Megan's 18th Birthday

I never imagined when I held my little Megan Lyn for the first time, that she would grow up so fast. She did though and now my little four pound, 32 week preemie, is an adult. Megan has been a joy in our lives. She has taught me many life lessons and been a wonderful example. It's not any easier to let the second child go. My kids have always been independent and Meggie is ready to move on to the next stage in her life. It is a difficult transition time for me, especially because both my girls will be gone now, but I am excited for Megan and the experiences she will have in college.

I had fun making her "Aggie" cake and she was surprised when she saw it.

 Megan's birthday dinner request was, fried mac and cheese balls, cheesy garlic bread sticks, and an artichoke. (The artichoke part is random, but she loves them.)

 

We had Ariel with us for the party, thanks to "face time."

  We had a wonderful day, and I am so grateful that Megan came to our family. We love her very much! 

 Happy BIRTHDAY Meggie!! 

A Short Beach Trip

The beach is one of my most favorite places on earth. After Aaron's drum performance at his spring concert, the kids and I got in the car and drove to California. Todd stayed home to work, poor guy. We have some friends with a condo in Orange County and they let us stay at their place.

Ariel was the only one who got a bad sunburn, that's usually the way it goes. It was a really bad sunburn.

The water was pretty cold, but it didn't stop Aaron and I from catching some waves with the boogie boards. I love the ocean.

 We even found the Newport Beach temple and walked around for a minute. We really enjoyed our very short beach trip, I wish it could have lasted about 5 more days.

Megan's Senior Night

I can't believe our Meggie is a senior! I was so happy that Ariel was able to be here for it, she came straight from the airport to the church. We had dinner and then we played a game, the $25,000 pyramid. Poor Meg, I was the worst player of the night.

We decorated a table with things that represent Megan. We displayed some photos that she took and a stack of her favorite books...

 ...a poem that she wrote, (which you can read here) her Young Womanhood medallion, and of course her USU pennant.

Megan had to make a "dream board" for a school assignment. She has a real talent for things like that and her board turned out amazing.

We are so proud of Megan and the wonderful girl she has always been. She is moving to Logan the weekend after she graduates and she will be missed every moment!

Aaron's Choir Concert

This year, Aaron participated in both concert choir and madrigals. His end of the year concert was on May 17th. He did his usual signing with the choir, but he had a special part as well. His two band mates wanted him to try out for a solo part a few weeks earlier. Aaron wasn't that excited about doing it, because they hadn't prepared for it as well as he would have liked. He said they didn't do that well, and didn't expect to get a place in the solo's, but they did. They did awesome! When they were doing their sound checks a few minutes before they performed, the audience was really getting into it. The choir teacher told us after the concert that their middle school had never had a band perform before, they were the first one! That night, Aaron rocked it out on the drums in front of about 600 people, and we loved every second of it. He said he wasn't even nervous, and we were very proud of him. 

 His sock monkey was zip tied to the front of his kit.

 The guys changed out of their tuxes before they performed.

Aaron's 14th Birthday

Aaron was only 4 pounds 4 ounces when he was born. He is now taller than me and his sisters. I expect that one day, in the not so distant future, he will be taller than his dad too. He is a true delight! I remember the day we went in for his ultrasound. We had two beautiful little girls, and as difficult as my pregnancies were, I was pretty sure his would be my last. I was hoping, with all my heart, that I could have a boy. The tech didn't say anything about the sex of the baby until the very end. I will never forget the happiness I felt when I heard her say, "It looks like you're having a boy!" We are so grateful for the experience of raising a boy, even though it is much different than raising a girl. They are both equal in their challenges and equal in their joy. We are grateful to have a boy who is sensitive, kind, good, moral, loving, appreciative, conscientious, humorous, spiritual, and talented!  

 Lacrosse has been a big part of Aaron's life the past two years, what better choice for a cake? His jersey is actually #13, but he was turning 14, so I couldn't very well put a 13 on his cake.

 I don't let the kids see the cake until I choose to give it to them. I make them close their eyes, and then I put the cake in front of them. I love the look on their face when they open their eyes and see their cake for the first time. It makes all the hard work and frustration worth it.

Megan's gift was the Hendrix t-shirt.

Aaron's major gift was a penny board this year. For those who don't know what that is, it's a mini long board. Like a skateboard, but intended for mostly "cruising." We were not very excited about the idea, Aaron is accident challenged. We gave in, and he loved his gifts.

Aaron's birthday was a little tough because he had to spend most of it in school. He wanted to go to In N Out Burger for dinner. After dinner he wanted to stop at a few thrift stores. I didn't understand this part, and I sat in the car while the three of them went in. Todd and Aaron both came out with treasures. We parked right by the front door at the second place, the store front was giant windows. I was going through mini-convulsions sitting in the car watching, because Aaron was checking out all the stuffed animals. Yes, he was touching them and I apologize in advance for my severe OCD. When it appeared that he might actually be taking something to the register from the stuffed animal section, I honked the horn a few times to show my disapproval. He came out with a teddy bear that "was the softest bear he had ever felt" and a creepy stuffed clown that he bought because he thought it was funny. Megan found the creepy clown propped up against her pillow the next morning, with her cell phone in it's hand. She wasn't happy about that. I told him if the critters survived a minimum of two to three hot washing cycles, I would THINK about letting him keep them.

  See...he's taller. It's a little hard to get used to it.

Joseph is one of my favorite friends of Aaron's. They have been best friends since Aaron was three years old. The nice thing is that he only lives a few doors down, that makes things very convenient. 

Aaron with friends, Dustin and Griffin.

Happy Birthday Aaron! Also, could you grow up just a little bit slower, please?