Kassie Rose-Age 2

Height: 33 inches
Weight: 19 lbs, 10 oz (no kidding!)
Favorite color: Purple and yellow
Favorite TV Show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Favorite Book: 5 Little Monkeys series by Eileen Christelow
Favorite Food: Chocolate (that's my girl!)
Best Friend: Timasee (Timothy)

Kassie has suddenly gone from a baby to a full-fledged toddler. She is a girly girl who LOVES to dress up and be pretty. She loves to play with her babies and tea set, but is just as happy kicking a ball around with her brother. She is talking up a storm, with mostly full sentences. It's rare that we can't figure out what she's saying. However, if you have to tell her no, prepare for a fight. She is not easily distracted and knows what she wants, even if she's not sure how to go about getting it. She has perfected the "throw myself on the ground and act like my bones are jelly" temper tantrum and has a scream to match. All in all, she is a perfect 2 year old and she brings such joy to our lives. We love you "Just Kassie".

Happy Birthday to Us!

Kassie's and my birthdays are 1 day apart. The year she was born, it was the perfect birthday present not to be pregnant anymore! Last year was kind of crazy since I turned 30 and she turned 1....2 big parties back to back. This year was really fun. We had a quiet day at home (poor Timothy was sick all day), but my mother-in-law took me out to lunch. Ben showed up at home in time for dinner (a real treat these days!) AND he brought flowers for both his girls. Mine were roses and stargazer lilies (just like my wedding bouquet) and he brought Kassie a single red rose. Appropriate for a princess named Kassie Rose! She loved it and talked to her "fower" everyday until it wouldn't hold up another day. My dad sent me flowers at school on Valentine's Day every year from the time I was in junior high until I graduated from high school. It always made me feel so special and I'm excited for Ben and Kassie to develop their own special traditions.

Catch Up Time (Part 1)

Ok, time to catch up on some long over due posts and pictures. These are from all the way back in April.Is your grandpa this flexible?

Kassie and Grandma Liz looking at pictures of....Kassie!

Stopping to feed the ducks near the Idaho Falls Temple.

"Hi Grandma!"

Ask and You Shall Recieve....

Didn't I just say that as excited as we were about getting the news about Ben's ethics exam that we REALLY were waiting for news about the bar exam? Well......it came in the mail yesterday! We had been told when he took the exam that it would take 8-10 weeks to get the scores, so we really expected that it would be AT LEAST the 20th of September, and more likely sometime in October, before we heard anything. What a shock to get that white envelope in the mail with the return office of "Utah State Bar" on it! Ben made me open it ( he said he couldn't handle any more pressure)...and the results are.....................................

HE PASSED!!!!!!

Of course, no one really doubted that he would (except maybe Ben himself), but how great to see it in black and white! The bar exam has a total of 400 points, of which you need 270 to pass. My outstanding husband blew it away with a 296. The score itself doesn't really matter, there's no incentives for getting a higher score and all the law firms care about is that you pass it. Of course being the over-achiever that he is, his first comment was "That's still below a 75%. Who cares?!? Obviously not the state bar office!

So it's finally over. All the work, sweat, and tears of the last 4 years concluded on September 13, 2008. A little bittersweet....but mostly just very exciting! What a week! My birthday on Thursday, Kassie's on Friday, and this big news on Saturday. Kind of makes me wonder what's coming up this week...

Good to know I made a good choice!

I've always known Ben is a great guy and all his friends know he's great, but now the state has verified it! Ben got his ethics test back and passed it with flying colors! He needed to get 86 of the 150 questions right and he got 138! Now if we could just get the bar results back....

You Did It! - Now move along

You know the weirdest thing about finishing is ... starting up again. We've spent 5 years (including law application time) waiting for this moment to finish the bar. And now its done. It's like the bus stopped, we arrived and now what? I didn't plan for the after, just the before.

The other strange thing is that I didn't have to study tonight (obviously, I'm posting to the blog). I haven't not had something to do for five years. There's malingering guilt, that sneaks up on me from time to time - speaking to my subconcious, "You are not studying and therefore you will FLUNK! Bwa hah hah hah!" I sit bolt upright and try and figure out what I'm forgetting, whether its midnight or mid-day.

And the funny thing is that Kat hasn't noticed, or has noticed but ignores it hoping it will go away like that time I tried to construct a heavy metal version of pop-goes-the-weasel that turned out more like a bad rendition of a bald stray dog sucking on a pickle on a downhill glacier. Its better that the memory end there.

Now, Kat actually thinks I'm fun to be around - at least when I'm not packing (a result of the guilt, no less - can't be totally non-productive). Timothy no longer talks about visiting me at my house - the law school. And Kassie will dance on my stomach until my legs come up and she can slide down. It's amazing how quickly she's learned how I react to stomach dancing.

Now that I've totally digressed from the post topic, I should swear off midnight posting. Good luck to all who read this --> I'm happy, I'm tired and I'm really excited for the future. Therefore I have no business making sense at this juncture. Good Night.

We Did It!

Well, after 4 years, 2 kids, and one long summer of studying....we did it! Ben is officially done with law school AND the bar exam! It still seems strange that Ben won't be starting classes this month. Instead, we'll be moving (in 3 short weeks!) and Ben will start working full time. We're so excited about this new part of our life. Way to go honey!

Hey Kassie! Daddy finished law school, what do you think we should do now?

Disneyland? Ok! Thanks to Grandma and Papa, we have a condo for a week near Disneyland! Don't know when yet, but it's definitely in the works!