Gracie is 3!!!!!

I can't believe my baby is 3 years old!! She's such a blessing in my life- I don't know what I'd do without that girl! She makes me laugh everyday! Her favorite song is "Fireflies" by Owl City- and she asks me to sing it to her sometimes when she goes to bed. She loves to sing and asks me in the car constantly to sing with her -- even on the songs neither of us know! The other day for preschool I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up and she thought about it for a minute and said, "A MONSTER!"

Gracie was very excited to turn 3 years old! She had a great little birthday party at my Mom's. She opened all her presents in 1.2 seconds!!

Gracie is a little obsessed with Tinkerbell these days! Cute shirt!!


Gracie's faces are the best!! :)

Ashley is always supportive of her sister! Here she is belting out "Happy Birthday."
This little candle took Gracie 3 or 4 tries to blow out.


Happy Birthday Gracie! I love you so much!

Fishing at Strawberry

Well we had our "annual" weekend fishing trip at Strawberry a couple weeks ago. I say "annual" because we haven't done it in 3 or 4 years! But that's what my dad calls it! :)

We roughed it on Friday night at the lodge. We had a fun sleepover! Ashley and Gracie LOVE sleepovers!

We got up and ate a delicious breakfast at the lodge restaurant and then out on the boat! It was soooo cold! Ashley was so excited that Grandpa let her drive the boat!!!

Ashley "caught" the first fish! Grandpa helped her reel it in! We had to throw back a lot of the fish we caught! (You can only keep certain sizes of cut throats and any size of rainbow- and we could only catch cut throats!!)

The dumb people we rented the boat from forgot to give us a net so awesome Matt and Dad had to grab the fish with their hands to bring it into the boat each time! They did an awesome job and didn't lose even one fish! One time a fish leaped out of Matt's hands and landed right on Gracie's feet and started flopping around like crazy. Gracie and Ashley freaked out!!!! You can just see the horror on their faces! Ashley said, "I never want to come fishing again!!"

They also hated that the fish would bleed when we got them on the boat. Once they realized they could sit on the back of the boat and not watch my Dad get the hooks out, they were fine! Ashley was a cute big sister and would say to Gracie, "Just don't look at it."
Gracie is the silliest girl in the world! She loves doing weird things like this -- sitting with Grandma and schmooshing her face all up with her lifejacket!

Mom was brave and caught a fish too!

I have the cutest little brother in the world!

My dad LOVES to fish! He has his cute little fishing vest and 2 sets of glasses to do what he needs to do! Thanks Dad for a fun time!!

We were on the boat for like 10 hours that Saturday. It was a blast! And Ashley and Gracie were soooo good! They kept themselves busy and laughing and just loved it! Every time we'd catch a fish Ashely would say, "Ah man it's a cut throat!!" And Gracie still keeps saying. "We like to catch Rainbow fish."

I was a lucky little fisherwoman that day! Sometimes my line would be in the water for 2 minutes and I'd get a bite! I had to throw several back, but it was so fun! I really don't like to touch fish... or eat fish.... but it's fun to catch them! Is that bad?!

Here's the whole fam (That came anyway - missing Austin, Erika, Lindsay and Brandon :( ) How can it be that we're all looking at the camera and smiling?! It's an Annual Strawberry Fishing Trip miracle!

Andrea FINALLY caught a fish at the end of the day. The poor girl hadn't caught anything in years. Too bad we had to throw it back - but not before a pic!!! Good job, Ange!

See ya next year (or in 3 years), Strawberry!

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Ashley's 1st Sport

I just signed Ash up for a soccer league in our neighborhood. When I first asked her if she wanted to, she said, "But I don't know what that is. But I'll just practice then I'll know!" I love how willing she is to try stuff she knows nothing about! Her frist game is next Saturday. It'll be hilarious, I'm sure!

Fun with Dixie

My parents recently got a new little puppy Doberman (yes - it's doBerman, not doVerman Linz :). They named her Dixie. She's super hyper and we love her! Even though she bites holes through my favorite pair of jeans and bites my knee when I'm trying to play with her. Ashley and Gracie love her too. Gracie's not afraid of her at all! She just gets right in her face! Someday Dixie will teach her a lesson about that, I'm sure!

Let Freedom Ring

We had a great 4th of July weekend! It all started on Friday when we went to the zoo with Andrea, Austin, Erika and my mom. They can't get enough of the zoo! Although it was crowded - we went at the perfect time! All of the animals were playing around - the penguins were swimming, the black bear played in his little pool for a bit, the tiger was growling - it was cool!

For some reason it's tradition for us to get a family picture in front of the giraffes each time we go!

And who can pass up the carousel? Not my little girls!

Here's my own little Dora - always consulting her map :)

On Saturday we went to the Evergreen parade and carnival in SLC. We used to always go there when we were kids. (see Andrea's bloog for some sweet retro picks of that!) The girls had so much fun! Thanks so much to my parents and siblings for making it so fun. I wouldn't have been able to keep my head on straight without them there!









There were a bunch of little games the girls could play and win prizes. They especially loved the bounce house. Too bad it was too expensive ($3 each for only 2 minutes of fun!)

And to top it off they got their faces painted! I only had to wait in line for 30+ minutes, but it was worth it!

After the parade and carnival we went to my Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's house. that night we went to the Sandy City parade (to see my Uncle Clay), concert, and fireworks. It was probably one of the best firework shows I've ever seen! We had such a great day! No wonder it's my favorite holiday! It was the best 4th of July I've had in a very long time! Thanks to Mom and Dad for making it so great!

Summer Pics

We've had a fun couple months! I'm a little retarded right now and can't get my pic in order -so you'll have to just look at them all jumbled! :)

I graduated from UVU in health education this spring. It was a great day! I couldn't have done it with out the support of my family - so THANK YOU!!!

The girls have gone to the zoo with my mom, sister and grandma. And Andrea has taken some cute pics of Ashley and Gracie.

Quiz Time

It's been a while since I've done a quiz. This comes from my friend, Heather.

LASTS
1. Last beverage→ Water with lunch
2. Last phone call→Co-worker from KK trying to get me to work AGAIN tonight!!
3. Last text message→ Sara
4. Last song you listened to→ I’m listening to country all day at work, but the last one I listened to that I chose was I Told You So by Carrie Underwood
5. Last time you cried→ I dunno – a few days ago probably

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. Dated someone twice →Almost – but I dodged it!
7. Been cheated on? → Not that I know of
8. Kissed someone & regretted it? → Yup!
9. Lost someone special?→ Yes
10. Been depressed?→ Uh huh

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS
12. Blue
13. Green
14. Brown

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU
15. Made new friends→ Ya
16. Fallen out of love – You’d think I’d say yes – but no!!
17. Laughed until you cried → Yup – that happens regularly
18. Met someone who changed you→ Absolutely
19. Found out who your true friends were→ I’ve already learned that
20. Found out someone was talking about you → Yes

TRUTH
22. How many kids do you want to have→ Oh geez that’s a tough question! I’m sure I’ll have more eventually but I’m definitely happy with my 2 for now!
23. Do you have any pets → Nope – but we’re all kinda wanting a dog lately
24. Do you want to change your name→ Yes.
25. What did you do for your last birthday→ Just hung out with my kids and fam
26. What time did you wake up today? We were up about 7:30 to get ready for work.
27. What were you doing at midnight last night?→ Watching TV
28. Name something you CANNOT wait for→ There are many things I’m looking forward to in life! One is getting into a better apartment.
29. Last time you saw your father→ Yesterday
30. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life→ hmmm – If I could just work 1 job
31. What are you listening to right now → Country music.
32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom → I couch a couple guys named Tom – so ya!
33. What's getting on your nerves right now? →Nothing

PERSONAL:
34. What's your full name → Michelle Egan
35. Relationship Status →Single
36. Zodiac sign →Pisces
37. Male or female→ Female
38. Primary School→Alta View and Alpine Elementary
39. High school → Lone Peak
40. Hair color →Brown
41. Long or short →Shoulder length – trying to grow it out still!
42. Height → To be exact 5 feet and 1 ¼ inches
43. Do you have a crush on someone? → haha no – “crush” is such a funny word! It reminds me of elementary school
44. What do you like about yourself?→ uh . . . That I can be independent
45. Piercings →Ear
46. Tattoos →None
47. Righty or lefty →Righty

FIRSTS :
48. First surgery → I got my tonsils out when I was 5 or so.
49. First piercing →Ears
50. First tattoo →Don't have one
51. First best friend → I have several – Heather, Megan Samson and Aaron Delahunty
52. First sport you joined →uh I’m not too sporty – but I remember my dad making me play Jr. Jazz. I sucked!
53. First pet → We had so many dogs – but the first one I remember is Shelby – Doberman at Tritoma
54. First vacation→ Disneyland is the first one I really remember
55. First concert → It must have been Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
56. First crush→ Probably Kevin Carter

RIGHT NOW:
58. Eating →Nothing
59. Drink → Water
60. I'm about to → Go home from work. Yay!
61. Listening to → Country music
62. Waiting for → Nothing really
63. Want kids? → I’ve been there done that.
64. Want to get married?→ Yes
65. Careers in mind? → If I don’t stay a health coach – I’ll do radiology and specialize in ultrasonography

WHICH IS BETTER:
66. Lips or eyes →Both
67. Hugs or kisses →Both
68. Shorter or taller → absolutely taller
69. Older or Younger → Either works
70. Romantic or spontaneous → Spontaneously romantic!
71. Nice stomach or nice arms → I don’t really care about either one.
72. Tattoos or piercings?→ None
73. Sensitive or loud → A little bit of both
74. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship
75. Trouble maker or hesitant→ A little bit of both

HAVE YOU EVER :
76. Kissed a stranger →Nope. I had hung out with him for a few hours so that doesn’t count, right? ;)
78. Lost glasses/contacts →I should use both!
79. Cried yourself to sleep→Yes
80. Danced in the rain→yep
81. Broken someones heart → Most likely
82. Had your own heart broken → Ya of course!
83. Been arrested → Nope
84. Turned someone down→ For sure!
85. Cried when someone died → Yes
86. Liked a friend more then just a friend →Yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
87. Yourself → Yes
88. Miracles → Happen everyday
89. Love at first sight → Not really. That’s just infatuation.
90. Heaven → Yup
91. Santa Claus → Yup. That’s me!
92. Kissing on the first date → Sure. It depends.
93. Angels → Yes

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Is there one person you want to be with right now? Well there are 2 actually – Ashley and Gracie.
95. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? → Maybe some small overlaps back in the day.
96. Do you believe it’s possible to remain faithful forever?→ Oh ya! Absolutely!
97. Where is your favorite place to vacation? St. George is my favorite now – but I really really really want to go to Hawaii
98. What's the one thing you cannot live without?→ My family
99. What is your biggest pet peeve? → mean people, bad drivers, fingernail clipping in public places,
100. One thing that most people don’t know about you – Probably the fact that I can’t wait to be able to go back to school – even though I just graduated college 2 weeks ago!!

Birthdays and Easter

My Dad's big birthday bash was last year for the big 5-0. This year we all got together and had delicious Wingers food for the celebration. It was fun! There are so many things I love about my dad. He's a great example of diligience. He always does what he thinks is best no matter what others may say. He values education and is constantly searching for truth and knowledge. He has always encouraged me to continue education and I'm so grateful for that. He's a big reason why I'm graduating from UVU next week. He's so loving and thinks about others all the time. And you know what? He's a blast to be with. Whether we're watching Biggest Loser, playing cards in St. George, or driving around town, he always makes me laugh. I'm so luck to have him in my life. Here's to another 51 years, Dad!! :)Ashley's birthday is a couple days after Dad's. She had several days of celebrations! I'll be adding more pics of her birthday here in a couple days. But Ashley has been such a blessing in my life. She's brought so much love and laughter into my life the past 4 years. Despite all the challenges a 4 year old brings - there's even more happiness and fun. I'm finding out that the older they get, the more fun I have with them. She's just a giant sponge for information. It's amazing how fast she picks up on everything - good and bad. She teaches me to be better all the time. I honestly don't know what I'd do in life with her and Gracie. I love her so much!

Easter was a week later. Ashley and Gracie LOVED searching for eggs. The Easter Bunny came to our house Sunday morning then they also got to look for eggs at my parent's house. Ashley and Graice played with te eggs all day. One of them would run back to my parent's room and wait for the other one to hide all the eggs in the family room for the other one to come find. Theye had so much fun just togther! Ashley would hide the eggs under Grandpa's chin or under Austin's hat. Silly girl.

A couple days before Easter was Lindsay's birthday. Our spring is full of Egan birthdays! Andrea, Mom, Ashley and Gracie made Lindsay a beautiful cake together. The girls have so much fun while they're at Grandma's! Happy Bday Linz!

I have such an amazing family I have so many great people in my life that I just love so much! Thanks for everything, guys!

How Lucky am I?

I'm so lucky to get to spend my days with these 2 cute little girls! They make me laugh everyday! I miss them so much and can't wait until they come back home again.