Seth: Miri, you're a good girl.
Miriam: But sometime's I'm being grumpy. I'm being a grumper right now. A "grumper" means bad.
Seth: You're not bad. Most of the time you are very very good.
Miriam: But my heart still thinks I'm bad.
2013-11-30
Miri-ism #21
Seth: We're on Thanksgiving break now. You go back to preschool in five more days.
Miriam: Five more days! That's not very much! That's a ton! That's zero!
Miriam: Five more days! That's not very much! That's a ton! That's zero!
2013-11-27
Miri-ism #20
Andrea is looking through some piano music while Ana and Miri play in the background.
Ana: Ouch, Miri! That hurt!
(Miri tries to take care of the problem of Ana telling on her and runs up to Andrea.)
Miri: Mommy, don't listen to anything!
Ana: Ouch, Miri! That hurt!
(Miri tries to take care of the problem of Ana telling on her and runs up to Andrea.)
Miri: Mommy, don't listen to anything!
Vacation
All six of us have the entire week of Thanksgiving off. No school, no preschool, no work, no piano, no dance. To occupy our time, we decided to take a day trip yesterday.
First we drove to Lava Hot Springs and spent an hour in the Portneuf Kiddie Cove. It's basically an indoor splash pad. The water is warmer than a typical swimming pool's; the deepest it gets is 1.5 feet. The girls played on the slide, in the fountains and with the other toys. Winnie would have stayed all day, but the other girls got tired out, so we packed it up and drove north to Pocatello to get some lunch.
Our post-lunch plans included going to the Museum of Clean and the Idaho Museum of Natural History. Seth was incredibly skeptical of the Museum of Clean at first, but when we got inside and saw that it was EXTREMELY kid-friendly and NOT a giant advertisement, he came around.
Don Aslett himself gave us and a few other families a tour of the museum. He was funny, he kept the crowd moving, and he was really good with the kids.
After the tour, we were turned loose to reexamine the exhibits and play.
The Museum of Natural History is a smaller museum, but what it lacks in space in makes up for in the hands-on children's room.
To see other pictures of our exciting Thanksgiving break adventures, start here.
First we drove to Lava Hot Springs and spent an hour in the Portneuf Kiddie Cove. It's basically an indoor splash pad. The water is warmer than a typical swimming pool's; the deepest it gets is 1.5 feet. The girls played on the slide, in the fountains and with the other toys. Winnie would have stayed all day, but the other girls got tired out, so we packed it up and drove north to Pocatello to get some lunch.
Our post-lunch plans included going to the Museum of Clean and the Idaho Museum of Natural History. Seth was incredibly skeptical of the Museum of Clean at first, but when we got inside and saw that it was EXTREMELY kid-friendly and NOT a giant advertisement, he came around.
Don Aslett himself gave us and a few other families a tour of the museum. He was funny, he kept the crowd moving, and he was really good with the kids.
Rebekah in the hall of mirrors.
After demonstrating the puppet theater, Don showed us a melodrama using a dollar bill as a prop. The bad guy (dollar bill used as a mustache) demanded, "Pay the rent!" The damsel (dollar bill used as a bow) insisted, "I can't pay the rent!" And finally the good guy (dollar bill used as a bow tie) stepped in and said, "I'll pay the rent!" Then he asked a volunteer to come up and do the melodrama the same way he had. When several of the older kids backed out and Miriam kept insistently raising her hand, he called on her. Not only did Miri do a great job with the melodrama, but she also got to keep the dollar.
After the tour, we were turned loose to reexamine the exhibits and play.
Ana and Miri washing windows.
Seth and Winnie on Noah's ark.
Analee getting her hair sucked in on the "Vacuum me!" exhibit.
Revisiting the hall of mirrors.
Miriam the chimney sweep.
The Museum of Natural History is a smaller museum, but what it lacks in space in makes up for in the hands-on children's room.
Rebekah checking out the prehistoric sharks.
Ana asked for a picture at the swirling teeth.
Winnie enjoyed the dinosaurs but kept making a break for the door. Eventually Seth took her on a walk around the ISU campus in the stroller while I stayed and played with the bigger girls.
Our mad scientists trying to avoid a blast of air from Seth.
Miriam and the magnifiers.
To see other pictures of our exciting Thanksgiving break adventures, start here.
2013-11-21
Miri-ism #19
Miriam and Analee sitting at the table eating snacks and playing with Play-doh.
Miriam: Ana, you are my best friend forever. That means you get to share your toys with me all the day.
Miriam: Ana, you are my best friend forever. That means you get to share your toys with me all the day.
2013-11-18
Family funeral
My aunt passed away a couple of weeks ago, and we had the pleasure of attending her funeral in Holbrook the following Saturday.
Seth, being the supportive husband he is, asked me what I wanted him to do. As much as I enjoy his company, I wanted even more not to chase an extremely mobile 1-year-old during a touching service. So he stayed home with Gwendolen (and cleaned the house, I might add), and I brought the other (also mobile but more reverent) girls with me.
We carpooled from Idaho Falls; our van fit the four Grovers plus my parents and sister. Because Dad wanted to be there early (it was his sister who passed away), we had some time to get the wiggles out at the nearby playground.
When it came time for the funeral, we settled down and got in our seats inside the church. As sad as funerals are, I enjoy attending them and hearing more about my loved ones.
After the service, we drove to the nearby cemetery and laid Aunt Eunice to rest.
The Relief Societies of two nearby wards (keep in mind that this is rural Idaho, so the wards are very small) provided a wonderful luncheon for us, and we had the opportunity to visit with uncles, aunts and cousins inside the church and out on the lawn on an unusually mild November day.
She defiantly told them that when people do things like that to her, she shows them her "bear bum."
Our van was one of the first to arrive at the Holbrook church that morning, and it was among the last to leave that evening. Because my two brothers traveled quite a distance to attend (Washington and Boise), our goodbyes lasted longer than most.
To see more pictures, start here.
Seth, being the supportive husband he is, asked me what I wanted him to do. As much as I enjoy his company, I wanted even more not to chase an extremely mobile 1-year-old during a touching service. So he stayed home with Gwendolen (and cleaned the house, I might add), and I brought the other (also mobile but more reverent) girls with me.
We carpooled from Idaho Falls; our van fit the four Grovers plus my parents and sister. Because Dad wanted to be there early (it was his sister who passed away), we had some time to get the wiggles out at the nearby playground.
Rebekah going down the slide head-first. All the more impressive because she's in her dress.
Miriam on the swings.
Ana swinging on a ring.
When it came time for the funeral, we settled down and got in our seats inside the church. As sad as funerals are, I enjoy attending them and hearing more about my loved ones.
After the service, we drove to the nearby cemetery and laid Aunt Eunice to rest.
Pallbearers moving the casket. (The funeral pictures are in a separate album here.)
The Relief Societies of two nearby wards (keep in mind that this is rural Idaho, so the wards are very small) provided a wonderful luncheon for us, and we had the opportunity to visit with uncles, aunts and cousins inside the church and out on the lawn on an unusually mild November day.
While Rebekah, Analee and cousin Libby played at the playground, Miriam got ganged up on by her uncles.
She defiantly told them that when people do things like that to her, she shows them her "bear bum."
Unfortunately, her uncles got more bear/bare than they expected. Miriam's teddy bear tights had inched down her backside a little bit when she lifted her skirt. I guess she wanted to be a plumber.
Our van was one of the first to arrive at the Holbrook church that morning, and it was among the last to leave that evening. Because my two brothers traveled quite a distance to attend (Washington and Boise), our goodbyes lasted longer than most.
Uncle Jon hugs Miriam goodbye while Andrea and Libby watch.
To see more pictures, start here.
2013-11-04
All things Halloweeny
We made sure to put our costumes to good use this year by attending no fewer than five Halloween events.
Before we go to the narrative, here's a quick run-down of our thrifty costumes:
Miriam as Rapunzel
Miriam had a hard time deciding which princess she was going to be for Halloween. First she thought she'd be Merida. Then she thought she'd be Rapunzel. Then she thought she'd be Ariel. I think she cycled through one or two other princesses before she settled on Rapunzel. We let her choose which one of our princess dresses we already have to wear for the holiday festivities, and Analee sweetly insisted on buying the dollar store hair extensions Miriam used for her costume on a shopping outing one day. (I ended up attempting to brush through the wig before braiding it and adding flowers to try and make it a little more presentable.)
Rebekah the bumblebee
Back in May when I got to see Rebekah's dance costume for the first time, I said, "You know, if we added some wings, antennae and a stinger, you'd make a great bee for Halloween."
Although Rebekah considered some other Halloween costume alternatives (robot, Mad-Eye Moody), I was able to steer her back to the bee with "You know, you probably won't fit into that dance costume next fall." Bekah made the antennae herself with a headband and some pipe cleaners. I made the stinger with some felt and stuffing. We bought the wings at the dollar store.
Andrea as Peter Pan
One day as we were discussing Halloween costumes, Ana asked if I could be Peter Pan to her Captain Hook. I thought about it for a little while and assured her I could easily do that. I bought some felt from the craft store, looked up a Peter Pan hat tutorial, sewed the thing together and hot-glued a feather to the side. Apparently I already dress like Peter because I had everything else already in my closet. Several of the kids at the girls' school mistook me for an elf or Robin Hood, but I assured them I had just forgotten my pixie dust.
Analee as Captain Hook
This one was a no-brainer. Her dance class received very elaborate Captain Hook costumes for their recital, so we added a dollar store sword and switched out the booties for the black boots she already had.
Seth as the Tick Tock Croc
Because we already had a Peter and a Hook, we tried to think of an easy way to make Seth one of the other Pan characters. We kidded about making him wear a dress and go as Wendy, but in the end we found a croc hat at the dollar store, and he whipped together a Flavor Flav-type neckpiece so people would get the idea.
Gwendolen as a Lost Boy
Honestly, I thought she'd just be a run-of-the-mill leopard for Halloween (that was the baby-sized costume we already had that fit her best), but then I realized that
Winnie could fit into our partial Pan theme if we just changed what we were calling her.
All right ... on to the festivities.
First of all, the three older girls attended a party put together by their wonderful and talented Aunt Melissa. Seth and I used the opportunity to go on a pseudo-date (we had Winnie with us), but I hear the girls had an incredible time.
Next, we attended our public library's family Halloween story time. They had some fun stories and songs and a treat to hand out at the end.
Although it didn't involve costumes, we also did our annual jack o' lantern carving. This year Rebekah carved hers (mostly) by herself. Seth helped Miriam carve a scary face. I helped Analee carve a mermaid.
Then the older girls and I attended a party put on by my old friend, Robyn. Analee won second place in the costume contest, and the girls all got to play Bingo, do a beanbag toss, decorate cookies and eat fun and festive food.
Then the two oldest girls had their respective class Halloween parties. I got to supply the game for Analee's first grade class. The kids had to split up into teams, designate a mummy and wrap that kid up using an entire roll of toilet paper.
That night, of course, we went trick-or-treating. I took the girls to most of the area grandparents' houses.
When Grandma Scott picked up Winnie, it reminded me of a similar picture I shot five years ago with baby Analee.
After dinner Seth took the older girls to do door-to-door trick-or-treating and to visit Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis while Winnie and I took care of the trick-or-treaters who came to our house. Suffice it to say we have enough sugar at our house to last until Valentine's Day.
To see more Halloween pictures, start here.
Before we go to the narrative, here's a quick run-down of our thrifty costumes:
Miriam and Rebekah in their Halloween costumes at the public library's family Halloween story time.
Miriam as Rapunzel
Miriam had a hard time deciding which princess she was going to be for Halloween. First she thought she'd be Merida. Then she thought she'd be Rapunzel. Then she thought she'd be Ariel. I think she cycled through one or two other princesses before she settled on Rapunzel. We let her choose which one of our princess dresses we already have to wear for the holiday festivities, and Analee sweetly insisted on buying the dollar store hair extensions Miriam used for her costume on a shopping outing one day. (I ended up attempting to brush through the wig before braiding it and adding flowers to try and make it a little more presentable.)
Rebekah the bumblebee
Back in May when I got to see Rebekah's dance costume for the first time, I said, "You know, if we added some wings, antennae and a stinger, you'd make a great bee for Halloween."
The very cute and expensive dance costume.
Although Rebekah considered some other Halloween costume alternatives (robot, Mad-Eye Moody), I was able to steer her back to the bee with "You know, you probably won't fit into that dance costume next fall." Bekah made the antennae herself with a headband and some pipe cleaners. I made the stinger with some felt and stuffing. We bought the wings at the dollar store.
Andrea as Peter Pan; Analee as Captain Hook; Seth as the Tick Tock Croc; Gwendolen as a Lost Boy.
Andrea as Peter Pan
One day as we were discussing Halloween costumes, Ana asked if I could be Peter Pan to her Captain Hook. I thought about it for a little while and assured her I could easily do that. I bought some felt from the craft store, looked up a Peter Pan hat tutorial, sewed the thing together and hot-glued a feather to the side. Apparently I already dress like Peter because I had everything else already in my closet. Several of the kids at the girls' school mistook me for an elf or Robin Hood, but I assured them I had just forgotten my pixie dust.
Analee as Captain Hook
This one was a no-brainer. Her dance class received very elaborate Captain Hook costumes for their recital, so we added a dollar store sword and switched out the booties for the black boots she already had.
Sometime between the end of May and the end of Halloween, Ana removed the embellishments from her hat, but it still worked.
Seth as the Tick Tock Croc
Because we already had a Peter and a Hook, we tried to think of an easy way to make Seth one of the other Pan characters. We kidded about making him wear a dress and go as Wendy, but in the end we found a croc hat at the dollar store, and he whipped together a Flavor Flav-type neckpiece so people would get the idea.
Gwendolen as a Lost Boy
Honestly, I thought she'd just be a run-of-the-mill leopard for Halloween (that was the baby-sized costume we already had that fit her best), but then I realized that
Winnie could fit into our partial Pan theme if we just changed what we were calling her.
All right ... on to the festivities.
First of all, the three older girls attended a party put together by their wonderful and talented Aunt Melissa. Seth and I used the opportunity to go on a pseudo-date (we had Winnie with us), but I hear the girls had an incredible time.
Next, we attended our public library's family Halloween story time. They had some fun stories and songs and a treat to hand out at the end.
Seth the crocodile attacking Winnie the Lost Boy.
Rebekah got the opportunity to participate in one of the stories.
Although it didn't involve costumes, we also did our annual jack o' lantern carving. This year Rebekah carved hers (mostly) by herself. Seth helped Miriam carve a scary face. I helped Analee carve a mermaid.
Although this isn't the best photo of all of us, I had to include it here because I think it's funny. Winnie's expression is priceless.
Bekah's angry face, Miriam's scary face, Analee's mermaid.
Then the older girls and I attended a party put on by my old friend, Robyn. Analee won second place in the costume contest, and the girls all got to play Bingo, do a beanbag toss, decorate cookies and eat fun and festive food.
Miriam, Rebekah and Analee decorating sugar cookies.
Then the two oldest girls had their respective class Halloween parties. I got to supply the game for Analee's first grade class. The kids had to split up into teams, designate a mummy and wrap that kid up using an entire roll of toilet paper.
Analee wrapped up her friend, Maddy.
That night, of course, we went trick-or-treating. I took the girls to most of the area grandparents' houses.
Miriam reverse trick-or-treating; she gave Grandpa a rubber band that Winnie had picked up and chewed on.
Ringing the doorbell at Old Grandma's house.
Grandpa Scott was in Coeur d'Alene at the state volleyball tournament on Halloween, but before he left, he made personalized luggage tags for each of our girls while he was making them for his Idaho Falls Tigers. Grandma Scott got to hand them out.
When Grandma Scott picked up Winnie, it reminded me of a similar picture I shot five years ago with baby Analee.
Winnie is 13 months old; Analee was 5 months old.
Rebekah showed us how she could blow big bubbles.
After dinner Seth took the older girls to do door-to-door trick-or-treating and to visit Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis while Winnie and I took care of the trick-or-treaters who came to our house. Suffice it to say we have enough sugar at our house to last until Valentine's Day.
Our cute trick-or-treaters.
To see more Halloween pictures, start here.
2013-10-27
The light of learning
When I showed Seth this image, he wondered how I made the book glow. The truth is, I came across Ana reading this library book on the couch (and Miri looking over her shoulder), snapped this picture and have done absolutely nothing in Photoshop with it. No retouching. No adjusting levels.
What you can't see in the picture is that Ana is sitting right next to the back door/window, that a shaft of afternoon sun was pouring in through the glass and reflecting off the book's pages.
2013-10-21
Gwendolen's 12-month stats
Last week Winnie played porcupine by being on the receiving end of five needles. If I weren't such a staunch immunizations advocate, I might have wavered when the nurse brought in the array of syringes. Surprisingly, she flinched but didn't cry with the first needle. However, the subsequent pokes did her in; she cried for a minute or two until her pacifier did its job (along with her blankie and some cuddles).
I thought my other 1-year-olds were shrimpy when measured up at their check-ups. Man ... Winnie is the shrimpiest of them all.
Height: 29.5 inches (58th percentile)
Weight: 16 pounds, 12 ounces (8th percentile)
Head: 18 inches (71st percentile)
She still rides in her infant car seat facing backwards (because, let's be honest, I'm lazy enough that I prefer just unclipping the car seat, carrying it in to the grocery store and plopping it in the cart rather than unbuckling her, pulling her out and buckling her into the cart). She still wears a size 2 in diapers. She mostly wears 6-9 months in clothes. In fact, I barely put away the 0-3 month onesies two days ago.
Winnie's so little that every time I see her walking around (she's been going at it for more than a month now) I think, "This kid is too tiny to be on her feet."
But the pediatrician says she's following her curve just fine, so he's not concerned about her size. Developmentally she's right on target.
Winnie's 12-month words:
I thought my other 1-year-olds were shrimpy when measured up at their check-ups. Man ... Winnie is the shrimpiest of them all.
Height: 29.5 inches (58th percentile)
Weight: 16 pounds, 12 ounces (8th percentile)
Head: 18 inches (71st percentile)
She still rides in her infant car seat facing backwards (because, let's be honest, I'm lazy enough that I prefer just unclipping the car seat, carrying it in to the grocery store and plopping it in the cart rather than unbuckling her, pulling her out and buckling her into the cart). She still wears a size 2 in diapers. She mostly wears 6-9 months in clothes. In fact, I barely put away the 0-3 month onesies two days ago.
Winnie's so little that every time I see her walking around (she's been going at it for more than a month now) I think, "This kid is too tiny to be on her feet."
Winnie obviously disagrees.
But the pediatrician says she's following her curve just fine, so he's not concerned about her size. Developmentally she's right on target.
Winnie's 12-month words:
- No (I heard this for the first time yesterday.)
- Puppy
- Bekah
- Baba (our term for pacifier)
- Roar (when she sees a tiger/lion)
- Mama
- Dada
2013-10-16
Bekahism #52
Getting a report on Bekah's conflict managers meeting.
Andrea: How was your meeting today?
Bekah: It was great. We learned how to listen to little kids.
Andrea: How do you listen to little kids?
Bekah: You look at them, you listen to them, and you don't call them "little kids."
Andrea: How was your meeting today?
Bekah: It was great. We learned how to listen to little kids.
Andrea: How do you listen to little kids?
Bekah: You look at them, you listen to them, and you don't call them "little kids."
Miri-ism #18
While eating hot dogs for dinner.
Seth: Miri, eat your bun.
Miri: Not my bum! Not my bummy bum!
Seth: Miri, eat your bun.
Miri: Not my bum! Not my bummy bum!
Ana's stitches
I don't know what this girl has against her left eyebrow (I think it's quite lovely), but Analee has now tried twice to gouge it out or sheer it off or whatever you do to rid yourself of an eyebrow. (For a refresher of the first time, click here.)
Last Thursday evening, Grandma Scott invited Rebekah and Analee over to her house for dinner with the missionaries. Apparently the girls were playing some game involving sliding around on their hands and knees on the hardwood floors when Ana's face made a quick decision to see the floor up close and personal.
Grandma called to let me know that there was a "situation." She explained that Ana had a gash above her eye. She figured I could come take a look at it and decide what needed to be done.
I jumped in the van and drove to her house one street over from ours (Have I ever mentioned that BOTH sets of grandparents live one block from us? Best thing EVER. But that's a post for another day ...) to assess the situation. One quick glance at Ana's forehead (or "forenoggin, as she calls it) let me know that we would be seeing a doctor that night.
Seth took care of the other girls while I drove Ana in to our 24-hour care center (I'm SO glad it's 24-hour now. Back when Ana got her first set of stitches, everything else was closed and I had to take her to the ER. We waited for.ev.er.) The care center had just one other patient waiting, so we got back fairly quickly.
One cotton ball of topical anesthetic, a couple of shots of more anesthetic, three stitches and a bandaid later, Ana came home with a pre-Halloween Frankenstein costume. She did really well throughout the process (she yelled during the shots, but I think those shots warrant a little shouting) and stayed calm almost the entire time.
Last Thursday evening, Grandma Scott invited Rebekah and Analee over to her house for dinner with the missionaries. Apparently the girls were playing some game involving sliding around on their hands and knees on the hardwood floors when Ana's face made a quick decision to see the floor up close and personal.
Grandma called to let me know that there was a "situation." She explained that Ana had a gash above her eye. She figured I could come take a look at it and decide what needed to be done.
I jumped in the van and drove to her house one street over from ours (Have I ever mentioned that BOTH sets of grandparents live one block from us? Best thing EVER. But that's a post for another day ...) to assess the situation. One quick glance at Ana's forehead (or "forenoggin, as she calls it) let me know that we would be seeing a doctor that night.
Ana and her gashy wound.
Seth took care of the other girls while I drove Ana in to our 24-hour care center (I'm SO glad it's 24-hour now. Back when Ana got her first set of stitches, everything else was closed and I had to take her to the ER. We waited for.ev.er.) The care center had just one other patient waiting, so we got back fairly quickly.
One cotton ball of topical anesthetic, a couple of shots of more anesthetic, three stitches and a bandaid later, Ana came home with a pre-Halloween Frankenstein costume. She did really well throughout the process (she yelled during the shots, but I think those shots warrant a little shouting) and stayed calm almost the entire time.
Three more stitches.
And because I know you're dying for a side-by-side comparison of her stitches at age 2 and again at 6, here it is:
If she continues with the current pattern, we can expect Analee to need another three stitches in her left eyebrow when she turns 10.
2013-10-15
Gwendolen is 1
Because she's too small to care and our schedule was a little crazy, Gwendolen got to celebrate most of her birthday a few days late. The actual day of her birthday (Oct. 4), Analee gave her a present she picked out and paid for all by herself.
Then we waited until all the extended family's schedules aligned (much like the stars, it only happens once in a century) so we could have a birthday celebration the Monday after her birthday.
We had cousins,
cupcakes,
and presents.
It was fun to have uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins and sisters help us celebrate Winnie turning one. She's such a sweet, cute little girl. Our family wouldn't be complete without her.
If you want to see more pictures, start here.
A rubbery, spiky ball from the dollar store. Gwedolen loves it.
Then we waited until all the extended family's schedules aligned (much like the stars, it only happens once in a century) so we could have a birthday celebration the Monday after her birthday.
We had cousins,
Bennet, Emma and Gwendolen play with cars.
cupcakes,
Winnie eating her "Sweetheart" cupcake with strawberry jam-flavored frosting.
and presents.
Winnie getting help from at least three people in opening her gifts from grandparents and parents.
It was fun to have uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins and sisters help us celebrate Winnie turning one. She's such a sweet, cute little girl. Our family wouldn't be complete without her.
If you want to see more pictures, start here.
2013-10-12
Miri-ism #17
While using the restroom at the store.
Miri: Mom, I smell something dangerous in here. And it's not my pee.
Miri: Mom, I smell something dangerous in here. And it's not my pee.
2013-10-10
Rebekah at General Conference
This past weekend was the start of a wonderful Grover tradition. Because Rebekah is now 8 years old, she is old enough to attend General Conference in Salt Lake City. We hope to do the same thing with each of our girls as they turn 8. With Rebekah, we were able to get tickets to the Saturday afternoon session, so we planned a special parents/daughter trip to see the prophet and apostles.
Saturday morning we dropped the three younger sisters off at Grandma and Grandpa Scott's house and drove down to Utah. It's amazing how much easier car trips are when you have only one child in the car and when she's old enough to operate the Kindle, drink pop without spilling and tell us ahead of time when she'll need a bathroom break.
We listened to the morning session in the car. After we arrived in Salt Lake, we parked the car, rode TRAX for three stops and walked to Mormon Pioneer Monument Memorial Park. Even though I've been to downtown Salt Lake and Temple Square more times than I can count, I had no idea this little park lay nestled between cute houses just east of where Seth's grandparents lived when they were serving as missionaries in SLC.
We ate a picnic lunch of egg salad sandwiches (Rebekah's choice) at the park and viewed Brigham Young's grave, as well as the graves of Eliza R. Snow, a couple of Brigham's children and a few of his wives.
After lunch it was time to walk to the Conference Center and get our seats. We were in the third row of balcony eight, to the left of the podium.
It was neat to be able to sustain the prophet and apostles while sitting in the same room as most of them. I especially appreciated Elder S. Gifford Nielsen's talk and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's.
After our session, we took Rebekah on a hunt through the Salt Lake Cemetery to find the graves of several groups of people:
Prophets
All but four latter-day prophets are buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery. The exceptions are Joseph Smith (buried in Nauvoo), Brigham Young (buried in the Mormon Pioneer Monument Memorial Park which we visited earlier that day) Lorenzo Snow (buried in Brigham City) and Ezra Taft Benson (buried in Whitney, Idaho). That means we saw the graves of Wilford Woodruff, Joseph F. Smith, Heber J. Grant, George Albert Smith, David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, Spencer W. Kimball, Howard W. Hunter and Gordon B. Hinckley.
Ancestors
Rebekah has nine direct ancestors buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery. They are: Homer and Asenath Duncan, Henry and Ann Grow, Maren Jorgensen, James and Isabella McGhie and William and Alice Strong. In preparation for our trip, I did some research and came up with some short summaries that tell about our family so I could print it off, put it in a binder and carry it around the cemetery. (The boxes next to the names are there so we could check them off as we found them.)
Other Notable Figures
We saw several apostles (Neal A. Maxwell, Orson Pratt, Willard Richards, James E. Talmage,) as well as hymn authors (W. W. Phelps, William Clayton) and Joseph Smith's bodyguard (Orrin Porter Rockwell).
Saturday morning we dropped the three younger sisters off at Grandma and Grandpa Scott's house and drove down to Utah. It's amazing how much easier car trips are when you have only one child in the car and when she's old enough to operate the Kindle, drink pop without spilling and tell us ahead of time when she'll need a bathroom break.
We listened to the morning session in the car. After we arrived in Salt Lake, we parked the car, rode TRAX for three stops and walked to Mormon Pioneer Monument Memorial Park. Even though I've been to downtown Salt Lake and Temple Square more times than I can count, I had no idea this little park lay nestled between cute houses just east of where Seth's grandparents lived when they were serving as missionaries in SLC.
We ate a picnic lunch of egg salad sandwiches (Rebekah's choice) at the park and viewed Brigham Young's grave, as well as the graves of Eliza R. Snow, a couple of Brigham's children and a few of his wives.
After lunch it was time to walk to the Conference Center and get our seats. We were in the third row of balcony eight, to the left of the podium.
Phone picture of Andrea and Rebekah in our seats at the Conference Center.
Seth and Rebekah waiting for Conference to start. It's amazing how every seat gets filled in that enormous auditorium.
It was neat to be able to sustain the prophet and apostles while sitting in the same room as most of them. I especially appreciated Elder S. Gifford Nielsen's talk and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's.
After our session, we took Rebekah on a hunt through the Salt Lake Cemetery to find the graves of several groups of people:
Prophets
All but four latter-day prophets are buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery. The exceptions are Joseph Smith (buried in Nauvoo), Brigham Young (buried in the Mormon Pioneer Monument Memorial Park which we visited earlier that day) Lorenzo Snow (buried in Brigham City) and Ezra Taft Benson (buried in Whitney, Idaho). That means we saw the graves of Wilford Woodruff, Joseph F. Smith, Heber J. Grant, George Albert Smith, David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, Spencer W. Kimball, Howard W. Hunter and Gordon B. Hinckley.
Ancestors
Rebekah has nine direct ancestors buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery. They are: Homer and Asenath Duncan, Henry and Ann Grow, Maren Jorgensen, James and Isabella McGhie and William and Alice Strong. In preparation for our trip, I did some research and came up with some short summaries that tell about our family so I could print it off, put it in a binder and carry it around the cemetery. (The boxes next to the names are there so we could check them off as we found them.)
Click to see it large enough to actually read.
Other Notable Figures
We saw several apostles (Neal A. Maxwell, Orson Pratt, Willard Richards, James E. Talmage,) as well as hymn authors (W. W. Phelps, William Clayton) and Joseph Smith's bodyguard (Orrin Porter Rockwell).
After our cemetery tour, we drove to the Gateway and treated Rebekah to quite the eating experience at Tucano's Brazilian Grill. Bekah has been somewhat of a picky eater; when she was younger and told to eat something she had decided she didn't like, she'd often audibly gag it down. However, at the restaurant she was exceptionally well mannered and tried several new things (fried bananas, chicken hearts, quail eggs, etc.).
We gorged ourselves, then drove to Aunt Susan's in South Jordan to spend the night. Upon our happy awakening the next morning, we got ready and drove north in time to eat lunch with my parents at their house and take all our girls home.
The trip was a choice experience for me, as I hope it was for Rebekah. We enjoyed getting to spend some good bonding time with her and remember what a sweet, fun little girl she is.
To see more pictures, start here.
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