Ma and Pa Stapley Blog

Jackson's Here!

2011-05-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't written on my Blog for over a year now. Everyone decided to make their own blog and left us in the dust. Our lives aren't as exciting as theirs with their little families starting out and all involved in so many things. So I thought I should get busy and do a few things of our own, so I will put in the exciting things that happen in our lives.
To bring you up to date, Cori and Aaron, Sydni, and Ellias are all down in Boise, Idaho. Aaron working long hours at his job and Cori also working in the state Martials office.
Kelli and Duffy still living in Bend, Oregon and their children Kendall, Brinley, Cooper, and Hadley, they have a darling blog, connected to mine you can check out.
Luke is still in China, working at a University there teaching English, and also at a Community College. He's been there almost a year and is thinking of staying for another year. He enjoys the Asian culture and is loving his time there. We sure miss him though, we hope it's not forever! We'd love to go see him!!!
Kyle and Laura bought their new house last year and we still have not been able to get there to see it. We really need to get down to SLC to see it and them. Kyle is working at
B Y U in the Media Arts Dept. and enjoying it. Laura is working at a hair saloon supplier.
Jackson is only 8 days old here and smiling!

Kaci and Aaron live here in Everett, YEAH! we have someone in our town. It's so hard having all the kids scattered. I miss the kids and the grandkids terribly, but know with the economy the way it is, we are just grateful they all have jobs and are doing so well.
So, our newest news.

Kaci and Aaron were blessed with our newest grandson, Jackson three weeks ago. He's a doll, weighing in at 9' 10", strawberry red hair, and 21" long. He is the biggest baby that we've had in our family. He is so cute, and I swear he smiles at us already. We took a video of him at one week and he smiled twice at us on a video while we were talking to him. He looks just like daddy and is so cuddly. So here are the pics of him so far.

Summer 2010

2010-07-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

Dezember Family Blog

2009-06-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

Come on over and visit our new Dezember Family Blog. With the new baby arriving any day now, we thought it would be nice to have our own family blog that we can adapt and add our own family posts to. The girls will be posting as well. We plan on frequently updating the new site so check in often! It is a work in progress though so look for changes and improvements in the upcoming months. The Mighty Dezember Family Blog site is:

http://www.mightydezemberfamily.blogspot.com/

OUR WEEKEND IN BOISE

2009-05-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend we had with our grandkids and kids. Cori and Aaron decided to take a weekend and go on a little honeymoon trip. They certainly needed to have a little break from the everyday life and just be together. I think though that we had more fun than they did. Kyle and Laura came up to spend the weekend with us and we took the kids to the Zoo, the Park, MK Park (birds and fish), Mall, out to eat, and some fun paddle boats. Although Nana went with Ellias that couldn't touch the paddles so you know who had to paddle the whole time. Poppy went with Syd, which has long legs so he had some help. Laura and Kyle just coasted around enjoying the goslings and ducklings. It was a beautiful weekend with temps up in the 90's.
The Zoo was a lot of fun we enjoyed the warmth and all the fun animals. Of course we stopped in the little shop to get some frogs and a stuffed penquin to remember the trip.
The MK Center was fun too, seing all the fish and birds and wild flowers, it's a nice little walk looking at nature, and the best part is that it is FREE and the kids really enjoyed it. We loved seeing all the fish from the bridge.
One night we had GAME night, which is our FAMILY TRADITION!!! We played Poppy's favortite game with the kids, which is Old maid. When he ends up with the old maid, poppy tears her in half and then the kids are always shocked and then he starts tearing them all up, then it looks fun so they start tearing them up, too. It always gets a big laugh!!!!!!! We played Yahtzee and Poppy and Syd got 4 Yahtzees in one game. Eli and Nana got 2 yahtzees in the same game and Kyle and Laura , well, they never did get one. Sorry guys! I think Poppy and Eli's ended up with a score of 735, the highest ever for either one of them.

Eli and Kyles favorite thing to do all weekend.

At the Mall, we bought designer clothes (HAHA) for Eli and Syd. This beautiful dress was purchased. Eli, of course picked some thing a little more guy oriented, (SPIDERMAN). It was the fasted shopping trip I've ever been on, they picked a few things in about 10 minutes and we were done. WOW!!!!! Cori must SHOP FAST!

At the park we played a ton of games, the kids got pretty good at them. We had a picnic and just enjoyed the day. Nana even squeezed in a haircut that day from our family haircut specialist, Thank you Laura... and Poppy did a home makeover the night before and him and Kyle put in a new toilet for them. YEAH!! the toilet works in their room now!!!

Aaron and Cori came home and mowed the lawn, pulled weeds and then sat down to play some Nintendo Wii. Aaron likes to play with his freshly painted tonails. GROSS!!!! No one will ever play Ninetendo Wii Again.

We had so much fun, Poppy had a nice relaxing time, and what he loves to do. Just being with his Grandkids and enjoying watching them grow is the best thing ever!

We went from 99 degrees to 62 in 1 1/2 hours and it was raining and cold when we got off the plane. Back to the beautiful green NORTHWEST. I MISS THE SUN!!!!!!!!!!! It's been a LONG, LONG, WINTER!!!!!!

Great Wolf Lodge

2009-03-16T13:19:00.002-07:00

We recently took a long weekend trip to Centralia, WA and stayed at the wonderful Great Wolf Lodge. This resort was just recently built and was worth the 4 hour drive. When you arrive at the lodge you are greeted by two giant wolves at the entrance.

The entire hotel is very family centered and the staff was very friendly. The main attraction is the giant indoor water park- complete with a wave pool and number of other waterslides and water features for all ages. It worked great for our kids. Duffy took the girls on the big slides and Cooper and I hung out at the toddler area and pools.

Besides the water park the resort had restraunts, buffets, Starbucks, a craft room, an arcade and a really neat fantasy game called "Magiquest". You purchase your wand there and then set off on different quests throughout the hotel. When you waved your wand at different objects they would come alive and talk to you. At the end the final quest is to slay the dragon. We tried twice but never succeeded. Maybe next time!

Here are some fun pictures of us in the hotel and water park. Kaci and Aaron were able to come down for a night and go swimming with the girls. Our hotel room was themed the "Kids Kabin" and the girls had their own bunk beds and TV in a separate room that looked like a tent. It worked out great for our family.

Other than the jet skis in the water park, I think Cooper's favorite part was the Ice Cream Truck in the arcade. He could have ridden that thing all day if we let him!

Thanks Great Wolf Lodge for a great family vacation! We hope to come back again every year!

And thanks to Kaci and Aaron for

braving traffic to come see us!

Who is this baby?

2009-02-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

Alright, alright, the wait is over for those of you wanting to know exactly what we are having (other than a baby) Here is the Ultrasound at 14 and1/2 weeks:

And here is the Wall-E cake for Brinley's baptism that revealed the gender:

The cake reads: Congratulations Brinley on your Birthday, Baptism, and Baby Sister! That's right-Cooper will be a Prince among Princesses as he will be the only boy in our family. We were all very surprised and have been anticipating what our family dynamic will be with one more girl! Good thing I saved all those bins of girl clothes. We are still working on a name, we had one picked for a boy but now we are trying to agree on one for a girl. I think girl names are a lot harder! So how could the ultrasonographer tell it was a girl at only 14 weeks? He was really good and it was pretty obvious. Next week I will have another ultrasound at 20 weeks and it should be even more clear then. Hopefully nothing has sprouted between then and now!

Here are some more pictures of our beautiful snow princess in her white baptism day dress.

We had lots of fun this weekend with all of our family in town for her baptism. On Saturday we went sledding to our new favorite snow park-Winoga, on the way up to Mount Bachelor. It was really icy and everyone went really fast. I sat on the sidelines watching. Brinley was a crazy sledder, I was worried she would break something! Duffy landed hard on his bottom off of a jump. Look at his face in the picture and you can see the pain. Kendall, Kaci and Aaron were real troopers going up that steep hill.

It was a beautiful day on Saturday and everything went so well. We wished everyone could have been there to enjoy the fun with us! We missed you!

Brinley's Baptism Day

2009-02-01T21:51:00.000-08:00

This weekend Mom, Dad, Kaci and Aaron, got to enjoy a weekend down in Bend, Oregon for Brinleys Special DAY!!!! Saturday Brinley was Baptized by her father Duffy at there Stake Center. It was a WONDERFUL day, she was so EXCITED!!!! Kelli gave a wonderful talk on the Holy Ghost, the second time, she also gave one for Kendalls baptism. They must think she's an expert on this subject. Brinley looked so cute and we were all so proud of her.

Sunday she was confirmed a member of the church. Dad, Aaron, and her other Grandpa , Tom got to be in the circle with some close friends. Duffy did a wonderful job. We are so proud of him, and what a nice job he did. We could feel the spirit so strong, we are truely blessed. Brinely gave a beautiful testimony, she's getting so good at speaking and we can't believe how old she is already.

After the baptism on Saturday we enjoyed a fiesta of Mexican Food, which Kelli's and Duffy's friends were there with there cute new baby girl and Duffy's brother Ted and his girlfriend Ashley, and both grandparents on both sides. Everything went well and we had a great time.

Way to go Brinley, we are proud of you, thanks for letting us share your big day!!!!

COOPER SMILING FOR THE CAMERA!!

OH, We also got to find out what the sex of the baby is that will be here JUNE 29th

Kelli will be posting the pic and the sex. WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!! Another little Dezember baby!!!

WE LOVE OUR GRANDKIDS, THEY ARE OUR TREASURES OF LIFE!!!

It was a LONG trip for Kaci and Aaron!!

Although they slept half way home!

Dranamine worked great for them.

Don't they look so CUTE asleep together. A little change from two months ago in wedding clothes.

After a long trip we made it home safely and look forward to our next adventure at our childrens homes. WE Love you all and hope to see you soon.

Last of the Year

2009-01-19T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I thought I would finish the year with some pics of last year and exciting things that happened. Kelli and Kyle have done a great job adding their pics of the wedding and crabbing. That was a lot of fun!!!!

There they are in the middle of the Maze.

After crabbing we took Kyle and Laura up to Canada, which Laura has been wanting to do since she's been coming up to Washington. We went up to Vancouver and hit some of the fancy Shopping places, New York Style. We went to our favorite Gardens that have a maze that you can run through, Kaci and Kyle used to race through them to see who came out first. I think the last time we went there was with Nancy and Brittanie. They loved it! They were acting silly that day and ran all over taking crazy pictures of themselves.

I wish I had pictures of the great adventure we took with Cori and Aaron on the Boise River. Wasn't a good time for a camera though and I'm thankful we didn't take one to ruin. We started off going down the river, all things were great, we had Ellias and Cori and Aaron had Sydni. Aaron told us to follow him, he knew the river well, and knew the right places to go over the rocks and get around trees. Boy, we should've known better than to follow his lead. As we were going down enjoying the nice winding river, Aaron and Cori were going in all directions, running over low rocks, ripping their boat to shreds on the bottom, and as we looked over at them, all we could see was little heads popping out above the raft, as the bottom had deflated. They were sinking, so we pulled over to the side of the river, as Cori tried to pull their raft to the side, needless to say they were still about 15 feet away from the bank, she sprained her ankle, and almost fell in the water, which didn't matter, she was wet already. We decided that it was safer to go with grandma and grandpa so we enlisted Sydni to go with us. So we had both kids and we took off again. Cori, getting a little fed up with Aarons rowing techniques, decided to show him how it was done. As she pulled on the oar, the very first time, it broke and sailed down the river. So then they had to row with one oar. It was hilarious, to watch them struggle down the river, turning around and around, we wondered if they would have anything left to hang on to, as the boat kept deflating, but we couldn't stop laughing. Once we were done and finally out of the water, they were a little, or should I say soaked. They dragged their raft up to the the garbage can and dumped the whole thing and the other oar, in the garbage and we all just laughed. A river trip never to forget. WARNING!!!!! BEWARE OF THE RIVER RAT!! We had the best time ever!!!

Can't wait for another fun river run!

Save our raft for next year!!!!!

The best part is always being with the kids, and GRANDKIDS!!

Christmas was great, A real memorable one in our eyes!!! Dad had gotten an e-mail asking if any one could help an elderly couple with some water issues up at the church property. Dad went up there and helped, the next day he had a feeling he should call them. This was Christmas Eve, so he did, they had many struggles that week, their awning to the 5th wheel had collapsed with the weight of the snow and the electricity was off and still no water. So, dad went again to help and took more people to help with the other problems. When he got there he could see that the poor couple had just had it and were tired and DONE!!!! Dad invited them to come spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with us. Kaci and Aaron spent the night with us too, and when they heard that this couple was coming, they quickly turned into Santa's elves and went to gather some things. WOW! that was awesome. The couple had a wonderful time!!! We really enjoyed sharing our Christmas and making theirs a little brighter. Elder Cook is a Poet and has published a book, so he wrote a poem for us and signed it which made it even more special. It was fun having Kaci and Aaron here for their first Christmas together.

Elder and Sister Cook are from Idaho and this is their 8th Mission for the Church.

Then we got to open our Christmas from the kids, Always a scary thing to do since they have decided they are now giving us Adventures, WHICH I Personally, LOVE THE MOST!!! But is always a little scary wondering what is on their mind. Last year the dog sled was a blast, we loved it. So, here is our gift that they all gave us!!! It's a Garmin GPS with a destination, in coordinants, so we have no idea where it is until we put it in the Garmin, so we will be going this next week to find out where this place is that they are sending us. I'm in love with our GPS.... We call her LIA, for the Liahona.....I think sometimes though she takes us a totally weird way though, but it gets us there. It will be great for those long road trips. Thank you, it's a great present and just what we've wanted....WE LOVE YOU!!! You're the best kids ever!!

******Sorry the video won't load!!! I'll send it to Kyle and see if he can put it in!!********

After that we went to Kelli and Duffy's for New Years!! We played games!!, took the kids to the children's museum, and made yummy food!!! Dad watched the UTES WIN!!! His favorite game, we practically have to hold our hand over our heart when they play. It took some fixing up the antenna but we managed. We had a great New Years with them and it was fun to see the kids.

So that's the rest of the year 2008. Next year we'll have a new Dezember baby, Brinley getting baptized, maybe a new house for Kyle and Laura and who knows, Kaci and Aaron. The Lucoffs new adventures on the river, and hmmm crabbing. Thank goodness Van will be navigating. We are in the planning stages for our big CRAB Trip with our Captain Van on the Oregon Coast, Lets hope the wind keeps down this year and we don't get skunked. I don't think (Kaci's) Aaron will go hunting for any little critters (SNIPE HUNTING)this year.

Cutest little people around!!!

My favorite pics from the wedding...

2008-11-30T19:02:00.000-08:00

So here are my favorite pictures from the wedding.....

Apples, Apples, and even more Apples
Brinley enjoying one of our 120 caramel apples

Cooper and Eli were best buds the whole time and Cooper insisted Eli hold his hand the entire time they were at the temple. It was so darn cute.

The girls dresses were so bright and colorful, they looked so pretty in the fall leaves at the temple.

Kaci had a big surprise under her dress for us....ruby red high heels!

I caught the boquet! Brinley beat out an older gal for the boquet and coulnd't have been happier! She needs to wait atleast 13 more years before she even thinks about being the bride.

Halloween Pics

2008-11-30T18:46:00.000-08:00

Better late than never right? Here is the crew on their way out the door to go trick-or-treating. Duffy had me sew some pants into knickers so he could be a golfer.
Kendall was a vampire cheerleader. All her idea.....and a little help from grandma. She is wearing my old cheerleader skirt I wore in the 6th grade. We found a pattern and made a top to match.
Brinley was our pirate, continuing her fascination with pirates from Disneyland. Pirates of the Caribbean was her favorite ride. Her parrot was a big hit.
And here is the cutest Thomas the Train you have ever seen! He was a bit confused as to why he was wearing it until he figured out he got a treat for it!

Kaci and Aaron Got Hitched!

2008-11-12T23:14:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Kaci and Aaron for getting married last Saturday! Let's all celebrate by posting pictures for the blessed event and crazy party afterward! Way to go you two!

Duffy and Kelli's Trip to Nashville

2008-10-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

There were too many good pictures to Blog of our recent trip to Nashville, TN so I made another slide show. Hope you like it! We had a geat time. Thanks to Mom and Dad for watching the kids for us!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Pioneer Trek 2008

2008-08-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

slideshow - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmileboxSmall.gif" width=386>

Make a Smilebox slideshow

So our adventure began after a 15 hour drive at Independence Rock. We were all so excited to finally get there that we practically burst out of the Van and up the rock. It was a very warm day and the rock was quite steep. The significance of this rock dates back to the western migration in the late 1800's. People of all faiths and with all different destinations would celebrate when they reached this milestone knowing that there was less than 400 more miles to go to the Salt Lake Valley. They would carve their names in the rock to let others who would follow know who had been there. It is named Independence rock because the Pioneers knew that if they made it to the rock by Independence day (July 4) they would be able to make it to the valley before winter. Some were so excited to reach the rock they would climb up on top and have a dance! Well I had heard that Parley P. Pratt's signature was still there on the rock, so Duffy told the youth he would pay anyone $10 who could find it. Well we never did, and as we headed back down the rock we heard someone was injured. It turned out to be my good friend Kelley. She fell an estimated 15-20 feet down the rock and broke both leg bones and dislocated her ankle. So then we had to call 911 who sent life-flight and 3 emergency vehicles. She was flown out to Casper, WY where she had her first surgery, today she had her second. It was quite an eventful way to start our trip.

slideshow - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmileboxSmall.gif" width=386>

Make a Smilebox slideshow

At Martin's Cove we learned about the trials the Saints endured at this very spot. After a severe snow storm the Saints in the Martin Company sought refuge in this cove for several days. With a meager supply of food and lack of proper clothing many people died and their bodies were dug up and ravaged by wolves. It was here that the rescue company finally made it to the Martin company and were deeply saddened by the state of the Saints they found there, starving and barely hanging on to life. We were told many inspiring stories by the Senior Missionaries while at the Cove, and we were told that it had been dedicated as a Sacred and Hallowed site, as was the Sweetwater river we crossed with our handcarts later that afternoon. The Spirit is very overwhelming here at this site and I can't wait to go back and bring my family. It was also very beautiful as you can see by the photos. It was a 5 mile loop and my favorite picture is of the mother and daughter holding hands at the end of the trail, after her mom was hurting from a blister and tired from the long walk, her daughter grabbed her hand and helped her go the rest of the way. It was very tender moment I was lucky enough to catch on my camera.

slideshow - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmileboxSmall.gif" width=386>

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The 5 mile loop was a warm up for the 15 mile hike the next day up Rocky Ridge and over to Rock Creek. When we arrived at our camp ground the night before we found that some cows had made themselves at home. It was the neatest campground setting, we had bathrooms, a fence a water pump, and lots and lots of Wyoming prairie. We were literally out in the middle of nowhere. We had a great time singing and performing skits and braiding hair that night. The next morning we headed out early with our hand carts. Duffy was lucky to represent Captain Willey on the Trek. He had a really great talk to give at the base of Rocky Ridge and at the top. Before we reached the top we joined with the actual Mormon trail. It was really neat to be pushing handcarts in the same divots that they did. Before we reached the highest point on the trail, the top of Rocky Ridge, the men were all called away in the Mormon Battalion and the women were told we had to push the carts by ourselves the rest of the way. I have to say that we rocked that hill! The kids did so great pushing the handcarts and rarely complained. We had to keep telling them to slow down! As we reached mile 12 a man was riding his horses up the trail and said that the horse he was pulling was the horse Capt. Willey rode in the movie "Rescue at the Sweetwater". That was cool, the kids told Duffy to go and jump on him. They all nicknamed him "Capt. Lambchops because he shaved his beard to have big chops on the side for the trek. I have to say it was a pretty impressive feat! As we neared our final destination, cherry creek camp ground, as if in a movie, the clouds parted and beams of light shined down upon our camp. The youth thought that was really neat. Rock Creek is where the Willie Handcart company was rescued. There is a circular grave site there with 13 members of the company who died the night after they crossed Rocky Ridge after walking 27 hours straight in a foot and a half of snow. This place is also dedicated as sacred and hallowed ground.

We were told before we left that going to these places would be life changing and indeed they truly were. We are so grateful that we were able to attend the Trek and be a Ma and Pa to such inspiring youth. We will never forget the feelings we felt there. Our family motto was, "The true Mormon trail was not on the Prairie, but in the Spirit" We definitely experienced this for ourselves.

The Oregon Trip and NO SHOW CRABS

2008-08-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Laura and Kyle at the hotel and the beautiful wild flowers

I'll add to Kyle's and Kelli's blogs, (although Kyles is on his own blog) so look there for his adventures in Oregon. We had a great time (although the wind was quite cold), especially in the evening. Usually we go in August because the weather is a little bit better but this was the best weekend for all of us. Kyle and Laura flew in to Seattle, Luke drove the other car down to the airport and they followed us to Portland where we spent the night.

We then got up in the morning and left for Nahalem State Park. Kaci and her two friends (Aaron and Daphne) drove down on their own that morning. Kelli and her family drove up from vacationing down in Newport Beach. It was really funny because that morning we all were in different areas, us coming from the East, Kelli and her family coming from the South and Kaci and friends coming from the North. As we came upon the 101 highway, who should be in front of us, Kaci and her friends. Kelli calls and she's within minutes of the park and Van was a few minutes behind us. It was really weird that we should all come at the same time from different directions. It was GREAT!!!!!

Even though the weather was kind of cold, we had such a great time spending time with our family. All that sitting around the camp fire and the great food that we had, everyone chipping in helping with dinners and lunches and everything took a load off of me. My favorite part was just sitting around the fire and talking and laughing and enjoying everyone. It always brings us back to how much our family means to us. It is our whole purpose, to be with our family and enjoy the time we have with them. THIS has to be one of those Kodak moments, or Church commercials. It helps you come back to reality, that this is what life is all about. Even though we caught tons of crabs but NO keepers. Sorry Laura, we were going to show you how yummy those little guys are when they come fresh out of the ocean. Hopefully next year!!!
The only part about this trip we missed the Lucoff's which we and wished they could of come. It would've made our trip complete. Hopefully next year they will be able to join us!!!! Van really missed them.

Dezember Family Summer of Fun!

2008-08-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to update you all with all the fun we have been having this summer and share some new pictures:

Here is Cooper drinking his Route 64 oz Lemon-Berry slushy (with Lime) from Sonic on our way to Newport, OR. He loves to drink...must get that from his dad....

We had a great time on the 4th of July watching the fireworks off of the Pier down at the historic Marina. We ate at least 2 pounds of Salt Water Taffy

And had a great time! The next day we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The underwater tubes were the coolest part.

Watch out for those Sharks girls!

And for those Giant Japanese Crabs! Creepy!

We also saw giant bronze sea turtles, sea lions, and three cute kids!

Then it was off to Nehalem bay to go crabbing with Grandma and Grandpa and the Henricksen's and all the rest of the family...even Kyle and Laura came all the way up from Provo! Good Times! Here we are at Tillamook Cheese factory:

When we got home we performed in our Ward Luau. We have been learning hula for almost 2 years now so it was fun to show off our stuff. The girls perfomed 3 numbers and Mom even shook her stuff for the whole ward to see.

Everyone was really impressed and said they felt like they were at the Polynesian Center in Hawaii

And then we Closed on our First Home in July!!! Finally! It was a long journey but totally worth it in the end. We purchased the home that we are currently living in from the Previous owner who gave us a great deal because he didn't want to have to deal with putting a house on the market right now. It worked out well for both of us. He didn't have to put the house on the market and we didn't have to move our stuff!

The kids are hanging in there but ready to start school again. Kendall got a letter from the President:

Brinley Built the tallest block tower EVER!

And Cooper got a buzz cut!

Hope you're all having a great summer too!

Love the Dezember's

Lukes BIG Graduation Day!!

2008-06-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

LUKE'S BIG GRADUATION DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS LUKE, WE LOVE YOU!

JUNE 14, 2008

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today was the day! Kaci, Dad and I drove up to Bellingham, WA, about an hour and a bit to see Luke Graduate. It was a great graduation, great talks, great company, and a beautiful sunny day. (bleachers were a little hard, and reading the names took over an hour, but we survived it)

Howard Lincoln, the CEO and chairman of the Mariners, and long time Vice President and later chairman of Nintendo (I think he said 20 years) was the main speaker, that was great for Luke! He even got to shake his hand. We were so PROUD of him, we were bustin buttons. He looked so good in those lovely graduation gown and cap, we took lots of pics.

After that we went for lunch at a Thai resturant that we got to sit on the floor with our feet down underneath. We had a great lunch and then went over to the local Co-op store where Luke bought dad a bunch of goodies for Fathers Day!!!

We went to the local favorite ice cream shop and bought some yummy ice cream before we headed back home. Next week is the big MOVE back from the long years of college. We had a great time today spending it with Luke and are looking forward to his new adventures!!!

Here are some pictures of the big DAY! Sorry this picture is blury, the bleachers were swaying on us, a little scary.

We packed up some of Lukes things so next weekend we won't have to pack as much.

YEAH! He's done! Now it's time to look for a Job in the real world. Good Luck!

You'll have a great time on your vacation to China, you deserve it!!

The Christmas Gift Adventure

2008-03-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

Well, Thanks to all of you kids, we had a great time on the dog sled run. We so much enjoyed the weekend get away with the hotel and the dog sled ride. We left Friday night March 7, and got to Leavenworth around 8:00pm. We bought a new camera just for this event, we wanted to get great pictures and also a video of it.

Saying good-bye to Crazy, the lead dog.The day was beautiful!!!!!!!!! It was in the high 40's and so warm that we didn't have to wear gloves or hats, although dad wore his baseball hat. We got to the place and went out back to a beautiful field of snow, with 28 Alaskan Huskies barking like crazy, wanting to be hooked up to the sled that was out and waiting to take off. We went all over the mountain . The amazing thing about these dogs was that when I was on the sled for about 15 minutes, the musher lost his hat and we kept going. Then on the way back the dogs took off the trail, which was unusual , and the musher, said "what are you doing!!!!!? They pulled up next to his hat and stopped so he could pick it up. WOW!!! Smart dogs , the musher leaned over and said "wow, I forgot I lost it". Shows who really is in charge.

Louis and Perry were great guides and gave us tons of information. Nine of the 12 dogs that pulled us were in the big race in Alaska and finished all 1100 miles. WOW!Thanks again for all the fun!!! We really appreciate your kindness and great IDEA!

It was a beautiful ride and lots of fun, thank you for your gift of Adventure. It was the best gift ever!!!! After the ride we went into Leavenworth and spent the day together. It was really relaxing and we really enjoyed the break away. Sunday we got up and took a ride over to Lake Chelan and drove home. It was a great WEEKEND!!!!!! THANK YOU, WE LOVE YOU

New Car, New Boyfriend, and Clean Room

2008-02-22T17:45:00.001-08:00

We got a new family SUV (crossover) car to replace our sad Explorer, which we really loved. Finally after many nights of looking, we haggled and haggled and got a great deal on a 2007 Kia Sorento with only 12,000 miles on it. We are certainly glad that is over. WHEW! Here is a picture of it parked at it's new home. Isn't it a pretty blue color? We were tired of the old green and silver which most of our cars have been, so we chose the new Blue look.

Then Kaci has been hanging with all the Singles Ward members, it's been long nights and tons of fun. Now she has a new boyfriend, so here comes the fun of dating and getting to know you. He's a long shoreman and travels from Everett to Portland to all the docks, working. His name is Aaron and the four of them are doing a lot of fun things together. Every time they say Cory and Aaron are coming over, It throws me off. Here's some pics of Kaci and Aaron.

We also have a new move in, which is Kaci's friend and has become a great friend of ours. Her name is Daphne and she works at the Everett Clinic, multi tasking at the front desk and other things. She's a lot of fun and enjoys all the games and fun our family can put out. She's really jumped right in and can handle US, which is amazing in itself.

This is Cory and Daphne, Kaci's good friends.Next and last is the amazing part of this whole blog. Something happened that was SPECTACULAR, Kaci CLEANED HER ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was sky high with wash and other stuff and today she cleaned it. I'm sure you are all saying, NO WAY!!!!!!!!!! So, I took a picture so you all would believe me. It's almost as rare as the sun shinning in the Northwest in the winter. WOW! IT LOOKS SO NICE!!!!!!!

The Big Sledding Trip

2008-01-26T22:12:00.000-08:00

So today, January 26, 2008 Kaci and her friends decided to have a funfilled day in the mountains sledding and playing in the snow. Actually they were supposed to go with the Single Ward to Mt. Baker to do that, but, they all decided that it was too far away since we were suppose to have a big snow storm come in later today and they didn't want to go that far away. Kaci asked us if she could drive the Explorer because their might be snow and it had 4 wheel drive. So we told her yes and away they went.

After the funfilled day of tubing and sleding and many sore muscles, they decided they should head home. So the piled their stuff in the car, tying a tube on top and headed down the mountain. Kaci the great mother she'll be reminded everyone that they should all wear their seatbelts and she wasn't leaving until they were all belted up. At some point Aaron, (one of the boys) questioning the snow and ice rules of how to drive in the snow.

Driving at about 25-30 mph they slowly came down the mountain. The SUV hit some ice and slid, Kaci being already questioned on the rules of snow from Aaron, cautiously tapping the breaks lightly with no resonse. The SUV, made a 180 and some how ended up on it's side sliding toward the side of the mountain into rocks. Greatfully it stopped sliding about 3 feets before hitting the rock. They all made sure that they were all ok and hung on to each other through the whole ordeal, hanging from their seatbelts. The SUV was on it's side on the driver side so they all had to climb out the other side. They all got out safely, NO ONE WAS HURT, and they all stood and hugged each other and said a prayer.

The police came and ambulances making sure they were ok, then came the tow truck to get our truck on it's tires and onto the tow truck. It's sad too see our little truck on it's side, but thank goodness that truck is heavy or they could of flipped over and hit those rocks. If they would've been in the small car that they were going to take there could've been a whole different story.

Boy are we thankful that the kids were ok and that the Lord watched over them. Kaci said she knows without his hand in this, she knows it would've been different.

Here are the pictures of the Explorer they took with their phone camera.

New Years in Seattle

2008-01-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

The Dezember's Hit Seattle

Here are some of the highlights of the Seattle trip over New Years:

First things first, we had to give Mom and Dad their gift for Christmas! The wait was killing them! I packaged it all up in a cute little box with a husky dog inside.

Then they opened their big surprise! Watch the video to see how excited they are! Or maybe it is fear in Mom's voice....you decide!

After that excitement the games began! We spent everynight playing games past midnight. One night we stayed up until 2:30 am! We all took turns napping during the day to make up for it. We tried to eat healthy! We had a lot of buxom guests (hee heee Kyle) who helped us eat all that food. Kaci's friends and the missionaries and there was even a guest appearance by Joel! Finally we got cabin feaver and decided to hit the town! Mom and Dad were nice enough to stay home with Cooper. So it was Kyle, Laura, Duffy and Me and the girls on the town! We had lunch at the Cheescake factory (Yummy) and then headed to the monorail to go to Seattle Center.

It was the girls first time up the space needle. Kendall was a little nervous of the height but Brinley loved the observation deck and looking through the telescopes.

We also headed down to the fountain and had to touch it of course! No surprise, Brinley got soaked.

Then we headed down to Pikes Place Market with all the wierdos. Thank goodness we didn't bring Cooper! But thank goodness we did bring Kyle! He knew exactly where to go! Great navigating Kyle, we would have been lost downtown without you!

Did I mention we finally did the Boeing tour? Dad was so proud! Duffy tried to smuggle his cell phone in and almost got frisked! It was worth the money to see dad beaming with pride.

Yeah so I didn't rotate this picture Kyle... But it is a good one!
Can't wait to go back to Seattle again!

December so far...

2007-12-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

So December has been a super busy month for our family, as I'm sure it has been for all of yours! Just wanted to give you all a fun update...

On December 4, Duffy turned the big 3-0! We surprised him by making buttons that had his Halloween picture on them (in the viking maiden suit) and said, "Fun and Flirty--Duffy's 30!" I had Duffy's receptionist hand out the buttons before he got to work. Every staff member and even a few visitors were wearing them when he got there. Boy was he surprised and embarrassed! Then Cooper and I surprised him with cake and ice cream and took him on a shopping spree. We finished the night at Shojis a Japanese restaurant where they prepare the food on the grill right in front of you! Brinley was afraid of the fire!

We have had a little snow off and on all month but it doesn't stick around very long! Cooper and Brinley sure had fun playing in the back yard though...can't wait to go sledding.

We got into the Holiday spirit by attending the Annual Bend Christmas Parade! It was freezing cold. Look at the temperature on the bank sign. With the wind it felt like it was in the teens. Cooper cried the whole time because he was miserably cold, the girls toughed it out and we finished watching the parade at our favorite Indian restaurant Taj Palace-very festive.

Little Johnny is getting bigger every day. He is so pretty I like to call him the "Sultan". Cooper enjoys laying on top of him. We had to bungee cord the Christmas tree to the banister so he wouldn't knock it over. This picture is him next to the girls tree.

Brinley was on the news this week. What a superstar! Here is a link to the newscast: http://www.ktvz.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=2029026&h1=Bend%20boys%20get%20special%20gift%20to%20help%20hear%20better%20%2812/18%29&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=117233&LaunchPageAdTag=Search

Her school is a deaf and hard of hearing school. Brinley and Kendall have really taken advantage of the opportunity to learn American Sign Language. Watch for Brinley in the middle of the piece signing "Yes, please" and "No, Thank You".

Kendall had her Christmas performance last night and her class did the cutest song... the Blitzen Boogy. The picture is pixely, but the sound recording is really good. Kendall is on the back row with a white blouse on, she was a real performer!

This is Kendall last night with her good friend from Kindergargen-Maya. They are such beautiful girls, just had to share.

Have a wonderful Christmas and we'll see you all at New Years! Most of you! Love The Dezember Family!

Kaci's Halloween Birthday Party

2007-11-25T09:25:00.001-08:00

It was Kaci's big 21st Birthday Oct 28 !!!!! Wow, where has the time gone? She had a great party with her best friends drinking, eating great food and enjoying the night. What kind of drink is that, Kaci?

Her friend's all came to enjoy the night of Goblins and Ghosts as they carved scary pumpkins, and wow, were they AMAZING. We should've put them in some kind of contests. They spent most of the night carving these beautiful outrageous pumpkins. Drinking Martinelli's and birthday cake and having a great deal of fun.

Then we got to enjoy the great art work on our front porch for Halloween!!!!! We had some great comments on how nice they were and who did these masterpieces. It was fun to decorate with them. Kaci has some talented buddies.

Hope you had a great Birthday Kaci, now that you are a big 21.

Oregon Trail Bananza

2007-11-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

We went to Baker City last Saturday. We went to see a museum that people have been telling us is so neat. We got there and it was closed for the season. So we went to small city above Baker City to see the steam engine. We got there and the Engine and Drudger was closed for the season. So we ate some pie to drowned our sorrows. We saw plenty of deer on the drive so we felt it wasn't a complete loss. So we started home when on the way out of the mountains we got stuck in a real live Cow Drive and the kids loved to see the small dogs boss the big fat cows down the street. Finally the cowboys/girls told us to drive through the cows and they will move for us. As you can see they gave us some resistance. (sorry for the sideways pict. thought I could move it around) As we left Baker City we saw a old hotel that was the largest hotel from SLC to Seattle in the 1800's (Syd didn't like the hotel because it was haunted said the owners.) As we got near the freeway out we saw another sign for another museum. We thought what have we got to lose so we went to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Museum where we only had 45min. to go through before it closed. It was neat and the kids learned about how much you can bring on the trail. Which is very little. But we did get some shots of the kids on the real wagon davits of the Oregon Trail.

Quail Court House

2007-11-16T23:59:00.001-08:00

Home Sweet Home

Over the weekend Duffy and our family went to the Tri-Cities for his brother's wedding . While there we drove over to the old green house, as we call it on Quail Ct. It looks exactly the same-well almost.
The first thing I noticed was the house was still the same color, never been painted--but wait, what is that I see? It has been painted! Someone painted ivy leaves all over the front of the house! How charming.

I also noticed the addition of a green arbor and a bird feeder. Sweet Memories....

Scary Family Halloween

2007-11-16T23:03:00.000-08:00

Here are our Creepy Halloween Pictures-Finally!

Cooper was Grumpy because his one-year molars were coming in-we thought Eeyore fit him well--until he started walking, then he looked more like Frankenstein!

Brinley was a MAAAAAD Scientist. She had green teeth, a

rat, a bloody heart, vials full of gross lab experiments, and rubber tubing wrapped around her that connected to an old medical pump which carried glowing green fluid filled with eyeballs.

Kendall has wanted to be Cleopatra since last Halloween. So we decided to go all out. I made her a costume and she wore a black egyptian cut wig, she even had gold sandals. We copied the makeup from a picture I found of Elizabeth Taylor.

Duffy was a viking maiden. His work gets a kick out of seeing their boss dressed as a woman and humiliating himself on halloween, which he does very well...

For the ward Halloween Party Duffy couldn't dress as a woman so we went as a Sugar daddy (hence the sugar packets) and a trophy wife (hence the trophy's). None of the little kids understood our costumes and I think a few of the women thought I was being pretentious. By the way, I don't really think I am Duffy's trophy wife.

Here is a better picture of our Halloween Party. The Cooler was a big hit, by the way-that is root beer. Take a look at the army guy, he was scary looking in the dark-intense!

Happy Halloween!

They did the Monster Mash....

2007-10-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night we hosted a devilishly good Adults only Halloween party. It was a lot of work to prepare for it, but when it was all done we had a ghoulishly delightful night. Here are some pictures of the evening.

Here is the invitation to the event

We had a really good turn out, there were ten of us all together and everyone dressed up for the party but one person, here are some of the guests and a group photo

The menu was the funnest part, here is a copy of our menu:

Menu le Mucous

Beverages: (We only serve the finest blends of sewage)
Waste Water
A fine vintage puss from 1941 Chef Werewolf Wendt
Port-O-Potty blue
Doc’s orders: Keep an EYE out for BLOOD in your URINE

Appetizers: (Fresh from the morgue, hardly decomposed)
Severed cadaver fingers and yellow puss dip
Deviled eye balls Chef Dead Dezember

First Course: (If you find the smell of rotting flesh putrid, you’ll love this dish!)
Septastrata purulent necrosis dip
Freshly picked scab chips Chef Mortician Maloy

Second Course: (We went deep into the dampest bat caves to scrape up this dip)
Bat wings
Guano dip Chef Decomposing Dezember

Main Course: (You benefit from this autopsy gone wrong)

Bloody chest cavity with beating heart Chef Snotty Smith

Dessert: (This dessert is sure to knock you off your broomstick!)

Decapitated witch head Chef Asylum Anderson

*Extra mucous is complementary
*Side of snot requires one good sneeze
*Hawking up a loogy requires skill-see Chef for demonstration
*Post-nasal drip is seasonal- only available in winter month

And here are some pictures of the food:

Decorating for the party was the funnest. We ate by candlelight, we had a glowing skull as our centerpiece, the place cards were tombstones with the guests names on them,we removed the light bulbs in the bathroom and put in one candle, on the mirror Duffy wrote Redrum in red, we also hid a china doll behind the glass in the shower. We played scary music the entire time and had a black and white horror movie on the tv with the sound off. We also placed drop cloths over our couch and furniture. Here are a few more pictures:

We also had a lot of fun playing "Scarygories" just like scattegories but with Halloween themed catagories like: Ways to murder someone, things found in a graveyard, provocative costumes etc.

We had so much fun, it may become a tradition!
(Sorry if the pictures are dark, it was by candlelight after all!)

2007-10-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

Autumn with the Lucoff's

The kids had a great time playing soccer this year. Sydni is still playing with the same team she played with last season, and is now going to stay on that team for seasons to come (GO ORANGE CRUSH). Ellias is a better bowling ball then a soccer player he loves to take the
other players to the ground for a

wrestling match more then score goals. Now that the season is over we can relax without so many practices.

Ellias started preschool and has had so much fun.
The preschool has already gone on several field trips to pumpkin patches, and to the fire station. He is now out for the fall session and goes back in November.

Now to more important things

"HALLOWEEN"

Our families favorite holiday(if you cant tell by the picts.) .

We are all ready with our pumpkins and our costumes.

Sydni is sporting her new nightly past time of sucking blood from unfriendly boys from school.

Ellias is showing off his manly muscles for the camera, and is green with anger.

The house is now so scary that the kids love to sit in the yard all night looking at the spooktacular lights of the three blow up decorations, and the orange and eyeball lights hanging on the porch. I am sure we will see many goblins this Halloween with our display. Aaron says he despises it, but we take that as he secretly loves it.

There is still a little boy in there even if it is deep, deep down there.

Hopefully you enjoy your Halloween as much as us!!!!

The Baptism of Kendall Dezember

2007-10-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Dad, Mom, Kaci and Luke all traveled to Bend, Ore, for a very special day. On the way we were so glad that we had prayed before we left because we were traveling along the highway when we came accross a big spot about 200 yards of a inch of hail. All cars started to put their breaks on and we started to slide. We all thought we were going to spin, then go off the edge and down a 5 foot drop, thankfully dad looked in the rearview mirror and saw the semi behind us trying to stop and swirved out of the way. The semi came about a foot from moms mirror and kept on a going still trying to stop. I think my heart was in my throat about that time. We were very thankful after that we had stopped and prayed as we left home.
BUT after arriving we played games and had a great time with the grandkids. It's always so much fun when we get to see our kids.

Kendall's day has finally arrived, we were so excited for her to be baptized. She has been waiting for this day for a long time. We all got ready and went to the church, where Kelli gave a wonderful talk and Kendall and dad walked down the steps to the baptismal font, as Brinley asks Kendall, (is it cold?) It was a wonderful day and we are so proud of Kendall and her choice to Choose The Right. Way to go Kendall!!!!!Kendall wore a beautiful white dress, she was so beautiful and looked like a little angel. She was so careful to keep it so clean and pretty all while she wore it.

The next day she was confirmed as a member of the church. What an awesome weekend!! Her cousins, Grandparents, and uncles were there from the Tri-Cities . Also, Kaci, Luke, and Grandma and Grandpa Stapley. We all played games and ate a ton of junk food and just enjoyed being together.

Here's the proud dad, I put this picture in here so Kyle can change duffy's picture in our Brady Bunch, so Duffy doesn't have to wear a bra anymore. So, here's your chance, Kyle.

Cooper got a ton of attention, everyone loved holding him and playing with him and all the kids there spent most of their time entertaining him. COOPER WAS IN HEAVEN!!!! Except for all the accidental wake ups from family members walking into his room.

Brinley had a great time at the baptism and enjoyed every minute of the social time we had with a house full of people. She was grinning from ear to ear!!!!! She always hates to see everyone leaves but we'll be seeing her soon as we get into the Christmas holidays. So she can look forward to that. Hopefully there won't be too bad of weather to get over the pass.

Kendall's new kitty, provided by the Lucoffs for her birthday has been a joy to the kids. Kendall named him Johnny, even though he still comes to them if you call him "Monkey". ( the name Cori named him although she thought it was a girl at the time) He curls right up in your lap and loves to cuddle. He's a cutie!!!!!Well, we had a wonderful weekend and we are so happy that we all could get together for such a wonderful celebration. WE are SOOOOO PROUD of YOU, Kendall!!!!

Cooper's 1st Birthday!

2007-09-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

School Starts Again!

2007-09-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

So I think we all have really boring lives! Haha, just kidding. We need to so more stuff on this blog! Haha. (I'll get off my soapbox now) So the past few weeks have been pretty interesting and tiresome for us here in Provo. First off we finally got all moved into our new apartment. We love it! It's really nice and has a huge kitchen. But we didn't really get a chance to enjoy it since school started two weeks ago. This semester looks like it will be my hardest. I'm taking a ton of credits and a couple of online classes that are pretty time consuming. We have hardly had any time to sit and enjoy. Oh the joys of school! But hopefully I will be all done by the summer. Laura is still working hard at her salon and the MTC, But I think that we are both anxious to get on with our lives away from school and Provo. Hopefully.....maybe the Northwest?....hmm....

A ten hour tour...

2007-08-30T11:55:00.001-07:00

Yes the rumors about a boating trip gane bad are true. Last week I enjoyed the company of my best friend and boyfriend as we took a boat out to sea, well the puget sound. We had taken a similar trip just days before with much success! On this particular day we started off again in the early afternoon to go crabbing and possibly fishing. We launched the 14 ft aluminum boat at the Mukilteo beach as usual and headed for our crabbing hot spot just past the ferry docks. The water was a little rough but managable and the wind felt good in the beating sun. We set our traps behind an old oil pier and next to the new boeing shipping pier. It was a nice place to crab because the waves were being broken by the oil pier so we felt very protected. Hours went by and we kept busy catching three crabs and eating some pretzels and PB&J's (the favorite food of fishing trips). Before we knew it the wind had picked up. We decided to go pick up our traps and head back to the boat lauch. We pulled up the anchor and headed for that first pot. We pulled it just fine. We headed for the second one which was farther out, we got close but the waves against our boat were choppy and we decided it wouldn'e be safe for someone to stand and pull in the conditions. We headed back behind the pier where the water was safer and achored again, only to watch our 2 remaining pots bob in the water. All the small boats around us had gone in and it was still light out. The water was still really rough so we decided to wait it out. We beached the boat on a fenced off sandy beach for about 10 minutes to go to the bathroom and jumped back in to see if we could get around the pier. WE tried and tried but it was just to rough. the water was white capping and the swells were about 2-3 feet which is big for a boat like ours. So now what? Well I'll let the article tell the rest of the story...

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070828/NEWS01/108280032

Yep so we called Joel's mom to ask for advice and she called the coast gaurd for advice and well before we knew it the captain of the Kittatas ferry called Joel's cell Phone and well we were saved. The guys that came to save us were hillarious. Was the whole thing frightning you ask? A little but not so much.... mostly embarrassing. Especially when the ferry is shing a huge light on you so everyone can see you, and when it's delayed for 1 hour because of you and all the passangers waiting to get on are at the dock watching you get towed in. But lesson learned. I was told it was in the Seattle times too but I couldn't find it. Anyways we were on the boat a total of 10-11 hours and when we got off I really did want to kiss the ground. We all took showers and celebrated our rescue at about midnight with crab and sparkling cider. YUM YUM!

The Adventures of a One year-old

2007-08-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Cooper is turning one on Saturday and everything is an adventure! I wanted to share some of his most recent experiences:
http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery.php?source=ppsl&instanceid=82308146
Click on the link to watch a cute slide show of hm on the slip and slide

He figured out how to escape my chair barracade I make for him in the living roomwhile I am mopping the kitchen floor! The Great Escape!

He has also learned to feed himself with a spoon or fork and he loves every minute of it!

And today he learned to drink from a soda can!

Happy 1st Birthday Cooper!

I'm sure we have many more adventures to come.....

Kelli and Duffy and Family come to Seattle!!!!!!!

2007-08-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

Kelli and Duffy and family came to Seattle for Dad's Birthday. Unfortunately, Brinley and Cooper threw up all the way here and Brinley had to lay down most of the time they were here. This is Cooper right after throwing up all over Grandma. Kelli and I spent a long time cleaning the van and we threw away Coopers baby seat and had to go get another one. It was pretty ripe!!!!!!!!

Kendall managed to stay well, until the day they left, Grandma and her got it that day and Kendall had a long long drive home. NOT FUN!!!!

Finally the last day here we got to go on a Ferry ride across the Sound to Whidbey Island. It was fun just walking on, going across and coming back.

Kelli and Kaci enjoyed just sitting and talking and playing with Cooper.
Brinley, like usual was meeting new friends.

Cooper enjoyed all the attention he got from all the family, he's growing so fast and is such a cute little guy. He has Grandpa's eyes, which is really fun to see.

While picnicing on the beach 4 Blue Angels came flying by and did some circles over head. It was Sea Fair that weekend so they were just coming back from doing a show in Seattle. It was fun to watch them.

On the beach looking for cool rocks and shells. We saw a lot of things there, the good year blimp, a lighthouse, boats, trains, some cool kites, Blue Angels airplanes, Ferries and a bunch of other things. On the way there Grandpa showed us the Boeing plant and the airplanes parked ready to test fly.

Also the adults, except mom, went to a Mariner game. Grandma stayed with the kids and we watched it on tv with popcorn and drinks. They lost!!!!!!!!!!!! But we had a ton of fun, Brinley was still not feeling well and Cooper fell asleep on us early. We watched a video and had a great time. While at the game Kelli took some great pictures but we downloaded them and something happened and I lost them. S O R R Y , they are on my computer but I couldn't copy them, the file is lost. They had a ton of fun though.

NEXT TO COME......... Kyle and Laura, which they have some fun plans in Leavenworth, so stay tuned for the blog.

Crabbing and Fishing on the Oregon Coast

2007-07-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Kaci and Joel with their new favorite thing to do in Oregon. They caught all together 5 silver Salmon. Going out into the open sea (where we all get sick and beg Van to bring us back or throw us overboard). They were real troopers and brought us back some yummy food. They had the time of their life.

While out fishing for Salmon they set the crab pots out across the bar and got some huge sea crabs, some of the biggest we've ever caught. They pulled the pots in and one of them had 9 keepers. One day they brought in 26 ( a little over their limit) and the next day they brought in 15. Boy, they were good, and our camping neighbors were delighted when we took them over a few crab. One brought us over some tacos in exchange.

The Great fisherman, having a mountain dew break. Dad and him I think were having a dew contest.

Kaci after a long fishing trip and all that Dranamine to help her get through the day, took a long and well deserving nap.

What a prize!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good-bye crabby see you in my tummy soon. YUM!!!!!!

Dad made his usual peach cobbler,that was so delicious

Dad and his buddy enjoying the evening

Janice the cook.

Over all it was a nice relaxing trip and we enjoyed every minute with our best friends, enjoying their company and eating our favorite foods. We hated to leave, can't wait til next year.

Vans looking for a fun name for his new boat called the Sea Dori. All those names that you think would be a cute name, please submit them to me and maybe your name will be the winner.

Dad and Mom go off to Canada!

2007-07-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

Dad I went to Canada last weekend to see Hells Gate. (Duffy, this is not a chance to swear!)

It's right out of Hope, Canada. It was beautiful up there!!!! We went down a tram to this little village and there were lots of little shops , panning for gold, and there was a Salmon Resturant.

Looking over the edge, the water was 160 feet deep. Looking down the grate bridge was a little scary since the bridge was blowing in the wind some.

This whirlpool had 200 million gallons of water going through it every minute. A explorer named this sight because they had to etch across the mountain to get around it because the water was to dangerous.

It was a nice relaxing time for us and we really enjoyed the view.

Then we went to Bridle Falls, it was well worth the little hike to see this beautiful sight.

Wish we would have had one more day to enjoy the beauty.

This week we will be going crabbing so watch for more on the next blog. YUMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cori and Aaron came to Seattle

2007-07-22T20:17:00.001-07:00

Cori, Aaron and the kids came for a visit to Seattle, we had a great time! Dad and Aaron chased each other around in the bumper cars, Syd and Eli had a great time on the rides. We got to watch the kids play in the fountain, which was nice on a warm Seattle day.

After ths zoo one day we went to the Mariners game, it was great, although the M's lost. The kids were so patient sitting for the 5 hours. We had a fun time eating all that baseball food. WOW! were we full.

This was the best

Picture we could

get of Aaron, believe me it was hard just getting the picture. The kids looked great and so did mom, so this is it. Aaron said he wanted to be remembered as a goof ball so here he is.

Ellias loved the water, we had to
encourage him to come closer into the beach. He loved looking for rocks and throwing them out into the ocean. It was a lot of fun for him.

Syd on the other hand was looking for special rocks to collect and seashells to take home. We walked up and down the beach a few times hunting for them. Ellias was catching all the little baby crabs and squishing them. NO FEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now for the games!!! As you can see Aaron was up to his normal self, grabbing, crushing hands and climbing all over the table. I think he was on the table more than on

his chair. He owe's me a new spoon, and a new deck of cards!

You can see by Cori's smile she got the best of Aaron. This is a picture of Aarons hairy back with a big bite mark on the right side. There is actually two bites if you look hard. One on the left side too. They got a little aggressive that night. LOL

As you can see we had a great time while they were here. We went to the Zoo, Pacific Science Center, Seattle Center, Aquarium, a game and the beach. Wow, that was a lot to cram into a few days, BUT WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, I must add the WII, Aaron discovered it the last day and him and Kaci competed all day long. I think Aaron would've like a few more days of that. So there you have it, five days in Seattle. We loved having them here!

Thanksgiving preparations have begun...

2007-07-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right: another holiday ruined. For the second time in ten years, the Lucoffs have tentatively agreed to meet and celebrate a holiday. After the 2005 Christmas blowout in Idaho Falls (the first gathering in ten years), some experts predicted this would not happen again until Hailey's Comet passed, while others simply proclaimed that even if it was possible, it was best if it just didn't occur. Despite the expert forecasts, Lucoffpalooza will kick off in Boise for Thanksgiving 2007.

A gathering of the Lucoffs is always marked by the joining of the two idiot sons, which has been analogized as something akin to a Tolkien tragedy. Nothing good has ever come about when these two mental giants combine forces. It has been proclaimed that "history repeats itself", and if the idiot sons are any measure, the same can be said for stupidity.

Common household items become useful instruments of torture in the hands of morons. In his old age, Grandpa Lucoff forgot this critical point and unwittingly supplied a water gun readily convertible into 4 separate water guns. Although originally intended as a gift to Eli, the present has since fallen into the hands of idiot son number one.

Tradition is not lost at a Lucoff gathering and this upcoming Thanksgiving will be no different. Every meal will begin with a reciting of Justin's (idiot son number 2) high school report cards and conclude with tales of high adventure, legend, lore and police investigations. Arguments will be nigh. Feelings will be hurt, mended, and hurt again five minutes later. Food may be thrown. For sure, groin punches will be plentiful.

For those who make the mistake of staying in hotels (Grandma and Grandpa Lucoff), there will be the usual complement of early morning phone calls, prank mailings, and embarassing (but tasteful) faxes. Pizza delivery and soaping of the cars are optional. And of course, every family photo will include a visit from "The Face" (pictured atop).

Alas, stay tuned for a report on this once in a lifetime disaster destined to be repeated three or four years later.

The trip to Cali- and the Trees of Mystery

2007-06-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Recently the Dezembers met Mom, Dad, and Kaci at Crescent city, California for a wonderful quaint beach stay. We explored the Jedidiah Stake Park and dicovered how enormous the Redwood trees really are! Just 15 miles away from the beach house was a tourist attraction named the Trees of Mystery. When we got there we were greeted by an hundred foot Paul Bunyan. When we got out of the car Paul opened his eye and said good morning! He also asked Dad what had happenned to his leg, since Dad was still on his crutches. Brinley exchanged jokes with Paul Bunyan as they laughed together. Paul also waved and winked at us! Duffy didn't pay much attention to Paul he was to busy making friends with Babe. What an animal lover Duffy is! We went on a trail that showed us all the unique redwood trees and led us to the Sky Trail. The sky trail took us up and over the trees above the forest. We had to talk Duffy into riding the sky trail because he is not fond of hieghts! Up up and away we went to the top of the mountain. As we left the Trees of Mystery Paul Bunyan gave us a big Wave goodbye and we went to the Drive thru tree where we had a picnic and drove through a big Redwood! On our vacation we also spent a lot of time on the beach. We walked the beach several times and Kaci skim boarded across the water. We liked the beach there better than Oregon ones because it was alot warmer. At low tide we walked across the rocks to the lighthouse and saw the beautiful ocean waves crash against the rocks. We also saw lots of little crabs when we flipped some of the rocks over! Before we left we went on another nice hike thruogh the redwoods, it was very cool. Overall it was a good time for everyone to relax and enjoy nature. Here's some more pics!

Finger Magic

2007-06-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

Just a little something that I found and wanted to share. Enjoy...

Cooper is Crawling!

2007-06-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

We captured some funny photos of Cooper when he was learning to crawl a few weeks ago. It was more of an army crawl, lunge forward, and then crawl. He often would lose his pants in the process-as illustrated by these pictures!

Tumalo Falls

2007-06-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a few pictures I got before my camera battery died when Cori and family came to Bend to visit us. The cousins had a great time together and we look forward to when the next visitors come!

Dezember Family Rocks Bend

2007-06-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, So we are the last ones to log on to the family Blog--I hope this post makes up for it! We have had a great year so far. Kendall has been displaying her many talents at school and home. She was selected to be in the school talent show in April where she wowed the audience with her jump roping skills! Last week Kendall was in her school signing bee against the entire school. The interpreters would finger spell a word for the students and they would have to tell them the word signed--well it came down to a 3rd grader, a 5th grader and our little 1st grader--and Kendall won the whole thing! Duffy was there to watch and was so proud. I was with Brinley on her last day of Kindergarten field trip to the park. All of her teachers told me how much of a joy Brinley was to have around and that she was very helpful and a great friend. We also got good news that she qualified for the Tiny and Talented program for gifted students. Way to go Brinley! Cooper is a moving and a grooving all over the place. At this rate he should be walking before he is 1 (which is almost here if you can believe it!) Hope you enjoy the great pics. I will do my best to keep posting. Love you all!

2007-06-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

The Last month with the Lucoffs

2007-06-11T16:58:00.000-07:00

These are great pictures we took in the last month of the kids. Although we did go to Bend to visit the Dezembers both me and Kelli's batteries in our cameras both died. So we have no memories to show you we were there. We did have fun though. We climbed a large waterfall with the kids and then me and Aaron went under the waterfall while Kelli and Duffy and the kids watched from a safe distance. We could have sat in the mist all day but the kids were waiting and they were hungry so we left. We also found the best Indian food restaraunt in the world (besides India) in Bend and it was cheap. The kids loved it. Sydni had fun playing soccer and wants to play fall season. In her last game she scored a goooooaaaal. Which seems to get harder to do every year. She also danced in her recital for dance and she looked beautiful in her purple tutu(in the picture she is with her friend Jackael). Ellias played soccer too. He is more excited to be in a soccer outfit then acually proticapating in the game. He runs around the kids and only makes contact with the ball if he is in the way of it. We hope to have more pictures this comming month when we go to Seattle. The picture of the kids and the river is on the Snake at the Swan Falls Dam I thought it was a great pict. it is my screen saver.

This Week in the Lives of Kyle and Laura

2007-05-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! This week has been pretty busy and mundane. Just work and sleep and work and sleep and work and sle.....you get the idea. But something exciting did happen to us finally! IKEA opened Wednesday! Hooray! We have been waiting for ever for it to open and in spite of large crowds and crazy traffic, we decided to partake in the opening day festivities. It was a lot of fun and very exciting. Now we have a place to go when we get bored. Also we went to Kaysville to help paint her parents living room (I guess not having cable, Laura is going through HGTV withdrawals). This weekend is Memorial Day and in keeping a Broadhead tradition, we will be driving to the old farm in Nephi and visit Les' parents graves sites and leave flowers. Maybe Laura and I can go to see Grandma and Grandpa Stapley and Russell's graves too. Congrats to Kaci for making Soundation! We are super excited for you and can't wait to hear you perform! I want the first copy of the CD you will make! Also, Get well soon Dad! We love you all and hope to hear back from you soon!

Get Better Soon Dad!!

2007-05-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

Laura and I are both wishing Dad a speedy recovery. We wish him well and hope that he will soon be back up and moving around and start building his projects again. In honor of his suffering, we ate a box of Dunford Donuts in his honor. GET WELL SOON! WE LOVE YOU!

Dad is resting for the first time in 20 years!!!

2007-05-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today Dad went to Providence hospital and received a brand new meniscus, well almost brand new ( a mended one) the doctor said he would recover in a couple days but when he saw dad's knee in surgery it ended up being worse than what they thought. (Stapley Luck- or lack of) The meniscus was torn and the bone underneath was worn so they had to drill a little into his bone, don't worry I have pictures for everyone. Within a couple hours dad was home and watching AMC on TV. He's feeling no pain, except for emotional when I beat him in a hardcore game of cribbage! He will be on crutches for a month or so and will be back to work in two weeks. He hasn't eaten much, but has not slowed down in the usual mountain dew consumption. He is bored to tears and would love to talk to anyone willing!!! Love ya'll-Kaci- This picture shows the holes that were drilled in his bone :) cool huh?

Happy Birthday Laura!

2007-05-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

Boy were the last few days busy! Yesterday was Laura's birthday and it was great! On Monday we had a little get together with some of our friends and surprised Laura. It was a ton of fun. Then on Tuesday, we met up with Laura's parents in Salt Lake and ate at The Roof. I've never been there before and boy was it wonderful! We had a great view of Temple Square and Downtown Salt Lake and the food was awesome! The best part is that it's all you can eat. We had a wonderful time (minus the waitress which forgot everything!) and Laura got a lot of great presents. It's been a good birthday so far and she still wants to continue celebrating it for the rest of this week. She was very happy to hear from everyone who called and wished her a Happy Birthday. Especially the little nieces and nephews. Thanks everyone for your love and support!

Our Fun Week

2007-04-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

This week has been really crazy, but a lot of fun. Finals has started and I'm already half way done. They've been pretty hard so far and I don't think the next few are going to be any easier. But I'm going to be fine, i think. Also this week Laura went to the dentist and got really numb but her teeth are all squeaky clean! I went golfing in West Point and had a great time, I even did pretty good too. We also did a lot of shopping, sleeping, and eating. Today we went to our park that we got engaged in and looked at the awesome flowers there. The park is really beautiful and full of large beds of tulips. We realized that we haven't really been there since we got engaged almost exactly one year ago. Wow. That's so crazy to think. It has gone by fast but also seemed that it's been so long ago. Oh how great life is. We love you all!

Soundsation Audition

2007-04-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today I was very brave and tried out for the elite Jazz choir at EDCC named Soundsation. I don't think I have ever been so nervous. I did my best and I should know if I made it by Mother's day and if I did I will be very happy, if I didn't then I guess I'll know I was meant to be a radiology technician. There was also a bomb threat at my school today, dogs and police were there but classes remained in session which I thought was a little crazy!? Anyways, I don't like Psychology or chemistry and I have homework for both. Peace out fam. :) - That's the Kaci update for now.

Last Day of School For Me! Yeah!

2007-04-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Today is the last day of school for this semester for me! Yeah! I'm so happy about it. This semester has been quite the challenge. I've been really getting into my Sociology major and those classes are great but the last few classes for my GE requirements have been the toughest so far. But now I only have one more class until i get my associates and then only two more semesters (hopefully) until i graduate with my BS. Then...the dreaded job search. Laura and I are doing really good, and we have made a goal to take more pictures. So this blog will be a good excuse to show them off. We also made our own blog at http://www.kyleandlaura.blogspot.com/. So check it out for hopefully more pictures. (once we start taking them) Hope everyone is doing great and keep in touch!

Welcome To The Stapley Family Blog!

2007-04-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new Stapley Family Blog. This is a place for the Stapley Family to post pictures, stories, updates, and pretty much anything that is happening, so that we can share it with each other. So feel free to post all you want!