The livin' is easy

I love being busy, and lately our calendar has been full of some fun events. First, my sister Haley came home for the summer from BYU-Hawaii. What a lucky girl! I'm sure she misses living in paradise, but it's so nice having one of my best friends back. It makes me feel normal and like I have friends! Sometimes I pretend that she doesn't HAVE to like me because she's my sister and that she really does just like spending time with me (which hopefully is the case). I look up to her in a lot of ways. Sometimes I think we are both envious of each other's lives in one way or another. NOT that I would ever choose anything different - but who wouldn't love going to college on Oahu? Case closed. Haley is such a giving person. She has had some really great experiences at college and I love to see how she's grown. When she was at the airport in Hawaii, she was with some friends who happened to be flying to Seattle too. A cambodian girl came up with her sweet little grandma and told her that her grandma was flying back home but didn't speak any English and wondered if they could help her through security and to her gate. All of the boys Haley was with said no (oh, pre-mission boys, haha) and Haley politely agreed, even though she had no idea of how to communicate with her, and had two huge suitcases that she was already struggling with. After a lot of pointing, "sign language," and confusion because Haley thought she was flying home to Cambodia and she was actually flying to San Fransisco =)they made it to the correct gate, and Haley motioned to her that she could "ask" (pointed to her mouth) about her "flight" (held out her arms like the wings of an airplane) and someone at the gate should be able to help her. How sweet huh? I thought this was a sweet story. Haley's always willing to help anyone even when it's easy to just say no. She eventually got to her own gate where those boys were all just sitting and waiting. Nice of them to help, huh?!
Next, my cousin Meagan and her fiance Greg got married on Saturday. They have been together since 7th grade, so we were all very happy to see them tie the knot. I love Meagan so much. She is just a couple years older than me, and I have always looked up to her. When I was younger, I wanted to be just like her. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body, and is one of the most easy-going people I know. She is also extremely smart, and teaches at WSU. Her and Greg seem to be very happy and we all can't wait for them to have some little mini Meagans and Gregs! Oh, and Meagan also made her own dress and did all of the flower arrangements on her own. She looked beautiful. How much more talented can you get?! I love weddings, and this one was beautiful. (This might be a no-no posting a picture by her photographer but I couldn't resist. I wanted to show her dress!)

Reagan, as usual, was being her crazy self. This girl's mood can change within moments. Uh oh, we're in for it.





On Sunday we had a little belated birthday party for Penny. We wanted to wait until Haley got home so she could be there for her niece's first birthday party! After all, you only turn one once! It was a sweet day. We had a delicious pasta dinner (Reagan's favorite) with all of the fixin's and then cupcakes for dessert. Haley helped me make the cupcakes perfect, and they turned out pretty cute. Reagan, on the other hand, didn't appreciate their aesthetic quality nor their deliciousness! We gave her a couple and allowed her to "dive in" but, like a true girly girl, she didn't like her hands getting frosting all over them and immediately wiped them all over my dad's pants. After a couple of tries, we let my parent's rat...I mean dog...take over and he loved them! I guess I shouldn't be disappointed that my daughter doesn't like sweets. I've never been one to keep sweets from her. We always give her bites of dessert when we have it, but she just doesn't seem to be a huge fan. I got an email the other day from Baby Center saying that the way they eat their cake on their first birthday is very telling of their personality. Well, we've always known Reagan to be very cautious and calculated in her decisions so I guess that theory rings true with her being suspicious about her cupcake?! Who knows. We had so much fun though, and she loved hammin' it up for the camera, dancing and rockin' out and playing with all of her presents. Our house now sounds like a carnival due to all of the "interactive" toys. Luckily most of them have an off switch!

Good job blowing out the candles, Emily!

The Birthday Girl's very own cupcake. These flowers were NOT edible, however I failed to mention that little fact to most of the guests. Oops! Oh well, good ruffage.

Don't make me eat this cupcake, dad!!

Loving all the attention!

Some of the fun cupcakes. My sister called them "Dr. Suess" cupcakes.

My pastry partner!

Penny and Auntie Tia. She loves mini guitar hero!

So funny. If she doesn't blow out the candle, one of us will!

More interested in the "boons" of course.

"It's my birthday, I can cry if I want to"... I remember various family members singing this to me when I was younger and it would make me so furious that I would start to cry, haha.

The real party animal.

So happy. She clapped for herself after opening every gift!

"What is this stuff on my hands?" I guess that's what I get for being so diligent at wiping her hands off.

A princess on her throne.

We had a perfect day, and are so happy to have this little girl. She means everything to us! Thanks for sticking with us through this myriad of pictures. A first birthday is a big day in a girl's (and a mom's) life, alright? =)