West Piney Girls Camp

Anyone who has been to this lodge knows it is famous for it's giant silver slide. As a kid I had no fear of sliding on it, but as an adult I see it with different eyes. I also get to hear all the stories that go with the slide. When we were kids, the teen age boys would put a hose on it and ride it with wax paper- Cuh-RAZY! My brother did that and threw out his back. He had to lay on his bed the rest of the reunion cuz he couldn't move. I saw a little girl ride it safely down until she got to the bottom where she turnded on her belly and hit here head on the slide. She cut her forehead and started bleeding. You know how head wounds are. Last reunion an adult cousin slit the side of his hand on the side of the slide. He was an oral surgeon so he had to go and get it stitched up right away. When we tell and retell the stories you hear all the grandma's going on about how it needs to be taken down and how it's so dangerous. But if you did there would go the lodge's legacy. So amazingly enough the slide is still there. And they're making improvements. They made the slide longer so you don't fly off the end as often. A youth group helped build an actual stairway. The started doing something else to it when we left this year. Here is a clip of me going down it. Notice how someone in the background happens to whistle at just the right time as I say, "Holy!" Don't worry I didn't say anything else after that, but you can hear the whistle. I kind of lose control at the end, but it's scary :). Let it benoted that I did ride it. At the last reunion, Remi rode it with no carpet. His rubber soles hit the slide at the bottom and he fell forward and hit his face on the slide. He was sobbing when he said, "I don't ever want to do that again(sob) (I was thinking YES!) without a carpet." So he climbed back up and slid down again with a carpet. He was only 4! Oh, I also remember my grandpa going down the slide. I couldn't believe my eyes. And I think it was before the extended the slide because at the end he totally cartwheeled and somersaulted- I wish I had recorded that! I'm pretty bad at taking video so please have patience with these. This last day everyone kept flying off the end so I kept recording.

Family Reunion

We had our big family reunion a few weeks ago and I finally put our caving pictures onto our computer. We have our reunion every three years which I think is perfect. It's over in Swan Valley in eastern Idaho. On one of our days we decided to take the hike and go into the wind caves, which is near Victor, ID. Our whole family, minus Grant, went. I was very proud of my kids for going. It was a 2.7 mile hike with a steady incline the whole way. Way to go Merrell kids! Then Nata and Remi went to the end of the cave with Matt and I. Porter didn't crawl back there since he fell during the hike and landed on his knee. The Nature Gods were not with Porter this day. He managed to take that fall, get blisters (he didn't have good hiking shoes), lose the head lamp we had just bought, and get a major nose bleed in both nostrils. Nature did not pay attention to the white flag he was mentally waving. Anyhow...it was fun.

So they're called the wind caves. And that's because there's a breeze blowing through it which you don't hear or feel until you get to a tight space. Then the wind is whipping through the small hole trying to get through it. This 2nd picture is of the entrance to the cave. You cross that water and then climb up to the left. That is where the entrance is. You can fill your water bottle with cold, fresh, filtered water- for a small fee. Just kidding, but wouldn't it be funny to see someone set up a little table selling it? (Kind of like the guy who set up a message table next to the green belt with a poster trying to sell a swedih message.) 3rd pic.- A pitcure of part of the gang that went into the cave.

On this pic. we were walking along a ledge. Matt is helping Natalie along. I was thrilled she went because she's afraid of the dark and heights. Is it normal for 4th graders to all of a sudden get all these fears of things she was never afraid of before? The ledge wasn't too difficult. just a little intimidating.

There were a lot of tight places we had to crawl through. This was one of the tight spots. The kids breezed right through it, but it took longer for the adults to get through, especially the tall ones.

And we went through all that trouble for this- a black hole. This spot is where it joins with the other cave. There is an ice cave that sits above the wind cave, but that requires repelling and other specialized gear to get to. At this point in the cave, there are metal brackets on either side of the wall where people hook up their gear.

All in all I would call it a good day :).

A tribute to Chicago (oh, how I miss you).

When I married and moved to Vernal, Utah from Chicago, I noticed not everyone used the same terms as me. So I started questioning myself thinking I was just making suff up. Eventually, I changed some of my terminology so that I wouldn't sound weird or so I wouldn't have to explain myself. So when I got this email it made me realize I wasn't weird. I was just from Chicago.

CHICAGO SLANG 1. Grachki (grach'-key): Chicagoese for 'garage key' as in, Yo, Theresa, waja do wit da grachki? Howmy supposta cut da grass if I don't git intada grach?'
*I don't know if I've ever heard someone call a garage key a grachki, but it definitely sounds like someone's last name.
2. Sammich: Chicagoese for sandwich. When made with sausage, it's a sassage sammich; when made with shredded beef, it's an Italian Beef sammich, a local delicacy consisting of piles of spicy meat in a perilously soggy bun.
*Now and then I'll call it a sammich just for fun, but sausage is definitely pronounced sassage by a lot of people- maybe even me. And see- Italian Beef is real. I didn't make that up either!
3. Jewels: Not family heirlooms or a tender body region, but a popular name for one of the region's dominant grocery store chains. 'I'm goin' to the Jewels to pick up some sassage.
*This is where my mom bought groceries.
5. Field's: Marshall Field, a prominent Chicago department store. Also Carson Pirie Scott, another major department store chain, is simply called Carson 's.
*Generally, I walked through these stores to get to the more teenage affordable stores at the mall.
'6. Tree: The number between two and four. 'We were lucky dat we only got tree inches of snow da udder night.' *True dat.
7. Kaminski Park : The mispronounced name of the ballpark where the Chicago White Sox (da Sox) play baseball. Comiskey Park was renamed U.S. Cellular Field (da Cell)
*It's sad that it had to be renamed. Dumb sponsor stuff.
9. Frunchroom: As in, 'Get outta da frunchroom wit dose muddy shoes.' It's not the 'parlor.' It's not the 'living room.' In the land of the bungalow, it's the 'frunchroom,' a named derived, linguists believe, from 'front room.'
*This is a perfect example of Chicagoese. Doesn't this sound like a made up word? I always said frunchroom and then I lived in Utah and wondered if it was a real word. As an adult I finally realized it meant front room. Then I started calling it a front room or living room so people would understand what I meant. I still like the sound of frunchroom better.
10. Use: Not the verb, but the plural pronoun 'you!' 'Where use goin'?'11. Downtown: Anywhere near The Lake, south of The Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo) and north of Soldier Field.
*I kid you not about a year ago I was talking to an aunt and she asked me- how's use guys?
11. Braht: Short for Bratwurst. 'Gimme a braht wit kraut.'
12. Goes: Past or present tense of the verb 'say.' For example, 'Den he goes, 'I like this place'!'
16. Guys: Used when addressing two or more people, regardless of each individual's gender.
*I have gotten wierd looks from my young women when I started by saying, "Hey, guys." Now you know why I say it.
17. Pop: A soft drink. Don't say 'soda' in this town. 'Do ya wanna canna pop?'
*It is pop and not soda.
18. Sliders: Nickname for hamburgers from White Castle , a popular Midwestern burger chain. 'Dose sliders I had last night gave me da runs.
*Ewww. I have never liked White Castle, but I remember my dad buying like 50 of them once. Pretty sure we ate them all. They're just small hamburgers.
19. Cuppa Too-Tree: is Chicagoese for 'a couple, two, three' which really means 'a few.' For example, 'Hey Mike, dere any beerz left in da cooler over by dere?''Yeh, a cuppa too-tree.
*Matt and I have actually got in an arguement over the definition of couple. He thinks a couple means two- NOT!
20 Junk Dror: You will usually find the 'junk drawer' in the kitchen filled to the brim with miscellaneous, but very important, junk.
*The top drawer of my clothes dresser when I was a kid. Now they're all over. Where is your junk drawer?
21. Gym Shoes: The rest of the country may refer to them as sneakers or running shoes but Chicagoans will always call them gym shoes!
*You mean not everyone calls them gym shoes?

There was more slang, but I just kept the ones that applied to me. Besides, I thought this was getting too lengthy.

Fall

Fall is a melancholic time for me.( Ok, so it's not fall yet, but it's coming and just the thought of fall is melancholic.) It's that feeling you get when you take the Christmas tree down. You've had all this build up, you have your fun and then all of a sudden it's over. I just love summer. It's ok to play all summer long as long as I have the kids with me. (This is just my own reasoning.) Sure the house is constantly a mess, but if we get bored we put on our suits and go swimming somewhere. This summer it's been Eagle Island a lot. It's like instant happiness and the kids get along. Happy kids=heaven. And they always seem to be happy when they're swimming (it's an added bonus if there's sand to dig or frogs they can catch). Plus, I don't have to do any entertaining. I mostly just sit and watch until it gets too hot. So I'm never fully prepared for the kids to go back to school. My reason for going to the beach is gone. And I have to be Grant's entertainment.
Another reason fall gets me down is I don't get to go back to school. Well, technically, I could, but we all know the difference. I loved the feeling of seeing friends you didn't see all summer and catching up. As I mentioned in the previous blog, I loved the social aspects of school and everything school had to offer. I loved knowing lots of people from the different sport teams and from after school clubs. I didn't even mind going to classes. I liked almost all of my teachers. So I have great school memories. Which I am finding out not everyone liked school. Maybe I'm the minority, but I still miss it.

Back to School

Last Thursday I registered Porter for middle school. I am excited for him to take his next step. To gain a little more independence, to start hanging with friends after school and watching the school team play a ball game. Of course, I'm thinking of all the fun social aspects of school. Then I talked to my brother about signing Porter up and his response was "Oh no, this is when it all begins." I didn't know what he was talking about since I enjoyed all my school years and what they had to offer. So he told me how guys wanted to beat him up for no reason. Just random people thinking they could pick an easy fight. Well, my brother taught them a lesson, but for Porter- is this something that will really happen? I know it 's real, but I didn't ever have to see it. I just envision Porter putting himself in invisibility mode- if I duck my head and quietly walk away no one will notice I'm gone. Pretty much what he does at home when I tell him to mow the lawn. In fact, he just did this two minutes ago and now he's watching Sat. morning cartoons instead of getting the lawn mower out. Ok, he proved me wrong- YEAH! Anyway, I am naively excited for Porter to start middle school and hope that he has a good school experience! Plus, he got picked to be a kitchen helper so he can earn a free hot lunch and 50 cents a day. Now, you just can't beat that!

Juno

OK, I just saw the movie Juno and am in a reflective mood. Juno is a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and (some other movie that just left my head- if you can think of it feel free to let me know). I figured it out- it's the 70's show. Matt and I swore we weren't going to see this movie about teenage pregnancy because if we watched it then we were supporting it which means we're supporting teenage pregnancy- or something like that. When Matt was at work, he had a co-worker talk about how on his way out from seeing Juno he overheard one teenager telling another, "See, it wouldn't be so bad to be pregnant." That really bugged us. Then I had a friend who did like the movie so we thought we would break down, watch it and form our own opinion. And the verdict is...I liked it. I'm a little ashamed to admit it though. My conscience says there's nothing funny about getting knocked up at 16, however Juno is a funny girl. The way they talk though made me feel old cuz I couldn't understand half of their lingo. Anyhow, I'm tired so good night.

Girls Camp

I was in charge of girls camp this year. I don't really like to be the one in charge. I actually prefer someone who knows what they're doing to be in charge and they tell me what to do. It's so much easier that way. Plus, usually, you don't get to have as much fun since you're the one making sure everything is running smoothly.
However... Girls camp was everything a girl could ask for- great leaders ;), great food, great location and even great shopping! I really can't take the credit for it either. We just had the right combination of everything. The leaders, the youth leaders, the cooks, the girls- by the end of camp everyone just gelled. It was GRR-R-R E A T! (That's a Tony the Tiger GREAT!) Jessa, Alix, and Jordan had a mud fight.

The place we went to was beautiful! It was 1 hour and 10 min northwest of Weiser. There was a cabin where we cooked and had meals. We also slept there the last night of camp. In the cabin was a big loft. They had a ping pong and bumper pool table to play on. There was a even a hammock to kick back in.
A short, but steep, walk below the cabin were two meadows. We camped in the meadow that had a pond with a paddleboat and canoe. Some of the girls loved catching the tadpoles, frogs, and even snakes that hung out in the pond. The river whooshed behind our tents. The owners dammed up a portion of the river so the girls could play/bathe in it. We had lots of free time in the afternoon so everyone could keep cool in the heat of the day. It got very hot and the skies were cloudless the whole time we were up there. The river was very loud. That first night that we went to bed it was hard to fall asleep because it was so loud. This meadow also had a homemade waterslide cut into the side of the hill. It was covered with a tarp and you would ride down it in an intertube. Some people went down on their rear end. Not me, that looked a little uncomfortable. The ground was not smooth and I'm sure some people slid over some rocks. There was a pool at the bottom of the slide where the water collected. When you hit the bottom you were pretty much taking a beetle bath. Thankfully, one of the girls scooped up the beetles and tossed them out. They were big, black, crunchy looking things. Nasty! (Me and Alix taking a ride down the slide).
As with a buch of girls, there was a little drama that went on, but nothing that couldn't be handled by our drama queen specialist, Amber. I figured since she has three girls she could help us in the drama area and she did a great job. Amber also put together our store, The Beanery. We had a positive reward system for the girls. Anytime the girls did anything that was positive they earned a bean. So by the end of the day they should have earned a bunch of beans. Then for an hour a day they had a chance to spend their beans at the store where they could buy anything from snacks to flip flops to battery operated fans. We had a huge selection of items at the store. The Beanery was a great success and they were super helpful- and not just because they could earn a bean either! (Brooklyn scored with some cute flip flops.)
My spiritual night was awful- it was so bad it was funny. Anything that could go wrong, did. I planned a short, but simple fireside. It was just not to be. It all started when I realized I had left my cd at home (which was half the program). No reason to panic there because we happened to have another cd up there so I decided to use that one instead. I was running around like a mad woman trying to get everything prepared. I couldn't get the cd player to work so I had to run back to the other meadow and get another cd player that we had. When it was finally time to start the bishop and one of his counselors both gave a great 5 min. talk. They were short, sweet, and full of the spirit. Then we started playing the music and it kept skipping...and skipping...and skipping. Ugh. It souned awful. So we tried the next song. It skipped and skippied and sounded awful! I burst into a giggle fit. It was either that or tears by this point. Well, I luaghed so hard I cried so I guess I got both. So I stood up and said, "That's it I can't take it anymore." I mean, seriously, how long can you sit there and listen to a cd skip? So we passed over the parts where we played the music. The music was the majority of the fireside so the rest went by very quickly, which was a good thing.
One of the best part of camp for me was the leaders tent. I think the earliest we went to bed was 1:30 am. I think we even had two 3 Am-ers. We stayed up and laughed and wrestled and talked and rolled of our mattresses often. There were atleast a few roll offs each night. I even rolled backwards off my mattress and out the door.
I was the top wrestler even though Julie thinks we need a rematch. Bring it on, Julie! (Susan, you turkey, you were hiding from my camera.)
Well, I'm trying to figure out how to include pictures with my blog. I tried uploading one while I typed this and it wouldn't ever come up. So Matt will probably end up figuring it out for me. I am not computer savvy. Computer skills would definitely come in handy, probably not as much as num chuck skills though. I'm sure I'll think of more girls camp news to share. This one sounds a little too cut and dry for me, but please keep in mind it is almost 3 am.

Good- bye, until Girls Camp '09!