T to the M to the B to the G

Lots of people have bucket lists. A lot of them include lavish cruises, trips to Paris or sky diving.

I must say, I consider myself pretty easy to please. This past weekend, I was able to cross something off my bucket list. Seth and I got to see my favorite band in concert at The Depot in Salt Lake City.

For those who aren't familiar with my love for the band They Might Be Giants, you may read a little about of my infatuation here.

When I found out that TMBG would be coming to Salt Lake, I asked Seth if we could go. He readily agreed. See, I've brainwashed him to be a TMBG fan too. In fact, he knows several of the songs better than I do.

So we made a trip of it. We were, without a doubt, the only people at the concert that night who went here earlier in the day:

Seth standing next to Thomas Grover's headstone.

This is Seth's ancestor's grave in Farmington, Utah. Seth had never been there before, so we got directions and took a side trip. Thomas was in the first high council of the Church, he was Joseph Smith's bodyguard, he was entrusted with the safety of Joseph's family while Joseph was in jail, he crossed the plains with Brigham Young in the advanced company, and he was in the first Utah legislature.

We also spotted this slightly odd headstone decor:

Turns out, the mother of the child buried here had written a note on the skull that explained a lot. Andrew had apparently loved Halloween, so his family decorated his headstone for the holiday.

We also spent a little time at Temple Square touring the Church's new Family History Library and checking out the Museum of Art and History, where we found this:

Part of the exhibit on the Tabernacle in the Museum.

My great-great-great-grandpa is Henry Grow. See the resemblance?

After an incredible dinner at Bombay House (if you live in Utah and have not yet experienced the goodness of Bombay House, I highly suggest you go there), we went back to downtown SLC, spent a considerable amount of time looking for legal parking, and made it to the concert.

The venue was very different from any other I've attended a concert in (all two of the previous concerts I've attended). For one thing, it's inside. And since we got there early enough (7 p.m.), we scouted out a very choice location for our viewing pleasure. Although Seth assured me that, if I chose, we could sit on a chair around the perimeter of the floor, I opted for us to stand for four hours about five feet away from the stage. And ... it ... was ... awesome.

Highlights:

We were right in front of John Linnell and his keyboard. I mean, RIGHT in front. We got to see every goofy face he pulled while playing and singing. We got to see him cover his cup to keep the confetti out. And we got to see him pick up a fan and blow the confetti off his keyboard later on.

We were also close enough to see John Flansburgh sing, play guitar and generally act like a kid with ADHD by walking all over the stage to do random things--fixing a mic stand here, moving instrument stands there, and playing with puppets and a video camera (along with Linnell).

This was a special Flood concert. For those not savvy, Flood is TMBG's album from 1990. It's a classic. Even those unfamiliar with the group might recognize some of the songs from this album: "Birdhouse in Your Soul," "Istanbul," "Particle Man" and "Twisting." So we got to hear every incredible song.

Aside from those, we also got to hear several non-Flood songs: "Meet the Elements," "Why Does the Sun Shine," "Why Does the Sun Really Shine," "Shooting Star," "Clap Your Hands," "James K. Polk" (yes, this band is cool enough to write songs about our past presidents, another geeky love of mine), "Cowtown," "Mesopotamians," and, although Seth thought it could never be performed live, "Fingertips."

Although we left our mommy camera in the van, Seth was so kind as to shoot these high-quality cell phone pics:

Flans on his Telecaster, Linnell on the keyboard.

John Linnell and his mad, super-awesome accordion skills. This, people, is why I play the accordion.

Marty (the drummer) playing the bells. Pay attention to those intrusive hands in the foreground ... we're coming to those next.

Lowlights:

Drunk people who feel the need to shout out responses to everything anyone on stage said. Like the girl who tried to carry on a conversation with the opening band. And the 6'-tall guys who, five minutes before the beginning of the concert, shoved their way through the crowd to butt in RIGHT in front those of us who had stood there for two hours previously to save our spots and contradicted EVERYTHING John and John said from the stage.

(You'll notice a common thread in the lowlights: most of them concern the aforementioned two guys.) Being elbowed by people who don't understand that we all had very little room to stand, let alone break into interpretive dance. I felt like I was back on the 8th grade basketball team boxing out my opponent all night because I had to strategically place my arms across my middle to protect myself from the jabs. And my poor, stomped on toes.

One more gripe: People who are mean to the performers. The blond tall guy picked up a handful of confetti that had fallen to the floor, waited until Flans was crouching down next to the edge of the stage, and hurled it at his head. Another concert-goer threw a glow stick on the stage and almost hit another band member.

But, as Seth says, the highlights WAY outweighed the lowlights. My nerdy little heart soared as we listened to and sang along with my band.

Now, for the next thing on my bucket list: learn to play the bagpipes.

I'm going there someday ...

Last night, I shot some pictures of the Young Women in our ward outside the temple. I had taken pictures of most of the girls months ago, but there were a few that we had missed, and the YW presidency wanted to get all of them for a collage they're making for their Night of Excellence.

Before the girls arrived, I had MY girls be my models while I figured out what light settings to use.

Analee (munching on a breakfast bar and clutching her juice) and Rebekah outside the Idaho Falls Temple.

This is Bekah taking the modeling seriously.

Turns out, I shouldn't have shot so many pictures of Bekah and Ana ... although how could I resist? My poor Nikon ran out of battery power about 10 minutes later.

Bekahism #21

The girls have had runny noses for the past couple of days.

Andrea: "Uh-oh, Bekah. Your voice sounds a little hoarse."
Bekah: "What does 'hoarse' mean?"
Andrea: "Sometimes when you're sick, your voice gets tired."
Bekah: "I want my voice to stay this way! I sound like Yoda!"

Halloween 2009

Our fall festivities continued Friday (October 30) night when we piled up in the van to drive to Shelley and experience the Pumpkin Walk. I had read a blurb in the newspaper about it, but it really didn't give a lot of detail, so we weren't exactly sure what to expect. All I knew was there would be pumpkins on display, and it was meant to be fun, not spooky.

It turns out that the Pumpkin Walk is a section of a city park that has lots of pumpkin displays made by various people and groups. The displays were based on movies or books, and the characters were made out of various gourds.

Mr. Pumpkin Dude, Mrs. Pumpkin Dude, Rebekah and Analee.

Bekah and Ana next to our favorite display: Monsters, Inc. Complete with oven mitts on Mike, Boo, and Sully peeking from behind Boo's door.

They also had lots of cutouts to pose by. The girls had lots of fun choosing characters to pose as, and later, taking pictures of their own.

We pointed out the Star Wars cutout to Bekah, so she had to position herself as Princess Leia, while Ana is Luke Skywalker and Andrea is a young Obiwan Kenobi.

Ana wonders what is going on with her daddy, who is posing as a disproportionate lady.

Bekah shot this glamorous picture of Seth as Belle and Andrea as Jasmine.

Ana had Seth help her take this picture of Andrea as the Count on Sesame Street. Not only did Ana get to push the camera's button, but she also chose her model and setting.

The next day, Halloween, turned out to be perfect. We decided that Halloween should ALWAYS be on the Saturday before Daylight Savings ends. It was great being able to visit the grandparents before dinner, take a quick break at Arctic Circle, then get the neighborhood trick-or-treating underway. Usually we're scrambling to eat as soon as Seth gets home from work, visit everyone and go to a few houses before getting the girls to bed late.

The girls, of course, wore their princess dresses, and Bekah was very adamant that she would NOT wear her coat over her dress, no matter how cold it was. "Nobody will be able to see it!" So we had them wear tights, pants and long-sleeved shirts under their dresses, and then we were grateful when we realized that it was a fairly warm evening for being October in Idaho.

We started out by visiting the grandparents.

Analee, Grandpa Wirkus, Rebekah.

Analee, Grandma Scott and Rebekah reading a book.

Seth reading his book while Grandpa Dennis takes a picture of Analee, Grandma Susan and Rebekah.

Analee, Old Grandma Grover, Rebekah.

We then did the Arctic Circle thing, and visited most of the houses on three different streets in the neighborhood. The girls made out with quite the haul, although they were exhausted by the time we called it quits. Bekah asked, "Can we go home now?" And along with Ana's usual "Have me!" when she wants to be picked up, she also rested her head on my shoulder and asked to go to bed.

As for next year, Bekah has already told me what she wants to be. "A cowboy again! No, a ghost. I want to be a witch! Can I dress up as a pumpkin?" Hmmm ... we'll see.

To see more Halloweeny pictures, click here.

Make like a tree ... (Ha ha!)

We have over 200 trees in our yard. And I am in no way exaggerating or joking. If you doubt, come on over, but make sure to bring a rake and some gloves.

So every fall is a huge rakefest at our house. And this year, we've been slacking. The weather has been so crazy-cold that we have avoided being outside unless absolutely necessary.

Today, however, the temperature climbed above freezing, so Seth and the girls ventured out in the yard. And although I had stayed inside to get some cleaning done, I had to come out long enough to take some cute pictures.

Ana was a big helper to Seth. She would take a double-fistful of leaves from one of Seth's carefully raked piles and throw is elsewhere on the ground "to make a little pile." And while putting leaves in the garbage can, she managed to also strew them all over the driveway.

Ana being a helper.

Bekah on the big pile of leaves Seth raked.

Our beautiful girls ... with only minimal Photoshopping to get rid of their snotty noses.

Prepare yourself for utter awesomeness

Every year since we were married, Seth and I have carved pumpkins the week of Halloween. And every year, we've gotten better and cooler. (For last year's post with links to other past years' pics, click here.)

Tonight when we decided it was time to pull out all the sharp knives and blunt pumpkins, Seth scoured the Internet for awesome ideas. And awesome ideas are what he found.

Check out this year's pumpkin-carving results:

My worried-looking Darth Vader is (obviously) on the left. Seth's stony-silenced stormtrooper is on the right. Don't you dare tell me I spelled "stormtrooper" wrong, squiggly red line. I know what I'm talking about.

Boo-yah! I guess our family has been on quite the Star Wars kick as of late. The girls have implored me to tell every Star Wars story I know, they play with my old figurines and coloring books, and Seth entertained them while I finished those crazy-tiny details on ol' Darth by playing Force Unleashed on the Wii. That's right ... we're raising our girls to be the nerdiest of nerds.

And here's the happy carving/coloring bunch:

Bekah, her sucker, Andrea, Ana, her sucker and Seth next to our creations.

As usual, we didn't let our girls play with knives; they markered up their mini pumpkins. Bekah told us she colored hers to be Yoda. *Sniff!* I'm so proud. And the girls are shirtless because we didn't want them getting marker on their clothes.

One thing I learned tonight: Apparently my face does that (refer to picture above) when I instruct my girls to say, "Cheese!" That is the one not-so-awesome aspect of the entire evening.

Ana-ism #3

While playing in the weird hail/snow mentioned earlier.

Andrea: What's your favorite part about playing in the snow?
Analee: Eating the snow.
Andrea: What does it taste like?
Analee: White.

What month is it again?

So you'd never guess by looking out the window that Halloween is coming up. I'm tempted to pull out the garlands, lights and yes, even the horrible Bob Dylan Christmas album Seth recently obtained. Aaah ... winter wonderland.

Ana the pink nightmare. Those purple mittens surely stand out.

Bekah immediately grabbed the saucer and headed for the mound.

And then ate the snow/hail.

A nice wide-angle shot to let you see the extent of the whiteness. It's everywhere. How will two little princesses go trick-or-treating in a mere four day's time?

Practice your curtsies

King Seth, Queen Andrea, Princess Analee and Princess Rebekah (who is too interested in her prizes to look at the camera).

It took a bit of coaxing, but I managed to get all four of us dressed up for the ward's Halloween party on Friday night. I tried reassuring Seth by telling him that if no other adults were dressed up, he could simply remove his crown and cape. I, on the other hand, had no change of clothes and would be forced to stay in my old high school formal throughout the duration.

But our worries turned out to be nothing but that. Almost all the kids and lots of other adults dressed up to enjoy an evening of soup, cake, games and face painting. And through just a little bit of totally legal tweaking (Yeah, yeah. We voted for ourselves. And Seth persuaded the sister missionaries to vote for us, too.), Seth and I won the adult costume contest and were awarded with movie tickets. Woohoo!

We received lots of compliments on our costumes, and I even received a few "Wow, Sister Grover. You look so pretty!" comments from some of my cute Primary kids.

I also inadvertently announced my pregnancy to a few more people in the ward. Being almost four months along and no longer able to fit into any non-maternity pants, I assumed that my baby bump was obvious. So when people said, "It's amazing you can still fit into a high school dress" and I replied, "Well, I had to pick the one with the empire seam so I'd have plenty of room for my round belly," they HAD to ask, "Are you expecting?!" Ummm ... yeah. Pretty much.

Anyhow, we're glad the girls got the opportunity to wear their cute princess dresses as dresses last week, because this Saturday when we're trick-or-treating in the brisk Idaho autumn air, they'll be wearing them over long johns, pants, shirts, socks and sneakers.

Bison and elk and bears ... oh, my!

Seth's stalwartness (taking the liberty of making up a word here) in listening to AM radio actually paid off. By listening to the day's passwords on a certain station and entering them into their Web site, Seth earned enough points to "buy" a carload pass to Yellowstone Bear World. Since we have an extra three seats in our van, we invited Seth's brother, Jason, and his kids to come with us on October 17.

Ana, Bekah and I had been to Bear World before, but Jason, Calvin, Lily and Seth hadn't. Regardless, we all enjoyed seeing the mountain goats, deer, bison, turkeys, elk, grizzly bears, black bears and wolves (which chased our van and nibbled on our bumper).

But the kids' favorite attractions included the petting zoo:

Bekah, Analee and Seth petting mule deer.

Seth trying to get food from the dispenser. This nosy goat actually butted Seth's leg and then chewed on his pants.

Jason holding Lily and giving Calvin food to feed the goat.

A fatty-fat pig that the kids petted. Every time we'd touch it, it would snort. We're still not sure whether it snorted because it enjoyed the extra attention or hated it.

Lily, Jason, Calvin, Bekah and Seth looking at the moose that came to the fence to visit us.

... and the rides:

Bekah and Calvin inside the spinning bear.

Andrea, Analee, Calvin and Bekah getting ready to ride the log roller coaster.

Bekah, Calvin and Ana on their favorite ride of the day.

To see more pictures, click here.

I will stew no more forever ...

Excuse me. Wait just a minute while I pull this out. (Climbs on top.) That's it. Much better.

Now that I'm up on my soapbox, I've got a little something to get off my chest.

What is UP with this?

People want to risk the lives of their children because, despite all the reassurances from the CDC, they don't "feel" like the H1N1 vaccine is safe? In the words of my two-year-old, "Yat da yat?!?"

And it's not just some unknown people who happened to be interviewed for the story. I've heard buzz on Facebook, and it's ... well, frankly, it's scary.

Somebody's sitting on the fence. "Should I have my kids get the vaccine?" And then the comments come rolling in.

"There's no way I'll take my kids. It's not safe."

"I'm going to wait a few more years until they've had the chance to test it some more."

"Normally I'm all about vaccinations, but not this one."

My little "I've got mine, and my kids will get theirs as soon as they can" comment is DEFINITELY in the minority.

So here's my two cents: More children have died from swine flu this year (starting in April through mid-October) than died from seasonal flu in ALL of 2008. And we're just barely gearing up for flu season. Don't you think that's worth a shot?

And I know H1N1 isn't always deadly. We've had three family members who have all contracted and survived it so far (before the vaccine was available). But an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right? Especially when it's the life of your child.

Just because you asked so nicely, here are excerpts from a Fox News article with any personal commentary I feel like adding.

Tom Skinner, spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the vaccine was made in exactly the same manner as the seasonal flu vaccine, which has a “very, very good track record as far as safety is concerned.”

We've been getting seasonal flu shots since 2002, and I've never had any adverse reactions to them.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made the rounds Tuesday and Wednesday morning, appealing to all Americans to get the vaccine and trust that it is safe.

Sebelius unconditionally vouched for the safety of the vaccine, saying it “has been made exactly the same way the seasonal vaccine has been made, year in and year out.”

...

Health experts say most fears about the flu vaccine, especially the seasonal vaccine, are unfounded.

The flu shot does not give people the flu. Side effects are generally mild — soreness and swelling at the injection site (my seasonal flu shot this year made my arm much more sore than my H1N1 shot), headache (which I DID get after the H1N1 shot, but it was short-lived and nothing a little acetominophen couldn't handle), occasional fever and body aches (the mark of a healthy immune system responding to something foreign entering the body). Less common side effects include coughing, runny nose and nausea, especially in young children.

...

Dr. Peter Welch, an infectious disease specialist at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y., said it is imperative that people trust the H1N1 shot, as it is the best protection against a virus that has already killed hundreds in the U.S.

“People need to get these vaccines because these illnesses are so much more severe than any side effects they will experience,” he said.

...

"We really implore any parent to seek out information that’s reliable and can help them make a decision that’s best for their child,” Skinner said.

And that's what people SHOULD do. Don't ask for everyone's opinion on Facebook. Don't leave the deciding to someone else. Do the research. Find reliable sources. Your FB buddy's sister-in-law doesn't count as an expert. And make the best choice for you and your children.


Ahem. Thank you for your time.

Princess Rebekah

The other day, I pulled out one of my old formals that I wore in high school. As mentioned in the previous post, we have a ward Halloween party coming up, and the dress will be the main part of my costume; I had to try it on to make sure the empire seam was high enough to go over my ever-expanding belly.

After Bekah admired the dress on me ("Mom! You look so pretty!" "Awww, shucks, Bekah."), she had to have a go.

I think she has a few more years (and inches) to go before she'll be dancing in this at the prom.

Nevertheless, she does make an awfully sweet princess.

Bekah in the classic princess pose.

Sew crafty (ha!)

So, a long time ago on a blog not so far away, I promised to post a picture of the little "Grover" quilt I was making. Well, that was in August. I finished the quilt months ago, but I've been slacking in the reporting department.

To make up for it, here is the finished product:

Our outdated family pictures sit atop the shelf of glory.

And ... BONUS! The results of two other sewing projects. The first is the quilt top for Ana's bed when she moves in with Rebekah. The walls of their room are bright green, and Bekah's quilt top is purple and green. I asked Ana if she wanted turquoise and green, pink and green, or orange and green. She picked this:

I must say, the green and turquoise paisley fabric is my favorite!

The lady who quilted Bekah's quilt in inundated with work right now, so I'm going to wait until the beginning of the year and then see if she can do Ana's quilt. Then I'll be in a bind ... binding the quilt, that is. (The puns never stop today.)

And the same night that turned into the ill-fated night of stitches, Seth aunt Cathy asked if anyone wanted some leftover fabric. I chose some, bought some red flannel to go with it, and made this ragged-edge baby blanket:

It sure clogs up the lint trap of the dryer, but isn't it cute?

I started/finished another quick project today, but as it's a part of a costume, I'll have to wait and show it off in a future post (hopefully sooner than ... say, April) after we have our ward Halloween party.

Bekahism #20

After going on a windy, autumn walk and returning home for some warm drinks and cookies.

Ana: "Why is it called 'cider'?"
Bekah: "Because in 'I Know an Old Lady,' 'it wriggled and jiggled and tickled in cider.'"
Ana: "Oh." Pauses to consider and accept. "Why is it called 'apple'?"
Bekah: "Because it has apples in it."

"I deal in lead."

I drew a tag for a pronghorn hunt near Birch Creek, so this morning my Dad, my uncles Jim and Doug, and I headed off before dark in Jim's new used long bed extended cab pickup to go into the mountains and slay beasts (three of us also had tags for the regular deer season).

Despite some vehicular problems we discovered early in the morning (who needs to go in reverse, anyway?) we drove around until we had decided we had had our fill of not seeing deer, then headed down out of the mountains to flatter ground.

As we drove along the highway looking for a good place to turn off into the foothills, Doug spotted some antelope about 40 yards off the road. We bailed out and gave chase, and I shot, and shot, and SHOT, but those things run so fast (Wikipedia informs me it's the second-fasted land animal, second only to the cheetah). I guess I just wasn't leading them by enough. We chased them, a herd which included a nice buck, back and forth across the desert for a while, with probably three or four repetitions of what I just described. After enough of that humiliation (by the way, it's probably a good thing for his sake that my Grandpa Grover passed away some time ago and wasn't there to see all of the aforementioned missing, because I probably wouldn't have helped his blood pressure much) we decided to drive up the mountain a bit and then stopped to eat lunch and pop of a few rounds with the pistols at some pop cans on fence posts.

I must admit that during lunch I was feeling pretty down on myself. I'd already gone through more shells than I care to admit without hitting anything. Luckily Dad tried to boost my self esteem and Doug reassured me that antelope hunting often involves a lot of missing, so I decided all was not yet lost.

As we came back down, we saw a herd of antelope way off across the desert. Jim directed the truck in the general direction of the herd, through the sage brush down over a bumpy, barely-defined dirt road. As fate would have it, this took us fairly close to the herd, but they were just starting to go up over a ridge where they would be out of our sight. As we pulled up, we realized this was the herd we'd been chasing earlier, the one with the nice buck.

We piled out and started towards them. "Are they even close enough to shoot?" I asked my father. "That gun will shoot a lot farther than you think," he replied. I raised the 7mm to my shoulder for the umpteenth shot of the day, sighted in the big buck, and pulled the trigger. "You shot behind him again," I was told. I jacked another shell in placed the crosshairs a full body length in front of the buck, and squeezed as I continued to swing in the direction he was running.

The bullet hit him in the neck, just in front of the shoulder, and flipped him clear around in the air. We all whooped for joy, and Doug and I walked out across the sagebrush to find him. Jim and Dad stayed behind to direct us to where he went down and to range the distance of the shot with Doug's range finder.

Doug and I finished walking the 405 yards to where I hit him. He hadn't moved from the spot; he was dead before he hit the ground.

I wasn't disappointed when I saw him up close. He was a big buck: 14 inch horns, 6.5 inches around at the base.


Anyway, after some more high-fiving and admiring we field dressed him and loaded him into the back of the pickup. When Dad and I got him home we caped him so I can take it in to the taxidermist to have it mounted. Andrea has graciously agreed, and even suggested the currently-empty wall above the entertainment center in our family room its final resting place.

Anyway, it was a terrific day. I might have missed a few shots, but it only takes one. I deal in lead.

To view the gallery, click here.