the beck family: Sister/Mom Get-A-Way

On June 10th-12th we had our first Beck Sister's Retreat. Unfortunately only 3 of the 7 could attend - Melissa, Mom Beck and I. We left early Friday morning and headed down to St. George. The weather was gorgeous! Our first stop was at the Deseret Industries. It was fun to go in with a group of girls and look for different clothes. I tried on a few skirts and felt like I had my own cheer squad outside of the dressing room. I definitely prefer that over my children's comments:).

It was so relaxing and enjoyable to do whatever we wanted without any children. I was so anxious and ready for this small vacation. We spent the afternoon walking around the outlet mall. We ate dinner at a really yummy place called "25 Main." The food was so good and hit the spot.

That evening we were able to attend "Little Mermaid" at the Tuacahn theater. We ended up getting tickets too late so we were all on separate aisle's but had perfect tickets. We were in the middle bottom half and felt like we were front and center. The show was absolutely AMAZING! I was in awe from the moment the water went across the stage at the beginning of the show to the very end. The music was so awesome also (especially the new songs that were made for the musical). The actors/actresses were great! I kept on thinking how much my children and Byron would love coming. The show started when it became dark, so it was pretty late when it ended (around 12:15 a.m.).

The next morning we went down to the St. George Farmer's Market. There wasn't really much to see, but it was fun walking around to some fun booths. We had fun going into a few shops downtown. We also went and toured Brigham Young's summer home and Jacob Hamblin's home. Both were excellent tours and so full of information. I can't believe I have driven past St. George so much in my life and never remember being on either of these tours. I need to take my children - they would find them fascinating.

We woke up early Sunday morning to get back. The previous day, Mom Beck and I secretly bought some donuts for Melissa since it was her birthday. We even bought candles and a lighter. Unfortunately that morning neither of us could figure out how to use the lighter, so we had to go without the fire:). Melissa is such an awesome person! I feel like I have known her forever. I love spending time with her or just talking about whatever. She is very knowledgeable and one of the most Christ-like people I know. My children love her and can't get enough of "Aunt Melissa" when she comes down to visit. It was fun to spend the weekend with her and Mom Beck getting to know them both better.

I made it back in time for the Stake Conference where Bishop Burton came to speak to us.

In front of Brigham Young's summer home. Interesting fact, when they were painting the home, they ordered a large amount of a certain color of paint. When they opened it up, it was a dark green color. Instead of wasting they used it and offered it to the Saints all over the area. So during that time many homes were this same color.

Jacob Hamblin's home - Byron loves to tell the story of Jacob's son buying blankets from the Indians and how trustworthy he was. It was fun to learn more about his amazing man.