Busy, Busy, Busy...

'Tis the season to run around and around and around some more! I have a bunch of photos from the funeral I want to post, plus pictures of getting house ready for Christmas, and a few other posts too, but life has been put on full throttle for me the last few days. Fall sports are wrapping up, we are playing catch up from being gone for the funeral- with all the laundry and homework that entails. I haven't yet gotten to even start decorating for my favorite holiday! The tree is up, but empty of my prized ornaments. And I am dealing with a pretty cute toddler who is cutting molars.

Like I said, it is piling up. So my dear blog may be neglected - although I did give it a nice Christmas face lift. So, once the cards are addressed, the tree trimmed and some much needed sleep regained, I will have a whole slew of posts coming.  Not that you really care...

Oh,  if you've moved please email me your address so I can be sure you get one of my super cute holiday cards!!!

In Memory...

2006

2010

2006

This week we lost Rusty's grandpa "Papa" Earl Beck. We are headed to Colorado for the funeral and then on to Utah for a graveside service. Papa was such a sweet man, and I loved his sense of humor. I am so grateful my kids got to have not just amazing grandparents in their loves but 4 great grandparents as well. Here are some of my favorite pictures of Papa. With his love Audrey "Baum", married 58 years (I think if my math is right), and then this summer at Kaite's wedding, where they got to meet Brenner. And one of many, four generation pictures. I know I have some with Berk in them too, but I didn't have time to hunt for them.

And finally, I am most grateful that this sweet man sealed me to my hubby for Eternity. It will always be my favorite memory of Papa.  Till we meet again!

Here is the obituary-

Earl A. Beck

86 of Littleton died Sunday November 21, 2010 at Littleton Hospital. He was born November 3, 1924 in Provo Utah to Earl A. and Ilene Prince Beck. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the Army Air Corp. He graduated from BYU in 1948 with a B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration. He spent the next few years working as an Assistant Park Manager at Bryce Canyon Natl. Park, where he met his wife. He married Audrey Dotson in 1958 in the St. George LDS Temple. He worked for Mountain Bell for over 36 years until his retirement in 1986. He was an active member of the LDS Church, serving in many leadership positions including Bishop and Sealer in the Denver Temple. He is survived by his wife of 58 years; 5 children, Ronald (Robin) Beck, Dr. Russell (Cindi) Beck, Donald (Karen) Beck, Marianne Beck Lewis and Cheryll Beck Hart; 15 grandchildren; 7 great grandchildren; and 3 sisters, Ruth Shoell, Gwen Rowley, and Pearl Heilbut. He is predeceased in death by a granddaughter, Jenifer Carol Beck. Funeral Services will be held Friday November 26, 2010 at 10:00 am at the LDS Church 999 E. Tufts Ave, Englewood, CO 80113. A viewing will be held on Thursday November 25, 2010 from 6-8 pm at the Church. Interment will be in Utah Saturday November 27, 11:00 am at the Pleasant Grove Cemetery.

My Project...

I think I got the 7 year itch with my house. We've been here for almost 8 years now and lately I have a list of projects I want to do that are a mile long. Everything from a remodel, to an addition, to new paint etc etc. So I have to prioritze and I finally got the guts to take on something I've wanted to do for years!

I didn't take any actual BEFORE pictures, but I did take some of my Halloween decor, so that shows the tables in it...

Berk was my big helper. Seriously, his spray painting skills made me nervous. Can I say Future graffiti artist?

And AFTER!  I got the cute over sized crystal knobs from Hobby Lobby, and I used black spray paint to do the tables. I relied heavily on my new favorite blog called All Things Thrifty, and I am so glad I did.

Wah-lah... not bad for 6 cans of primer and about a dozen cans of black spray paint! I did sand at the tables, mostly to get the enormous pencil lines out of them, but nothing major. I haven't decided if I am going to further distress them by sanding the edges down, I am taking opinions however.  Now, I just need to slip cover my couches, since I hate the plaid now, but I love how comfy they are and my living room will feel brand new for less than $200! Score! I did the tall table first to get the feel of the project, and make sure it was really what I wanted, and then I actually did the three other tables all in one day! That was my major motivating factor behind using spray paint!

And yes, my tables are pretty bare, I do have a very hands on toddler, so most of my cutesier things are hiding for now. It makes me very nervous to put up my Christmas Tree... Anywho,  I double dog dare you to refinish something in your house! I mean, who can say no to a double dog dare?

I just took the dare to do a few more small projects : 1. Refinish my bathroom cabinets, my goal is to have them done by January! and 2. Spray paint my pool fence. I mean really, after 8 years it needs some TLC.

Trunk or Treat...

Well, before we could do any candy getting the boys had some games to play in first. The season's are owed their own post, so that will come later. Until then. This is how we spent Saturday afternoon...

 This is his "I don't want to play soccer" face.

 Soccer for Berk- with Rusty as his coach and how great is it that his uniform was Halloween colors???

And Basketball with Brae.

Braden has come leaps and bounds in just a few short weeks! Love that this kid is able to compete in sports!

That night we had our Ward Trunk or Treat. And before we left we took some family photos. So, introducing...
Mario

 Mario & Luigi

 Toad (or Frog Mario if you prefer)

Rusty was Player 1 and I was Player 2. And no, the boys' mustaches did NOT make it to the trunk or treat...

We had a fun time with our ward family, and I only took a few photos and I will save them for later!

Hope you had a great Halloween!

Halloween Week Festivities...

In case you can't tell, October is THAT month in our house. You know, the one where you have eighty-nine billion things that you HAVE to do? So, let me re cap our last week.

We had a little pre-pre-pre Halloween party at the Beck's because Jaci (our niece) wasn't going to be here for Halloween. We got the boys dressed up in costume, they played games like bobbing or apples, eating doughnuts off string and ring toss before trick-or-treating 'round the pool.

 Everyone had fun, and got their apple- even if it meant using their little Mario hands...

 Brenner wasn't sure about the doughnut, until he ate it, and then he was in powdered sugar heaven.

 Our trick-or-treat line...

Brenner still clutching the doughnut, not caring so much about the candy as he did the rocks around the pool.

On Monday night we had our annual Mortensen family Halloween Party out in Queen Creek. We eat dinner, chat, the kids play tons of games, and then everyone gets in a huge circle for the kids to trick-or-treat. It was a beautiful night. The kids had a great time, and came home with tons of candy.

 The eating and chatting part...

 The costume putting on and games part...

 Games, games games. And if you are Brenner, sitting on Pops' head so you can look at the starts and planes.

The trick-or-treating part.  Brenner was a squid this night. Like from the under water levels of Mario.  Even tho he was up hours past bedtime he was such a good sport.

On Tuesday, we met Rusty at Mother Nature's Farm for some pumpkin picking!

We had such a fun time. Braden and Berk were more interested in playing on the big dirt pile than actually doing anything else. But they had fun.  Brenner was in heaven. He walked around saying "ball! Ball! ball!!" about the pumpkins. So cute.

Wednesday was a usually crazy day, and I only mention it, although I have no photos, just to remember how hectic this week was. Both boys had school, followed by scouts for Braden, immediately followed by soccer for Berkley and overlapping by 15 minutes to Braden's basketball practice. Whew. Wednesday's are crazy around here.

Thursday I took a much needed deep breath, and stayed home working on a project. Photos to come soon, since the paint is finally dry and said objects are back in the house!

Friday, Berk had school (which is not the norm) so they could have a Halloween Celebration. Here he is with his cute teacher. Braden had a parade at school but Brenner was napping so we missed it.

That night we went on a double date with our good friends Blake & Addi. We met at Kona Grill, and were happy to introduce them to one of our favorite restaurants and then went to go see their new house!  Rusty and Blake grew up next door to each other and have always been best friends. We are so happy they left San Fran and decided to come back to AZ, and not just anywhere, but in our same community. I love that our boys (6 in all) will grow up together like their Dads did!

Whew, are you tired now too? I gotta take a break and post the actual Halloween stuff later!

Bobcat on the Loose...

Well, in the middle of Berk;s big birthday celebrations we had to take a time-out and head to the church for Braden's first ever Pack Meeting! He sure looks cute in his uniform. I sucked it up and busted out the sewing machine and got all his patches on and in the right place. (Did you know this is the centennial year off scouts? So, Braden got a nifty little patch to go around his purple scout patch that says as much. Which is why it looks different to you scout savvy folks)Whew. I was so glad they were done, until I had the thought that he will continue to earn badges for EVER, throw in having two more boys to come and I guess I may as well keep the trusty machine out.

 Berk was so cute, he said, "Take my picture with Braden too!" He kept asking us when pack meeting was, even though he had NO clue what it meant.  Way to be supportive buddy!

 Waiting to get started.  Some of my favorite ladies are in the scouts in our ward, and I happened to get the best shot of them in this picture! Love ya R.T. and S.B.

 The uniform check.

 Well Braden got his Bobcat and no one told me that meant I got a prize too! A cute little Bobcat pin! Wahoo! You know I love me some jewelry ;) That night getting ready for bed, he came to remind me to take it off my sweater so it wouldn't get lost.

 Proud parents with our Bobcat!

 After his patch was given, he had to 'bob' for apples. He looked at me like "why didn't you warn me!" It was so funny. He is soaking wet in thi picture but I love the excitement in his eyes!

Well, the first of a billion pack meetings in under our belts! Yipee for scouts!

Berkley is Four-tastic!!!

My funny little guy turned 4! He is a ball of energy and says the funniest things. As soon as he woke up, he walked down stairs and asked where his birthday balloons were! He did NOT want to wait for the party store to open for me to go get them! (FYI Moms, if your kids are in to Mario, you can only find stuff (ie balloons, plates etc) online.  Trust me, I looked EVERYWHERE!)

After doughnuts for breakfast and a fun day at preschool he came home and wanted to do just one thing. Play "MarioLuigi" aka Super Mario Bros for Wii. The kid is a pro, just don't try to take his 'fire or freezing' cause he will rumble with ya!

He loved his balloons so much that he had to throw his Mario costume on, so here is a sneak peak at Halloween 2010.

He did NOT want to wait for everyone to come over for cake. He wanted to open his presents NOW! Poor kid had to wait all night, but he did good. He picked Red Robin for dinner (and yes, he said I want to go to {think their jingle} Red Robin. Yummmm)  He loves that the mac n cheese is bottomless and that you get balloons!

Braden and Rusty and Rusty and Brenner, who decided he thought coloring looked cool, so he picked up a crayon, drew a sec, and then tried to eat it. Classic.

The wait staff came and sang to Berk and brought him a yummy ice cream sundae, but he was too busy playing with the balloons that came tied on it to pay any attention!

After dinner we had to break for a bit to put Brenner to bed, get a babysitter and head to Braden's pack meeting (next post). He was very specific about which cake he wanted and even came with me to pick it out and order it. (I added the Mario figures since again, you can't get Mario stuff anywhere!)

He kept walking by the table and grabbing gifts and opening them. He just couldn't wait for everyone to get there. He was so excited to get a guitar just like Braden got. They are fun little things, and the love to rock out to 'em.

When he opened the gift from his Noni and Pops he looked shocked, they gave him Mario Party 8, Just Dance and Mario Galaxy 2! He LOVES playing the Wii and these games are ones he has wanted forever!

I wish I'd had a better angle of this shot, he was so excited. He loves the Imaginext sets we got him last year. So this year a bunch of us got different pieces to help build up the Batman set we already own. This was the Penguin's sub and he thought it was so cool. He got rollerblades, a Mario poster, Moon Sand, a hot wheels track, a Buzz V smile game, some cool truck books, and a 'Finus and Ferb' jammies.

Blowing out the candle!

After everyone left they rocked out on their guitars. Brenner slept right through the whole rowdy thing! Berk you sure are a fun addition to our family. We waited four long year to get you and we are so grateful  that we did. You say and do the funniest things. Mostly things that you've heard me say. You insist on doing things yourself, except for bucking the seatbelt. You will not do it and it drives us all mad! You could play on your DS for hours but you'd gladly play in the backyard till nightfall too. You want to be just like Braden, but you also realize the attention Brenner gets and try to hold on the little kid inside too. You just started playing soccer, and your Dad is your coach. Just like Braden you love the idea of soccer, the actual game-not so much. But that's ok! You are a trooper and I love getting to spend one on one time with you everyday when B1 is at school and B3 naps.

I just know I am gonna blink and four more years will go by nd I'll be writing about your baptism! Crazy! Happy Birthday Berkers!