It was 17 years ago...

Compliments of the hotel

We thought we'd get away for  one night We had our favorite sitter still around and not yet back at school so she came to stay with the kids, the girls thought it was a great sleepover! I think the boys may have scared her away....I hope not. Champagne wow I was going to bring it home and make a drunkin' chicken but I forgot it in the fridge, darn it.

This was our view from the room...sooo beautiful! Misty in the morning and sunny by noon, just the way we like it.

We spent the next day window shopping in Carmel! My favorite thing to do, we ate yummy chocolates, looking at fun Christmas decorations in July.   I think I've turned into my Grandma Allred, she would be so proud.

Another favorite are all the beautiful little homes & gardens. pictures don't do it all justice. The plants a flowers love the sea air, I will live by the sea some day, it is most defiantly our happy place. It made me want to come home and rip out everything and start new in my sad unhappy yard.

This was thee best snack of the day it is an open face Avocado sandwich on homemade toasted bread  drizzled with oil olive, we ate this little piece of heaven and drank a diet coke to top it off. It was just what we needed to keep up with the day.

We just love Maple this was a huge Japanese Maple at the hotel.

It was the best get away we needed this little bit of happy before we headed of to girls camp. It reminded us of when we got away 17 years ago the week before we got married and spent the day at Disneyland.

Summer is almost over so this is what it has been thus far....

We had a day at Dad's work eating junk, playing basketball, petting animals, riding pony's, taking pictures, and trying to behave in his office while meeting all the employee's , sometime I wonder what they think of all of us. We never seem to be a quiet group. But we sure have fun.

 We have had lots of puppy love around here and feeding and scooping of that puppy love around the yard, only 4 plants gone, and 3 sprinklers, but that could be the gopher that these cute little fur balls caught! Oh yes they do have some added benefits.

And it wouldn't be summer without swimming, swim team, and swim meets! We almost have 3 swimmers, Colton is really swimming good thanks to the most wonderful coach Alaina I need to take a picture of her, It totally helps that she like part of our family:) 

Thayne about to win his relay!

Emma's flip turn on her backstroke she came in first and got a PB.

really this is Colton totally swimming!

Diving in...."Mr. Monster JR."

 goggles, the magic touch

Colton had a 1st he went to a birthday party all by himself can you tell he loved it!

Addie seems to take lots of photos of the puppies at least once a week , we love that they are getting really big fast.

......so here is to the next month of summer its quickly coming to an end, school starts in a month, dang it!

Locks of love

Before the hair cut

10 inches later

While it was coming off

Emma wanted to cut her way back in April but I made sure we didn't do it because I wasn't really ready for her to cut it all off. Well last month I let her go for it. All 10 inches was gone in a matter of seconds, then she sent it off to locks of love. So many people were so kind and said some really sweet things to her  about her decision. So now we grow it for another 2 years.



June...where did it go?

I have fallen off the wagon so many thing took place that I had no time to write about. So here is goes really fast for June. It is always filled with so many fun busy things and this year was no exception, we went to the annual ballet school demonstration, and it poored rain that day, really like buckets of rain and it was cold we did get a picture with the wonderful "Miss Jenny" then off to ice cream, but really we all wanted hot cocoa.

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We had a beautiful day at the beach i made everyone put on buckets of sunscreen and the i forgot about me...Dang it.It was great we stayed till 3:30 it was a really great day.

Micheal came to visit for a week or so ...Carissa Turned 16, and we did lots of fun things, we wish he could have stayed longer, cousin's are thee best.

 Sweet sixteen! We went out to dinner in the City and topped it off with Kara's cupcakes. yummy.

 Oh boy world here she comes...with Dad right behind her...tee hee hee, She and Michael went on a fun date right before he left so all is good in the Merrill house.

 Then it all came to a screeching halt...the fun....or it just began. After a year with out Shelby the dog the  Merrill's have jumped back into dog ownership but this time with double the trouble! Introducing

Cooper & Sally

this is the litter a few weeks before we picked them up.