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Easter 2010

2010-04-05T15:44:00.001-07:00

The boys loved their Easter baskets and of course hunting all over the house for eggs! Patrick was even nice enough to save some for Shane to find. :)

Looking handsome in their Easter outfits.

A family photo at church after an AMAZING Easter worship service. He is risen, He is risen indeed! :)

PT is 4!

2010-04-05T15:37:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe we now have a 4-year-old running around the house! We had a wonderful party with our family and Patrick's friends from preschool and Sunday School. According to PT, the best parts were the bounce house and the new Lightning McQueen "big boy" bike from mommy and daddy! :)

Pretend City-- Jan. '09

2010-03-01T22:18:00.000-08:00

Patrick had so much fun at Pretend City with Auntie Andrea and James. Patrick loved being a fireman and a singer...what a combo! And Shane just got to go last week...loved it! What a FUN place! :)

PT at the Fire Station -- Jan. '09

2010-03-01T22:08:00.000-08:00

Daddy took Patrick to the Fire Station and boy, was he in heaven! A lot of his friends from Sunday School and preschool were there, and they had a blast! :)

Visitors from Boston!

2010-03-01T21:59:00.001-08:00

Patrick and Shane LOVE their Auntie Autumn!

Having a blast in sunny Laguna Beach with Scott and Autumn!

Best friends and sisters forever :)

Yep, that's Adam Sandler! He was there playing with his daughter. He was super down-to-earth and nice. Autumn hid behind a palm tree and took some great shots! :)

I suppose even celebrities have to stop and tie their shoe. ;) You rock, Adam Sandler!

Christmas Train 2009

2009-12-23T15:35:00.001-08:00

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from the Mercier family!

We enjoyed a chilly winter night at Irvine Park once again with the exciting train, sparkling lights, and of course Santa! :)

May you all enjoy this special time of year as we celebrate the holy birth of Jesus Christ our Lord! :)

Love,

Nate, Sandy, Patrick (3 1/2 yrs.) and Shane (almost 17 mon.)

Patrick's Preschool Christmas Program 2009

2009-12-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Grandma Cylene had so much fun watching Patrick's first Christmas Program. Once he warmed up a little, Patrick sure enjoyed singing his "baby Jesus" songs! :)

Halloween 2009

2009-11-07T21:15:00.001-08:00

Playing carnival games with Daddy

Having fun at the church carnival with best buds, Troy and Cassidy

Getting ready to go trick-or-treating

Our little Elmo and cousin Elise (a pretty maid)

Patrick the "friendly" bat with cousins Elise and Kate (Sherlock Holmes)

All 5 cousins on Halloween day: Kate, Shane, Luke, Elise, and Patrick

Shane and Poppy Tom at Uncle Dave's Oktoberfest party!

Patrick and Auntie Rach dancing with a German hat :)

"Daddy and Me" Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

Eating yummy pizza with Daddy!

The jack o' lantern with the Shane/Mater teeth! :)

Hanging out with Daddy at preschool is fun!

Big smiles from PT, our big preschool boy!

Fun with Pumpkins!

2009-11-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

Enjoying time with friends Melinda & Agatha and our kiddos

Shane's thinking "if I could only just taste it..."

Cassidy and Patrick's great teamwork :)

Patrick loved going to the pumpkin patch this year...Tanaka Farms is fun!

Family Portraits -- Oct. 2009

2009-11-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Fall to you all! Here are our recent family pictures taken at "Dinosaur Park" nearby in Laguna Hills, CA. :) Big boy Patrick is now 3 1/2 and little bro Shane is 15 months. It was HOT that day, but we had fun!

VBS and Preschool!

2009-09-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

Patrick attended Vacation Bible School (VBS) this summer for the very first time and had a blast with his buddy, Cassidy! He got to hold up the sign for his group (#10) during opening songs, loved learning about Jesus, and enjoyed his teacher, Ms. Clements. She is one of his preschool teachers too, so it was a great way for him to get to know her ahead of time. :)

He also just finished his 1st week of preschool....he LOVES it there! In fact, he cried when I came to pick him up the first day, because he wanted to stay longer. I guess that's a good sign. :) He loves his teachers, Mrs. Howard and Ms. Clements, and is so excited each morning, because he gets to go to "big boy preschool!"

Shane's 1st Birthday!

2009-09-07T16:04:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe we have a walking 1-year-old now, but we do! Shane turned ONE in early August and is loving his new-found freedom of getting around on 2 feet! He loves to follow Patrick all around the house and is saying lots of words, such as: all done, more, hi, bye-bye, mama, dada, papa, eat, cookie, and ball. :) Here are some pictures from his baseball-themed 1st b-day party with family and Shane's 1st baptism b-day, as well. Our tradition on this day each year is to light the child's baptism candle, eat cross-shaped cookies made by mommy, and open cards/gifts from the godparents. Shane's godparents are Nate's parents, Tom and Deb...he is such a blessed little boy! :)

Random Summer Pics

2009-07-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

We are sure enjoying our summer! Here are some pics of our trips to the park, beach, swimming at Grandma's house, Irvine Park, and hanging out at home. Wish it could be summer all year long. :)

OC Fair

2009-07-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

We went to the Orange County Fair with my mom and had so much fun!! Once again, it was super HOT but we stayed busy riding an elephant, watching big boy Patrick go on lots of rides, eating yummy "Fair food," and of course, the piggy races! :) Gotta love the Fair!

Fun in Palm Desert

2009-07-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

We had a blast out in Palm Desert! It was definitely HOT, but we stayed cool in the pool (and awesome water slide)! We also enjoyed going to The Living Desert and feeding the giraffes! We even got to see my sister, Jacki, and her family while we were out there. :)

Our 4th of July Adventure

2009-07-06T15:48:00.001-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Mercier were kind enough to watch Patrick and Shane this year for the 4th. So Nate and I and my parents got to do something very special! We put together and held up the HUGE American flag out on the outfield of Angel Stadium before the game! We were just steps away from Torii Hunter and other Angel player stretching out on the field! :) Then we got to stay and watch them beat the Orioles 11-4! If that wasn't cool enough, we also stayed for an awesome fireworks show! Happy Birthday America...May God continue to bless the USA! :)

The Grand Canyon!

2009-07-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

Wow!! The Grand Canyon was absolutely amazing! Such proof that our awesome God is truly a fabulous creator and artist. We were in awe of His masterpiece! And Patrick was excited to take a photo with some Hopi Indians. :)

"Slide Rock" Rocked!

2009-07-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Next we went to Slide Rock National Park and enjoyed a nice sunny afternoon there. There is a huge natural rock formation that is slippery and the water travels fast, so it's a such a fun ride! Patrick yelled the whole way down with Nate, but as soon as they were done, he wanted to do it again and again! Even Mommy got to slide down...it was awesome! So glad we went. :)

Beautiful Sedona!

2009-07-06T15:09:00.000-07:00

We had such a nice time on our vacation to Arizona with Nate's parents, Tom and Deb. First we spent 4 days in Sedona. We enjoyed going for walks, skipping rocks at a nearby creek, and just exploring! We also visited a chapel built right into the red rock. Here are some of our Sedona highlights...

Easter '09

2009-04-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Jesus is risen...He is risen, indeed! :) Easter was great! Patrick enjoyed 3 Easter egg hunts this year: at church, inside the house, and in the backyard! Of course the Easter baskets were fun, too. PT even helped Daddy color the eggs from Grandpa Tom's hens...so exciting! We went to church and had brunch at our house afterwards with family. It was a beautiful day to relax outside. We are so lucky to live in sunny SoCal!

Fun with Friends :)

2009-04-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

We so enjoy spending quality time with friends. Here are pics of our recent trip to Irvine Park with Andrea and James. It was so fun riding the train and feeding the ducks! Shane and Madden (my friend Melissa's son) had fun playing together, too. And my best friend Delshad (and very cool boyfriend Matt) came to visit the boys...and Mommy and Daddy had a night out on the town in Laguna Beach with them!! Thanks Grandma and Papa for babysitting! :)

Patrick's 3rd Birthday!

2009-04-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

We had fun celebrating Patrick's 3rd birthday 2 days in a row! We had a family party at Grandma Cylene and Papa Pat's house with PT's cousins -- Elise, Kate, and Luke -- and Aunt Jacki and Uncle David. And the next day we had a big party at our house with aunts, uncles, and grandparents from both sides of the family. PT chose "Go, Diego, Go!" for the theme and helped Mommy make his cupcakes. Such a big boy! We can't believe it's been 3 years already. He is such a blessing to us. :)

A Few More Snow Pics...

2009-02-26T21:42:00.001-08:00

The Snow!!

2009-02-26T21:30:00.000-08:00

We recently went up to Bakersfield to visit my sister, Jacki, and her family: husband, David, and kids Elise, Kate, and Luke. We had a blast! Patrick especially enjoyed getting to see the snow for the very first time, as we made the hour-long trek from their house up to Frazier Park to visit my aunt and let the kids play in the snow. We all had so much fun throwing snowballs, making snow angels, having tickle-wars in the snow, and of course, building a snowman. The snow and weather were both awesome and we had such a wonderful time. As we were driving back down the mountain, Patrick would wave outside and sadly say with a sigh, "Bye bye snows....I love you snows..." Too cute! :)

The boys

2009-02-26T21:12:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe Shane is almost 7 months old and Patrick is almost 3! They are both growing up so quickly. Shane is sitting up pretty much on his own and is practicing crawling! It is so cute to watch him inch across the floor. :) And Patrick is saying so many words and sentences now...his new thing is loving to dance, jump, gallop, and march. Anything that involves movement! :)

1st Times!

2009-02-06T18:33:00.001-08:00

Shane is now 6 months old and is enjoying his rice cereal -- his very first food! He loves to make a mess! And big boy Patrick (almost 3) went to Nickel Nickel for the first time with Grandma Cylene. He drove a speed boat, played skee ball, and even won a tiny plastic jet. PT was thrilled! What a fun way to spend a VERY rainy afternoon! :)

Visitors from Boston!

2009-02-06T17:39:00.001-08:00

My best friend from college, Autumn Carlson-Luna, recently came out to visit with her husband, Scott, and stepdaughter, Julie. They loved meeting Shane for the 1st time. We had a blast with them at her family's house in Corona and out at our home on New Year's Eve! Who knew Balderdash could be so much fun?!? Patrick sure loved playing the keyboard...he thought he was quite the rock star! :)

Grandpa Frank's 80th B-day Bash!

2009-02-05T20:40:00.001-08:00

We had so much fun at Grandpa Frank's Frank Sinatra-themed 80th Birthday Party! Gotta love my Grandma Barbara's blue boa! :) My Uncle John and Aunt Colleen from Washington state were in town to join us which was wonderful. And it's always fun to see my Aunt Melissa too! They sure enjoyed cuddling with Shane. Patrick had so much fun chasing around cousins Elise and Kate...he just had to lay down and take a rest (which is rare) with Elise! :)

Christmas with Family...

2008-12-28T21:46:00.001-08:00

*Patrick's new nativity scene from Santa

*Shane enjoyed playing with cousin Luke

*Spending time
with Grandma Cylene

*Our special "present" Shane (almost 5

months old now!)

Christmas Train!

2008-12-28T21:12:00.000-08:00

We went to Irvine Park to go ride the ever-popular "Christmas Train" and boy, was that FUN!! The lights and decorations were gorgeous and Patrick sure enjoyed seeing Santa. Mommy and Daddy were a tad chilly (it was a cold night!)...but it was wonderful to see Patrick so happy. :)

Family Pics -- Nov. '08

2008-11-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you all from the Merciers! We really enjoyed spending time with loved ones on both sides of the family today. We have much to be grateful for!! Here are some family photos that were taken recently at a cute little park nearby. :)

Halloween with our boys

2008-11-20T21:01:00.000-08:00

Just hanging out at home. PT still seems to like having Shane around. :)

This year Patrick was a firefighter and Shane was wrapped up as a present. He certainly is our little "gift" from God. :) Our family enjoyed the carnival at church with friends and Grandma Cylene and Papa Pat. Patrick even won a prize! (A little orange monkey he calls the "bobo brother" from Go, Diego, Go!) Too cute...

October Fun!

2008-11-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

Patrick got to visit our local firestation
with Daddy and boy, was he in heaven!

We enjoyed going to not 1, but 2 pumpkin patches this month! Here is Patrick having fun as the train conductor. We also went to Tanaka Farms in Irvine with some friends from Abiding Savior. It was fun!

Back to work and Shane's baptism

2008-11-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I was hoping to update our blog every few weeks or so....well, then I began to work full-time again, and that all changed!! So now, 2 whole months have gone by since my last post. But I promise to do better....really, I promise.

So, what have we been up to lately? Enjoying my time off of work, we spent the month of September going to the park, Angels games (of course!), storytime at the library, and playdates with friends. Then chaos happened...I became a full-time working mommy. I officially reported back to work on October 13th. My first week back to work was awesome! Things at school were great, Shane adapted really well to being at "Miss Melanie's house"....all except for some pathetic guy deciding to hack into my hotmail account! That was sure annoying....so as you all know by now, no, I am NOT in Europe, and no, I do NOT need your money. :) So yeah, I am enjoying teaching computer skills to grades K-8, and the great thing is, it's allowing me to spend a lot more time with my boys. And I really love that! :)

Let's see, what else? Oh yes, our precious baby Shane was baptized on August 30th at Abiding Savior Lutheran Church. His godparents are Nate's parents, Tom and Deb. Our family and friends gathered afterwards at Islands (a favorite dining spot) for some laughs and really good food. :)

Patrick & his "girlfriend" Cassidy :)

2008-09-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

This is at Abiding Savior's annual summer picnic.

Patrick says, "Ummm, if it's OK with Cassidy's daddy, I think I'd like to marry her someday!"

Patrick and his dinosaur!

2008-09-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

Patrick's 2 new loves are dinosaurs and airplanes! Boys are so much fun!

Big brother Patrick

2008-09-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

Patrick enjoys his daily ritual of kissing "baby brudder" on the head! So cute!! We realize this may change once he realizes he needs to share his toys with Shane... :)

Shane w/ Mommy & Daddy

2008-09-10T11:12:00.001-07:00

One of our favorite pictures from the hospital...Aunt Jacki sure can "capture the moment!" :)

Baby Shane

2008-09-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Shane is already 5 weeks old...we can't believe it! He is our happy, sweet boy...and seems to be smiling already! :) Mommy is really enjoying being home with him! She could REALLY get used to being a stay-at-home mommy full-time, although she goes back to teaching in mid-October. :(

Our 1st Blog Post!

2008-09-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

OK, so the Merciers are a little slow to this BLOG thing. So many of our friends are wonderfully creative and dedicated bloggers, and they keep telling us it's a great way to keep in touch...especially with far away friends who don't use Facebook or MySpace. So I thought, why not? Here goes...

Many of you have sent us the link to your blogs, but we have misplaced them. :(
So far, we've only found the Cooks and the Maschkes. (I know for sure we need the Roggows and Strands...please send us yours!) So please e-mail us your blog links, so that we can add them to our lists and keep in better touch! :)

Oh, and next I will add some new pics!

With love,
The Mercier fam :)