Dear Brittany Anne,

I never would have imagined us separating for college. But it happened and now I can't even picture us together. It has been bitter sweet. Not being able to relay my entire day to you because you weren't there. I have no idea where you sleep, eat, go to class, and play. Not knowing your friends and you not knowing mine.

Being away from you has been the most difficult thing I have ever done. The first semester was stressful and sad. Because we had two polar opposite situations. You loved your roommate, traveled with your team, and bonded with your team. While I redshirted, didn't know my teammates very well, and I was not happy with the rooming situation. But looking back I am so proud of us for getting through the hard times because look how strong we are now. I am so grateful for this past year and all the opportunities it has brought us and all the love that surrounds us. We are so lucky to not only have each other but a large family who are there to support us. I love you like I love M&Ms, bike rides, beach days, and photos.

May our life, correction, our lives continue to teach us lessons, give us laughs, make us cry, and bring us together.

No one understands our bond, our connection, our sisterhood. It is special and I cherish it, I am truly blessed and I thank God everyday for giving me my best friend who looks just like me and accepts me for me, and loves me for me.

Love you Brit.

Dear Shelley,

Today was the first time in ten months that I had played in a competitive volleyball match. For those of you who know me, know that volleyball is my life. It's what got me to college, it's what makes me happy, it's what makes me want to be better at everything, it's what makes me want to be a good role model, and most importantly it's my outlet. But anyway it felt amazing, sure I have been playing in practice but it is not the same. The team on the other side has to be your opponent (or as I like to think enemy!) and in practice you can't get super serious when playing because I don't want to ripe off the heads of my teammates even though I have done it almost twice to Ally. What can I say I am my mother's daughter.

The official count down to my freshman year has commenced. Let me tell you that it has honestly been the most difficult time of my life. Even though when I was fourteen and my parents left me to go to Hawaii for their anniversary during HELL MONTH, I thought my life was over as I knew it. But those are the times when you are truly defined and I don't mean to toot my own horn but "TOOT!". I am so proud of myself and so grateful for my supportive family. And especially m y incredible parents for sitting with my on the phone for hours every weekend sobbing. I love you all.

Love Mere

P.S. I miss you aunt shell!

Dear Ari,

Well, I shouldn't sound surprised because you are your mothers daughter. But again with the pushing. I am sorry that I haven't written a new blog senorita poopy pants. I have been really busy meeting my new baby cousin, Kaleb. He is officially my new best friend. I feel so fortunate to be related to him, he has such a huge personality and he is so full of life. I can't wait to see him grow. And after having such an amazing Easter with Heather and Terry, I have decided to go back every year for Easter and some long weekends too. I will need a Kaleb fix.

Even after a relaxing four days with my family, I was packed and unwilling to go back to school. I made it all the way to the gate when my flight was cancelled, not mentioning that the flight was at 8:30 am Monday morning. Meaning I got up at 5:30 am, the butt-crack-o-dawn! Anyway I re-scheduled my flight for the next day same time. I had no school Monday so it wasn't like I was missing anything. So I spent the day with my good friend Brittney, I was so grateful that her family let me stay the night.

The next morning I got a text at 5:00 am saying that my flight was cancelled again! So I had several conversations with my parents will half asleep and finally found a flight at 1 that went all the way to San Fran before heading up to Spokane. The longest two days of my life and so stressful. Now I only have four weeks left until I am done with my freshman year and let me tell you it has been a long one. It was rocky and very hard at times but I made. Next year is going to be amazing, I will be playing and I will live with my friends, I will have a car! It will just be an all around better year I can just feel it.

I just received some very exciting news! I will be visiting my little baby ARI!! and of course Steph, Ted, Alex, and Indy! May 11-18 and I can't wait! What a way to start the summer!

Are you happy now Ari! Love you,

Mere

Dear Aunt Steph,

Well....since you are so impatient. Last week was my spring break and my first time to my new house. And words can't describe how much my family fits so perfectly into that home and that town. I love how doing nothing but daily routines with my family is so entertaining to me. I got to rip out carpet, decorate my new room, and bond with my new puppy. It was a blast and went way to fast.

Coming back to school was hard and it takes me a week to get over my intense homesickness. So this week I have been a wreck, not completely but just when I think about home or my family I get a little teary eyed. But good news! I made it into the resident community that I applied for! I will officially be living in Coughlin, on the Bind, Body and Spirit Community with all my friends and my roommate will be KATE. And let me just say that this is the best news of the year. Now I just need to make it through the next seven weeks and I am home free.

Some things to look forward to between now and then are some road markers....Like me going to visit Heather and Terry in Portland for Easter. But most importantly to meet my new baby cousin Caleb. Then the last two weeks of school I get a break from volleyball. Which will be much needed and then my amazing Daddy will come to rescue me!! The first week of May and help me move out and get a storage unit. And then we will enjoy a lovely flight back to my new home town of Santa Barbara baby! And that is mad cute little story! The end.

Man O' Man life is good! Happy Late St. Pats Day!! Love to ALL and to ALL a Good night!!

Love, Meredith Lynn

P.S. Auntie Steph please don't be so pushy next time. Blogging is like a work of art it is not to be pushed. And everyone can thank you for the misspellings and run-on sentences. Love you even though you are so darn pushy.

funny how things work.

I have been on a dry spell. I haven't written in a week. I want to be able to update my blog as often as I can, but I never seem to have time or feel that what I am doing is even exciting. But those not valid excuses, what it really is....

...I am happy here. No longer do I need to write to vent and release any emotion. It is not necessary for me to write every time I feel even an ounce of homesickness, because if I were to be completely honest I am homesick all the time. But now I am just more comfortable, my mom would tell me that I need to tell myself that I could come home at anytime, but I have just have to decided to be here. And if I were to say that three months ago I would have been lying. Not today! I am content. I love my friends, my team, my school, and pretty much everything about this place minus one thing. But as of nine weeks from now I will not have to encounter that thing ever again if I don't want to, and I don't want to (best of luck to you, as you drive away!).

But anywho my next to-do is my major. What am I going to study? That is going to help drive my future career and life. Wow, that is so exciting to think about. But I am a one-day-at-a-time kind of girl. So....tomorrow home!!!

Life is a gift, let's unwrap it!

One word...initiation. I was safe and was smart, I promise and I had fun.

One midterm down, three to go!

How you like? It took me an hour and thirty minutes! I was expecting it to take a day or two. Eight days till home!

Is it Spring Break yet?

Over winter break I packed up my entire life, then heard that it was transported to a new home. Yeah I said good bye to my old home, but sitting here in my dorm room I like to envision my life back home going on without me. But it is somewhat difficult to do when you have no idea what is looks like. Sure I was able to see the new house, but my parents have been living there for about a month now. They are settled in, and embarking on a new branch of their life and I have missed the departure from the old. But I too left and I am now sailing away on my journey too, then again I still want to feel apart of theirs.

When I talk about how I get to go home to see the new house for Spring Break and I have my own bedroom! They look at me and say, "your parents gave a room even though you won't be living there?" And I am like yeah, you don't have a room in your parent's house? And they say it is a quest room, dumping ground, or equipment room. It makes me so sad. I don't want to be the girl who lives with her parents after college but I don't want to leave the cocoon of our home. Or I am not ready, but who is to say I will feel the same way in four years. That is a long way from now, on the other hand time flies (when you are having fun! ).

On top of the new house we have recently adopted a new member of the family. My mom's new baby Olive. I have not met her yet, but already love her. I am so glad that my mom has a new friend, we all took losing Remmy hard so this is a nice addition to our new branch!

A week isn't long but hopefully it is enough for me to get a feel for what Santa Barbara is like for my family. I have been told that I will be helping get my room set up as well as Brit's which I am happy to do. All my friends are so annoyed with me because all I can talk about is Olive, my new room, my new house, the car I will get next year, and what ever else that makes me happy but what can you do I am the girl who moved away to new state, left her twin, left her home of 16 years, and haven't played serious volleyball since JOs last summer (that is my drug of choice in this life, so I have been having serious withdrawals). So I have alot to gain and ready to obtain it and enjoy it.

11 days and counting....life is a sweet as apple juice my favorite!

new favorite cd!!! Artist: Allen Stone Album: Last to Speak

everyone will like it I promise, the trainer in charge of our workouts swears by him and always has it blasting in the weight room! And it is not the kind of music you would think a large man would workout to. love it!

be my valentine.

What is love?

Love is the feeling of home. Of belonging. The desire to do anything for another person. You can talk about anything or sit in silence. Smile for no reason at all. Laugh so hard you can't breathe. Be angry and ten seconds later be best friends. Love is what keeps me going. Because knowing that there is love means that life can be good, is good, is exciting, and sometimes painful. Love is everywhere, look around. It is in a look, a hug, holding hands, smiling, laughing, a wink, a sigh, and I love it.

The day of Valentines Day is a day to show your love to those you love. But I don't need a specified day to do that. Everyday should be the day to tell, show and share your love everyday.

The hard thing about this year was that I wasn't surrounded by my loved ones. I didn't get to hug them and tell them how much they mean to me. But I did wake up this morning and found a note from my parents in my valentine mail box that my RA put up. This note made me cry and I want to thank my RA for doing whatever she did to get my parents to send me a note and to my parents for their precious words.

This is what I call love:

Love is awesome and fun to share! Happy belated Valentines Day!

I love being a member.

I have always know how much I love being a sister. The bond cannot understood by someone who does not want the bond. I have realized this week that not all siblings are like mine. Yeah we kick the shit out of each other alot, but we truly love each other. I have so much in common with Brittany, of course, Holland, and Morgan. And yet we are completely different. I am so grateful. I can say, yeah I would rather sit around watching TV, go on a bike ride, make a fort, or eat dinner with my siblings then hang out with my friends. My friends are important but nothing is quite as comforting or fun as being with "my people". No one else gets my crazy, obnoxious side like them.

Brittany is my rock, my other half. She is the left side of the brain (which ever side is more creative). My sounding board. The mirror "normal" people wish they had, you are all green with envy. The girlie half. The one who doesn't become weird and obnoxious until right when you get into bed at night. My built in spell check for my blog. The artist. My best friend. She knows all my secrets. And I love her for all those roles and I appreciate you Brit. Thank you.

Holland the instigator. The beauty and the bully. The quite, popular one. My side kick (when she is not Brit's). The fighter. The true lover. The animal whisperer. She is the one who know which buttons to push, the one that makes me cry, the one that makes me laugh till I pee, the one that makes me angry beyond belief, the one that gives the best cuddles (even if they are more like death locks). Thanks for being you little sis. You help me be me and I love you for that. I am so proud of you. I could never do what you are doing.

Morgan the sweet sensitive guy. The thinker. The imagination. The girls guy. My baby brother with the huge forehead. The cuddle bug. Mamma's boy. Dad's little man, the son he was ecstatic to receive. The one who can play sick and get away with it. The man everyone women will want to marry. The anger management case, when I push him over the edge. The wanna be singer. Wants to play an instrument, but in till he does is totally content pretending he can. The listener. Thanks MAC for filling my life with laughter and joy. I love you, can't wait to see you grow to be ten feet tall.

I am so lucky to have these amazing human beings be apart of my journey through this thing we call life. They are my helpful and handy tour guides and maybe I am theirs as well. Thanks guys for being who you are. Because of you home is truly where the heart is and I have the best family a girl can ask for. Thanks Mom and Dad for giving me the coolest kids to be my siblings. Who else, of anyone that you know, can have a good time like we have a good time. Kids our age usually don't get along as well as we do and I am so grateful to brag about how much I love my sibs! You guys rock! Love you to the moon and back, and then around a million more times.

Lots of love to go around, Mere

me encanta

Here is the art that I have been working on for the past three weeks. It is a series of four separate works. The first being the simple line drawing, the cross hatching, and then the inverted dots. The final piece is all three works incorporated into the 3 by 3 grid, called a tileation. I like the end result and it is pretty good for the first piece of work, if I do say so myself.

Life is good up here in the Great Northwest. It has only been three weeks and I am already ready for spring break. Not that I am truly enjoying school, I am. I just hate missing out on the transition. Not to mention the well being of my lovely roommate is on the line. There is only so much I can take. But I have good news, she will be transferring next year. So for the next four months I need to keep my side of the street or should I say room clean. And have good krama and "try" to be nice.

Oh and other good news. Spokane is having the strangest winter. There is no snow! I am still cold of course but everyone says that I need to be thankful because it could be much worse. So thank you global warming for slowly letting be acclimate to the freezing winters of the Great Northwest.

Hope all is well, lots of love.