I have a confession...

I have a confession to make. I have a dirty little habit that is getting worse. It is an addiction really, and I'm up to about 6 packs per day. You would think that they would package these things with some kind of warning...may be hazardous to your health, can be addicting, etc. Maybe they do, and I'm too happy in my ignorance to notice. 6 packs a day!!! Can you believe it? When I picked up my first one I had no idea that it would get this bad, or be this hard to stop. Seriously, I crave the next pack soon after I finish the one I'm on. I know that it is bad for me, and that these things can kill, but I just can't seem to kick the habit. They say that it is an expensive habit, and that's for sure. I'm not going to be able to afford groceries if this keeps up. I know that I would be so much happier, and feel so much better if I could just stop. They slow me down so that I am not able to keep up as much physically. And what is even worse is that my kids are watching me go through pack after pack, and they want me to share with them! Don't they understand that it is for their own good that I don't want to share with them? Just because they make a mint flavor that is attractive to them doesn't mean that they should start up. I ran out tonight, so I am going to have to go all day tomorrow without 1 single pack. I don't know if I can do it. It will be tough. Perhaps this is a good time to face this addiction, head on, and vow...no more 100 calorie snack packs!!! They certainly aren't helping me lose any weight like they try to advertise!

Typing War

Not as good as Annie (71) or Kristi (92), but after three times in a row getting the same score I figured that this is as good as it gets for me. Knowing me, I will obsess and keep trying. Now it is your turn, let me know how you do!


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Happy Birthday Vince!

Today is Vince's 27th birthday! Happy Birthday!! As I was going through my pictures I realized that I have several pictures of him, and almost all of them have him holding one of my girls. He is such a wonderful uncle to my girls and they just adore him. I am so grateful for him and all that he does for me, especially now that we both live in West Jordan. When I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Brynlie he did so much to help out, including driving me home from Vernal after Sasha and Jason's wedding when I was sick and throwing up, scrubbing my carpets since I HATE dirty carpets and was too pregnant to do it myself, and swimming several times with girls when I was too big and awkward to keep up with them in the pool. Thanks for everything Vince. We love you and happy birthday!

Do not laugh!!!

Last night as I was sitting on the couch Sadie snuck by me and ran over to the mirror. After a few seconds she came back to me and said "I am funny". Since I am a blogger I had to laugh and grab my camera to take a picture. Then I told her to go show her dad and instead of getting mad, he also laughed at her. We did tell her that she shouldn't do that ever again. I guess laughing was not the right "parental" thing to do because less than 30 seconds later she returned looking like this: Lesson learned, laughing only encourages them.

Brynlie

Last night I was thinking about how lucky I am to have such a happy baby. I've always nursed my babies right before putting them to bed, but sometimes Brynlie will nurse up to an hour before going to bed. When I put her down for night she either gives about a cry and a half and then rolls over and stuffs her thumb in her mouth (those are the nights that she is really tired) or when I lay her down she will give me the biggest grin. She never gives me any problems when it is bedtime.

Pictures of me and Brynlie last night after bath. On the second one she turned her head just as I took the picture, but let's just pretend that she was giving me a big kiss, okay? I like the picture much better that way.

Nap Time

6 Months Old

Brynlie went in for her 6 month check up today. She weighs 16 lbs 15 oz and, if I remember right, she is 27 1/2 inches long. She is in the 94th percentile for height and the 61st for weight. Tall and Skinny! Last month when I took Sadie in for her 3 year old check up she was in the mid 90's for both height and weight (96/height and 94/weight I think). They definitely don't get their height from their mom!
Kylie and Sadie also had their 6 month check-ups at the dentist this morning and Kylie had her thumb sucking appliance removed. She had grown attached to it and did not want to have it removed. We are going to keep it in a safe place just in case she needs to have it put back in. Hopefully that will not happen!

Something to think about.

An Assignment...

1. I want you to find a male lad between the ages of 23 and 24.
2. He cannot be a college graduate. In fact, he can possess only three years of formal schooling.
3. He must write a history of an ancient country (such as Tibet), covering a period from 600 BC to 421 AD.
4. Put the history into a book with 102 chapters—25 of them about war, 10 about history, 21 about prophecy, 32 about doctrines, 5 about missionaries, and 9 about the mission of Christ.
5. The lad must include in his writings the history of two distinct and separate nations, along with histories of different contemporary nations or groups of people.
6. His writings must describe the religious, economic, social and political cultures and institutions of these two nations.
7. He must weave into his history the gospel of Jesus Christ and the pattern for Christian living.
8. The lad’s history must be approximately 522 pages with over 500 words per page.
9. He must add 180 proper nouns to the English language; more than William Shakespeare who added 30.
10. When the lad has finished, he must announce that his “literary narrative” is not fiction, but true! It is actual history!
11. In fact, his heroic narrative must fulfill Bible prophecies—even in the exact manner in which they shall come forth, including to whom given.
12. Also, when the 23 year-old lad has finished, he must not make any changes in the text.Not one. No editing allowed! The first edition must stand “forever more.”
13. After pauses for sleep and food, if dictating to a stenographer, he must never ask to have the last paragraph or sentence read back to him.
14. Another thing, the lad must not be allowed to research any of the subjects he’s writing upon.
15. One last thing—how long does he have to finish the project? –It must be completed within 80 Days!You say, “…that’s an impossible assignment. It can’t be done.”Yes, it can. –It was done.

Easter and our first Earache

Kylie has been enjoying too much time outside, and it's just not quite warm enough. Early Saturday evening as she was taking a bath she started screaming that her ear hurt. I have never had an earache (at least none that I remember), and none of my kids have either so this was new to me. Tylenol and a warm washcloth helped and I gave her more Tylenol before bed. I guess I should have stayed with her because she woke up at 2:30 screaming again and as I talked to her found out that she only took one of her 4 chewable Tylenol tablets. So Jared and I were up for an hour with her trying to calm her down and waiting for her meds to kick in. Then a couple of hours later in comes Sadie telling me that she can't find Kylie. So we now have 4 of us in bed. It made for a very long, uncomfortable night. Kylie kept kicking and Jared got sick of it and got out of bed around 7:00 and Kylie followed him out to the living room. Just in time for Brynlie to wake up and want to nurse. With Kylie in the living room I couldn't hide Easter Eggs so I had to sneak home during church to hide them and to put their baskets out.


After church they were so excited to come home and find their baskets. Kylie has asked for the Enchanted DVD since the night that we went and saw it in the theatre and was so excited that the Easter Bunny knew that she wanted it. They both got new clothes (Hannah Montana for Kylie, Minnie Mouse and Ariel for Sadie) and each got a chocolate bunny.

The girls wanted to try on their new clothes, but I made them pose for pictures in the Easter dresses first. Aren't they beautiful...even after three hours of church and Easter baskets calling their names three feet away?

Easter Saturday with the Merrell's

The annual Easter Egg hunt has become quite the tradition over the past few years with my family. Mom and Dad hide the eggs all over yard and the fields around their house, and are usually still finding eggs months later. The pictures above are a couple of examples from 2006. This year they decided to come out to Salt Lake for the egg hunt since it is so stinking cold in Vernal and because so it was closer for most of us. We were going to eat a picnic at a park near my house and then find the eggs. In theory, this was a great idea. In reality, it was still COLD! This is the earliest Easter ever has been or ever will be for any of us living now. And this is one of the longest, wettest, and coldest winters in the past decade or more. Those two facts combine to make for a cold, and quick egg hunt.

All I had to do was mention the word "blog" and heads went down!

Vince getting Brynlie out to help keep him warm, and Sadie with a runny red nose from the cold.

Searching for eggs. To make sure that the "big kids" enjoy the egg hunt as much as the younger generation mom slips some cash in. This year she put #'s in 8 of the envelopes and if you got one of those you got the envelope that corresponded with that number. This was done since we were at a public park, and because we can't ever seem to find all of the eggs. Which is good since one of the eggs w/a number in it was never found. Some little kid would have been very lucky! The numbered eggs changed hands a few times as trades were made. Kristi and Chuck had a couple, and gave one to one of my girls, and traded one to my youngest sister Mickala for a ceramic pig. It turns out that the egg that they gave to her contained the largest prize...$100! Chuck told Kristi that she better take care of that $100 pig. But before you feel too bad for them, I gave them an egg after realizing that they had given my girls one, and it contained the other large prize of the day...$50. If we had all know just how much money Mom had put in those envelopes maybe we would have held on to those eggs a bit tighter.

Some of the eggs had a sticker on them and if you got one of those you got to exchange it for a prize that mom had. I think that's where the ceramic pig came from. Thank you mom for putting the finger paints in there...the girls had WAY too much fun with that today!


All of the family back at my house for a "family counsel" as some decisions are made regarding the future of our family. We also celebrated Meagan's birthday which was on the 21st, and Vince's, which is on the 31st. Thanks Mom and Dad for making Easter so much fun and always bringing the family together.