Fast Times at East High

Yes, I went to East High School. No, Troy and Gabriella did not go there, but a bunch of other tools did. When I was visiting home a few weeks ago, my parents and I dropped by the old stomping ground so I could take some pictures of the permanent marks I left on MacNeil Drive.

They have instilled a dress code, which I thought was pretty cool, but that didn't prevent me from seeing more boxer-short clad butts than I was prepared for.

Layla was with me and I think it was my mom's worst nightmare coming true--her daughter trucking a baby down the halls of a high school. Luckily, I wasn't the only one there with a kid...

This picture is a little self-indulgent, but I was proud. I still have dreams where I fail the last semester, or forget that I have signed up for a class, yet never attended it.

The old mural Sarah Vandeberg and I painted in the gym. We spent 3 weeks during the summer after my sophomore year doing this. I remember listening to Elton John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from the top of the scaffolding.


The pool mural was the first one we did, which led to us being hired to to the gym. We did it during boys' swim season. Not enough Michael Phelps-like bodies for my liking, more like Jack Black-bodies.

Killing 2 Birds with one stone..

We're in a recession people! Americans are going to have to come up with cheaper ways to entertain their kids. I am using my food storage to create fun toys for the girls.

This all started a couple of years ago when Ava was reading "Ramona the Pest" by Beverly Cleary. In the book, Ramona goes clip-clopping down the street on a pair of tin can stilts. Ava, being a child of the new millenium, asked me about them so we constructed a pair from some pineapple cans. Instead of clip-clopping, it was a lot of falling and tripping as the cans tended to give way if not set down perfectly on the pavement. I had to send them to the recycle bin before we ended up with broken ankles.

Fast forward to '09...before recycling these beastly #10 can, we turned them into monster stilts creating a day of fun.

Toys for tough economic times ahead...


(Isn't my camera awesome?)

9 down, how 'bout 90 more?

On this day, nine years ago, Mark and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple. Never in my wildest dreams, did I imagine it would be this GOOD and this FUN....







...and this many daughters!

And it just keeps on getting better.

Dad 1, Prostate Cancer 0

My father, John, had successful surgery to remove his prostate yesterday. Though the cancer was aggressive, it was isolated in the prostate and excision of the 2.3 ounce terror was all the treatment he needed. No chemo or radiation! He will be home this evening, and Layla and I will be at his beck and call on Friday.

New Family Rule...

Layla is to be monitored at all times....

Busy...

Never a dull moment at the Merrill household.

I think we're good on our crayon supply!

I should add that I had already cleaned up these crayons twice today.

From 2700 feet, with love....

We went on a hike in Phoenix last week (those from the Rocky Mountains, insert joke here_____). Camelback Mountain is about the most famous mountain and Phoenix, so the Merrills, and the rest of the weirdos who live in Scottsdale, ascended it. It was a pretty challenging hike for the girls, but they loved scramblin' up the rocks. Layla bounced the entire time and cried when Mark stopped, paused, hesitated. We enjoyed the view from the top and the sense of satisfaction we got from completing a hike with no meltdowns (from Alexis, of course. Maybe someday I'll tell the story of my meltdown on top of Mt. Timpanogos, it's one for the books. I am surprised Mark still married me after that...)


Mia, being so patient, while Mom fiddles with apertures!

The nation's fifth largest city.

Pondering...

Happy to be on the summit....

Lessons Learned...and Still Learning

A friend of mine was frustrated with her daughter's nonchalance about her bicycle helmet. I offered to forward her some photos of Ava from an incident in August. Since my first love is my digi-scrapbook, all the effort goes there instead of the blog. Here is the page I made to commemorate the event.

Getting to know you

Oh you sweet camera, I love you and hate you at the same time. I feel so inadequate when I clutch your hard body in my hands and even more powerless when I hear your cool click-click-click and I see the clearest, most delicious picture appear on the LCD. However, I have visions of how I want it to turn out and I can translate it yet!

In the Beginning...

....there was the word, and the word was...


..."Dada."

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

Santa visited our home sometime on Christmas Eve or in the wee hours of Christmas morning. He must have been super tired because he had a few slip-ups.

I was surprised to see that he had taken a few pictures of the tree with my digital camera. As I was downloading the photos, Ava noticed that not all of the presents were in the photo! It only means that Santa took a break halfway through our gift-giving to snap some photos for me!

I also have my suspicions that Santa borrowed some of my wrapping paper because some gifts from him were in the same paper as I used to wrap one of the girls' gifts.

We forgive you Santa, you are the best!

Here is what we woke up to.

The girls with the loot!

Layla, who was happy to eat paper all morning.

Oh yeah, did you notice how blurry that first photo was? Well, no more. Santa brought me this...





Community college night class, here I come!!!!

Sittin' in a tree

My brother, Henry, and Tori Harris were sealed in the Mesa Temple on Saturday, December 2o. It was a great day. Clare and her family, Marshall, and my parents gathered for the occasion. We were very grateful that Henry selected a bride from the valley as it made travel very convenient for us!




The BYU professor that Henry works for set him up with Tori, his sister-in-law. Apparently, sparks flew! Henry now works for his brother-in-law!


My girls were little flower girls. It was so cold that the girls had to wait in the foyer of the temple, because the visitor's center had not opened yet.


They love Aunt Tori!

Hoofin' it to Christmas

In July, the girls and I ran a 1-mile fun run in Provo. It was so fun and we talked about doing it again during the Gilbert Days Festival or the Mesa Turkey trot. However, I was little turned off at having to fork over $60 to do this and end up with a crappy t-shirt.

Armed with my email list, I invited all the kids I could think of to participate in the 1st Annual Reindeer Run. Mark scouted a location where we would not cross any streets, driveways, parkways, etc. Ava and I made chest numbers for each participant and bought candy canes for the finishers. We had more than 30 kids, plus their parents hoof it with us.




Mark had to run to the turn-around point to make sure the kids turned around and left Mia running alone. She panicked and started to cry at the sight of her dad leaving her in a trail of dust. A girl in our ward, Ivy, took her by the hand and ran the rest of the way with her. They would stop to walk then start to jog again. Mia was so grateful and drew a picture of the two of them running that we delivered the next day.

Hey, if Tonya Harding can do it...

The girls and I went ice skating at Polar Ice on Saturday.

It was actually more fun and LESS WORK than I thought it would be. Mia could support her own weight after about 45 minutes and, by the time we left, I only had to hold one of her hands to guide her around the rink.

Ava's practice on the roller blades really paid off and I think she only slightly bruised her tailbone!

We're goin' again over Christmas break, come with us!

And one to grow on...

I started this post right before Mark's birthday on November 30. Then it got lost on my "to-do" list. I never finished it, but wanted to post it anyway. Maybe I will have all thirty-something things up by his next birthday!

In honor of Mark's thirty-somethingeth birthday, here are thirty or so things you should know about him!

1. He is the youngest of 10 children.
2. He eats cereal every night at 9pm, you can set your watch to it!
3. He was actually named "Dan" at birth, but changed to Mark very soon after. However, he did not discover this until 5 years ago.
4. He graduated from Lahainaluna High School.
5. He played tennis for BYU-Hawaii.
6. He spent a day at the San Diego Zoo with an alleged kidnapper and his young victim.
7. His all-time favorite movie is "Papillon."
8. He loves Guns 'N Roses
9. He makes the best scrambled eggs.
10. He had his own outboard motor boat at age 12.

11. He is super organized.

12. He is an obsessive list-maker.

13. He loves to read biographies.
14.