For Matt: What We've Been Up To

So Matt and I have been apart since the beginning of July and it has about killed me. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger though, right? I sure hope so. The girls have actually been very well behaved. (Except for when Natalie sneaks into my bed and sleeps with me, causing me to not sleep well.) My parents have been true angels in helping out with things. I only have about 4 weeks left before our baby boy joins us. Only 10 more days till Matt joins us. Yippee! For a couple weeks I had a really bad knee, could hardly walk, do stairs and so on. That did not help with my low spirits and feeling low energy with the pregnancy anyway.

On the bright side and looking forward, we'll move into our new townhouse in South Provo August 10th. Then we'll have about a week to unpack and get settled and prepare for the baby and grad school. We never can seem to do things the easy way. Most people wouldn't try to move, have a baby, and start grad school all in a two week period of time. But we are not most people, my friends. Heaven help us.

Here are just a bunch of shots of things the girls and I have been up to over the last month. We've missed you terribly, Matt. Life is definately not the same with out you. I feel a void. Please come quick and fill it again. We love you!


Natalie helping to water plants in the backyard at Grandma and Grandpa Sandberg's house.


She filled the water up from the baby pool. (This was pre-swim lessons for her.) We have tried little ways to get her used to being near small and large bodies of water.


Why a toilet? Notice the 5 inch high addition to the seat. Pretty cool, huh. When I was having knee troubles, my mom suggested I use this. (She had it to use after her knee surgery). I can't tell you how much it saved me from pain in my knee. That up and down motion off a toilet seat, it's no wonder so many people have knee problems as they get older.


Grandma Sandberg has helped to read stories to the girls at bedtimes many a night. Thank goodness. They love it, as you can see.


Summer chores have included picking up apples in the backyard. Natalie was also assigned to close the blinds in the living room every afternoon.


Amelia getting down to the apples hiding in the grass.


And...into the orange bucket. Good job.


Way to go Natalie...two at a time.


Girls having fun helping. They have loved helping Grandpa in the yard whenever he goes out to do yard work.


One day we went for an innocent playdate with cousins at Jenny's house. Here is Natalie learning how to play with swords and guns. Is that what is in store in our house with a boy coming? I don't like guns and swords. Do I have to buy them for my son?


I mean...look how evil this looks. At least it was a game of "save the baby dolls."


And here is my niece, cute little innocent Liberty...with the nerf gun. Still... there just isn't something right about it.


Phew...at least one of my girls chose to play with the dolls instead.


My birthday French pedicure. I'm not really a froo-froo girl. I don't spend a large amount of time doing my hair or make up or keeping up with the latest and greatest fashions. I prefer comfort, sporty, classic, cute, neat and modest. Don't get me wrong, I love to get dressed up and make a night of it once in awhile. You get the picture. But for some reason I LOVE getting my nails done. Perhaps it's the chairs that give you a massage as you sit there. Perhaps it's the foot soak or foot massage or triple application of lotion they apply to your feet and calves. It just is so relaxing to me and I really feel prettier and more ladylike after. I haven't had them done in a salon since before I was married. Is that right? We've been trying to save money and getting my nails done just wasn't justifiable. However, if we ever do have money to waste, I will choose to get my nails done at the salon regularly as a perfectly happy way to waste it.
(I got them done at the mall, and my mother-in-law was watching the girls play at the tree house thing. What's the first thing that happens upon seeing my girls? Natalie stepped on my foot and smugged a little of the right big toenail. Janet said, "Remember what is most important Rebecca." Good thing I have a sense of humor and I love my daughter more than my toenails.)


Just in case you wanted to see another photo of my sexy feet.


Here is Natalie doing a "Pollyanna Show". Where does she come up with this stuff? For some reason she thinks the blue scarf on the head makes her look like a princess. OH- maybe like Cinderella in the cleaning girl attire? That just occurred to me.


What we do a little every day...talk on the phone with Daddy.


Amelia in dress ups and playing with blocks. She likes to line them all up in a square with letters up and then calls it a stage.


Why do little kids squint their eyes and raise their chin when you ask them to smile in a picture?


Amelia sporting pigtails for about...mmm...10 minutes. How do I get my girls to do fun things with their hair? (Maybe they get it from me? Plain Jane?) She's so cute in them...I just want to eat her.


We attended a couple kid shows this week. In American Fork at an outdoor amphitheater there was a kid's production of "The Jungle Book." Then we went to Hale Center Theater and saw "Cinderella." It was the girls first time to see a play. They really liked them. Here they are with cousins Eliza and Jessica.

Well...that concludes our summer happenings so far. I am finally caught up on our blog.

Natalie and Swim Lessons

Well...I finally decided it was time to help my daughter overcome her fear of swimming pools, oceans, large and small bodies of water (besides the bath...she does fine in a bath.) I signed her up for private swim lessons with a lady I was referred to by a friend. She does the lessons in her own backyard pool and the classes are really small. Natalie only has four kids in her class. The first two days she cried and screamed the whole 30 minutes! Other parents and the teacher were very nice and patient with us. I was trying not to cry myself at times...feeling like I was torturing her or something. But then Matt helped me to see that it's okay if she cries...it's not anything that is hurting her, it's safe, and she will learn to do something hard and feel better about herself after. I was encouraged by the fact that she really was quite proud of herself after the first couple of lessons as I pointed out to her the cool things she accomplished. So we have continued on and she is progressing great. She cries A LOT less and I'm so proud of her and what's she's learning and mostly that she is overcoming a fear, and doing something that is truly hard for herself. I want her to learn that she can be brave. That she can do hard things. I want her to know that true courage is to fear and act anyway. I love you, Natalie!


Learning to float and kick.


Doing the "falling tree" move. She stands on the step, puts arms out, and falls chest first into water so her face goes in too. Then the teacher pushes her back in the water on her belly toward the step and tells her to "catch the step."


This captures the emotions Natalie is feeling during the lessons pretty well I think.



Learning to put her face in herself.


Putting face in with the swim teacher's help.


Natalie walking across the pool herself. Before swim class she always says, "I don't want to go to swim lessons...the water is too deep." Remember she hasn't been in a pool since she was about 2 years old, barely went into the ocean this summer on Long Island which was barely up to her ankles. The first day of swim class, the teacher took her straight into the shoulder deep pool with her. Quite the shock for Natty and was the "break the fear by facing it straight on" sort of approach. So far it's working.


Natalie with her swim teacher, Sarah Udall.


This is the best smile I could get out of her when I said, "Natalie look over here. Smile!" I really am proud of my little girl.

Pioneer Day Celebrations

To celebrate Utah's Pioneer Day (July 24th) we went to a festival down in Provo at Pioneer Park (appropriately.) I was really quite impressed. They had a variety of food stands, which we indulged in at the end thanks to Grandma and tried some fish tacos and hawaiian icees...not exactly pioneer food, I know, but it did hit the spot. There were a couple stages of bands or pioneer type songs, a flag ceremony, a car show, craft booths to buy stuff, booths for kids to make butter or other pioneer goodies or crafts, a pioneer museum, a small pioneer village with school, blacksmith, mercantile store, log homes, and teepees and Native American dances. There was too much for us to see before getting too hot and needing to go home for Amelia's nap. Most of the festivities were in the shade actually which was really nice. It was so much fun and I wish Matt could have been there with us. Oh- they also had all sorts of pioneer games set up for kids to play. A very well done event I thought and I'm glad we went.


Rebecca and pioneer girls by covered wagon.


We were happy to have Grandma Sandberg with us. Grandpa was home sick.


Natalie and Amelia in teepee.


Pioneer dress ups. Natalie wanted to dress up her barbie in a pioneer looking dress as well. Then Amelia just had to have a barbie too.


Cool shades for a pioneer girl, no?


Rebecca loved the quilts of coarse. Why am I so intrigued by quilts? Perhaps because I've made some and can appreciate how hard the details would be to make...or at least time consuming.


My mom liked these.


There was also a car show of nice old fashioned cars...i love them!


Here is the one I bought for Matt as a grad school present. You can take it to and from school honey. Forget the bus.


Natalie playing a pioneer game outside the old schoolhouse. You had to wiggle the ropes to get the wooden bear to climb up to the top.


Another shot of Natalie and the pioneer game.


Amelia in her new pioneer bonnet.


Cheesy pioneer girl.

Walsman Family Reunion

The reunion started out with everyone getting together for the baby blessing of Porter Jacob (Jenny and John's 5th). Here are Grandma and Grandpa Walsman with their original seven.


Natalie refused to join the rest of us in the pictures.


Great Grandpa Henderson and Geneve with some of their great-grandchildren.


We had a nice visit with cousins Tony and Jenn and met Emory for the first time. What a cutie!


The whole Walsman clan, except for Wesley's wife Gabby and Natalie hiding off to the side.



During reunions we need good naps. Here Matt is being a very good faker.


The truth.


Family gathered in the large sitting room of the Bear Lake cabin we rented. Wesley holding new baby porter, Jenny and Samantha on couch too. Amelia on the floor.


Dan holding Benjamin, Liberty, Thomas holding Janika, and James. We played "Book of Mormon Family Feud" for Family Home Evening the first night.


Rebecca played a keyboard while kids sang. The cabin was amazing. Plenty of space, toys to play with, amazing view of the lake, big game room downstairs with pool table, ping pong, etc. Great great place for a reunion. Too bad we had to leave early because Matt got sick.


The beautiful cabin.


The beautiful view.