I just Google something lame like "How do I shut off the macro focus on my Sony 6000." It usually gets me pretty close on some discussion board.
The trouble with manuals is that they EXPLAIN a certain function when you really want some sort of FAQ.

I find myself focusing on the numbers on their uniform shirts. It's not ideal, but the contrast in the uniform colors helps the camera focus more quickly. I'd like to focus on the eyes, but the small target isn't reliable.

PhotoShop Elements 12 at about $80. Use the Quick Edit to do just the easy things, the Guided Edit to follow a set of instructions, and the Full Edit when you get comfortable. The new PhotoShop Elements is 13, still under $100. The Internet has thousands of PhotoShop Elements tutorials. I also like the PhotoShop Elements 12 Book by Scott Kelby. It has lots of specific projects.

Also, try picmonkey.com to whet your appetite for ways to spice up a project. Most of it is free and lots of fun.

We do have a department of silliness at Ugly Hedgehog, don't we?

Love number 4!

If your subject is close to the camera, the bokeh is pretty easy to achieve, especially if you can open your aperture a stop or two.

Your photo proves the point of bokeh: to show what is important in the image by what you leave in focus. Is that light what is really important in your image? I might have moved 180 degrees and gotten the people in focus, maybe laughing at a joke, definitely not facing the camera, and had the light in the background nice and blurry. Also, I probably would have gone vertical on the image and gotten rid of that wasted space on the left.
Keep shooting. Bokeh is very addictive!

The story of solar energy in America is a cautionary tale about government involvement. Compare the innovations in solar to those of the computer industry, where individual innovation has brought us computer chips and iPhones. In the solar industry, government funding and rebates have kept us with the big metal boxes. The latest estimate of what it would take to generate solar energy for MY home is a $50,000 array on my roof to cover a bill that averages $100 . Really??
I read the solar energy news articles every month. I could write them by now. They ALWAYS say, "A team of researchers at (insert name) University has developed a process that has the POTENTIAL to make solar energy more efficient or more cost-effective..." But, nothing ever comes to market. The 4 x 8 foot panels never shrink to 4 x 4 or 2 x 2. The universities are just in it for the upcoming grant cycle of millions from the government.
If our computers had evolved at the same pace, we would still be using ENIAC and punch cards

It's time to get on Shutterfly or a similar website and make a little book about an important experience. Don't let the sheer magnitude of all the experiences you could document keep you from doing "my Army experience" or "Our Colorado trip 1975." I've done 5 books now and am so happy I spent a little time sorting and uploading photos. My worst images were 1950s slides I scanned for my big sister. Scratched, faded, and some appalling double exposures, the pictures are now in a little book that is incredibly precious to her. Think how a look at the book in years to come will bring you back to your daughter.

Lensgiant.com
I have rented 4 or 5 times from them and have never been disappointed. The shipping and handling fee seems high ($18) but that is shipping to AND from you. You just have to put the lens back in the LowePro bag and rearrange the packing material. They ship via FedEx. Is there an office close to you?

I have the D3100. It's a nimble camera -- capable of working with different lenses for different situations. It's not intimidating so you can practice with the settings and learn your way around it. That new price is great, too, on the D3200.

Have you thought about presenting some to your local historical society?

Your dilemma gave me an idea for a similar problem.
My mother was a folk artist and painted hundreds of tin and wooden objects. I have a large collection and a larger collection of her photographs of things she sold. What to do with hundreds of fading photos?
I am going to pull out similar photos, scan them and make an inexpensive photo book. Twenty pages with some multiple photos and a little explanatory copy should meet my objective: To explain my mother's artistry to generations to come. I may do several to show different facets of her work, or work she did for family members. I may make a book of my collection before it gets divided amongst my children.
Isn't this what you want -- to leave a record of a great trip or a great shot you are proud of? Isn't that why we take photos? Despite all technological advances, I think a book is still the most accessible communication with the future.
The first one will be the most laborious, and you'll have to remind yourself that you won't cover everything, just the high points. And if you really get anal about it, you can load your originals with a few (I SAID A FEW) extras on an SD card and put it in a plastic pocket in the back of your book.
I am so excited about this idea that I may use part of my precious snow day today (10 inches expected) to sort out some photos. Good luck to you!

Wow! You did a terrific job holding your camera still enough to get a reasonable photo, given the zoom length. I wish I had been there. Going to the Vatican is on my bucket list. Ignore the bigoted remarks.