For Some Reason...

this video reminded me of the Haught Family.They always put the important things first-Family. You are awesome, Tash. You are tough and sweet and good. Jen, you are so strong. Houston, I love you chooter. I love all of you, even Dallas who never can remember if my name is Kalli or Cassi (it's Cassi BTW). I love you so much Aunt Cathy. I have a little necklace you gave me for my bday years ago that has a "C" charm on it. I look at it and think of you. You are the toughest of all. I love my Kelly too and our families. I am grateful for temples.

Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons

Kelly and I went to Yellowstone/Grand Teton National Park Labor Day weekend. We are moving next year, so we need to take advantage of the beautiful things nearby before we end up in Clovis or something. Here are some of my favorite pictures. I had more, but blogspot was acting up. I am just amazed by the beauty in these places.

I love the way they sit and their wet chins!

Loved seeing this too!

Kelly and Old Faithful. It wasn't as cool as we thought, but impressive because it shoots off ever;y 90 minutes.

Just amazing. I hope Yellowstone never blows.

The Grand Tetons!

Hiking near Jenny Lake

Daddy Moose, aka Bullwinkle


Kelly is in Vegas for 18 days, which is much better than Afghanistan. I get to see him next weekend too. He is working Green Flag with the fighter squadron, which will give him some good experiences. I hung out with my not-so-little sister Meesa (she is going to BYU) last night and today. We had fun going out to dinner and chatting. She is so beautiful and grown up!

We put in our list to PCS this week. Kelly’s commander forgot to submit it on the day it was due (great), but he got it in two days later with a good recommendation. Some of the places are UK, Denver, Florida, West Virginia, Nebraska, San Antonio, and many others. We aren’t holding our breath for the UK, but we’d love it. We will like any place, though. It'll be an adventure. We’ll keep you posted!

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Some exciting news in our family...I got a job as a full time Registered Dietitian! Yay! It is at South Davis Community Hospital in Bountiful. Not to bore you with the details, but basically I will be in charge of making a nutrition care plan for each patient, which ranges from pediatric to geriatric.

Also, Kelly likes his new squadron. He has better hours (so far), which we were not expecting. He also gets to research current intelligence and present it to pilots, which has always been the favorite part of his job.

The two of us are adjusting to me working. Kelly has been very helpful with the housework, landry, dishes, etc, since I am no longer home all day. Tomorrow we take our first dive together since I started taking scuba. It is at the Crater in Heber City. I am a little nervous, but I need to do this to become certified. I am glad Kelly is coming.

In other news, two weekends ago we went to Huntington State Park and Price,UT for a Wood Family Reunion. The Lake reminded me of Caballo and I felt nostalgic. We had a blast. All of Kelly's brothers and families were there. They came from CA, South Africa, New Mexico, UT, and Boston. Below are some pix.

The Family. Too bad greycoat isn't in the picture. :)

Eating lunch at Huntington State park



Ginny and Lucy. Ginny caught a crawfish and was showing it off when Lucy picked up a rock to show off too.



The storm coming in. A lot of what we brought flew off the tables while we were racing to get out of the water.

It was a hot day, so the water felt GREAT.

"Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time"

This is a video Cassi and I liked. Although we're not having an especially hard time right now, it's a good reminder that many people are, and a good kick in the butt to get us to help them.

Stupid blogger.com cuts off the right side, but I think it still gets the message across. Anyone know how to make the blog wider?

Born the on the 4th of July

Happy 4th Of July!

Kelly and I made a list of why we love America:

(feel free to add your own favorites)

1. We call Crepes "really thin pancakes" just to tick off the French

2. Public trash cans

3. Activities such as demolition derbies, rodeos, and state fairs which come with very interesting people and fattening foods such as fried oreos

4. Free refills and drinks that come with LOTS of ice

5. Sasha Cohen, Shannon Miller, Kim Zmeskal (that's for you, Carrie), Kristi Yamaguchi, Michelle Kwan, Carly Patterson, etc.

6. The best dang ice cream

7. Free public toilets (Kelly says "good toilets")

8. George Washington, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, all of the founding fathers, Abe Lincoln, Susan B Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Ronald Regan, FDR

9. The Prophet Joseph Smith; freedom of religion

10. The Rockies

11. Iowa corn

12. New Mexican chilie

13. Monsoons

14. California oranges

15. Hawaiian pineapple

16. Everyone else has silly accents

17. We invented the internets

18. Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Frank Lloyd Wright

19. F-16, 15, B-52

20. Country music

21. Statue of Liberty, Grand Canyon, White Sands, California beaches

22. And-We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

"They Say It's Your Birthday!

You're gonna have a good time..."
Happy 27th Year of Life, Kelly!

Some things Kelly accomplished last year:

First year of marriage

First deployment to Afghanistan

First cat-greycoat

First time back to visit his mission in Germany
I don't know how those turned into "firsts"

I am sure there are more, but that gives you an idea. Kelly renewed his altitude training course recently, so next week he will probably fly in a jet! That will be his first time in a while. He also moves to a fighter squadron soon, hopefully next week. We are careful not to rely too much on Air Force plans. :)

Today, Kelly may receive his first gun. I am a little nervous about the prospect. This is why we have been talking about it for a few months. It is rare for us to do things spontaneously, especially not a gun purchase. But hey, what is the point of being in the military if you can't have a gun of your own?

Our cat brought a dead mouse to the door yesterday, which is a sign of love and that she is trying to impress us. I guess she knew it was his birthday. It was too gross to take a picture, but you get the idea. I am grateful that Kelly is here and that we are married in the temple forever. I am grateful he has the priesthood. And, I am grateful we can both have nerdy interests (Harry Potter, WWII, Axis and Allies, Rockband, cats/animals, etc.). So, Happy Birthday Kelly!

Happy Father's Day...and Mother's Day

Happy Father's Day Dad!

I also say Happy Father's Day to my Grandpa McCuistion, my brothers, my father-in-law, brothers-in-law, and my dear husband who will someday be a dad. I also say thank-you to my Heavenly Father who blessed me with a wonderful family.

I won't be too cheesy, but I wanted to tribute this post to my Dad, Kim Hakes. I also tribute this post to my mom for a late Mother's Day post. I am not too eloquent with words, BTW. Enjoy, mom and dad!

When I was little, my dad taught me to jitterbug. Here we are doing it on my wedding day.

My Dad (and Mom) is the reason I was able to go to and graduate from college. He was so supportive, both financially and emotionally.

Dominoes, that and Mormon Bridge are classic games we played at home or at the cabin growing up. Dad and his mom, Grandma Hakes, often taught us how to play. The best part is when dad makes corny jokes and then says "the jokes never start" instead of "the jokes never stop."

This is one of my favorite memories of being home while Kelly was deployed. We just jumped into the car and went to see "Swing Vote" and then grabbed some pizza afterwards. Favorite memories with dad and the fam are going to see movies and eating out or BBQ at home. Dad is so easy-going about what we do.

My dad always treats my mom well. They are best friends, and they still hold hands when they go out! One of my favorite stories is even when they had 4 or 5 or so kids (they had nine total), they would still go to the hospital and look at the newborns through the window. They love kids and they love us!

Mom and her two grandaughters, Hailey and Julia. There are two more due this year. She is a wonderful grandma. I am always amazed at how she bonds with each grandkid. She even bonded with my cat when I was living at home, and she already had a cat. I think the best description is she has a mother heart.

Before I married kelly, I went to mom with most problems and frustrations. She is good at solving problems and she is very inspired. She was so understanding when Kelly was deployed and I was living at home again, which was weird at first. I also have fun with her when we go to curves or get cones or take walks. Growing up, I loved my summer "date" with mom. I also love getting together with my sisters and mom now. Love you, mom.

I also want to say that I have a wonderful mother-in-law. Janelle is so thoughtful. When Kelly was gone, she often invited me over for dinner which was a great change of scene. We also went out to eat together and had lots of fun. She is also a wonderful Grandma!

Happy Father's Day to Karl, Kelly's dad, too. He took me shooting for my first real time. I am excited to see what else Karl will take us to do that I have never done: fishing, Alaska, who knows? He is a great husband and father.