Halloween party pics

"Hey, Andrea," Seth tells me. "I said I'd be in charge of the photo booth at the ward Halloween party. I didn't want to volunteer you to do it, so I'll take care of it, but would you be willing to help me?"

"Yes!"

So I borrowed the backdrop from my dad. And the backdrop stands. And I went to Target and bought some cute Halloween banners and lights. And I loaded all that plus my tripod, camera bag and bracket in the back of the van. Oh, yeah! And I bought some photo props on clearance after Halloween last year. ... Wouldn't that be fun?

"Can you take my picture, Mom?"

"Absolutely! We have it all set it! I'll take as many pictures of you as you want!"

(Seth was very helpful, by the way. I just got overexcited as usual.)

(And we rocked the toothbrushes and headgear like you wouldn't believe.)

(My husband is a good sport.)

Gwenism #12

While discussing Winnie and Miri's recent nighttime coughs ...

Andrea: We'll put the humidifier in your room tonight.
Gwen: Don't put fire in my room!

No more naps

For more than 10 years, my life has revolved around naps. Not my naps, mind you, but my children's. I have a strong conviction in the power of sleep, and so I have scheduled visits, volunteering, errand-running and life in general around my girls' nap times.

But when the youngest child kept getting out of bed at night because she had napped so well in the afternoon, I thought it may be time to do away with naps.

This has taken some adjusting to. Because, despite my best efforts, sometimes this happens:

Winnie napping on the couch while Miriam snuggles/watches TV.

And I have to totally rethink my life. Instead of having to be home by noon so kid(s) can eat and nap, I can spend the afternoons taking kid(s) to the library, shopping or going on walks.

Between this and my downsizing from a diaper bag to a purse, I feel like a new woman.

Visiting Grandma Scott's classroom

The other day after we visited Grandpa Wirkus (on his 93rd birthday!), we stopped by Grandma Scott's classroom because we saw her car was still parked at the school. At first, she didn't want to let in the random kids who were knocking on her window, but when she realized they were her granddaughters, she allowed us entry.

Miriam and Winnie playing with Grandma's stuffed tiger (their school mascot is a tiger) and the wearable classroom microphone (around Winnie's neck). Grandma is getting her Smart Board ready in the background.

Analee drawing on the Smart Board.

Rebekah helping herself to the books.

Miriam's drawing

Kindergarten has opened wide the doors of letters, phonics and sentence structure for Miriam. She has been sounding out words and writing notes like crazy. She drew this picture and wrote these sentences back in September.

 

"I am at the temple. I know Jesus Christ [loves] me."

Rebekah lately

Rebekah has had a few exciting things pop up in her life lately.

First, her science fair.

Rebekah came home from school one day very excited because she would be completing a project for the science fair. And she knew exactly what she wanted to do for it.

Bekah likes to create "art" from melting forks in the fire at hunting camp, so her idea was to see if white plastic or clear plastic forks melt more. Seth helped her orchestrate a reproducible experiment, and we found that white forks melt more quickly.

After the experiment, Bekah created a poster explaining her experiment and the results. Then she had to present in to her fifth grade class, and later they put them all up in the gym so the students could present them to parents.

 Rebekah and her poster at the science fair exhibit at the elementary school. She had changed to non-post-style earrings for the first time, so all of my pictures of her show her playing with her new hoop earrings.

Next, her coming of age.

When Idaho changed the hunting age from 12 to 10, Rebekah and Seth couldn't have been more excited. She has yet to shoot a deer, but that hasn't kept her from trying.

Seth helping Bekah set up a shot at a little two-point. 

Rebekah hanging out on the four-wheeler in the back of the truck while hunting in the desert.

Photo catch up

I recently transferred all the photos on my table to the desktop computer, and what a treasure trove it is. Check it:

 Miriam and the funny face she made on her lunch plate.

Mug shots from the Museum of Idaho's exhibit earlier this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 The post-op survey I had to fill out after my septum was un-deviated. (SNOT. HA!)

 Two girls pretending to be asleep in their room.

Seth and Miriam at the Idaho Falls zoo on a mommy-daddy-daughter date.

Love his expression.

 Miriam and Andrea on their mommy-daddy-daughter date.

 Our van window after it imploded for seemingly no reason at all.

 Rebekah chillin' like a villain in the backseat of the truck on our way to Yellowstone.

 Winnie and Miri on the way to Yellowstone.

The freaky panoramic I made while driving to Yellowstone.

 Winnie performing acrobatics on her car seat.

 Cute girl in the bathtub.

Andrea is 33

I celebrated my birthday more than a month ago, but I just realized I hadn't posted about the celebration my sweet girls prepared for me.

Seth was hunting that week of my birthday. When he realized he'd be gone for it, he tried to tell me he'd rework his schedule to be home for it, but I told him it was fine if he was hunting on my birthday. To make up for it, he ordered my present early, and by the time my birthday rolled around, I could already play several songs on my new ukulele.

The girls knew I share a birthday with Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, and when they realized that I'd be turning 33 — the same age Frodo turns at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring — they knew I needed a hobbit birthday bash.

Rebekah, Miriam and Analee with the hobbit hole birthday cake they decorated.

Close-up of the cake. The sprinkles made it very gritty.

The balloon Analee decorated.

The balloons Miriam decorated.

The front yard where the festivities were held.

Playing a game of "Pin the nose on the hobbit," which Miriam had prepared.

More "Pin the nose on the hobbit" shenanigans.

Winnie is 3

Gwendolen turned 3 on Sunday, but because we were on our way back from General Conference, we celebrated her special day a day late.

It took her a while to figure out how to hold up three fingers, but she got it, by golly!

First, we had dinner with grandparents, cousins, aunts and an uncle. Grandpa Scott had volleyball practice and Uncle T had work, but all the other Idaho Falls relatives came.

Pepperoni pizza was her dinner request. We also had an assortment of veggies and fruit salads.

Then, we had cupcakes.

 Analee received a Disney Princess cupcake/cake recipe book years ago. Winnie had picked out her cupcakes from there months before her birthday. She was happy with how they turned out.

Watching Miriam place three candles in her cupcake.

Blowing out her candles.

Then we came inside to unwrap presents.

Winnie had so many helpers that it was hard to get good unwrapping pictures.

A happy birthday girl with a plethora of presents. She received a princess phone from Miriam, a homemade comic book about Twilight Sparkle and Elmo from Analee, handmade bracelets from Rebekah, a Mega Bloks pirate ship and princess dress from Seth and me, a pink crocheted purse from Aunt Jessica, an Elsa doll from Aunt Rachel and Uncle Justin, an Ariel Barbie and clothes from Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis, a panda bear backpack from Grandma and Grandpa Scott, and a copy of Go, Dog. Go! and a stuffed dog from Grandpa Wirkus.

What do older sisters do when the little sisters and cousins are playing with birthday presents? Apparently they take refuge in the piano and read their books.

Getting a hug from Grandpa Wirkus before he goes home.

To see more fun birthday pictures, start here.