Rice, Rice, and Wheat

Canning at Home

Derek and I decided instead of just talking about our food storage that we should actually work on accumulating a year supply of food storage. It was always something that we knew we needed to do one day, but it always got pushed off.

So last Wednesday, we made it a family date night to take a field trip to our local cannery. It was so much fun! As a family, we canned macaroni. Cassidy did her part too. She was in charge of putting the oxygen packets in the cans. She did a great job! She looked so cute in her hair net, I wish I would have brought my camera. We are definitely planning to go again! We left with more than what we canned of course.

They even let us borrow a portable canning machine so we could can our two 50lb bags of rice and two 50lb bags of hard white wheat. We tackled the project on Friday night and finally finished after we put Cassidy to bed. Once we figured out our system of doing this it went pretty well. I'm glad I have such a wonderful hubby who understands the importance of being prepared, and who took the initiative to do something about it.

We also decided to invest the extra money from Pres. Bush's stimulus plan in a freezer and a special mother's day gift, a Bosch mixer. I'm so excited to now make homemade bread and eventually be able to completely stop buying bread at the store.

Power of Prayer

Our dear friend, Kaley, needs your prayers. She's currently on life support and fighting for her life. Kaley was currently diagnosed with Lupus and she has the worst kind with all the symptoms. We know she's a young woman of strength and a fighter but I know she could really use our help. We love this girl so much and ask you to join us in prayer for her health and for her family. We appreciate all your love and support. Thank You!

Our Motivation

First of all "Kudos" to all of you who exercise and run without any outside help, and with your own determination and motivation.

You see, Derek and I had a gym membership but wouldn't use it consistently, monthly, or even quarterly,(you get the point) and so therefore, lost our privledge of having a gym membership. We were just wasting money.

Well we still agreed we both needed to do something because we weren't exercising as much as we should. So, my brillant husband came up with a fun idea to get us back in shape and healthy. He designed a running chart with some fun, silly pictures of cartoon faces, and picked out some fun stickers, with Cassidy's help, to put on the chart. It's like Kindergarten all over again! :) Hey we have to start somewhere. :)

See how it works is that in order to help motivate us and to reach our exercising goals there's a prize at the end. In order to buy the things we Want and don't really Need we need to run so many times before we can buy it. We're using part of the money from our tax refund to fund the prizes. Right now we're running 15 times for 30 minutes each run. We take turns in the mornings while Cassidy is sleeping. Sometimes if we have a late night I will run with Cassidy in the jogging stroller later in the day. Let me tell ya that's not often. It's a workout though! Eventually we will increase our distance and our time. We've been working on our little system for the last couple of months and have already felt a difference. Like the other night I played basketball with some friends (full court) and actually felt pretty good and not as tired as I use to feel. Some friends were saying, "Wow you're all over the place how can you run so much?" It definitely keeps me going to hear such good things and to have a hubby that's so supportive and proud of me. Of course I'm so grateful for Derek's creative ideas and for supporting such an important goal to get in shape.

By the beginning of next week we will both accomplish our first goal. And I will be getting my curtains! :) Yeah!! I already have them picked out. ;)

Our kids are growing up

Several years ago, we both had the opportunity to work with the youth of our church. Derek was the scout master for the 12-14 year old boys, and Angie worked with the 12-14 year-old girls. Then later, we were able to be the honorary "Ma & Pa" for the pioneer trek that our church stake takes every four years. On the pioneer trek, many of the youth 14-18 treated us like their mom and dad as we pushed a pioneer handcart thru the Wyoming wilderness -- It was a lot of fun and a very memorable experience. That was 3 years ago. This was all before Cassidy was born. The last 3 years have been focused more on learning to live with our wonderful little girl.

Last night, we had the opportunity to go to a special graduation night for the youth in our ward that are graduating from high school. These were our kids! The ones we taught back at age 12. That we encouraged, loved, counselled, hung out with at summer camps, etc.. It was a proud moment to see these same children, as young adults, preparing to head off to college or on missions. We think we felt much like Alma when he saw his old friends after a long absence: "therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord (Alma 17:2)". We are so proud of these kids, and their parents, and that we were able to have a small role in their greatness.

March of Dimes

Thank You, for all of your support and donations! We couldn't do it without you! We were able to raise $222 as a family. So that meant we met our goal of $200. The morning of the big event was pretty cold and windy but we bundled up and marched our 5 miles. We enjoyed the scenery and walking with some friends of ours, Tammy and Stephanie. When the wind died down it was pretty nice we just wished the wind would go away because that's what made it cooler.

Cassidy did pretty well on the way up. She rode in the stoller and we just kept her busy with yummy snacks and distractions. Then on the way back she sat on Daddy's shoulders. She was happy about that! At the last bridge to cross she walked through the finish line with Daddy. Of course if it was up to her, she would have walked the whole 5 miles. :) We were so happy to be a part of a wonderful event and to help out with a great organization that saves lives. We are already planning to sign up again next year.

A Little Adventure

 

Happy Belated Earth Day! (I meant to post this that day)

Derek found out the public bus system was going to be free to ride on Earth Day. So Cassidy and I decided to take the bus for a ride! The bus stop is right behind our house. Every day Cassidy is able to watch the "city bus" (what she calls it) drive by and pick people up, and now it's her chance to actually take a turn. As we were waiting for the bus Cassidy was just playing around in the dirt but as soon as I pointed out the bus coming around the corner, she jumped up and down and screamed. She kept saying "Come, City Bus, Come!" (With her hand stretched out) She was so excited! It's wonderful how excited our kids get over such little things. During the ride, Cassidy had a lot of fun looking out the big windows as we drove around.

We got off near the shopping center where the IMAX theater is. I know some of you are thinking that's not very far, but it was still an experience. We first went to Dicks sporting store and spent most of our time playing with the sports equipment, sitting in camping tents, riding bikes, going up and down the escalator, and checking out the gym equipment. In the picture above where Cassidy is sitting on the weight set, she's holding her arms up and saying "muscles!" with her deep voice. Just like her daddy taught her. It's one of our favorite stores. Then, we walked around the other stores near by like Best Buy and Wild Oats. While we were getting some fresh air and some exercise walking around we decided we were getting hungry so we had lunch at Leo's Pizzaria. It was delicious! Cassidy enjoyed the cheesy pizza and it hit the spot. After lunch, it was time to trek back to the bus stop. We didn't have to wait too long. Again, the bus ride was a hit and Cassidy couldn't contain her excitement. We had such a fun time together and we will never forget our magical ride with our "city bus."

Blurfing-Like Mother Like Daughter

Cassidy is watching her friend Aly sing "Twinkle Twinkle"

Family in Town

This last week my parents and Abuelita (little grandma in Spanish) came to visit us from Arizona. We had a wonderful time together. Cassidy enjoyed waking up each morning and asking "Where Granpa Go?" And of course would ask next about Grandma and "Lita." It was fun for her to be able to have some extra attention and not only from her parents.

We were able to play games, watch movies, talk, eat out, watch Cassidy swim, attend The Dave Ramsey Show at the World Arena, enjoy General Conference, and just relax. One day Cassidy had all of us girls dress up with her hats and purses like we were going to go shopping. It was cute.




Cassidy received the Alvin & the Chipmunks DVD from Grandpa & Grandma and surprised us all at how interested and excited she was to watch this movie. None of us had seen it, and it seemed to have become Cassidy's favorite movie. She doesn't sit and watch movies, she will for a little while but then she will go play with her toys and come back later. Not with this movie! She was hooked from the beginning. Her new word now is Chipmunks. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!


The Dave Ramsey Show

I know we have mentioned Dave Ramsey before on our blog, but this time we had the chance to see him LIVE and to listen to his good advice on financial matters. He is such a motivational, entertaining, and humorous speaker. The "Total Money Makeover" class lasted for 5 hours with two 20 minute breaks. Let me tell ya though, it didn't seem like that long. It was so fun. Before we knew it, we only had one more hour to be taught. He teaches people to get out of debt and to be wise with our money. Of course, the Church has always taught us these things, but Dave gives us motivation and some tools on how to succeed. He lives his life with similar standards as the Church. It was a great opportunity to attend, and we enjoyed sharing the experience with my parents. We wish all of you could have been there with us. :)

Swimming

Cassidy, Kyle, Aly

I can't wait till class starts!


Today was a big day for Cassidy and her friends Kyle & Aly. It was their first day of swimming lessons. She completed the Water Waddles 2 class, last April and now she graduated to the Water Waddles 3 class. We're so proud of her! We've been telling her she was going to start swimming lessons again, even last night we told her tomorrow you're going to swim. When Cassidy woke up this morning I asked her, "What are we going to do today?" She shouted, "SWIMMING!" And then I asked "With who?" she said "FRIENDS and MOMMY!" I guess she dreamt about it all night long.

When we finally were able to get into the water it was like she remembered how much she missed the pool, she screamed with excitment. And of course splashed water at everyone, even at her swimming teacher. Her swimming teacher, Miss Jan, splashed her right back. It was so cute! Nothing can be better than the excitement I saw in my little girls face today! It was so much fun! Luckily we have 9 more classes to enjoy!

Our nephew McKay

Our little buddy, was baptized yesterday. Unfortunately, we weren't able to go to Texas to be there for his special day, but we are definitely proud of you McKay! We had a chance to talk with him on the phone and he told us his older brother Nic was the one who baptized him. That was pretty cool. Also McKay shared with us how he hasn't sinned at all since he was baptized. He's such a cute boy! He also shared that he's one of the newest members of the church but his younger brothers and younger cousins are just visitors until they turn eight of course. :)

Well Mac, we're so glad you had such a wonderful experience and hope you will never forget it! We love you!