Life According to Cassie

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Yes, It's May

As usual, May is a run, run, run kind of month.

Here are a few things we've experienced.

1. Layne and I started & finished a 5K. That was a lot of fun. Yes, this was one of our experiences that I 'accidentally' don't have a picture for.

2. Baseball has started. I'm sure I'll have some great shots of the boys before their season ends. Todd is having a great season. Great short & pitch is he. Mitch is doing good too. He is a fast runner. I can see him enjoying track.

3. Mitch had his 2nd grade Spring Program. Here he is doing his speaking part. No one was surprised at our house that he ended up with a speaking part.

And here is Mitch's class of 2019

4. Monday - Memorial Day
Josie & Todd are in band and so that means parades & memorial services galore.
They always have three different towns to get to, but they enjoy it, and it is always such a good experience. I always get a little teary at the end when the trumpet plays Taps, and then the echo trumpet (farther away) repeats.

At this point Justin & Mitch are there for the candy.
Here they are with their buddy Micah.

5. Today Josie graduated from 8th Grade!

Here she is with her best school buddies.
Beth, Josie, Jessie, Shana, & Caitlyn
(Isn't that funny that Shana & Caitlyn showed up in the same dress?!)

I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the whole class (175 students). Bummer.

6. Ah, spring weather......Even when it gets bad with rains, winds, and tornado's -
pretty things like this make it all okay.

So that is what we've been up to (kinda/sorta) this month.

The kids get out of school next week. Then the real fun starts.....
Day Camp
Boys Camp
Girls Camp
Football Camp
Band Camp

I'll stop there...I'm already getting light headed. Summer is going to go by too fast I'm afraid.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Pillow Talk

There are two things I hate buying

~toilet paper~

~pillows~

Toilet paper because...well, it costs a lot and all I do is flush it down the toilet.

Pillows because I can NEVER find a good one. For 15+ years I've been buying pillows and cannot say that I've ever loved even one of them.

I've done all the research~natural/synthetic, firm(back sleeper), medium(side sleeper), soft(tummy sleeper), etc.

I went to Ikea with my buddy Becky yesterday and purchased yet, two more pillows.

Last night really was nice. I did enjoy this pillow, but I'm still a little weary.

How long will the niceness last?

When will it collapse, never to recover?

What if some kid pukes/pees/drools all over it?

(The pillows I bought yesterday have a handy dandy zip up cover on them, so this last worry isn't as scary as it used to be.)

I'm just not ready to let my guard down and enjoy the pillow.

Anyone have a VERY FAVORITE pillow in their possession? If so you've got to share about it with all of us. I can't be the only one with pillow dissatisfaction.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Doesn't take much to make me....

* Here are a few things that have brought me smiles *

Our flowering trees are so pretty, the flower beds look nice and colorful, the ferns and geraniums are planted in their urns, and the garden is coming up nicely.

Don't you just love your yard in the spring?

Baseball is back.
I love the sound of the ball hitting the bat, the sound of kids, and we get to catch up with our 'seasonal friends'.

I still have a few more good hair days left before humidity hair sets in for good.

And yes, watermelon is back. Ah, watermelon.

Want some watermelon trivia?

Oklahoma designated watermelon as the official state vegetable in 2007. Although there is controversy on whether watermelon is a fruit or a vegetable, Senator Don Barrington (who sponsored the bill) said watermelon comes from the cucumber and gourd families, which are classified as vegetables.

Who knew?

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Oh, how they grow...

Give me a T! Give me an O! Give me a D!

Give me another D!
What's that spell?

TODD!

Todd is now 12 years old.
**April 18, 1997**

Todd & Mitch.

(Grandma, the outfit fits. Thank you! )

This is how he usually looks when we try to take his picture

We had a cookout for dinner. Here is Justin enjoying his hotdog. It was fun and the weather was just perfect.

Layne built one of the biggest fires we've ever had. (We've had some pretty big fires.)He claims he was trying to get rid of some wood, old tree limbs, etc. to clean up the shed and back yard...I think he was just playing with fire.

Happy Birthday Todd!
Todd has always been a super great kid. We are thrilled to have him for a son. He was ordained a Deacon at church today. His little brothers really look up to him. Good thing he is such a great guy.

We love you!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Never Judge a Book by Its Cover

Every time I watch this I get all teary eyed. I am not able to pull it over here to post so here is the link.

Please take time to see my new favorite,

Susan Boyle!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Rubber Band Wars

We are putting our house on the market!

All I can say is holy cow! Thirteen years of stuff really adds up! I have found things that I forgot I had, never knew I had, and wished I didn't have.

We have been working hard cleaning and decluttering and I noticed a common theme in my findings....rubber bands. My boys (including Layne) love rubber band wars. I never really gave it much thought, till now. Now I'm thinking I don't really love rubber band wars.

They are messy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you find the one on the piano?

The rest of these pics are of some that Josie has taken. We thought Aunt Geri would be proud of her.

The funny things kids say.....

Last night Todd was filling out a job application and asked, "Who should I put for contact incase of emergency?" Layne said, "Put your mom." Mitch said, "I'd put the police."

(November 20, 2013)

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Todd just came up from putting away some things in the basement. "Why do you still have all of those fake dolls?" No wonder Josie didn't play with dolls that often. All I bought here were the fake ones.
(August 14, 2013)
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While ordering dinner at Texas Roadhouse tonight, Justin (in all seriousness) asked the waitress, "does this corn come with salt on it?"
(March 16, 2013)
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Back story:Justin smashed his finger in the car door this past weekend.
Justin had the flu yesterday and was laying in bed and he called for me to come. I hurried in there and he looks up at me and says, "Don't you hate it when you have the flu and one of your pinkie fingers hurts?"
Yes, I do hate that.

(Feb. 21, 2012)
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We were at Layne's cousin's mission report while in Idaho. There were lots of family we hadn't seen in years. Justin asked who one lady was. I said that is your Great Aunt Debbie.

Justin asks, What makes her so great?

7-10-11
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His list is growing...
Judd & myself were driving in the car. Out of the blue he says, "Mom, when you die I call the house."

2-10-11
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We were driving home from school today. All was quiet. No one was talking. The radio wasn't even on.

Out of the blue Justin says, "When I get married I call the wii."
I guess when you're the youngest you have to be a forward thinker or you'll end up with nothing.

(1-4-11)
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Justin & I were babysitting a new little baby. (4 weeks old) Justin came to me and said, "Mom, I can't get this baby to laugh at my jokes."

(8-25-10)
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I was throwing away a large handful of watermelon rinds and Justin yells out, "Wait! Don't throw those away. The pigs will eat them." We don't have pigs.

(5-22-10)
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Justin wanted his way on something and I wasn't giving in. Finally he comes up with his own threat.
"If you don't let me...I'll watch TV all day long."

(1-26-10)
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We were leaving for church and in the rush I didn't remember my coat. In the car I commented that it was SO cold and I forgot to put on my coat. It was quiet for a few seconds and then Mitch says, "Well, at least you smell good."

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This morning (today was a Fast Sunday) Justin came in my bedroom and asked me to get up and get him some cereal. I told him I would but that I just needed to wake up first. He laid by me for a few minutes and then said that he thougth I would have been quicker since it was FAST Sunday.

(10-11-09)
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After lunch today I asked why I am always so tired after lunch on Sunday afternoon. Justin said he was never tired after lunch. I asked him how he could not be tired. He told me, "I just blink my eyes closed and then I blink my eyes open all day and I don't get tired."

(9-19-09)
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I asked the boys what they wanted for dinner tonight. As usual, Justin yells SPAGHETTI! Everyone else yells, NO! (He'd eat spaghetti forever if we'd let him.) So Justin says, "Ok, lets just have pasta with some sauce with meat in it."

(8-13-09)
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Yesterday the boys were at the neightbor's house playing. Kelli, the mom, asked Justin how old he was. He told her he was 4. Then she asked, "When is your birthday?" Justin's responded, "When I turn 5."

(7-16-09)
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Our friend Becky P. was trying to pay Josie some money for somthing Josie didn't think she needed paid for. Becky made the comment, "You are as bad as your mother." Josie replied, "No, I'm as good as my mother."

(5-9-09)
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How old does this make you feel?

Todd was calling someone the other day and keep redialing and finally said, "Mom, there is something wrong with the phone. It keeps making this beeping noise." I went over and listened.....it was a.....busy signal. Our children live in a world of voice mail and for the first time called someone without it.

(2-18-09)
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Today Mitch had an interview with the Branch President because he'll be baptized this coming Saturday. He came out of his office and walked over to me smiling so huge and said, "Mom! I passed!"

(1-25-09)
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The other day Justin and I were in the van together and he said something not very nice. I asked him why he did didn't choose the right. He responded with, "This time I chose the left".

(1-17-09)
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The day after Halloween I noticed that Justin was gathering up all the candy from all the Trick-or-Treat buckets. I asked him what he was doing and he told me, "We've got to get this stored for winter, Mom".

(11-1-08)
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Today Josie was on the phone leaving a voice mail message to a girl in her class at church. At the end of the message she finished up with..."In the name of..."

(10-08)
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A couple nights ago our friend, Mitzi, came with her three youngest little girls. When we were getting everyone out of the car Mitch poked his head in the open door and said, pointing to the youngest, "Is that the zero-year-old"?

(9-08)
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This morning Mitch got up and told me, "I can't believe I've had all my dreams. I'm only seven." So I asked what on earth he was talking about. He said, "I already had the dream I had last night so I guess I'm just starting over."

(9-08)
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Today I was getting the two youngest boys ready to go to a friends house so I could take Todd to the doctor. My friend isn't feeling very good right now so I was telling Mitch (7) that he needed to be on his best behavior because Becky isn't feeling 100%. He looked at me and asked, "Is she at least at 90%?"

(8-08)
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We went swimming today. When Layne got home from work Justin went on about how fun the 'cat pool' was. For the life of me I couldn't figure it out. Then finally it came...I call it the 'kiddy pool' - not the 'kitty pool'. LOL

(8-08)
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Today Judd told me that it would be too dangerous to go to Heaven in a rocket so it would be easier to die first and then go there. My answer.....'okay---go play now'.

(7-08)