Something to Make You Smile...

Another Summer has come...

Schools Out! Scream and Shout! :) School is over for my kids and what an adventure it was.  Homeschooling turned out to be a great experience for everyone involved.  I loved having the kids here with me! Of course, now that school is done, I have to come up with some fun summer activities so that I don't hear "I'm bored!" all summer long!  So if anyone reading this has any ideas for simple, yet fun summer activities for a teenage girl, a 12 yr. old boy, a 10 yr. old gymnast and a 7 yr. old munchkin...I'd appreciate you sharing them!  Happy Summer, everyone!

Pictures: * the kids at Pigeon Point Lighthouse (tallest lighthouse on the West coast)
               * Avery's 10th b-day
               * Avery's gymnastics team (Avery is 3rd from the left)
               * Maddie's 14th b-day
               * All of us w/ Elder Spjute (so awesome! look for him to play BYU basketball)
               * Easter w/ Great-Grandma!
               * Morgan's 12th b-day
              

Holy Cow, Time Flies!

So, once again, it has been several months since I have posted anything on this blog. I need to get better at posting for a couple of reasons... 1- It helps keep family and friends up-to-date on what's going on with the California Beck's and 2- It's good for ME!! Now, I just need to find the time to do it at least once a week. :) We have had a crazy year of changes. Since we moved to California we have started home-schooling. I never thought I'd do it, but after a couple of months of sending my kids to the public school (particularly the middle school--eeeek!!) we decided to try out K12. It's basically public school, at home. They send us all the books and lessons and we, or I, make sure that the kids get their work done. And about once a month we report to a teacher who lives near by. It has been a new and exciting experience with just a little bit of stress thrown in to keep me on my toes. The kids seem to enjoy doing school at home and I love having them here, so I guess it's a win-win!! Back in October we got to celebrate Savannah's birthday in the happiest place on Earth with our good friends the Funk family and with my sister Krista!! That's right, we went to Disneyland! It was so much fun and magical! The kids had a blast and Savannah asked if we could celebrate her birthday (Halloween) in Disneyland every year...hmmmm. That was not all, however. We knew that we were going to be going to Disneyland at least one more time in the next year so we decided to get season passes since it's actually cheaper that way (and we live in California, so we might as well take advantage of the shorter drive, right?!). Long story short, we went to Disneyland again after the holidays! It was fun and warm and perfect! So if anyone is looking to go this year, let us know, we'll meet you there!!! :) Our holidays were so much fun and exciting, as usual. We got to spend an entire week in Utah with family and friends. We are so, so blessed to have such a close family. It was peaceful and relaxing and oh so fun to be with everyone over the holidays. To be honest, I almost didn't want to drive back to California when the time came...
Other changes in our lives? Danny has been serving as the Priest's quorum adviser, Maddie was made the Beehive class president, and I was put in as Primary president. Crazy, huh?! This new year promises to be full of more changes. We are enjoying California and the differences it has brought to our lives. We are closer as a family and we have formed friendships with some good people here that will last a lifetime. We have learned to not take for granted the blessings of close family and friends. Now that we are 10 hours away, we sorely miss that closeness. Life is good, the Church is true, family is healthy and happy! What more can I ask for!?
Pictures top to bottom:
*the kids in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle, all decorated for Christmas
*My kids w/ Janessa & Jackson Funk having breakfast w/ Mickey, Minnie, Stitch & Pluto
*Minnie helping Savannah blow out her candle
*All of us with Mickey in California Adventure!