Ash and the Boys

Two weeks ago we had Jacob fly out during Ashley's Spring Break to hang out because we haven't been able to since he's been home from his mission. He flew in on Wednesday afternoon (the 12th) and the fun began. Well sort of. I had to "work" on Thursday and one hour on Friday. I won't go into that. We'll keep this a happy post. We played PS3 most nights and watched a Suns game along with showing him the good eats here in CT. We took a trip to the Brazilian store in Bridgeport (my dad's favorite place to visit in CT) and got some guarana. On Friday morning we hit the road and headed to the Basketball Hall of Fame. I've always wanted to go, but never thought I'd have the opportunity living out in Arizona. Jacob had a hard time staying awake.

What do you think, jet lag or staying up til 4am playing video games?

At the entrance of the Hall.

I'm definitely grateful for this guy, Dr. James Naismith. Creator of the game of basketball.

Best player in the world. Ever.

Check that wingspan.

Calling the game.

Shooting hoops on the center court.

Proof that white men can't jump, even on an 8-foot hoop.

My cute Ash. She was a great sport, taking pics and hanging with the boys.

Anyone who marries an Elggren knows that when you get two or more Elggrens together, their maturity level drops significantly. See proof below.

After the Hall of Fame, we went to look for a place to eat lunch. This missile launcher was sitting in the middle of the parking lot. We each took turns getting out of the car, running to the launcher, posing, and running back before the people in the line of cars could get a glance.

The next day we headed out to New York City. Ash and I have been a few times now to see all the sites with different members of the family, so we felt that we were pretty seasoned tour guides. We took the train into Grand Central Station where we got an all-day pass for the subways and found those to be pretty useful. We headed off to the Empire State Building or Eiffel Tower as Jacob called it. Here is the pic they took just before we headed up to the top. We didn't want to pay the $20 for it so we whipped out the cell phone real quick and took a pic.

For lunch we headed to Churrascaria Plataforma, a Brazilian restaurant. This is by far my favorite restaurant. I highly recommend eating here if you are in New York. Don't waste your appetite on the salad. This is one place where it is ok to eat more red meat than you should.

The rest of our New York trip consisted of a visit to Rockefeller Center, the World Trade Center site, Times Square, Niketown, the NBA store, Central Park, FAO Schwarz, 5th Ave., the Apple Store, and Chinatown. Chinatown is always interesting. Everyone is trying to sell you fake purses, fake watches, fake shoes, and fake weed. Yes fake weed. I don't have a picture of that but here are a few pics of the rest of our New York adventure.

The world's largest store meets the world's largest head.

Posing in Macy's with a bunch of pink naked chicks.

Jacob's creation with the leftovers from lunch. Ash didn't want to look at the camera for some reason. Maybe because there were two Elggrens involved?

We even made it to the Statue of Liberty. It looked bigger in the movies.

No, this is not the guy selling fake weed.

After hanging out with us boys for the past four days, we don't blame her for feeling like this.

Matching Phoenix Suns ties.

We all had a great time. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Jacob again and bring back memories of the good old days. I'll miss hanging out with my little bro, but I know we'll get plenty of other chances in the days to come. Feel free to visit us any time Jacob.

Test Time

By the time Ashley reads this, she will have completed the first part of the "National Board Dental Hygiene Examination". After many months of studying and stressing, she is one step closer to graduating. Now all that remains is finding a patient for the second part of her Board test. She has come a long way and I'm very proud of her. She has always done well with her school work and on her tests, no thanks to me. She stopped using me as a study partner during her first semester. I'm not sure if it was because I couldn't pronounce any of the diseases/body parts/dental terminology or whether it was because every time she got a question right I wanted to take my shirt off.



Ash we are all so proud of you for working so hard. We know you did great!


Now have you ever taken a test and wanted to answer a question and let the teacher know what you really thought? Well this is a tribute to all those who had the guts, but no regards for their GPA.

(Click on any of the pictures if they are too small to view)

A Sad Day

In my attempts to not catch whatever it is that Ashley has caught, I've been eating a lot of oranges that Jacob brought from Arizona. I was halfway through peeling my first orange and my peeler snapped on me. I sat there for a few minutes looking at my broken friend and then at the half peeled orange not knowing what to do. I finally picked up the orange and peeled the rest by hand. I guess you really don't need one of those things to peel an orange. Maybe that's why everyone looked at me weird when they first saw me using it.



Mom, can you send me another orange peeler?

Should I stay true?

I mean stay true to my hair color all you silly people. I will always be true to my sexy Eric!!! I love him! I am considering to change my hair from the true brunette that I am to a new blonde. I have been blonde before, so this is not new for me. I just want to maybe have a change when my life changes in May. Just something to think about. But I need your help. I like the opinions of others. So take the poll and let me know. Love ya all.

Happy Birthday Jen !!

We just want you to know, Jen, how much we love you! What a great blessing you were/are to the Beckstrand family. You are such a sweetheart and Derek and Houston are really lucky to have you. A little background on Jen- she is a school teacher (2nd grade) and loves it. She is always smiling and always willing to help others. She has been busy with her baby boy. She is a true Denver Broncos fan as well as everything else that deals with Colorado. She loves to hunt, fish, be outdoors, and have fun with her family. Jen, we love you and hope you have a Happy Birthday!

Coming to a Close

Yes, it is true. I am closing in on my last month and a half of school. I will then be done with my education (at least for a while). I am now awaiting to take my Boards which will be March 25, April 11 & 12, and then I have to take a Computer simulated test also. I am stressing out, but I know I can do it. I just had a fun story to share. Yesterday for school, my group went out into the community and gave screenings and a presentation about Oral Health Care to a Senior Center. I loved it. As we were about to pack up and go, a tiny 90 yr. old lady grabbed me and the rest of my group to join them in line dancing! I loved it. It was so much fun. They were not easy to keep up with either! They are just so full of life. It was a really rewarding. Any way, here is a picture of me doing a screening. Hope you get a feel for what I do everyday.

Happy Birthday Kennedy !!

This is our cute niece Kennedy. She turned one today! Kennedy is such a fun girl. She loves being around her family and especially her big brother. She is a drooler, but we love her. She always is smiling and she is just growing up so fast. Eric and I just want her to know that we love her and miss her and hope she has a great first birthday.