Ana is 8!

Because Analee's birthday fell on Memorial Day weekend (again), she got to string out her birthday festivities over several days.

First, we had a birthday dinner for her (and Grandma Susan) on May 21st. Our family was there (of course), along with Grandma Scott (Grandpa was in Washington helping Uncle Ethan install an electronic gate), Aunt Jessica, Grandma Susan (Grandpa Dennis was teaching a gun class), Aunt Rachel and her family, and Aunt Melissa and her kids (Uncle Kent was in Asia).

The soon-to-be-8-year-old. She chose pizza for her dinner.

Unwrapping a BB gun from her parents.

A Lego fairy set from the Wildes.

A maxi skirt from her parents. (She had picked it out before.)

A whole $25 from Grandma Susan!

Grandma Scott is making a dress for Analee to wear after her baptism. Ana showed everyone the pattern and scraps of the fabric.

Thank goodness the weather allowed for us to picnic outside.

Grandma Susan reading cards from the girls.

She nailed her first two shots with the BB gun.

Grandma Susan and Analee blowing out candles on their cakes. 

Analee's pyramid cake. She wanted her party (held later with friends) to be ancient Egyptian themed, so her cake followed suit.

To see more pictures of the birthday dinner, start here.

The day of Analee's birthday, we were in Island Park attending church and visiting Mesa Falls. Our Memorial Day weekend certainly deserves its own post, but here's a picture of the cute girl on her actual birthday:

At the Mesa Falls visitors' center.

The weekend after her birthday, we hosted her ancient Egypt party for friends.

Analee with the decorations for her party. She thought it would be fun to string balloons across that had her name and some Egyptian symbols on them.

First the kids played a game of Freeze Dance to ... what else? "Walk Like an Egyptian."

Seth blasted the song from the speakers he has in the shop, hence the kids dancing on the cement pad in front of the shop.

Then the kids lined up for a game of "Pin the Nose on the Sphinx."

Analee going first.

Not too shabby.

Then the kids got to decorate Egyptian collars (paper plates with the middles cut out and spray painted gold) and cuffs (toilet paper rolls cut down and spray painted gold).

Lined up at the table decorating.

Jacob jumped into Analee's picture with her Egyptian jewelry.

Group picture of everyone in their jewelry (minus Miriam who was sulking because her collar ripped).

After all that working and playing, everyone was ready for a picnic lunch.

Followed by presents.

And then we played a few more games.

"Mummy Wrap." You and your partner try to wrap one of you up in an entire roll of toilet paper faster than anyone else.

Egyptian obstacle course/relay race. The kids had to cross the Nile (a blue tarp with stepping stones), build a pyramid (plastic cups in the sandbox), crawl through a pyramid (our Disney princess tent covered in brown paper) and write their initials in hieroglyphs. (See below.)

The kids who had finished their turn with the obstacle course found a way to entertain themselves as they waited for the rest of their teams.

And lastly, everyone got to decorate mummy cupcakes.

Thank goodness for marshmallow fondant.

The weather was beautiful (unlike the rest of the rainy, rainy week we experienced), the kids were fun, Analee was thoughtful and grateful ... a perfect party.

To see more pictures from her party, start here.

School programs

Both Analee and Rebekah got to participate in their grades' musical programs at the school. First we had Analee's Earth Day program with her second grade class. It was held during the day, so Seth took a late lunch to attend. Grandpa Scott and Aunt Jessica were able to come too.

Analee reciting her part about photographing polar bears in the Arctic.

Laughing and clicking away.

Ms. Weber's 2nd grade class in their costumes.

And the next week, both 4th grade classes participated in the annual Idaho history program. They held an evening performance, so Grandma Susan, Grandma Scott, Grandpa Scott and Aunt Jessica were all able to come with our family.

 

Rebekah singing with her classmates.

Reciting her lines about women in Idaho history.

Square dancing with a reluctant partner. He wouldn't look any of the girls in the eye.

First kill

Rebekah is her daddy's girl through and through. She loves going fishing and hunting with him, and she's elated that the hunting age has been lowered so she can look for a deer this year.

She decided to get an early jump on hunting when she spotted a squirrel in the yard a couple of weeks ago. She made Analee keep an eye on it while she ran inside for her BB gun.

(Sidenote: Our yard is lousy with squirrels, and they've proved to be quite the pests. They chewed apart the awning on our swing and the net on our trampoline, among other things.)

After hitting it a few times (she's a dead eye, that one), she finished it off with the shovel and put it in the wheelbarrow for safe keeping until Seth could come home and take care of it for her.

Rebekah exhibited a bombardment of conflicting emotions after getting her first kill. She came inside smiling--but with tears running down her cheeks--to report that she had been successful in her first hunt. Later she asked me if I thought Heavenly Father was mad at her for killing a squirrel.

I asked her, "Why did you kill it?"

She answered, "For its pelt and to eat it."

"Then I don't think He's angry with you."

(I also would have accepted, "Because they're pests.")

She also said, "Now I'm a hunter. Will Dad be proud?"

As soon as he arrived home from work, Seth took the girls out in the shop and talked about hunting while skinning and butchering the squirrel. He made sure to tell them that we don't kill things for fun; we have to be responsible with our hunting.

And then he cooked us up some squirrel.

That, folks, is the smallest frying pan we own. Squirrels don't supply a whole lot of meat.

Rebekah with the cooked squirrel.

Rebekah, Seth and I all ate squirrel that night. (The other girls respectfully declined.) We can all report that it doesn't taste like chicken.

And after the pelt had been sitting in salt for a while, Seth cleaned it and mounted it for Rebekah. After all, if Seth can have an antelope head in the family room, Rebekah ought to be able to have a squirrel pelt in her bedroom.

Rebekah, her BB gun, her dad and Shelly the squirrel (as Rebekah named her).

It's a major award!

Analee came home from school one day proclaiming, "I won! I won!" I had to get the whole story from her since I hadn't know she was in the running for anything.

Her second grade teacher Ms. Weber had asked her students to design a poster as part of the city's Earth Day poster contest. Analee and a classmate had each won in separate categories, so they got to attend the award ceremony at Tautphaus Park in April.

Miriam and Gwendolen making grass angels while waiting for the awards to be handed out.

Analee and Ms. Weber with their awards. Analee received $25 and a certificate for her poster. Ms. Weber also received $25 since Ana is in her class.

Seth hugging Analee after getting her award.

Analee received her award for having such a neat poster. Her classmate, Whitni, received an award for making a creative poster.

Analee's poster.

Petting zoo

We have a little pasture in the back of our property where we planned to raise a calf a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, the price of cows has dramatically increased. Fortunately, our farm neighbors have animals that can stay in our pasture and keep the grass down.

This year, we've been able to house goats and lambs thus far. Our girls have been loving our little petting zoo.

Winnie (and her gorgeous eyelashes) playing in the sandbox before visiting the goats.

Crawling under the gate to get in the pasture.

Miriam, Gwendolen and Rebekah petting the goats. Rebekah had names for all of them.

Analee and a goat.

A few days later, the neighbors shared some slow-roasted goat with us and told us not to let the girls know what kind of meat it was since they had shown such an affinity for the four-legged critters. (I don't think the one they roasted had been one from our pasture. Regardless, it was delicious.)

Piano recital

Analee participated in her first year of piano lessons this year and Rebekah in her second. We had the pleasure of attending their piano recital a while ago (back in April, in fact), but I'm slow to trim down and upload their videos.

First Miriam entertained the audience with a little pre-show show.

Analee performed two songs: "Wild Colt" and "Miniature Sonatina."

Rebekah performed two songs as well: "The Gypsies" and "Entrance of the Gladiators."

We're proud of all our girls and love the music they bring into our home.

Miri-ism #34

When we hold family scripture reading before bedtime, the older girls always read a few verses. Since Miriam is too young to do so, either Seth or I will read a phrase aloud and have her repeat it until the end of the verse.

Seth: (Reading the last part of Luke 24:13) ... which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
Miri: ... which was from Jerusalem about three squirrels long.

Cha-cha-cha-cha-changes!

A few months ago, Miriam received her first pair of glasses. (I'm just a little slow to record this milestone.)

 

Picked them out on her own, too. They have cute purple cheetah spots on the temple pieces.

This week, Rebekah got her ears pierced.

They're kind of an early birthday present. Since her birthday's in mid-June, she really wanted to get them pierced before then so her friends can see them at school.

Also this week, I chopped off my hair and donated eight inches (this time to Pantene Beautiful Lengths).

 

All washed and ready to be cut.

Post-chop.

Winnie and the beater

Not this kind of beater:

Or this one:

You're a nerd if you know what this one's about.

But this kind:

Last Sunday, Winnie was banished from nursery because she had thrown up a couple times the day before. So while Seth took the older girls to sacrament meeting, I stayed at home with the little one and made cookies. (Seth and I traded church-parental responsibilities during Sunday School so I could teach the Laurels during the last hour of meetings.)

Being the youngest, I don't think Gwen has ever been the only kid at home while I've baked goodies. That meant Winnie got her first experience dumping teaspoonfuls of ingredients into the mixer, and she was the uncontested recipient of the beater.

It was so cute watching her go to town on that beater that I pulled out the camera.

And as I took pictures of her wrapping her tongue around the beater, it reminded me of another picture I shot of a similar situation in years gone by:

Rebekah, 2 years old, licking chocolate batter of the beaters from my old mixer.

Here's to many more beater lickings to come.