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!