Merik's 3!!!

I can't believe it but Merik is 3!! He is so adorable, smart, energetic, and crazy! He truly brings great joy, laughter, and the spirit to our family. He is incredibly grateful and kind and yesterday even said "mom, did you clean my house? Thank you, it looks incredible!"


I decided to throw him an "I can do it all by myself" birthday so he even made his invitations!



He got some great gifts at his family party including his new big-boy bike from us and this adorable hat from uncle Brady that matches his!
Cup cakes are always a hit; especially when you get to put as much frosting as you want on it!
Merik was so funny about the presents. This year it finally clicked what his birthday meant and he was jumping around and dancing when people came with gifts!
We had his first "friend" birthday and it was a BLAST! We invited 6 of his little buddies over and they did everything by themselves (messy but fun!) They decorated their own shirts, made pizzas, and decorated cup cakes.


I think he had a fun birthday! I just can't believe he's so big!!

Updates!

November....well was busy!! Thanksgiving was awesome! Most of my dad's side of the family came into town and we had a blast! True to years and years of tradition we started our day off with bowling and if you were wondering....I BEAT PAT!!!!-he'll love that I posted that! Yes there were bumpers but it's not my fault if chose to use them as part of my strategy and he didn't! Dinner was great as always and Merik and my cousin Reagan were adorable in their costumes.








A few weeks before Thanksgiving we got to travel to Utah for Baby Eden's blessing!



Karma was the perfect mother figure for baby Eden. She walked around all day collecting "binks" and bottles to bring her and was sometimes upset when Eden didn't seem int he mood for 5 "binks" at one time!
Merik became the protector of Eden. One night she was fussing in her bouncer and he quickly ran to her, began singing "I am a child of God" to her and then we heard him whisper "it's ok baby Eden I will never leave you". It was so sweet!

Happy Halloween!!

Introducing....Peter Pan and TinkerBell (or stinkerbell as she's been known to be called).

We went Trunk or Treating at church Friday night which was great because Pat had to work Halloween night so this was his chance to be with the kids.

We finally got around to carving our pumpkin-yes it was pushing the deadline but we got it done and it was HILARIOUS!! Merik was so disgusted but the pumpkin guts he was gagging and Karma would've swam in it if I let her! Merik finally agreed to scoop it out if I'd scrape it so he didn't have to touch it but the line was drawn when Karma began taunting him with the guts and trying to throw them at her!! Hmmmm does our girl have a little of her dad in her???


We stopped at Shawnana's and Grandpa Craig's for special Halloween treats!

We went to Aunt Carolyn's for an awesomely spooky dinner complete with blood to drink and eyeballs for dessert!

They were both so excited when they figured out all they had to do was say 3 simple words and people dumped CANDY into their buckets!! Karma decided she was big and wouldn't hold my hand, which would've been fine but Merik was running from house to house and little Karma just doesn't move as fast! I had an odd realization that I'm old! I have two kids, not two babies! Both of our kids are old enough to trick or treat in real costumes! Where has life gone?


We ended the night going to the Berries! Aunt Nichole had made them special halloween rice crispies treats and they had fun surprises from Grandpa Bill and Grandma Susie! Lastly we did more trick or treating to top off our stash! It was great fun!!!!

Ay Ay Ay! Mexico!

We were so lucky to be able to take an amazing vacation to Riveria Maya Mexico! It was just the two of us (the kids stayed with the grandparents) and we got to celebrate our 6th Anniversary too! It was an absolute blast!!! Here's a few pictures!
We went on a tour with an LDS tour company and they were fantastic! We went to 3 different locations and it was just us! Miguel was one of our tour guides and we just loved him! If you're interested their website is www.almaldstours.com.


This is Ik Kil! It is a fresh water cenote (under ground sink hole) in Yucatan. It's 84' under ground with trees and roots cascading all the way down to the amazingly clear water! There's a staircase you can see in the 3rd picture that is what we jumped off! Ok...I was absolutely scared to death. It's a good 20' high and the water, while really clear, was really really dark because it's so deep! I was totally shaking in my suit but I couldn't look like a whimp so I jumped. Yes. Apparently if I was told to jump off a cliff I would.


Chitzen Itza!This archeological site was built a few hundred years after the Nephites were destroyed so it was very interesting to see resembalences in Book of Mormon times and evidences of traditions being passed down from the Book of Mormon people mixed with serious wickedness! The Mayan people were so intelligent and it was incredible to see such remarkable architecture and knowledge! The picture on the right is the "Monument to the 2000 Warriors." It is hundreds of round columns that surround a few square columns symbolizing a legend of 2000 warriors that were surrounded by a million others and survived. Sound Familiar????
Ek Balam! The picture on the right is of a "white" man teaching several darker men.....ring a bell? Ek Balam was incredible! It was built during the time of the Book of Mormon and has several evidences of the Nephites and Lamanites living there. Ek Balam was only recently found so it's not a huge tourist site yet; because of that we were the only ones there! It was such a peaceful and incredible place and we were so blessed to have visited there!
With Pat's appetite it was a must that we stay at an All-inclusive resort. It was a beautiful hotel and whatever we didn't drink we ate!! We ate 2 dinners every night and I had my fair-share of frozen drinks...non-alcoholic of course!




Our hotel was in the middle of the jungle so we walked this path every day to get to our room and the beach! There were always huge iguana's lounging during the day.

The amazing water! and Crazy bird that kept trying to eat our lunch!

Our fantastic Beach and my hunky husband!

New tradition!

It is so fun to have kids old enough to do things with! We went to a little pumpkin patch a few minutes from our house and had an absolute blast! Yes, I know, I should have dressed the kids cute so these pictures could be framed or something because there's a few that are adorable-but I am their mom. This place also had a kids’ corn maze, that we spent about 45 minutes being led around by Merik in circles, and a corn box-as in sand box full of corn kernels! It was amazing! Seriously I think I had just as much fun feeling the thousands of corn kernels as the kids did! We had a blast and I love fall-there's just something in the air! (by the way I have NO idea why this stupid post will only post as a link-sorry to disspoint but there's nowhere else to go from here. Annoying!!!)

September Fun

We've had a busy and fun summer but alas it's September. Here's a few snap shots of our last few weeks.Merik and Karma got to go to the Harvest Festival Parade with Grandma Shawna-na and Grandpa Craig. They'd never been to one before and it sounded like the loved it...especially the candy!


Heritage Square...
Merik loved riding the bumper boats with grandpa Craig at Heritage square!

Riding the pony-that pooped!
Cute little Karma playing while mom tried not to puke riding every spinning ride Merik could find!
Outside watching Merik
Merik got a new scooter and it was ADORABLE! In all of his pads Pat decided he'd probably be safe jumping the Grand Canyon but he sure looked cute. He did pretty well too! It was a great investment considering he stayed on that thing for 3 hours the first day and is constantly on it now! It's so fun to watch him grow!

My Kids, My Teachers!

I am constantly learning so much from my children but this week I learned especially a lot! When I woke up I thought it was a normal day, Merik, however had other plans! Immediately he was a disaster and wouldn't let me enter the kitchen! Well that progressed into a full on fit that then took a hour to do a 2 minute time-out! I was so exhausted and frustrated! I sat him on my lap and with him crying and saying he was "sorry mommy, I not do it again" I had hope. Well my hope didn't last long when we walked back into the kitchen (still neither of us having anything to eat) and because I couldn't hold him while he drank his shake he turned to me and dumped it all over the floor! I just stood there. I didn't even know what to do! I was stunned and immediately defeated as a mother! Whose child does that? So again we started the time-out process with him running out, and me standing him in the corner again until I was so fed up I decided I was done and he could stay in his room until he decided to be in time-out. Well....his door doesn't have a lock on it (or didn't that day, but yes it does now) so I had to stand there and hold it shut with all of my strength-and he's strong! Meanwhile poor Karma is crying for attention and because Merik's out-of-control ranting and screaming is scary. I finally couldn't hold the door or my tears any longer so I grabbed Karma and we went to call my mom! After some reassuring words and great advice I felt ready to deal with Merik but very discouraged as a mom! This is my only job and I'm obviously failing if he'd act like that. Needless to say it was a VERY long day as a mother and as me. Later that day, I was trying to pick up the disaster of a house and I heard this excited voice from the play room. As I walked in I saw a beaming face and he announced "Mommy, I cleaned all by myself!" I knelt down next to him and just started to cry! My crazy, naughty, or as my grandma calls him, exuberant little boy was so sweet and kind hearted! I told him thank you and how much that meant to me; and he told me that he needed to tell Heavenly Father that he'd cleaned by himself. I was speechless as he knelt down in the middle of the playroom floor and offered the most innocent and heartfelt prayer. It was so simple! "Heavenly Father, I cleaned up all by myself and mommy cried! I love you. Say these things..." Well I thought I was crying before? Wow! I learned so much from my children and from his prayer I learned that I need to pray not just in repentance, not just in asking, and not just in gratitude for the big things. But I need to tell my Heavenly Father when I succeed and do things right so he can let me feel proud. I love my kids!