Birthday Wishes Do Come True

The day of Morgan's birthday she asked me when we were going to drive around the neighborhood with little cards letting all her friends know that it was her birthday. She told me me they needed to know so they could come to her party. Well, I wasn't planning on having one because we were so busy with Adam's baptism, but when I saw her sad little face I decided we could throw one together. Saturday was her first "official" birthday party. We invited 13 of her little friends and had a spring/bug party. Morgan greeted each girl with an antenna to wear as they came in and they all wore them the entire time. I was so impressed. For treats we made the most adorable flower cupcakes out of marshmallows and gumdrops. Who knew that marshmallows when cut the correct way can make the perfect petals! The first activity was painting a little wood craft and then we went on a bug hunt and played musical chairs but changed it to musical leaves. We had 15 minutes left with nothing to do so we blew up some balloons and played volleyball and watched and listened to the girls scream and laugh. We then sent the girls home with a tin bucket filled with candy, sunglasses, a crazy straw, some bug sponges and pencils. Morgan had a blast and it was worth all the preparation!

(click the photos to enlarge)

Go Angels!! (posted by Seth)

Go Angels!! The Angels made it to the championship game. We placed second in the Senior Minor Little League Championship Playoffs. It was a tough game but we were happy to be there. We made only four runs but I was excited to make two of those runs. We fought our way to the top and had a lot of fun the entire time!

Seth Beckstead and Carter Moresco side by side after we lost the championship game, but still proud after we lost. Second place against the Dodgers #1, the Angels #4.

Seth and Dallin. Dallin previously lost to the Angels in the Final Four (he played for the Blue Jays). He is my good friend from school and from the baseball field and came to cheer me on.

Adam Beckstead holding my trophy. He was proud of me for getting to the Championship game.

Seth

Graduating with Honors

Here is our proud little Morgan holding her very first diploma yesterday. Although she wasn't loving the fact that she had to wear one of Daddy's Sunday shirts during the ceremony, she sure loved the attention. We will miss Mrs. Farnsworth and her sweetness. I always knew Morgan was in good hands when I dropped her off every Monday and Wednesday. Now she is off to Kindergarten and will be joining her two big brothers. I will be so sad to see her go. She's one of the few who will be in the half-day class so I won't be sad for long.

Congrats Morgan!!

No More Sugar

As most of you know, I went off sugar for about 18 months. I wasn't eating candy, ice-cream, cake, cookies, anything that is described as a baked good or dessert. I was doing great and feeling great. It was supposed to be a lifestyle change for the better until I started to get too confident in myself. I started to miss it. I thought surely after 18 months I can eat sugar in moderation. Well, I was wrong. I ate my first cookie and it's all a blur after that. I then quickly went back off sugar after a week. I couldn't control myself!!! (although it was fabulous eating all those yummies I was missing out on) Well after two weeks, I was craving sweets like crazy and the temptation was too great. I'm writing this post to officially say that I'm going off sugar for good so I can have my life back. I have to feel accountable to someone or something so I'm telling my blog.

I know it's crazy, but I'm a much better Mom without it. I can have fun eating popcorn right? I'm hoping I can lose those ten pounds I quickly gained during my two week eating frenzy. Wish me luck!!

Fathers and Sons

We went to Father and Sons campout this weekend. Seth and Adam had a great time learning how to start fires without matches. We have a good friend Brig Lamoreaux who taught the boys about berries they could eat off of a Manzanita bush. They also went hiking and gathered wood from Yucca plants to make a fire starting kits. When they cut open the wood from one of the Yucca plants, they found an unexpected surprise. A bee had made a large chamber with 7 rooms inside the wood. In each of the rooms was a larvae and also a honey like substance for the larvae to eat. Some of the boys tasted the honey like substance. It was a wonderful weekend!

Gila Valley Temple Dedication

Yesterday was the dedication of the Gila Valley Temple, located near Thatcher, AZ, where President Spencer W Kimball was raised. In order to participate in the temple dedication, you had to be 8 years old and have a temple dedication recommend. President Monson presided and spoke at the temple dedication along with President Eyring and Elder Holland. After the dedicatory prayer, we joined in with President Eyring and the congregation in the Hosannah Shout.

The Jablonski's watched Morgan and we took the boys. Adam had a difficult time sitting still but that's pretty typical. I had to take his handkerchief away because he kept twisting it around his wrist. It's supposed be sacred right? It was something to remember and I felt blessed to be able to participate in it. Now we can't wait for the Gilbert Temple!

Morgan's 5th Birthday (yesterday)

Wake up sleepy head! Time to open presents!

Here is Morgan's look of amazement as she saw her very own hot pink Barbie scooter!

10 Things We Love About Morgan: (written by Dad)

1. She is her mommy's girl-a princess who loves dresses, Barbies and make-up. Joel has his two rough and tumble boys. Shannon needed her girl!

2. Her tummy tastes like chocolate ice-cream!!!

3. She can hold her own with her two older brothers. Like any smart girl, she knows when to turn on the tears and when to turn up the charm!

4. She is addicted to gum.

5. She is starting to want to learn how to throw the baseball (Joel is holding out hope), although she has a purple mitt and we are sure she would prefer that the ball was pink.

6. She loves to read, especially before bedtime. Who can refuse a girl with a little timid, sweet, voice and big eyes asking, "Daddy will you read me a book?" After the "yes" is heard, the negotiation begins. "OK, Daddy, I want to read 5 books." With his response, "How about two?"

7. She loves to cuddle with her mom, but when she is not available, she will cuddle with her dad, her grandparents, and even her primary teacher.

8. She is going to have a rude awakening when she starts school next year. She likes to sleep in until around 8 or 8:30; get up; lounge around in her pajamas; have a brunch because she doesn't like breakfast right when she gets up; and then go to preschool or swim lessons. We want her life!!!

9. She can never find her flip-flops or her shoes (we are not sure if she currently owns a pair of shoes other than her church shoes). We are constantly showing up at events and looking at Morgan and asking in an exasperated tone, "Morgan, where are your shoes?"

10. She is an amazing piano player. She has been playing for the past year and her teacher is amazed at what she has learned. And the amazing thing is that she loves it! We will find her all the time sitting at the piano singing while playing her songs. Joel is living vicariously through his boy's sporting events and Shannon is living vicariously through Morgan's piano playing.

We love you Morgan!

My Super Scouts

Who couldn't love this face? Adam is so excited to be a scout. It's only been about three weeks and we've already lost our kerchief, our slide, and our belt. It's not looking good. Adam is a little bit like his Dad. He immediately starts taking anything and everything that's "extra" off once he walks in the door. They remain decent but barely.

Adam received his Bobcat award last night. He is off to a great start! I unfortunately missed the photo of him eating the bobcat "poop." It was funny, yet yummy.

Seth earned his Webelos Award last night too. He is with Brother Haslip above and absolutely loves his pack. They have such a great group of boys and excellent leaders. Seth is working overtime to try to finish his activity badges by August. He's working hard and so am I.

I am so proud of my guys!

General George Crook

I love the boy's school but they do require the kids to complete some huge projects throughout the year that make life a bit difficult. This is one example: The 4th grade Wax Museum Project. Seth has been researching General George Crook for the last two months. I have to say though that other than gathering costume items, Seth was able to complete almost everything completely on his own. He is one of the most self-motivated kids I know and love. He wrote a report, made a backdrop (forgot to take a picture), dressed-up and memorized a two minute speech that he will be giving everyday for the next three days. Friday he will be giving his speech in front of all the parents. I was so proud of him for all his hard work and can't wait to see him perform on Friday. The beard was a little "fuzzy" and kept bleeding everywhere but boy does he look like a handsome old man!

Adam's Baptism

Adam was baptized Saturday, May 15. I had never seen him so excited!

Here is Atticus Lee with Adam. They shared their special day together.

Grandma and Grandpa Beckstead drove all the way down from Utah to be with him.

We love our grandparents! Thanks to both sets of grandparents for always making an effort to be with us during our special moments.

Saturday morning Adam woke up with his usual excitement to be alive. He had a huge smile on his face the entire morning. He's new, crisp, white shirt made it through his breakfast without his typical drowning of syrup. We headed to the stake center with his "extra" clothing and prepared for the baptismal service.

Seth lead the music.

Morgan gave the opening prayer.

Atticus' 10 year old cousin gave the talk on Baptism and the Holy Ghost.

Adam and Atticus were baptized.

Atticus and his brother played the violin. (so beautiful)

Adam and Atticus were confirmed.

Brother Lee bore his testimony.

Sister Vance gave some remarks.

Joel gave the closing remarks.

Closing prayer by Atticus' grandfather.

It was a perfect day! We are so proud of you Adam for making this important decision.

We love you!

Hey, Look at Me!

These pictures show one of the things we do for fun at our house. Check out Joel sticking his tongue out in the first picture. He does that when he's really concentrating, and Adam actually takes after him in that regard. My husband is so talented! And yes, he made it all the way up to Seth's hand.

Happy Mother's Day!

What do I love the most about Mother's Day? Homemade cards. Adam loves to make cards and he made me a total of six this year. I loved it! This is what he wrote in one of them:

Mom, I love you.

Others are not nicer than you.

Eat whatever you want.

Race me to see who is the fastest, so we can have fun.

Love, Adam

Morgan came home from preschool with this cute little thing:

MY MOM

She is 15 years old.

She weighs 15 lbs and is 20 ft tall.

Her favorite food is broccoli.

Her favorite thing to do is she likes to sign me up for swim lessons.

She loves me because she likes to play with me.

Where did the broccoli come from? Yummy.

Mother of Six

Well it has been a busy, crazy week and that's why I haven't posted in awhile. I've been playing catch-up all day today and hopefully later I can post other events that I've missed but just haven't had the time. Lara and Lee took a little trip to New Orleans for four days last week and I watched the kiddos. To be honest, it wasn't all that bad. The kids just blended in with the rest of mine and I loved playing house with baby Halle. I didn't realize how much I missed changing those stinky diapers and getting those after-nap cuddles. The kids were all so great and I kept thinking to myself, "This is a piece of cake! I could totally do six kids!" Here's a picture of Halle. The only picture taken during those four crazy days. I was too busy finding binkies, pouring apple juice and acting as a taxicab driver. Now it's back to the good life with only three kids. I do have it pretty easy!