Friday the 13th!

It might be Friday the 13th if your husband has to tear apart the entire car (literally - the seats, the console, the dash board, the crash pad, and a plethera of screws, wires, and bolts are decorating the garage floor) to find a dead rat that's been stuck in there for a week and is REEKING like a rotted grave and then has to pry it out with your favorite salad tongs.

(wish I had pictures to share, but Joel took the camera to work to prove to his boss that he really did need the morning off to get a dead rat out of his car)  

A Rat Tale

Are you ready for the grossest story of the year?  I know it's only March, but still, get ready for the heeby-jeebies!  So yesterday I drove Joel's car to several different church meetings.  It was Sunday, right, so I was in a dress and high-heal sandals, complete with bare legs and feet.  As I was driving through out the day, I kept feeling something touching my leg.  Something soft and sort of prickly.  At first I thought my leg was just falling asleep, but then I felt it on my other leg.  "Gross", I thought, "there is a HUGE moth or something down there fluttering around my legs!".  So when I got to the church for my last meeting of the day, I left the windows down hoping it would fly out by the time I had to get back in there and drive home.  Not so.  As I put the car in reverse, I felt it again, something big and furry rubbing against my bare legs.  I jerked the e-brake, turned on the light and looked down. Anyone want to guess what was staring up at me from between my feet?

A RAT!!!!!  A big black hairy one.

Seriously, it was like the size of my foot!  I screamed and jumped out and started doing the heeby-jeebies dance in the parking lot.  Some brave men heard the commotion and came running with sticks to help, but that creepy guy was determined to stay.  So to make a long story short, I left the car there, came home with my friend Stefani, and made Joel go back and drive it home.  We tried for a while to get it out, and then decided to break the Sabbath and go buy a rat trap.  But the trap was still empty this morning, so Joel got to drive to work today with some company. AAAAHHHH!  My skin is still crawling.  I hope it is a Mesa rat and decides to get out or die while Joel is at work, instead of in our Queen Creek driveway.

.....on second thougth, maybe we'll catch it and keep it as a pet.  We'll lavish it with soft pink slippers and take rat glamour shots

Then we'll breed it and have a rat community for our babies to bathe in pools of milk with

Not really...these last two pictures were just some freaky photos I found on line.  

Anyways, gross, hu!

Important!! your driver's license on line - thanks to Homeland Security!

Check your driver's license - I found this on my friend's blog

I definitely removed mine.  I suggest you all do the same.  Now you can see anyone's drivers license on the internet, including your own!  I just searched for mine and there it was...picture and all!  Thanks Homeland Security!  Go to the web site, and check it out.  It's unbelievable!  Just enter your name, city and state to see if yours is on file.  After your license comes on the screen, click the box marked 'Please Remove.'  This will remove it from public viewing, but not from law enforcement.  Please notify all your friends so they can protect themselves, too.  Believe me they will thank you for it.

http://www.license.shorturl.com/

HELP!!!!!!

I need some MAJOR help!!!  I am drowning in a sea of beige and my own indecisiveness.  I am trying to paint my front room, and it is NOT going well. I have been wanting to paint ever since we moved into this house 2 1/2 years ago.  I actually don't mind the color it came with (a lovely , trendy beige) except it is on EVERY wall in EVERY room of the house.  I thought I wanted a sage-green for an accent wall, but after trying 3 different shades and still not happy with it, we are back to square one.  WHAT COLOR!?  This is so frustrating.  90 percent of our furniture has been handed down to us (NOT complaining!) so while I love that each little artifact has it's own little history, none of it really matches.  Where is my fung shway? (I wish I knew how to spell that word...)  So here is the current color scheme: carpet - light goldish beigh, walls - trendy beige, piano - brown, couches - brown and light brown, entertainment center - brown, cupboards - brown...are you noticing a pattern?  I need some color!  I feel like Sis. Encarnacion from Nacho Libre, "My favorite  color is light tan".  My real favorite color is pear green, but I don't think it belongs on my walls.  Do you have any ideas?  Seriously, do you?  Hurry before I give up and just settle for the tri-colored blotches on my wall and call it quits.

Thirteen-mile Thriller!

Hey guess what.  We ran the 1/2 marathon!  By "we" I mean me and my fun times running buddy Michelle (you can view Michelle's hot picture in the previous post about the Turkey Trot).  She is so funny!  I don't even bother to bring my ipod running because she keeps me laughing the whole time.  We  seem to be starting a tradition of showing up to the race late, and caring more about where the bathrooms are than the finish line.  side note: To the people who host these races: Running induces certain bodily functions that REQUIRE certain facilities.  Don't you know that!?  Why are there not bathrooms at EVERY 1/2 mile during these races!?  Dried up tumble weed along the way do not provide the necessary privacy for these types of things. end side note.

 Anyways, other than starting late (again! - I love our style) and not enough bathrooms, it really was fun!  We started 6 min. behind, but had caught up to the main group by the 2-3 mile.  Thanks to all the high school cheerleaders in the town of Queen Creek who got up extra early to look fancy for the race.  The way you handed me my paper cups of water was inspiring.  (I can make fun of cheerleaders because I used to be one myself.  Did you know that?  Ya, I was a Brimhall Bobcat.  Go BJH!  We took state.)        ... Anyhoo, The race rout was so pretty!  We were running through all these cotton fields and along horse pastures.  We totally had the spirit of the mustang with us.  We were going pretty strong up through about mile 10-11, when we both just hit a wall (don't worry, just a metaphoric one).  Those last 3 miles were rough, but I'm so proud of us!  We finished in 2 hrs. 35 minutes.  So we have decided to run another one in April, and this time take it seriously...like we'll show up on time and everything.  We won't even bring our cell phones to call our hubbies when we're almost done so he can drag our kids down to cheer us on as we cross the finish line.  We'll probably even stretch out and go to the bathroom before we run, too.  Our goal is to beat our time.  Wish us luck!

A little chuckle for your day

Hailey sat down to write a Christmas card for her Kindergarten teacher. When she was done, she brought it to me. I've edited her spelling here for blogging purposes, but it read:

Dear Mrs. Romero,
Merry Christmas Mrs. Romero Merry Christmas. I like you, I love you, I want some more of you.
Love, Hailey

JoLynn Rae loves Rachel Ray

JoLynn LOVES to be by my side in the kitchen. She has mastered the talent of gently cracking the eggs for cookies, measuring the yeast for bread, and tearing the lettuce for salad. Her favorite afternoon show is Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals. JoLynn is becoming a culinary diva!

Hailey took this picture one Sunday afternoon

other than the red-eye,

blurry lights, my forehead shine,

and our heads cut off, it's not bad, hu?

Why I love Arizona

This will grow all winter long in my backyard!

Fresh salad city!

swiss chard

carrots

sugar snap peas

lettuce, lettuce, lettuce

A sandal, a tea cup, a baby rattle, a burp cloth, a used napkin, a necklace, a sour cream container, and a baby's dress shoe...

Who decorated YOUR Christmas tree?

October Review

JoLynn turns 4!!!a "beautiful pink sparkley magical unicorn cake"

per JoLynn's request

I love you my sweet Jo!

Halloween!!!

November Review

Hailey Turns 6!

I love you sweet Hailey!

cupcakes with her kindergarten class
JoLynn and 5 other classmates pose as candles for Hailey to blow out

a "really super pretty butterfly cake" per Hailey's requestmaking a wish

Grandma Merrell with Shae

While I take a bath, JoLynn takes a peanut butter bath...

and then gets to clean up!

Look at these juicy cheeks!

Thanksgiving Turkey Trot Triumph!

Woo-hoo! Yesterday marked the 1/2 way point for my goal to run the 1/2 marathon in January. My awesome running buddy, Michelle, and I ran the 10k Turkey Trot in Mesa. (Yes, an actual man dressed as a turkey runs the race) It was so fun! We were stuck in line for the bathroom when the race started (we've both had 3 kids - what do you expect!?) so we were about 5 min. behind everyone else, but I tell you, once we started, we didn't stop, and we were passing people left and right! We finished in 64 minutes. We tore it up!
(If JoLynn was reading this right now, she would be reminding me, "Mom, remember, it isn't nice to brag." But this has been a huge personal feat for me in so many ways, so I feel I have the right to be proud of myself...sorry for being so "puffed up".) A shout out to my girl Michelle, who kept me going at the end - I totally would have given up if it weren't for her! Joel and the girls were lined up near the finish line cheering us on. Thanks Joel - you're the best!
And it all made feasting on the Thanksgiving pleasures of the day that much more enjoyable.

Highlights of our Thanksgiving table:
*Mom's famous dinner rolls (so light, so fluffy, SOOOOO GOOD!)
*Grandma Merrell's cranberry relish (my favorite!)
*Joel's candied yams - YUMMO!
*Megans' green bean casserole
*Cindy's relish tray fit for royalty
*Pie: bannana cream, chocolate cream, lemon mirengue, key lime, apple, pumkin, blueberry, and pumkin carmel.
Sigh...I think I need to go running again!

Joke of the day:
Blake: (with a look of disapointment as he surveyed his plate still half full) "Ugh, I feel like my stomache shrunk..."
Erin: "Did you put it in the dryer?"
(Merrell humor)

Proud Mom Moment

Yesterday on our way home from the park, I stopped to chit-chat with our neighbor Leona. It was the first time she had seen Shae, and in her excitement over the baby she kept saying, "Oh my G_ _! She is so cute!...Oh my G_ _, you are so blessed!...Oh my G_ _, look at that smile!..."
Not wanting to offend her, I refrained from covering my girls' ears and just smiled and pretended I didn't notice her repetedly taking the Lord's name in vain.

Then Hailey tapped her on the arm and in a VERY sweet and meek but confident voice said (and I quote), "Um, excuse me, but you gotta remember this: when you say 'Oh my God' you're really taking Heavenly Father's name in vain." Leona paused with her mouth open then her eyes flashed to me for a second and then back to Hailey and she said with a smile, "Oh, you're right. Thank you for teaching me that. You are a very smart girl." She was so sweet about it. I was so proud of Hailey for standing up for what she knew was right (as I should have done). I think Hailey could kind of sense that what she said may have offended Leona, because right after that she said, "Is there anything you want? I have some really pretty rocks I collected at the park in my treasure bag here. You can have one." So innocent! That's exactly what the Savior would have done. Rebuke the sin, but show love to the sinner. It reminded me of Robert D. Hales conference talk on Christian Courage. "Meekness is not weakness. It is the badge of Christian Courage...We do not feel we are better than they are. Rather, we desire with our love to show them a better way - the way of Jesus Christ...To help them, to be an example for them is not for the weak. It is for the strong."

I am so proud of my children. I am so blessed to have them as my examples!

My Little "Fairy Pearl"

Shae: Gaelic: meaning fairy or leprechaun

Margaret: Greek: meaning Pearl

Family Portrait

Isn't it precious to watch those natural mothering attributes come out of your little daughters? As I got out of the shower the other day, JoLynn came in and asked me to come in the play room to take a picture of her family. I felt a gush of endearment as she rattled off the names and needs of each of her "family members". Do you ever wonder if Heavenly Father has those same adoring feelings as He watches us, his daughters, do our best as we draw from those femine qualities unique to women to tenderly care for our little ones?

Cabin Trip

So remember how Old Boy is tempermental? Old Boy really has a hard time with pictures, so most of the pictures I post on here are a month or so outdated, but hey, we take what we can get.

We went up to the cabin in Prescott mid-October. Cindy and Ben came with Claire. It was loads of fun! (Besides the trip to the ER with JoLynn and my bee sting.)

Anyhoo, enjoy the slew of random pictures from that trip!

we ate spagetti...
and smores!

This will be a good one of Hailey

to ward off future suitors.
I love blackmail pictures!

Celebrated Joel's Bday!

Joel with his Harem

(and yes, that is a G.I.Joe gun that JoLynn is sticking in the baby's ear)

I talked this black bear into...

...babysitting my kids for a few hours.

We went for walks

and collected acorns and flowers

The End