Some pics, but not of a car.

We only got a chance to look at 2 cars this weekend and neither of them was suitable. The only upside to our driving 200 miles to see 2 P.O.S cars was that after the second, which was in Chula Vista, near where Christi grew up, we got to drive around her old stomping grounds a bit and see the house she grew up in. She is so excited to be going back there next Friday to her class reunion. I'm excited for her too, if not just a bit jealous. She's gonna have a really good time and she deserves it. I sure am going to miss her though. It's going to be a trying couple of days trying to imitate her juggling act, but I'll give it my best.

The kid's band events went well with Austin's band winning their competition and Bailey and Gage both having a successful parade. Gage being a 6th grader, can only participate in the marching "band" as a member of the flag squad, but he had a good time. Can't you tell?

Bailey hates getting her picture taken but there she is with her valve trombone. These photos were taken by Christi's best friend, Dana with her Blackberry. We just recently got our own camera fixed so Christi should have some great pics from her reunion to share next week.

A busy weekend, and maybe some luck thrown in

A busy weekend in store for Christi and I. We finally have to get it in gear with the search for a used car, the band kids have got events on Saturday and Christi still needs a couple of things for her reunion. This coupled with my having been unexpectedly moved to a different shift (not only am I now on the night shift for the foreseeable future, but I'm now on the opposite day schedule). All of this means that Christi is working her magic even harder now. She is constantly reminding me of the silver linings of this shift change, probably as much for her own benefit as mine. She always has that way of seeing all sides of things so that when life seems to throw us lemons, she can instantly point out that it's really oranges if you look at it the right way and who doesn't love a good orange? She doesn't really know how much she keeps me going. Aside from the obvious things like, keeping me on schedule for all the stuff we have to get done, her enthusiasm for stuff, like the way she looks forward to our weekend evenings, even when we have nothing more exciting to do than catch up on our favorite shows. The way she smiles and claps when some plan of hers comes together, or some unexpected bit of luck makes a bad day turn good. Plus the things she thinks I don't notice, like the little fist pump in the air she does when the checkbook balances perfectly (which it always does) or the way she high fives me when I put my hand up, even though she hates high-fiving. All those things and so much more are just a small part of why I love her so much.
So tomorrow we'll venture out in search of a used car, and she'll watch me do my manly thing as I check out each car and try to work a deal with the seller. With any luck, we'll come home with a decent commuter car that I can then drive to death with my 78 mile one way commute. With a little more luck, it will have a half-decent stereo so I can listen to my CDs and talk radio all the way to work. With even a bit more luck, we'll find a bargain car for Dalton too.
Then if all is well, in the evening we'll plop on the bed with most of the kids and watch our shows on the DVR and maybe have a little popcorn and whatnot to snack on.

That would be the perfect end to the day.

Life gets in the way

Sooo, we started off this blog with a bang, on Sept. 11th of all days. And then...? Well, life got in the way. Here in the Cason household, we've gone through a bout of the flu (Walker, Emma, Morgan, Laura, and Bailey have all had it to one degree or another, now it's Dad's turn). All the while, Christi and I have been shopping online for a used car to replace the one recently totalled. This on top of the normal daily routine of Christi getting 10 of the kids out the door every morning to 4 different schools (I help a bit, but Christi is a blur and makes me look like I'm standing still), laundry, feeding the 4 littles still left at home, and a myriad of stuff I try hard not to think about (it would make my eyes bleed to think about the finances she juggles). Christi is also planning to go to her 20-year high school renunion in San Diego, so she's busy plotting the getaway with her sister. I'm so happy for her because she deserves a break for a couple of days. She's been in touch with a few of her old school friends on Facebook and she's looking forward to it.
The kids are fully in the swing of school now, with 5 of them in one band program or another and just the usual to and fro. Chad is driving himself to class everyday and Dalton is chomping at the bit waiting for his Aunt to get a new car so he can buy her old one. Austin is doing double duty with both marching band and jazz band, he plays the Euphonium (Yeah, I'd never heard of it either until Dalton and Austin started playing them) in the former and the trumpet in the latter. Gage also plays the Euphonium in the middle school band while Bailey plays the valve trombone. Even Kaylee is in the swing having started the clarinet in the 5th grade band program. I guess they got their musical abilities from Christi's side somewhere, because it sure didn't come from MY genetics. When I was in the service, a friend tried bravely to teach me to play the guitar, but he soon pointed out that maybe I should keep my day job.
That's pretty much my excuse for not posting for a week. It's not much, but it's my story and I'm sticking to it.