Merritt Memories

On August 15th Dustin's dad was able to receive his endowment in the Jordan River Temple! It was such a nice session. It was nice to be able to witness this important occasion. I am so happy for him and his family. Dustin's birthday was the following day. He got a few gifts, but I think was the best birthday gift of all! On September 9th, their 37th wedding anniversary, they will be sealed for time and all eternity!

Through the summer I have had my older kids enrolled in swimming. I realized when my 11 year-old couldn't swim and would be expected to in scouts, it was time to let go of my maternal fear inside and let them do it. They all started out at level 1. Ryan and Aaron are level 4 swimmers and Grace is at 3b. It was a test for me to sit and watch my kids learn to swim! I was never afraid of the water, but once I had children a sense of panic struck me anytime my kids stepped near water! (it happens with so many other things too, what is this crazy thing? I would really like to know) Watching them tread water and go off the diving board were torture for me. I was shaking the first time and had to turn away. The next time I told myself I was being ridiculous and forced myself to calm down and watch. Grace struggled in 3a. The fear of going in 12ft really stopped her progression. They had the sweetest teacher and he worked and worked with her. He even gave her a couple of private lessons fr...

This morning me, Dustin, Ryan, and Aaron had the privilege of taking part in the dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. What a neat experience! I was really excited to have my boys be part of it. We were not able to be in the actual Temple. Way too many members in UT! They broadcast it to our stake centers, they become an extension of the Temple. I was a little bummed at first, I thought it might not be as neat, boy was I wrong. It just goes to show that a Holy Place can be anywhere where the followers of our Savior gather. This was my 2nd Temple dedication. When I was 12, I was able to take part in the dedication of the Las Vegas Temple. Although I don't recall much of it, I do remember sitting with my family in a sealing room (I think, mom help me out) and catching a glimpse of men in white walking by and waving at me. I had turned around at the right moment to see them. I said, "Mom, Dad I saw the prophet and he waved at me!" The prophet would have been Ezra T...

I have had the busiest month ever! I wish I had time to fill you all in, but I don't. I will try to update this soon! Why is it that a mother's work is never done? I need a break! I plan on going to Time Out for Women next month! I so desperately need a time out!

was a bag of Kix and a yellow balloon. Funny girl.

One of the cons of having year-round school is the short summer breaks. Don't get me wrong I absolutely L.O.V.E them, but I feel like they never got a true break from school. I planned to do LOTS of fun things during their time off, and we did, but not as much as I wanted. We spent the time mostly going swimming. I decided this year to forget how I looked in a swimming suit and just enjoy time with my kids. I got a membership for our rec center and we spent a lot of days at the pool. And on the bright side, I did get a pretty good tan, even my legs are dark again! Almost as dark as they were in Vegas! Impressed? Me too! I attempted some projects, but all they wanted to do was play with each other. Rather than hearing them complain the whole time, I decided to let them play. We did manage to get half a paper mache project done. And they invented their own game. Oh well. Last week my kids started back to school. Ryan is now in 6Th grade, Aaron is in 4Th, Grace in 2ND, and my little K...