July 4th & 5th 2008 Dear President and Sister Beck (aka Paul & Deb, Dad & Mom, Papa & Nana) Greetings from Cinti! We hope you are enjoying your time so far in Arizona. We think of you and pray for you often, knowing the the Lord is watching over and blessing you and the missionary work. We wanted to share with you some of what we've been up to since you headed to the desert.   July 4th weekend was filled with lots of fun.   Independence Day fun was followed by a 1st birthday bash for Isabelle (IssaBOW, Izzy, IzzWhiz...the princess of the day!) Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. Please don't let them make you feel sad. You are exactly where the Lord wants and needs you right now and your family is happy enjoying traditions of love you created for them. Thank you for serving! We love you. The weekend started with a morning 4th of July breakfast in the wards. By the time we all got together for an afternoon bbq, most everyone was dressed in red, white, and blue for the occasion. I got Abby to pose with Tiff and Tricia just after I caught the 2 of them "guarding the pantry" against teeny invaders (no treats before lunch :)   What's a Cinti get-together without a little Skyline Chili? Tracy makes sure Issabelle is learning to love her Skyline on day #364 of her life (woohoo-Izzy will be 1 tomorrow!) Ethan went for something more MANLY! Bring on the hot wings!!! Look at those beautiful baby blues :)   Brandon was sad that he didn't get a piece of corn but he wiped his tears when I told him I needed a picture for Nana & Papa. Way to take one for the team Bop!   Travis, Michael, and Sean enjoying some drinks and appetizers. I think you guys called home right about this time. Sean enjoyed telling the men all about his trip to Palmyra, visiting the sacred grove there and also attending his first EVER church dance. The guys (Trav, Michael, Rob, and Bill) didn't notice this but I saw all of them getting kinda giddy like school boys thinking about times when they were young too. Sean also showed off his 5 stitches from scout camp which got Travis reminiscing about camps with Tim Curry--it was a hoot!   Ryan missed out on most of the pre-lunch boy banter because he was busy at the grill. He was like a kid with a new toy when he got the rotisserie working. This picture was my only "commissioned shot" of the day. Ryan requested this picture be taken since he couldn't wait to show Paul (ahem...I mean President Beck) that he got the contraption all working beautifully. The chicken was really delicious--Ryan basted it with bbq sauce his brother Chris brought from Texas. Good job Dr. Hensley! We all decided we should do 3 chickens next time.   Before the food, most of the young guys ended up in the basement. We spied a friendly game of chess going on with Brad mentoring Eefie and Bop on the finer points of the game.   And...of course...what would a Beck get-together be if it didn't involve competitive sports?! Last I heard, the boys struck up a game of 5 on 1: Gavin, Jordy, Nicholas, Bop, & Ethan versus Sean AKA SKINS vs. SHIRT ;) It looks like Jordy's following in his daddy's footsteps and coaching his teammates on "how the game is played!"   Sharese and baby Eli both looking just beautiful! I love this picture :)   Sean got some fun time holding Izzy while the moms (& Bill--way to go Pitts since Tricia was probably vacuuming or sweeping at the time) got the kiddos ready for the pool.   Chloe was more than prepared! I mean...we did sign the "pool waiver" but she's obviously not taking any chances when it comes to water safety :)   Halle enjoyed her time in the water and then cooled off with a ride on a little 3 wheeler. Isn't she so pretty with water dripping off her sweet little face!? This is what the 4th of July is all about!   You don't really think I had any problems getting Abby to pose for me, do you?! Isn't she just full of life and energy? This shot is just how kids are! "No time to fix my hair, I gotta grab a drink and get back to being a fish in the water!"   By the end of the bbq, everyone was pretty tired but the guys still headed out to do batting practice (in the rain no less). I'm not sure what everyone ended up doing for the night but we Taylors enjoyed some Mentos & Diet Coke explosions (Ryan & Bradford started this tradition LAST 4th of July) followed by some neighborhood fireworks.   It was a great 4th of July! (somebody turns 1 tomorrow!) Who could it be?   Why beautiful Isabelle, of course! Tiffany and Michael threw a wonderful party with lots of pizza, snacks, drinks, swimming, Elmo cupcakes, a mini cake for the birthday princess, and bubbles for everyone to take home. Izzy looked like a superstar on the red carpet with all of the kids swarmed around her high chair and cameras flashing every 3 seconds.   It was kind of hard for me to make my way through "the crowd" to get her picture but this shot sums it all up-sooooooo much fun she was in a "sugar, swimming, I'm the princess today"-induced daze.   Tracy and Marie looking fabulous like always!   Sadie was more than happy to be included. She nudged all of the adults and big kids for love and pats on the head but ran when the little ones tried to love her a little TOO much :) That's one smart dog!       Chloe enjoying some lemonade with a little pizza sauce on the face! This is her kind of party!   This shot of Abbs pretty much sums up the weekend-we're all having a ball! We might get a little goofy while we're unsupervised (while the cat's away...kind of thing!) But please keep working hard in Arizona knowing we will hold the fort down here in Cinti and continue to pray for you every day. Looking over these pictures and thinking of the memories brings to mind why sharing the gospel is so important. It is the glue that binds us. Knowing that other people's lives and holiday memories could be filled with the love of the Savior and of family and friends and membership in His church is so worth being apart for a season. Thank you for your example. We love you!!!