Shaunika # 15 on the Heart Throbs 1986

John Stout

Shaunika & Merika

Jeff Stout

Roofing in Redondo Beach

For the 8 years we lived in Redondo Beach Kirt worked as a roofer- actually part owner of Stout Brothers Roofing. He supervised all the crews and was typically gone from 6 or 7 am to one hour past dark if he was out on a job. The kids all came to recognize the odor of the hot tar kettle returning home to the back yard.

Our first home- 100K in 1980

In Germany

Just before the leg wrestling!

Foreign Exchange Student - Kujtim

When Merika was a Junior at Lancaster High School we had a foreign exchange student from Germany. Her name was Stephanie and she was a vegetarian.

When Birke was a Junior at Elk Grove High School we had a foreign exchange student from Macedonia- he was Muslim.

We had cultural learning experiences from both experiences.

Our Second House - Provo

This is the second home that Kirt and Launa lived in. We were only in our first house for a few weeks when we heard that a couple in our ward - who managed apartments - were moving. We talked to the owners and they were thrilled to have us with Kirt's many handy skills. This is where we lived while I was pregnant with Logan and until Logan was 2 years old. The white part is the living room.
Kimball Apartments was an old house converted into 4 apartments- ours was one of them. Also a separate building with two apartments behind the main house.

Birke - Eagle Scout

Birke just passed his Board of Review! 8/1/2007



At the reception following the presentation of his award as an Eagle Scout. 8/26/2007







Birke and Stephen shared the day and the awards.

Birke and Batman

This is an experience I wish I had a picture for. We had lived in Pocatello for a few months and I found a nice lady to do my hair. She did it out of a shop in the back of her house. I took Birke there for a haircut- it was to be his first haircut by a professional.

She put a little booster seat in the chair in he hopped up into the seat. She asked him how he wanted he hair cut and her replied "like Batman". She was unsure what he meant so asked him what he meant.

He said he wanted it with "Batman pokes" and with his hands he demonstrated by pulling up as if to demonstrate Batman's ears.

We had a chuckle about that and then he cut his hair in the cut of the day that was the one that looked like a bowl had been placed on his head and the hair below it was cut off. I do have a picture of that and will post it.

Memory Lane

You may have thought that when we lived in Redondo Beach we lived on Ralston Lane. Actually, I think it was Memory Lane. And in Placentia when we thought we lived on Swanson Avenue...no it was really Memories Avenue. Fast forward to Pocatello where we lived on Spaulding and Centennial- really just another version of our own Memory Street or Road.
Pictures paint a thousand words and fill me with thousands of memories.

We didn't live in the house on Spaulding very long- but think of the memories provided in that short time-

• the downstairs shower was too short for John of Jeff to stand up in
• thinking that the school was providing the trumpet we didn't rent one for Shaunika until the night before chair tryouts - and she still place for "first chair" beating out the two boys who had alternately had first chair
• the big pot of clam chowder that Judy brought over
  
• dad had to drive the U-haul to work so I had the van to take Jeff to ISU early mornings for band practice
• I took Birke for a haircut and he told the lady he wanted it cut like Batman's - with 2 pokes
• Merika started her second year of second grade
  

Pictures in boxes

For Christmas I got a nice white bookshelf that we put up in Birke's old room. It is specifically for family history type items. Photo albums and family memorabilia.

Photos are being accumulated from various random spots throughout the house and are ready to be scanned.

Waiting for Scanner

The photo scanner has arrived, but it not set up yet. Soon, I will be able to scan the pictures to go with the stories and then the blog will come alive!

Coming soon...

Pillow talk
Merika cuts her hair!
A regular Friday night babysitter...
Logan has a paper route, and his bike is stolen.
We vacuum up some big bumble bees.
John get's baptized, and Merika get's stung by a bumble bee.
Logan gets to tend his siblings.

Taking requests- if you want a story, let me know.

The Bikini

I never actually planned for any of my children to dress immodestly and always shopped or sewed accordingly. However, when Shaunika was about 3 years old I was shopping at Pic n Save and there was this cute little yellow seersucker two piece bathing suit, I think it was less than $4.00. It was so cute, that I rationalized that she was so young it wouldn't matter.
I bought it and brought it home. I sent her in the bedroom to try it on.
When she came out, she looked down at her visible tummy, drew a line across her chest area as she said "there is a swimming suit up here", then drawing a line across her pantie area as she said "and there is a swimming suit down here, but", as she pointed to her tummy, "there is no swimming suit here".
I took the swim suit back, if a child of three knows she should be modest then I am not going to corrupt her.

John learned how to say his name.

John has some problems with his speech. When he was almost 3 I asked the pediatrician when to worry. I was starting to worry because he was starting to talk louder if he was not being understood. She said that most kids should be understandable by most adults by the time they are three and at that point she would refer him to speech therapy. He couldn't say his consonants. So instead of mommy it would sound like ummy. Most of the time I could understand what he was talking about because I had been with him all day and knew the context of his comments. Dad had a hard time, and often I did also. But Jeff always knew what he was talking about so I would often ask Jeff what John was saying. He had speech 2 x a week for a number of years. The speech therapist was impressed that he had such good language skills,but he had apraxia, and there was just a disconnect between his brain and his tongue.
He was in about 3rd grade when he could finally say that his name was "John" instead of "On", so since he could make the Ju sound we went to Target and bought him a GI JOE!

Jeff is "Boot Boy"

While we were living in Redondo Beach the McConkie cousins lifed in Manhattan Beach and we had many time when those cousins or some of them were at our house or when our kids were over at their Aunt Shauna's house. Jeff and Alison McConkie are pretty close in age. When Jeff was about 5 years old he used to do a funny thing whenever he was over to McConkie's The way Shauna tells it is that every time (for months)Jeff was dropped off there to play he would go into Alison's room and dig to the bottom of her closet to find her old white boots. He then put them on and wore them the entire time he was there. This went on for months, till Shauna finally just gave them to him, and she told me about it. Apparently, when he had on those boots he was "Boot Boy", I guess they gave him superpowers. He continued to wear them very often, he felt strong when he was wearing them and often took the muscle stance.

Logan says, "Jeff gets to do all the fun stuff!"

In September 1980, we left Kansas and drove across America to Redondo Beach. We stopped in Orem, Utah and stayed a few days with GG and Grant. When Kirt checked with Wayne about the house we had bought it was not quite ready, but Wayne really needed Kirt there. Since we thought Kirt would come back in a week to get us, we went ahead and sent Logan (Kindergarten) with Kirt to get him into school.
It turned out to be a month before I ever got down there with the kids- but that is a different story, for later.

While we were staying with GG & Grant they had the opportunity to go up to Star Valley to see Grant's sister, Carol and her husband, Jack. They were farmers/ranchers. They decided to take Jeff (4) with them, so then I just had Shaunika (3 months old) and John (2). When they returned Jeff told me he had ridden a horse(with someone).

Several months later, when were all settled in Redondo Beach, we were sitting around the table at supper. When I brought a plate of fried check to the table and I guess that caused a light bulb to go on in Jeff's head, and he said "When I was up visiting Uncle Jack and Aunt Carol I saw them chop off the head of a chicken, and then the chicken ran around the yard and then a dog come and licked up the blood!" To that comment, Logan remarked "How come Jeff gets to do all the fun stuff!"