cason's going away

Tonight we had an impromptu going away party for Cason. I had a HORRIBLE day in the kitchen, my cupcakes fell apart, and my cookies turned out flat (SO BAD) but thankfully friends bought some yummy food and we had dessert in our backyard. We will miss our friends!

Christy and Chase-ward friends

The Simonsen's (ward friends-and my yoga buddy-and the cutest baby ever)

Andrew, Rachel, and Kailee (foreign language friends)

Kendall and Cason (roomates)

Madi and Alora playing with the duck

Jon Evans & Rod Hardy (ward & basketball buddies)

Alora making a frowny face and Rachel and Kailee

Kailee snoozing and Boston exploring

we might miss Utah just a little...

Never thought I'd say that! To get you caught up, here are some pictures of a beautiful rainbow we saw probably 2 months ago. I've been wanting to post it for a long time!

Even though we are excited to move to Indy, we will miss the nice friends we have made in Utah. To distract myself, I'm looking forward to the beautiful fall colors of Autumn in Indy!

sunny san diego

Hello family from the sunny vales of San Diego, California,
Kaela and I had a long awaited vacation this past Memorial Day weekend. We met up with Kaela's parents and sister, Erin. We fit in so many things in a three day period, it was quite amazing actually. The weather in San Diego, is as they say, perfect. It doesn't change much year round. While we were there it flucuated between 60-65 degrees day or night.

Here are a few pictures of some of the things we did:
This is a picture of us outside the Hotel del Coronado, one of the oldest and prestigious hotels in the area. We didn't stay here but had one of the more awesome brunches we've ever had.
This is a hummingbird we saw in the gardens at Balboa Park. I was really surprised at the vegetation since this place probably doesn't get much rain. San Diego was filled with many kinds of trees, birds, and other life [more on this later...keep reading to find what I mean. Mom, if you're reading you might want to stop here. Let me just say that you'll find something akin to a snake or toad in the near future :-) ].


This is the awesome view from the roof of the beachhouse we stayed in. Not only is the view great but look how close we were to the ocean! We also spent an evening up here playing a board game and soaking up the sun. It was VERY relaxing.

Mom, this is not for your eyes. For all others interested, this is Cynthia the Sea Crab. She was hiding her perfectly camouflaged body in some kelp that had been washed onto the shore when a couple of curious people saw her and she tried to escape. Kaela got as close as possible and took this stellar shot and then I picked him up with my sandals and gently tossed her back to her watery home.

This is a picture of the sand at Mission Beach. Look how is sparkles! I mentioned to Kaela that it's no wonder people were excited to come to California in days of the Gold Rush, it looks like the ocean is washing up gold right on the beach! I would guess it's Pyrite (Fool's gold) but I'm not a certified geologist.


And lastly, San Diego has some AWESOME places to eat. While there we ate authentic border tacos, fish tacos, ballpark franks (Padres vs Cubs), New Zealand burgers and fries, and an amazing desert place. The picture below is a lemon bar from Extraordinary Desserts. I have never seen a place with such delectable desserts before. They put flower petals, and even a gold flec on top of every dessert. This was quite the afternoon treat. And while we ate at these places, there were soooo many more that we easily could have chosen from and been just as satisfied.

blog-hog

I feel like I'm hogging the blog, but Cason is such a star! I thought you all would enjoy this video of him doing yoga at home :) Be prepared to laugh!

TAG-it's someone else's turn to post.

spotlight.

We have this SUPER spotlight guy in our ward. He does thorough interviews of guys in Cason's elder's quorum, and the summaries of these interviews are printed on the back of their program each week. It is well known not just of the guys in the quorum, but also their wives (!) who enjoy reading these often comical interviews each Sunday. This week, CASON was spotlighted! I thought you would enjoy reading about your brother/son. The following is the text of the interview as printed on the program today:

Cason Cusack
"Funny guy gets the girl." Like a page out of a Hollywood movie script, those words marked the beginning of Cason's romance with his wife Kaela. He had just arrived in Minnesota to sell alarms for the summer and wanted to meet some of the local ladies. Fate took Cason to craigslist.org where he stumbled upon a personal ad with that very tagline mentioned above. Reading further, Cason knew he was a sure match when the mystery woman listed John Cusack as one of her favorite actors. So, with all of his wit and charm Cason replied to the post and waited... And waited... And so it seemed that maybe it wasn't desinty... But you all know the rest, eventually there was a reply, and more exchanges, and a first date that had them running through sprinklers in the nighttime, and in the end, as with all good Hollywood romances, a wedding. Cason and Kaela were sealed in the SLC Temple on July '08. But long before Minnesota, Cason was born in Indianapois-the oldest of four. The family moved a lot and Cason finished his senior year of high school in Ohio. Wherever he was, Cason ran cross-country and played baseball (2nd base). After a mission in Argentina, Cason earned a degree in Global Studies at BYU. Cason had great appreciateion for foreign places, people, and especially languages-he has studies Spanish, Chinese, and Samoan. When he was 16, Cason spent 1 month living with a tribe in Samoa-he was invited by the Grand Cief's grandson. At BYU, Cason has lived in the Foreign Language Housing and remarks that the people he met there were exception-well grounded in the gospel, bright and talented, and possessing a special understanding of humanity from their travels around the world. Cason's not sure what his "dream job" is just yet, but he's sure it would be something on the international levle and would immerse him in a world of new people and cultures. In the meantime, Cason is working for Comcast, a job he describes as "not sexy," but is also quick to add that it has been a blessing for his family. Cason has a great entrepreneurial spirit and has several business plans in the works. In fact, he has a business partner-they meet weekly to discuss, plan, and put their ideas in motion. Cason wants to get an MBA. His frst choice would be a degree at Monterey, a world renowned program emphasizing international studies and languages. Cason's talents aren't limited to languages and business; he's the Elders Quorum Pianist and has a song he wrote about the Prophet Joseph Smith's time in Liberty Jail published by Tatera Records. Cason is also one of the War'ds Executive Secreatries. He loves "Man vs. Wild," "24," and ESPN. He also has a secret talent for yoga-don't be alarmed if Cason starts stretching during a conversation. Cason loves seafood of all varieties. Slow drivers hanging out in the left lane drive Cason crazy, but probably not as much as budding business owners who won't pay for a professional e-mail account: "businessname@hotmail.com" is NOT acceptable! Cason is a very practical man (never really seeing the purpose of Saturday morning cartoons). His wife decribes him as: considerate; comical; diligent. His favorite quote: "The common denominator of success is doing that which others are not willing do ."

something to make you laugh

We are glad to hear everyone had a nice Christmas, and we look forward to seeing you soon, even though it's not under the best of circumstances.

Here is a funny video I took of Cason on Christmas day. I'll let him tell you what he was doing!