How Do I Look?

Florence

We had a fun weekend in Florence, OR, with the Thompsons and the Marrs. The guys each participated in a 10-mile trail run on Saturday morning, and we spent some fun time on the beach later that afternoon. I'm fresh out of witty captions, so just enjoy these pictures--some of which look like Stephanie's pictures!

OH, the mystery of SAND.

This weekend was actually the first time we've spent any length of time in the sand with Carson. Last year, the weather spoiled any of our beach trips. He was very hesitant at first, and didn't want to walk on the sand or near the water. With much encouragement from his friend Ethan (who was happy digging and eating in the sand) he soon let the little boy in him overcome his OCD-tendencies and was good and sandy. The next day, he especially enjoyed the Newport beach, where he and Ethan chased each other on the hard sand, running their little hearts out.

My Cool Cats

Little Sicky

Isn't this the most pathetic face you've ever seen?! Poor guy. He's got a bad cold and started running a fever last night which we're still fighting it this morning. (And if you look closely at his knees, you can also see he took a good spill on the sidewalk last night too.) I remember my mom telling me that she felt so bad for us when we were sick, but secretly kind of savored the time because it made squirmy kids become cuddly and mellow. I have the same conflicting sensations with C-dog. (But really glad he's not puking!) He's got his comfort items (pillow and minky) from his grandmas, a little sippy cup at the ready and mom at his beck and call. He should be feeling better in no time. And back to his anti-cuddling self!

Okay, Okay. This one's a little less feminine.

Just Playing Around

Many of you "readers" know that I'm a pretty hard-core scrapbooker. Well, in the last year or so, I've read a lot about digital scrapbooking, and it intrigues me. I'm not ready to surrender my paper cutter and eyelets just yet, but I've dabbled. One of the biggest benefits to digital scrapbooking is that you can use the supplies endlessly. Once you download some design, you can use it any number of times. Since I'm not convinced of my fondness of the end result (and because the learning curve seems a little steep for the photo software) I mainly just look for free downloads and play around. Here's a page I made today. Wouldn't these be great colors if Carson were a girl? ;)

Random Pics

We had a special treat last week when JJ came to town for his sister's wedding and graced us with his presence for a bit. He graciously fulfilled Trent's father's day wish and left an 8x10 of one of his sexy headshots. We put the picture on the fridge, and now occasionally Carson will walk by, point and say "Day-day!" But the cutest thing was when I looked over and saw Carson holding up his sippy cup to JJ's 2 dimensional mouth. He must have thought JJ was thirsty, I guess! We also got to hang out with Carrie a bit too, and see her adorable little boys. How was the wedding, guys? This was one of those moments where I was snapping like crazy to get a cool shot. I wish you could see his face a little better. Also, right after this, he tore a hole in the screen. Sigh.
Carson is NOT what you would call "a sleeper." There are many nights where he barely gets in 8 or 9 hours, which I hear is not normal. On this day, he fell asleep in the car earlier than I wanted him to take a nap. Usually when this happens, he wakes up when I bring him inside and set him down. But this time he was OUT! I couldn't do anything to wake him up. It was pretty cute, actually.
I'm sure his Daddy is so proud. Grandpa Roy calls it "booger-mining."

Is that kind of like a green thumb?

This post goes out to my family, both immediate and extended, as I carry on the long-standing tradition of teaching our children to play with their food. Well, OK, just olives.

NoName Singers

I've been wanting to post this for a while now. Although the quality of the video is lousy, and although this was not our best run-through, this song was one of my favorites that I've ever performed. I was so proud of us! We learned this extremely complicated song in less that 4 weeks, and although I think each one of us had a freak-out at some point ("I can't do this!"), we talked each other down from the ledge and, if I may so humbly say, rocked it pretty good most of the performances. (However, it never sounded quite as good as it did each night when we practiced it in the stairwell. GREAT acoustics there.) It has always been one of my favorite Christmas songs, but we jumped on the newer all-female, 5 part arrangement and made it work for 4. The title of this post refers to the fact that we've sung several times and been asked the name of our group. Other than "The Beckettes" we haven't come up with anything. Feel free to submit your ideas.

Weapons of Mass Suds

I remember several months ago someone asked me if we were going to allow Carson to have toy guns. It totally caught me by surprise, because I had never even thought about it. We still haven't really formed a household policy, but have noticed that Carson (especially with some encouragement from a couple aunts and uncles) turns even his sippy cup into a sort of water gun. Then for Easter at Gma and Gpa Tompkins' house, he got this hilarious bubble gun, and seriously, who could say no to this? He had a blast shooting everyone, and even showering himself with all the bubbles.

Old School!

It's so fun seeing a new generation enjoy some of the simple joys we all did as kids. We pulled out this old school sprinkler the other day for some water fun on one of the really hot days. What a hoot!

"Hmmm...let me check this thing out first."

"Whoa. Those are kind of cold. You want me to walk through this?"

A little help from Daddy to get the feel of it. Sweet farmer's tan, Babe.

"Heeeeeeeeee! I could get used to this, guys!" Sweet six-pack abs, Baby.

"You want a picture? I'll give you a picture!"

Ladies' Man

Although no one could EVER replace our existing friends, the Tompkins have been trying to branch out and meet new people down here in Salem. One family we've met have a little 11 month old girl. She and her mom came over the other day and Carson was putting on a great show.

She's cute, huh? Plus, we don't have many (OK, any) other little girl friends around here.

Not a flattering picture of C-dog, but a sweet shirt.

Hey! Rachel! Look at me! Look what I can do! Push-ups!

Uh-HUH! Gets 'em every time.