Friday, January 29, 2010

My Night at Miss America

The Miss America Pageant has been going on this week, and one of the benefits of having the competition in Las Vegas is that it's so conveniently close by. Although it made for a late night, I was able to accompany DEl and two of our friends to the last night of preliminaries held yesterday at Planet Hollywood.

After a deliciously yummy dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, we attended the pageant to cheer for Miss Utah and Miss Nevada. Although both young women are beautiful and intelligent, the competition is really tough this year; we'd like for each of them to break into the top 15, but we'll just have to wait and see. A few of the contestants who impressed me were Miss New York, Miss Virginia, and Miss California. I believe each of them have a good chance of making it into the top 10.

I was still disappointed this year with the swimsuit portion of the competition; I believe that the skimpy suits and sexy poses are in direct opposition to the pageant's claim to be a scholarship competition. I know the company is trying to boost ratings and win over some of the USA crowd, but I feel this is taking away from the basic elegance and integrity of the program.

I won't be traveling to Vegas tomorrow for the final night; I'll be watching things on TV with the rest of you. DEl is headed down again, but I've made him promise not to text me anything in case the broadcast I see is not live. I'd hate for him to spoil the surprise :)

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Keep Me Posted

Krissia was asked to the prom by a fellow swimmer about 10 days ago; the way he did it was very creative.

He stuck over 2000 post-it notes all over her room that invited her to prom and left several clues as to who it was that was asking her.



These pictures show just a little bit of what her room looked like :0)

He ended the invitation by asking her to "keep him posted" with her answer.

How cute is that?!!

Krissia answered him back very publicly at their last home meet before Region; of course, she said "yes". Junior Prom is this weekend, and she is expecintg to have a wonderful time.

Speaking of Region, the Desert Hills' teams did very well with both boys and girls taking the top spots. Here is a shot of Krissia receiving her gold medal for the backstroke:We are looking forward to great things at State!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Thirteen

It's official, folks.

We now have three teenagers in the family.

Jefferson turned thirteen today.

All I can say is wow. For so long, Jefferson was the baby of the family and I still tend to view him as a little kid. But in three years time, he will be driving. Too crazy!!

There are so many things I love about Jefferson. Here are some of my favorites:

1. He is very tenderhearted.

2. He has a strong testimony of the gospel.

3. He is such a good big brother to Mathison.

4. He's not ashamed to hug or kiss me in public (so rare for teen aged boys!).

5. He has an incredible imagination.

6. He makes friends easily.

7. He is a gifted actor and performer.

8. He is very smart in the areas of math and science.

9. He has an outgoing personality.

10. He is a bit of a ladies' man :)

11. He has a wonderful zest for life.

12. He has adorable dimples and freckles.

13. He is a natural leader.

Happy Birthday, Jefferson! We love you, and are so proud of the wonderful young man you are!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Opinions, Please

Just before New Year's, our family was at a park and I decided to snap some shots of Mathison to use as his three-year-old pictures.

The trouble is, he is so darn photogenic that I love them all and cannot decided on his "official" photo (the one that will hang in our living room).

If you could leave a comment citing your three favorite photos from the collection below, it sure would be helpful :) Here are the finalists in no particular order:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

Monday, January 18, 2010

You Tube Debut

Well folks, I made my You Tube debut a couple of days ago.

Not to worry - it isn't anything embarassing. I was asked by my friend Randy Paul to describe our stay at Eden's Keep for a new promotional video he is putting together.

Normally, I have a hard time watching myself on screen. However, I was happily surprised with the end result. Thank heaven for editing :)

If you would like to check it out, click here.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Let's Hear it for the Boys!


While Krissia has been busy earning honors in the pool, her brothers have also been making some pretty impressive accomplishments.

Bronson ended last semester with a GPA that places him on Dixie State's honor roll. What an achievement for his first semester! He also got a promotion and pay raise at work recently . Nice job, Bronson!


Jefferson is showing a real knack for science, especially in the engineering arena. He was recently named student of the month at his school and has been invited to be on the Science Olympiad team (think Academic Decathlon but specifically geared for science). We are so proud of Jefferson and his academic success in this area.

So....let's hear it for the boys!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

You Go, Girl!

Another day, another swim meet.

Another four gold medals, another PR set, another state ranking achieved.

You go, girl!

Starting the 100 M freestyle:

At the start of the 100 M backstroke:

Great form in the freestyle:

Gliding underwater at the start of the backstroke:

Getting ready to dive in as the anchor of the 400 free relay:

*High school swim season is beginning to wind down; for those of you who live nearby and want to watch Krissia swim, there are only two local meets left. There is one this Friday at the Washington Rec Center, and it should be a great meet. Wasatch and Judge Memorial are the guest schools, and they are 3A powerhouses in swimming, providing some stiff competition for the Desert Hills team. The meet begins at 5 p.m.; we'd love to see you there!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

i heart faces - Best Face Photo

This week's challenge at i heart faces is titled "Best Face". They've made it somewhat unique this time as the photo must be one that's been taken in the last two months.

Just before New Year's, our family was spending time at a nearby park when I had the brilliant idea of capturing my youngest child on camera. He had recently celebrated his third birthday, and I had neglected to get an "official" photo of him at three years old.

Of course, taking pictures was not on his agenda; he was at the park to PLAY for heaven's sake! This attitude was captured in this photo, which actually turned out to be one of my favorites from the bunch:
"Could ya just hurry up and take the picture, Mom?"

To see other entries, just click below:

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Reversal of Roles



The Christmas break was hard on Mathison. He thrives on structure and routine, and the disorganization of those weeks took its toll. The week of New Year's was particularly hard, and by the time Saturday rolled around I'd had ENOUGH.

We had been potty training (which is probably another reason why those weeks were so rough) and I was in the bathroom with Mathison, who was throwing a big fit about getting on the toilet. I must have made an exasperated sound, because he looked at me and asked,"What's wrong, Mom?"

Suddenly, everything came pouring out. "I don't like it when you scream and yell and don't want to sit on the toilet. I don't like it when you tell me no all the time. I don't like it when you try to hit me or the kids. I don't like it when you are always whining about everything. Mommy doesn't like the way you've been acting lately; it's made me feel really mad!"

Mathsion looked at me calmly, then extended his hand and softly stroked my cheek.

"I'm sorry you're angry with me, Mommy, but I still love you," he replied.

My anger immediately dissolved. Talk about feeling humble; here was my three-year-old showing me the appropriate way to respond in this situation. I gave him big hug and privately resolved then and there to show more patience and love - no matter how exasperated I am feeling.

What a great lesson to learn; what a tender moment to be taught by my son's example.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

'09 Was Mighty Fine!


(This picture was taken by my brother, Matt, at Thanksgiving)

Here's a quick recap of everything from A-Z at the Beatty household during 2009:

A - awesome acting (Kim and Jeff, "Annie Get Your Gun')
B - blazing backstroke (Krissia)
C - colorful cast (Mat, foot correction)
D - debate champ (Bronson) AND dapper deacon (Jeff)
E - english major (Bronson)
F - first five K (DEl, Bronson, Kris, Jeff)
G - grinning graduate (Bronson)
H - hair change (Kim)
I - instrument (Jeff learns to play guitar)
J - junior prom (Krissia's first formal dance)
K - killer biceps (DEl, from his time at CrossFit)
L - livin' las vegas (family trip)
M - mister mom (DEl, during "Annie")
N - nevada state pageant (DEl, producer)
O - one in state (Krissia's ranking in 3 swimming events)
P - preschool (Mat)
Q - queen (Kris, MUOT 2nd runner-up)
R - reunion (Kim's 20th)
S - sweet sixteen (Krissia)
T - toddler tantrums (Mat)
U - underwear (Mat, potty training)
V - vampire (Jeff's desire to be "Edward")
W - weight loss (DEl)
X - diXie college (DEl's hangout as the dean)
Y - yelling (family....at swim meets)
Z - Zion (Bronson, one of his many geology trips)

Here's hoping for a wonderful 2010!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Sunbeam

I'm proud to present the Desert Hills Ward's newest (and youngest) Sunbeam:

My little ray of sunshine is growing up so quickly!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

A Very Merry Christmas

Yes, I'm about 2 weeks behind on my blogging.

And no, I hope it's not an indication of what 2010 is going to be like.

We've had a great Christmas vacation. The kids have been out of school for 2 weeks and return on Tuesday. We've been able to have some wonderful family activities, as well as find plenty of time to relax. It's been a good balance.

Here are some pictures of how we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day:

With the Beatty Family:




With the Gubler Family:





Christmas morning:




I plan on posting again in the next day or two with a recap of 2009; it was a good year for the Beatty Bunch. Until then.....over and out!