Vote for Kai!!!!

Wednesday February 25th is the day my cousin Kai Kalama will be singing on American Idol followed by voting. Please vote if you can and as much as possible. He's going to need every vote. Thank you for your help!

This is a video we put together for Annie's birthday in 2005. This was back when Cam, Troy, Shawn and I were busy playing music with the band. Those days are full of cherished memories, one of which is the putting together of this. Taylor was with us on this particular occasion and thank goodness. The man is sheer brilliance when it comes to being funny. Jarom Olave is the one behind the camera and editing.

It's important to know the background because you might not get it otherwise. Annie is a huge fan of Enrique Iglesias. I would say, "What's the deal? You know it's all an act to get girls, right?" to which she would reply, "You don't get it. Look at the passion. He sings with emotion!" Eventually, I came around which is what this video is all about.

Beca and Zack get married

It was a wonderful weekend spending lots of time with family in town celebrating Beca and Zack's wedding. Beca was beautiful and Zack cleaned up well.
































































































Here's a video of them leaving the temple on Saturday. Mr. Mon keeps jumping in front of the camera at the beginning so sorry.

Isaac turns two

Our widdle Isaac is two! We are blessed that he is a part of our family. We spread the celebration out over a few events.

Ball party with Brey Brey




































































Bowling

Definitely Isaac's favorite thing to do in the whole world. He may aspire to bowl professionally.
















McDonalds

















Cupcakes

Mr. Mon

Well, we're back. It's been over a month since our last post and we have tons that we've been meaning to post but haven't got around to it. The family is doing great. Mon (what Isaac calls Ben) has developed into quite a cute little baby. He smiles and laughs all of the time. He thinks Isaac is the coolest and he really loves his mama.

The future Beca Baum!!

We are thrilled to report that Beca Steele said yes to a very important question from Zack Baum yesterday. A la The Office, Zack put her ring in jello on her desk and hid patiently until she arrived. When she arrived at 8:00 am she was genuinely surprised that Zack was there. Zack helped her take the ring out of the box in the jello mound and put it on her hand and got down on one knee to propose. She said yes!!!

Anyone who knows the Zack/Beca saga knows that this is a long time coming and our family is pinching themselves because it seems too good to be true. We were blessed when my sister said yes to Daniel because we knew he was a good guy who would stay strong in the church and be good to my sister. The same exact feelings with Zack. This dude is a stud and we've been hoping and praying for years that he could become a permanent addition to the family. He gets along very well with the family which is always a huge plus.

They make a great couple, even cute, if I may get girly. C'mon Beca Baum sounds cool! They are perfect for each other in every way, just like Jim and Pam. Zack is going to take good care of her no matter what and Beca is going to keep things spicy for Zack.
















































This isn't Zack

Ganging up

Most of the time...
















but occasionally...

Coldplay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kiana and I were fortunate to attend Coldplay's concert last night at the MGM Grand Arena. They played songs from their earlier albums like: Yellow, The Scientist, In My Place, Fix You and songs from their new release like: Viva La Vida, Strawberry Swing, Lovers in Japan. We had pretty sweet seats on the left riser near the catwalk. It's our third time seeing them and they get better each time.

Kalama Family Reuniting on 4th of July

Provo is the place to be for the 4th of July. They hold what's called the "Freedom Festival" which is a series of events over a weeks time including cool things like a hot air balloon launch, parade, and the Stadium of Fire. Our family held their family reunion during Freedom Festival to get a two for one. It was awesome being up there. We might turn it into a tradition to make it up there for the 4th. My cousin Dave tells me that the Stadium of Fire is broadcast live to all military bases around the world as the official birthday party for our country. The reason has been said that there is a unique spirit of patriotism and love of country in Utah County during the 4th of July celebration. You go up for the Freedom Festival and you'll agree

Widdles and Daddy at the parade

















A stud named Glenn Beck

















Ben representing

















Widdles watching the Stadium of Fire from Rock Canyon Park. The finale was crazy. The ground shook for a minute straight.






















Annie, Widdles, and Jalenna at Rock Canyon Park.

Uncle Bud's Funeral

We were down in 29 Palms for our dear uncle Bud's funeral. If you haven't been to that part of California, it's in the middle of nowhere. Yet the chapel and cultural hall were packed with standing room only. If you had the chance to know him you wouldn't expect anything less. He played a significant role in my childhood in making me feel loved and learning to bring out the fun in any situation. He was my escort when I received my endowment in the LA Temple. I'm really grateful he was my uncle. Family get-togethers won't be the same without him there but we know we'll see him again. The nice thing about the time there was being with our family. Here are a few pictures:

Counting

A proud moment for Mom and Dad and Ben.

Ben's Blessing Day

It was a great day for our little family. Ben and Avery both had their baby blessings yesterday. Grandma Call came down from Utah and Ady and Lisa came down from Logandale. All of the local family was in attendance which made it really nice. Here are a few pictures.

(Edit: I stole this from the Bechtol blog. Thanks Courtney for taking the picture!!)














Widdles cleans up well.





















Grandma Great with Ben and Avery Rose
















Our little family





















Don't you see the resemblance? Same chubby face, that's about it.





















Brothers Ben and Isaac

Cashman field with Gavin and Isaac

I got tickets to the 51's and I first thought, ehh, I can think of a lot I'd like to do instead. But Annie wisely suggested I take Isaac for our first ballgame as father and son. I called Jared to see if he wanted to take Gavin and off we were. This was Saturday which was rainy here in Vegas so we weren't sure if we would have to skip it. When we arrived we were happy to see that our seats were under the covered part so weather was kind of a non issue. The second cool thing was our seats were about 15 feet from the concession stands. The third cool thing was the company that gave me the tickets through in a bunch of food vouchers and hats for the kids. So basically we ate hot dogs, skittles, nachos, kettle corn, dipping dots, and tons of pop. Gavin was wired and Isaac was laughing so hard at the mattress sign behind our heads (There is one of the little claymation sheep right behind my head that he thought was hilarious). At the top of the third inning the rain started and the uncovered people had to seek shelter. We were completely dry and full on healthy food. We stayed for 4 innings and headed home to get the kids to bed. I was a little pessimistic about going in the first place but we all had a blast. They do a really good job at Cashman field. I didn't realize there were so many 51 fans. We're going to see about going back.

Extreme Makeover Widdles/Daddy Edition

Announcer: "They couldn't get any girls to look at them because they looked homeless. Now Laura Tippetts knows just the trick to get them back on track!"

Isaac messing with Ben