------------------------Merridy & Lucas

Christmas, Key West, Everglades...ohh my

2012-01-29T05:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Wedding Day

2011-11-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

Photos taken by Ayla...except for the ones she was in:)

The bride is my new wonderful sister-in-law and little one on the right is my new niece, Kate.

2011-11-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

T-6 Complete!
My buddy Shannon!
4 Days Till I see Lucas, Reno, and Winter for a few days!

MT WHITNEY

2010-09-10T17:16:00.001-07:00

Don't look down!

So beautiful!

Do you see the little person...the rocks were huge! I think this picture is rad!
It was the adventure of a life time! I really needed a vacation!

ROAD TRIP...Spokane, WA

2010-07-14T10:22:00.001-07:00

We had a relaxing trip....long drive...but a nice time

BUGS

BIG Wagon

Had to add this...what a girl goes through with only brothers:) I can relate kid!

(Ayla age two...our niece.)

Catch UP

2010-06-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

To Busy for our own good!
This winter I got to De-Ice the FedEx 757.

Went on a Road Trip to Colorado with Lucas, Quentin, and Brendin...stopped in Salt Lake.

Went snowboarding with my buddy...Lucas

Had a Toco Birthday Cake...THANKS CHANIKA!

Took a few family Photos because Tuckett left to become a PJ...

Went to TX to see Quentin Graduate! Congrats Bro!

Taught Brendin how to work...

And Been Flying...amazing!

How did that happen?

2010-01-11T16:34:00.000-08:00

How did that happen??? any Guesses?

Me and My Bro (Q) Snowboarding at Squaw Valley today...FREE Thanks to the US Air Force

HAPPY Christmas

2009-12-25T08:29:00.001-08:00

So GREAT to be HOME

2009-09-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm greatful for the experieces I had this summer but I missed out on some memorable things...

The Monster growing into a big dumb adolescent dog...

Chillin' with my nieces and nephews..and my bro

And of course the PERM...and Lucas

I Really missed being free to do as I PLEASE.

We went up to Donner today to Climb, I was a beautiful Day.

Quentin trusted me with his life.

Tribute to a Tigress

2009-07-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

The many Merridy's

The Spouse

The Chef

The Snowboarder

The Traveler

The Biologist

The Triathlete

Rock Crawler!

The Graduate

The Pilot

The Enlisted

The Friend

Graduation

2009-05-26T18:03:00.001-07:00

AND YES THE DOG GOT TO COME ALONG...

It's OVER

2009-05-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

NO MORE SCHOOL...WELL FOR ME (MERRIDY)
I GRADUATED ON MAY 15TH AND TO CELEBRATE WE WENT ROCK CLIMBING ON SAT...I EVEN LET THE DOG GO...

THEN MON, TUCKETT AND I RODE THE RIDE OUR OF LIFE.
We stared at my house (by UNR) thru washoe valley...carson city...up highway 50...around lake tahoe...climbed out from Incline and dropped down Mt. Rose Highway to head home...total millage around 130 miles/10 hours in the sattle and 1 hour eating a wonderful chicken burriot from T's.
It was the best way to celebrate graduation!

A quick photo at Emerald Bay to prove we did what we said we did:)

Ellenor's 1st week

2009-05-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Tiring week but we love having her around

Ellenor

2009-04-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

This is the new addition to our little family. She is 6 weeks old in this picture. I (Lucas) will drive to Oregon this weekend to pick her up. She is a "blue" Weimaraner. The dog with the "human brain", which could make her dumb depending on which human your talking about. She comes from a long line of champion hunters and field champs. We will teach her to be an artist!

The Garage

2009-03-29T21:12:00.001-07:00

Yes, the car fits in the garage...the drive way is slanted so it looks really small in the photograph...that's funny!
To give a little information on our little home: It was built in 1954 and we bought it from the original owner, which makes us the second owners (Pretty Rad). The house has all original hardwood floors (in great condition),

a basement, and a remodeled kitchen from the 70's...it's a sight to see. We feel blessed to have been able to find a home that meets our needs and desires. My favorite part about living in this home is I can jump on my mountain bike and ride off into the hills within minutes!
ALSO I have an announcement....Lucas Shaved his Beard! YEAH! YEAH! For the first couple of days every time I would look at him I would laugh because he looked so different...I didn't remember him looking that way before!

Before:

During:

What a Clown!

What I woke up to the next morning:

After...Lucas said, "what a sexy man!"

Life in the fast lane

2009-03-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

Come out for good music and live people!

The House

2009-03-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

Well we moved in about 6 weeks ago, its been busy busy since then trying to get everything unpacked and refinishing hardwood floors. Here's what she looks like, we love her

Simple Pleasures!

2009-03-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Reading for pleasure…What is that? After being in school since I was 5…now 27…I have never understood pleasure reading! I always had some text book to read, YUCK! Well as of march 13th, I am free from text book reading or examine studying…YEAH! I completed my comprehensive exams, turned in my LARGE paper, and whatever else they wanted to graduate, on the 13th! What a day to celebrate!
I have been promising myself that the first book I would read when I was done is Little Women, a novel that has always caught my attention! Luckily, on the 13th my sweet mother gave me a wonder birthday gift, a copy of Little Women. I now understand the concept of pleasure reading! I get so excited when I have time to read…and when my time is up...I hesitantly put the book down, but I feel so motivated and excited inside! Weird I know, but I love the character of Jo March…If anybody wants to know me (Merridy not Lucas) or understand my heart, read Little Women and pay attention to Jo.
The excitement I feel from this book replaced any sadness I felt about not going to Nepal this year. Silly, I know.
Have a wonderful day!

Sad News

2009-03-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

As some of you know I will be finishing my Masters program this spring...Yeah! Well, to treat myself for all my hard work I have been saving up so I could go on a trip of a life time. I have been planning a trip to Nepal to visit base camp (Mt. Everest). Working at FedEx I get a great discount on airfare...one in particular is on Cathay Pacific 90% off...or should I say, I use to get that great discount. I sent in the information to order our tickets and today got an email back stating, "until further notice, FedEx does not have a contract with Cathay Pacific." Sad Day! I will have to see if there is any other airlines that fly into Nepal OR Where should we go? Any idea would be great!

Yeah...I think

2009-02-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

It's Official we bought our first house!

Lucas the Great

2009-02-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let everyone know why I am so lucky to have Lucas in my life...
Saturday night I fell asleep on the couch around 6pm (for those of you who don't know this is my usual bed time due to my super fantastic job at FedEx at 2:30am.) Saturday is close to the end of my work week and I get pretty exhausted by 5ish. Around 6:15pm Lucas gently woke me up and said I should go to bed...not wanting to move I mumbled, "Okay," then quickly told him I was going to get enough energy to run and jump in bed, but if he would be so kind as to put sock on my cold feet...b/c I only had energy to get in bed...and the crazy boy did it...WHO DOES THAT? That's why he is Lucas the Great! He is so kind to me!

This is a picture we took in Alaska (2006)...I think his beard is longer this time...

2009-01-22T15:47:00.000-08:00

Beards, glasses and clever girls!!!!!!

4th...1/15/2009 Happy Day

2009-01-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

Yeah we made it another year...and look we are so excited!

This weeks camping trip

2009-01-08T00:08:00.000-08:00

We set off to go camping with our friends Katie and Andreas Tues. morning thinking we'd snow shoe out into the mountains for a few miles to a cozy cabin the Sierra Club constructed for back country ensuthiasts. Instead we snow shoed for about 6 hours and never found the cabin, as the sun started setting we decided we better find a place to sleep. It was a fun camp out, not as comfortable as a cabin but much more harcore camping cool fun. No one died, just big blisters and sore muscles!

The Journey

End of a long day of hiking and no cabin - better make camp!

The next morning

Making the best out of a beautiful trip!!!!

Sew Excited

2009-01-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

If you are a male and need some female attention...walk into a sewing store and they will fall all over you! I died laughing when I witnessed the response Lucas received when he purchased his new Husqvarna sewing machine. As you can see from the picture he is "sew" excited! This machine will keep his creative mind busy!

We went snowboarding the other day...what a bearded hunk!

hope everyone is enjoying the new year!

Sad News

2008-12-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

Un-Mark your calendars...Lucas' show got canceled...Sad Day!
HOWEVER

Enjoy Lucas' art work...a picture he stitched together of ancient Rome

RARE TWIN MOUNTAIN GORILLAS

2008-12-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

Rare mountain gorilla twins have been born in Uganda's Bwindi Forest, home to around half the world's population of the endangered primates, a wildlife official said Wednesday.

The twins were born to a gorilla called Kwintonda early last month, said Lillian Nsubuga, spokeswoman for the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).

"It is only the second time in history that we are aware of twins being born in Uganda," Nsubuga told AFP, adding that the twins were healthy.

"The fact that they have survived the harsh rains of November means that they are probably going to be OK."

Mountain gorillas are the cornerstone of Uganda's tourism industry and Nsubuga predicted the twins' arrival will boost tourist numbers.

"The word hadn't really gotten out, so it was a pleasant surprise for some tourists. But now that the information is public, we expect that many tourists will be requesting to see the family."

Bwindi is home to an estimated 340 mountain gorillas, around half the global population, according to the most recent survey conducted between 2006 and 2007.

The twins were sired by Safari, a dominant male, who took over the leadership of his group in April after the death of his predecessor.

Kwitonda is estimated to be between 15 to 20 years old. Female gorillas begin bearing children at between seven to eight years of age and continue up to 30.

Mark YOUR CALENDAR

2008-12-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

December 18th is a Special Day…not only is it my Dad’s 100th B-day…I mean…59th, Lucas will also be playing an acoustic show at Seven’s Tea House and Bar, 100 N Arlington, Suite 102 Reno, Nevada 89501.
Show starts at 8pm. It would be great if you could come and support him. You can listen to some of his acoustic tunes at www.myspace.com/lucaswithcoolhands
See ya'll on the 18th, 8pm

I'm sure you'll love his music...They loved him in Vienna

AMAZING

2008-11-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

Last thurs we went to San Fran to see Ben Folds, in honor of Lucas' b-day...One word...Amazing! Even better than Weezer live...that's hard to beat!

The First time I have seen the Sun in Washington...not a drop of rain!

2008-10-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Cute little family we went to visit in Washington...Leah, Michelle, and Chuck-BOB (This is my brother,Derek's family. His is currently serving in Iraq.) Did you know that Lucas’ name has three syllables? According to Leah, it’s Uncle “Li-core-us”!!!! Leah had too much fun with her bubby and seemed to always want him around. This picture represents how I sometimes found them…and all the other times it was Lucas running after her…I’ve never seen a kid with so much energy! Poor Michelle I have three old lady wrinkles around my smile...I love getting old! This is a view from Downtown Seattle...

A completed PROJECT

2008-10-20T15:53:00.001-07:00

This past summer was a sad summer…our friend Shawn and I had a tendency to break things…our little scooter, Lucky, was one of our victims. But I (Merridy) claim that we didn’t kill Lucky, we just got the last joy-ride out of the little guy. Due to this death Lucas was left to walk to school...
As the semester started walking was just taking to long so Lucas finally got motivate to restore this bike that has been sitting around for years…and I mean years. It was an old Sears Roebuck cruiser that had been left to rust…so Lucas soaked all the rusted pieces in coke, scrubbed/sanded all the rusted parts with tin-foil and coke, painted it BROWN (of course), bought a new seat, and bought new handle bars so he could ride in comfort…and style. And now he has a completed PROJECT! It’s pretty sweet! Maybe if I’m nice he will fix up my Schwinn cruiser I ride around campus!

October 3rd Tonic Lounge

2008-10-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

What a cute bunch of kids!!

We had a fantastic show opening up for 3 fantastic bands, Jackson United (Cris Shiflett from Foo Fighters), Beat Union (UK) and Gabriel Traverso Band (Reno friends). Check out our site for show dates at www.coolhands.net See ya at the show!!!

Next show October 17th with Agent Orange at Tonic Lounge

What does this remind you of?

2008-10-09T15:37:00.001-07:00

TAKE A GUESS!!!

APPLE HILL

2008-09-21T13:48:00.001-07:00

B-MAN WITH HIS OWN FRESH APPLE JUICE

LUCAS AND B-MAN ON THE JOHN DEER

Mt. Whitney in all our GLORY

2008-09-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

WARM FREAKS

HIGHEST PONT IN
THE
CONTINENTAL
US

CAPTAIN ME...TOP OF THE MT

Hi Again

2008-08-27T12:03:00.001-07:00

It has been awhile....oops...and school is back in so if I don't update now I never will.

In July I went see by buddy Nicole in the GREAT STATE OF NJ! It was great fun...however the only picture I really took was of the nannies in NYC at the park...to bad to b/c Nicole has the cutest kids EVER!

I also got to see the Hunters and their new addition (I met them when I was a missionary in Logan UT).

In Aug Lucas went to Erie, PA to visit his 8th grade buddy...I don't think he wanted to come home.

And now we are back in school...ohhh joy!

The Lone Star Experience

2008-07-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

Merridy has been bugging me now for ages about posting these pictures and saying a few words. I went to Texas in May to see my younger sister Kadi's graduation. It was the first time all my siblings and parents have been under the same roof in a long time. It was great to see everyone and to see my lil' nephew Connor I hadn't seen before. On my way home I even stopped in Dallas and saw some good old friends.

Family Reunion

2008-07-09T15:46:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we all got together...the first time in awhile. The babies were so cute that I had to show them off! Uncle Lukie is everyone's (well almost eveyone's) favorite. In fact when Leah had to say goodbye to "MY Lucas," Brendin's Reply was, "finally he's all mine!"

Family Photo

Order: L-R: Charley, Leah, Brendin, Iain, Iazzack, (twins being held, L-R) Alya, and Ethan.

Lucas with his hot babe on the scoot

Me and My Brothers

coolhands

2008-06-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

Lucas' story made front page of the RGJ...also if you would like to purchase one of their CD it's $5...support local Music. yeah!

Lucas

2008-06-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hey check out Lucas in the RGJ on friday (in the Neighborhood section...)

Adventure Race

2008-06-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

What a crazy thing to do...but it was so much fun!
It was a six hour adventure race that included running, mt. biking, and kayaking. The best way I can explain what an adventure race is…it’s like a scavenger hunt with a topographic map. Shawn is by far the Navigator of the bunch…but I’m learning a lot! We started down town Reno then biked and ran all over Peavine mountain…my favorite part is when Shawn said, “it will be quicker to carry our bikes on our back up up up and over these hills”…I wish we had a picture of that…unfortunately there are no pictures of that part of the race.
Lucas is the best because he stood around and watched the whole thing!

Lucas screen printed our Team Jersey’s “Bio-Fuel Kills Orangutans.” What a cute little baby!

Race Meeting...Rules

Shawn figuring out the map…I’m helping so much.

Preping for the start

Running up river to the Kayaks

Kayaking...yeah...or is it a big yellow duck

Out of river to the bikes

Transition...yes we have nice Butts!

Me starting on the bike

Finish....5:36 minutes later...boy was I tired...But I still think a Marathon is the worst thing I have done!

Point Reyes

2008-06-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah backpacking in Point Reyes is beautiful, relaxing, and Fun!
Lucas, Shawn, and I camped on the coast (CA) for two days...good times!
Sun Set from camp

The troop all packed up ready to go

I was just a little bit cold...any type of layer helped

Nap Time on the beach

Lucas-what a pain in the bottom

My Buddy

Camp fire on beach

fire on the beach

This camping spot was made known to me by my wonderful brother DEREK!

Summer Fun

2008-05-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

The semester ended around the middle of May and we have been enjoying our summer break…until June 9th when summer school starts.
Lucas played another show in Tahoe last night…and booked another show for august in Sacramento, Ca,…and has another one tonight at Davidson’s Distillery (the Local Harley bike club in town…so Reno people you should GO!)
My friend, Shawn Tuckett, and I have been training for our first adventure race on June 15th. We are going to first do a 6-12 hour race that will qualify us to participate in the 24 hour adventure race in August. On Memorial day Shawn and I went hiking/Running to practice our navigation skills for the race…I never knew a map could tell you so much. We parked his jeep off some dirt road, picked a point to trek to (Carson Hot-Springs), and went running through the hills! Ohh what fun. (I will hopefully post pictures…but they are on Shawn’s camera.)
Today, however, I did something I have never done before…to make a long story short…I got a new Mountain bike yesterday and this morning at FedEx Shawn says, “There is a mountain bike race up Peavine today. We should do that instead of a 150 mile bike ride….” I didn’t want to do it…BUT Today I raced in my first mountain bike race! What scary crap, well down hill at least, but I'm still alive.

Ban Bio-Fuel...it kills Orangutans (That's what my jersey says...thanks to Lucas.)

The start of the race, pretty low key.

Shawn looking super RAD!

MOMMY'S DAY

2008-05-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

WE want to wish you all a Happy Mother's Day! We hope you have enjoyed your day...that should be celebrated DAILY! YOu have all taught us so much,you inspire us, and most importantly you have taught us what NOT to DO! :)

Uncle Lukie and Brendin Washin' the car!

Silly Brendin...always pulling faces like his pops!

WE Love your comments

2008-04-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

I changed the setting so anyone can add their comments...so please do! But do identifiy yourself so we know who it is!

I would like to introduce you to my new friend, Abigail! We are in Love!

Isn't she pretty!

have a wonderful day!

coolhands on the radio

2008-04-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Saturday April 12th at 9:30 pacific standard time Lucas's band will be featured on KRZQ 100.9 a local Reno radio station. If by chance your not priviledged enough to live in Reno you can tune in online at www.krzqfm.com and near the right hand corner of the page click on the "Listen Live Here" area to catch up on all the adventures of coolhands.
The evening will include playing some tracks from their newly recorded record "Beautiful songs for ugly children" plus some music that has helped mold their very common sound! Tune in and kick back with coolhands Saturday night at 9:30. Cheers

ohh Brave ones!

2008-03-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

Lucas and I had the bright idea to take our two three year old nephew’s rock climbing at REI. We have wanted to do this forever…and it just so happened a few weekends ago we got that chance. Brendin and Iain did pretty good for their first time. It was fun to watch.

I don't Know what I think about this...

Okay...I'll do it...

Stop! I feel safe here!

Wow that's high

Lets go..I'm ready

Okay I'm done

HELP

2008-03-03T14:31:00.000-08:00

Does anyone know how to get the movies I post to play? When I preview my post they work...and then when I upload the post and view new post they don't work!!!! AHHHH I would love some help! PLEASE! Thanks

Never mind I got it done...yeah...enjoy the movies...I'll post more!

Adventure memories (Thia Land)

2008-03-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

An inside shot of our hotel on our two day trek

An outside shot of our hotel

One of the waterfalls we hiked to on our two day trek into the mountains.

I can fall asleep ahywhere...especially when I've been awake for over 24 hours...yuck

JAMI AND DANE RIDING the ELEPHANT

I DON'T REALIZE HOW TALL I AM UTIL I SEE A PICTURE LIKE THIS...OR MAYBE JAMI IS JUST REALLY SHORT...:)

Lady Boys...Gee they are pretty

My favorite fruit..yum yum

Lucas being a big strong MAN! Yum Yum

Old McDonald thia style

I sold my car because....

2008-02-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

Some have asked why I sold my car...well I related it to how I got married...it sounded like a good idea so I just did it...quick...thus I didn't have time to feel the pain (not saying marriage is painful...but can be at times:))

The END

SO LONG GOOD FRIEND

2008-02-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

Today is one of the saddest days of my life…Bettye went bye bye! I want to thank her for taking me where every my heart desired! She is the most reliable friend I have ever had!
For those of you who don’t know Bettye is my Jetta. I bought her when I graduated from high school and she has been with me ever since. I was talking to Lucas today about selling my car and the next thing I new she was sold! All in one Day! What can I say she was in high demand! Who wouldn’t want such a hot machine!

ME saying goodbye and peeling off her identifiers (stickers)!

lucas was a rock star

2008-02-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

coolhands at XOXO bar in Reno

with a little help from my friends

-eat your heart out girls

SundaY Fun

2008-01-29T12:33:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning we got another famous "Reno" snowstrom...that is...it starts to dump early in the morning and people get scared (thus cancel church) then the Sun comes out and it melts pretty fast. Well, when I got home from work it was still a blizzard outside, so I called my neighboor Laurie to see if our ward was canceled....and yup it was (who ever said God doesn't answer prayer.) hehehehehe Seeing how I was all geared up to play in the snow (gortex boots and multiple layers from work) Laurie and I decided to shovel everyones drivway (in the Universtiy Villlage). After we finished shoveling we decided that we should build the worlds largest snowman...and we tried really hard to make it huge but our large snowman ball broke twice...so we settled (or Laurie strognely suggest) for a lame mediocre snowlady with buns. ohh well, at least if was fun!

Laurie and the lame lady of the snow

This is the truck that killed one of our large snow balls!

three years down and eternity to go

2008-01-16T09:29:00.000-08:00

For our anniversary we ate at this amazing Italian restaurant...which in our opinion beats out the food we had last year in Venice.

Instead of telling me (merridy) that I looked good Lucas couldn't get over how good he looked in his brown western suit and floral western shirt and took several pictures of himself....what a nerd...but at least we get a laugh out of his actions.

brown boy....hmmmm

2008-01-14T15:15:00.000-08:00

I (merridy) just got home yesterday from Hawaii and was excited to be darker than Lucas...only to my surprise he was darker than me....hmmmmm. "Real men wear PINK!"
I spent a week on Oahu with an old missionary companion (Chantel Vinyard/Holt), Colleen (a lady we taught in Ogden), and her daugher Nikki....and lets just say I've never been so relaxed.

View from our Condo in Wikiki

-We visited PCC

-I tried to climb a coconut tree

-Made friends with the locals

-And watched the sun set several times....ahhhhhhhhh

geeee I'm so glad to be home and start school again I don't know how much of that I could handle!

------------------------Merridy & Lucas

Christmas, Key West, Everglades...ohh my

Happy Wedding Day

MT WHITNEY

ROAD TRIP...Spokane, WA

Catch UP

How did that happen?

HAPPY Christmas

So GREAT to be HOME

Tribute to a Tigress

Graduation

It's OVER

Ellenor's 1st week

Ellenor

The Garage

Life in the fast lane

The House

Simple Pleasures!

Sad News

Yeah...I think

Lucas the Great

4th...1/15/2009 Happy Day

This weeks camping trip

Sew Excited

Sad News

RARE TWIN MOUNTAIN GORILLAS

Mark YOUR CALENDAR

AMAZING

The First time I have seen the Sun in Washington...not a drop of rain!

A completed PROJECT

October 3rd Tonic Lounge

What does this remind you of?

APPLE HILL

Mt. Whitney in all our GLORY

Hi Again

The Lone Star Experience

Family Reunion

coolhands

Lucas

Adventure Race

Point Reyes

Summer Fun

MOMMY'S DAY

WE Love your comments

coolhands on the radio

ohh Brave ones!

HELP

Adventure memories (Thia Land)

I sold my car because....

SO LONG GOOD FRIEND

*lucas was a rock star*

SundaY Fun

three years down and eternity to go

brown boy....hmmmm

lucas was a rock star