Random summer shenanigans

Because the pictures are cute and blog-worthy but random.

Miriam and Winnie had some fun in June with chalk on the sidewalk and then on their faces.

Miriam hid behind Winnie because she thought she'd be in trouble.

Bekah and Ana accompanied us to the Jostens yearbook workshop in Snowbird, Utah, in June. They got to take pictures, hang out in the hotel room, swim in the pool and generally have some fun.

Analee on the ropes course.

Rebekah after her successful bungee drop. She surprised us by going on it; she's usually afraid of heights.

In early July, I took my parents and older daughters with me to Grand Targhee to check out the hikes for girls' camp. I was glad I did; the signs and maps were confusing. I was better able to lead the hikes after I'd been there once. And I could tell any complainers that my young daughters had completed BOTH hikes in one day, so quit yer whining!

Analee and Rebekah hanging out at a fork in the trail while we try to decipher the map and signs. (See how there's no sign for "Rick's Basin" or "Perma-Grin"? Those were the hikes we needed to go on.)

Rebekah playing as the troll from under the bridge. Analee promised a bigger, tastier goat if the troll would let her go past.

The three older girls played at Grandma Scott's house while I took Bekah in for a physical in July.

Winnie decided the storage ottoman was a good place to snuggle and take a "nap."

Miriam's friend (and one of the players from my T-ball team) Emily hauled Miriam around at a softball game in July.

Winnie was cool with it.

Good times, all.

Baseball, softball and softball

This year we kept plenty busy (6 games and 3 practices a week) with the girls' three teams: Miriam played T-ball, Analee played pitching machine and Rebekah played modified fast pitch. I coached Miriam's team and base coached Rebekah's team. Seth talked enough sense into me so I didn't coach more than that.

Miriam learned all about overrunning first base, fielding the ball, playing a base and hustling. She picked our team name (Stormtroopers), which I adored. I got to coach a daughter, a nephew and a bunch of neighbors.

Miriam at bat.

Miriam (and her tongue) running to first.

Fielding the ball at rover.

I assume she can see where she's going.

Cheering for the other team. See my hat? I was destined to coach this team! (I've had that hat since I was a teenager.)

Analee played on the Firecrackers with Karen Tolman and Rachel Bird as her official coaches, and Barbara Bird as the organizer/scheduler/lineup maker. Ana learned that taking a grounder to the gut is an effective (yet painful) way to stop the ball. She also worked on her batting, fielding and throwing. Her team took fourth place in the tournament.

Playing pitcher.

Ready for the throw at first.

Luckily, Rebekah's hunter's orange sweatshirt was the perfect color for Analee's games.

As was Rebekah's hunter's orange hat.

Chasing a grounder.

Throwing from shortstop.

Batting and leaping onto home.

Rebekah played modified fast pitch with the Pink Angels. Her coach was Kris Whitehead, who accepted the position when several girls who signed up as independents didn't have a coach. Kris graciously volunteered as head coach, and many parents volunteered to help at practice, in the dugout and as base coaches. Rebekah learned that she's good at catching pop flies (she caught four flies and one line drive) and stealing home (she got out once at home, but many people contended it was a bad call). Her team caused a major upset at the tournament by beating the top seeded team. They took third place.

Getting ready to catch a fly ball.

She got it!

This kid had the best attitude all season long--whether they were winning or losing.

Catching the ball at first to get the out.

Running to third. 

Andrea coach pitching at one of Bekah's games. If the other team's pitcher threw four balls to a batter, a coach pitch from the other team got to step in and pitch any remaining strikes the batter had. At past games, other (better) pitchers took care of it for our team. I attempted to step in as pitcher at a few games, but my pitches were not reliable. Gratefully, Grandpa Scott agreed to help with several games toward the end of the season, and many more girls got on base.

Anticipating the bounce.

Throwing to first.

Seriously! This kid is so scrappy!

To see more pictures of baseball/softball, start here.

Fourth of July

We kept it fairly low-key for the Fourth of July this year. Seth and Grandpa Scott left home early to get us a good spot for watching the parade. Then we had a barbecue at Grandma Scott's home (with giant bubbles!) and took it easy at our house before doing sparklers and fireworks after it got dark.

Our spot along South Boulevard.

Ohmygoodnesslookatthoseeyes.

Winnie and Seth.

Bennet, Miri and Ana watching the flag.

Red, white and blue girls.

Coolest clearance item ever. I probably bought the giant bubble kit last November and held onto it for a good, long time.

Kids/adults chasing/watching bubbles.

Our group (Tyson, McKall, Bennet, Oakley, Grandma Scott, Grandpa Scott, Aunt Jessica, Seth, Andrea, Rebekah, Analee, Miriam, Winnie) watching fireworks. (Except Grandpa took the photo and Seth, the fireworks technician, is out of the shot.)

See? Fireworks technician.

To see more Fourth photos, start here.

Bekah is 11

Wow. I'm really behind on blogging, as evidenced by the fact that Rebekah turned 11 about six weeks ago and I'm just getting around to documenting it on here.

Anyway, she did, in fact, turn 11. And we did, in fact, celebrate her birthday. And we did, in fact, enjoy it.

Proof!

Bekah eating pizza on her birthday throne (camp chair that Analee decorated).

More of Analee's decorations at the serving table.

Opening presents. Rebekah received a Barnes and Noble gift card and a Hermione key chain from Aunt McKall (she used the gift card to buy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them); a scarf, earrings and headband from Aunt Melissa; a timeturner necklace from Grandma and Grandpa Scott; a Harry Potter shirt and a pre-ordered copy of The Cursed Child from us; and the most interestingly wrapped $20 from Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis.

Winnie with the goody bag Bekah prepared and hid for all the younger kids.

Rather than a traditional cake, Bekah asked for a banana trifle for her birthday.

But because the candles would have sunk in the whipped cream, we put them in a piece of watermelon instead.

It worked well enough.

Rebekah's program.

Rebekah has been such a tremendous help this summer with all the girls at home. She plays games, reads books, supervises Peach time and sometimes makes lunch for her sisters. She is extremely dependable, whether with school work in the classroom, pop flies on the softball field or piano practice at home. She knows more about Harry Potter than anyone I know (she can quote entire passages of the books). She is sweet, loving and beautiful.

To see more pictures from the festivities, start here.

Rebekah's new earwear

I've got months of blogging to catch up on ... Fourth of July; T-ball, pitching machine and softball, girls' camp ... but that can wait one more day, right? For now, I'm going to post something about today.

For a little while, Seth kept pointing out how Rebekah sometimes has a hard time hearing things. Most of time it's not noticeable. But every once in a while, you have to repeat yourself or increase your volume to get the point across to her. He told me we needed to get her in to the doctor.

I called her pediatrician to see if they could give her a hearing screening. They told me it was time for her to have a physical, so if we scheduled that, they'd administer their basic hearing screening at that time.

She's healthy and beautiful--tall for her age. No surprises there.

Then the nurse came in with her little muff and told Rebekah to raise her hand every time she heard a beep. I watched as the nurse would press one button--an orange light would turn on--then she'd press another--a red light would turn on. Rebekah's hand went up nearly every time the red light came on. I assumed the orange light basically stated, "I'm ready to sound the beep as soon as you press the button that makes the red light." When the nurse finished with her left ear, she told me otherwise.

The orange light indicated a beep was sounding at 20 decibels. The red light indicated the nurse boosting the beep to 40 decibels. Rebekah missed every 20-decibel beep.

I watched the nurse administer the same screening to her other ear with more trepidation. Same results: she heard nothing at 20 decibels and missed one of the 40-decibel beeps.

The doctor came back in, heard the results of the test and referred us to Regional Hearing and Balance.

Today was our in-depth screening at the audiologist's office. Rebekah had several implements placed in her ears during the appointment. Sometimes she was told to push buttons if she heard a tone, sometimes she was told to repeat words back to the doctor as she heard them, sometimes the implements simply measured things.

After the exam, the doctor told us what I was afraid to hear: Rebekah has mild to moderate hearing loss. It's permanent. She can't tell us why she has lost some of her hearing or if it will continually worsen. 

We're working things out with insurance, and in two weeks we'll have a hearing aid consultation. Rebekah will likely wear hearing aids for the rest of her life.

On the one hand, I think, "My baby has to wear hearing aids!" On the other hand, I think, "I'm so glad she can wear hearing aids." No parent would wish something like that on a child, but at least we have the technology to help. (And they come in a variety of colors!)

And now that I know she has hearing loss, I can't help but wonder what she's missing out on. Remember how I said it's not noticeable most of the time? It's not noticeable to me, but I have no way of knowing what she's hearing and what she isn't. It will be interesting to see how she reacts when she gets the hearing aids and can hear better.

Grandpa's beard

Grandpa Dennis has been growing out his beard for a long time. But when the time came for him to shave it, he let us have a little fun.

Seth starting the variations.

Grandma Susan and Seth braiding the sides. (Seth braids very well, by the way. That's what happens when you have four daughters, I guess.)

Seth's different creations. I say he missed his calling in life. Instead of being a software engineer, he should be a facial hair sculptor.

Using the last of the facial hair for photo ops.

The last of it.

Winnie with a pile of hair.

A beard hair toupee.