Our New Little Buddy!

This is Tumbles, he is six weeks old. He is part Collie (lassie) and part Eskimo. He is the cutest little guy and is well loved at his new home.

Fun with Cousins

My sister Andrea and her kiddos came up to UT from AZ. Last night we took the kids to a park and they had a blast. It's so fun that they are such great friends with their cousins and can just pick right up every time. The weather was absolutely beautiful!!! I love the seasons in UT.

Sydney is always such a poser.

Raegan and Torie

Kymber and Kalli

Max is so dang cute but is always into trouble! He is definitely a handful, but a cute one!

KALLI

Tyler and Sydney on the Monkey Bars.

Andrew was so cool in his awesome glasses!

Sydney and Abbie

MAX

Abbie and Sydney on the Monkey Bars

TYLER

Torie and Sydney

Chad was trying to join in on the fun. If you notice his left leg, he still has on his boot because his leg is still broken. Not very smart, but he had fun!!!

Ellie and Andrew

Kalli and Kymber just chatting and having a great time.

End of the year festivities!!

It's the end of the year so that means, awards, races, dance festivals, parties and unlimited school events almost every day! I think the month of May is busier than the month of December! Any how here are my cute kids doing what they do.

Tyler doing his tribute to America at the dance festival.

Sydney was a dang cute little Mexican Hat Dancer...Ole!!!

The fifth graders were islanders. So the boys learned the "Haka" dance, they were so cute with all of their skinny little arms.

Raegan was the cute little islander in the yellow.

Kalli's grade did Kung Fu fighting. Here she is doing a "power kick"

Next we had the fun run. Which is actually my favorite event of the year. Deep within me I know there is a runner somewhere, who is just dying to get out. Until then I live vicariously through my children. Tyler (in the blue and white stripes) is on the homestretch, he is almost to the finish line!

Kalli was such a trooper! Ran her heart out and never gave up!

Sydney actually took third place for the first graders...Way to go!

Raegan ran the full two laps and came in with a smile, encouraging her friend on! She was told by the principal that if there was an award for fashion that Raegan would take first place! She loved that!!!!

My little Graduate!

Andrew holding his official diploma!

Tonight we had Andrew's preschool graduation. It was really cute. I am going to be sad to see this little guy go to kindergarten. He has been my buddy and is just an easy kid all around. I think I might even cry when it's time for him to go! I know, I am sentimental. He is just such a sweet little guy. Way to go Andrew!!

Andrew and his buddy Isaac.

Another TV Debut

This TV segment was shown today on KSL. They did a special on how Chad was served in the village when he went down to serve the people. They came to our home yesterday and did a few interviews. Well for those of you who would like to enjoy it click on HERE.

The Dentist and the Doctor

All of these women were in line to get their teeth
checked out by our dentist.

Here is the table of supplies that were generously
brought by Brian the Dentist.

One last thought about our expedition. We had a dentist as well as a Physicians Assistant come with us to help with the medical needs of the village. There were over 400 bad teeth pulled by the dentist. They were so amazing to give up their money and time to do this. None of the supplies were donated they all were graciously given by the dentist himself. Seriously we got to associate with some pretty amazing, giving and caring individuals. If you would like to see the news coverage from last night about this work you can click on HERE and check it out!

Finally an end to the trip

The day we left the village was definitely bitter sweet. I was so ready for a bed and a shower but on the other hand I had experienced so many amazing moments and come in contact with some incredible people that the thought of possibly never seeing them again was sad for me. We packed up our tents and Chad got his foot wrapped one last time by his new friend. The villagers were anxious to help in any way. As we were gathering our things they would take our heavy suitcases up the 1/2 mile trail. Chad had to make it up the trail and luckily two villagers helped him up. It was time to leave, the villagers lined the road and waved good bye to us, many had tears in their eyes and so did we. It was wonderful! We then drove the two hours on the bumpy dirt road, transferred to our nice air conditioned bus for another eight hours followed by our armed guards of course. We were headed to Antigua. We arrived at our beautiful hotel, found our rooms, took showers (I so needed one) and then off to dinner. The place we ate for dinner was a steak house about a mile from our hotel. One of the guys in our group offered to find us a "toot toot" which is a little car like thing that fits two maybe three people behind a motor cycle thing. Chad being impatient started to walk, he said "lets just start walking until we find one" he only took one of his man made crutches with him as we walked on these uneven cobblestone streets. Well we never did find a "toot toot" that night so Chad walked the entire mile on his broken leg. On the way back from the restaurant we did find one.

Tiare and myself in a "Toot Toot"

That night his leg and foot were swollen huge. The next morning we woke up early, we were used to waking up early with the noisy jungle, so we decided to head to breakfast. The restaurant was fairly empty besides one other table, so we decided to sit near it. As Chad was getting ready to sit a man came up to him that was seated at the other table and asked what is going on with your leg??? Chad told him the story and then told him that he was planning on going shopping that day with me and then we would be heading home on a plane the next morning to see our six kids. The man replied "oh no your not, you might be dead tomorrow!" Excuse me? What? This freaked me out somewhat. Well come to find out this man was a doctor from Georgia, USA! He immediately handed Chad a bottle of Aspirin and told him to start taking it so he could begin thinning his blood, this doctor was concerned with blood clots. Then this doctor left his breakfast as well as the company at his table and made a few phone calls. He came back and told Chad that he knew a surgeon at the Guatemala city hospital and that he made Chad an appointment for that day to get an ultrasound as well as x-rays on his leg. If they found one blood clot Chad would be required to stay in that hospital in Guatemala City for at least six more days. At this point I am bawling like a baby. I was scared to death, all I wanted to do was go home and be with my kids and my family! Well Chad took off with an interpreter to Guatemala City (about 2 hours away) for the entire day. Shopping in Antigua

I on the other hand went shopping with some of the friends in the group and was basically their "third wheel" but they were nice and let me tag along! Finally that night I got word from Chad that his leg was severly broken but no blood clots, we were good to fly home and have surgery in America (they wanted to do surgery on his leg right then and he said NO I want to go home!) What a trip! Seriously what amazing experiences we were blessed to have, I mean what are the chances of an American doctor sitting at the table next to us, knowing a surgeon from the area. We kept feeling blessing after blessing this entire trip. We were told that this experience would change our lives forever but I had no idea to what extent. I will be forever grateful for the blessings we experienced every leg of this expedition. Chad truly works for the best company that really has a big heart! What a choice opportunity! I hope that someday my children will be able to experience even a small piece of what we were able to see and do.The Service Expeditioners from Beneficial Financial Group

Guatemala part 4, Last day in the Village

Sorry friends I know I am dragging this Guatemala trip way out but I have been so busy lately that I haven't had the chance to update. But for my own journal I need to finish documenting our trip.

We went to this village to serve but in return we were served. Here is a villager wrapping Chad's leg with a medicinal leaf he found deep in the jungle. He boiled salt water and then added the leaves to make a paste. He kept Chad's foot rewrapped with this stuff every 12 hours. It was amazing, wherever the leaves were there was no bruising. This man had eight children and road his bike for 2 hours to come and help with construction in the village. His daily wage was about $7.00 US.

This friend of ours insisted on rubbing Chad's bruise to help with circulation, It hurt pretty bad.

A lady from the village teaching us how to make
corn tortillas in her home.

My turn to make the tortillas, I had the kids in the house cracking up, apparently I am NOT a good tortilla maker.

April 22: This day was the last full work day. This day we worked on building the gardens as well as the latrenes. We were able to start another one and also help complete the fence around each one to keep the pigs and the chickens out. We also had the opportunity to go into some of the villagers homes and see how they live. I learned how to make corn tortillas (hard work and let me just say I am ok not eating a corn tortilla for quite a while, we had them for breakfast, lunch and dinner)

While I was taking a break Carol Miketa, she is a news anchor for KSL news here in Salt Lake, her and her camera man Bob came along to film the Expedition for a documentary that will be airing in between the Sunday conferences in October. Any how she came to me and wanted me to go with her, Bob and two interpreters to see a lady in the village who had a brand new baby the day that we arrived. We had a new born humanitarian kit with us to give to the new mom. You know the kits that we have all made in Relief Society that get shipped off to where ever. This was way cool because I had the opportunity to see it full circle. To be able to present this sweet lady a newborn kit made by some women in Relief Society. So we went into her little home, dirt floors, wood walls, tin roof, no door. There was a small sheet hanging from the ceiling and behind the sheet was a small fire on the floor next to a small wood bed. The mother and the sweet little newborn sat on the bed. I told her what a beautiful baby she had been blessed with and asked how she was doing, this was all with the help from two interpreters one of them translating my english into spanish and then another translator translating his spanish into Catche (the mayon language of the village). She told me that the baby did not have a name yet. I began telling her what was in the newborn kit and that it was for her. She was very appreciative. In fact she asked what my name was, I told her it was Cassie and she wanted to know my full name, which is Casandra. She then turned to her interpretor and told him that her new baby girl would be named Casandra. OH MY HECK!! What an honor. I could barely hold the tears back at this point. What an amazing experience I was blessed to have. I was so touched by her sweetness and appreciation for a baby blanket, bars of soap, cloth diapers and pins and a onsie. Wow what we take for granted.

This village lady and her three day old baby named Casandra. Here she is accepting the Humanitarian kit from me on behalf of the LDS church.

These people have so little but yet they are not poor. You can see her sweet baby girl wrapped in the blankets behind her.

We ended the day with a celebration and another dedication of the light bulb that now worked in the school because of the Solar Panels that were installed. The villagers presented us with cards made by the children of the village and we had a lot of singing and dancing. It was a bitter sweet night for us, oh how we were going to miss these people who have touched our lives forever but how happy we were to have helped and served and learn from these same people.

Our TV Debut

We were spotlighted on our 10:00 news last night. They showed our Guatemala trip. If you want to see for yourself check it out HERE.

Guatemala continued part 3

April 21st: This was another full work day, though a little different. This day we worked all day on building a garden. It was HARD work. The ground is tightly weaved with grasses and long, thick roots. We were digging with picks and shovels for a long time before we were even able to break through. The people there use Machetes for everything. They cut grass, trees and even break up dirt clods with their machetes. It was such a cool learning experience to see them do things with hardly any tools at all. We have a separate tool for every different type of job we do. They can still get the job done without all of the extra stuff we think we need.

Some of the garden crew with the machetes.

Chad just mainly hung around the village this day. He tried to keep "propped up" as much as possible. These ladies giggled every time Chad walked past them.

The Garden Crew

Chad and I made some great friends there. This is Rich Pinto and Tiare from Hawaii. I had either a bandanna or a hat on everyday, the kids in the village had lice so I was very careful to always keep my head covered even if I looked like a Goof!

The News Article

Check out this article that was printed on the front page of the Deseret News on Sunday about our Guatemala trip. Go HERE to read all about it. Chad and I are each quoted.

I interupt my Guatemala story for a brief update...

Before Surgery
(can you believe he practically walked on it, with the help of trees for crutches, for 5 days!)

After surgery, Hooray for American Medicine!!!

I will continue our story about our trip to Guatemala, I just had to interrupt it for just a moment to record the happenings of today. So on our trip Chad really hurt his ankle. Well when we got home he found out that he needed surgery to repair it pretty quickly. So Monday he met with the orthopedic surgeon and then yesterday had surgery. He is resting now and seems to be tolerating the pain. But when he was coming out of surgery and was still under anesthesia mixed with all of the narcotics they were giving him, he was quite funny. If you know Chad you know that Chad is a talker but wow check out what he was saying...

1. Told the nurse that his wife needs a new car because the heater broke before last winter, then decides that a camp fire would probably work in the car and then he starts singing "There once was a man named Michael Finnegan..." and says how much fun it would be to sing around the campfire in the car.

2. He told the nurse that just because he was scratching his head did not mean that he had lice. But the Guatemala kids had lice, but if they itched their head too much it would bleed and than that would go on their medical record and Beneficial doesn't like to insure people with bleeding, lice heads on their medical records.

3. When the nurse came into the waiting room to get me she called me "Snookums" She said that that is what Chad asked her to call me and to not let me deny that that is what he usually calls me.

4. He also sang some sort of song about being a police man from his child hood and said that he never wanted to be a police man.

5. He said that he will not be playing any more soccer even though he knows that he could have gone Pro!

6. He said that he is the BEST that Beneficial has and that HE is definitely a "keeper"

7. He announced that he could not find his deodorant, so he had to use his wifes and that he smells like flowers.

8. He told them that his wife thinks he looks "hot" in a hat

9. He didn't want a pedicure right now because it would probably hurt. (he has never had a pedicure and thinks guys who get them are not manly guys)

10. He said that for our anniversary (which is today) that we should go to Carrabbas and then he changed his mind because he thinks that now with the screws and plate in his leg he would set off the metal detector there. So maybe we should just get take out and then he used his two fingers to show us "walking, walking with our takeout"

11. He announced that he couldn't believe that he was the first guy ever to get operated on with out using any medications (which he was high on) and would they please "Bring on the Meds!"

12. He was telling a story about when he went to prom his friends were drinking alcohol but he never did and now (after the surgery) he kind of felt like he had drunk alcohol but that he could "articulate himself very intelligently even WITH Narcotics" Not like his friends who were drunk.

Me and the nurses had a few good laughs, in fact she got a notepad for me to write all of this stuff down. Chad is doing good. He got 1 plate and 8 screws just above the inside of his ankle. He will down for about a week. We have some really great pictures that the nurse took with a digital camera so I am hoping to scan those and show you all. If nothing else this is forcing Chad to take some time and relax.

Guatemala Part Two

The village women walking down the path, most with out shoes on.

Beautiful Country! There really was layers of mountains behind each other, I have never seen anything like it!

That is not my camera being fuzzy, that is really what it looked like.

April 20: We wake up early and I mean early! The jungle is very noisy. First of all there are these huge bugs in the trees that are so loud, it's piercing. Then we have the chickens and the roosters who start their crowing and cackling at about 2:30am then there are some type of birds who call out and their friends call back, this happens back and forth until one of them gives up. I have never heard anything quite like the jungle noises. Any how so we rise and shine ready to start the day. We have a great little breakfast consisting of corn tortillas (which we ate at EVERY meal) mangos and pineapple, beans and fruit juice. Then its time to work! There were all types of jobs. Some people were helping to build a foundation for a new kitchen, others were carrying sandbags and concrete blocks down a very long, steep path for making concrete, there were cement slabs that needed to be poured for wash basins, a block wall that needed to be painted with a concrete sealer. My first job was to help paint the wall and Chad went with 4 other guys to lay the concrete slabs for the wash basins. The heat and humidity started pretty early that morning, but the village was buzzing, everyone energetic and anxious to help.

This is the wash basin that will go on the concrete slab that
Chad and the guys had just poured.

The group after the wash basins were put in.
Such GOOD people we worked with!

As a side note Chad was most looking forward to playing soccer against the Guatemalans. They are know for their soccer (futbal) skills. So as Chad is working he keeps talking "trash" to the villagers using body language and interpreters, saying things like he can "take them" on the soccer field, and that he is so great at soccer etc. (all in good fun for both Chad and the villagers of course)

So after lunch I get a new job of helping carry sandbags down the mountain (not an easy task by the way). We had to be very careful to always keep hydrated because of the heat and humidity we were told to drink a large water bottle every hour. Anyway these bags were heavy and the ground so uneven down these paths so we decided to teach the villagers how to form a line up the path and pass the sandbags down from person to person which made things much easier especially for me and the other ladies. The villagers kind of laughed at us because they are incredibly strong and we are not! Some of the men would put the big bag on their back and attach a rope around the bag and across their forehead, they were freaking amazing!
This bag probably weighed at least 150 pounds!

After a full day of work we had dinner which consisted of some of the best Speghetti any of us every had, I know who would have thought in the jungle but we did have our own cook with us who brought in all of the food. With the Speghetti we had corn tortillas and fruit. After dinner we were all sitting around visiting when we look up and here comes the villagers men and boys all decked out in whatever soccer gear they had, like the brightest soccer shirts you'd ever seen. They were ready to take this "gringo" on who talked so much trash about how GREAT he is at soccer and how he could "kick their TRASH" at soccer. This was just too much for Chad, he was ready and excited to play some "serious" soccer. He ran into our tent and got his basketball shorts on and his EFY t-shirt, you know his "serious" soccer clothes. And the game began. It was the expeditioners verse the villagers. Chad made the first goal...He was fired up! Then the villagers scored two goals and this was about all that Chad could handle, he was ready to dribble the ball the length of the field to score another goal, let me first tell you that this "field" is very uneven, full of holes and has small hills through out it. (Hey we are in the jungle it's the best they've got) So Chad sees the ball, it comes to him, he is fired up starts running full speed and then...A hole. His ankle turned out and down he went. He heard a pop. The game stops and then I hear the words "KERBY DOWN!" I thought to myself "dang it Chad, you are not 18!" I know supportive huh?! CHAD DOWN! The villagers came running!

The guys start carrying him off of the field and he is some pretty amazing pain. He hurts. He get's some ice and some medicine and is officially "out" of the game...FOREVER!!! No one is sure what he has done to it, we are at least 10 hours away from any major hospital. So he just kind of deals with it. We had a Physicians Assistant and a dentist with our group, so we did have some medications but not much else...unless he wanted a tooth pulled. Needless to say it was a long night!

No more soccer for you! This is the night it happened, it actually grew to three times this size and the bruising went clear up to his knee.