Skyler and Rebekah Beck

Whatdya think?

2009-11-14T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hey all our loyal blog readers-

We want to hear what you think about when our little girl will join the family! Please submit your predictions via a comment on this post and remember to include the date you think Baby Beck will be born and how much she will weigh.

And just so it's fair - at our last appointment the doctor said that in his opinion, he thinks baby will come before the due date (Nov. 30), I am dilated to 3cm, 60% effaced, and the baby weighed 6lbs 5oz according to the ultrasound. But who really knows.... ??? Whoever comes closest is entitled to a sweet prize. Submit your guesses ASAP!

HE DID IT!

2009-11-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

GOOD NEWS - He got the big envelope! Skyler Beck has officially been admitted to the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Nebraska - Omaha. Woohoo! I am so proud of him. He persevered through the GRE, lots of writing/rewriting personal statements, reminding professors to submit letters of rec, filling out a bunch of applications and now he's in! To the program he wanted the most! Now we can take a big sigh of relief. Aaah, it sure feels good. He'll start classes in January. Gooo Skyler!

What 9 Months Looks Like

2009-11-12T14:58:00.000-08:00

37 weeks

Wow, I wish it didn't look like it was such a struggle to put on a smile!

Hodgepodge

2009-11-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

Just a few pictures from the last little while...

8AM on Saturday morning, yuck! I was helping Skyler get ready for another day of refereeing the flag football league - but NOW the league is officially over! Yay, we have our Saturday mornings back!!

Rusty's Halloween costume. He looked pretty darn cute as a cowboy!

Skyler's mountain of ice cream. He was wallowing after a particularly disappointing BYU loss. But that's okay - go Cougs!

We went out to Omaha Old Market last weekend. It was so much fun! We saw the pretty Fall colors at Heartland Park (below), discovered an awesome Italian restaurant, and went to a ballet performance (Skyler's idea - believe it or not!). We had a lot of fun!

Outside the Rose Theater after the ballet which was really good! Even Skyler liked a few of the dance numbers. In case you were wondering there is NO masculine form of the word ballerina -they are just referred to as male ballet dancers or more formally "danseur."

Baby stuff in our baby room! We're still working on decor, but it's been fun to set everything up since our baby shower this weekend. THANK YOU to everyone who has been so generous to us and our baby girl.

Our SUPER COMFORTABLE rocker recliner! Yes it is huge and we are loving it.

This little girl is going to be very well dressed. It is SO fun to go through all her adorable baby clothes - thanks again!

Baby Beck update: 5lbs 12oz - and she has dropped nicely down in my hips! We're just waiting for everything else catch up. No dilation quite yet, but I have had more contractions lately. It's slowly becoming more and more real. Just 4 weeks to go! Can't wait!!

Jack-O-Lantern is Fun To Say

2009-10-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

I went to my very first corn maze this year! It was pretty awesome - 10 acres of corn at least 7 feet tall! I never knew that corn grew to be so big. Welcome to Iowa I guess :).

Skyler gets to work with the young men in the ward and I joined them on their combined activity. It was way fun.

Definitely would've gotten lost a lot more without these diligent boy scouts.

Our costume for the ward party - I am the Brazilian soccer team with my #1 fan. How cute is the baby jersey!

Pumpkin carving party!

Pumpkin family photo.

Happy Halloween!

In other news, Baby Beck is weighing in these days at about 4lbs 110z. and Momma Beck is starting to get really anxious for this little one to come! I am outgrowing all of my clothes. My wardrobe now consists of those XL free T-shirts we got at BYU sporting events... And yet, everyone I meet tells me how tiny my belly is. I feel anything but tiny! Ah well. As always, go COUGARS today! Beat TCU!

I Looked Out the Window...

2009-10-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

It's October 10th in Iowa. I laughed and cried when I woke up this morning - that's all I have to say about that.

By Popular Demand

2009-10-08T11:32:00.001-07:00

I finally let Sky take a picture of the belly last night. No doubt they are not the prettiest photos you've ever seen, but you get the idea. Just 8 weeks to go!

Tribute to Skyler

2009-09-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

Guess who turned 25 this week? SKYLER did - Happy Birthday to YOU!! We all know that Skyler is a funny guy... To commemorate his birthday, I wanted to share a few stories from Sky's crazy sleeping habits that I find hilarious. Enjoy!

1) Skyler (asleep) sits up in bed and very seriously says out loud, "I should have been a scientist." He repeats this sentence a few times, lays down, and continues to sleep.

2) I came to bed an hour or so after Sky had been asleep. As soon as I lay down, Skyler reaches over and puts his hand in front of my face and says, "Don't look! DON'T look Bekah." I laugh and say, "What Sky?" He keeps his hand in front of my eyes, points at the wall, and says, "There's a guy getting out of the SHOWER!" I say, "Where?" Skyler got a little upset at me and said, "On the movie! On the wall!" Apparently, modesty is very important to Skyler.

3) This time Skyler walks out of the bedroom at 1:00am, his eyes barely open - I am sitting at the computer when Skyler says to me - "Bekah, we're not in high school anymore." I laugh and say "I know Sky." He keeps saying, "We're not in high school anymore," gets increasingly frustrated, and loud until I lead him back into bed. As soon as he lays down he says,"WAIT!" I respond "Yes Skyler?" He says,"Is someone coming over? I think someone's coming over." "No Sky, no one is coming over. Go to sleep."

4) My all-time favorite: In the middle of the night, I hear something hit the blinds in the bedroom. Skyler mumbles, "My pillow... (a few seconds pass) my PILLOW... (a few more seconds pass) MY PILLOW!!" Before I know it, half of Skyler's body is hanging off the edge of the bed on top of my feet. He grunts as he tries to grab the pillow he threw across and off the bed while sleeping. After several minutes, he reaches the pillow and goes back to sleep. Wow, that was a really funny experience - Skyler is so cute.

Happy Birthday My Love!

"You're Very Round"

2009-09-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

Last week at the public library, I was approached by two girls around age 10 and this is the conversation we had.

Girls: Hi. (smiling widely)

Me: Oh, hi!

Girls: *shyly* Are you pregnant? (more smiles)

Me: Yes! How could you tell?

Girls: You're very round.

Me: Hah, well thank you.

Girls: Are you having a boy or a girl?

Me: A girl!

Girls: Really? Aww, that's so cute.

I thought it was so funny that these girls stopped me and were so sincere. I guess there's no hiding that I am having a baby! 30 weeks down and 10 to go. Are we getting nervous? Maybe a little. We've been trying to imagine what it will be like when our little girl is actually here and it's kinda hard, but we are VERY excited!

We still haven't decided what we her name will be. I get asked that question ALL the time. I thought I had it all figured out and then last week I started to question my decision and brought several names back into the picture -- so we have a ways to go until we decide.

Last of all, this little girl has quite the personality! She makes me laugh so much. There are times when I'm lying down and all of sudden it looks like I'm belly dancing - SUCH a weird feeling!! She is going crazy. One time I promise I felt her trying to do the splits. Hopefully all this movement just means she's a very happy baby :). Well, there's the pregnancy update, we can't wait!

Biggest Game in BYU History

2009-09-09T08:48:00.001-07:00

... And Skyler was there!

So was Dallas, Colby, Kasey, Emily, Grandpa Beck, Corey and his kids, and Tony.

This picture looks like Skyler is making fun of an Oklahoma fan -- Really I think they were just trying to capture how excited they were as they walked in to the stadium.

Go Cougs!!

What a day to be a BYU alum - I am so proud to be a COUGAR!!

(P.S. The screen is massive.)

Video of some of the celebration just before the game ended. GO BYU! Can't wait to see what happens with the rest of the season.

Reader's Digest Version

2009-08-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

-Spent last week wrapping up our Provo lives, moved all of our stuff out of storage into a U-haul and drove it all the way to Council Bluffs it took FOREVER (16 hour drive, yuck)

-Skyler got a job! Woohoo! He'll be working in the city finance department as an accountant - hopefully he'll learn how to be an accountant ASAP. I am very excited for him, it's temporary to start but hopefully he'll be permanent after a few probationary months - also he'll be running the flag football league on Saturdays to still be involved with recreation, gooooooo Skyler!

-We were able to visit Grandma and Grandpa Folsom, Aunt Beth, Jerry and Johana's family, Matt & Keri, Bethany and Dan, my old roommates, Sky's family and extended family -- it was really hard to say goodbye. I hadn't anticipated how much I would miss Utah. I love all of you very much and will really miss living so close!! I miss you already and I'm not just saying that!

-We signed a lease yesterday at an apartment complex here in Council Bluffs - Hooray! We upgraded to a 2 bed/2 bath and luckily got a good deal. It's a complex with a lot of senior couples. It will be cool to live in a quieter complex, to have a lot more space, AND a washer/dryer. I am so excited. We are moving in today and will spend most of the week getting settled in.

-Sky leaves this weekend to go the BYU vs. Oklahoma football game in Dallas, TX - he couldn't be happier. I guess it's payback for me leaving him in CA for so long!

Pictures and more updates to follow!

OH and we celebrated our 2 year anniversary last week, kind of a big deal - hooray for marriage :)

Tio and Tia

2009-08-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

This one is pretty wild these days.

Still obsessed with lizards and dinosaurs.

She eats A LOT -- and has the funniest laugh.

I love this picture - Skyler just loves playing with his little girlfriend. I am still living the life down in San Diego, it has been so nice to be home! I've gotten to spend lots of time hanging out Cayden, Carys, and Calay - they're awesome and I wanted to show some cute pictures of them from this trip.

Petersen Weddings

2009-08-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

One of the great things of living in Iowa this summer was we had the chance to go to Skyler's two best friend's weddings that were within a month of each other. Trevor and Megan got married on June 20th in Clinton, IA and Travis and Briann got married July 25th in Cedar Rapids, IA. These are Skyler's best friends since they were like 5 or 6 and it was an honor to be apart of their wedding parties. Here are some pictures of the weddings:

Daww. Tregan.

Trevor and Megan's sweet ride.

Marching into the reception hall to the tunes of University of Iowa's fight song.

Fun picture on the Mississippi River.

Travis and Briann at the reception hall. I kind of felt bad for them here because people gave them a standing ovation but what else are you supposed to do there other than stand.

Daww. Traviann.

Chillin with da boys. Maybe giving marriage advice or something.

Gettin our groove on the dance floor.

Such a great family.

A Little Bit of Summer

2009-07-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of summer here in Iowa so far:

FINALLY Skyler got out on the golf course!

Rebekah's first time on the waverunner. She giggled the whole way.

All of us eating at one of Skyler's favorite restaurants, Hu Hot.

While Carriet and Kemily were here we decided to do a music video to "Do Re Mi." Yes we wore matching outfits and yes we choreographed a dance that even the boys did. We asked YouTube to come film it (hehe). It will be up online soon.

Some intense tetherball games with Colby and Kayla.

This is the pedestrian bridge connecting CB and Omaha over the Missouri River. Here we are on the state border - Rebekah was in Nebraska and Skyler was in Iowa.

Rebekah and I were asked to be tour guides at the Kanesville Tabernacle one of the church historical sites in Council Bluffs. We're there on Sundays.

On the 3rd of July we went to the Omaha Royals game and enjoyed great seats with the fam.

Fireworks after the game!

Other things about I've learned about Iowa this Summer:

-there is a lot of roadkill, I promise a new animal on every major road all the time

-all the hype about fireflies or lightning bugs is totally legit - they are awesome!

-when there's a siren in the city that's the signal to go into the basement for a tornado warning

-they DO NOT mess around with their storms out here, thunder and lightning weekly pretty cool except it keeps me awake at night

-I don't think there is ever a moment that passes without someone on the street mowing their lawn or tending to their yards... always the gentle hum of a mower

99% Sure

2009-07-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

13 weeks - You can see that brain developing on the upper right. Poor kid doesn't really have legs quite yet.

17 weeks - Check out that spine!!! You can see eye sockets and the profile a bit better in this photo and the doc says it's pretty clear that we're having a...

GIRL! Yahoo :)

Kansas City Trip

2009-07-03T11:01:00.001-07:00

Bret and Carrie were in town for a few weeks so we thought it would be fun for da boys to take a trip to Kansas City and see the Dbacks play the Royals. It was a fun trip and glad we got to see the Dbacks win one of their few games this season.

Check Kauffman stadium off on Skyler's list of stadiums to go to before he dies.

Max Sherzer was signing autographs before the game. Us geniuses didn't bring anything for him to sign for us. Whoops.

Sweet, newly renovated stadium.

Somehow we ended up with sweet seats. First row in the second section.

Dan Haren pitched a great game. Poor guy should be undefeated this season but his team stinks. Still a fun pitcher to watch.

Ahem.

2009-06-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Yes it's true - It's time for us to have a baby of our very own! Rebekah is 16 weeks pregnant and we feel very blessed to be starting our little family. We are very excited!! Our due date is the last day of November. (We'll find out the gender as early as next week!)

Graduation

2009-06-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

So this one time we graduated and were so busy we didn't get the chance to brag about it. Boom! We're college graduates.

President Uchtdorf and Elder Nelson were commencement speakers.

We've all become good friends while living in Provo but after graduation we'll be parting ways. Kasey, Emily, Carrie, and Bret, you guys have been great friends!

Daww! BFFs!

Is this heaven?

2009-06-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hello friends. Sorry it's been awhile since we've written but there's a really good reason for that. Here are a few updates:

Skyler is greatly enjoying his internship with the Council Bluffs Parks and Recreation department. It's more like playing for him because he gets to watch baseball games, golf with city big whigs, and organize fun events for the city. The internship ends in August so he's been applying for jobs all over the country to begin in August. Hopefully something turns out.

Rebekah has been enjoying getting to know the wonderful state of Iowa better. Definitely a different culture and land than she's used to but has adjusted well and is a good sport about it. She loves having sisters (Jamie and Kayla) to hang out with and often

stays up late just chatting up a storm. Rebekah recently received responsibilities in the primary at our church and is excited to be put to work there.

Here are some other pictures and highlights of our Iowa experience so far:

Such a funny dog. For some reason Rusty has this attachment with Rebekah, always at her feet. Skyler enjoys playing with him and finding ways to trick him.

We got to see Jamie and Colby go to prom. Fun fun!

So I guess we don't have that many pictures so far but we've done lots of fun things:

- Iowa Blackhawks game (arena football)

- Colby's graduation

- College World Series opening cerimonies (fireworks, intro of teams, etc.)

- Volunteer tour guides at the Kanesville Tabernacle

- Lots of tennis games

- Colby's baseball games

- Kayla's soccer games

- Carrie, Bret, and Brian here for 2 weeks

- Lots of movie outings

- Skyler's baseball games with friends

- Movies in the park

- Cruisin on the waverunner with friends and family

- Eat lots and lots of pizza

ALIVE

2009-06-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Wow - you think nobody reads your blog until it seems like everyone you talk to is telling you how disappointed they've been to click on our link the last couple weeks and see that same picture of Skyler over and over. Sorry folks! But we're back now and I am sure you're relieved. Unfortunately, this post is lame. Here's what we've been up to and what you can look forward to in some catch-up posts.

We moved out of College Park, took our finals, and graduated from BYU all in the same week!
My brother Matt got married in San Diegooo - twas a fun trip.
We drove across the country to Iowaaaaaa which is where we now live.
Skyler started his internship and is really enjoying it.
I am still looking for a job and getting to know the area.
We're boring people - thanks for caring enough to read this silly post. Happy June!

What a guy!

2009-04-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

Skyler was honored last week at a dinner hosted by the Rec. Management Department. I am so proud of him!! Skyler works so hard - it's nice to have him be recognized for all he does! Plus we got to have BYU catered food!! Even though you kind of get used to it, I will definitely miss those foods when we leave Provo. This is a picture of Sky with one of his professors and two of his classmates that were also honored that night.

Go Skyler! Doesn't he look so professional?! Wouldn't YOU like to hire him? :)

Summer Plans

2009-03-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

We've known for a few weeks but I guess we haven't announced it to our public. We will be moving to Council Bluffs, IA for the summer. Skyler got an internship with the parks and recreation department working with youth and adult sports while Rebekah is looking into several options in social work. We're not sure what will happen after August but at least the next 4 months are planned. We'll keep our public updated on further future plans. But for now, we're very excited to be in Iowa this summer.

March Madness Begins

2009-03-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

I thought we should blog about something that has been taking up a chunk of our time lately - BYU basketball has been so much fun this season. It all started back in December when we got front row tickets to one of the home tournaments through my work. We went as the President's guests, which was pretty cool but no glimpse of Pres. Samuelson - a little disappointing, but we still had a lot of fun! Since then we've gone through the sadness of the Wake Forest loss, horrible officiating at the Arizona game that cost us the game, AND a loss in Salt Lake to the team up North. Despite all of that, our cougars have really come through with a lot of momentum to finish out the seasons as co-MWC Champions for 3 years in a row!!!

We went to the game last Saturday to see our Cougars win for the 3rd straight year in a row. It was really fun. We are officially becoming old news as a married couple, we've been together for a long time now. Crazy how it goes by so fast!

It's been so funny as we watch the MWC tournament together - talked back to the refs, analyzing the players, poking fun at the other teams... we are definitely two peas in a pod.

As an aside, I love Jackson Emery. He is by far my favorite player!!! This is our stalker photo of him at Macey's getting an ice cream cone (in the white shirt, I wish I could zoom it in...). I guess he decided he wanted to hang out with us - just kidding, we were starstruck! We are die hard fans. Well, GO COUGS! Now, let's cross our fingers that we finish out the tournament strong and we actually win a game in the NCAA tournament!

Things you may not know about Rebekah

2009-03-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

Hey all! Rebekah is a wonderful person and has some unique things about her that most people don't know about. I have started making a list and wanted to share it with you.

1. She often conducts music in the car or just at home when I sing.

2. It is not uncommon for Rebekah to wear 4 or 5 outfits on Sunday morning before church. Not only that, but after church she will change yet again because she was unhappy all during church with what she was wearing.

3. Rebekah now knows baseball well enough that she can explain to anybody the rules and strategies of the game. She also knows how many days until Opening Day!

4. Rebekah is a very neat person and does great at keeping our house clean. But she does have a stash in her closet where she throws everything. Once a week she'll clean it and then it builds up again.

5. She has this weird attachment to my old M&M blanket and can't sleep without it.

6. Rebekah loooooooves chocolate chips. Most people will buy chocolate kisses or candy bars but all she wants is a handful of chocolate chips. Oh, and she eats chocolate frosting straight - ah, my wife.

7. We often debrief for about an hour after sporting events, especially our intramural games. We analyze the players and what we did well/what could have been done better. I'm so glad she loves sports!

8. She is super ticklish behind her ears.

9. She can sing several Brazilian songs in Portuguese.

10. Sometimes Rebekah and I have conversations in song.

11. Whenever people come over just to visit, Rebekah always feels she has to give them something to eat. Our good friends, James and Allison, came over a few weeks ago and they were just about to head out the door when Rebekah ran through the kitchen to find something to offer them. She ended up grabbing the last few sugar cookies we made the night before and threw some frosting on them.

12. She never wears socks that match.

13. Rebekah has no problem at all with coming home at 5:00 pm each day, putting on her PJs, and calling it a day.

14. She dropped her cell phone in the toilet and has had to use a dinky phone for the past 8 months. Since I've known her she's gone through about 5-6 cell phones.

15. Rebekah was prom queen her senior year of high school.

16. She could probably name at least 10 players on the Arizona Diamondbacks (bwahhh haha).

17. Rebekah was on the Dean's List last semester.

18. Rebekah loves to read.

19. She is a very talented freestyle rapper. I often try to beat-box and Rebekah picks it up and runs with it.

20. When shopping or going out somewhere, Rebekah likes to dress me.

21. Rebekah often has 6+ pairs of shoes by the door.

22. Rebekah is an amazing cook, she makes a mean chili, Mexican soup, enchiladas, "Husband Catcher," etc.

23. She has never been rejected for a job as in she has gotten every job she has applied for (knock on wood).

24. Rebekah has tied the Guinness Book of World Records for the loudest scream of 126 decibels in high school.

25. Some of Rebekah's lifetime goals is to to sing in a "Gospel Choir," preferably somewhere in the South, and to become an Aerobics instructor.

February in a Nutshell

2009-02-28T10:47:00.000-08:00

February went by pretty dang fast but we wanted to share a few highlights of the month:

We went to the Ryan Shupe concert with Momma Beck. Remember to Dream Big.

We celebrated the day before Valentine's Day with a heart-shaped pizza from Papa M's along with other red foods for our red dinner. After that we went to the MDT Showcase at BYU.

On Valentine's Day we went out to eat at Los Hermano's, a family favorite, and then we watched Twilight. Edward is so dreamy!

We had a babysitting marathon one Saturday by watching a boy in our ward and then Brian. We enjoyed some quality bonding time with our studly nephew.

We took our annual trip to Brighton for night skiing. It's hard to believe this is the 3rd year in a row we've gone!

Kasey and Emily went with us this year. Not sure how we feel about them snowboarders but we enjoyed the slopes with them.

Rebekah is practically a pro now and hardly falls!

Rebekah has been really busy with school and her many research projects.

Skyler began reffing intramural football a few weeks ago. He just likes the power of throwing the flag on players.