Alaska!

I am currently in Alaska and will post pictures upon my return. So far I have had fabulous adventures such as, fishing, (didn't catch anything) tasted shark, saw beluga whales, camped, climbed on a glacier, attended the Anchorage Temple, and had Jewish latkes. It's been pretty fun so far. Tomorrow: Museums and Whittier. Tuesday: Eagle River Visitors' Center, hiking and blueberry picking (hopefully). Then on back to 100+ degree weather in Mesa. Pictures to follow!

So domestic!!!

This is me by some loaves of bread me and my friend Steve made.
This is my first time bottling chicken. My friend Amber and I learned how to do it from a nice lady who grew up preserving food and making bread. We learned from the best!

AUSTRALIA Pictures

Me cuddling a koala!

This is me petting a kangaroo.

Crikey! Went to the Australia Zoo which Steve Irwin and his parents started.

This is me under the water of Lake McKenzie

This is at Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. It actually protects the Great Barrier Reef from getting smothered with sand by the "EAC"--Eastern Australian Current. Pretty cool. This is a fresh water lake with white sand. This is the life!

Some cool fish and coral. My brother may have taken some of these. I may have taken some of them, too. He owns both underwater cameras. :)

This is me snorkelling in the GREAT BARRIER REEF! Wow. It's so cool!

AUSTRALIA!!!

Well, folks, I am in Australia right now and have no pictures downloaded on this laptop. I promise to download some here when I get them home. So far, I have pet kangaroos, held a koala, snorkelled in the Great Barrier Reef, gone to the Brisbane Temple, and walked around downtown Brisbane. Still to come: Zoo and Fraser Island. I love the Aussie style! People here are so nice and laid back! Very refreshing! Well, toodles for now!

Light Rail and Museum!

Some friends and I rode the light rail into downtown Phoenix to have dinner and go to the free night at the art museum.

Christmas and Birthday

A special time of year...

This is a family tradition...making gingerbread houses. Not the kind that come pre-cooked and cut out for $9.96 at Wal-Mart, this is the real thing! Therefore human error must be taken into account when constructing the structure...which sometimes leads to roofs sliding off, walls caving in, etc. Adds to the challenge! This is me and my sister and one of my adorable nieces keeping the tradition alive!

This is what I got for Christmas...not the AR-15, silly, the 9mm held in my left hand above! Nothing like a little outing with the brothers!

Somehow, I became old...pretty weird. Most of my friends were out of town for my birthday, as usual because of the date, but I still had fun with the friends that did come!

Free ice cream at Red Robin!What kind of person gives someone a 2 pound sausage as a birthday gift??? This answers the question: My home teacher, Hyrum! "Gee, Merilee, when I saw this enormous sausage on the shelf in the Christmas clearance aisle, I thought of YOU!" Thanks, Hyrum, I feel loved!

Virginia and DC

I love green foliage!

Fall leaves! I love it!

The Declaration of Independence...one of the most sacred documents in existence, outside of scripture. Inspiring. Magical. Made it possible for me to worship according to the dictates of my own conscience. Inspired. Motivating. Please remember the vision that the Founding Fathers had and try to live according to it. Please do not let my country become corrupt...

This document means so much to me, too, as does the Bill of Rights which is not pictured here. These documents also guarantee me certain rights: religious freedom, no illegal searches or seizures, my right to bear arms, my right to a trial by the jury of my peers--if I ever need it. I thank my Lord and God for these inspired documents!

Thomas Jefferson's gettaway retreat. I guess so many people came to tour Monticello that it nearly became an inn! So Jefferson had this built to escape from time to time.

Me and Padmini at the home of Thomas Jefferson, one of my newly discovered heroes. He was an absolutely amazing person--not perfect--but amazing, especially for the time in which he lived. Look on the back of a nickel and you will see this house!

The view of a hill fron Monticello. Jefferson purchased the hill. I guess we have similar taste in hills.

This is me eating some grapes from the farm at Monticello.

For any native Arizonans out there, these are called leaves, and they change color in the fall.

Why do I live in Arizona???

This is the McLean home in Appomattox Courthouse (town) where Lee surrendered to Grant and ended the Civil War.

Bridge across the James River

We played "Clue" in person for FHE. I was the killer, and yes, I used nun-chucks...

This is part of Padmini's campus. I'm so jealous!

We got to go to the LAST session of the day, whew, we made it! Beautiful!

Washington Monument with the flag...stunning!

This is the Natural Bridge, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Pretty sweet!

Me and Padmini

See the little dots below the bridge? Those are people.

This is the "reading room" at the Library of Congress. My mom got to tour this place when we lived in Virginia when I was in high school...lucky!

Me and Sara on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Wahsington Monument is in the background on the Mall.

Inside the Library of Congress. It's second in beauty only to the temple.

Padmini and me in front of the U.S. Capitol building.