Fair-ly fun

We HAD to go to the Eastern Idaho State Fair again this year, (1) so we could see how my pictures did, (2) to let the girls play and see the animals, and (3) so we could eat a Tiger Ear. I'm happy to report that we succeeded on all accounts.

Bekah and Ana playing in the sand pit. Last year, there was a huge booth with all sorts of agricultural toys: a fake cow to milk, hay to rake and tractors to ride. That was absent this year, so it's a darn good thing this kids' booth was there to make up for it.

Analee playing in the sand. I know, I know ... her hair attire is ridiculous. I tried to steer her clear of the humongous flowers, but she was not to be deterred. She reminds me of this guy.

Bekah peddling the magic bubble bike while Seth and Ana watch.

Ana's turn on the bubble bike.

The girls squeezed every last quarter out of Seth's wallet. First it was feeding the goats in the petting zoo (which was very short-lived because the goats nudged the cups of feed out of the girls' hands and spilled their contents on the ground 30 seconds after they had procured them), then it was the mechanical horsey ride.

Ana is so skilled that she can ride with only one hand.

Seth, Analee and Rebekah have a baa-ing contest with the sheep in the livestock building.

Bekahism #33

While at hunting camp ...

(Miriam starts to spit up, so I tip her head so her output lands on the ground and not on her/me.)

Bekah: Miri, when we're at hunting camp, the world is your burp cloth.

Hunting camp

We went a-huntin' and a-campin' this weekend. It was Miri's first time sleeping in a tent.

Grandma Susan holding Miriam at hunting camp in Island Park.

She fared pretty well, except when Seth woke the entire tentload of people to go hunting at 5 a.m. Gratefully, she fell asleep pretty quickly after I brought her into bed with me. I, on the other hand, didn't fall asleep at all after that because I was paranoid about squishing/smothering my five-month-old.

Seth got a shot at a cow Saturday morning, but the darn thing ran away. (Stupid elk ... why don't they just HOLD STILL and allow themselves to be shot?!) When he and the other hunters got back into camp, we had some lunch, some chat-time, and some s'mores.

Seth holding Miriam. When does one end and the other begin? That camouflage makes it hard to tell ...

Analee's s'more proved to be the messiest thing at hunting camp.

Bekah enjoyed her tasty treat.

Proof of Ana's sticky mess.

Miriam also had her first taste of solid food while at camp. Most (read: sane) people start with cereal. We cut straight to the good stuff.

Miriam sucking on Seth's toasted marshmallow.

She quite enjoyed it.

Seth stole Miri's treat.

Still more proof of Ana's mess.

Stay tuned for further hunting camp shenanigans in a few weeks. Archery season lasts all September, you know!

First day

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! It's the first day of kindergarten!

This is Bekah in her chosen first-day attire:

Here is the pre-kindergarten clothes-choosing conversation:
Me: You can wear outfit with the striped pants, or this new shirt that says "Love you berry much," or ...
Bekah: Love you very much!
Me: ... this yellow shirt or ...
Bekah: Love you very much!
Me: ... this purple shirt.
Bekah: Love you very much!
Me: It actually says, "Love you BERRY much."
Bekah: Love you very much!
Me: No, it says, "Love you BERRY much." Because there's a strawberry on it. It's kind of a joke.
Bekah: Oh. Love you berry much.

Later when she showed Seth her clothes for the first day ...
Bekah: See the shirt I'm going to wear to the first day of kindergarten? It says, "Love you berry much." It's a joke! Because it has a strawberry on it! Get it?!?


Here is the backpack she chose from Target:


Here's what she did when I said, "Show me how excited you are for kindergarten":


Here she is outside the school when I dropped her off this morning:


And here she is finding her hook and hanging up her jacket and backpack:


Here are Bekah's thoughts on the first day of school:

What did you do today? I read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. And then we went on a treasure hunt because the mouse took things from our classroom! We went to music class and learned, "Feliz Cumpleanos." A friend I was sitting by already learned that song in church like I did. I went to P.E. There's a morning class too. She [presumably the P.E. teacher] sang a song and said, "Where is somebody? Where is Bekah? There is Bekah!" When I was standing up they'd say, "There is Bekah." And then they did that to AAAALLLLL the other kids. And then I went crash! Crash! And then I fell down because a skunk sprayed me.
What?! What skunk? The one at school that I had for a pet. And then a skunk sprayed me to my death. And then the skunk when wham bam!
Do you like Mrs. Campbell? Yeah.
What do you like about her? She made cookies for a snack for us and they were crunchy. Cookies aren't crunchy ...
What do you think you'll do at school tomorrow? She told us what we'd do. We'll have recess tomorrow. We will not have music class. We played ABC games at the computer place today. I plugged my headphones in.

Nuptial festivities

We got to take part in the blessed union of Seth's brother, Kent, and his lovely wife Melissa last weekend. It was a busy day ripe with photo ops. (Let that be a warning to you all. ... I hope your scrolling finger is warmed up!)

(Another word of caution: These aren't the photos you're looking for [insert Jedi hand wave here]. That is, if you are a family member and want a copy of one of these, resist the urge to download it now. I have yet to do all the nice editing to them. I'll post all the photos I shot that day/night on Picasa for later viewing/choosing.)

Aunt Rachel with Rebekah and Analee outside the temple after the sealing.

Analee decked out in all her jewels outside the temple. (Don't worry ... I made her take it all off for the family pictures later.)

Seth dutifully feeding Miriam her first formula outside the temple. I had forgotten to pump enough milk for a feeding, and I didn't want to start feeding Miriam and then have to jump up and start taking pictures when the bride and groom came out, so this was the safest answer.

Rachel holding Cooper who was getting a taste of the non-alcoholic bubbly at the luncheon.

Dennis toasting the couple.

Seth telling about/presenting his sibling gift. Kent had a hat very much like the one perched atop Seth's head when he was younger. We recreated it so Seth could talk about all of Kent's obsessions throughout the years.

Rachel and Justin helping Cooper and Miriam get acquainted. Miriam was enthralled.

Rebekah was overjoyed and being able to hold Melissa's bouquet for a moment while they posed on the tire swing.

Rebekah, Analee, Lily and Miriam. This is our attempt at a picture of all four Grover grandgirls in their pretty purple dresses. Lily didn't like having to lie in the grass. Bekah and Ana were being goofy. Miriam was stoic.

Calvin and Cooper: the Grover grandboys.

Seth entertained the guests at the receptions with several songs, including "Stairway to Heaven," which somebody requested.

Jason and Heather enjoying the refreshments.

Susan and Kent dancing.

SRRYJ 2010

We LOVE the Snake River Roaring Youth Jam. (As is evidenced by this and this.) As soon as we find out when it's scheduled for, I write it on the calendar. Then we count down the days until it's time. Then we haul all the strollers, wipes, wagons, drinks and snacks we can handle to the Idaho Falls Greenbelt.

So today we spent a very happy three and a half hours by the river making arts, crafts, noise and messes.

Bekah and Ana painting at one of their all-time favorite booths: The Xtreme Xylophone. Look at the paint fly off Ana's brush! (And, as we later discovered, into her hair.)

First the girls made these boats (Ana's is the pink; Bekah's the blue). Then they got to use their own wind power to sail them on this rain gutter river.

Ana wailing away on the junk.

Bekah attempting to get rid of the paparazzo who was documenting her eating a dreamsicle snow cone.

After we experience all the fun we could manage, we ate our picnic lunch on the lawn of church where we had parked. The girls felt a bit chilly, so they wrapped up in our picnic blanket.

Upon our return home, our first order of business was to record the mess the girls had made of themselves. The second order of business was to take a bath.

Bekah's painty mess.

Ana's painty mess.

And in case you were wondering, Miriam DID come with us. She chilled in the stroller and longingly watched the big girls roaring and jamming.


Don't worry, little one. Your time will come ... August 11-13, 2011.

(To view even MORE pictures of our SRRYJ adventures, click here.)

Bekahism #32

(Before sacrament meeting yesterday. I had been asked to lead the music because the chorister was out of town.)

Me: Bekah, you know the opening song today, so I want to hear you sing it, okay?
Bekah: What is it?
Me: "Come, Follow Me." (We are learning verses 1 and 6 for the Primary program next month.)
Bekah: Okay.

Later in the day ...

Me: Bekah, did you sing "Come, Follow Me" in sacrament meeting?
Bekah: Not all of it. I only know the slome part.
Me: The what part?
Bekah: (Singing) For the slome can we be one ...
(The correct wording is "For thus alone can we be one ...")

Today's guest reader

My girls LOVE story time at the library. What's not to like about it? They get to hear fun stories, they occasionally get to make a craft, sometimes they get to wear Halloween costumes and sometimes they get to sit on Santa's lap! But today, Bekah was very wary of the special guest reader.

When the man came and sat down in front of the kids, Bekah cast a concerned look in my direction. This person was not her beloved Miss-a-LaDawn! And it wasn't the other lady who has done story time during the summer!

He started talking to some of the kids. "What is your name? I like the bow in your hair. Do you like to read stories? How old are you?"

The little girl he was chatting with told him she was 5 years old. Ever-helpful Ana piped up, "My sister is 5!"

Bekah whipped her head around and silenced her little sister. "Shhhhh! Don't talk to that man!"

Gratefully, he either didn't hear her or chose not to respond to her.

Who was the scary man sitting in the reader's chair? None other than our little city's mayor, Jared Fuhriman.

(By the way, Bekah warmed up to him by the end of story time. She even told him her name!)

Seth's gig

Seth provided half of the musical entertainment at our stake's pioneer day celebration last night at our church. When the invitation was first extended to him, Seth was a little confused. "I don't know any pioneer music," he said. "Play some hymns," I said. But the invitee told him, "We don't want hymns. We don't want pioneer music. Just play what you like to play."

So Seth's set list included three of his own songs, a Neil Young song, an Ed Haynes song, a Decemberists song and a Bob Dylan song. I recorded the whole thing so his absent parents could view it later. I also took a few pictures of his biggest fans.

Bekah had to run up by the stage/picnic shelter and jump up and down in the air and show Seth her ice cream sandwich. Not sure why ...

Analee enjoying her ice cream with Bekah in the background (and in the way of the video camera, as you can see on the right) and Seth in the back-background.

When the girls started to venture this close, I called them back. I didn't want them touching any dials on the amp. By the way, there were lots and lots of people there; we just got a seat in the front for viewing/recording purposes. It wasn't as empty as these photos make it look like.

Cress Creek

The girls hardly remembered our trip to Cress Creek two years ago, so we thought it was about time to revisit the trail.

With our AWESOME new stroller, we were able to do the entire loop. Miri enjoyed the first half of the hike in the mei tai, and the second in the stroller. Ana tried out the stroller on the first half, then she held my hand while we walked down the trail back to the van.

We had fun, but we realized that we are nowhere near ready to take the girls up Tablerock (not that we were considering it, anyway). We heard a lot of, "My feet are tired!" and "When will we be back to the van?" before the morning was over.

Analee checking out the creek.

Bekah doing a little jig with a cattail.

Analee, Seth and Bekah headed up the trail.

Miriam managed to fall asleep in the mei tai.

All our girls at the lookout point.

Bekah, Andrea and Analee next to the creek on our way back down. Ana was trying to run away from the picture, so I picked her up and subjected her to photographic torture.

Just like our trip two years ago, we found a lizard friend. Bekah was close to catching the critter this time.

Ana-ism #9

Seth and Ana are sitting at the table at Chuck-A-Rama while Bekah and Andrea are off getting dessert...

Seth: Ana, you are my brown-eyed girl. Did you know you have the prettiest brown eyes?
Ana: (shoulders slump, dejectedly) Yeah, but if I had purple eyes, or pink eyes, or one pink eye and one purple eye, then I would be even prettier. Or, if I had purple hair and purple eyes, or purple hair and one pink eye and one purple eye, then I would match.