G-DAWG!

I'm sitting in the Denver airport waiting for my aircraft to board following a quick 48 hour trip to visit a couple of students working in their final internships and to spend time with my daughter and her wonderful family. It's always a bonus when I can include time for family on my trips. That doesn't happen very often,but then I don't travel for business like I used to, and I enjoy the reduced travel. JoAnn and were trying to remember the last time I left her at home for business travel, and it has been a while.

Prior to arriving in Denver I discovered I could not get a car at the airport. The state has 4 vendors for car rentals and none were available. That has never happened to me before. So Jeni picked me up at the airport and took me to a car rental location. From there I went to her house and was amazed to find the driveway all festooned for my welcome. Mac explained to me that "G-Dawg" was my text message handle he had assigned to me. I was flattered and the kids love it.

I love the "welcome" emphasis. And yes, visiting families
is a stairway to Heaven.

Spending time with the family was a wonderful bonus to my trip to see the driveway festooned with decorations was just plain fun! JoAnn and I really enjoy visiting family, and that seems to take the bulk of our travel time, but it is so rewarding to see our children and grandchildren grow, mature, and blossom. And each one is an individual in their own right and watching each child and grandchild develop their personality, from the time they are a newborn until - well none  of the grandchildren are adults yet, regardless of what some may think - they get to where they are today. I have great hope in our grandchildren, in what I see in them, in how they conduct their lives, of how they embrace family values and life itself.

The greatest joy in life is family, and together JoAnn and I have embraced our family as the most important focus of our lives.

Oh yes, and the trip, after a couple of business meetings that were very positive we finished off with a late afternoon at the reservoir beach and later that evening a daddy - daughter - granddaughter date to Sonic Drive-in for a little ice cream - and yes it was good, but what was better was to have 3 generations together enjoying one another. It was a great business/family trip and much was accomplished.

Just as I got to the front porch, the kids couldn't resist a little humor at Grandpa's expense - but I do love their humor.

I really wasn't too late, but every time I left and returned
I was reminded by my grandchildren that life is also about
having fun!

Thanks kids for hosting your Dad in such a wonderful way.

PS - Watch for my next post on the 24th of July celebration in Spanish Fork (and yes, I know these are going to be out of order, but I’ve been busy on other projects.

Brother to Brother

Little Samuel was born this afternoon and his brother got to meet him this evening. The photo, sent by Suzanne just resonated with me as little Chas meets his brother for the first time. You can see in Chas's touching the wonder of he has towards this special new person who is going to change his life forever. It is poignant to view and vicariously touches all of us. Welcome to life Sammy! Your brother will show you the ropes!

Wordless Wednesday

Birthday Doll 

Pulling the Train Whistle

Teasing the Cat

Calvin, our Grandson

It is becoming a tradition to honor Calvin on the anniversary of his death as a reminder of what a great young man he was. There was so much we did not know about him until people came forth and told us. Even now his parents  occasionally discover someone else who was touched by him. He had a zest for life and a love of people.

We are honoring him with photos. JoAnn and I have gone through and selected way too many photos, so we reduced the number and have shared them between our blogs.

Calvin took his first trip with Grandma and Grandpa to Boise, ID when he was
about 2 years old. Here he is with Suzanne.

The boys, just off the airplane in the Indianapolis airport at the Indy 500 Exhibit.

Calvin, Clayton & Cole on a "Giant Beetle" at
the St. Louis Zoo

Calvin, Clayton & Chris climbing a practice wall
in Terre Haute, IN

Calvin on a tank at the Fort Knox Armor Museum
in Kentucky

At the end of the day we can look back and see how special and how blessed we were to have this young man with us for a short period of time. Rarely a day goes by without me thinking of Calvin and how special it was for us to share time with us. We are thankful for all of the memories, the photos, and love that all have exhibited to Calvin and his family.

Wordless Wednesday

Celebration of Life Monument

In today's blog by Donna she announced that this weekend the "Utah Donate to Life Coalition" is dedicating their "Celebration of Life Monument" to the living and dead who have donated organs. Their names will be on the monument. Calvin was one of those. Donna, Chris, and the boys are going to the dedication. Those of us who are family and many of our close friends know Calvin, whether they knew him or not, and how he impacted all of our lives. As Donna says, he continues to impact our lives and others, even today. We were all grateful for the 13 years we had with him. Not a day goes by that I don't think of Calvin or look at his photo somewhere in our home (there are several around) or in my office. The one below is a favorite.

Classic Monday - 3, no 4 Generations of Scouting

I was going through some old photos recently and came across some Boy Scout photos of myself. I did a little deeper search and found some of my sons, and then found some of my grandsons. Truth is, when I got to the photos I was a little short on photos of a couple of them, but I will make it up.

Me as a Cub Scout on
Guam. The eyes are closed
as it is a family trait.

My earliest days of Scouting harken back to when I was a young man living on Guam (in the South Pacific) and my mother was my Den leader. Mostly I remember the games we played. Later I attended my first, and most memorable, Scout Camp while living on Guam. We had an ocean front camp. Of course I do remember when sharks got inside the reef and we couldn't swim until they left. Next I remember a winter campout in Bellevue, NE at the nearby scout camp. My brother and I huddled together all night to stay warm - we thought for sure we were going to die from cold. Remember, this was in the 1950s, long before contemporary camping equipment was available. You ask, "how cold was it?" We had to defrost our eggs in the camp manager's home before we cooked them. I remember a scout camp in the Sand Hills of Nebraska (if you haven't read about the sand hills you should). We rode up in a stake truck (a flatbed truck with fence like walls). This was in the days before safety concerns and requirements. Then there was our Scout building in Biloxi, Mississippi, which was a barracks and it was where our Scoutmaster used (we were on Keesler Air Force Base) as his quarters (he was single). It was a great building. We got to decorate it all the different ways we wanted. By the time we moved to Abilene, Texas my Scouting days were waning. I was getting too old and I had little encouragement. I finished as a Star scout with enough merit badges for Life, but I never pursued it. We did fly to San Antonio to Lackland Air Force Base as an Explorer Post to attend a conference. We flew on an Air Force DC3. We had parachutes, benches along the side of the airplane (metal), and a 50 gallon drum strapped to the middle of the aircraft for if we got sick (no airbags). Also, there was no restroom, no airconditioning, and no heat.

I just pulled out my 1948 Handbook for Boys (the scout manual of my day) and on the inside I had written some of my troops and patrols. On Guam I was in Troop 20 the canteen patrol (think we were in the military); In Bellevue, NE I was in Troop 53, the cobra patrol; in Biloxi, MS I was in Troop244, the wolf patrol, and in Abilene, TX I was in troop 96 and was the troop scribe, but I did not list a patrol.

Beach front Scout Camp on the Pacific Ocean. Does it get any better?

As an adult I became involved in Ventura, CA as a Cubmaster in our church Cub Scout Pack. Even later, in Ames, IA I provided basic Scout Leader Training for members of our church. In Cedar Rapids, IA I sat on the District Council. In Ames, IA and Bloomington, IN I organized camporees for those troops from out Stake (about 10 units), Eagle Courts of Honor (only in Des Moines) with a General Authority present.

My most rewarding Scouting experiences were as a father. I was my oldest son's Webelos Den Leader. We had 11 boys and we met every week in our kitchen in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They were great kids and I loved all of them. They were a tight group and worked well together. All but one of the boys achieved their Arrow of Light. That was our goal. I was my second son's scout leader for his 11-year old period. There were 4 boys and they were buddies. The best remembrance I have is seeing the 4 boys walking down the trail with arms wrapped around shoulders, 4 abreast. All 4 boys achieved First Class that year and had the requirements for Star completed also.

Tim receiving his First Class Award. He went on to become an Eagle Scout.
The first Eagle Scout in our family.

Scouting builds strong boys and gives them direction and skills for today's world they aren't going to get anywhere else. I'm glad we have 3 generations of scouting in our family. Actually, you can count 4 generations if you count my mother and I just remembered that my Dad was the Cubmaster while we lived on Guam.

Calvin receiving his Tenderfoot & 2nd Class Awards in Spanish Fork,
Utah. He is an inspiration to all of us and is our first 4th generation scouter.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart

Today is my wonderful wife's birthday. She is the most fabulous person in the world. We have been together for 45 years and married 43 of those years. I wanted to share a few of my favorite photos of her. She is wonderful mother, grandmother, partner, and lover. Enjoy the photos and wish her a Happy Birthday. I pulled all of the photos from my flickr account where she has 458 photos and growing.

On the ferry between islands on the Outer Banks, NC with our youngest daughter.

With our 3 oldest daughters in Manhattan, KS when we were going to KSU. Even then she was a magnate for children.

With our oldest grandson, Calvin, and he was showing how he was almost as tall as Grandma. It was our last photo of the two of them together.

Grandma is all about sharing and Bonnie loved the sun glasses look.

She was a 70's girl with the hair, Ajax, dish towel, and a lot of flair!

With all of our daughters and one daughter-in-law in 2010 for Sister's Weekend.

Our marriage in 1967. Just a side note. It was 110 degrees the day we got married. We survived and continue to survive and flourish!

And finally, us last year in Breckenridge at our family reunion!

Photos and Memories - Part 2

Time to post a few more slides and thoughts to go with them. It is fun to look back at our memories of our family. As one of my daughters said yesterday, “I’m so glad you took photos when we were young.” That’s the whole point of taking photos.

Following World War II my dad got out of the Marine Corps and we moved back to Des Moines and built a house on property owned by my grandfather. It was a basement home which were fairly common in those days, especially if you couldn’t afford a full house. Dennis and I were 2 and 3 (I’m the older and with the dog) in this photo. Within 2 years my dad was called back up for the Korean war and we moved to North Carolina, but for a few years we lived in this wonderful basement home out in the country just north of town.

Skipping forward 23 years our little family left California so I could pursue a masters degree. We moved to BYU with our two daughters, Donna & Jeni. We moved from Ventura, CA to Lawton, OK, where I completed the Artillery Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill. Then we moved into Wymount Terrace, married student housing at BYU. Part of the beauty of living in Provo, UT was the closeness of the mountains. Going up to Cascade Spring and walking in the spring and summer was one of our favorite things to do. In the first photo Donna is holding her hair back while she gets that good mountain water. In the second you can see JoAnn keeping an eye on Jeni. This had to be close to 1974 just before we moved to Manhattan, Kansas. How do I know? Jeni is looks about 2-years old and JoAnn is pregnant with Suzanne. We moved in July when JoAnn was 8 months pregnant. I know, what were we thinking?

Our three little girls are having a peanut butter sandwich with Suzanne in the middle, and obviously not old enough to have a peanut butter sandwich. Suzanne was 4 or 5 months old and it was winter, 1974. Please note that the wonderful couch the kids were sitting on was purchased in California when Donna was born and survived moved to Utah, Kansas, and 2 moves in Iowa before it got so old it was given away. It was an 8 foot long couch and we could put all of us on it. It had a great charm and I still miss it.

Just 13.5 months after Suzanne, little Tim showed up. Our first boy and I was excited. There is nothing better than laying on the couch and playing with my son. In fact, this photo, taken in 1977, just before we left for Iowa, looks a little bit like his almost 2-year old, Joshua.

Finally, Christmas, 1981 in Ames, Iowa, Sally is experiencing her first Christmas. That teddy-bear is the most exciting thing in her life. When I showed JoAnn the photo, she said, “She is just stinking cute!” Clearly JoAnn’s choice of phrases has been impacted by her daughters. I think it was a good influence, but sometimes I wonder. Not really!

Fathers I have Known

It is Father’s Day - that annual time of the year when we are supposed to be appreciated - even if we don’t always deserve it. That’s a different topic. I want to talk about some fathers that have been an inspiration for me. And yes, you can assume it will be biased, as it should be. I had 3 fathers in my life that were models to me, my father and my 2 grandfathers. Each was special in his own way. My own dad is an inspiration. He is now 90 years old and I hope I can be as active as he is when I’m 90. Of course I want to be a little less cantankerous, but he isn’t bad.


Dad was always there for us. He was busy, but somehow found time for us, whether it was going to Scout camp with us. I can remember long trips to visit family. When we lived in Texas we would leave for Iowa about 8 pm and Dad would drive until we got to Kansas, when Mom would take over. He never said much, but I remember those long drives. He was always a quiet presence, teaching us by example. Living on a military base we had to know how to mow, trim, and edge the law so it would pass an inspection. He taught us how to work and how to do the job right. That clearly took through our whole family and has been passed on to the next generation.

My grandfathers were special. They never lived close, but we knew who they were and as we grew older they became even more special. My brother and I would go to Des Moines and spend a month every summer with Grandpa and Grandma McLean. We would ride the trolley downtown, go the Standard Seed Company where Grandpa worked, and watched the 4th of July Parade from the office. We would go to drive-in movies, eat popcorn and drink cola. They took my brother and I on vacation to Missouri one year. It was so much fun. When I graduated from high school in Abilene, Texas I moved to California and lived with my grandparents. They had a small house and they welcomed me, took care of me, and nurtured me. For JoAnn, they were the first McLean’s she had met and I think their example helped me win her.

In some ways my Grandpa Merriam had a major influence. His example was so important to me. He was always busy, always doing something, always engaged. He was an entrepreneur when we didn’t know what that was, doing a variety of things in his life. He showed me beauty, endurance, and how to finish. He began gathering his family genealogy in the mid 1930s while living in Chicago. When we lived in Texas they would come visit. We thought Texas to be a desert (we know better now) and we lived on the edge of our housing area (we lived on a military base) he would go out, gather flowers and create small arrangements and then take photos of them. He found beauty where we found bleakness. He never gave up and he never stopped.

I have 4 son-in-laws and one son who are fathers. In each one of them I have observed attributes that make them great fathers. Each in their own way have become a partner with their wife building a relationship and a home environment where their children thrive. As a grandfather I can’t ask for much more than that. Being a father is about doing the right things, but the hardest part is learning to do the right things. Sometimes that is very challenging. I see in my son and son-in-laws efforts to try to do the right things and a willingness to learn from their mistakes. I also see a humility and a love for their wives and children which I believe is the proper foundation. I see in my son and son-in-law who are not fathers, yet, the same attributes. I’m proud of my family.

A walk around the Temple

Usually when JoAnn and I go to a new temple we walk all around it. Usually after we have accomplished our purposes for being at the temple. However, we've been in Las Vegas for almost 3 years and had yet to walk around the temple's exterior. I took care of that on Thursday evening. I had done some initiatories and was taking a break for dinner before I went back for a session.

It seemed like a perfect evening to take a walk around the temple and see what it looked like other than from the front. It was worth the time. The temple sits on a hill just below an east mountain. The front faces a parking lot and I have seen it many times, but as I walked south down the sidewalk I found myself in the trees looking east at the temple. As I looked up the spires.


It didn't hurt that the clouds were uncommonly beautiful. When you live in Las Vegas you become accustom to lots of sunshine and few clouds. This spring has been different and Thursday evening was a perfect time to take some photos. As is becoming more common when I'm just out and don't have my Nikon with me I've got my "Brownie Box Camera" or rather my iPhone.


Just to the east from where I was taking photos was a beautiful fountain.


JoAnn says this photo looking at the easr side of the temple up towards the celestial room is her favorite.


We may live in the desert, but the temple is an oasis, in many ways. These photos helped to prove it is a place where you can experience peace on the outside as well as on the inside.

Happy Birthday Mike

It seem like just yesterday I was holding our brand new son, Michael. Yet it has been 28 years since that cold and icy day in Ames, Iowa. We remember how excited we were that we were finally going to have a baby that was not born in the dead of winter. He wasn't, just during an ice storm. And we shouldn't have been clueless when he seemed to take forever to deliver. Mom was in labor for hours and in those days labor rooms were little more than an after thought - small, uncomfortable, and sometimes forgotten by the staff. Most of the time fathers were not even allowed in the birthing room. I don't remember if I was allowed in for Mike or not. However, in spite of all of the pioneer (by today's standards) medical technology, he was born and has become a wonderful young man.

And Mike, I'm sorry that I'm a couple of days late this time, but we didn't pick a very good time for you to be born. We are "super busy" right now as my blog attests to only weekend work and then not every weekend. I hope everyone enjoys this long set of photos of our youngest son.

What is not to love in a little baby, and like all of our children (no bias here) they were all beautiful.


Mike has always had a smile on his face and even at this age was still a little short of hair.


When you grow up in a house full of girls you always have to be a little wary since you don't know what they are going to do to you next. And no girls, I don't want to know how you tormented your little brothers.


But there is always time for sleep and when it's on our favorite couch (the one we all still miss) you take full advantage of it.


And when your great grandpa Merriam comes to town you must have a photo of the event. It was the last time all of the kids saw their Great Grandpa Merriam. Grandpa was 90 in this photo.


Mike does love his sisters and in this photo with Sally and Krissie you can see that love.


But there is a bit of a funny side to Mike. Like any good boy/man he likes to have a little fun and always has. There is nothing better than a good laugh.


Or a new pose.


Or color coding a new dress code.


And time with Mom in the pool.


Mike has a soft spot for his dog - Strider. We all enjoyed her and had lots of fun with her.


And of course he has turned into a wonderful uncle (okay, some of the nieces may not think that, but even here he is softening). Calvin was his first nephew and was and is special to him. [I think they both just woke up.] He can always be counted on to take care of Suzanne's children, or just to play with them. Note how comfortable Chas is with Mike and vice versa in the 2nd photo.



Then he came home from his mission on a late evening. There were no banners, no large crowds, just Mom and Dad, but that was what was important to all of us. He was beaming and such a missionary.


And while there were other photos I could add these last two are probably the most important to Mike and for us one our proudest moments. There is nothing like the marriage of your children to excite and reward a parent. We are so proud of all of our children, but on this day we were most proud of Mike and Allison. Love ya Mike and happy belated birthday! Dad...



Even a little rain didn't dampen this special day!

And I almost forgot Mike's self portrait he sent us several years ago. This may be our best representation of the complexity of our young man.