Life is Good!

History in the Making...

Today was exciting! It has been a few months in the making, but today is the day that Beckett & Robb went public. We're not talking an IPO (yet,) but Derek gladly agreed to an invitation to participate in a local business fair. If it were up to Mayor Jackson her whole office would be outfitted in Beckett & Robb custom suits. Surely a few will be. The response he and his business partner, Jason, have received up to this point from family and friends has been favorable, but it was definitely exciting to get a public response to their business and a fruitful one at that.

Their business...
For those of you who don't know what Derek has been working on let me explain. Derek and Jason have made custom suits affordable and available. Their look is far superior to the ones bought off-the-rack and the details are something special. They found amazing tailors in Bangkok, Thailand and have paired their craftsmanship with really nice fabrics from Italy. The result is amazing and I couldn't be more proud of him. They will be traveling to Thailand next month to source other accessories like cuff links, ties, belts, as well as fine tuning the process they've already put in place. Like I said, I'm so proud. They have plans to shortly have their Beckett & Robb website e-commerce ready which would allow for suits to be ordered online. The prospect of having a self-sustaining sales system in place is a real achievement. They have a great program in place for trunk shows. When a person invites them to their business they receive a commission of the profits, usable toward merchandise. I've been so impressed with the business model these two have come up with. I think it's brilliant! They've recruited sales people in several states and have created a beautiful product presentation manual. They are creating a Facebook and Twitter presence, and their Beckett & Robb blog, that Derek is constantly updating with well-researched tips and advice, gets hits from all over the world. He has worked so hard and it is a blessing to our family to see his efforts resulting in success.

Baby Boy Bleazard

Well, we have had a lot of fun family time as of late. And as my giant tummy gets even gianter (hmm, not a word, but thoroughly accurate) we get more excited to add a new tiny member to our family of 3. Our widgets on the side have always been different dates. My due date is Nov. 24th which one widget reflects and the C-section was to be scheduled around Nov. 17th, which the other reflects. We have finally decided on this little boy's birthday. Since our anniversary is the 17th we decided to do our C-section on the morning of Nov. 18th. That is if he doesn't come earlier. A very real possibility considering that the ultrasound reflected a due date of Nov. 16th. So we'll see. But I just thought I'd share some pics of fun family time...

My Baby's Birthday

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL

We've had a fun couple of days celebrating Tara's birthday. We went to Salt Lake to one of our favorite restaurants, the Market Street Broiler, and did a few other things downtown. It was pretty similar to what we did last year actually. I had a great time with my girls, and I hope Tara had a good birthday. My gift to Tara this year is a framed picture of the Salt Lake Temple. I didn't want to make the decision of which piece of art to get alone so I haven't actually bought it yet so that Tara can help me pick one. I'm a lame gift-giver. I'm probably the worst at doing something special and original, I could never match Tara's thoughtfulness and creativity when it comes to these kinds of things. I wish I was better at it.

I'm so grateful for Tara and all the incredible things she does for our family. She is my best friend. She is more loving and supportive than I deserve or could have ever hoped for. I hope she's had a good birthday because she deserves the absolute best. I love you Tara!

Same "Goggy," New Tricks!

We often sing the ABC's in Spanish to Eva. It sounds like "ah, bay, say, day, a, effay, hay" and so on. She loves to join in. Her version sounds like "ah, day, a, a, a, a, a." Often times she'll begin singing on her own and it just melts out hearts.



"Perro" has been a bit of a hard word for Eva to pick up in Spanish, but "Doggy" sure isn't. She has several variations, "dog," doggy," and "goggy." She listens for dogs barking in our neighborhood and is content to "wow, ow" for an hour in response to their barks. A doggy on a commercial will stop her in her tracks.


She is an extraordinary helper around the house. Which we should expect considering that 85% of the messes around the house are due to her. She'll stand between the sink and the dishwasher and as you pass dishes and silverware down to her she will load the dishwasher. Not unlike doggies, the opening of the dishwasher will send her running from across the other side of the house.


Her domestic abilities are not restrained to merely dish washing. She can sweep! It's sweet, but not effective. Generally Daddy will sweep and Eva will bring the dustpan to him and place it on the floor near the cleanup pile. She also helps Mommy with sorting laundry (legitimately, she's good.) Another favorite chore is to follow Daddy around while vacuuming.



Eva knows the word "up." However it's only in reference to putting up her legs so we can put her pants on. She flings her chubby little legs up and says "up" herself. Now those same pants we put on her could be removed at anytime along with her socks, as she has taken to removing clothing throughout the day.


Eva's days are not only filled with de-robing, but also dressing-up. She will at any given time be wearing 2-4 headbands. She'll complete her ensemble with a pair of Daddy's tennis shoes (1 will suffice) and Mommy's bathrobe belt flung carelessly across her shoulders. A tutu, apron, or changing pad cover (on the head) may also be thrown into the mix.


She is learning all her little body parts and that is really fun. "Nariz" she absolutely has down. That one word has a quick response, a plump little finger being shoved up her nose or the nose of anyone around. "Besito" prompts a closed or wide opened pair of lips coming in for a kiss. It could also inspire a small hand to shove your face away.

Eva has also taken to lounging occasionally. Mid-play she'll take a breather and lie down for a sec. Sometimes she'll prop herself up against our pillows on the bed just to take it all in. This is probably the funniest of her new tendencies. How grown up to just want to relax and take it easy!

Island Park

We recently enjoyed a trip to Eastern Idaho to the Island Park area. We had a family reunion (Hallmark side) and it was fun to see cousins and aunts and uncles that we don't see too often. Tara and Eva and I got up there too late on Friday to join the rest of the family in Yellowstone, but with Tara's family so close to it, hopefully we'll get there in the Fall or something. We were able to go to Mesa Falls that afternoon by ourselves, then after the rest of the family saw the pictures, we decided to go back there on Saturday so they could take in the falls as well. We all stayed in a cabin, it was close quarters and the cabin was, uh, rustic, but it was a good time with almost all the family there. We all missed Loralee and Mike and their kids. We threw the baseball around about every chance we got and had a really nice time sitting around playing games and talking. Chad and I both were Captain Jack Sparrow.