Wii gotta get this

I had my first taste of Wii last night and I'm ADDICTED. Saiah loves it. Jason WILL love it - I have no doubt.

My friend Becky had a bunch of us all over for a night of Wii. This is the first time Saiah or I have ever played it. Jason was unable to join due to his eyes being hugely dilated - poor guy.

Did I mention it was on a gigantic drop down screen, with surround sound to boot? I couldn't get enough of Guitar Hero - man that thing is crazy fun.

I have Jason convinced that we need to get a Wii...you know...tax refund and all. It's a good way to spend quality family time, right? Good exercise as well, and improves hand-eye coordination. It's totally a legitimate purchase.

Now...we just need to find a place in this valley that actually has it in stock. Circuit City informs me that they have 10 coming in tomorrow morning and to be there at least by 9:30. Oh, the dilemma. What to do....church....Wii.....church....Wii. I know, I know. Church.

Until we have our own family Wii, enjoy our pics and videos of last nights fun!

Saiah bowling


Keith and Dave boxing...notice the BIG screen.

I'm confident with some practice Saiah will be a Guitar Hero soon.

Becky was helping her to hit the notes - kind of.

I Rock!! First time ever and I got through the song. Bring it on baby.

Saiah on Keith's Monster Truck team - she really got the hang of Wii pretty quickly.



Lacey hitting us with her Best Shot
Fire Away!

Lapbooks Are Awesome!!

Lacey, errr, Ms.McDonald has implemented this amazing new feature at school called lapbooks.

These nifty little books have inspired Saiah to desire MORE homework, although, she has always enjoyed her homework time with Daddy. In fact, after their homework session was done the other night, Saiah was so upset that they had to stop! Yay for the desire to learn! Having an amazing teacher that your daughter adores helps to0.

You will have to go check out the website that Lacey's friend has on these nifty little things - Lapbook Lessons, and her blog Valerie's Lapbook Lessons. Her blog has some great ideas on how to make the lapbooks and implement them.

Saiah's Homework Lapbook

Flaps to put different lessons

Opens all the way for even more room.
Saiah loves the little wipe-off writing board.
Notice there is a pocket at the top for even more papers and lessons.

Ballet, Rodeo and a Winter Wonderland

Who knew Yreka could be so full of excitement and culture? Jason, Saiah, our dear friend, Lacey(really, she's more like family) and I loaded into the truck and went down to Yreka to celebrate mine and Bill's birthday last Sunday. Our day was loaded with great things!

Every good celebration has CAKE!!




Our very own special performance of "The Nutcracker"
presented by the Merrihew girls




Uncle Jed's PBA

Disclaimer: For your viewing pleasure, you may want to turn down the volume. Two girls shrieking has been known to cause severe hearing loss





Grampy's Flamingo
by Saiah

Supposedly Bill likes Flamingos..perhaps he said it in jest one time, but it stuck and now we all think of Bill when we see flamingos!





Winter Fun
Can't beat sledding in your cousin's front yard!





Kylie, Brianna and Saiah

A Birthday Surprise

I came home to this wonderful Birthday surprise last night:

A very clean house

And a Birthday Banner
(note the little homemade sign on the wall!)

I am blessed with a wonderful husband and daughter. They took it upon themselves to clean the house, make some cards for me, and hang up the Birthday banner while I was away at Bible Study. It was a wonderful thing to walk into! A perfect start to my birthday. It continued this morning with Saiah telling me we need to leave a bit early because I get a coffee this morning...Daddy says! So sweet.

I remember my mom saying a few years back that she doesn't mind getting old as it's a reminder of how many years the Lord has blessed her with. I love that. It helps me to not get discouraged as I feel my youth slipping away. Ok, so some of you will need to remind me of this as I get closer to 40 though!!

Saiah and the Piercing Pagoda

Saiah has been waiting for a long time to get her ears pierced and the day finally came for her last week. She was able to use some of her Christmas money to choose the earrings and finally get her ears pierced. She was an incredibly brave girl. I was told by a couple of friends to call ahead and see if they would have two people available that can pierce BOTH ears at the same time. Sounded brilliant, except for the fact that it was a spur of the moment, end of a 4 hour shopping spree with Grammy and the Piercing Pagoda only had one lady available to pierce. One ear at a time it would be. Saiah was confident she could do it after asking twice, "so, it will only feel like a pinch?". She was GREAT. Way better than I would be. Sat there as still as could be and didn't even jump when her ear was pierced.

"You okay honey?"I asked.

"Yes" in a quiet voice

"Did it hurt" - I just wanted to hug her, but stood back

Shakes head

"You ready for the other one Scoot?"

"Yes" said in a confident voice.

Same thing with the second ear. Wow. Impressive.

Saiah's pretty earrings that she picked out.




Saiah with Emily (notice same hair do)

Do not eat Chinese carrots

This bag 'o carrots that came in an American Girl gift for Saiah was too much. With all the recalls on toys and all, I just loved the wording on this bag. Good for a chuckle.

Christmas Crackers

The Walshes have this wonderful Christmas tradition of Christmas Crackers. I love them. They are little packages that you pull on both ends until you hear a pop and usually, a small little prize comes out. This years crackers, however were MUSICAL!!! They didn't have prizes, but rather each one had a whistle numbered from 1 to 8. A baton and musical "score" was included and Joel was declared Maestro and we were off!! Elizabeth and I could hardly believe that everybody participated for the symphony. Those of you who know the Merrihews would be shocked to watch such a performance. It was so much fun. We attempted Jingle Bells, Good King Wenceslas, and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!! Okay, so me might need some practice, but Jingle Bells was actually recognizable. I cannot tell you how much fun we all had. We even have it on videotape. Maybe we'll release a CD someday....

Saiah and Annie popping a Cracker

Checking out her whistle number