Garrett Casper-Eagle Scout

We are so proud of Garrett and his accomplishment. He didn't always love Scouting, but he set the goal to become an Eagle and he stuck with it! He started strong and finished strong! He is a great example to us of following through on things and being responsible. What an honor it is to be in his life. His court of honor was awesome. Many friends came to support him. So many nice things were said about him and many tears were shed (mostly by me :), especially while watching the wonderful slide show presentation that was put together by Christine. The whole night was perfect! What a great tribute to a very fine young man!

Christine, Garrett and Grant goofing off...one of the things they are perfect at:)


Garrett had just given Bill the "mentor" pin...very cool.


Garrett and his Scoutmaster, Dave Tanner


Proud Grandparents


Proud parents


It's official...Garrett is an Eagle Scout!

BYU vs. OU 14-13

We debated about getting tickets to the game and now are so happy that we did! Just entering the stadium was amazing! It was loud! We were SO outnumbered! We were the underdogs! But BYU showed up and played well. And WON!!! It was thrilling to be there and share in the excitement. Grant got the biggest kick out of all the OU fans making a mass exodus out of the stadium when it was obvious that there was no way they could pull off the win. It was a sweet moment. So glad we could share it with my niece Amy (her first ever college football game, how is that possible???) and with Bill's parents!!!

Loving the new stadium! Great shot.

Papa and Grandma had a blast!

The kids had a blast!

Amazing!

Here I am with my niece Amy.

The gang inside the enormous Cowboy's Studium

Fun with Papa and Grandma

Papa and Grandma came to watch Christine and Garrett march. In all the years we have been supporting the kids in marching, never have we had a rain delay. With 10 minutes left in the first half, we were asked to leave the stadium. The sky turned BLACK and the lightening strikes were everywhere. It was one of those amazing Texas storms we love! The band and the players were safe inside the school and many of the fans headed to their cars for shelter. We eventually went home and put Grant to bed, fairly certain the game would not be played. Much to our surprise, Christine called and said it was a "go" and they would march. Bill, Papa and Grandma headed out to see the the kids march and to watch the remainder of the game. They loved it! Of course, because the Allen Eagle Escadrille is awesome!!!

Friendship

Isn't it interesting how people can go literally years without speaking to each other, and then when they do catch up, they visit as if they had never missed a beat? That was the case in July when Bill and I stopped by to see Lorie Vunder Creek and her husband Chris, while we were on a trip in Utah. Lorie and I were the best of friends in high school. She was a year older than I and left for BYU right before my senior year of high school. I was heartbroken to lose my best friend. Our paths took us further and further apart. Hers included marriage and mine a mission and then marriage and then lives in different states. Although we have made some effort to stay in touch over the past 29 years...geez we're old!...we had never really sat and visited and taken the time to catch up. As we sat on their back patio and enjoyed their beautiful backyard, it occurred to me that I really had missed Lorie and her quick wit and genuine concern and love. It was fun getting to know her husband too. What an awesome life they have together. I think mine is pretty awesome too, so it was fun sharing our awesomeness :) The moral to the story?...Keep in touch with your friends. We have missed out on a lot of life's experiences...hopefully we will stay connected and actually share some of what life has to offer in the future.


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Allen Eagle Escadrille 2009

The annual Band Watermelon Bust is always held the night before the March-A-Thon. This is a time for the escadrille to show off a bit of what they have been practicing for the past 3 weeks. The band directors and student leaders are all introduced and the families of the band members get to try their hand (or feet) at some marching steps. (I am terribly uncoordinated!) And then watermelon is served...well, not to us because most of do NOT care for watermelon! Anyway, we have fun being on the AstroTurf with our kids...we feel kind of special...and truth be told, I think that our kids kind of like having us there too.






Every August the Allen Escadrille holds their traditional 10-mile March-A-Thon through the streets of Allen. This is our 5th year of having children participate and it is still every bit as exciting as was the first year. You can feel the pride throughout the city. High school football is big in Texas and so is high school marching band. We are thrilled to support our kids. Their hard work and dedication is obvious when they take the field during halftime at football games and when they compete in marching competitions. We love the Allen Eagle Escadrille!

Our senior Christine...loving her 4th year playing the baritone in the marching band

Our resident tuba player(aka Gare-Bear)lookin' good buddy!

The Inaugural Swim

After much anticipation, the pool is officially open! Well, for the boys anyway. I think I might swim tomorrow. There is a fair amount of plaster that needs to be swept and filtered through the pool system. One is left with a bit of a "film" on one's body after swimming for the first few days...yuck, if you ask me. But you know boys...they could care less. Anyway, we are in need of some landscaping and then the project will officially be over. I love the sound of the water cascading over the spa...something soothing about the sound of water. We should have several more weeks to enjoy the Texas summer days and lounge in and around the pool...happy campers are we...now if we could just find a job! :)

Hard at work...

I haven't said much about William lately. For whatever reason, I have really been missing him. Sometimes I just ache to give him a hug...he is THE BEST hugger in the family! He's generally the kid who knows when something is wrong and goes out of his way to make things right. No doubt, he will make some lucky girl a great husband! He's been out over 6 months now...where has the time gone? I so look forward to Mondays when we receive his emails. Most of the time he pacifies me with just enough information...last week was NOT one of those weeks, so he was kind of "on my list." But today he was full of information and he sent these awesome photos. "The work" is progressing in Cartagena. We love, love, love our missionary!