Travel – Page 2

Some Holiday Rememberances

December 30, 2014 by candicebeckwith Leave a Comment

The holidays have been so wonderful! I have wanted to write for many weeks about some of the extraordinary and memorable experiences we have been having but have been so busy with either holiday preparations or working on the functionality of my new blog. It is amazing how difficult this process has been! Everything I want to do on this blog I have had to look up some tutorial on how to do it! Or watch a YouTube video, or read long, boring articles on my question. It has been very tedious. I really want to just jump into the creative part of this instead of getting mired by the technical part. However, instead of waiting to get everything perfect I need to just record a few things. I will start with Thanksgiving. This year, we decided to have Thanksgiving with just our own little family. AND, we decided to eat out! For any of you out there, and as a reminder to myself, if you want to eat out for Thanksgiving dinner book your reservations early! Most ski resort restaurants provide amazing feasts as well as a few restaurants in Salt Lake (and there is always Chuck a Rama). We chose to go to Little America, downtown SLC. They do not take reservations and when I called they said it would be about an hour wait. We showed up at 11 am which was THE WRONG time to come. We waited for almost three hours! I stood in line, chatting with those around me while Grant took the children to Temple Square and then we swapped and I took the children to the Grand America to see the huge gingerbread house. When it was finally our turn to eat, the wait was certainly worth it! The food was amazing! So fresh, so varied, so delicious! Shortly after we started eating (it was after 2pm by this time) my friend Katie and her husband showed up. She said they come every year and arrive after 2 and only wait about 10 minutes. So now we know the secret! We had a great time, even with the wait.

…

15 Years

May 19, 2014 by candicebeckwith 2 Comments

We had the most wonderful trip to the Columbia River Gorge to celebrate our 15th Anniversary and Grant’s 40th Birthday! I was in love with the water, greenery, rocks, trails, perfect weather, food, rest, time to read, but best of all the time with my amazing, wonderful husband of my heart.

In the three-and-a-half days we went on four hikes, I read two books while Grant attended some meetings with the school heads, we slept in, we relaxed in a hot tub overlooking the Columbia river with the rain lightly falling on us. We had delicious food including a brunch that was THE BEST brunch I have ever had where we ate for two hours. I got a massage during another of Grant’s meetings. We got onion rings and a milkshake after a hike just because they sounded good and we felt like it. We had so much time to talk and relax and slow down. We felt ready to come back to our children, lessons, work, callings in the church, house, yard, end of school demands, recitals, exams, projects…

I am SO THANKFUL for the Saxey’s for taking our children for the time we were gone. What amazing friends we have. Really and truly. Not to mention a kind sister who takes care of our farm.

Besides the trip I am feeling grateful for such an amazing 15 years with Grant. On our anniversary he said our nighttime prayer. It went like this:

“Dear Heavenly Father,

We are thankful for 15 wonderful years together. We ask thee to bless us with fifteen million more.”

To which I say, “AAAMENN!!”

We have known each other since 1995. In three more years I will have known Grant for the majority of my life. I was 20 when we met, he was 21. I feel like I have never not known him. I love that we can finish each others sentences and that we voice the same thought at the same time so often. I love being quiet with him and our long talks. I love that we compliment each other so well in so many ways. I love that we are growing more alike as we age. I love the deeper love and commitment that we feel as we sacrifice together. I love the bond we feel as parents of our four wonderful children even though we are such different kinds of parents. I love that I can advise our daughters to marry a man like their father and encourage our sons to be like him. I am grateful that he is constantly trying to help me be kind to myself and forgiving of my own weakness. (Why is this so hard?!?) I love his unwavering faith in a loving Father in Heaven and his deep and personal understanding of what the atonement of Jesus Christ means for him and for each of us, how it has a daily, hourly, influence on our lives and that we are good enough because of it and nothing without it. I love that he is willing to fight for important things even if it means less money, opposition, even persecution.

I love him for his selfless service as the Bishop of our church congregation. He puts in so many long hours at church and at work yet somehow has time for our family and for me. I can feel the Lord’s hand in this as he touches our life each day with tender mercies and feelings of patience and love for one another and others.

I love him for how handsome he is – shallow, I know, but he is aging so gracefully! Last weekend there was a Latter-day learning conference at the school for the community. There were many speakers on various education topics. Grant was one of the speakers. Each participant was given a booklet on the days’ events and class offerings. A friend of mine told me of a conversation she overheard at the end of the class prior to Grant’s. Two women were looking at the bio’s of the next class instructors and after seeing the picture of Grant said, “This guy looks just like Prince Charming! Let’s go to his class!” I would have to agree!

I could say so much more, like that he is a hard worker, a great parent, a great basketball player and ballroom dancer, a good house cleaner, a pretty good chess player (I’m better), a man of faith, he has a wonderful humor and ability to laugh at himself when appropriate, a wonderful perspective… oh my… I better end since it is nearly midnight. One last thing though regarding his 40th birthday. I was talking to William about how fast he is growing up and that he his now (unbelievably) SEVEN, but that I will always feel like he is my little baby. He was expressing his own incredulity at how fast his dad is growing up with this statement, “He is getting to the age where he is getting old, wrinkly skin and will soon be 50 and the age of a grandpa! Sam and I were talking about how we were sad when dad grew up (turned 40). I wish he was still 39. He is just so nice, wealthy and talented.” (The wealthy part is based on many conversations we have with the children when they ask us if we are rich. We say yes as we have a comfortable home, enough to eat, clothes on our back, the gospel of Jesus Christ and love for one another.)

So to Grant I say, “Here’s to 15 million more years together (a.k.a Eternity). Thank you for your 40 years of being great. I look forward to getting ‘old, wrinkly skin’ together.” I love you. I love you. I love you.

Trip Planning

March 3, 2014 by candicebeckwith Leave a Comment

I have been so excited lately because I am planning our summer excursion. 14 days of driving almost 3000 miles! Although I know the driving may become somewhat…tedious (to put it mildly) I still am so excited to see how it will go. I don’t know why I love road trips so much. Let’s face it, I just love all kinds of trips! I have this fantasy of Grant and me when we are old getting in the car, picking a random direction and just driving. I would choose for us to avoid interstates, eat at local (not chain) restaurants and stay in little B&B’s along the way. We would have no itinerary or agenda but to be together driving, talking, exploring, listening to audio books… Doesn’t that sound magical? (That is, when we aren’t at our seaside, four-room, all-bookshelf-and-window cottage or serving missions in the far corners of the world!)

For now, when I plan a vacation I have our campsites and hotels reserved 5-6 months in advance, and packing lists assembled. I am putting together play lists and audio books on my I-pod…I have mapped our our itinerary and planned our routes… definitely a different experience traveling with four children! At any rate, I am just excited to be going somewhere. I am excited to be seeing some of the beauties of our nation that I have wanted to see for more than 20 years (namely Yosemite). I wonder a little if we will be inundated with grandeur. Will we feel like after so many days of seeing so many amazing things will we be thinking, “Oh look another really big tree. Oh look, another ocean view. More big rocks.”? Will we take it all for granted and how can I make sure the we are grateful and inspired every day by what we are seeing? I’m going to have to include this question in my trip planning.

I am grateful for my love of travel, though sometimes I feel like it is a curse. Why does it have to be so expensive?!? The world is such a wonderful, interesting place. Thank goodness for books! For the time being I can travel to far away places through the written word!

Spring is Coming, Summer Trip Planning, Kid Quotes, and Parent/Teacher Conference

February 17, 2014 by candicebeckwith Leave a Comment

Today was an unseasonably warm day. Anna in her excitement about the changing of seasons told me very confidentially and with much hand gesturing how spring came about.

She said:

“I know how the green grass comes. While I am sleeping the snow sneaks down into the ground. THEN, the green grass sneaks up. And it is SPRING!”

I have been planning our summer family excursion to the West Coast. One of the places we are going is Yosemite. To get a campsite in Yosemite Valley you have to really work for it! On the 15th of every month at 7am (Pacific) all the campsites five months out become available. Within less than three minutes they are all gone. I’m not kidding! You have to be logged in and ready to go before the appointed time and then be ready to start grabbing a site. I set up four accounts (Grant, Me, Sam and Lizzie) and had Grant, Rebecca, Sam and me all ready at 7:40 to try our luck. I even had alarms and synchronized clocks. When 8 am hit we were ready! Sam was the lucky one and we have a campsite! I couldn’t sleep for the three hours before, I was so keyed up and nervous about not getting a site. Afterward, I was so excited it was hard to calm down for awhile. Here is something I read about the process that put me in the mood I was in: The New California Gold Rush.

Now for some quotes that have touched me in the last little while:

I read this last night from Elder Scott: “The Lord sees weaknesses differently than he does rebellion. Whereas the Lord warns that unrepented rebellion will bring punishment, when the Lord speaks of weaknesses, it is always with mercy.”

And from our wonderful Sunday School teacher, Ryan Salter who teaches the 12 step addiction recovery program: “I’m on a journey toward serenity, not a struggle toward perfection”

Next, with two children entering the turbulent waters of adolescence and puberty we have been having some really interesting conversations:

…