Our Ethnically Diverse Little Family

Last night before bed I ran across the Perception Laboratory's Face Transformer, which basically uses face recognition algorithms to transform your race, age, or even species. Well, pretty soon, what with Andrea being tired and my mind being half-twisted anyway, we were getting pretty crazy. A little Photoshopping thrown in the mix and you've got genuine Twilight Zone stuff. But I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

I think we all look pretty convincing as Asians...

To quote Borat, "Genuine chocolate face. No make up!"

Andrea says we're really mean as parents to do this to our poor children. "Danged dirty apes!"

This one gives me the willies. We're like a family of Crypt Keepers. Either that or we looked into the ark.

You can view the whole mess here. And, of course, you can try for yourself.

las fotos

Although I did both of these photo shoots a while ago, I thought I'd post a couple of highlights now anyway.


The first picture is of Melissa, my brother-in-law's good friend. I've never shot senior pictures in January before (the lack of a studio usually prevents that), but Melissa's mom needed the pictures in time for the yearbook's deadline for senior ads. So we braved the sub-freezing temperatures at Sportsman's Park and got some really nice shots. Melissa has a very pretty, natural smile, so it didn't take any work to make her look good. This is one of my favorite shots, and I think it was about the fourth frame.

The second picture is (obviously) a collage of engagement pictures I shot for Lauralynn and Douglas in February. Laur and I grew up across the street from each other, so we were pretty much inseparable as kids, so I was excited when she called and asked me to take her engagement photos. We took lots and lots of pictures during the shoot, and there happened to be so many cute, sweet shots (a lot of them candid) that I thought the best way to exhibit them would be to mash them all together into one final product.

update: all your prize are NOT belong to us

Analee's entry into the Post Register's annual Baby Parade.

In case you missed the earlier post with a similar title:

Months ago Seth and I dressed up Ana for a grossly cute photo shoot: diaper, pearls, huge flower on the head. That's it. Our hearts were set on winning May's cutest baby in the Post Register's annual Baby Parade insert.

As the title of the post indicates, Analee did not win. We were trumped! May's cutest baby is wearing absolutely nothing!

Anyway, Analee will remain the cutest May baby in our hearts. And maybe the next time we enter a baby into the Baby Parade, we'll follow suit (or rather, the lack thereof) and have our number three child bare all.

cuteness

I've wanted to have family pictures taken for ... well, since Ana was born last May. We tried after Ana's baby blessing, but Bekah was suffering from lack of nap, so what we ended up with were quite comical (Seth trying to keep Bekah on his lap, Bekah screaming/crying/fidgeting/squirming/pulling away).

So I thought we'd do it in October when the leaves in our yard are pretty fall shades. And then I thought we could squeeze it in during November before all the leaves were gone. And then I thought we'd do it before Christmas so we could include a copy in our Christmas cards. And then I thought we'd wait until after Christmas so the girls could wear their matching Nemo dresses my mom made them.

And after Christmas it is! Don't pay attention to the fact that it's nearly spring.

Dad was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to set up the backdrop, lights, camera and tripod (and shoot the pictures, of course), and Mom was kind enough to take time out of her schedule to keep the girls happy and looking at the camera and to feed us afterward. Thank you!

Here's the final product:

To view our other favorites, go here.

mixing things up

It's amazing what one night of totally uninterrupted sleep can do for a person.

It's not unusual for Seth and/or I to hear Rebekah climb out of her bed in the night and try to join us in ours (She can't tell time! She doesn't realize it's not morning!), but the night before last we got a glorious eight hours of continuous sleep.

So yesterday, feeling particularly refreshed and ambitious, I took it upon myself to rearrange the furniture in three rooms: the living room, the extra bedroom/study downstairs, and Rebekah's room. The little imp (Rebekah) had figured out that, when she's SUPPOSED to be napping, she could climb up into the cubby hole at the head of her bed and get into the photographic equipment I store up there. More than once I would peek my head in to see if she had fallen asleep to find her "jumping rope" with one of the longer cords.

But she has been thwarted!

I moved her bed under the window and slid the dresser over where the bed used to be. The dresser is not as long as the bed is, so there is now a gap between the end of the dresser and the edge of the cubby hole, which is in the same wall as the door.

Rebekah's room's "new look." (You can see the poster of Jesus mentioned in a previous post.)

I was feeling very pleased with myself, and Bekah was excited as well ("Thank you, Mommy, for my new room!"). But the jumble caused an unforeseen problem.

Last night, I woke up to see Seth getting out of bed and going into Bekah's room. I heard her crying and him consoling her, and then he dragged himself back into bed.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Two."

"I didn't even hear her. What was wrong?"

"I heard her whimpering, so I went into her room. I couldn't see Bekah anywhere, but it was dark. Then I found her behind the curtain in the closet. She was just standing in there crying."

She got lost! I moved things around on her, and when she tried to come find us in the night, she got confused and ended up in the closet. Poor girl.

I asked Seth if I should put the room back the way it was, but we decided against it. It might take her a few more nights of finding herself amongst the shoes, books and clothes in the closet, but it beats her messing around with expensive lights and cords.

out of the mouth of a babe

Today Rebekah was standing on a chair inspecting a poster of Jesus holding a lamb that we took out of last year's Friend magazine and put on her wall for decoration.

After a while, she said, "Jesus is holding a little lambie."

So I asked her, "Does Jesus love you?"

"Yes," she said.

Then I asked, "Do you love Jesus?"

She considered for a moment, and then she said, "Jesus is a nice boy."

That's very true, I thought to myself.

Then she continued, "Just like Santa Claus and Daddy."

I thought it was so funny that I had to call Seth at work and share the anecdote with him. And with the lady I visit taught this morning. And now with ... the world! (Because that many people actually read our blog. Right.)

sin terroristas

I found this picture from a few years ago and had to post it. If I weren't in the Elders quorum presidency, I'd probably still be rocking the terrorist beard.

(not actually a terrorist)

electromyography and me

So for the last little while or so (okay, seven or eight years, not counting my mission), I've experienced some discomfort in my wrists related to computer use. As some of you may know, I do occasionally dabble in that sort of thing, being a software developer and all. Well, I'm pretty good at keeping it under control by wearing wrist braces when I'm at work or on the computer at home. I've tried some other things, too: vitamins, stretches, gypsy tears, you name it.

Well, over the last few months it's been getting a little bit worse. In my mind, I picture my carpal tunnel tightening and tightening, further restricting my already damaged nerves. Symptoms include numbness, tingling, burning, tightness, and total-body paralysis (okay, fine, not so much that last one). So, I decided to bite the bullet and get an electromyogram, and, depending on the results, look into surgery.

So I went in for my appointment the other day, and after 45 minutes or so of waiting room excitement, the doctor saw me. The test is of two parts: one part electrical shock, and one part needle. First he zapped me up and down my arms with a little medical-looking "thingie" (it may have just been a cord ripped out of a lamp, Jack Bauer style), measuring the conductivity with electrodes. Then, he tests nerve conductivity by inserting a needle into my the muscles of my arms and hands, wiggling them around and having me flex against the needle. It was pretty awesome. I've got a pretty cool bruise on my bicep, which is sort of rare for me (since I don't bruise easily, and I don't really have "biceps," per se).



Finally, the test was over. "Give me the news, doc," I said. "Lay it on me. Surgery? Amputation? How long have I got?"

Turns out I don't have anything. Well, not carpal tunnel syndrome, anyway. He says my nerves are completely healthy, which means my carpals are as tunneled as ever.

So, I'm not really sure where we go from here. I guess I'll keep wearing the braces. Maybe I'll try the vitamins again, or some glucosamine. And where's a gypsy when you need one...

now you see it, now you see a lot less of it

For years I have been growing my hair out. It's taken me years because I have hair that grows at the rate of cold molasses going uphill. You get the idea.

However, I haven't been growing my hair out for my own satisfaction. In fact, it's been driving me crazy. I have, perhaps, the most tender head in the world. I used to cry when my mom combed my hair. So with long hair, I've been waking up in extreme pain in the middle of the night when I try to roll over but Seth's has set up camp on my long locks.

And long hair takes a TON of time to do in the morning! How do you long-haired people handle it?!? With two young children who have to be clothed, fed and groomed in the morning, lately I've resorted to washing my hair, letting it air-dry over the course of two hours, then pulling it up in a not-so-glamorous pony-tail. On occasion I would take the time needed to do my hair during the girls' afternoon naps, but only if Seth and I were going out that evening.
























Anyway, back to the "I haven't been growing my hair out for my own satisfaction" part. I decided a couple of years ago that I would grow my hair out in order to donate it to Locks of Love. They make wigs for underprivileged children suffering from hair loss due to medical problems.

Friday night I decided I could take it no longer, and my hair must surely meet the minimum of 10 inches, so I took the plunge.

You know, I always laughed at the girls on America's Next Top Model who bawled when they had their hair chopped off. I laughed mercilessly. But now I can commiserate with them.

No, I did not bawl. I didn't even tear up. But I must admit that--even though I had been planning this for years, even though I thought I had come to grips with the sudden loss of hair, even though I had spent weeks picking out the new short haircut I wanted--I got butterflies in my stomach when the hairdresser made those first snips. And then she placed my 13 inches of hair on the desk in front of me as she continued to cut and style my hair.















So here's the finished product. This is definitely the shortest I've ever had my hair ... especially in the back. It's a little chilly, but at least I can do my hair in less than 10 minutes--blowdrying time included.

one kid's play is another kid's torture

Rebekah has been doing an incredible job with her potty training. (What does the above picture have to do with that? Well, keep reading, gentle friend.) As incentive, we have been using sticker charts, and she would earn a sticker every time she went successfully. With each chart completed, she got a bigger prize: a Jonah "Go Fish" game, an ice cream cone, a horsey flashlight. Once she got the hang of it, she was filling up those charts pretty quickly.

So we changed the rules. With her fourth chart, she earned a sticker for every day she had no accidents. Because it took her much longer to achieve the end goal, Seth and I decided to make it a doozy of the prize. When Rebekah filled her chart, we packed up both girls and headed to McDonalds for dinner and playing.

Now, we had never been to this McDonalds before. And we probably wouldn't have chosen McDonalds if it weren't for the Play Place. But the toys at Arctic Circle are in a room that doesn't appear to have any heating ducts, therefore making it ... well, arctic.

Rebekah enjoyed her "cheese hamburger," apples and chocolate milk while Seth and I ate our Value Meals (and took several years off our lives, as Seth said). Then we moved into the room with the Play Place so Bekah could go nuts.

Neither of us having gone to this particular McDonalds before, Seth and I weren't aware that the toys were actually one very long, winding tube that leads unsuspecting children higher and higher where it suddenly drops off into a very dark, long slide that transports the child back down to Earth.

As Bekah started up the tubes, I think she had a false sense of security; there were many other children in there having fun. Why shouldn't she enjoy it as well? Seth and I lost track of where she was, but it was apparent she had reached the top of the drop-off when her amplified voice called out, "Mommy! Daddy!" frantically, followed by an older girl saying, "It's okay. Your mommy and daddy are down there. Here, ride in my lap." I waited at the end of the slide for the two to show up, and the look on Bekah's face rapidly changed from panicked to relieved as she saw me waiting on the nice, safe ground.

I thanked the girl and had Bekah do the same, and Bekah decided she was much safer "playing" on the toys by climbing up one step, then turning around and jumping off.

Later, when the other kids had either left with their parents or settled down to eat their food, I asked Bekah if she wanted to give the tubes and slide another shot. As I squanched myself down to the height of a nine-year-old and started climbing up the tubes (much to the dismay of my knees), Rebekah decided it was safe and followed me. We were almost to the top when I heard the pitter-patter of little feet below us, and I doubled my speed so we could get up there before other kids caught up to us. We slid down without incident, so Seth and I thought Bekah could now handle the tubes without any problems.

We tested our theory by sending Bekah up by herself again. I followed her around the Play Place, knocking on the windows in the tubes and waving to her. Then I lost sight of her as she climbed too high for me to reach. I thought, "She'll be fine this time," only to have those thoughts interrupted by Bekah's wailing: "Mommy! Daddy!" I quickly handed Analee off to Seth and dashed back up the tubes. I called out, "It's okay! Mommy's coming!" but Bekah didn't settle down until she saw me come around a bend.

So she and I climbed to the top of the slide together, and this time I told her that she could go down by herself and I would follow her. I could tell she wasn't too keen on the idea as she used her hands to stop her downward progression, but Seth's reassuring words from the bottom of the slide coaxed her to finally let go.

She made it, of course, unharmed, but I think it will be many more months (years?) before we try that one again. I guess we'll just have to wait until spring when we can go to Arctic Circle without getting hypothermia.

Our Trip to the Great White North

Every six months or so our little family packs up the things necessary for our survival (I can't believe it takes an entire pickup-bed load of stuff to take two little girls 75 miles away for two days) and stay a weekend at Grandpa and Grandma Hendricks' cabin in Island Park.

I took off from work a little early Friday night and came home to find Andrea with the pickup all packed and ready to go (she always does all the hard work). Despite some backed up traffic between here and Ucon due to a wreck, the slowest gas pump in the world at Horkley's in Rexburg, and semi-treacherous roads between here and Saint Anthony, our trip up was pretty uneventful. Ana and Bekah got to share a bedroom while Andrea and I watched "Casino Royale" and the slept on the hide-a-bed in the front room. By the way, if anybody lost a black hole, it's probably in that hide-a-bed, because whenever we sleep there we always somehow tend to get sucked in to the middle. Not the most comfortable. Oh well...

Saturday was full of playing, playing, Disney Movies, and more playing. Bekah was fascinated with the Hot Wheels cars and track we pulled out of the back room for her. She named them: Dewey, Izzy, Blackie, Carlos, and "the Silver Surfer." Okay, I helped her a little. Bekah's idea of playing with cars is handing one to Mommy or Daddy with the explanation "You be this one, and I'll be this one," then crashing them into each other or driving them off of things. Fun, fun.



After we got breakfast eaten and Ana in bed for a nap a little later on in the Morning, we went out to play in the snow. The only problem was the top of the snow was about 8 feet off the actual ground, so it was pretty much impossible for us, let alone our midget child, to walk around in. So, we pulled her around the plowed roads for a few minutes on the sled. When we got back to the cabin it was time "to make me some hot chocolate, so I don't get cold very much."

Later we went back out and built a snow cave. Not really much of a snow cave, granted, but I just wanted to make one big enough for Bekah to be able to stand up in.



We did tinfoil dinner that night and baths to get ready for church the next day. Ana was a pretty good trooper the whole time, only crying when she tipped over. She's at that stage where she wants to climb up on everything and pull herself up, but doesn't quite have the whole balance and support thing figured out yet.

Andrea and I put the girls to bed and watched "I Am Legend" (best... movie... ever) before going to sleep ourselves.

This morning we would have gotten up and gone to church there in Island Park, but they were having the temple dedication instead, so we just went back to the cabin, got packed up, and headed home.

Pictures are available for all to see in the gallery.

the five-finger discount

So Saturday night we decided to treat the family to a little Chinese buffet. Following dinner, we stopped by Fred Myers to buy Rice Krispies so we could make these incredible caramel Rice Krispie treats for the Scott family Super Bowl party. We deposited the girls in a shopping cart: Bekah sitting in the basket and Ana (in her carseat) in the upper seat area.

Inside the store, Seth and I scoured the shelves only to discover that the generic Rice Krispies were all gone. Being too cheap to shell out over $4 for the real thing, we left without buying anything so we could go to Winco instead. (Their bulk bins never let us down.)

We pushed the cart out to our car, and then Seth and I discovered that our oldest child is practicing to be a thief. In her hands was this:



Yup. A honkin' huge box of Froot Loops. Apparently the security at Fred Myers is somewhat lacking. And apparently our little two-year-old has sticky fingers.

Just so nobody thinks less of us or tries reporting us to the authorities, Seth ran back inside with the box and deposited it on the appropriate shelf while I packed the girls back into the car.

Needless to say, I watched Bekah's hands very closely as we went to Wal-Mart today.

making the cut

For months I agonized over Rebekah's hair. Yup ... her hair. Should I spare her the impossible-to-navigate-a-comb-through snarls and inevitable spaghetti sauce spatters in her luscious locks by cutting it a few inches? It may seem like an inconsequential thing to some, but I couldn't help thinking that shearing off the ends would traumatize our two-and-a-half-year-old. Or maybe it was selfish thinking; I love the comments I get from other parents at the mall play place about our precious towhead.

In the end, sanity won. Bekah can grow her hair down to her waist when she's shampooing/conditioning/brushing/styling it herself.

We started with the prep: laying down the Big Bird mat to catch the hair, turning on VeggieTales for distracting purposes, pulling out the necessary combs, clips and cape. I caught the final moments of the long hair on digital memory:


It was my first time cutting hair (minus Seth's bi-monthly buzz cut), so I felt some trepidation. Again, I didn't want my little girl traumatized for life because of a bad haircut given by her mother. Seth wanted it cut about three inches shorter than the final product, but I insisted on not taking off a huge chunk just in case I had to make repairs. Much to my relief (and amazement), I think it turned out all right.


Gratefully, Analee was born with a lot less hair than Rebekah, which means that we ought to be able to put off the whole scary-first-haircut thing until our little brunette beauty has hit puberty.

VoIP me, baby!

For the tech-interested among you, yesterday I discovered how to make/receive calls between your computer and any phone number in the US/Canada, for free, using Gizmo and GrandCentral. Did I mention free? Pretty awesome. I wrote a little how-to here.

happy holidays

We had a fun and eventful Christmas and New Years with family. Christmas Eve we went to Rexburg to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks, and we were grateful we had thought to drive the truck. Four times on the way Seth had to kick in the four-wheel drive to make it through the thick snow--once while we were at the end of our own driveway. That night we had Seth's parents and siblings over to exchange our presents.

Christmas Day we opened presents at our house before heading out. Rebekah was surprised by a dollhouse and a Little Einsteins rocket. Analee enjoyed her new aquarium crib mobile. Seth played with his new Nokia n800. Andrea wore her new black pearl and diamond necklace. After ripping apart wrapping paper and boxes, we went to Scotts to visit Grandma and Grandpa, Tyson, Jessica, Jon, Annie and Shelby. Cousin Shelby was kind enough to share her presents with Rebekah. Later that day at our own house, Grandma and Grandpa Grover came over to visit us.

The day after Christmas we spent a lot of time with the Scotts; we had lunch together and then took advantage of all the snow by going to Freeman Park to sled down the hill. Analee slept in the car while Rebekah and Shelby got the royal treatment by sledding down the hill and being carried back up every time. Bekah decided that, after a while, she could go down "all by myself."

New Years Eve we participated in the traditional self-torture of staying up way past our bedtimes ... we being Seth, Dennis, Susan and I. We weren't about to have the girls suffer. So while they slumbered peacefully, we played Apples to Apples downstairs and ate various holiday snacks.

Unfortunately, all of us have had our share of feeling under the weather during the holidays. We felt it necessary to take Analee in to the pediatrician Sunday after her cough had turned into a bark. Apparently she had a touch of croup. And Rebekah surprised us last night by having a fever that kept her (and her parents) up from midnight to 2:30. Surprisingly, she shows no signs of sickness this morning. I hope this means I can take a nap this afternoon.

We'll have to put pictures and/or video in a later post. I'm too brain-dead to deal with anything besides typing right now. Here's to the holidays!