Remodel/addition update

After living in our house for a few weeks without the majority of our furniture, we took the leap and moved our essentials to Aunt Patty's house on Derek Lane on Saturday, June 23. Patty was on her way out of the house for a month visiting family, so she let us in and gave us the rundown of essentials before driving to Utah.

Grandpa Scott helped us move a few things around and into the house, and we spent the rest of the day (and some of the subsequent days) getting settled.

It's been an indescribable blessing being able to live at Patty's while the house is being worked on. Our six-member family fits nicely into her empty bedrooms, and being able to use her space and furniture has saved us from a lot of work.

What we brought with us:

• The master bed (Seth and I have become bed snobs and love our Tempurpedic too much to leave it behind
• Our two computers and a couple of laptops
• Our fridge (it resides in the garage)
• An assortment of essential clothes and shoes
• The contents of our pantry
• A few sets of shelves and a table
• A few pieces of dishware and utensils
• Medicine cabinet contents
• Cleaning supplies
• Peach (on a cable in the back yard)
• Some office supply essentials
• Rebekah's instruments
• Ana's cake decorating supplies (she made a wedding cake last weekend and has another to make in a few weeks)
• Our bikes

The rest of our possessions reside safely in the shop.

After the digging, we got our footings, foundation and garage floor poured. In the last couple of days, workers have come to pull down the siding from three sides of the house, and today the first of the framing is going up.

 No more front porch, sidewalk or siding on the east side of the house.

 Framing the garage in on the north side of the house.

Our possessions in the shop.

Hike #4: Coal Creek Meadows

I decided we ought to try a new trail, so our six family members plus Grandma and Grandpa Scott drove southeast of Victor to try out the 6-mile Coal Creek Meadows trail on Saturday, July 11. The weather and scenery were beautiful, and we were glad we went the extra fraction of a mile to the divide so we could see the Grand Teton.

 Winnie snuggling up to Rebekah at the trailhead before starting the hike. The kid was cold.

 Our first of two water crossings.

 Ana getting a snack while Miri and Winnie photobomb.

 Family picture at the top of the divide.

 Miriam eating lunch at the divide.

Ana soaking her feet in the creek back at the trailhead.

The family softball team

This was the year of the one softball team. Rebekah had aged out of the City of Iona's league; Ana opted not to play on a team this year; Miriam was gung-ho about playing modified fast pitch; Winnie opted not to play on a team this year. So ... Grandpa Scott, Rebekah, Ana and I coached Miriam's team. I wasn't sure we'd have enough for both of the older girls to do the entire season (and I wasn't sure if it would be worth it to pay the $15 to get them both team shirts), but they earned their titles of assistant coaches. They helped run drills, haul equipment, sanitize people and equipment (COVID-specific rules for this season), kept stats and notes and train players. 

Despite our team not winning a single game this season (we had nine 4th graders who were still eligible to play pitching machine, but we moved the entire group up so they could stay together for one more year), we saw tremendous growth as the girls learned when to swing, how to lead off, how to slide, how to steal bases, how to pitch, how to play catcher, etc. 

Miriam decided she wanted to pitch, and she worked very hard pitching at home nearly every day. Partway through the season, she decided she also wanted to give catcher a try. Her other favorite position is shortstop.

In modified fast pitch, if the player pitcher pitches our batter four balls, a coach pitcher gets to pitch the remainder of the batter's strikes. Bekah with her experience as a pitcher stepped in and pitched whenever our batter had four balls. 

All in all, I'd say it was a successful season for the Pancake Batters (the team name that won the voting process).

 Miriam pitching in a game.

 Running home.

 Ana keeping stats on her bucket outside the dugout.

 Andrea and Grandpa Scott watching the team play the field.

 Miriam hitting the ball and getting on.

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 Miriam pitching.

 Making the throw to three.

 Andrea headed to coach first base.

Rebekah pitching as our coach pitcher.

Scott family reunion

Our grand plans for a Scott family reunion in summer 2019 had to be delayed when Jon and his wife had a baby and Ethan's family moved to New Mexico. But despite COVID, we went ahead with plans for a reunion July 2-5 at Jon's house in Meridian.

Wednesday, July 1
Getting to Meridian

We moved Miriam's team practice from 3 p.m. to 9 a.m. this day (and rescheduled her game from July 2 to June 29) so we could leave town by 2 p.m. and pull the trailer to Jon's house in Meridian. We stopped in Mountain Home to pick up dinner (Jack in the Box for Miriam and Winnie; Subway for the rest of us), drove the rest of the way and parked the trailer besides Jon and Annie's house before letting the kids take a quick dip in the pool before bed.

 Seth, Andrea, Grandma Scott and Uncle Tyson watching kids swim.

 Winnie taking a flying leap into the pool.

 Ana's graceful jump.

Thursday, July 2
Lake day (tubing, paddle boards, kayaks) and movie night

We started the day out with a big family photo. The last one we had taken with all of us was shot in front of a raft several years ago, so it was nice to get one with everyone in normal clothes. Then we changed into our swimwear to head to Lake Lowell for the majority of the day. Jon and Annie brought their paddle board, kayaks, boat and tube, and we took turns going out on the boat and playing closer to shore. We ended the day with a movie night in the basement.

Mom and Dad with all five children and all 15 grandchildren.

 Ana swimming away from Andrea on the paddle board. Uncle T made sure to tell me that you're supposed to stand and paddle, but I found that I don't have the balance to do it. Sitting it is!

Ellie, Ana and Miriam on the tube behind Jon's boat.

  Andrea, Seth and Bekah on the tube. Winnie also went for a short, gentle ride on the tube. When Uncle Jon tried speeding up a little and letting her cross the wake, she decided she was done.

 Seth working his tech magic so we can watch the new Aladdin in the basement. The DVD player and borrowed projector wouldn't communicate with the Bluetooth speaker, so Seth connected everything to his laptop and got the movie going for us that way.

Kids playing Mario Kart while others watch. Ana, Bekah, Winnie, Bennet, Ellie, Miriam, Sam, Grandpa Scott, Shelby, Aunt Jessica.

Watching the movie and eating treats in the basement.

Oakley and Winnie snuggled on the mat watching the movie.

Friday, July 3 
Hike and another pool party (not pictured)

We congregated bright and early at 7:30 and then caravanned into Boise so we could park near the old penitentiary and hike Camel's Back. Winnie's little legs slowed her down a bit, so we were among the last ones to reach the summit of the short, steep hike. We were grateful to start the hike early as it got really hot outside. Then we went back to Jon's house for lunch and a pool party/water fight (which was somewhat one-sided ... and in, a few kids were shooting people already in the pool and occasionally someone would shoot back).

 Everyone getting ready to hike Camel's Back in Boise.

 Miriam, Grandma Scott, Ana and Bekah on top.

 Aunt McKall, Easton, Uncle T, Bennet, Miriam, Seth, Andrea, Grandma Scott, Oakley, Ana, Winnie, Bekah, Uncle Ethan and Matthew on top. The rest of the group had already headed back down.

Saturday, July 4
Park day (pickle ball, splash pad, card games, playground ... also not pictured), another pool party (not pictured), nine square, volleyball and Frisbee (not pictured, not pictured ... we were too busy playing :-))

We drove to Settlers Park where Annie taught our family how to play pickle ball. We fooled around for a while, then rotated through a few games. (I won one game because my doubles partner was Spencer.) A few of the kids checked out the playground and the splash pad. Some of us played UNO. Then back to Jon's for lunch, followed by a rousing round of nine square. The kids played a few Jackbox games, and then we tucked the younger two girls in for the night. Seth, Andrea, Bekah and Ana played volleyball while Miriam and Winnie fell asleep in the trailer. Tyson brought out a glowing Frisbee that got thrown around while some people watched fireworks being shot off around the valley. We pooped out and went to bed.

Bekah hitting the ball while playing Nine Square.

Sunday, July 5

Going home

We woke up, got ourselves some breakfast, waved goodbye to Ethan's family that had to leave extra early to make the drive to New Mexico, got the trailer ready and bid the other family members adieu. We stopped for a picnic lunch at a rest stop, then drove the rest of the way home in time to have our family sacrament meeting.

I'll admit I was worried about us all gathering when we have a pandemic going on, but it's now more than two weeks later, and I haven't heard or seen of any of us exhibiting symptoms. It was a huge blessing to be able to get us all together (Mason was on a mission hiatus due to COVID--he had been to Ghana and will soon leave for Michigan), and we had a memorable time with cousins, uncles, aunts, siblings and grandparents. Jon and Annie went to a lot of trouble to get everything ready, and their efforts paid off in a big way. 

Dance recital

The girls' dance recital was originally scheduled to be held May 12. Plans screeched to a halt with the Idaho stay-at-home order when the girls had to participate in virtual dance classes. As soon as the reopening allowed, they met together in their studio, and the recital was pushed back until Tuesday, June 23. It was worth the wait.

Pre-recital pictures in the yard

 Ana in her "Black and White" mix outfit.

Miriam in her finale outfit.

Winnie in her "Walking on Sunshine" mix outfit. The girls had to design their own sun-related T-shirts.

Recital pictures at Thunder Ridge High

 Miriam and Winnie (who were in the same class this year) in their "One Kiss" mix.

 Analee in her "Sax" mix.

Winnie and Miriam in the "Baby Shark" remix. 

 Ana in "Black and White."

Ana in "Superhero" (the other half of the "Black and White" mix.) 

 Winnie and Miriam in the "Walking on Sunshine" mix.

 Ana in her hiphop routine.

 Ana in the finale.

 Winnie in the finale.

 Miriam and Oakley in the finale.

 Miriam and Seth during the finale.

 Winnie hugging Grandma Scott after getting flowers from her dad.

 The family who came to watch Ana, Miri, Winnie and Oakley in their recital.

Ana's Young Women friends and leaders who came to watch the recital.