Christmastime in Utah

What's Christmastime without taking a trip to downtown SLC to see the beautiful lights of Temple Square? We joined my brother and sister and dad and Linda. We lucked out and went on a warmer night, but it was still packed with people. I'm always in awe of the lights and spirit when visiting Temple Square. The kids all behaved well for such a special place. Emma's favorite word for all animals is "puppy" so the donkeys in the nativity scenes were "puppy"s. Afterwards we headed to Gateway for some yummy food.

We took the kids to see Santa last week at South Towne Mall. They have the best Santa and set-up. It was a long wait but they made it to the big guy. Stephen wasn't sure what to say to him and Emma would not have anything to do with the man in red. I guess I'll be writing apology letters to Santa to make sure Stephen and Emma get presents on Christmas morning.

Children make Christmas that much more special. Merry Christmas to my little ones!

So Random

Here is a look at the random going-ons that have happened the last few months. Typical Utah weather, beautiful fall day one day then snow a few days later. Stephen was so excited to get out in the snow and play even though there was only an inch on the ground. I was just glad to have raked all the leaves before the snow fell. As of now, there hasn't been any new snow, but just wait 15 minutes and the weather will change.

Emma is getting to be such a "big girl" that she wants to do what her big brother does also, like homework, eating cereal but still is the little girl getting into toyboxes and just being silly.

Trick-or-Treat

What an eventful Halloween weekend we had. We kicked off the Halloween fun with a school parade on Thursday, Oct. 29 followed later that same day with Stephen's first piano recital. He did great on both of his spooky music pieces. He has great stage presence. He'll tell you he was nervous, but you couldn't tell by the way he played. On Halloween night we fed Harry Potter and Little Witch a fun jack-o-lantern pizza and headed out for the fun. I took the kids to a few houses and then Stephen and dad finished up while Emma and I ate, I mean passed out the candy. The little trick-or-treaters were quickly transformed back into Stephen and Emma and put to sleep. Too much excitement (plus early church the next day!) made for an early night.

10 Years and Counting!

Greg & I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary by spending some "couple time". We dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa Price's, hopped in the get-away car for some relaxing time together. We first treated ourselves to pedicures - yes even Greg had his feet done and they look fantastic! We decided to stay local so we spent two wonderful days in downtown SLC at the Little America. Wow! We forgot how much you can get done without kids around! We stayed up late, slept in, went to movies that didn't include talking animals or was animated and walked everywhere. The special highlights for us was the temple session and attending the Tabernacle Choir broadcast. After picking up the kids we wanted the magic to continue a bit longer so we drove to see the Mt. Timpanogos Temple where we were married on October 23, 1999. Stephen enjoyed walking around with me while I showed him all the places we had our pictures taken. It was hard to come back to reality - dirty diapers, homework, work and laundry. We had a great time reconnecting and can really see how far we've come in ten years. We truly have a wonderful life!

Run Cassat's Run!

All summer long we've been dragging the kids out to train for our annual 5K run in August. Through the sweat and tears we reached our goals and completed the Midvale Harvest Days run on August 8, 2009. Dad and Emma finished first. Mindy came in next and Stephen, who ran the whole way by himself, rounded out the Cassat team. It was a fun run for us all. Stephen did great! He didn't complain and only stopped to get a drink. Afterwards we stayed for breakfast and watched the city parade, which Stephen was in with his elementary school. We had a long morning but it was fun. Go Team Cassat!

Lovin' Summer

Between all the camps, military weekends and summer school, piano and swimming lessons, we didn't take a family vacation so we tried to make the most of our summer days. The kids spent time at the local outdoor pool, taking walks in the evening, going to the zoo, jumping on the trampoline and various other activities. Check out our summer!

Stephen had a busy summer. He started piano lessons, went to cub scout camp and took swimming lessons! He finally got enough courage to jump off the diving board by himself and actually swim to the edge of the pool just to do it all over again! Yeah!

Emma also had a busy summer. She has been growing so big, she learned to walk, grew some new teeth, and thinks she is such a big girl that she can do what the other big kids do. She's becoming a little princess. She likes to take walks and sit in her carriage (I mean stroller) and wave to her royal subjects (aka neighbors, dogs, plants, anything!).

Greg Turns 40!

WOW! Greg celebrated his 40th birthday on August 5th working! That's just what you do on a Wednesday, right? After work, he really celebrated by going to a brazillian steakhouse and ate all the meat he could stomach. It was really good, just waaayy too much food. But, you only turn the big 4-0 once! A few days later we had a big birthday openhouse where family and friends came and ate lots of cake and ice cream (but not enough since we are still eating it up!). Check out all those candles and we didn't even have 40 - fire hazard! We had a great time celebrating Greg's big year!

Mommy's Little Helper

Emma's taking after her mom - loves to clean, or at least follow mommy around "helping" to clean up. She had taken the feather duster, brandishing it like a sword, while wearing a Wii numchuck control around her neck and went to task. Anyone need a housekeeper? Emma works for cheap and she's really cute too!

Greg's Last Command

July 24th marked Greg's last day as Commander of Company B in Logan. It was an emotional day for us all. Logan has a big 24th of July celebration. All soldiers marched in Logan City's parade. Boy, did we cheer for daddy!

After the parade, the Change of Command occured. It is a quick ceremony but very significant. The company flag (guide-on, for us non military speakers) is passed from the company to the commander, the commander passes it to the battalion and the battalion then passes it to the new commander. Greg gave a little farewell speech and was then given a gift from him soldiers - 2 new basketballs (one was camo signed by his soldiers) and a ball bag.

Greg and I are sad to say good-bye to Company B and to Logan. Greg will now be in Draper for drill weekends and will now serve with Headquarters. It will be nice to have him closer and have him back in the evenings. We Love You Major Cassat!

Stephen's Special Day

Stephen was baptized Saturday, June 6 along with 2 other school friends, which made it an even more special morning. We are so proud of Stephen and his committment to follow our Saviour, Jesus Christ. We had such a great support that day. Grandma and Grandpa Cassat made it from Texas, Grandma and Grandpa Price made it back from Hawaii and we had family come join us from Davis County, Utah. We were so excited to celebrate this special day for Stephen we had a BBQ afterwards. The kids played, we all ate, had a talent show and ended with a candy-filled pinata! What a beautiful, fun-filled day. When it was all over, we all crashed for afternoon naps!

It's Great to be 8!

Hard to believe that our boy is now 8! For this most important birthday, Stephen and friends enjoyed an afternoon at the skating rink, scootering, playing video games, working up a sweat at the bounce house and eating cupcakes. On Stephen's official birthday we ate chocolate cake and icecream for breakfast! Now that's the way to start your day. From all the smiles, everyone had a great time. Happy Birthday Stephen!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

This spring Stephen has been enjoying playing baseball, except when the ball is pitched "really fast". Greg & I are lucky enough to be the parent coaches for his team. Greg is a great coach - pushing the kids to do their best and learn about the sport and still have fun. So far, no one has been able to beat Greg running the length of the field, but they are getting close. I do all the administrative work - phone calls, pass out schedules, assign treats, etc. Stephen tries to pay attention to the game while outfield but most kids have a hard time too. They'd rather be up to bat. Emma likes to scoot along the dugout holding on to the chainlink fence. She is also our little cheerleader. This is definetly a family effort. Go Stephen!!!

The Day After

Emma's party was such an over stimulating event, I couldn't wake her up the next morning. She kept rolling over and falling back to sleep with each attemp. "Just 5 more minutes, mom." After her 1 year check-up, she got the OK to sit in the "big girl" seat. She is so excited!

The Big 1

It's hard to believe that our baby has turned the big 1 year old!! Emma had a good time eating cake, opening presents (big brother helped!), and "looking" for Easter eggs all on the same day! She is scooting along anything that will hold her up and once in a while will get brave and lunge for mom in an attempt at walking. She'll get there and then we'll be in big trouble!

Gotcha!

Ahhh, to be the smallest in the family. Emma proves that she can get into lots of things and fun places...

Easter Eggs

Stephen and mom had fun decorating Easter eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide this weekend. Stephen showed his creative side trying to combine different colors. Fun times!!!

Busy Kids

Emma is just about 11 months but acts like she's going on 2! She is crawling all over the house and is pulling herself up and scooting along when she feels brave enough. Her favorite part of the house is Stephen's room. She loves to sneak in there, pull all the books from his bookshelf and "read" them. How can you be mad at such a sight?

Busy Kids

Ever since Stephen's "Kung Fu Panda" obsession, we signed him up for an 8-week Tae Kwan Do class. He's enjoying the moves and mom loves the discipline it teaches. The penalty for not following the rules? Push-ups! Some days Stephen is really good at push-ups.

Here we are!

Finally I've figured out and have had the time to get this blog going. I can't promise that it will be updated often, just as the kids and adventures get more interesting. We hope you enjoy visiting the Cassat's!