This Man of Mine

Tagged again, by Rachel Manwaring. This was pretty fun to write.

Taken shortly after we started dating...hunky hunky.

1. Who is your man? Kevin Wesley Ward

2. How long have you been together? We met 5 years and 6 months ago on a blind date and we got married exactly 8 months later.

3. How long did you date? He proposed to me after 4 months of dating.

4. How old is your man? 28

5. Who eats more? Kevin

6. Who said "I love you" first? Kevin

7. Who is taller? Kevin is 6'0 and I am 5'4

8. Who sings better? I sing more often...but it is pretty cute when he tries to sing like Dave Matthews or Garth Brooks

9. Who is smarter? Kevin

10. Whose temper is worse? Kevin's...although he was pretty even-tempered before we "multiplied and replenished"

11. Who does the laundry? Do men do laundry?

12. Who does the dishes? I do and I despise unloading the dishwasher, so when he surprises me by unloading it's a good day!

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does...and this is not negotiable.

14. Who pays the bills? I do, if I wasn't around to pay the bills he would be totally confused. But strangely, he usually has a better idea of how much money we have.

15. Who is better at the computer? We are equally "skilled".

16. Who mows the lawn? we don't have a lawn, but if we did it would be Kevin. I have only mowed a lawn once and my lines were so crooked that my dad asked me not to do it again.

17. Who cooks dinner? I think about cooking dinner everyday, does that count? Kevin does most of the cooking during the summer. He is the best at grilling chicken and steak.

18. Who drives when you are together? Kevin. I could drive but then I would have to watch Kevin pretending to brake for me, so I choose not too.

19. Who pays when you go out? Whoever can grab their debit/credit card the easiest.

20. Who is more stubborn? "It takes Becky one day to get over something, and it only takes me an hour." -Kevin Ward

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Kevin--I have a REALLY hard time doing this.

22. Whose parents do you see most? Mine, they only live 45 minutes away. Kevin's live in Illinois.

23. Who kissed who first? Kevin kissed me but he insists that it was the only way to get me to go home...because I wasn't about to go anywhere until I got a kiss from him (I guess there is a little truth to this). And I LOVE the fact that I was his first kiss!

24. Who asked who out? We were set-up on a blind date.

25. Who proposed first? Kevin. And he put so much work, money, and thought into it. It will always be one of our greatest memories.

26. Who is more sensitive? Me, for sure. I cry at some commercials. But, when I do see some moisture in his eyes I know that he really cares about that subject.

27. Who has more friends? I do.

28. Who has more siblings? I do, 7. He has 5.

29. Who wears the pants in the family? Kevin. But when I am pregnant or crying I do.



Elise, Stephanie Miller, Lisa Ward, and Stephanie Hanson...I would love to read your answers to this questionare.

8 Beckyisms

My friend/blogging buddy Stephanie Miller "tagged me" so now I must make a post ALL ABOUT ME. Here are 8 facts/habits about me.

1. I can't think until my bed is made each morning. There is NOTHING better than getting into a made bed at night.

2. I love to alphabetize, categorize, and organize everything.

3. I worry about anything and everything. And once I had children it got 10X worse. If you have thought about it I have worried about it. From a car slamming into my house to drowning in a submerged car.

4. I say what is on my mind...to a fault.

5. I am incredibly afraid of bears/wild animals. Thus, I can't spend an entire night in a tent. I am SO not a camper.

6. When it comes to eating out I rarely venture away from my bean and cheese burritos or steak and potatoes.

7. I can eat ice cream every night and not feel bad about it (in fact I did this with both pregnancies).

8. The greatest weekends to me are those spent with my parents and siblings.

So, there you go! And, I would love for Elena, Rachel, Elise, Stephanie Hanson, Emily, and Amber to do their own -isms on their blogs.

K-K-Katie...beautiful Katie!

Happy Birthday Katie! It was so great to enjoy a birthday lunch with you yesterday in Logan! You are a bundle of fun all the time. I hope that today is even better for you! You certainly deserve it. Thanks for being the greatest big sister a girl could ask for. Be sure to do something special for yourself...it's okay to be selfish today! Love ya!


Grandma Freidenberger, Katie holding Gabby, Chris, Grandma Manwaring, Megan, Sami, and Alex



Sisters! (Melissa, Becky, Katie, Gabby, Emily, and Natalie...and mom way in the back)


PS I know I have some great pictures of you, but my computer decided to up and die on me today. So I had Dad and Elena send me some pictures to blog. Thanks guys!

Owen loves church!

Owen had a rough day at church today. Kevin had to take him outside during sacrament meeting because he was being disruptive (a sacrament meeting ritual) and while he was running around outside he biffed it hard on the cement. Thus, the wound under his left eye.
Then, in Nursery, one of the little boys (who just happens to be the "Nursery bully"... and had been pushing Owen around most of the day) rammed a toy truck right into Owen's forehead causing a MAJOR goose egg and drawing a little blood. But, Kevin saw it all go down (he spends every Sunday in the Nursery...per Owen's "request") and said it was a complete accident. I had to laugh when the little boy's mom called to make sure that Owen was okay and to apologize. Funny!

Our week in pictures...

A week of milestones...

*Wes learned how to control his tongue and is becoming quite the copycat (if I was patient enough to load videos I could show you).
*Owen learns how to put on his hat all by himself (it's so cute how he adjusts it just like Kevin does).
*Wes took his first fall off of my bed...in the middle of the night...after he rolls over for the first time.
*Owen starts singing. This is SOOO tender! It's funny how out of nowhere they just start singing songs they have never sung before, but ones they have heard many times. Like the theme song to "Go Diego, Go!", "Twinkle, Twinkle", "You are my Sunshine", and "Rehab". (;
*Wes moves out of mom and dad's room...or at least his crib does.


These are just random pictures from this week.
Wes-can you believe how bad this kid drools; Wes sleeping; Owen's favorite place to perch while we are working on the computer; We and Owen enjoying Sesame Street; Wes and his fingers; Owen playing in Grandma's sandbox; Wes sleeping with keys in hand; Owen in the sand; Owen taking a break

Our carefree summer days are over

This week we celebrated our last few days of summer by enjoying large soft-serve ice cream cones from Dairy Queen. We thought about celebrating our last few days with a quick trip to Las Vegas for some hot fun like Emily and Brandon did but ice cream cones just sounded more appealing. (;

So, goodbye to our last carefree summer! Hello to Kevin's last semester of bookwork!

High School Reunion

Elise and Me (friends since elementary school)

It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since I graduated from High School, but yesterday we went to my 10-year High School Reunion! Kevin's 10-year reunion was also yesterday, but in Illinois so we couldn't "swing by". But, it was so great to see my old friends and reminisce.

The day started with a family picnic at Iona Square. It was so fun to see old classmates and to meet their spouses (funny enough...most of their spouses were fellow class mates) and kids. And then that evening we went to the Hamilton residence for a catered dinner with a DJ.


Chris, Elise, Me, and Kevin

I was really hoping to see a few more classmates but it was a pretty good turn out. We had a great night with a lot of laughs. I was lucky enough to have my best friend Elise and her husband, Chris, with us which made the night even better. After the party the four of us went to grab some pie at Perkin's (our favorite late night hang out during our high school days). We could hardly keep our eyes open so we called it a night at midnight. We just aren't made of the same stuff we were 10-years ago...funny what kids can do to you!


Me and Kevin before the picnic; mingling at the Hamilton Residence; Elise, Me, and Katie Palmer; Steve and Angie Sargent; Milt Montague, Nick Reddick, and Amber Terry; Elise and Chris enjoying some ice cream; Me enjoying something that must have been finger-licking good; Jenny Martinez and spouse, Joey Bodell and fiance; Cassy (Klossner) and spouse

Welcome to the family Eli Gregg!

My brother, Ben, and his wife, Kaylin, welcomed their first baby into the family on Friday morning. We were able to go to Idaho Falls and visit them on Saturday. They named him Eli Gregg and he weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs and was 22 inches long. He is such a big boy and has SO much hair that it's hard to believe he is only a few days old.

He is a beautiful baby and we are so happy for Ben and Kaylin!


Me and Eli.

Fun at Grandma & Grandpa

The boys and I went to spend a couple days with my parents during the week and had a nice visit. Both Owen and Wesley had a good time on the swings in the back yard.


Owen riding the horse swing.


Wesley's first time in a "real" swing. He really enjoyed it.


I had both the boys in bed with me and when I got out of bed in the middle of the night I came back to find that Owen had rolled over and discovered that Wesley made a great foot rest! So cute!

Our growing boys

We recently purchased a new camera and so we have been "snap-happy" lately. I wanted to post a few pictures of our growing boys for Grandma and Grandpa Ward to see. They are mostly of Wesley, but we did manage to get a shot of our handsome Owen.


Wesley in his exersaucer-it's hard to believe our little 3 month old can hold himself up so well; Wesley in his swing-he loves to be swaddled but always manages to pull his left hand out before he dozes off; Wesley in his chair-he has a great smile and laugh; Owen-I didn't realize it was possible, but he looks more and more like Kevin every day.

Blake's 30 today!

Happy Birthday Blake! You are officially "thirty-something". I had to do some digging to find a picture of you, but I managed to find a couple and of course in each one you are with one of your boys! What a good dad!

We are so glad you are a part of the family, and I am sure you are glad to be part of the family since we hold your ticket through the Golden Gates (**hardy har-har**). You keep everyone laughing all the time! Hope your day is spectacular.

Love,
The Wards


Blake and Keagen at the Gregg Manwaring Reunion 2006.

Blake holding Payson, Keagen, and brand new baby Jamis.

Happy Birthday Amber!

From one Primary Chorister to another, "You've had a birthday; shout 'Hoo-ray!' We want to sing to you today. One year older and wiser, too, Happy Birthday to you!" I can just hear the primary kids singing it to you today at church. We hope you have a spectacular day celebrating and wish that Justin would have invited us over for some cake. Oh well! (;

P.S. Sorry the picture is so blurry. It's the most recent one I have of you but I was trying to blur out Elena yawning in the background (you are welcome Elena).

Last stop...Logan, Utah

We reached our final destination Wednesday evening (my sister's, Katie, house in Logan, Utah) just in time to watch my niece play in a soccer tournament. We have been watching her play soccer since she was just a little thing so it's fun to be able to see her in action. Her dad has been her coach all along the way and that makes it twice as fun to watch.


Alex in action; Chris "coaching" (Alex is #20); Owen dribbling the soccer ball; Kevin teaching Owen a thing or two about soccer.

After the game Alex (my soccer playing niece) was kind enough to babysit her sisters and Owen so the grown-ups could go out to dinner. We went to a great restaurant (one of our favorite local joints in Logan...Firehouse) for dinner and had an indulging time! (; We spent the night at Katie's and went to another soccer game on Thursday morning, which ended in a victory for Alex's team, and after lunch we were on our way home.


Gabby at the Thursday morning soccer game.

We had such an enjoyable time this week. It was so fun to be able to see so much family in such a small amount of time. And, Owen and Wesley were able to see everyone of their 18 cousins!


Wesley during the drive home (look at those lashes).

The fun continues in American Fork, Utah

After spending two days with Kevin's family we headed "down the block" to spend some time with my sister Melissa and her family. We stayed with them Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon we drove to Thanksgiving Point to enjoy their gardens and Noah's Ark. Owen loved running around with his cousins in the water (two of his favorite things). But, once the thunder and lighting showed up we were out of there and on our way to Logan, Utah.


Noah's Ark at Thanksgiving Point. It was pretty impressive and the animals would randomly spray water on the kids.


Owen playing with his cousins (Payson, Keagen, and Jamis).


Wesley and Becky.


Becky holding Wesley and Melissa holding Micah.

More Ward Fun

After a hot afternoon at the zoo we were all excited to go back to Sam & Lisa's apartment complex for some swimming. It was the perfect way to cool down.



After swimming we just spent the evening recovering from the days activities. Owen and Brian got their second wind just in time for bed. They sure had a good time playing together.


Brian and Owen playing in the pack 'n play (meant for Simon and Wesley).


Owen and Brian winding down with a movie.


Owen wiped out.

Tuesday we played at the Kangaroo Zoo (an indoor play land of inflatable toys) in Pleasant Grove, UT. You would think this would be a two-year olds heaven, but the only thing Owen loved playing with was the toy cars. We think he might be clostraphobic. Later that evening we enjoyed a nice picnic with some of Kevin's aunts and an uncle. It was nice to be able to spend time with Kevin's family (visits like this are few and far between).

Ward Family Fun

One benefit to having a husband in school is that you still get a summer break! We took complete advantage of that this week and spent an action-packed 5 days in Utah. We drove to Pleasant Grove, Utah Sunday afternoon to spend some time with Kevin's siblings. Aaron (his older brother) and his family were visiting from Colorado, Rosanne (his sister) drove up from Las Vegas and we all met at Sam's place (his younger brother).

It was great to get all the cousins together for the first time since Simon and Wesley were added to the family. We were just a little sad that the rest of the family wasn't able to be there (we missed you Fred, Carolyn, Staci, and Laura).

The first item on the agenda was the Hogle Zoo in SLC, UT. We spent most of the afternoon at the zoo enjoying the animals and the bird show.


The Ward clan. Sarah carrying Simon, Aaron, Kimball, Sam holding Brian, Lisa, Kevin holding Owen, Rosanne, Becky holding Wesley.


Of course we had to take the train ride (all the boys LOVE trains). Wesley and I stayed behind.


Hogle Zoo puts on a pretty good bird show--they have birds fly into and around the outdoor theatre. Owen and I had to leave a little early (he was scaring all the birds with his antsy-ness). Kevin tried to take a few shots of the hawks but ended up getting a picture of the ground when the hawk flew so low he actually had to duck and still got hit by it's wing.


Owen and Wesley at the zoo.

Happy Birthday Melissa!

Happy Birthday Melissa! We are so excited that we actually get to see you on your birthday. We hope that you have a great time celebrating the big 2-7! I bet your boys have something special planned for their favorite girl. I am so lucky to have such a great little sister to look up to!

Love ya!
Becky, Kevin, Owen, and Wesley


Melissa, Emily, and Elena

Alex turns 12!

Happy Birthday Alex! What a beautiful girl you have become. It's hard to believe I have a niece turning 12, but at the same time it's not too hard to believe because you have always been so mature and helpful. We hope you have a great day today. Play hard! We love ya!

Becky, Kevin, Owen, and Wesley

Happy Birthday Gabby!

Wow Gabs! It's hard to believe it has been two years. You have grown up to be such a character...and cute as a button! We hope you have a spectacular birthday celebration. It's hard to think your sisters could dote on you anymore than they already do, but I am sure they will give it a good go on your big day. Happy Birthday!

Love,

Becky, Kevin, Owen, and Wesley

Pool Party

Yesterday day we celebrated Owen's birthday with my family. We spent the day at Ross Park Aquatic Center here in Pocatello. We had a great turn out and we couldn't have picked a hotter day to spend in the water.

We celebrated with cupcakes and each cousin was given a Hot Wheels car (although I ended up finding most of them in my bag when I got home...I hope that wasn't Owen's doing). Owen loved spending the day with some of his favorites (Carter, Ogden, water, and cars)! He was also given some great gifts which we spent most of the evening playing with and some even ended up sleeping with him that night.

Thanks to everyone for making this day so special for our little "O".



Owen couldn't get enough of the new cars and motorcycle he got. You would think that the pool/water would have his full attention, but I guess he like cars more.


Owen loves his cousins Carter and Ogden. He was so happy when they showed up!