Brazil Happy.

I know this is late news, but Aaron got his call to the BRAZIL, JOAO PESSOA mission, Portuguese speaking!! He leaves December 22nd, which means that we'll celebrate Christmas early, then he'll really only be gone for one Christmas! Looking on the bright side. :) I'm so excited for the boy! And I'm also happy because now we'll be able to add/check off a hundred more things on our bucket list before he goes.

I've decided that if TIME had a taste, it would be the most bittersweet flavor in the world. Why does it fly by so fast?? And why do some days drag on and on and on? Why can't a semester of school go by as fast as the summer, or the summer slow down to the pace of the school year? It's a hard thing to grasp. Maybe it's bittersweet because I can't decide what I'd like it to taste like.

McCaye and Andy went back to Nashville on Sunday. You'd think it'd get easier to have them leave when they've come and gone several times, but every time they pull out it's still hard. I wish they lived close, especially now that Nash is just weeks away!

Kel and RC have moved into an apartment in RC's parents' home. I'm excited because it's about... 5 minutes closer to home. :) Even though I'm moving 20 minutes away in a week haha. A WEEK! Man, I've sure got a lot to do before I leave. Besides packing, I have so many people I want to spend time with, and I've still got some textbook/apt./school clothes shopping to do! Most of my friends have already moved away to college, and I'm thankful that I've had a little more time at home than most.

I'm gonna be late for work so I've gotta run!

The Perfect Summer

After reflecting on the sunny days of the last two months, I've come to the conclusion that it has been my perfect summer. I've done so many fun things and spent all my time with my favorite people... I'm not sure how much better it can get.

I've got a lot to fill you all in on! On the 17th, I went to a Jenny Phillips songwriting/singing workshop all day. It was amazing! I learned so many new things and got to know people very similar to myself. As you can imagine, there were also quite a few oddballs at the conference, which made the day even more entertaining. :) The whole thing made me seriously consider a major in Media Music; I guess we'll see if the interest sticks around!

The 24th was such a great day as well... Pioneer Day might just be my favorite holiday. I'm a huge fan of our little hometown parade and annual fair. What can I say-- I'm a small town girl. I love the primary kids riding the float, the horses and cowboys, the pooper-scoopers, the entertainers at the park, the happy sun, family and friends, the whole lot of it.

Saturday afternoon, I had an audition with Jenny Phillips herself in SLC for a vocal competition I'm doing; everyone records a demo singing the same song that Jenny wrote, then she and Tyler Castleton review the demos and choose a winner to record a song on their 2011 CD. The top ten vocalists also get to sing a combined number. The audition went well and I had a lot fun doing it, so I don't even care about the outcome! After I was done recording, she asked me if I'd like to be on the cover of her next YW CD. Pretty sweet, eh? I'm excited for the shoot!

As if the day wasn't good enough, it was topped off with Mapleton city's AMAZING fireworks. I have an obsession with fireworks, really with anything that glows in the sky. Not long ago, Aaron and I bought a book about constellations and have been using it to our stargazing benefit.

Speaking of Aaron, his papers are officially in. The long-awaited call will be here shortly, and I'm so dang excited to find out where he's going. Hooray! He's going to make a very incredible missionary; as much as I'm going to miss him, I wouldn't want him anywhere but right where he's supposed to be serving the Lord. I'm going to have to work hard to keep up with him while he's gone... I've got a LOT of studying to do!

Have you all read the Hunger Games series? If not, I HIGHLY recommend it. I've been stuck on them lately, and I found out today that I have to wait until Aug. 24th for the last one to come out. :( So very sad!

Well, it's time to get my car registered before I get pulled over a third time. :) Have a great day, everyone!

A Fresh Start

I can't believe how fast this summer is flying by. I feel like there are so many things I have to do and places I need to go before school starts again, but I guess I need to kick it into turbo mode since June is almost over!

I love summer because I always feel more driven to carry out the things I want to do and work on the habits I want to develop. I guess it's because I actually have a little bit of free time to accomplish my goals, unlike during the school year. This summer I've taken up my old ways of running every day, and I'm actually enjoying it! It's amazing how hard it can be to get back in shape after not exercising for a while... I'm finally learning the value of building back up slowly, rather than jumping into four mile runs right off the bat. I have quite a few goals this summer: I want to get back in shape, develop healthier eating habits, learn to love reading, strengthen my family relationships, improve my guitar and piano playing skills, and several others which I'll keep personal. :) Did I mention the fact that I love summer?

Andy's leaving for Singapore today... he'll be gone until the beginning of August. Poor McCaye. :( Poor Andy! It's been so fun to have them both around for a few days.. they're hilarious, smart, and genuine, and I love spending time with them! We had a big early morning breakfast this morning before he leaves; it was the first time in a long time that we've had everyone together. Except Gunner I guess, he's definitely a part of the family. Unfortunately he's spending the summer in Nashville.

Amity Christine Smyth is my very best friend. :) I'm so thankful to have such great friends as examples and role models! Am and I both love singing, which makes it that much more fun to jam out in the car. We also pleasure in making crazy movies and music videos when have sleepovers, tanning (only for special occasions, of course), making our famous roast beef melts, frazils, and going on double dates. You could say we're joined at the hip. :) Much to our dismay, we won't be able to room together next year, but luckily we'll be at neighboring colleges so I'll still get to see her lovely face often.

A Little Prelude Music...

I've finally given in... I'm officially a blogger. I'm sure you already know me well if you're reading this, but I figured I'll start with a little Cassie prelude music:

I absolutely love life. There are many many things in this world that make me happy, and very few that bring me down. I have an incredible family... we are all very similar and very close! My parents are two of the most kind and hard-working people I know; I feel so blessed to have been raised by them! Ryan is my 25 year-old brother, with a birthday coming up on Friday! He is my true hero... I have always felt a unique closeness with him. We seem to have a similar understanding and opinion of almost every situation. I can come to him for anything, and his advice has saved me a million times. McCaye is the cutest pregnant lady I've ever seen. :) She and Andy are awaiting the arrival of little Andrew Nash, my first nephew! I'm so excited to see the new family member! McCaye is adventurous and driven. I've always admired her confidence... I remember going on a walk with her when I was little and she waved and said hello to everyone we passed along the way. I wanted to be just like her, so I decided to do the same, and I've smiled and waved to every friend or stranger ever since. :) Kellie is kind and reserved. She's been my partner in so many things over the years: shopping, sonic stops, tanning, draggin' main, cafe rio salads, dances, parties, softball... I could go on forever. She and R.C. are happily married as of February, living close by in Springville. She's one of my very best friends! Chris is the youngest of the clan, although he acts older than most of us. He's going to be a pro soccer player someday, I know it. He's amazing. It's just he and I left at home, and we've grown a lot closer because of it. I love hangin' out with him... he's way funny, witty, smart, and extremely thoughtful.

I'm going to BYU this fall, and I couldn't be more excited! I plan on majoring in Speech-Language Pathology, and eventually mastering in Vocology. It's a long road ahead of me, but I'm ready to start trekking, one step at a time. I'm rooming with a good friend from West Jordan, Ashley Gray, and we're already making our nerdy lists to get everything ready for the adventure. :)

That's all the time I have for today, but there's more to come in the near future!