Making the best of a bad situation.

Christi and I went out west for her brother's memorial and while we were there, we got to see her parents and she got the opportunity to re-connect with her siblings, some of whom she had not seen in as much as 10 years.  I flew home to take care of the rest of the family and the house while she remained in California with our daughters Harper and Farryn and our son Vaughn. They took some time for my in-laws to get to know Farryn, as she was born here in Indiana, and then they headed home, making a couple of stops on the way.

They drove like fiends to meet up with Kaylee and the group visited Ruby Falls in Tennessee.

Kaylee, Harper, Farryn and Vaughn at Ruby Falls

From there Kaylee returned to her duty station and Christi and the littles continued on home via the Blue Ridge Parkway seeing some awesome mountain views and taking in the local flavors such as boiled peanuts, venison jerky and bringing home an excellent custom roasted and ground organic coffee for me.  Harper even got in a little bit of driving practice as she now has her learner's permit.

Although it started with a sad occasion, Christi made the most of things by seeing her family and enjoying just a little time on the road and away from the daily grind at home.  I'm very glad she got to go, and amazingly proud of her stepping out of her comfort zone and driving much farther than she ever had on her own before.  I'm a little JELLY and needless to say, I missed her and the kids tremendously, but I'm happy they enjoyed the trip.

Farewell Charles Wesley Sanders Jr.

On June 8th, Christi’s oldest brother, Chuck, passed away.  He was 60 years old when he lost his battle with cancer.  He is survived by 3 children, one of whom turned 40 on the same day his father died.  Chuck was one of those guys who just seemed invincible.  An Army and National Guard veteran, he actually convinced me to join the Guard after I got out of the Marine Corps.  He was a hell of a guy, tough as nails and he loved his family.  Always fun to be around, he loved a good barbecue and the occasional adult beverage.  

Charles Wesley Sanders Jr.

Chuck, you will be missed.

Parris Island and A cabin in the Smokies!

When we last checked in with the intrepid Cason’s, they were preparing to depart for South Carolina to pick up their young Kaylee Rae after her graduation from Marine Corps bootcamp.  The departure went off surprisingly well and they were on the road with their 15 passenger Chevy, a rented 15 passenger Ford (with the weird body-style) and the camera crew consisting of a Belgian journalist, and 2 videographers from Louisiana.  Heading South for the Muncie area to pick up one of the girlfriends and they immediately got separated from the second van as the 20 year-old driver was sure he knew the plan and had relied on the fastest route to the pickup point rather than Mom/Navigator Christi’s plan and the waiting game began.  This foiled the camera crew’s attempt to capture traveling caravan shots at first because it was hurry up and wait.  Soon enough, though, the group was reunited with Molly on board and booking it down the highway. 

Once they arrived at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, they were checked into a lovely foursome of very nice rooms in the Springhill Suites.  The gang all got a pretty good night’s sleep and had some continental buffet and it was off to the races again!  Down and around and down and copious potty stops later and they had arrived in Hilton Head Island South Carolina at the Marriott Surfwatch resort.  The 2 villas there were AWESOME!  The 3 bedroom units had very nicely appointed rooms each one rated to sleep 12.  The next morning the family woke and somehow hustled everyone out the door and into the vans and they were on the road once again, this time traversing the 35 or so miles to MCRD Parris Island.  Once through the gate they found the parking area, but no signage pointing to where they were supposed to meet their Marine.  They eventually found the venue albeit just a few minutes after the official dismissal for family day.  

Needless to say, the reunion was emotional.  Tears were shed, hugs were given, long and lingering and more tears were then shed.  Kaylee showed her family the barracks in which she lived and a little bit around the base.  Mostly they spent the hours enjoying each other’s company, part of the time at a lovely picnic area by the waterside right next to the NCIS office.  When the time came to return her to her platoon, more tears and hugs, but some relief because they would be right back the next day to see her graduate and take her home.  The graduation was incredible.  The ceremony, the dress blues, of which dad was clearly jealous, and the incredible release of emotion in that second they were dismissed….Awesome! 

Fast forward to that evening, the family is now getting closer to their next stop in this trip, the CABIN!  As of this point, Kaylee has no idea that she is not going straight home, still 6-8 hours driving away, nor that waiting for her at the unknown cabin is her sister, Jessica whom she was told could not come.  In cahoots with the camera crew, Jess is waiting for us in the cabin.  Kaylee was blindfolded the last few miles before arrival and walked into the cabin by her girlfriend Cierra.  When the blindfold came off, Kaylee was understandably impressed and happy with the location, but even more priceless was her reaction a minute later when Jessica revealed herself.  The whole thing was captured for posterity by the crew and the numerous cellphones present.

Mom, Dad and kids at the cabin

What followed was two fun-filled days relaxing and enjoying the luxury cabin with it’s hot tub and game room and spectacular views.  With a giant spaghetti dinner, Kaylee’s favorite, to fill the bellies on the last night of the stay.  Topped off by an epic throw-down of flipping and tumbling skills by one of the camera guys, Julian and one of the young men who now live with the Casons, Anthony.  It was like a romper room showdown!  Later that evening, the camera crew bid the Casons adieu and headed off to their next gig.

Christi, Trevor and the crew in the cabin game-room

All in all, the trip was a very memorable way to celebrate Kaylee’s accomplishment and bring her home to her loving family.

Patience of a Saint, my patootie! A nervous Marine Mom freak out!

Our Cookie Rae has done it!  She is a Marine! Now this Momma is gonna go and see her graduate!  Our Cookie Rae has done it!  She is a Marine! Now this Momma is gonna go and see her graduate!  Can’t wait to hold her in my arms again!  All we have to do now is pack up the 15 passenger, rent another 15 passenger because we have all the kids, the girlfriends, boyfriends,  everyone but the SUPER FRIENDS, rent a car for my son, who’s leaving later and pack up a bunch of clothes and I’m freaking out!

We have a film crew showing up today and then they’re filming our morning madness tomorrow.  Getting up at the booty-crack of dawn because there is no way I’m gonna let them film my “get up at normal time” face, sending the kids off to school, cleaning and packing and packing and cleaning.  Getting everything together, then on the road, pick up our extra passengers.  So much to do, not sure even where to start!  I usually can get this together but I’m an emotional wreck!  Can’t wait to see my girl and I know I’m gonna cry like a big old baby, already am at every little thing!  AAAAGH!

Somewhere in the middle of all that, gotta drop Kaylee’s truck, the Trout, at the body shop to get a little dent fixed and haircuts and laundry and more filming and Dave needs some new jeans and there really isn’t enough time to do this and I just know we’re gonna forget something!  I’m so excited to see her and I’m going nuts wondering if I thought of everything and I should be packing but I’m writing a silly blog post.  At least I’m not on Facebook but who am I kidding I’m gonna get on Facebook and post too because I’m doing everything but getting busy packing because, did I mention that I need to pack?  I’d have the kids help but after they “help” I’ll have to spend too much time fixing it all.  Of course they’re helping as much as they can but right now they’re sitting around wondering why mom is busy typing blog posts when she should be packing!!

At least the trip will be good.  We get to see the Carolinas and beautiful Hilton head and the place my baby girl and her dad AND her grandfather earned their eagle, globe and anchors.  Then 2 more days with the whole gang in my dream cabin and I vow that I WILL have coffee while watching the sunrise over the smoky mountains.  It’s on my bucket list!

Did I mention that I have to pack?

The Crucible

In just about 2 hours, our Kaylee will begin what is known as the Crucible.  This is the Marine Corps bootcamp final test of the skills that they have learned these last 12 weeks.  This will be a 54 hour test of fire that will include some 48 miles of marching with about 45 lbs of gear and numerous tasks and assault courses where they use their skills and strength to overcome obstacles and solve problems using teamwork and the military tactics they have learned.  When I was there, we had lots of different things we had to do, but no crucible.  Naturally Christi and I are as nervous for her as we are proud of her.  By the time she finishes the Crucible sometime on Saturday, we will be less than a week from seeing our baby girl.  While she will then be a Marine, she will always be my Cookie Rae!  If you are of the praying mind, please include a prayer for Kaylee and all her Parris Island sisters in platoon 4004.  Also in this crucible will be the male recruits and the other female platoons of Golf and November companies.  Pray for them all and pray for the parents who are nervously awaiting word of their kids success in the Crucible.

Semper Fi

A graduation day surprise!

As many know, our daughter Kaylee is now less than 2 weeks away from completing bootcamp and graduating a United States Marine.  Of course she wants to see us all at the graduation, but she has no idea that we are bringing EVERYBODY!  All 18 kids, 2 grand-kids, one son-in-law, the 3 young men we've taken in who have basically become family and 3 significant others.  We will be renting a second 15 passenger van and hauling a trailer just so that the whole gang can be there.  We have a great trip planned that will be like the ones we used to take, cross-country.  Two days down, staying in 3 great villas in Hilton Head, going to family day and the graduation from there and afterwards, heading north to Gatlinburg to spend 2 nights in a wonderful cabin that can sleep the whole gang!  Not only treating the family to a good time, but crossing off one of Christi’s bucket list items of staying in a cabin in the Smoky mountains.  It will be totally complete when she gets to see the sunrise while having the morning coffee. 

Top that off with a big spaghetti dinner at the cabin (Kaylee’s favorite) and we will have a trip for the books for sure!

Unbeknownst to Kaylee, the whole thing will be filmed for the French TV channel M6 and their show “66 minutes”.  They will be with the family for the whole trip and will capture the whole thing.  It will be part of a special they are doing on large American families.

I can’t give my kids a lot of fancy experiences, but they can always look back to those times when they were on TV and smile.  We always have a good time with the film crews and the kids have a lot of fun trying to out-do each other’s funny.

 I think it will add an extra fun twist to this already awesome event!

What's a little snow between friends?

I used to tell the kids that the old adage about how weathermen were never right was not true.  Apparently, that was only true in southern California, where the weather is sun, hot sun and more sun with a slight chance of partly cloudy with a very brief downpour, which will wash the houses down the Malibu hills since the wildfires burned all the dry vegetation since all they had was sun, sun and sun.

Not the case here in Indiana.  We have had a lovely winter, guessing whether it was going to be in the 50s or start snowing.  The predictions are always 1-3” until it gets here and it’s 5 inches.  

Case in point: This was supposed to be 1-2"...more like 5

Once you’ve thoroughly enjoyed the pretty white snow, they wet it all down with some freezing rain so that you get to slide around a bit when you drive.  That for me is the best part.  Ask my wife, I drift the van on purpose when the road is icy!

Those who know me, know that I used to swear I’d never move to somewhere that has snow more than occasionally, but I really am getting used to it.  And frankly, I don’t miss the 105 degree, no rain, every tree is a desert tree life in southern California.

All in all, I still love it here.

What we did last summer!

Here is a video from an interview/splash reel we did for Figure 8 productions.  It has some new footage plus some from our old videos, but it is a pretty cool piece and was loads of fun!  Thanks to Wayne Mahon for putting this together and putting up with us and our terrible Skype connections!


CHASIN' THE CASONS 6 min from Wayne Mahon on Vimeo.

Our little Marine!

As some of you know, our Kaylee is currently in bootcamp in Parris Island, SC.  She should just be finishing her swim qualifications this week and moving on to the next phase.  We are so very proud of her.  We have been missing her terribly, as have all our kids, but thanks to some folks who were on Parris Island to see their Marine graduate, we finally got to see her!

Apparently they "pay it forward" by posting these photos on facebook support group pages for parents of recruits to stare at looking for their people.  I admit I stared at them too.  Having been there and knowing what she is going through didn't stop me from searching for her like a complete noob dad.  Lucky I did because I found her!  It gives me more comfort than I thought it would.  

We are anxiously looking forward to seeing her graduate in February.  She did Thanksgiving and will probably have Christmas at the rifle range, not to mention her birthday in January.  We miss her through it all, but will be so proud when she marches her way through the graduation ceremony and we can take her home for her first leave! 

After that it is on to probably MCT and then her MOS school.  I am doubly proud because her MOS, barring unforseen circumstances will be Aviation mechanics which is exactly what her grandpa was when he was in the Corps.  He would be so proud.  Whatever her MOS, we know she will be great!

The Story of US, Conclusion. (of the story, not US!)

When we got back to Christi's apartment in Temecula, we broke the news to Jessica, who was 2, so she had no clue what it all meant, and to her dad, who was stunned to say the least and with that done, we tried to settle in to....married life?  It was still overwhelming for Christi and I and we wondered how to tell her parents.  We eventually jumped that hurdle and although it took about 4 years for her dad to warm up to me, (her mom was a little easier) he is now almost like my own dad (both my parents have been gone for more than 15 years now).  Over the years, even Christi has finally come to understand that we were clearly meant to be together.  

I often wonder how I overcame my normal caution and dropped to my knee in that drive thru.  While I can't say it was just this one thing, what always comes to my mind when I ponder this subject, is our first kiss.  It happened on the evening that I first spent with Christi at Shirley's house.  She and I had talked about so many things, crossing all topics, and had begun to speak about things we hoped for in the future.  She spoke of moving in to her own place, and how she wanted to live and the plans she had for her and the kids.  Something in that moment, I'm not sure if it was the light in her eyes as she spoke, or just the dreamy smile on her face, but something called me to lean in and kiss her.  Despite her faraway gaze, she seemed to come to the same conclusion and we both met halfway in our first kiss.  I can say, without hesitation,or reservation and without even having to compare, that it was the most incredible kiss of my life! (to that point)  I think now, that the moments we shared right there, surrounding that kiss were what cemented Christi and I in what would be the rest of our lives.  We have since had MANY kisses much like that one and she still gives me that thrill, even to this day.  She is the end all and be all of my life.  Simple as that.

It has now been almost 26 years since we said "I do" in that little office in the Clark county, Nevada government building and we are happier every year.  Christi and the kids are my everything, and nothing makes me prouder than what she and I have together.  Make no mistake, I know that it is not the usual situation and we certainly did not get started in the way any of our parents would have approved.  I've told the kids many times that mom and I are an unusual case and we would never recommend that they run out and get married to someone after only knowing them for six weeks!  Christi and I are absolutely not the usual case and we point out examples of what can happen when you jump into things too fast and the repercussions of bad relationships and marriages (especially what can happen to the kids caught in the middle).  Still, when I look back at what Christi and I have done...what we've been through, both the ups and the downs, I realize that I wouldn't change a thing.  Although we're not the typical story of boy meets girl, we are an example of the simple truth that, when it comes to love:

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

The story of us, part 4

The story of us, part 4

The last time I had gone to Vegas had been with my roommate and another good buddy. That trip, by comparison, would prove to have been very uneventful. As Christi and I traveled along, we didn’t speak about what we were going to do. I think we sort of discussed the fact that neither of us was dressed for anything fancy and we pondered where we might go for our wedding, but for the most part, we didn’t really talk about what we were getting into. The road to Vegas was a long one, especially as it was getting pretty late into the night. Much of the trip is a blur, blotted out by the overpowering memory of the more important events of that weekend, but one memory that will never go away is of the World’s Tallest Thermometer. More precisely, I remember the parking lot of the Bun Boy restaurant which is located right next to the World’s Tallest Thermometer. We didn’t eat there, and we didn’t really stop to see the World’s Tallest Thermometer. None the less, it was the most memorable part of the long drive through the California desert.
We arrived in Las Vegas sometime in the 3 o’clock hour and drove around looking for a motel room. We secured a room at the Gateway motel and spent an hour or so freshening up and then we ventured back out to see about this marriage thing. The first step in the process was to obtain our marriage license. We went into the Las Vegas marriage commission building which, true to Vegas form, is open 24 hours. We filled out the required paperwork, paid our fee, and then, since we hadn’t made our minds up about where to get married, we chose to be officiated by this guy:

Ok, so it wasn't really Scatman Crothers who married us, because he'd been dead for something like 5 years by then, but the guy, Owen, looked a hell of a lot like him. Owen was the Deputy Marriage Commissioner of Clark County, Nevada. He was really nice and we had a very simple, quiet ceremony. We went back to our motel room in a daze...already Christi was wondering what she had just done as she began to say, "I can't believe I'm married", again and again throughout the day in kind of a stunned whisper. She continued to say that, from time to time for the first 4 years or so that we were married.

Sometime later that day, we found ourselves at a pawn shop somewhere in town and we bought a couple of plain, cheap gold rings and those were our wedding bands for a couple years until we could afford something a little better (In recent years we have come to realize that the pawn shop in which we bought those rings is the same one featured in "Pawn Stars"). We then began to ponder what we might do in the way of a honeymoon. After a bit of thinking, we came up with the brilliant plan of going out to Hoover Dam. We headed out that direction, but our enthusiasm for seeing the dam began to wane and several Indian turquoise jewelry stores later, Christi began to feel the need to get back to Chad and Jessica who were staying with her ex for the weekend. So we turned around and headed back West, our heads reeling with thoughts of the future.

We still had to face Christi's folks when we got home.

The Story of us, Part 3

True to my word, I called her on Sunday and we set up a meeting/date at the home of her friend Dana’s mother. As I recall, we had some dinner and then spent the rest of the evening talking about life, love, marriage and everything in-between. I’m pretty sure I fell in love with her right there in Shirley’s living room (and I wrote about it in a journal that I was trying to keep at the time. I even used the M-word in that journal entry). That same night, I met Chad. He was her 5-month old son and I fell in love with him too.
Over the next five weeks, Christi and I saw each other several times in a variety of settings, at friend’s houses, parties, and I even helped her move into her first apartment. It was during one of the days that I was helping her move that I first met her dad. That was a pretty chilly reception to say the least. Her dad is a former Army soldier with the 101st airborne who held a somewhat dim view of Marines. This of course, was not helped by the fact that Chad’s biological father was a Marine who had totally abandoned her and had never made any effort to contact her since finding out she was pregnant. Her dad helped me load her stuff into the truck, but other than the introductions, we hardly spoke a word.
Christi and I hadn’t spent as much time together over these weeks as we would have liked, so in late July we decided to spend a whole weekend together. Christi and I had discussed taking some sort of a trip away from the area, and had decided we would go into Northern California to see the famous redwood trees and enjoy one of the national parks. We left her apartment on August 2nd and almost immediately, stopped for drinks at a local restaurant. Having had one for the road (yes we know it was not wise, but we were young and stupid) we then headed north on the 15 freeway in the direction of highway 395 and the Kings Canyon/Sequoia national park. Somewhere along the way, we passed a sign that noted the mileage to Las Vegas which is along the same freeway. Christi looks over at me, and I think, only half-jokingly says “We could just go to Vegas and get married. This was followed by a strange but not uncomfortable silence as some gear inside me seemed to fall into place. I’m not sure that I really knew what I was doing as I exited the freeway and we found ourselves in the drive thru at a Del Taco restaurant, I just felt as though I was being directed by something bigger than myself. There, in the drive thru, I knelt outside the open passenger door and said

“Christi Sanders, will you marry me?”


You could have heard a pin drop, or at least in my head all the other sounds had fallen away, as I waited for an answer. It was really only a few seconds, but it seemed like forever when she answered “yes, Dave Cason, I will marry you.” I kissed her, and without any further fanfare, we got back on the freeway and headed for Las Vegas. Did we have a plan? Hell no! But we were surely headed on a strange and wondrous journey.

We had no idea…

The story of US, Part 2

Fast forward to a similar evening in late June, I was returning from a game of racquetball with my roommate when I passed a young woman with a beautiful head of brown hair standing with her back to me in the doorway of a fellow Marine’s room. Being the complete goof that I am, I blurted out, “There’s someone I don’t know, HIGH FIVE!”. The woman turned around and gave me the high five, and I saw that she was as beautiful from the front as she was the back. She smiled at me and then, out of the blue, she mentioned that she and her friends were going to the enlisted club and maybe it would be cool if I came along, saying “the more, the merrier!” I went back to my room after mumbling that maybe I would be there later, trying to play it cool, but not really believing that this attractive woman actually wanted me there. I mean, seriously I thought she was making the offer just to be nice. Once in the room, my roommate looked at me and was amazed that I didn’t see the opportunity before me. He nearly threw me into the shower and told me to get my butt out to that E-club and see where things would lead. So I went, now beginning to feel as though maybe some mysterious force was guiding me to the club.
I really had no clue what I was doing, but I went anyway. I hadn’t yet recognized her as Mark’s ex-girlfriend Christi. The whole scene happened so fast, my brain hadn’t caught up. Once I was at the club, I tried to get close to her, but the guy she was “supposed to be with” had her pretty well corralled and was trying to get her to dance. As I have since learned, this is no easy task. I danced with her friend Dana once or twice (under duress, because I don’t really dance either) and then thankfully a group of us tired of the dance club atmosphere and decided to move the party elsewhere. Somehow we all wound up at a small bar in downtown Oceanside, CA which was called the Sandbar (I think). Things there were much quieter as it was smaller pub type place that was luckily, not very busy at that particular time. It was here in this slower atmosphere that I had time to think about it and realized just who she was. I didn’t wish to be embarrassed, so I never mentioned that I hadn’t immediately recognized her. I didn’t know that she still didn’t recognize me.
We all had a few beers and then some of the guys and I began singing these rather bawdy rugby songs that we all knew. Christi had begun to warm up to me by that point and I was able to make her laugh a little bit. Her laugh was warm and just a bit throaty and when she found something extra funny, it would end with just a tiny snort, for which she would immediately apologize (she had no need, everyone thought it was cute and I still find it adorable). She was refreshingly unaware of how cute she was in her black and white polka dot pants as she bustled around talking to people in our group. She had finally gotten more comfortable and watching her move around spreading her infectiously fun personality, I was completely smitten. Luckily for me, her date had begun to give up as she had stayed pretty cool with him. He was just not her type.
I was really hoping to find out that I was “her type”.
By the end of the night, when I walked her to Dana’s car, I was feeling brave enough to try for her number (and I’ve never been brave in that way) which she gave me on the promise that I not call until Sunday so that her dad wouldn’t know where she’d been on Friday.

I still have the card that she gave me with her number on it.

To be continued

I'm bringing back something I started several years back, but never really finished.  For those of you that have ever asked, "How did you guys meet, anyway?"  Welcome to:

THE STORY OF US

It was May 1991, I don’t remember exactly what day, but it was still a just a little bit cool in the evenings here in Southern California. I was stationed at Camp Pendleton, living in the enlisted barracks for permanent personnel at the Weapons Training Battalion of the MCRD. This is where San Diego recruits come for their weapons and field training while in boot camp. I was working across the street at the Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA) which is a research and development command.

One evening, after late chow, one of my co-workers came by my room and mentioned that he was going out to meet his girlfriend near the local mall and he needed a wingman, since she was bringing along her sister. I wasn’t sure at first, but my roommate urged me to go, saying that it would be just what I needed to get out for the evening.

When we arrived at Carlos Murphy’s, the only one at the table was Mark’s girlfriend Christi, her sister having stepped out to “powder her nose” as they used to call it. I was immediately struck by her beautiful brown eyes and the smile that was in them. Introductions were made and we sat on the stools that surrounded the corner table. Within moments, we were joined by Christi’s sister, Tammy. Tammy was pleasant enough and the conversation bounced easily around the table. Much to the detriment of the overall plan, Tammy was not at all attracted to me and although we got along well, nothing seemed to be developing. I was however, chatting quite handily with Christi, who was funny and bright and clearly, way out of Mark’s league in terms of personality, (and mine too, if the truth be told). Mark was a nice guy, but not the sort you would expect to be with a fun person like Christi. We attempted to go to a nearby movie theater (where I moonlighted as an usher) but were too late to get into the latest show. Tammy took this opportunity to excuse herself, saying she had a class in the morning and homework to finish (college) and she got in her car and drove away, leaving Christi, (and me) to catch a ride with Mark. As the ride back to the barracks went on, it was more and more obvious that Christi and I were getting along a bit too swimmingly for Mark’s taste as he was increasingly hurried about getting me back and dropping me off. When we did reach the barracks parking lot, Christi said goodbye with a warm smile and waved as they left. I sauntered up the barracks stairs feeling oddly happy despite the fact that my tour as wingman had crashed and burned and I hadn’t even secured Tammy’s phone number. I didn’t care. I felt strangely satisfied even though I had gotten nowhere with my intended date.

To be continued...

Welcome to Spring, let's get it Sprung!!

Welcome to another stab at the family blog.  Things are, as always, busy around the Cason house.  We have been going through a MAJOR spring cleaning, clearing out the winter coats from all the closets, the snow boots, the long underwear, bagging it all and stashing it in the above garage storage.  Sorting through the junk drawer (why do I have 47 USB cords?) and moving furniture.  Our next big thing is: mowing season!  We will be ordering my new mower any day now, but for the first cut, the good folks at LawnPro will be cutting and cleaning up the leftover leaves from the flower beds and giving us a fertilizer/insecticide treatment.  This should make my job a bit easier this Spring and Summer.  Christi is counting down the days until school is out and she can sleep in all the way until 7am!  Maybe a little later, but she’s not real good at sleeping in.  I however….well, let’s just say it’s easier for me.  I could sleep if you marched a band through the room playing “Stars and Stripes Forever!”  Christi…not so much.  But for her, 7 am IS sleeping in, so I look forward to it on her behalf.  The trees are just starting to green up but it's just cool enough so the bugs aren't all over just yet.  Next big thing is getting the pool open.  That will be May, but the kids are MORE than ready.  A three year old just doesn't get the concept that although the air is getting warm, the pool is not quite there yet.  Can't wait for the kids to get out of school so the real fun can begin.

What are you doing for Spring?

Ok, Ok....I know we promised to keep this thing up to date...to post more often.  So sue me!  I'm kidding,,, please...DON'T sue me.

In the past, cough, cough! YEAR since our last post, things have been moving along with the family.  Since moving to Indiana, we find ourselves, surprisingly enjoying the winters, LOVING the fall and the colors and getting used to this much easier way of life.  While all the same things need to get done everyday, we enjoy having the kids picked up by a bus to go to school (nonexistent back in California) and the kids are doing fairly well in school.  Kaylee and Harper are rocking the marching band in high school, Kaylee is in her Senior year and is looking at joining, of all things, the Marine Corps Reserve.  This I whole-heartedly support.  Harper has begun working part time as well.  With all that, they stay quite busy.  Emma has been working for a family friend helping him clear his farm.  All of the adults in the house are now working,  We have also taken in our nephew Garrett, from Las Vegas.  He is working on building a life here in Indiana as well.  Jessica and her husband Cameron, are doing well with their 3 kids, Melody, Jaedyn and Charlie.  Dalton and Austin are enjoying bachelorhood, working hard and spending time with their "Ladyfriends".  On top of that, it looks as though I may get to go hunting this year.  Christi is super-busy as always keeping the whole thing rolling, greasing the wheels and keeping all of us in line at the same time.  Truly this family would be lost without her.

Oh, and of course, we are trying for our 19th child.  No, we are NOT done yet.

Jessica is PREGNANT too and due 12 days before me

My oldest DD Jessica is pregnant,  she is due 12 days before me. We have the same OB and will be delivering at the same hospital. Truly amazing to be able to share this with my daughter  and crazy to be almost due date buddies, we have been to Dr's appointments together and had ultrasounds together, I am so happy.  I'm going to be a grandma again.

Update and...decisions, decisions

As many of you know, we are expecting our 18th  child and we are now about 5 weeks away from delivery!  I'll sure tell you that no matter how many times we do this, the nerves are still there.  Christi has had a pretty good pregnancy and we are looking forward to greeting this new little one.  We are now at the point where we are discussing names and since she let me have Nathaniel, even though she really didn't like the name, Christi is going to get the final say on this one.  We don't know the sex yet, but we've been tossing Quinn and Zane (girl and boy, respectively) around.  We're still working on it.  The Doctor knows the gender, so if we can't stand the suspense, all Christi has to do is make a call and we can find out.  Either way is OK by me.  This being our 18th, and following our own tradition of naming, we face the problem of running out of letters for the first name.  It's always been our "thing" that we not repeat letters of the alphabet, and so far we have used A, B, C, D, E, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, R, S, T, V and W.  It makes it kind of hard to come up with a good name.  We also try to not use very common names, since my name is so popular, I always had several Davids in almost every class I was ever in.  Everywhere I work, Daves galore!  My father also made me promise not to name anyone after him (he didn't like his name, Homer) and we don't have any family names that some like to use.  Although we do try to honor our family members with the middle names, we also want the kids to have names they won't hate when they grow up.  So, name choice still in progress.  Any suggestions?

17 Kids and 44 and guess what......

Woohooo PREGNANT and I want to scream it from the rooftops, WOOOHOOO, I'm PREGNANT, Cason #18 on the way, 44 and PREGNANT.

I still can't believe it, I keep picking up my tests and looking at the lines, all though out the day, YUP, still positive. I am excited, happy, feel blessed, shocked, scared, freaked out a little,  just can't believe God willing, I get to feel the joys of being pregnant and have another baby, WOW, I can WOW, myself, lol, YKWIM, WOW!!! #18 Due 11-12-15!!!! WOW, WOOOHOOOOOO!!

This baby we only used natural herbs, NO prescription drugs were used, just herbs!!

This one was made for me by a friend!!

Cali-where?

Long time no blog.  I won't make any excuses about why it's been so long, other than life just gets in the way sometimes.  Getting in the way most recently has been our move to Indiana.  New job, new house and a whole host of other things that go along with this sort of life change and maybe it's a little easier to see why blogging and more or less anything social media-like takes a back seat.
That aside, I must say that this has been a great step we've taken in our lives.  We had been looking to get out of California for years and had been mainly focusing on the South, Georgia, Tennessee, North or South Carolina. Maybe even Virginia.  I was very close in the running for a great position in Pennsylvania, which I obviously didn't get, but we never really thought about Indiana.  We still ask ourselves if we can believe we live here. 
I had some concerns about things like the weather and how would I deal with snow.  Serious snow, that is, but I must say that it really has been pretty wonderful.  Indiana is a much more family friendly place.  The employment seems to be really booming as all of my adult kids, and even my 17 year old, have secured jobs pretty quickly.  The cost of living is really great too.  Gas is at least 20-40 cents a gallon less, food and other things are generally less expensive and housing...well, it's just ridiculous how much more you get for your house dollar.  The home we have, with the 1/4 acre lot and huge swimming pool would cost at least twice as much as we paid and if it were in So Cal.  It would be the same floor-plan as every 5th house in the subdivision and they would ALL have that same "Southwestern" cookie cutter stucco and tile roof. 

I have trees! 

I like to tell folks that here, you cut down trees to build a house, while in California, they chop the top off a hill, backfill the lot with silt and granite chunks that pass through a 6 inch screen and then plant trees around the wood frame, chicken wire and stucco house to make it look like anywhere but California.  Then, once the sod takes a little bit of root, you realize it's far too expensive to run your sprinklers everyday to keep the grass alive and Voila! your yard is as brown as the "Southwestern motif" that your HOA requires you to maintain.
Do you get the sense that I'm glad I left?

My backyard

 

Under that blanket of 14 inches or so of snow, lies my swimming pool and my huge backyard.  You know what will be there when Spring comes?  Green grass!!  Can't even get that in California.

The kids were a bit upset leaving all that they knew behind, but they've adapted quite nicely and already have a lot of friends and new activities.  I feel like they're blossoming in ways they never would have if we had stayed out West.  Christi loves it too.  She's always wanted to live somewhere that has 4 actual seasons and she is enjoying the little things like the farm fresh veggies that we get that are actually grown right down the road.  The fact that deer come into our yard at night to eat the few leaves left hanging on the huge oak in the front yard and having the kids be able to ride buses to school.  She also likes that my commute is 15 minutes each way.  This is the first time in over 20 years that I have lived closer than 50 miles to work.

We also want to thank those of you who encouraged us to go for the Indiana move.  Lots of you who live here or have before, told us about what to expect here and gave us advice about preparing for winter and such and we appreciate all the information you shared.

We look forward to new challenges, new adventures and maybe even new blog posts.

Stay tuned!