Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

But the fire is so delightful. It was cold today and the kids have been asking to make a fire. We have a bunch of wood so I figured today was as good a day as any. I got some wood from the back, which was just a little wet from the rain we had Saturday and made my little fire. I do have to say that I got it started with ONE match. I was pretty proud of myself.

We also had our ward Christmas Breakfast Party on Saturday morning. It was really fun. The theme was The Polar Express. The conductor was perfect and they showed some of the movie and then all the kids went and saw Santa. Well, all the kids, BUT McKinley. She has never sat on his lap in her life. She will not go near him. She was pretty cute. The day before in school her teacher had helped them make some reindeer antlers and painted their noses red. She loved it. She asked me to paint her nose again for the party and were her antlers. She is so silly.

Merrill Santas 08

We, like almost all other Mormon families, put up our Christmas tree on Monday night. Why do you ask, am I just now blogging about it? Well, it is because I am just now recovering. J/K. I am still not done, but my goal is to get the final touches up today. It started out out bad and we should have just stopped there. We told the kids they had to get their chores and homework done and then after dinner we would read scriptures and eat our yummy German advent and then we would put up the decorations. Carter would not eat dinner. He had a few bites and drank like five glasses of juice. Why we let him do that, I dont know. I guess it was just a hectic day. So we do all of our stuff and I am just on the verge of screaming by this point. I have no idea why I have to beg my children for everything. The kids are excited and running around as we start to pull the boxes out. Carter starts coughing and all of a sudden-He pukes. Mind you he had just drank red juice. Nice. It landed right on Jack's head and splattered all over Trevor. "Luckily" that happened because very little then landed on the carpet. Trevor ran and gave the kids a bath and I cleaned the carpet, then we put up the tree. All in all it was fun, but seriously does everything we do have to be a production.


I have to add one more picture because it was so funny. Carter came out of the bathroom with a "scarf" on, if you can't tell, it is a long piece of toilet paper.



Also my camera quit working, the battery died and it will not charge so when I get that fixed I will take some pictures of the finished product and post.

Alarm Will Sound If Door Is Opened

I thought it would be a good idea if Trevor and I took the kids to Walmart and let them look through the toy section and give us a few ideas of things that they would like for Christmas. I know many of you are already done Christmas shopping or at the very least know what it is you are getting, but not me. I also needed to get a few things since I had not been to the grocery store since except for getting my dinner group stuff on Monday since before my trip to Minnesota probably two weeks ago. I needed window locks because Carter and McKinley have figured out how to open the windows, which is fine, but then Jackson falls out of them so I need to monitor it. Did you know that Walmart does not sell window locks? We were in the hardware section and Carter ran over and pushed the DO NOT OPEN door and this super loud alarm sounds. He was totally scared out of his mind. Good thing his heart is fixed otherwise he probably would have had a heart attack. He comes running back and hides behind me. The guy that works in that section came over and was very nice and explained that they don't sell window locks and it was no problem about the door, Carter was not the first to do it, but that he does not have the key to stop the alarm and has to find a manager. I dont know why a manager didnt come running, you could hear it through the WHOLE store. It probably went off for 10 minutes. I swear sometimes I feel like such a circus when we are out.

Now that I think of it, this was all probably carma. I was out to lunch today with some friends after watching Twilight again and we saw this lady and her three kids in this nice restaraunt for lunch. I mentioned that I would never attempt that alone. I would do it with Trevor's help because my kids are getting better in public and with his help it would not be too bad. I guess I was just being told, Don't rush out with these guys just yet.

Hello?!? Hello?!? I guess I have to dust this blog off a bit. I konw it has been ages since I last wrote and really life has just been busy and I got away from my computer a bit. Now that the election and my morning period is over, I suppose I can get back to blogging. And what better way than to do something totally silly. To start off, Kelly (sister) and I go out and walk three miles everynight. We had just started our walk last night and were discussing how we were sorry that we didnt get tickets to Twilight for the midnight showing last night. We had not gone but a few houses when I see my friend Amy Goodman at her sister-in-laws house and I know they are going to Twilight and we stop and talk to them for a minute. They say if we can get two more tickets we will call you. This is at 9:00. We finish our walk and 10 and I go home and watch the news and the Office. At 11:00, Amy calls and says that she has two tickets and two seats come right over. So, I call Kelly and we go and watch it with a bunch of teenage girls and moms. It was really fun. The movie was decent, but if you hadn't read the book, it was probably lame. I ran into an old friend from sorority days, Kylie Brinton Glover and was able to catch up with her a bit. She shared her popcorn with me and our tickets ended up being free, so it was an all around good night. I am not so sure how today will go. I did go out and walk 2 1/2 miles this morning and I was supposed to go visiting teaching, but she cancelled. Hopefully, all of the stars will align and I can get just a little nap in this afternoon.

October 25, 2008 Save the Date

Every year Sharing Down Syndrome Arizona puts on the most fun party of the year. It is a one mile walk in Tempe to raise money for the organization. It is a very helpful resource for families like mine. I hope that you will join us this year. Just click on Carter's Picture to the right and then scroll down until you find his team, Carter's Buddies. We would love for you to come to the wildest party of the year. If you can't make it and still want to help just make a donation. Every little bit helps. Thanks.

Gross, I have no idea why that last post was all spread out. It wasnt when I was typing it. Oh well.

Okay, so I was tagged by Kyle and dont want her to be mad at me so here it goes ;)

3 Joys

1. Clean House-Not necessarily cleaning

2. Obedient Children-Not Yelling

3. Reading



3 Fears

1. Someone stopping by when my house is the messiest

2. Scary movies that "could" really happen-Not like monster movies

3. Death of someone I love



3 Obsessions

1. Reading-I get obsessed with whatever I am reading

2. checking email and blogs

3. SHOES and PURSES-I guess I forgot about my REAL obsessions-EDIT



3 Strange Facts

1. I interviewed to be Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver's nanny. I got the job, but I decided to get married instead. I also met JFK Jr that day too.

2. I took a group of teenagers to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and got stranded there with no food, or place to stay.

3. I fainted while giving a talk in church once. I also fainted after giving birth to all of my children.



Wow I am pretty lame. I dont think I am that interesting. I tag:

Kristen G. , Brandis G. , Shanell G. and Erin D.

Cello and Fun Family Times

Lincoln got to pick up his cello today. He is so excited and it is really fun to see him. I really hope that he enjoys it and continues with his enthusiasm.

In other news... Trevor's cousin Tate got baptized today. We were able to attend the baptism and party following at Kim and Silva's. We had a really good time. I wish I had remembered to bring my camera, but I had been downloading the pictures I had taken earlier of Lincoln and his cello and forgot it on the desk. It was really cute. Trevor's great grandpa "Moose" was there and Jack was just loving him. He is on crutches and he continually wanted grandpa Moose to pick him up. Grandpa was loving all the attention so he would stand against the wall and I would pick him and and put him in Grandpa's arms. He remained his buddy the whole night. That is the main reason I wished I had remembered my camera. We had a nice time visiting with aunts (Hi Mary Ann)and cousins, some of whom I have not seen in years. For example, I dont think I had seen Trevor's cousins Jeff or Kerry since before they got married and they each have two kids now. The worst part about that is they live here in the valley. Thanks Kim and Silva for the great night of food, family and swimming. We can't wait to get together again.

1st Day of School

Lincoln started 4th grade and Carter started Kindergarten yesterday. I tried to do this yesterday, but for some reason I could not log onto blogger and gave up. I was very nervous about Carter being gone all day and how he would do, but I worried for nothing I guess. He did great. When I went to pick them up, Carter's teacher said that he did really well and he especially LOVED music. She said he dance whenever music played. He has P.E. today, so hopefully that goes well too. They could not figure out what Carter wanted for lunch and the choices were lasagna or chicken fingers. (he had told me chicken and we practiced him telling his teacher before school). For some reason this was a big fear of mine. She said the picked chicken because it was less messy and so everything went great. She sent home an extra menu and last night Carter and I went through the whole month and circled what he would have. Luckily, he is not a picky eater and will eat just about anything.

Lincoln also had a good day. He had P.E. yesterday and got Mr. Seles(sp? Kyle). He had lots of fun because he plays football with them. He already had homework. He said he didnt want to come home, but stay at school, he had such a good day. He has decided that he would like to play in the orchestra. He gets to go on Friday and test all the instruments and decide what he would like to play. He thinks that he woudl like to play the cello, but I hope he chooses the violin (easier to carry).

McKinley is very sad that her school does not start until September. We went to get a few things at Walmart after we dropped the boys off and we ran into her teacher. I dont know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She loved seeing her, but now she is pestering me even more about going to Ms. Kerri's. I signed her up for one more session of swimming lessons to keep her busy. It must have been a full day because she fell asleep during her time out. She decided to write on the back of the couch with lipstick. What am I going to do with that girl? I decided to write a blog instead of cleaning it up so I could cool down a little. Does anyone know how to get lipstick out of microfiber?

Afterschool, we got a call to pick up Carter's new glasses. We headed over to Fiesta Mall and picked them up and then played in the indoor playground. It was fun. We also found a little lost boy. He was eight and couldnt find his parents so we just stayed with him to try to help him. He was so scared and crying. We were reassuring him that we would find them. I felt so bad. Another lady said she thought she saw the people that he was with go in to the Disney Store. I ran down there and asked the lady that was in there if she had a little boy. She didnt speak English and couldnt understand what I was saying. I ran back to the boy and asked if his mom spoke English and he said no. By this time, we had had him with us for 30 or 40 minutes. I brought him and over there and it was his family. They didnt even care. It was so weird. I was trying to tell the sister who spoke English how scared he had been and she said "Oh" McKinley was obsessed with getting lost for the rest of the night and could not figure out why that mom lost her son. She kept asking me about the time she got lost. I have never really lost her, so I didnt have a story to tell her. I just reminded her what to do, if she ever got lost.

Did somebody say Pizza?

Today, she wanted to have pizza. We have been anticipating the opening of a Little Ceasar's near us. It has been a while since I thought about it and wondered if it had opened yet. I needed to run a few errands anyway so we drove past to see. I was not open. So we drove over to the Hungry Howies Pizza. I have never been there but heard it was the same kind of idea (cheap pizza) It closed down. Now they are all wanting to have pizza for lunch. I ask about getting a frozen pizza at home and we can rent a movie (which we were going to do anyway since I had a FREE redbox rental) Anyway that was good enough. After we got home, ate and were getting ready to put the movie in McKinley says to me,"Mom, do you think someday we could get the kind of pizza where a guy drives to your house and brings you a pizza." Maybe, someday!!! My poor kids, their mom is so cheap.

Interviews With Dad

Trevor decided that on Fast Sundays he was going to give each of the kids an interview. This week he talked to them about some goals that they would like to work on. They also discussed ways that they could work on them. Lincoln wanted to work on a few things regarding school such as getting his homework done, not talking and his handwriting and football skills. Carter wanted to email and tell everyone he loves them. He cant type or spell, but he does love email and he already does great at the love thing. McKinley's were soooo funny. She wants to get better at putting on her winter gloves, opening doors (we have child locks on some), putting make up on. A few things that would make her happy are ice cream, a mirror on the back of her bedroom door so she can look at herself and jewels on all of her dresses. I debated about adding this to my blog, I hoped it wasn't too private, but they said it was okay. Trevor didn't prompt them and let them choose things that they wanted. I think my kids are sooo funny.

The kids are just about ready for school, I thought I was too. I am starting to feel sad about it. I don't think I am ready for Carter to go to school all day, everyday. He will be spitting his time between "regular" kindergarten and special ed. His teachers are amazing and I know that they will give him lots of love, but I am so afraid that he will get lost in the shuffle. I am so worried about lunch. I cant decide what to do, send a lunch or buy. Lincoln prefers to buy, he says that the lunches are good. I think Carter would like to buy too, but what if he doesn't understand or the person helping him doesn't understand him (very likely). Sometimes, I just wish I could home school, then I remember I could never to that. I am such a sucker, they would never learn a thing, that and they would put me in the mental institution with all the fighting. McKinley doesn't start until September and she is just going to a neighborhood preschool 3 days a week. It will just be Jack and I at home. It sounds so nice. He will probably be so sad and miss the kids though. He will probably love it, who am I kidding.

Happy Birthday to Amy

Today is my dear friend Amy "Mac" Denton's birthday. She passed away five years ago and we miss her so much. A tradition that my friends and I have started is going out to MiAmigos for lunch on her birthday and then heading over to the cemetery with flowers and to sing her happy birthday. I was a great day. I still miss her, but I am glad for the knowledge that we will be together someday. I love you and I miss you, Amy. I still can figure out my camera, so I got some pictures, but will have to get them later.

Lemonade Stand

So the kids were SO bored today and I had cleaned the house this morning and it was already getting messy. They wanted something to do and came up with a lemonade stand. At first I was hesitant about the idea, sticky juice all over my kitchen and then front yard, not my idea of a good time. Anyway, I decided that having a lemonade stand was a fun memory from when I was a kid so I gave in. We dont get a whole lot of traffic, so I was unsure as to how it would go. They set up the table and made fruit punch and set out. They have been out there for about 15 minutes and the ice has already melted twice and they have not had a customer, although one neighbor did say they would stop by on her way home from somewhere. I think I will go out and buy myself a glass of lukewarm fruit punch.

UPDATE

They actually had several customers and made close to $10.00 to share.

Camera Out of Commision

Last week we had ice cream for dessert. Everyone put their bowls in the sink when we were done and we went to get baths. Well, I guess I didnt notice and Carter had left his bowl on the table and it was full of uneaten, melted ice cream. Well, I had taken some pictures of the kids during the ice cream eating and left the camera on the table too. Well, after baths the kids were just playing and Trevor and I were on the couch talking. I realized the Jack was too quiet and go to find out what is going on. He is up on the table and had put my camera in the bowl of melted ice cream. I think it will recover, but it is kinda sluggish to open now. Kids, you gotta love them.

Happy Birthday to You, Debbie

I hope you look at my blog again, because it looks like you were already here today, but

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Debbie.

I hope you have a great day. You are such a neat girl. I hope you get everything you are wishing for. We will have to get together when you finally get home. Have a great one.

I speak Cat

Trevor had to do a little plumbing work over at my aunt and uncle's house and so the kids and I decided to ride over with him and keep him company. While we were there McKinley discovered that the had a cat. She likes cats, but is allergic to them. So, she was just meowing at her. She was keeping her distance, but just "talking" with her. She would say "meow, meow meoooow." Then she turns to me and said, "Mom, did you know that is speak Cat?" And no, I didn't know that she spoke Cat.

Duck Hunting

I went golfing today and I thought about bringing my camera, but in the end I figured it would be too much trouble. Oh, how I wish I had brought it. Right at the beginning we were near some water and there were some ducks. Well, I don't think too much about them and hit my ball and smack. I nail this poor duck. I think I broke its neck, because it just flopped around for a while and had really labored breathing and then finally gave up and went to see his maker. It really was terrible. I kept worrying if I should try and put it out of its misery. But then what? Whack it over the head with a golf club?

Hula girl

McKinley is such a funny girl. She comes out of her bedroom with a nightshirt as a skirt and wants to teach all of us how to hula dance. She asked us all to come over and she starts doing it. She is actually doing it quite well. I asked her how she learned to hula dance so well and she answers, "I don't know mom, my body just does it." She is so funny, this is why I wanted to start a blog, someday down the road, I won't be able to remember this except for looking back at my blog. (Please ignore that it is 1230 and I have not done her hair yet)

Home again, Home again, Jigity, Jig

Linc and Jack on the Porch

Lincoln at the Parade

Parade

Crafts

Game Time

Singing in the Rain

Well, we have been home from the cabin a few days and figured it was about time to get back to blogging. I have checked a few, but have not gotten back in full swing yet. For some reason I cant get my pictures to download on my blog. I will write now and put the pictures up later. Frankly, I dont even really have time for this, but I am here so... The kids are cleaning their rooms and Jack is playing quietly right here so, I have just a moment. My mom got a bag to make Amish Friendship Bread. She brought it to the cabin and since she thought she wouldnt have the time to finish it and I took an interest in it, she gave it to me. The kids and I are going to make it after lunch and Jack goes down for a nap.

The cabin was fun. My mom drove to our house on Sunday afternoon and picked up Carter and McKinley. We drove threw Payson and met at McDonalds. I had Linc and Baby J. We stayed there forever letting the kids play. We went to leave and I had lost my mom in the parking lot. We got up to the cabin about 9:00 and about 30 mins later mom gets there. I asked what took so long and she had to stop a few times. 1st Carter dropped his drink, still in the parking lot, so that is where I lost her. Then, they were driving down the road and all of a sudden the lights and the "Door Ajar" light comes on. I guess McKinley opened her door right on the highway. My mom had to pull over to reshut the door and was then on her way. She locked the doors after that. Our doors on the van dont open so easily. I guess she just figured that she would see what that little lever did. On our ride, we saw a naked man in boots on the side of the road. It was before dark and I saw a car on the opposite side of the road and as we got closer, I saw a naked man fittling around with the car, NAKED. Lincoln didnt notice him, luckily. We saw a movie and went to the rec center in the neighborhood and kept busy everyday. I had planned to get together with my friend Rebecca up there, but just ran out of time. Trevor came up and due to poor planning we didnt have much time for playing as a family. He went golfing with Lincoln and my dad and I took the kids down to the rodeo. We saw some friends and family. It was nice to see and catch up with those we had not seen in a while. We are sorry we didnt see Gena, but saw some of her family. Trevor's grandpa Goodman roped in the morning, but we missed it. We did get to see our freind Treg and he did a great job (so I am told, I dont really know much). Trevor got lots of chores done around the house. I know my parents felt bad, him working most of the time, but he would rather have chores to do than watch Blue's Clues, so he says. We went to the 4th of July parade and had a very good time. We saw a funny man dressed as the statue of libery with his little dog. It probably doesnt translate well, but it was super funny. From one of the floats, the kids got some funny hats. Saturday night, Trevor and I went to a 930 show of Hancock after we got the kids just about down for bed. I liked it pretty well. There were holes in the plot, but overall it was pretty good. There were some pretty funny lines. It does use the "F" words once, just as a warning and says "A" hole several times.
We got to keep Nathan at the cabin with us, while Kyle and Benson took their other kids to Lake Powell. He was such a joy. He fit right into our family. It was easy because mom and dad were there, but he was so easy. What a cutie. Maybe we can have him again some time. We came home on Sunday and since Trevor drove up with my dad, he was able to come home with us. The downfall of that was that his car was at my parent's house, so we had to drive all the way there to pick it up. It took us 6 hours to get home. It took 2 hours to get from Christopher Creek to Payson (about 20 miles). Jack threw up on Bush Highway. I swear I have the most carsick kids ever. I didnt even know that babies could get car sick. I gave them dramamine, but he still got sick. Now I am off to throw together some lunch and then make Amish Friendship Bread, hum!!!
I didnt get too many pictures, but I will try to post them later.

Leavin, on a jet plane

Last Summer, Isn't it beautiful? This is on the porch

Well, I am leaving in my minivan at least. I got all my work done and now I am allowed to leave to the cabin. The kids and I are heading up to Pinetop today after church. I will be sure to take lots of pictures and post them when we get back. I am so looking forward to the weather. It should be just about time to rain, which we love. Sitting on the porch listening to the rain is the best. We will be up there for 4th of July. We will have to ask around and find out what there is to do. I plan on having lots of fun with my mom, sister and her kids and of course Rebecca and her kids. Wish me luck and pray that my kids behave and we all make through the week with no dad. Someone has to stay home and make the money. I am taking a week off. Isn't he the best?

Swamped!!!

I know that I have neglected my blog. I am just so busy in the summer. I wish it was with something cool, but it just isn't. I work from home and I tend to be really busy in the summer with it. For those of you that don't know, I work for a juvenile psychologist. I type his reports after he interviews the juvenile delinquents in detention or jail. I guess the kids just get really naughty in the summer, more time on their hands. In a given week, I usually type about 8 to 10 reports. This week I have 35!!!! I am now down to 13 left to go. I have to have everything done by Sunday so I can leave out of town for eight days. It takes about 1/2 hour to one hour to type a report so that is working just about full time this week. Not to mention that my kids are home from school and want to be entertained too. I have been a busy momma. I will hopefully do better once school starts, but I will not make any promises. By the way, my phone and internet have been out all day. My internet just came up, but the phone is still out. Recker Road has been all torn up and I guess that is the problem. Well, that is what Qwest is blaming it on anyway. At least, I havent had the distraction of the phone all day.

Girls Weekend-Pinetop

What a fun weekend had by all. Some girlfriends and I headed up to my parent's cabin on Friday. We were discussing just how long many of us have been friends. Some of us, it has been around 10 years. We left all cares behind and just went and had a great time. No kids, husbands, work, or real life. We left in the later afternoon on Friday and stopped in Globe to eat, we wanted Burger House, but as luck would have it, it was closed for the week. What a bummer. We ended up eating and Judy's Cook House. Just a little dive, the food was fine, but the service was good. When we got to Show Low we called Rebecca to head up and meet us at the cabin. She moved up there several months ago. We just sat around and visited and laughed. We set up the Wii and laughed some more. We stayed up till who knows when and then slept until we felt like getting up. Rebecca made us the most delightful waffles with coconut syrup (Kyle that is what is in the container in the fridge). We got pedicures, went to Walmart (it wouldnt be a trip to the cabin without one), talked more, laughed even more and ate out the rest of the time. We got Thai and Italian food YUM. Rebecca brought up her Guitar Hero and we had a blast. We also played Mad Gab and Mexican Train. So fun. I love games and visiting. The time was over too soon and we had to head home. I cant wait to to it again. I have a few more picture to add, but I dont have time to wait to download. Here are a few. I will post the Wii and Guitar Hero later.

Rebecca Mangum, Amber Balle, Carmen Wagstaff, LeaAnn Sharp,

Carrie Perrins, and Sarah Rowley

Dinner at Red Devil, that is not Rebecca's beer,

it was already on the table.

Just visiting

One hour ago....

the phone rings, it is the missionaries, Trevor is talking to them in the other room. I am busy because I have 11 reports to type. The doctor I work for is getting ready to go out of town so he has slammed me with work before he leaves. Now a little background, Trevor had mentioned this morning that the ward mission leader had a family emergency and had to leave out of town and would he be in charge of getting the flags in (today is flag day) and find someone to feed the missionaries. Trevor goes this morning at five and puts his 80 flags out with a nonmember boy that does not have a dad that can help him. Then he came home and started calling every member of the ward to see if they could feed the missionaries. We could not because Trevor had to be out at 445 this afternoon to pick up his flags and then was in charge of getting everyone elses flags checked in and whatever else goes on with being in charge. He either got no answer or they could not for whatever reason. Maybe because it is Saturday afternoon and no one wants to cook, let alone try to make something nice for guests/missionaries and pick up their houses. Well, that is why I didnt want to do it anyway. He said to me I will just pick up a pizza or something for them. I dont think anything else about it. Anyway at 4:00 the missionaries call Trevor back and he comes out and asks me to go to Papa John's and get the pizzas and while I am gone he will pick the house, Oh and the missionaries will be here in 20 minutes. WHAT. Okay so I said I have been busy all day, Trevor has been out doing flag stuff and my kids have been running wild through my house all afternoon. I will give Trevor credit though, while I was at the store earlier, he did load the dishwasher and mop my floor. So at least my house was clean, if not picked up. We had folded laundery that had not been put away and toys everywhere. Everyone chipped in and I ran and got the pizza and some soda. They got here at 430 and they and Trevor were out the door by 500. I now have to get back to work because I wasted a good hour(and now a half more) feeding the missionaries and now blogging about it.

I mean to keep this up, but the time just flies....

Kyle Tagged Me
Who do you love? Trevor
How long have you been married? 10 1/2 years
Who said I love you first? We can't remember, I did accidentally mention marriage first, but I think he said I love you first.
How long did you date? Our 1st date was July 3, 1997 and we got engaged October 14th of the same year and got married January 9, 1998
Where did he propose? The same place as Kyle the lake by our house. Just a note-I got engaged there first
Who is taller? Trevor
Who is smarter? I will never tell
Who does the laundry? ME!
Who pays the bills? Me
Who mows the lawn? Oh, is someone supposed to do that. I guess Trevor then
Who makes dinner? Me.
Who drives? Usually Trevor, but I do sometimes when his eyes are tired or he needs to do something in the car, like make phone calls or write.

Thanks Trevor for everything you do. You are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I hope you have a wonderful father's day. I love the life that we have together. We have had our fair share of challenges, but I wouldn't change a thing. I am so glad that I have you to be my rock when I feel like I can't get through the hard times. I hope that you feel the same about me. I look forward to the many fun times that we will have in our future together. I am so grateful for the example that you set and the spirit that you bring to our home. Thank you for being my best friend. I LOVE YOU

Now I tag Tandee, Rebecca Keisha and Sara

Where do I start

It has been so long since I blogged that it is hard to know where to start. This is going to be a little "journal entry-y" so bare with me. We went to Saint David for Memorial Day weekend. We had to be home Monday morning for swimming lessons, so we came home Sunday night. Carter and McKinley are having swimming lessons twice a week with two other kids. McKinley is swimming so well. She can already swim across the width of the pool by herself. I think she has a little too much confidence, it's a little scary. Carter is not enjoying it so much. He gets out of the pool and hides behind the patio furniture any chance he gets and crys most of the time. The last lesson was a little better though, so maybe with a few more lessons he will get the hang of it. We went swimming on Friday at my mom's and he did even better, so there is hope. I am going to put him in a couple of private lessons to see if we can build up his confidence. Carter starts summer school tomorrow. They asked that we up his name, teacher and room number on his back, just in case. I am not worried. He has a different teacher than he has had in the past, but everyone at the school already knows him and loves him. He is a legend there;) Lincoln ended up staying in St. David for a week with his grandma and cousins. He had a great time and came home all tan from swimming everyday. While he was there he got to go to tennis camp. (Erin I still owe you the money for that) He had so much fun. He thinks he is all good at tennis now, he wants to play me because I dont know how and he wants to beat me.
On this last Monday I took my Wolf den and the Bear Den to Cub Scout Day Camp. We went to the Heard Pueblo in South Mountain. It was really fun. It is very hot because you are outside from 2 in the afternoon until about 10 at night for three days. The boys have some much fun and are encouraged to keep the leaders and everyone else wet to keep cool. I just wore my swimming suit under my cloths and stayed wet most of the time. They get to swim, bb guns, archery, games, and crafts. Have I mentioned I love my calling? It is so fun. If you ever get a chance to be in the cub scouts do it. The boys are so much fun. Trevor and I were on totally different schedules this week. We woudl only see each other when one or the other was asleep. I would get home late and he would be asleep and he would get up early and I would be asleep. He had mutal on Wednesday and took the young women to the temple on Thursday for baptisms and then I left before he got home to Bunco. Finally, Friday we didnt have anything and just went to my moms for a relaxing evening of swimming and enchilladas. Saturday Trevor had to leave early to teach a swimming merit badge clinic that he teachs every summer. Lincoln got to go and they had a good time. We split up again and I took McKinley to see Kung Foo Panda. It was really funny and then we came home and Trevor took Carter and Lincoln to see it too. Jack is too hard to take to the movies so he got to stay home. Today was church again and the nursery was a little hectic. I taught the lesson and the kids liked it, but had a hard time keeping themselves under control. We were thankful for our ears and I had little easter eggs filled with different things to shake and listen to. It turned into a bit of a free for all. Trevor's mom came by for a short visit tonight and we played UNO and ate carmel corn. Yum, my favorite. That is just a run down and now I dont have to avoid my blog because I am too ashamed that I havent posted in soooo long. I have noticed that a lot of the blogs that I usually check have not update, so we will just chalk it up to the beginning of summer. It feels good to have that off my chest. Next, I was tagged by Kyle for some husband survey type things, so that will be coming up. I know you are waiting with bated breath.

All the Merrill Grandkids-this is the best of the dozens of pictures we took

Carter hiding out at swimming lessons

Lincoln in archery at Day Camp

This is funny

This is even funnier
I have been a little slack on my blogging and so many things have happened that need to be blogged about, but that will have to wait for a later day. Tonight, I will laugh. I hope you all enjoy.

WHAT?!?!?!?!?

Okay, so the weather here is just crazy. You know AZ, it is either hot or hotter, right? That is why we live here. The weather is wonderful. We laugh at the poor saps who live in the snow and cold. Well, I guess all that I can say about the weather this week is unpredictable. On Sunay we had our first 100 degree day it was 105. On Monday, we had our first 110 degree day (110). Today, however is a whole different story. Neither of my pictures are great, but it is raining and "cold." Those of you in actual cold climates would beg to differ, but for us it is cold. The high today was actually like 78 (according to my thermometer), but now at 4:00 (usually the hottest time of the day) it is 59. Lincolon's last day of school was today and his teacher said that in the 22 years that she has been teaching in AZ it has never rained on the last day of school. Don't get me wrong, I love this weather. It is so nice to have the rain and a little bit of weather, but my kids had to put on jackets to play in May. We were swimming on Tuesday.

The sky, the rain is coming down you just can't tell

59, what the heck

In other news, I talked to Carter's teacher and she said that she had sent home a note earlier in the month, but I never got one and he had missed some school earlier in the month, so maybe it was one of those days. She meant to send home a reminder last week, but her husband has been suffering from complications from a surgery that he had March 14 and she just didnt get to it. She was wondering why I wasnt there since I try to come to all the parent invitation stuff. She did say that she got some pictures and would email them to me. He is also going to the same preschool for summer school, so we will be there just a little longer.

McKinley has been begging to put curlers in her hair. I got some at the store and put them in. Her hair is quite short and it didnt work very well, but she had fun putting them in. I will have to get smaller ones. They fell out during the night so her hair was just messy when she got up. But, really have you seen a prettier girl? even in her curlers.

I feel terrible

Yesterday I sent Carter to school just like any other day. When he came home he had his graduation cap and his certificate in his backpack. He had preschool graduation and I missed it. I didnt even know about it. His teacher is usually so good about letting me know about things. I looked through his backpack again just to make sure that I didnt miss a paper about it, but there was nothing. I am sooo sad. He was probably the only kid with no one there. I even have gone in years past to see the other kids graduate. Even as I write this my eyes are filling up with tears. I want to call his teacher and ask what happened, but I dont want her to feel bad either, but I also dont want her to think that I just flaked. I took some pictures of him with his hat and award anyway. He got the award for the silliest and they gave him those funny glasses.

I just might be part Werewolf

In case you don't get it, This is Michael J Fox in Teen Wolf circa 1985.

I dont know what it is, but it is now midnight and I am wide awake. I have tried to go to sleep, but yet here I am at my computer. I swear I must be part werewolf. I went in a little while ago to TRY and fall asleep and it was bright as the noonday sun in there. I finally figured it out. I cannot sleep when there is a full moon. I now it sounds crazy, but I think I will start documenting my sleep patterns. I am telling you I dont sleep when the moon is full. I came out here and looked up to see if it is actually full or just really bright and it is exactly full at 9:17 on May 19th. Do you have trouble sleeping when the moon is full, or is it just me?

Family Campout

The Tent-Its too small for our whole family now
The dirtiest baby you will ever see

Lincoln vs. Smore

McKinley and her really awesome hair and Carter's PJs

Ready for bed

Really ready for bed-notice he is on a cot and the best pad

No pictures of Jack-he went to bed before I pulled the camera out.

Well, last night was the father's and son's campout that Trevor really didnt want to go to. For one it was 3 hours away and he doesnt get home from work until 5:30 at best. Also, the gas alone was going to be pushing $100, if we were lucky. So I worked a little magic and talked the boys into staying home and having a family campout in the backyard. We had a bbq with Tom, and Kati and their girls. Then we set up the tent and roasted marshmellows on the grill. We made smores and had lots of fun. Trevor slept out with the kids and Jack and I slept inside. Sorry, Kyle I know you were hoping I would have the same outcome as you, but we slept all night. The kids got up at 5:15 this morning and Trevor threatened them with their lives and they all went back to sleep until about 7:00. Trevor went and took another little nap for a while and we are just getting ready for breakfast now. I also had to tell Lincoln that we would go see Indiana Jones next weekend, but overall I think it was worth it. The kids are no digustingly dirty and we were just in the backyard.

Jackson has staked his claim

Jackson has decided that this is his favorite place. The chair is actually McKinley's (obviously), but if anyone sits in it he throws a fit. He is just so pleased to be there. He stands up on it too. While Carter was having his surgery, he stood up on it and busted open his forehead pretty good. My mom was watching him at the time, Sorry mom. He is such a monkey.

What a Joy

Carter, Wyatt, Evan, McKinley and Nicole

Today is the last day of Joy School. It was at our house. We had a very fun year and the kids really grew up. McKinley was happy to have one of her best friends in her class, Nicole. The rest are boys. We were missing Noah and Gavin today. Lincoln and Carter have one more week and they will be out of school too. I cant wait. I love having the kids home. I would probably home school, except for I dont think I would be any good at teaching them anything. They will get a much better education from the public schools in my opinion. I am also not a very good task master so it would be hard for us to get anything accompished. I am sure by the end of the summer, I will have changed my tune and wont be able to wait for the first day of school.

Is that you brain?

Lincoln was wrestling with his friend this afternoon and got a rug burn just above his eye. You cant see it very well, but it looks pretty sore. He was telling me about and and McKinley asked, "Is that your brain?" We all had a good laugh at that one.

She was full of them tonight because then we were having dinner and eating shish kabobs. They were delicious. Thanks Christy. Anyway, McKinley started telling us how much she loves "shish kabums" Kids say the darnedest things.

Life is Good

Amy, Rachelle, Rachel, Carla and Keisha
Farrah with baby dress for Cheyenne

Carla, Rachelle and Farrah

Melissa, Amy, Keisha, Carla, Rachel and Rachelle

Farrah, Melissa, Keisha, Amy and Rachelle

What a fun weekend I had. My lifelong friends from Sorority had our annual Mother's Day Retreat. Rachel was kind enough to host it, as she has the only house large enough to house our big group. In the past we have stayed in a hotel, but this was SO much better. Thanks Rach! We got together and had pot luck taco salad. My personal very favorite meal. It was delicious. Many were not able to make it and we missed them greatly, but we had lots of fun with those who were able to be there. We had a mini baby shower for Farrah. Her baby was born 10 weeks early and is in the hospital still. They are confident that she is well enough to hopefully come home this week. We then just sat around and vistited all night. When I say all night I mean it. We did not go to sleep. Well a few drifted off at about 3 am, but Keisha, Rachel and I are diehards and watched the sun come up. I am so grateful for my wonderful friends. We are all in different places in our lives, but we come together and strengthen and build each other up. It is also nice to be able to get away from my family for a little bit and it reminds me just how much I love them and how happy I am to have each one of them.

Mother's Day was very nice also. I have a really hard time with it for some reason. My family was so thoughtful and got me such nice things. I was able to stay in bed and they made breakfast for me. I guess it all unraveled when we went to church. The kids were very naughty. No one would listen and I was very frustrated. I had to take McKinley and Jackson out several times and I had a few other people mention the difficult day I was having. I was just embarrased that I could not control my own children and I expected them to love me enough to behave on mother's day. I guess that is my problem. If it were any other day, I would have just brushed it off, but it was mother's day so I expected more. They really werent that much worse than they usually are, I just wanted them to be angels for me.

Then today, I must have been a sight. As many of you know I LOVE Swatch watches. I went to take out my recycle garbage this morning and as I lifted the lid of the garbage can, it caught on my Swatch guard and it popped off into the garbage can. Luckily and unluckily it was the recycle bin. The trash is usually not so disgusting, but it is not bagged so it is everywhere, not contained. I had to tip it over and pull everything out to get to it, but I got it. Sorry there are no pictures of that, but I am sure it was super cute. My bottom sticking out of the trash can. I am officially trashy now.