A neighborly visit

I just did a quick search through past posts on our blog. How have we NOT mentioned the wildlife that visits our yard?

Because we live outside of the city in a farm community, we have had our share of animals wander onto the lawn. This has included (I swear!):

• cats
• dogs
• squirrels
• all sorts of birds
• pigs the size of Shetland ponies
• cows
• goats
• chickens
• ducks
• turkeys
• a pheasant
• a fish (while irrigating our lawn)

(The title of my post would be a lot funnier if we had had a horse or two in our yard.)

Bet you're jealous! Now, keep in mind that we do not own--nor ever have we ever owned--any animals ourselves. Not even a goldfish. But why spend money on shots, food and shelter when the animals visit free of charge? Of course, a goldfish wouldn't munch on your legs like those pigs would, given the chance.

Anyway, when Bekah called to me from the living room to say that the neighbors' goats were in our backyard, I wasn't surprised. But when I came up the stairs and saw them staring in through the back door from our porch, I was at least amused. The girls have often fed the goats clover and alfalfa during the summer, so they wanted to go outside and play with their friends.

Being a sucker, I obliged. At least goats aren't omnivores.

Ana sliding down the icy mound that is our back porch while the goat stands by.

It's hard to tell what's actually going on in the photo (I shot these through the window; I'm WAY too lazy to get dressed up in snow pants and boots just to take a few pictures), but Bekah is about to peg that goat on the right with a snowball.

Ana discovers that lawn chairs are meant to sit on the grass, not the squishy snow.

Ana-ism #6

While grocery shopping.

Andrea: (Looking for something.) "Hmmm."
Ana: (Parroting.) "Hmmm."
Andrea: "What are you thinking about, Ana?"
Ana: "Hmmm."
Andrea: "Are you contemplating the mysteries of the universe?"
Ana: "No. I'm thinking about roast beef."

29.5 weeks

I know all y'all (like, maybe my mom who reads this when I ask her to) have been dying to see a prego-Andrea pic. Seth and I have been lazy taking tummy pictures during our third pregnancy. I SWEAR it won't be like that when the baby gets here. She'll be much cuter than my bulging belly. Only 10ish more weeks to go!

This baby has sunk to the bottom of my long torso. And what is up with my half-closed eyes?! That darn flash ... gets me every time.

Before AND after pictures

It's been seven months since my infamous oral surgery. I've been lax in getting the before and after pictures up. So without further ado, here they are:

Before--I show mucho gum when smiling. Now it's all teeth ... and braces.


Before--my lips wouldn't close over my teeth unless I utilized some facial muscles. Now they close naturally over my teeth. This means that I can breathe through my nose all night because my lips don't fall open when I'm relaxed any more.


Before--my natural bite left an opening wide enough for me to shove the end of my thumb through. Now it's nice and tight.

It's amazing to me what modern medicine can do. And I don't think I can thank our health insurance enough for deciding to cover these procedures. Back in the day when we first learned about my situation and tried to get my parents' insurance to cover the surgery, they turned us down because they deemed it "cosmetic."

It's obvious that I look different now post-surgery, but isn't it also obvious that having such a drastic change could affect more than my looks? YA THINK?! The other day, I actually chewed a piece of gum (don't tell my orthodontist) for more than five minutes and didn't have to take ibuprofen afterward for my aching jaw.

Huzzah!

Following in others' footsteps

Bekah didn't ask Santa for a camera this year, but Santa is a wise man and knew that she would get a kick out of having her own little point-and-shoot. So on Christmas morning, Bekah was surprised when she tore open some wrapping paper and saw this inside:

Okay, so this isn't the EXACT camera Bekah received; it's a different color. I'm just too lazy to actually take a picture of her camera and upload it right now.

She immediately got to work. Now that she's had her camera for almost a month, we're beginning to see that the subjects of her photos can be classified into four different categories. (Keep in mind that this is an inexpensive children's camera. It doesn't have a flash. It doesn't have a large aperture. But it does have a slow shutter speed. Hence the often-blurry pictures.)

FAMILY & FRIENDS

Andrea and Ana getting ready for Grandpa Scott's retirement dinner. Andrea outside. Grandma Susan on the phone. Uncle Doug. Baby Cooper. Grandpa Dennis pulling a funny face. Bekah and Kimberlyn. Seth.

TOYS

Shapes on the MagnaDoodle. Some cars. A "ball meeting." Two girls made out of Legos. A car made out of Legos. A G.I. Joe with Ariel next to a four-wheeler. Minnie and Mickey Mouse. Lightning McQueen.

PATCHES

Patches. Patches. Patches. Patches. Bekah shot these all on Christmas Day at Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Susan's house. Uncle Doug had brought over his dog. Bekah repeatedly shot her, then showed the pictures to the dog. She remained aloof.

ANALEE

Ana pulling a funny face. Ana posing under Grandma Susan's Christmas tree. Ana eating lunch. Ana smiling for the camera. You'd think Ana would be in the "Family & Friends" category, but Bekah shoots so many pictures of her little sister that I think she warrants her own category.

So the next time I have a wedding, engagement or senior shoot, I'd probably better take my little photography apprentice along. Her photos are worth at least as much as mine, right?

Sack races

The girls were being extra-silly last night playing under the covers of our bed. I enjoyed the silliness for a while, then came downstairs to talk to Seth who has busy doing some hacking on the computer.

This is how the girls came downstairs:

Bekah and Ana sporting the latest fashion.

They had stolen the pillowcases from our bed and thought they'd make good sacks to hop around in. After a good romp in our cases, they had to run back upstairs and get their own. Soon they were double-sacking or wearing one case on their heads and another on their legs. Where do kids come up with these ideas?

Ana having a riotous time in her pillowcase.

Bekah doing the double-case.

Ana-ism #5

While driving in the car. I had just explained the difference between Captain Moroni and the Angel Moroni from the Book of Mormon.

Bekah: "When I get to heaven, will I get to talk to Captain Moroni?"
Andrea: "Yes, you certainly will."
Ana: "Will Captain Moroni have an accent?"

Bekahism #24

Singing to herself.

Bekah: "Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln. You are my favorite prophet."
Andrea: (Thinking.) She STILL hasn't figured out the difference between "prophet" and "president." Oh, well.
Bekah: (Still singing.) "Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln. I can't wait to talk to you in heaven." (Stops singing and finds me downstairs.) "Mom, can people in heaven hear everything we say?"
Andrea: "That's a good question, Bekah. I'm not sure."
Bekah: "Oh. Daddy will know! Daddy is a science kid!" (Thinks for a moment.) "Is heaven science?"
Andrea: "No, heaven is actually religion."
Bekah: "Does Daddy know a lot about religion?"
Andrea: "Yes, Daddy knows a lot about religion."
Bekah: "Then I'll ask Daddy because he's a religion kid!"

Island Park winter adventure

Although this year's trip to Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks' cabin wasn't nearly as eventful as last year's, we still managed to have some adventures. Unbeknownst to us, the pipes had frozen ... again. But much to our (pleasant) surprise, they thawed while we were enjoying our first afternoon in the wintry north, so we decided not to shorten our stay.

During our three-day trip, we had four separate jaunts in the snow, followed by four helpings of hot chocolate. As we warmed up inside, the girls (with the help of their daddy) made some elaborate Hot Wheels tracks and ran cars on them. I finished reading a novel. Seth started to learn the secrets of the Rubik's Cube. The girls watched several movies. Seth and I watched several episodes of Scrubs. The girls learned to share a double bed. I enjoyed the electric blanket on the bed in the loft.

'Twas a delightful time. See for yourself:

Seth harvested many-an-icicle from the roof of the cabin for the girls to enjoy. And they did ... in more ways than one.

Ana and Bekah fighting with icy lightsabers.

Bekah tasting the icy freshness of Island Park icicles.

Ana sampling some of her own.

This morning after we woke up, we noticed that it had snowed a little bit during the night. The truck, which had been totally snow-free the day before, looked like this:

Check that out, people. That's easily a foot of snow in the bed of that truck. That stuff fell in less than 24 hours.

Needless to say, we were very grateful for four-wheel drive. This is why we didn't bring Vinny (our van) up this year. He stayed nice and dry in the garage while the "big daddy truck" (how our girls refer to it) did all the work.

To see more pictures of our trip, click here.

Fair flashback

While stealing pictures off my dad's computer, we found some cute ones he shot when we went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair back in September. Since we wouldn't want anyone to miss out on the cuteness, here is a sampling. (To see others, click here.)

Analee and Andrea checking out the tortoise at the petting zoo.

Bekah smiling because she just showed Grandpa Scott (the photographer) her balloon (which is now out of the frame).

Analee feeding the goose doll some straw.

Seth watching as Bekah rides the tractor.

Seth, Andrea, Grandma Scott and Aunt Jessica sitting/watching/waiting for our girls to finish playing.

Christmas Extravaganza 2009

We got to spend some time with my family the day before Christmas Eve, the morning of Christmas and the day after Christmas (again, too lazy to take my camera when I know my dad has at least three within an arm's length at any time), so Christmas Eve and Christmas afternoon we spent with Seth's family.

At Aunt Cathy's house, we visited, ate yummy food and reenacted the Nativity. Although Bekah's knows she can't marry her cousin (see this post), she jumped at the chance to play his wife for the production. So Bekah was Mary, Mack was Joseph, Tav was a wiseman, Ana was a sheep/angel (it seemed to me she was a furry angel with a halo that said, "Baa!"), and Baby Cooper was Baby Jesus.

The partial cast (Seth and his cousins filled in the other wisemen/innkeeper/star/narrator parts) before the actual production.

Then we spent the evening at Grandma Susan and Grandpa Grover's house exchanging gifts with Seth's family.

Bekah received a whole bag full of Legos from Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis. She's been on quite a Lego kick lately, but with the paltry number of blocks we own, she had to ration out her Legos when building more than one thing. She'll never run out of blocks again.

Analee holding the Powerpuff Girl umbrella she received.

The next morning, the girls got to open the gifts they received from Santa before we left the house to visit family.

Analee (wearing the princess jammies Grandma Scott had given her) playing with the "Barry" doll Grandma Susan had given her on Christmas Eve and the baby station Santa brought her on Christmas morning.

Bekah (wearing the "Daddy's Princess" jammies Grandma Scott had given her) finally getting to dump out her entire bag of Legos she received from Grandma Susan.

To see other Christmas images, click here.

Cutting the Christmas tree

You'd think, this being posted shortly after Christmas and all, that I'd be blogging about that. (Never fear ... that's next.) But instead, I'm going to catch up on our day after Thanksgiving festivities.

I'm super-late in doing so because I was waiting on pictures. I was WAY too lazy to take my own pictures of our adventures, so I relied on my camera-happy father to take care of it. And he did. But I didn't get those pictures until the day before yesterday. Why? Because he didn't know I was waiting for them, and I kept forgetting to ask. So Seth and I simply stole them off his computer.

That being said ...

Thanksgiving day, we spent a lot of time with my family. After a sumptuous feast (99 percent prepared by my mom ... I DID, however, contribute the dinner rolls), we took it easy and attempted to digest all the good food. The girls found ways to entertain themselves.

Analee and Bekah playing with toys in the bathroom sink. They were both soaked after this, so Grandma Scott found some extra clothes to change them into. I'm still amazed at this picture ... with the medicine cabinet mirror and the mirror on the back of the bathroom door, I have no idea how my dad managed to shoot this without getting himself in the shot. Kudos to you, old man!

Bekah enjoying one of the pies Grandma Scott made.

And the day after Thanksgiving, we donned our cold-weather gear and drove to Fall Creek for our annual Christmas tree hunt. Between the nine of us who came (Grandpa Scott, Grandma Scott, Uncle T, Aunt McKall, Aunt Jessica, Seth, me, Bekah and Ana), we were in charge of cutting down four trees (one for Grandma and Grandpa, one for Uncle T, one for us and one for Uncle Jason). It took us quite a while to find four worthy trees, but we did it.

Seth pulling Ana in the sled (since we knew we'd be in charge of hauling two trees down the mountain, Seth brought the sled to assist us), and Bekah walking alongside it. Bekah traipsed all over the snowy mountainside. Ana wanted to, but her legs are so short it took her FOREVER to get anywhere. She alternated between being carried, riding in Seth's big sled or riding in my little one.

Uncle T watching as Seth gets our tree down the very steep hill and I follow by sliding on my bum.

Analee and Rebekah enjoying the taste of the great wintry outdoors.

I should say it's about time to get this post up. The Christmas tree we worked so hard to find, chop down and carry home it about to be dismantled and discarded tomorrow. Sigh ... such is life when you're a pretty pine.

To see more pictures of Thanksgiving/cutting Christmas trees, click here.

What the elf?!?

This is Andrea's doing. (The audio might be slightly out-of-sync with the video, which is my doing. They don't make it easy to rip this thing.)

Christmas 2009 newsletter

In case you didn't get on the mailing list, here is the 2009 edition of the Grover Christmas newsletter. Click on the image to view it in a non-microscopic size.

Bekahism #23

Talking to her cousin, Mack, while playing at our house.

Bekah: "I love you, Mack, but we can't get married because we're cousins."
Mack: (Blank stare.)

Mack, Tav, Bekah and Ana (my kids are on a dress-up kick ... Bekah is Raggedy Ann and Ana is a princess) during their playdate.