Flies

All the sudden we have flies. Lots of flies. And not just any old flies but the really REALLY annoying ones. You know the kind. A fly swatter has been on my shopping list for some time now but I have yet to get one. I have either forgotten while in town or the few times I have remembered I have been in a hurry and didn't have time to hunt a fly swatter down in WalMart. Seriously, where do they have those things put?? I looked in all the obvious places and when I still couldn't find one I gave up.

It's just like when I tried finding Chicken Bouillon cubes in WalMart. I think I spent at least 4 shopping trips trying to find those darn little things. Walking up and down all the food isles multiple times. Guess where I finally found them? In the Mexican isle. Hmmm...at least I know where they are.
ANWAY...back to the flies.
Yesterday morning we were sitting eating the delicious breakfast my hubby made me while I slept in (I just love my husband) and those darn flies would not leave us alone. They kept landing on us, buzzing around our heads, taunting us. So annoying. I told Dillon, yet again, that I REALLY needed to get a fly swatter next time I was in town. We finished our breakfast and went about our day. Dillon had to leave for work while I was in the shower. When I got out of the shower, got ready for the day and went into the kitchen, this is what I found on my kitchen counter.
I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing right out loud. What a clever and resourceful hubby I have. Who would have thought?
A weinie roaster + some junk mail + a little packing tape = the perfect fly swatter.
We have already killed numerous flies with this thing and it now has a permanent home.Thanks Hubby! :)

October

Seriously? It is already October? Wow. I love this time of year tho. I think it is my favorite. Just like everyone else, I love the chill in the air, the tractors and trucks going up and down fields and roads harvesting, the changing of the leaves, the smell of pumpkin yumminess cooking and the excitement of the approaching holidays. I have never loved Halloween but I love knowing that after Halloween comes Thanksgiving and close behind that Christmas. This year is especially exciting since this handsome missionary (the tall one :) ......will be home right after Thanksgiving. That's less than TWO MONTHS!!! YIPEE!!! I am so excited to see my little and only brother again! :)

Why else do I love this time of year? October General Conference. I really do love General Conference weekend, and not only because I get to be lazy and stay at home for church and watch in my PJ's (although they are all very huge bonuses) but because I get to hear the messages from our living Prophet and his apostles. I love to hear what they have to say and am always touched by the talks that I feel were written just for me. This year was, obviously, especially amazing. Why? Well because of this (as most everyone already knows). We had totally forgotten to turn Conference on Saturday morning and just after 11am Dillon got 2 text messages. One was from his friend that lives in Texas and all it said was something along the lines of "Star Valley Wyoming huh? Awesome" and another one from a friend in his OT program. It said something along the lines of "Is your wife excited?" He told me about the messages and we were both trying to figure out what the heck they were talking about when Dillon said, "Conference. They must have announced a temple in Star Valley." I laughed in his face and told him that was a good one. HAHA. When we realized that was the only plausible explanation we turned on the TV but of course had missed it. I texted my mom and when she didn't respond (she was too busy with her phone ringing and beeping off the hook) I logged onto good ol' Facebook. Holy Cow did I ever get the answer I was looking for. I think it is safe to say that at least half of the people I am friends with from SV had posted one thing or another about the temple. I was still shocked and was having a hard time believing it. When Conference was over we waited a few mins and hurried and looked up Pres Monson's talk from earlier. Sure enough, it was true, a temple in Star Valley, Wyoming. Wow. I am still in shock but am so so excited! I always knew Star Valley was a special place and we didn't need lots of people, a WalMart, a stop light, or a McDonald's to be important :) The rest of Conference was of course amazing. I loved all the talks but you can watch one of my very favorite ones here. I cried thru the whole thing.

Friday night and Sat morning I also got to spend lots of time with these 2 cute girls. Mar and Georgie.
They came to visit and stay the night as they passed thru on their way to Rexburg for the weekend. Oh how I have missed these girls. We had some GOOD times together back in the good ol' days. Now Mar is all grown up and in Law School and Georgie is all grown up, graduated and a teacher. We spent our time together talking, reminiscing, eating "under the bed bars," and staying up WAY past our bed times. It was great. We realized that the last time we were all together on Conference weekend was 4 years ago when we were living together in Carriage House Apartments. And this is how we spent that Saturday Morning Session.
Yup, that's the 3 of us. We woke up that morning to snow. Lots and lots of snow. So much snow in fact that the TV stations were out and so were the radio stations. So, when you can't listen to Conference and it is snowing buckets what do you do? Go and build a snowman in your PJ's of course!
We were quite proud :)

I always love this time of year but as you can see...this year it is especially amazing and exciting!
YAY for PUMPKIN COOKIES, GENERAL CONFERENCE, TEMPLES, MISSION HOMECOMINGS, and HOLIDAYS!

What a week

Well, as you may or may not know, my last post didn't only cause a splash...but a whole Tsunami. Many things went down "behind the scenes" and some very mean things were said; but, then some very nice things were said. So, damage control has been done and life is good again! Although I don't regret what I said in my post, I do think that I probably should have waited a few more hours (or days) to cool off before sitting down to express my feelings.

Oh well, live and learn and then give hugs :)
But thank you everyone for your support and for listening to me rant and rave

But anywho....

This week has been the Eastern Idaho State Fair, right here in Blackfoot Idaho. Dillon's family always gets together at least once during the week to spend some quality time together betting quarters at "the track." Oh how much I have come to love the horses races since they first came into my life 3 years ago when I joined the Merrill Family. And the best part of the 4 hour long horse races? The Indian Relays. I went to take pictures and videos of them this year, but my camera was dead :( So instead you'll have to refer to my post a few years ago here or look them up on youtube. This year we all got together and went on Labor Day then yesterday while Dillon was working I got to go a second time with his family. I was sad Dillon couldn't come but glad I got to go again :)
Once Dillon got done with work we were able to go back into the fairgrounds together and enjoy the free tickets we got to see Ronnie Dunn in concert. It was actually a really good concert despite an opening act that was less than impressive. Lol.
All we had were our phones so the pictures aren't the greatest but oh well, at least it was proof we were there :)Yeah, I know. Dillon swears this is his normal smile but I assure you that it is not. Taking pictures with real smile is something we're workin on :)

This week has also been my first week back to being a contributing member of society. I cannot tell you how GOOD it feels to be back working. And especially to be back working in preschool! It is only part time and I am only an aid, but nontheless, it is a job and it is in preschool. YAY!

This week I have also had many reminders that I live on a reservation. Lol. Sometimes I forget I guess and this week I have continually been reminded of it. So I came up with a list of the slightly 'not so common' reminders from this week.

You might be a white person living on an Indian Reservation if:
1. If you are driving down the road and see your neighbors practicing for above mentioned Indian Relays.

2. If while you are at above mentioned Relays you are able to say that 2 of the 5 teams in a single race are your neighbors.

3. If while at the State Fair you point out your neighbors to someone and it is one of the chubby little Indian children that often play outside in only their underwear.

4. If you start a new job and while meeting all the new people you work with you get asked where you live and when you are done telling them they ask if you get any benefits or advantages.

5. If a stray dog shows up at your house and sticks around for a few days.
(I may or may not have named him "Chief Dum-Dum")
And although Skeeter clearly thoroughly enjoyed having some K9 company...
We now have the BB gun locked and loaded by the front door for when Chief Dum-Dum comes to play since in the short time we let him stick around he taught Skeeter some very naughty things.

6. If when you go to move pipe with your husband and he leaves you standing in the middle of the field alone while he goes back to the car for some tools and from within the hay a pack of 3 dogs stands up and barks and growls and threatens to attack. (Luckily Dillon hurried back before I could get eaten by a pack of wild Res dogs; not my idea of a fun way to die)

and finally...7. If you are standing in your bathroom gettin ready for the day and you can hear tribal drums playing out your window.

Just to name a few :)

Hope you all had as good of a week as I did!

Infertility

It has now taken me over 2 hours to write this post. I have written, erased, read, erased, reread and rewritten this post probably a dozen times. This was not an easy post for me to write or one that I particularly enjoyed writing. But I feel like some things just need to be said. So here goes nothing...

Every time I get on Facebook I see that someone new has posted "I am (x) weeks and craving (fill in the blank)." At first I had no idea what was going on and was really confused when I saw people posting this that I knew were not pregnant. It didn't take me long to assume it was just another stupid Facebook game and left it at that. Then, I came across this article that was posted by a friend: http://www.andysclan.com/2011/09/influx-of-pregnancy-nope.html?spref=fb. Well, at least now I finally knew what it was all about. But, as the post says, how in fact was this supposed to promote breast cancer awareness? What does it have to do with breast cancer? As an individual that struggles with infertility I wasn't offended by the explosion of fake pregnancy announcements, but find it annoying and slightly insensitive. But, I would just skip over them and keep on scrolling, just as I do with the real pregnancy announcements I see on Facebook almost daily. I let it roll of my back and didn't think much of it or let it bug me too much. Until today.

Today I came across another blog post that was written about this Facebook trend. But, this post was nothing like the post linked above. It was quite the opposite actually and for the first time since this "game" began, I was offended.

"It has come to my attention that several people are getting offended by this game due to the fact that they or someone they know is suffering from in-fertility. First of all, to those people that are suffering from in-fertility, I am SOOOO sorry. I can't imagine what pain and turmoil you are going through in your life.
However, on that same note, everyone has their own personal struggles. Everyone has pain and turmoil in their lives."

I agree 110%. Everyone has their own personal battles to wage. That is why sensitivity is SO important. We know that everyone struggles with something different but we don't always know what that something is.

"Only you can allow yourself to be offended by something that is bigger than all of us. Do you get offended every time someone decides to bring a child into the world? Can't you just be happy for those people?"

"Can't you just be happy for those people?" Really? REALLY???? You don't think I try with all my might to be happy for people?

"Many may argue that this game has nothing to do with bringing children into the world, and you would be right. This game has nothing to do with having babies. It is about breast cancer awareness. It causes people to take 1 step out of their busy lives and ask the question "What does your status mean?" This gives someone the chance to explain a little bit more about breast cancer and raise awareness."

Right, this game is not about having babies. So why make it look like it is? I have not seen ONE person ask, "What does your status mean?" and get a reply that says, "Oh, it's about breast cancer. Let me give you a run down on what it is and all the stats and signs..." Instead, all I see are jokes about pregnancy. If you would like to promote breast cancer awareness...GREAT! My grandma had breast cancer, it is a real issue and deserves attention. But bring it to attention in a way that is about breast cancer. Make it as corky and clever as you would like. Make it something that people turn their heads to and think twice about. But do NOT bring another person's very personal and VERY emotional trial into the forefront. No matter what that trial may be.

"I feel like everyone has to make everything about them. This game has nothing to do with in-fertility. It is about Breast Cancer. I understand that people with infertility might feel bombarded by fake pregnancy craving and it might make them feel sad. I am sorry that you are going through this. However, I don't expect you to walk on egg-shells around me because my grandma died of breast cancer. So, if you don't mind, I am not going to walk on egg-shells around you because of infertility."

I don't want you to walk on egg-shells around me. But I do want a little respect and sensitivity. Just as one would get if, say... their grandmother passed away from cancer.

"I am TRULY sorry for your pain, but please, don't be offended by something that had nothing to do with infertility in the first place."

For anyone that has ever experienced, or is close to someone that has experienced infertility knows, seeing "I am 6 weeks and craving tomatoes" has EVERYTHING to do with infertility.

Just a few quick stats for ya:

• Number of women ages 15-44 with an impaired ability to have children: 7.3 million
• Percent of women ages 15-44 with an impaired ability to have children: 11.8%
• Number of married women ages 15-44 that are infertile (unable to get pregnant for at least 12 consecutive months): 2.1 million
• Percent of married women ages 15-44 that are infertile: 7.4%
• Number of women ages 15-44 who have ever used infertility services: 7.3 million
• Infertility affects as many as 1 in 6 couples.

So, to the person that wrote the blog post that I have now dissected...thank you for you condolences on my defective uterus. But, just as you said, you can't IMAGINE what pain and turmoil I am experiencing in my life. When you have experienced infertility...then you can tell me how sorry you are.

And you are completely right, it is a choice to get offended. And I choose to be offended by your post. That is the choice I made and I know I am not alone in my choice. But, just so you know, I did not choose to burst into tears while reading your post. I did not choose to have to stop reading several times to regain composure. I did not choose to start shaking with extreme emotions of all kinds after finally being able to read through the end of your post. And I did not choose the struggle of bringing children into this world that makes me sensitive about this topic. But, I am choosing to tell you, and anyone that shares your feelings, how I feel. Now it is your choice as to whether or not you will get offended by my post. Whatever you choose to do makes no difference to me.

So, next time, maybe think twice before posting something that has the potential of offending 7.3 million people.

Private

So, after gettin some creepy comments on my last 2 posts from people I don't know...it is time to go private. So if you still wanna keep up with what is going on in our lives (basically a whole lot of nothing :), then leave a comment with your email address and I'll send you an invite. Thanks ya'll!

Summer Vacations

Last week Dillon left me behind and went with my dad, his dad, and his 2 brothers up to Alaska for about 10 days. I REALLY wanted to go, but, such is life. It sounds like they had all the fun they could stand, caught LOTS of fish, saw LOTS of bears, and only got rained on a little bit.

One of the many bears they got to see

Dillon's dad with his Halibut

Dillon and his KING Salmon
Landon and his Sculpin
Little brother Beau and his shark
Brothers and their Salmon (I promise Dillon is the oldest, it just doesn't look like it :)

The Merrill men

My dad with his Salmon catches for the day

It was hard having Dillon gone for that long, especially not being able to talk to him much, but I still managed to have a good time while he was gone. I started out my vacation in Evanston WY with my best friend. After 4 days there it was time to head over to Ogden UT to hang out with my grandparents and mom. After a few days there I headed up Ogden Canyon to spend some time with Dillon's mom, sisters, and bro-in-law. And to top it all off I took the long way coming home Sat and stopped in to see my sister and her little family in Logan. Despite all the traveling, it was a GREAT 10 days spent having lots of fun. *Since Dillon had my camera in Alaska, the only pictures I have of the week are a few I stole from my mom-in-laws camera of us up Ogden Canyon.

The Girls getting ready to swim

Swimming, floating and relaxing
The group (minus mom-in-law) packing up after another fun day of swimming

Since we both got home we've just been spending as much time as possible with each other before Dillon has to go back to school and gets sucked into another semester. Oh yeah, and making homemade jam. Lots of homemade Raspberry jam. YUMMMM!!!

Fishing and a 5K

Last weekend I packed my bags and headed up to SV to run (and walk, I'm not gonna lie) in a 5k with my sister Heather. For not being much of runners, I'm pretty proud of us. It actually was a lot of fun and I'm already excited to do it again next year.

Comin into the finish line. YAY!

Us and our cool new shirts

Awww...so cute :)

This week Dillon and I have been spending as much time as we can fishing. Since summer is sadly already winding to a close we have had to take advantage of finally being able to fish the river as much as we can. Not that Dillon isn't going to get plenty of fishing in the next week or so while he's in Alaska...it just won't be as fun cuz it won't be with me :)

Dillon and his little baby trout he caught

Me with my baby trout I caught

Us. I love us.Perdy Sunset