Jason, Cassie and the yay-hoo's

Okay so this whole blog thing takes dedication, and obviously I haven’t had much of that lately, but I will fill you in so don’t worry…..

Here are a few highlights of the past few weeks:

Our stay-cation turned out great! It was relaxing and nice not to have a day with a time schedule. Some days we went to lunch, or to the movies, we even went camping for a night.

HIGHTLIGHTS OF CAMPING: Jason experiencing “real time.” I’m sure we have all used the expression “time flies”….. well not when your camping or so Jason blurted out on multiple occasions. When your out in nature with no tv, internet, or phone to entertain you, you experience the 60 seconds of every minute, the 60 minutes of every hour, and yes the 24 hours of every day :>

Another memorable experience while camping was Jason getting us all freaked out about what was lurking in the dark outside the light of our fire. He kept bringing up The Blair Witch project and Texas Chainsaw Massacre so by the time we went to bed every bump in the night and snapping twig brought Jason out of his bed with guns loaded and I with the spotlight…..yes a memorable night. But I wont mention the unmentionables such as Jason’s grandpa bladder that night or our lousy air mattress with the slow leak, Grrrrr.

The best parts of camping: being alone with my sweetie having his undivided attention, the beautiful sites, smells and endless stars……and our disgusting stale smore’s.

Movies watched lately:

The Help-5 stars- very heart felt and a great lesson in history that I hope we never repeat.

The Change up- 4 stars- Hilarious, had some language and inappropriate scenes but I have to admit I was doing my “stupid” laugh through most of the movie.

Crazy stupid love-5 stars-Funny, witty, heart felt, great line up of actors/actress.

Captain America-3 stars- Not really my cup of tea did however have great cinematography (?) and moral to the story.

I’ve started to volunteer at the humane society, its great. It pulls at my heart strings and if we didn’t already have a house full of dogs we would now. If your thinking of getting a dog you should take a tour of your local shelter there are some great animals just waiting to be loved. Even though it’s really hard to leave those little guys behind in their cages I sure enjoy my time there. I walk them, play with them and lay around in the grass giving out belly rubs and I have to admit I feel a little selfish doing it because it makes me feel so loved by taking time to give love to all those little guys. 

One of the coolest things I have ever done was the Mud Run for MS. Jason and I decide to participate in raising money and in turn got to do a 10k run with a military style obstacle course where we tackled 30 different challenges all with mud, it was such a great time for a great cause. It was both mentally and emotionally challenging and I so look forward to doing it again…AWSOME!! Bring on the MUD!!!

So we haven’t been to a concert in years but the other night we had the privilege of seeing Adele,and I mean privilege….. can I say AMAZING! I could have listened to her all night, she is beautiful and has an amazing lyrical talent, her words reach so many people and her voice is like an angle. So grateful I was able to go, I truly enjoyed myself, my sweetie by my side, and friends around us.

All the boys are great, still loving their bones, walks playing with one another and snuggling with us, we love them.!

Until next time….hope life finds you with a smile on your face and the sun on your back…Jason, Cassie and the Yahoos!!!

!!!CAUTION EXTREME SENTIMENT TO COME DO NOT READ AHEAD IF TOUCHY FEELINGS ARE NOT YOUR FORTE, SENSITIVE SUBJECT TOPIC AHEAD, WARNING!!!

So my dad called me last week and asked if I wanted to ride up in the mountains and see where he and his siblings had spread my uncles ashes.

You see my uncle died in 2007 it was very traumatic for me he was one of my best friends. He reached out to me years ago when I was in high school and our relationship blossomed from there. You see he never had any children of his own, he was gay. He was one of the most amazing individuals I ever knew. Well educated, kind, funny, talented and most of all loving. Everywhere he went he had a flock of friends and people that loved him. He lived in California and over the years I would go to see him and he would come here and see me, we talked on the phone and emailed regularly. We could talk for hours and often times he would just listen to me cry as I was going through some “life crisis”, and sometimes I would listen to him cry about “life”.

One time we were having lunch together and we were talking about his life and all the hardships of dealing with his sexuality and growing up in a Mormon family in a Mormon community. He was born in the 30’s and it wasn’t acceptable to be “him”. He began to cry and he said “I didn’t choose to be gay, who would choose to be ostracized and have friends and family turn you away, no one. It’s just who I am.” And guess what, I loved him all the more for who he was, true to himself.

He was a high school teacher, he taught music and Spanish. He would often times be the “date” for some girl so she wouldn’t miss her prom because she didn’t have anyone to go with. And when he retired all the student protested and passed around a petition where hundreds of names was gathered to stop him from retiring, it was very endearing and all because of the man he was.

So fast forward to 2007 when his dear life came to an end, and many believe by choice. It left my life feeling pretty empty, the world did not feel the same to me, like the vibration had changed. There was some family squabbling going on due to his will and I was left out of the spreading of his ashes, something that will never be able to be undone. So this weekend my dad was going to take me to the place where my uncles earthly body was spread upon the wind. We drove up to Tibble Lake in AF canyon and climbed on the four wheelers where we were to drive about an hour up past silver lake flats. It was beautiful as we made our way through the mountains, the green grasses and trees, the smell of fresh air and the wild animals we kept spying through the trees. Butterflies keep darting back and forth as if they knew why we were there. As we go to ascend the last part of the trip we are stopped by a large gate. Our journey was over, yet again I was not able to see where his final resting spot was.

I climbed off the four wheeler and my dad and uncle followed me as I began to walk around the lake and take pictures of the beauty around me. We spent time talking about my uncle who had past and laugh and laughed about all the good times. I knew he was all around us. He had become apart of the air the day he was thrown to the wind, he became apart of the trees and flowers as he was absorbed into the soil, and most importantly he was still apart of me forever. At the end of the voyage I climbed back on the bike with a smile on my face and warmth in my heart and a renewed determination to try yet again to see the spot where my dear uncle Don was spread upon the wind. But if that day never comes I know where he will always be and that is with me.

Thanks for listening-Cassie

So I have always had the desire to do a blog but have hesitated wondering if I had anything of interest to say, anything that others would care to read about. The conclusion to that question for me was probably not, so I never did. But I have come to a point in my life that I don’t care now if what I have to say interests anybody (no offense) but I just want and need  somewhere to put my thoughts, so here goes.

It’s amazing when I look back through my life at all the mistakes made…. and all the successes. I have been molded and remolded dozens of times throughout my life and still continue to be. This past year I had really started to feel lost in life and I wasn’t sure why until I really took a look at who I was being and it wasn’t me. We have all been there before I am sure, stretching ourselves thin in a million different directions trying to be all to all. I realized that I had stopped doing things that I enjoyed, like hiking for example so I vowed to myself to take more me time, not forget the things that keep me grounded and excited about life. I vowed to be a better friend, sister, daughter, mom, wife, me! And by being more a part of others lives while keeping myself satisfied also, I have found more peace and enjoyment out of being here. Some of the things I have been keeping myself busy doing are learning spanish, swimming, hiking, reading, exercising, spending time with friends and family and of course being a mom to my boys and hanging with my sweetie. 

Speaking of the boys you all know them as Shadow, Jake and Gandhi. but really in our household we call them mob boss (shadow), baby face (Jake) and Guido (Gandhi). They got that name one day when we were on a walk. Shadow and Jake, I mean Mob boss and baby face, take walking very seriously. They act as if they own the neighborhood and it is their personal responsibility to keep it safe and free of thugs so they really dig in and mush mush themselves throughout the neighborhood while Gandhi, I mean Guido, acts kind of like this big goofy uncoordinated individual that they let come along in case they (Jake and Shadow) have to intimidate anyone. But of course none of them are really very intimidating unless of course your afraid of a good licking.

Truly though we have so much fun with these guys, they are like our kids. We have good days we have bad ones. Some days we spend the day cleaning up puke and diarrhea like any other parent would spend doing. Other days we play at the park (dog), wrestle together or just hang out. One thing is for sure they make amazing friends always willing to love you and if they are naughty you can lock them in a cage and they will still love you when you set them free. Now how many friends you know that would do that?

The boys all have different personalities, Jake is extremely hyper like the energizer bunny he is very smart and a lover. Shadow is very loyal, loves to be snuggled believes he is the “boss” of Jake and Gandhi but mostly is happy just to lay around and chill. Gandhi on the other hand thinks everything is his business he gets into everything and I mean everything (he’s huge) he has a playful side and is very vocal, he likes to talk a lot especially if he isn’t getting the attention he wants. Sometimes he doesn’t realize how big he is, I believe he see’s himself as “puppy” and expects you to hold him as if he were. He either will crawl up on your lap or just drop his 100 lb + self right down on top of you. Like I said they are lots of fun!!

On a more serious note not being able to have kids use to bother me tremendously, but since getting these yahoos and the love  that comes with it has really helped to fill that void I have felt for so long. I am truly grateful that Jason finally talked me into getting a dog so long ago that in turn has led to our furry little family. You should try it, the love of a dog, you just might like it!

As Jason previously mention we are going camping and I just can’t wait. This is a “first” experience for J and I. I am excited to have him to myself for a couple of days, no one to share him with, no TV or phone to get in our way. I hope he enjoys it as much as I know I will, keep your fingers crossed for me. I know he prefers a four star hotel so it means a lot to me that he is finally willing to go. We will keep you posted of the outcome, wish us luck!

Well enough random rambling for now, till next time… -Cassie

We have had a pretty quiet summer so far.  Cass has turned into a little fish, swimming often at our clubhouse and my mom’s pool.  She swims a lot better this year, giving her more freedom to enjoy it more.  We are getting ready to go camping over my birthday, and while I am not the first to admit it, I am kind of excited to go.  There is something about “getting away from it all” and just being, that sounds really nice.  Cass makes it sound beautiful.

 Our great dane is 9 months now and I haven’t actually weighed him in a while, but he’s starting to fill out and thicken up.  Getting pretty darn big.  I would guess around 110 maybe.  Jake and Shadow are up to their usual, hanging out and loving life.

We are starting to put money aside to finish our basement at some point in the near future.  The plans we have thought about is making  2 of the bedrooms into one giant master bedroom and leaving the rest as a entertainment area.  I am excited to see how it turns out.

Exciting news is around the corner for Cass, she was informed that she gets to change office locations which will be a lot closer to home, cutting in half that horrible morning commute.  YAY!  

August and September are my favorite months cause they roll into crisp fall mornings that are just heavenly.  Hopefully old man winter leaves the upcoming winter in the mountains where it belongs.  This bi-polar weather pattern made me appreatite the heat that much more this year.  Weird weather this year for sure.

-The Webb’s