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.

Miriam is 5

This spunky gal turned 5 a couple of weeks ago.

Dancing during her birthday pizza picnic.

We invited grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts over to our house for a little celebration.

First, we ate. Miriam requested pizza: "One pepperoni, one cheese and one for the grown-ups." Last year, it was absolutely frigid on her birthday, this year, we lucked out and got to eat outside.

Analee getting up from the picnic blanket.

Miriam with a strawberry thumb.

Then we smashed a homemade piñata.

Gwen getting a blindfold-free, plastic bat turn.

Rebekah, being the oldest kid there, had to be the last in line. And when she hit it hard enough to knock it off the rope on her first contact, she was sorely disappointed that I allowed Miriam to finish the job while the piñata was on the ground.

Then we brought the party inside for present unwrapping and cake.

Unwrapping her transforming ninja turtle from Grandma and Grandpa Scott. I love this girl--sometimes she's such a pretty princess, and other times she plays like a tomboy. She loves ninja turtles, pirates, Star Wars and a bunch of other "boyish" stuff. 

Holding up the Barbie clothes she got from Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis. The one on the right is an astronaut outfit. The funny thing is, the space suit will only fit on Barbies (not Ken dolls), but the helmet wouldn't go on any of her Barbies because they all had SO MUCH HAIR ... but it WILL fit Ken. We solved the helmet problem by giving one Barbie a shoulder-length bob.

Rushing back to the present locale with gifts in hand.

Seth working out the transforming turtle while Analee, Miriam, Bennet, Cooper and Rebekah watch.

The birthday banner Rebekah and Analee made for Miriam's birthday.

They asked her what her favorite color is, and when she replied, "Rainbow," her sisters made sure her name was in precisely that color.

 

Miriam also received a Barbie Lego set from Cooper; wooden blocks, dress-up shoes and a Jake and the Neverland Pirates play set from us; a Barbie book/miniature play set from Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis; and a Frozen kite, Sofia the First coloring set and Minnie paint set from Bennet. (Winnie immediately claimed the Frozen kite as her own ... because FROZEN!)

Then came the cake.

Look familiar? Maybe because this is the fourth version of this cake that I've made.

Miriam licking frosting off the mermaid Barbie after blowing out her five candles.

We love this smart, funny, beautiful 5-year-old!

Miri-ism #33

This conversation took place while Miri and I were on our daddy/daughter date.

Miriam: Dad, I have been worried lately that we haven't been following the prophet.
Me: Wow, okay, what do you mean? How do you feel we haven't been following the prophet?
Miriam: I don't even know where he is! Where is that guy going all the time?

Miri-ism #32

Seth explaining how geocaching works to Miriam before taking her out on a daddy-daughter date.

Seth: And you have to keep your eyes open to find the treasure.
Miri: But I have to blink sometimes!

Gwenism #8

At Grandpa Wirkus' place watching Wild Kratts on PBS.

Andrea: Are you like an anteater, Winnie? Do you like to eat bugs?
Gwen: No! Because they will be angry in my mouth!

Spring break

My lovely cousin Annie got married in Utah the Friday before our spring break officially started, so we decided to pull the girls out of school a day early to attend the event and start our spring break a little early.

On Friday, we attended all the nuptial festivities. The wedding was lovely, the luncheon was yummy, and the reception was ... hard to find.

 Miriam thought we should pull funny faces for Grandpa Scott's camera while we were waiting outside the temple for the newlyweds.

Seth chasing Winnie around the temple grounds.

Andrea, Winnie, Seth, Analee and Aunt Jessica sitting on the bench after the big group photo. When we realized we weren't needed any more, we went to the hotel, then over to the luncheon.

Since this was the only problem we encountered on the trip, it's something we can laugh about now. But as our GPS tried to lead us through locked gates in uppity neighborhoods that eventually led to a residence and definitely NOT a reception center (the address on the invitation, as we found out, was for the owner's house and not the event center), as we tried calling others at the reception center to give us directions only to get more confused, as we pulled into a church parking lot to use the wifi for looking up the reception center only to plug that into the GPS and get directed to another gated community, tensions were running high. Seth and I, in our frustration, raised our voices to each other, and Miriam calmly told us that if we were going to yell at each other, we shouldn't have gotten married. That led us to apologize and forgive (which was easier to do once the guard in the gate house gave us directions and allowed us to drive through the neighborhood to reach our destination). We got to the reception an hour later than planned, but the brownies and ice cream made up for it.

Saturday we went swimming in the hotel pool, then headed to the aquarium in Draper.

Seth and the girls at the interactive water wall.

Seth and the girls (Analee is hiding behind Rebekah) walking across the rope bridge.

Rebekah taking pictures in the viewing bubble.

Inside the shark tube.

After the aquarium, we grabbed some lunch and met up with Aunt Melissa, Uncle Kent and their girls at the Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point.

Analee and Rebekah pedaling to give power to a row of lights.

Miriam playing in the water.

Seth and Kent watching Winnie and Emma playing at the toddler water table.

Ana wearing a water smock.

Then we followed Kent and Melissa to their apartment and met up with Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis who had come for the weekend. They watched the kids while Seth, Kent, Melissa and I went out for a yummy Thai dinner and Coldstone ice cream.

On Sunday, we drove back down to Kent and Melissa's and attended their stake conference with them. Then we left Winnie at their house so she could take a nap, and the rest of our family went north to Temple Square.

Cute girls (and a Barbie) outside the Conference Center.

Looking out the waterfall window during our tour of the Conference Center.

In the auditorium, someone was playing the organ. Miriam thought it was a little too loud.

I was going to pose with the girls on Temple Square, then commented on how my lips were probably black from eating the unwanted jelly beans left by the girls. They wanted to see how black my mouth was.

Silly picture on Temple Square.

On Monday,  we took the girls to the zoo. We thought it might have been bad planning to go to the zoo on the coolest day of our trip, but it turned out to be really good--there weren't as many people at the zoo, and the animals were quite active.

Analee with the gorilla statue.

The absolute cutest animal in the entire zoo.

Andrea, Winnie and Miriam on the carousel. The two younger girls were too wary of the up-and-down animals to ride any of them.

Seth and the girls looking at seals and sea lions.

Miriam the bear.

Winnie sizing her foot up.

The lion showing off his incisors while Analee watches.

In all, the trip was a success. We saw my both sides of the family, we entertained the girls with sightseeing, and nobody got sick, lost or maimed.

To see more photos, click here.