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!