What a great weekend!

So if you haven't read Ben's post below, I highly recommend it.  It is quite humorous and really shows Ben's fun personality.  My life would be so dull without him! :)

Anyways, I know I promised a 1 year birthday post for Merrilee, but the pics we have of it are on Ben's phone (not a smart phone) and it is a process getting the pictures off of his phone.  Merrilee was sick on her actual birthday...poor girl.  She was running a fever and very tired for a few days. A few days after her birthday we just had a few family members over to sing happy birthday and eat cake. Merrilee really liked her little portion of cake! She scarfed it down like there was no tomorrow! I wish we could have gotten a video of it. Oh well.

This past weekend was really fun and it was nice to be able to spend some time together as a family. Saturday we went out shopping together as a fam getting errands done, buying groceries, etc. Ben and I really enjoy doing these things together...in fact it is one of our most favorite things to do together.

Sunday we went to church, cooked together, played games, and watched church movies together. So nice.

Yesterday (Monday) Ben had work and school off so he got some homework done in the morning while Merrilee took her nap and in the afternoon we went to Provo Canyon for a nice walk to Bridal Veil Falls. We don't have a jogging stroller or anything but we still trekked in the snow with our stroller and Merrilee and it was so fun! It was really refreshing to be out in nature together and just get away for an hour or two. After our little walk we drove to one of our favorite spots in the canyon (where we have gone snowshoeing, hiking, and picnicking before) and sat in the car and ate some snacks we packed. Our surroundings were so majestically pretty and it was fun to watch kids sledding and people enjoying the outdoors.

As we were eating and enjoying, we saw a family with 7 kids pile out of a huge van and start gearing up to go snowshoeing together! The oldest kid was probably 15 or 16 and the youngest looked about 2 or 3 and we couldn't quite tell, but the mom kind of looked pregnant under her coat! We were amazed! We decided we want a family that awesome! Taking all our kiddos (however many that will be) out on family adventures like snowshoeing! Those are the most memorable times together!

Not much else going on...Like Ben mentioned below, we had the ultrasound and we are having another girl! YAY! The due date is still a little questionable...there are 3 due dates...May 19, May 22, and May 27. So somewhere around then is when we will have the baby.

Here are some pictures of our outdoor fun-ness!  (Beware...there are a lot of pictures...Merrilee was being so cute and fun we couldn't resist taking so many pictures of her!)

Why yes, I did crochet that headband...the very first crochet project I've ever tried/finished.

26-27 Weeks along!?

Ben thinking he is so smart with my glasses on!

Lessons for Life: "Don't Kick Dogs in the Face!"

So there I was, enjoying a nice stroll with my family on a Sunday afternoon, when I saw two little puppies running down the road. Ok, so they weren't exactly puppies. They were those little dogs that you have always wanted to kick through the uprights. As they came nearer, I had an odd feeling that I would get to do something I had always wanted to do. One of the dogs, conveniently a "Shnouser"(Dog with big nose-face), decided to attack me. I could have put the stroller between me and the Dog, but I'm afraid Merrilee would have had a permanent fear of dogs. So I took a step forward and Wammo! It was like kicking the sweet spot on a football. The Shnouser (Dog with big nose-face), defeated, yelped and ran to his owner who was only a few yards away. Oh crap. What made it worse was the fact that the owner was a cute old man. Crap crap. So I began to feel a little guilty until he said, "you kick that Dog!" meaning, kick him when he is naughty. I felt bad for the predicament I put the old man in, so I told him he had a nice dog, even petted the stupid pathetic thing, and went on our way.

The next day we found out the sex of our baby. Thankfully I didn't kick a dog in the face. Anyways,....


From the moment I walked into the ultrasound room, I had a feeling that I wouldn't see anything "between the legs," if you know what I mean. And sure enough, the doctor said, "can you tell what it is!" Yep, a giant blank spot. Well, I am happy to be outnumbered three to one. I've always liked girls more then guys anyways. :) (Nothing to do with the fact that I was relentlessly teased for the first 18 years on my life)

So Merrilee is probably the funniest baby I know. Today while out shopping, Merrilee blew her tongue at me. It was awesome! I love teaching her things that will be useful throughout her life. I hope Maura can learn to do those things too.

Merrilee climbed all the way up the stairs! We are trying to get her to be able to do this on her own before the next baby comes. Can you imagine Maura carrying two babies up and down our stairs!? I can. :)


So the internship has been going well. I like working at Novell. I feel pretty awesome working with all the executive folk. I am know as "just the intern." A suitable title I guess. I hope to be there for a while because this internship actually pays.

So I watched Alice in Wonderland for the first time in my life. If you want to see the inside of my brain, watch Alice in Wonderland (the new version.) How can anyone go throughout the day without seeing the funny teeth on the manikin and thinking they haven't been to the dentist for a while, or seeing the guys on campus practicing sword fighting and actually thinking it is cool. (Don't mess. Those guys are awesome.)

Its just nice to look at life differently you know.

If you need help learning how to see  life differently....Find a Dog, and kick it in the face.

Bye.

-Benjamin