Merritt Memories

My mom came up the weekend of Kate's baptism. It was fun to host her. I love having my mom come because I know my kids are getting to know her. And I want them to know her! I never really spent much time with my grandparents, on either side. My dad's dad died when he was five and his mom died when I was six. I remember visiting her house so my mom could take care of her. She had a stroke years before. I had never heard her speak or even look at me or address me. I also remember singing at her funeral. The grandchildren sang, I am a Child of God. I remember crying during the funeral as I sung it. It's weird because I was six. This lady never talked to me. Why would I be sad? My mom's parents lived a good trip from us. I remember visiting. I remember one time I got to chop wood in the backyard with my Grandpa's ax. I remember horses. I'm not sure if they were theirs or their sons. I remember my grandma always had cookies. I also remember I was afraid to g...

Last year for Mother's Day, Dustin and the boys built me some planter boxes along our fence. We planted late and had a so-so crop of veggies. The beans were aplenty and the peppers also. Our peas were devoured by the family pet. We decided to get a better jump this year. Last night for FHE we tried again. This year we decided to try watermelon and scallions. Becca chose the watermelon. She was way excited. I was lucky to find a seed that grew little. The scallions, I wanted to try. I love green onions on everything! We also replanted peas, beans, cucumbers, and carrots.  We made sure the kids got in on the action. Our lesson was to teach them how and to know they are responsible for this garden just as much as Dustin and I are. The girls really took to it, the boys? Well, I think they are just not willing to admit that they were excited too. So weird. We prepped the dirt, getting it ready to plant. We read the package. Y...

I enjoy Mother's Day. Motherhood is worth celebrating. And we celebrate in style!! We honor Mother's Day with no fighting, mom gets to rest all she wants, and what she says goes! I can't think of a better day. Dustin had to work this year, so he took me out early. On Saturday night he told the kids to get ready because he was taking me to dinner and they were going with us. In our house this is a BIG DEAL. We rarely take the kids out. Two reasons, 1. Money. It is expensive to feed 7 mouths. 2. When they were little, they would order, but NEVER finish. We felt it was wasteful. So when we go out, they are super excited. Ryan happened to be at a friend's house, hanging out, when the announcement was made. He called to see if he could go see The Avengers with his friend. We feel that he is getting old enough to make his own choices. I know how bad he wanted to see this movie. Dustin told him our plans and let him choose. He said, "I'll call you back in...

Who would be crazy enough to schedule a cruise a week before their daughter's baptism? Yeah, we would. FYI, not a good idea. I spent the week in between shopping for a dress, trying to schedule a bishop's interview, and giving late notice to family because I failed to make invites before we left! Typical Larae brain. After the craziness of the week, it was nice for Saturday to arrive. Kate was so excited! Her baptism was at 10 am. We were glad to have family and friends come to support her in her big decision. My mom and Robyn came from Vegas and Jeff and Staci came from Kaysville. Dustin's parents, Shandi (his sister) and Jaren, Wendy (his sister) and Cory, and Taryn( another sister) and Adam all came as well. It was nice to have so much family! We were glad Grandma Nelson came too! They asked Dustin and I to bear our testimonies after. How sweet that was to have the Spirit so strong. I told Kate the things I remembered from my baptism day. I challenged her to remem...

A year and a half ago, Dustin and I were able to go on a cruise to Mexico. We loved it so much, we couldn't wait to do it again. We looked for deals to other places, but found a great deal going back to Mexico! We booked it. Sure, we had been there before, but we never really could say we did everything, so it was worth it to go back. We thought it would be fun to go with other people. We were excited when our friends, the Corderos and Grables, expressed an interest in going with us. The Corderos weren't able to come. :(  But we were happy to be joined by Scott and Stephanie. It was a seven day cruise. The first two days were on the boat. We lounged around and ate. We also attended the nightly shows. Dustin and I even made it to the gym. Gotta work off those calories!! It was rather cold because we were not in Mexico waters, but once we hit them on the 2nd day, it sure was nice. We laid out by the pool with our friends. Day three we spent in Cabo. Upon arriv...