Abby

Abby sure cracks me up.

When you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she says an entomologist and a co-pilot. She is going to study bugs and fly airplanes and every time she goes up in an airplane she'll take a different bug. (She really loves bugs.)

Last night we were in the car waiting for Abby to buckle herself into her car seat:

Mike: Abby, do you have your buckles on?

Abby: No, dad, not yet.

Mike: Whatcha been doing back there?

Abby: Well, dad, I've just been laying around.

Maybe you had to be there, but it was really funny. Sometimes we need to encourage Abby to stay focused on the task at hand and it was so funny to hear her say she'd "just been laying around."

And this, my friends, is an Abby original. She calls it a "uni-corn":

The rest of our trip

We spent 3.5 days in Utah following the funeral. It was actually pretty laid back. We took it easy and didn't try to do everything. Sunday I attended my Murray Ward. I felt right at home. In Relief Society there was only one lady who had not been in the ward when we were there. (I believe there were several ladies serving in Primary or YW who I didn't know, but I found it kind of fun that RS had barely changed.) After church Hannah and I headed up to the cemetery and spent some relaxing time there with a sack lunch. We then went home for dinner with my parents, sisters and their families and 2 of my grandmas. It was so much fun! I love being with them.

On Monday, mom and dad took us downtown to Temple Square. Growing up I loved going to Temple Square. (Do any of you remember the little boy in the tree movie?) I was thinking a while back that my kids probably won't grow up with Temple Square around the corner so I need to make sure they get to visit while we are out visiting. After lunch at Crown Burger, we met up with Kaye and got to make some nice visits to the Wessman grandparents. Again, a very nice day...

These last two pictures are from Temple Square - the new temple cross-section (amazing) and Hannah posing behind the Conference Center look alike podium in the Church Museum.

On Tuesday I got to visit Holli and Haley and their combined 4 kiddos! I didn't get any pictures, unfortunately, but loved the visit. We missed Shana and her 3 little ones. Afterwards, my mom and dad and I went here:

Wednesday morning we hung out at home with mom and dad and then mom and I ran some errands on the way to the airport. There's kind of a detailed story that is hard to explain, but I had a little tender mercy that morning. We were in the right place at the right time and it saved some heartsickness and $$$. I was very grateful. We flew home that afternoon. Hannah did have to sit on my lap both flights, but she is sure an angel - such a good traveler.

I was surprised to see Mike waiting for me inside the terminal at the airport. I figured I would meet him outside. I liked it. It was so good to see him!

Ray Casaday 1920-2011

0My grandpa passed away last week. The funeral was beautiful and I feel blessed to have been able to travel home and be with my dad and the rest of the family. My brother, Brian, who lives in Ohio was able to come out. I loved that my parents and the 5 of us siblings could all be together. All of my cousins were there as well - except for Sara who has a really good excuse. She is on a mission. The funeral was really nice. My dad and each of his siblings spoke. They shared memories and testimonies of the Plan of Salvation. First thing this morning, we had a private family viewing with just my grandpa's posterity. It was a sweet and tender time for me and I was reminded of the real power of family. My grandpa was a loving grandfather, had a strong sense of patriotism and was dedicated to the gospel.

Obituary

2008 University of Utah Veteran's Day Honoree

Deseret News article - November 8, 2005

I miss my kiddos, but it has been good to have Hannah with me. She did very well on the flights and we were lucky (again) that flights were empty enough that I could take the car seat aboard.

My dad (right) and his sister and brothers...

The funeral was "with full military honors". Here the marine is presenting my grandma with the flag that draped the casket.

My brother is the second from the right (no sunglasses).

My uncle had this arrangement made. Can you tell what his drink of choice was? I was always offered a soda when I visited their home.

One of my early memories of my grandpa was that he brought us boxes of chocolate donuts. He sold packaging and Salt Lake Donut was one of his clients. My mom picked up chocolate donuts for everyone this morning. One of my cousins commented that grandpa always ate donuts with a fork. I hadn't remembered that, but I had to take this picture when I saw my dad eating a donut during the luncheon.

My parents, siblings, grandma and I...

The silly shot (only those wearing sunglasses allowed)...

My grandpa has 19 grandchildren. Here are the 18 who are not on missions right now.

First beach trip of 2011

Memorial Day marked our first beach trip of the year. We had a fun time with each other and two other families from our branch. It was worth the wind and COLD water!

6 months

She's pretty stinkin' cute. 6 months is a pretty big milestone!

Some pictures

Here we are on Mother's Day. These were taken on the church lawn after the meetings. I thought we looked kind of matchy-matchy and wanted some pictures. I was pretty excited that we got 4 out of 5 looking at the camera (minus my hair issues:).

Hannah ate solid foods for the first time a week or so ago. She did really well and likes it. The next picture is of our 2-high-chair-1-posing kiddos.

The other day I put this outfit on Hannah and remembered distinctly that this was the outfit Abby was wearing in some of her first "I can sit up by myself pictures". I imagined that picture in my mind thinking about how much they look alike. Hannah is not a completely independent sitter, but she is doing pretty well so I thought I'd take a picture of her on my bed (like the other had been) and post the "twin" pictures on the blog. Here is Hannah:

Then I went and looked for the picture of Abby. I found it and they don't look nearly as much alike as I thought. Other pictures do, I swear.

In these pictures Hannah is about exactly one month younger than Abby. You can tell by the way the shirt fits how much bigger she is than Abby was. They are sitting on the same blanket. I planned it that way:)

Mother's Day at Preschool

When I taught Kindergarten, the Mother's Day program was one of the biggest days of the year. Highly anticipated. Loved it. Today I got to be the mom. Loved it even more. Abby has really enjoyed her preschool class (as have we).

When I arrived Abby was waiting for me by her locker with a gift - a hand print pot holder. She then escorted me into one of the classrooms and served me a bowl of sherbet with animal crackers. We drew pictures for a few minutes and then joined together for songs and stories.

It has been a good school year. Playgroups, preschool, story times, speech help, etc. We're grateful for fun friends to associate with and nice teachers and other adults who are excellent influences on our kids.

Easter 2011

5 months

Our baby is growing up:

Hannah is looking and acting older everyday. She loves her hands. If she gets fussy or unsettled we can give her a toy or something to hold onto and it will help calm her down. She likes having her siblings' attention and they enjoy giving it. Briton can get great giggles out of her. She is showing no interest in rolling, but she is sitting up well and is getting closer to sitting independently. She has many admirers at church and at a community play group we attend (both of which I appreciate when it translates into freeing up my arms for a bit).

Cleveland

Last weekend, we took a little road trip to the great city of Cleveland, Ohio so that we could see the following:

The NCAA Gymnastics Championships - Go Utes!

We love University of Utah gymnastics! They placed 5th this year and we were proud to cheer them on. (This poster was made by Briton and mom.)

Daddy! So I may be exaggerating a little (in implying that we don't get to see him already). We do see him daily, but the past couple weeks have been busy at work so we were pleased to have him to ourselves for a couple days.

Brian and Amy! We love Brian and Amy and we really love that they are only a few hours away so that they can meet up with us for weekend getaways.

Kirtland! There is nothing like some good church history sites to brighten up the rainiest of days. We think it is great that we live only a few hours away from this beautiful building and everything else in Kirtland.

It was a lovely weekend. Family, church and a good sporting event. That's the life. (Usually I don't put sporting events into those kinds of lists, but gymnastics is fun.)

PS We rented a house for the weekend. We did it last summer in North Carolina and we are deciding that it is a swell way to travel. It is much better than trying to share a hotel room with 3 children - and pretty economical.

Butterflies 2011

We took our annual trip to the butterfly garden at MSU. Usually we do that outing in March soon after it opens because I am so excited about spring making its entrance. This year is different. Oh, how I certainly want spring, but it didn't even occur to me that that the butterfly garden was open yet because it has been so cold. We would like to be done with winter, thank you. Anyway, here are the kiddos.

2011:

2010:

2009:

In other news, Abby is quite the bug lover. She picks up worms to save them from drying sidewalks and she takes the annoying wood bugs (that are somehow getting into her bedroom) and saves them by mercifully carrying them outside. (Every once in a while she'll say, "Mom, is it OK if I just flush this one?" "Yes, dear, it is just fine.") Briton is also pretty interested in bugs, but not up close and personal like Abby.

The best news of all though is that today it hit 80 degrees!! Unfortunately it'll be back down to the 50s in the next couple days, but it was so beautiful today. So so beautiful. I was reminded how wonderful Michigan weather can be. Hannah got to feel grass for the first time today! Love the tongue.