Christmas Newsletter 2011

Happy Holidays, from the Utah Merricks!

Press Caroling for a virtual (audio only) caroling from us to you!

Here I will highlight our family events in 2011.  I will post a little about each person's highlights under their own label.  You can find the labels (their names) to the right of the family picture, in the grey.  It's a little hard to see.  If you left click once on any picture, you can see a slide show of all the pictures on that post.

January: Christopher came home from serving an honorable 2-year mission in Australia.
February: Our neighborhood experienced 6 small (2.8) and shallow (1/4 mi. deep) earthquakes.  We got to the point we felt left out if we missed one.
March: Chanelle was in several Ballroom Dance competitions, got braces put on her teeth, and Aiden was in his first musical, Once Upon A Mattress, Jr. Also, we had a German exchange student, Martin, stay with us for 3 weeks.
April: Rick moved home, as work in California ended. Jordan was baptized! Heidi & Ryan and their girls Abby and Brooke spent the day before Easter with us, hunting tons of eggs and organizing all the findings.
May: Skyped with Ryan for Mother's Day and Rick took Aiden and Jordan on a Father/Son camp out.  Jordan proudly brought home the fish he caught.  Jonah took his girlfriend Whitney to Prom. The icy blue clothing looked fantastic with their coloring!
June: Jacob fell out of a first- story window stark naked into some bushes, but only got a couple of scratches. First thing he said the next morning was, "Remember the time when I fell out of a window?"
July: Jonah got his certification to Scuba Dive. Angela took Jordan to BSA Family Camp. Good times! -- Camping with classes to attend (or teach) and activities to do as a family.  We hiked, shot BB guns, and did a ropes course with another family.
August: A professional graphic designer friend of ours designed a brochure and business card for Rick's new business Do It Right Kitchen & Baths. Also, we have a Norwegian exchange student, Anne Lene (pronounced ah-nuh'-lei-nuh'), visited us for 3 weeks. 
September: We move across town to the south end of Saratoga Springs, down by the lake.  We love to see the lake driving home from everywhere!
October: Rick and Angela attended Woodbadge together, a BSA Advanced Leadership Training Camp. Also, Angela got to attend Time Out For Women with her friend Janice, kind of like an LDS Women's Conference put on by Deseret Book. Awesome weekend!

November: We became totally integrated into our ward! Ward and Stake Choir and 2 Cub Scout callings; substituting as Primary Teacher, Primary Chorister, and Sacrament Chorister; Jacob, Jordan, and Aiden each take their turns giving talks or prayers in Primary; Primary Sacrament Program.  Also, Thanksgiving Feast at our house with Heidi's family, and also with Christopher, Deleise (C's girlfriend), and Chiara (R's girlfriend).
December: Our family sang "Was I There" for the Ward Christmas Party, all of us gave talks in Sacrament Meeting last week about Gifts of the Spirit, and we also sang "Nativity Medley" in Sacrament. The lake is thickly iced over, and it's time to ice fish and ice skate on it!

(Keep scrolling down)

Here's a picture of Ryan and his companion in front of a castle in Ukraine. 

Again, above and to the right of the family picture you will find tags on each person. If you want to view pages about or from a certain member of our family, click on their name.

I don't know when or how often we'll be posting, but if you would like to "Follow" this blog, you will know when any of us post something new.  The viewing of this blog is by invitation only, so you won't be able to do a search to find us.

                    Merry Christmas!

Love, Rick, Angela, Christopher (22), Ryan (20), Jonah (17), Chanelle (13), Aiden (11), Jordan (8), and Jacob (4)

Christmas Poem

I wrote this yesterday.  A poem about symbolisms between Santa and Jesus.

Santa dressed in white and red
Stands as Jesus and all he said
Both sending messages just for me
I know they know who I can be

Santa in his workshop reading his list
Checking it twice so nobody's missed
Jesus in heaven looking down from above
Guiding and watching us showing his love

With stockings above the warm fireplace
He gives a service leaving no trace
Jesus giving you sweet happy thoughts,
Keeping you remember all the things he has taught

Saint Nick symbolizing when Jesus came
They do things all mostly the same
Once a year only does Santa ring
While Jesus is right there for everything.

Transplanting a Rainforest

Almost 2 years ago I wanted to do something special for my family for Valentines Day.  I decided I would do a mystery dinner (because I had just done this for Chanelle's 12th birthday party for her friends), and the family (particularly Rick, who was in California) wanted to participate in one.  I let Jordan choose a theme for me to go around, and he chose Rainforest.  I downloaded rainforest sounds from the internet and played it during our dinner.  I made the mystery menu with different objects from a rainforest.  I also decorated our dining room with trees I made from brown and green butcher paper, green crepe paper to make the vines, and stuffed animals and such.

We kept the rainforest up for a couple of months, because we loved the ambiance it provided, but I began to get worried that my landlord might get worried if he saw it, so on Arbor Day my visiting teachers came over and helped me transplant the rainforest upstairs to the master bedroom.  It was wonderful and felt like the tree near our bed was protective.  Rick took me to a special Bed & Breakfast Inn for our anniversary with a rainforest theme - and I loved it!  When we got home he saw the transformed bedroom and said it was like sleeping every night in a Bed & Breakfast.  It's been up in our bedroom for 1 1/2 years.

When we moved in September, I decided to put the rainforest up in our study room on the main floor, a couple steps down from the kitchen.  I think it makes a really nice setting and makes the room inviting.  I do believe it is the favorite room of the house.  I will eventually change the picture, because the one I have here is taken with my cell phone and includes the Christmas tree, and it makes it all look confusing, but it still gives a good idea of what it looks like now.

Ryan 2011

Ryan is on his Russian-speaking mission in Ukraine.  He has spent most of his time in "the Crimea".  Crimea is the peninsula Republic at the bottom of Ukraine.  On the map here, Ukraine is white, and Crimea (which is part of Ukraine) is red.

Mission life is split into "transfers", or about 6 weeks.  This is when most of the missionaries who are transferred to another area is transferred.  Ryan has been in the mission office in Dnipropetrovsk for 3 transfers, and they just got their "transfer" letter to let them know that he will be staying in the office for another transfer, but his companion will be transferred and Ryan will get a new companion. (Dnipropetrovsk is two oblasts - like a county - above the Crimea/Simferopel Oblast.)

Below is the Ukraine Dnepropetrovsk Mission (Dnipropetrovsk is the Ukrainian way to spell it, but we were given the either Russian or English way to spell it, with Dne instead of Dni) boundary map:

I (Angela) write to Ryan every Sunday morning before everyone wakes up.  At about 6:00 am our time Monday, which is 5:00 pm his time (I think) Tuesday, Ryan reads his letter and then writes back to me.  Often we are on the computer at the same time.  We don't take the time to have conversations, which would be possible, but sometimes he'll respond to my letter with a question, then I'll write the answer back to him, and he'll respond to that.

You're supposed to touch this painted, hollow, wooden egg and make a wish.  That's the significance of it.

See that Ryan has his CTR ring on his right hand, because in our country we don't usually wear rings on our left "marriage" finger?  In Ukraine the right hand is where you wear your wedding ring, so he was asked a few times if he was married. (I don't know if he switched his ring to the other finger or not.)

Ryan always makes comments to my letter and often he writes about his mission so that I can forward it to his grandparents, dad, and a few others.  He has given us challenges in reading the scriptures, taught us words, phrases, and pronunciations of Russian names and language, told us about some of his friends and investigators, lets us know how he is feeling and challenging himself, and he always sounds upbeat and positive about the possible outcome to anything.

While working in the mission office, he has a variety of duties which I am unaware of, but what I do know is that "Elder Merrick" is the one who receives all the mail and packages to the missionaries then redirects them to the missionaries' street addresses.  He has also been typing Scripture Mastery cards with English on one side and Russian on the other to help new missionaries. They also do typical contacting a couple hours in the evenings.

I think Tuesdays are his Preparation Day.  This is the day the clean their clothes, do shopping, and play.  That's where we get the really neat pictures that show the uniqueness of Ukraine, as compared to the USA.

 

We get to Skype with Ryan again at Christmas.  Is that next week?  Wah-hooo! 

Ryan's lovely girlfriend, Chiara, is still devoted to her Elder Merrick, and we love when she visits us.

Christopher 2011

Christopher came home from his mission in January.  Rick came to Utah on a plane just a couple hours before Christopher did, so he stayed at the terminals and met Christopher coming off the plane.  Only our family met him at the airport. We got rear-ended on the way to the airport in a van we borrowed from a friend so we'd have enough seat belts. Our balloons lost their helium. Then we went to the wrong terminal, so Rick and Christopher walked to meet us.

Christopher said that he didn't have shock, but his eyes were kinda glazed over for about 3 weeks.  He totally went to town getting back into "civilian" life.  He got a job loading FedEx trucks early in the morning.  He bought a Toyota Corolla. He got an apartment just off BYU campus in Provo. He registered for Summer Semester at Utah Valley University in Orem.

Since then, Christopher has paid off his car, got on the UVU Gold Ballroom Team, and continues college at UVU.  He is taking Ballroom and his General Ed and plans to be an Engineer.  He just recently got back from a ballroom tour back East.

Christopher has a darling girlfriend, Deleise, and they are having a lot of fun together.  They took a trip in the summertime to Sacramento, San Diego, Las Vegas, and back to Utah.  Last month they went to Las Vegas to watch Broadway's Lion King. Halloween they went all out (she always does - I love it!) and were zombies.


Christopher moved today to Orem, where he will now only be 2 miles from work, 2 miles from Deleise, and 1 mile to college.  We see him a couple times a month.

Jonah 2011

Jonah's Priest group decided that they wanted to go scuba diving for their summer high adventure activity.  For once, Jonah was excited about it. (The picture to the right is not Jonah or anyone he knows - they didn't take pictures, but Jonah said this picture shows what they looked like.)  They trained in the water for a month then took a written test and a diving test.  He got his license in May.  They ordered their equipment then went scuba diving Sand Hollow, which is a few miles east of St. George and one of the only places deep enough in Utah that they have set up to go scuba diving without boats.

For the diving test, they hiked to a crater that was lava-heated, but there was still lots of snow on the ground.  The scuba tank is very cold, and by the time he reached the crater, Jonahs finger had frostbite.  No, not just cold and frozen, real frostbite.  It didn't turn black and there were no blisters, but it was right before the blister stage.  It felt like a burn, where it itched a ton, and it eventually peeled.  It hurt for a week and he has a scar from it.  He feels priviledged for both going scuba diving and for having experienced true frostbite.

Just before Marching Band camp started in August, Jonah went to Especially For Youth in Rexburg, Idaho.  He visited his cousin Janelle, her husband Trevor, and their baby Lynlee, whom Jonah loved to play with! He enjoyed EFY so much, he is making plans to return for next year's EFY with some of his friends, rather than go to Disneyland, which is what they originally planned.

Summer brought Marching Band.  This year Jonah wanted to be Flute instead of Sousaphone.  He learned his part and the show as a flute.  Although he was getting an A as a flute player, after their first four marching band shows, the director convinced Jonah to switch back to sousaphone, which he did, but he kept his place in the middle of all the flutes in the show.  It actually ended up looking on purpose.

 

Marching Band is over, but Jonah is still playing the tuba in Symphonic Band.

Jonah has a fantastic school councilor who is helping him apply for colleges and find and apply for scholarships.  At this point, it looks like Jonah is seriously considering attending Snow College, which is where Ryan went and might again next year after his mission.  This college is affiliated with Julliard School of Music. Jonah is still deciding if he wants to be a band director or go into computer science.  He'd be great at both!

Jonah always keeps his hair short.  One day it got long enough that a little curl showed.  Some girls asked him what he looked like with longer hair, so he decided to not cut his hair for the whole marching band season (starting in June and ending the end of Oct).  Then when he did get it cut, his friend gave him a buzz.

Chanelle 2011

As you can see on the "funnies" page, Chanelle has a great sense of humor. Either that or people have a great sense of humor around her, because there's lots of it attracted to her.

This year, like last year, Chanelle's biggest extracurricular focus has been being on the Freshman Ballroom Team at Westlake High. Chanelle is still in 8th Grade. Doubtless, she would be on Jr. Varsity or Varsity Team next year when she actually attends the high school (because those teams have actual classes), but next year she's taking off from Ballroom, even though she loves it. When you are in Ballroom, there's no time for other things, like musical plays or choir or volleyball. She almost chose those this year, but changed her mind. She loves ballroom, so doubtless she will audition again sometime in high school. Chanelle has discovered the joy and value of earning and paying her own way.

For couples competitions, Chanelle has two dance partners. James was also her dance partner last year and has been one of her best friends for 4 years. He's the one in the middle of the picture to the left. The other is Michael, who we've known for years, as Michael and Chanelle grew up together in Eagle Mountain.

Chanelle had to get her Ballroom shoes reheeled before a certain performance. She was only without her shoes for two or three days. She was surprised to find that she felt lost without them, and she felt protective of them like her child. I told her that it's normal to have a "relationship" with instruments of your profession. For instance, every band member I know has a "relationship" with their instrument. While they could play someone else's of the same kind, there's no relationship and it just feels foreign. She laughed, then realized how true that was for her.

Chanelle's favorite classes this year is Ceramics and American Sign Language, both of which she does very well in. She does well in Geometry, but goes back and forth as to whether she likes it or not. She absolutely does not like Robotics!

Chanelle is growing her hair out again. It grows quickly. Also, she got her braces on again. And in another month she will be attending Stake Youth Dances, which she is really looking forward to! The picture to the left is with her good friend and locker partner, Aysia.

Chanelle is an amazing pianist. She can learn a song well enough to accompany in a week, depending on the difficulty. She writes music. Below is a sampling of her work.

Aiden 2011

Aiden is our witty one, and the class clown at school.  He has gotten in a little trouble in class once in a while for getting the class all wound up, but both his teacher and his fellow students very much enjoy his happiness and humor.

For laughs, Aiden will see something random and ustilize it to create a quick character.  He'll change his way of talking and sometimes his face and can talk in a couple of accents -- he would do really well at drama.  He saw someone's glasses out and a nickel and came up with this character to the right.  Just last month Aiden found a videotape we had thrown in the garbage, decided it would be fun to pull all the tape out, then decided the pile would make a great wig.

Aiden has had a crush on almost every girl in his class, if not in two 5th grade classes.  Every day when he gets in the car after school he goes right into which girl likes him or which girl he now likes or which girl laughed at his jokes the most or about the new girl who moved in and he now has a crush on.  He does really goofy things at random times.  I asked his teacher how it is received and whether I should give him advice to curb his humor, but his teacher said he's adorable and the kids love his antics.  Sometimes he'll talk with a foreign accent, something boldly, but innocently, flirty. 

In the Spring Aiden was in his first musical play, Once Upon A Mattress, Jr.  He didn't have a speaking party, but he loved it. He's in 5th grade this year.  I'm pretty sure when he's in Jr. High he will be taking a Drama class at school!

We were at a Ballroom Social, meaning that there was a dance held for anyone in the community to come and ballroom dance.  We caught Aiden doing the Cha-Cha with a girl probably in 9th grade (she asked him).  They were right on the correct beat and doing the basic step exactly right the whole song!  Another time we saw Aiden and some girl about his size dancing together (she asked him).  The last dance of the snowball he was dancing with an adult friend of mine (she asked him), and she was VERY impressed with how well he danced cha-cha!

Aiden is totally into the camping and Boy Scout-thing.  He's been on a camping trip with just him and his dad.  Twice this autumn he set up a tent in our backyard to practice setting them up and then sleep in it.  Once he put the sprinklers on to simulate rain when he went to sleep (Rick turned it off later), because he wanted to see what it was like to camp in the rain.  He's a bit of a go-getter, and he knows what he wants. This will be good for him in life.

Jordan 2011

Jordan has enthusiasm!  I didn't really notice this until his Wolf leader mentioned to me that he has enthusiasm with anything and everything that he does.  I wish you could see him when we sing as a family.  He totally moves his head when he's singing, as though putting an exclamation point on every word and meaning it.  After we sang at our Ward Christmas party and again a week later in Sacrament Meeting, I had a couple of people ask what the name is of my boy who loves to sing. At first I didn't know what they were talking about, because I didn't realize he loved to sing more than anyone else, but then I realized that it's because of his expressiveness while singing.  They said that it was if he were telling the message that he felt from his heart.

 Jordan loves going to Cub Scouts!  He has a fantastic Wolf Leader!  He panics on Monday that he's missed den meeting, but den meeting isn't until Tuesday.  He does not want to miss a single one, and for good reason. They are really fun and are always passing lots of things off, both the required and the extra-mile patches.





Jordan also loves to go camping.  This year he was able to go camping with Rick and Aiden for the Ward Father-Son Campout. Both he and Aiden caught a fish.  Aiden let his go, but Jordan enthusiastically wanted to bring his home for the family to fry up and taste.  We could tell that it was yummy, but none of us wanted more than the tiny bite we tried.  Christopher and Rick ate it -- with enthusiasm.

Jordan also got to go camping with just Mom at a BSA Family Camp.  His age-group leader is a friend of mine and she is amazing.  The theme for the classes this year was "Take Flight".  She focused on birds.  Sounds boring?  No! She themed her class "Angry Birds", made them all caps, they made catapults, did an Angry Birds skit for skit night, painted red plastic Christmas tree ornaments as Angry birds and let each kid take a few home.  The picture below shows the Angry Birds just before their skit.

Jacob 2011

This picture was taken in the basement of our house in the summertime.  Jacob got quite good at playing pool on our small pool table.

Having nothing to do with the pool table, here's a few funny stories about Jacob:

You know how kids about 4 or 5 are trying to figure out jokes and make them up, usually a twist on a joke they keep hearing, and we all laugh because of their efforts, but they don't usually make sense?  Here's one Jacob made up that did make sense, although I doubt he knew what he said:  Why did the eyelash cross the road?  Because he was a hair (hare).

Jacob is infatuated with my (Angela's) neck. He loves to pat it with his hands or simply just hold it. One day he was patting Chanelle's neck, and she asked if she had a good neck.  He said, "Yes, but Mom's is better, because it's fluffy."

Jacob thinks he's oh, so silly, and it's no wonder when Chanelle is usually right there to take a picture of it or laugh at the thing he says.  Here's a picture that really caught Chanelle's funny bone, with the paper crown, the band-aid half stuck and hanging on his cheek, the one wild sock, and helping himself kick high with only underwear and a too-little shirt.

He says his own prayers and is really good about thanking for things the rest of us never think to mention:  "We're thankful that we could hold bugs but not spiders and just rolly-pollys and big ones. We're thankful that we are humans. We're thankful to not smell with our eyes but only smell with our noses," and, "We're thankful we live in a house. We're thankful we don't have bad guys. We're thankful we have cops that don't have weapons but some of them do."  (I had n o idea he knew the words "cops" and "weapons".)

Jacob loves learning to read, and is a self-starter on his practice book. 

The picture below was at Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum when he was 3, but it's cute and you've probably not seen it, so I'm posting it here.  I'll also post a picture of the Jacob with Jordan and the Snowman, which was just taken a couple weeks ago.