Family Picture

Merry Christmas everyone! I know I'm late but it's the thought that counts right?!? I am so happy we were able to get a cute picture of our little family with Bolt looking at the camera. It took a couple tries and Bolt taking a nap in between photo shoots to get this super cute picture though. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and has a Happy New Year! :) Love you all!

Bolt, Halloween, and The Oscar Myer Weinermobile!

Well we have been really busy lately but I wanted to update my blog and put up some of these cute pictures of my two favorite guys. Bolt is growing up really fast and getting so big. He is eating a ton. Last week he was able to jump high enough to get on the couches so he has been sitting on the back of our love seat and watching the kids outside. Today he was eating the blinds so I just raised them so he couldn't reach and all the sudden there I could hear 5 or 6 little kids laughing and saying, "It's a kitty!". I peaked my head around the corner to see what was going on and sure enough. There they all were, playing with Bolt through the window. They would run their fingers on across the glass and he would try to get them. They just loved it. Then they knocked on the door and asked to pet our kitty. I grabbed Bolt and let the kids pet him. He didn't like that too much since they were all yelling and trying to pet him. He hissed a coupled times then ran away. I am now the kitty lady of the complex. Haha.
Halloween was a little different this year than most. We were in Kanab taking care of Nancy after her Gall bladder was removed. We took our pumpkins out there to carve them and just hung out. I had a ton of homework so it wasn't the most relaxing get away for me but Bolt sure enjoyed exploring a new house!
One last highlight from the last couple weeks is that we got to see the Oscar Myer Wienermobile! I thought it was pretty cool to actually see on, and to look inside it. That about all the highlights I can think of. School is getting really busy and stressful but we are hanging in there and trying to have some fun along the way. Can't wait til Thanksgiving break to not have school and eat some yummy food!

Jace and Bolt watching the fire

Bolts Halloween Costume

He LOVES plastic bags

Sitting on His scratching post

The Wienermobile!

The front of the wienermobile. It's smiling too!

I dressed up for School as a cat. Bolt loved it.

This is his "I'm innocent" face

and this is his "Aren't I so cute" face

Newest Member of the Family.

So I'm stuck sitting at this computer and decided since I don't want to get up I would update my blog on the newest member of the family and reason I'm stuck in this chair. We have a sweet 10 week old baby kitty. He is sleeping on my lap right now and looks so peaceful so I don't want to move and wake him up. I bet you wonder how we came to own such a cute little thing since our apartments don't allow pets so I will tell you.
It all started with my visiting teachers coming over to say "Hi!" and met me. One sister brought her kids with her and they were talking about their dog. The little girl said she liked to play with her little dog Daisy and the other sisters dog too. After we left Jace and I looked at each other and said, "Why do they get to have pets?" We have asked a couple times about the pets we've seen around the complex and they always tell us they are medical. So Jace asked the manager after the whole thing with my Visiting Teachers and she said we just needed a note a doctor saying we would benefit from a animal-cat or dog, no horses or anything. I needed to get my prescription refilled so we decided to make an appointment with the doc about that and the note for a pet.
Long story short, we got a note from the doc and approval from the apartments to have a kitty. We found our kitty at the Washington County Pound. He was owner released and his card said 8 weeks old. He was chowing down on his food when we got there and he just kept wanting to eat. He didn't even care that we were wanting to take him home. We paid the $10 fee for our little guy and then took him to Petco with us to find some stuff for him. Petco seemed really expensive and there was a dish I liked more at Walmart so we went there. Luckily they are in the same parking lot so I just stayed in the car with the kitty and Jace went in to get all the stuff. I have the best Hubby ever. Love him lots.
We finally made it home and set up all the kitty stuff we got. The litter box and food/water dish and all the fun toys. We went back to Petco for food since all Walmarts food was basically corn. What cat eats corn voluntarily? They eat chicken and turkey and fish. Not corn. Anyway, we got him a little mouse to play with and he loves that thing! He cares it around everywhere and sits on and pushes it all over the kitchen floor. It's so fun to watch. He wasn't yet potty trained so it took a couple days of training before he got the hang of it. Good thing we have the little green to clean up those spots. We are still working on him actually covering up his poopy. He tries but seems to aim at the opposite corner as his poop. He'll get it down though.
We took him to the Vet and the vet said he was 6 or 7 weeks old not 8 like what the card on his cage said. The vet told us he will lose his teeth at 13 weeks so i've been checking his teeth everyday. He even got his first shots this vet trip. he did so good. Didn't meow or anything.
He has been such a blessing to our little family and reduced so much stress. He just make me smile whenever I look at him.
It took us a while to name him, but we finally came up with a name. BOLT! We chose this name because he bolts everywhere. He doesn't just walk. He has to run. It's too cute. Here are a couple pictures of our crazy man.

SO cute sleeping together. They were both so tired.

This is normal reaction when you play with him. He loves his back.

At the Vet. I love this picture. It's like
he's saying, "What are you guys doing?"

He loves my purse!

What a pose. He sleeps so much and in so many weird positions.

Homecoming Dance & True Rebel Night

So I've never been to a school dance before not college or High School. Well I did go to Red an White in High School which is a senior dance but we never went to the dance. It was kinda lame so I decided that Jace and I needed to go to Homecoming so we could get the full college experience and High School for me. :) Rhett and Natalie came with us too which made it alot of fun. We danced and danced and danced. It was great. We also went to True Rebel Night after the dance. It's a a tradition at Dixie in which at Midnight on Homecoming Saturday you and your date go stand in the fountain and kiss. The water was so cold but it was so much fun. I am so happy we went and have such great friends to go with as well.

All dressed up for the dance

Rhett and Natalie

The Group

Us dancing the night away

All of us in the freezing cold fountain

Kissy Kissy in the fountain

True Rebels! :)

Homecoming Parade

So it's home coming week for Dixie State College and today was the Homecoming parade. My PTA program just started a club for us called the Student Association of Physical Therapist Assistants or SAPTA so we represented in the parade. There are 23 students in the whole program and 4 of us showed up. Sad I know but we had fun. Big Sexy was the "float" for us so that was a lot of fun. We saw and heard a lot of comments on how nice the truck is and Jace's Favorite was a little boy say look how shiny daddy. It was cute. We had music too and Jace and I are deaf from it now because it was so loud in the cab. Oh well. The three girls in the back of the truck threw candy but ran out half way through the parade. So over all it was a good and alot of fun. Here are some pics. I saw alot of camera takin pics of the truck in the parade so maybe we will be famous! haha J/k. We also heard alot of What is SAPTA? It was great.

Tiffany Kelsy Sierra and Me

The not so cool looking banner on one side

The banner Jace and I made at midnight that everyone liked the most. :)

The other side of the trucks banner. Loved how none
of them matched each other.

Blackfoot Family Reunion and Demo Derby

This past weekend was the Merrell family reunion. It's in Blackfoot ID and is a really long drive for us especially with all the school stuff Jace and I have going on, but we decided to stretch ourselves thin and go up. It was alot of fun and I loved seeing the family but we are extremely tired. It wore us out. I only have time for a quick highlight of the weekend and had to get these cute pictures up of my hubby.

Highlight #1: Jace finally got to ride a horse for the first time. Unlce greg was so nice to saddle his horse Rose to let the kids and us ride. Anthony and Olivia had never ridin a horse before either so it was their first time too and they all loved it.

Highlight #2: The demo derby was very fun and had alot of good hits. Tailee fell asleep on my lap again this year too. I don't know how she sleeps through the noise but as she does it somehow. We saw one of the cars at the gas station when we got to Blackfoot and told the kids (Anthony, Chacen, and Tailee since they rode with us) that the car was going to the fair. Tailee told me that they were going there early so they could practice. Haha. Too cute!

Highlight #3: We got to eat yummy scone nuggets. I look forward to those every year. Hopefully we can make it next year so we can eat some more!

Highlight #4: It was good to see all my family. Wish they all lived closer and that we could make it up to see them more. Guess they will have to start taking advantage of our guest bedroom.

Well, that's all i have time more. Possibly more to come, depending on time. School is EXTREMELY busy.

Leading the horse. I love that hour heads are looking down at the poop.

Love this picture. Olivia's first time on a horse. She
started crying when the horse coughed and farted though.

Getting ready and learning how to "drive" from Uncle Greg

Jace's first time riding a horse. He looked so good. :)

Me and my Tailee

Jace is a pro now. :)

Anthony looking at the cows.

Cutest picture all day. I love my hubby and those sweet kids

Truck Update

Last Friday my boss gave me 2 free movie tickets for working so hard and filling in for people so Jace and I decided to have the date night we missed last Saturday from the truck dying. We got ready and Jace called Texas to put on names on the list again so we wouldn't have to wait. We decided to take Big Sexy too since he was fixed and had been working really good. We were so excited to have a real date night and to take the truck too, but we didn't make it out of the parking lot. We made it out of the parking spot and about 20 feet in our parking lot before Big Sexy died. I couldn't help but laugh since it was the same situation as last time just in our parking lot. Jace was able to pull off to the side of the parking lot out of the way and try to get it started again but no luck for a couple minutes. Big Sexy would start and run for about 20 seconds then die. It was like it was getting choked. But Jace was able to back it up finally into a parking spot. The longer he let it sit the longer it would run. So he let it sit a little bit, would start it, put it in reverse, and gas it. We are so glad it worked. It took about 35-40 minutes before getting the truck in a parking spot again but no one came out to see what we were doing and we were reving it up pretty loud and cars drove by too. What a rude world we live in. Even last saturday 3 cars pulled in the parking lot we were broke down in and one guy even waved but no one stopped to ask if we needed help. Our hood was up and the tonneau cover was up and nothing. Not even the 4 or so cops driving by stopped to help. Kinda made me sad to see how inconsiderate people can be.
Anyway, after getting the truck a the parking spot again we jumped in the car and went to Texas. The food was great and we didn't get sick since we thought maybe the truck was trying to keep us from eating there and getting food poisoning or something. We even had left over for lunch the next day. :) We saw The Switch which was really cute and funny. I enjoyed it lots. It was nice to have a fun evening even though Big Sexy still needs a new fuel selector valve.

Big Sexy Dies :( But LIVES!!!!!

So Jace and I decided to go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner to celebrate/mourn the last Saturday of summer. We called in and put our name on the list to not wait in line around 6:30 then jump in the truck to head over. Jace had spent the day doing diagnostics on the truck to make sure it was ready for school so we drove Big Sexy to Texas but we didn't make it. On our way there Jace switched fuel tanks and a little bit after doing that Big Sexy died. Jace could push the gas and get a little reponse but then it was like the key turned off. Luckily Jace was able to turn into a parking lot just a block away from Texas. It was quite the trick getting the truck to turn since there was no power steering though. Sadly the parking lot we were in was a private parking lot. We call Ernie and Gail on all three of their phones and no answer. We called Grandma and grandpa to see if Ernie and Gail were over there but they weren't home and no one answered their house phone either. Then we noticed that Jace's phone only had 20% battery life left. Not good because you see, I didn't bring anything with me. I left my purse and phone at home so that no one would call and interrupt our dinner. Big mistake. We called as many people as we could before Jace's phone died and I wrote phone numbers down on an envelope in case we had to use someone else's phone. Long story short Uncle Mont came to our rescue and took us home to get the car and my phone. We had free towing within 15 miles so Big Sexy was towed home. I cried when I saw it loaded on the tow truck, but at least it made it home.
Jace was so worried about the truck that that night I woke up to him pushing my feet and the bed at 2 am. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I have to move it." I asked what?!? but he woke up enough to walk back around the bed, lay down, and go to sleep. He doesn't remember doing that but I thought it was cute. They couldn't put the truck all the way forward in the parking spot so it needed to be pushed up. I think Jace was trying to move the truck in his sleep and I was the truck I guess. He is a cutie.
Jace got the truck working again today and I love it. It was hard to share our one car with our crazy schedules. I guess the fuel tank selector was the problem. There was no pressure in the fuel line/tank so Big Sexy wasn't getting any gas. I am so blessed to have a smart hubby that keeps trying til he finds the problem then fixes it. He did so much research and talking to his Truck Friends online. I am just so proud of him for fixing Big Sexy. I love him so so much and Big Sexy. :)

On the tow truck. :(

In the wrong parking spot. :( The tow truck couldn't get Big Sexy in
it's normal parking spot so it went in the back of the parking lot. :(
At least she is home though.

Back to school!

Well school is back in session again. Not to excited about it because we loved our summer but i guess the sooner we get started the sooner we will be done. :) We took some back to school pictures. I started Monday and Jace started Tuesday so we have separate pictures since our schedules are so different. I can't wait for Christmas Vacation! I already need a break.

So cute in his new shirt!

Dinner in the mountains

We were able to stay an extra day in Fillmore after our almost full week in Plymouth which I loved. Jace had to replace our water pump too. The low coolant light had been coming on for a week or so but it kept going on and off and we had just checked it a couple weeks earlier so we didn't worry to much about it. On our way up to SLC though the light came on so we decided to stop at Auto Zone and check it. Sure enough the coolant was low. We had put a bottle in the trunk when we left St. George which was very nice. We got back on the road and made it to SLC. It came on here and there during our trip and when we left to come back to Fillmore there was a big puddle of coolant. We said our prayers for the car to work and make it to Fillmore and it did. i am so grateful for answered prayers. Apparently, the seal had cracked so Jace had to replace it. Ernie and Jace worked on the car while Momma T and me chatted and watched. It was so normal to being doing that too. :) After getting the car fixed we headed up the mountains on the 4-wheelers for tin foil dinners and s'mores. Yummy. It was so delicious and fun. Can't wait to go again!

We didn't have our goggles but sun glasses worked great. SO glad
Jace doesn't have contacts anymore. They were a pain.

Momma T and Ernie in the creek. Best part of the ride it the water.

Momma T the Pryro

Jace got it from somewhere. :)

Yummy S'mores!

Cheese!

Cute little couple!

Plymouth Adventures

Jace and I went up to Plymouth last week (July 27-Aug 1) to visit family and go to my 5 year Class Reunion. Our trip was so much fun! We left St. George on Sunday after church and we were so happy we stayed for Nursey. We had 17 kids and only 3 leaders. Luckily there were a couple parents to help a little bit but it was still crazy fun. That age is too cute. I just love it. We stayed the night in Fillmore and visited with Ernie and Gail. It was fun to catch up and just chat.
On Monday Grandma came over to see if we could help them bail the hay around 4 but when we looked outside there were all these dark rain clouds and it was getting windy. Jace and Ernie came home and they said they could help but all of us were worried about the rain so we check doppler and there were storms heading our way! We ate our lunch really quick and changed into dirty clothes to go help grandpa who was out bailing. He got 4 hay bails in before the rain kicked him off his tractor; two of them broke open though. :( We waited patiently for about 15 or 20 minutes before the rain stopped and we were out working the field. :) We had a good system down too. Grandpa drove the tractor with the old bailor on it, Grandma was the knotty watcher (she made she the knots stayed tied and the bailing twine got cut), Jace pulled the hay bails off the bailor and put them in the trailor that Gail pulled on her 4-wheeler, Ernie was the stacker in the quansa hut, and I did whatever else was needed like moving piles of hay back in line. :) It was alot of fun and good to help Grandma and Grandpa out. Jace didn't have a allergy attack either. It was so nice.
That night we left for SLC becuase Jace and Ernie were teaching a class Tuesday morning. I hung out in the Hotel and relaxed until lunch time and then stayed with them to watch the rest of the class. It was kinda fun to see what they do.
Jace and I took our time getting up to Plymouth. We stopped at Layton and New Gate Mall to see if there were any good back to school deals but we found nothing for back to school. We were lucky to find a new swimming suit for Jace for $15 though! It is very nice too. We were hoping to find more than just that but oh well.
It was so nice to finally get to Plymouth. Its such a long drive! We drove through Brigham City to see where the new Temple is being built too. It will be so amazing to see a temple there and have it across from the tabernacle as well. I can't believe how many temples there are and how many more are being built. I love loving so close to the temple too. It such a peaceful place and so beautiful. I absolutely love it.
Wednesday we met TaiLynne, BJ, Chacen, and Tailee, and Mom and Arnold at El Parrel in Tremonton for dinner. We had so much food. I was grateful for sharing with Jace becuase they give you so much food there it is ridiculous. Tailee and Chacen were so cute too when they saw Jace and I. They both ran to us and gave us a big hug yelling our names. I loved it. I missed them so much I didn't want to let them go.
We went to Kings after and Tailee got some stuff for school. We went downstairs to play with all the toys and had the time of our lives. They have the funnest toys there. Chacen road a motorcycle around the store and Tailee jumped from one thing to the other. She would also grab Jaces Hands and he would pull her. Her shoes were slippery so she slide across the tile floor. She had so much fun.
Mom and Arnold left on Thursday for Montana because my mom had a class reunion as well. We cleaned their carpets with the old deep cleaner my mom didn't even know she had. haha. It worked so good and got all of the nasty stains out of their carpet. We had fun cleaning and going through all my old stuff.
We went to the Pool on Friday with Tailynne, Chacen, Tailee, BJ, Anthony, Logan and Olivia. We had a blast. We went down the big slide and the kids went down the little slide and just loved playing in the water. We had Pizza Hut after wich made the day even better. Tailee and Chacen came back to Plymouth with us for a sleep over. Chacen fell asleep in the car and slept until about 9 am the next day. I wish I could sleep like that! We had so much fun on Saturday with the kids. I made a fishing game for them to play and Chacen played all day! he loved it. We got creative and found them a boat. It was just am empty tote we had. Jace was the "motor" and drove /pulled the boat to the lake were all the fish were. It was so cute to watch them play. I had so much fun playing too that I didn't want to take them home. It was hard to say goodbye but we had too. I can't wait to see them again. I already miss them.
Jace and I had so much fun picking raspberries for Momma T before we left Plymouth. It was raining and there is a nest with 3 eggs in the raspberry bushes so the momma bird about took my head off trying to get us to leave but we didn't. It was too much fun. We had so much stuff in the car when we left that we forgot the half full gallon sized bag of raspberries we picked. It was so sad. I wish I would have remembered them.
Here are a few pictures from the trip. I wish I would have got pictures of us bailing hay.

Two of my favorite people.

At the pool soaking up some sun.

Cutest kids in the pool

Jace and Anthony

Me and Tai

Chacen helpin me make pancakes. He loves to help.

Tailee being cute

Fishing!

Such a cutie!

Stickers!

Jace putting stickers on Chacen. I love his face in this picture.

We wore them out!