You're Killing Me, Smalls!

Last Friday Ryan and I took a summer stroll down memory lane, right into the essence of childhood. Remember the first time you watched "The Sandlot"? I don't, but since it was countless views ago, I can tell you the Utah-filmed flick played a big role in my life. My dad says my sisters and I wore out our video copy (remember videos?) and he had to get us a second one. I've mentioned the "Wendy Peffercorn" pool is only blocks away from us here in Ogden, a fact I can't help but feel quite proud about! 

That being said, Ryan and I went to the Utah Bees game last Friday, where they were playing "The Sandlot" after the game for the 20th Anniversary of the film. Even better, they wrangled in the gang of guys from the movie to make a live appearance! We saw Ham, Squints, and Yeah-Yeah in the flesh, and now that those guys are in their mid-thirties, it was hilarious to see that some of them look strikingly similar to their boyhood silver screen versions.

Although the Bees got absolutely spanked by the Sacramento Rivercats (we're talking 17-8...ouch!), we had such a blast going out on the field with hundreds of families to see the show on the screen. Afterwards, we hit up Denny's for our free Grand Slams, on account of the Bees hitting a grand slam during the game. 

Can I just say we heart summer?  How long? FOR-EVVVVVVV-ER!

Loving us some general admission seats on the grass. So nice to stretch out and see the free entertainment around us.

The view of the game.

We both pretended to watch the game, but let's be honest...we were there for the movie!

Yeah! Everyone's storming the field. There wasn't a bad seat in the house.

So "Yeah-Yeah" morphed from a puny kid into a HUGE muscle man. Ham and Squints looked totally the same!

Recognize these guys?

Hard to tell...but the movie is playing on the screen. Fun!

Gotta love the spontaneous, free breakfast at midnight!

My New Work Position + Grand Opening!

Late last month I was promoted to a newly created position at MarketStar. The company now knows Crystalee Beck as Social Community Manager for our company of 3,500+ employees, and I'm leading the charge on ushering in our new social intranet. We've called it "MarketStar Connect," and it's a robust, interactive place for all employees to connect and collaborate, no matter where they work. It's really cool technology, somewhat a cross between Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter that's exclusively for our employees.

With the enterprise launch only three weeks away from my sign-on date, I knew I was jumping into very sharp learning curve - and honestly, the first week I felt very overwhelmed. Thank goodness for my Ryan, who's been a true cheerleader at home. He's been understanding when I'm working late and exhausted. He's left me sweet little notes like, "You're so capable," that have boosted my spirit more than he knows.

If I was an accountant (like my talented sister), this would be the crux of last minute tax season. It's been an intense couple of weeks, and I'm thrilled all the meetings and planning and trainings will come to fruition tomorrow! Today alone I led four different trainings, and over the past business week I've busted out:

• 342 emails answered (ay ay ay!)
• 250 t-shirts distributed for the event
• 48 donuts for the Champs in today's meeting
• 7 Manager kickoff trainings
• 5 parties planned for locations across the country
• 2 Team Champion kickoffs
• 1 Senior Executive training

With that, Grand Opening... let's hit it tomorrow!

P.S. You better believe I'm sleeping in this Saturday... :)

MarketStar's 25th Anniversary

It's not every day you hit 25 years in business, and it's definitely not every day you're 27 years old, planning a party worthy of a quarter-of-a-century celebration.

Perhaps it's the student government party planner in me. Or maybe I'm just really blessed. I found myself with the unique opportunity to plan MarketStar's 25th Anniversary Gala, and I absolutely loved it!

I spent many months nailing down the details, writing scripts for the videos we debuted, and even teaching our executives a dance to go with the Beatles song, "Come Together," which happened to be our theme...and don't mind me saying so, but the event really did come together.

Nearly 800 employees attended the event here in Ogden, at Peery's Egyptian Theater - a historic and gorgeous venue that dates back nearly 100 years. We heard from our founder, Alan Hall, our CEO Dave Treadway, and many other MarketStar leaders. We honored stellar employee teams with Treadie Awards (named after our CEO), and ate the world's largest orange asterisk cake. 

You can see our "History of MarketStar" video here.

One my proudest moments came when the party was winding down, and the founder, Mr. Alan Hall, pulled me aside and put his arm around me. He told me he was proud of me, and said, "You're like a daughter to me and Jeannie" (his wife). Aahh...what a nice thing to say. It was definitely a highlight of my career so far. One of those days I wish I could put on repeat.

Happy 25 years, MarketStar!

Ogden Pioneer Days and Horses of Many Colors

Can I get a YEE-HAW?!

Ogden Pioneer Days begin this week, and the celebration can be seen throughout the streets. Ryan and I will holler and hoot at the Ogden rodeo this weekend.

More than anything, I'm enjoying colorful horses on my morning four-block commute to work. According to eventful.com, the "Trail to Pioneer Days" horse project is the largest public art project of its kind in Utah. With more than 60 life-size fiberglass horses designed and painted by the finest artists, these pretty ponies grace Washington Blvd. and Historic 25th street from July to August. As the site says, they "lead the way to Ogden Pioneer Stadium where Ogden Pioneer Days originated and where the feeling of the American West still lives."

They're sure a happy sight at the start and end of my day! I've been getting to know them, and want to share my 2012 winners:

Most Partriotic - sponsored by Hill Air Force Base

Most Pricey

 Best Representation of Ogden (Ryan and I met the artist at a gallery stroll last year)

Most Delicious - sponsored by Hershey company (they have a local plant!)

Scariest - sponsored by Eccles Dinosaur Park (yes, we have a mini Jurassic Park here!)

Most Likely a Zebra in an Identity Crisis

Most Blatant Advertisement

Most Likely to Confuse a Bee

Best Horse Power

Most Likely to Star in a Chinese New Year's Parade

GRAND PRIZE: Best Looking and Best Representation of Pioneer Day - sponsored by Ryan's work, R&O Construction

Which is your favorite?

Don't Forget to Remember

Today Ryan and I joined thousands of thankful citizens who lined Washington Blvd. for the funeral procession of fallen Officer Francom. Although a solemn occasion, I’ve never personally witnessed anything like the powerful memorial today, with hundreds of police cars from all over the country. Silence swept the shivering crowd as the fire truck passed carrying Francom’s American flag-covered casket.
What a beautiful tribute to Ogden’s fallen officer. It was reverent as we thought about what him, a man most of us didn’t know, but whom we owe so much. Francom was shot while serving a search warrant last Wednesday night with 11 other members of the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force. He died early Thursday morning at Ogden Regional Medical Center.
While we were waiting with the crowd, I spoke with a woman who said four words I found quite profound; “We forget to remember.” It’s so true. It’s so easy to go about our daily lives without remembering the selfless service of those who protect our communities at home and our freedoms abroad.

Thank you, Ogden Police and Fire Departments. Thank you, Boy Scouts, for lining the funeral procession with your flags. Thank you, service men and women for all you do to make this country the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I took the above picture from our 6th floor at MarketStar - we could see the cars coming for nearly two hours. Quite an amazing tribute.

Santa Already Came to Town

We found another reason to like living in Ogden: Christmas Village!

Every year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, downtown Ogden transforms into a winter wonderland. This year we got to see it. There's a big parade (which we could hear from our apartment), with Santa himself on the caboose float. Afterwards, Ryan and I waited along with thousands of others (not kidding, it's a BIG event), for Santa to make his appearance on the downtown amphitheater stage. I think embarrassed Ry with my "Elf" movie imitation, I'd shout out, "SAAANNTTAA!!" like Buddy does. Love these Buddy quotes:

Buddy: You smell like beef and cheese, you don't smell like Santa.

Buddy: [phone rings, Buddy picks it up] Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

Gimbel's Manager: Why are you smiling like that? Buddy: I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite.

Gimbel's Manager: 6-inch ribbon curls honey.
Jovie: That's impossible.Gimbel's Manager: 6 INCHES!

After the countdown, the jolly guy switched the giant fake ON/OFF switch, and the place lit up, including fireworks up above!

Lucky, lucky me - MarketStar's right across the street from the glowing city, so every night I can look down from the 6th floor and see it. It's magical, indeed. Ry's interning at R& O Construction, and here's the house they built:

9 Reasons Why We're Loving Ogden

Note from Crystalee: This poor family blog has been neglected long enough. We went on a first anniversary Maui getaway, moved to Ogden, I started a new job, Ryan's in full-time school and started a new internship, I've been getting closer to my 50 states while 25 goal. It's time to catch up.

We've been in Ogden now for over two months and really like it. We'd heard all kinds of horror stories, but surprise! Ogden's great! We're in a wonderful location, close to the hot spots. Here's the TOP 9 so far:


1. Ogden is new to both of us, and it's fun to explore it together. We feel very blessed to be here, and for all the opportunities we've found in this town with an urban hub and outdoor recreation galore. Did you know that National Geographic ranked Ogden in the top adventure towns? It called it the "Disneyland for adrenalized adults." Now THIS is a place we belong.

2. MarketStar
Four blocks away is this gem of Washington Avenue. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new Marketing Writer position at MarketStar. They've let me jump right in, helping contribute to the corporate blog, internal magazine, and writing for client projects. With my passion for word-crafting, it's an ideal job for me. Being so close, I walk or ride my bike pretty much daily. I work with ridiculously talented people, and enjoy getting to come home for lunch with Ryan.



2. Weber State University

The primary reason we came to Ogden was for Ryan to be closer to his school, and I'd decided to apply for their Master of Professional Communication program (turned out I got a great job too) Ryan's jumped right in, becoming the president of a contractor's club - he's studying Construction Management - and being awarded a full scholarship for the year. (Yeah, so I'm a proud wife, I know, I know) It's a 12 minute drive, and 30 minute bike ride, as Ryan can testify.





3. Historic 25th Street runs on the south side of MarketStar, and it's such a neat street! Years ago it used to be a scary, R-rated area, but it's been successfully transformed into a family-inviting row of quaint shops, lovely boutiques, and yummy restaurants. I love just walking along it, window shopping, and am fortunate to get to eat there with co-workers.






4. The Ogden River Trail is nearby, and I've loving having such a special place to bike and run. Just tonight I ran along it, admiring the fall colors. It's not a place I feel safe at night, but it's sure a blast in daylight.

5. Along the river trail is the Lorin Farr swimming pool, a very special place because the classic all-American movie The Sandlot had a pivotal scene filmed there. Yes, you know what I'm talking about. Wendy Peffercorn! And Squint's never-forgotten line:

"I've been coming here every summer of my adult life, and every summer there she is oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling... smiling. I can't take this no more!"

Filmed blocks from where we live, that's where Squints pulled the moves on the lifeguard.
I love that movie. "For-ev-ER!"


6. Farther down the trail is the Ogden Botanical Garden, a lovely spot for picnics and rose-smelling. It's really an enchanting little place, and I love that it's walking distance away.







7. I recently discovered this incredible place, Rainbow Gardens, which is where the river trail starts. They call it Western America's Largest Gift Emporium, and I tend to believe them. It's HUGE and has such unique, incredible gadgets and gismos. I could spend hours and hours in there, I think any female could.





8. Our LDS church building for the Pioneer Ward is also walking distance, and it's a historic building, uniquely built with intricate design and stained glass windows. We live in a low income, slightly sketchy neighborhood, but this is the most beautiful LDS church building I've attended, and we have good people in our ward.



9. We see the Ogden temple everyday. Unfortunately, it's being completely renovated for the next couple years, but it will be beautiful when it's finished. Ryan likes seeing the construction process. It's being very delicately taken down.