Hooray!

Hooray! New episodes of House started last night. I am so glad that the writers strike ended. I was getting bored with reruns. The new episodes of Army Wives starts June 8th.

Tax Rebates

Woo-hoo! The wonderful IRS started sending out rebate checks to direct deposit accounts today. Thank you Aaron for having a low SS#. We will be getting our rebate check by Friday. What are we going to do with it? Get the van checked out, tuned up, and fixed if needed. It's gotta last at least another year....

Friends and Family

Some of you may be wondering who my "friends and family" are that I am linked to. Some are family, some are friends, and some are people who I once knew and remind me of home.

Anthony, Monica, TaLonnie, and Tiffany are Aaron's cousins on his mom's side. I don't know them very well, in fact, I have only met them all once when we went to the Roundy family reunion in 2006. But I thought they and their families were nice and that I would link to their blogs to remind me to try and keep up with them.

Amanda is a really great and fun person. She is one of my friends from church. I often run into her (and about 5 other moms) in the mother's lounge (there are currently 6 babies in our ward under the age of 1...and that's after one moved last week). I love talking to her, she is so fun and animated. I wish I were more outgoing like her. She graciously watched Carissa and Isaiah while I was in the hospital with Joseph back in January. Carissa still talks about "the place where dad picked her up from" and "the big sister", "the little sister", and "the baby sister" who she spent time with. Thank you Amanda! We love you!

Lauren is someone I knew from when I was in high school, well probably before that since our dad's have worked together for a very long time. She went to a rival school so we didn't hang out much, but our paths did cross during plays and various music performances. She is very talented. She could play the flute and sing beautifully. When she finally came down to Laramie we even had a class together.

Nathan is a classmate from high school. We were both "the smart kids" and so we had a lot of classes together, especially our junior and senior years. We even had a sort of unofficial competition going to see who would get the highest ACT score...he won, but only because I let him and didn't have the motivation to take the test yet again.

If you have a blog or know of someone who has a blog that I should add, let me know and I will add them.

Aaron

Well, I don't have a lot to say today, so I'll just choose someone in the family to spotlight. Starting with my husband, Aaron.

This is one of my favorite pictures taken about a year and a half ago of Aaron and Isaiah.

Aaron and I met at the first Institute activity of the year, our freshman year at college. We became friends, started dating, became even better friends, and then got married. He was born in Provo, Utah and is the oldest of 5 kids. He has lived in so many places that people ask if his dad was in the military. He is an electrical engineer and an online tutor on the side. It never ceases to amaze me how smart he is in math and physics and computer stuff. He enjoys playing soccer and watching football. His favorite NFL team is the Seattle Seahawks. He also enjoys hiking and backpacking, although since we've moved to Texas he hasn't goten to do hardly any of that.

He looks like a teenager still and will often have the young men offer to excort him to class or the young women ask about him when we first move into or visit a ward. A new sister in the ward asked me the other day who my husband was and I pointed to him down the hall picking up one of the kids. "Oh, the young one" was her response.

Can anyone out there recognize a location just by seeing it on film? Aaron displayed this talent last night and I thought it was kind of funny.

We were watching Persuit of Happyness and it was at the end of the movie where they show Chris Gibbons (Will Smith) and his son walking down this street in San Fransisco and in the background is the Golden Gate bridge. It's a picturesque scene. Anyway, Aaron says "that's a nice view" I say yeah, and then a few seconds later he says "Wait a minute" and pauses the show as he's saying "I know where that is" He looks at it for a few minutes and then is all excited because he recognizes the road. He says "I've been there before." and explains where it is; "if it's where I think it is, then the hospital where we took Matthew is like a block this way (off screen) I've driven that road!" I am laughing at him and then he explains that he remembers it because it was the first time he had driven in San Fransisco.

Another funny story from yesterday; we were doing a math lesson with David and he was working on a worksheet. Aaron started playing with the other kids. David started to mess up the number he was writing and said, "Oops, I messed up. Someone was distracting me," as he looked up as if to scold his dad.

Anyway, that's Aaron.

Thunder Storms and Random Pictures

Well, like I've said before, it's spring here in Texas. Along with the wildflowers come thunderstorms, tornados, and other hazardous weather. Tonight we had another such storm, although we were just on the edge where we were at. Sometimes these storms scare me, but other times I enjoy watching them. Here is a video I took during a storm last week.

Here are a couple of pictures. This first one is of Carissa. She decided she wanted everything to match...can you guess what her favorite color is?

This second one is of Aaron and Joseph while we were watching TV. Joseph could barely keep his eyes open, but Aaron, who was supposed to be putting him to sleep, couldn't even do that.

Busy Weekend

This has been a pretty busy weekend for us. We slept in a little on Saturday morning while Aaron started to build the shelves for our garage. He got part-way through putting the brackets on when he realized that one was missing. I wanted to get the kids' pictures in the bluebonnets anyway, so after getting them ready we all piled into the van to head into town. I found a pretty spot this year nearby. It's in someone's front yard in front of a fence. The kids weren't as cooperative as usual so I may have to try again.

For those of you who don't live in Texas, every spring the bluebonnets come into full bloom and parents drag their kids to thick, colorful, pretty patches of the flowers and take their pictures in them. I know, it's kind of silly, but they do look nice, even if you can't get all five kids looking at the camera at the same time.

Anyway, after taking the kids' pictures we went to Lowe's to get the bracket and wander the aisles dreaming of a redone master bath and kitchen, newly painted rooms, and hardwood floors.

We got back home, Aaron put on the last bracket while I changed the kids' clothes, we put everything away, and then we piled back into the van to go to the Elder's Quarum social where we ate hamgurgers, hot dogs, chips, brownies, and salads until we were ready to burst. It was held at Dan's and Amanda's home where there are creeks, a pond, puppies, a trampoline, go carts, and lots of room to run around. Most of us have kids the same ages so they all ran around having fun while us grownups chatted. We topped off the evening with a round of Fear Factor.

David's highlight came sometime towards the evnening when he lost his other top tooth. Now his lisp is fairly noticable. To make things worse, he has two more on the bottom loose. I'm just glad I got the family pictures taken before he started losing them.

By the time we got home David had gone swimming in the creek, (Don't worry, one of the dads was supervising. Of course if one of the moms had been supervising then none of the kids would have gotten even close to the water. ) Isaiah had gotten all wet and muddy from playing in the puppies' water dish and backyard, and Jacob had decided to strip down to his diaper for no apparent reason. At least Carissa managed to stay clean and dressed; and Joseph, of course, slept through the whole thing in his stroller.

When we asked David why he got so wet, he said "We went in the water." We then said he didn't have to get in the water and his response was "But there isn't much land down there" It was just funny to listen to his logic and justification.

All that brings us to a nice quiet Sunday where we went to church in the morning, came home, and Aaron got a little further on the shelves, went to a meeting, came home again, and then finished the shelves; all before bedtime. Maybe we'll even get them organized by the end of the week....or maybe not.

Family Pictures

Our Family pictures got in today and so I decided to make a smilebox postcard. I hope you enjoy!

I should be posting more pictures in the next couple of days.

Carissa, Our Only Girl

Today Carissa said something cute about Joseph. A little background....for the past couple of years, she has been going through a phase where she REALLY wants a baby sister. She would even go so far as to not even look at baby boys. We were really afraid that if the new baby was a boy she would throw a fit right there in the hospital. She was always saying how she did not like baby boys only girls.

Throughout the pregnancy she gradually became more accepting of baby boys and the fact that we might indeed have another one. Sure enough our baby turned out to be a boy, Joseph. She was disapointed, but at least there was no fit. In fact, she has come to love Joseph. She is always making up little songs and singing to him. This morning, she was sitting next to him singing one of her songs when she pipes up, "Mom, I love Joseph. I'm glad he was born." I thought that was so sweet, and then had to hold in the laughter as she continued, "Baby boys are my second favorite." Can you guess what her first favorite is? Needless to say, she is still hoping for a baby sister someday. Of course, so am I.

As for Joseph, he has really been moving around lately! He will scoot/inchworm all over his crib, even when he's on his back. He's also been making a real effort to go from his back to his tummy. It won't be too long before he's crawling. All he's got to do is get his knees under him and his tummy off the ground. But look how well he holds his head up!

Where We're From and How We Got Here

While doing some blog searches over the past few days, I came across a blog belonging to a high school classmate and his family. He asked how we came to be in Texas, so here it is.

I was born and raised in the small town of Byron in Northern Wyoming. I went to college at the University of Wyoming where I met Aaron, who has lived in several Western States. We married and lived in Laramie until he graduated in May of 2003. From there, much to his dismay and my disbelief, we went down to College Station, Texas so he could go to graduate school at Texas A&M. The school wasn't quite what we were expecting and during the summer of 2004 he took an intern position in Waxahachie, Texas. They offered him a full time position that fall and so we decided to accept and moved up here.

So that's how we came to live in this little subdivision about 20-30 miles South of Dallas. Aaron has since gotten a different job up in Grand Prairie and we would like to move a little closer to a major road, but, overall we are happy here. Of course, we will never be able to say we are Texans, even if we wanted to. Wyoming will always be home to us and we are proud to say that's where we come from. Even David and Carissa have taken to saying they are "real cowboys" who were born in "the wild West". And you will always be able to tell which football team we root for just by looking at the back of Aaron's truck.

Gotta Love Spring!

Fall has always been my favorite season, but this year more than any other year, I realize just how much I enjoy spring. It's a preparation for summer, but it's also the time I get to prepare for the fall. Classes that is. This fall I am going to take a full credit load for the first time in a long time. I will be doing my internship (student teaching). I've been working up the courage to do that for a couple of years now and will finally get it done. That, combined with my few classes left, will make me able to graduate next spring, 10 years after graduating high school. It's been a long, slow process, but at least I'll have made it and that is something I will be proud of.

Today I went to the preschool/Kindergarten where I will be doing the intern. I met the director and supervising teacher. I think I'll like it if I don't get too lost since the building and program seem so big. I will have 12 students in my class. 5 girls and 7 boys. It should be fun I hope.

While on the 45 minute drive from our house to the school, I got to see the wild flowers that are in bloom everywhere this time of year. They are so pretty here. In Wyoming we could only see wild flowers like that in the mountains in August. I especially love the blue bonnets and the bright Indian Paintbrush. I'll have to take the kids out this weekend.

Here is a picture of the flowers last year.

Playgroup, Peek-a-boo, a Lost Tooth, and a New-Found Thumb

Well, I planned play-group the other day and I think everyone had fun despite the slightly chilly, breezy day. We went to a park so the kids could play while the moms chatted. Here are a few pictures of the kids.

Yesterday Aaron took David and Isaiah to Shreveport to meet up with Jay and get him the crib. While they were eating lunch David lost the tooth he's been working on for awhile. It won't be much longer until he loses the other one and then he'll really have a lisp.

While they were gone Jacob had fun playing with me. Here is a video of him playing peek-a-boo. He kept walking closer and closer to the camera. I couldn't help laughing.

While David has been working on losing his teeth, Joseph has been working on finding his thumb. It is constantly in his mouth these days, but that's ok I suppose. As long as he's happy and sleeps when he's supposed to and let's me sleep when I'm supposed to, then it's all good.

Here are a couple of pictures of Joseph...he's getting so big! And everyone loves his hair, although in this second one we see what he could look like bald since the kids had pushed his hair back from his forehead.

So, today was church. I taught the Relief Society lesson..."The Mission of John the Baptist." It was a tough one to teach, but it makes me grateful for what he did and that I know the Aaronic Priesthood didn't end with him, but was restored to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry in 1829 so that we can enjoy those same blessings today.

Super Monkey

Yeah! The Woot Monkeys came in the mail today. The kids are sure having fun with them. For those of you who don't know what a Woot monkey is....It's a slingshot monkey that screams as it flys and when it lands.

Movies, movies

So, we decided to try out Netflix. It seems like it's going to be a fun thing to have. We rented Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix first. It wasn't too bad about sticking to the story line. There were several key details I missed that were not included, but at least the basics were there. So many movies based on books have been a HUGE disappointment to me lately. Bridge to Terabithia, The Dark is Rising, Chronicles of Narnia....I refused to even see The Dark is Rising (The Seeker) because I could tell from the previews that they had changed it far too much, ruining one of my favorite books. Ah well.

Jacob is doing much better today. The doctor prescribed some medicine to settle his stomach and he has been eating, keeping food down, and acting himself again. Thank goodness! The medicine was interesting. It was in gel form and you rubbed it into his tummy where it was absorbed through the skin. I wish all medicines were that way.

Birthday Greetings

First Off......

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY CORA!!!!! My little sister, Cora is 25 today. Boy, does that make me feel old to think she's that old. :-)

I finally uploaded the tap video of Carissa. It turns out it was too large to upload so I had to split it into two...

Carissa Tap Part 1

Carissa Tap Part 2

She really does enjoy dancing and usually performs better than this. She just gets distracted by the mirror and everyone watching so close to her. But all that matters is she has fun.

A Few Cute Stories

Ok, so many of you miss out on the little moments with the kids so I thought I'd share a couple of things they have said lately...

Our son, The Negotiator: David's top two front teeth are loose so he's all excited for the tooth fairy to come again so he can get $2. He asked me how he could earn more money than just from losing teeth. I told him that if he cleaned his room then I'd give him $1. He thought about this for a minute and then said, "no, I want $2.

Carissa, The Social Bug: The kids were discussing activities and Carissa said she wanted to do and while they usually pick one or two activities, she pipes up, "I want to do four activities: Dance, Soccer, Girl Scouts, and Karate." I told her that she already had a lot to do and which one she would do if she could only choose one. Instead of getting an answer, I got a dirty look that said, "Are you crazy mom? If I want to do four activities, then I'm going to do four activities." After a little more persistance she finally answered, "But, mom, I want to do all of them." I guess she thinks she's got it all figured out and there's no convincing her otherwise...at least for now.

Speaking of activities...Carissa's dance class got their costumes for their recital the other day. As they tried them on they performed their dances for us. I apologize for the video quality ahead of time...

Carissa Ballet Part 1

Carissa Ballet Part 2

Carissa Tap
For some reason the tap video is giving me issues. I'll try again in a later blog.

Here is Carissa in her ballet costume:

Here she is in her tap costume:

Isn't she getting all grown up? So grown up that she asked for her ears to be pierced a few days after Easter. We waited a few days to make sure she really meant it and then got it done. She was real good, didn't cry or scream, although she looked like she wanted to do both. Now she's happy to have earrings.

Isaiah is also getting grown up. He's in Sunbeams now and got to go with the big kids on a primary trip to the temple. Aaron was still the Valient 12 teacher when they signed permission slips so he went with them. Here's a cute picture from the trip:

A sad thing to note...although Isaiah is getting grown up, he still didn't realize what snow was when we actually had some stick to the ground a few weeks or so ago. I asked him what that was outside his window and he said he didn't know and then did a double take when I told him it was snow. The kids were really excited about that. Too bad it was gone by noon.

Well, I think that's about all I have for now. I hope you all enjoy this blog. I think I'm going to enjoy keeping it.

Sick Boy

Well, it's 3:00 in the morning. Jacob is sick. I have one set of sheets in the wash and am waiting for the washing machine to finish so I can stick a new one in. I don't know that it's the flu. He doesn't have a fever and he hasn't eaten well the past couple of days. Now the question becomes...is he not eating because he has the flu? Or was he not eating just because he was being picky and that caused him to be sick? Ah well...it's a long night either way.

First Post

Well, I decided designing a web page might be too ambitious for me right now, so I decided to create a blog instead. It took me a few tries to find a site I liked, but I think this one is user-friendly enough for me. :-)

Anyway, where to begin...There has been so much going on in our lives lately...I guess I should make sure everyone knows who we are, first. My name is Cassandra. My husband is Aaron. We have been married 7 1/2 years. We live in Palmer, TX with our 5 children: David, age 6 1/2; Carissa, age 5 1/2; Isaiah, age 3 1/2; Jacob, age 2 1/2; and Joseph, 2 1/2 months. We also have a big, black cat named Kreacher. We got him as a kitten shortly before Jacob was born. We are a homeschooling family, although still getting the hang of it, and love to spend time together. Anyway, that's us. I may blog more details when I am having a slow day or two.