I'll Be Back Part 2!

Remember this? Well my parents thought it would be super funny to RE-GIFT their new, beloved Arnold! That's right they gave Arny back over as a graduation gift! So I admit, I laughed some but seriously?! We don't want a fish! ;) Haha! Ok but in all honesty, Arnold seems to have settled in nicely and is enjoying the humid D.C. weather! Thanks mom and dad for the re-gifted gifting! Unlike you mother, we love our little fish!

Kabob or Two?

Drooling yet? Remember when I said we already had plans for our next months dinner group? Well with all this beautiful summer weather we just could not resist a chance at the grill! And let me just say, grilling we dominated! Not only did we grill up some shish-kabobs but we grilled some corn on the cob and veggies! Wow! Talk about delicious to the maximum!



Have I mentioned before how much I love the ladies I cook with? These gals are awesome! Plus we had 2 more along for the ride this time! Katie and Mandy were brave souls to join us in our escapades! I think they both were pleased with the end result though so ladies come on back whenever you want to join us! You are more than welcome! :)



And in between some games of bocce ball we treated ourselves to yummy grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream! Yes indeed it was divine and the prefect treat to wrap up the evening with! Another success for our 6th dinner group! Looking forward to many more successes to come! But in the meantime I think I'll help myself to a leftover kabob or two!

Graduation Weekend!

So you know when you have a weekend that is just so perfect and wonderful it is hard to sum it all up in one blog post? Well that pretty much captures graduation weekend perfectly but I will try my hardest to give the weekend justice!

It started on Thursday the 12th at 8 a.m. I took my licensed graduate social work exam i.e. the biggest exam of my life! Pretty much if I did not pass this exam I would not be able to work in the District of Columbia as a Social Worker! Even better I would have to wait 3 months before taking it again! So basically...in other words...this really was the biggest exam of my life! Well by 10:30 on Thursday I had passed the exam and the weekend was off to a great start! Phew!



By Friday night my whole family arrived! I got to snuggle with this little man all weekend and that was seriously the best! He was such a trooper the whole weekend and we were all impressed with his great temperament! What a blessing little Edwin is to our family! I must admit he has grown a lot since we saw him last and he has lost all his hair! Hahaha! But we still love that little face!



Friday night consisted of eating, laughing, getting caught up and watching Edwin enjoy his new toy that grandpa got for him! It's a little froggy bouncer toy and he sure loved it! It was quite the night of happiness and joy! By 10 my family was heading off to Fort Belvoir where they were staying for the weekend and it was goodnight until the morning!



Saturday was pretty much everything graduation! We all met up at Fort Belvoir for a generous gift exchange from so many loved ones and then we loaded up the cars and drove off to Catholic University of America for all of the festivities! My favorite part was the cap and gown! I felt like a super-hero or something! Those wings were the best! :)



It was a really great ceremony! Not too long but not too short! I loved that I actually got my diploma right then and there! It is an official done deal! I also loved having my whole family there to support me because certainly I would not have survived grad school without each and every one of them!



After some celebrating and cap throwing we set out on another adventure that really, truly was the best part of the whole weekend! I won't go into much detail now because this story is worth a blog post of its own but my goodness was it special! We went on a mini-tour of Springfield where my grandparents lived for ten years! We got to see my dad's elementary and junior high schools plus their old house and even a special little baseball field! It was so neat to get a glimpse of the past! More to come later on that miraculous little adventure!



After the tour we went to the Chart House for a delicious seafood meal! Oh boy was it yummy! We took our time and enjoyed the evening out! We even got front row seats to a light thunder storm that came rolling through! It was quite the way to celebrate hard work! Thanks again mom and dad for that wonderful treat!



But the fun was not over yet! Sunday morning we had a big, yummy, traditional Merritt family waffle breakfast! We invited our neighbor Emily over to enjoy the yummy meal with us and it was oh so fun! Lots of warm waffles later we were all full and satisfied and ready for church!



Unfortunately Sunday night after dinner at Mary Carol and Andrew's house (my mom's cousin) most of my family left! But fortunately for us Carissa and baby and my grandparents stayed for an extra day! On Monday we took my grandpa to the Air Force Memorial which was so neat! We also did some grocery shopping, painted grandma's nails and enjoyed a big dinner together one last time! Like I said before, it was really hard summing up this weekend in one blog post! Saying goodbye Monday night was not easy but as my grandma likes to say, "we can't stay on vacation forever"!

Thanks for a glorious weekend family! We miss you all but feel so happy we got to make some memories this past weekend! Love to you all!

Ravi-avi-oli!

Well considering the Beef Wellington came and went without much of a challenge, this month the gals and I decided to step it up a notch! Seems a little intense to some but for our little group of domestic goddesses it was really quite simple! The task at hand: homemade ravioli! And even better still homemade sauce! Hardcore? I know! Making the dough seemed easy enough but when it came to rolling the dough...well that's when things got interesting!



After watching a video of an Italian grandma demonstrate her skills, we took some of her tips and got to it! We split the dough into different sections which made the rolling process so much easier! Getting the dough thin enough was hard but a few sore thumbs later and we had it all worked out! We even made a batch of gluten free ravioli! Now that is cooking!



Once the rolling, cutting, stuffing and concealing was done the little beauties were ready to boil! I was nervous that our forked edges would not keep the cheese filling inside but to our pleasant surprise they all cooked up nicely!



Even after some last minute experimenting with the sauce we were all pleased with the end result! YUMMY! Although presentation has a ways to go I think we pulled off another masterpiece! The kitchen was a mess but it was well worth it! And no worries...plans for next months dinner are already in motion! Stayed tuned for more cooking wonders from the three of us gals because personally I think we are basically pros by now! ;)

I long to See You!

So we got to spend our 2 year anniversary at one of the most beautiful places in all of Virginia! I know what you are all thinking...I've only been living here less than a year so how in the world could I make a statement like that? But seriously if not the MOST beautiful it comes in ranked pretty high as far as I'm concerned!



I mean seriously! I have been singing about this place for like my whole life! Longing to see it! Not to mention it is a National Park with parts of the Appalachian Trail passing through it left and right! Could it get any better? I submit it could not!



Thank you Shenandoah Valley for a beautifully blissful weekend! I'll sing it again Oh Shenandoah! But instead of longing now the tune is different...I loved to see you!

Remember When?!?

Remember when, all my roommates knew you but I didn't and you came to our party and sat in the same windowseal as I did but somehow we didn't even get introduced?



Remember when, we finally met and then you realized I was a "shiner" so you started asking me out on dates but we weren't yet dating?



Remember when, Elder Cox asked us if we were dating and we didn't really have an answer for him so then that night we had a conversation and decided that we wanted to officially start dating?



Remember when, I was so nervous I almost chickened out but you brave soul kindly asked if you could, and so we shared our first kiss underneath the stars?



Remember when, we had to say goodbye for a whole summer while I went to Mexico and you went to Holland but the night before we were separated we said "I love you" making the goodbye ten times harder?



Remember when, we saw each other again for the first time and it was almost like a first date all over again because the butterflies in my stomach were so intense but ten minutes later it was like we had never been separated in the first place?



Remember when, we were finally reunited for good in Provo (after 4 long months) for another semester of happiness which meant we were pretty much inseparable?



Remember when, you totally surprised me and proposed ten minutes after I got back to Utah from Christmas break and I said yes even though it was negative 5 degrees outside and the i-pod setting the tone with romantic music stopped playing because it froze?



Remember when, we took some really pretty engagement pictures in the pouring snow and they turned out so dang cute?



Remember when, we got married in the Bountiful temple for time and all eternity and it was the most glorious day of both of our lives?



Remember when, a week after we were married we moved to NYC to spend our summer working hard and had no idea what we were really getting ourselves into?



Remember when, 4 months later we moved to Texas and discovered that it is actually true...everything really is bigger in Texas?



Remember when, 4 months later we moved back to Provo to finish our degrees together hand in hand and side by side?



Remember when, we moved across the country again but this time for longer than just 4 months and made Arlington Virginia our new home?



Remember when, I became the worlds luckiest girl because I am the one who gets to spend the rest of ETERNITY with you!?! Thanks for the best 2 years of my life Broderick V Buttars! Here is to the rest of forever that I get to be with you!

Real Busy But Never Too Busy For Family!

You know sometimes life gets really really busy! But thank goodness it never gets too busy for family time! We have certainly had our fare share of family time in these last few weeks!

It all started over conference weekend with my parents! I've been trying to get my pops to come down and see our little place since we moved in and I was finally victorious! He and mom drove down on April Fool's day and tried to trick me into thinking that they were not going to make it in time for dinner! The original plan was they would come down early enough to spend Friday evening and then leave early Sunday morning to get home in time for other commitments! Well, Friday at 3 when my mom was saying they still hadn't left I wasn't fooled!! As anticipated, we ended up enjoying a nice dinner with my parents at an Italian restaurant called Maggiano's (Thanks for the tip Emily!) Soooo good!



Saturday was packed with Cherry blossom sighting, Costco runs, real estate investigating and conference watching! Phew! It was a fun fun day and we were sad to say goodbye on Sunday morning but happy that they both could come for a quick visit!

Then two days later Uncle Joe and Sam came to stay! WAHOOO! We had a full house once again and oh boy did I love it! We played games, watched movies, went out to dinner, visited the temple, went to a free performance at the Kennedy Center and so much more! We even made it to the bowling alley! Talk about a blast! It was such a sad day to say goodbye to them at the airport but we were so happy that it all worked out and that they could come and stay with us!



It's amazing because even though I am in crunch time right now with classes I have somehow managed to fit it all in! Like I said before...life is real busy but NEVER too busy for some good family time! Thanks for all the visits family! Keep 'em coming please! ;)