Jessica's Wedding

Jessica Casselman is Brent(Boyd's brother) and Maria's eldest daughter. She announced her upcoming marriage to Salvador Cruz on May 30th. Boyd and I drove up to Blackfoot Saturday afternoon and were there to see them get married and then enjoy a lovely meal. It was half American and half Mexican. The Mexican food was delicious and fun to try. They served carnitas (pork) and goat, beans, rice and the best corn tortillas I have ever had. I didn't get any goat but Boyd did and had me try a small piece. It was OK.
We had to leave before the real festivities started, i.e. music and dancing, cake cutting and bouquet throwing, so we missed that part. It was a 2 hour drive and we didn't want to get home too late.
The whole event was very nice and we were impressed with Salvador's family.

Good luck to Jessica and Salvador as they begin their lives together in Florida where Salvador is stationed with the Military.

Creekside Fun Run

Every year our ward does a Creekside Together Run. There are two routes available, a 5k or a 1 mile walk/run. Boyd and I have always been out of town when they've had it before so this is the first time I was able to participate. I even bought a new shirt for the event.
I decided to try the 5k. I had practiced a couple of times to see if I could still run that far and was able to....barely. The race started off fairly easy but about 3/4 of the way through the route went up this awful hill. I thought I might just die before I was on flat land again. I did finish the race, thinking that I was almost last, but Boyd told me I was the second or third woman my age who crossed the finish line.
Surprisingly, I even won a prize, chapstick and a package of trail mix!

After the race we enjoyed a tasty pancake breakfast made by the scouts....yum!

The whole group...

Waiting to go while receiving last minute instructions and directions.

Crossing the finish line.

Birthday Party!!!

Alyssa invited several of her friends over for a birthday party on Friday. The party was a total blast for Alyssa. She had thought about and planned this party for several weeks and the outcome was just as she wanted it to be. Here are some pictures showing what she planned:

The whole group...

...making smoothies for everyone...

...eating pizza, crazy bread and snacks...



...playing games and running around at the park (sorry, no pics)...


...singing Happy Birthday...

....a cupcake stuffing contest....



...and watching a movie: "Mall Cop".


Happy 14th Birthday!!!

Remembering on Memorial Day

Boyd and I decided that on Memorial Day we wanted to drive up to the Mendon Cemetary where my dad, brother and grandparents are buried. We took some mums with us and went to each gravesite and told a few memories about each person. It was a remarkable and memorable day for us.
We capped it off by purchasing Slurpees at 7-11 in Brigham City!

The family surrounding my father's gravesite.

Dance Recital

Alyssa started dance lessons this past March. She was in a ballet and jazz class on Saturday mornings. They worked on the "Sleeping Beauty" ballet and a cool jazz dance number. Considering the fact that Alyssa started late in the year, she did quite well in the recital. It was enjoyable to go and watch all of these talented girls perform.
Kalie, as a side note, the prince was Nick Siler. He did a pretty good job leaping and jumping around the stage. I didn't know he knew ballet. He made a great prince.

Getting ready to leave.

Alyssa as a "farendahl" (sp) in the "Sleeping Beauty" ballet.

The curtain call at the end of the "Sleeping Beauty" ballet.

Alyssa doing her jazz dance.

Sorry the pictures are dark, they were the best I could get.

Happy, happy birthday Alyssa Dear

Saturday, May 23, 2009 was a momentous day in the life of the Casselman's. Alyssa FINALLY turned 14. I think we are all equally grateful.
We had such a fun day. We went to the Union Grill in Ogden for lunch and had their sandwiches and bread pudding. Can I just say that their bread pudding is marvelous?It is worth the drive just for that!
Then Boyd and I took Alyssa shopping. We were successful in finding her a cute Sunday outfit and some pretty hot shoes.
Happy birthday to you!!

When Alyssa opened this present she said, "I was wondering the other day why I didn't have this movie."

Alyssa invited her good friends Jenny and Mowgli over for dinner and a movie.

We went shopping for a Sunday outfit. This is what we found!

Boyd discovered these shoes at Kohl's. They are quite fabulous!

Mother's Day Delights

I just love Mother's Day. It is a day that I feel like I get my just reward. I just soak in all the praise and adoration and hope that it will carry me through the hard days. I am so blessed to have wonderful children and a fabulous husband to be by my side as we raise our kids.

The kids at home went in and bought me some more music for Sundays. It was time for a new batch of music.


Kalie got me these spatulas among other things. With cooking utensils like these, who wouldn't want to RUN to the kitchen and start cooking?


Boyd got me some running shoes and I took them for a short run today. Yup, they worked great!

Bragging rights!!!

We had the exciting opportunity to fly to Arizona for some work training for Boyd and finish up the week by attending Kalie's graduation from Northern Arizona University with her master's degree in English. It was amazing to be there and realize the incredible amount of effort it takes to get your education.

Kudos to Kalie!!

Kalie, just after officially putting on her master's degree hood.

Kalie getting her diploma holder (no diploma inside yet).

Outside the Skydome with cute Kevin.

Proud parents!

Kevin's parents who drove with Kevin (who is doing a rotation in Elko) from Elko to be there for this exciting moment. Thanks!


If it looks like we are standing in a forest, we are. Flagstaff is in the mountains and part of the campus is in the trees. It was lovely there, despite the traffic (HORRIBLE) and getting lost (ANNOYING). Flagstaff did redeem itself by having a Sizzler where we ate lunch with Kalie. I know they have other restaurants, we just couldn't get out of a parking lot that we inadvertantly drove into. Thus, we walked to the closest restaurant which was the Sizzler. It was good food.

Bye, bye Birdie!!

Have you ever missed a flight? Well, Boyd and I missed our flight home this morning. It took so much longer to go from Kalie's house to the rental car garage, take the shuttle to the airport, get our tickets and then go through security than we planned. We realized with a sinking feeling that our plane was leaving............without us!!!
The people at Southwest were more than congenial and we were on another plane in 30 minutes and on our way home. Our emergency certainly wasn't theirs but they helped us anyway.

We are home now and so glad. It is amazing how exhausting it is to sit on your fanny for several hours and fly home.

My Heart Skipped a Beat!

I don't know how many of you out there know that I am a rabid American Idol fan. Yes, it's true. My family and I are in front of the TV every Tuesday night at 7:00. We listen to each of the singers and talk about their performances and decide who WE think should go home.
I must admit, however, that I have never placed a vote. I let everyone else do that job for me.
Last night was such a nail biter because I was positive that Kris Allen was on his way home. When he was the first contestant told that he was safe, my heart stopped.
Who was going to be leaving? In the end it was Allison Iraheta, which was fine with me. I can't wait until next week..................

P.S. Phoenix is 100 degrees. You wouldn't believe how beautiful it is here. Blossoms are on almost every bush and it smells like flowers. The orange trees have baby oranges on them that are about 1 inch in diameter. It's amazing.

Oh Phoenix!

Well, we are here in Arizona. We flew in last night in the dark so we missed all the beauty of an Arizona spring. Early this morning I drove Boyd to the hotel where he has his training and was basking in the gorgeous atmosphere here. At 7:45 a.m. it was 72 degrees!!
I'm sure that mid-summer when it's over 100 degrees that 72 will sound downright frigid.

TGIF (My favorite day of the week)

I went to Gardner Village with my mom and sisters on Friday. We LOVE to hang out there and whenever the opportunity presents itself we are there in a blink of an eye.
I'm so mad that I forgot my camera because there were some sterling moments that really should have been memorialized in a photo....

1. The pasta salad at Archibald's restaurant. I started thinking about it early Friday morning.
2. The Pine Needles quilt shop. We spend more time there than anywhere and spend more money there than anywhere.
3. The goldfish in the pond. They were HUGE!! A kind mom gave Kit (my niece) a piece of bread to feed the fish and she had a blast! The fish would find the bread and gobble it up as fast as they could.
4. Sweet Afton's saltwater taffy. I always buy a ton to bring home. The flavors are out of this world.
5. Kit crawling on the sidewalk on hands and knees barking like a dog. It was so choice.
6. Spending time with my mom and the sibs. We love spending time together.

Thanks everyone for taking time out of your busy schedules to come.

Also, in preparation for our trip to Arizona on Monday I got some ROCK STAR toes. I have been waiting in breathless anticipation for this moment. Here's a picture:

There are few things I love more than sparkly toes.