B & G Getting Married

So, guess what? Blade is getting married. He met a great gal, Ginger Lee in January and they have been inseparable ever since. They are getting married in May and having their reception in June. We are happy to have Ginger joining our family. They are SO cute together!

New Teenager!

Dallin had a birthday this month and due to everyone's crazy schedules and wanting to make sure no one was left out of the fun, we ended up celebrating 3 times.

Happy Birthday 13 year old!

 

We started on the Monday before his birthday because Blade was going to be gone later on the actual day. We went to see "The Lorax" (lame!) and then went out for shakes. 

On his birthday, Alex came from Orem and we had dinner and cake and played games. 

That weekend I was going to be gone, and so the following weekend he had a friend party. We had pizza and then went to see "Hunger Games" (good, but would have been better if we hadn't been on the first row!) 

Dallin and the gang!

Candles on Pizza...hey we do our own thing!

Word of advice...matches as candles do not work very well...

Good to see you big brother!

oooops! ...... OUCH!

A blurry picture, but you can see how deep it is.

Yesterday I took a trip to the doctor's office with Chance. He was given a brand new, very cool, pocket knife from a friend for his birthday. He was trying to open the stiff plastic packaging around the knife sharpener, and whoopsie, he slipped. Guess the knife didn't need that much sharpening after all. He sliced the webbing between his thumb and finger. I'm sure he cut an artery  too because when I came into the room, just moments after the deed, blood was spattered everywhere, including on Elijah's homework ... LOL!  Good thing blood doesn't make me queasy, but the look on Chance's face was enough to send any mother into a panic. He didn't dare remove the tissues in order to show me how deep it was. So we took a trip to the doctor's office. I'm glad  there was one available so that we didn't have to go to the ER.  He got it all stitched up and thankfully we did not need to go to a specialist for tendon repair, although he did cut a nerve and so he will have some numbness.  The good news is that it was on his left hand.

This was one of those experiences where you are torn between the attitudes of -- "Oh, for crying out loud!" and "Thank the Lord it wasn't worse!" Chance was pretty upset about it though, and so  the nurturing mother response kicked in and  I reassured him that everything would be okay. Later we joked that this was a good experience, as it has surely cured Elijah of wanting a pocketknife for a while. 

At the doctor's office before she stitched it up.

Stranger Than Fiction

Have you ever seen this movie? I know some people don't like Will Farrell but it is not his usual stuff. Anyways, I watched it last night. AGAIN! I have seen it about a half dozen times or more. It is one of my favorites. The ending is so sweet that I cry every time. I give it a 2 thumbs up!

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1321403161/

Game Boy

It is good to have my GAME BOY back. Blade is like his dad...he loves to play games. He and  I played pool the other day and he beat me in five minutes, seriously. Since he has been home he has had his friends over twice to play RISK, which is a "half the night" type game. And he has played lots of games with his brothers. Which is good for me, because I am not as fond of games, so he fills in for me. Tonight, as he had Dallin in a headlock he said, "Dallin I can't wait until you are older and big enough to harass me back."   I can't wait as well.  Seems like I am rescuing Dallin 5 times a day from Blade's clutches.  Blade needs a wife who likes to wrestle.  Anyone know a girl like that?

Family Fun!

Elijah has been asking to go roller skating. So tonight we went. I wasn't very enthusiastic about it at first. But once we were there I barely left the floor. It is great exercise and I find it kind of relaxing in a way. Especially tonight...there was hardly anyone there. I was the only adult on the floor, except for the 10 minutes that Blade was out there. Chance skated for about an hour and then left for a date. He is fun to watch because he is such an adventurous and daring kid. He is trying to master skating backward. I tried it for about 20 seconds...lol! Dallin went back and forth between skating and watching Blade play video games. And Elijah bravely went back and forth between the carpeted floor and the wood, falling many times but never giving up. We need to go more often because he loses his confidence after we haven't been for so long. It was good time. Only thing I didn't like---seeing the young, probably 13 year old couple, making out in a dark corner. Wonder if their mothers know what they are doing?

Christmas 2011

The fun started on Christmas Eve morning when we had breakfast with the Merrell Clan. We had all the Grandkids there and they performed the usual Nativity play. Alex was the narrator, Dallin was the inn keeper, and Elijah was a wiseman. Baby Jesus, I'm sorry to say, was played by a volleyball.

A good year! All my boys were home and my daughter-in-law Jess.
Chico came for the festivities as well.

Uh-Oh! Santa brought Jess boxing gloves. He probably didn't discuss this with Alex first.

It would be nice if we had some snow...

  Alex and Jess brought their Wii game system and my boys were in heaven. I even enjoyed playing Wii Party for a while.

The kids were worried about there not being many presents under the tree. They soon found out the reason....  we are taking a trip to Disneyland this summer with many of their cousins. Yahoo!