Grandpa Stapelman's birthday

On this date in 1919, my grandpa, Lester William Stapelman was born and the world was made a better place!

I was only 6 when my grandpa passed away, but I still have lots of good memories of him! He used to tease me all the time about the way I couldn't pronounce my r's. He would ask me to say,"put your shoes on the porch" every time he saw me. Of course it all came out funny and he would just laugh!

I also remember riding with him on the back of Lucy. He made her buck and it scared me so bad! I remember just wrapping my fingers around his belt loops and praying they didn't come loose from his pants.

We almost always went to grandpa and grandmas on Sunday evenings. We would watch Lawrence Welk and the Disney Sunday movie. Grandma would make popcorn and homemade fudge. Sometimes, it would get a little rowdy and the ropes would come out. Grandpa would tie the kids up and see how long it took us to get loose.

I remember how hard grandpa worked up until he got sick. He was always out doing something: farming, hunting, working with his horses. I don't remember seeing him relax much.

I also remember going on a trek with my grandparents. We went with another family and we took the horses and the wagon that my grandpa built. They cooked chicken over a fire and let me tell you, it was BLACK!

So many good memories! Just wish he had been around longer to leave us with more. I know he still looks down at us and sees what kind of people we've become and I think he would be proud!

Dad's 65th birthday

Dad and Alta came up for a few days at the end of July. We decided to go to the Minidoka Dam and have a little birthday party/get together while they were here. Everyone was there; all of the kids and grandkids from both families came. That really doesn't happen very often! My aunt Shawna even showed up! We all brought our own dinner and Chelsey made a german chocolate cake and some cupcakes for the kids. The kids got to splash and play in the water and some got to tube and jet ski.

Lindsay had just gotten her belly button pierced and this was the first time she could get wet after the piercing!

In typical grandpa fashion, my dad let ALL the kids help blow out the birthday candles...one can only imagine how many germs were just blown over it!

My dad moved to Pendleton about 15 years ago or so. I sure wish he lived closer so the kids knew him better. They only see him about once a year, twice if they're lucky. I feel bad that they won't ever really know him or how much he loves them.

Jason and Sally got there late because they had another family reunion earlier that day. The kids had already been swimming so they didn't want to get wet. This is Whitney! She's getting so tall and beautiful!

CJ took each of his boys out on the jet ski. They both really loved that...guess what CJ will need to buy next?

Braquel and Keven are getting married!

They've finally decided to pick a date and get married! Braquel told me the whole time she was in high school that she wanted to get married and start a family right after high school. I told her she was crazy and she had all the time in the world to get married. Luckily for me, Keven agreed. He didn't want to jump in right away so they agreed that they would live together for one year and see how it goes.

Well, I guess it's been going well because he proposed earlier this summer! I know how much it means to her that he asked her and didn't just assume they would tie the knot! It's so cute when they start planning things because she tries to include him in every decision. (and he's actually really good about giving his opinion on even the little things.) I'm so excited for them! One night we were having a bonfire and I told him thank you for asking her; it made her so happy. And he looked at me and said,"She makes me happy." It was so sweet!