Hardwood Floor

When the girls and I were in Wisconsin this summer, Todd did a lot of work on the house. When we arrived home, he surprised us with putting hardwood in the last two rooms! He completed the girls room and the toy/guest/grandma's room. He did an awesome job and we loved it!

Ava in the kitchen...she is always busy making something!

This is the new bed we put in the guest room and for Grandma Dorothy. It's a full bed so it gives the girls a little more room to spread out.

Todd designed the girl's closet and we moved all of their clothes in their room from the guest room closet. I bought the clothes organizer for the girl's and on Sunday nights we pick out an outfit for each day of the week. It saves tons of time in the morning and many arguments!

Here is a good shot of the floor...Ava sleeps on the left and Catalina's bed is on the right. They love sharing a room and look at me puzzled when I tell them that one day they might want their own room!

Papa & Mimi's Visit

Can I just say that life is good when Papa and Mimi come to town? The girls counted down the weeks, then the days, and then the hours before their arrival. Papa spent 3 hours at the park with them, took walks and collected 3 bags of ine-ones (pinecones), and played hours of cards with them. His name was always called first when it came to seating arrangements..."I want to sit by Papa!"...in the car, at dinner and on the couch. Papa and Mimi took the girls to the mall for a merry-go-round ride, lunch, gumballs and clothes shopping. We all went to the zoo for snowcones, a camel ride, to feed the giraffes and another merry-go-round ride. Did we see any animals? Well, some...

Playing cards...Ava always admitted when she was cheating.

Hurry back...we miss you already!

Cute Haircuts

Last week the girls got haircuts. They LOVE getting their hair done...shampoo, conditioner, cut, blow dry and style. Did I hear anyone say, "high maintenance?" Catalina had the same cut done but Ava May had 3 inches cut off and her hair straightened. Look at these cutie-patuties!

Where Have We Been??

Where have the Merrill's been? A lot has happened since July, so let me catch you up!

In July, we went to Encinitas, CA to spend a week on the beach with our friends (The Tolar Family). Fifteen of us slept under one roof! It was a week full of good food (each family cooked dinner one night), fun on the beach, games, naps, visits to the corner doughnut shoppe, and beach time. We look forward to this trip every year.

July 26th, 2010, was the girl's first day of school! They follow a year round schedule but it still seemed so early to start! Catalina started 1st grade with a bang and Ava started pre-K, 5 mornings a week.

And then the roof caved in....no really...

...it did. After a lot of rain one night, the ceiling in the BRAND NEW kitchen, yes, you heard me, the brand new kitchen, started leaking. So we called the roofing company...only to find out it was our air handler. See, a couple of years ago we had a BRAND NEW air handler installed and it was installed incorrectly. The overflow pan was leaking right into our dining room.

Then, my van was hit in a parking lot by a hit and run driver. Had to have the passenger door replaced with a $500 deductible...thank you very much. Finally, our computer stopped working, only to find out it would cost $900 for a new logics board. After returning to the Apple Store a month later with the iMac to have my data transferred to my laptop, they were able to find a way to fix it for free!!

And now I am back to blogging...I have a lot to post so stay tuned!