Love these!

Can I just say Rachael is amazing!? Seriously! Love her! Anyone who can make me look that good is a serious genius!

Managua, Nicaragua

So Patrick's trip to Nicaragua went awesome! According to him, they had a great time and it was very "eye-opening". I've been there plenty of times myself so I knew what he'd be seeing and was grateful for the opportunity he had to see what a great and sad country Nicaragua is. They stayed in a little area called Diria, where some of my family live. One of my parents homes is being built there and is in the last stages of construction which was the purpose of this trip... to work on the home. Let's just say they did a lot more sight-seeing and traveling around Managua, and outer areas then they actually worked. :D That's ok though. I'm glad he got to see a lot because the next time we'll be able to go is probably when there's a Nicaraguan temple (cross your fingers and pray!).

Patrick wanted me tell you all that he had a great experience and loved it. He's more grateful today than he's ever been for our country and for the blessings we've received and receive daily. He has a new appreciation for our home, for cleanliness, and for our pets. He saw a lot of homeless dogs and really hated to see them in pain and hungry.

Other than the sadness of it being a third-world country, the trip went marvelous and the home is closer to being finished. I'm extremely grateful for Patrick to get that chance to see what we've all been talking about when we talk about dear ole' Nicaragua. :D

[Pictures coming soon....]

Another one has come and gone

So, it was my birthday on Saturday (per the cupcake background I had up all week) and it was pretty awesome. First, just having your birthday on Saturday is AWESOME!! I got to sleep in, relax and NOT have to work!! Sa-weet! I woke up to a whole lot of texts (Thanks again guys!) and the clock reading like 11 o'clock. Patrick and I went to breakfast (MMmm French toast!), then went home and RELAXED! I loved it! I curled my hair, watched some T.V., Patrick cleaned both our cars and we played with Lilly!  Later that night we hit up the best place on Earth: Tepanyaki! Seriously, best food ever. Love it!

Then the Birthday celebrations leaked into Sunday, like it always does on Super Bowl Sunday!  Ever since I can remember my birthday has always been celebrated on Super Bowl Sunday and I wouldn't have it any other way!  Football, food and cake - you couldn't ask for anything better.  

A puzzle??? Seriously!!

Ok, so I put a puzzle together on New Years Eve... sue me!! Not much was going on so we did the traditional american celebration....

CHINESE TAKE OUT and A PUZZLE!!

We hung out at my parents, ate chinese food, watched a movie, put a puzzle together, played some Canasta and went to bed. I was tired. Patrick was tired. LILLY WAS ASLEEP.... Her bed time is like 9... Seriously!!

Christmas was...

GREAT! But doesn't everyone say that. Well, It was for us. It probably was the smoothest Christmas we've had so far, ever, in our career of being together. We got up opened the "us" gifts and stocking stuffers. Then we loaded up the car and went down to Patrick's mom house. There we had some breakfast and opened the Raymond-Becker gifts. After that we headed up to the Franco Residence and opened gifts with my family. After a bit of relaxing, we headed up to Grandma's house (my mom's mom) and opened gifts with all those peeps. We left there pretty quick and went home. Home Sweet Home. It was awesome!

We both got a whole lot of gifts even though we probably spent the least this christmas. There just really wasn't that big gift we both wanted so we got a lot of littler things. I got a curling iron (I needed one), lots of games, a great book called A Train to Potevka, an iPod speaker-dock thingy (amazing!), pearl earrings/necklace/bracelet set, a scentsy warmer, a nice chunk of money for curtains (finally) and a bunch more that I can't remember right now. Patrick got lots of tools, an Iron Gym, a trip to Nicaragua, huge snow boots, a couple of movies, games too, and a bunch more I can't remember. Oh! And we both got clothes. Much needed clothes. Lilly got a new collar (like always...), a bone and a new rope. The bone is pretty much gone. She's already ripped it to shreds and chewed up the pieces.

All in all we had an amazing Christmas. I'm sorry there's no pictures but trust me...

Me + Morning = Bad Idea!

Dear Santa...

This year has been crazy, but BOY have I been a good GIRL a little OCD, but that's totally OK! Wink, Wink! I wanted to fill you in on everything that has been happening to prove to you I've been good! SO...

I volunteered at Ellie's debate tournament being a judge. It was completely out of my element (being the Choir Geek that I was in high school) but it was so much fun! I actually really really enjoyed it until I realized I couldn't debate myself. Now, I know that's not the point of the judge. If I wanted to get involved I should have done something about it in high school, but seriously!! I was sitting in a room with a bunch of kids listening to them speak. Half of what they were saying was FALSE and they other half was STUPID! I just wanted to have my turn to give a speech and let them know where it's at! HA! Well, I definitely let them have it on paper but it's just not the same. I love these debate tournaments. It gives Ellie and I a chance to hang out and do something together and it's an invigorating activity! Some of these kids are really smart and impressive and others.... well.... :D

So, Christmas is coming and Beki's getting fat! Ha! Seriously!! There are treats EVERYWHERE!!! It's so hard to resist the temptation! Right now, at my work, there are 2 HUGE boxes of bread goodies from Great Harvest, a basket of cookies from Ms. Field's Cookies, and another barrell of... some weird stuff (I can resist that), and then everyday someone brings in more goodies that are homemade. Seriously, guys! STOP!! I can't handle it anymore. But that doesn't mean we're not in the Christmas Spirit! See we put up our tree last week!!

BEFORE:

DURING:

Lilly helping.... kinda...

ALMOST DONE:

DONE:

(kinda, we didn't get the rest of the ornaments up for another week or so. :D)

See Santa!!! We've been good! Slow, but good!! Braxton's brithday was also this month. It's crazy that he's ONE!!!! I forgot to take my camera to his brithday party but it was so much fun. He's starting to walk and it's so funny to see him try.

He's getting so big! I can't wait till I have kids of my own to watch grow up! Then Braxton will have cousins!! Anyway, Christmas is just around the corner, so don't forget about us cuz you know we won't forget about you! We're the ones on the corner with no lights outside and a crazy dog!

Your FRIEND,

Beki Jo

Anything below the border is an OCD Mexican... Kinda

I have to post this because it's HILARIOUS!!! More power to the "speech impaired"... Right dad!? Plus, we all know my family is obsessed with "Brown" jokes, a.k.a. tHe FrAnCo FaMiLy!!

Depression is a sick feeling.

So last weekend rocked!! Sort of... First the roses then Twilight!!! I'm not one to watch a midnight premier so we went to that Friday night's movie (still sold out might I add!). I loved it. I know I haven't said much about it or given my review but that's because...

a. I didn't want to spoil it for anyone and I want to give everyone their fair share of expectations. Some people didn't like it and some did, but I think "to each his own." Everyone should see it with a clear view of what's in store for them without any preconceived notions. If you didn't like it, keep it to yourself. If you did! Awesome!! I totally fell in love all over again except for the five minutes that I almost walked out of the theater, not because I didn't like the movie (It hadn't even started yet). I started to panic as soon as we sat in our seats because this was it. I didn't want it end. I felt the same way I did when I finished Breaking Dawn. I was so incredibly sad that I almost left. Almost. Like I'd really walk out on Twilight! HA!

b. I'm just so busy. I start a post and can't seem to finish it. (Just like every other project I seem to start. :D)

c. The game... The Big Game... I really don't want to talk about it.

EErrriiiitttttt...... REWIND!

So I'm gonna try and hit all the high points of the last few weeks. Since the last post that had anything to do with Patrick or I was when he graduated, I'll start from there.

Conference Weekend - It was full of awesomeness. Now, there were some downers attached to this weekend. One being I had to take the GMAT. It sucked!! Not the greatest test in the world but what can you do? We had the great in-laws in town and I had an awesome time catching up with them and hanging with VICTORIA!! Our mall trip during the priesthood session was a sight to see! Let's just say we ended up with a bunch of shirts, a Sonic run, a crave for taters, and big garbaged mess!!! Long story short, the tots with cheese was a brilliant idea!!

More about Patrick - He had a busy month in October. First he graduated, then he took his written test for his license and passed, THEN it was his birthday. Crazy!! We had a full on birthday weekend which has become tradition during birthday season. We had multiple dinners all over the Salt Lake Valley! To start it off on Friday, we hit up the Red Robin's (Patrick's favorite spot for a salad!), then Victoria and her mom came up from P-ville on Saturday and we invaded Applebee's! On Sunday, we went over to Garrick and Emily's (Garrick is Patrick's bro) and had dinner there with his mom. It was so cute looking at old pictures of the boys. Monday (the day!), Patrick made an awesome dinner and we had my familia over along with his best buddy Colby! What a night!! He got a nice array of gifts throughout his weekend: some cologne, a chisel set, a wok, and money, money, money. :P What a happy boy!

All Hallows Eve - Halloween was fun this year. Patrick dressed as his usual Doctor, and I spruced it up a bit with my Ugly Betty Costume. My work was swarming with new people. John McCain and Sarah Palin graced us with their presence, Mr. Incredible stopped by, the communist party stuck around for a bit (try dressing up as a whole political party and see what you come up with!). Later that night we did Sloppy Joe's at my mom's house!! Tradition. Of course. I changed into the best costume of the night. Ellie! That's right! I dressed up as my little sister. I could have won something in that get-up! I even had the laugh down.. You know.. The "throw-your-head-back and laugh really loud and hard" laugh. :)

Ugly Betty

Ellie Franco (right!)

Mr. Incredible

Sarah and John!

Oh to be young again!

So last week, sitting at home, hanging out with Patrick and Lilly, I turned the T.V. on to see if there was anything interesting on. Yeah, I think the last of the Presdiential debates was on, and a few more interesting shows, but we ended up watching.....

Yup that's right. Aladdin. ALADDIN!! I know I know. Odd. But as we sat there at watched it, my entire day seemed so silly. I wasn't having a rough day. In fact, work had gone fairly smooth and quick, just how I like it and we had just gotten back from a somewhat frustrating but enlightening trip to Home Depot, but nothing can put a brighter childish smile on your face than a disney movie. We talked about memories from being a kid and how we wanted to be Aladdin and Jasmine growing up. I would totally recommend throwing on an old school disney movie and talk about the good ole' days where nothing mattered but Prince Ali and Abu.

Tagged.... hmmmm

I was tagged a while ago by my dear friend Silvia. All I have to say to this is.... You asked for it!

1. What is his name? Patrick Raymond
2. Who eats more? Probably him, but when I get on a roll, there's no stopping me!

3. Who said, "I love you" first? He did, he pulled the whole "say I love you in a different language bit". It worked. It was hot.
4. Who is taller? He is
5. Who is smarter? The answer to this question could be up for debate and we probably will never be able to settle on a definite answer.

6. Who is more sensitive? I AM!! Yeah! An answer about me! Yes, it's true I am the most sensitive. Trust me. I cry over everything and anything. The ones I get in the most trouble for are movies and shows. It seems that even though I might have already seen something multiple times, crying is inevitable.
7. Who does the laundry? ME again! Nice!

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does, but every once in a while I try to sneak onto his side and push him to the other side just to see how it feels to be on the right!

9. Who pays the bills? He tells me to pay the bills and I pay them. Dual effort baby!

10. Who cooks more? Patrick cooks . (period) I'm not much of a chef but I'm getting better. Right honey?!
11. Who is more stubborn? Hands down, he wins this one! :) I won't even try to win this one.
12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Well, since he's never wrong and I'm never wrong, then Lilly is the first to admit she's wrong.
13. Who has more siblings? Well I've got three and he's got three so we tied on this one.
14. Who wears the pants in the relationship? What exactly do you mean by "pants"? That is the question!
15. What do you like to do together? We're "REDBOX" people!
16. Who eats more sweets? I do I do I do. (In fact I win this one with no fight because Patrick isn't much of a candy man.)
17. Guilty Pleasures? Probably food, we're always up for a good meal, snacks, and cheese! We love cheese! Mmmm Cheese!

18. How did you meet? He was my manager at Pier 49 back in the day... not a "love-at-first sight" story. More like "love-after-a few dates and deep converstations" story. :D

19. Who asked whom out first? I'm not sure if there was a definite first date. The first time we did something together alone we went over to his apartment to check out his brand new guitar. (Yes, he plays.) It was all a ploy, I can see it now, but I guess it worked.

20. Who kissed who first? Our first kiss was interesting, but as to not go into any details, he kissed me first.
21. Who proposed? He proposed.. I think I'd look pretty funny down on one knee. I can see it now... Yeah it would be funny lookin'.

22. His best features and qualities? He's got countless of good features and qualities but his best is his little square smile and his ability to make things happen when they seem impossible.

I'm supposed to tag other peeps so.... Angie, Rachael, Joni, and Elise: TAG YOUR IT!

The Franco Familia!

Now my family is a completely different story. We're diverse but in our own crazy way. On my side I have a Mom, a Dad, two Sistas', a Bro and an Abuelita. Slightly on the boring side, I know, but would you be more amazed if I told you we all look Mexican except for one! Ha! Different I know. Mom and Dad still live in Kaysville but come from very different backgrounds. My mom grew up here in Utah and my dad is from Nicaragua. I know it's a long word but say it out-loud a few times and you'll get the hang of it. My dad thinks he's hilarious all the time (That's probably where I get my funniness from!) and my mom just sits back and lets him try to be funny. They're dedicated T.V. watchers! Even though they both work full time, we TIVO pretty much everything and catch up on all our shows over the weekend together. Great times! They have four kids. Me, then Josie, then the twins, Ellie and Erick. Josie just graduated from high school and is trying out the independent thing down in West Valley, living with an aunt, an uncle and a cousin. She's loving it and although we miss her a lot, when she does come around, it's great fun! Ellie's the crazy one in the family. She's probably the funniest person I know, and the funny part is she knows she's funny. Bad combination, let me tell you! Erick is the chill one in the family, and I'm sure you have to be growing up the youngest with three older sisters. He's taller than us all and it's crazy to think he used to be so small. My abuelita (grandma in spanish) has lived with my parents since I can remember. She's the sweetest little old lady, doesn't speak a lick of English really, and makes the best food ever. Seriously. She's got magic in the kitchen. She understands some English but can't really speak it. Don't believe me? Call my parents house in the middle of the day and ask for me. You'll laugh, but we love her anyway. We all have that touch of Latin in us and the Franco parties are wild. Trust me!

From left to right: Erick "Cito" Jr., Erick Sr., and Patrick.


From left to right: Josie, Mom, Ellie, and Me.

ABELITA!!! She's crazy, I promise!

The Becker-Raymonds....

Patrick's family is very different than most but we love them all. He has a Mom, a Papa, a Dad, a Taff Mom, a Bro, two Sistas', an Emily, and a Baby! Crazy I know. Confused? I'm sure you are. I'm not going to go into details cuz the story is far too long, but we're all family. Mom lives in Bountiful and is a teacher and home school specialist. She's great with kids! Papa lives in Washington State and works as a secutity guard at a local hospital. He used to be a cop and he's got some crazy stories. Dad and the Taff Mom, a.k.a. Barry and Taffee, live just outside of Pheonix. They are amazing people. We have had some great times just sitting at the dining room table playing Canasta! We love that game! (They have a very famous person in their ward in Arizona, and I won't say who it is because most girls would be jealous and go crazy and I can't do that to you guys.) Patrick has a brother and two sisters: Garrick, Victoria, and Natalie. Garrick is married to Emily and they have a bouncing baby boy Braxton! They are such a cute couple and I absolutely love love love being an aunt! I'm the oldest in my family and it's so much fun having an older brother and sister now. Victoria and Natalie live up in Washington with their mom and Papa. They are too cute and too hilarious to capture in words! Victoria's going to BYU now (Guys, she's taken. I'm sorry!) and Natalie is on the volleyball team at her high school. They were in town the other day and it was so much fun having them around. So, that in a quick nut shell is the Becker/Raymond family!

From left to right: Patrick, Lilly, Me, Dad, Garrick, Victoria, Mom Taffee, and Emily.

From Left to Right: Patrick, Grandpa, Braxton, Emily, Garrick, Me, Lilly and Mom.

From Left to Right: Garrick, Braxton, and Emily

Lilly Munch!

The next member of the family is our little girl, Lilly. She's little, and she's a girl, but not quite what you think... She's our puppy! Lilly is a pure bred miniture dachshund. She's just barely over a year old and is the cutest thing ever. (We're allowed to be biased!) She's so funny and actually quite intelligent for her breed of dog. She plays fetch and tug-a-war and has done quite well with the potty training thing. We also havent' had too many problems with the whole "puppy chewing" thing. She had a few blunders early on, but hasn't done anything too bad ever since. She loves the outdoors and loves other dogs. Most other dogs! :) In fact, she does have a friend. His name is Howard and it's her only stuffed animal she plays with. They have a very interesting relationship, those two! She can be playing rough with the poor guy trying to rip him to shreds and dragging him all over the house, or, and please don't judge her for she's a little strange, she chomp's down on his muzzle and falls asleep right on him kneeding him, like a cat would do. I know it sounds scrazy and i'll have to post a video for proof. It's the funniest thing I've seen a dog do, truely! Another different trait our puppy has is her tail. If any of you have seen her and not heard the story, you would probably think that Patrick and I are abusive "parents" and smashed or broke her tail in a door or something but I want to reassure you that is not the case. Although, her tail is visibly bent, it's not our fault. She was the first puppy out of her mother at birth and her tail was broken then. It healed broken and the vet said it should be fine and not bother her at all. Luckily, it hasn't! She doesn't even notice, but people sure do notice her. We love it! She's unique and ours and we love her!

I guess I'm next...

To quickly sum myself up, since I don't really like to talk about myself... ;) I was born on January 31, 1987 in Salt Lake City. Unlike my husband, I haven't lived in too many places. My parents took us from Salt Lake to Kaysville and they've been there ever since. I have three "youngins", as I like to call them. They're Josie, Ellie, and Erick. They'll have to wait till their turn, this post is about me! :) Anywho, I graduated from Davis High a few years ago with some great friends and we all moved on to college and missionary days. I went to Weber State and graduated this spring with my Bachelors of Arts in Accounting (that's a mouthful!) That's pretty much it! I love to hang out with my friends and my family. With Patrick in school, I've spent a lot of evenings with my parents and it's so much fun! I currently work for a company called Axis41. We are a marketing and design company. Ha Ha! I love Dr. Pepper. Mmmm! (Just thought I'd throw that in!) Well, back tracking just slightly for a little about the "us" factor, during my senior year I met Patrick. We dated some and not some (if that makes sense) and we finally buckled down and tied the knot. We got married August 11, 2006 in the Bountiful Temple. For awhile we lived in Bountiful but eventually moved into a house on the Kaysville/Layton border, literally. It's great having a home but rough being a home owner, if you get my drift. Anyhey, that's my life.... and I love it!

OUR FAMILY!!

Because I'm so new at this and not many people really know what we've been up to the last few years, I'm gonna start off with a few "get-to-know-you" posts. The first victim is my husband! :) Smile sweetie! You know you love it! Well his name is Patrick Raymond. He was born on October 27 and his Social Security Number is.... JK! Ha! Anyway, Patrick has been all around this town. He was born in California, and has lived all over Washington and Utah. He has a bunch of great parents and a really cool older brother, Garrick. We'll get to them later. Patrick has a love for all things fashion and style. He's currently finishing his last few weeks at Paul Mitchell The School where he's at the "top of his class." He's won a few competitions, even one that got him a ticket to Signature, a huge Paul Mitchell event in sunny Las Vegas a few weeks ago! He's a great hair stylist and absolutely loves what he does in the Salon. It's great having my own personal stylist at my leisure! Right honey?! Anyway, he also works at Marriott Vacation Club International. Although it's not his dream job, he's sticking it out till graduation. In the mean time, the employee benefits at Marriott are great! Cheap hotel nights are always welcome! Patrick is a fun and pretty funny guy. He always tries to make a party more poppin', and loves to have a great time. His laugh is contagious and so are his hugs. He's the absolute love of my life and am very grateful he fell in love with me.