Cassey & Jenny's Family Post

Summer Time

2011-08-07T19:20:00.001-07:00

Our summer has been a long one this year. So much time spending with the family in Idaho.
Lets see, what all have we done.... Kimberly has learned to ride her bike. She is pretty fast. I have had to tell her to slow down because she has a problem stopping and tends to slam into things. I would love to see how she does on the ice... hehehe=).

The kids and I are missing Cassey. They miss their daddy. Kim has had a hard time with him gone. Because of it, I have emotional moments. Collin has missed daddy here and there. But he isn't old enough to understand. But luckily, we get to talk on the web cam with daddy for as much as we can. Kim and Collin have daddy dolls with recorded voices so they can hear daddy's voice whenever they want. We were the first to receive the recorded dolls. We felt lucky and the kids just love them. We sing to the kids, "Bushel and a Peck" and they love it. We have been singing that song to them since Kim was a baby. It's a comforting song for them. So that is what daddy recorded on their dolls.

Today I canned some jam. Its peach jam. I had some peaches that needed to get used before they went bad. It was actually my first time canning them alone. I was afraid it wouldn't work out, because normally it helps to have a friend or someone else there to help. But It wasn't that bad. I will take a photo of it some time and post it on here. I want to get better at posting things that I cook in my kitchen. Because I love to cook and show what I have done. Mostly because I learn how to cook, sew and clean on my own. I don't have anyone to show me because I don't live near my family and I don't know a whole lot of people here in Utah to show me. This summer has been really long. But fun. We went camping with the Killian family. We did some four wheeling. That is pretty much all we do up there and just hang out with the family. This year didn't seem all that exciting as last year because Grandma Killian wasn't there. We had some family that wasn't able to make it because of family struggles and other personal things but overall it was fun to be there. The kids love to four wheel and go hiking and fish. Especially with their grandparents and aunts and uncles. Which helps them while daddy is gone. Well I will post more later when I get the chance. I will take photos of the peach jam I made. I was so glad it turned out because I was afraid that the lids wouldn't press and stay closed. But they did. I was so proud of my accomplishment. Thanks for reading. Please stop by again.

Utah Change

2011-01-30T06:32:00.000-08:00

Well we made it to Utah. The kids are trying to adjust. We are all homesick from leaving San Diego. Kim said the other day she wanted to go back to school there. She has told me lately she doesn't like the school here in Utah. I can't do much about it though. Collin definitely misses the warm weather. When we first got to Utah, he kept complaining about the cold and the snow. He is just used to warm weather because he was raised in it for most of his life so far. But all in all, the kids and I are glad to be closer to family.
The kids have enjoyed their grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.
Cassey is in Korea for a year. It started out a little hard for us to have him go. Kim has her moments that she wants to go to Korea with daddy. But it isn't safe right now.
I have been busy with school. And Kim goes to school, while Collin and I stay home and spend time together. It will be hard adjusting to this different life without Cassey here, but we knew it was for the best.
It's only a year. We are counting the months till we see each other again.
Well, this is my update on our family. It's been a while since I have been on here.
Happy January to all.

Wisdom Teeth

2010-08-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

I had my wisdom teeth pulled out on Thursday. It was weird because they didn't tell me to count backwards or anything. And my doctor didn't look like he was happy. So I was uncomfortable seeing him before he put me asleep. When I woke up, I didn't realize I had fallen asleep. Which is usually what happens when they don't tell you they are putting you to sleep. I usually get warned about this stuff. Today is Saturday and I am still soar. As long as I have my meds, I am okay.
Tara has been a big help through it all with the kids. She has been helping out plenty. I would do something in return for her right now, but I am a little soar in the face. And talking is not something I want to do all day.
All of our kids have the flu. Which is bazaar. Tara and I haven't had it yet. I took Tara and Fred to the hospital because the fever that Fred had didn't go down. But I told her it was just a change in climate. And the flu is in fact going around right now. Collin and Kim have both had it. Collin has got another fever again today.
Tara and I are trying to find ways to relax around the kids. There are just so many of them.
Its been a crazy couple of weeks with all these kids around the house, but all in all, its been good. Can't wait for the kids to start school. It will be nice. I will probably update more information when I feel a little better. My face hurts at the moment. Take care to you all.

Summer

2010-08-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

Well we had a long few weeks while in Idaho. Had a reunion with Cassey's family. That was fun.
Then my mom, sister and my kids and I all drove to Kentucky to see my brother graduate from boot camp. It was hot and humid in Kentucky. The drive back wasn't fun but it was still good to see Chris graduate and come back home with us.

San Diego has not been so warm this summer. The news has reported that it hasn't been so gloomy and cloudy since 1916. We have sun pop out every few days but it really doesn't feel like summer. It almost feel's like its turning fall quicker than expected. But that is okay. The weather here in San Diego is always nice.
Kids are playing a lot outside and inside. I take them on walks as usual and take them to parks to play.
I really missed San Diego those few weeks I was gone seeing family. I will be sad to leave this place in December. I have grown attached to this place and it will be hard to let go.
Kimberly starts school in September. I have been looking into some classes for Collin, but he doesn't really need preschool. So I have been thinking of putting him through a tumblers class or something. I am still looking into it so its all up in the air.
I have been working on mom's blanket. It is taking forever to finish. I had to go buy some more supplies for the blanket so that I can finish it. It is almost done. I spent days and nights working on it in my room. I have been avoiding my husband, so he comes up to our room so that way can be together while I am working on the blanket. He is fine with it because he reads his nook all night. He really likes his nook (should have waited till the end of this year to give it to him).
I am also working on other projects to keep me busy.
I try to take some time off the projects so I can clean house and spend time with my kids. I mostly work on my projects when the kids are taking naps, and then I do the rest at night while they play with their daddy.
I have been spring cleaning my home, but it is going slow as usual. Doesn't ever feel like I got rid of anything because I still have so much. Problem is I live in a small home. If I had a bigger house I definitely wouldn't have a lot.
Well this is the scoop on us for now. Happy Summer.

Easter Sunday

2010-04-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well... It had been quite a weekend for us. Collin and Kimberly had not been good the whole weekend. Kim was home for spring break. Collin is going through a tantrum phase. He doesn't want to listen to anything we say. So that was fun for the weekend. We also decided to celebrate Collin's birthday on Easter since we were getting them gifts for Easter and doing Easter activities. So we decided to put all the excitement together. He wanted a spiderman cake. So I decorated a spiderman cake. It took a while. I was trying to figure out how to draw the spiderman face on there. I wasn't sure where to start. But I did the best I could.
We went Easter egg hunting on the Marine Corp Recruit base. It was better than the Community Egg hunt we went on Saturday. That is a long story so I won't go into detail. But in short, the kids were unhappy with the Community event. But they had fun on the base event.
We also took Collin to Island Burgers. A restaurant with palm trees and parrots in the restaurant. Especially surf boards. If you live in San Diego, you will see many different things here. Which is awesome. We had fun at the restaurant.
Over all this excitement of the weekend, we also experience an earthquake. I was cooking in the kitchen and preparing Collins cake when Cassey looked over at me to ask, "Jenny! Do you feel that?" So I held still for a moment and saw the blinds moving and then I started feeling swaying. So I yelled, "Earthquake". It was pretty quick that it happened, but I immediately shut the stove off and ran out of the kitchen and grabbed Kim (who was freaking out by the way). But it didn't last long so we were safe after that.
General Conference was on this weekend as well. It was really good. I didn't see all of conference, so I am going to have to go back and see the rest of it.
News about Cassey and Re- enlisting....
We have been trying to find jobs available for Cassey's career interest. We have tried the last couple months to find opening's but they have been given to other people. Cassey asked his Chief to put in a good word for Cassey since his Chief knows someone that is giving these openings to people. His chief would like Cassey to re-enlist and stay on the ship. But Cassey doesn't want to work another few years on the ship. He would like a shore command. Which isn't turning out well. They had about three openings for California but were taken. So Cassey hopes to have some good choices this Wednesday when he looks for more openings. If he doesn't get any of these job openings for shore command by late April, we wont re- enlist and we will just find a civilian job. I don't know of all the areas Cassey will look for. But California, Idaho and Utah are among the areas he has in mind to look for civilian jobs. So if we go back home to Idaho, it will be temporary if he can't find a job there. This is all if he doesn't re- enlist for the next few years. So far its not looking good, but we will see how it looks next month. I will post more about that later.
We are all doing well here. Collin will officially be 3 years old this Wednesday. So I am excited because he can go to preschool for a bit. He wants to go to school But I also need to have him fully potty trained.
Take care and this is our Carlson scoop for now.

Valentines

2010-02-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines to all. We hope you all have a great Valentines.
Well... Collin is in the middle of potty training. He is a pill trying to stay on the toilet. But he is doing pretty good for the most part.
Kimberly is doing great in school. She may not need the extra help when she goes to kindergarten. Which will be nice.
Cassey is working hard right now. Busy as ever. They are packing the ship and having to move all their stuff to the barge. They are stripping out the entire ship. I was there the other night eating dinner with him and they had it stripped from one place to the next. It was kind of unattractive. =)
Anyhoo. We are doing good here. The weather has been off and on. A little rain here and a little sun there. This weekend is Presidents Day weekend. Kim has a four day weekend. Cassey may have to work over Presidents Day Weekend because they are trying to clear the ship out so they can move it into the yards.
Well that is all I have for now. I will post more if I have anything else to say.

2010-01-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

Kevin did this photo of us at Bonneville Fish Hatchery. It was a ton of fun learning about the fish. My hardest part was trying to take pictures of all the seals we spotted over there because the employers kept shooting off their guns and fireworks to scare them off. But this was my favorite photo done of us through out the Oregon trip.
Kim is inside a big tree I spotted as we were walking back to our vehicles from one of the waterfalls we hiked up to see closer. She really looked cute inside the tree. She could make a cute tree fairy.
I also like to take photos of wildlife. This duck was sitting in front of me near a pond at the fish hatchery and it looked like a great picture to take. "Peek-a-boo"!.
And little Mr. Collins just sitting on the bench all by himself. It was cute.

2010-01-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

okay, for some reason my last post didn't update my other photos i tried putting on here. let me try it again...okay i think they worked. He is a photo of Chuy. And then I saw this great area over at liberty Station where we live that has an anchor in the middle of a field. For Christmas, the landscapers designed it with poinsettias. I just thought that would be a great time to take a family photo over there. It was so beautiful I couldn't pass it up. And if I didn't take a photo of the anchor with the poinsettias in it, I would regret it. So we took family photos. It was nice. And of course a photo of Cassey in his uniform. I thought it would be nice for his parents to stand by him and let me take a photo. I also have one of him standing alone in his suit. Which I don't have posted. I might post it later. So enjoy the photos.

NEW YEAR AND AHEAD

2010-01-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

Well all last year has been pretty busy. I finished up my classes for a while. I will be taking a break and then starting back up again when I can. Cassey has been really busy on the ship. They have had computer problems and Cassey has had to go to the ship and figure out the problems. He is hoping some time in February he will attend Navy school for a while. I don't know how long that will last, but he is excited to stay off the ship for a while. The only days he will have to go back to the ship are on his duty days. He seems excited to be off the ship.
We had a great Christmas with Cassey's family coming for the holidays. We had lots of presents for the kids. Our Christmas tree was stocked with gifts for everyone. I haven't seen our tree filled since I was little and we had five children and two adults in the home. We were excited to see family. We don't see them a lot. We probably won't see them again until summer time. But we will see what's ahead.
Kimberly is enjoying preschool. She goes to two schools right now. She is under a program with Hawthorne Elementary in the mornings, and then she attends school at Bay Point Elementary which is in front of our house. If I haven't mentioned this before, I love the area we are in because everything I need is walking distance. So it is nice to be able to save gas with the economy so bad here in San Diego.
Collin is getting smarter everyday. Cassey and I have been keeping track of how much words he can say in a sentence. He can say up to seven words in a sentence. He is only 2 years old. But he sure loves to chit chat. If any one asks how he slept through the night, he would go off with words and just talk to you about his dreams. He is really cute. Kimberly likes her little kitchen she got for Christmas. And she also loves her tea set. She plays pretend with us all the time. It is really cute.
We receive a really precious gift for Christmas from Yvonne. A puppy. We named him Chubacka. I don't know if I spelled the name right. But we call him Chuy for short. He is in definite potty training right now. So it isn't much fun. But another problem we face is that we aren't allowed pets in the home. So after a lot of deciding and trying to figure out what to do with the puppy, we have decided that we will be moving. Cassey really doesn't want to get rid of the puppy. And I don't want to break his heart in telling him we have to get rid of the puppy. Because he is really happy. And I would rather see him happy than sad. So right now we are in the process of getting our home pre-inspected before we move out. So wish us luck and hopefully we can find us a home.
Well that is the scoop on us for now. I will post more when I come up with more to talk about. I will post photos up here so everyone can see how we have grown in our family. Loves to all and Happy New Year!

Orange Poppy Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-10-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

Orange Poppy Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-10-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-08-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

portraits of the kids of 2009'.

2009-08-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Karma that Chris took with my Nikon. We were playing at the park in Old town Boise.

Carlson's Summer update

2009-08-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

Well since Cassey has been home from his 5 1/2 month deployment, We have been busy trying to unpack our house, take Kimberly to her appointments to get ready for school, getting my school work done each week. For those I didn't tell, I am attending College again. I am only taking one course at a time and it is all online. But it had made me busy. On top of all that, trying to get the house cleaned up and presentable has been complicating. The work is never done.
We have a good time here in San Diego. To be honest, I will miss this place once we move to another destination. We live by the Harbor, which is beautiful. It has been hot here this past week. I haven't been able to feel the breeze from the ocean because of the heat. The kids enjoy going outside to play. We have a new friend that we hang out with. Her name is Marlene. Her daughter's name is Sophie. The kids have gotten to know this family and it has been fun hanging out with them.
Kimberly starts school in September. She is excited about going back to school. She loves going to school and participating in activities. It is really good for her right now. It shows her patience. I have been taking a Cake decorating class as well. That has pretty much kept me busy. I don't know if I will continue doing the second course. We have been busy with other things. Cassey will be starting up school for his Networking skills on the ship, starting in October. It will run for 6 weeks. He is excited about it. I am putting some pictures on here of my kids over the summer in Idaho. We stayed in Idaho while Cassey was deployed and we had fun. There is a picture of Kimberly and my mom, Misty, with bunny ears.They look funny.It was taken at the Boise zoo. Sorry about the late updates. Now that I am a little organized with our lives, I may get on here a little more than usual. Hope all is well. Have a great summer before it ends. And Happy Fall when it gets here. I love fall. I cant wait for it to get here.

Family Update :

2009-04-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. i have been slacking on this site. i dont have my own computer or anything so i have to share with everyone else in the house. it would be so much easier if i had my own computer though. but this will have to due.
Cassey is doing fine out to sea. he left Thailand and is now dangling out to sea for a while. I wont report where he will be next until he reaches shores. For those of you wondering, no he has nothing to do with the pirates we have been having problems with lately. They are on the other side of where cassey is currently located. But i cant make promises he wont ever have something to do with them. We never know what happens on those waters.
Cassey and I spent time together for a couple days in Guam. We stayed with Tara while we were there. Japan got canceled so we took the chance to spend time in Guam since Tara lives there. Thought it might be a good opportunity to spend time with Tara and see what Guam is like. We had fun.
Kimberly said her bedtime prayer last night. She used her words well last night. We could understand her speech. We are proud of her success in trying to speak and use her words.
Collin is also doing well. he just turned 2 yrs old. He is becoming a bigger tease to his sister and others around him. He celebrated his birthday at Red Robin. He had fun and loved his toys he got.
We celebrated Easter in Boise with Grandma Babbitt and all the cousins. It was fun. We spent Easter time hiding eggs at the park and split the older kids up with the smaller kids so they could have a chance at finding the eggs.
As some of you may know, Last night we lost Melon. He passed away due to getting run over by someone in a truck in the area. He wasnt bleeding but we think he got knocked out pretty badly because he wasnt responding and he wasnt breathing. But his heart was beating and then fainting slowly. He was a good dog. He liked to bark if left alone, but he was a loveable dog. He will be missed. The kids ask where he is, But all i can say to them right now is, "He's sleeping". It was hard but i will always remember how excited he would get when we play with him or when he played with Bella. (Bella was melons best friend and yvonnes dog.)
Right now i am looking for homes in San Diego. I plan to go back in June. We will see what we find. If i can find something sooner, i may go back as soon as i can. I need to get kimberly registered back into the schools there. Much to do and less time to do it. As usual for us.
Well thats the scoop. I will do my best to update more.
.

Kirk Babbitt

2009-03-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

Well this past week has been long. Kirk Babbitt (My Uncle) passed away in a tragic plane crash. In his Zodiac plane that he built with his Uncle Dennis. Investigation is still underway. Its been an emotional week. And quite frankly, Im all tired out. Im exhausted to the core.
Dealing with all this was hard while Cassey has been out to sea. It wasnt easy supporting others when i didnt have support for myself. So it was a little hard. But I did it with no complaints. It was nice to see family there.
Cassey has been underway since January. Its only the beginning of March. We have a long way to go. He has already hit China and Japan. He says every day is the same day like "groundhogs day".
I will update more when i get the chance. I havent been in the mood to do much lately.
Anyhoo. I will get back here and post more stuff when i get the chance and when people stop taking the computer away from me.

Carlson Moving...

2008-12-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Well more like a week and a half left till the kids and i leave for Boise.
Please pray for our safety on the road. Its gonna be a crazy drive through the desert and the snow.
I leave the 15th of December and will be in Boise for the next two weeks. I think. Unless things change. I havent really decided how long Im staying.
Sorry I have no pics to show. I wish I did. Thats another good thing about moving to Idaho is I will have a little play money. Not too much but some.
So I will be getting me a nice fancy camera.
Kim has done pretty well in school. She is improving "speech wise". She has mellowed down a little. I think its due to growing. She has grown a couple more inches since last year. She is getting taller. She hasnt gained weight. So we are lookin out for that because since the last time we took her in ( a month ago) she has grown about an inch again. If it keeps happening we need to get her in to get a look at her growth. It could be an issue. But i have told them it is genetic. (which would be cassey's fault).
Anyhoo juice, i cant wait to go back to Idaho and See family and friends.

Halloween Time!

2008-11-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

Halloween and More

2008-11-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

This Halloween was a quick one. The kids spent time at our community military carnival.That had a ton of fun there.
The ward held a halloween party at the park by the church. We didnt stay for the trunk or treat. Instead we went back home and trick or treated in the neighborhood. There werent alot of people out to hand out candy. It was far more emptied this year than last year. This was Collin's first year trick or treating. He was pretty tired so we came home early from our halloween fun. Kimberly wanted to keep on going door to door for more candy but Collin was exhausted.
We are also packing for Idaho. We are still deciding if we should leave the 15th of December to go back home. But thats all in the air right now until we talk with the housing office. Which i think i will have a talk with them this monday.
Kimberly has improved with her speech a little better while at school. Collin is learning to say more words. They both have grown quite fast. Kimberly has grown 2 inches this past year. So she is definitely tall for her age. Collin is still pretty heavy. But they both are doing quite well.
Cassey is busier than ever. He was here for a day and a half and now is back out to sea for another week. The kids were happy to see their daddy. But Cassey was pretty much tired from work and wanted to relax while at home. So its been a crazy year, week, and month. And it will stay like that until Cassey deploys. Well this is our family scoop. Im gonna post more pics of the kids if i can figure out how it works.

Update so far.....

2008-10-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

Well we have decided to move to Idaho Falls for a while. But our home is still in San Diego. Cassey will be deploying in January, and the kids and I will go back home for a while.
I have already started packing because its just me and the kids in this house.
Im slowly taking my time cleaning and packing.
The kids went to a carnival in the housing community that we live in. They has so much fun. I made Collin's pirate outfit. He was cute. Its a little baggy on him, but he will grow into until he is about 4 yrs. old.
I bought kim a princess costume. She looked silly in it. But cute.
It was cold yesturday when we were out but It was fun.
That is our NEWS so far. We will post more stuff later.

Our Family Update:

2008-10-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

Kimberly is doing well in preschool. Its helped her to be more alert with people when they want her to understand things. She is trying so hard with her speech as well. She has had some speech problems, but since she started school, she has picked up on things we never thought possible for her. We are excited for her progress.
Collin is doing well at home. He love's attention right now. He does miss kimberly often while she is at school. Being at home is not the same without big sister. He loves his sister alot.
Cassey has been out to sea and busy as ever. This is actually the busy time of the year as his ship prepares for deployment. He will be gone until middle November.
Jenny has been home lately trying to put a dress together for kimberly. Jenny is confused on the sewing tricks, but she will figure it out. She has also been putting a camping quilt together and is almost done.
Jenny is also making collin's Halloween costume and cant wait for collin to try it on. This year the kids have chosen (Kimberly) to be a princess and (collin) a pirate.
We have plans to make a trip back home to Idaho for the winter for some special events taking place. We hope to see some family and friends when we go back. We may have more news coming up, so stay tuned.