Sweet Sisters

Cori spent a short time today making a treat for Cassi's soccer team. They had an extra long practice and we thought it was a nice way to tie it up.

Recently, in our house, frozen grapes have become a favorite so Cori poked oodles of grapes for the team. Cali was supposed to help but she wandered away rather quickly.

Cori stuck to it and Cassi and her little friends had a yummy snack at the end of practice.

Cassi Raye's Birthday

I can't believe she turned 10 already and it's hard to imagine it's been more than a month since she did.

Wren and family found this fantastic hat at, well I suppose you can kind of guess where they found it. Isn't it great? I told her I wanted to share it come my birthday.

The birthday fairy did come to visit her; 10 isn't all that old you know. She was very excited and as always that fairy knows just what will bring smiles to everyone.

Unfortunately Scott was out of town but he was originally due to come home on her actual birthday and we were going to pick him up in the big city. When the plans were changed we decided to go forth with our original idea and visit Anchorage anyway. It's always a fun trip and I thought it might take Cassi's mind off the fact that her Dad was going to be away working longer than expected.

We made it to Anchorage just in time to have a late lunch at Benihana. It's our new favorite place to eat. Since we arrived at 1:45 (they close from 2:00 - 5:00) we were the only people in the restaurant. Our waiter's name was Happy; fitting don't-cha think?

He was really great to Cassi and performed mesmerizing culinary tricks for her.
It made everyone else really happy too.

Even Cali loved the food which is hard to imagine these days.

When dinner was done the staff brought out a little ice cream Buddha thing for Cassi. He was cool.

After filling our bellies we headed out to go shopping. We had lots of gift cards saved up to use. We meandered through the bookstore, added a little flare to our clothes closet and even got new coats; a special surprise from Daddy.

When the shopping was done, we decided to call Wren and have him commemorate the day with a grand finale. We went to a nearby bistro and the kids tried calamari for the first time. Cassi will always remember turning 10 now I think. After calamari we had some beautiful desserts that we passed around. YUM! (And in case you're wondering; YES, they liked the calamari!)


It was a fabulous day that could have only been better if Daddy had made it home. Since he didn't, we made plans to go back. And next time we were hitting up H2Oasis for some water logged excitement.

Happy Birthday Girl

This girl turned 10 today. Double Digits!
She celebrated in grand style just as she lives her life on a daily basis. She walked the walk of a princess today. A birthday princess. Our princess. Of which she will always be!

Love you sweet girl, with all our hearts.

Grateful & Proud

I thought so much about what to title this post.

I could have written so many things. "Go Cassi", "Great Job Cassi Raye", "Wow, What an Awesome Cheerleader" but what I want to convey is that I am SO GRATEFUL and SO VERY PROUD!

Sometimes I think you, who live so far away, don't often know my children very well. And it is hard for you to really know *who* they are. Because of that, I'd like to tell you a little about Cassi's character.

Around the middle of January her coaches (Kayla and Jen) decided that if there were cheerleaders who'd like to participate in individual competitions at the competition, they could. 3 girls chose to do so; Cassi was one of them.

The last week of January her music and routine came in. She had 2 weeks to learn it! She has cheer two nights a week and that is for her team practice. This year, rather than going in for a private lesson the learn the basic routine, she received a video and the music. The girl who wrote the routine walked through it in the video. Cassi was very stressed and I admit it looked like it would be hard to learn this way. We received it at 8:00 pm on a Monday, less than two weeks from the competition.

Because Cassi was stressed and it was so late we decided that Cassi would learn the last 16 counts of her routine which was her cheer section and go to bed. It was the best we could do and I was afraid she would make herself sick over it.

The next morning I came down stairs about 30 minutes after she did. I thought she and her sister were getting ready for school. She JUMPED into my arms and proclaimed she had learned her entire routine! I tried really hard to explain that once she was on the spring floor and not in our kitchen she would likely have to adjust things to meet her count. But I was very proud of her and amazed at her determination.

After school that day, I took her to practice. I pulled her coaches to the side and told the what happened. I was a little concerned that Cassi would be disappointed in herself if she was off which I figured was inevitable.

When I picked her up, the coaches were grinning and Cassi was screeching that I had to watch! She did in fact, HAVE IT!

This leads me to why I am so grateful. Not because she had it but because she works so hard that when good things happen for her it fills my heart. She is incredibly determined; almost to a fault. She expects a lot from herself and you never wonder whether she is giving it her all.

Now, lest you think I am boring you with details, (which I probably am) there is an ending here.

And that ending went something like this:

Announcer: Junior division, individuals
Cheerleader A, receives a medal for recognition!

Cheerleader B, receives a medal for recognition!

Cheerleader C, receives a medal for recognition!

Cheerleader D, receives a medal for recognition!

Scott and Christie look at each other with a small amount of panic and wonder aloud, will they give everyone who doesn't place a medal?


Announcer: Cheerleader E, receives a medal for recognition!

Cheerleader F, receives a medal for recognition!

Again Scott and Christie look at each other and start to figit their seat!

Announcer: And 5th place goes to cheerleader G!

4th Place goes to Cheerleader H!

At this time Christie expresses pure panic and nauseous stomach.
Scott: It's now or never!

Announcer: 3rd place goes to Cheerleader I

Christie: turning to her friend Michelle, Certainly they are going to give my daughter something!

Announcer: 2nd place goes to Cassi Raye!

Scott screams like a madman, Christie starts crying, So very PROUD of how hard she worked to get what she wanted AND so very GRATEFUL that she ended up earning recognition for it!

This looks COLD

Scott got to go ice fishing today with Cassi. She didn't catch anything but came really close. I think we may have to try it again sometime. But we will take firewood and hot chocolate. She went with her class and they didn't get the fixin's that Mom would bring. :(

Doesn't it look kinda crazy? And doesn't she look cold!

*Go Wild*

The other day Cassi had a little half-time performance at a local HS basketball game. She decided Cali could wear her mini's uniform for the occasion. Cassi started when she was 7. Can you believe Cali is wearing the stinkin' thing? It's Going TOO FAST! For the record, we did have to pin it in the back...but still!

What is a 'multiple' you ask....

...listen for it. (And watch the little one starting in the left hand corner-around the 30 second mark-followed by the "pray, I hope she gets it, oh my, YEAHHHH!")

That my friends, is one back-handspringing and handspringing AGAIN little 9 year old! Who hoo!
And here she is again. SO PROUD OF THAT GIRL!

*Cassi Receives Coach's Award*

Well not that I don't brag but I truly try not to. As a mom, it's hard not to and hopefully those who know me well, know it's pride that causes me to share. And love; the love I have for my children and the love I have for others whom I believe want to be apart of their lives.

In all honesty, tonight I just want to BRAG! I am so proud!

Cassi had her first ever Cheer Banquet tonight. It was a pretty laid back affair but other than that we really didn't know what to expect of the evening. We were simply invited and wouldn't have missed it.

There were 4 girls on Cassi's mini team this year. Actually we started with 6 but by the end, we were down to 4. All of the girls received medals for their participation and then they awarded a Coach's award. They explained that it was chosen by the coach's and was awarded for commitment, focus, concentration, dedication and skill. Cassi's name was called and we were so excited. Being that it related to younger girls I was very conscientious that I didn't want anyone's feelings hurt but I wanted to jump up and down. Cassi is rarely one for the spotlight however she was glowing as she walked back to her chair.






There really aren't any other details other than to say I could not wait to tell everyone we knew. I know you all will be excited too. Thank you for allowing me this place to share and for following this blog that I enjoy sharing with.

Love you!

Cassi's First Cheer Competition

Well we survived it. No we didn't just survive it, we reveled in it.

There were more problems with in the day than I could share with you here but still, I would delcare it a glorious day. I believe I saw Cassi's passion is it's truest form yesterday. Now I will admit it may be simply because it's new but I need to believe that even if that's the case, she felt empowered by her passion yesterday.

When we arrived at the High School that was hosting the event, we were told that our performance time was going to be 2 hours later than we anticipated. Since we arrived 2 hours ahead of what we thought our performance time was, it made for a long wait ahead of us. No matter to Cassi however, she just decided to prance around a little and show what she could do. She immediatley started doing bits of her routine in the commons area, grinning about the whole experience the entire time.

Every parent wishes for thier child confidence, happiness, joy and so many other wonderful things. I've often wondered for sure if Cassi felt all of the wonderful things I have wished for her. After this weekend I know she has. She was in her element. And for now, she is right where she is meant to be.






As Cassi will tell you, they won the competition for their age group and level. But the BEST news of the night was that they won the biggest trophy of the night too! There was a special PEOPLE'S CHOICE award that they had the honor of receiving. It was a very nice surprise for everyone involved. Cassi really like the size of it and the fact that they even won over the biggest girls who could do back handsprings and everything! It was our first experience and although it was a long day (and night) it was worth all that had went into it! I really hope you feel it in the pictures and assuming you do, I'm smiling with you! Thanks for reading this and feeling good for my girl!


Look for our new photos after this weekend. We're off again. We will get to perform 2 nights in a row and we will be in Anchorage all weekend. Think good thoughts!