Rappleye Reunion

We got together with my extended family on the Rappleye side this weekend for our reunion, and this years' was extra special because Grandma Avonell Rappleye is celebrating her 90th birthday this week!
So the reunion started off with a big birthday party with a program, a display table, amazing decorations, and yummy food. I was honored to represent all of Avonell's grandchildren and read their one-line tributes to the audience. Thank you all my cousins who emailed their tributes to me, Grandma loved every word! It was fun to reconnect with cousins there. At that party I was struck with how blessed and fortunate we all are for being born to Grandma's family. She endowed us all with charity and musical talents and selfless consideration of others.
Aunt Betty Ann, Patricia, Kathy Sue, and Jeanie, Avonell's daughters.
Fiora being bored.

Savanna caught in the act of biting her nails!!!
Great grandchildren singing happy birthday songs for Grandma.
This was how Grandma looked the entire evening! She was so surprised and thrilled the whole night! She told me it was the best birthday party she has ever had.



My Aunt Cathy made this collage and managed to get a picture of every single person in Grandma's posterity, I thought that was amazing.
Our Uncle John Rappleye, Foster Rappleye's brother, attended the birthday. My cousin Meadow Terry Alexander and her baby Faith are pictured with him. Meadow and her family did a great job on the refreshments that evening.
Me and grandma, see how she is just beautiful and beaming?

One Monday, memorial day, we gathered at Aunt Patricia's church for family pictures, games, the Mayflower skit, lunch, and a less formal birthday party for Grandma. Grandma's was given an amazing gift from her daughters, a cruise to the Bahamas in November!!! She was so shocked and thrilled. My sister Holly offered to make grandma's birthday cake for this day, and I helped her with it. She did a great job and it tasted wonderful!!! While we were doing the cake Jared was with my cousins playing basketball and other games. It was fun to see the family playing volleyball and basketball together.

Picture time. This was less than 50% of the family, but still a numerous crowd!


The Mayflower skit, this was interesting, it gave a history of our ancestors and traced our lineage clear back to the pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower.







It was super cold outside that day, but we all survived! We all just love our Grandma Rappleye so much, I hope she always knows how much she is loved!

Best present ever

Jared has been working hard at real estate this month. He hasn't even done his weekly fishing trip or 4-wheeling spree that he usually does once a week! He took time out of his busy work schedule to do two things for me this week: buy me furniture in Murray and go the the temple with me. Well, the furniture thing was only coincidentally close to my birthday, but I count it as my birthday gift because it sure made my week! Jared found some beautiful vintage couches and a marble-top coffee table on KSL. They had just been posted and the lady selling them had them custom made twelve years ago and paid $5000.00. They looked like new, and she was only asking $950.00 for the set because she was moving and needed to sell them quick. We couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe it! I have wanted couches like that for as long as I can remember and never thought I would own any in my lifetime because I thought I'd have to pay thousands of dollars for them. We called the neighbors to come sit with the kids and we left the house at 8:00 PM to go to Murray to get those couches before anyone else claimed them. I could not believe my eyes, they were perfect! I felt like it was a birthday gift from Heaven! I'm not sure the pictures do them justice. They have been very well taken care of and do not look 12 years old. Yet they look like they were made for a castle built in 1780! I love them.








For my birthday I was able to go to the temple with Jared in the morning. My friend Stacy took me to lunch and we had a great visit that afternoon. Then I went to Carrabbas for dinner with my parents and grandma and siblings and we came home and had cake with the kids. I also got many birthday wishes on text and facebook, it was wonderful! Savanna and Fiora had "bought" a little ceramic figurine from the citizen slip store at school and gave that to me for my birthday. Weston made me a letter with coupons to make breakfast for 15 days and make my bed for 17 days. He also said, "you are the best mom I have ever had!" I'm very grateful for the many many blessings the Lord has given me, my family is my dearest treasure!

Savanna's Birthday

Savanna turned 10 on May the 17th. She has had a dramaqueen history with friend parties so I utterly refused to plan a party with her peers this year. She didn't like that idea. In fact, she rebelled. She planned her OWN friend party for the Saturday prior to the 17th. She made an itinerary, set up an obstacle course, and was on the phone for a good part of the day trying to round up last minute guests. She got two friends to commit and one maybe, so Jared and I agreed to make a little extra chicken and serve them dinner. Savanna decided they needed some kind of party favor so she got out her candy bag and selected some choice candy for each friend and decided they would play "hot and cold" to find the candy. She got a movie from the Redbox and put a candle in one cupcake for everyone to sing happy birthday to her around. She told her friends "don't worry about giving me a present," but the two friends who came, Hannah and Jill, brought her a gift anyway! I thought that was great of them.




And did the night transpire without any drama??? Well, against some heavy odds, Savanna maintained a very positive attitude. The weather didn't cooperate and rained out her obstacle course. The one "maybe" friend never ended up coming, and Jill had to leave after only an hour. And Savanna couldn't even eat the cupcake because she was still off desserts at the time. Despite all this she only let one tear out and needed only one hug and was otherwise very cheerful. Jared and I were very impressed with her efforts to make her own party.

I wasn't completely heartless, on her actual birthday I had all sorts of funness planned. I spent hours the day before making a Mississippi Mud Cake for her birthday and for her first dessert off the contract. On her birthday I woke up early and made crepes and bacon for her breakfast and wrapped presents for her. She loved the breakfast and the gifts, a camera, soccer cleats, and snow cone syrup. Savanna especially loved the crepes. For lunch I checked her out of school and took her to Wendy's for date with Mom. We went to Macey's to get donuts for her class too. After school the Barretts were all here to celebrate her and Mekhi's (Holly's boy turning 7) birthdays. I had brought up tables and chairs and decorated and cooked and cleaned so we could have a fun party. My mom was over the top nice and had several presents for both Savanna and Mekhi, and she orchestrated a Boola Boola game to have the birthday girl and boy find the gifts. Savanna was showered with nice clothes by her extended family. So its official now, Savanna is a TWEEN.

Mothers Day and more

Mother's day is never a bad day for me. Jared gave me "tangled" and a new crock pot, and he paid full price. He must really love me!!! My kids love showering me with gifts and cards and Jared always makes me breakfast, it really lifts my spirits. My mom also gave me a gift, the "Master Mom Award" and a gift card. I gave her some begonia's for her front porch. I love my mom, she is a wonderful example of strength and faith and always relying on the Spirit to guide her and I'm grateful for that in my life.


Silly Weston. Weston spends hours and hours outside on the trampoline with his sword. He must be in some kind of make believe world to be able to stay out there that long. He has been dragging his feet lately whenever its time to get out the door, or start FHE, or go to bed. He is usually the person we are waiting on, and he gets frustrated when we all try to hurry him along. Weston gave me some marigolds and a handmade book of things he loves about me for Mother's day. It melted my heart! I love this boy.

Did anyone know Fiora is a master speller? She is always in the 100s club at school because she never misses a word on her spelling tests! She is also an avid reader, maybe that goes hand in hand with spelling well. Fiora gave me a hand crafted boquet of flowers and a beautiful card for mother's day, and gave me lots of hugs. Lately Fiora has been heading out the door to school without her glasses on, but she always runs back for them, its funny that she keeps forgetting. She was a huge help at our yard sale this weekend, shaking YARD SALE signs and helping set up and regulate sales. Fiora has had a hard time with the no-candy contract but she is chewing lots of gum and being amazingly patient.



Savanna really surprised me this year. She went to our neighbor's yard sale and bought, with her own money, a shirt that fit me perfectly and wrapped it up for me for mother's day. I thought that was above and beyond sweet! She was also a big help at the yard sale. She is persevering with the violin lessons, still practicing although she'd rather not, and this despite the fact that her teacher took a maternity leave this month. Savanna asked me to draw a portrait of her and Fiora and Weston now that I have extra time, so I think I will take her up on that. Savanna finished soccer last week, and look what her coach said about her in an email:
"I am just so excited about our game today and wanted to congratulate all the girls for how well they played. I am so impressed. A special cheer for Savanna and Marrissa for great goalkeeping. There were some awesome saves today that I wouldn't have imagined their age girls could get!!!! They are FEARLESS!"




Weston finished up soccer last week, he did a really good job this season as a defender. He would stay at the goal end of the field and make sure if the ball came that way he kicked it back the other direction. He did a pretty good job of it! He is not the most aggressive player, but he seems to be getting better at it every year. We signed him up for a beginning karate class this summer and he is really excited about it.

Weston and his new map on his wall. I got this idea from my friend, it makes a perfect decor for a little boy's bedroom, and also educational!

Savanna often asks me regarding various tasks and duties, "mom, isn't there some way you can be more creative about this?" (She is a true descendent of her Grandma Sandy, alas, I am not creative like Sandy was.) Well, my cousin Rachelle has some really creative dinner ideas, and I borrowed this idea from her. Since we can't have dessert, I made meatloaf cupcakes for dinner. That frosting is actually garlic mashed potatoes. The kids loved this idea! The meatloaf tasted the same as ever, but because it was creative, Savanna thought it was so great! She wants meatloaf cupcakes for her birthday dinner!

Dear Elder

The kids wrote their cousin Seth Snow a letter today, he is in the MTC learning Spanish so he can serve in Mexico departing June 20th. I thought what they wrote was cute and funny, and there is a general theme throughout (only 7 more days of the dessert-free contract) so here is a copy for the blog:

Dear Seth,

Hi, Seth, (this is Savanna). My mom says tell you what I am up to. So I am going to say that right now I am writing you a letter! What is your companion's name? What is your favorite food that they make at the MTC? DO YOU LIKE COOKIES?!? Tyuiklmpo9bri, is that a Spanish word? Uh, I guess this is goodbye. Good luck on your mission! Never mind this is not goodbye I have other things to write. If I'd been typing this by myself (which my mom is) then you'd probably not get this letter until March 14th 2022! Buh-Bye. PS when you write back, can you write your letter in Spanish? and on the back write it in English? just maybe? Thanks Bye! Love you, Savanna


Dear Seth,

Whatcha doing? This is Fiora. Um, did you know, or you don't know this, that me and Savanna and Mom and Weston are doing a diet off candy and dessert? Well, seven more days til we are done! And guess what? I signed a contract so I can't break it. So when we are done we are going to have a shopping trip with mom! Mothers day was yesterday, it was fun. Its hard to explain my present, so I am just going to tell you that my mom loved it. Yay! Its rainy today. I like donuts, as you can tell I am craving dessert. I like cookies too. Do you have cookies? Can I have them? On May 17th, but I can't wait that long! Don't worry, I have a donut in the freezer I am saving with my candy. You should see my bag full of candy I am saving, it is 8 pounds! No 100 pounds!!! OK now I am exaggerating. Love Fiora. BYE! PS. did you miss my mom's graduation? It was fun. Bye bye for reals.


Dear Seth,

(Weston now) I hope you are doing good on your mission. I am off candy too. My bag is about 100 pounds too, well its just the same as Fiora's stuff. did you meet anyone nice on your mission yet? I guess that missionaries do hard work then, are you doing hard work? Make sure you don't meet any drug people in Cal, calu, culeacan, wherever you are going. On May 17th I will be able to eat candy and dessert again. I like cake! I also like swords, I play on the trampoline with my sword every day, and I am really good at it. Do you know Spanish yet? We like the letter you wrote to the rest of your family. So do you like the food they eat at the MTC? OK, bye bye! Love Weston.

Addicted to staying busy

My sister Karli was released from her nanny job here just in time to go to Hawaii and work for Bill Nielson as an office administrator for the summer. Justin and Kali decided to go there also and work for Bill for the summer. (I am somewhat jealous they are in a warmer climate, but Jared got our tickets to Oahu Aug 5-12, so I have that to look forward to!) So my mom threw together a go-away Luau party for them at my house and surprised them. It was an added fun to have decorations and leis for the dinner. I made chinese food for everyone, they eat that in Hawaii right? My mom did bring a pineapple. It was fun!

I plunged head first into the deep end of the projects I've been putting off around the house. The first task was to borrow Jesse's rainbow vacuum and deep clean all my carpets. The air smelt sweeter after that! Then we moved Fiora downstairs into Karli's old room and moved Weston into the girls' old room and set up his new blue bedroom! I think it looks so much nicer than his old piecemeal bedroom. He loves it! We are waiting on a world map for his wall that is coming in the mail, it will be the perfect finishing touch.

Then I went through all my storage and pulled out everything we want to get rid of and yard sale. Its all sitting in my basement still because the weather was horrifying Saturday so we had to postpone the yard sale until this Saturday. Then things like cleaning baseboards and walls, hasn't been done for literally years, and it takes time! and you need to wash curtains more than once every two years I've discovered. I wanted to make jam because we are out. All this on top of the regular dishes, laundry, bathrooms, homework, soccer, etc. Being a stay at home mom is hard work when you are addicted to staying busy!!!

Yesterday was the first decent day of the year, so Jared and I did some yard work. I got all the weeds out of the garden, he tilled new soil our neighbor Bill gave us into the garden, we mowed the lawn, and moved pavers. Today I spent $$ on flower and vegetable starts and put the garden in at last! There was no way I was trying to plant from seeds this freezing spring, but it does cost more to buy starts. I treated the ground for ants, pulled all the weeds, and put in strawberries, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes. About 10 minutes after I had it ALL done, the cat dug up one of my zucchini starts and started to poop in my garden!!! I freaked out, he ran away, but who knows if that taught him anything. I ran to Home Depot and got some small animal repellent to put around the perimeter. I hope it works.