4th of July!

This was the FUNNEST 4th of July EVER - OK - well, maybe not EVER - but it was a GOOD ONE! My sister in law Cindy did the BEST 4th post EVER......so I will just recap - Everyone in the entire family was there - except for Joel which was a TOTAL bummer! Cassie and I missed him A LOT but he just couldn't get time off from work - like he said - someone has to work so you guys can play - what a GREAT guy!! Anyway - we all got together at Mom and Dad's house for a BBQ.....YUM! We all got really festive with the doo dads and trinkets - from head bands with dingle stars, face tattoos, hats, all the fun stuff! The boys got their tanks ready for "TANK WARS". Which is always a big hit! Holli and her family were able to be there and her kids TOTALLY got into it! After the food and tank wars, the family had a very informal Flag Ceremony. Brian and I shared the Declaration Of Independence, and a patriotic poem, then the family sang the Star Spangled Banner and said the Pledge and then the real party began!! Sarah came up with the idea of a rousing game of Steal The Flag! We grew up playing.....so it was a BLAST!! 4 hours later, SEVERAL bumps and bruises - and a broken nose......Well the whole gang from the littlest ones to the biggest ones joined in and it was a BLAST! After the game it was time to head across the street to view the "Stadium Of Fire".....PERFECT seats thank you very much! And of course - to finish off the night we had the "Culdesac Of Fire". Everyone had purchased HUGE packs of fireworks from Costco so it was another 2 hours of firework fun! I just can't even tell you how much FUN it was to spend the 4th with EVERYONE! GREAT memories! Who knows how many chances we will have to all be together, but when we are blessed with the opportunity, I am SO glad we make it count!!

Fun at the CABIN!

Jason and Debbie are SO great to invite the whole clan to their cabin! WHAT A BLAST!! It was SO beautiful to be up in the mountains and away from it all. The kids played and got dirty, we sat around the camp fire and told stories, I spent a lot of time taking the kids on 4-wheeler rides, and the next morning Jason took a few of us on a LONG 4-wheeler, dirt-bike ride around the mountain! EVERYTHING was wonderful......except for the DREADED POOP SHOOT!! It's a compost outhouse - and really isn't that bad......but hey - it is what it is and it is NOT my favorite part of the cabin!!!

SUMMER!

Cassie and I so much fun in Utah this Summer! SO much to share! I think I will just take it one at a time - rather than make one GINORMOUS post! But.......I DOUBT these will be in EXACT order! HERE WE GO!!

Cassie and I, and Mom and Sarah and her two boys went to the Manti Pageant. It was Cassie's first time to go to the pageant and I hadn't been for YEARS! We enjoyed the BBQ Turkey Dinner that the Stake's put on - SO yummy! The Turkey was the BEST!! We found some great seats - right across the street from the Temple, and we enjoyed the Pageant so much! They did an AMAZING job! The Temple was BEAUTIFUL and it was a wonderful Summer night.....It was an AWESOME night!!!

The Last Day

Cassie had her last day at San Tan Elementary School. She learned SO much and made a lot of good friends! We both loved her teacher Mrs. Cavanaugh! She was SO good for Cassie in her first year in the CATS program (Chandler Academically Talented Students). When you are a parent, you just PRAY that your kid gets a GREAT teacher - Cassie did and we are SO grateful for her! Thanks Kathy for EVERYTHING!!

God Bless America!

There are so many reasons why I love this country. How in the world do you put into words the love you feel for your country? Well.......I am at a loss. I know that every time I hear the Star Spangled Banner I cry - because I am overwhelmed at how blessed I am to be a citizen of this Country. I think of all of those who have given their lives to gain and to protect the freedom that I enjoy. I think of those people who do not have the freedom that I do. They can't worship the way they choose, work the jobs they choose, have the families they choose....they can't even CHOOSE! I love this time of year. It makes me stop and think about how truly blessed I am to live in America. I hope that as we are all having our BBQ's, enjoying fireworks and parades and family fun, that we stop....just for a moment and think about how blessed we are to live here and recognized the sacrifices that were made so we CAN enjoy ourselves. We may not like everything that is going on right now - we may not like the direction the government is going, we may not agree with ANYTHING that is going on politically.....but still, we are free, for today, and I for one will be forever grateful for the freedom that I enjoy. GOD BLESS AMERICA, MY HOME SWEET HOME!!!

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!! DON'T GO!!!!!

This is SO not like me.....but Joel and I had the RARE opportunity to go to a movie, and we thought something funny was in order - WE MISSED THE MARK BY 1 MILLION MILES!! DO not, under ANY circumstances - WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY on LAND OF THE LOST!! Joel LAID across the seats to sleep.......I just kept waiting and waiting and WAITING for it to get better - IT NEVER DID!!! Joel and I BOTH wanted to walk out.....but didn't tell each other....so we just put up with it! Seriously - this is the WORST movie in HISTORY!!!! If you thought the previews were funny.......well you saw the ONLY funny parts of the movie - so DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!!!!! SERIOUSLY!! Not even $1 at REDBOX!!!!

122 - That is just WRONG!!! SICK AND WRONG!

After dropping Cassie off at Karate yesterday, I ran to the drug store - it was the last day of school for her, so I thought some movies were in order. ANYWAY - ran in to Walgreens - and was there for about 40 min....you know me - can't resist a good look through a fun drug store! When I got in my car I just about DIED - LITERALLY!! It was SO hot that I could BARELY breathe!!! The thermometer in my car said........122 DEGREES!! Do you have any idea what 122 degrees feels like? OH MY GOSH!!! It was 109 outside....yesterday - FUN enough.....but 122!! That is just SICK AND WRONG!!! Well......we decided to NOT watch movies.......but went swimming instead! Ahhhhhhhh that nice cool water felt SO good! Cass and I had the pool almost completely to ourselves......(how many parents have their kids out swimming at 10 at night). Needless to say - we slept in this morning.....but this is just one more reason I am SO stoked to HEAD TO UTAH!!!