Elizabeth Ann Merrill was born on Friday, March 10, 2006 at 5:39 p.m. to Michelle Espy and Frank Merrill. Elizabeth weighed 7 lbs 10 ounces. Michelle and Elizabeth were released from the hospital on Saturday, March 11.

Everyone is home and healthy. Both Grandmas Barbara and Ann are there to help Michelle and Frank, and as they have just had some snow, I guess they are all snowbound with the baby!

Here are a few pictures to enjoy!

Ellie was actually due on March 2, but she acted like she was going to arrive much earlier. Apparently, she changed her mind and decided to hang out for another week. Welcome Ellie!

Sari Aboulafia (my stepsister, third from left) was recently featured in Arizona Central giving tips on "Dining for Lovers." As a manager at the swanky Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, Sari is an expert on special dining experiences.

Sari's dining no-no? Cellphones.
Read the entire article here.

I am reading
Anne LaMott, again. She is great.

Anthem Highlands opened their model park so carloads of people could come up here to t and t. I think it worked out except for the broken pumpkins on the streets that I guess people threw out of their cars on the way home.

Okay, I am going to try to post this. I can hardly wait for next week. I am about to pop. I want to see Hank.
Love and Kisses, Mama Ann

Happy Halloweee and a delightful Day of the Dead to you!
After years of apartment living, I finally live in a place where I can decorate to my heart's content and give out candy to the Trick or Treaters. The house looked especially "welcoming" this year!

Every year, David's sister, Inga, has a Pumpkin Carving Party, but this was the first year that I went. My pumpkin is absolutely "wicked!" and I won 2nd place in the pumpkin carving contest at work. Sweet!

This year, Tink and I made Shrunken Heads. Didn't they turn out great?

Smooches. I've decided we're not giving up on the Blog, even if I'm the only one using it! I'm bound and determined to teach the family the ropes, perhaps have Jen add a tutorial, and off we go! Other families are doing this, and so can we.

Midway through the day, the construction company that was putting in new windows called to say there was a "problem" at the house. Live termites. As in, crawling everywhere, eating the structure, have to be replaced right now, not-covered-under-your-warranty termites. Oh, Happy Birthday to me. I cried for a while in Disney's California Adventure, then dried my eyes and we went on some scary rides. Being a grown up sucks. I recommend going to Disneyland as much as possible in order to forget your troubles.

pictures left to right: An olive tree on the UC Davis campus; Julie feeding the meter in Seattle; Julie sick in bed with Angus McKitty.

Well, things have been busy here in the Espy/Merrill family. Dad managed to break his foot hiking in the Grand Canyon, Michelle went to Florida and San Diego, and I was in Davis, CA for the UC Radio Network Conference and Seattle, WA to see some bands. All good things must come to an end, so now I am down with a cold - maybe this means I'll find more time to blog?

While we were working on our house, we found a little black cat living in the crawl space. Worried that the cat could be diseased, pregnant, or any host of ills, I planned to trap it and take it to the vet or a no-kill shelter. Somewhere between the feeding and the trapping, and the little meows at the kitchen door at 2:00 a.m., we fell in love with the little guy and took him in to the house.

Although he looks fierce, he is actually one of the most loving cats I have known. Click on each picture to see a larger image.

Here's a picture of Miss Jen and I at Lauren's birthday party (this was before we set up the blog)!

Michelle, Frank, and Hank have been busy getting ready to depart for New Hampshire - they say that traveling with a toddler requires a lot of gear - but clearly they've never traveled with me and my shoe collection! I need a separate suitcase just for accessories. It's a good thing I don't have a toddler too!

Right about the time that they're arriving in New Hampshire, I'll be touching down in Las Vegas to see Mom. I was supposed to be at the Las Vegas Rockaround but that's a long story that I won't get into here. Trust me when I say that I'd rather spend time with my mother.

Other than that, life has been pretty uneventful. Everyone says that they are too busy for a 'blog, and maybe they are right.

So far, the blog has been greeted with underwhelming silence! Dad and Ev are in Indiana (I think) and Mom hasn't logged on in Las Vegas yet. I let Madeline know, and I think Barbara Merrill could take to this like a duck to water. Only Nils Ferry in Kyoto somehow found us and is "listening in".

I'm excited about the new blog, but wonder if anyone besides me will ever post; we're all so busy! And yet, I think it could be a good thing, although it does make me question the nature of "family" on a daily basis. Why should we even try to keep up? Is it because we are related by blood and marriage, or because we truly like each other enough to make the effort? And if we can't/won't make the effort, what does that say? I also realized that I don't have a lot of images of the family together. And that is making me want to buy a cell phone that takes pictures. Hmmm... In the meantime, here are some pictures I took at La Posada, Santa Fe (New Mexico) during our Mother's Day All-Girl (plus gender-neutral Hank) Retreat.