Softball

Another year, another team. Grandpa Scott and I coached. Rebekah and Ana helped at games and practice when their schedules allowed. Winnie joined the squad as the bat girl this year. Miriam played as much as she could despite her continued problems with her feet.

We hoped and prayed that getting a bunionectomy on her left foot last summer would alleviate her pain. However, Miriam has not gone without pain since well before the surgery. Although the bunion on her left foot has been corrected, she continues to be in pain whenever she crouches, dances, walks, stands, runs, etc. That complicates things when you're an active 13-year-old. 

We're continuing to see the podiatrist. We've tried steroids, anti-inflammatories, a cortisone shot and even blood tests to see if it's arthritis. This is still an unsolved mystery, but we're working on getting her some answers and relief.

That being said, we went ahead with forming a team (the Burninators) from some of our old teammates and several new ones found on Facebook or through the athletic director. Having kids who are not the youngest ones in the league has certainly helped our skill level and record. This year we went 6-6. The last game of the tournament ended on a sour note,* but it was fun to see the girls grow and improve, and it didn't hurt that we won as much as we lost.

Miriam didn't play pitcher (she feels anxious when she's pitching) or catcher (it kills her feet) as much as in the past, but she was an incredibly valuable member of the team and greatly improved her batting this season. Last season she didn't hit and get on once, but this year she did several times. She did have to sit one inning every game so her feet could rest.

Winnie lining up the bats for us.

Burninators in the dugout.

Miriam catching while Grandma Scott, Rebekah and Andrea watch.

Rebekah catching while Miriam warms up pitching.

Andrea, Rebekah and Ana between innings.

Miriam running home.

Miriam pitching.

Seth shoots over Ana's shoulder in the dugout.

The team plays Down by the Banks before one of our tournament games.

*Our last game of the tournament was against a team we played earlier in the tournament. They had a pitcher who was EXTREMELY fast and EXTREMELY inaccurate. She hit several of our players in our first game against them. One of them got hit so hard she could see the stitches from the softball imprinted on her leg. Poor Millie had to sit out the rest of the game to recuperate from that. When our girls saw that we'd be playing "that team" again, two of them actually approached me and asked if they HAD to go to bat. One of them was Millie; the other was a girl who didn't get to play most of the season because she broke her clavicle. I explained that they could sit the entire game out, but they couldn't play on the field and not bat. They both chose to participate in the game. First inning was fine; a different girl pitched. Second inning was fine. Then this bad pitcher warmed up for the third inning. Our first batter got in the box, and the very first pitch from this girl slammed our batter in the shoulder and made her cry instantly. At that point we asked the girls if they wanted to continue playing the game or bow out. (We were far enough behind that I don't think we could have made up the point difference anyway.) All of the girls said they did not want to go to bat with this errant pitcher. We announced our decision to the ump and the other team's coach. Coach Scott even used his angry voice and didn't mince words about why we were conceding the game. That was our last game of the season. It's too bad it ended that way, but given that pitcher's inaccuracy, I stand by our decision. Also, we we told the tournament would be the week of July 4, but later we found out it was actually the week of July 11. Both Seth and Ana were out of town that week; Seth on a work trip to Baltimore and Ana at FSY in Pocatello. So they didn't get to see any of the last games. 

Rebekah is 18!

 She may be an adult, but she'll always be our baby.

Rebekah also got multiple birthday celebrations. First was a combined Seth/Kelsey/Rebekah/Hudson birthday bash at the Wildes' on Sunday, June 11. We tried taking Rebekah out to Sushi Time's lunch buffet on Tuesday, June 13, but apparently they're not open on Tuesdays. (?!) That's two years in a row we've tried going to Sushi Time and haven't been able to because of days/times they're open/not open. So instead we picked up a BUNCH of sushi from Broulim's and ate it upstairs. And since the earlier birthday dinner covered the Grover side, we had a Scott birthday dinner on Sunday, June 18.

Rebekah, Cooper, Miriam, Ana and Seth on the couch at Rachel's.

Winnie rubbing balloons on her head.

Rebekah, Winnie, Kelsey and Hudson getting ready to eat cake.

Rebekah, Andrea and a bucketload of sushi at Broulim's dining area upstairs.

The cake Ana made for Rebekah's birthday. Rebekah had joked for years about a "hot grape cake." (The girls were musing on why you get other fruit cakes like raspberry or blackberry but never grape.) Ana found a grape cake recipe and made it for Rebekah.

Rebekah lighting her candles.

Miriam, Canyon, McKall, Oakley, Ana, Rebekah and Easton on the couch as Rebekah opens presents.

A flashlight Seth gave her. Rebekah asked for some organizational tools for college, so we ordered the ones she had picked out from Amazon. Then Seth threw in a few things he had picked up from D.I. over the years: a flashlight and a Bluetooth speaker.

Rebekah laughing at the Bluetooth speaker. It's one we've had in a drawer for a while, but now it belongs to Rebekah. She also received towels from Aunt Rachel and money from her grandparents.

Rebekah's graduations

Even though she finished high school in March, Rebekah did choose to walk at her high school graduation on Friday, June 2. It was the first year students from Bonneville School District #93 held their graduations at the Mountain America Event Center, and it was much MUCH better than trying to squeeze everyone into the gym or deal with nature at the stadium. Although they handed out tickets, there were so many empty seats that we could have had the entire ward attend. Instead, we invited the grandparents along with our family.

Seth got there early to save seats for us, and we knew Rebekah would be at the end of her row, so we sat on her side. I scooted over to the opposite side to take pictures when she received her diploma cover.

Not only did Rebekah finish school early AND receive her associate degree, but she also graduated third in her class. She's always been motivated and has set the bar very high for herself.

Rebekah walking in and waving to us.

Leading her row to their seats.

Playing "Pomp and Circumstance" with the other band and orchestra members. She had been told that they would announce the musical number just prior so she'd have warning when it was time to leave the graduates and go warm up. There was no such announcement. When she heard them warming up without her, she jumped up and walked (very quickly) to the back where the band was set up.

Those who earned their associate degree in conjunction with their high school diploma stand up.

Shaking hands and receiving her diploma cover.

Switching her tassel to the other side. It took her a while because it was stuck at the top.

Grandpa Dennis, Miriam, Winnie, Aunt Jessica and Grandma Scott watching.

Seth, Ana and Grandma Susan.

Grandpa Scott taking pictures.

Rebekah's poor feet at the end of the ceremony. She had borrowed a pair of my heels and hadn't worn no-show socks or anything underneath.

Rebekah with her grandparents. We were told to exit the building and gather elsewhere at Snake River Landing to take pictures, but Rebekah didn't want to meet with all the other graduates for pictures. We snapped a few on the shady side of the building and still got out in time for the other schools' graduations.

Rebekah with her family.

Rebekah with her parents.

Rebekah also graduated from seminary on Tuesday, June 6. We haven't been to a seminary graduation since our own 23 years ago, so we were surprised when we found out that it's done by stake now rather than having all the BHS seminary graduates meet together. It was a simple but spiritual meeting.

Grover sisters.

Family selfie outside the stake center.

Candid goings-on after the meeting.

Spring miscellany

Sunday selfie: Sunday, March 12

Andrea and Seth take a picture prior to their ward conference meetings. Andrea serves in the stake Relief Society presidency, and Seth serves on the stake Young Men presidency. Sometimes we get to go to the same stake meetings.

Another selfie: Monday, March 13

Rebekah, Andrea and Ana take a selfie on the couch at Grandma Susan's house.

Snuggles: Thursday, March 16

Andrea and Miriam in the master bedroom.

Saturday morning: Saturday, March 18

Winnie eats her breakfast and reads a book.

Miriam eats her maple cinnamon roll.

St. Patrick's Day dinner: Sunday, March 16

The rainbow Jell-o Andrea made for a St. Patrick's Day dinner. We also had corned beef and cabbage.

Silly girl: Thursday, March 23

Winnie puffs out her cheek by blowing on a glass.

Lincoln Court: Saturday, March 25

Ana plays a song on the piano at Lincoln Court. Rather than just coming at Christmas, we decided to pick a random Saturday and play more music. 

Winnie playing piano.

Seth singing and playing guitar.

Rebekah playing trombone with a backing track.

Miriam playing the piano. We played music the same day Miriam finished up her Gem State ballroom competition, hence the fancy hair and earrings. (I also played/sang, but since I was the one taking pictures, I don't have any of myself.)

Teaching Primary: Sunday, March 26

Seth shows a video to the Primary class we subbed for a few weeks while the regular teachers were out of town. Videos are a great teaching tool for this age group. :-)

Malcolm: Thursday, March 30

Seth gets ready to give a presentation on his program at work.

Cross-country skiing: Friday, March 31

Andrea and Peach ski at Twin Bridges Campground.

April Fool's: Saturday, April 1

Miriam, Winnie and Ana giggle as they take over our bed on a Saturday morning.

Winnie uses the mannequin head we bought from D.I. to pull a prank on us.

Date: Friday, April 7

Seth poses with a self-descriptive book at Goodwill while he and Andrea are on a date.

Musical prep: Saturday, April 8

Seth writes in notes and lyrics on his music for "Bright Star" in preparation for rehearsals. Seth can't read music as well as Rebekah, so he wrote in all the lyrics so he could follow along.

Pet store: Monday, April 10

Winnie and Seth pose by the birds at PetSmart while in town.

Anime love: Wednesday, April 12

Miriam and Seth pose with the tanjiro earrings Miriam bought for herself and her dad as a surprise. These earrings are worn by a character from Demon Slayer, an anime they enjoy watching together.

Subbing: Friday, April 14

Andrea takes a selfie in a first grade classroom at Cloverdale Elementary during lunchtime. I picked up a few sub jobs throughout the year.

Pierced: Friday, April 14

Seth poses with his newly pierced ears.

Another Sunday selfie: Sunday, April 16

Andrea and Seth pose at the Coltman building prior to another ward conference meeting. After the block of meetings, Seth was asked by the stake president to remove his earrings. 

Office desk: Thursday, April 20

Seth's array of  decorations on his desk at work.

Pocatello temple: Friday, April 21

Andrea and Seth pose outside the Pocatello temple after attending a session on Seth's day off.

Andrea putting on socks after changing from tights and a skirt to jeans and socks in the temple parking lot. We went to lunch and a seed store after the temple.

Monkeys in a tree: Saturday, April 22

Rebekah and Winnie climb in the newly pruned crabapple trees in the front yard during a day of yardwork.

Hammock relaxing: Sunday, April 23

Miriam, Winnie and Andrea relax on the hammock in the back yard.

Training: Wednesday, May 3

Aunt Rachel, Seth and Melanie Pierce pose with their teambuilding exercise attempt at a work training.

Couch time: Monday, May 8

Rebekah, Ana, Seth, Winnie and Miriam chilling on the couch.

Primary activity: Wednesday, May 10

Winnie paints Andrea's toenails in the Young Women room of the church during a mommy-daughter Primary activity.

Scooter date: Friday, May 12

Andrea on a rental scooter at the Greenbelt during a date.

Temple baptisms: Saturday, May 13

Grandpa Scott, Andrea, Miriam and Ana pose outside the temple after doing baptisms for the dead. Seth and Rebekah were supposed to come with us, but their musical rehearsals went extra long.

Picnic: Saturday, May 13

Ana relaxes on Roscoe and attempts to pacify Lizzie during a picnic at Grandma Susan's house.

Mothers' Day: Sunday, May 14

Winnie treats Andrea to a massage with the new massage gun she received for Mothers' Day.

Ana poses with her origami earrings, her crochet sweater and Seth's bolo tie in the Relief Society room after church.

Grandpa and Grandpa Scott cook weinerschnitzel at their home.

Naptime: Friday, May 19

Winnie takes a nap on the living room couch with her Go Dog, Go!

Outside time: Saturday, May 20

Seth and Andrea pose with the arborvitae Seth cut down in the side yard. The trees in the front and side were dead/dying and had been since the water was shut off for an entire summer while our house was added onto.

Winnie waters the plants at Grandma Scott's house while she's out of town.

Winnie poses on the senior rock at Bonneville before watching the high school musical Seth and Rebekah participated in.