12/21

12/21 was a very special day. Not only is it a palindrome (sweet!), the winter solstice, a full moon and the first full eclipse ON the winter solstice since 1638,  it was the day our precious baby boy came into this world.

At 7:11pm Everett Jon was born.  We were anxious and scared knowing he would be small at 34 weeks gestation but when we first laid eyes on him we knew he was strong. He was 5 pounds, 12 ounces and full of life. My goodness! I asked Dr. Kelly, "what would have happened if he would have stayed in another 6 weeks?!" She replied, "You'd still be pushing."

At first we didn't know what to call him.  Daddy was a little indecisive and we hadn't planned on needing a name ready for several weeks. After 2 long days we knew he was Everett, which happens to be my Great-Grandfather and Great-Great-Grandfathers' names.  Everett means "strong", so it really seems fitting. It also happens to mean "wild boar" which I think is cool and Adam finds embarrassing (don't tell him I told you). 

We love you so much little buddy and can't wait to take you home with us.

Snowmageddon 2010

Last weekend we got about 17 inches of snow in St. Paul. Maybe you've heard about the blizzard up here and some of the related chaos.  This is how we spent the weekend snowed in:

Adam LOVES to blow the driveway. Thank goodness, because I have NO interest.

Everyone was getting stuck on the hill outside our house. No, I did not offer to push anyone's car.

 Adam finally met our neighbor across the street when he went over to help dig out his car.

A perfect day for napping!

And making Christmas cookies! These are my Grandma's specialty: pizzelles.

It was also great night for a fire. 

Unfortunately the chimney was burried in snow and our living room was full of smoke. 

Again.

There's not much better than pot roast on a cold winter day.

The Little Hoarder...

I mean, Mermaid.

Tonight while watching the show "Hoarders" I came to the realization, Ariel is totally a compulsive hoarder. Check it out:

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20 thing-a-ma-bobs? C'mon Ariel- get with the program.


Now check out Mary:

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I guess Ariel is what one might call : "The collector's collector"

Baby Shower Season?

November 6th was the kick-off to deer hunting season here in Minnesota. On our way down to Rochester we witnessed this buck strapped to the back of someone's Ford Taurus. Wow...

It was also the kick-off to baby shower season in the Merrill house! Adam's aunt Anne threw us a couples-baby-shower and we had a great turnout. A big thanks to Anne for throwing it and to everyone who came, we had a great time!!!

Anne had all of our favorite foods!!! BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, onion dip, snicker salad, chips and cupcakes. Yummy!

Grandma, Mom and auntie Debbie. And it was Debbie's birthday!

Yes, we are planning on brainwashing our child to be a Vikings fan. 

Grandma Nancy and Grandma Miller :)

My Mother-in-Law and Anne made this diaper cake all by themselves! Pretty crafty!

Adam and Marcus are being "Ostriches" here. (Marcus's favorite animal)

Fall Chores 2010

Until today, we have been enjoying unseasonably warm weather in Minnesota. Fall chores can brutal with over 20 mature oak trees. Luckily, Adam's brother Beau seems to enjoy helping with our annual leaf clean up! 

 
Beau and Alissa helped so much with all the yard work Adam had enough free time to get started on the Christmas lights. It just seems wrong to have Christmas lights and pumpkins out at the same time, but we had to take advantage of the nice weather!

Stay tuned for the  Griswald  Merrill family Christmas lights coming November 26th, 2010.

Bye Bye Bu

With Baby Merrill on the way, Adam decided we I needed a new vehicle. I really couldn't figure out why since the Bu was free and seemed to suit our needs just fine. I have had some good times in  this 2002 Malibu. It's the car I had when I first met Adam, the car that I drove to Arizona with my mom to start grad school, the car I then moved back to Minnesota in 5 years later (again with Mom) as well as the source of many close calls and lessons.

I thank my trusty rabbit's foot for not getting more dents and dings.

When the turn signal went out I learned I could punch the dashboard to get it to work. This was actually a bonus as it made me feel cool in a Fonzy-kind-of way. Eventually someone pointed out I could push on the circuit behind the vent to get it to work... not as cool.

I gained confidence in my mechanic-abilities when I figured out how to top off the coolant every month in addition to learning that the funny light on my dash meant "low coolant".

Apparently, parking your car in the scorching Arizona sun for 5 years straight can be rough on the paint job.

Good-Bye Malibu

Hello 4Runner, aka: mom-car!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

The best thing I have ever eaten was a duck confit salad at Scallion's Restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York. This salad was so good it became legendary in my mind.  I figured there was no way anything, even the same salad at the same restaurant, could ever live up to it. While I was back in New York last February I begged these two ladies to go there with me again to put it to the test.

As you can see... I thoroughly enjoyed it. To this day the citrus duck salad maintains it's status as the best thing I have ever eaten. 

It's Not Easy Being Green... Ok Maybe It Is

Last Weekend's Project: Add additional insulation to the attic.

Goals: Reduce our gas bill, prevent another ice dam and save the planet.

Duration of Project: Approximately 10 hours.

Cost: $400 plus ancillary costs (AttiCat rental, insulation, staple gun, goggles, face masks)

Maybe I can bump the thermostat up from 67 to 68 and still save money this winter!!!

Fungus Amoungus

I know I sound like a weird-o saying this, but I like fungus. I've noticed some pretty crazy things cropping up in our yard this year and wish I would have taken pictures of all of them. Maybe I'll be one of those mushroomer-people when I retire. Here are some photos of our current fungal-situation: