Home sweet home!

Ok I finally did it! I made some little videos of our new home in Arlington VA and I even took pictures of our new car! So for those of you who are saving up to come visit this will just make you even more excited! Hope you enjoy!





Because blogger only allows small videos I had to break it down into two segments but there you all have it! Our apartment at its best! We love it and feel at home here! Oh and please excuse the raspy voice! I seem to have lost my voice so this was actually a good day because I could speak! :)


And here is our brand new car in all her glory...she does not have a name yet so please feel free to make suggestions! Broc likes to call her color storm because she is constantly changing between a blue and gray! Pretty much we love her because she knows how to get the job done and get us from point A to point B!

Hope this post works as motivation for some of you readers! Come visit! Our home is always open and welcoming!

Bucket List....

Have you ever made yourself a bucket list? Well a few weekends ago my parents had a big party...one to celebrate my dad turning 50 and two to celebrate my mom finishing law school! The theme of the party was the bucket list! Each guest needed to come up with an idea of something to add to my parent's bucket list! There were only a few qualifications...the idea had to be fun and the person had to have done it at some point! Needless to say my parents got some good ones!

The favorite bucket list entries included:

1.) Swimming in a Hawaiian rain forest waterfall on a FAMILY vacation is a must do!
2.) Shave your head & wait three weeks and then ride on the back of a motorcycle and revel with the wind rushing through your hair!
3.) Dance in a Ballet at Lincoln Center…. in POINT SHOES!
4.) Walk the full length of Broadway (14 miles) and spit in the rivers on both ends!
5.) Visit the wild orangutans in East Malaysia!

Further entries are welcome! If you have fun, exotic ideas that you would like to see my mom and dad do in the next 50 years or so (preferably with their children along as well) please feel free to write a comment! I will be sure to pass the information along!

Broc and I were so fortunate to be close enough to go up for the big celebration! We arrived Friday night just in time for a Broadway show with the family! Saturday we did yard work, made party favors, relaxed at the beach and had a big party! Sunday we had a big family dinner together and then we were back on the road again! All in all it was a really fun weekend and we are glad we could make it up for all the fun times!

Some of our favorite parts of the weekend...


Our neighbor Chuck Standard, WWII vet and 91 years old showed up in a blazer that matched my shirt perfectly! I could not overlook the opportunity to document such an awesome coincidence and he could not refuse giving me a kiss on the cheek!


We got to catch up with best friends Aubrey and Elizabeth! We love you guys and basically it was so good seeing you and hearing about all your fun adventures!


We got to spend quality time with grandma and grandpa Merritt! Pretty much could not be happier that they were able to make it for the big celebration! They even brought a huge box of chocolates! Yum! WE LOVE YOU BOTH!



We also got to see Uncle Dave and Aunt Kim! They happened to be in NYC celebrating 20 years of marriage so they came over on Sunday and spent some time with the family! What an excellent surprise! We love you both too and are glad we got to see you while you were out visiting the East coast!


And last but certainly not least...we got to witness the old man with his old man laughing about buttoning shirts correctly! Gramps told a really funny story and the pictures I got of these two laughing together are priceless! Family...isn't that what makes life sweet?

Thanks mom and dad for letting us come visit and thanks family for making the drive worth every minute!

VERY FIRST VISITOR!

So my dear mother came down to visit us and she was officially our very first visitor! YAY! Thanks for coming mom! She came for a quick little visit but it was an awesome visit! Broc and I picked her up last Sunday night from the Greyhound bus station in D.C. and brought her back to our place! I wish I had taken a picture of the yummy homemade meal we made for her but I forgot! Whoops! I have never made stuffed shells before and Broc had never even eaten them before so it was quite the experiment making these little stuffed things and hoping beyond hope that dinner would turn out! When we arrived home there was a delicious smell in the air which can only mean one thing...dinner was a success! Hooray!

Monday was packed with grocery shopping for proper ingredients and then cooking cooking cooking! My mom and I did manage to make it over to the pool for a dip and some sun but then into the kitchen we went to prepare 2 of my favorite dinners! We had a traditional Armenian meal on Monday night consisting of homemade tabouli and hummus as well as pita bread and dolma (stuffed grape leaves)! It was so good! Although I must admit we bought the dolma and pita bread everything else was made in my kitchen by hand!




Tuesday night we had another family favorite, chicken gumbo! I was a happy camper when Broc said that indeed he liked it!


For Family Home Evening on Monday night we went and battled it out on the tennis court! It was so fun having another person to play with! My mom certainly is better than I am but not quite as good as Broc so it was fun having her there to make things more interesting!



My mom and I went shopping on Tuesday and relaxed at the pool! We even watched a movie on Tuesday night- in the middle of the week! Basically life is always better when mom is around! I had training on Wednesday so her quick visit came to and end as she loaded up on the bus to head home to CT once again! It was sad coming home to the empty house Wednesday night! Thanks for coming to visit mom! We love you and welcome you back anytime!



P.S. She even played the piano for our FHE songs! That was a nice little treat considering I am still only tinkering on that thing! And this was Broc's first time ever seeing my mom not in law-school mode! He was shocked to discover that Tuesday morning she was still sleeping when we woke up! He loved this new side of my mom and cannot wait to spend more time with her!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLD MAN!

The wonderful man I have come to love and respect and honor as my father has officially turned the big 50! He is fifty years old as of yesterday and I just wanted to take the time to let the old fart know how much I truly love him! (Side note: daddy please do not be offended by the multiple uses of the word old in this blog post! I am only letting the world know the truth, that as of yesterday you are old!)

So just because I love this old father of mine I am going to post some pictures I have in tribute to my amazingly awesome and OLD daddy!

Taking a walk down memory lane...one of my favorite memories growing up was when dad would wrestle with us kids! We would always wrestle on one of the many oriental rugs that decorated our home! The object of the game would be for all three of us kids to wrestle against my dad and try to keep him away from one edge of the rug! He would win if he pushed us all to his end of the rug and we would win if we pushed him all the way to our end of the rug! All I know is when I was younger, I thought my dad was the strongest man alive! He would always win but never before a good fight was made!


We lived in Orlando Florida for many years when I was younger! This picture was taken in our last home in Florida overlooking the lake! My how young we look!


All growing up we would take family ski trips to Utah and Colorado! So many fun memories were made on these annual ski adventures! This particular trip we made an igloo and it was mighty fine! My dad was the mastermind behind the whole structure! Oh what fun we had in that little igloo!


This is one of my favorite pictures that is still hanging up in my bedroom at home of me and my dad! We took this when I was maybe 9 years old? We are pretty cute aren't we? I would often stop and just look at this picture growing up! I just knew by looking at this picture how much my dad loved me!


I was fortunate enough to get baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by my loving father! His birthday is a little less than a month after mine so on my dad's birthday he baptized me in the Green River in Wyoming! I felt the spirit that day and am so glad my dad was able to baptize me!


Basically I love my dad so much! He is a great example to me of Christ like love and service! If I can grow up to be half the person my dad is I will be an extremely happy girl! Dad thanks for all you do for me! Enjoy the rest of these pictures because I loved gathering them up! I LOVE YOU!

Family cruise! We have so many memories and it is all thanks to the old guy who made it all possible!


Habitat for Humanity build in Armenia! My dad was able to come along this time and it made the trip so much better!


This picture is out to dinner in celebration of my parent's 25th wedding anniversary! I love their love story and it makes me so happy to see them happy! The whole family celebrating together!



My dad took me on my very first golfing trip...I can't say I was all that good but he sure made it more enjoyable! Thanks for your patience with my lacking skills pops!


This was the very first time my dad met Broc! We had been dating for about 4 months, 2 of those months I was gone in Mexico! Broc got to see my dad in all his glory as we ate sandwiches and talked!


Needless to say they became instant friends! As soon as my dad found out Broc was a golfer he got a new golf partner and they have been buddies ever since!


My dad and Broc also bond over the love for watching tennis! Here we are watching a match and loving life! Thanks for all the fun times dad!


A few months before our wedding my dad said he wanted to take dance lessons so we could waltz at my wedding! Well the day of the wedding came and although he tried so hard, waltzing was not exactly what we did! That daddy-daughter dance was certainly still the best though! I love you dad! :)


The summer we lived in NYC was probably the best summer for my dad because we lived so close and saw him at least once a week...no exaggeration! It was always great meeting up with my parents in a little NYC cafe or going with them to museums and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge! Oh the memories we made!


Now if this is not a classic Natalie and father photo I don't know what is! My dad is never afraid to goof off and have a good time with me! I put that shirt on my head and thought it made me look Egyptian so my dad and I started doing Egyptian dancing! Don't ask me what Egyptian dancing entails but I promise you my dad and I had it down that night!


One of our favorite family traditions is playing Mexican train! Who knew that Broc's family also played dominoes regularly! Well of course that means we could only do one thing...have a Buttars/Merritt battle to the end! I came in first place and Broc came in second! How appropriate! So glad my parents love my in-laws!


And the last picture I have to share...a complete family photo at last! While Broc and I were in Texas doing an internship my family came down for Thanksgiving! Dad could only come for a quick visit but it sure made my day of thanks all the better!


Well pops! I could probably go on forever and post pictures of the fun times we have shared! Basically just because you are old doesn't mean I'm expecting less from you! May the next 50 years be spectacular with many more fun memories to come! I LOVE YOU DAD...even if you are old!!

Snoopy Dance!

To all those who did not hear the great news...

ARMENAY FAYE MERRITT HAS OFFICIALLY FINISHED THE BAR EXAM AS OF TODAY!!!!!!!

Yes you heard me right! My awesome, loving, fun and crazy, wonderful, smart, beautiful mother finished the Bar exam today and is on her way home to freedom right now! I am so proud of my mother and this huge accomplishment! If she passes the Bar exam or not what a feat for her! She is definitely my biggest hero! She decided some years back that she wanted to get more education! She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do but she made it a goal to go back to school!

Well 4 years later, 1 LSAT exam later, 5 law school applications later, 1 acceptance to the perfect program, 2.5 years of hard work, 6 rounds of final exams, many Mediation clinics, 1 National Labor Relations Board internship, 1 graduation at Lincoln Center, many late nights, numerous early mornings, many train tickets into and out of NYC, and many months of hard core studying for the bar exam later SHE IS DONE!



Who could not be more proud of her tonight than her family!?! MOM WE LOVE YOU AND ARE SO DANG PROUD! I can imagine the Merritt home will be filled with lots of excitement tonight as she arrives home and the party begins! Indeed my mother is known for her famous snoopy dance! (please look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUQX2B67KL4&feature=related if you are not familiar with the snoopy dance! in particular watch seconds 17-24!) Tonight the Merritt household will be full of snoopy dancing Armenay style, head back, arms up and legs rocking out! Love you dearly mother! And once again way to be the coolest mom ever! You lawyer you!

Dear Humidity...WHY AREN'T YOU WORKING?

Well let's face it! I was born with ugly feet and I will most likely live the remainder of my life with ugly feet!

In case you didn't know already I have this thing with my feet! Never liked them...never will! My second toes are probably the most hideous things ever seen on the planet earth! Not to mention living the life of a ballerina does not help when it comes to pretty looking feet! The day I started point (dancing on your tippy-toes as most people know it...see photo below! My very first day of point!) was the day my already ugly feet got even more hideous!



So for the past 4 years I have been living and going to school in drier than dry Utah and as a result my feet have decided to become even uglier! I didn't think it was possible and yet my ugly feet proved me wrong! The dryness of Utah seemed to zap my feet of all moisture and hence the cracked ugly feet phase of my life began! Honestly, living with ugly feet my whole life made the transition easier! I already hated my feet so adding a little flaky goodness didn't change anything!

Well as we have now moved to the East coast where humidity lingers like a constant wool blanket every day, no matter the time, I figured my feet would shape up some and at least be less dry! Not that I am asking for beautiful feet here people! I let that dream go many years back but a little bit of moisture never hurt anyone! Well indeed you guessed it...the feet have not gotten any better! In fact they have only gotten worse! Explain that one to me! How do my feet get more dry when I am living in 100 degree weather with 100% humidity?!? Question unsolved! In the meantime I will just post a picture of beautiful feet to spare you the pain and torture because they really are just that bad!

To all those BYU Social Work Students....

He canceled the program for me! There I said it...The BSW program at BYU was canceled all because the big guy up stairs knew I needed some humbling and He knew the perfect way to do just that!

Alright so rewind about 3 years...it is now fall semester 2007 at the beloved Brigham Young University! I live with the most wonderful roommates known to mankind...WOmankind! (see photo...Left to Right: Sara Picard, Aubrey Potter, Alix Davies/Wilson, Liz Clark, Tati Thorkelson and myself)



This was my semester to shine! I was getting ready to apply to the Social Work program and determined to serve a mission in the near future! Well little did I know but Heavenly Father was going to have none of that!

The semester proceeded like any other and I did my best to survive the awful combination of taking Econ and Stats in the same semester! By October my application for the School of Social Work was all ready and I was determined that my life plan was going to work out! November 1st was the deadline so I got all my documents turned in by the 28th of October and I was feeling on top of the world!

On the blessed day of Halloween my life came shattering down into a million pieces and I did not think it would be possible to put the puzzle together again! I received an email, along with many other eligible social work dreamers, that BYU would no longer be offering the Social Work program and that I had one of 2 options. I was kindly informed to either change my major or transfer to another school!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH BYU BUT I WAS BORN A COUGAR AND WILL DIE A COUGAR! Hence the battle began and I fought for my major day in and day out for the rest of the semester and the next! Unfortunately my Econ and Stats grades suffered far more than necessary and I only got half of what I was fighting for! BYU decided that myself and the other social work dreamers would be the last class of graduating BSW's and then the program would be phased out as we know it.



Well logically this left me in quite the little predicament! My life plan was not going as planned! (and for any of you readers who really know me, my life not being planned makes for a very disgruntled Natalie Faye!) For so long I had waited and wanted to be in the social work program at BYU! For so long I had desired to serve the Lord on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and yet all of a sudden doing both of these wonderful things seemed impossible! And indeed it was! If I served a mission, by the time I got back my program would be gone! If I did my program a mission was out for at least 3 more years!

I thought long and hard about what I should do...I prayed that I would be led to my answer and that Heavenly Father would help me know if choosing Social Work over a mission was the right thing to do or if I should go on a mission and figure school out later! Luckily for me I have a Heavenly Father who is ever watching and ever caring! I decided that I needed to go with Social Work and that the Lord would make everything else work out!

Well 3 years later I feel like the world's luckiest lady because Heavenly Father certainly made it work for me! When I came back from Christmas vacation with a new year ahead of me I was determined to make the best of my decision! In February of 2008 mister Broderick V Buttars asked me out on our very first date and I guess you could say he was the answer to my prayers!

Heavenly Father knew I wouldn't consider marriage unless he got rid of the Social Work program thus making a mission not possible for me! So there you have it! I believe I have confessed it all! Thank you Broc for making me the world's luckiest gal and thank you Heavenly Father for being so intricately involved! Without the Lord I certainly could not claim luckiest girl in the world because than I wouldn't have my wonderful husband!

Moral of the story...Don't challenge the big guy because chances are when you think you have it all figured out He will come in and flip things upside-down! Thanks for the flipping because life is great now that I have all the pieces of my puzzle put back together!