Kenna & Trent

Kenna & Trent with Talia, Tayt & Kaiya

My memories of Grandpa and Grandma are all filled with love. I was going to share many of the same ones Tia wrote about, especially the sunburn story with me, Tia, ShaNell and Kaylynn baked to a crisp and grandma slathering us with vinegar. And then we all slept on the hide a bed together. That was tricky. So I will ditto hers and add a few of my own. I always looked forward to visiting them and they always made me feel loved. I remember always having eggs and toast for breakfast and the eggs being a little "shinier" than ours at home. Probably because grandpa liked his eggs a little less done than we had at home. I also remember that we always had two cups. A big one for milk and a smaller one for juice. At first this confused me because we only ever had one beverage choice at our house. I also remember 2 or 3 years in a row that I got to visit Grandpa and Grandma all by myself for a few days during the summer while mom was at girls camp with Tia and ShaNell. I remember waiting anxiously them in the foyer of the Logan temple after their service was done for the week and driving, and probably sleeping, all he way to their house. I felt extra cool spending time with them all by myself. I remember playing in the sandbox, helping grandpa mow the lawn, and playing in the flood of water on irrigation days in the back yard. I also remember missing them so much I cried when I came home. I also have many memories of going into the storage room downstairs and smelling and playing with the freshly ground wheat in the wheat grinder, though I was never successful at making wheat gum out of it. And Grandpa’s bread was the best, even if it was wheat. And getting a little loaf all to myself made me feel extra special.

When I was just learning to whistle I remember trying to master Grandpa’s tricky whistling. It was fascinating to listen to him and try to figure out how he did it so fast. I still can’t do the one where you flick your tongue fast like when you roll an R sound and whistle at the same time. That one still eludes me. But I did manage to master "The Jig."

One of my fondest memories was when mom and dad went to California for a week and Grandpa and Grandma came to stay with us for a few days. I thought it was cool how Grandpa made pancakes and maple syrup from scratch!! He was extra cool that day. My 8 year old mind was blown away that he could even do that.

There were also many years of Thanksgiving dinner, with kids running laps through the house, and Grandma’s fabulous parker house rolls. Oh how I still love those to this day! The more butter the better. And we’d load them up with yummy home made raspberry jam. Mmm Mmm Mmm. I loved it. And helping make those rolls was always fun too. Listening to Grandma hum a cheerful tune, which she did all the time. I don’t remember a time that Grandma wasn’t humming. Or even that she was anything but jolly and cheerful. She always wanted to feed you and there always was and still is, a generous stash of candy in the jar by the dining room window or in the china buffet. It isn’t a Merrill gathering without lots of food, conversation, and reminiscing. With lots of ice cream "to fill in all the spaces in your stomach" as Grandpa always said. The one thing I remember about all those gatherings was all the different conversations going on at the same time. There could easily be 5-6 conversations going on in the same room at the same time and you could jump back and forth between them as you pleased. I always feel loved when I visit Grandpa and Grandma and I don’t think I will ever be too big to be measured on Grandpa’s buttons or see how much my arms have grown by wrapping my arms around his neck and seeing if I can touch my elbows. We love you so much Grandpa and Grandma! I’ll love you forever.

Kenna