And it is Done.

Just have to comment that Eliza dressed herself this day... she wanted her pretty red dress and then of course needed shorts so she picked out some pink flowered skort to wear under it! I LOVE 3 year olds!

This grin says it all! "Mommy Graduated and we're celebrating!"

Alayna figured out she could spin on this think on her tummy!

This was a big week for me. I mean a really really big week!

Monday, I finally finished turned in and passed my final class for my degree in Accounting. I was thrilled. I think shock would also fit well into that discription because I don't really feel like I have adjusted at all to the idea that what should have been a sudden spurt of free time I have had less and less of it! It was a relief to be done and so in order to properly celebrate I took the girls to Bounce in Loveland. Heather and Heidi came along to play with us as well and we had a blast! We stayed later than most of the people so we ended up pretty much having run of the whole place! Eliza ran the twins all over the place and I was dragged up and down the slides with Alayna a couple dozen times before heading home for the evening. Both girls were so exhausted they passed out before we ever got all the way home!

Tuesday was a fun day! We went to Loveland to play with Grandma Waite. I started out the day by hitting up the farmers market to pick up my CSA share (farm fresh vegi's all summer!!). Then we went to ARC ( a thrift store). I then spent the rest of the day helping get ready for the ward water kickball activity at the Waite household. Ben got to go to the temple that day with the youth in our ward to to Baptisms and they all had a really good time! The girls had a blast playing the Yogi, the chickens and just being outside in general!

Wednesday was spent at our house! I still feel like I'm trying to get into some kind of a summer groove... by the time I get that all figured out it's going to be fall! GRR!! I spent the entire day doing something that I had promised myself I would get done about halfway through the past year. I cleaned the basement! I mean I really really cleaned the basement! You can now walk through every room. All the toys have a home... some of them have even been set aside to be donated! It took me ALL.DAY.LONG. but I was very proud of my work when I was done and the girls were a fantastic help the whole day without a single complaint! It really helps when you can encourage Eliza's imagination games to include work and her little sister! I also finished my very first book for pleasure that day! "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho it was wonderful and I defiantly recommend reading it!

Thursday the girls had some time with Grandma Merritt. They played in the sprinkler for a good part of the morning I got to get some work done at home and pick up the last things I needed for dinner that night! Then I cleaned like a mad man, read a book and that evening Sandy Depew (my friend from high school!) came over for dinner. We had such a great time chatting and catching up on everything going on in each other's lives. Ben and his family spent the evening out on the lake. It was our first time out this summer (terrible that it's almost July and this is the first real trip they've had!) But they came back all good and damaged! Ben had a few fantastic rides (so I was told) and even an excellent crash as well! Sandy, the girls and I all played at the park for a little bit and other than that we just enjoyed the time to talk after I got the girls to bed!

Friday I didn't clean... I was glad! I did get to take the girls over to Golden Pond park where they have a really nice bike trail that is pretty much flat so Eliza can continue to practice and get a little more courage on her bike (she is very timid!) So I loaded Alayna in the stroller and Eliza had a great ride with a wonderful picnic lunch! They were both very angry when we had to call it quits but I was melting in the heat and Alayna needed a nap! The afternoon was spent playing in the backyard in the water while Mommy weeded some of the garden. Oh a random side note; I have gone all summer so far without either kid getting a sunburn yet! Horray for me!!

Saturday Ben went back to the lake with the 12-13 year old boys from our ward at church. They are a great group of kids and he spent the day teaching many of them how to wake board and/or ski. He came home exhausted and sunburned but it appears to have been a very successful trip. The girls and went to a few stores and let Alayna sleep a good portion of the day! Ben took us out for dinner that night which was wonderful! The girls were very well behaved and the food was also excellent!

Sunday was a good day. Church had some excellent talks and lessons! We are so lucky to have such wonderful, strong and faithful people in our area that can teach us so much and share their faith! I hope that as we get into next week and the weeks to follow that everything continues to go so smoothly and that I can get into some kind of pattern that is more predictable!

Happy Father's Day!

Painted toes... so cute!

SUPER GIRL!!

Alayna is SO cool that she wears her sunglasses upsidedown!

Monday, we spent the first half of our week trying to recooperate from our wonderful weekend in Idaho. I just have to say that lack of sleep and Alayna do NOT mix well at all! Monday was the most aweful day for all of us. Alayna woke up at 7 AM she then cried, screamed, bawled, and melted into complete hysterics all day long. I even tried taking her to the pool (which usually does the trick in snapping her out of a bad mood) but NO! She still cried the whole time we were there. I finally put her in bed at 1:00 for a nap and she slept until 4 when I woke her up. She was a little more plesant for the afternoon (thankfully) but I was sure glad when Ben came home. Even Eliza was annoyed with all the tears that day. She was so sweet and tried to sing Alayna songs and distract her from her melt down.

Tuesday was better. We chilled out at home didn't have as many tears and were able to get Alayna to sleep on her regular schedule which certainly helped the mood swings! We enjoyed having the missionaries over for dinner and a nice quiet evening!

Wednesday we went to Loveland to play. I was very tired after two long days and ready for someone else to play with me and the girls. Heather, Heidi, Mom and Kara all went out and ran around for the afternoon. I enjoyed some goof off time playing video games with the twins and scored a very cute new dress and shoes at ARC (thrift store). We came home to my wonderful hubby that evening with three worn out but happy girls which I'm sure he was thankful for after the past two days!

Thursday the girls went to play at Grandma Merritt's house and I got some homework done. Speaking of homework I have one more assignment before graduation! I am so very very excited! That said the girls had tons of fun playing playdough and outside with Grandma. They sure love going over there and I am so lucky to have a few hours a week to get things done. I've especially loved having the ability to use that time to do my homework that has really needed to be caught up on and done in the past year of schooling. After time with Grandma the girls and I went home and I have no idea what else we did... stuff... we were busy. Sometimes being busy just means I forget it faster!

Friday was fantastic! Heather and Heidi were doing a Twin Study in Boulder so my mom had to hang out there all day so I came with her! We took my kids and Kara with us to go play in some of the local parks there while the twins worked. We had a quick stop at Ben's work to have him fix up Nana's old walker that they use in the garden now. We discovered that there are some really very cool parks around there. One of the ones we went to has the coolest Rocket ship the kids can climb all the way to the top and 'drive' it. Eliza had to warm up to it but we eventually convinced her it would he cool to go up there and then we had to coax her down when it was time to go! Funny girl! Alayna missed her nap that day but it worked out ok without the repercussions I expected. We had so much fun I want to go back and do it all over again! The weather was perfect as well!

Saturday, Ben worked this Saturday. So he missed out on a full Saturday but I really enjoyed myself all day long! Grandma Merritt watched the girls for me and I went to a baby shower (wonderful to get some good adult time with friends thanks Mom!). After the baby shower the girls and I went home, fed and napped ourselves. Then we went out of some last minute shopping for Fathers Day and to get some of our basics... like MILK! Then I cleaned and did a few loads of dishes that I had put off way too long and went to bed!

Sunday, Happy Father's day! First to Ben, the father of my two beautiful girls, the love of my life and the man who I admire so much for the love he has for our children! Second to my father who gave me life, gave me a fantastic time growing up and memories that I can continue to pass on to my children! And finally to Bryan, my Father-in-Law who gave me my husband, and lots of good laughs! I hope all of them have had a fantastic day We love you all very very much!

Clark Reunion

Sweet Elizabeth!

Painting Adventure at the Clark Reunion!

I think the thing I am most thankful for this week is surviving the week! That and family history!

Monday and Tuesday we spent the day working on prep for going to the Clark Reunion (Diane Merritt's side of the family) I shopped, cleaned, did excessive ammounts of laundry, and even took the girls to the pool one of those days. Asside from that I don't have any idea what all I did those two days.

Wednesday was spent in Loveland. My Mom was having some major dental work done so I had the privillage of being able to go and be a mom to my mother! It was really nice to have a few hours to just go and play with Heather and Heidi while we were waiting for Mom to finnish up so I could go pick her up! After some time to play I picked up Mom took her home dropped off Heather and Heidi at their "Alive at 25" class and then went back to take care of a few more things at the Waite household before heading home myself. It was a very busy day but it ended very nicely with a fantastic dinner and then took the girls home and put to bed.

Thursday was a lot of fun... maybe a little too much fun because I ended up not getting everything done that I should have that day. But it was really nice to play with family! Diane watched the girls in the morning while I hurried and pushed out an assignment for school that was due this weekend that I knew I wasn't going to have any more time to complete. While doing that I did some laundry as well. Then that afternoon we all met at the Merritt's house for some lunch and then some play time. Hailey and Elly McMillan got to be here from Florida as well so we were excited about that! We loaded up the van with my kids, Elly, Hailey, Abby, and Grandma. Mallory, Evan and their neice and nephew (Alyia and Elija) came in their car and we went over to Bounce the indoor bounce house in Loveland. The kids had a blast but I don't think I've ever seen Eliza get so darn HOT! She was literally dripping wet in sweat and stinky by the end of their play! They sure loved it though! Uncle Evan took them on round after round and even saved Eliza after getting plowed over in one of the obstical courses. It was a fun day but we sure had to kill ourselves that evening to get everything packed and loaded into the car so we could hit the road bright and early Friday morning.

Friday we spent the day driving to Rexburg, Idaho. I was a bit worried about that long of a drive with three little girls under the age of 4! I mean really!?! What kind of a sane person buckles 3 kids under the age of 4 into carseats and asks them to sit there for 9+ hours without complaint... I think we must be crazy! That said the girls did amazingly well! We didn't have any major tears at all the whole way there. They played contently with each other while watching movies and Eliza didn't have ANY accidents the whole time!! After getting to Great Grandma Clark's house we had a nice dinner with all the family that had arrived and then headed over to the hotel. We let the girls go swimming for a little bit before going to bed that night and we all slept like a rock that night.

Saturday was so cool! We started around 8 AM visiting Ben's Great Grandma Hardy (The babies Great Great Grandma). By 10 we were at the park playing with all the cousins and second cousins! We got to do some really cool family history stuff that was very interesting to learn about Ben's family history that whole weekend. We also had a cool oportunity to see many of the graves of the ancestors (LOTS of them) who settled in that area. We also had a chance to visit the grave of Amanda Summers who is Ben's cousin that passed away from SIDS at two months old. After all the fun Family history lessons (which were awesome!) we headed back to the park for some lunch and then naps for the babies. We let Eliza and Alayna go swimming with Daddy for a little while and I got a chance to talk to Cami and Allison (my cousins from my mom's side) for a little bit it was nice to see them! After that we went over to Uncle Ron's house for dinner and fun for the kids! Grandma Clark had some painting stuff for the little ones to do (it was a HUGE hit and I'm excited to get the pictures back from Hailey of Miss Alayna and her messy little face.) After the painting their was a fish pond for the kids and a slide and trampoline to play on. The kids had so much fun and dinner was great. By the end of the night we were all good and cold and ready to go back to the hotel and to bed!

Sunday started nice and early at Ron's house for a final Family breakfast! It was great food and a good chance to say goodbye to everyone before hitting the road. We decided to take the 'long' way home and go through Star Valley, WY. Where most of the Merritt line comes from. It was by far one of the most (if not THE most) beautiful places I have ever been to in my life. I have never seen anything like it and was very impressed with how unscathed it seemed to be by the rush of life these days. Asside from the freezing cold rain it was beautiful there! the graveyard that we visited with all the Merritt's was the kind of place I would love to be burried... the scenery was AMAZING! I really wish I would have taken some pictures. After that we had a very very very long drive home. The girls did well honestly they did but by the end I think we all wanted out of the car so bad that none of us were in a great mood anymore. Thankfully the girls went to bed really easily that night and we all surrvived the trip nicely!

Dear Blog...

Dear Blog,
Thank you for being the place to hold all of my mental vomit at the end of each week. I often feel like I am going to explode if one more thing has to be crammed into my limited memory space. You know how people think that you often start to look or behave like your dog... well I am beginning to look and behave like my computer. I'm slow, tired, and very very short on memory space. I don't respond well to being given multiple tasks at once and if you need me to continue preforming for more than a few hours at a time (homework craming) you will need to frequently save and refresh the program because I will suddenly stop working due to mental overload and promptly erase anything that hasn't been stored in a permanet location. One of these days both of us are going to kick the bucket entirely and get ourselves replaced. Maybe then I will be a higher functioning multi-tasking mother that I've always wished I could be!

Our week has been busy. I am beginning to remember why I maintain an incredible love/hate relationship with summer. In the beginning it's such a joy to just get out of the house! We've been cooped up for weeks and all three of us girls are excited to just get out and play in the outdoors! That said I somehow manage to forget what a pain it is to do certain activities. Like swimming for example... When I was a kid my parents got us up and took our sleepy little bodies to the pool three times a week at 6 AM. This tradition continued year round even when school started and we all went until we started going to early morning seminary in highschool. This was a joy as a kid, no big deal! Mom came in and woke you up told you to get your swimsuit and clean cloths on and get ready for family prayer before loading 8 kids into the van and heading to the pool. The towels were all packed shampoo, conditioner, swim caps and goggles, and pool toys were always there and ready to go! Our swimsuits were always dry and after an hour of playing in the water we got showered and mom fixed our hair... all 5 of her girls! Then we went home to homemade breakfast made by Nana and then to school looking our best with our cute outfits and braided hair. This happened for my whole life.
Now the same senerio in my current stage of life: Two girls running around the house squealing because they are so excited to go to the pool. One is bound to trip the other or plow into her sister so the tears will ensue. I open the gym bag to realize that I forgot to dry the towels and they are soaking wet... I don't have clean ones so I filter through the dirty laundry to find the cleanest ones I can and toss the wet swimsuits into the bag to dress the girls when we get to the pool. Eventually we make it to the pool after a few threats of "If you touch her one more time and make her cry we aren't going to the pool!!" After an hour of swimming Alayna is blue so we hit the hot tub and then the showers. Mine are the ones screaming at the top of their lungs in the shower... not because they don't like to shower, they just like the sound of their own voice. Someone will tell them to knock it off (not always me) I am sure to have forgotten something vital for this trip as well anything ranging from shampoo to a dry diaper for the baby. Then I will fight cloths back onto the kids. Once they are dressed I will hurry as quickly as possible to dress and catch the girls before they sit in one more puddle and soak their clean cloths. Why exactly my mom was so amazing at doing this and getting us everywhere on time still baffles me! I only have two kids and can't manage what she did with eight!

So other than swimming a few times this week we have cleaned house, and the car which has been suffering the consequneces of spring and two evil trees in the front yard in addition to the normal wear of family life! Ben has been very busy with work and his calling. We were able to really enjoy a fantastic weekend as a family! Ben had his work party this past Saturday which had a volleyball tournament that we got to watch daddy play in! He did really well and his team won but he also over extended his back and hurt it pretty good, age hurts. They also had a rock wall and two blow up slide/obstical courses for the kids to play on. Eliza had a BLAST playing and was good and tired by the end! She got her face painted and was very ticked off when Mom made her wash it off in the bath that night.

Alayna had one sick day this week. It was very odd. She woke up one morning crying so I picked her up and brought her downstairs she curled up on my shoulder and proceeded to puke down my back. It was wonderful. NOT. She then fell back asleep and slept most of the morning on the couch which never happens!! She normally only sleeps in her bed so it was kind of odd to see her curled up asleep on the couch!

Other than that our week has been all normal. We are looking forward to our insane week to come!