anyone?

Yes I have once again been a slacker on my blog.. kudos to mom for not being like the rest of us! here's a little update on our life... we are buying a house! yay! Its out in Queen Creek with the rest of my crazy sisters! If everything goes through we should close on Jan 9th..woo hoo! I am still working at Gunnells, and Tommy is working for Town of Queen creek. Life is good :) well.. I am wanting to do something different. Once we move into our house, Gunnells will just be too far for me to drive everyday. I want to be home more and be able to housewife/stay-at-home mom stuff without the mom part yet... :) make sense?! So I was thinking just like all my sisters have done, maybe I would try daycare! Probably only a couple kids to get my feet wet and all, but thats where all of you come in! I need to find kids to watch first :) So if anyone knows anyone looking for someone to watch their kids please let me know or give them my name and we can work something out!! Thanks :) new posts to come soon too!...promise!!

puppies puppies EVERYWHERE!

Well... as you all know, we have our little baby Chedder ...not so little anymore! :( ... He is so fun and getting so big it makes me sad! Well our good friends Chase and Nicole (chase also tommys cousin) got the puppy itch as well and got a little girl boxer named Princess Fiona, aka Fiona! She is so cute and quite the spunky little thing. Well a couple weeks later, they got another! Her name is Lilly Pad, aka Lilly..and sister to Fiona! So of course, we have to have play dates for the dogs! They are all so funny together! Well the other day they were out at the house and all were in the backyard...and we all came downstairs to find this....

pathetic right?! :) but so cute!!!

Happy Birthday to.....ME!

Yes, today is my birthday! woo hoo.. the big 21! I have mondays off every week so it was very convienient that my birthday fell on a monday this year. I didn't do much, just had a relaxing lazy day! Tommy with his new job gets off at like 12:30 and showed up with roses for me! I love you babe!! Then my mom, dad, and grandma came over and brought me Joe's bbq for dinner...yum!... then made homemade OREO ice cream...even YUMMIER!...Then we ROCKED it on rock band! :) We decided it would only take a little convincing to get my mom to play and ill let you see the outcome for yourself! Lets just say, she was the highlight and entertainment of the night! Excuse the laughing in the background, we couldn't contain it! :) I love you mom and dad! Thanks mom for giving us all a little laugh :)

congrats babe!

for those of you that don't know, Tommy got a new job! He started today with the Town of Queen Creek! :) He is working for the Parks and Rec department...He worked hard at getting this job and we were really praying for it because it offers better pay, better hours, and BENEFITS! woo hoo :) we havent had insurance or benefits since we got married so it will be a nice change! Hard work pays off, congrats babes! Love you!

Happy Birthday my WONDERFUL husband!

ok so I know im WAY late..im the worst wife ever! But Tommys 22nd birthday was on August 7th. He is such an amazing man and husband! He does more than probably any other husband :) I love him so much! Happy belated Birthday babes! I love you!!.... for those of you that know tommy, this cake all too well describes him :)

homeless...kinda :)

well for those of you that dont know, we have recently moved in with my sister Kim and her husband Jason and my niece Kinsley! We are trying to buy a house out here in Queen Creek hopefully at the begining of the year and decided in the meantime, to help us save money and get to know the area better, we moved in with them! Its been pretty fun so far.. a little different then having your own place and being free to do whatever.. but we are so grateful to them for helping us out! You guys are the best :) we love you!

another Utah trip :)

me and tommy were able to go up to Utah again. One of my best friends got Married! congrats shay :) anyway.. thats when we picked up our chedder! :) hehe- the boys LOVED him! Ryder was so sad to see him go :( But we went on a family hike to donut falls.. this way cool waterfall that goes through this rock that is cut out in the middle into a big circle (hints the donut part!) well..you have to hike up this mountain of just slippery wet rocks in order to see the falls. Well being my awesome clumsy self...on the way down I was going down on my belly so I didnt fall face first into sharp rocks..well my feet slipped and I went scaling down the mountain like 3-5 feet! It was so scary! haha- THEN tommy felt bad and wouldnt let me out of his sight and was holding my hand to get back across the stream when I slipped on a wet rock and both feet up to my shins went into water! THEN on the dirt trail on the way back to the car..I tripped over a stupid rock and twisted my ankle! What the heck right!! well..no pictures of any of my mishaps, but I got a couple from the hike :)

Cali trip... yes, from july!

So we were able to go on my families annual cali trip to the beach this summer! It was fabulous! It was a pretty relaxed trip..lots of beach time, a little shopping, loungin in the condo, card/board games, and sea world! I had not been to sea world in years so it was fun to go back! Things have changed a little bit and its definitely nothing like it was when I was a kid, but still fun! We had a great time, thanks mom and dad!!

on the pier :)

bbq at the pool
a normal me and tommy picture :)
dad wearing his fishy hat at the shamu show!

the beach!tommy and matthew (aka the sand monster :) ) tommy boogie boarding!

Yay for a new camera!!

Happy birthday to ME! We bought a new camera the other day, so get ready for post updates! some probably from awhile back since..oh wait, im retarded! :) Anyway, happy blogging again!

first new camera pictures...:)

Yay an update! ...the newest member of the Merrill clan :)

ok ok... I know I said it wouldn't be long before I updated...well I lied :) but here ya are! Me and Tommy have our first baby! hehe- we got our boxer puppy Ched about 3 weeks ago! He is the funnest, cutest little guy ever! And yes, he is gonne be HUGE! :( its fun to watch him grow but already in the 3 weeks he has gotten so much bigger! oh well... :) So here are the few pictures I have been able to capture on my phone and email them to myself because I still have yet to buy a new camera...maybe for my birthday! (in 1 1/2 weeks the big 21!) enjoy!

our awesome family :)

Ched the weekend we got him

Ms Kinsley and Chedder!

I'm retarded...

So yes, I'm totally retarded! :( As most of you know, we recently spent a week in Cali! So so fun!! Well one night as me and Tommy were walking on the beach, a huge wave came and of course I took off running! Well... forgetting my camera was in my jacket pocket and it fell out into the ocean!! Wonderful right... Well my amazing husband found it, but generally.. it doesnt work! So... no pictures from our trip YET! My memory card still works so I just need a new camera and I can post pictures! ha- Anyway, keep checking, they will be up hopefully soon!!

Happy Birthday Mims!!! :)

Happy Birthday Mims!! A tribute to my sister.. :) Sorry dont be mad! I found this picture that portrayed the younger years of kim all to perfectly and decided as a little surprise for her birthday, I would show the world!! I love you Mim!! I hope you have a wonderful 24th birthday! (you old fart!) You are an amazing sister and an even more amazing mom! Kins is a lucky, beautiful little girl! We Love you!!!

Happy 4th of July!

And 6 month anniversary to me and Tommy!! Crazy huh! Tomorrow will be our exact 6th month mark..and I have loved every minute of being married!! Well...for the most part :) But I hope everyone has a very fun and safe 4th!!

#1 husband :)

So my husband is pretty much the best out there! And even though we are in a little apartment (for the time being!) he really has helped me make it feel more like home! He has painted, hung pictures and shelves, and moved around more furniture that you can imagine! So to show off the latest I took this picture. Kim does vinyl lettering now and so I talked her into making me some cute sayings and this was hers and my latest creation..and tommys help placing and hanging! What do ya think?!

Rock Band!

So first of all, I know I am horrible at this blogging thing.. I am trying! And I promise to do better... but here we go! Rock band is awesome! Steph and Curt, and Kim and J all love it too so about every weekend since kim and j have been home, we have gone out there and played it! Curt is quite the singer :) And the first picture pretty much explains it all!

Welcome Home!!!

Welcome home Mim, J, and Kins!! My sister, brother-in-law, and niece have been living in Georgia for the past year and they just moved back home yesterday!! I am so excited! It was so fun to see them and my niece Kinsley who has grown up so much and gotten SO SO big!!! I missed you guys so much! We are so glad you are home!!! Love you!!!

Happy Birthday Steph and Bri!!

Yesterday was my twin sister and brothers 28th birthday! They are so old!! hehe :) So we all went out to dinner to celebrate their birthday at a place called Cravings in Queen Creek. It was so fun being with the whole family! Although I'm not sure the people around us thought it was too fun with all the babies and my generally loud family :) Oh well!!! Anyway I just wanted to tell Steph and Bri hapy birthday! I hope you guys had a wonderful day! I love you!!

Mom, dad, and Emma Lou!
Me and my wonderful husband who cant take a normal picture for the life of him

Jess and Annie :)
Mims, J, and KINSLEY!

Birthday Boy!!

Birthday girl! & curt and matthew :)

Lee's Eagle project

Tommy's little brother Lee had his eagle project a couple weeks ago... yes I'm way late on my updates! but oh well... anyway we went to the cemetery and planted some new trees, washed off graves and the boys dug trenches! Then we had a wonderful bbq lunch that his brother steven made.. YUM!!! It turned out really well and ended up being a great project!

Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day!!! This years mothers day was pretty nice! Saturday

night Tommys family had a swim party over at his uncle and aunts house. Most his family was able to come and it was so fun being there all together! I only got a couple pictures from that and our whole weekend but i'll post what I have. Then Sunday my mom, dad, and my brother brian, his wife Jessica, and their daughter Anaston came over to our apartment for lunch. Lunch was so yummy!! Then that led to of course a game of settlers which leads to harsh words and hurt feelings :) haha jk.. kinda!! Anyway, ended up being a wonderful weekend. I hope everyone.. well all the moms...had a wonderful weekend and mothers day!! We love you!!!

Peacocks

Sunday we spent the day at my parents house and ate dinner and just hung out. Well Steph, Curt, and the kids came over and Emma is fascinated with the peacocks across the street for some reason so me, my mom, steph, and the kids all went on a walk to see them. They are pretty annoying but also beautiful! First we had to stop and feed a carrot or 2 to Barkley (our horse! and the buffalo!) so thought I'd share some pictures :)

update....

Well I've been meaning to update my blog for awhile now, but nothing exciting has happened whatsoever!! I feel like we had so much happen at once that life has slowed down and is just running smoothly. No baby to post pictures of, no trips taken lately, no holidays= no post! Mel, Gabe and their boys were here for a visit so it was fun to get to see them! We have realized that me, tommy, mel, and my dad are all addicted to the game settlers of catan! (if you havent played I highly recommend you learn!!) Funnest game ever! So while mel was here I think we played about 12 times! about 3 in one day! Its definitely my new favorite game to play ever :) And the only other exciting thing coming up is kim, Jason and KINS are moving home!!!! I'm sure all of you know that already but I am just super excited about it I had to write something about it. Kim frequently sends me videos and pictures of kins through text and I am just so excited to see how grown up she is and all her fun new tricks!! They will be home the first part of June. Other than that not much is going on. Me and Tommy are still just working and he is finishing up his EMT class. He had a practice run last weekend for his CPAT (the physical/obstacle course kinda test) and he had the best time of that day! Yes, thats my husband :) His real test is April 26th.. we will update! Well hope that post wasnt too much a waste of your time :)

Jump on it!

While we were in Utah we got to do a while bunch of things in the little time we had! So other than going to Arches and going snowboarding, we went to jump on it! Its this place that has like 50 trampolines all hooked together that you just go jump around on! They even have some angled off the wall so you can go do a back flip off the wall! They boys had so much fun with uncle tommy and would get on his back to ride him like a bull while on the tramp :)

Snowboarding!

Snowboarding has to be one of my new most favorite things! After Moab we followed Mel and Gabe up to there house in Saratoga Springs. We drove through a big snow storm on our way up on sunday so when we went snowboarding monday it was perfect! There was new fresh powder, it was sunny, and not crowded at all!! Perfect day for learning! It was mine and mels first time and we actually did a lot better than I expected us to do! The first hill we went down definitely took us awhile but by the 2nd we pretty much had it down. Dont get me wrong we fell, and sometimes real hard! But just not very often :) Its been about a week now and I can finally walk normal again! hehe- thanks melly and gabe for taking us and letting us stay with you! We love you!!!