Hello? Do you still check this?

Sorry about the delay...but we have been BUSY for the past few weeks. No time (or no internet connection) to blog. But here I am...to redeem myself as a faithful blogger...sitting at Uncle Todd and Aunt Becky's house in Fargo, North Dakota to tell you all that we are indeed alive and well and are headed home to sunny CA tomorrow. I will update you on our travels then. We have had such an amazing time, first spending 9 days in Southern Alberta with my family, then meeting Nathan in WY and being there for brother Forrests mission homecoming, and finally on to North Dakota for the Allred (Nathan's moms) family reunion. We have had a blast, but after three weeks of being in all sorts of different beds Beckett is ready for his old schedule and his own crib. He has been a champ, however...I am amazed at how well he has handled our travels. Anyway...don't give up on us...I promise to post again soon!

Our Little Firecracker...

Happy Independence Day! We had a wonderful day yesterday and want to tell you all about it. We got up and headed to Westchester to enjoy the parade with Hunka Dan and Auntie P. Beckett was mesmerized by all of the people. Jules was dancing in the parade, so we were there representing.

We went to D&P’s for drinks and dogs, Uncle Dan set up the kiddy pool for Beckett. He loved it for a while, and then got tuckered out and we all found ourselves asleep in no time. We had a very relaxing afternoon.

Around 4:30 we made our way over to our church for a ward BBQ. We have so many great friends in LA and we love our ward. Check out all of the girls who who were pregnant at the same time. Crazy.

After dinner we came home to give Beckett a bath and then headed over to Culver City with another couple and their little boy (ours are the only ones who don’t go to bed before 9 o’clock at night) and Beckham (their little boy) and Beckett LOVED the fireworks. It was so much fun to see him take it all in. We had a wonderful 4th of July together.

Here's what we've been up to for the past week. First off, last Tuesday I was in a car accident...but no worries...everyone is fine. It was just Beckett and I-we were going to pick Nathan up from work, and a couple blocks from his work, a guy cut through traffic and ran into the side of us. More than anything it was just traumatizing because #1-I have NEVER been in an accident before and I didn't even know what to do, #2-I had a 5 month old baby in the back who started screaming and I didn't know if he was okay and #3-it was just scary...after initial impact, the guy ran into a fire hydrant and so there was lots of noise and water. It's sad cause we've been through a lot with that car. It was our first as a married couple, it's been to TN, Canada, WY, and CA, it was our college car, and we brought Beckett home in it. Sad to say goodbye.

On a lighter note...on Thursday Beckett and I went to a pool party with some of our good friends...

and on Saturday Nathan and I went down to the beach for a little while. It was so much fun to get some sun.Lastly, Nathan has decided to sell his Vmax Motorcycle. If anybody wants it...it's going for cheap!

Our Missionaries

It's been an exciting week for my little brother as he entered the MTC last Wednesday. He is headed on a mission to Nairobi, Kenya. He is in the Provo Missionary Training Center for 3 weeks (because he's headed on an English speaking mission-if he was speaking another language he's be there for 3 months) and he flies out to Kenya on July 10th. It is impossible for me to comprehend that it is my little brother, Dillon, who is already out on a mission. I feel so old. But I am so proud of him and his desire to sacrifice two years of his life to go out and serve. He is a great example to me. Here are some pictures of the last time we saw him before he left.

Another great example is one of my brother-in-laws, Forrest, who is currently serving in the Florianopolis, Brazil mission. He returns in just a few weeks, and I can't believe how eager I am for him to come home. He is the last brother to meet Beckett, and I am so excited for them to get acquainted. The year after Nathan and I got married we were in Provo where Forrest was experiencing his freshmen year of college. We saw a lot of each other that year, and I look back fondly on the memories we made. I love Fori. I've included some random pictures of him to get everyone else excited to see him as well. :)

The Whoberts

A couple of weekends ago, we were reunited with our friends-the Whittles, who surprised me by showing up on Friday afternoon (Nathan was in on the secret.) They had been in AZ visiting her family (and doing a baby shower) and they had the weekend free, so they borrowed Allison's dads convertible Mustang, and made the 6 hour trek west to CA. Not only did they endure the hot and boring desert drive, but Allison did it at 7 months pregnant. That's what I call love. Anyway-we had a blast while they were here. They had fun meeting and getting to know Beckett, although Tyler had a little bit of a rough start. Every time Beckett would look at Tyler he'd get this pouty look on his face and start whimpering. However, after a couple of hours he warmed up to him, and then decided Tyler was his best friend and was cuddling with him like this. He doesn't even cuddle with me like that anymore.We went out to dinner on Friday night, and then to the beach on Saturday. We went to Westwood (UCLA's college hang out) on Saturday night and had such a good time. Allison and Tyler are two of our greatest friends and we just love hanging out with them. We've done so much together that now, just being together is fun. We don't even have to be doing anything to have a fabulous time. It was so great to see them, and we appreciate their love and friendship. Love you guys!

Allison's cute little belly

In addition, I've included some fun ones of Beckett just being so cute. The second one is to note his progress in the whole 'tummy time' department. He's getting stronger and stronger every day.

Another Video

This video is so cute! Beckett has decided that his favorite toys are our hands and arms. This video is pretty sick though if you look closely at Nathan's arm. Beckett had been munching for a while before I started filming. Anyway-pretty funny stuff. He was getting super frustrated though. I think he was hungry and realized that he was getting nowhere, fast.

I am finally getting some pictures uploaded of us with Logan a couple of weekends ago. If you want to read the much more eloquent and thorough version of the weekend check out Logan's blog.
It was such a fun weekend-Logan and I kept his coming to town a secret from Nathan, and it was so fun to surprise him. I love surprises. He said that Logan was the last person he expected to see huddled down in the backseat with Beckett. Beckett was thrilled that he got to meet his oldest Uncle (as displayed by the video two posts back). The weekend was full of fun-we had a great time at Venice beach, spending Saturday evening at The Magic Castle, and Logan and Nathan had fun killing each other in Halo. Silly boys. It amazes me what a strong and deep relationship Nathan and Logan have. From what I know of the years they spent growing up together, it seems that they have always been close. From beating on each other in the early years, to high school football games, then on to college roomies and best men at each others weddings, they have been through a lot together. Over the past 2 years, they have lived on opposite ends of the country, however, I haven't seen a decline in their love and respect for one another, even though they have spent less than 1/24 of their time together. They have a relationship that I hope my boys will have someday. It is because of Nathan and Logan that I hope to have another little boy next (maybe not quite as close in age as they are-but you know...) It was really great to see you, Uncle Logan. Thanks for making the effort to come out and see us. We had such a fun time. Love you!

If you're going to San Francisco...

On Memorial day weekend Nathan and I decided that we needed to take advantage of his day off and so we decided to head up to San Francisco. We both had never been there before, and we've decided that we need to see the sights of California before we're not here anymore. Anyway-we took off after Nathan got finished with work and made the 7 hour journey north. Beckett did great and it was fun to be together for the ride. Finally we made it to our friends house in Berkley where we bunked for the weekend. On Saturday we got up and went into San Francisco. It is such an awesome city! I tell you, LA is lame compared to San Fran. There was just so much to do and see. We visited Ghiradelli square, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and saw the bush man. We ate clam chowder in the sourdough bowls and had a famous Ghiradelli Sundae. It was awesome. The rest of the weekend we spent just hanging with our friends, the Gundersons. It was fun walking around Berkley, visiting Telegraph ave to buy some fun jewelry from some hippies, and just being together.

Nathan enjoying some clam chowder.

Me feeding Beckett while Nathan enjoyed the clam chowder.
Beckett didn't quite know what to think. It was a little colder than it is here in LA.
This is just a random shot of the city.
The bush man. (He hides and then scares people as they walk by...hilarious!)
At Pier 39
Posers
The Gundersons-Scott, Cindy and Landon
Why doesn't Beckett have any pants on?
Our sweet little boy (after being in the car for 5 hours on the way home).

one more time...let me know if it works

This video is of Logan and Beckett playing together right after Logan got to Cali. It was seriously the first interaction they had together. Beckett was loving Logan right off the start. I have honestly never seen him giggle this much at a time. Usually he will laugh a little when I kiss his belly, but he just kept laughing and laughing-and this wasn't even the whole of it. I finally realized that I should be recording it, so I got in on it about half way through. Anyway-it's adorable. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

More Sweet Beckett

We have a lot to update you on, but you'll have to wait for it. For now, a picture of our sweet little boy to tide you over. Hopefully it's enough.

Soon to come:
A weekend in San Francisco
Logan comes to visit

no more mullet man

I have been meaning to post something about this, but couldn't find our camera cord to download the pictures. About a week ago Nathan and I decided that Beckett needed a makeover. The mullet needed to leave. So Nathan got out his clippers and performed the greatest haircut of his career. It was perfect. Here are the pictures to prove it.
Before...

During...

Nathan's intense concentration...
After...and don't worry, we saved the hair!
Also, just for your viewing pleasure, I have included these pictures.
This was a couple weeks ago. It was getting later on in the morning and I hadn't heard from him. When I walked into his bedroom this is what I found.

These pictures document our first outing in the jogging stroller. Beckett loved it. We jogged down to a nearby park and had a great time.

tidbits

Sleeping Baby

Since Beckett’s 3 month birthday (April 29^th) he has been sleeping through the night. And I’m not talking just a 5-6 hour stint. We’re going for 11-12 hours each night. Lately it has been about 9:30pm to 9:30am. So, here’s a shout out to my little sleeper who continues to amaze me with how well he’s figuring out this whole ‘life’ thing.

Digital Scrapbooking

Two people got me interested in this new (and fabulous) way to scrapbook. First, Logan’s wife, Paula emailed me once asking if I knew anything about ‘digital scrapping’. I didn’t. Next, I was looking on Suzanne Hart’s blog and she had some links. SO…I started looking around and reading up on it. Well, let me tell you. I have found a new hobby. It is awesome. I have had so much fun learning about it and playing around. Here are a couple samples of things I’ve tried. More to come…

Frozen Grapes

Nathan and I have found a new treat. Frozen grapes are our new favorite thing. Take a bunch, put them in the freezer for an hour or two and voila! You have a wonderful tasty, frozen, yummy treat. You should all try it out.

My New Toys

First of all, for mother’s day, Nathan got me an IPOD Nano which I love. I bought an awesome pink armband for it on Ebay (for $3) and I’m set to go. This toy, along with my new jogging stroller make for a fun run. I have now been running (or should I say walking and jogging) 5 days a week for 2 and ½ weeks now…and I’m loving it! The jogger is awesome, Beckett loves it, and all around it is just fabulous.

Happy Birthday to a Special Girl

Couldn’t finish this post off without giving a shout out to one of my favorite girls. Lacher turned 18 today. Whew! I (along with several young men) didn’t think this day was ever going to get here :) She’s legal!!! I’m so glad that it finally did. I love you Lacher and hope you know how special you are.