Trick or Treat!

Time for a new post... a day late but that's ok. The week has been busy but fun. Tuesday I went to Loveland to run some errands and work out the costume situation for the weekend. Wednesday I watched Jane and Macie and had Activity with the Mia Maid class and we had a blast going on a scavenger hunt! They are one energetic group of girls! It was fun but I was pretty tired by the end (I must be getting old!)

Thursday my mom and I finnished costumes and hung out. Then Saturday we had tons of fun! We went to the Niwot trick or treating where we could hang out with Grandma Merritt and see all those cute costumes! Ben was Aladdin, I was Jasmine, and Eliza was the cutest Abo I've ever seen. After spending the morning in Niwot we came home, had a nap and lunch before going to Trunk or treat with the two wards that meet in our building. I've never been to such a busy trunk or treat but it was lots of fun :-)

Corn Maze!

So this week was loads of fun!
On Monday I watched Jane (3) and Macie (11wks) White while their mommy went around to apply for job's (I'm going to be watching the girls one day a week once their mom gets a job) Eliza just Loves little Macie and it's funny to watch Jane be so protective of her. That night we went to Loveland when Ben got off of work and celebrated Heather and Heidi's birthday! We all had lots of fun!

Tuesday was pretty uneventful (thankfully) I had enrichment meeting where we had a service auction. That was TONS of fun and I bought an apron and microwave-potato-cooker-bag thing and a halloween cookie making kit!

Wednesday was insane. Ben had work, I had Eliza and then I had Activity day where I needed to watch the other leader's kids (boy age 2 girl age 7mo) while she taught the girls how to give a massage. Well the activity went great, we had one minor (or major depending on who you talk to) event involving a pair of glasses and a two year old, but that's a story I prefer not to remember so... anywho it was really fun! Then I brought Eliza home to drop her off with Ben only to shove some food into my tummy and go right back to the church for the Youth Activity (broom hockey). There were only a few brooms that surrvived by the end... after the activity the presidency met with the stake YW leaders and we had a great and informative meeting! I got home and crashed!

Thursday, I went to my mom's because she was going to the zoo on Friday which is our normal visit day... We had a very enjoyable day relaxing, watched a movie and worked on our projects!

Friday, I can't really remember... I remember being all worn out from the week... I did go to watch Mom Merritt's shop while she went to the temple. That went well enough... I may have possibly scared some lady off but I sure tried with my limited knowledge to help her but she was tired and grouchy so in the end I just told her I apparently couldn't meet her needs and she should come back tomorrow.

Saturday was a blast! exhausting but fun! My mom, dad, Heather, Heidi, and Jaron all came down to Longmont and we went to a corn maze! The Anderson Farm corn maze. There were tons of cool things to do, Like pumpkin launching and face painting and the maze and animals to see... but we didn't do anything but the maze... Heather and Heidi had a good time running around by themselves and we all eventually met up and did 12/18 posts hidden in the maze. It was fun but Eliza got too tired to keep going and so did the rest of us! I was so exhausted from carrying Eliza that I got home a took a much needed nap! Ben carried her in the backpack for a while but she wont sleep in it. Then Grandpa carried her for a little bit once she was asleep (thankfully)... Here are pictures of all our fun!
We forgot Eliza's hat so we took Heathers and made it work (thanks Heather!)

I thought this sign was too funny to pass up!
Heather and Heidi in Jail. Great birthday gift don't you think?
Here is all of us at the maze! (I'm the one behind the camera)
Eliza and Grandpa Waite! She wasn't thrilled when she woke up and realized it wasn't mommy holding her.

Jaron Got It!!!

Jaron got his mission call!!! We are all so very excited he will be spending the next two years sharing the gospel with the people in South Carolina!! He is going to make a fantastic missionary!

Anywho I promised to post some pictures of Eliza's new dresses I made

This is the Jumper I madeThis is Eliza's new love, the cabinet is her favorite place to play.

And Finally this is her tutu... isn't it adorable!

It's officially Fall... Brrrr!!!

Happy birthday Heather and Heidi!!!! You two are the most amazing girls ever and Ben, Eliza and myself all wish you the happiest 13th birthday ever!

As for our update this week... Ben has spent the week working on inventory at work and is therefore very very busy there. Friday was the majority of the inventory process and he put in a long 12 hr day. He came home totally pooped! but the good news was that he slept well that night!

Wednesday we went with Grandma and Grandpa Merritt to the pumpkin patch here. It was incredible! I have never been to a pumpkin patch with so many activities; from painting and mini-mazes, fair rides, and a shop with tastey fall treats! We didn't get there until about a half hour before it was closed but that meant it wasn't crowded (we were the only people there) and it was very enjoyable! Here are some cute pictures!

I have been bitten by the project bug... the one that makes you crave little projects and neglect the thing that really need doing (like dishes and cleaning and laundry)... So insead of looking for a cure I've given in to the disease for the time being and have enjoyed it! I made Eliza a tutu and a new little jumper dress that is absolutly adorable! I don't have pictures yet but later I'm sure you'll see some. I tried making a headband to match the dress and three tries later I gave up because it was making me angry.

It's official now... I am the Young Woman's secretary now. I was set appart for the calling today and I'm actually really looking forward to this calling. I'm sad to loose the activity day calling because I really liked working with the younger girls and I Loved doing all the little kid crafts! So now I guess I'll just have to wait for Eliza to get big enough to start doing them with her! (If I could get her to stop putting everything in her mouth I would try finger painting but the thought of her putting paint in her mouth grosses me out!)

LDS General Conference Weekend!

First things first, Today is Jaron's Birthday, so Happy Birthday Jaron from All us Merritt's!!

So this week was uneventful! that's a good thing, really! We haven't done much outside the usual.

Eliza is getting to be very talkative. She doesn't say very many things but she's pretty much mastered "a dun" (all done) "up!" (usually being screamed from the back of the car) "dada" (daddy) "mum" (mom) "na!!" (if being yelled means no but other wise I have no idea)... so that is the consistancy of her understandable vocabulary but that certainly hasn't stoped her from finding other ways to let you know what she wants! Mobility is becoming easier every day and she cracks me up with her lack of bravery... she is very stable but she will give you jello legs the minute you try to hold her hands and have her stand. She just sits down and crawls over to the couch or wall or bookshelf etc and stands there instead. Hehehe she's her mothers child in that.

We spent some time in the pool this week and I'm remebering how much I miss the regular smell of chlorine, dry skin, and echo of the pool! So I'm looking into buying a punch pass for the pool here to make sure I go more often.

This weekend was the LDS General Conference and Ben, Eliza and I stayed home and really enjoyed the time we had to listen to our dear prophet and other leaders. They are all very wise and spiritually in-tune men. I really liked the talks about gratitude and finding joy in life. It was a really nice reminder for me. I seem to get into ruts where I forget to be truly grateful for the things I have and this helped me step back and see where I can improve. Ben went to the priesthood session on Saturday night with his Dad and said he really enjoyed it. He said he favorite part was the analogy about the Grand Piano and lifting/serving where you stand. Eliza slept and played and her favorite part was having our almost undevided attention for the whole weekend. Oh and she LOVED the childrens choir on Sat. every time they would sing she would stop what she was doing and watch them!

So that's the week... and I'll be saying goodbye for now!