It is great to be 8!

Alex turned eight in October! We had her birthday party at an ice skating rink and arcade. I think that it is safe to say that everyone had fun. It was cold, but fun! On her actual birthday, she had a soccer game that morning (they won!) and went had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (her choice). She had a great day!

Crazy girls! Alex and Faye.

Preschool, here I come!

Sammi started preschool almost two weeks ago. I feel bad that this hasn't been posted earlier. She was incredibly excited! She began the countdown the day that school finished before summer break! She had her outfit picked out weeks in advance and the moment she woke up that morning, she threw on her clothes and was ready to go! Because school doesn't start until after lunch, it was a very long morning. She has been having a great time. Here is the cutie before leaving on her first day of her second year of preschool.

NO! NOT AGAIN!

I was greeted by this beauty of a letter the other day. After I submit it, it is only a matter of time for the summons to come. ARGGG! Anyone have any good ideas on how to get out of jury duty?

I served as a juror almost six years ago, very shortly after moving to Milwaukee. Alex was barely two. She referred to it as "duty duty." And, hence it has been named in our home. The dreaded "duty duty." I didn't know anyone well at that time, let alone well enough to hoist my busy toddler on. A big thanks to Janelle, Trudy, Mary, and Laura for taking care of her. The average case in the county trials are typically two days, but naturally, the case that I was assigned to took all week! Parking was a disaster, finding my way to the actual courtroom was challenging, the weather was awful. Overall, one of the worst experiences of my life.

To the judicial system, this letter is a reminder of my civic duty and opportunity. To me, it is an hour long train ride into the city at 7 a.m., a cab ride, a terrible feeling of disorientation to find exactly where I need to go, a burden on a friend or five to watch two kids (one of whom will need a nap, but more than likely won't because he's not at home), at 3:00 add one more kid, ride arrangements to and from preschool, ballet, piano, and soccer for "a two week period." I consider it a perk for felons to not have to endure this.

Big 2nd Grader!

Alex had her first day of second grade on Monday. She was so excited to have her own desk instead of shared tables. So far, she likes her teacher and one of her best friends is in her class. She is getting so big. Notice her new boots too!

Our cute little cowgirl

On our way home from Florida, we stopped in Nashville. I couldn't resist buying the girls cowboy boots as a souvenir. Sammi has loved her boots! We can hardly keep them off of her. She sports them with just about anything and wears them everywhere. These boots are worthy of a photo shoot, so Sammi, Andrew and I spent yesterday morning at the historic farm up the road. Alex will have to have a turn later. Here are a few pictures of our cute little cowgirl.

Florida

We had one last chance for a summer vacation, so we took it. We drove (yes, drove!) 15 1/2 hours to Florida. More specifically, we were in between Destin and Panama City on the Gulf Coast. It was absolutely perfect. We did, however, endure a wicked tropical storm. But, for the most part the weather was beatiful, the water was warm, the sand was fantastic, the condo was more than I could have asked for, the southern hospitality was nice and the fresh crabs were delicious. As always, I wish that I had more pictures, but I really didn't want sand in the camera and we spent most of our time on the beach. I don't have pictures representing how packed the car was. Adding to the abundance of luggage, Steve had to take golf clubs and play a round while we were there. I also don't have pictures of the girls painting pottery at a cute shop in Watercolor on a rainy morning. I didn't think about it until later, but I should have taken pictures of the condo-it really was beautiful. Darn! Lots of missed opportunities!

Idaho and Wyoming

We finally made it back west! It had been over a year and a half since the last time we visited family in Idaho. We found a direct flight into Jackson Hole, WY that was a little less than the arm and a leg that it costs to fly indirectly to Idaho Falls. The best part about it was that Steve flew with us both ways, as opposed to me "flying solo" with the kids. If you haven't travelled alone with small children in large airports with long terminals, lots of luggage and eternal flight durations, you are really missing out. We packed a lot into that week that we were there. Here are some of the highlights that are completetly out of order.





We hiked up to Hidden Falls in Grand Teton National Park. It was almost five miles in and out. The kids were real troopers. The girls walked the whole way over rocks and through mud. But, the ferry looked awfully tempting. It was simply breath-taking. Steve and I asked ourselves several times what we are doing in IL.

A very tired Steve and Andrew. He fell asleep about half an hour before Steve got to the parking lot. He was determined to not miss a thing.

Sammi, in her new duds, hand selected by herself, playing croquet in Grandma S's back yard.

Enjoying a sunny afternoon in Idaho Falls!

Roller skating. That's right! 1980s skates, disco balls, limbo, and tweens! This is Alex strutting her stuff.

The Merrill clan and all honorary members! Notice Kooper and Andrew in their matching gear.

Steve rescued this carved bear from the river behind my parent's house. The water was extremely high due to all the rain and mountain run-off. Sarah, we won't mention names as to who believed his tall tale of carving it earlier that morning.

The first of two rounds of s'more making. This time around Grandma and Grandpa M's newly completed fire ring near the river.

Andrew wasn't a happy camper after camping the first night near Victor. To his defense, it was pretty cold. It had snowed that morning.

Grandpa turned them into fishergirls! Fishing was on the top of the girls' to do list. Can you believe with two parents from Idaho, these girls had never fished before? This was one of the true highlights of the trip. Within an hour, Andrew played with dog poo, mom cast a worm down her shirt, Sammi fell face first into the water, out of excitement Alex ran into the water, and four fish later there were smiles all around!

Thanks to everyone for all the memories!

What have we been doing?

On the few warm days we've had, we've been outside soaking up every minute. Here is what we each have been up t0:

Alex has been busy with soccer three days a week. (What am I going to do when they all have things going on?) Unfortunately, most of those days have been cold or rainy or both. But, she has a loyal fan club. Piano lessons are keeping both her and I on our toes. She enjoys practicing so there isn't too much nagging involved.

Sammi just finished her dance class and had a recital last week. She is such a cute little ballerina. She is sad that preschool is over for the school year. It is hard to say if she misses her friends or her teachers more.

Andrew has been pretty busy too. He has grown out of most of his clothes requiring an other new wardrobe. He recently had a sinus infection which was discovered when he woke up one morning with his eyes swollen and gooped shut. His latest word is "teddy", and digging in the dirt in the house plants continues to be his favorite activity. Although, he has also mastered the art of emptying sisters' underwear and sock drawers then tossing the entire contents over the balcony. If it wasn't such a pain to gather and put away, it would be quite entertaining.

Steve has been enjoying the warmer weather too. He has been feeling a gravitational pull toward a large green space with holes. He makes it sound so involuntary, something he can't control like he's being abducted by aliens. This happens every Saturday morning, sometimes during his lunch break and before work. He is gone fore (please excuse the pun in my typo) hours at a time. It seems that a small white ball is involved and he gets very upset with the ball. The ball is often lost as if it has legs of it's own. As a whole, he comes home much happier than when he left. So, I'm not too concerned over his exact whereabouts or how much each of these gravitational pulls is costing.

Me? I'm just trying to keep up with all of them. Sammi helped me plant a garden. I'll keep you posted as to the success or defeat of this undertaking.

Before and after

Can you believe this is the same house? What a difference! Now, I've got to get on the ball and finish the backsplash.

Kris and Koop

Grandpa and the kids.
Andrew and Livi

The Merrill Clan

I can't believe that I didn't take any pictures of the entire family together. I've got to do that when we all get together again in June. But, my parents and my brother and his family all came to visit. Dad and Kris made new cabinets for the house, drove all the way here (two very long days through ice, sleet and snow-in April!) took out my old cabinets and put in their beautiful masterpieces. Yea, I'm spoiled. Everything is gorgeous, if I do say so myself. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Mom, Sarah and the kids flew. Kooper had so much fun telling me about the plane ride. It was adorable. And, I got to see my princess niece for the first time. I have to say, my favorite part of having all of them here was watching Andrew and Livi play together. It is sad to think that when they see each other again they will both be bigger. I suppose that goes for the other ones too, but the little babies grow far too fast. Sammi and Alex had a blast having a playmate for a few days and were just as sad to see Kooper go as Grandma and Grandpa. With the house undergoing demolition and 11 people in the house, there were crazy moments. But, it was so nice to have everyone together. Love you guys.

Homemade Fun

Homemade Fun:
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! But you probably will...I'm just saying.
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year. That gives me a good 10 1/2 months to get it done!
4. It will be a surprise.
The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so, and leave a comment telling me they did, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Breakfast in Bed

Yesterday, as I was primping, the girls asked Steve for breakfast in bed. It was so sweet. He made French toast and brought it up for them. They sat in bed, ate, giggled, and talked for almost an hour. Whenever the girls aren't getting along, our motto has been "sisters are friends." I think that it is really coming to pass.

Happy first birthday Andrew!

It's my party and I'll wear my cake if I want to.

Make a wish!

Yes!! Cold, hard cash!!

A little help from sisters opening presents.

It's my party and I'll eat the microphone if I want to.

Thanks for the tractor Grandma.

Andrew and Alex have similar dental impressions.

So, it happened. My sweet baby boy, that I wish could stay a baby forever, turned one. Honestly, have you ever seen a more adorable little guy?

Grandma and Grandpa S

Mark and Shannon spent a nice long weekend with us in January. Unfortunately, Steve had a lot of work to do and wasn't able to spend much time with them. One of the things that I enjoy about having family in town is the opportunity to take full advantage of them! So, we hired them to babysit for us one night so that Steve and I could see a show downtown. I would have had Mark take my place helping in Alex's class too, but school was canceled due to the extreme temperatures. Maybe next time. Despite the cold, we did get out and spent a day at the Field Museum. It was really nice to see them

Karen

I'm so far behind on blogging, I'm not even going to attempt to fully catch up. I'll give you January and vow to do better going forward. With that said, one of our big events for January was Karen's visit. She is my very dear friend that I met in Milwaukee. She moved to Arizona a couple of years ago, but thanks to communication technology it is as if she never left. Fortunately for me, she travels frequently for work and I get to be one of her stops every couple months. She has visited us three times in Illinois. I don't think any of our Milwaukee friends or parents can say that. (Sorry, K, I know this isn't the best pic. But, it's all I had.)