Texas Allen Stake Youth Trek 2010

Trek comes around once every 4 years in our stake...the Caspers are NOT fans of this activity, yet we allow our children to choose for themselves if they want to participate. 4 years ago William and Christine didn't have terribly positive experiences...so we were reluctant to have Garrett attend. He was determined and we supported him. He was in excellent hands because he was being "parented" by our dear friends, the Tryons. Also, the Stake had gone to extensive lengths in preparation for the extreme heat. This eased our minds. Garrett did suffer from some heat exhaustion, although he remained hydrated. He is the "water boy" after all. He came home with the best attitude, even after having been pulled from the hike to recuperate. He gained so much from the experience and was supported by wonderful friends. He is a great kid with an amazing heart. Perhaps I am converted to this whole Trek thing after all...I'll let you know in 4 years when it will be Grant's turn.

Garrett with his surrogate parents Kirk and Jana Tryon


Garrett and his buddy Caulin Tanner

Happy Birthday Garrett

Garrett turned 15 and our tradition is to open presents in the morning before Dad goes to work...here he is with his stash. He was most excited about his new shirt...a friend of ours has started his own company and this is one of his originals...Sugarsteakapparel.com. Garrett is enrolled in Driver's Ed and has his permit...Bill is braver than I and has taken him out on the road...at this point he still scares me to death! Teaching teenagers to drive is NOT one of my favorite activities! Pray for us:)

Mr. Grant

Sixth Grade ceremonies are always a little "over the top" for my liking. Luckily Grant's elementary school must feel the same way... there were no frills. In fact, Grant wore a t-shirt. Of course there were several girls who were all dressed up, but a lot of the boys were casual...just my style. Grant received the Presidential award which he was excited about...a fair number of kids earned it. There were several academic requirements that had to be met over the last 3 years...apparently there are some fairly academically inclined kids in his grade. The award I was most surprised by was the "best average in science" award...I have never been good at science...he must have gotten that aptitude from his dad. Great job Grant!

Returning With Honor

We are so fortunate to be in a ward that produces so many worthy and willing servants of God. I have the privilege of compiling excerpts from their weekly emails to their families into a monthly "Missionary Newsletter". It's an opportunity for the elders and sisters to hear how each other is doing. This week Elder Ellis Ferrer returned home from the Peru Lima East Mission. Our family was at the airport to welcome him home, along with several other ward members, family and friends. It was amazing to witness his reunion with everyone, especially with his mom. She is a dear friend of mine and I could feel her relief and joy...really, it was a tangible thing. I cried, as did the other missionary parents in the crowd...even the dads. What an honor to be there and to welcome Ellis home. Of course it made me miss William and think about what our reunion will be like in a very short 7 1/2 months.

Ellis and his proud mother Nancy.

Allen High School Graduation 2010

The Friday before graduation we had a BBQ/swim party at our house for Christine. It was so nice to relax and enjoy good food and good company with friends and family. It's always nice to have a reason to celebrate...this is a picture of a couple of other seniors...Tyler Tryon and Blaine Laherty. Some good kids that think hanging with their parents and siblings is an "ok" way to party :)

Graduating from Allen High School is never an intimate affair. With more than 1100 students in Christine's graduating class, the ceremonies were held at The University of North Texas in Denton...it's about an hour away...totally inconvenient. But we must not break from tradition. We must attend and support our sweet Christine. The reading of the graduates took about 1 hour and 50 minutes...and then there were the speeches...all in all, the whole thing took about 2 hours and 15 minutes. We took some pictures outside afterwards. Christine was happy to be done...she looks like it in her pictures. We survived another Allen HS graduation and will be repeating the process again in 3 years...time is flying! Congratulations Christine on a job well done! With little effort she graduated in the top 25% of her class...imagine what she could achieve if she really applied herself? We are proud of her just the same...Also, last night she graduated from seminary. She was one of 7 who achieved "Seminary in Excellence" all 4 years...there were about 50 seniors graduating...now THAT we are proud of!







Christine and one of her best buds...Blaine Laherty...Happy to be done with high school.

One more thing...

Not only did I have a great time hanging with my friends at Women's Conference, I had a blast at dinner one night with several of my cousins! Kathy Clark and her girls Kim, Kerrie and Annie and her daughter-in-law Andrea as well as Julie, Kathy's sister and I all sat at Cafe Rio eating yummy salads and talking non-stop! It has been way too long and I loved every minute. Living so far from everyone can make me a little complacent and detached...I am grateful for family who makes being together a priority and who reminded me of the importance of keeping family bonds strong. I am blessed to be part of such a great group of people. Thanks girls...let's do it again next year! (Sorry. No picture! I am so lame.)

Catching Up

Grant played his final flag football game in Saturday. It has been a great way to keep playing, even though it is different than tackle...Grant even forgot that he was playing "flag" for a moment and tried to clothesline a guy...he had some great catches and they played tough...Mom is glad to not be running him to practice...summer is almost here, which means a lot less running around!


Bill and I spent 4 wonderfully peaceful days at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Our idea of a vacation is sun, water, a good book and someone waiting on us! We were not disappointed! We had never been to Ft. Lauderdale and loved it...the coast anyway. We can't speak for the inland areas. We didn't really venture far from our hotel. We ate at The Cheesecake Factory (twice) and Bubba Gump's (twice) and took a great little river cruise that spotlighted some of the wealth in the area! I had no idea. It was amazing...all of the yachts and mansions...simply amazing! I also had no idea that Ft. Lauderdale is nick named "The Venice of the United States"...hundreds of miles of inland waterways. Venice, Italy has fewer than 100 miles. Also, from our hotel room we saw several cruise ships leave from the very busy Ft. Lauderdale Port...we longed to be passengers on one of the ships...one day soon we hope. We spoke to our missionary...not ON Mother's Day as planned. His calling cards wouldn't work...I was very sad and disappointed. But we did speak on Monday...he is well and speaks with a thick Spanish accent! He struggled with English...always a good sign that he is speaking a lot of Spanish. Bill spoke to his Venezuelan companion...all is well in Colombia! 8 1/2 months to go! Time continues to fly!







My annual trip to Utah for BYU Women's Conference. I had a wonderful time...being with friends is always the highlight for me. This year I had so much fun with Jennie, best friend from college and Lorie, best friend from my youth. Also, Sue Vunder, Lorie's mom and the best Laurel Advisor ever. It was therapuetic spending time with all of them. Sue fills a void in my life that I hadn't tapped into lately. She and my mom were very good friends...that connection touched me deeply. I am blessed with amazing friends...such a lucky girl, I am.


A trip to a local "trade days" and I came home with these wonderful things! And such a deal...both of the planters for $52. I love them!



The pool is ready for swim season...now if the weather would just warm the water up. Soon enough we will be loving the air conditioning and the pool will feel like bath water...we LOVE Texas!