How did we get this busy?

I really don't know how it happened, last month we had time to work in the garden, go for walks and other enjoyable things, the last three weeks have just not allowed for any of it. It probably has to do with the Family Reunion the first weekend of the month, 2nd Scout Camp the 2nd week, and then this third week trying to play catch up for the last two and all along Angela helping with wedding plans. On top of it all we left our camera in Tridell so we can't take the cute baby pictures you all were probably hoping for. Well I found some to pull out of the archives, all the way back before all the craziness started, hope you enjoy.

Tagged - Blog Game

So, I thought this looked kind of fun - I got it from my sis-in-law Amanda. Go ahead, see if you can remember something I can't!

1. Add a comment to this post on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot…anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you.
-Angela

Catch-up!

So, we've been slackers. It's because Eliza is so cute and we spend way too much time just staring at her and smiling. Enjoying it while we can - just like everyone says we should.:) Needless to say, some things have been neglected - like housework and the blog. Here's a sampling of the fun had over the 4th of July weekend and just some pretty cute pictures.

A Very Special Day

Sunday, July 6th, was a big day for our little family. It was Eliza's blessing day. I can't help being amazed every time I look at this little girl that she is part of our family. Now, when I pray for my family, it has a whole new meaning. She has changed our lives forever, and I think we kinda like it.



We also had a very big weekend - being the 4th of July and all. The family came down on Friday and we had a great picnic in the park while the kids played in the stream.
Then we watched the fireworks - Thanks Scott and Brandee for saving us such great seats! ;)
Our little home in Washington is just right for us, but not for the big gang we had visiting, so we had some most gracious relatives let us borrow their home in a little town called Pinto. This place is amazing! We forgot our camera, naturally, so I'll have to get pictures from some of the siblings and post them. The house is really old, but they've taken great care of it. And it's full of great old keepsakes and mementos. There is even a closet FULL of all these great clothes from the 70s and 80s. The girls had more fun going through the closet than anything else. We spent some time touring the old church in Pine Valley, visiting the Mountain Meadows Massacre site (very sad!) and...Alex's favorite...the splash pad! We also had a surprise "visit" from some very special guests - Grandma and Grandpa Merkley! We finally got our webcams to work on both ends and we were able to talk to my parents in Myanmar! We surprised everyone and just brought the computer out with Mom and Dad smiling on it. The kids thought it was great. The sound wasn't very good, so we just spent a lot of time looking at them (and the boys making faces at themselves in the camera), but it was fun nonetheless.

We sure do appreciate everyone coming and spending time with us! And even those who couldn't make it, we love you still. :) We'll get more fun pictures up of the cousins meeting Eliza and some of the other fun stuff we did...as soon as I bum the pictures off others.
Lesson learned.
Take the camera.

Trying to Keep Up

It has been a crazy last couple of weeks and I realized that we have not put a post up in those last couple of weeks, so here are some highlights.

Eliza helped in the garden one of the Saturdays

Her second picnic brought some yawns but it was still fun.

Eliza went fishing,

and gave Dad some pretty good looks,

and she had had plenty of visits from friends.

We look forward to seeing some of you this coming weekend when she will be blessed, travel safe and we will see you soon.

First Picnic

It is time. Today is Eliza's 3 week birthday, so before that happened we had to get her out on a hike and see what she thought. I have been wanting to try out cottonwood wash and just had not done it yet, so Friday night Angela suggested a picnic and off we went. It was a little hot to start out but once we dropped into the canyon we found a nice rock and had a picnic. Eliza was so good, I think she likes the outdoors. After the picnic we hiked a little further, took some pictures and then came home. This is the first of many outdoor adventures for Eliza.

Thank Heavens for Family!

This is a big THANK YOU to all our family for all the help and love and gifts and everything else they've done for us in the past couple of weeks. We feel pretty blessed to have you all. Even Grandma and Grandpa Merkley check up on Eliza through the chats. Boy, do we keep the Google lines busy!

Eliza has had quite the first couple of weeks. Thanks to her parents who do nothing better than procrastinate...well, lets be kind - it's only 10% procrastination and 90% difficulty making decisions...Eliza's first few weeks were not uneventful and nothing but rest and relaxation.
She got carpet and baseboards (thanks Grandpa!) in her room before she was 2 weeks old. This meant we were all sorts of displaced by random furniture placement in the house for two days. She also loves to go for walks with her dad, and she loves the sound of the birds.



Eliza also got to meet one of her cousins! My sister, Amy, came and stayed for a week after Grandma Averett left. (Thanks to both of you. I've missed you even more now that I've had a week on my own.) Amy brought Lance, and he wasn't quite sure what to think of someone smaller than himself. My favorite part was when he first saw Eliza, she had her binky in. Lance has one just like it and he thought she had his. We had to go find it so he had one too. Then he felt better about her. He sure liked to crawl up to her and try to give her loves. He also thought Uncle Aaron was a great pal! Such a cute kid! He was lots of help when the carpet came, although he was a little disappointed to lose his "echo room." He would crawl into or past Eliza's room while it was still concrete floor and make all kinds of noise just to hear the echo it made.

Isn't family great!