Fall Fun

We have been having so much fun this fall. Since the weather has stayed so nice, we have been able to participate in all of our fall activities.

Lexi was able to go with her daddy and Uncle Chaz to the University of Utah game. I was really worried that I would get a call about half-time asking me to come and pick her up, but she did really good. She kept asking when the band was going to play "Utah Man". When the game was over, she didn't want to leave. I think Ryan might be buying another season ticket in the next few years.

After the game, Kody, Amy and their kids along with Grandpa Gary came out to go to the Herriman Pumpkin Fest with us. The kids had a great time playing the games. They got some great prizes. Thanks to Amy for the pictures, since my camera was dead - I stole these from her blog!!!

The next weekend, we went to Barnyard Boo with Grandma Susan and Grandpa Brad. This is something I have taken Lexi to every year since her first Halloween. She loves the games and activities. She especially loves going on the hayride. Last year her daddy scared her about the Headless Horseman, so she was a little bit apprehensive, but we had a great time.

Since Ryan was leaving town on Sunday afternoon, we decided we better get our pumpkins carved. I think this is Lexi's favorite Halloween activity. She wanted a Donald Duck pumpkin, a Mickey pumpkin and she decided to do a regular pumpkin. We had a lot of fun carving them and I think they turned out pretty good.

Lexi and Amelia

Lexi and Mrs. LaDawn

Lexi and her dance class

We have had such a fun Halloween season. Lexi had a party at pre-school and another at dance class. She thinks all the fun games and crafts are great, but she LOVES the candy. She makes such a cute "pink" Minnie Mouse.

A New Addition!!!!

This weekend we found out that we were going to have a new addition to our family...

I know what you are thinking, but no body is going to have a baby (other than our little girl), but Ashlie got engaged.

We are so excited. Ashlie is going to marry Brandon Edwards. He is such great guy and they make such a cute couple. We are so excited for them and I can't wait to welcome Brandon to our family!!!!

Congratulations - Brandon & Ashlie

A Visit to the Witches

This weekend, we made a quick trip to Gardner Village to see the witches. Lexi was really excited about the trip, but once we got there, she wasn't so sure.

This was the first time I had been to see the witches and I couldn't believe how cute they were. There were all different ones, but I think my favorite was the one who lifted her dress so you could see the cat run around her legs!!!

I think the highlight of Lexi's trip was a visit to Sweet Afton's. Lexi and I have made several visits there before so she wasn't going to let this time pass. We weren't the only ones with the idea. There wasn't room to move. I stood in line for 25 minutes to buy a candy I could buy at Harmon's, but I guess the idea was to have the candy from Sweet Afton's.

There was a spot where you could go on a ride with a real witch. The line was pretty long the first time we tried, but it was 1/2 as long when we went back. We really lucked out because there were only large parties ahead of us and so we were able to fill the wagon on the first ride out because there were only three of us - YEAH!!!!

Lexi was a little apprehensive when we go on the ride, but she quickly figured out that the witch we were riding with was a nice witch. She had instruments and we all played a song. The only bad thing was Ryan's instrument was a rat. I don't care if it was plastic, I really didn't want to sit that close to a rat - YUCK!!!

It was another fun activity for our little family. We had a great time!!!

Pumpkin Patch

Fall is one of our favorite times of the year at the Beckstead house, but each of us has our different reasons. Ryan loves that it is time for college football, Lexi loves picking out her Halloween costume and I love that the HOT summer is over (I know...weird)!!!

One of our favorite traditions since moving out to Herriman is visiting the pumpkin patch that is not far from our house. The last few years we have waited too long to go, so this year we decided to go on opening weekend.

Lexi had a blast picking out a pumpkin for everyone in the family. She even picked out a little small one for the baby. She was so excited about all the different pumpkins. She had her sites set on a white pumpkin and that is the one she picked out.

In addition to having a ton of pumpkins, there is also a corn maze for the kids to play in. Ryan tried to take Lexi through it, but she was a little scared. Oh well, we can try again next year.

We ended up with seven pumpkins in all different sizes. We can't wait until it gets closer to Halloween so we can carve them into fun Jack o' Lanterns. Right now they are helping to decorate our front porch.

This is just the first of many fall activities - We like to make the most of this time of year!!!

Crackin' Out

The other night, the baby was kicking like crazy. I asked Lexi if she wanted to feel her kicking. She came over and felt a great big kick - I think her baby sister was trying to impress her. When she felt the kick, her exact reaction was:

"Mom, I think she is ready to crack out at Halloween"

We have told Lexi that the baby will come around Christmas, but she has decided that if she is strong enough to kick, she can "crack out" now. I am not sure where she came up with the notion the baby is going to "crack out", but it is as good as an explanation as any. I am pretty happy I didn't have to explain to her any more details!!!

Utah Fan Fest

Ryan decided that Lexi and I needed more "RED" in our blood, so he took us up to the Ute Fan Fest at Rice Eccles. He promised me that I didn't have to watch any football, so I was game.

We met Grandpa Gary and Kody & Amy and their boys up there. All of us were dressed in our red and our white, so we fit right in.

All of the Utah Athletic Teams were there. The gymnasts, the swimmers and basketball teams were all there, as well as the cheerleaders and the band.

Lexi & Ryan with Coach Boylan

Matt Asiada straight from practice - Lexi doesn't look so impressed, but Ryan was.Lexi with two of the cheerleaders - GO UTES!!!

Jaime, Tanner & Boston hangin' with Swoop

Afterwards, we met Grandpa Jim and Grandma Ona at Litza's for some pizza. A trip up to the "U" isn't complete without a Litza's meal.

GO UTES - We hope you have a great season!!!!

First Day of School

Lexi started her first day of preschool on Tuesday. She was so excited to go to school. She wore her new red dress with the apples on it along with cute apple clips in her hair. She looked so cute in her "First Day of School" outfit.

Lexi goes to LaDawn's Preschool. It is so cute, the preschool is held in a little red school house and they are finishing a barn for the preschool as well. She goes to school with her friend Amelia and has a lot of fun kids in her class.

We are excited for Lexi this year. We know she is going to have a great year and learn a lot!!!

Fun In The Sun

All summer, Shannon has been inviting Lexi and I to spend the day at Cherry Hill with her and the boys. She let me know last week that her boys went back to school in two weeks and that summer was quickly fading away.

So on Monday, we loaded the kids up and headed on up to Cherry Hill. Amy, Tanner, Boston and Hudson were able to join us, so Lexi had all her cousins to have fun with all day long.

Shannon invited Lexi to stay the night on Sunday, so by the time I got up to Shannon's, she had already had a ton of fun. Aunt Shannon painted her nails and all of the boys pampered her. She was in heaven.

Once we arrived a Cherry Hill, Lexi was pretty apprehensive about the water, but she slowly warmed up. By the end of the day, she was going down the slides and splashing with all the boys. She especially liked it when Hudson played in the water with her.

By the time we got home, Lexi was exhausted. She was asleep in her seat five minutes after we left and she slept until 7:00 that night. We finally had to wake her so she didn't keep us up all night.

Hudson chilling in his stroller. He was such a good boy!!!

Lexi and Boston playing with their water guns!!

Dylan cooling off under the water!!!

Tanner, Connor and Austin following his lead

Lexi FINALLY going down the slide...about an hour before it was time to go home

A great big thank you to Aunt Shannon for having such a great idea and inviting us to share in the fun. We are so glad that Amy and the boys could join us. It was a great end to Summer (since the next day I found out Lexi starts preschool next week...Augh!!!)

It's A....?

So we finally hit one of the first milestones building up to our new addition. We were able to find out what flavor baby would join our family at the end of the year.

So the moment arrived and our fabulous ultrasound tech let Lexi know that her wish had come true and that she was going to have a ...

Little Sister!!!!

We are so excited and can't wait. I think Ryan is excited that we won't have to buy as much new stuff, Lexi is excited to finally not being the only little girl in the entire family and I am excited to have a new little person to dress up in bows and bracelets. Most of all we are excited to have a new little person to love in our family.

The new little Miss Beckstead was pretty shy during her first photo shoot. Every time we tried to get a good look at her face, her hands would immediately go up to cover her face. She also kept crossing her legs, but finally we were able to get a good look to confirm that she was indeed a little girl.

Silly me - I say the dark shadows on her head and I asked the tech if she already had that much hair. I guess I wasn't thinking very clearly, but I gave everyone a good laugh!!!

We thought it would be fun for Lexi to tell the other kids at daycare if she was having a little brother or sister in a fun way. We made cupcakes and put little toppers in them that said "It's A Girl". (We have "It's A Boy!" ready to take back). She told me she was putting the pink one's in whether or not it was a girl, so I guess we lucked out.

So I guess we can really start getting ready. We now can pick colors for the wall, decide on what bedding we want and get ready for our little girl. We can't wait until she is here.

24th of July in Fairview

It has become a tradition for us to spend the 24th of July down in Fairview with Grandpa Brad and Grandma Susan. Since the holiday fell on a Thursday, Ryan and Lexi spent the weekend at the cabin. I still had to work, so I went home Thursday night and came back on Saturday morning. Aunt Ashlie was able to come down with us on Thursday. We started out at the parade, which is really good considering the size of Fairview. They have a fun little craft fair where we found some really cute jewelry. Grandma Susan also bought the new baby some really cute burp pads. Since we still don't know what flavor baby we are having, we bought some really cute yellow and green ones.

Me and Ashlie are waiting patiently for the parade to begin. We are checking out the Tupperware books. She is showing me everything she wants to get when she gets married. I am not sure Tupperware will still be in business when that happens.

Lexi is having a lot of fun with Grandma and Grandpa. They both made sure she left the parade with a ton of candy and prizes.

After the parade, we went back to the cabin for lunch. The boys went fishing after lunch, while the girls rested. Later on we went swimming. There is so much to do up at the cabin.

Later that night, we had just finished dinner. Lexi was playing and having fun when all of the sudden she started screaming. It turns out she had been stung by a bee...OUCH!!! She wasn't very happy.

Ashlie and I headed home after dinner, while everyone else went to the Demolition Derby. The next day, the golfed, four wheeled and had a lot of fun. The only down side was that Lexi was stung by a bee AGAIN. She must taste like honey!!! This time she had a reaction and her hand swelled up. They had to get a bunch of Benedryl in her, and she was feeling better. I felt so bad that I wasn't there to kiss and hug her better.

Lexi and her daddy having fun on the golf course. She sure loves her daddy!!!

Here are the boys all ready for their 4-wheeler ride.

I drove back on Saturday morning. We spent a relaxing day resting, swimming and just having fun. Later that night, we drove into Ephraim for yummy Mexican food. It was a dinner for my birthday and these days I cannot get enough Mexican food. We finished the night with a carmel cashew shake - There is nothing better than that!!!

We had a really fun weekend. Lexi can't stop talking about her Grandpa's cabin and all the fun she had.

4th of July

I know, I am little (okay, a lot) behind on my blog. Once I get caught up, I will try really hard to keep up. We had a pretty low key Fourth of July, but we still managed to have a lot of fun. The night before, we went to the Riverton Parade with Shannon & Clint and their boys. We stopped for pizza before and then we melted in the parade. It was SOOO hot. I couldn't believe it. Regardless of the heat, we had a lot of fun. We were glad that the Forrests could come down and join in the fun.

Lexi, Dylan and Connor trying to escape from the sun!!! Clint got the umbrella's for me and Shannon, but somehow we lost possession of them.

Dylan and Connor enjoying their popsicles. It was the only way to stay cool. A big thanks to Aunt Shannon for buying the yummy treats.

Here is Lexi near the end of the parade. She isn't wet, she is just sweating. She looks like she just ran a 5 mile run, but she only had been watching the parade!!!

The next day we took Lexi to see Wall-E and she wasn't impressed. We only made it through about 1 hour of the movie. Can anyone tell me how it ended? Ryan told her that she isn't allowed to go to anymore movie...we'll see!!

That night we got take out and went over to Grandma Jil's and Grandpa Rick's for dinner. Grandpa Rick had just had surgery and so he wasn't up to much celebrating. We visited for awhile and then we had GREAT seats for the Riverton fireworks.

Here is Lexi in her Fourth of July dress all ready for the movie!!!

We had a fun holiday, even though we didn't do a lot. It was nice to have a relaxing day...that doesn't happen very often!!!

Father's Day

I wanted to wish Ryan a Happy Father's Day. Ryan is such a great dad and Lexi and I are so lucky to have him. He is always so helpful and he is a wonderful father. He takes such good care of Lexi and I. I don't know what we would do without him.

Today was a fun but busy day. This morning Grandpa Steve and Sandy came over for breakfast. We had a yummy egg casserole and fruit salad. It was quite good.

After church, Grandpa Gary and Kathy, Grandma & Grandpa Holyoak, Shannon, Clint, Austin, Connor, Dylan, Ashlie and Brandon came over for a BBQ. It was a lot of fun and Lexi had a great time playing with her cousins. They played outside in the pool all afternoon and had a great time. Ryan and Clint took the kids down to the splash park. Lexi ran around, but didn't get near the water. She is so silly.

Happy Father's Day to all the great father's in our life.

Lexi's Dance Recital

Last night was Lexi's dance recital. She did such a good job and had a lot of fun. Lexi has enjoyed dance so much this year and is sad that it is over for the summer.

Miss Torri was Lexi's teacher this year. She taught Lexi so much. Lexi took tap and ballet this year. She was in two performances last night and did a fantastic job in both. Her class danced to "Once Upon A Dream" for ballet and "Emerald City" for tap. They were such cute little girls to watch dance.

After the recital, we went to Leatherbee's for ice cream to celebrate Lexi's great job. She ordered her own banana split, but I think she only ate about 1/4 of it. Grandma and Grandpa Brady brought Lexi so roses and Ryan and I gave her a "Hannah Antenna" doll.

Great job again Lexi on a fabulous year in dance!!!