Summer's End: The Best of 2013

Tomorrow marks the official start of fall. Bring on Utah's mosaic of autumn leaves!

Looking back, this has been the best summer of our Beck treks so far. I'd plotted out 13 staycations for this summer, but our time together turned out better than I could have hoped. Rather than write an individual post about each event, I'm rounding them up list-style to remember good times with people we love. We're so blessed to have wonderful health to enjoy these adventures:

My favorite passenger and me!

Crystalee's final flight with wings
Memorial Day weekend was my final time in the jump seat. The rest of this summer couldn't have been so wonderful without the decision to turn in my wings. I'd gotten to a sticky point where I had two full-time jobs (they took away the part-time flying option) AND grad school. Talk about overloaded! It was 100% the best choice for us at this time. Ry had encouraged me for a long time to let it go, and I've honestly never looked back since. I love finally getting to enjoy weekends! Little did I know, I was already a few weeks pregnant in this picture...

June
New position at work
Within three weeks of leaving the airline, I was promoted to Social Community Manager at MarketStar. Amazing how, like Helen Keller said, "When one door closes, another opens." It's challenging and also a lot of fun. I love my job!

Millie's Princess Run
My favorite fun run of the year is in honor of a little lady named Millie Flamm. I wrote about this year's race here. Hope you can join me next year!

July

Sarah Jane + Gil = ❤
On a beautiful summer day, Ryan's cousin Sarah Jane became Mrs. Marchant. He was able to attend the festivities the whole day, and I joined the reception that night. They're a really fun, happy pair.

Primary party at the park
Ry and I hosted a party at a nearby park for our five- and six-year old Primary class. We played kickball, hide and seek, blew up balloons (of course, making funny noises with them), and played "monster" on the playground. Ryan's such a big kid himself. Now we have different church callings, but we loved our two years with these little monkeys!









Snowbird weekend for Ryan's birthday
Ryan turned 29 and we celebrated with a quick getaway at Snowbird. Wrote about it here.

Sandlot Bees game

Remember Squints? Ham? Yeah Yeah? We saw their adult counterparts at the Salt Lake Bees game for the 20th Anniversary since the classic movie "The Sandlot" was filmed in Utah. ALSO: This was the day (July 19) we found out we're expecting our first baby! We'd soon find out we were already at 11 weeks at this point - I've been so fortunate to feel well.

Ryan's Spudman Triathlon
Ryan had been training for months for the Spudman, which is held each summer in Burley, Idaho. His sister, brother-in-law, and brother Randy competed too - yeah team! While they were pushing it, I was filming for a class assignment:

August
Riley Returns!
Ryan's brother Riley returned from his LDS mission in Mexico City the first week of August. He did such a great job serving the people there and speaks Spanish so well. We were all so excited to see him. While we had the whole group together for a picture shot, we announced our baby news...and that night, Rob and Jen shared their Kensi will be a big sister! What a happy day for the Beck bunch!

Lava Hot Springs
A few days later, the Beck Bunch made the yearly trek to Idaho to the beloved tradition of Lava. Ryan did his annual backflips off the ultra-high dive (which always makes my heart stop), and we enjoyed being with family. Ryan and company went the next day to Jackson Hole where they river rafted.

Keala and Mike's wedding
A few days after our three-year wedding anniversary, my beautiful cousin Keala married her man Mike in the Salt Lake temple. It was one of the happiest days I've had in a long time. We got to "relive" the memories of our own wedding day and see my cousin so radiantly happy. I've written before about my auntie Melanie who passed away, and Keala is her first daughter. It was such a special experience to feel her mama's spirit throughout the day - Melanie was watching from heaven and we could feel her love.

I'd waited to tell my mom and sisters our good news until I saw them at this wedding - it was wonderful to share there will be TWO new grandbabies in 2014! (My sister is also expecting and had already announced.)

Mama, Erika (who's expecting too), me, and Emily just after we shared the news.

I loved that they included Melanie's cookies at the reception. She was there in spirit!

Color Run
On August 24, we did the Salt Lake City Color Run with way fun Tami and Mavin. LOVED IT. I ran the entire 5K in about 30 minutes - not too shabby for a pregnant lady!

September
Backpacking trip
Ryan's been wanting to take me camping since got married. We figured we'd better get out there before my baby belly grows too big and it gets cold. Over Labor Day, we had my very first "practice" backpacking trip in the Uintas. Being 17 weeks pregnant, we only hiked about 40 minutes (and I was proud of myself to carry my own pack!) We camped for two nights, and explored little lily-padded lakes and I felt our little baby's butterfly-wing kicks for the first time.

Arizona visit
We spent a weekend with the Webb/Marson family in Arizona. Dad and Sue were kind to take us out on Lake Pleasant. Ryan and Emily's boyfriend showed off their wakeboarding prowess, and my dad even gave it a go. Ryan displayed mad skills hanging on to the tube - I've never seen anyone whipped so fast across the water. Sue was so sweet to take Erika and me maternity clothes shopping, and we celebrated Crysti's birthday together at dinner.

Ryan, realizing he survived the wicked ride, gives a victory grin.

Emily's boyfriend Quincy teaching dad how to wakeboard. Love it.

Cute couple!

My sisters.

While all of this has been wonderful, the BEST part of this summer has definitely been BABY BECK. We're finding out the gender next week. We're excited that next summer we'll have a little one with us! If you haven't seen it already, here's my favorite project from the past few months:

What has been the best part of YOUR summer?

Inventory Time

What a heaven-sent weekend.

With family and friends, Ryan and I enjoyed General Conference, a semi-annual gathering of our church to hear leaders share inspired messages. Every six months, we are reminded of our priorities, and inspired to keep God at the center of our lives.

After conference, Ry and I talked about what stood out most to us. For Ryan, service was a key topic woven throughout the talks. Missionary work stood out to me, especially with the announcement of the new policy, lowering the age for both guys and gals to serve as full-time missionaries.

I walked away from conference with two messages imprinted in my heart. One came from Elder Uchtdorf on Saturday when he reminded us, "We are that we might have JOY." Life's too short to let it pass by without enjoying the journey. Being busy is no excuse. We're all busy. But in the end, I don't want to look back and regret not letting myself be happy along the way. I've decided to treat myself more often and choose JOY.

Second message? President Monson's Sunday invitation:

He added, "I have found, that, rather than dwelling on the negative, if we will take a step back and consider the blessings in our lives, including seemingly small, sometimes overlooked blessings, we can find greater happiness."

Tonight, I took his challenge. Journal in hand, I went up the nearby beautiful canyon, found a worn bench next to a gurgling creek and wrote out my blessings, one by one. I kept writing for an hour and filled PAGES, everything from health and ability to walk to thrift stores (both to donate to and find gems), supportive parents and in-laws, modern plumbing, and our ability to vote.

You're blessed too. If you take on this challenge, I guess you'll have an experience like mine: Once you start listing your blessings, you'll see more and more that's good in your life. We'd love to hear how it goes!

 Image courtesy of Mormon Newsroom.

Brotherly Reunion

Beck family breaking news: Welcome home, Randy!

Our brother Randy returned from his two-year LDS mission to Vina del Mar Chile today. I was sad to miss the airport reunion, but couldn't take time off work. Ryan carved time into his school schedule to join the Beck family at the SLC airport. (Since he didn't supply me with a single picture of today's blissful family reuniting, I figure this old picture of Randy and Ryan in a German BMW Exhibit will suffice for blog purposes.) Vrrooommm, vrrrooommm ... more family adventures ahead!

We're so glad you're back, Randy. You've been in our prayers for two years, and I'm excited to get to know you now as your sister-in-law, since I was just "Ryan's girlfriend" when you left.

Oh, and BYU-Idaho ladies, prepare yourselves. You have a stud coming your way soon!

P.S. This picture hints at the next blog post coming soon: His & Hers: Car Genius v. Oblivious (I'll let you guess who is which)

Our First Date: Holiday Magic

If you've never been to Temple Square during the holiday season, it's a magical must. Honest. Every year, there's a wonderful LDS Christmas Devotional to ring in the season. This year's will be on Sunday, December 4, at 6:00 p.m. MST. You can enjoy it here

Dec. 2006 | LDS Conf. Center | President Hinckley turned right as I took a picture!

Exactly five years ago, Ryan and I went on our first date to the Christmas Devotional at Temple Square. Back in 2006, I was 20, Ryan was 22, and he'd waited all semester to finally ask me out. Smitten with his deep dimples, I thought he was the "cutest guy in the ward." My roommate and his were dating (still our awesome friends, Mr. & Mrs. Hustedt!) and that night we had ourselves some monumental moments. Here are snippets from that date, copied straight out of my college journal:


December 3, 2006

The Christmas season has officially begun for me today. I went to the Christmas devotional in Salt Lake! I went on a group date with Ryan Beck in the ward, and it was an incredible night. Mattie went with her boyfriend Josh, and Rob Martin brought a girl named Krysta.

We were invited for dinner at Mattie's house. The Morgans made us a feast - roast, mashed potatoes, candied yams, homemade bread, jam and salad. It was heavenly.

We got to the Conference Center just in time, and made our way to our seats. Guess where I got to sit? THE SECOND ROW! When the First Presidency came in, I was just 40 FEET away! the whole devotional I was brimming with gratitude to see the living prophet of God. The devotional tonight was one of those memories I don't want to forget.President Hinckley said that "shining through the dark is the assurance and faith of the true meaning of Christmas: the reality of the Atonement." The Conference Center was breathtaking! I could look at it all day and my eyes wouldn't tire of the vibrant colors and warm Christmas feeling.

I had a great time with Ryan wandering the brightly-lit Temple Square. The glistening lights and glowing temple promise a romantic mood, plus there was a full moon. We took pictures, heard a bell choir in the visitor's center, and enjoyed each other's company. At one point, I was talking to these sister missionaries, and Ryan told them out of the blue: "She's either going on a mission or marrying me." Haha! I blushed. Ryan held my hand! It was a spontaneous, spurred-by-the-mood gesture, and I don't know if it'll happen again, but I enjoyed it. Like I texted him, it really couldn't have been any better - it was a FABULOUS night!

Little did I know, I'd be going to see the lights with Ryan four years later, as his wife. Turns out my journal, my white beanie, and my Ryan are all keepers.

Thanks for spending time on Our Beck Treks. Happy December. Like this post? Your comments are as good as wrapped presents; I love them. Do share...

12/7/11 Addendum: It was mentioned this post makes it seem like we dated for four years. Nope, we both had some growing up to do. Above you read of what we call "Round One," which was really just few weeks of flirting. Three years later, "Round Two" launched strong and he popped the question nine months later. It was all about the right timing. But that's a whole new post...