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."
It is a little creepy, I admit. But I still love it. Ever since I was young and 21 Jump Street was on TV, I have loved Johnny Depp. I wished he would come do some undercover police work at my school :)
Then there was The Headless Horseman. He was so cute: 
Edward Scissorhands (I made my kids watch this and forced them to love Johnny!):
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.
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 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'! 
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.
