Fishing and Shooting, Beach trip,Soccer,Birthday, and School...Whew!

So, I know you all have been waiting to see what is going on in the life of the Beckstrand family. Well, wait no more... here goes!
Fishing and Shooting- a few weeks back Stephen took the kids out to do some fishing in a pond and then shoot some guns. My dad, brother Kyle, and other brother Derek and his family all went. I wanted to go, but I already had plans to take a friend out to lunch for a baby shower. The kids had a blast!! Both Hailey and Kaleb caught a fish (Karly just walked around and watched), and both shot a pistol and a rifle! Stephen, said they did really well and Kaleb especially loved the "shoot guns". I can't wait to go with them next time
Beach Trip- My fabulous mother and I took our annual mother/daughter trip down to Myrtle Beach and had so much fun!!! My mom wanted to go before she had to get back to school, so we took off and left the husbands and kids at home!! We had two beautiful days at the beach and enjoyed every minute of it. We went out to dinner, watched a baseball game and went to the movies. I think the highlight for me (next to the beach, of course) was staying up till 2am watching the Olympics together and laughing because we couldn't get to sleep. Oh, good times. I love my mom so much, she is the BEST!
Soccer- Hailey started soccer last Saturday and she did great! It was so HOT!! Her team has a little practice before they scrimmage each other. They rotated positions, and she got to be goalie. She did so well and stopped the other team from scoring. I was very proud of her. I forgot to get some pictures up, but I will get more later.
Birthday- My little brother Kyle turned 19 this past Sunday. I can't believe it!!! We had a fun celebration on Saturday with the family. We all went bowling and then went back to my parents house for ribs and cake. YUM YUM! Bowling was so fun. The kids were hilarious getting their bowling balls down the lane. It seemed to take forever for them to hit the pins. And then they were going so slow, I was afraid they wouldn't knock any down. No worries though, they did great! I still can't believe he is 19 and leaving for his mission in October!! love ya Kyle.
Ah, last but not least School- my baby, my Hailey started Kindergarten!! I think that it finally hit me that she is growing up. She didn't want me to walk to her in, she wanted to do the carpool. So, I pulled up, said goodbye and off she went, and me... I pulled off crying. Hailey is such wonderful girl and I am so proud of her.
Well, that about wraps it up, hopefully I won't wait so long to post next time. Enjoy the slide show.

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Proud to be an American!!! and Colorado

I am having so much fun watching the Olympics. It actually has surprised me how excited I get. Last night watching the men's relay swim team, I was jumping up and down cheering for them and I was so so so thrilled when they won, it was amazing to watch. I am so proud to be a American and it makes me happy to see these athletes representing our country!!! GO TEAM USA!!!!

So, you may be wondering what is up with Colorado, well......... that is where my totally awesome brother Kyle is going on his MISSION!!! He got his letter today and my parents took it to him where he works. They graciously waited for my other brother Brent, me and the kids, and Stephen to arrive before he opened it. Then we called my brother Derek and Kyle opened his letter! It was so amazing to see the signature of the prophet and know that Kyle is going to where the Lord wants him to be!!! I am so proud of my little brother, although he isn't so little anymore. My kids adore him and I am so thankful he is setting a good example to them and serving the Lord. Kyle is going to be a great missionary and I am going to miss him. Good thing he doesn't leave till October. Oh yea, he actually leaves on my birthday!! What a great present!! I love you Kyle!!

Basketball and Twilight!!!

So, we had a fun weekend. I went to the Breaking Dawn release party Friday and got my book. And, Saturday Stephen had a basketball tournament. Ok, so Breaking Dawn,(and no I will not give out spoilers), my friends and I got together Wednesday and made shirts to wear to the party and had a blast doing it. Friday, I went to Barnes and Noble and met up with my friends and enjoyed the festivities of the evening. I got my book at midnight and started reading...I was only planning to stay up till 2:30am, but I didn't go to sleep till about 4:45am!!! Crazy I know, but I didn't want to put it down. Saturday rolls around and my truly wonderful husband brought me breakfast in bed, so I could read!! Yes, he is that great!!! I read pretty much all morning and most of the afternoon(Stephen, brought me lunch too)!! Then we headed to the basketball tournament to watch Stephen(more details later). After a long,but enjoyable day of basketball I went home to read and no, I was too tired to stay up past 11pm. I did read Sunday before church and then finished the book Sunday after church! Whew, that was a lot of reading, but well worth it. I was surprised by the book, but really loved it!!!! All this reading would not have been possible without my amazingly fantastic hubby. He entertained the kids all weekend so I could just read!!! He is the best!!

Here is the "Vampire Girl" shirt I made

Ok, my other favorite thing...Basketball!! I love to play and I love to watch, especially Stephen!! A friend of ours asked Stephen to play with him and some other guys from the Stake in a Hoops for Hope Charity basketball tournament. It was an all day thing. Stephen wasn't supposed to be there till 3pm. However when we got there his first game wasn't until 4:20pm. We stayed and watched. Then we find out they were running behind, but we stayed anyway and I took the kids to a playground there. His game didn't start till 6:00pm!! It was a good game though, they were playing the champs from last year, and they killed them by 30pts.!!! Stephen didn't miss a single 3 pointer ( he had six total), and scored about 28pts. After that game they had another game right after it. They won, but it was a little closer. Stephen still did awesome and scored the lay up to pull them ahead!! Next the championship, but they did get a break. So, it was about 8pm, and we took the kids home and put them to bed and my neighbor came over so I could to the game. The championship was really close, and the guys were tired,but....they WON!!!! and again Stephen scored the last bucket to pull ahead!!! I was so proud of my hubby and I love watching him play.

Stephen and the rest of the team!! Way to go guys!

I LOVE THE BEACH!!

So, last week my family went down to Emerald Isle, NC for the week!! It was so much fun and I loved every minute of it. We, of course, went to the beach everyday, went swimming in the pool, played putt-putt, went to Cape Lookout on Harkers Island, had fun at the aquarium, went to Fort Macon, NC, and overall had a super fantastic time!!!! I loved being there watching my kids play and enjoying the sand and sun. Karly loved the sand, but not so much the ocean. She did enjoy the pool, especially walking off the edge and going under. She did that about 100 times. It was so funny to watch her. Kaleb loved the ocean and seriously just dived right in and let the waves knock him down, and then he would get up and do it again. He really enjoyed the body board and actually would stand up on it, to try to surf (I am bummed I didn't get any pictures of that). He really had good balance, I was so amazed how long he could stay up on the board. Hailey loved it all!! She actually would go out in the ocean with me and float over the waves and dive under them. She swims so well!!! It really was so AWESOME!! I am so grateful for my parents for making this trip happen and so thankful I have a wonderful family to enjoy the trip with. We decided to do this trip as kinda of a last big family get together before Kyle leaves on his mission in the early fall. I am so glad we did this trip because it makes me realize even more how blessed I am to have this family, they really are amazing! There are a lot of pictures in the slide show, but I hope you will look at all of them, b/c they are all good:)

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July 4th and Our big 5yr old!

Well, we had a fantastic 4th of July!! We spent about 3hrs at the pool, having a jumping contest and just playing around. It was so fun!! After that we had dinner with my parents, Brent and the Elders. My dad fixed his fabulous hamburgers and grilled brats as well. Then my mom made homemade pie, yum yum!! After dinner we headed out to the fireworks. I love fireworks, and I look forward to seeing them every year on the 4th and at the NC State Fair. So, I was extremely disappointed when a big storm came through and they cancelled the show:( We were already there, chairs up, blanket out and we could just see the clouds rolling in. We did however see a good lighting display:) I hope you enjoy the slide show

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My Hailey is growing up..she is now 5yrs old!! It really doesn't seem possible to me that I have a 5yr old. Hailey is such a wonderful girl, so caring and loving. She is a great blessing in our family! Hailey was so excited for her birthday and couldn't wait for the day to come. She picked cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and after breakfast went upstairs to get her "pretty" clothes on. Then I took her to the mall to get a stuffed kitty at The Bear Mill (exactly like Build-a-bear). After that we went shopping and she picked out an outfit, then we got some cookies for later. When we got home, Stephen was waiting to take the kids to my parents house, while I finished the cake and wrapping presents. My parents had their house set up like a theater for Hailey,Kaleb and Sean. They loved it!!! They got tickets and everything. When the movie was done everyone came back to our house for pizza,presents and cake!! Hailey got pretty much everything she wanted, plus a few surprises...like a guitar!! She loves that thing, and plays it all the time. Uncle Kyle is teaching her how to play. Overall is was a AWESOME day for an AWESOME girl! Hope you enjoy the slide show:)

Splish Splash

We love the pool!! We seriously go everyday. Hailey is such a little fish!! She can swim so well, she does the backstroke and freestyle excellent. I am really proud of her. She will just jump in and start going. Kaleb loves jumping in, as long as he has his float. He can swim without it, but would rather have it. Also, this kid can hold his breath....he will go under to get the dive sticks and I am so surprised how long he stays down! Karly is so chill in the water. She will try to swim as long as you are holding her and she will jump to you from the side. Most of the time she plays on the stairs, just dropping and picking up the dive sticks. I am so thrilled that all my kids love the water and aren't afraid of it. We love taking them swimming and watching them play, it is so much fun!!!!

little photographer

I went to upload pictures the other day, and this is what I found on the camera.....




Hailey is apparently quite the photographer! Look how well she posed her subjects, and they are all smiling. She is so talented:)