Yurt Trip

My honey turned 26! It was an especially good birthday this year. To celebrate, we went on a yurt trip with Jake & Melissa Garrett. If you are like me, you probably have no idea what a yurt is. It's basically 

like a canvas igloo. The one we reserved a night in was in the middle of nowhere and we had to ski in.

We started off by driving to Pocatello, Idaho. We got all strapped up to our Alpine touring skis and got

 our packs on right at about dusk and started on our way. 

The trail was AMAZING! It snowed the entire hike in. The woods around were so wildly beautiful

and quiet. And there were fresh animal tracks all around us the entire way. We had to use a GPS to find the yurt. 

Let me tell you what a welcome site the Yurt was---all nestled in the middle of the forest, blanketed 

in snow--after 6 hours of uphill hiking. 

The men got a fire started while Melissa and I got the beds ready. We even melted snow to cook dinner

with! The yurt was so warm all night. 

After we had eaten and packed up in the morning, we got our skis and packs on again and skied out! 

Even though it was super challenging and a little scary at times, it is by far the funnest trip

we have done in a long time. We just can't wait to go back again!

We returned to Lance's parent's house to pick Crew up only to find a surprise birthday party

for Lance. I didn't get a picture of the group but thanks to all those who came!

I love him so very much.

We celebrated again with my family on Sunday.

HAPPY 26TH BABY!

{Happy birthday to the twins!}

I cannot believe Austin and I are 23 years old now! 22 wasn't much of a shock but I have to say that 23 has been a weird one for me.

It has been fun to evaluate where I thought I would be at this age and where I am. I am so

excited to be almost finished with school, married to my sweetheart, and about to enter the

big-wide world of adulthood! And yes, I'm aware I technically entered that world some years

ago. I am more referring to Lance getting a job and us knowing where we are going to be on a

more permanent basis. I look forward so much to what life has in store for us!

I started off the day sleeping-in and skipping all my classes :) You can't go to class on your birthday!

Next, Courtney took me to lunch to PF Changs which was delicious! Thanks Court.

And to top it all off, I headed home for a hot home-cooked meal made by my momma. We didn't get a group picture but everyone was there! Including Scott, Keaton, and Trisha who

came down from Salt Lake to celebrate with us.

I love this boy! Who better to share your birthday with? We have never been apart for our

birthdays and I hope we never are.

Austin and I got our "birthday baskets" (of course!) and we each requested our own "cake".

For those of you who don't know, we almost never have cake for birthdays at the Merrell home.

My mom is a fantastic pie-maker so we usually request peaches n cream pie. My mom always

makes 2 of them and they are gone in a blink of an eye! This year I requested pumpkin pie. Thanks mom!

Blowin out the candles! Notice that even though I am 5 minutes older than Austin,

he still got more candles than me this year. What a rip-off. :)

My sweet husband knows I have been wanting a pair of True Religions for awhile

so he bought me the cutest pair of skinny jeans for my birthday ! I absolutely love them.

My mom got me a darling shirt and necklace and the Walkers gave me a certificate for a Sushi dinner. Yum! I can't wait for that one.

What a fantastic birthday! Thank you to everyone for the phone calls, texts, and gifts.

You really helped make this birthday a special one :)

{birthday wishes}

A very Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother! We celebrated her birthday last night

with dinner (thanks Missa for the soup!) and better-than-sex cake (yum!). We had such

a wonderful time together, as we always do. Birthdays are some of my favorite times

with the family. We could stick around for hours afterward just telling stories, laughing,

and enjoying each other's company. We even got quite the show from Lance who was busy

entertaining Kenna. Lets just say there were some raptor impersonations, a lot of running

around, and tons of laughter from the rest of us :)

I love my mom! She and I have always been the closest of friends. I am so thankful to have

that friendship with her. I don't know how she does it all. She keeps up with work, home,

service, church callings, and even time spent at the school. She has never-ending love to give

and is always willing to help anyone out with anything.

Some of my favorite things about my mom:

• She is an amazing quilter!
• She is a very good nurse.
• She is a fantastic student
• She loves self-help books
• She drives with her seat tilted forward
• She always burns grilled cheese sandwiches
• She constantly leaves little love notes
• She makes the best homemade bread around
• She does all her own canning
• She hates scary movies
• She likes Fergie
• She LOVES having her hair played with

We love you mom! Happy Birthday.

happy 24th lance!

On January 23rd, my sexy hubby turned 24. Since he has started traveling with the track team now, he was gone for his birthday so we got together with the families a few days later to celebrate. I tried a new recipe from The Lion House. This Lemon Chiffon Cake was delicious! And a hit with everyone at the party. Also, we surprised Lance and got him a new Ipod! He was very excited that he can now watch movies on his long flights to track meets.





Somebody said, "Hey Lance! Its your first birthday as a married man." And Lance immediately said, "Happy Birthday to me!" and thus my face in this picture... oh babe, I love you.

We love our families! A little singing, a little cake, a little visiting, a little guitar hero... it was so fun hanging out with everyone. Thank you for your love and support!