Can you help me decide on a camera?

I'm not a serious photographer, I just want something to take pictures for simple albums and mostly to show my family what my deployment is like. I don't really understand mega pixels, and I was curious is 12mp is sufficient for my intended use. I don't want anything fancy, because the dust out here will ruin it, I just need something that will do the job. If someone could suggest a good basic camera and help me grasp exactly what megapixels are, it would be greatly appreciated!