utah to see some important places related to their family history. By the time we drove home Saturday evening, we had visited Cove, Richmond, Smithfield, Newton and Clarkston with an extra side trip to Logan for some of the most amazing cheese and milk ever.

We came away from the trip with a greater appreciation for our ancestors and the hardships they endured so we can be where we are today. We're so grateful that Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks arranged for us to have this experience, and for Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis coming along. The smoked muenster and cookies and cream flavored milk aren't bad, either.

Grandpa Hendricks, Grandma Susan, Rebekah, Analee, Seth, Miriam, Andrea and Grandma Hendricks outside the home where Grandpa Hendricks was born and later where Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks lived during the first years of their marriage. Grandma Susan was born in the hospital in Preston, but lived here in Cove for the first few years of her life.

Near the barn, Grandpa Hendricks points out where they had pressed Grandma Susan's tiny baby foot into some wet cement.

Close-up of the baby footprint.

Grandma Hendricks and Grandma Susan reminisce about the outbuildings and land while the rest of the group walk back toward the house.

After driving to see Grandpa Hendricks' brother's place, the group visits with Grandma Susan's cousin and her dogs. (At least, our girls visited with the dogs.)

A look at the mill that W.D. Hendricks built. Grandma Susan is holding an old photograph that shows what the mill used to look like.

Grandpa Hendricks, Grandma Hendricks, Rebekah, Grandpa Dennis, Analee, Miriam, Grandma Susan, Seth and Gwendolen next to Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks' headstone in Richmond. Seth's uncle Chris is buried behind where the group is standing.

Gwendolen checking out the grass next to James and Drusilla Hendricks' headstone in Richmond.

Grandma Hendricks sharing a family history story in the Smithfield cemetery.

Gwendolen next to Robert and Annie Thornley's headstone in Smithfield.

The house that Grandma Hendricks' father grew up in in Newton.

Rebekah and Analee next to Martin Harris' headstone in the Clarkston cemetery.

To see more pictures, start here.

Geocaching with Ana

Seth and I implemented a daddy/mommy/daughter date system at the beginning of 2013. Each girl would get one mommy/daughter date, one daddy/daughter date and one mommy/daddy/daughter date throughout the year. This way, we would get some one-on-one and two-on-one time with each of our girls throughout the year--time to talk, time to have fun, time to make memories.

The girls get to pick an activity they'd like to do with their parent(s). In January, Rebekah and I went rollerskating and got a treat at Orange Leaf. In February, Seth took Analee swimming at the Aquatic Center and got a treat at Orange Leaf. In April, Seth and Andrea took Miriam swimming at the Aquatic Center and got a treat at McDonald's. In June, Seth took Rebekah geocaching and got a treat at Kiwi Loco. In July, Seth and Andrea took Analee geocaching and got a treat at Reed's Dairy. (Treats are a very important part of these dates.)

Unfortunately, we don't have many pictures of the other dates. It's hard to snap shots when you're the only parent supervising your child, and it's impossible to take pictures when you're at the swimming pool. But since Ana's mommy/daddy/daughter date was non-aquatic, I was able to take pictures of the geocaching adventure.

For those unfamiliar with geocaching (Seth's date with Bekah was his and her first time; Ana's date with Seth and me was her and my first), it's basically a GPS-guided treasure hunt. Participants can find nearby caches online and enter them into their GPS. Then they try to find the caches using the hints and coordinates as a guide. When they find a cache, they enter their names into the log and exchange a prize from the cache with one they have brought.

For Ana's date, Seth had entered about 17 cache sites on his GPS that are in/around I.F. We had time to search for 10; we found seven. Ana traded magnetic picture frames, bangles and Dum Dums for a pink heart ring, neon yellow bugs, a lovely pink rock and 49 cents.

Analee operated the GPS most of the time and told us where to go.

Ana and Seth running back to the truck after our first attempt to find a cache. It's kind of a bummer when the first and last caches are hidden so well you can't find them.

First found cache!

Picking out prizes at the second found cache.

Adding her name to the log.

When Ana saw me blogging this just a minute ago, she told me to make sure and include the lizard we saw. Behold! A lizard we saw!

Fourth festivities

This year we went all-out for our nation's birthday. We went to the parade. We stayed up for fireworks. We went to the beach. And we got to do it all with cousins, which makes everything that much more exciting and fun.

Ana with her candy bag ready for the parade to start.

Rebekah in red.

Miri with her bling.

Winnie eating sunglasses.

Analee and Ellie thought the fire trucks were too loud.

Some of our group watching the parade.

More of our group. (My dad gets some looks in this getup. He had back surgery followed by shoulder surgery, hence all the bracing.)

Winnie got too hot. We had to strip her onesie off and let her sit in the shade of Aunt Jessica's umbrella.

Camel!

After we made our way through all the post-parade traffic, we re-congregated at my parents' house for a delicious lunch.

I suspect few other family lunches on the Fourth consisted of our German fare: weinerschnitzel, red cabbage and cold potato salad.

We made an almost last-minute decision and got a hotel room to watch the fireworks at the greenbelt. We played games and ate munchies while we waited for it to get dark.

Andrea, Shelby and Rebekah playing Apples to Apples with Analee and Grandma Scott.

When you have six small children crowded in a hotel room for hours, TV is pretty much a necessity.

Unfortunately, the fireworks were delayed an hour due to an emergency, and almost all the kids slept through the show. When they started, we had to wake up Rebekah (asleep on the floor next to the door leading to the hall) and Analee (asleep on the couch) and move them to the balcony to watch; Ana watched for about 20 seconds, then got up and walked back into the room and tucked herself back in bed. Rebekah snoozed through part of them, but woke up in time for the big finale.

The next day, we spent some more time with cousins at Rigby Lake.

Miriam remembered her car float from the year before and thought she could squeeze in it again this summer.

We had plenty of sun, water ...

... and sand.

Uncle Jon helped his girls build quite a formidable sand fortress.

Gwendolen lasted about two minutes in the water.

She enjoyed her time on the beach much more.

Bekah and Ana constructed some castles of their own.

My usually pasty back still bears the marks of that day. That's what happens when you're basically an albino and you seldom go swimming. The girls probably could have spent all day at the lake, but we had to duck out earlier than the others so I could get some things ready for Rebekah's baptism the following day.

To see more Fourth photos, start here.

Rebekah's baptism

Rebekah outside the Rexburg Temple the morning before her baptism.

As a member of our bishopric put it, for at least a few moments on Saturday, July 6, Rebekah was the newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the world.

Rebekah has been looking forward to her baptism for a long time now. And when I say, "a long time," I really mean it. I remember discussing baptism with her when she was a preschooler and saying she "only" had five more years until she could get baptized.

As her eighth birthday grew closer, we consulted our stake calendar and saw that the next stake baptism would be July 6 at 10 a.m. I sent around a mass family email to let everyone know of the date and time ... and shortly thereafter received two replies telling me that Seth's cousin would be getting married in the Rexburg Temple the same day at about the same time.

So Seth and I discussed. And fretted. We knew that Rebekah had been anticipating this for a long time. We knew that my brother and his family were already going to be in town that day and had been planning to go to Bekah's baptism. Should we postpone her baptism until the NEXT stake baptism in August? Should we go ahead with her baptism as planned and make Seth's family choose which event to go to?

In the end, Seth talked to the bishop and our high councilor to see if we could arrange a separate baptism for Rebekah on the same day but at a different time. We got the go-ahead, and what ensued what a sweet, memorable occasion.

Seth and I were trying to recreate a picture he has of him and his dad on Seth's baptism day shot at the exact location. The sun was too bright for poor Rebekah's eyes, though.

Rebekah and Seth at the stake center before her baptism.

Rebekah and Andrea. (I'm trying to hide the lens cap to my camera in my left hand.)

An attempt at a family photo before the program started.

So many friends and family members were able to come: Great-Grandma and -Grandpa Hendricks; Great-Grandpa Wirkus; Grandma and Grandpa Scott; Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis; Aunt Jessica; Uncle Jon, Aunt Annie, Shelby, Libby and Ellie; Uncle T, Aunt McKall and Bennet; Aunt Rachel, Uncle Justin, Cooper and Kelsey; Uncle Kent, Aunt Melissa and Emma; Aunt Patty; Uncle Keith, Aunt Carol and Rob; Uncle Jim, Aunt Anne, Mack and Tav; Bekah's Primary teacher, our bishop and a member of the Primary presidency and her family.

We had a short program (song, prayer, talks), and then Seth was able to baptize and confirm Rebekah a member of the church. As wonderful and spiritual as all baptisms are, it's even a little more wonderful and spiritual when it's your own child receiving that saving ordinance.

We're very proud of Rebekah and the sweet, beautiful daughter she is. It feels like she was born only yesterday, and I'm afraid that if I blink, we'll be 15 or so years in the future and she'll be wearing a different set of white clothes and receiving another saving ordinance.

Puppies!

We're getting a dog.

This is a moment Seth and I have been anticipating for years. He and I both have fond memories of the canine companions we had as children (I had an ornery but playful miniature schnauzer named Otto; Seth had a sweet spaniel named Betsy and a talented black lab named Lady) and wanted our own girls to experience the love and responsibility that comes with pet ownership.

But we had some hurdles to work through:

(1) I'm allergic to dogs. So our dog will have to be outside ALL the time.

(2) We needed to redo some of the fence in our yard. Seth finished that up last year, minus the few things (staking down the chain link in a few places and fixing the drive-through gate) we'll take care of in the next couple of weeks.

(3) We wanted our girls to be old enough to help take care of the dog. We think that Bekah is old enough to share the responsibilities of feeding/walking/cleaning up after the dog but young enough to enjoy a dog's companionship for many years still.

For a long time, Seth and I discussed what kind of a dog to get. I wanted something small enough that it wouldn't knock over the girls. Seth wanted something big enough that it wouldn't be mistaken for a chew toy. We both wanted something that would be good with small children and something that could be comfortable outside year-round.

I consulted many-a-list on the internet; we polled our friends on Facebook. In the end, we decided a lab would be perfect.

Not only are labs hardy and gentle, but we also happen to know a couple in the neighborhood. So Seth's dad talked to some friends a couple of streets over, and their golden labs got together and made a beautiful batch of puppies.

Meet Peach:

We picked her out of the litter on Monday and placed a bright pink collar on her so we can tell her apart from the rest of the pretty puppies. Then we spent some time getting to know her and playing with the other dogs.

If it had been up to Miriam, she would have spent the entire time picking up and hauling around puppies like they were her babies.

Peach napping in Analee's arms. Ana was apprehensive around the big dogs at first, but by the time we left, she wasn't afraid of them any more. Which is a good thing ... because Peach won't stay this small for long.

 Bekah played the most with the adult dogs. She was so excited when they kept bringing chew toys back to her so she could throw them.

Watching Winnie crawl all around (and on top of) the dogs and puppies was a hoot.

But it wasn't just the kids who were giddy with excitement.

We're all quite smitten.

Peach (named for Princess Peach on the Mario games ... our runner-up for names was "Zelda") will be ready to join the Grover clan in three to four more weeks.

To see more puppy pictures, start here.