Domincan Republic

We have really gotten use to the Helm tradition of escaping the cold Utah Christmas weather and heading somewhere warm to celebrate the holiday. This year we go to go to the Dominican Republic, an island in the Carri bean where Jon served his mission. It was a beautiful place that we all loved. We rented a villa on the beach and enjoyed the sun, food, waterfalls, and crazy Dominican drivers. It was great to see the a little of the area Jon served in and meet a few close friends. It was a restful vacation with lots of babysitting help thanks to my family.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

The Drop

First, I must apologize about the header. Sometimes blogger decides read the exact same html differently from one day to the next. I usually can fix it rather quickly, but they are even more retarded than usual.

Here is one of my favorite videos from the last few months (in case all of you are tired of looking at pictures of Beck and Ira). Jess says videos are annoying on blogs...she is really going to hate this one...a sideways video. We encountered this slide in Vegas when we were visiting my parents. Apparently they like to give the children of Vegas adrenaline rushes from a young age so that nothing but gambling and strip clubs will satisfy them when older. This was the steepest slide I have ever witnessed...and Beck was feeling brave that day.



Here is a picture of Ira and one of me when I was a kid.






Awesome dude...not quite a tough guy yet.

And lastly, here is a picture of Beckham and Ira playing together:

Ira's Blessing

Ira was blessed by his father on December 2, 2007. It was a beautiful snowy day and he was a little angel. He wore the same outfit as Beckham. It was a very special day for our family and we were surrounded by many loved one.

Fun in the Snow

The Boys

Thanksgiving Holiday

It was great to get away for the Holiday weekend. We ran down to Vegas to spend Thanksgiving with Jon's parents. We went out to Lucille's this fabulous restaurant and a must if you are in the Vegas area. Then we went back to St George where we spent time with the Helm Family and my Grandpa and Grandma Helm. Grandpa Helm made our family favorite Chile Verde. One day I will have him teach me how. Jon of course had to get home on Sat for the big BYU v.s Utah game that he had a ticket for. I stayed in St George a few more days to enjoy some warmer weather and some good babysitting with the help of all the family. All in all we had a wonderful time and now will look forward to the Christmas season.

Boys

Beck and uncle Dave


Ira and uncle Alex

WWF Father vs Son

Little Johnny

Ira Sleeps Over

I now have more of a reason to love the name Ira. My mom remembered yesterday that there was a book that we use to love to read when we were young called Ira Sleeps Over. Sure enough I looked it up today and the memories of loving that book came flooding back. I now Love the name Ira:) I guess he was suppose to be an Ira.

Trick- Or-Treat

It was a very Happy Halloween. Beck loves his NANDY......

3rd Annual Haunted Halloween Party

We had a great time at our Halloween party. We saw a lot of great costumes and of course Jon came through once again with a very creative idea. Beck loved the music and strobe light. Happy Halloween!!!

Our Sweet Little Ira

Happy Birthday Gramps

Papa turned 49 !!! He is still really cool and young at heart:) We love you!!!

Cornbelly's

We took Beckham to a cute little Halloween spot. It was freezing cold! He rode the cow train and we took a haunted hayride in the dark to look at all the Jack-O-Lanterns. It was our first big adventure out with both kids. Dad was a good sport and entertained Beckham along with Aunt Candice. I am not sure how Halloween will go this year as you can tell even a pumpkin can frighten him. I guess there is one really good incentive to Beck NANDY.

Boys

A rare shot of Beck eating.



Beckham loves books and especially when Dad reads to him.



This is Great Grandpa Helm. Ira was born on his 74th birthday.

Poll Results

The poll results are in and we officially have a tie between Ira, Henry, and Griffin. Thank you for you input; I never imagined being so indecisive on my child's name. You can all hope for a girl on our next child (in many years) because that name is a slam dunk.

We called in the name this morning...Ira Robert Shipley. I love the name and Jess does not. I let her know last night that we had to pick a name by the morning. She woke up while I was sneaking out to work this morning and said, "just name him Ira." I know what you are saying..."Ira! I can't believe they named him Ira. He is going to have to go by his middle name." Well, I hope this is not the case and let me explain why I like the name.

I love the name because every Ira I have ever heard of has been a strong and honorable man. Ira Ames is one of our ancestors that crossed the planes and was friends with both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Come to find out, Ira Ames is a relative on both of our sides (which may explain the baby's webbed toe). Ira Milton Anderson was Jess's great grandfather. He died at age 32 leaving his wife with 6 young children. His eldest son whom is also named Ira quit school and went to work to support his mother and brothers and sisters. Ira Hayes was one of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima (on the famous picture of the second flag). He was honorable in battle and honorable when he returned home (as he felt it was his duty to let the parents of one of the flag raisers that was misidentified know that it was really their son), although he ended up trying to drown his battle memories in alcohol. Ira Fulton is successful and donates a lot of money to BYU, so he sounds like a good guy also. These are all the Iras that I know about. The bottom line is that I believe Ira is a strong name that will provide a great legacy for him to live up to.

Hopefully you like the name or are like Jess and hope to like the name some day. I'm sure we will get some comments on this one, so let's hear them.

Beckham #2

I thought I better post a few more pictures of our no named son before his prodigal brother returns to our house to rule and reign over us once again. I am beginning to feel the pressure of choosing a name. I actually have several perfect names but my husband seems to have strong opinions of his own. He has given me the option of naming this one if he gets to name the next. I don't think it is worth the chance as he did want to name this baby Cub. I think we could just continue on the Beckham pattern and this one can be #2.

More No Name Pictures

Still no name...but more pictures.