Election season is here again!

So, I have been watching too much CNN, Glen Beck and Fox News the past week. I dreamed about the election last night!!! AAAAHHH!
But seriously, it was great to hear such an eloquent man like Sen. Barack Obama speak last night. He is so full of hope and energy and seems like such a nice man. If he only agreed with me on my major issues, I could vote for him.
Sen. John McCain just chose the governor of Alaska, a woman named Sarah Palin, a mother of five, the most popular governor in the nation, and a major reformer in Alaska, to be his Vice Presidential running mate. Not much foreign policy experience but the only one of the four (Obama, Biden, McCain, and her) with executive experience. It will be an interesting ride for sure!!!
I am very proud that ANYONE can become president or vice president in this nation. We are blessed to be able to vote. Get out, get educated on the issues and policies, and VOTE!
It is going to be an interesting 67 days. I hope I will survive!!!!

Sarah's Fun 6th Birthday Party!!!

Sarah's birthday is in August. We decided to have her birthday party this last Saturday and it was a blast!!! It was so hot so we decided to do a big water party. We invited about 10 kids and they just went wild!!! After the water sliding, we had pink cupcakes with pink frosting and ice cream and then opened presents! Sarah got games and puzzles! Thanks so much! They were great!
At the end of the party, Sarah gave out fun sunglasses to everyone! This is Sarah and her friend Nikelle with their glasses! They were a hit!

This is the huge slide that we borrowed to play on! The kids loved it! Two slides, two water guns and a pool at the bottom! It was definantly a birthday to remember! Happy Birthday, big girl Sarah!

First Day of First Grade!!!!!!!

Sarah started first grade today! She takes her lunch and is there full time instead of half time, like kindergarten! She loves this new blue striped shirt so much that when she drew a picture the first day, she colored her outfit just the same. Of course I couldn't get a good smile out of her, but what do you do? Her hair is starting to get longer again! It seems like we just cut it. Sarah said she LOVED lunch and had 2 recesses. What an awesome day for her! She made a new best friend and really likes her teacher (who is actually one of Richard's cousins). We love school so much and can't wait to get to the Midwest where Rachel gets to start preschool 5 days a week. Pretty exciting!!!

Long Live Shakespeare!!!

This last weekend we went down to the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, UT along with one of my sisters, Katie and her husband John. This is a picture of us in front of the theater in the round. It is a replica to the Globe Theater in England. So amazing!!!
We haven't gotten away for a while and Richard's parents were great and watched the girls for us.
My favorite Shakespearean play is "The Taming of the Shrew" and I have this funny goal to see it whenever and wherever it is playing. I went down to this festival 14 or 15 years ago and saw it then and went with one of my sisters 10 years ago and saw it then, too. Needless to say, the play was amazing! This time it was set in the last few days of WWII in Italy. Petruchio was an American soldier and Kate was a fiery Sicilian! It was GREAT!!! We also saw "School for Wives" by Moliere (it was borderline boring/not that funny, but it ended better than it began). We were planning on leaving Saturday after lunch but then some people at our bed and breakfast had some extra tickets for "The Fiddler on the Roof" and we went. It was so great!

Here is the bed and breakfast that we stayed in. It was surrounded by amazing gardens, which I loved to walk through. We had a private entrance in the back so we stayed out late and just hung out! We were so blessed to be able to get away. Thanks again to Richard's parents for watching the girls! What a fun and fabulous time!

Long day at our house!

We all have those days that are really long and tiring! Well, this was one of them. Little Emma got a Burger King crown that day and wore it all day long. Even as she was falling asleep on the couch. The life of a princess is tiring!!!

Hang in there Team USA!

I just realized that for 5 days straight now I have been up so late watching the Olympics. I am dying for more sleep, but I am totally addicted. USA women's gymnastics took a silver, but that's ok. Nastia and Shawn, do awsome in the individual competition. Keep going Michael Phelps! I hope to get more sleep someday! It is truly an addiction right now! Come and try it! (0:

Amazing Olympics!

We have been glued to the TV for over 4 days now and it has been so worth it! The olympics are beyond amazing and I love to watch them. Last night Richard and I were up watching the Men's 4 x 100 free relay in swimming and the American men were behind. But the man who did the final leg blew past the French team and won the relay! It was amazing! We were holding our breaths and then screaming when it was over! If you didn't see it, look it up online or something because it was amazing! It is great to see such awesome athleticism! And so cool to see people from around the world competing! I love the Olympics! And I can't wait for the Women's Gymnatics team to compete. Hang in there girls!

What a lucky day!!!

Nothing amazing or important happened today, I just wanted to post of 08/08/08. Something that is pretty cool. I almost had Emma on a cool day. Her birthday is 06/03/06. People were freaking out that she would be born on the 6th. So funny! But I did turn 13 on Friday the 13th! That's pretty cool!!!
There are so many amazing things going on all around us. Babies being born, new adventures beginning, prayers being answered, new chances to be better each day. Take a sec and think about how lucky (blessed) we are!

Gloria's Little Italy was glorious!!!

Michelle Kemp, Sachiko Aldous, Deb Goodman, Me (Becky), Marnie Goodrich, Elisa Limon, and Heather Johnson (l to r). We missed Lori (who is in China picking up her baby). It still feels strange not to have Amy with us, too.

Provo boasts one of the most authentic Italian restaurants I have ever been to. Deb chose Gloria's Little Italy and we all loved it! You are totally IN!

We had a great waiter named Ken, who took care of our every need with generous portions and laughing along with our jokes!

Here is our fun self-portrait. Pretty good, Michelle. You and your youthful arms! It's great to be together as women and just talk! There is nothing like a great girlfriend (and some amazing authentic Italian desserts)!

Highland Fling Fun!!!

Here in Highland, UT (where Richard's family is from), they have a city celebration called "The Highland Fling", the first Saturday in August. They have a parade, the 5k and kids run, Scottish games, community breakfast, concerts, booths of food and jewelry, and lots of other stuff. It has always been a big tradition for Richard's family and now I can see how awesome it is! Being together as a community is amazing!

Me and my Highland boy!!!

Every year we sit in front of Richard's grandfather's house (awesome old farmer) and watch the parade go by. Grandpa Day, Laverle, Sarah (almost 6yrs old) and Rachel (4 yrs old).

People in the parade always throw tons of candy. And this year was no exception. The girls had so much candy it was like Halloween, only the doors came the them!!!



When I was in high school, I marched by in the American Fork High School marching band as a trombone and then as a drum major. Now my girls dance along to the music of the parade.
(Only 1/4 of the band is in the video, it's HUGE!!)

Highland is an awesome place to live! What a great weekend!!

We did it!!!!!!!

Richard and I did the Highland Fling 5k. We did it! I can't really say we ran it, but we did jog some and then quickly walked the rest of it. We weren't the first (or last for that matter) to cross the finish line, but my goal was to just do it. I have been getting ready for this for over 7 months and I did it. It was tough and hot, but Richard held my hand the whole time and helped push me through the hard times! There were times that were really tough and times that were great. Richard was so kind and encouraging! Thanks, my love! You are amazing! You remind me so much of how the Lord is always there ready to hold our hand and help us through the easy and hard times. As we went past our house, my mother-in-law (I sure love you, Joy) had Sarah and Rachel out on the front lawn to cheer us on! It was so fun to hear everyone along the way cheering and encouraging us, too. People who had finished way before us just helping us along the way. At the end of the race were Richard's parents and family, the girls and my mom! Thanks for being there for us! That also made me think that is how it is going to be someday when we return to Heavenly Father and there will be people rooting for us, telling us what a great job we did, and that they are so proud of us. Who knew that running a 5k would be such a great gospel lesson?!?
Thanks for all your words of encouragment and love!

Beaking Dawn thoughts...

I just wanted to post a few quick thoughts as I finished Breaking Dawn.
1st- Whoa!
2nd-I can't believe it's over!
3rd-What a great set of novels!
4th-The fourth book isn't like anything I've read in a long time.
5th-I can't believe it's over!
6th-If you haven't read the Twilight series, give it up and read a good series.
7th-I can't wait for Midnight Sun!
Now I can get back to being a normal person again (Amy you know what I am talking about).

Preparing for the 5k...

Ok. Everyone say a little prayer for me, my 5k is tomorrow! I made a New Year's Resolution (on Jan. 1st, really!) to run this 5k, so for 7 months I have been working out. And the time is now! I race at 7am and it will be tough but it will be great when I am done. Thanks for all the support! I will post pictures this weekend!