Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Rebecca said the sweetest things about me for our birthday on her blog and I wish I had said the same things first because I feel exactly the same way (yes, we are identical twins and usually have the same feelings about things). But I just wanted to let her know that I love her too and that she is the best twin sister ever. I'm glad we call each other way too much to tell all the silly details of the day. Here is a copy of her post:

I'm sure I've loved you since before I was even born. I am so thankful to have you in my life. How lucky we are to have had a best friend since the day we were born. Even though we don't live close I love talking to you everyday, usually multiple times. I'm glad we share a birthday! I hope you have a fabulous day without me! Happy Birthday! Here is a little trip down memory lane...
Megan and Rebecca in our prime-Winter 1995

Rebecca and Megan-2006-we don't look exactly alike but sometimes it's still fun dressing like twins:)
Megan and Rebecca and Taylor-May 2008-Alaska trip

How we've spent our Summer so far . . .

THE GIRLS:

MIA

CHELSEA

MORGAN

THE BOYS:

COLLIN

CAMERON
I THINK THE GIRLS HAVE AN EASIER LIFE AND I'M GLAD I'M ONE OF THEM!! THANK GOODNESS FOR THE HARD WORKING BOYS IN OUR LIFE WHO MAKE OUR POOL SIDE LIFE POSSIBLE!

(I am the photographer (although my Dad took the pictures of the boys out on the farm while they were here) and so I have no photos of ME laying out in my swimsuit! I know you're all so disappointed. ;) I'm just disappointed that my tan is no where as nice as my girls. )

My Going Away/ Early Birthday Party

I can't believe I forgot my camera! I'm so sad. I didn't think about it until I got home or I would have asked Yasmine to take some pictures. Yasmine, being the super good friend that she is, threw me a party!! (She also threw me a baby shower when I had Mia). We're still not sure exactly when we'll be leaving but sometime early in July.

So about the party: I had some of my favorite people in our ward come and it was so fun just hanging out and eating and talking. It seems like I don't get together with just women like that often enough. I will miss these women in my ward so much. I want to thank them all for coming and I really hope I can keep in touch with all of them. (The guests were besides Yasmine Gilbert: Chrisitina Maughan, Anna Stoker, Kristin Thurgood, Desiree Reynolds, Amy Strong, Raquel Volmer, Kelly Hansen, Chaundra Hammack and Trude Lawler -this list is mostly for me so I don't forget who came.) They are all great women and I hate leaving this ward behind. Melanie was there in spirit I was told but got back from 'the Trek' the day before and was too exhausted to move. I'm glad she helped plan the get together.

It was a great day for me because I decided to get a baby sitter and go shopping alone for over 3 hours before the party. I almost spent half that time in one of my favorite stores: TJMaxx! I don't go there enough and when I do I hardly ever take the time to try on clothes for me. I got myself some cute shirts, roxy flip flops and a beach towel. I also made it to Target and picked out the carpet and paint for our "temperary home" that were moving into. I wish I could have hung out at the party longer but after having a baby sitter for 8 hours I figured I'd better go home and get my girls to bed. Luckily I still have a good excuse to have some "me" time next week too and will probably take advantage to go have a pedicure. Anyone want to join me?

The End of the School Year!

Can you believe school is finally over! Collin finished 4th grade on June 11th and Morgan is done with 1st! Next year will be moving on to new grades and new schools!! Our last week of school was rainy and cold. The field trips/field days were not as fun as they could have been if the sun had been out but they survived and we're thankful to have our sunny weather and little scheduled days of summer here for a few months!

This is Collin and some other 4th graders after our hike up Flat Top Hill? It was quite a workout and even harder in the rain that started when we were half way up. Luckily the buses saved us and we got a ride back to school!

I loved Collin's teacher Miss Miller/Mrs. Case. She kept me well informed on how Collin was doing this year.

Can you believe Morgan had to wear a fleece sweatshirt on the last day of school? We didn't have time for nice pictures so I took hers on the go in the car on the way too school. I'm great at multi tasking . . . driving and taking pictures!

FAMILY PICTURES

My parents were here for a few days after the cruise. Finally on Sunday before they left we took some pictures after church. It was Morgan's birthday so I spent forever beautifying her for church but left no time for myself. Plus I got something in my eye before these pictures (besides the sun) and could hardly hold one open. Plus I was not planning on pictures so we are NOT at all color coordinated which I think is a must for these kind of pictures. My girls do own matching dresses! Oh well.

But in honor of Father's Day I also wanted to post this picture of the men in my life. My Dad is awesome and a great example for our family of spiritual, friendly, fun loving and very giving father. Cameron is a wonderful dad and excellent example of what hard work can do for you and your family. He is a great provider and spoils us often. Collin has 2 great examples of priesthood holders to look up to who work hard and play hard. I'm also thankful for my mother who is a great Grandma ! The girls just love her and she takes lots of time to play games with them and teach them new things. I wish we lived closer so we could see them much more!!

Chelsea's Pre-K Graduation!

So I'm a few weeks behind. I almost forgot all about Chelsea's fun graduation since Cameron and I left for Alaska in the wee hours of the morning after her graduation night. Chelsea cried for an hour before school that day because my Mom and Dad left to go to Seattle. Luckily she bucked up enough to go to her fun grad party that included a bounce house, lots of food, and fun painted tatoos. For the graduation night they sang lots of songs and Chelsea said her part: "Welcome to Gateways Pre-K Graduation!" Cameron and Collin missed the festivities. It was a very hectic day for us but it was so cute to see all the kids in their cap and gowns.

Chelsea with Miss Felicia and Miss Teddy

The graduating class of 2021
Chelsea showing off her diploma!

Morgan's 7th Birthday

Today we had Morgan's 7th birthday party! We invited 4 of her friends to come over for a crafty party. We made flip flops and flower clips and then I gave them all a pedicure to show off with their new flip flops. We all dined on some of Morgan's favorite snacks. And then had some tipping over cupcake cones (I don't recommend making these the night before). At the end the girls watched a Hannah in Concert DVD that came with the Hannah CD that Chelsea gave to Morgan. Morgan loved the party and said it was so fun! She even got her thank you cards done already!
The girls in their flip flops: Raeleigh, Ann, Kaylee, Morgan, Annabelle and Chelsea.
And with their sparkly pedicures.
And their fabulous flower hair clips!
After the party, my Mom who happened to be around for the occasion made more flip flops to for her other grandaughters that she will be visiting on her way home to St. George. And I made 24 more flower clips for my girls and some to give to their cousins in Utah. Here they are plus the ones Morgan made at the party!

My Alaska Slideshow

Formal Night

Don't we look so cute all dressed up!! Good thing I bought this picture because none of the ones I took are very good at all. I wonder which one of us still goes tanning? Sorry to out you but our skin tones don't look exactly identical at the moment. Sadly for me, I think Rebecca always photographs better than me. Maybe she really is the prettier twin.

Our Cruise

Here was our welcome display when we got up to the "Windjammer Cafe" on our first day. We had to wait a while to find someone in my family so of course we ate!

Cameron, Val and Jane waiting.

Aerial view of our ship that I took on day 3.

Whale Watching

For those of you who don't know -Cameron and I went on a cruise to Alaska with my family for my Dad's 70th Birthday party! All of my siblings and spouses(minus one couple) came along with my parents good friends, the Conlees and my in laws (who we made tag along). It was a week long cruise on Royal Caribbean from Vancouver, BC up the inside passage ending in Seward, Alaska.

On day 5, we went whale watching at Icy Strait Point and our tour boat didn't even get us 5 minutes away from our cruise ship when the guide got all excited and said he could see a "Bubble net" and that that was super special and important!!! Humpback whales get together in a group and circle around a school of fish causing a bubble net and then they pounce on the school eating as much as they can in one swoop! We got to witness this 3 times! My parents and a few others from our group were on an earlier tour and missed out on this. I got a few good pictures and feel lucky that we saw so many whales in a short amount of time. We think we saw as many as 6 humpbacks although I didn't get a picture of all 6. I wish I had taken a video instead of pictures so you could get the full effect. It was hard to take a picture of that first moment of them coming out of the water because they would circle and then you'd never know how long it would be before they jumped up! I highly recommend going whale watching! It was an amazing site especially with the beautiful Alaska background.

Here is the first bubble net that we saw.

whale mouth and fin while feeding!

More of the whales mouths jumping out of the water.

another circle of whales feedingwhale blowing next to another whale

here are at least 4 whales swimming together and below a whale tail.Bald Eagle perched on Rock that we saw on our whale watching tour.

Here is the stellar sea lion that we saw! I know you can see it soooo well and that you're really impressed with my photography skills!