Beckstrand Family Reunion

We unfortunately missed the Beckstrand Family Reunion because we were in Lehi but we did get to see Debra and her family before
they left. There is never a reunion without a puzzle or 10. Something the Beckstrands excel at to the point that it becomes a competition. I remember one year Brian and Jennifer doing the same puzzle and being timed to see who could do it the fastest.


Here is a picture of the little kids playing Nertz. And of course we had to get a picture of the big kids but it wasn't the same without Daniel in it. They figured out that they won't be back together until the summer of 2013 right after Jacob gets home from his mission and just before Jaden and Austin leave.



My little boys like to wrestle with Bryce and all of the kids, big and small, LOVE to do thumb wars with Uncle Pat. So even though we weren't able to spend a lot of time with them it was good to get together for a day to see everyone. We did go to a Road Runner baseball game with Austin and he came over and watched movies one night because he and Shayne are close in age and Shayne has cute friends. But it was fun to see all of the Johnson's. We hope to be able to schedule things better next year and get to spend more time with them.


We'd love to see Stephen and Katie more often but North Carolina is not a couple hours away. We only get to Lehi twice a year and it's only 3 1/2 hours. We give them our love and get to keep updated by Katie's blog : http://thebeckstrands.blogspot.com/ Check it out if you can. It's super cute. Katie does a great job!

4th of July weekend - Friday & Saturday

Wow this has been a crazy week. Shayne went up to Lehi on Wednesday because she had a swim meet Thurs-Sat in A.F. We came up on Friday just in time to watch her. She did a great job. All of the swimmers did. To pass the time between races Tim drew tattoos on everyone with a washable maker. It was fun.

Saturday morning we went to Provo to see the Hot Air Balloon festival. It was amazing! Then that night we camped out at Thanksgiving Point to watch Lehi's fireworks. They were fun but what was funner was watching everyone freeze! It was so cold and windy. I thought it felt great since we had just left 105 degrees the day before.

4th of July Sunday - Monday

Sunday we had a big B-B-Q at my parents house and lit off some fireworks that the little boys had bought. Then the kids and Dad's played a serious game of rugby! Lots of tears from the little boys and only one bloody nose.

Monday morning Joel, Paula and Charles ran the Freedom Festival 10K in Provo. It went right down the parade route so we picked a spot early and sat there until they ran by. It was fun to see them all. They were only 5 minutes apart.




I did a couple hair do's while we waited to the p-raid to start. Then we watched the parade with the Rogel's and the Shelton's. They see parades like that all the time but down here in the heat we never see real floats with moving parts and cute features. We see people waving from cars and flat bed trucks carrying people. The Provo parade even had a bunch of big balloons like the Macey's parade on Thanksgiving. We were thrilled!

4th of July weekend - Tuesday

On Tuesday we went to the Hogel Zoo in Salt Lake City. It had been a couple years since we had gone and it was fun to see the new baby elephant, Zuri. She was so cute!





Then we saw the Bird show and you knw me and bird birds. Look how gorgeous! Then we went over to the Train and took the little train ride. It was short and sweet. At the end we let the kids play on the Zoo's playground.


















































Everyone had fun until this happened. It looks like he's just kidding and he was at first until he tried to get his head out. He got stuck and got scared. Like the good Mom I am I hurried and took a a picture and laughed while Joel helped him out.

Carla Clothier

On Friday Jan, Andy and I went to Vegas to make a wedding cake for our good friend Carla Clothier's wedding. Carla spent the last 2 summers helping us with the Summer Theatre Institute at Tuacahn as the stage manager. We had a blast each summer and we were so happy to see that she had found Mr. Right. Donald Morgan.
When we saw her she was on cloud nine and ginning from ear to ear.


We unloaded everything at the church and started right in on the cake. Jan had made the biggest layer chocolate with white chocolate chips, filled with chocolate butter-cream frosting and white chocolate chips. The second layer was lemon because lemon is Carla's favorite, filled with raspberry. The 3rd layer was white cake with raspberry filling and the top was lemon with a butter-cream filling. We got them all frosted and ready to be decorated and left to go to the Bellagio Hotel Buffet for dinner. It was amazing. The hotel has this great garden in it that changes with the seasons. Everything was made out of flowers. It was gorgeous.


The next day we got up, went to Hoover Dam and then to Mel's Diner to eat. It was the cutest little place with the best breakfast.


Then we went to the church to finish up. Andy and I were pretty useless on the decorating part but we were great comedic relief. Jan had some shirts made up so we looked professional with her logo and store name for her new cake decorating business. "Jandy's - Diet Starts Monday" We looked awesome.

Jan is incredible with an icing bag in her hand. She put white ribbon around each layer and piped on lace and pearls.



On 2 of the layers she put little Mickey Mouse heads because Carla is a Disneyland Freak! We knew she'd love it and that it would take a second glance to see them. Carla's colors were classic Black, White and Red. So, Jan put little black polka dots on each layer and then began the flowers. It was GORGEOUS! It took forever but the look on Carla's face when she found the hidden mickey's was priceless. Jan is the most multi talented person I've ever met. I don't think there's anything she can't do.

War airplanes!

My Brother-in-law Pat is a pilot and gives us the heads up whenever there's something cool going on. My boys love going to the airport and yesterday they had 5 old war planes on display. They were AMAZING! I had a cousin who was shot down in the last months of the Vietnam War and since then I have had a special place in my heart for Air Force Pilots. Joel's grandfather was also a pilot and best friends with Charles Lindbergh. They learned to fly together in the Air Force and remained friends their entire lives. Looking at these planes brought all of the stories I've read and heard about to life. The pride that I felt as we looked at these old planes was amazing. We stayed just long enough to watch the biggest one take off. Unbelievable was the only word I could think of to describe what I was feeling. As it turned and flew back by us I got a huge lump in my throat for all those who died for my freedom and for those still serving to keep me free. I am so thankful for my country and for the Freedom we have.