Thursday, August 27, 2009

First Day of School 2009

School is ON!

August is the dreaded month every year. Once we get the Russell Family Island Park Trip out of the way (THIS WAS FUN, I promise!) we move on to fair week. Selling the girls' freakish 4-H lambs at the auction.
BIG SHOUT-OUT to:
Cal Ranch of Logan who bought Rylie's lamb "Lazy Mayzee" & Wal-Mart of Evanston who bought Dylann's lamb "Dominique".


Once fair is over, I have a week to cram in last minute fun activities, work & school shopping! This year, I was on my own. Christopher was out in West Virginia for work. If you ask the girls, there were no fun activities! We spent 2 nights at my parent's, did laundry to prepare for school & I made the girls CLEAN THEIR ROOMS! I did sew them some pretty sweet school bags this year. Christopher's idea, my job!

Our family goal this year is to be in bed Sunday through Thursday by 9:00 pm, after Family Prayer of course. Everyone wake up at 6:30 am with dad. Rylie to the bus at 7:20 am. Dylann & Kendall to school at 8:00 am. Ryann is left sleeping as the morning rush is on and I sneak out of the house to DRIVE my two 1 1/2 blocks to their elementary school. (The longer she stays asleep, the better for everyone involved.) It worked twice this week. I said it was a goal. Some goals take years to achieve.

Rylie has a 40 minute commute to and from school each day. Luckily, this gives her time to do her homework, if she has any. She is in the 7th grade this year. How she made it this far, I just don't know :) J/K - She is a smarty pants! I just cannot figure out where time went. (Que in the mood music & memory sequences......)
Dylann is in 5th. The oldest of the school this year. She is not taking this responsibility lightly. She has worried about it for weeks. What if she is no good at being friends to those younger than her? Because 5th graders are so respected in the hierarchy of elementary school. (Another memory sequence, this time of me & Tami Carlson living it up in Mrs. Stockman's class at Crescent...)Kendall is a big 2nd grader now. She thinks it "FREAKIN' ROCKS!". She loves school. After day two, she was so exhausted. I don't know what it is about her, "Live Fast, Play Hard!" She is a total tomboy. Luckily school is only 4 days a week. By Thursday night, she is a walking zombie and needs a 3 day weekend to recharge!
Ryann, she is just ticked off everyone went without her. Only one more year of her torturing me :) I love our one-on-one time. She is too clever for her own good! I have to keep a constant eye on her, or who knows what will be destroyed. The blurry picture hides all the construction that is going on in my front room. It also does not allow you to see that she woke up with her head coming out of an arm hole & her butt hanging out the neck hole of her dad's t-shirt :) That was her "first day of school for her sisters" outfit.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Island Park 2009

The Annual Russell Island Park Trip was 3 weeks ago.....

We spent another glorious fun & family filled week up in Island Park this year! The whole fam damily was there. Jeff, Liz & their 5 boys (we were hoping the early arrival of #6 would be our "What did you do on your summer vacation" story), Laura & Payton, Grandpa & Grandma, and us.We usually stay on the East Side, near Mack's Inn. There are so many ATV trails near by, rivers to float, etc. This year we stayed on the West Side, closer to Island Park Reservoir. We need to do a bit more exploring over on this side.

We stayed at a nice little cabin in the "Enchanted Forest". 4 bedrooms, one for each family. 2 bathrooms. One for the girl's & one for the boy's. My girls spent a morning making signs for EVERY door before the boys arrived, so that they knew NOT to use the girl's bathroom. And a sign to 'Not Disturb' Grandpa. The week was filled with relaxing, NOISE, reading books, NOISE, pruned kids, and MORE NOISE. The kids rode bikes, played in the hot tub, played games, played in the hot tub, rode the 4-wheelers, begged to play in the hot tub, and watched t.v.. There was a nice little island in the middle of the "neighborhood". The kids could ride the 4-wheelers all around, with in sight of the front porch. One night we were complained on, even though it really was not us! Whatever you people who cannot have any fun on vacations! Grandpa boondoggled with the kids. Grandma did crafts. I did laundry. That makes me happy :) We went to the Lewis & Clark State Park in Montana one day. We spent a few hours exploring the Caverns. It was so cool, both to look at and the temperature. We saw a colony of mommy bats. My kids acted like they have never seen a bat before. Wanting pictures of each one. Some places in the Caverns you have to slide on your butt, crawl on the ground, and suck your tummy in. It was the play land at McDonalds, but in the dark & slimy. We kept waiting to here cries of help from my dad, but he made it through like a trooper. The day was beautiful when we made the hike to the Caverns. When we left - HOLY CRAP! A massive hail storm overtook us. You could not see an inch out of the window. The hail was large marble size. I thought for sure our car would be covered in dents. It lasted for 5 miles. People were pulled of, waiting out the storm. Not us, we went head on into the flooded abyss.
We also spent a day in West Yellowstone. We needed a little Salt Water Taffy. The girls were looking for the perfect souvenir. Rylie found a used book store - a book was her souvenir. Ryann & Kendall also picked books. Dylann bought a funky purse, made in Mexico. We ate pizza & pasta at "Pete's". Kendall was sad because she could not decide what to eat. So we ordered a little of everything. And she ate it ALL! Rylie grossed me out by eating her spaghetti on her roll. She is so like her dad. The end of our week it rained a lot. So there was not much 4-wheeling. Christopher & I took a fun ride out into the trees. ALONE. Wink, wink! That never happens. The being able to be alone, and the wink, wink! :) On the last day of the trip, we took the girls to "Our Spot" and took a few pictures. Ryann was sure we were going to toss her in the river. She had silly pigtails in, would not sit still & cried the whole time.
We stopped in Idaho Falls to see the Temple. I had wanted to get out and walk around it. When we got to it, everyone just wanted to eat! Off to Applebee's we went. Ryann was so kind here to add a little color to the nice pictures on the walls above our booth. Good thing we were just passing through, no one knew it was the 'bad Stapel kids'!

We look forward to this trip every year. The only sad thing is, that it comes at the end. I cannot believe another summer is over!
Thanks Mom & Dad!

Friday, July 24, 2009

I am a "LIFE RUINER"!

Thanks to commercials & the Internet, parents have it tough! I remember the days of 'Shrinky Dink' & 'Easy Bake Oven' commercials, begging my mom for both. Pleading with her, knowing my life would end if I could not bake little cakes by the heat of a light bulb. How could I go on without being able to shrink my drawing of 'Strawberry Shortcake' to the size of a button?

Today, thanks to the Disney Channel, the Wizards of Waverly Place and their shopping page online, my children have found new ways to obsess over fancy new toys! For days, Dylann has been looking at a Magical Wand online. She found a wonderful website: http://alivans.com/.

It is fancy, bedazzled and purple! Everything I know I would look for in a wand! As I listen to her plead with me, let her drag me to the computer, listen to all of the wonderful things she will be able to do with the wand, I have to hide my 'No-Face'! She promises her life will end if she cannot get this very wand. Her magic will be neglected if she cannot practice her spells with a "Real-life Magical Wand"! As I gave my last, "NO, I will not spend $50.00 on a stick!" speech, Dylann runs off, yelling that I am "A LIFE RUINER"! She is never going to speak to me again!

Then came the note:


Sadly, the note did not sway my decision. Instead, after an hour of her hiding from me & a little crying, Dylann and I came to an agreement.

We will head up to the "hills" on Saturday on the 4-wheelers to look for the perfect stick. We will pull out our pocket knives and widdle our own wand. We will paint hers PURPLE, and mine YELLOW. We will raid my junk room for jewels to bedazzle the wand. We will have Grandpa help us make a wonderful wooden box to keep our wands safe while we are not practicing our spells.

This plan was agreed upon. It will save me $50.00. And Dylann will be able to do magic! And what day is not made better by being able to use a pocket knife?

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Would I ever go back to High School?


The answer is a very loud 'HECK NO!' Not that I did not enjoy my time. Jordan High School - yes, the Beet Diggers - was a wonderful place to go. I attended the 'Old' Jordan. The Jordan High that was said to be haunted by students from the past. The Jordan High that had two ceilings, the old one and the one hung so no one notices the original was falling down. The Jordan High were I had a "High School Boyfriend". Where I was shy, really, I promise I was.
High School was an amazing adventure. I made many friends. Fought with those I had known since Kindergarten. Went to the school dances. Played some soccer. Cut my hair off. Sluffed a lot! Forged many notes from my mom. Forged many notes from other moms. Goofed off, not just a little - but so much that my memories are mostly of those times rather than of what classes I took!

My bestest friends and I had so many adventures, we are lucky we survived! From the time Nancy Denton & I went riding down Seminary Road on the top of Emily Palmer's maroon station wagon, holding on to the luggage rack for dear life. Slamming Steve Mecham's hand in the van door. Taking scared little Sophomore boys in Kris Ogden's big white tunaboat out for bridge jumping. Sneaking out of the house with Tami Carlson, loosing her teeth.

There were slumber parties. Off-roading in Nancy's giant van. Writing notes in class. Helping friends break up with boys. Playing matchmaker. Making stupid decisions without thinking about the future, or of anyone but myself. Choosing a boy over a friend. Not listening to my mother! Not being friends with someone based on how they looked. Worrying about what someone else thought.

The Jordan High School Class of 1992 was a lifetime ago. A life I remember fondly, with no true regret. If I had not had the experiences I had, made the mistakes I made, made the friends I did, I would not be who I am today! I am not who I was back then. I am a little wiser. I am a lot chubbier. I am a better person for my high school days. I will be a great mother to my 4 daughters - I know the secrets girls!

Now, as I get older, and I hear of the passing of another classmate, I do want to go back one last time and tell them and all the other friends from high school I have lost contact with, "Thank you. Your friendship meant a lot to me. You taught me so much in High School. You don't realize what saying "Hi!" to me in the hall really meant to me. I appreciate all you did to make me smile."

Sunday, July 12, 2009

4th of July

Last weekend, my friend Emily, her hubby Todd, & kids came up to celebrate the 4th of July with us. We had so much fun! Did a little BBQ-ing, rode the 4-wheelers, shot all of Todd's weapons & fished in the Randolph Reservoir.

For firework fun - we went in to Evanston, WY.
If you have never experienced a 4th of July in Evanston, you are missing out! It is mass chaos.

We went to the ball fields, along with a ton of other pyromaniacs.
The air is thick with smoke. Missiles are shooting in all directions. The entire sky is alive! You pretty much take your life into your own hands as you sit out in your camp chair in the parking lot. Since anything goes in Wyoming, you can blow up, shoot off, ignite - ANYTHING!!! All the city asks is that you clean up after yourself.

The "Rich People" let off their own fireworks shows from their mansions on high. The City of Evanston does a wonderful show -with music. They broadcast the music on the radio, 'cause that is the only way you would be able to hear it over the ear piercing screams of the missiles shooting in all directions!
Next year - we will return to Evanston, with a truck load of 'Utah - illegal' fireworks, sit in the parking lot and duck & cover! If you want to join us, give me a call. Everyone is welcome to perticipate in the pyromania!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

ATV Accident

Last Saturday night Topher & I went out for a date night! Every 4 or 5 weeks we get a little time without kids.....

Kendall was allowed to ride on the back of her friend's little 4-wheeler while we were gone. We gave her instructions that she was ONLY ALLOWED TO GO TO her friend's house, then to Aunt Laura's when she was done playing!


In the movie, my phone kept vibrating. I finally gave in and went out into the lobby to see what was going on. I called Kendall back. She answered the phone and started crying!

"Mommy, I wrecked and I am hurt bad!"

I start freaking out! I told her to let me talk to Laura. Laura tells me Kendall has been at her house for 20 minutes and has not cried once or even said anything to her about being hurt! I called my good friend Kim, who is also an EMT, and have her go check out my poor child!

All was well. She said she rolled on the 4-wheeler, her head hit the ground and her helmet popped off. Then her head hit the ground again. She scratched her shoulder, her face and hurt her wrist. No broken bones, no internal bleeding! Just a very, very scared 7 year old!

We then found out that the reason she did not say anything to Aunt Laura was because Rylie told her not to tell. Rylie told Kendall she would get into trouble!

On the way home, I received a phone call from some strange number. It was a very nice man who found a busted up cell phone on the road. It was only able to power on enough for him to find a number for "mom". It was Kendall's phone. She had lost it in the accident. It was smashed!


The evening ended with everyone being grounded from the 4-wheelers! I am so thankful that Kendall was OK, especially after the past few weeks of news stories filled with accidents of kids on their ATV's that did not have happy endings!

JYC 2009

Rylie and I went to Junior youth Conference again this year. It is a 4-H program for 5th & 6th graders. It is held in Ephraim at Snow College. 3 days of workshops, games, walking & more WALKING!

We took 15 kids from our County. I drove a car full & participated as a leader. It is a great program. People think that 4-H is all about livestock & horses. A lot of the kids at the conference live in the city and don't do anything with animals.

HIGHLIGHTS!

Day 1 -
*Left Randolph @ 7:15 am
*Got lost and ended up in PRICE! We missed our turn trying to find a gas station to take care of a bloody nose!
*Took a scenic route past Scoffield Res. & watched a giant forest Fire.
*Arrived at JYC 2 hours late :)
*Workshops
*Dinner
* Skits
*Crying 11 & 12 year old who missed their moms
*Talked girls" down from the ledge" so we could sleep!
Day 2 -
*Breakfast @ 8:00 am
* Workshops
* Lunch
* Water games
* Water Fight!
* Workshops
* Dinner
* Dance
* Movie
*More crying 11 & 12 year old who missed their moms!
* Once again talked girls" down from the ledge" so we could sleep! This night we were up until 1:30 am!



Day 3 -
*Tried hard to wake up on time!
* Science experiments!
* Lunch
* HOME!!!!!!!

Friday, June 19, 2009

ATV Safety

Dylann & Rylie completed their ATV Safety Course today. We have had 4-wheelers for 3 years now, and have never really let the girls drive them too much on their own.

Summers around here are full of kids driving like 'Bats out of Hell' up past our house.
My kids, crying because I wont let them join in the bat like behavior.


Now they are certified to ride! The moment we returned home from the class, they were ready to ride like the wind. Thinking that the little card they received allows them to run wild and free on the 4-wheelers anytime they want to.

Ryann was VERY, VERY MAD because she was too young for the class.
She has had the helmet & goggles on for hours in protest!

I have my very own 12 year old!

Rylie turned 12 on the 13th.
(The attitude seems to be an automatic gift on the day of the 12th birthday!)
She had a slumber party with a few of her friends. Her class is small, so she has been friends with these same girls since Pre-school.
We made journals and did a little scrap booking.
Then I gave in and let them go out doorbell ditching. Sorry to those whom they harassed!

And now the fun has begun! Apparently, when you turn 12, all of the sudden you hate your parents when they tell you 'NO!". We are "ruining her life!" and "Never listen" to her. It has only been a week, I cannot wait to see what the future holds for her dad & I!

She really is such a good girl. Good to her sisters. Good to her friends. Not as sassy as she could be! It is a little strange to me that I have a 12 year old, who in now in Young Women, will go to Girl's Camp without me there,
and wears a bra (sorry mom, I know I am not suppose to talk about that!)

Ryann turns 4!

It's official! My baby is 4!
She had a super fun little birthday party with a few of her closest friends!
Due to the two week down pour we were experiencing, a party at the park turned into a party at Aunt Laura's. I thought it would be easier to have it there, due to the fact that every child at the party is smaller than our dog, Kodiak.
This way, no one had to fight him off for cake eating :)

Ryann was so happy to have all of her friends over. We made homemade ice cream, which was a hit! Ryann's friend Jeremy was most interested on how the whole process worked, and had to have seconds, then thirds when it was all done!
All the kids loved the Buffalo Cake too! They all laughed when they saw it, wondering why Ryann wanted a buffalo for her cake instead of a princess.
There was a break in the rain, so everyone was able to burn off some energy outside. All but one little friend. He hid under my niece's bed the entire party!

The party was on Thursday, and Friday was her actual birthday. So for two days, Ryann walked around saying she was "The Birthday Girl!" and asking for more presents! What a kid!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Goblin Valley Trip

I have been in a little trouble with my kids for not posting our Goblin Valley trip on the blog. We spent Memorial Weekend in Southern Utah with my parents. We stayed at the Super 8 in Green River. Rylie was very upset to find that the pool was "as big as our room! That really sucks mom!" She even sent a text to her friend complaining!

Friday was just a drive day. We got to Price and had a little dinner at JB's and ran into Christopher's sister Tera. That was weird. She lives in Garland! Topher was in the salad bar line and looked up & there she was. Of all the places to run into family!

When we arrived in Green River, it was raining. So we piled into the hotel room and the girls took off to swim - in the tiny pool! It was so NOT fun for them because I forgot their goggles. My girls can only swim with their goggles on. Goggles for my girls are like Dumbo's feather. Without them, they cannot even doggie paddle! Good thing we caught Grandma & she could stop at the dollar store on her way down.

Saturday was my birthday, so I got to pick where we went for the day. I chose to go over to Dead Horse Point. I have always loved the pictures of that area. I wish we could frolicked on the plateau itself, but we politly observed from the observatoin point. It was a neat place. If you
stood on the edge of the plateau, you could see straight down into the Colorado River. I never knew why it was called Dead Horse Point until I read the little park pamphlet. It was a little tragic, cowboys rangling wild horses to the top of the point, fencing them in, picking the best ones and leaving the others there to die. http://stateparks.utah.gov/stateparks/parks/dead-horse/

My girls were on the lookout for old horse bones, until we told them they had to cross the river to actually get to Dead Horse Point.




We then made our way to meet Grandpa & Grandma Russell in Moab. We ate at a great pizza place called 'Zax'. Soooo yummy! http://www.zaxmoab.com/

Moab was hosting an Art Fair in the park. We spent a little time and money in the rain. Ryann and her dad watched the belly dancers perform while Dylann & I looked at every single jewelry booth. I bought homemade soap. It smells & feels so good :) My birthday present to myself :)

We spent the remainder of the evening swimming. now that the girls had their goggles, the knowledge of swimming came flooding back to them.




Sunday we made the journey over to Goblin Valley. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goblin_valley The whole reason for our vacation. It was so cool. A giant valley full of Goblins! Kendall was a little scared, she imagined real goblins chasing us around!
THe minute we came up on the Valley, my girls all said, "This looks like Galaxy Quest!" We love that movie. They filmed the rock monster scene in Goblin Valley. It had flooded the Goblins the night before, so there were mud puddles everywhere. Ryann took a swim in a few of them. Grandma was the lifeguard.

On the way back to Green River, we took an old road, that was on the map! It was old and grown over, sage brush coming up through the cracks. There was thunder & lightning. Giant hail, huge rain drops. The girls were nervous. Grandpa & Grandma followed behind, hoping we knew the way. When we saw the highway ahead of us, I said "Wouldn't it be funny if there was a fence at the end of the road and we couldn't get to the highway?" And wouldn't you know it, FENCE! We stopped and had a good laugh! Found a dirt road off to the side and continued our adventure! We finally found the Green River Airstrip and a paved road leading to town. My dad happily followed along behind us on our off-road tour of Green River.

It was a very fun weekend. The girls loved being with Grandpa & Grandma! We all shared a hotel room; we reserved a 'suite' that had 3 queen beds. M y parents stayed with us, so the kids would not fight over who got to have all of Grandpa's attention. We put up with his crazy sleeping mask - it is better to listen to the hummmmm of the machine than the SNORING!
We had a lovely herd of elephants above us! They stomped around until after midnight each night and began again before 6:00 am. I did complain to the front desk. I felt a little bad, the manager said it was a family with 3 kids. She also told me that I was like the 5th person to complain about them. They slammed doors all night, jumped around & yelled. I know it is hard to travel with kids, and it was rainy, so it is hard to keep your kids cooped up and not have them go CRAZY!! But it was maddening! Every time my kids yelled, I prayed no one could hear them so I would not get complained on!

Maybe we will make it a yearly Memorial Day trip. There is so much to see down in the area. And I would rather do go in the rain - less likely to see snakes, get sunburns, see SNAKES!