Reunion

Hey all you guys.......
I hope you are thinking about the reunion coming up in June. It will come faster than you think!! If you have not started sending Suzanne some payments for the reunion, I suggest you start right now!! If you need her address just let me know and I will get it to you. Plan on around $54 per person for the week, PLUS you need to also add to that $12 per person for all the evening meals. We have Samuel, Stephen and Scott covered for all of that, but the rest of you married couples......you are ON YOUR OWN!! Even if you can send in as little as $25 a month from here on out, you will make it. That is a couple of nights worth of eating out.....you can do it!!

Now, speaking of eating........Shelly and I were talking about all of us in the Shell Claybrook family eating together for breakfasts and lunches during the reunion......if you like that idea, or if you don't, let us know. Schloegels are planning on bringing some camping equipment, such as a stove, and we could make simple menus for those meals and eat together as a family and have some bonding time, just us. We could assign out different things for everyone to bring for the meals...........after we decide what we are going to have. We, Dad and I, (not sure what the boys want to do) plan on setting up a tent and sleeping there, so if any, or all of you want to do the same, I think we could have a great time with that!! Sooooo.......what are your thoughts on that? Any other thoughts, questions, ideas, concerning the reunion? Lets get our heads together and make it a very memorable reunion...........what do you think? Don't put this off too long!!

Spotlight on Dad...

Spotlight on Dad.....

Spotlight on Dad....

Spotlight on Dad, well if we are going to spotlight him, he needs a picture or two, huh?

100 random things! NOT!!

So...i am posting this on moms since i am not able to post anything when i log on through my gmail address. anndd..since im lazy and i had trouble even getting to 25, i only went to 50. ha. and im not doing more. so there.
And. Samuel, TAG! you're it. and mom says you have to be better than me and make it to 100.
SO! you happy now? i finally did it. sorta....

1. I’ve worked at Mazzio’s Italian Eatery for the past 6 months, and I make $7.10 an hour.
2. I recently worked for over 11 and a half hours straight, with no breaks, no food, and just sips of water every once in a while.
3. Unlike Shelly, I hate the smell of coffee.
4. I hate this stupid slow computer that shuts itself off randomly then wont turn back on again.
5. I wished that I hadn’t quit piano, and that I could play that and the guitar really well.
6. I’m glad that I have a job and am making money to pay for my own stuff, but sometimes I just wish I could be sitting at home being lazy and doing nothing again.
7. I’ve always wanted a Volkswagen bug.
8. I really have no idea what I want to be/do when I grow up, but I want it to be something with computers.
9. I have been to every state west of Missouri but North and south Dakota, Montana, and Washington. And until Shyanne’s wedding I had never been further east than Illinois.
10. I hate berry colossal crunch. Its gotta be the real Captain Crunch.
11. I have been to NYC and not seen ANYTHING other than literally, bumper to bumper traffic. I thought it was quite exciting though. Even though it was killing mom.
12. Normal clock radio alarm clocks do not wake me up at all.(at least mine doesn’t) Its gotta be a cell phone alarm.
13. I actually really hate Wal-mart. But. Its kinda the only place close enough to go and they do have some good stuff.
14. I have a big cold sore at the moment and its driving me nuts!
15. I always wanted to get my hair highlighted when I was younger.
16. I absolutely love big scary storms. I think they are awesome. I always want to go out in them.
17. I wish that I had more free time to read. There are soo many books I want to read, but I can never find the time for them.
18. I can solve a Rubik’s Cube in 2 minutes and 24 seconds, and have gotten that exact time twice.
19. I want to someday have every Star Trek and Stargate episode there are.
20. I loathe myspace but only have it because of friends that don’t have facebook.
21. My favorite band is Dashboard Confessionals.
22. My favorite song is probably, possibly Out of my League by Stephen Speaks.
23. I hate my bed, it is way too short.
24. I want a Mac.
25. I wish I had a real radio in my car with a nice sub in the back, not just some old compy speakers attached to the dash.
26. The only fruit I like are bananas.
27. I like home-made bread toast.
28. I hate getting up at 6 o-clock every morning.
29. I am left-handed.
30. I like my hair long, when mom always wants to cut it.
    
31. I am 6 feet, 4 inches tall.
32. I want to attend BYU-Idaho.
33. I have read all the Harry Potter books several times.
34. I have never gone water skiing.
35. I have hiked the Grand Canyon all the way down and back up again in 12 hours……straight!!
36. In 2007 I traveled to the east coast, then to west coast..
37. I have been to Niagra Falls.
38. I have been 16 since June and have only been on two dates.
39. I like to bake.
40. I can actually remember some things about being in Mexico in 1994.
41. My bedroom is dark blue and dark red.
42. My favorite thing to do in the summer is attend EFY.
43. I own all nine Star Trek movies.
44. I am horrible at math.
45. My goal for this year is to get my GED
46. I have never been ice-skating.
47. I have only been tubing behind a boat once.
48. I wear size 13 shoes.
49. I wear 32 x 36 jeans and I have only found 1 pair…..ever!!
50. Unlike all my siblings, I have not been in a car wreck….yet!

Spotlight: Dad

Dad finally emailed me some info about him for our spotlight, so I thought that I would share it with everyone! Dad is great, isn't he? I've learned a lot about him that I didn't know.

Hi There, Did you give up on me! What year did you say you needed this information??????

Well, lets see; Mom said something about real pudding, well not chocolate. I also like Pecan Pie, Lemon Meringue, and Coconut Cream and the one that makes me stand out is Fruit Cake. I detest Avocados or anything like unto them, as well as mushrooms, if I can’t tell what it is--- I don’t like it. That rules out most oriental foods and most Mexican Foods not to mention half the other countries.

Birthplace: Born in the American Hospital in Paris, Siene and Osie, France.

Favorite Food: A nice tender WELL DONE Steak, French Fries are high on the list too (almost any kind).

Favorite Color: Blue of course

Favorite things to do: Nothing, until I get bored, then I’ll find something. There is always the Library or the mud room.

Favorite vacation spot: Hawaii-any where, especially the secluded beach, an empty island, the back wood high country (Sacred Falls) if I ever end up in jail in Hawaii it would probably be because I won’t listen to the police and will sneak up to Sacred Falls.

Somewhere that you would like to visit:The Redwoods and the Pacific Ocean. In the Millennium I would like to visit my birthplace, spend a few weeks in Antarctica, Alaska, Brazil, would also like to see the ancient American ruins of Book of Mormon Times. Then of course the Holy Land.

Favorite activity when you were growing up: Hiking, Swimming, Ping-pong, Volleyball, sitting in a hot steam or dry sauna, sitting in a very turbulent whirlpool/Jacuzzi, having a massage, and all the preliminaries of a chiropractor that are designed to relax the body ---but hiking the back woods would have to be my escape, and does more for My soul than almost anything.

Favorite childhood memory:
Don’t really have a favorite child memory, I didn’t remember much. My first memories would be:
-Our car rolling down our driveway and down the hill where we lived in Spanish Fork
-A prowler around Christmas time in the snow, and his foot prints were all around our house-Police caught him.
-Walking to the Fillmore's in Spanish Fork past the Icelandic monument to get milk in metal milk jug.
-Going to some girls Birthday party and very shy, nervous and stressed over it in Spanish Fork.
-Going downtown Spanish Fork for some Fair or carnival during the summer.
-Pulling a girls pigtail on the swing during recess in Sunny Mead Calif. And being sent to Principals Office.
-Going off hiking in the mountains (tiny foot hills) around Sunnymead Calif., exploring abandon mines, chasing rattle snakes and throwing rocks at them.
-Having grenade wars with avocados where I worked during the summers when 10,11, and 12
-Putting in sprinkler systems, driving golf cart, broom scrubbing our a cement reservoir with wire brushes and muratic acid on the ranch where I worked when 10, 11, and 12.
-Our yearly or every other year family vacation trips to Indiana to see the non-member side of the family (Dad’s side) A popular experience each time would be to watch Grandpa light up a cigarette and smoke it about half way and then just put it all in his mouth and chew it up and swallow it. On one such trip I wasn’t a child but between 11 and 13, we put (tied) pull string firecrackers on the outhouse. Little did we know that Grandpa Herman would be the one that nature called, well—he nearly had a heart attack probably had a mild one—it messed him up for a while. All the adults searched the town of Laurel IN until the found us and were we in trouble.
-I hated the vacations, I would always be so self conscience about our big family and piling out at all the gas stations..I didn’t want to be seen with the family.
-I never got the window seat till after Kathy left home.
-I ended my wrestling career in 7^th grade when the coach paired me up with a black kid,(I had never been around blacks before—and this one was a slimmy, sweaty one)
-Started chasing girls in Kindergarten, kinda set the pace for my teen age years.

That’s most of my memories prior to turning 13, and yes I remember a bubble over the house in Bellevue, NE to kill the mission cock roaches.

Till Later,

Love you,
Dad

What's happening at "HOME"

Well, from the looks of this blog, some of us seem to have a moment to post at the same time! I apologize for the lack of input on our part...........we (meaning Dad and Stephen) are working on it. Dad actually wrote down the answers to your questions, Melinda, on a sheet of paper. Silly........I told him that really doesn't count. He has to actually e-mail it to you, so you can do whatever you plan on doing with the information. So........I will see what I can do about getting him to send it to you sometime really soon ( like tonight or tomorrow). As for Stephen replying to the 100 facts about himself........I mean really......who was the wise guy who tagged him? (Shelly!!) It will be a small miracle if he finds time to post 20 facts about himself. This boy works 40 plus hours a week, studies Mondays and Wednesdays for the GED and ACT, gets up early every morning for seminary, hangs out with friends and then, spends his "free time" trying to get this stupid computer to act like it is supposed to!! It likes to just randomly shut down at very inconvenient times. Hopefully I will actually get to post this before it wigs out on me for the 4 th time in the past 1/2 hour!! But, I will nag Stephen about posting his facts, AGAIN!! He said he would do it last Sunday..........ha, ha. This boy is related to his Dad and his brother Samuel. Writing just is not fun for them!! Although Stephen is in the process of composing an essay on his most memorable day for his GED studies. I am anxious to see what day he writes about and how much embellishing he ends up doing!! Hmmmm......could be interesting!!!

I remember when I used to have down time.........when I actually got bored. I am so busy now that sitting at the computer for more than 10 minutes at a time, without doing seminary stuff, is actually a luxury!!! I love my job...........4 to 7 year old kids are very entertaining, as long as you don't have to be with them for 8 hours a day. I get over 600 of them for 2 1/2 hours a day. I am actually getting to know more than half of their names.........they like to test me......"What's my name?" Or--"What's my last name?" They are fun, for the most part........sometimes I have to get mean and send some mis-behaving child to the naughty table. Most of them just like hugs and attention. Anyway, it gives me something to do during the days, and gives me a bit of $ to help out our budget and I don't ever have to worry about working on weekends, holidays and summer. I am spending Thursdays after work in Dad's office, helping him out with whatever needs to be done. There is quite a bit, actually, if he will let me THROW THINGS AWAY!! That is my goal, to clean up and get a bit of a woman's touch to that office. So Scott is only home alone for a couple of hours on Thursday. He spends his time lately with a new friend, named MacGyver.......thanks to Samuel. Dad has finished all the disks............now he can concentrate on something else!!

Scott and Stephen are pretty bummed. They just found out that our Stake Youth Conference is the SAME WEEK AS THE REUNION!! And this was to be Scott's first year to go..........that really stinks!! And Stephen is on the Youth Committee for planning the conference!! Poor Scott.......he turns 14 this summer........actually that week that everything is happening. If I had an extra $400 sitting around, I would send him to EFY with Stephen (if he gets in). I suppose we could always try getting him in later if we do find some mulah for him. Next year's youth conference is the biggy, though. They will be doing another handcart trek and Scott will be able to go to that one. We will just have to make the reunion trip one that is memorable for the boys to make up for missing their activity.

Seminary keeps me studying, which I really like. In fact, I miss the intense study time in the summer. I now have 14 students, all very lively, and very talkative. But they are all good kids and we have a great time. Some mornings, though, I wonder why I even bother. Sometimes I feel like I got nothing through their heads, or their hearts. But then, we have days that are amazing and I am in awe of these teenagers. It makes it all worth it. But all these mornings getting up at 5 am (I think I can relate to Seth and Melinda) are showing up on me, occasionally. Today one of the girls at work told me I look exhausted and that I need to go home and take a nap!!! Well, I took her advise.....and after shopping at Wal-Mart, unloading the car, putting away all the groceries, getting the laundry started and eating lunch (at 4 pm) I did just that............for a half an hour!! Woopie!!

I just want all of you to know how cool it was for Dad and I this past Christmas to have almost all our kids here with us. My favorite thing to do is hang out with my family. Thanks everyone for making the effort and spending the time and money to come "home". Hopefully our newest recruits to the Claybrook family (namely Jake and Adam) will feel like this is another home to them also, and feel comfortable and relaxed as time goes by. Oh how we missed the Schloegels though!! I suppose there will be very few times from now on that we have everyone one of us all together in the same spot at the same time.

Ok.........I think I have rambled on enough. Time to sign off and say "so long".........Oh, by the way, Shelly, I was just giving you a hard time about posting a picture that was NOT my grandson on our FAMILY web site!! I would have been shocked if you actually DID put one of those ugly things in Rylan's mouth!! You didn't REALLY think I was that out of it that I did not recognize the cutest boy in the world did you???

Remember.........Mom loves each of you!!

Schloegel News

Well, to continue on with the news, I will speak for us Schloegel's. This may be repeat information for anyone who regularly reads my blog, but so what?! Where to start...

Oh yes. As you all should know Rylan has teeth! As that may not mean anything to any of you, for us it means his rites to passage beyond mushed baby food! Even though I'm sure two little teeth stubs can't chew much, we have decided to forgo buying any more babyfood. Who knew how expensive that stuff was?! It was costing like $20 a week. (If you haven't noticed, your nephew/grandson is a porker!) We will see how this goes. It sorta means I have to prepare more food around here, which you all know I loathe. But it saves money. Another thing I was attempting to do to save money was to make all our own bread. Well, lets just say after about 2 days of nothing but my bread around here, we had to go shopping last night and came home with about 12 loaves of bread. Which is about 1/2 of what we normally buy. I obviously did NOT have very good luck. It was delicious! But not suitable for spreading anything on, as it came off in pieces and not slices. I guess we will Trial and Error it.

What else...oh yes. Rylan is eating real food, he is also DONE WITH FORMULA! I think he's gonna make me sing lots here real soon. We actually bought too much formula, but figured it will work for emergencies. Thank goodness whole milk is "cheap" and the same price as skim milk. Normally it's almost a dollar more. With that said, we will be switching is car seat to front facing here as soon as we clean out the car. (MAJOR improvement...this way I won't break my back trying to feed him snacks in the car...) He also is learning to walk. But he won't. Like, he never will when we're around, but I see him walk un-assisted all the time in his play pen or when we're not looking. Just 3-5 steps though, but won't even do 1 when we're paying attention. Sad that kids that young learn how to play the game.

We just got finished painting Kadence's room. For pictures, PLEASE go see our other blog page. I have to say I am quite happy with the results. She LOVES it as well, and I thought it would encourage her to play in her room more and that she would never want to leave...well, she's in there no more than before. What a shame. I'M in there a lot more now! (I love her room...) Adam has also (finally) been working on the trim in the bonus room. His parents came over to help, but we didn't get very far, b/c they decided to do it the day we were supposed to finish painting...needless to say neither got accomplished that day. But it's a work in progress, and all the baseboards have trim now and just need a coat of sealant, some pieces need glued down, and then (several layers of) paint. Then we just have to still do the windows. THEN we want to repaint the room and decorate it as well...as soon as we can save up for a couch! (That's my favorite part... :)

Adam has started school, and has already survived his first week of classes. He is only going part time, since he also works 2 other jobs on top of that. He has classes Tues and Wed night from 6-9pm, and goes straight from there to the airport for his shift that starts at 9pm. It worked out great b/c both classes just happen to be located off-campus and on airport property! He is taking a Criminal Justice class that he has to have for his degree, and a Communications class that also fulfills his generals. Both are freshman level classes, so he should be fine. He is also staying extra busy with his "honey-do" list around here, along with work at the airport and Dillards, and he will start teaching Sunday School again in the next week or so. He teaches the parenting/family relations class. It's one of those rotating, everyone has to take it, kind of sunday school classes. But he has no qualms about teaching people like some of us do. (aka, ME).

We were blessed this last month, kinda indirectly I guess. See, our little car "broke down" and with what was wrong, us and Adam's dad both agreed the fuel pump went out. We knew how lovely of a repair that would be, and were NOT excited about it. Just as soon as we start socking money away, OF COURSE something like that would happen. So, thank goodness we have two cars and so we weren't OUT a vehicle for Adam. (since I have no life and go nowhere. :) Well, the only way we could get the thing to the shop was to rent a trailer to tow the car on. Thank goodness Adam's dad has a nice big truck, or we would have had to call a tow-truck. But that was somewhere between 50 and 100 bucks just for the trailer, and we were thinking we were really screwed after we paid the $500 for the repair. Just after Christmas too, trials really know when to hit you good, huh? But it turns out, our "break down" was just a fluke! The shop had no problem getting the car started, (we couldn't get it started for anything, and it wasn't the battery) and so they looked into why it wouldn't start for us. They tried some new relays for the fuel pump and starter and it worked right away again, and the old ones were fine, so they just put the old ones back on. While the car was in there, there was some recall on the flooring protectant stuff, so they fixed that for us. But overall, they just think something (i think one of the relays, but I don't know much (anything) about car stuff, so don't quote me on this) just came loose and the connection wasn't going through. So needless to say we had to pay about $100 for the labor for NOTHING, cause NOTHING was wrong with our car! I guess we should be glad about that, nothing being wrong, not having to pay $600....but it just stinks we had to pay almost $200 just for someone to tell us there was NOTHING WRONG! Argh. Blessings, blessings....it's a blessing. it IS a blessing, Shelly...

But we are doing pretty good. I was gonna add something else that's been going on lately, but my mind is frozen. We are awaiting the visit of the Rexburg side of the family, hopefully they can all come for Rylan/Sally's birthdays. We are looking forward to it. Oh! I remember, of a little note, we got new phones! Our two year contract was up and so we got 2 new Chocolate phones (BIG upgrade from our last ones) for only $30! The phones retail for over $200 a piece! They are like an ipod/phone, so the ipod I bought for Adam for Christmas might have been pointless...but we haven't played with our phones yet enough to answer that question for sure. Adam's actually gets here today, and mine came a few days ago. So, whatever. no one cares, nevermind. You actually can just nevermind this whole post if you aren't deathly bored, because it's all trivial stuff I'm sure only we care about. So Sally, Go on and read, I KNOW you've been bored!! :)

That's it. (I think) Until I think of something else anyway. Everyone else if you (please) have time, please post SOMETHING on here...some of us (aka Sally and I) ARE extremely bored a lot and need something to read!

Lack of information:

Perhaps we are all busy.....but our lovely blog started out really strong....and has kind of lost it's "umph". So, since no one has posted in a while...I will.

Things happening in our lives:

Okay......nothing really that interesting is happening here. Our day starts at 5:00 am, we get up, get ready, I take Seth to his car pool (Thank goodness for carpools!!), and then I go to work. Lately, because of inventory (which, in retail is almost just as bad as Christmas time) I have worked long hours. We both work 40-50 hours a week....that's pretty much our life. How exciting huh?

Seth tries to find time to do all of the things that he wants....but according to him, there just isn't enough time for everything. I agree with that!! But, I have found, now that Julia has her own car, I have A LOT more time on my hands. Who know that driving 1 1/2 hours less a day was such a blessing?? It's been really nice!!

What else....well.....we both work with the youth....the 12 and 13 year old's. That's fun. It keeps us busy.

We've been thinking a lot about all the things that we have to do this summer.....my brother and sister-in-law are getting sealed in April, so we may go to Utah for that. My sister is graduating high school in May, so I will be going to that, Seth may come for fun. The Claybrook's Reunion is in June, and we are planning on going to that. My other sister is getting married in July, so we'll be going out there for that. (Can I just say, by the time this summer is over, I will be broke, and tired of Utah!!) We were planning on going on a vacation this summer, but we won't be able to......two weeks of vacation, and 4 trips out west don't add up very well. So, we'll have to wait and see how we pull all of it off.

Other than that......nothing is happening. Just trying to keep busy. Lots going on....but life has calmed down for us a lot.

What's happening with everyone else??

Confusion...

Um, so okay. This isn't really a post, just a ...post script. For those of you who seem to be confused. THIS IS RYLAN:

THIS IS NOT:
So I guess if you cannot tell the difference, maybe I should be posting more pictures of my kids until their family (eh HEM: GRANDMA) can recognize them. RYLAN has teeth. The baby with the freaky pacifier MIGHT have teeth, but I wouldn't know. But I wouldn't buy a thing like that for my kids anyway. Unless it was Halloween. Then maybe. But the kid looks a little warm for it to be Halloween. At least in Boise anyway. Sorry, just wanted to clear up the confusion here so I don't get blamed for being a crazy mom who gives my kids scary pacifiers. The End.

I could sing!

RYLAN HAS TEETH!!!!! (I'm sure none of you really care, but HALLELUJAH!!!!)

Re-tagging....AGAIN

So....Stephen.....why didn't you do your "tagged" post? Come on!! But, since some of us want to read more things about others, Shelly and I decided that we are going to ALSO tag Sally. Now, Stephen, this doesn't mean you are off the hook, this means that you still HAVE to do it, but we want Sally to do it too. Then, she can tag someone else until we get info about everyone. How fun, huh? So, Sally, 100 things about you.

Tag, you're it.

Re-tag

Stephen.....I am re-tagging you!! I want to see that list of 100 things about you!! Come on!!

Spotlight: DAD

Hey everyone.....we want to spotlight Dad this month. So....Dad, please answer those questions on the right, and email me the answers and I'll update it. If anyone else has some question ideas for our spotlight...let me know. And, I'll add them. Plus, I wanted to add a good picture of your dad, and I don't have a really good one. If you do....email me!! And I'll add it.

Also....Mom emailed me this, and I want to share it with everyone.


ABOUT DAD:

Let me get you some tid-bits about him…………

We all know he is a great guy, but I am sure most of you do not know just how great he really is!! This is a man who have never used a swear word, even when he was incredibly upset or angry. He keeps his cool very well, but does loose it from time to time as we all do, but he has never said anything mean or nasty or belittling or cutting in his frustration. He loves his children and children in law and grandchildren very deeply and feels a sense of responsibility and a desire to keep them safe and happy, even though, for most of them now, that is entirely out of his hands. His sense of family runs very deep and he hurts when anyone in the family is hurting.

He loves a good gospel discussion and will get off onto some things I just stay away from, but he always comes back to the truth he knows, but has a deep desire to know more of the mysteries of the kingdom. He loves to read books on gospel doctrine, almost any subject, as long as it is written by a very reliable source as long as it is not over an inch in thickness. He loves and honors his priesthood, always has.

He loves to travel and see new places; he loves to go camping, hiking and exploring……. the mountains are his favorite. He absolutely loves Hawaii and has a great desire to go back. Anything out doors appeals to him……….but he is not into hunting or fishing or playing most sports although he does love to play volleyball, throwing Frisbees and he likes to watch just a little bit of football………He loves to watch the Olympics, summer and winter games alike. He likes to get the group together and do something unusual outside, like lawn surfing, midnight hiking, water slides, playing in the snow, duck tape sword fights, etc. He loves to be with the young men and his own children and doing cool stuff with them……….like hiking the Y in Provo, hiking grand canyon, hiking Mt Timpanogas, anything that get you up and moving.

Dad likes oatmeal, raisin cookies the best, he doesn’t like instant pudding, but he does like cooked puddings (and I havn’t made it for him forever!!) He loves lemon meringue pie, and banana cream pie. He loves roast and potatoes and carrots. He does not care for most pasta dishes, or casseroles………meats and potatoes and corn is what he likes. He did not like Mexican food when we were first married, but I have changed that and he will even suggest a Mexican restaurant sometimes when we go out to eat. He still does not care for Oriental foods.

He loves movies………Westerns……War……….Action….Comedy………some Suspense……..Classics……….and even Musicals. He does not like Horror or dark films. He prefers to watch movies in his own home and rarely likes to go to theaters……….too many people.

He loves little children and babies and misses them terribly in our home. He was so disappointed when we could not have any more children. He loves to hold infants and to fall asleep with them while snuggling with them. He is very good with babies and loves to play with the toddlers.

He loves the smell of fresh mint and loves the sound of the ocean.



So.....there is a little bit about Dad. (Most of you already know all of this, but I didn't know it all....so....Thanks Mom.)

News... news... what news?

Okay So we are in Idaho, Jake is working his same jobs as university security and a window washer/cleaner person. He starts classes wednesday. Our car still does not have heat. Jake carrys a scraper in one hand and drives with the other and scrapes the window on the INSIDE every minute or few seconds really. We have a rule of no talking in the car because It fogs up the window. Shyanne and Adam are in our ward and found out my old roomate (the crazy one) and her husband are in our ward also. We found out we have about 30 married couple friends that we are friends with both of them and that are here in rexburg but still mostly hang out with our old single roomates. I beat Jake bowling friday night with my highsest score of 125. It is freezing in Rexburg and I am still looking for a job with no luck. We went to the temple finally on saturday my second time.... so really finally! And we are going to the Rexburg temple open house tomorrow. Jakes dad is graudating-getting his masters on saturday. We are hoping to start a battleship team with either shyanne and adam or sam and someone this semester and Jake wants to play basketball again. And I am just gettting over a cold by eating feel better bear suckers! (they work) So as you can tell its not very exciting and really we have no events. ta ta!

Reminder for everyone............Grandma Claybrook's 80th birthday is the 20th of this month. Aunt Suzanne has put the word out for everyone to write a card or letter to Grandma and get it sent and to her before the 20th. Remember, it takes longer to get mail to Canada so we all need to get on it right away. Our FHE activity Monday is to write our letters to her and get them sent. I advise all of you to do that very thing, and get them mailed asap!! I cannot think of anything else for this month. Thanks for the reminder, Melinda!!

MOM

Calendar Updates

Hey Guys....I need to update our "Upcoming Events"....so....I need to know what is happening this month with everyone. So...let me know.

Also...we are going to do a spotlight once a month...and I was thinking that this month we would spotlight Dad. So, we need to get some spot light info about him. Shelly, what kind of info would you like me to put? Oh, and Stephen....I want to see that list of 100 random things about you. Sally and Jake, how is Idaho? Shyanne and Adam.....did you guys die? What's up!! Sam, anything cool happening there? And, Scott....how is school? LET ME KNOW!!

Love ya guys!!

Melinda

So sorry about the song that goes with that last slide show!! I did NOT put that on there...........I don't even know how it got there.............it probably came with the background. Huge apologies on that one!!

mom

Check out my Slide Show!

Check out my Slide Show!

I am slow, but I am getting the hang of this blog thing. I just have to have some uninterrupted time on the computer to figure things out. Hopefully I can contribute regularly as I become more familiar with this. Hope you all enjoy the pictures. There are more to come, whenever I get to it!!

Remember, I love you all!! We have the BEST family ever!! What great times we had at Christmas and New Years. Sorry that the Schloegels missed out on all of it!! You were missed, EXTREMELY!!

Everyone keep Dad and I posted on your lives.......

MOM

Check out my Slide Show!

Check out my Slide Show!

Christmas at home

The men in this family sure can get into anything to do with technology!!

100 Random Things About Me

Okay guys, this blog is getting a little stagnant. So here's something to liven it up a bit. You may have already read this on my blog, but I thought it would work well here as the "tag post" or chain, or whatever you like to call it. Here's how it works. I have listed 100 random things about me...hence the title. And at the end, I have tagged a person to write out THEIR 100 random things about them in a post. Deadline is ASAP. At the end of their post, they tag another person to do the same, and so on and so forth until the last person in the family has completed it. The last person can then pick a new topic to write about and tag anybody else again. Sound good? Well, if not, tough. I'm trying here. So ready to find out about me? Okay: GO!

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Here are 100 random things about me that you probably don't know. At least not all of them. I got this idea from a random blog I read and thought I would adopt it. Let me know if you'd like to hear more about any of them and I can gladly expound in another post. Enjoy!

100 Random Things About Me:

1. I like to change my hair color ALL THE TIME.
2. I can’t stand to NOT have my toenails panted, and can’t stand to HAVE my fingernails painted.
3. I’m more a cat person than a dog person.
4. I am the second of seven children, and we all start with “S”, including my parents. (Shell, Susan, Seth, Shelly, Samuel, Sally, Shyanne, Stephen and Scott.)
5. I love the smell of coffee. The coffee aisle is my favorite at stores…I take my time and walk real slow breathing really fast.
6. I also love the smell of fresh cut grass. I even have a scent for my candle warmer of fresh cut grass! Yay!
7. I get really uncomfortable when people tell me I sing good. I don’t know why.
8. I have spent years trying to make cookies that actually don’t go in the garbage can. I finally have succeeded. Thank you Bosch!
9. My biggest time waster is reading random peoples blogs looking for new ideas for mine.
10. I cannot wear anything skinnier than flared jeans. The reason being, I think I have to hide my big feet.
11. I love wearing dangly earrings, I like feeling them bounce off of my neck.
12. I have had 12 pets in my life. Their names have been Bootsy, Itchy, Squeaker, Chef, Chico, Charly, Axle, Neero, Wicket, Gidget, Chopper and Gizmo. Gidget is our only current resident.
13. I am a die-hard night owl. 2 am is a normal bedtime for me. I have only ever gone to bed by 10 pm more than 2 nights in a row, and that was when I was pregnant with our first, and I was working at 9 am.
14. I hate white walls. They can be almost white, but never white.
15. I hate meatloaf and LOATHE Shepherds Pie, or Poor Man’s Casserole, whatever it is…
16. I want to have 5 kids: 3 boys and 2 girls. Always have, always will. However, I have like 50 names I want to use…
17. I like to bake, but I absolutely hate cooking.
18. The thing I dream about most is my wedding ring. (????)
19. If I could wear one outfit forever, it would be jeans, a white T, and flip flops.
20. My favorite movie of all time is Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.
21. I am not a social person. I would love if I never had neighbors, and I don’t like talking to people I don’t know real well. I get lonely b/c I don’t have many friends, yet it takes talking to someone to make friends…oxymoron, I know.
22. I have 89 first cousins (unless I counted wrong) and can name all of them.
23. I have never stepped a foot in California and feel quite gypped.
24. I love to eat Daddy’s Sandwiches, which consist of bread, peanut butter and honey, chocolate chips, graham crackers, and marshmallows. You must have a glass of milk.
25. I would never want Lasik, because I love the option of wearing contacts or glasses. I would miss my glasses if I had the operation.
26. I love wearing my wedding ring and earrings. Necklaces, extra rings and bracelets are not staples in my jewelry box.
27. I am good at painting and want desperately to start again, but need to buy supplies.
28. I hate PC, and love Mac.
29. I collect picture frames and have more empty ones stored than ones that are being used, but can’t (won’t) get rid of them.
30. I still have my baby blanket and now my daughter uses it. She likes Strawberry Shortcake too!
31. I would like to take violin lessons in the future. I played when I was 4 and can still smell the rosin and love it!
32. My favorite Disney cartoon is Emperor’s New Groove. (“And smash it with a hamma!”)
33. I think I could recite the dialogue from Little Mermaid beginning to end from memory.
34. I love watching Special Deliveries on Discovery Health.
35. I am scared to death of Horseflies.
36. I avoid going to the dentist at all costs. The last time I went was to get my wisdom teeth out a couple years ago, and don’t plan on going back until absolutely necessary. I hate dentists. (Nothing AGAINST people who are dentists…)
37. I love falling asleep to music, but rarely do.
38. Riding in the car alone is a newly discovered adrenaline rush and an indescribable sense of freedom.
39. I can’t clean my house until I make my bed first. If my house is messy, I guarantee my bed is unmade.
40. I want to own a couple horses sometime before I’m too old to ride them.
41. I plan to be an Interior Decorator when I’m an empty nester. Just for fun.
42. I HATE shoe shopping. I always say I’d rather lick a toad.
43. My husband has more shoes than I do.
44. I wait and cook and clean until my kids are in bed. If I have to bake, I love to do so at midnight.
45. I don’t mind doing laundry, but it never gets folded.
46. I love address books and love writing in them.
47. Ethel M. chocolates are the worlds’ best chocolate. I dare you to prove me wrong.
48. I want to get a coffee maker and brew coffee every morning even though I don’t drink it.
49. I am very cold-blooded.
50. I have always been termed as shy, but really I just never have anything to say. (I know what you’re thinking…I seem to talk plenty on here. Obviously if I’m writing out 100 things about me that no one really cares about.)
51. My eyes are big and stick out and create shadows on my lower lids so it always looks like I’m tired.
52. I would rather read an entire Harry Potter book than sit and watch one the movies. I love the movies, don’t get me wrong, but the books are so much better.
53. I used to avoid confrontation like the plague, but my husband has taught me to see the light, and now I can confront people or stick up for myself without panicking.
54. I don’t mind washing dishes by hand. It’s pretty relaxing.
55. I can think of nothing better than to take a long hot bath with Eucalyptus salts and listen to blaring Josh Groban music.
56. I love to do puzzles but never do them.
57. The thing I complain about most is that my hands feel like sandpaper and frequently bleed for no reason, but they magically turn to silk when I go to Missouri. Dang deserts. (if anyone knows of any magic potion to cure my dry, cracking, bleeding hands, please share.)
58. I like to dance in the shower.
59. I hate going to get the mail if I haven’t gotten ready for the day yet, even though no one is there to see me.
60. I frequently leave my kids in their pj’s all day. Why dirty up more clothes??
61. I have never been more East than Nauvoo, Illinois.
62. I like Thanksgiving better than Christmas.
63. I hate that my birthday, my husband’s birthday and our anniversary are so close together.
64. I don’t like to go to the movie theater anymore, and I used to love it. And it has nothing to do with my kids.
65. Me and Adam don’t like traditional names. Our kids are all going to have unique names that don’t show up very often.
66. I have never broken a bone.
67. I have only had one cavity and that was in a loose baby tooth.
68. I played volleyball in 8th grade and did track in 7th, and wasn’t very good at either.
69. I quit piano lessons after only my second lesson.
70. I used to play clarinet in high school and taught myself to play the flute.
71. I was drum major for the most pathetic high school band ever on this earth.
72. I like my daughter’s room and bed more than I like my own!
73. I don’t like talking on the phone.
74. I feel naked when I leave the house with only my purse.
75. I have learned that when you pack for an overnight trip for a family of 4, you might as well be gone for 4 months.
76. I was 8 lbs, 8 oz when I was born, and was born on a Sunday at 12:14 am. Like you really care though, right?
77. I actually miss having classes and homework now that I’m not in school.
78. I am terrified of speaking or giving prayers in church. When I give talks, I have to write out everything from “Good Morning” to “in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” or else I forget.
79. I would cry if I had to cut my daughters hair short. It would probably be cuter, but I just can’t do it.
80. I love to kiss the back of Rylan’s neck and his gushy cheeks. Those are my weak spots.
81. I judge people by their handshake. Especially girls. I can’t stand the limp fish.
82. My biggest pet peeve is people who are fake. Like when someone says “Let’s get together” and never has any intention of doing so, and the like. When people say (or leave unsaid) what they mean, it’s such a breath of fresh air. Thank you!
83. My mouth feels so much cleaner when I brush my teeth in the shower vs. at the sink.
84. I am a logical thinker: I reason everything and with everyone with what I think is logical or time-saving or the like. I cringe when people decide things where there is no logic behind it.
85. I like to play Animal Crossing on the game cube, though it has got to be the slowest most boring game ever created.
86. I love buying bedding. I have 3 times the amount of comforters and quilts than I do beds, and would have more if my husband couldn’t find them all.
87. My house can be spotless Saturday night before bed and somehow in getting ready for church, EVERYTHING is a disaster, even things that have nothing to do with getting ready for church.
88. My favorite color to wear is white.
89. Before me and Adam got engaged I told him I could never marry him b/c my name would be Shelly Schloegel and that just doesn’t flow right. It still doesn’t…
90. I don’t have a middle name.
91. My nicknames growing up (for whatever reason…) have included Smelly, Shelly belly button belly (which if you repeat I will kick you, b/c it is just stupid, It makes no sense whatsoever), Shhh-elly!, and Churchie.
92. I used to have speech therapy classes for a few years in grade school b/c I couldn’t say my “S’s”.
93. I took gymnastics for several years during grade school and feel like I’m still obsessed with it. Quitting is the thing I regret most.
94. I have monsterly long ET toes. Just ask anyone who’s seen them.
95. If I could have ANY kind of cosmetic surgery, I’d opt for toe shortening over lypo any day.
96. I love driving on windy (like curvy, not breezy) back country highways with the window down.
97. I wear the same 2 sandals year round to church b/c I haven’t found any cute close-toed shoes. You'd think the snow on my bare-feet would encourage the shopping, but it doesn't.
98. I can't stand yogurt or pudding with any chunks in them. Or jello.
99. I based my choice for my my degree in college on which one required the least amount of math.
100. The best way I get into a cleaning mood is to put on tennis shoes.

Tag: Stephen. Complete ASAP!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you enjoyed everyone there visiting, and hope you have a great birthday today!!!