i didn't forget father's day.

i'd been trying to think of what i could post about my dad for a while. it's not that i couldn't come up with anything, i just didn't know how to sum up my dad in a blog post.

my dad and i have always had a good relationship. i'm the baby girl, what do you expect? ha, just kidding. but really, we have. of course we have our differences and growing up i sometimes thought he was mean for making me wake up at 5am to lay grass in the backyard. but i understand that now. if you know anything about him, you know that he is one of the hardest working people ever. and i'm really not exaggerating when i say that. he is one of those people that doesn't use his sick days at work, even when he is sick. (one of our differences ;)) over the past month and a half he has practically LIVED at southwest airlines to pay for my wedding.

one thing i think most people know about him (and if they don't, they can figure it out pretty quickly) is that he loves his family and he loves the gospel. he has been the best example to me on how to teach and how to live. i'm so thankful and blessed to have him as a father.

i love you, dad. i know it's weird for you that your youngest daughter is your first one getting married, and i know that if you had your way you would always be the only priesthood holder in my life. i'll miss all the times you and i were the only ones home and we'd talk about anything and everything. just remember the one thing that will never change: i'll always be your little cackie lebi.

going to the temple

and i'm gonna get MARRIED!

WHAT??!

just kidding. i know no one was really surprised.

september 24th is the big day.

i couldn't be happier :)

just in case anyone forgot, i'm marrying this guy.

everything will be alright

dear mom,

remember the time we went to the mall and when we were leaving we walked out the wrong door and thought the truck was stolen? and dad drove out to pick us up and didn't say anything as he drove us straight to the truck because he saw it on the way in. and we tried to justify it with the oil spots...

remember when we went to california with lindsay and we sang our hearts out to "give me one reason" because we were stuck in traffic? and lins and i were terrified because you would speed up when other people would brake. and then we saw that man who was at least 30 pick his nose and eat his boogers (disgusting).

remember after dad was in his accident you had to give him shots but we didn't know it was a retracting needle and after you did the first one you asked where the needle went? the look on dad's face was priceless.

i know things are really crazy right now and you feel like the world is on your shoulders. i don't blame you, i just don't want you to forget the good stuff. remember D&C 121:7-10, "my son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment. and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands." i love you mom. keep on keeping on ;)

love always,
cass

"all that i am, i owe to my mother"

my mom has this thing about her that i've tried so hard to emulate. she has the ability to accept people for who they are, no questions asked. and i mean really accept them- no judgements, no gossiping about them later, nothing. i think a lot of that is because she is a tell-it/see-it-like-it-is person. and because of that, people tend to turn to her for advice and such. right now she is having to deal with her mother who has alzheimer's, her dad who is trying to cope with his wife having alzheimer's, taking in a foster child and a few other things that i probably shouldn't mention on here, all while working full time and taking care of kids and a husband (but don't worry, she still finds time to go cool places like canada and puerto rico).

"there is no one perfect way to be a good mother. each situation is unique. each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. ... what matters most is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." -m. russell ballard

happy mother's day, mama! i love you and i'm glad i did whatever it was i did to deserve you as my mom.

still fighting it

the other day my mom picked up my grammy and met lindsay and i for lunch. it's hard to do things like that because she no longer understands anything. when she talks, she rambles about nothing and what she says doesn't make sense. we have to laugh because if we don't, we'll cry. we were trying to get her to make a funny face but couldn't get her to hold it long enough for the camera to capture it. while we were laughing about it, grammy said, "this is the most fun i've had in a long time." and for those few seconds she didn't have alzheimer's anymore and we were laughing like we always do.

it's those moments of lucidity that make the rest of the time easier. because we're reminded that even though the disease has taken over, she's still in there somewhere.

life in the fast lane

yesterday we threw a surprise birthday party for my papa's 80th birthday. his actual birthday was january 11th. nothing says surprise like a party 7 weeks late!

i love my papa and g'ma :)we ate, we talked, we laughed and we took some MUCH needed family pictures (not like the one above, by a professional). we also played a little game to see who knew the most about him. there was a lot i didn't know, so it was nice to learn more about his life. my papa is probably the hardest working person i know. he is still working! (he delivers bread with my uncle.) you definitely can't tell when you're around him that he is 80! i'm glad i have him as a grandpa :)

even as the world outside is spinning.

my grammy suffers from alzheimer's disease. she's only 73. she wasn't officially diagnosed until 2007, but i believe it started long before that. between october of 2000 and april of 2002, her son and both of her parents passed away. i think that's when it really started.

every day it gets worse. first she didn't know any of her grandchildren. then she didn't recognize any of her own children. now she sometimes doesn't remember who my granddad is.

some days are better than others. one day she was cold and when we gave her a blanket, she knew that her mom had made it. then another time she walked into a room, looked straight at my granddad and said, "where's frank?"

if you had asked her the day before he died, i don't think she could have told you who the prophet was. but when President Hinckley passed away and she was told about it, her humble response was "oh no" because she understood what that meant.

in december, my grandparents went to the christmas concert my stake puts on every year. for the song "I Believe in Christ" the congregation and choir sang the first verse, and then only the choir continued on. after the congregation stopped singing and it was just the choir, i leaned over to look at my grammy. she was singing with the choir. my grammy, who doesn't know who i am, remembered and sang the words to "I Believe in Christ."

in Doctrine & Covenants 1:39 it says "For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever."

i guess my point in all this is there are things that matter, things that matter less, and things that really don't matter at all. she may not always remember it, but my sweet grandmother believes in Christ- because the the truth abides forever. she has no idea what it meant to me to watch her sing that song, but i'm thankful i was there to see it. and i'm thankful that even though she doesn't know she's doing it, she is still teaching by example.

the fam at their 50th wedding anniversary party, Nov 2008.
(missing Elliott, Lindsay, Lena & Jayden)

have you ever played halo? have you ever taken the boston trolley tour?

i said goodbye to 2009 and hello to 2010 in none other than boston (aka bahstun), MA. kelly called me monday afternoon and asked how i felt about going and i couldn't say yes fast enough. so she, cameron (her boyfriend), lindsay and i left early wednesday morning to begin our fabulous trip.

wednesday night we decided to go to the original cheers! (where everybody knows your name :)) the food was pretty good and it was just kind of a cool atmosphere. it was funny though because when we walked in to get a table, they asked how many and whatnot and then asked if we would be drinking. when we said no, they sent us to the back room (which still had a bar in it so i didn't really understand the point in that).

on new years eve we went to see dane cook!! kelly and cameron had 2nd row but lins and i were up a little bit. it was SO good and he was, of course, hilarious! boston is his home town so that kind of made it more fun. (and p.s. the post title is a line from one of his jokes, and then our own little spin on it).

mr. cook himself.
lindsay, me, kelly, cameron after the show. (that whole arena was completely filled, by the way. pretty impressive for a comedian. and it's like that wherever he goes.)

the days were spent doing random things around the city. i LOVED every second, even the snow (and for anyone that knows me well enough knows how much i absolutely despise snow and being cold). the buildings were so cute. even the subway was a fun little adventure.i'm officially in love with the east coast. and now, i want to go back.

funhouse.

my family went and took pictures together. nothing super special, we just got a tripod and took them ourselves. some need some serious editing but most are cute.

the whole fam
connor, kelly, cassie, lindsay, mom and dad.

my cute parents
siblings
check out kelly's legs. hahahaha!
mom & connor
dad & girls

we had a lot of people laughing at us because we were goofing off the whole time. it was fun! i love my family :)

take your time

as if i didn't have a big enough homework pile to do
i just made this for my desktop background.
except certain parts are driving me insane
so i'll probably make a new one
(but i'll wait until my homework is done... maybe.)


in other news, i got a mattress this weekend!!!!
...why is that exciting?
because i've had my bedroom furniture for almost 4 weeks now, but had no mattress. i got everything moved into my new room right before i left for utah, but since jessica took my old room, i had no where to sleep. so i'd been sleeping on the couch and/or floor for about 2 weeks.

but no more!!

pictures coming soon!

at least i'm not as sad as i used to be

dear columbia,
i got pretty excited when i found out you allow visiting students for a semester. that is until i saw the $28,000 price tag. but oh, was is a fabulous five minutes.

dear facebookers,
it really is not necessary to list every single activity you participated in that day as your status on a daily basis. we get that you have a fun life, and we're really happy for you. we have fun lives too, but we also have jobs and things to pay for, and therefore cannot simply waste our [parent's] money on anything we please. it also is not necessary to create a photo album for every single month, and fill it with over 100 pictures. i'm sorry, but that is ridiculous.

dear ikea,
i'm moving in.

dear chick-fil-a,
could you please tell your employees to not stick half their body out the window when handing me my order? i was really close to the window, and he was practically IN my car. it was very uncomfortable for me.

dear nike,
i really want to buy your running shoes that have the built in space for the nike + ipod running sensor. but i just can't justify spending that much on something we know i'll only use for a week when i could use that money for other things. such as my columbia fund. or my next trip to ikea.

dear new york city,
don't even worry, i'm coming. not until mid-2010, but i AM coming. i would come sooner, except that a) i have school, b) tax season shows no mercy, and c) you cost a lot of money [that i currently don't have].

dear dr. pepper,
you make my bad days better, and for that i am eternally grateful.

dear lins,
no offense, but thanks for moving out so i could take over your bedroom :) really though, i'm proud of you. i'm glad we work together so i can still see you everyday. thanks for always setting a good example for me, you rock as a big sister.

dear fall television,
oh how i've missed you so. please just start already.

dear ellen degeneres show,
yes, i do check your website everyday because i am determined to get tickets during your 12 days of giveaways. and i will be sad if i don't get them. i ordered a t-shirt last week, i think that means i deserve tickets.

love,
me

take it easy

dear bedroom,
who was i kidding? i can make no such promises. though now i am only a few loads of laundry away from having a clean floor, there are still drawers that need to be cleaned out. and seeing as how you and i will be parting ways very soon, it appears that is actually going to get done.

dear connor,
i'm glad you weren't too embarrassed to sing all those songs with me. but i'm still kind of mad at you for quitting football.

dear treadmill,
our love/hate relationship is about to flip back from hate to love. i stepped on the scale the other day and it wasn't pretty. and now that you've been moved back inside, i figure its time i get some use out of you.

dear nsync,
was it really necessary to break up? if i send you the tape of that song i wrote all those years ago, would that help?

dear asu,
i take back what i said, you actually made the switching majors thing easier for me. not about the tuition though, that is still too high.

dear immune system,
are you kidding me? that's all you've got? its been 3 weeks and my nose is still running and i'm still coughing. i am glad i can breathe again, however.

dear california,
i'm really really bummed i can't come visit this weekend.

dear byu,
just wanted to let you know that you are furthering my dislike for utah. i don't know why my friends think you're so great, but now they're leaving me and i don't know what i'm going to do. so, thanks for that.

dear self,
stop spending money!!!! you're forgetting that even though you have enough for furniture, you still have to buy a mattress and bedding. i'm pretty sure sleeping on the floor in the middle of the bed frame will only be fun the one time.

dear stephenie meyer,
please please please publish midnight sun.


xoxo,
me

we are family

my dad turned the big five zero today. so, naturally, we had a karaoke party for him on saturday night.

this is us, (kelly. dad. mom. connor. lins. me) singing what we call our family "theme song"

and no, it isn't "love at home" or "families can be together forever"

it's "get over it" by the eagles. and if i remember correctly, that became our theme song quite a while back on a car ride to st. johns. it's the one song we know all the words to, and any time it comes on we belt it out.



with that being said, happy birthday, dad! i love you and am thankful for the example you've set for me and for everything you've taught me (yes, i do listen to you). don't worry about the fact that you're halfway up the "stairway to heaven". the one thing you'll always have to hold on to is the fact that mom is older than you. (sorry, mom!)

note to self

dear cold sore,
go away!!!!!! please.

dear asu,
the fact that your degree program for an english major is only at the phoenix campus is really making this switching majors thing difficult. also, tuition is too much.

dear costa vida,
i've asked you before and i'll ask you again. please move by my house. they just cut down the corn fields and there is plenty of room. don't forget about the drive thru.

dear creator of the credit card,
what were you thinking?

dear paper chain on my wall,
i'm happy there are only 297 links of you left. but there are (approximately) only 271 days left, and i can't decide how to go about fixing that.

dear dad,
i'm happy you only changed your work schedule for 6 weeks. i'm not feeling the whole me getting home after you've already left for work and going all week without really seeing you thing. and, i still want to go to ah-so's.

dear taco bell,
if costa vida does move closer and gets a drive thru, don't fret. you won't be replaced. though i am kind of annoyed that you were closed when i went to go get food tonight and it was only 11.

dear upset client,
i hope you weren't trying to be professional in that letter you sent us. as a general rule, the phrase "pull the trigger" is never really appropriate.

dear bedroom,
i promise i'll get around to cleaning you this weekend. maybe...

dear arizona,
i don't know why everyone is complaining. i quite enjoy your heat. though to be totally honest, i would cheat on you with california if i had the chance.

dear insomnia,
we've never been friends, and i prefer to keep it that way. any time you want to leave, let me know. i don't like tossing and turning all night. i miss sleep.


love,
me

the good life

kelly and i went to the american idol concert this week. call me a dork, i don't care. it was cool :) i took a plethora of pictures (mostly of adam) and video, but i'll spare you. here are some favorites.


when i woke up monday morning, i had a really bad cold. but the tickets were a lot of money and well, let's face it, we all know how much i love adam. there was no way i was missing it. i had a bad runny nose all day so we went and bought those little mini tissue packs to take with us. i went through about 4 of them. YEAH. it was miserable. i look ridiculous in all the pictures because my nose is bright red and my eyes are super watery, hence the black and white & funny angle of my face. i was trying to hide it.

bottom 6: michael, lil, anoop, matt, megan, scott


ah, i love it! adam & allison.


we waited after to get autographs and had 40 year old women trying to get in front of us via shoving, standing uncomfortably close, & saying, "can you move so we can stand next to each other?" uh, no. they already were next to each other, they just weren't at the front. it just made me laugh. yeah, we went out there but we didn't push our way through, we just waited. funny people.

most of them were really nice, and we got autographs for my mom from all those ones :) these are the only good picures i got of them outside during the signing and whatnot. my camera was close to dying so i wasn't taking pictures at the beginning.. those people just weren't as important. ha ;)
danny.

matt.

kris.

ADAM!!!!!!!

...again.

it was fun, definitely glad i went. they all sound so much better live. i'm actually looking forward to all of their solo albums.


california post coming soon. i don't have the pictures yet.

hide and seek

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. california
2. harry potter 6
3. new room
4. new car
5. school
6. thursday
7. girls weekend in august
8. did i mention california?

8 things I did yesterday:
1. went to 4 missionary homecomings/open houses
2. planned my week
3. blogged about my wonderful father
4. slept
5. went to visit both sets of grandparents
6. finally got my itunes to work
7. gave my dad the best fathers day present
8. slept more

8 things I wish I could do:
1. spend the rest of the summer in california. or hawaii
2. cook
3. be better at saving money
4. draw/paint
5. anything athletic
6. move out
7. NOT waste so much time on blogger/facebook/twitter
8. lose 10-15lbs. magically. without diet or exercise.

8 Shows I watch:
1. the office
2. grey's anatomy
3. law & order/csi
4. biggest loser
5. american idol
6. america's next top model
7. jon & kate plus 8
8. what not to wear

8 favorite fruits:
1. strawberries
2. bananas
3. oranges
4. grapes
5. pineapple
6. cantaloupe
7. nectarines
8. raspberries

8 Places I'd Like to Travel
1. brazil
2. austrailia
3. russia
4. caribbean
5. paris
6. new york city
7. africa
8. asia

8 Places I've Lived
1. a
2. r
3. i
4. z
5. o
6. n
7. a
8. :)

8 People I Tag
1. lindsay
2. shannon morgan
3. tara cottam
4. natalee cordner
5. tara cordner
6. rachel foxcroft
7. tashina birch
8. carissa routsong

three letter word for hilarious? dad.

"he didn't tell me how to live. he lived, and let me watch him do it."
-clarence budington kelland

why MY dad is the best.

he is the hardest working person i know.
he will forever see me as his baby girl, which makes it that much easier to get him to give in to what i want :)
he loves my mom.
he introduced me to the eagles, chicago and elton john.
his love for the gospel.
he thinks he can grow a beard.
his sense of humor. i admit it, he is pretty funny sometimes.
he can fix almost anything.
he'll tell you exactly what he thinks about something, but usually not until you ask him for his opinion.
he is a good listener (though he may have been forced into this with the three daughters thing).
he would do anything for his kids.
he will fall asleep on the couch and we can make a ton of noise and he will just sleep, but the second we try to take the remote he is up.
he is always willing to serve.
he taught us kids how to work (though he'll tell you we still don't know the meaning of the word).
he has lost a lot of sleep over the years, but doesn't complain about it.
he is always there, no matter what. we can always go to him if we need something.

i love my dad. all of us look up to him and we all have to talk to him before making decisions because we know he'll be honest with us. i really hope i marry someone like him.

happy fathers day, dad. i love you :)

blue side

for whatever reason, i've been wanting to blog lately. i don't even have anything to talk about, but i just... want to. do not ask me why.
so for those that actually read this (mom), you get to read my ramblings about nothing.

the gilbert police department put a speed radar on my street. at first, i thought it was stupid. and then i remembered that episode of the office when they all run past it and see who can get the fastest speed. no worries, we definitely tried it. tennis shoes and all, i ran as fast as i could, and NOTHING showed up. it was blank. how sad is that? we figured out it doesn't clock you until you're going at least 15mph. of the ones that legitimately tried, connor and cameron were the only ones that could get anything. they tied at 18mph. kelly and i had cameron ride on his bike next to us and clock us and according to him, we were both going 12mph. seriously though, it is kind of pathetic that i couldn't run that fast. and then i remembered, oh yeah, i haven't run a mile since i was a freshman... 5 years ago. anyone that knows me knows i have a very strong dislike of exercise. i avoid it at all costs so i really shouldn't be surprised. i was so determined though. kelly and i made a plan to do sprints all week long and then try again at the end of the week to see if we could do it. we were going to make a video. i was really excited because i thought maybe that could be my motivation to work out. but much to my dismay, the thing was gone when i got home from work today. i think they moved it to a different street and if so i want to find it. the good news? kelly and i have no need to do sprints and i can stick to my lazy ways.

i have a new favorite song. "gravity" by sara bareilles. it will be played on repeat for at least a week. actually, her cd is in my car and it really is the only thing i listen to (along with adam lambert's version of u2's "one"). "vegas" is a good one too. would have been really fitting for my dreamer post had i remembered about it.

a friend and i are watching all the seasons of the o.c. and i was reminded of how much i love andadam brody & ben mckenzie
thank you warnerbrothers for bringing these wonderful (and lets not forget attractive) men into my life.

And you call yourself lucky...

19 (one for every year I've been alive) reasons I love my mom.

She chats with me on google while we’re both at work.

She got me addicted to reading (though I’m not as bad as her yet).

I had to explain to her the concept of the “that’s what she said” joke.

I laugh more with her than I do with most people.

She tells it like it is, and doesn’t beat-around-the-bush or sugar-coat things. And she passed that on to all of her children.

She lets me listen to the music I want in the car, even though I know she doesn’t like some of it.

She is just as obsessed with Twilight as I am.

She’s my friend as well as my mother.

She’s always just let me be me.

She helps take care of her own mother, even though she works and has 6 people living in her house she has to take care of.

She loves sports and isn’t a “girly-girl.”

She listens to all my ridiculous goals and ideas and doesn’t tell me I’m crazy or that I can’t do it.

She has the ability to accept people for who they are.

She makes friends at the grocery store.

She decided what she wants her grandchildren to call her based off of a child that has no relation to us.

She makes up phrases such as “serial hair stroker” and “surrogate grandchild.”

She pretends to not like the t.v. shows I watch but then starts asking questions when I’m watching them.

She actually said “uh, the American Idol finale is on your birthday… so do you want to go to dinner Monday night or do an early dinner?” to me the other day.

She’s the best mom, end of story.

Happy Mothers Day, Mom! I love you :)

Let's Hear It For The Boy

Well, I am a miracle worker. I know, I know, big shocker. Tell you something you don't know. What I did may not seem like a big deal, but I am very proud of myself and I even got a "thanks for helping" from my dad. I am claiming all credit too. So, what happened? Connor decided to quit football. He has been telling us for weeks that he is not playing and we all told him he has to and that is dumb but he refused. Summer football (or Spring. I don't actually know but some form of it) started today and he went! Why? Because I convinced him that he should. When I told my dad he said "what did you say to him that I didn't?" Well, first of all, I am not his parent which automatically means he is more willing to listen to me. Second, I covered all the angles. He didn't have a real reason for quitting, he just didn't want to get up early all summer long and he wanted to be lazy. I told him that I went through 4 years of high school and didn't participate in one extra curricular activity and that I regretted it. He said he was still playing baseball. I told him baseball won't give him the body that football will. He laughed, but he knows I am right. He said his friend Hunter wasn't playing. I told him that was a ridiculous reason and that his other friend, Jesse still was so he wouldn't be alone. I told him my dad would be more lenient on him because if he sits on his butt all summer long that won't go over too well with either of my parents. He wanted to get a job. I explained that if my parents were willing to let him not work, then he should do it as long as he could and if next summer he wanted a job then he could get a summer job. (I also told him working sucks.) I told him he would regret quitting. Maybe not this year and maybe not next, but by his senior year he would have wished he had kept playing. I told him that if he could give me a legit reason for not wanting to play that had nothing to do with laziness then I would leave him alone and I would tell everyone else to leave him alone. And he couldn't come up with one. And I know what you're thinking, "what's the big deal?" The big deal is that our family waited 15 years and nine months for this kid to start high school football and no way was I going to let him quit after one year so he could sleep in this summer. So, no worries. Come September we will all enjoy seeing this againon the football field of Mesquite High School.

The kid will remain a stud. Crisis averted.