Kassie in "Almost Maine"

Kassie always thought it would be fun to try out for the school play or musical, but never had the nerve to try out for either one.  Finally, as a senior in high school she mustered up the nerve to try out for the school play.  She never once thought she would actually make the cut!  Much to her surprise she was cast in the role of Ginette!  These pictures were all taken after the play was over.  I had forgotten my camera and had to use my iPod, so the pictures aren't the greatest, but certainly better than nothing.

 Almost Maine is composed of eight vignettes, each taking place at the same time...  9 pm on a Friday night in the middle of winter.  So, each character is only seen once, except for Kassie and her love interest in the play, because they were in the prologue and epilogue.  All other characters appeared only once.  It was a different sort of play.

 Here is Kassie with her love interest in the play.

The cast of Almost Maine.

Kassie enjoyed herself so much she decided to try out for the school musical too!  She was thrilled to be cast in the role of Miss Lynch in the musical Grease!  Can't wait to see it!

First five before seven

There was a sudden silence in the house after the first five of my seven children got on the bus this morning shortly before 7 am. I'll be thinking of them throughout the day, hoping all is well. Avery and Bryson both woke up in tears claiming to have not slept all night! I told them that was normal first-day-of-school jitters. After breakfast and showers, they seemed fine.
Avery

Bryson

Ashton and I found this skirt for Kassie yesterday at Kohl's while school shopping. (On clearance for $8.00) She loved it, and had to wear it on the first day!

Brady refused to take a lunch today, saying he didn't know anyone in his lunch period. Last year he didn't eat lunch for two weeks before becoming comfortable with the new school year. I couldn't even convince him to take a protein bar.

Here's Ashton sporting one of her "new" outfits from a yard sale! I actually found seven shirts to match this one pair of shorts, and she loved all of them! Her "new" Billa Bong back pack was a bargain too for only .50 cents! The Converse sneakers were something she just had to have when she saw them at Kohl's. They were on sale for $30. Not a bargain in my book, and she didn't need them, so she had to help pay for them.

Here they are, my first five before seven.

Waiting for the bus.

Couldn't help but take this embarrassing picture!! Aren't pictures of your children getting on the bus only for the elementary grades? LOL! I'm sure I'll hear about this when they get home this afternoon. It didn't help that this was also garbage day, so that's in the picture too!

Time to get Kenzie up and ready for her bus coming around 8:15 am. Look for pictures of her later!

Wisdom teeth

On Friday, December 11, 2009 Kassie and Brady both had their wisdom teeth removed. Brady's were further impacted than Kassie's, so he had a more difficult time recovering. Kassie missed school the following Monday. Brady missed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. His swelling would just not go down. Then a month later Brady developed a post-op infection and had to go back two more times to have that taken care of. We chose a surgeon in Camp Hill, PA because they took our health insurance. We weren't to thrilled with having to make more trips to Camp Hill, but that's the way it goes!
Some how Brady's excuse for his three days missed never made it to the school so he has been labeled truant. I've called the doctor's office to have them fax another excuse, but still haven't heard if it's been taken care of. Just another hassle to deal with!

Kassie's compliment

Last week one day Kassie was called down to the office. She had no idea why she was being summoned. When she arrived she was told that she had mail from the Superintendent of the Littlestown School District. This is was the note said, "Kassandra, I enjoyed your drawing titled, "Chaos." The written explanation was also good." Apparently the Superintendent saw Kassie's art work on display and liked it enough to tell her so in a written note. Her art work is a depiction of her siblings, thus the title "Chaos"! LOL! When she brings it home I'll have to post a picture of it.

Sweet Sixteen!

Hey, look! I finally got pictures to load onto my blog!! I have been trying to post about Kassie's birthday for nearly a month. Kassie turned sweet sixteen on February 12th. She and Dale share the same birthday.There was no school the day after Kassie's birthday. The perfect day for celebrating with friends! I took Kassie and three of her friends to Brother's Pizza in McSherrystown. Yum! Great pizza!
Afterward they wanted to see Coraline in 3D. We had some time to kill before the movie started, so first we shopped for bargains at Kohl's. I had no desire to see the movie, so I dropped them off and did some more shopping. That's more my thing -- shopping for bargains!

The girls enjoyed their day out!

Kassie has no desire to drive, which I consider a blessing! I'm thinking Brady will be driving long before Kassie does!

Happy sweet sixteen Kassie-girl!

Reliving a part of my past

Kassie and I both participated in a Young Women's talent show at church this past Wednesday night. Since I don't have any normal talents like singing, dancing, playing an instrument or being artistic, I had to resort to storytelling! Years ago during college and while teaching, (even before attending college), I attended all the storytelling workshops that I could. I loved it! In teaching, story time was always my favorite time of the day whether I was reading children's literature, or telling one, I enjoyed this the most! Kassie tells about her painting of Kaden. Kassie then took the following photographs of me while performing my "talent" of storytelling.

Looking at these pictures, I realized I must have made a fool of myself! Oh well, it's best that the young women know me for who I really am, right? LOL!!!

Kassie's Fourth Year Hike

I have been unable to get pictures on my blog for days! I been trying since Kassie left on Monday to blog about her hike. Finally, I got it to work! Kassie left Monday morning for a four day hike on the Appalachian Trail. Her pack weighed right around 25 pounds. She hiked during the day and slept in a tent at night. There were no bathrooms, no showers. With the help of a sharp rock, she dug holes just off the trail in order to relieve herself. On day two or three she bathed and washed her hair in a creek. She cooked her meals using a Sterno stove. Is this my daughter? The same child that pouted and cried during simple short family hikes? How did she do it? She told me she was praying the entire time, "Just help me get around the next bend!" "Please get me up this hill!" With the Lord's help, she did it! We're proud of you Kassie!

The latest on Kassie

This past Thursday evening Kassie attended an awards ceremony in which she received an academic letter for honors. Way to go Kassie girl!!This past week she also received a coupon for a free hair cut. The coupon was given to her history teacher, but since he is bald he offered the coupon to Kassie! It was a $25.00 haircut and all I had to do was pay the tip!
Before
After
It's been more than ten years since Kassie has had bangs. Lookin' good Kass!!
BTW: Yes, she did donate her hair to Locks of Love!

Our NJAHS Inductee

Kassie was one of seven freshmen at the Littlestown High School to be inducted into the National Junior Art Honor Society this past Tuesday night.Here she is being just like her Daddy with her eyes closed for the picture!

Kassie excels in art, making her Nan Nan proud! Nan was her first art teacher, showing her techniques before Kassie was even in school.

Kassie was also recognized for her work on the set design for this year's Littlestown High School production of Beauty and the Beast. Congratulation, Kassie! Keep up the good work! (BTW, Shelley I heard Korbyn was THE BEST in his roll as Lefou! Kassie had to wait forever until the mob was done talking to Korbyn before she could congratulate him on a job well done. Can't wait to read your blog about it! Hint, hint!)

Happy Birthday, Kassandra!

Here she is, making her debut into the world! Kassie was born 15 years ago yesterday.

Hey, Dottie, remember this pic?!

This is Kassie first thing on the morning of her first birthday. I have traditionally taken this same picture with each of my seven children.

Kassie's best gift this year was having a snow day and being able to sleep in on her birthday!

Kassie at 15: She is in her first year of high school (9th grade), has all academic classes and achieves good grades.

Kassie LOVES to read and is rarely without a book in her hand! She also enjoys writing her own stories and working on the computer. Kassie is very artistic, something she gets from her Nan Nan! She is in the National Art Honor Society at school and is currently painting the set for the High School production of Beauty and the Beast.

Kassie rises early each morning (5 am) to attend our church Seminary class before heading off to school each day. Kassie serves as first counselor in the Mia Maid Young Women's class at church.

We love you Kassandra Grace!

Renee Mae Pottery

Kassie invited her friend Leslie to go with our Young Women's group from church to Renee Mae Pottery in Hanover. This has been an annual activity for several years.

Leslie and Kassie paint their ornaments.

Kassie's ornament before being glazed and fired.

The downfalls of big feet

Kassie loves wearing flip flops, she has several pair. To wear a pair of shoes takes forethought, and a good reason to have to wear them. She wore flip flops this morning to Seminary. She forgot about needing sneakers for gym class later that day and got on the bus still wearing her flip flops. Forgetting your sneakers won't get you out of gym class, although she wishes it would! (Kassie HATES gym class!) No, instead Kassie had to borrow a pair of shoes that the gym teacher had on hand for such occasions. Unfortunately for Kassie, they were not her size, but that didn't matter, she had to wear them anyway.

Kassie had to cram her size 11 foot into a size 8 1/2 shoe! OUCH!

Just one time around the track and she was hurtin'! I think next time she'll ditch the flip flops and remember to wear sneakers to school instead!

Look out Houston, here she comes!

Kassie's best friend, Corri Easter, moved to Texas last summer. Ever since, the two of them have been scheming about Kassie flying out for a visit. Well, all their scheming paid off! Kassie arrived in Houston tonight shortly after 9 pm. Mr. Easter works for South West Airlines. Using stand by tickets that they got for free, Mrs. Easter flew to BWI and picked up Kassie and two other girls. Each of the Easter's three daughters had a friend fly out to Texas. What a great opportunity for Kassie! Her first time flying went well, she loved it!

Bryson says good bye.

The father of one of the other girls drove Kassie to the airport. I had her to their house today at a quarter past noon. We were all anxious and nervous as Kassie left. Dale gave her a father's blessing before he left for work this morning. We will continue to pray for her safe and enjoyable journey! We missed her the moment she left!

Free movie

Today while Avery and Bryson were at Cub Scout Camp, Kassie, Ashton, Kenzie, Kaden and I went to the Gateway Theater to see this week's free movie. (Brady decided he wanted to stay home.) Although we already own a copy of this movie, and the children have seen it several times, it was my first time seeing it. Watching Mouse Hunt caused me to laugh out loud more than once!

Surprisingly, Kaden did very well in the theater. He watched a good bit of the show. Have you seen this movie? After the vacuum cleaner filled with sewage and then burst, Kaden let out a squeal and clapped his hands!

Morning nap

Wednesdays are my day to volunteer with the summer reading program at the school. Avery and Bryson are both in the summer reading program. Brady, Ashton and Kenzie are at Summer Rec while the reading program is going on. When Avery and Bryson are done with their reading, they join up with the children at Summer Rec. On Wednesdays Kassie stays home and watches Kaden. Today when I got home from volunteering, I walked in through the family room door and saw what Kassie and Kaden were doing while I was gone!