Maternity Pictures...

Last Sunday Dan and I took the girls to the Mesa Arts Center to take some pictures. We've always had an idea of how many kids we want. I've said 5-7 is a good size for me and Dan has always been cool with whatever. I don't know if it's just because I'm towards the end of this pregnancy or because its blazing hot, but I feel like I could be done and happy with 4. It used to sound like such a small number to me but now it seems like it would be just right. I knew after we had the twins that we would have another one for sure but with this little girl coming soon, I think I might be finished. Anyway, that's what's been on my mind lately and so we wanted to do a maternity shoot so we could always remember what I looked like when I was pregnant...just in case this is our last. You so easily forget what you looked like until you see a picture and then you remember the feeling of carrying around all that extra weight. :) I put some of these pictures on my photography blog but I never know if people even look at it. So I put some here just to update what we've been up to. We had such a great time and Dan did an amazing job. I didn't help him one bit. I'm excited to get another camera soon so we can team up in this business. After the shoot we took the girls to the Temple and let them run around in the grass. It was so fun being there as a family and Gracie kept begging to go inside. It was cute to see her so excited about being there. I'm so glad I have my family forever no matter what life brings our way. Hope everyone is doing great. -Becky

Here's just a few.

So far behind....

I'm going to get caught up! Last month my family had our annual reunion at Mt. Graham. I was especially looking forward to it because I wanted so badly to get out of the heat. The weather was perfect! So nice and cool and it rained just enough to keep it that way. Dan and I tented it this year. We hauled up our utility trailer and set up the porta-cribs for the twins and a toddler bed for Gracie. It was perfect for them because it kept them warm, dry, and was ventilated enough for us to keep the doors closed and safe from bears. Yes...there was a problem with bears the first day until they were shot at. We didn't see any after that! :) It was so nice in our tent though. We took two twin mattresses, a plush mattress cover and our feather comforter. We were sleeping in major comfort. The nights were so cool I didn't wake up constantly because I was burning up. I wish I could afford to keep our house as cool as it was there.
I hardly saw Gracie as she was having a blast with all her cousins that she hadn't seen for a month. We got in some good naps, reading time, great food, hikes, drives, and fun card games. I had so much fun and we didn't want to come home.

Pictures from the week...







Grandma's annual birthday party for everyone with the traditional pinata.











Of course, some crying over not getting all the candy she wanted. :)








The judges of the T-Shirt contest...


















Post Creek, Grant Creek...can't remember which one but it's my favorite place to see up there.









T-shirt making...compliments to Lisa. You do such a great job with the screen!



Spotlighting for deer.





Demon Horse! While the kids were spotlighting us adults came up with the greatest idea to scare the kids when they got back. A couple years ago Spencer created "Trashsquatch" He took a picture with a couple nephews, one sitting on the others shoulders and a trashbag over them that looked liked a huge sasquatch. Spencer would show the little kids and had them really scared for an entire day. Then later that night "Trashsquatch" walked into our camp while we were all sitting around the fire. It was hilarous to see all of them freak out! :) I know we are sick and twisted. Anyway...this year someone got ahold of a horse costume from a friend and we made Demon Horse! Some kids got super scared and some just laughed. I think it was funnier for me, seeing the adults come up with all the best way to scare the kiddos. :) What we do for entertainment. :)

Such a good break~

Last Saturday we had a family temple day because my nephew Trent was going through to receive his endowments. He's leaving on his mission soon and it was so cool to be there with my husband and family. I love temple days. Dan and I try to go once a month but will hopefully be able to go more now that we live only 20 minutes away. After the session we ate lunch at the cafeteria there and then headed to ASU's Gammage Auditorium to wee WICKED. I have seen other plays like Les Mes and Lion King but have never been so impressed as I was with this one. It was hilarious, entertaining, sad, and also a love story. The music was absolutely AMAZING! I could listen to their voices all day long. They were so beautiful. It was such a fun filled day and I loved spending it with Dan. I'm so glad that I have a husband that goes to the temple with me and honors his priesthood. Thanks Dan for being so awesome and for working so hard for our family. We love you! -Becky

EAT MOR CHIKIN

I had just finished making dinner...boring spaghetti...when my niece Katy called me and told me about the Chick-fil-A deal they had going on today. If you went with your cow apparel on you received a free entree. So we ditched the spaghetti and Dan and I whipped up some cow spots out of construction paper and taped them to all the kids. They had horse rides and crafts for the kids to do. They also had games where the kids could win free chicken sandwiches or desserts. Sam and Mia, Gracie's cousins were with us for the day. Dinner for 7 of us cost $5.55...(soda and fries). We had such a good time and it was even more fun because it was free.
Reece and Violet destroyed most of their spots in a matter of minutes.


















Gracie....
Yesterday she drew this picture for me. About a week ago Dan had the idea to take Gracie to see the movie, "Monsters vs. Aliens". "It's only a buck!" Dan said. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure she won't like that kind of movie." says mom. Well, mom lost that one and they ended up going to the movie which Gracie said through half of it, "I don't really like this Daddy." So the last couple of nights, I wake up with Gracie standing by my side of the bed claiming she is having scary monster dreams. When she showed me this picture she told me, "This is the alien monster that was in my dream. I bet if I show daddy it will really freak him out!" Dan got a big kick out of it and said it looked pretty similar to some of the characters in the movie. I wonder if he will listen to me next time. :)



















How is this humanly possible for a room to get this trashed in a matter of hours? Makes me crazy!!





Reece Monkey...that funny monkey!
Her laugh gets me every time. She is cruising around everywhere and gets so excited when she starts walking towards me. It's almost as if she runs. I hope I have this baby before she gets any faster. She probably could outrun me. :)

















Violet...aka Vie-Vie
She is a little more hesitant to walk very much. She will usually take a couple steps and then start to wobble until she just can't keep her balance anymore. But, she is laughing and smiling the whole time and thinks it's a game.

I absolutely love the expression on her face in this one.
















This is her new thing. I guess she like the way things look upside-down. I used to also as a kid. I remember thinking that if we could turn our house upside down and the ceiling became the floor, it would be so much cleaner than the floor was at the time. I know, I'm a weird one. :)