The Merrills

Man I stink at blogging!

2010-08-28T16:32:00.006-06:00

Once again, I am so bad about keeping this blog updated. A lot has been going on in our lives over the past few months. I finished my first year of coaching Lancelles, it was an amazing first year full of so many great memories. Now that the second year has started, I have forgotten how hectic it is, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. We have a very talented team and can't wait to get the school year started. Josh graduated in May with his Bachelors of Accounting and has started his Masters program. I am so proud of him and all of his accomplishments. Between jobs and school we don't see each other that much but having Josh get his Masters will be a great thing in the long run. Probably one of the most exciting things that has happened to us is we bought our first house!!!!! We have a townhome in Layton and absolutely love it! Just the right size for us now! We just got our grass in and Josh told me we can get a dog once we have grass...soooooooo....we will see what happens. Oh yeah and my best friend Michelle bought the home right next to me. Ha ha ha....we just can't live with out each other I guess. Our summer has been filled with work, school, and drill practices, but we did take some time to make a trip to Walt Disney World and to Universal Studios to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (which is AMAZING!). I took over 600 pictures, but I decided it wouldn't be a great thing to put all of them on here so I just chose a few of the highlights from our trip. It was very hot and very crowded, but it was a fantastic trip and we all had a wonderful time!
Me and Josh eating with our favorite dog, Pluto, at the Garden Grill restaurant at EPCOT.

Waiting for Illuminations at EPCOT, it was such a beautiful night!

Me and Pappy!

This picture is out of order, but this is us on our way to Florida!

Me and Dad enjoying Butter Beer at Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Let me tell you, this stuff is amazing! It's like a great mixture of cream soda and buttercotch.

Me and my wand! This is my birthday wand but I wasn't really in love with it so I chose to get Hermoine's wand instead. Josh chose Professor Lupin's and my Dad got Sirius Black's.

One morning, my Dad surprised us with a Segway tour that was at the Fort Wilderness Resort. we drove all around the resort and then to Wilderness Lodge. It was one of the funnest experiences I have ever had.

FANTASMIC! One of my favorite shows in WDW. I always get choked up everytime I watch it. I know I am an emotional wreck!

A look at Hogsmeade!

Alright, the ride that is inside Hogwarts is probably one of the best rides ever! I can't really explain what it is like but WOW! Everyone needs to be making plans to go see it for themselves!

I am horrible at blogging!

2010-04-10T12:57:00.005-06:00

So I am horrible at this blogging thing and I haven't updated since I think October. Soooooo....Over those last few months I have been busy with holidays and drill team. Also me and Josh bought a house!!!!! We are hopefully moving in the end of April. We are super excited and can't wait to move in. Below are some pics of our recent trip to Nationals in Anheim where we took a 3rd, a 4th , and a 5th in our categories out of 22 teams. While we were there we went to Disneyland, Universal Studios, Six Flags, and we saw a produciton Dream Girls(pic below) at the Ahmason Theater. We had a blast and it was sad coming home to this cold weather.
It's crazy to see how this year has breezed by. We are already getting things ready for the new team! These girls this past year have worked so hard and I am so proud of them!

TOWER OF TERROR TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!

REGION!

FALCON CLASSIC!

Catch up!

2009-12-07T16:51:00.004-07:00

My last post has been a while so here is a little catch up.........At the beginning of October we surprised Josh for his birthday and took him to Disneyland. He was totally surprised and we had such a fun time. All the cute Halloween decorations were up and got to ride Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy, which is something new they do now for Halloween. We also got to see the new parade which was very fun!

In the middle of October it was Homecoming week, so here is a pic of the team dressed up in old Lancelle costumes for the parade. If there are any old Lancelles looking at this, see if you can recognize an old costume from the past.......

Football Season!!!!!!

2009-09-09T08:55:00.003-06:00

It's that time of year....FOOTBALL SEASON! Our Lancelles have performed at two football half-times and have done a great job at both performances! We have received a lot compliments and lots of girls saying they are going to try out next year! I just love these girls and I am so proud of them! GO LANCELLES!!!!! This was our first football routine to "Mercy"!

For the Lancelles second performance they rode onto the field on Harley's, it was soooo cool! The crowd was screaming and going crazy! The girls had a blast!

Summer '09

2009-08-14T12:01:00.009-06:00

So it has been a loooooonnnggg time since my post and some of my friends have been asking why I haven't posted anything in a long time....well I have been very busy this summer and so here is a post dedicated to what my summer has been like. This summer me and michelle had fun going to the American Idol concert and seeing sexy Adam in his sexy vest. We also went to the Il Divo concert and ran up to the front of the stage and got to shake their hands! Ah it was amazing!

In June, me, Michelle, Sonya, Angie, Abby, and Christi went to Vegas for the IECSC which is a coference for esthetics. We had a blast going to the conference and buying lots of fun products, we went to a couple of clubs and danced the night away!, and we also got to see the show La Reve which is at the Wynn. It is an amazing water acrobatic show that is definitely worth seeing!!

In May, me and Michelle were asked to be the new drill team coaches for the Layton High Lancelles. We are very busy getting up for 6 am practices everyday but we are loving every minute of it. We have darling girls on the team and couldn't ask for a better one. The pictures below are of our first get-to-know-party and drill camp.

What will you celebrate?

2009-05-20T08:19:00.007-06:00

Back in April, me, my Dad, and Michelle went to Walt Disney World in Orlando. Josh was unable to come cause of school. We spent a fun-filled week visiting with some old friends who lived in Orlando, going to the parks, and eating some yummy food. The view from my favorite restaurant California Grill. At night it's a great place to watch the fireworks.

Toy Story Midway Mania! One of our favorites. Here is me and Michelle stylin' the 3D glasses.

Me and Michelle were chosen to be extras in the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular!!!!!!

Michelle got really excited to be in the show and broke her flip flop coming back to our seats. She had to go around Disney's Hollywood Studios with one shoe for a little while until we founf flip flops that matched her outfit.

Pluto in Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade! I love that dog!

On one of the days, we met up with Tim Goins who is one of my Dad's old students. Tim is a cast member down there at the Festival of the Lion King show.

Oh the classic "take a picture of yourself on a ride picture" I think the sun was just a little to bright for me and Michelle.

Michelle and the world's largest rice krispie treat. We were obsessed with them the whole trip.

Here we are at Whispering Canyons at our hotel Wilderness Lodge. Michelle wanted a Diet Coke to drink for breakfast and our waitress thought that was silly so check out the Diet Coke they brought her out.

PARIS!!!

2009-04-08T08:38:00.008-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted about this sooner but I just havent had the time lately. Anyway...Paris was AMAZING!!!! I took over 500 pics but don't worry I am not posting that many. It was very cold for the most part, mostly because of the wind chill. We spent 4 days in the Disney Parks and the other days exploring the sights such as the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame, Versailles, and Saint Chapel, and many, many more. You will notice in a lot of the pictures it looks like we are wearing the same thing everyday, but that's because it was so cold and we always had to keep our coats on. Enjoy the pics! The Disneyland Hotel, which is the entrance to Disneyland. Gorgeous Hotel!

Pirates of the Caribbean!

TOWER OF TERROR!!!!

The Eiffel Tower. It's so big! I never thought it was as big as it is.

Notre Dame Cathedral

The Mona Lisa, which is actually a very small painting. A lot smaller than I thought it would be.

Outside the Louvre. The architecture is amazing all around Paris.

Versailles was probably one of my favorite places to see. Very pretty and I love the history behind it.

The Space Mountain here in Paris is by far the best out of all the parks! It goes upside down and does barrel loops and it is so much fun!

This is me and Josh standing on top of the Queen of Hearts Castle in "Alice's Curious Labrynth". It had an amazing view looking over Fantasyland.

I love all the Disney park castles, but I think this one is my favorite. It has so much detail and I love the landscape around it with the waterfall. Beautiful!

This is me having a Snow White moment with the little woodland creatures...I know I am weird.

Before the trip Emily broke her heel so she had a big old boot to wear and we had to rent a wheelchair for her, so this is her and Liza having fun with the chair.

Our last night in the parks and in Paris we went to Walt's restaurant which is on Main Street over looking the park. It was so much fun and had great food. We had a great time in Paris and were so lucky for the experience. Thanks Pappy!

"Snow" much fun!!!!

2009-02-17T18:09:00.003-07:00

So me and Josh took full advantage of the HUGE snowfall we had today and decided to play in the snow/ We decided we wanted to build a snowman but as it turns out we decided to make a snow"mouse"! It was so much fun. It has been forever since we have played in the snow.

2009-01-06T18:40:00.004-07:00

Christmas and New Year's were absolutely wonderful this year. Santa was very good to us this year. Me and Josh thought we were done opening presents, but then my Dad brought these bags down to us and there was 6 different letters in there. At first we thought we were going to Disneyland or Disney World. But as we got the last note it said for to pack our passports! We are going to Disneyland Paris!!! We couldn't believe it. We were in shock and we can't wait to go!

For New Year's Eve we went to Vegas with my Dad and my Aunt Karen. We stayed at the Luxor and stayed in the pyramid part of it and usually I don't get that scared of heights but WOW....It made me a little queezy. We went to the Criss Angel show "Believe" with Cirque du Soleil. The dancing in it was amazing cause Wade Robson choreographed it. Criss Angel wasn't all that impressive but we still enjoyed the show and our time there.

The Gardens at the Bellagio all decorated for Christmas still. The were so beautiful!

We had to stop by In-N-Out Burger on our way home ofcourse! Josh styling the lovely hat.

First Snowfall in December, Black Friday, and Twilight!

2008-12-08T10:26:00.006-07:00

I am so behind on updating on events so I added three in one post. Today it finally snowed and I couldn't be more thrilled! I just love having snow around Christmas time! Next are a couple of pictures of me and Michelle on Thanksgiving night. Me and her family went up to the Park City outlets at midnight. Crazy huh? But we had so much fun and got lots of great things for great prices. The picture of me with my eyes closed is me laying in the very back of the car with everyone's bags on me. We had to fit 7 people in a 5 person car so I was more than happy to sit in the trunk. It was actually quite comfortable. Then the last pictures are of me, Michelle, and Mindy going to see Twilight at midnight the day it opened. It was a great movie and I can't wait for New Moon to come out!

This is me and Michelle acting like vampires....I know, I know we are so cool.....

Eating at the Sonora Grill in Ogden. Not my favorite food!

Carrie Underwood!

2008-11-20T09:46:00.005-07:00

Last night I went to the Carrie Underwood concert at the E Center with some friends from American Eagle. It was one of the best concerts I have been to! The show was amazing and Carrie sang beautifully and looked gorgeous! The opening group was Little Big Town. They were really good and we enjoyed their music!

Here is me and Greg anticipating the arrival of Carrie Underwood! (Greg just looks like he is picking his teeth!)

The finale was awesome! She sang "Before He Beats" there was confetti everywhere. I took some video of it but it has trouble loading onto here so if anyone knows what I am doing wrong please help!

Halloweentime at Disneyland!

2008-11-03T16:50:00.013-07:00

Well I finally have something fun to blog about! I just got back from Disneyland, and let me tell you....WE HAD SO MUCH FUN! Trick or Treating in the parks and riding new rides. What more could you ask for. These first few pictures are us in Downtown Disney eating at the Rainforest Cafe. It was especially fun because I got to meet up with one of my best friends growing up Jenny Estebo. It was so nice to catch up on things with her.

Yes we got SOAKED on Splash Mountain!

Here is one of our new favorite rides, Toy Story Midway Mania! Disney definitely hit the mark this time!

Halloween morning we at this character breakfast inside Disneyland. We had fun interacting with the characters. In fact, my Dad even proposed to Minnie Mouse! What would Mickey say about this?

Here is me and my Dad getting dizzy on the Teacups!

On Halloween night we went over to Mickey's Trick or Treat Party at California Adventure. We had so much fun riding rides and trick or treating around the park. As you can we went as characters from Alice in Wonderland. I absolutely loved my costume. Our friend Phil did an amazing job!

One of my favorite things to do is ride some of the Fantasyland rides at night. They just seem more magical (I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true!) My favorite is riding the Matterhorn at night.

Me and Josh must have great luck when we go to Disneyland because we always end up with Dream Fastpasses! Hey we are not complaining! Below here are us kids on our last ride, California Screamin', before we had to head home.
I have so many more pics to post but these will have to do for now!

One week till Disneyland!

2008-10-22T08:02:00.004-06:00

So I am leaving for Disneyland in one week! I cannot wait! We will be there over Halloween and we are attending Mickey's Trick or Treat Party and we can dress up! And from the picture I posted I bet you can all guess what we are going as! I am going as Alice, Josh is going as the Mad Hatter and my Dad is going as the March Hare. We also have 6 other people that are coming with us and they are also going as characters from Alice in Wonderland. I can't wait to get back and post pictures of this vacation. It's going to be a BLAST!

A Chilly Weekend in St. George!

2008-10-13T10:19:00.007-06:00

This past weekend I went down to St. George with my best friend Michelle and her family for Dixie State's Homecoming game. Michelle's little sister dances for the Dance Team down there so we went down to watch her perform. I had a blast down there besides the cold weather. Here is me and Michelle in the classic take a picture of yourselves in the car photo.

When me and Michelle arrived at the hotel, her family went out and bought Halloween costumes for her to try on to see if she liked any of them. Sad to say Michelle passed on both but I did get to take some "interesting" pics of her with the costumes on.

Me and Michelle freezing our butts off at the game. It was so cold and windy you would never have guessed you were in St. George!

Here is the Dixie Dance Team (they're not called the Rebelettes anymore) performing their Homecoming routine. They did an awesome job!

Katie is the second from the left (don't count the girl who's head is cut off).

Happy Birthday Josh!

2008-10-13T10:12:00.005-06:00

Josh's B-day was October 3 and we went out to dinner and came back and at some cake. Here is the the wonderful cake I made for Josh! I know it is not a looker but it sure tasted great! Happy Birthday sweetheart I love you!

Here is Josh with his presents. I got him an Ipod, and he also got a new coat and gloves, and The Office DVD game (which is really fun!), and a new 60 degree Sand Wedge and a new Putter(not pictued)

Breaking Dawn......Literally!

2008-08-10T16:36:00.000-06:00

On August 1 a few of my friends from Sego Lily and I went to the "Breaking Dawn" party at Barnes and Noble. It all started the day before when we had to go get wristbands to determine our place in line. As you can see, we got Esme wristbands!

Please ignore the ugly look on my face! I don't know what I was thinking, but here is me and Christi with neck marks (from Edward). They had a neck painting station set up at Barnes and Noble, along with some other fun activities.

Here is Christi, Me, and Heather waiting anxiously in line. Barnes and Noble organized the line in groups of 50 according to a name of a character from the books. Ofcourse Edward was the first group (and I wish I was in that group), but we were in Esme's group which wasn't too far back in line.

Finally at about 12:50a.m. a copy of Breaking Dawn was mine! Now I just need some time to finish it!

SYTYCD? Finale!

2008-07-31T16:55:00.000-06:00

So the SYTYCD? finale is coming up and I want to know who everyone is rooting for! Personally my Top 4 would be Katee, Joshua, Chelsea, and Twitch. I will be happy if any of those guys win it. But I still like Mark and Courtney....it is going to be a tough decision. I don't want it to end!

IECSC LAS VEGAS!

2008-07-03T10:16:00.001-06:00

Last weekend, a group of us from Sego Lily went down to Vegas for the IECSC convention. We went to some classes, trainings, and browsed through all the booths on the tradeshow floor. We had so much fun eating at fun restaurants, shopping, and we even saw the Cirque du Soleil show KA. It was amazing!!!!!

On the right is a hair product line called White Sands. Check out this girl's hair! It was amazing!

We stayed at the Paris Hotel in Vegas. It was so beautiful! I would definitely recommend it.

Here we all are Cheeseburger Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood. I think Sarah and Kirsten were losing it just a little bit. And then here is me and Kim enjoying our Diet Coke with lime. Yum!

This is me at the Emminence booth. Emminence is a product line that we use at the spa. They had the cutest booth by far with those cute big balloons. Not to mention the cute Elvis rep for Emminence, not! But he was very funny.

This is the Las Vegas Convention Center where the convention was held. It was so big! There were Estheticians and Cosmetologists galore! It was so much fun and we learned so much and bought so much! Can't wait to go next year!

Disneyland 2008

2008-06-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of June me and Josh went to Disneyland to celebrate my 24th birthday and our 3rd Anninversary. We were very lucky to win Dream Fastpasses 2 days in a row and then we won some of the "Year Of A Million Dreams " Mickey Mouse ears. It was so nice to take a vacation with just the two of us. We had so much fun seeing the parades, fireworks, and characters. We can't wait to go back in October for Halloween!

Here are the ears we won!!!

Our first night there, we were standing in the line for popcorn when I realized I was standing behind Brooke White from American Idol. She was super nice and so was her family.

My First Post!

2008-06-20T12:21:00.000-06:00

Well here it is! My first post! My friends were telling me the other day to get a blog going so here it is! Well to update everyone on what's going on in me and Josh's lives here it goes.....I am currently working at Sego Lily Spa here in Layton as a Master Esthetician, pretty much I do facials, pedicures, manicures, waxing, etc, etc. I absolutely love it and I am very happy to be working there. Josh works for eBay in the fraud and claims department down in Draper, so he gets to make a fun commute to work everyday, but eBay is paying for his schooling so it evens out with the gas prices. Josh is majoring in Accounting and should be done next year. Other than that we have just been on some fun vacations and plan on many more this summer!