Saturday, January 16, 2010
THANK YOU!!!
A HUGE thank you to Christine for taking the time to figure out our messed up blog! She focused for about 3 minutes and ta-dah! It is so fun to see a cleaned up, easy-to-read blog. She is a gem and I am glad that she is smarter than I... (not too hard to do).
Our songbird...
Just sitting here checking my email listening to our resident songbird! All of the Caspers enjoy singing...but Grant wins the prize here. He is in the shower right now singing "How Firm A Foundation"! Crack me up! His reportire is quite extensive. Everything from Paul McCartney to Beyonce to Lady GaGa to Michael Jackson to MoTab to...well, you get the idea. I am ashamed to say we sometimes have to ask him to "Please stop singing." (Oh...there he goes with Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen...I'm telling ya...) Anyway, our house is definitely filled with music...isn't life grand!?
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Driving and the Holidays...
We left Dec. 18th for St. George (Bill's parents house) and the Las Vegas Bowl (BYU). It is about a 20 hour drive. Thank goodness we are use to driving long distances...our kids have been good car-travelers for many years. We were gone for 10days and spent a portion of 8 of those days, on the road! The details are too complicated to explain...just know that we needed a vacation from our vacation when we landed back in Texas on Sunday night!
It was great spending Christmas with family. We love Papa and Grandma so much. They are the best. We have to admit that the best part of Christmas was speaking to our missionary! We only had 40 minutes. But they were the best! We (I) talked fast...not wanting to waste a single minute. I was strong and didn't cry until the very end! William sounded great and even had a bit of an accent...the cadence in his voice is a bit different too. What joy he brings to us all!
We did miss a White Christmas though. It actually snowed here in Texas while we were in Utah! Go figure! Enjoy some of the highlights of our trip as you look at the pictures below...we do love to be together. We are in the business of making memories.
The Las Vegas Bowl...Enjoying some pre-game fun with Cosmo.
The kids FREEZING at the game!
Garrett hanging in Las Vegas with everyone's buddy, Peyton!
Grant and Christine snuggling up in their "Snuggies".
We enjoyed some time with Bill's ailing grandmother. Certainly we gained more from visiting her than she did. Her mind is going fast. We were grateful for some cherished moments.
Christine had fun playing with her little cousin Marra...You are never too old to play "Princesses."
Before we left Bill's parent's house in St. George, we had a family prayer. Bill's mom offered it. She prayed that our trip home would be part of our vacation and that we would enjoy ourselves. As the following pictures will show, we had a great ride home. We followed our handy-dandy GPS and it took us on a beautiful drive through Zion's National Park. It wasn't the most direct, but it was the most awesome!
Snowy mountains all around us in Zion's National Park.
It was SO cold driving through Zion's...as you can tell from the temperature gauge...-4 degrees!
Christine is giving a "thumbs up" to the ice that is building up on the INSIDE of her back window!
Garrett, our tuba player, had to take a picture by this "fitting" sign...too funny.
Here we are at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
Most of the family at the Canyon.
Christine rocking her cool Letterman's Jacket at the Canyon!
Inside a cool tower at the South Rim of the Canyon.
Garrett catching up on his beauty sleep! :)
It was great spending Christmas with family. We love Papa and Grandma so much. They are the best. We have to admit that the best part of Christmas was speaking to our missionary! We only had 40 minutes. But they were the best! We (I) talked fast...not wanting to waste a single minute. I was strong and didn't cry until the very end! William sounded great and even had a bit of an accent...the cadence in his voice is a bit different too. What joy he brings to us all!
We did miss a White Christmas though. It actually snowed here in Texas while we were in Utah! Go figure! Enjoy some of the highlights of our trip as you look at the pictures below...we do love to be together. We are in the business of making memories.
The Las Vegas Bowl...Enjoying some pre-game fun with Cosmo.
The kids FREEZING at the game!
Garrett hanging in Las Vegas with everyone's buddy, Peyton!
Grant and Christine snuggling up in their "Snuggies".
We enjoyed some time with Bill's ailing grandmother. Certainly we gained more from visiting her than she did. Her mind is going fast. We were grateful for some cherished moments.
Christine had fun playing with her little cousin Marra...You are never too old to play "Princesses."
Before we left Bill's parent's house in St. George, we had a family prayer. Bill's mom offered it. She prayed that our trip home would be part of our vacation and that we would enjoy ourselves. As the following pictures will show, we had a great ride home. We followed our handy-dandy GPS and it took us on a beautiful drive through Zion's National Park. It wasn't the most direct, but it was the most awesome!
Snowy mountains all around us in Zion's National Park.
It was SO cold driving through Zion's...as you can tell from the temperature gauge...-4 degrees!
Christine is giving a "thumbs up" to the ice that is building up on the INSIDE of her back window!
Garrett, our tuba player, had to take a picture by this "fitting" sign...too funny.
Here we are at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
Most of the family at the Canyon.
Christine rocking her cool Letterman's Jacket at the Canyon!
Inside a cool tower at the South Rim of the Canyon.
Garrett catching up on his beauty sleep! :)
Saturday, December 12, 2009
No Pictures....Just Catching Up
I always hesitate posting something if I don't have a picture to include...but really, it's been a while since I updated this and thought I would take a moment this early (6:15) December morning. I was pretty heavily involved with the massive Nativity Exhibit at church last weekend...not the actual nativities, but rounding up musical numbers to be performed during the exhibit...20 hours of live music. It was a job that my partner and I started back in the beginning of September. Everything turned out amazingly good. We were on our feet for two days straight...and running the entire time. Such a rewarding experience...service is a good thing. No regrets here.
I spent this week getting "Christmas" bought and partially wrapped and packages sent to a few family and friends. Our decorations this year are minimal. Outside lights, Christmas tree and several nativities...the banisters aren't wrapped, the mantle isn't done...heck I haven't even found the stocking holders so I can hang the stockings...no time or energy. I do have a reason for not going all out this year. We have decided to drive to St. George/Las Vegas to be with family and to see BYU play. We rarely leave at Christmas...but because it was just us for a very quiet Thanksgiving...we have decided that we need to make more of an effort to be with family. It is more work, but never something we would ever regret....the kids are excited to be with family!
Bill continues his job hunt. He's got lots of prospects and has had some interviews...we're just waiting for something to "stick". And it will. We have faith. In the meantime, he continues to do contract work, which is great! We want a permanent position, but know that there are people who do contract work forever...they like the flexibility...I can't see that being us. We like stability and someone else who will pay our benefits...:)
William is doing well. Getting ready to spend his first Christmas in the mission field. I loved being a missionary in Chile for Christmas. We joined with some elders and visited an orphanage. We served them lunch and sang some Christmas Hymns...lots of fond memories. William did say that in Colombia in his area of Barranquilla, the people totally deck their houses out with lights and decorations! The blow-up Santas and reindeer that have moving heads and music that plays if you clap your hands and tons of lights...he said it's crazy. That was not my experience in Chile. We can't wait to speak to him on Christmas Day!!!
Merry Christmas to ALL! Be safe and enjoy your family and friends and eat some really yummy food! And Cindy...if you are reading this...enjoy Hawaii for the Caspers, who are on an exotic-travel hiatus.
I spent this week getting "Christmas" bought and partially wrapped and packages sent to a few family and friends. Our decorations this year are minimal. Outside lights, Christmas tree and several nativities...the banisters aren't wrapped, the mantle isn't done...heck I haven't even found the stocking holders so I can hang the stockings...no time or energy. I do have a reason for not going all out this year. We have decided to drive to St. George/Las Vegas to be with family and to see BYU play. We rarely leave at Christmas...but because it was just us for a very quiet Thanksgiving...we have decided that we need to make more of an effort to be with family. It is more work, but never something we would ever regret....the kids are excited to be with family!
Bill continues his job hunt. He's got lots of prospects and has had some interviews...we're just waiting for something to "stick". And it will. We have faith. In the meantime, he continues to do contract work, which is great! We want a permanent position, but know that there are people who do contract work forever...they like the flexibility...I can't see that being us. We like stability and someone else who will pay our benefits...:)
William is doing well. Getting ready to spend his first Christmas in the mission field. I loved being a missionary in Chile for Christmas. We joined with some elders and visited an orphanage. We served them lunch and sang some Christmas Hymns...lots of fond memories. William did say that in Colombia in his area of Barranquilla, the people totally deck their houses out with lights and decorations! The blow-up Santas and reindeer that have moving heads and music that plays if you clap your hands and tons of lights...he said it's crazy. That was not my experience in Chile. We can't wait to speak to him on Christmas Day!!!
Merry Christmas to ALL! Be safe and enjoy your family and friends and eat some really yummy food! And Cindy...if you are reading this...enjoy Hawaii for the Caspers, who are on an exotic-travel hiatus.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Blindside
Go see it if you haven't already. We just got home and loved it. What a great story of what can happen if we look outside of ourselves. I cried on and off through the entire movie...big surprise for those of you who know me well :) Lots of lessons to be learned.
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was quiet...we are missing family today. We will head to Austin early in the morning to visit with my dad and some of my brothers and then be home late at night. Trying to keep family ties secure in this crazy world of ours...
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was quiet...we are missing family today. We will head to Austin early in the morning to visit with my dad and some of my brothers and then be home late at night. Trying to keep family ties secure in this crazy world of ours...
Monday, November 2, 2009
Seeing GREEN makes me happy!
When I log into my Juno account, the Stock Market numbers pop up. I never used to notice much whether they were RED numbers or GREEN. Well, being unemployed has caused me to focus a little more on things such as the Stock Market and what is happening there. For my birthday last month I told Bill that one of the things I hoped for was that the Stock Market would hit 10,000. It did! Happy Birthday to me!!! Then the numbers started fluctuating a bit, and falling below 10,000. Today I just noticed that they are back up a bit...so, today the sun is shinning (hooray!) and the numbers are GREEN!!! It's shaping up to be a wonderful day!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Boo Bowl and Halloween 2009
Every year, around Halloween, the band members trade their uniforms in for Halloween costumes. This is called "Boo Bowl". It is always fun to see the creativity these kids have. There is a costume contest and I believe that one of the Drum Majors won for his cupcake costume. I thought the Energizer Bunny Drummers were great as were the kids who dressed up as all of the characters from the "UP" movie...the little scout boy complete with balloons tied to his backpack...very fun! Christine dressed up in Grant's football uniform, so glad it actually got used this season...even if it was as a costume! Garrett was "Billy Mays" the Oxyclean infomercial guy who died. He was a perfect Billy Mays...we even died his hair black. The best part of the night was watching Christine march in Grant's "too big" football cleats. It was a great night...and we kicked the snot out of Plano East! That always feels good :)
Grant insisted on Trick-or-Treating this year...so we all tagged along. Who doesn't enjoy a stroll around the neighborhood on a crisp Fall evening? Plus, the houses in our area are too spread out, so we don't get many (any!) trick-or-treaters, thus no need to hang around and pass out candy. Therefore, we headed back to our old stomping ground. We all went, plus Shanette, a friend of Christines. In case you were wondering, Grant is a "dead John Lennon". How does he come up with these things??? I am glad that no one hasseled him about being too old to collect candy...he really is only 11, although he looks like a 15 year old. Poor baby!
Grant insisted on Trick-or-Treating this year...so we all tagged along. Who doesn't enjoy a stroll around the neighborhood on a crisp Fall evening? Plus, the houses in our area are too spread out, so we don't get many (any!) trick-or-treaters, thus no need to hang around and pass out candy. Therefore, we headed back to our old stomping ground. We all went, plus Shanette, a friend of Christines. In case you were wondering, Grant is a "dead John Lennon". How does he come up with these things??? I am glad that no one hasseled him about being too old to collect candy...he really is only 11, although he looks like a 15 year old. Poor baby!
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