The Mergenthaler Family

My garden is growing like crazy. I will try not to brag too much, but I really am proud of what we have here--especially after five years in Everett with a dinky, shady yard that I could hardly grow strawberries in. I built the garden boxes all by myself. It was a lot of work, but not that complicated. Ricky and Andrew helped a little (you know how that is). I began the project in April. I tried to work on it in the afternoons when it was warm enough outside. At first, it was a big mess. Within a couple of hours, I had one of the boxes built. Once the first box was done, the second box was easy and took about an hour. Rick helped me fill them with dirt and by May, the garden boxes were ready for seeds. Well, it has only been about 6 weeks and look at this garden! I have heard the goal for corn is "knee-high by the 4 th of July." Well, the corn is much bigger than that so far and still growing. Andrew and Ricky are standing by the corn, carrots, and cantaloupe . I just pl...

We have spent the last two weeks at swimming lessons every morning. I was able to get the three swimmers (Emily, Makayla , and Ricky) in lessons at the same time despite being in three different classes. Honestly, I probably would not have signed them up if I had to sign them up at different times for each person--I'm not a fan of spending all my summer time at the pool--especially if I don't get to swim. The first few days of lessons were rough to say the least. Andrew was VERY upset about not having a class to go to. He insisted on wearing his swimsuit every day for two weeks. Sometimes he would take a shower afterwards just to get wet. Sometimes I was able to sneak him into the wading pool (feet only) for a few minutes before lessons. But, of all of our children, Andrew loves swimming the most (even at his young age). It was definitely a sacrifice on his part to sit on the sidelines and watch. He had to display a lot of control to not jump right in the pool (sometimes I had ...

For those of you out there who have the idea in your heads that the Mergenthaler children are just so sweet and they never get into trouble . . . . . Chapstick mixed with marker . . . . Mascara and other make-up which I found spread all over my bathroom and bedroom carpet . . This little act cost me one container of eye shadow, one lipstick, and about 1/2 hour of cleaning when I was supposed to be showering before taking the kids to swimming lessons. These are just two separate instances on two separate days from only one person in our family. The above examples don't fully illustrate the chaos that happens around here on a daily basis--especially now that school is out and the whole brood is here together for most of the day. If I took the time to take pictures of every "incident," I doubt I would find the time to keep up with everything else in life. Oh well, we have a lot of fun together . . . don't we?

Let me just preface this by saying that I am soooo grateful for good health insurance. I have been to the Dr. for the kids lately so often, that I am embarrassed that they recognize our family when we walk in the door. So, here's Ricky's story. A couple of weeks ago he was extremely sick. He had a fever for over a week, complained that he couldn't move his legs, and ended up with an awful looking rash all over his body. We went to the Dr. 2 times for this. The first time, she said, it was a virus and it should run its course. When Ricky was getting worse, instead of better, we took him back in to a quick clinic where the nurse diagnosed him with strep (even though the short test was negative). Well, after a priesthood blessing and antibiotics (which we discovered later that he didn't even need to take--and in fact they may have made him feel worse), he got better. Then, last week, I discovered a new, crazy rash on his legs which continued to grow, turn purple on the in...

The girls had their second piano recital at our house last Saturday night. Although the events surrounding the recital were not as crazy as the winter recital, it was still a big event. Once again, we managed to seat nearly 50 people within view of the piano with borrowed chairs. The girls both played well, and it was a nice night. Rick had been out of town and we thought he was going to miss the recital, but his flight was changed and he made it home as the first wave of people was arriving. I was glad to have him there as I was trying to take pictures for us and for Melissa (their teacher) and I don't know how I would have managed to keep the boys still and take pictures. As it was, I didn't end up with many great pictures to share. We enjoyed the event, and it was wonderful to have these families in our home to celebrate the piano talents of our children. Now, I just have to find some time to get those 50 chairs back to the church!

Last Thursday was the last day of school for the Iowa City Community School District. Ricky had a cute and simple preschool graduation. I can't believe he will be a kindergartner in the fall! All of the kids are excited about summer, but as each child has a different personality, each had a different reaction to the last day of school. When I asked them, "What did you think about your last day of school today?" Emily: "It was OK. I almost wanted to cry. The last day of school is kind of happy and kind of sad." Makayla: "I'm glad it's over. I don't ever want to go back, but maybe I'll see Mrs. Hall this summer and that will make me happy." Ricky: "I don't have to go to preschool anymore. How much longer until I'm a kindergartner?" Andrew: "No more school?" I'm sure the summer will fly by and we will all do our best to enjoy each other's company and the relaxation summer's flexible ...