My Graduation

May 17th, 2010

Yes, I made it! And I’m now a homeschool highschool graduate, diploma and all. Huzzah!

We had a small ceremony with our local homeschool group last Friday, when I graduated with two other seniors. I was fun wearing the traditional cap and gown, but honestly I don’t know how in heaven’s name a mortarboard can look good on anyone! It’s a fashion our society can do without. How ’bout newsboy caps for the next generation? Who’s with me? :-P

We had a whole discussion/debate  on which direction to flip the tassel; left to right, or right to left? I asked several people their opinion and was given several different answers each time; in the end, we voted left to right. Seems logical, doesn’t it? Which way did you flip your tassel when you graduated? I’d love to know!

After some refreshments at the church, we invited several of our friends to our house for a graduation party. Good thing it was a Friday night – we ended up laughing, talking and playing hilarious games until after 12! Good times!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out and made this day so special to me. You guys are the best, and I’m so blessed to know you all.

The adventure continues!

-Kasie

Click the “more” button to read my little blurb in the programs… Read the rest of this entry »

Look What We Found!

May 15th, 2010

A littler of kittens! There were five of them across the creek – no wonder we’ve been seeing the mommy cat a lot lately!

We were able to catch these two cuties, and yes, we’re keeping them. :-) They’ve adapted to being around people pretty well, especially for living in the wild for (I’m guessing) 5 weeks or so.

~a little scared on their first day with humans. Don’t they look so funny without tails? They’re a tailless breed, known as “manx cats”. They’re suppose to be really good mousers!

At this point, the little guys (actually guy and girl!) are still nameless, but the decision is up to Nate and I, since we caught and claimed them.We’ll probably keep the tradition, using Lord of the Rings names, but we’ll see.

Aren’t they so adorable!

-Kasie

At the “TEA Party”

April 21st, 2010

As a band we were privileged once more to participate in our TEA (taxed enough already) party rally on the 15th, by providing live patriotic music. Over 400 people showed up! Walter also opened up the rally with prayer.

God bless America!

-Kasie

The Willi Learn to Shoot

March 14th, 2010

I guess now we’re true Tennesseans. :-D   

So yeah, we’re true believers in the second amendment and the “right to bear arms”, but we also understand that with a firearm one has to be extremely careful, safe and responsible. For an introduction to guns, we took a course! A “hunter’s safety course” to be exact. We had five hours on Friday night, and five hours on Saturday morning, and we all passed the test!

I seriously doubt I’ll do much hunting in my life, even though I’m now certified to do so, but  I’m so glad I took that course! At least now I know the different types and parts of a gun, how to operate a firearm, laws and restrictions, and most importantly, gun safety.

After all our hard work in the classroom we drove to a friends’ house nearby (with our instructor of course) to put our knowledge into practice, firing shotguns on some “clay pigeons”.

~here we are taking our hourly break. Can you tell I’m starting to get tired? :-)

~Horah! We passed the test!

All the folks from class gather to do some shootin’.

Angie takes her turn at shooting the 20 gage.

My turn! I didn’t end up shattering a single clay pigeon, but I nicked a few and one stationary target! I need lots of practice (Nate, on the other hand, nailed his second shot!).

Walter fires a few shots. Both he and Nate tried the 12 gage as well, and said the kick back wasn’t much worse than the 20. I stuck with the 20.

Even Mom tried her hand at it – go Mom!

What an exciting weekend!

-Kasie

It Came!

February 23rd, 2010

Yes, TheWilli ordered a new digital piano! Sticky keys are not fun to play on, and after getting our current instrument repaired every few months, we knew it was time. Yesterday we watched excitedly as the UPS truck drove up our driveway, carrying our treasure.

“It’s HERE!!”

Oh yeah! Unwrap that bad boy.

Sweet!

The old piano is set aside… (still a very good instrument! we’ll probably get it fixed, then use it only for gigs so it stays in better condition. I mean, we’ve banged on that thing for years!)

…and the new one takes its place.

We also bought a case for easier transportation. I love that thing!

Everyone gathers around to try it out. We’ll get to use it for our upcoming concert!

And there she stands today. Isn’t it beautiful? It was a huge expense, but I think it’s worth it.

-Kasie :-)

Frozen!

February 10th, 2010

Yeah, we’re currently without water over here! I think most everyone knows that the east coast in general has had a rather severe winter, TN included. But before, whenever we had a cold night we’d leave our water in the faucets and showers dripping so it wouldn’t freeze. Last night the temperatures dropped rapidly and we didn’t perform our usual habits, and this morning – no water!

It really wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact that frozen pipes never work the same after they’re unfrozen (from the expansion of the ice); they become weakened, and eventually they’ll need a replacement (if they don’t burst while they’re frozen). In New York, it was a requirement to bury the pipes at least 3 feet underground, but I suppose Tennessee wasn’t expected to get this cold. Surprise! :-)

Anyway, Dad and Walter are working hard underneath the house with a hair dryer and electric heater trying to discover  the specific place our pipes have froze. Pray that they find it and we can get our water back!  It’s amazing how much I take for granted; the simple of act of washing my hands – how I miss it!

-Kasie

UPDATE: We were unable to thaw out the pipes and are still without running water. However, we’ve been filling up buckets from a neighbor’s water to flush toilets and wash the few dishes we’ve used. At least it’s not as bad as losing electricity for the whole day – we can still watch a movie and pop popcorn tonight!

UPDATE 2: Praise God, we have water! We had turned off the electric heater last night and covered the pipes with hay before bed. This morning at 4:45 I awoke to the sound of rushing water flowing into the bathtubs we’d left on during the night – what a sweet sound! I made some baked oatmeal for breakfast to celebrate (a few hours later, of course), and I can use all the dishes and make all the mess I want, ’cause there’s water to clean it up. (oh yeah!)

Time to fire up the dish washer, shower and washing machine again! Huzzah!

Ballet Rehearsals!

January 20th, 2010

~Walter, in one of his roles as a Hebrew man

Show time for Exodus: The Story of Moses is this weekend! That means lots of rehearsals for us! Walter’s the only one dancing in the ballet, but Nate and I are in the backstage crew moving props, managing curtains and backdrops, and Angie is kept very busy helping dancers with quick changes and makeup. We’ve been at the theater nearly everyday this past week! All is looking great; I think we’re ready.

~The guys show their manly 1st position :-)

I’ll see some of you opening night, this Friday!

-Kasie

Life is Back to Normal…

November 25th, 2009

…kinda. :-) Although I’m beginning to believe that there’s no such thing as “normal” in our family, as you can see…

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:-P

Although the busyness of Beauty and the Beast is behind us, we still have a lot going on, and another drama to look forward to in a couple of months! Did anyone know that Walter is in a ballet? He’s not an official dancer, but plays various “guy rolls” in Central Ballet Theatre’s Exodus: the Story of Moses. I don’t have any pictures of rehearsals yet, but I should soon since Angie, Nate and I will be working backstage. Show time is the weekend of January 21st, so mark your calendars and come stay with us!

With the holiday season coming up, also comes holiday festivities! I’m looking forward Thanksgiving and Game Day get-togethers, our Christmas Civil War ball, a tacky party (remember last year’s?), and New Year’s celebrations. I love this time of year, and I’m totally ready to “get in the spirit” of things! :-) Now, if only it would snow at the appropriate time…

Have a blessed Thanksgiving week!

-Kasie

More Beauty and the Beast Photos

November 12th, 2009

Kasie here this time! I figured I’d eliminate any confusion as to who’s writing this post right off the bat. :-) Can you believe it though? Angie posted twice in a row!

Anyway, I was so happy to see these pictures my friend took during the opening night performance – we’ve never been able to see ourselves, you know. :-) So I sort of borrowed these to share with you. And do excuse any heads or blurriness in these photos. It is, after all, very hard to photograph a play when confined to your seat and can’t use a flash!

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The curtains open, Belle begins to sing and villagers come out onto the stage.

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“Be Our Guest!” Everyone worked so hard on this number, and did an awesome job! In the forefront are Babette, Cogsworth, Chip and Mrs. Pots (surrounded by plates, napkins, forks, knives, spoons, pillars and chairs).

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Robbie obviously loved playing the role of “Lumiere”. He does so well!

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Gaston, with the help of the creepy Misuer D’Arque and his sidekick Le Fou, rallies the villagers against the Beast in a rousing number we like to call The Mob Song. It’s my favorite scene!

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“Praise the Lord and here we gooooooo!”

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At stage left the ladies sing their “oohs” and “aahs”.

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At the very, very end, we sing “Be Our Guest” as an encore. Can you spy Angie and I?

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If it looks crowded, that’s because it was. We have 112 folk in the cast!

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Happy girls!  (I know – the makeup looks freaky)

What a wonderful whirlwind of a weekend that was! And tonight we’ll be doing it again for a four day weekend. Whew!

-Kasie

Beauty and the Beast Sneak Peaks

November 2nd, 2009

So, opening night for our Beauty and the Beast production is this Friday: a mere four days away! Yikes! A scary but exciting thought. Things are going very well, especially considering that we’ve only had eight weeks to put this whole thing together (and with a cast of 112, too!). Angie and I are having a blast!

I took pictures yesterday at our dress rehearsal, with our fellow villagers. We were ready to be onstage before many of the rest of the cast, so we hung out downstairs, warmed our voices and got a little silly. :-)

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Everyone look like you’re singing!

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More silliness. :-) (told ya!)

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Angie and the wolves.

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Sitting in the arena downstairs, waiting until it’s time for us to be onstage.

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The folks on my right, waiting.

It wasn’t until I had changed out of my costume that I realized I hadn’t taken my usual self portrait for the day – oops! Oh well. Angie and I have rehearsals nearly everyday this week, and a group of our friends are coming to see the show opening night, so there will be more pictures I’m sure. :-)

Ta, ta!

-Kasie