Ahoy! It's a Boy!

Thanks to Marisa and Frances for the wonderful baby shower!

See the whole album...

Junior's Baby Shower

Brian's Promotion to Captain

The reading of the Promotion Order:

Taking the Oath of Office from Colonel William Harding:

First Salute as a Captain:
Caroline and Mom Pounding in My New Rank:

Recognition Ceremony with Lieutenant General Sheridan (3-star):

Receiving the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal from Colonel Michael Sarchet:

Thanks to Barbara Merrell, Liz Beus, and Caroline for coming and supporting me on this wonderful occasion. The three most wonderful women in the world!

Guess Who is Who!

So, we had this great idea ... or not so great idea ... of comparing the 8 months pregnant Caroline's waist to the wanna be 8 months pregnant Brian's waist. Can you guess who is who?

Pretty impressive or depressing depending on how you look at it. Realizing that I am a huge man, it is still a little disconcerting to think that Caroline has a huge child living inside of her and she is still skinnier that I. The only thing that my belly has to show for itself is a little belly button lint now and then.

Ah... Spring Break!

The long awaited week is almost over. It went by so fast. But we sure had a great time. We started the week with my family in Salt Lake City for General Conference. Mom, Dad, Doug, Mark and the two of us in one hotel room! Um. Weird?! When my mom first invited us to stay with them, I thought, "no way! I sleep with a boy now." But then, Brian was completely open to the idea (free room, right?)... and I found out Mark and Doug would be there. So after double-checking that Brian had packed something to wear over his undies at night, I agreed. And sure enough, it was a tight fit, but much more fun than weird:) Mark and Doug were nice enough to sleep on "lay-a-ways" so that we could take the extra bed and Mom had the place stocked with food, so we couldn't even think about being hungry. And of course, Conference was wonderful and being there in the Conference Center to hear our prophet speak was such a treat.

Later in the week we took a trip up the coast to Hearst Castle in San Simeon, about 250 miles north of L.A. The drive was spectacular. The early spring rain had turned everything to green and the sunlight bouncing off the ocean made the water a sparkly, light blue. We made it to the castle just in time for our 10 o'clock tour. It's situated at the top of a hill overlooking thousands of acres of coastline and untamed wilderness.


Isn't it beautiful? Here's a picture of Brian in front of his favorite feature... the outdoor Neptune pool.

I took this self-portrait while Brian was busy asking the tour guide a LOT of questions. Either he wanted to get his money's worth... or he was really interested in how William Randolf Hearst made his billions. Probably both.

I'm standing on the patio. The gardens were full of manicured shrubs, flowers, trees and lots of naked statues. It reminded me of the time I took a group of middle-schoolers to the Getty Villa, a beautiful museum full of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts. The only thing they got out of the trip was an anatomy lesson... you can forget about art appreciation.

After the tour we drove a few miles up the coast to see the elephant seal rookery. A rookery is a breeding ground where animals return every winter... but the only thing these animals were doing was laying around and flipping hot sand on their backs every now and then. Since we already had our anatomy lesson for the day, that's probably a really good thing. Boy, these animals are UHG-LY!








As we drove home we must have passed 100 "Pea Soup Andersen's" billboards. So we gave in a stopped for a bowl of soup. It was pretty good for something made of mushy peas. Here we are, splitting peas one at a time.

The best part about Pea Soup Andersen's was that it was located across the freeway from Solvang, a little Danish village founded in 1911. We popped over for some aebleskivers... but unfortunately they were closed for the evening. We got some danish pastries instead. Not a terrible substitute. :)

Now it's time to do our taxes! Happy Easter, everyone!

Caroline Can't See Her Toes!

I just might be the luckiest man on earth!

March Madness

You think I'm going to write about basketball, huh? Nope. For me, March Madness refers to the state of affairs in my classroom these days.... while I count down the minutes and seconds until Spring Break comes. Ahhh. 9 consecutive days without sweaty, hormonal, cranky teenagers. I can't wait. If you don't teach middle school, lucky you. Did you know that tattle-telling doesn't stop in the third grade?

Lest you think I hate my job, Brian would be the first to tell you that the next sentence out of my mouth after I've let out a few frustrations is usually something like, "Oh, but you should have seen it. It was SO adorable when they..."

March Madness also means PINK SLIPS. No, not the lacy kind you wear under a skirt. The kind that show up unsuspected in your mailbox. A couple weeks ago I joined the masses of Americans experiencing employment "challenges" we'll call them. I got a special delivery from LAUSD while in the middle of a telephone conversation with my mom about how I was pretty sure I wouldn't lose my job. Opps, I spoke too soon! The mailman handed me a termination notice as of the end of the school year. 8800 teachers and administrators recieved the same notice. I can only imagine what the schools in our district will look like next year.

Finally, March Madness means expanding, better said, disappearing waistlines. But its all for a good cause. Junior is getting bigger and stronger and I am getting more and more used to comments like "Miss, you look chubby." :)

Sunday Afternoon Stroll in Malibu

Yesterday Caroline and I decided to take a dreamy stroll up the Malibu coast. It is a nice 30-40 miles of coastal views and very nice for watching the sun set over the water. Not to rub it in too much, but please let us know if you ever need us to unwind for you. We will gladly take a stroll for you up the coast with the warm ocean breeze flowing through our hair. :)

Jazz Night w/ Jack Sheldon

The pictures aren't great but the evening was. Caroline and I went to a Jazz Club the other night...well more like an Italian Restaurant with a Jazz Combo. Jack Sheldon was the trumpet lead and he had a piano, bass, and drums backing him up. We had a great time.

Back in the day Jack Sheldon played with the likes of Benny Goodman, and Quincy Jones. He was also the trumpet player on the Merv Griffin Show. He played the music for the School House Rock songs. While we were there on Friday night he sang the "I'm Just A Bill" tune.

Anyways, he was pretty influential in the West Coast Jazz Movement and he is still pretty good even though he seems to be slowing down a bit.

Big Ears

Profile of baby's face looking up

Baby Update! Baby Update! Baby Update!

We went to the ULCA hospital yesterday for our mega-ultra-super ultrasound. It was a great experience except for the $11.00 parking and we took two cars...$22.00 ouch! The tech was really nice and had some fun with us. Baby Merrell had his head facing down like he was ready to be birthed the whole time and the tech kept trying to get him to come out of his hiding place so she could measure his head.

We got to see his brain, facial profile, both arms, both hands (he was trying to hide his left hand behind his head), his spine, his ribs, his little heart beating, his bum, his legs and both of his feet.

Oh yeah, and he is definitely a BOY. The tech said, "I know the gender if you'd like to know." Caroline said, "well our doctor told us that she was almost sure it's a boy." "Oh yeah!" The tech quickly responded, "...definitely a boy!"

As the tech was trying to measure his head from the top view she began to giggle. As she would roll the wand from one side to the other the baby's ears would pop into view...and make no mistake...his ears are not too hard to find. Instead of saying what she was thinking, "Wow! Look at the size of those ears! He is probably picking up radio stations in there." She kindly kept repeating, "He is going to be such a cute baby. Look at his big ears." Yeah, so I guess he got his ears from his Dad.

He now officially weighs 1 lb. and based on is head, arm, and leg measurements his new due date is 15 Jun 09. I like this pattern. The more times we go to the doctor the sooner the baby is due. Just a few more visits and we could be full term by Valentine's Day.

p.s. he is still a little show boat, doing back flips every time we have an ultrasound.