Summer Reading List 2009...

I guess as I feel my free time will soon be a distant memory, I have done a LOT of reading this summer. So just like last summer, I am posting my summer reading list. I love getting recommendations- even if I may take a while to get to them. If you aren't a member of goodreads yet, sign up. It's like an online book club, I love it!

I started off by re-reading all the Dan Brown books- Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and the two books I like the best of his-- Deception Point and Digital Fortress. He has a new book coming out in September, that is the third installment with Robert Langdon, that I am sure I'll find time for.

Then I finally got around to reading the "Uglies" books. I have heard good things about them for over a year now and finally got them. I read the first two at Lake Powell and the last two in Utah. They are youth fiction set hundreds of years in the future and have a great story line. I really recommend them. All of the books are quick, clean reads - try them, you'll like 'em! Uglies, Pretties, Specials and Extras.

Another book caught my attention because of a movie preview I saw for it, so I picked up The Time Traveler's Wife and read it in Colorado. The storyline was good, although I can't wait to see the movie so I don't have to edit scenes and words in my head. It's so nice of the screenwriters to do that for me...

Then, I did a little book swap with my friend Ami, and got a bunch more books I hadn't heard of. I know I am a little slow but I finally read Hunger Games and I am elated that the sequel comes out in September! Catching Fire had better be good! If you haven't read this- pick it up, well worth it. I have three more books from Ami to read- The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and the King of Attolia; and I am bound and determined to read them before Baby comes.

And finally, since I think the thicker the book the longer it will take me, I started the Inkheart Trilogy. Each of these books are about 800 pages, yet I am already on the final book, and I just started them Sunday. Oops, I guess my speed reading goes into hyper drive when I am prego! I did watch the Inkheart movie, and I would say this too falls under the category of "book was WAY better than the movie." So again, because I like 'youth' books, add Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdealth to your queue.

Then there is one more book I can't wait for September for, it's a new Nicholas Sparks book called The Last Song, and I am sure it will be a tear jearker like his others!

Hope this gives you some ideas for how to fill the rest of your summer- it sure filled mine!

Staying Cool in the HEAT...

Ok, so really it is impossible to stay cool right now. Even the pool feels gross. But we have managed to take advantage of other places A/C by doing this...

and this...

Now if only Braden's Dive Meets were indoors! We are so proud of our little guy. We flew back from our Utah trip early so he could participate in the City Prelims. Only the top 8 boys and 8 girls from his age group (5-6) make it to finals. Braden did 4 dives- Front Dive, Inward Dive Tuck, Back Dive 1/2 Twist and a front flip. He placed 6th! So he was only 1 of 2 boys from his team who made it to city. It was his first night meet- and MAN WAS IT HOT! I was wishing I could have been in the water too! At least the monsoons held off till after we were done, and we got to see an amazing sunset. The highlight of the night was while they calculated the scores- the coaches did an impromptu dive show and it was so fun to watch.

Saturday, early- think 6ish am- we headed to the pool for his last meet. I am extremely grateful to all the family that came out so stinkin early to watch him- even if they didn't actually get to see him dive... You see the entire dive meet was that morning- ages 5-15 so there were so many more people than normal and to say it freaked Braden out was an understatement. After deciding to forget it, packing up and saying sorry to the coaches, he decided he did want to dive. Luckily they let him go back to back and catch up his round of missed dives. They were a lot more strict in the scoring and form (ie hands hit before head or incorrect positions), so he had two incomplete dives of his four- but even with that, he got such high scores on his front dive and back twist dive that he ended in 4th place! Just think if he had gotten any score at all he would have won. Oh well, maybe next year.

Diving has been a fun experience. I have learned a lot about it and Braden has too. Even though he had his rough days, certain dives he WOULD NOT try --

and had to have his coaches throw him in the water (more than once) to get him going. He did ask if he could do it again next summer...

On the baby front, I am almost 35 weeks, and HUGE. The room is not ready, at all, and I am trying not to let it stress me. The boys are almost all moved in together, we are just waiting for the dresser we ordered to come and I will feel set as far as they go. Just pictures to hang and accessories and bam, all set.

I have done Braden's school shopping and have decided to post-pone Berkley's potty training and paci taking away until September at least. I have my hospital list printed out, but still need to pack. Both boys came at 37 weeks, thus my urge to be ready! I am curious how big this baby will be- the older boys were both well under 8 pounds and I think this one will be pretty near that. And on a cute note- Berkley called the baby by his name today (you'll find out soon enough), and asked what He ate. "Juice?" He asked. "No Milk", I said. He asked "Where is the milk?" and I said "Ummm, it's not here yet." Man this kid is in his inquisitive stage.

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone, and how quickly we will be a family of 5, I hope we're ready!

One Last Hurrah...

So after our Beck reunion in Colorado, we flew straight to Utah to meet up with the Rasmussen clan. Every Summer for about the last 30 years we have been heading up to our condo at Snowbird. It is a tradition I loved as a kid and I love passing it on to mine. Plus it is one of the few places where the outdoors trumps the TV for Braden so I love it.

Between the park set on a huge granite boulder, the fishing pond, the kids pool and the other units my family has, there is always something to do. Plus we get to see my sister Robyn, my brother Loyle and their family- so new cousins are always fun. Kelcie was nice enough to volunteer Nanny duty and come with us for the week. Let's just say, me + 33 weeks preggers + high altitude = I can't breathe or have much energy. So she was a big help.

My boys both love their Uncle Loyle, he is the best at fishing in the pond- so as soon as he got up there Braden, Rusty and Loyle went to go get their fishing licenses. The pond is stocked, and for kids 12 and under only, but we all love watching them. My Dad kept saying, "those are keepers!" because the fish were really big. One even snapped the line! Mac n Cheese and string cheese proved to be the best bait. Berkley, we have learned, is not the patient fisherman kind. He wants to cast and have a fish on the hook as soon as he reels it back in. But he doesn't actually want anywhere near said fish. Draven and Gabrielle both caught a few too!

We also got a chance to get to walk through the Oquirrh Mountain Temple during the open house. Growing up the Jordan River Temple was closest to my house, so to see another Temple just behind it is so cool. The boys thought it was pretty inside and were pretty reverent. Berk was quiet once we told him he got cookies at the end. The chandeliers were amazing and all the etched glass was stunning. I can't wait till the Gilbert Temple opens so we can go through it too!

And since I haven't been to Utah in over a year (or two?) I had a few places I had to go. Most of them food places, but who can blame me? So we made sure to hit Training Table because I have been craving their cheese fries and dipping sauce for about 8 months and we also went to Zupas because Kelcie insisted we would love it. And we did.

We also headed to Park City to get some back to school shopping done and Berk had a blast buying "plip plops" and playing on the kiddie rides.

The other main attraction is the pools at the Bird. Our condo sits just above the kid pool. Luckily it is heated because it can be chilly there even in July. I am trying really hard to remember what it felt like to be sitting poolside in a sweatshirt because the heat of home is so bad!

The other big thing to do is the Summer Activities at the Snowbird Center. Every year they add something new and this year included a rock wall and a mining station. We spend the whole day over there and ride the Tram, Alpine Slides, ZipLine, Bungee Tramp, Bull and get some nice bright sunburns. I was on official photog duty since all the dumb signs said I couldn't ride things because I was pregnant. I did ride the Tram, cause there is no skill involved. There was some freezing involved though, when we hit Hidden Peak where it was windy and only 50*. Let's just say we didn't stay up there long...

And while we had a blast, I am glad to be back home finally. Other than the heat -which I have not missed, I have missed my Bed and my pillows. Now I just have to unpack...maybe tomorrow...

Colorado Reunion...

We just finished the funnest, quickest trip to Colorado to visit with the entire Beck side of the family. We had this family reunion planned months ago and unfortunately, in the time since Rusty's grandma Audrey "Baum" had a knee replacement and subsequently a stroke. So we were really glad we got to spend a little more time visiting with Papa and Baum during her recovery.

The Russ Beck Family with Earl & Audrey Beck

We got in really really late at night and started our activities first thing the next morning. We headed to breakfast, then the mall (where the Sweet Factory was still open and I scored some of my FAV chocolate covered gummi bears- heaven) and then to the nursing home where all the Becks had a pizza party and reunion. It was the first time most of us had seen Baum, and she did really well remembering us. She still has her fire and made us laugh any time she would say "I don't care" or "Whatever" when she was done talking about something. Braden was especially glad to see her, he was worried she wouldn't be able to give him hugs anymore. We shared stories, memories about Baum & Papa -who just celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary as well as Baum's 80th Birthday.

Our boys with their Great Grandparents

We sat around and caught up on what all the cousins were up to. It was nice. After a few hours, Baum was tired so we all headed back to their house to do some cleaning, yard work ect. I lucked out and got to go home with Berk and nap- but in addition to missing the clean up, I also missed a huge rainstorm. Braden was so excited they had weeds for him to pull. That kid loves pulling weeds. Weird, I know. That night after dinner we went to Russ's littlest sister Chez's house for fun outdoors and a rowdy game of Blurt.

The 4th of July we started early again after breakfast and our family, Kelcie, Jill & Jaci went to this water park called Pirates Cove. It was a perfect place for little kids. And since it was overcast there weren't a ton of people there. After a few hours we were all cold, (AZ wimps) so we went to Panera for lunch. The frozen lemonade was so good!

Again while I had the hard job of napping with Berk- Rusty, Braden and the gang went to see Ice Age 3D. Braden never saw the others, but he liked this one. Our celebrations for the 4th were changed because of the rainstorm hovering over us, and a lot of the shows were cancelled. But we still had a good time at Russ's younger brother Donnie's house BBQing, playing in the park and learning a new card game called "Lucky Unders." Once it got a little darker, and the rain stopped we did sparklers, Braden had his head painted in red and blue, Berk caught his t shirt on fire and we set off fireworks that sent both my kids running inside. On our drive home we did get to see probably 15 different shows as we drove on the freeway. Berk kept saying "I see it! Fireworks!!" and Braden covered his ears. Love it.

Rusty & I by the fire

Berk & Jaci doing sparklers

Braden's Patriotic Hair

Before we left Sunday, we were able to go back as just our family and visit with Baum and Papa again. It was so nice and so hard at the same time. Just in May they came to AZ to visit us and there is just such a change since then. Luckily she is doing better everyday and we hope to make more frequent visits to see them!

I was so sad we didn't get to see any of the Jardine's- I have to plan it better next time, PROMISE! Hope you all had a Happy 4th!