Cruising!

Mike and I had such a wonderful time on our cruise! We have over 200 pictures,but I will just post a few of my favorites. They are in a mixed up order, but better to finally make this post than to spend another week rearranging.

This was taken just as we boarded the ship.

This was taken the last day of the cruise. It was jacket weather, but not a drop of snow anywhere!

The next pictures are of our day in Jamaica.

Riding the sky tram up to the Jamaican bobsleds. If you enlarge this picture and look closely, you can see Tom and Marlene in back of us. I want to be sure and mention how much we appreciated having those two with us on this cruise. It was like having our own, private cruise directors! They made it so much fun for us. I think we probably held them back a time or two, but they never let on. We have always loved them, but this trip left me with an even greater respect and admiration for them.

My first time down the bobsled!

Tom and Marlene on the bobsleds.

Mike and me.

Waiting for the liquid sunshine to let up so we could ride the skytram back down.

A quick stop at Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios.

Marlene and I at the Falls.



And now, backing up a bit...

We attended church at a Spanish speaking ward just before leaving for the cruise. See how cute and thin I look! I gained several inches around the waist and can't fit into my clothes any more.

This nice gentleman rescued us when the taxi didn't come to get us after church. He got us back to the hotel just in time to catch the shuttle to the ship.




We went to this fun little diner called Johnny Rockets where everyone cheers when you walk inside. There are nickels for the juke box and the waiters dance to the music!

Marlene, dancing with the Johnny Rockets people.

Now we are in Cozumel...

Toucans!

Just before we boarded the boat that took us out to the submarine ride.

Inside a submarine at 100 feet down. Not my favorite excursion!
Even worse than the St. Louis arch. (What was I thinking?!)

My handsome husband hanging out with me at the front of the ship on a windy day.

I loved the wind! I was very lucky to be one of only a few that did not suffer from being seasick.


We had so much fun at Johnny Rockets! Mike and I went back a second time!

We shared a chocolate malt!

Our dinner table...one of our favorite daily events.

Sander, our head waiter. Missing from this picture is Arthur, the assistant waiter. We gave them both a Book of Mormon on the last night of the cruise.

Mark created a new dessert, combining a scoop of ice cream with one of the soup appetizers.

These next pictures were taken early in the cruise, on our first land stop.

We filled our day at Labadee with so many memorable events. We started out relaxing in the shade on our beach chairs as we waited for our turn to parasail.

Mike, getting ready to parasail.

That's me on the right, parasailing....Whoopeeeeeee! This was my favorite event. It was absolutely exhillerating!

Just before going down the Dragon's Breath zipline which was abaout a million miles long.

This is Mike as he completes his ride!

This is me being reeled in because I didn't make it to the bottom. Gosh, I must not weigh as much as I thought!

We had a great time in Labadee!

The kiddie pool.

We had a great room,with an outside patio that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Each night our room attendant would make us cute little towel sculpture and put Mike's sunglasses on them!

From the outside patio, we had a great view of the ship captain's lookout.

The name of our ship was the Freedom of the Seas, but Mike and I dubbed it, "The Great and Spacious Building". We are so very glad we went, but we might choose something a little less extravagant the next time. Or maybe not...we'll see!

The rest of the story

In response to Annie's question about the last post... yes, Taylor was trying out one of Grandma's wigs. While Mike and I were gone, Grandma decided to quit wearing her wig. (Her exact words were, "I've never worn a wig and I don't want to start wearing one, now!") We think she looks a lot like Aunt Tarie with this new look. Still beautiful and a sparkle in her eyes.

We leave town for ten days and see what happens!

Taylor grew some hair!

Cheking in with the Kids!

We are on our Caribbean Cruise! I have tried to e-mail my kids, but I can't seem to make the connection. Anyway, since I told Mickala to check in everyday, I hope she thinks to check the blog, instead. It's been great fun, but today we missed the Grand Cayman Island because the weather was too bad. Yesterday, we were in Jamaica and it poured...buckets and buckets of liquid sunshine. So far, I have parasailed, done the zipline, the Jamaican bobsled and a beautiful airiel ride. Pictures and the full story to come later.

This is why we want to move to St. George...

9:00a.m. Monday morning

Proof that Mickala is no longer the spoiled child. (9:15a.m.)

"It's up to my knees!"

11:00a.m.

Whahoo! I Really Did It!

For those of you who youngsters who came to earth already knowing how to use computers, cell phones, digital cameras and the like...this will not be such an impressive post. But, for those of my generation or older, it truly is a monumental day. Prepare for the drum-roll......

What you are about to see is the very first picture taken on my Christmas camera! Understand that I did this almost entirely on my own. Kristi explained to me what a memory card was and showed me where it needed to be placed in my camera. She also told me about the cord that had to be plugged into both the camera and the computer. And Mike told me about the software disk I needed to install. But, I, ALONE, figured out how to charge the battery and put it in the camera and I, ALONE figured out how to take the pictures, and I also somehow figured out how to drop them onto the computer. What you are about to see is the very first picture I took on my camera.

TA DA!

Isn't she adorable!

And look at this handsome young man!

Quite the twosome, wouldn't you say!

Sweet little angel!

This is going to be fun!............

Happy Birthday, Kris! (Don't think you're getting out of a 50th birthday tribute!)

Today is my sister's birthday. She would have been 50. The pictures I have are pretty random, but I do have many wonderful memories...Mostly I remember how beautiful she was, inside and out.

...and how close to the same height we always were! I think the height thing keep us close when we were kids.

Cute cheerleader! This was taken close to the time that she met Rob.

Family photo taken in Salt Lake. Notice Kris's bushy hairdo. (This is supposed to be a roast, right?)


This was taken the night before Mike and I were married. It's hard to believe that three of those people have passed away. The Tolmans were such an important part of our lives. I'm sure Kris was one of the first to welcome back both Bishop and Dorene.

Beautiful Bride!

I love this picture! (it was taken in Vernal) Look at Kris's countenance. Pure love!

There's her smile!

We don't get there too often, but I love that Kris is buried in Annabella. It is such a peaceful place.

I "borrowed" this picture from Jamie's most recent blog. As I read the touching story of her precious little Brielle, it gave me great comfort to know that, counted among the many loving friends and family members, Kris is also watching over these two.

Well Kris, that's all for now. We never got to see you age. I imagine you would have done it the same way you did everything else...with grace and dignity...and a smile on your face.

"Sure do love ya!"

Another picture-less post

I have learned how to take pictures on my new camera, but I can't quite figure out how to look at them afterwards, or how to put them on my computer. But, they are coming soon. In the meantime, I have tried to upload the pictures Mike took at Christmas, but, for some reason, they will not upload. They, too, are coming soon.

Picture-less Post

On Christmas Day, or at least the day after, my plan was to post pictures and blog about the big event. I knew I was getting a digital camera. I had dropped so many hints! And then, there was the added insurance. On the day after Thanksgiving, I bought a digital camera and told Mike he could give it to me for Christmas if he wanted to. His reaction confirmed my suspicions. No doubt about it. There was a camera under that tree with my name on it.
And, sure enough, my sweetheart came through with my #1 request. A shiny red, hold-in-the-palm-of-your hand Sony digital camera, complete with case, battery pack, computer hook-up cords...the whole package! Well...almost the whole package. There was one tiny little thing that was missing. No memory stick! (Without a memory stick, you can't take pictures!) What kind of camera company would do such a thing! Apparently several, because none of the digital cameras that were opened at the Merrell home on Christmas day (three of them, plus one cam-corder) had memory sticks.
So, I will have to be patient for a few more days. (I have posted before of the benefits of living in a small town. One of the disadvantages is that there are only two main stores in town...not much fun the day after Christmas when they are packed with after-Christmas shoppers.)
I do have the memory stick, now, and will soon begin posting pictures again. Just not tonight!

Mickala!

Mickala has always been a good sport. It is rare to ever hear her complain. Thank goodness. She had a lot to complain about on her birthday this year. I was sick and didn't even get out of bed to wish her a happy birthday before she left for school. Her birthday present didn't arrive until after the big day. I didn't get a cake made or bought, so she didn't get to blow out the candles as we sang to her...which we didn't do. All of this would have been bad enough if it was a regular, normal birthday. But this one was a little more special than regular or normal. It was the big 18! Still, she didn't complain.

Now here it is, a month later and I am finally finishing this post!
Happy Birthday, Mickala!

Mickala with her friend Karissa, who also just turned 18. Mickala and Karissa complement one another. Karissa adds the frills and fancy, while Mickala adds the daring and decision-making. They have been having fun together since grade school. This is another of Mickala's good friends...Jenessa. Not my first choice of pictures, but the only one I could find on this computer, and it actually does capture the type of relationship these two have shared through the years.
This one is a picture of Sami and Mickala. I have many memories of dropping Mickala off to spend the night at Sami's grandparents. She always came home stuffed up the next day, because she couldn't (wouldn't) stay away from their pet dogs.

Mickala has many friends. She is friendly, out-going, good-natured and fun to be around. And, I have spent more money on formal dresses for her than all of her siblings, combined.

Here's a few pictures that capture Mickala's personality...

I'm going to quit now, because I keep accidentally deleting pictures and it's becoming extremely frustrating, especially since I keep going from one computer to another.

Whoops! I almost forgot to add this one! ..................>>>>>>

This is one of my favorite senior pictures. I always said I knew I was finished having babies when I got my blue-eyed blonde. (The blonde is a bit of a stretch, but the eyes are definitely blue.) Isn't she gorgeous! What a fun daughter to raise! Belated Happy Birthday, Mickala.

Catching Up

I just looked on Aspen's blog and it says it has been 4 weeks since I last posted! Wow! That's almost as long as it's been since we started tending TJ and Taylor four days a week! I wonder if there is a correlation?! (Answer=YES!)

I don't know if I even remember how to post pictures any more! (That is one of the reasons I have taken so long to post...I am still at the mercy of anyone downloading pictures to the computer so I can use them in my posts.) But, I think I saw a new folder of pictures, so I'll be using some of them. Before I get to them, though, I need to get caught up with a few other events.

September memories:

In September, our beautiful grand-daughter, Taylor Nicole was blessed by her father, Jason. Taylor is a sweet-natured, happy little princess. We all love her very much.

I think it was September or early October when we took Taylor and TJ to the corn maize in BlueBell. Taylor and I never got past the first clue! But Grandpa and TJ made it clear through to the end! We have pictures of this special day, but they have not been down-loaded to the computer yet.

Other October events:

In early October, Aspen and the girls came out for October Conference. It was great to have them here. TJ was thrilled to get to play with his Salt Lake cousins and Sadie was thrilled to get to play with the dress-up clothes. She put on four or five outfits a minute, while Kylie was content to stay in the red chiffon number most of the time. TJ hopes Grandma will start adding a few boy outfits. It was fun to have Brynlie walking all over the place.

A favorite October memory was when the whole family was together for family pictures, followed by a trip to Lagoon.

We have more Lagoon pictures, but they keep uploading at the top of the page, so I will try and put them in future posts instead of continuing on with this frustrating project. I do want to mention how much I am looking forward to seeing the family pictures we took at Murray Park. So far, I have only seen one of them! (Note to Kristi: I don't care if you like them or not; I will love them...please let me see them!)

Also in October, we had a bit of drama at our house. After setting Taylor on the couch, I walked into our bedroom and startled a SNAKE that was warming itself on the floor, in the sunshine! Oh my goodness! What a scare! I was quite proud of the way I managed to stay cool, calm and collected. I went to the garage to find a small rake. My plan was to get him to coil himself around the tongs and take him outside. Unfortunately, when I returned, the snake was nowhere to be seen! I knew he must have slithered under the bed, but it was scary lifting up the bedskirt to search for him. Fortunately, Mike came home about then and he took charge of the situation. It took about 15 minutes before we (Okay, Mike) got him back outside. (Again, there are pictues, but they have not been dropped onto the computer yet)

But my favorite memory of Ocotober was when Meagan showed me the ultasound picture of their Baby! Yes! Vince and Meagan are going to have a baby! Since they don't have a blog yet, I am taking the liberty of making the announcement public. We are delighted and can hardly wait until early May when baby is due. (Aspen said they will find out if it's a he or a she in mid-December).

November events

Taylor went with me to vote and she wowed all the poll workers. She got to wear my sticker that said "I Voted" for the rest of the day.

Mickala and I started her on-line Algebra class and she got a 100% on the first of six sections! Yay!

Mike continues to recuperate from an awful cold that has hung on for several weeks. St. George is sounding more and more exciting as the winter months are upon us.

I have spent many hours preparing for our Super Saturday event which will be held on Nov. 22. We have lots of fun projects to do and I hope that Sasha and Mickala will be able to come.

I have also spent a huge number of hours scanning and uploading pictures for the Mary and Albert Park memories book I hope to have ready for the Park reunion next July.

That is all for now. The next few posts will be from some housekeeping I am doing with my blog posts. I have already posted one and hope to get the others done in the next day or two.

Happy Anniversary Russ and Annie!

This is a little late! I missed Annie's birthday back in January, so I thought I'd combine it with Russ and Annie's first anniversary in June! But, then I missed their anniversary, too, so here I am, five months later, finally getting it posted. (If I'd have waited two more months, I could have started over and used it for Annie's next birthday!) Oh well, better late than never. Happy Birthday and Anniversary (Annie) and (Russ and Annie)!
These pictures were taken at Sasha and Jason's reception in August 2007, by Kristi. Annie has always been photogenic. Her expressions always make be smile.

This picture showed up on Annie's blog after a trip to San Francisco, maybe near the Golden Gate Bridge? Hmmmmm.....

I love this picture with the Logan temple in the background and Russ's hand in his pocket.

I also missed Russ's birthday in June, so I'll insert this picture, wishing him a belated happy birthday, as well!

We took this at the petroglyphs about a mile from our house. In case you can't see, Russ is pointing to a couple etched in the stone. Amazing to think that these two and those two were in the same place with all those years between them!

This is one of my favorite sisters pictures! It was taken outside the Denver temple.

What a beautiful daughter! I am very lucky to be her mother. She was probably my easiest child to raise and she continues to bring joy and happiness to our lives. I admire her many talents...she has immagination and enthusiasm, strength of character and testimony, patience and drive; she is both tough and tender. I am so grateful that Russ has come into her life. Even after such a short time, it is hard to remember her without him. I love you, both!