The New Member of Our Household!

We owe a great thanks to Christian's little sister Stacey she has so awesomely allowed her bearded dragon to become my pet! Thank you thank you thank you Stacey! Crazy what an animal will do for your mood!
Here are a few pictures! Her name is Gaz!

Better Late than never!

Here is Cam's eight month picture!!! She loves books and is so attentive when Christian and I read to her!

Happy Days Are Here Again!!!!

Yes that's right everybody!!!! I found my camera and I am so happy that it is back in my life! lol Ok but really I am so happy that I don't have to replace it. Its been with me fr a long time and well its kind of apart of me. Like we are attached to me. I hope I never loose it again. Since I just found my camera let me post some adorable pictures of Cambria and Makayla at boo at the Zoo. Which I would encourage everyone to go to because it was so much fun and it was a great time!!!
Here is Aunt Christina and cousin Makayla! Pretty cute clown!!!

Here is Cambria she is a polar bear!!!










Makayla gives clowns a good name!!! She didn't want to smile all day but after a few jokes and tickling she smiled and I was quick to get it!!!











This is Colby, Makayla's brother, he pretty much just slept the entire time that we were at the zoo!













Family shot! Uncle Shane, Aunt Christina, Makayla, and Colby who is hiding in the stroller!!!

So Sad....

For the last couple days almost a week my camera has been missing. I feel like I'm missing my child grow up. No Halloween pictures no pumpkin carving, no awesome pictures of costumes. So sad. On Sunday Wendy let me borrow Patrick's camera. However I don't have to cord so I can upload the pictures to the computer. I hope that I find it soon I have adorable pictures of Cambria and Makayla dressed up for boo at the Zoo. They were just adorable. Until I find it or get a cord from Wendy there will be no more pictures.

My new hobby!

Recently I have really been in to photography. Christian's mom, Wendy, has be into it as well and has wonderful equipment that she lets me use all the time. On Sunday we went to take some bridal pictures for Carissa (Christian's cousin). It was so much fun that we are thinking of making it into a little side business and I thought that the pictures turned out pretty good. The only thing that went wrong was that I was wearing high heeled boots, which I haven't worn heels for a long time. Towards the end of the shoot I was walking down some cement steps when my heel caught on the stair and well I fell down the steps and it hurt really bad. Feeling really embarrassed I hopped right up and said I was fine. Truth is it really hurt and my knees are really bruised up now. I can't kneel down with Cam I have to sit or lay. Pretty ridiculous. Anyway here are some of the pictures I took. Let me know what you all think. :) Wendy took the pretty flower one I wish I could claim that one :)

Cambria can crawl!

Well its a official on October 5th, 2008 Cambria Ludean Merrill learned to crawl. She had be testing and experimenting with it for a while and then just finally did! Now its a game of where's Cam. Here are a few photos of one of her adventures.














Caught in the act of playing with cords which she's learning is a no-no!














Of course she has already learned that if she smiles at me I can't get mad. I think that is why God makes babies so cute, so you won't kill 'em.


















This little girl definitely has my heart! Its the cutest thing when she is tired or sad and wants me she'll so "muh-muh-ma" its very cute and even if she'll being a pill I can't help hold her. This week has been a bit rough tooth number four is makingits way in so she has been expecially fussy. I wish that tooth would just break through already so she won't be hurting anymore. By the way Cam was seven months old on the 11th. I meant to post pictures but well I left my camera in Layton. Hate it when I do that.














Its crazy how fast she has been growing up. Already she is pulling herself up with the couch and is trying to walk along the edge of it. She just gets more and more fun. Call me crazy but I can't wait for what comes next. Stay tuned and I will get a video of her crawling soon! Its a busy week for us so it may be a little while! :)

Zoo Trip with the Cousins!!

Today we went to the zoo with Jake (the older one) and Logan who my mom is holding! Cambria was so good the whole time and didn't cry or fuss at all. I loved it as well because it wasn't too hot and it was nice to get out and about once in a while. My sister Christina was going to bring her two kids but was unable to come along. Maybe next time since I have a zoo pass.


Cambria with the giraffes!

















Jake and Logan monkeying around!















Artsy giraffes!!! My camera takes pretty darn good pictures!
















The boys with the tigers!












Cambria dozing after a long day at the zoo!











Sticky boys! I think Logan is tired too what do ya think?

Cambria's new sound!

Last night when I put Cambria to bed I gave her a binky and left. Well a few minutes later I heard a loud sucking sound. When she sucks her binky its usually not loud at all. So I went in to check on her and she was smacking her lips and clicking. It was hilarious. So this morning when she did it I decided to record her so everyone could have a laugh.

Aunt Diana these are for you!!!

Yesterday September 30, 2008 Brandy and Brandon (Christian's cousin) got married in the Salt Lake City Temple! It was so fun to get to be apart of such a wonderful wedding. We even took Cambria to be apart of the festivities. Here are a few pictures of the day!!!


Lovely Temple shot!!!















A little blurry but they weren't stopping!





















As always Cambria is what most my pictures are of. Oh how we love our baby and her beautiful smile. The wind was blowing in her face and she was just loving it!







She had quite the gorgeous cake!! The color scheme was just beautiful. The bride and groom smooching!

Welcome Colby!!!

Yesterday my sister Christina was blessed with a beautiful baby boy. They named him Colby Shane Johnson. He weighed 8lbs 5 oz. and was 21 inches long. He is quite adorable and seems so tiny compared to Cambria. Its fun that there is another cousin in the family more friends for Cambria to play when he gets little bit older. I was rather jealous of Christina's room it is way bigger than mine was.





Cambria loves Uncle Shane she was smiling at him and having a great time playing with him!











Cambria didn't quite know what to think of Colby but I'm sure in time they will be the best of friends!

Discovering herself!!!

Here is a video of Cambria discovering herself in the mirror. Its not a long video but she is pretty cute in it! Its crazy how big she is getting and growing up so fast. Almost every morning I will wake up to the sound of her just giggling at herself and talking away. I'm sure that she will be quite the chatter box once she can say words. We just love her so much and consider her the greatest blessing in our lives.

More pictures!

Yesterday I meant to add more pictures of Cambria however my camera decided to quit working so here are a few more of our darling daughter!!!

Crazy!!! Cambria is six months old!

Its so crazy to think that Cambria is already six months old! She is getting so big and adventurous! Her accomplishments are: eating solid foods, two bottom teeth, hair that is still growing, rolling everywhere, and sitting up! Naturally I had to take her outside and take some pictures I wouldn't be me if I didn't! So enjoy the lovely pictures of the day!!!

Cambria and the popsicle!

Well we like to have a little fun with Cam every now and then so we thought we would try a banana creamie Popsicle. Its pretty funny! We love our cute baby!!!

The First day of school!

Today Christian started school at the University of Utah. So begins the crazy life of school and a part time job. Its not much different at home because I'm used to him being gone during the day since he was working but the difference is he calls me more in between classes and such. Which is awesome I love talking to my husband. I didn't have a chance to write much yesterday about our anniversary. It was a pretty good day all around. We had crepes for breakfast, which we made way too many so we have a bunch in the freezer for later, played with our little girl. I gave Christian this fun picture of Cambria and I that I framed. It will join the lovely shrine of pictures of Cambria! :) (we aren't crazy we just love our daughter to death!) We went to Layton and eat dinner at the Merrills visited my Parents. Said goodbye to my sister Amy who is going back to New York where she lives. We came home fairly early so that Christian could go to bed but as many of you know my husband he doesn't go to bed early so he played some halo with some friends and then we watched Star Wars while falling asleep. I could tell this morning that Christian was rather tired. He had to get up earlier than normal so he could ride the train up to school. I hope and pray that Christian will do well and will sail smoothly through this school year and I will do anything I can to make sure to love and support him through it! Well thats all for now Cambria just woke up from her nap!

Happy Anniversary!!!

On Aug. 30th, 2008 we are going through the Jordan River Temple to be sealed for eternity. We are so excited! We are counting down the days until we get to go through. Today is our one year anniversary! Its crazy that its already been a year! I love how awesome our marriage is! We are having a Barbecue after the temple on that Saturday at 7:15pm and everyone and anyone is welcome to come and celebrate with us. If you would like to come let me know and I will assign you an item to bring :)

Elder Patrick Merrill called to serve in....

On Thursday Patrick got his mission call! We are all very excited for him and wish him well!!! Here's a video of him opening and reading his call!!!

Christian said I needed to start posting here so ok I will...

Well everyone my first official post on a blog. Crazy. I don't know quite what to write about. I little update perhaps on Christian, Cambria, and I. Currently we reside in Woods Cross, Utah. It a nice area with a good neighborhood. There and really nice people in our ward and Stake. I stay home with our darling daughter Cambria who is changing everyday I swear. Christian is currently working for Mountainland Rehab as their tech guy. He will start school in the Fall and well thats when I will never see him until like ten at night but it will all be good. I don't work and don't plan on working unless I really need to. I love raising Cambria and being there for all her new phases of life. Cambria recently has two teeth coming in on the bottom row. These cause her much stress, crying, drooling, and biting. I wish that I could help her with that dilemma but well its her mouth and I can't do much about it except to give her orajel or Tylenol for the pain. (However we recently missed placed the orajel and its causing the whole family trauma, hopefully we will find it soon and if not I really should go buy some more.) I'm not sure what else to write about or if I'm doing this whole blogging thing right. I'm sure that Christian will make fun of my first attempt at this and will inform me of how its really done. Besides my entries are more interesting than reviews of up coming games. (wink wink I love you honey :) )

WoW...

Caught this post on the onion and laughed pretty hard.

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/warcraft_sequel_lets_gamers_play

Stomach Revolution

Our family is having a stomach upheaval. I think we ate something bad yesterday. Jeni and I both ended up with bad headaches and stomachaches. I held my stomach back for about an hour before it finished its revolt and emptied itself in the ceramic coffer. Painful. I haven't ever cried throwing up that I can remember until now. Violent. Lurching. Fire hose. Wrenching.

Jeni was able to get a nap in and keep her stomach down, but both of us are feeling about as rotten today. Doesn't help when your co-workers say "WOW! I had no idea that Christian could get whiter!"

Cam on the otherhand, thinks dad making faces (voluntary or otherwise) is great!

Also, I found a few combos to use against Bruce Briney in Soul Calibur IV to end his reign of terror. BRING IT BRUCE!

X-Men Origins - Wolverine

I stumbled upon this morning browsing around! Turns out that production on the latest X-Men flick is almost complete! X-Men Origins - Wolverine, will go into Wolverine's past. Hopefully his part in Vietnam, World War II, and some of his relationships with other mutants. In the trailer I saw some of my favorites!! Gambit, Deadpool, Sabretooth, and even what looks like Blob, though I have no idea how he would fit in. Either way pretty cool looking. The trailer says May 1st 2009, which sounds about right.

You can find the trailer HERE: http://www.flylyf.com/x-men-origins-wolvering/

So THAT'S why Halo still sucks to play online!

I overheard some ladies in the office discussing how they decide what games their children can play, especially their little boys. The popular vote was a website called "What They Play". On a whim I decided to pay the site a visit myself. Laughter and hilarity ensued.

The site advertises that it is a website that reviews all the latest games and gives you an in depth idea of what to expect in the game's play and content. Users are allowed to sign up free of charge (and with no proof of being a responsible adult or parent mind you), and rank games by what age they feel is appropriate, and what their own feelings on the game are.

Sounds like a good idea right?

Well it just so turns out that some of these parents(I estimate %99) let slip the site they were using as a guide. In response, the site now seems to be dominated by young boys from the ages of 10-15, who are more than happy to rank their latest games as appropriate for "Ages 3 and up" for games like Halo 3, and "10 and up" for games like Grand Theft Auto IV, which was cited by many as, "a great game to play with the family!". I'm sure mom and dad will get a laugh out of the lap dance mini-game!

For example, 10 year old "deathsoldier" commented on the game Call of Duty 4 and had this wonderful tidbit to say:

"Im 10 and i play call of duty 4. When u play it u can hardly see any blood when u kill someone The language is s**t ,d***t and h**l so not that bad, and no one swears much on multiplayr."

Oh the things kids say. I can only hope that his parents not only backhanded him for the lack of grammar, but also took fifteen minutes to PLAY THE GAME themselves.

Or how about the reply when an older game said that the violent Assassin's Creed wouldn't be a good idea for kids under 14?

"Well I am 12 and this could be anybody's forum. Are you just scared of the fact that kids like me are going to be standing up for themselves? GamerPirate, go f**k yourself in the a**!"

Yep. I would definately backhand that kid too. And none of it is uncommon, nearly every game that a young boy could want, from Resident Evil 2 all the way up to Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt has a small army of young boys willing to defend and advertise the game to their parents.

"This game is graet for your teens 10 and up, it teaches a lot about how real guns and war is bad, cuz it modles them after real guns and iraq, which kids need to know about. Definatly a good idea for a son 10 or older."

And it really isn't difficult to tell the impostors, further proof that texting and IM'ing is killing your child's ability to communicate coherently. Long story short, I got a laugh out of it, and so can you. If you really need a site like this to tell you what games your kids can and cannot play, you are just as well off giving them a cigarette and dropping them off at Southern Exposure. My advice? Play the game yourself, and then YOU decide whether or not your child is mature enough for it, or if it is acceptable in your household. Maybe that way I can play Halo and COD4 again without some ten year old telling me to "F* off u stoopid noob a*"!

Ah. I love kids.



http://www.whattheyplay.com/

E3

E3 is ending soon, and I figured I would give my two cents and my favorites from the expo. Fable 2 is confirmed to be released October(likely the 15th), and I couldn't be more excited for it!! Fable 1 is among my top ten favorite games of all time, and the more info they release on the sequel, the farther away October looks! Game number 2? Mirror's Edge. The game looks incredible, the idea is original, and I love games where my head spins with my stomach (think Prey).



Mirror's Edge E3 : http://www.shackvideo.com/?id=12507

Other important notes are Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour. Both are shaping up to be excellent sequels, with a ton of extra content. I love both games, and gotta decide if it's worth it to fork out the money for another set of plastic instruments. Guess it's time to save for Christmas? We will see.



Other notables include the release of Lego Batman, I loved Lego Star Wars and still play it with Jeni occasionally. Empire: Total War's new game looks like the ultimate RTS dream, can't wait to try out naval combat. Last but not least, Force Unleashed is out soon, finally some Lightsaber put to good use!!

Mad World

It really is a sad world we live in at times. I have been in a number of political debates as of late, and I have come to the conclusion that we are in a state of Catch-22 in a way. It is a sad state of affairs when we are forced to choose the lesser of two evils, rather than candidates who are great in everyday for the welfare of our country.

Even if the best and brightest ran for the presidential seat, they would never make it past the first hurdles. Super delegates, supporters, and special interest groups have all been or will buyout whomever supports their own agenda, and those willing to bend will continue in the presidential race.

It worries me to think what Cam will have to endure growing up. In and at any rate, I hope that our generation can clean up the mess and make positive changes from the slime filled bureaucracy we call our government.

Marriage Club...?

Alright! We just got back from a business trip of mine in Las Vegas! It was pretty fun, but extremely hot (116 degrees anyone?). We got Jenny - O's wedding invitation and are completely excited to go! I just got done mowing the lawn...so I smell like a yak. I have all day today off and Monday off so we can go wakeboarding. Five day weekends RULE.

Also, I come to find that once you are married, and especially when you have a kid, people seem to avoid you completely. Seriously, everyone talks about hanging out and coming to visit, but when you ask they always seem to have something up...or they completely ditch you from any and all plans. Aaawell. Guess it comes with the territory.

Post pictures soon!

Quicky

Well I snagged this blog quickly. I had a full site design setup, but just can't find the time to FTP the stupid thing and get it going, so I took took a leaf out of Jenny's book and put a quick one up on blogger. We will see if Jeni likes this feel more than the full site setup!