It's how we roll...

A Spa Party

2012-02-08T12:42:00.001-07:00

On the morning of Adi's birthday, I let her dig into her present from OP and I early (still feel kinda bad that Orrin didn't get to see her open it, but I wanted her to be able to use it at her party).

Yup. She got a video camera.

With a carrying case, tripod and DVDs so she can make authentic movies.

I blame my sister, Whitney.

Anywho, I may or may not be frequently on Pinterest. It is usually the window that is left up on our desktop when someone sits down on the computer. Adi likes to scroll through all of the tantalizing images that are posted on there... and that is how Adi ended up planning her party.

She saw this pin and said that she wanted a spa party. I was hesitant, seeing as how I've never even gotten a pedicure, much less gone to a spa. But she was adamant, so we did a lot of Pinterest hunting for ideas. Adi found the whoopie pies that she wanted instead of a cake, the homemade lipgloss she wanted to make, and facials. Oh, the facials.

For the invites I used the templates from here and just photoshopped my own info in and then printed a chevron pattern for the other side.

I learned something new from this party: if you hang 45 balloons in front of a window with sunshine coming in, you'll get a pleasant pink lighting in your house. Keep that in mind when you see the rose tint in all of the pics.

I used A LOT of ideas from the One Charming Party Spaaah Party.

There were the much-talked-about strawberry milk whoopie pies (these things were way more difficult to make than I had at first thought),

banana-strawberry smoothies,

spa water,

sandwiches on a stick,

and veggie straws.

We found these little beauty tins in the after-Christmas clearance racks at Walmart for $1.25 each. Score!

We did our best to set the room up like a spa (yeah, I have no idea what that would look like).

See all of those flip flops? I got them on 75% off clearance at Target and just glued a terry-cloth bow on them. Although, hot glue does not work on flip flops. I recommend taking the time to buy E6000 if you want the bows to last longer than 5 minutes.

So much nail polish.

Now, I have to say a very grateful THANK YOU to my lil' sis Whitney and my sister-in-law Stephanie for coming over and helping me host this party. I never would have been able to do pedicures and facial masks on all eight girls if you guys hadn't been there.

When the girlies got there, we filled up little cheapy bowls from the dollar store with warm water and a squirt of appley bath bubbles. The girlies stuck their piggies in there to soak (and hopefully clean them too).

We made the girls remove their own polish on their toes. We weren't getting paid to do that.

Then we painted their piggies. Good job, Steph!

When their toesies were dry, the girlies got to fill up their own little jars with personalized homemade lip gloss.

Made with Vaseline and Kool Aide. Really, really messy.

Onto the facial masks. We did an edible-chocolate mask that also ended up being waay messy. Who'da thunk?

And yes, we were professional enough to put cucumber slices over their eyes. Not that the girls kept them there. I had to convince them to leave them on long enough for pictures. It didn't work with everyone.

Oh, and notice those awesome headbands in everyone's hair? Yeah, I made them. Best mom ever, right?

It took about twenty minutes to scrub that stuff off of everyone's faces. Thank goodness I got the super-cheap Walmart washrags that I used to wipe the goopy chocolate off and then I trashed them. Wasteful? Yes. But I'm having a hard time feeling bad about it!

Adi did the blowing-out-the-candle thing birthday girls usually do,

then opened presents (did not get a good picture of that). She scored pretty big with cash and gift cards this year. I guess everyone is as confused as I am over what to buy a nine-year-old girl.

The girlies then spent the rest of the party dancing to whatever pop music they could find on the girls' iTouches.

Thanks ladies!

It was a fun party, but I am so glad that it's over!

Nine.

2012-02-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

Yep. This little girl is nine today.

I'm in complete denial. It is not possible for my tiny baby Adi Nae to be this old.

She keeps telling me, "Only seven more years till I drive", and "Nine more years till I move out", and my favorite, "Twelve more years till you can't tell me what to do". Apparently I get that privilege until she's 21. Sweet. Can I get that in writing, please and thank you?

Adi is going to be a teacher when she grows. She will also play the guitar and the drums. Also be a cheerleader. And be a mom to 22 kids (11 boys, 11 girls- we'll see how long this idea lasts). Adi wants to direct movies (she even asked for a video camera for her birthday and was hinting at a green screen), design dresses, and learn to shuffle a deck of cards like a rainbow.

She loves Taylor Swift and her best friend Savanna. They get together often and discuss Taylor Swift and they both wrote their Biography Book Report on her.

Adi is a creative soul. She is a friendship bracelet making machine and often raids my fabric supply to make a dress for Pipes (using staples and tape- awesome craftsmanship).

She may be holding Diary of a Wimpy Kid here, but her favorite kind of books are mysteries and ones about scary things, like Bailey School Kids.

Miss Ad has what we call around these parts "Adi-tude". She has her own, very opinionated, mind and has no problem arguing her thoughts. Or screaming them, whichever one gets her the most attention at the time. Adi likes having the last word.

My Adi is such an artistic soul. She sees the beauty in the simple things, like a leaf that is crumpled and mushed, a landscape rock, or a crushed cracker on the floor in the shape of a flower. She sees their potential and likes to share her treasures with her family.

She creates stories and drawings, likes to write scripts for movies for Piper and her friends, designs costumes, loves to make cards, and draws designs on her homework incessantly.

Adi also is constantly evolving her tastes. Her favorite color once was pink. Then it was blue. She flirted with green for a bit, but has now settled on purple. This week.

On Monday her most favorite show is H20, Wednesday it's Good Luck Charlie, and by Friday they have all been usurped by Once Upon a Time.

She loves her iPod touch.

She likes swinging on the tree swing, puling Wyatt around in the wagon, shoving random things into random spots around the house, playing pranks, running on Mom's treadmill, jumping off the bed, putting her hair in ponytails, looking at the Oriental Trading Company catalogues, writing lists, controlling the remote, playing card games, drawing on cardstock, eating clementine oranges, shopping for free apps on her touch, wearing her Toms, playing school,checking the mail, planning parties, making cookies, and, best of all, she still likes to snuggle up to her old parents and telling them all about her day.

This little girl is bursting with life and is so eager to grow up and be able to live it.

But I just want to take her in my arms and hold her oh-so-smotheringly-close and preserve her innocence. I don't want her to learn about the evils in this world. Right now everything is black and white to her. Right now people are good and bad guys just belong in stories and cartoons and are easily conquered.

But, oh, I cannot explain the joy that I feel when I notice her maturing. It's the little things like her taking a deep (albeit sarcastic) breath and counting instead of instantly blowing up at her siblings. Or fixing her own plate of nachos. Or even just watching her curled up on the couch reading a book that I had once enjoyed at her age.

My oh my, it is so difficult being a mom to this little girl. Not because of her attitude, but because it is so hard for me to let go. To trust that she can do new things. To allow her to fall and pick herself back up, brush herself off and get back on the metaphorical horse. She wants to be independent so badly and I just want her to be a good little dolly and sit in the corner and not move until I say it's ok.

*sigh*

But she's growing and changing and becoming more beautiful, intelligent, radiant, and charismatic by the day. I love her. I love her.

I love her.

Happy birthday, Adi Baby.

Brudders

2012-02-01T21:28:00.001-07:00

I now have two little boys.

I have to remind myself of that sometimes.

Not that I forget about Wyatt (he wouldn't let me), but since he is now growing out of the baby it-doesn't-matter-what-gender-I-am-since-all-I-do-is-eat-drink-and-poop stage, he is developing boyish attributes. Such as pushing Porter's Hot Wheels across the floor and making a raspberry sound while doing it. He also carries around plastic Black and Decker tools and bangs them on stuff. And lets not forget the-climbing-on-everything-that-is-even-an-inch-off-the-ground thing he's doing.

Anywho, our little Wy-Fi (a new nickname we're trying out) has recently discovered how cool his big brother is. Porter gets to carry around a tool box full of real tools and he actually gets to use them. Porter has the cars that actually race across the floor on their own (Wyatt's Fisher Price ones only move if he pushes him). Porter plays Dynamite really loud on his portable speakers. Porter is the one that gives him pretzels whenever Wyatt screams at the bag in the pantry. And Porter will take Wyatt in the backyard and pull him around in the wagon for hours.

Porter is the bomb.com in Wyatt's mind.

The other day I was helping the girlies climb their mountain of homework when I looked outside and saw this:

My two boys chilling on the edge of our cement patio, eating pretzels, and enjoying a comfortable silence.

Oh dear. I think my heart overflowed pride onto the kitchen table right there.

It reminded me of the saying on Pinterest (have I mentioned how much I love that site?)

Ok, ok, so I flubbed the quote. It's not supposed to have the word "big" in it. But I made this to hang in Porter Pot's room, so I thought it fit.

Porter loves having a little buddy. Anyone see that pic I posted on Facebook of Porter working on his "truck"? This one:

Well, Mr. Wyatt was standing next to him for ten minutes just handing Porter random tools from his toolbox. Porter would say, "Good job, buddy. But I really need the wrench to change the oil." Wyatt would then hand him a screwdriver. "Almost, buddy. But I need the wrench."

Wyatt has taken to following Porter around, and as long as PG doesn't do anything horrible- such as trying to hug or pick him up- Wyatt is pleased as punch to do so. Wyatt crawls under the kitchen table, sucking on his pacifier while Porter fixes my "car". He chases Porter on his bike. Wyatt even sits in the corner with him while PG is being punished.

Yes, it is utterly adorable.

No, it's not always so perfect. The two boys have already started fighting over toys, food, and music (Porter tries to turn on his favorite song, but Wyatt screams when he changes Dynamite).

But hey, I have a lot of hope for the future.

Tank

2012-01-24T13:27:00.003-07:00

That's what we call this busy, busy boy.

Mostly because he is a bit round, tough, and nothing can stop him.

He was the perfect little baby. Never crying, not demanding. Just so sweet and so very doll-like.

Notice how I said WAS? Mr. Wyatt is now a toddler with his own stubborn little mind (that comes from his dad *cough*) and unbelievably quick moves.

He has also turned into a little bit of a cryer. Ok, ok, if I was being honest I would tell you that he probably spends a majority of his awake-time crying. And screaming. And throwing himself down onto the floor, red-faced, and angry. With snot running out of his nose.

But hey, that's life with a one-year-old. At least around here.

Clarky-Boy is the happiest when he's outside.

Lucky for him he has a few awesome siblings who are ~~usually not~~ always happy to watch him run around in the backyard.

He does a lot of running into stuff, falling off of stuff, and just plain tripping over his own feet.

But he doesn't cry too long over it. What usually starts the waterworks is if someone walks outside without him or if someone won't hand him their iPod, or if Porter comes close to him.

Yeah, those two have a complicated relationship.

Wyatt has discovered his love of cheese. His favorite thing in the world is when Mom cuts up tiny squares of cheese for him to shove into his mouth.

Kinda reminds me of this fella:

He loves the theme song to Mighty Machines

And he thinks that it is hilarious when someone sneezes.

He still loves his pacifier, and I am honestly not in any hurry to take it away from him. The other day Adi stuck it in his mouth when he was crying and said, "It's like an off switch, isn't it?"

Yes, Adi. Yes it is.

Wyatt loves the vacuum, playing in the toilet water (something we try to discourage), eating hot dogs, playing with Porter's big trucks, breaking the remote control, a sippy cup of apple juice, dancing to Dynamite, getting his feet rubbed with baby lotion, baths, Daddy's dirt bike, and pounding on the computer keyboard.

He now says "Mom", "Dadda", and "Uh-uh-oh". Yep. That's it. But that's ok since I can tell he is merely trying to perfect the art of non-verbal communication before he moves onto the English language.

I know I complain about this little dude to my friends. I think that it isn't so much that he cries an abnormal amount, but more because I've forgotten what it's like to have a toddler running around the house. But when I pick him up out of bed in the morning, I fall in love with him all over again as he wraps his chubby little arms around my neck, squeezes, and says "Momma". My oh my, I fall hard.

I honestly cannot remember how my life worked before this mini-Merrill was in it.

Love you, my baby boy.

***I almost forgot to give credit to my dear sis-in-law Stephanie for taking the pictures!***

Grateful Hearts

2012-01-17T16:54:00.001-07:00

For the past few years I've noticed a bunch of the blogs that I ~~stalk~~ look at have been choosing a family theme for the new year. They do a big fancy dinner with decorations and talk all about it.

So I wanted to hop on that band wagon and do one for us. Last year. It didn't happen.

This year, I decided, is the year. 2012. What a spectacular year to start this fun tradition. So I had a bunch of stuff printed up to do on January 2nd (not the first since that is Mr. Wyatt's birthday). I was going to cook a fancy-schmancy dinner with an awesome dessert for it. And then I didn't do it. I told myself that on OP's next day off we would.

And we didn't.

Adi had noticed the photo envelope and had tried to peek into it several times and I would tell her that it was something special that we were going to do soon. Luckily she kept bugging me about it or else it probably never would have gotten done.

We didn't have anything fancy to eat- just plain old tinfoil dinners. And for dessert? Some wafer cookies that have been in the pantry for about six months now. I figured that if I didn't just do it with what was going on that day, it probably wouldn't have gotten done.

OP and I had talked about trying to focus on gratitude. Mostly because we watched this Jimmy Kimmel video before Christmas and were pretty much horrified at how the kids reacted to their parents giving them horrible gifts. I mean, to be honest, I did laugh a heck of a lot watching it. It made us start wondering how our kiddos would react to the same prank. We thought that everyone in this little family of ours could use a bit more gratitude in our hearts. So the Merrill Family Theme 2012 was chosen (it looks so official when I capitalize all of the words, doesn't it?).

Based off of this discourse by President Monson.

I scrambled around trying to make everything look pretty and like I had put a lot of time and effort into this thing. I did hurry and throw together a banner ('cause it's my new favorite thing to do, that's why).

Then I made everyone their own awesome little quote about gratitude to share with everyone and then they can keep it. All I did was do a search on Pinterest of "gratitude" and I found these lovely things (they're all pinned here with links back to the original designers).

I then taped them to toothpicks and stuck them in some clementines. Why oranges? Because that was the first thing I saw when I was making them.

Wyatt's plate was the one with cheese on it. That kid loves him some cheese.

While we ate, we took turns reading our quote and then explaining or figuring out what it meant.

I kind of cheated on mine, since it wasn't exactly right on the subject of "attitude of gratitude", but I fell in love with it when I saw it.

I haven't been able to find the artist for this one, but I would love to because I want a big ole poster size of this print hanging up in my room.

Anywho, after we ate the kids ran off to bathe while I did a quick search of YouTube, trying to find just the right MormonMessage to help the kiddos understand gratitude.

Score!

Have I mentioned that the Xbox now has a YouTube channel? So we got to site our behinds on our comfortable couch and watch it. Sweet!

The kiddos were getting sick of the picture taking and started acting like goofs.

And Wyatt ran around and refused to stop for a picture.

After the video we talked to the kiddos about being grateful for this abundant life that we live. How so many people in the world have so very little and we have so many blessings that we can't even count them all. We told them how we need to be sure to thank Heavenly Father every time we pray for at least some of our blessings so that He'll know how much we appreciate them.

Adi then made my Momma-heart nearly burst when she exclaimed, "It's like the 10 lepers that Jesus healed and only one came back to thank Christ!" YES! I am not failing!

We then sat around the table, eating our somewhat-stale cookies,

writing something that we are thankful for on a Popsicle stick,

Shared what we wrote,

"Christmas Presents"

And then put them in a jar (with plans to do so daily so we can see just how abundantly blessed we are).

Piper caught herself wishing that she could have more cookies, but then quickly realized that she already forgot to be grateful for what she had already eaten.

Everyone got their own little "Attitude of Gratitude" sign to hang somewhere in their room where they will see it all the time.

Look at the look of deep concentration on my face. I was trying to not get myself in the picture. Fail!

I know that I need to work on gratitude for what I have. There are so many times that I catch myself thinking, "If I had my own home I could totally do this", or "I wish we had a bigger house!". Or, if you look at the above picture, you'll see the awesome gold shower stall thingy in my bathroom. *Shudder* Hate that stuff. But I am thankful for the awesome water pressure that comes from the shower head, so hey, there are worse things to live with :)

A Wedding

2012-01-16T09:01:00.001-07:00

Remember how I mentioned that I had made some invites for a wedding?

Ain't those two cute? *sigh* Young love.

Well, we just got back from the party and since I usually choose to hide behind a camera instead of exposing my social awkwardness, I have a few pics.

We went to the Gila Valley Temple for the sealing.

Here's the newlyweds now.

Isn't her bouquet so stinking cute? Love. It.

The day was perfectly, beautifully overcast. So, awesome for pictures, but very cold for everyone standing around waiting for pictures.

Which we did a lot of.

Here's Grandma Beus trying to keep Sharon warm.

While we shuffled about like sheep, I kept interrupting everyone with my picture snapping.

Hello to all of the other happy couples!

And to the MaGill family.

The nieces were all matchy-matchy

The nephews didn't really match. We were pretty much lucky their outfits survived playing outside for an hour while Hannah and Kade were sealed.

Apparently the boys were hungry so Porter decided to munch on his own hand and Madden tasted the railing.

We waited some more.

Oh, hey there Beus family!

Here's Sharon and Grandpa Beus discussing the mix-up with the marriage license (which took awhile to fix).

Jessie and Chad entertained the mini masses.

As did Emma.

And then we hung out some more.

I think poor Hannah was thinking, "Is this over with yet?"

But the couple kept on posing.

Our turn for pictures? Sweet.

Hannah and her nieces and nephews. Yep , that's what Wyatt was doing the whole time. No exaggeration, people.

And now the whole Merrill group (which, of course I didn't get a shot of since I was, after all, in the pic).

Siblings.

Yup. That's a big family.

That's it? Sweet, let's go thaw out in the car.

I didn't get very many pics at the reception since my camera pretty much sucks in low light, but I did get one of the cousins enjoying the desserts.

And here's the Merrill dudes not posing for a picture.

Here's me and Wyatt hanging out away from the party since every time anyone looked at him he burst into tears.

A few of us troublemakers sneaked off to do a little fun decorating.

Hahaha. You should have seen the inside of the truck! They'll be cleaning confetti up for weeks. *ahem* I don't think Kade will ever give us his keys willingly again.

We did it out of love.

OP, the kiddos and I ended up leaving early because Wyatt would. not. stop. doing this.

So we missed the expressions on Hannah and Kade's faces when they opened the doors to their get-a-way vehicle. I bet they were awesome though.

Incidentally, we also missed out on the clean up. Shucks. But we had a 2 1/2 hour drive home with a screaming Wyatt. That was lots of fun.

Can't wait for the next Merrill wedding.

Hahahaha- I'm looking at you Emma.

Morning Routine

2012-01-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

This little blog of mine has become my journal. Yeah, I know that it is a very public journal.

Anyway, I was thinking that it would be nice to start recording some of our boring, old, everyday things that we do. You know, since it won't be long before I look back fondly at the things that are pretty much inching me closer and closer to the crazy house now.

So, prepare yourself for picture overload and probably too much information in the post. In fact, my feelings wouldn't be hurt at all if you just glance over the pictures and then go back to your Facebook stalking. Yep. I'm talking to you.

Here we go.

Yeppers. It says 5:30. That is what time I have to get my tired butt out of bed if I want to actually get the girls to school and have everyone somewhat together by the time we leave.

And no, putting an exclamation point after "School Day!" does not make me any more excited to wake up.

A little primping later, I come out of my bathroom to find a couple of stow-aways in my bed. Pretty much every morning.

I let them sleep for now and then go turn on my bestest friend in the morning.

Some mornings I listen to my Norah Jones station, some mornings it's N'Sync (yes, you read that right. I get all the classic pop I rocked out to in high school). This morning I was feeling optimistic, so I put on Country Pop. Like I said, this post is gonna be filled with waaay too much information.

I then assemble all the stuff I'll be needing to prepare breakfast for the troops (no pics sorry. I know you wanted to see the eggs, cheese, ham and no-stick spray arranged on the counter).

Now, time to awake the kiddos. I do this simply by switching off their fans (addicts!) and turning on a lamp.

Pipes wasn't too keen on having a camera shoved in her face first thing.

Porter isn't exactly a morning glory.

The girlies make their beds,

and brush out their hair in front of their fancy-schmancy mirror.

There's my smiling Pipes!

Next we do hair. Now, this part of the morning rarely goes smoothly. I may or may not have raised a couple of very opinionated daughters and I, myself, happen to be a bit opinionated. So when we disagree on hairstyles, there are usually a few fireworks.

Fortunately, this morning all went well since they go to wear their new feathers in their hair. Although Miss Adi did pose in her "Miss Adi-tude" stance for me so I could prove to everyone that she has one.

There's Porter Pot!

Notice his spikes? He somehow escaped under my hair-washing radar last night. For the second time in a row.

Time to make breakfast.

Plain old eggs and biscuits this morning.

Oh, lookie who's awake!

Right after I took this pic, Piper said to me, "Maybe you should turn off the flash Mom. He just woke up."

Set the table PG!

Girls, pack your lunches!

I get to make their sandwiches the night before, lucky me.

Wyatt! No no.

Time to eat!

Uh, oh Porter.

Oops, look at the time!

Put your dishes in the dishwasher, kiddos.

Wyatt is then left strapped to his chair while I do the dishes (I cannot stand to let dishes set in the sink. Gross).

About this time I'm breaking up a fight. But today it seems pretty quiet... oh wait, here comes Porter.

Adi, if you make the Loser sign at one of your siblings again I shall duct tape your fingers together. Understood?

Good. Now brush your teeth. We;re running behind (maybe because Mom is taking pictures of everything we're doing?)!

By this time Wyatt is starting to yell for attention and trying to escape.

Time to grease Wyatt up

And get him dressed.

Hello there, handsome.

You guys all dressed and ready to go yet? A chorus of "Yes!" comes from the hall. Well, Porter says no, 'cause that kid won't lie.

Now, my turn to get dressed and make my bed.

SCRIPTURE TIME! Everyone out in the front room!

Will someone get Wyatt out of the garbage?

Oops, then Wyatt notices the iPhone that I'm using to read the scriptures. He has a small obsession with these phones and the touches that his siblings all have.

Nope, you can't have it, kid.

Prayers!

Ah! Look at the time.

Everyone pick up their zones!

Each of the older kids is assigned either the kitchen, family room or bathroom to keep clean for one month. Maybe I'll go into more detail on that later.

Check your room and make sure everything is nice.

Porter just watches them since he gets to come home and work on his room. Oh, and look, Wyatt sees another Touch that he wants,

and can't have.

Load up, kiddos! Time to go.

Yep, the moon is still out.

Now we turn on some tunes for the kiddos to jam to.

Dynamite is one their favorites. Porter's putting his "hands in the air".

Goodbye ladies! See ya in a few hours!

And then I give a HUGE sigh of relief. drive home, and then I start the rest of my day.

Don't be jealous, people. I know I live the life of a rockstar.

Bake Sale

2012-01-08T12:49:00.001-07:00

Adi has been bugging for years to have a bake sale. I have always said no.

Because I'm mean, that's why.

Last week she conspired with her friend and finally got me to give in. We were having a small bake sale. On the side of the road. At Porter's football game. Those were my terms.

The girlies agreed. They spent the night before making cake mix cookies and sugar cookies, decorating their sign, and giggling a lot while listening to Taylor Swift music. The day before they had went to her friend's house (Savannah, that is) and made bracelets and decorated purses to sell. They were busy little girls.

Why were they trying to earn money? Why, to save for tickets to Taylor Swift's next concert, of course. Duh.

So they sat up their little table and displayed all of their items.

And they were nice enough to let Piper tag along too. You know, after she bought that black velvet purse from them for $6.

And then they waited

For a very long while.

Luckily, good ole' Aunt Stephanie dropped in and bought a few items (you rock!).

And then the girls started performing to get attention.

Piper was performing some kind of dance under them, but I missed that.

Then they moved the chairs closer in and were doing some cheer stances.

And they were singing...

But no one actually bought anything other than Stephanie and Savannah's big sisters.

I was afraid that it would crush their little entrepreneur spirits, but they still looked like this by the end of it.

I let them set up on the corner in front of our house to try and sell some more while I prepped Wyatt for leaving.

The bishop came over and bought some (they gave him the deal of buy two, get two free).

The girls ran over to some friends to see if they wanted to come and buy something. They left Porter in charge of the stand.

He might have sampled some of the products

They might not have made a ton of money, but they sure did make some awesome memories.

And they all ran around with a major sugar high for the rest of the day from eating the leftovers.

Down, Set...

2012-01-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

My lil' Porter Pot has now taken his first step into the Man-world.

He's playing flag football.

Just look at that smile.

Today was his first day and he was so excited. Last night he lined up his pants, shirt, shoes and hat across his dresser so that he would be all ready to go in the morning.

Yes, I am well aware that he is wearing a hockey shirt to play football. It was actually pretty chilly here this morning so he needed to wear a thermal.

The coaches gathered all of the little dudes (and one dude-ette) together to explain some of the basic rules (no tackling).

They ran a few laps.

Stretched a bit

And then they actually got to hold a football. It was like the heavens opened and angels sang down on these kiddos.

They ran a few drills (Coach is explaining what to do)

They practiced throwing back and forth for a while (that was pretty entertaining), and then they divided the team into two mini-teams (the Sharks and the Minnows- now how is that fair?) and started showing them how to play.

They had a hard time with it for a few plays, but then they got into the groove and started... ok. So they never quite got it. But they had fun running around after each other.

Then PG's mini-team (Minnows, btw. I feel so cheated with the name) go to velcro on their belts.

Ready, RUN!

See this little girl? She was the only girl on the team and I'm pretty sure the only one who had any idea of what she should be doing.

And she wanted one of Porter's flags.

So she chased him. A lot.

And yes, she did finally get one.

And then she wanted more.

To say that Porter had an awesome time would be a great understatement. Look at his face:

And I got an epic picture

Action shot, baby!

Oh, and Mr. Wyatt and Steph cheered Porter on with me.

The Big ONE

2012-01-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

So, remember this little guy?

Well, it decided to grow up and have his very own first birthday.

I still haven't forgiven him.

Now, to be honest, I wasn't going to have a birthday party. I know, I know. Courtney not wanting to throw a party? GASP! But he's only one, we had Christmas, our anniversary trip, Orrin has to work on his actual birthday, he won't even know the difference... but then certain people made me feel guilty *cough* Vanessa *cough* *cough* Mom *cough*. So I gave in and somehow planned his bday while doing Christmas stuff, doing laundry and packing for our trip, yada yada yada. Please, don't feel bad for me. I obviously felt bad enough for myself :)

I had the party a couple of days early so our closest friends and familia could come.

Now, what kind of party would it be without the traditional treat table?

And yes, the lighting is pretty crappy in all of the pictures. Next time I will remember to shut the blinds before I start snapping.

Then there was the cake

This cake was gonna be perfect... in my mind. Well, four cake mixes later, a late night run to Fry's for more white cake mixes (you're my hero OP), two boxes of food coloring, and more than a few crumbled layers later... learned my lesson. Layer cakes are evil.

But very cute.

And the (very few) decorations

Thank you Whitney and Chris for giving my kiddos bubblegum machines for Christmas. They worked with the party theme awesomely.

I bought some paper party hats and pom poms from Targhetto and then let the girlies decorate them up.

I don't know why I bother with party hats. People will put them on for pics,

And then immediately pull them off.

But they are cute, aren't they?

Oh, hey Aunt Whit. Thanks for the clothes and everything, but I'm really only interested in the bow.

Then it was time for cake. I made Wyatt his own little multi-colored cupcake to destroy. And then Piper wanted to bring it over to him.

Oops.

Instead he got a slice of the seven layer cake (it was supposed to be nine layers, but well, I explained all of this earlier).

He really had no idea what to do with the thing.

Until Uncle Chris shoved his hands down into it.

He was still a bit hesitant at first, but then he really got into it.

Hey kid, you wear your food well.

I then bathed the smooshed-up cake off of him in the kitchen sink. It was very gross.

Then he opened his presents.

He was more interested in the wrapping paper than anything else.

The girls did get him to give it a go eventually.

Wyatt then insisted on going outside with all of the other dudes.

Where Daddy had to chase him around.

As soon as I can get a certain member of our extended family *Stephanie* to take Wy-fi's one year photos I'll get 'em up here.

In review...

2012-01-01T22:48:00.000-07:00

I am too lazy to do an actual "2011 Year in Review". Why would I waste my precious Netflix/Clothes Folding time on that? Instead I shall review this past year in quick pictures that have already graced the pages of this online journal of mine, but I believe they warrant a second glance.

First, lets take another loving gander at the Headers on here. I'm pretty sure I'm missing two of them, but here's what I can find.

Now, here's my fav pics from every month. I tried to keep it down to one picture a month. I did not succeed.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Wow. That was a lot of pictures.

And yet, I'm not done yet.

Let me now share with you my own little projects. My photoshop cards. I love making these babies and I love how they turn out (*ahem* usually).

I also might have made a wedding invitation... but more on that later.

If there's anyone left reading then thanks for hanging in there. If not, well, hey, this blog is kinda for me so I can look back and enjoy cute memories on bad days. And now I put them all in one post. Wahoo!

Goodbye 2011

2012-01-01T15:49:00.002-07:00

Last night us Merrills had a rockin' New Years Eve party at home with just the six of us. Even Mr. Wyatt was awake for 20 minutes of it!

What kind of New Years would it be without food?

I had the girlies plan the food and this is what they wanted... except for the kabobs. Those were OP's request. Those mini pepperonis were a huge hit.

**Thanks Zach and Marissa for the popcorn cups- as you can see they've already been put to use**

We then had to wait for Daddy to get home from work at 8:15 (the kids had it all timed perfectly) for the party to start.

We ate junk food and watched Netflix till he made his appearance.

After OP got home I let the kiddos dive into their party bags (while the breadwinner showered).

This bag of complete New Years fun included noisemakers, glow sticks, masks, necklaces, poppers and a Twix bar. Yes, I am the most fantastic mother in the whole world. Thank you.

They all got fancied up.

Adi took her stuff off right after the pic,

Porter kept taking them off and then reapplying all night (he thought he was a superhero when he had them on)

Pipes was the only one who actually wore the whole she-bang till bed time.

We had some fun outside with the glow sticks.

It was right about this time that Mr. Wyatt awoke. It might have had something to do with the kiddos getting their noisemakers...

He wanted to eat.

And eat

He's learned that when Mom sticks her camera in his face he will soon be blinded by a bright flash of light. So he automatically makes this face.

I then resort to trickery to get a pic with his eyes open.

Back to the party: once Daddy got all cleaned up, we cracked into our mountain of games to play.

OP and Adi played dominoes.

**Like those baskets of laundry in the background? Yeah, they're pretty much always there. Different clothes, same old baskets**

This is Orrin telling me that if I post this picture of him on my blog he'll break my camera.

Challenge accepted.

Piper and Porter played our new Rio Party Game they got for Christmas on the Wii.

Yeah, there was a lot of yelling going on in this room.

I got Wyatt ready for bed and tried to get a decent picture of him.

He was tired, teething and just plain angry.

So he got his baba, blanket and binki and was put to bed.

Doesn't he look like he's wondering why the heck is Mom still in here with her stupid camera?

The kiddos and I played the marble game.

This marble game is a super elite game that only the coolest of the cool know about. And even less have played it.

We all then played Don't Eat Pete! with M&Ms.

And then Uno.

This is the face OP makes when Adi plays a draw four card on hime.

It was 10 o'clock when this game ended and I had had a very long day full of Walmart and Fry's shopping expeditions, laundry, cooking, cleaning, teething baby... so I declared it to be midnight. I am the party pooper.

We went outside and threw poppers at ~~each other~~ the sidewalk.

See the flashes of light? Sweet!

Then we lit up some sparklers.

and wrote our names in the air

(to this day I still feel as giddy as I did when I was 8 years old when you hand me a sparkler)

Porter got a little scared of his when it started to burn low. So he threw it at Orrin.

I laughed till I cried watching Orrin do ninja moves to avoid being caught on fire.

Then we went in, tucked the kiddos in bed, and I fell asleep on the couch watching ID Disappeared.

Not such a great show to watch when your hubby works the kind of schedule mine does.

Anywho, happy 2012 people! I hope this year is as full of adventure, fun and excitement as the last one!

10 Big Ones, Baby

2011-12-31T16:06:00.001-07:00

Not to brag or anything, but OP and I just celebrated our anniversary.

Our tenth one, to be exact.

I know, I know. You're wondering how someone as young and vivacious as I am could possibly have been married for ten years. Orrin robbed the cradle, that's all I'm saying.

We decided that since we never went on a honeymoon or any other vacation without the kiddos, we were going to do our tenth one right. We kicked around ideas about Disneyland, Hawaii and the like... and then we got real and went for something in our price range:

Vegas, baby!

Original? No. OP kept saying that we were in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. I told him to shut up and enjoy it.

You only develop that depth of love after 10 years, people.

As a warning, I didn't bring my camera with me, so all of the pictures are taken by my old iPhone 3g. And that is why my phone battery was pretty much dead the entire trip.

Anywho, we were planning on hitting a Cirque de Soliel show, a magic show, a comedy show... and then Orrin did this, had to miss some work while he recovered, and we had to dip into our anniversary fund to fund Christmas. Boo! But, at least the hotel was pre-paid for so the most expensive chunk was paid for (or so we thought until we saw how much it cost to eat there!).

We stayed at South Point Hotel and Casino off the strip. It was nice. South Point was built with an equestrian center attached to it, so there was lots of horse motif. It also had a movie theater and a bowling alley in it, so BONUS!

On our actual anniversary we hit the strip.

We rode the New York New York roller coaster (the thing was so jerky that we both had to pop some Ibuprofen afterward), visited The Secret Garden at the Mirage (gotta see dolphins being trained, a couple of lions roaring and playing, and an orange tiger and white tiger attack each other- color me impressed), and the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay (where there was a surprising lack of sharks). We also did this CSI: The Experience thing at the MGM, but it was stupid and over-priced and really not worth mentioning.

I even got OP to go into a few shops (not an easy thing to do, believe you me).

How did I do manage that? I told him we could have lunch in the food court instead of one of the buffets in the casinos. Win win, people. Win win.

We also did a lot of people watching. I wanted to post some pics of the weirdest people we came across, but Orrin said that it was cruel, so I didn't. Psh, he has to go and get all nice on me.

We also visited Silver and Gold Pawn shop... you know, where they film Pawn Stars? OP loved it.

There was a line out-the-door to get in there. Worth it!

And then, because OP and I are old farts, we went to the movie theater in our hotel and saw Mission Impossible 3: Ghost Protocol. And that first pic shows the stairs that I tripped up. The second pic is to prove that even though I humiliated myself by tripping up something, I was able to maintain my coolness since I saved the popcorn and didn't spill any of it. Psh, Tom Cruise had nothing on my skills that night.

Oh, and the last pic is of OP telling me I had better not take a picture of him.

By the morning of the third day, we were both ready to go home. We packed up and left Vegas in the dust, grabbing Jack in the Box on our way out. Oh yes. We know how to live.

We also did what we do best: rode along doing our separate things together. OP listened to his audiobook, and I jammed out to Britney Spears Pandora station and played Line Breaker. We also threw back a few Mountain Dews.

Here's to another fantastic 10 years of you and me, Mr. Merrill! Just imagine how many more gallons of Dr. Pepper we shall share...

Oh, and an extra-special thanks to my mom and Whit for taking care of the rascals and making it all possible!

And it's a wrap people.

2011-12-31T14:34:00.000-07:00

After all the merriment and gift-opening of Christmas Eve, it was nearly impossible to get our little kiddos to sleep. They did go to bed incredibly easy, but getting them to actually drift away into dream land was quite a challenge.

So Mom and Dad ended up staying up pretty late to set things up. Well, Mom set things up. Dad played Star Wars on the computer.

Anywho, as I normally do, I decorated over the kitchen table.

No, it's not a very good picture, but my eating area is very awkward and has that hideous light in it. But hey, it's rental so it doesn't bother me too much.

Then Santa got to work.

Let me explain how we do Christmas around here. The kiddos all take their stockings and lay them in their "present spot" which is where Santa will fill them up and leave his gift to them. The rest of the gifts are left under the tree and after opening their stockings and Santa gift in the morning, one kiddo gets the privilege of being "Santa" and gets to distribute the rest of the gifts. Pipes had the honors this year.

**Oh, and shout-out to my awesome Auntie Leanne who knitted these stockings for the kiddos last year. I love, love, LOVE them. And they stretch to extreme proportions so I can cram a ton of stuff in them**

As you may have noticed in past Christmas posts, but I don't really take pics on Christmas morning. Most of the time I feel as though I am so worried about taking pictures that I miss out on all of the fun. So Christmas morning is the one time I set down the camera and just try to be with everyone. And I can better revel in the culmination of four months of work.

Here's the four pics I did take:

*Adi, you look weird, btw*

Look how genuinely happy this girl is. Although she was much happier when she opened her My Way toothbrush. Nerd.

I think Wyatt is a bit overwhelmed.

Sorry OP for getting your garments, but I did warn you to move!

Hope your Christmas was as wonderfully laid-back and awesome as ours was!

On the Night Before Christmas,

2011-12-31T07:19:00.000-07:00

We gathered at my Momma's house for a feast- which I didn't take a picture of but I sure wish I would have. My mom and Whitney set it up so beautifully!

And, prepare yourself, there are no pics of Wyatt. He fell asleep right after dinner and snoozed through the whole party.

Anywho, we then exchanged gifts

Here's Whitney recording the events.

Here's us girls and all of our Toms.

My excitement over getting a pair of these rivaled that of when I was 13 getting my first pair of Dr. Martens. Yes, it was that awesome.

The kiddos got jammies from Whit and Chris and promptly changed into them. Nerds.

OP and Chris rocked out on Chris's Christmas present,

while Porter jammed on his.

Here's PG and his golf buddy,

and OP and Adi playing jewel breaker on the iPad,

and Whit and Pipes snuggling in the chair.

We played our traditional "Buckway Ornament Exchange"- very official- game. It's played like a White Elephant Exchange, but with ornaments. Duh.

Whit wanted to record everything, so here she is recording herself opening her ornament.

And Chris was the entertainment

Everyone had fun teasing and tormenting the kiddos. Hey, it's how us Buckways entertain ourselves :)

What ornaments did everyone end up with?

Did I mention that my mom just had finger surgery? Well, she did. She still made Christmas dinner, dessert and played all of the games. What a champ, huh?

Us Merrills then packed up (and had to sneak a big Christmas present home that I had stored at my mom's house and then forgot about) and went home to prepare for Santa.

We all opened our traditional Christmas Eve jammies, then set out letters to Santa, cookies, milk and oatmeal for the Reindeer (of course!).

That night the kiddos went to bed without any complaint and actually stayed in there, warm and snug, for fear of scaring of Santa.

Wyatt even woke up long enough to put on his new jammies and smile for a pic.

Or stare off long enough for me to get a pic.

To be continued...

As George Bailey would say,

2011-12-25T04:01:00.002-07:00

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

2011-12-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed to Thatcher for our annual Merrill Christmas party.

I cannot explain how excited I was to see this in Globe (a small city on the way):

Yes, I know the picture is blurry. I took it from a moving car.

And then we were with the fam we took an icy trip up Mount Graham to play in the white stuff.

Well, actually, we planned on going sledding but the twisty, winding mountain road was icy and slippery so we just pulled off to the side of the road and let the kiddos play in a little patch of snow.

Lucky for us freezing parents, Emma came along to play with the kiddos.

Us adults just stood on the opposite side of the road- the side with a drop off- and prevented the kids from sliding over the edge.

Or maybe we were just freezing and didn't really want to get any more snow on ourselves.

Hyrum was all ready to go sledding.

Aww, the newlyweds.

Oh, hey Hebes.

Fun, fun, fun! I have missed the snow!

But, I have to admit, it's nice to be able to wave goodbye to it when you get too cold and return to the warmth of the valley :)

**Oh, and I totally forgot to take any pics of the party. Awesome, right?**

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

2011-12-21T09:44:00.001-07:00

Have I told you about my Christmas present from OP yet? If we're friends on good ol' Facebook, then you probably saw. If not, well, here she is in all her beautiful mixing glory:

Ain't she a beaut? And you may be wondering why, if it's only December 22nd, do I have it already. Well, Orrin is ridiculously bad at keeping gifts a secret. Nearly every year since we've been married, I've gotten my Christmas present at least a day early.

Oh, and if you know me well, then you will be surprised to see that my gift is not a camera this year. I may or may not have obviously hinted that I would rather get this wonderful appliance instead.

Anywho, I put this bad boy to work making our Neighbor Gifts this year.

P.S. I hate doing neighbor gifts. It stresses me out every year over what I should give, and I usually go back to what I do every year. Which is what I did this year (and yes, yes, I do understand that post scripts are supposed to be at the end of your writing).

I whipped up some sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, and cake pops.

Oh, and thank you Stephanie for coming over and helping me dip and frost!

Did you know that if you out a bunch of cake pops into a jar the bottom ones will get smashed? Well, now you do.

And, by the way, if you wait until the week of Christmas to buy tags for your gifts these are what you are stuck with.

After dinner one night the kiddos and I bundled up, grabbed Wyatt's pacifier, and set off in our Expie to deliver them to close neighbors, friends and family.

The big kids were so excited to do it this year that they even rang the door bell and then sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to whomever was lucky enough to answer.

*Remember how I tried to get them to do that a couple of years ago? *

Why is Porter holding a sword behind his back like he's going to surprise attack the person that opens the door? It was actually a gift for one his friends. Geesh people.

Now that we're a mere 3 days till Christmas, are your gifts bought and wrapped yet?

'Cause I still have to pull a couple of all-night wrapping sessions.

Christmasy Reading

2011-12-21T09:23:00.001-07:00

Every year since Porter was a babe, we have had a tradition of reading one Christmas book a night for the whole month of December (well, until Christmas).

You can see our other pics of this nightly reading here.

This year I came across a new spin on this idea on my favorite blog, MADE, and decided to shake it up a bit.

I wrapped 24 of our Christmas pictures books and every night we rotate who gets to choose one to open up and have Mom or Dad read to everyone (usually Mom, but Dad has read a couple). And yes, we have more than 24 Christmas books. I do believe that it has turned into an addiction of mine.

What books do we have in our collection? Well, I'm glad you asked since I have prepared a list to share with you!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Tale of Three Trees
Snow Bear
The Christmas Story
Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Little People: Christmas Time is Here
The Polar Express

The Spirit of Christmas
You Can Do It, Sam
The Biggest Snowball Ever
Bear Stays Up for Christmas
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies
Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star
The Biggest, Best Snowman
Moostletoe
Christmas Magic
The Penguin Who Wanted to Be Different

The Snowy Day
The Penguin Who Wanted to Fly
Russell's Christmas Magic
Christmas Tree
Who Will Help Santa This Year?
Merry Christmas, Curious George!
On the Night Before Christmas

We have a few others, but they didn't make the must-read Christmas book list.

There are also a ton of other Christmas books that I would LOVE to get. I usually only buy these holiday stories if they are the $5 Kohls Cares books or under $3 in the girls' book orders from school.

Here's the books that will get us through Christmas Eve (the biggest book on the bottom is The Night Before Christmas... I'm making the kiddos save that until, well, the night before Christmas).

And the ones we've read

Wrapping the books is an awesome idea, by the way. The kiddos get way more excited to read them at night, even though the girls sometimes think they're too old for this tradition.

Little do they know that Mom is going to tie them down to the couches when they're teenagers so they can continue to participate.

A chat with Santa

2011-12-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

This year we lucked out- Santa came to the girls' school. How nice not to have to travel 50 miles, wait in line for hours and pay an excruciating high price for a stupid 4x6 pic.

Instead we drove down the street, paid $3 (all of which went to their school), had a reserved meeting time, and the kids got to converse with The Man for almost 5 minutes.

Poor Santa had a hard time understanding what Porter was telling him (PG has a little bit of a speech impediment- all of his "f"s are "sh"s, his "l"s are "w"s... you get the idea). But Porter-Pot talked to him most of the time about the tools, watch and rope that he wants.

Wyatt was ok with Mr. Claus as long as he didn't talk, touch or look at him. So we just let Adi hold onto him for the picture.

Thanks to our awesome school for making this a quick, easy and personal night with ole Kris Kringle.

A Shower...

2011-12-19T11:57:00.001-07:00

I am now taking a break from sharing our Christmas fun with you all. Instead, I will be showing off the shower that my sister-in-laws and I threw for our little Hannah.

Well, not so little now that she's getting married.

You know what I mean. Here the blushing bride is:

Sorry for the awkward pic Hannah, but it's the only in-focus one I got.

Anywho, I would first like to give credit to someone for pretty much planning the entire shower. And that credit goes to Pinterest. Thank you for giving us pretty much all of the ideas for decorating and the refreshments.

Now, onto the pictures.

First up: the invite.

The advice table.

Write your advice for the bride on one of them there triangles then clothespin it onto the rope, thereby making a pendant.

Yeah, it looked way better in my head.

But did you see the oreo pops on the table? Jessie made them for the favors.

And yes, they are as delicious as they look.

We held this shin-dig in the Relief Society building at this old church in Thatcher. Luckily, everything was already blue in there so the colors all went nicely together.

The refreshment table (I was going for this look. Hit and miss, people. Hit and miss).

And yes, that is a plastic tablecloth. We do it right.

Lindy rocked the food.

There may or may not have originally been twice as many dipped pretzels, but some one might have dropped a bag of them and broke one. And that person might have been me.

Here's where the bride sat.

The bubblegum was for the one game we planned. I know, I know. Just one game? But I find shower games to be just... uncomfortable.

Can't read the bunting? Here's a closer look.

We went simple for the centerpieces

We made these flowers out of paper napkins. Who'da thunk?

Once everyone started coming in, I put away my camera and forgot to take pictures of all the action. So sorry, but at least I got the decorations!

**Although I did get an awesome action shot of Stephanie eating, but I didn't think she'd appreciate it if I posted it on here**

All the Whos down in Whoville

2011-12-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

The girls had their class Christmas parties yesterday and they begged me to do the Cindy Lou Who (from their favorite Christmas movie and book) hairdo on them.

How do you think I did?

The secret (since almost every teacher and mom at the school stopped us to ask)? I made a paper cone and combed the hair up around it. It actually took less than 10 minutes to do it.

Snow Day

2011-12-17T07:46:00.001-07:00

While we are all very excited to be back in Arizona with most of our families, we are missing Utah. Especially at this time of the year. Ok, ok, it is nice to be able to leave the house without putting on 52 layers of clothes, but it just doesn't seem like Christmas without the snow.

The local mall has a Santa Lane thingy going on where they promise to have snow falling every half hour. Well, how could I say no to that? Even if it means taking all four kids to the mall very close to bed time by myself while OP is working? Well, now I can see how I could have said no to that...

Anywho, we met up with the Lopez side of the family (yay for Peyton visiting... oh, and her mom and dad too) over there.

Peyton and Wyatt were very exited to hang out together...

Or they couldn't have cared less.

Well, honestly, the whole thing was a bit underwhelming. Santa was there and anyone was welcome to sit on his lap, but you couldn't take your own picture with him. Nope, they wanted you to pay for their picture packages (and starting at $24 for one pic? What a steal). That's ok though, since Porter wouldn't sit on his lap again since he's already done that (pics to come later, promise).

But then the snow began,

Alright, so maybe it was just bubbles, and little-miss-eight-going-on-17 acted entirely unimpressed (she has, after all, played in the real stuff),

it was still pretty magical.

Wyatt LOVED it.

He kept walking around in circles, looking up at the ceiling, trying to figure out what the heck was going on. He also kept falling over from looking up while walking.

By the way, it was really, really, unbelievably difficult to get a decent picture of the kids when they were running around in the "snow".

Oh Waffle Tree

2011-12-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

I saw this little lovely while perusing Pinterest the other day.

I studied the picture and then asked myself, "How can I make this, but only waaay unhealthier?

Bada-bing, it came to me.

I couldn't figure out how to get the waffles done without them being brown. Plus I let the kiddos sprinkle on their own powdered sugar. I've had better ideas.

Adi and Porter were in love.

Oh, and Mr. Wyatt enjoyed him some sugar, sprinkle and whip-cream free waffles too.

And Piper? Well, Piper really isn't a waffle fan. Especially not with powdered sugar. So I put syrup on instead. She still wasn't too happy.

Is there a better way to start a school day then full of sugar and whip cream? I didn't think so.

Gingey

2011-12-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

The kids have been wanting to make gingerbread men.

Eh. That looked waay too daunting for me. I've never made gingerbread cookies, I don't have the right cookie cutter, etc. etc etc. I could list at least 20 excuses for not doing it.

Then I saw these creations of Bakerella's. I started considering it. Then I saw that Pillsbury has some refrigerated gingerbread cookie dough and well, why not?

We just used whatever I had on hand. Which were Christmas M&M's and sprinkles.

And then the kiddos got to creating.

There was pretty much a thick layer of frosting on everyone and everything when they were finished.

I still can't figure out why the kids had such a sugar rush afterward. They didn't even eat a cookie.

P.S. Don't eat any cookies if you come over. They may or may not all have some kid spit on them.

They're Singing

2011-12-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

It's Christmas Musical time at the girls' school. Yay! I honestly would like to give the music director a huge hug for how she worked it. Instead of sitting through one big musical with all the grade that lasts at least an hour, every grade had their own performance that... (wait for it)... only lasted 20 minutes.

Oh yes. It was awesome.

And they were on separate nights.

I'm spoiled, right?

Anywho, Pipe's was first. Their theme was "Pandamonium". As you can probably guess, all of their songs were about bears.

Doesn't she look so Grizzly Bear-ish (that's what we were going for, people)?

My personal favorite was the Jingle Bears song where Pipes got to showcase her attitude.

Miss Adi's was a few days later. The third grader's music was all about Snirts (snow mixed with dirt, duh). Miss Adison was a snowflake all dressed in white. Doesn't she look like an angel?

Adi-Baby seemed a little bit confused during pretty much the entire performance. I think she was more concerned over whether I was recording her or not.

And yes, I recorded every wonderfully flakey song.

We also discovered that Wyatt does not like cheering at all (he bawled every time Orrin or I made the "Woo" sound).

And that the Santa's Naughty or Nice app on the iPhone can enchant a 4 year old for at least 20 minutes.

Thank you technology.

Nativity

2011-12-13T18:52:00.001-07:00

I was at Hobby Lobby fighting the crowds in the Christmas aisles (pure craziness) when I came across a little ceramic set of the nativity. I knew the kiddos love to paint, so I brought it home to them.

And they loved it.

For the first couple of figurines. Unfortunately, they each had to paint four of them, so after the second one the whining started.

I told them they had to finish what they started. Can you tell which ones they painted first and which ones they just wanted to get it over with?

And now we have a wonderfully-colorful nativity to keep forever. Or until they get broken.

Any bets on which one will happen first?

**P.S. Wyatt did not get to participate, yet again, in this activity. He instead got to eat Sweet Potato Puffs and enjoy the spectacle his siblings created**

Hot, Hot...

2011-12-13T03:01:00.001-07:00

First off, as you can probably tell, I am not following through on the Days of Christmas thing. Apparently having four kids makes it a bit hard to squeeze in all the fun activities, photo editing and blogging time daily. So I've given myself a break and decided that maybe next year... or maybe it's just a thing of the past.

Rest assured I am still infusing our house full of Christmas merriment almost everyday (sometimes it may simply be watching a Christmas movie, but that still counts!) and I will try to keep this little piece of internet updated.

Now, on to the main event.

Which is hot chocolate.

We watched Polar Express the other night and in honor of my kiddos favorite song (this one right here) we had a hot chocolate bar.

Alright, alright- so there really weren't enough options here to call it a "bar", but there were enough to get my kids running in circles.

And since whip cream, candy canes, marshmallows and sprinkles are definitely not enough sugar right before bed, I made some peppermint cookies too.

And here is Porter in the middle of his sugar rush

He did not take a single sip of hot chocolate. He was content to lick off the whip cream and then eat 72 marshmallows and 2 cookies.

Ah, to be young again.

Dear Santa,

2011-12-03T02:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight we broke out the crayons and plain white paper (to let the kiddos create to their hearts' content- not because Mom was too tired to run to Hobby Lobby to pick up pretty Christmas stationary).

The kiddos printed out their own "Dear Santa" headers on the computer with their choice of font and colored away.

Seriously, this was tough work.

Porter wrote his own this year!

Piper, in her usual precise fashion, spent over 30 minute making hers.

Awwww.

How could Santa not bring it to her even though it's a $35 Barbie with bad reviews?

And Adi had to redo hers.

Her first letter forgot to say "please" and might have started with the statement "I want".

And what was Mr. Wyatt doing while we were creating?

Running and sucking on any dropped crayons. Yep, not a single decent shot of this little man. Adi wrote his letter for him.

Wanna see, Wyatt? No? Allrighty.

Look at these kids. They make my heart smile.

And my face.

It has begun again.

2011-12-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

I am, once again, attempting our family's Days of Christmas Book, 2011 edition. Last year I skipped it, I just wasn't up to it seeing as how we just moved to a different state and I was very pregnant and supposed to be on bed rest and all.

Anywho, I got the basic idea for the yearly tradition from this site here. I figured that it will remind me to make this month about memories, fun and family. That's the theory anyway. Here's the link to all my past Christmas Book pages. They go all the way back to PG's first Christmas.

So here we go.

We started the Christmas season, as all families should, by setting up the tree. We put on White Christmas (as dictated by a tradition began when Adi was a mere fetus) and had at it.

Wyatt was confused as to why we had all these shiny balls out and then kept telling him "No" when he tried to play with them.

Adi put herself in charge of keeping Wyatt out of them.

Everyone (well, everyone but Frankenstein Knee, that is) pitched in.

This year I decided to skip putting up any breakable ornaments at all since the tree is set up on tile and I just didn't want to risk loosing any of our tacky frog collection. The kids were a bit disappointed that all of their ornaments weren't on the tree, but they also didn't want them broken so there weren't too many complaints.

Oh, and case you're wondering, Porter had on a pair of my fuzzy socks since they're so soft. His feet are not that unusually large.

Consider yourself warned.

2011-12-02T09:34:00.001-07:00

After Thanksgving (nope, I didn't pull out my camera once), OP and the Merrill guys took off to Hyder for some fun riding and general male bonding.

Yep, I just said "male bonding".

Orrin was excited to break in his new $500 dirtbike (which I endearingly call Sister Wife).

I don't have a picture of the entire bike, but here's the motor (I just simply don't care enough to take a picture of the dumb thing):

So out he headed. Around 3 o'clock I called my dear hubby to see how everything was going.

"We're getting ready to leave," he told me.

That's weird, I thought. Usually they ride until there's no light left.

When they finally rolled in, OP came limping into the house with a hospital bracelet on. Apparently he was in the hospital when I called and didn't see any reason to make me worry when it wasn't that big of a deal.

That big of a deal? That big of a deal?!

Orrin was riding a wheelie at 60 mph (because he's stupid, that's why), when the power band kicked in and knocked him onto his butt. He then flipped and slammed his knee. And this happened.

Would you care for a closer look?

But really, it was no big deal.

*That last statement was dripping with sarcasm and I hope that someday they will invent a sarcastic typeface*

Thirty-eight stitches later and we have this:

Ew. Ew. Ew. I can barely help him change his bandages without passing out (yep, I am a wuss when it comes to blood and wounds).

Did I mention that my bro-in-law Chris took care of him?

Oh, hey Chris. Glad everyone found out about his accident before me. *This is another time that a sarcastic typeface would be handy*

Well- all's well that ends well, I guess. OP is now being forced to sit on the couch and try not to move his leg for ten days, which is difficult seeing as how his behind is all bruised from the fall.

And no, I didn't take a picture of that to share with you.

All I want for Christmas...

2011-12-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Are my two front teeth!

Hahaha! Even though I've sang the song to Piper about 1 million times now, it still hasn't gotten old.

Well, to me. She is now rolling her eyes every time I start singing.

I'm getting deep, here, people

2011-11-19T21:25:00.001-07:00

I was holding my baby tonight. giving him his bottle and staring at his general awesomeness.

**Not too brag, but this kid is pretty awesome**

I was reveling in his big blue eyes and the milk drippings on his chin. The way his thermal jammies fit so perfectly snug on his pudgy little thighs. I had Christmas music playing softly from the computer (yes, I am already listening to Christmas music, so sue me) and then the song "Mary Did You Know?" (this version right here) came on.

It hit me. This is what Mary did all those years ago. She held the tiny infant Christ in her arms, fed him, giggled at the milk mustache above his lips. She marveled at his beauty and his perfectness. I am sure that she too was sometimes overcome with the responsibility that was in in her lap: to raise a perfect little spirit in this imperfect world (although she had waaay more pressure there). She probably uttered many prayers under her breath or silently in her head to please, please let her succeed. Please give her strength and knowledge beyond her current capabilities. Let her be strong but kind. Stern but gentle. A soft place and a pillar.

At that moment, with the music tinkling in the background and my mind running at full speed, my baby grinned up at me, exposing his one white bottom tooth. It could not have been planned better. I pulled him close and breathed in his scent of baby soap, lotion and a bit of banana. I planted a wet kiss on his forehead (not his lips, he gets mad and starts hitting if you kiss him there).

"Mary, did you know that when you kiss your little baby, you've kissed the face of God?" sang Reba. I was having one of those full-on "my cup runneth over" moments. My other three kids were staring at me from the kitchen table as if I'd gone completely bonkers. "You ok, Mom?" Pipes asked.

Yes. Yes I am doing awesome right now. For that one second I got it. I knew. While this smiling baby, and those three kiddos drawing up a storm over there, are not the Great I Am, they are pretty special to this mommy. After all, does Christ not say in the scriptures, "Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me"?

Of course, the moment was soon over. Wyatt wanted to get down to run over and push the bright green light (meaning he turns off the computer) and the little Picassos started fighting over who gets to use the skinny black marker (even though there are three other fat black markers in the marker jar).

But I had it. And I thank Heavenly Father for the tender mercy He gave me tonight. He helped me see that while right now raising these kids means a lot of diapers, laundry soap, muddy floors and toothpaste on the bathroom counter, some day these tiny people will grow into the glorious people that they are meant to be. They will go out into this world and make it a better place (oh yes, they will be something to behold, let me tell you).

And I will get to witness it all.

Yep,

2011-11-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

We have another golfer in the family.

Christmas Pics

2011-11-11T15:22:00.001-07:00

One year, I swear, Orrin and I will actually be in the Christmas card pictures. Just not this year.

Anywho, I called up my newest sister-in-law Stephanie and said, "Take our pictures tonight, woman!" Well, maybe I wasn't that demanding, but I kind of felt like I was.

Luckily she agreed and we tried to wrangle these four kids together long enough to get some decent pictures.

She let me handle the editing, so I feel an apology and a warning is needed here. Please do not judge her photography skills by my less than mediocre editing skills. Seriously.

I used to think that getting a picture with three kids smiling and looking at the camera was difficult. Four kids? Holy hannah.

Luckily Stephanie brought a good attitude along with her cute props.

'Cause things sure got tough with Mr. Walking Wyatt.

Then she took some individual portraits.

Piper, Little-Miss-Photogenic herself, has suddenly become a little awkward in front of the camera and can't seem to remember how to smile her real smile.

Notice how it doesn't reach her eyes?

I actually liked these more serious ones of Adi.

I really needed Orrin there to make these kids do their real smiles and giggles. I'm just not as funny as Daddy.

And then there was Mr. Why-Sit-Still-And-Smile-For-You-When-There's-All-This-Green-Grass-To-Explore?

*sigh* I don't have the patience to take this guy's pictures. And that's why I coerced my other sister-in-law Hannah to take his one year pics next month. I am so good.

These walking ones were probably the easiest ones to take since Wyatt was happy strolling along (until he fell). At least, I thought they were the easiest. Stephanie would probably tell a different story.

And, of course, the bum picture. I always have to get one of these.

Of course I did not post the picture that gets the honor of making my Christmas cards (which I just ordered today, thank you very much). You'll just have to wait until they're all sent out before you see that one. I know you'll be waiting with bated breath...

What About Wyatt?

2011-11-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

I actually pulled out my camera before school this morning (a miracle since we're usually pretty pressed for time).

Good morning Mr. Wyatt

Can you tell how he's grabbing onto my legs? This is how I've been spending most of my days lately. You know, with a baby attached to me somewhere.

I went outside to take some pics of the kiddos on our tree swing (none of which turned out), and I turned around and saw this:

Mr. Wyatt slamming on the glass door and yelling to be let out.

I thought it was adorable. He thought it to be quite annoying that no one was helping him.

Poor boy spends a majority of his day at this door watching his siblings jump, ride and generally run a muck.

Ain't it cute?

Yes, Adison. There is.

2011-11-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

I was doing Adi's hair for school a couple of days ago when she she asked me with her gigantic blue eyes staring at me, "Mom, is there really a Santa?"

I gulped. "Why do you ask?"

"Because sometimes I think that it's you and Dad."

Oh, my dear little Adi. She's always been the most excited for Christmas. She writes Santa a letter nearly every night in December asking him about how is Christmas plans are going and how much she loves him. Last year she even drew out and designed the Big Man, the Mrs. and a few of his favorite elves brand new ultra-deluxe bedrooms.

And she expects answers back (yep, I do a lot of creative writing in December).

I am not ready for this. To strip this upcoming holiday of all it's glitter and magic. To have Adi see it as a commercial-driven, money-spending, list-of-wants and don't-really-needs day that it sometimes feels like to us adults who fund it. I prefer the magic and the glitter. I prefer the sweet little notes and the plate of cookies with a few carrots for the reindeer. I prefer the innocence.

I know that her friends have already begun to tell her that she shouldn't believe and that it is impossible for one fat man to deliver gifts around the whole world in one night. But Adi, with her ferociously loyal spirit, always defends and counter-argues. He is real. He is alive. He is.

In the next few years there are some big changes coming Adi's way. Soon enough this world will get through the little cracks in the fluffy bubble of innocence that I've kept her comfortably wrapped up in these past 8 years. So much information and worldly "truths" will fill her head and she'll begin to see the worry and the anger and the hate that fills this earth.

And I won't... no, I can't take it away from her now. Not yet. So I'm asking for one more year of magical celebration. One more holiday of true Santa poems, stories and songs. Just another two months of Belief. I promise that after this year has come to a close, the next time my oldest girl asks me if I am Santa Clause, I will tell her the truth.

No. Dad and I are not Santa. We as parent's have the honor of filling old Kris Kringle's shoes once a year. That we get to take the mission of a Bishop that lived so long ago and let it live on, and help it to make this world be wonderful and more loving this one time of the year. I'll explain how parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents have all helped to spread the joy of giving and and sacrifice that is called Santa through generations. I will tell her that it is now her privilege to help carry this tradition forward. It is her duty to make this holiday magical and mysterious for her younger siblings, cousins, friends and all of those who still Believe. She is now part of the special few who take this job very seriously and that she must too.

But not yet. Not this year. Not this Christmas.

I know she'll forgive me for my personal indulgence some day in the future when she watches her own children's eyes light up on Christmas morning.

**Thank you Peggy for the inspiration on how to answer her!**

Frightfully Delightful

2011-11-02T17:41:00.001-06:00

It's that time of year again. You know, party season?

Which means it's time for the kiddo's Halloween party. Which seems to have turned into an annual thing (2010 and 2009). So we'll call this the 3rd Annual Merrill Halloween Party. Such an official title.

This year the kiddos just invited their school friends since I hadn't met a bunch of them (everyone lives in different neighborhoods).

First, a shout out to my sister- without who this party would have had a lot less decorations and treats. Thank you Whitney.

Since we live in Arizona and it isn't cold in the fall here, we had the party outside.

I didn't want the kiddos walking through the house..

We sat up the grazing table by moving my kitchen table outside (hey Mom- I really need that folding table back).

For the snackages we had Frankenstein Bolts

(and you can see the Goblin Fingers in the background),

Zombie Tongues,

Petrified Bat Wings

And cake mix cookies (hey, not everything has to have a spooky name)

Totino's pizzas were the main course, but those disappeared before I could get a shot of the whole table. I also planned on having witches fingers (celery sticks), troll eyes (green grapes), and more... but I honestly ran out of time before the kids got here to cut, wash and set them out. So the little ones had a wonderfully-healthy-food-free night. Sorry moms.

The drinks

I loved these mini soda cans.

I didn't have any extra tables to set up, so we just threw out some plastic tablecloths (with rocks weighing them down) and had the kids gather there.

Pipe's friends (seriously, these kids had so much pop, pizza and pixie sticks)

They kind of look like garbage bags just thrown down, right?

Porter only had one little friend to invite

But they had an awesome time together!

Yep that's a picture of him burping. I captured a moment here, people.

Then came the games.

First was Ghosts and Goblins.

This was by far the best game I had. Thank you Pinterest.

Next up was the Skeleton toss.

Ha. My girls couldn't even tell that were supposed to be stacked-up pumpkins. Here's what it was supposed to look like. This reminds me of another goodie floating around Pinterest:

Ha!

Anyway, here's Miss Pips tossing in her plastic skeleton head

Then came the good ole traditional Pin-the-Eye-on-Frankenstein.

Then, another idea taken from my newest favorite addiction, was Catch the Monsters.

This game was fun, but there was one little problem with doing it on our dying summer grass:

Can you see the little girl in the background picking the grass out of her mouth?

And of course we had a sugar cookie decorating table (what party is complete without one?)

Adi and her amigas:

Oh, hi Jake and the Neverland Pirate! Funny seeing you here...

Then the kiddos ate a ton of sugary goodies and drank gallons of soda. They also did a lot of jumping on the trampoline (I still thank the day we bought that $200 gigantic kid entertainer).

The kiddos danced (oh, and Nana too)

And then the girlies spent over an hour perfecting their cheerleading skills

Thanks kiddos!

** I must mention how grateful I am to live in a climate where it is warm enough to party outside at Halloween. This party was waaay more relaxed than when we had them inside in Utah **

Black and Red All Over

2011-10-24T09:47:00.001-06:00

I finally took some pics of the kiddos in their costumes.

I kept putting it off since, frankly, it is hard trying to photograph and crawling/walking teething 9 month old and my camera just plain doesn't take very good action shots (one day you will be mine).

And I haven't had lovey-dovey feelings this year about their costumes.

Well, except this one:

I still got complete creative control over this guys' costume. And I will for at least two more years (and next year I kinda want to do this). Poor kid.

Here he is from the front:

And no, I didn't get a single pic of him looking at the camera. Well, I did. But they were the moving shots.

See, I told ya.

Mr. Porter Pot wanted to be Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates. You know, this dude:

Did I succeed?

Kinda. I do realize he looks more ninja than pirate, but what do ya do?

I got the vest and pants patterns from MADE (this is my favorite blog ever).

He wouldn't go for an eye patch or even a fake, huge earring since Jake doesn't have either.

Arrg.

Then the girls.

If you follow me on Facebook, you may know that these costumes and I did not get along this year.

Like, I may or may not have hit my sewing machine while making them.

Yes, the Practically Perfect Courtney Merrill may have a temper. But don't tell anyone, k?

There are sooo many things wrong with these outfits, but I figures that Halloween is primarily celebrated in the dark, right?

Adi was worried since her pink shoelaces clashed with her red and black cheer uniform and wanted me to buy her plain white shoes instead.

Psh. It's a costume kid. Deal with it.

Do you like the flamingo stance both girls are doing? Apparently that is how cheerleaders stand now.

And then I tried to get group shots.

Pipes is laughing at Wyatt 'cause every time she puts his hat on, he takes it off right before I take the picture.

Hilarious.

I tried some more.

And about 37 imperfect pictures more. It was tough.

I took my newest sister-in-law's advice and took the pics right before the sunset. The first few turned out awesome, but since I have a slow camera and fast kids, the last ones were a little dark...

I broke the "photographer rule" and used my flash. But since I'm not a photographer I don't feel too bad about that.

So there ya go. My four kiddos all tricked-up for trick-or-treating. And I do realize that all of their costumes do coordinate, but that was done unintentionally. It's cool, but not done on purpose. The funny thing is that mine and OP's costumes for the big Lopez Halloween party are black and red.

Again, unintentional.

But hey, who doesn't like matchy-matchy?

Sparks Fly

2011-10-22T16:57:00.001-06:00

Oh yes. We did it.

(Pipe's adorable little hands)

Still don't know? Hows about this for a hint?

Really? You still don't get it?

How about this:

AHHHHH!

(That was me screaming in pure delight- which I did a lot of last night and it is why my voice is hoarse this morning)

Yep. We went to the Taylor Swift Speak Now concert.

And it was awesome and sweet and so girly that I think I'll have hearts and sparkling confetti coming out of my eyeballs for at least a week.

Whitney (my sis) and I got these tickets clear back in April and I have had to keep the secret from the girls for six months. SIX MONTHS. For a girl who has a hard time not telling her kids what she got them for Christmas, this was quite a feat.

So yesterday we told the girls that they couldn't go to their school's fall festival since I promised Whit and Chris that we could clean out their garage that night.

Then OP brought in a sparkly envelope from the mailbox and told the girlies that they got something:

There was a large group of adults surrounding the girlies with cameras rolling to capture their delight.

To be honest, it was underwhelming.

Apparently Little-Miss-Too-Smart-For-Her-Own-Good Adi figured out that since Whitney and Chris were going to the concert on Friday and since I have been playing non-stop T-Swift music lately and since I had converted their old Taylor Swift night shirts into fitted, glittery tops... well, now it seems rather obvious. But I had relied a little too heavily on the thought that they were oblivious.

Learned that lesson.

The girlies put on their boots and sparkly shirts, headbands and belts and we set off. First we went to Chik-Fil-A to fill us up and give us energy to make it through the late night (meaning I might have had a caffeinated beverage).

And then we drove forever in rush hour traffic to get to Jobing.com arena.

We wrote "13" on their hands so they could be cool like Taylor.

I don't know why Adi appears to be licking her hand in the background.

We then waited.

Oh, hi Whitney and Chris!

And waited.

Right after this shot I said, "Pull up your shirt, Adi!"

And then we waited some more.

The tickets said the show started at 7. Miss Swift didn't hit the stage until after 8:30. We had to endure two craptastic opening bands. You'd think that for a Taylor Swift concert they'd have some amazing openers, wouldn't you?

The girls were more than a little impatient and started to whine (please keep in mind these girls have a strict 8 o'clock bed time).

But then, she came.

And she rocked.

And the girls were ecstatic.

Miss Pipes was standing on her chair- singing, dancing, jumping, wiggling her booty.

And Adi is more like her Daddy and is pretty much incapable of showing excitement. Doesn't she look thrilled?

And then there's Pipes that was providing quite a bit of entertainment for those seated directly behind her.

Those are some tired eyes, right?

Look at all of the cell phones:

Taylor started off singing a bunch of her upbeat songs, like Speak Now (which she had a mini-wedding set up and her and her dancers looked like do-wop singers from the 50's- Adorable).

Then she squeezed through the crowds, hugging and shaking hands all the way,

Do you see how close we were to her bouncing blonde pony tail?

Luckily Uncle Chris is the bomb.com and carried the girls up even closer.

(By this time Adi had made her way back to Whit and I)

Taylor sat down practically right in front of us and played a few acoustic songs on a ukulele, banjo, and a guitar.

I can pretend like Taylor and I are having a personal conversation here. Kind of. Oh, and no those aren't tattoos up her arm. She likes to write other artist's song lyrics on her body with a sharpie before she performs. I don't know why.

The songs got slower and so did the girls.

And then this happened:

And this:

They managed to sleep through 14,000 people screaming, fireworks and a giant bell gonging (is that a word?).

They also missed this:

And her closing number of Love Story where she swept over the audience in a balcony.

Good thing Mama brought her camera and recorded it, huh?

You may or may not be able to hear someone croaking along with Miss Swift. It was not me. Really it wasn't... ok, it might be me. Don't judge.

We watched the videos that I had recorded from the concert this morning. Piper started complaining because she just wanted to watch the songs that she had slept through. I told her that for what we paid for the tickets, she could watch them all again three times. She stopped complaining.

It was such an awesome night (I realize I am overusing that word, but I am trying to get the point it across that is. was. awesome).

The sets were so cool and most of the backgrounds were altered art-ish.

And I even started liking some of her songs I never cared for before (namely Fifteen and Dear John).

The girls today are still sporting their Speak Now bracelets and have given themselves whiplash from practicing her hair flips.

Yes, you can pretty much watch the show through my links, but it was so- wait for it- AWESOME that you really should go see it yourself!

More from the iPhone

2011-10-20T08:23:00.000-06:00

This new phone is making me lazy. The thought of walking all the way over to the computer desk to pull out my camera to take a picture seems exhausting. And then I have to plug it into the computer and transfer the pics over. And then all the clicking... ugh. I'll just whip out my phone a snap a photo and then edit it on my Photoshop Express app and... voila! It's done. I can post it to Facebook and everything from my new best friend, err, phone.

So here's a sampling of my latest photos:

I'll leave it up to you to decide what captions went with these photos. As you can imagine, my remarks were always wildly witty and unbelievably imaginative.

Or if we're friends on Facebook and/or Instagram you could just look back and find most of these on there.

Night, Night

2011-10-19T20:15:00.001-06:00

This kid loves his bed. LOVES. It is his sanctuary. It is where no one else is allowed (lest they awaken the fury in their mother).

It is just a plain ol' pack n' play (with literally 12 blankets piled under it for cushioning- they don't think about comfort when they make these things). I bought a real crib for him. Unfortunately for this baby, his mom thought she could repaint an old Jenny Lind crib.

She couldn't. In fact, it was quite epic just how horrible she was at it.

Anyway, he is now stuck in this thing until he graduates to a toddler bed.

But no matter how much it offends my eyes to look at the green and brown pattern against the blue and orange decorations that are slowly appearing in his room, he adores the thing.

And I adore him.

P.S. Wonder why you haven't seen Wyatt with a pacifier since he was tiny and now one is magically appearing? We have a strict "no binki outside of bed" policy. It works. He only cries for it if he's laying in bed and can't find it (it likes to slip under the corner of the mattress).

Hair School

2011-10-15T10:56:00.000-06:00

Orrin and I have been trying to push our kids into independence. And no, we're not being momma birds shoving our kids out of the nest. We are merely trying to give them the basic tools to succeed in life outside of our home.

So we can kick them all out and start traveling.

Anyway, Orrin pointed out that the girls will probably want to learn to do their own hair. Now, if you know me, you know that I may have some controlling tendencies. And one of these tendencies is me wanting my kid's hair and clothes to be... I hate to say perfect, but I think the word just may fit here. I resisted. Why do they need to do their own hair? They can visit me every morning while in college so I can curl their locks and put in a waterfall braid.

Finally I relented. With Fall Break in full swing, we started Hair School (this name is trademarked. Don't steal it).

Everything needed for a successful hair day:

I tried teaching them to straighten their own hair,

Then I thought it would be better if they did each others'

Now add a braid

A little upcombing

And now pose:

Now please don't judge me by the spots on the mirror. I didn't even realize they were there until after I uploaded the pictures. They are now gone and have been replaced with new ones.

To the pumpkin patch we go...

2011-10-12T10:14:00.000-06:00

Let me be honest. I am missing Utah right now. The changing of the leaves, the cool, crisp weather, all of the fall activities we would do as a fam at this time of the year.

I especially missed Cornbellys (here's last year's fun and the year before). I did find this little pumpkin patch/family activity place not too far from us here called Vertuccio's Farm.

Now, this place was no Cornbellys (hey- I'm only being honest), but it was fun non-the-less.

First off was the cow train.

OP told me to get in and hold Wyatt. I laughed in his face and told him that I had no desired to get stuck in a cow-painted water barrel, thank you very much. So he wiggled in (and yes, it took him a minute and some shimmying to get out).

Pipes and PG attempted to milk a wooden cow. Notice Adi in the corner? She wouldn't go near the fake udders.

Everyone took a turn whacking this thing to try to ring the bell at the top. Adi made it to1 1/2.

Pipes made it to 2.

And Porter could barely get the hammer to meet the pad.

I am proud to say that my hubby rang the bell (after three tries, but who's counting?).

No, I didn't take a turn. There was a serious line of little kids so I felt guilty taking up their play time.

Next came the bouncy-horses race track.

These babies were hard to stay on

Orrin had more luck

And yes, I love the fact that I'm married to a giant kid.

Wyatt was just wondering what the heck everyone was doing.

Now, on to the corn maze!

When I saw how big the maze was (over 3 miles) I wasn't really digging the idea of getting lost in there with three walking kids and a stroller that wasn't made for dirt paths, but to prove that I am just as tough as my daughter Piper, I zipped my lips and ventured in.

To let you know what the goal was in this buggy terrain: they gave each of the kids a paper like this:

and at each of the six check-points in the maze they crayon-rubbed a unique print in the squares. If they filled in every square, they got a prize.

We got three, and that includes the "freebie" one they give you at the beginning of the maze.

But the kiddos really wanted the prize, so we walked

And wandered

Posed for a few pictures ("No Porter! Look at MOM"):

Meandered:

We might have cheated a few times and took the mini-paths that are set-up for the workers.

We let the kids decided which way to go at first, but after going in a circle three times, OP and I started choosing the paths (ok, Orrin did. I was as hopelessly lost as the kids).

Porter was the biggest complainer of the lot. Until OP gave him a drink of water and told him that it transforms people into Power Rangers.

And then he was happy as a clam.

I finally declared that we were finished looking for the stamps and that we needed to get. out. now.

Then we moved onto the air pillow. I do not know where these kids get their energy from, but after the corn maze they still did this:

for a good 20 minutes.

After we pulled the kids off the jumpy-thingy we went and stared at a few animals. The girls got a kick from this sign:

Everyone else was up there petting the donkeys, cows and goats. And this is what Adi did:

Hello sliver-infested teeter-totter.

We then let the kiddos choose a tiny $1 pumpkin to take home (the big ones were anywhere from $10-$15 bucks a pop. No thank you. I'll go to Walmart). And then I insisted on taking some photos. I just wanted one good one of all four kids.

Adi, do your real smile. OP do something to make Wyatt look over here.

Porter! Look at Mom. Orrin, seriously get Wyatt to look here. Adi! Smile normal.

Oh, never mind. Let's just pay and get in the car!

And there were about ten other tries in-between these.

Oh. and as proof that I was there:

My legs and feet. Orrin cannot be trusted with the camera.

Prepare to be delighted

2011-09-30T21:53:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty sure that the only people that will be interested in this post at all will be myself and my mother. It is truly a splurge of pictures of by bouncing baby boy enjoying his very first chocolate chip cookie (yep, my "famous" ones).

Still, I must post these for anyone who may find a very-nearly-but-not-quite 9 month old chowing down as entertaining as I do.

Let me begin by telling you why today was the day for the first cookie. Well, I needed him to stop following around in the kitchen and climbing up my leg whenever I paused in one spot. So I did the responsible, motherly thing and strapped him into his seat and fed him chocolate. Pure awesome momminess, right?

Of course I stripped him of his shirt. One cannot truly enjoy a cookie when fully clothed.

He had a bit of a difficult time getting the thing into his mouth without it crumbling.

He now pauses to reflect on the individual flavors in this delectable treat. I believe he can distinctly taste the extra vanilla I dump in there.

And then he just shoves what he could into his drooling mouth.

Searching for big crumbs...

Doesn't he look like he's raising his hand to ask for another? Or is this just the crazy imaginings of a sleep-deprived mommy?

Look. At. That. Grin.

I am now melted into a puddle at his feet.

He then had this psychedelic-hippie moment where he spaced out and stared at absolutely nothing. Chocolate overdose, perhaps?

Maybe this cookie is the reason why he didn't nap the rest of the day...

Just keep swimming

2011-09-29T19:25:00.000-06:00

Sadly, swimming season is coming to a close here in AZ. Well, really it's still hot enough to hit the pool, but we just don't have enough time anymore between school, homework and sports. And it's just not hot enough to justify pushing any of these things back.

This year the three oldest kiddos learned to swim on their own.

In the deep end.

I am so proud.

They do flips into the water and every other kind of cool trick.

I'm just hoping that next year they can teach this little guy to do the same.

(Poor Wyatt has to skip swimming these days since boring old mom thinks it's too cold in the pool).

Now that I'm looking at these pics I'm pretty sure that we're going swimming tomorrow. And I might even join the kiddos in that refreshing water.

Eh, maybe not.

A New Era

2011-09-27T11:57:00.000-06:00

The Merrills have now entered into the world of boy sports. Hopefully it's one that we will fit into comfortably for the next 18 years (yes, I already have dreams of watching PG and Tank tackle peeps on the football field throughout high school).

This year, it is T-Ball.

We don't have his uniform yet since this was his first practice, but he does have a team hat (even if he is the only one on the team with one).

He did a lot of waiting in line for his turn to practice hitting and throwing.

Ain't he cute? Then the coach asked who's next:

Porter Pot was just a little eager to get up there and get a piece of that ball.

Porter didn't really want to have "Coach" help him. He is four after all, and happens to know everything. But the night before Mom and Dad kept having him repeat, "I have to do what the coach tells me to."

My action shot was a bit late, but you can tell that the kid got some air on it.

Chilling on first base:

Now, I have to admit that no one really told Porter how to play baseball. You know, beyond hit the ball when they tell you to and throw the ball when you get it. Awesome parenting, I know.

That's probably why Porter looks so confused in the picture.

Porter was supposed to be catching the balls that came near first base and then throwing to the coach on home. He, however, kept running across the field and diving after the baseball no matter where it landed. And that meant knocking down anyone who got in his way.

I didn't get a picture of that gem (I SO wish I had), but Wyatt was crawling all over the place I had a difficult time watching him and snapping pics at the same time.

I can't wait for many, many more mornings of Saturday games.

Where the heck have I been?

2011-09-26T11:20:00.000-06:00

Why, I've been playing with my new toy.

An iPhone. I've waited and waited and waited for one. Finally, Orrin got sick of my little "if I had an iPhone I could figure that out for you" comments. Or my "if one of us had an iPhone we could type in the name of the store and get step-by-step directions there" remarks. Or my more blatant "I want an iPhone" requests.

And now that is all I want to do when I get a free second.

Instagram, Pinterest, HBOgo, IMDB, Realtor.com, Pandora... oh yes baby!

So, instead of using my camera I've been taking these babies with the help of Instagram and Camera+:

And I am loving it.

I did crack out the good ol' camera on Saturday for Porter's T-Ball and I promise to post those pics. You know, eventually...

Eight Whole Months

2011-09-08T07:01:00.000-06:00

Yep. This little dude is eight months. Yikes!

He's busy doing a whole lot of crawling. Clarky-boy is pretty fast now-a-days and now chases his siblings down the hall when they're trying to get to their room without having him follow.

And smiling.

Pulling himself up to standing position when he's next to the couch- or something as equally tall.

Some falling down.

Making funny faces that make us all crack up.

Is is so much fun watching you your little personality develop. You are as chill as ever. Well, until mom takes the iPod cord from your chubby hand- then your shriek can rival any of your siblings.

Did I mention that Tank here is starting to furniture walk? It won't be long before he's off and running!

On last pic of Whit showing Wyatt the puppies at the mall.

He didn't really care about them, though...

Little Moments

2011-09-04T17:16:00.000-06:00

You know that moment, right? When you suddenly notice a stillness that has settled over your usually-bustling household. No yelling, no tv, just... quiet. Generally this means that the kiddos are up to no good.

But not this day. It was after homework time when I noticed the freakish hush in my own home. Instead of finding a child sitting in a toy basket with one end of a rope tied to the top bunk and the other to the bookcase (true story, peeps), I discovered this:

Even now, looking at this picture, I can feel the reverence in the room. They were sitting, chatting about the pictures they were making and what sound the letter "B" makes. Even the wee-one was sitting next to Adi's chair happily chewing on a marker.

It was amazing. It was phenomenal. It is a moment that I will be forever grateful that I captured.

The words to Mr. Rob Thomas's song comes to mind,

                       "Our lives are made
                      In these small hours
                      These little wonders
                      These twists and turns of fate
                      Time falls away,
                      But these small hours
                    Still remain."

Busy Bee Wyatt

2011-08-31T19:30:00.002-06:00

Lately, this is all that we've been seeing of Wyatt:

Now that he's picked-up crawling, the kid doesn't stop. He follows his siblings into their rooms (before they gently push him out and shut the door), chases the vacuum, around, and crawls up my leg when he wants attention.

Ain't this kid sweet?

Look at the brotherly love going on here

Since the girlies are gone all day now, the boys are starting to rely more on each other for entertainment.

Here's a live action shot of Tank's two newest feats:

Please ignore the mess under the couch. I have no excuse for it.