Hendershot Family Fun

At the beginning of July, our whole family was together in Lovell. Most of us were even under the same roof. My newest nephew Ethan was blessed on July 4th. I didn't get any pictures of him in his blessing outfit (darn it), but he was a cutie. This is him the night before. He's getting so long. Still a skinny little thing, though.

This is Wilson the day before he fell and scraped his head pretty badly. You can sort of see some marks that were already there.

Chelsey and I took Hayden and Hannah to the whale pool for kiddies over at the park. Hayden wasn't too sure about the water at first. He really got into it right before we left and wasn't to happy to go. I got just as wet as him. His ankle was sprained so I had to carry him all over the wade pool to get him to the different areas. What a character.

This is Hannah. (You can see the whale in the background.) She loved the pool. She went down the whale quite a few times and made some new friends while there.

This picture of Sariah is adorable. She's getting to be so tall. They had also gone to the whale pool and came over in their swim suits. She put on one of Whitney's tutus...

Sariah and Hannah...Too cute for words.

Hayden and Wilson (2 of the 3 boys) sitting in the back of Bryan's truck. Neither one of them like getting their pictures taken. Thus the side view.

Hayden, Wilson, Hannah, and Whitney in the back of B-Ry's truck.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!

Happy birthday to the most wonderful mom in the world!

Mayes Family Picnic on July 3rd

Mayes Family Picnic (Navajo Tacos)
Saturday, July 3rd
5:30 pm
173 E 5th Street (Kirk's house; Mike's old one)

We'll have Navajo tacos (like last year). Claudia will provide the meat. Geraldine will provide the scones. Please feel free to bring one of the following:

cheese
lettuce
sour cream
ranch
salsa
tomato
beans

We'll also have a pinata for the little ones under 12. We might even have something for the "older" kids. Please let Geraldine or Nicole know what you'll bring. Phone is 548-6434. See you on the 3rd!

FIRE!

I had a bit of a surprise last night. I started my dishwasher and went to do homework in the next room. After a while I noticed the dishwasher was making unusual sounds, so I went to check it out. I saw sparks flying out from the bottom of it. I quickly went over to turn it off. I opened it, thinking maybe something got stuck in the bottom. I figured opening the door had solved the problem. Well, the smell was awful, so I left the dishwasher door open and began opening my windows. I came back into the room and heard a plop. I noticed there were flames under the door. The nob from the dishwasher had fallen off and the wires were on fire. I quickly threw water on it, not remembering where my extinguisher was. I thought that was the worst of it. Then I looked in the hole where the nob had been. Major flames coming out. Freaking out, I called a neighbor asking her to run over with her extinguisher. She came in and extinguished everything. Thank goodness for good neighbors. (We later found my extinguisher in a closet I never open because it has the water heater in there....who ever uses that closet much?) Needless to say, my apartment smelled HORRIBLY. Melting plastic is not a smell that I enjoy. I opened all my windows and put fans in most of them. I turned off breakers so that it wouldn't accidentally start on fire again. I called my landlord, hoping he wouldn't somehow find me to blame for the incident. I spent the night curled into a tight, freezing ball, hoping and praying nothing else would catch on fire. All I kept thinking was "good thing I have rental insurance". Also, I was so grateful that I hadn't started it and left, as I have sometimes done in the mornings. It could have taken my whole building down. A small mercy.

Below are some of the pictures of the aftermath. It doesn't look as scary as it really was.

Here you can see the hole the fire was coming from.

This is what my floor looked like after the water and extinguisher did their things.

This is the nob that fell to the floor in flames.

The next two are of the inside of the door. You can see where it was starting to melt. (And what made the awful smell

Nephew #3

Ethan Andrew Hendershot was born June 8, 2010 (6/8/10) to Erik and Sandy. He weight 6 lbs 8 oz and was 18 inches long. (There aren't any pictures of Sandy because I didn't think she would appreciate them being posted with just having gone through surgery. Also, she was still in her hospital gown. Not very flattering for anyone.) Erik and Sandy had no idea what the sex of the baby would be, as he didn't want to show off during his ultrasound a few months ago. I think we were expecting another girl, so it was exciting to hear it was a boy. (Of course we would have been happy either way.) A while back when Bekah was asked what it would be, she said it smelled like a boy. And she was right!

First diaper change. (He was NOT happy.)

Grandma and Ethan

Aunt Shawnee, Bekah, and Ethan

Daddy with his little ones. (He can't say "his girls" anymore. Now he'll have to include his girls and a boy when he talks about his family.)

Birthday Buzz

My birthday was on Sunday. (Thanks to everyone for the well wishes.) This one was very low key. I didn't do anything special except take myself to dinner. It's the week before finals, so I didn't go home to celebrate. It's all good though. It got me to thinking about other birthdays and the fun I've had.

Last year the whole family, minus a couple of adults, went swimming in Billings. It was so much fun to watch the little ones. It would have been even more fun this year because Hayden and Wilson would have enjoyed it so much more than last year.

I remember a birthday during middle school where it was on a Saturday. It falls during track season and most of my friends were in track, so I wasn't expecting to do much that day. Well, I woke up with a surprise in my room at 5 a.m. All of my friends were there to sing me happy birthday. They then kidnapped me and took me over to one of their homes for breakfast before they all left for the track meet. I was the only one in my pajamas, so it was awkward, but still fun. I remember on the walk home that my brothers saw me and started to laugh and make fun, wondering why I was still in my pajamas. I told them it was my birthday and I'd just had breakfast with my friends. They didn't believe me. I had to have my mom tell them that it really was my birthday.

I graduated from Ricks College on my birthday 12 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long! I remember thinking, "I'm 20 and graduating from Ricks College, still single. It's hopeless." I look back now and am grateful I didn't get married then....I'm still to immature to be married. But, it was a great day. My parents were both there to see me graduate. My cousin Hans graduated the same day, and I had TONS of friends graduate then, too. The next day I moved to UT and started looking for a job. Not much time between being a teenager and a responsible adult.

For that same birthday, since the actual day was going to be busy, my roommies decided to give me a little party the night before. They'd all had birthdays throughout the year and as a gag gift I had gotten them all very large underwear. For my brithday I got Depends. I have a picture with me wearing them on my head. :)

Other good memories include dinners to Texas Roadhouse, a dinner at a memer's home while on the mission, and much more. These are the ones that stick out most in my mind. I'm sure if I thought about it long enough that I could come up with many more.

Revelation

Starting about 3 months ago, it seemed that any time I read the "Ensign" or my scriptures I was bombarded with things about receiving revelation. After a few encounters of this I started wondering what was up. I was confused because I felt that I was doing what I was supposed to be doing (going to grad school) and that I would be in this situation for a while longer. I had no need to receive any personal revelation concerning any big decisions. That didn't stop the influx of information, though.

Then it happened. Someone in my program asked me why I wasn't in the PhD program. I started to think through my answer and couldn't come up with a plausible argument other than I didn't want to spend another 3 years of my life in school. During this time, I was researching some jobs and what requirements were. They would hire people with master's degrees but prefer those with PhDs. Later that week I was attending a devotional on campus. The lady started quoting President Hinckley on why we need to get as much education as we possibly can. So, I started thinking about it over the weekend. I met with my major advisor on Monday and mentioned to her my thoughts. She lit up and said that while she was doing some work on Friday, she had the impression that she needed to mention that she thought I would make a great PhD candidate. So, I considered it some more. I prayed about it. Thought about it even more. Finally, I made the decision to go to school even longer.

Pretty much the next day things started happening that made me question my decision. (Students can be mean!) I decided to think it out a little bit more. Still, messages were coming about revelation. While home last weekend, I asked my brother Bryan for a blessing. We talked a bit about my question before the blessing. During the blessing I was told that I needed to receive all the education that I could throughout my life. Basically it's so I can share the Gospel. Afterwards, Bryan and discussed it a little more. He said that before the blessing he was going to tell me to quit school as quickly as possible (after my master's) and just find a job. He said that Heavenly Father has something else in mind.

Again, pretty much the next day all chaos broke loose, making me rethink my decision. I'm pretty sure this will be an ongoing thing in my life... I need to remember the answers that I have received and go from there rather than questioning everything.

So, here I go!

Wilson and Spaghetti

My nephew Wilson LOVES food. Whenever he sees anyone with any type of food, he makes a beeline and begins his begging. He makes a grunting noise until he gets food. One night last week we had spaghetti for dinner. My sister-in-law Nicole stripped him down so he could eat by himself. He had a spoon in one hand, but used the other to shovel the spaghetti in his mouth. This is the result. (He was so messy that Mike had to rinse him off in the kitchen sink before taking him into the bath.)

Family Time

Last week was my spring break. I've never had one this long before. I loved it. I spent the majority of my time in Lovell. I then headed to Gillette to watch Hannah and Hayden so Bryan and Chels could escape for her birthday. Here are just a few of the MANY pictures I took while at home.

Wilson chillin' in his chair. (Love the blue eyes.)

B-ry and Peanut 4-wheeling.

Sariah, Erik, Bekah, and Whitney at the "Pinkalicious" birthday party.

Bekah and Whitney in the back yard. (Bekah got ahold of some scissors a few weeks ago. Thus the VERY short bangs. Good thing her hair grows quickly.)

Two Peas

Two of my nieces, Whitney and Hannah, are only a few months apart. They don't get to see each other very often because they live in different towns. When they do get together, as my mom would say, "They are the best of friends and worst of enemies." They actually get along pretty well, considering they are both 3. It only gets a little testy when they are tired. Here are a few pictures of the characters while we were in Lovell a few weekends ago.

Planting

While I was at home, I thought it would be fun to plant a few little plants with Whitney. She loves to play in my mom's garden because of all of the dirt. I thought it would be fun for her to see someone she planted grow over time. So, we bought some bean, radish, and daisy seeds. Here is the documentation of our efforts. Of course Wilson had to be in the middle of it. He loves dirt, too, like the rest of the family.

By the way, another cool thing to do is "plant" radishes in balloons. Put some dirt, a few seeds, and a little bit of water into a clear/white balloon. Blow it up (be careful not to breathe in some dirt) and hang it by a window. It acts as a green house and the seeds grow pretty quickly. The children will be able to watch it grow, and you don't have to worry about remembering to water it. When you pop the balloon, the leaves of the plant die pretty quickly, but you might just have a radish or two in the dirt. The kids LOVE it.

Whitney's Birthday

I was able to be home last week to help celebrate Whitney's birthday. She had a "Pinkalicious" party. Everything was pink....from the decorations to the cupcakes to the gifts to what she was wearing. I think she had a lot of fun. I got her some new 'silkies' with her favorite, Tinker.

The Dancing Nephews

It seems as though music is a love for all of my nieces and nephews. Here are a couple of videos from when I was home last weekend. Wilson will dance to any type of music. He has different moves for different beats. It's so fun to watch him. Hayden likes to bust a move to his new toy that he got from McDonald's. I think he could be the next star on "Night at the Roxbury".

Spring Break 2010

A few statistics from my spring break:

Days of vacation: 10
Beds slept in: 4
Cars driven: 5 (2 new)
Miles traveled: 1293
Trucks passed on I-80: 70 (had to pass the time somehow)
Birthday parties attended: 2 (one of them pinkalicious)
Bums pinched: 6 (cause their just so cute!)
Naps taken: 6 or so (probably or so)
Books read: 1
Times "Snow White" watched: 8
Times "Princess & the Frog" watched: 3
Episodes of "Phineas & Ferb" watched: 6
Homework accomplished: not nearly enough
Pictures taken: 60+
Plants planted: 7
Times played in the dirt: lots
Dances jigged: tons
Fun had: much

February

I can't believe that February is over and that March is on its way. The time is going quickly. Not much "cool" happened during February. I was able to go home for President's Day, which also happened to be Valentine's Day weekend. I had made little packages for each of my brothers and their families. The nieces had a great time pulling everything out and eating the candy, much to their mom's dismay.

Saturday night, my brother Mike and his wife Nicole went on a date to Cody. My mom and I got to watch Whitney and Wilson. They are characters. I love watching them.

This is Whitney eating her treat, a gogart.

Wilson had to try Grandma's treat, a fudge cicle. He devoured it. No little bites for this guy.

The 3 princesess wearing their crowns (Bekah, Whitney, and Sariah).

Wilson in his birthday suit and Valentine's Day tie.

Whitney and I before church.