Tuba Christmas

We went to the Manwaring Center in Rexburg to hear Bekah play along with the area's Tuba Christmas on Saturday, December 7. Seth's cousin Robert was visiting with his wife and daughter, and they brought Grandma Hendricks along with them. It was a great hour spent listening to low brass Christmas music, and when the entire band is made up of tubas, sousaphones, euphoniums and baritones, your child doesn't necessarily get stuck in the back!

 Bekah and the band being directed. Darn that bell, though. You never get a clean shot of a kid who's playing a euphonium unless you move. 

 Grandma Hendricks (and Winnie) enjoying the music.

Rebekah (and her two Christmas' worth of Tuba Christmas buttons) smiling after their performance.

Christmas tree hunt

Some years when we go to Fall Creek to find our tree, we slog through the mud. This year there was no mud in sight. Everything was well covered in this fluffy white stuff.

It was Easton's first time coming for trees (he stayed with Grandma Peterson last year), Tyson's first time bringing his own four-wheeler, and Bekah's first time knocking over a kid with a tree on a four-wheeler (unintentionally ... sorry, Oakley!).

 Miriam showing Easton some of it.

 Bekah dropping off Grandma and Grandpa at the site where we started looking. Winnie had to run up and give Grandpa a hug.

Ana shaking the snow off a tree to see if it's the one. (It wasn't.) 

Andrea feeding a Hershey's hug to Ana. 

Bekah ferrying Seth and a tree back down to the cars. 

Seth loading the four-wheeler into the back of the truck.

Fall miscellany

SEPTEMBER

Winnie, Andrea and Bekah on the Ferris Wheel at Tautphaus Park Funland. The younger girls each earned a free ride, so we bought a few more tickets and spent an hour there in September. 

Seth, Miri and Ana played miniature golf at Funland instead of going on rides. 

Seth drawing a chalk outline around Winnie in the shop. 

Winnie with her Play-Doh monkey creation on the front porch. 

 Miriam's feet with the rainbow she made.

Winnie cartwheeling/dancing to the Idaho Falls symphony as they play at Freeman Park.

Ana holding a seemingly begrudging Flea in Grandma Susan's family room. 

Miriam cuddling with Coco at the Jolleys' house. We go to the Jolleys' to practice/learn ASL on Sunday afternoons.

Winnie made her own to do list: Peach, room, be cool, be awesome. Check, check, check and check!

OCTOBER

Winnie and Miri's music notes in the hall outside the music room at Fairview. Despite being in different classes, they made sure their notes ended up right next to each other. 

Andrea and Winnie selfie. 

Winnie declaring, "He's whispering in my ear" while watching General Conference in the family room. 

Miri, Winnie, Andrea selfie at the JK Studios Glow Up Tour in Rexburg. 

Miri, Winnie and Ana at the Tautphaus Park Zoo. Ana had won a free pass to the zoo at the teen summer reading auction, so we needed to use it while the zoo was still open. Seth and Bekah went hunting that day. 

Ana petting the chicken that decided to take up residence on our front porch at night. It was so extremely cold in October that we all felt bad for it and gave it a "blanket." Eventually we found a new home for the chicken. 

Grandpa Scott wearing an apron prior to one of our Sunday evening dinners at our house. I had to sneak the photo; I thought he looked cute. 

Winnie washing the back door/window.

NOVEMBER 

Winnie wearing her Judy Hops hoodie and holding Judy Hops.

Miri and Andrea at Possibly Picasso with our ceramic octopus bank and owl bowl. We went on a mommy-daughter date. 

The kids and Seth eating sundaes and concretes at Freddy's. Seth had won a gift card to Freddy's as part of a work costume contest on Halloween. 

One of Ana's student council election posters. She made it past the primaries, but didn't get elected. 

Ana and her mini cupcakes at Night of Excellence. 

Rebekah eating refreshments by her table showing off her music arranging/playing at Night of Excellence. 

Ana, Miri and Winnie at a varsity girls' basketball game at Bonneville. They had participated in a ballroom workshop a few Saturdays before, and then they performed at the halftime at this game. 

Seth wearing his awesome jammies while picking up Ana from a friend's house. 

Rebekah next to the Erwin and Marie Wirkus brick outside the Museum of Idaho. A donation had been made in their name for the museum's expansion. 

Seth and Bekah at the Museum of Idaho during a mommy-daddy-daughter date with Quetzalcoatlus in the background.   

Seth using the touchscreen at the museum to blow up the results of our quiz. 

Seth, Bekah and Ana playing Numenera at the kitchen table.  

Miriam with the embroidered pillow she made. She did the embroidery at Activity Days, and I helped her make it into a pillow. 

Seth playing Phase 10 at the mall on a date. 

Ana and Bekah learning to play Risk with me during Thanksgiving break. 

Peach watching Winnie play Jenga during Thanksgiving break.

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving week was full of opportunities to visit with family and eat. And eat. And eat. (I'm not complaining.)

First of all, we had a prep day followed by "pie night" at Grandma Scott's on Wednesday.

Bekah, Ana, Grandma (in the background), Winnie and Miri preparing food for Thursday. Bekah and Ana each made a cobbler; Winnie and Miri tore bread for stuffing.

Then we met around 1 p.m. on Thursday for the first feast.

The family (except Grandpa Scott the photographer) gathered around the table to eat. Uncle T's family, Aunt Jessica, Grandma and Grandpa and our family were all able to attend.

Followed by pie at Aunt Anne's house in Rexburg that evening.

The girls enjoying their pie.

The next day we went to Grandma Susan's to decorate the tree and enjoy another day of feasting.

Miriam helping with Grandpa's tree. It later fell over and had to be rescued. 

The Wilde/Grover cousins at the table ready to eat.

The holiday, as usual, was a great reminder of everything we have to be thankful for.

Halloween

We thought we'd do our traditional family pumpkin carving the afternoon of Halloween (I even picked up the older girls from school so we'd have more time), but our pumpkins that had been sitting on the front porch were frozen solid. The girls were sad, but we managed to have a good Halloween anyway.

Seth took the younger two girls trick-or-treating on a couple of the streets in our neighborhood. Ana invited a few friends over to go to the church trunk-or-treat, then go door-to-door down her grandparents' road. Bekah had Idaho Falls Youth Symphony rehearsal. I managed the door and operated as the family chauffeur.

 Seth won third place in his office costume contest as Yoda. I dressed up as a scarecrow to run Winnie's second grade class party and hand out candy at home. Rebekah was Rosie the Riveter for school. Ana was a mermaid. Miriam was a light-up stick Newsie (below you can see how the lights worked). Winnie (along with a million other little girls) was a unicorn.

Miriam in the dark garage so you can see her lights.

Samantha, Ana, Lili and Addy with their candy haul.