Clayton's Half Marathon

Neil's older brother Clayton had a goal to run a half marathon this year. Actually, Clayton, Neil, and even James all had a goal to run a half marathon this year, but Clayton was the only one to follow through. He trained hard all summer and reaped the benefits of accomplishing such a big goal. Neil and I along with James and Shawnne woke up in the wee hours of the morning so we could drive to Park City, Utah to cheer him on. It was a beautiful morning-perfect for a good run.

Clayton's smile faded just a bit as he approached

mile 13, but he ran a great race and caused us all-especially his competitive

brothers- to catch the runners high.

What a good looking cheering section he had!

Neil really wanted to run the last part of the race with his brother, but the race officials made it known that all those who were accompanied with "bandit" racers would be disqualified. Good thing we found that out before the race!And of course we have to throw in a big belly picture. We only have a few more days to go, but we're thinking that our little girl is going to come late. I just haven't been in any pain yet, and the doctors tell me I haven't dilated more than 1 cm. Luckily, I'm not uncomfortable and I still have lots of energy, so waiting a little longer is AOK with me.

Afternoon at Aspen Grove

We should just get this picture over with first... James and Shawnne have been working at Aspen Grove all Summer and have gotten very nice tans. Neil and I look like albinoes next to them. Going to play at Aspen Grove has become one of our new favorite things to do on the weekends. Neil and James have fun playing dunk ball in the pool with people they don't know-including this little boy pictured here. We also like to explore their game room and mini golf. We had a bit of a wait before dinner at the cafeteria, so Neil really wanted to get a picture with these bears...

Neil's favorite part about Aspen Grove is the all-you-can-eat dinners they serve us for only $4 a piece. My husband is definitely one who loves quantity over quality any day!

Business Trip to Kalispell, MT

My work has brought me to Kalispell, Montana. Although the majority of the days are spent in the conference room of our client, I have really enjoyed my time here. Kalispell is an hour south of the Canadian border and sits at the entrance of Glacier National Park. On Monday, the we drove into the park to see the sites. The camera used to take the pictures (cell phone) doesn't do it justice. I wish I had brought a good one with me. Maybe next time. We traveled through the West Entrance and up a skinny road that is appropriately called "the Going to the Sun Road." The road took us to Logan's Pass--an incredible view at 6,646 feet along the continental divide.

This view is about half way up the road.

Not very many people can play in the snow in August. The snow here is year round.

We were hoping to see some bears, but unfortunately the thought of having to face me, and my out of shape accounting figure, kept them from showing themselves. We did however see a bunch of other animals. I thought the white goat at the edge of a road was a statue. It never moved.Overall, I really enjoyed the drive to the top of the world. I highly recommend a family vacation to anyone looking for somewhere to go. Seeing such breath taking creations, it bewilders me to think that anyone can try to tell me that God doesn't exist. I echo the prophet Nephi's words when he said "there is a God, and he hath created all things" (2 Ne. 2:14).

Megan's 23rd Birthday! July 25, 2008

Even when you are eight months pregnant and you think you can't do anything fun, birthdays are still a good time. My 23rd birthday was no exception this year. Neil took me to a restaurant at Thanksgiving Point for dinner. Afterwards, we strolled around the gardens and enjoyed our time relaxing together. Neil apologized for giving me such a laid-back birthday, but I really enjoyed the time we had. We did a little shopping that evening for the baby and returned home. I was expecting Neil might have a little something more up his sleeve for the evening, but I had no idea what was waiting for me at home. He said we were just going to get a movie from Redbox and he would make me icecream. However, when I walked inside I saw that there would be no movie that night. Our little apartment was filled with our family and friends, waiting to give me a surprise party! Come to find out, Neil had been secretly scheming the whole thing for days and was very careful to not let me know about it. He even sent my sister on a "mission impossible" to get a copy of our apartment key so she could let everyone inside before we got home.

Shawnne, James, and Spence enjoying my favorite flavor of ice cream: mint-chocolate chip, yum!

The toddlers had fun playing with the baby's stuff in her room.

The best gift Neil could give me this year (other than a daughter) was something to kick my feet up on. He surprised me with a rocking chair-just what I wanted! What a sweet hubby I have.

Since marrying Neil, I now share my birthday with two grandpas. My Grandpa Bowman and his Grandpa Bennion both have my birthday. This year was Grandpa Bennion's 80th birthday, so the whole family celebrated big time for him. All of his grandchildren were invited to join the festivities the following day at Aunt Marcia's home. Neil and I hope we can be as smart, witty, and wise as he is when we turn 80 years old!

Ward Campout: July 18-19, 2008

To be honest, I was a little nervous about going camping in my condition. I have a hard enough time sleeping at night, and was worried I would get stuck in a group tent. However, we brought our air matress up to the cabin and steaked out a spot on the deck. Our friends, Rebecca and Matt Maxfield joined us on the deck with their mummy sleeping bags that looked sufficient for hiking the Himalayas ;) I felt bad for them at about 1:30 AM when Neil was still trying to spark up conversations as they were trying to fall asleep. It was actually quite nice sleeping under the stars with a chilly breeze all night long.

First thing Saturday morning, the Elder's Quorum Presidency made a tasty pancake breakfast. Neil found a lovely apron in the cabin kitchen to sport around all morning. Sometimes I wonder what people in the ward think of us... I think he is getting a little jealous of my big bellly... Besides, who wouldn't be jealous of this...? After breakfast, a group of us headed down the hill to a park with tennis and basketball courts. The ladies watched their husbands play a rousing (and hot) game of dunkball. I thought we might escape the heat, being in the mountains for the weekend, but it still got pretty warm that day. When we got back to the cabin, it was time to eat again!

I shouldn't have been so nervous about camping out for the weekend. I'm used to roughing it in the boonies of Wyoming, but this was a little more luxurious. Neil and I ended up having a great time!

Father's Day and Merrill Wedding

I realize that Father's Day was almost a whole month ago, so I apologize for the late update. It was a pretty low key day for us. I made Neil a hearty breakfast that morning and a decent crock-pot dinner after Church. We invited Rebekah (Megan's sister) to join us for dinner, so she got to be the photographer for this blessed event.

Neil's cousin, Dave Merrill, got married to Nikki Seymour on June 2oth in the Mt. Timpanogos temple in Pleasant Grove, Utah. I got the opportunity to attend their sealing, but I was a lone rider as Neil had to be at work that day. He got to the temple just in time to take pictures with the family after the sealing. He came straight from work, hence the absence of his tie. We are just so happy for Dave and Nikki. They moved into our apartment in College Park last Monday, just after we moved into a new place the same day. They get to be in our ward, so we have enjoyed having family with us at Church again. Looking back, Neil and Dave have been in the same ward for almost their entire lives with just two small breaks during their missions and while Neil and I were in the married ward without him this last school year. How blessed we are to always be surrounded by family!

Neil, Dave, and Kari Olsen after Dave's sealing. These three were roommates together when Neil and I first met.

Kaleb's High School Graduation May 25, 2008

At the end of May, Neil, my sister Rebekah, and I took the long trek up north to Wyoming to attend my youngest brother's high school graduation. It rained the whole time we were there but paused for just a couple hours for us to take pictures. Speaking of pictures, the Reichert family is still working on being more photogentic. As you might be able to tell, we still have some more work to do... Regardless, we sure enjoyed our time with my family. This will be the last time we see everyone before we have our baby, so we took advantage of visiting with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents while we were there.

Kaleb had a very long, but nice graduation ceremony. Neil had fun teasing me about how tiny my little high school gym is, and got a kick out of meeting all my old high school friends. He thought it was crazy that high school graduation is such a huge event in my little town. Neil thought it was funny how even people who didn't have kids graduating still attended the ceremony and all the graduation parties afterwards. With a population of under 700 people, we have to do SOMETHING for entertainment!

Neil and Me with my siblings Kaleb, JT, and Rebekah.

Kaleb is a lucky guy...

and he's all grown up now!

My mom took advantage of our quick trip to Wyoming and insured that I had a baby shower. Nana, Aunt Cara and Aunt Cindy hosted a really nice shower and invited lots of friends from the area who "showered" me with lots of onesies, bibs, blankets, and toys.

Four generations! Great-grandma Bowman, Great-grandma (Nana) Reichert, Grandma Reichert, Megan Andersen and Baby girl.

Conference Weekend

This weekend was the general Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Megan's siblings Kaleb and Rebekah came down to be with us and we had a blast being with each other. Conference was really inspiring. We were able to witness the sustaining of President Monson as the new prophet of the Church.

We all felt the Spirit telling us that God really does call prophets in our day. It is such a comforting feeling to listen to the prophet and apostles as God speaks to us through them. We certainly felt His love this weekend.

On Friday, Dad Andersen took us all out to Tucanos. It was amazing.