ROADTRIP PART THREE: A BIRTHDAY HE WILL NEVER FORGET.

            On August 8th we decided to go canoeing for Canden's (my little brother) 12th birthday. He was now an official boy scout, and he desperately wanted to get his canoeing badge.
          When we arrived at the river all 20 of us got situated, organized, and into our separate canoes. I went with Canden and Jack, our 10 year old cousin. We didn’t get very far down the river when we decided to stop and wait for the rest of our family. Another one of the canoes (caring two of our younger cousins and a foreign exchange student from Japan) paddled up to us to also wait. They lost control, and ran into the side of our canoe.
            Out of nowhere, I hear Canden yell, “My finger! It fell off!” Yeah right. I thought to myself. Canden was notorious for being overdramatic about things and besides, the other canoe barely hit ours. I looked over at Canden just in case, and to my dismay saw blood everywhere. I stood up and leaned over him to get a better look at his finger. You know when you cut a hotdog in half long ways, and both sides just kind of flop over? Yeah, that’s what his finger looked like.
            My instincts (and multiple years of first aid training) kicked in. I quickly took off the T-shirt I was wearing over my swimsuit and wrapped his finger up with it to try to stop the bleeding. Fearing he was going into shock, I hugged him and whispered, “It’s going to be okay. Don’t worry, it’s not that bad. Everything will be fine.” An ambulance then came and rushed him to the nearest hospital, 2 ½ hours away.
           The doctor said the canoe must have hit his finger just right, because it literally exploded. He fractured the bone and had a partial amputation, but his tendons, muscles, and arteries were in perfect shape. Long story short, it was a miracle.
           While he was at the hospital with my mom and dad, my cousins and I threw him a little surprise birthday party. We decorated the whole house with balloons and streamers, the whole getup. All of our younger cousins drew him pictures and made him cards, while us older cousins wrapped presents and made food. When he came home a few hours later, we turned on the lights, jumped out at him and yelled "surprise!" Even though his finger was all wrapped up and he was clearly still pretty out of it from the drugs, he was so happy! He couldn't stop smiling and laughing and telling us all about the new chuck norris jokes he made up. Oh, that little boy.

{via.}

The other day in seminary, we talked about our hopes and dreams for the future.

This is what I decided:

I want to go on a mission for my church. I want to go to Africa and help build a school. I want to run a marathon. I want to learn how to surf and sew and to play the ukulele. I want to travel the world. I want to go to Brigham young university to become a special education teacher. More specifically, I want to work with deaf and blind children. I also want to continue photography, maybe even shooting some families/seniors/weddings on the side. I want to be fluent in Braille and American Sign Language, as well as Spanish and Dutch. I want to get married in the temple and have a family. I want to help change the world for the better. I want to live an awesome life, one that people will remember.

TEACHER THINKS THAT I SOUND FUNNY, BUT SHE LIKES THE WAY YOU SING.

a little back to school video i made with my siblings a few months ago.
are they the cutest, or what? :)

{song is "we're going to be friends" by the white stripes.}

this is the only good thing about waking up at 6:00 AM.

things that make me happy:

taking pictures//the nice guy at mcdonald's that put peppermint in my hot coco and made the chocolate sauce look like a smiley face//elvis laughing//reading preach my gospel before bed//finding notes from friends in my scriptures//dinner with the missionaries//a good book to read//this mormon message video//long phone conversations with far away friends//meeting chewbacca//knowing that i only have 3 days of school this week//all of the brightly colored trees//looking at pictures of my parents when they were young//wearing boots everyday last week//decorating my bedroom//an extra hour of sleep thanks to daylight savings//

general conference {saturday session.}

 {laura and erik and i. we're babes, don't deny it. also, please note that i am wearing a bowtie. bahaha.}

oh boy, where do i begin? today was conference. it's a time set aside twice a year where our prophet and church leaders speak to us worldwide. i love conference weekends. i always hear the things i needed to hear, and i find a whole lot of comfort in their inspired guidance and love.

things that i learned at conference today:




when you read the scriptures, it makes it easier to obey the commandments. scriptures are tools to help us. use these tools. they are pure truth. read your scriptures every day. studying & memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet full of friends and truths that can be called upon at any time. great power comes from memorizing scriptures. ponder what you read.


when you pray, believe you will get an answer. god will answer in his own way and in his own time. never give up. always pray. make prayer a daily habit. trust in the lord with all your heart. listen for the voice of the spirit that is felt rather than heard. as you seek revelation, you will walk in the light of the lord.


whom the lord love, he corrects. learn of the church before you go around preaching it. trust in the lord with all your heart. testimonies come little by little. our testimony + faith in the lord + knowledge of the plan of happiness is what we need to get us through hard times.


dreams we have now can be fulfilled later in life. do not give up on your hopes and dreams.


no building is more important than the temple. go to the temple often, as often as you can.


learn of christ and follow his example. christ is the perfect example. when we serve others, we are serving christ. those who are lost rarely even realize they are lost. we need to help and love them.


we are being raised in enemy land. we are the strongest of the strong, the bravest of the brave, the best of the best. we were saved for this day and time to fight for our beliefs and help others do the same.


do not believe that you are not good enough, not smart enough, not pretty enough, etc. those thoughts are from satan, and they are not true. the worth of souls is great in the sight of god. we are everything to god. the lord uses the scale very different from that of the world to measure self worth. he loves each and every one of us. we are all special and we all have a reason to be here. do not let satan discourage you.


i am a daughter of god. i am a daughter of a king.


the book of mormon will help us with our problems and give us guidance.


some of the greatest souls that have ever lived are not in history books.


do not worry. live your life to the fullest. go on a mission, get married, have a family, watch your children and grandchildren grow up. you will not run out of time. everything will work out.


the church is pressing forward--press forward with it.


do the best you can, and the lord will do the rest. all will be well. do not stress.


be humble. do not complain. be a good influence to those around you. let your light shine to the world.


no matter what, you are not invisible to your father in heaven. what is going on now will not be forever. love your heavenly father in word and in deed. he sees you as his child. he sees you as the being you can and will become. he wants you to know that he loves you.


there is always time to serve others. service can be small. let us be as quick to kneel in prayer as we are to text. get rid of the time wasting things in your life. make sure being busy means you are being productive. continue to prepare to meet god. use the internet for good.


it is better to look up.


always remember christ. pour out your heart in prayer. have a hearing ear and a seeing eyes both directed upward.

a few of my favorite things

in honor of president's uchtdorf's message about turning the mundane into the majestic,

 i would like to list off a few little things that have made me very happy this week.

being the oldest kids at skate world.

making brownies in a mug.

cute handouts from young womens.

 the weirdos i see walking down the street. :)

my handsome little brother.

my friend Tristin, who wears bow ties to school.

"ode to CasiDee" {written by the wonderful Whitney.},

 a pola of me from efy,

a letter from my favorite missionary,

 the most awkward photo booth strip of Laura and i from OMSI,

 and my favorite poem called "In Life."   

 this hunky man.

and this beautiful quote from Gordon B. Hinckley.

dear boy in the striped button up,

i really like your style. i love your ray bans and the way you rolled your jeans two inches above your ankles. i also love your hair. it reminded me of james dean. not gonna lie, i kinda wanted to run my fingers through it. okay, i really wanted to run my fingers through it.


wait, you don't remember me? we met at the dance saturday night...remember? okay. so maybe i'm using the term "met" loosely. i saw you, and i may or may not have stalked you. i don't think you noticed me. but it's all good! i'll wear my ray bans to the next dance. that way, we can have something to bond over.


we will be best friends one day. and you will let me run my fingers through your beautiful hair.
just you wait and see.


love,
CasiDee

little handwritten notes & other random thoughts

today i wrote some little notes to leave in library books.

it was kinda sorta on my "mid-year goals" list. (send handwritten notes to people.)

i guess it could also go under the "stop being such a perfectionist" goal too. i wanted to throw a lot of  almost all of all of the notes away because of stupid reasons. the edges weren't perfectly cut, or my handwriting didn't look perfect. Seriously guys, it's like i'm OCD or something...

in other new, i'm obsessed with this song and this song.

i went shopping the other day. j.crew outlet like woah!

while i was out shopping, i met the man of my dreams.

(according to Laura and my mom, at least.)

he was super super tall and super super skinny.

he parted his hair right down the middle.

it was long-ish, so it sat very awkwardly on the sides of his head.

it was also very greasy, but i wont mention that...

his jeans: light wash, super flare, and the best part? back pockets as front pockets!

he walked around with his hands on his hips.

he tucked his blue checkered button up into his jeans.

and the deal maker?

red bow tie.

i went to my school the other day to get my schedule changed.

okay, so maybe i am a little bit excited to start school.

but just a little bit.

i really wish i could pull off red lipstick.

or any lipstick, for that matter.

i'm learning to play "the sound of silence" by Simon and Garfunkel on the piano.

cool, i know.

the end.

may the force be with you.

love,

CasiDee

 

ooooooh weeeee oooooooh *

once upon a time, i was having a really bad day

then i saw this picture of buddy holly on the wall at Hard Rock Cafe.  

and i just knew, everything was going to be okay.

{and all of that just rhymed. what the hey?}

  *{If you have no idea what my title means,

please click here and listen to the best song ever.
It will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
Your welcome.} 

Laugh Attack

I'm going to miss summer.

Monday.

On Monday I took my little sister on a walk to the movie theaters.

We saw Smurfs.

She loved it, I fell asleep.

{Video taken by the 8mm camera iphone app. Song is "Whole Wide World" by Mindy Gledhill.}

PS: HUNGER GAMES!! YES! YES! YES!
PSS: When I showed this to my little sister, she said: "Ummmm, CasiDee! I do have great plans, but I am NOT a little girl!!" :)

I fell in love with a city called Utrecht.

When I got back from my Europe trip, everyone I talked to would always ask the same question: "What was your favorite part?"
My answer?
Utrecht.
Utrecht is an adorable little town right outside Amsterdam.
It was a lot like Amsterdam, it had the beautiful old buildings, great shopping, (hello zara! hello united colors of benetton! hello lacoste!) delicious gelato, DUTCH FRYS, (also known as: heaven) etcetera.

But it was A LOT less busy, there were no nasty shops or creepy alleyways and no pot smell!! 

The hotel we stayed in was amazing. I could live there for the rest of my life. The rooms were beautiful, the grounds were absolutely breathtaking, the people that worked there were so nice, and the breakfast was DELICIOUS.
And that fact that it used to be an old monk monastery and soldier hospital and was totally haunted did not creep me out one bit.
(okay. maybe it creeped me out just a little...)

Basically, I fell in love with a city called Utrecht.

(I really had to go...dont judge.)

( I almost spent 40 euros on this shirt, even though it only came in children sizes. Oh my word, how I loved this shirt.)

(worst chinese ever.)

(best gelato ever.)

(the room in which your baby can do sit ups.)

Thank Heavens

Thank Heavens for crappy pictures of my new Swatch watch.

I love it with all my heart.

I cant take it off.

(I totally bought this Amsterdam. Woo Hoo! 

I could have bought it in the states for half the price,

but that wouldn't have been as cool...Right?)

Thank Heavens for Adele and Meiko 

and the new Joshua Radin song

and the mixed cd of Muse B-Sides

my friend made for me.

Thank Heavens for my family.

Thank Heavens that I now have an Iphone

that actually works.

Thank Heavens that THE SUN IS OUT.

Seriously.

It's about time.

Thank Heavens for

Nat The Fat Rat's posts on The New Testament.

I have read these over and over again.

So funny and so inspiring!

I wish I could write like her.

Thank Heavens for frozen yogurt.

Chocolate with oreos and Carmel sauce, to be exact.

Thank Heavens for Zumba.

Funnest workout ever.

Thank Heavens for blogging.

Because I am really really horrible at keeping a journal.

Thank Heavens that EFY is in TWO WEEKS.

Thank Heavens that my friend Laura has cool Manny Pacquiao

and Star Wars T-shirts that she lets me borrow. :)

Thank Heavens for Modern Family.

Thank Heavens for bow ties.

Thank Heavens for spell check.

Thank Heavens for my friend Caroline that

teaches me fun sayings like

"Thank Heavens".

Thank Heavens!

A Sleepover With Elvis, Marilyn and Laura.

Thanks for crimping my hair and eating two pans of brownies with me, Laura

You rock.

please excuse my absence

but I've been busy partying it up over here:

and over here:

and I have many, many post coming soon.

You may not believe this, but...

(this picture has nothing to do with the story...)

On Wednesday, I went Repelling AKA: rock climbing but backwards AKA: the scariest thing I have ever done in my life.

You see, I am deathly afraid of heights. Always have been, always will be. So last week at church, when they announced that the youth were going repelling, I said: "hahahaha. no."


But I kept getting asked about it! All throughout church that day, people were asking me if I was going. I told them all maybe, but in my mind I was set. There was no way I was going to jump off the back of a cliff. Do I look stupid?
But somehow, I got suckered into going. Maybe it’s because I'm a softy, and can’t stand saying no to people. Or maybe it’s because I knew that the cute new boy was going to be there. Or maybe it’s because I didn't want to seem like a wimp. Or maybe it’s because the new boy wears glasses and somewhat resembles Buddy Holly.


But whatever. The point is, I said I would go. So I went.


The ride there was about and hour long, but it seemed soooo much longer than that. And to make things even better, some boy sitting behind me touched my hair like a hundred times. Not cool.


I asked our driver how high the drop was.


"Oh, it’s only about 60 feet," he said. "Why? Are you scared of heights?"


I just about had a heart attack.


"Only a little bit." I lied.


When we got there, they asked who wanted to go first.


"CasiDee does!!" said the boy next to me. I hate boys.


"noooooooooooo I don't." I said.


"Come on CasiDee! It's not that bad!" said a different boy. Did I mention that I hate boys?


I refused to go first. But somehow, I got suckered (do you see a theme happening here?) into going second.


So, basically, long story short: It was my turn, I went, about half way through I thought to myself: "Hey! This isn't that bad!" and then I became boss at repelling down walls. I was basically as awesome as Spiderman.


And then I felt like a nerd, because I could have sworn I was going to die that day, and it turned out to be kinda…fun.
But then one of the other boys cried when it was his turn. So I felt a lot better.


After the repelling, we went to some Chinese food place and watched So You Think You Can Dance as we ate our orange chicken.


The End.
Moral of the Story: I conquered my fear of heights on the first day of summer. If that’s not a sign of an awesome summer, I don’t know what is.


(Pictures coming soon!!)

life according to my iphone, the bachelorette, music, and other stuff.

I love hanging with friends and babysitting cutie patooties.

So, here's the dealio. I told myself I wouldn't watch The Bachelorette this season. I promised myself. But I was sick today...and there was nothing better to do...

and now I'm hooked. there's no stopping me now.

I'm pretty much head over heels in love with William. And i really, really do not like the wine making guy. or the bald guy. And there's just something about Bentley...

And seriously? What is up with Batman? And the guy that got drunk?

Oh boy...

In other news, I just discovered some great songs. I've been listening to them non-stop today.

1: Fix You-Coldplay

2:Colours-Grouplove

3:Big Jet Plane-Angus and Julia Stone

4:Skinny Love-Birdy

5:Holding a Heart-Girl Named Toby

Oh, and guess what? This is my 100th post! WOO HOO! My mom said that I should do a "100 things about me" post. And I said: "Ha. Right. I'm not that interesting."

So how about a 10 things about me post?

Okay, here we go...

1: I once got chased by a llama. Two of them, actually. They chased me and my mom and my mom hopped a fence and left me there to die. But don't worry. I used the force to make them back off. No harm was done.  

2: I can some what play the guitar. But you will never hear me play! Never!

3: I can some what play the piano. I pretty much kick behind at "Let it Be" and "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" but I cant really play anything else.

4: I once met Lebron James. He gave my brother a T-shirt.

5: I also met The Fonz. He was pretty much awesome.

(My brother and the Fonz)

6: I once woke up with a black eye. Just...woke up. I didn't do anything. If you wanna see pictures, click here. But just a warning, those pictures were taken back before I plucked my eyebrows...

7: I almost died in a mosh pit at a Vampire Weekend concert. (and seriously? who moshes to Vampire Weekend?!) I also punched a drunk teenager at a Dashboard Confessional concert.

(My mom and I at the Dashboard concert.)

(Ezra, the lead singer from Vampire Weekend.)

8: I've ridden a camel in the desert.

9: I went to the 25th anniversary of the goonies in Astoria, Oregon. (where they filmed it!) I got to meet some of the cast, and even got "arrested" in the jail!

10. I modeled once. Which is crazy because I am soooooo awkward in front of a camera.

Well...that's it! Holy cow that was a long post...