The Woodward Family

Whats really important

2009-07-31T14:31:00.002-06:00

My friend Emily posted this on her blog. It is an article in the Deseret news. I could really relate to it. I hope you enjoy.

What's Really Important

Take Stock of What is Important Early in Your LifeBy John Florez

How quickly our lives can change. We take so much for granted — our comfortable day-to-day routine, our family, friends, neighbors, sunrises, sunsets, the air we breathe and the communities in which we live — all the things that give us meaning in our lives. Sound trite? It's often only when we face a tragedy that we are reminded of our frailty as human beings and realize what really matters.How many people do you know who never seem to enjoy life, what they have or what they do? They complain about how hard they work, wishing they could be doing something else. They are always saying "someday" they will do things they really would like to do, but they never get around to it."Someday" they want to retire and spend time with their family; "someday" they are going to take a vacation with their family; "someday" they are going to take care of their health and lose weight and use the treadmill that still needs to be assembled; "someday" they are going to visit Dad at the rest home; "someday" they want to volunteer at their kid's grade school; and on and on.If that day ever arrives, some find that the big family home they built is empty; junior is now 25 and has been living out of the house for the past five years; arthritis has set in; there are heart problems; travel is limited; father passed away without their visiting him for two years; and their elementary-school daughter is now in high school and doesn't want them there.They have climbed the "mountain to success," 30 pounds overweight, working 16 hours a day, stressed out, not sleeping, self-medicating, with high blood pressure. They get to the top, if they are still alive, but they find no one there. They are alone, and they are lonely.Some are lucky enough to take stock of what is important early in their lives. They realize that the real things are not things. However, some never do, even when faced with a tragedy in their lives. Some will see this as an end of their lives, complain about their losses and ask, "Why me?" and wait for things to happen to them.Then there are those who see "the hidden gift" when tragedy strikes. They see it as a second chance to take stock of the real things that are important in life. They rediscover that which they took for granted and begin relishing every moment as though it is their last, because, in fact, it could be just that.They hug their children more, in awe of the beauty within them, and the joy they bring to their lives. They are more aware and appreciative of their senses — smells, sounds and the touch of their loved ones. They find that one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone is your time. They are grateful that they are part of something beyond themselves, which gives greater meaning to their lives.Those who have learned the "hidden gift" in tragedy see those who are waiting for the "someday" when they can enjoy the gift of life, without the tragedy. They wish they could tell them to take the time to appreciate what they have now, because there may not be a "someday." There is only today.There is the urge to tell them to hug their kids more, celebrate the morning and evening clouds, enjoy the wonder of Mother Nature's different seasons; allow themselves to be vulnerable and have faith. Or, maybe they resist the urge and let them discover, or not, the meaning of life on their own.In the end, we realize that living is about what we learned to value, and that being a part of something is more important than trying to be somebody. It is not about material things, rather how we share, love and look after each other in the short time we are on this earth.

Our Big Weekend

2009-06-15T14:23:00.003-06:00

WOO HOO PAGIE!!!!!!! Page placed 4th overall in Utah State High School Rodeo in the goat tying which means she gets to go to Farmington, New Mexico for National's. WOO HOO! I am so excited and proud of her!! Her goal all year was to make it to Nationals and she did it. She did great at state. She drew tough goats and did the absolute best with what she had.

She placed 3rd in the final go around and won a beautiful buckle for her headstall. Look at all the queenies. I have told Page over and over how grateful I am that she does not queen. It's too much work. (McKenzie looks beautiful tho Mindi, we were so proud of her too!)

I am so excited to go to National's with Page we are going to have so much fun and I know she will do great! Mom is very proud, in case you could not tell!

And now onto Cassidy, who also had a great weekend. Cassidy was in a play called "The Place Called Home". It was written by my cousin Karen Beckstead about her poineer ancestors. Cassidy played Maude, the granddaughter to the main character's. She did so great. Her lines were perfect and I was so proud of her too!

Grandma Woodward helped Cassidy make her pioneer outfit. She was the best looking girl on stage.

I tried to get her to put the bonnet on so we could get the full effect, but she would not do it. She was worried it would mess up her hair. What a cute girl. Mom is very proud of Cassidy too!

I think I have said proud too many times in this post, but sometimes you just have to. I am blessed with two great girls. They are so important to me. My heart is full of love for them.

Our Working Girl

2009-05-20T22:04:00.003-06:00

Cassidy got her first job (that isn't babysitting) this spring. She is working at the park by our house in the concession stand during baseball games. It is the perfect job for Cassidy. Two of her favorite things are talking, especially to boys and eating. So here she gets to hang with all those cute baseball players (she likes the tight pants they wear) and eat. The girl has had more hot dogs than I can count.

Here is a copy of her first check, $184.12. Little miss money bags. She has already spent most of her money, we need to get her a bank account so she saves a little something. But sometimes, a girl just has to hit the mall and buy a pair of shoes or two. They are very cute shoes by the way!

Several people have told us what a hard worker she is. We are very proud of her!

Cassidy's Obsession!

2009-04-15T17:00:00.002-06:00

Its official, Cassidy is addicted to guitar hero. I woke up in the middle of the night the other night and could hear this bang bang bang, when I went to investigate, it was Cass downstairs playing the drums. She couldn't sleep, well with all that noise neither could I!

She is getting very good and play's most songs on hard. I am still on easy, or super easy.

Now she wants to take drum lessons.

Help me!

Yay Pagie!!

2009-04-11T22:09:00.003-06:00

Page had her best barrel run at a High School Rodeo today in Tooele. She got 3rd place. Yippee! We are so excited! She also had a great pole run and caught her calf in break-away. Goats was another story, but she did great in goats last week.

Good Job Page! We are so proud of you!

Page and Cascade

2009-03-30T14:06:00.001-06:00

Go to my blog list and check out Kara Layne Photography. She took some awesome pictures of Page and Cascade while we were in Phoenix.
Thanks so much Kara, we LOVE them!!

Jr. Prom

2009-03-16T11:32:00.003-06:00

Page had Jr. Prom this weekend. She had so much fun. She went with Chandler Miller, a boy that she High School Rodeo's with. I thought she looked beautiful. Thanks to our friend Lindy who came over with three sets of hot rollers and helped fix Page's hair. The girl has a lot of hair, it took three of us to get the look. But it was well worth it in the end.

Page and Chandler. He told Roddy that his favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys, so Rod let him take Page. (I think he only said the Cowboys because Rod had a Dallas Cowboys cap on.)

Cheyenne, Page and Allie.

The group, Cody, Cheyenne, Page, Chandler, Allie and Booger. (Yes, Booger, I don't know the kids real name, they always call him Booger, or Boogie.)

Cassidy's medical drama

2009-03-10T20:11:00.003-06:00

If you look very close at this photo, you will see three very small stitches. Cassidy's first stitches. She was so excited because she had never had stitches before and all her friends have had them. She had a very funky rash on her ankle (be grateful I took the photo after the rash had gone away thanks to good medicine.) The doctor did a biopsy of the rash, ( I felt a little woosy and needed a pepsi to recover from her procedure, but that is another story) hence the need for stitches. At first, they only put one stitch in her foot. She was a little disappointed, not much bragging with only one stitch, but as we were leaving it started bleeding all over, they rushed her back to the doctor where he gave her two more stitches. She was very excited. We go back to the doctor tomorrow to get the stitches out and to see what the biopsy results were.

We will keep you posted on the mystery rash

We have twins!

2009-02-28T12:27:00.003-07:00

Its a boy and a girl. They are so cute. Cassidy named them Annabelle and Wilber. The white one is Annabelle. Her momma is not so fond of her. We have to go hold the momma every four hours so Annabelle can eat. What a pain! The momma likes Wilber just fine.

Wilber loves Annabelle though. They are always together. It is so cute.

The black and white baby from my other post still does not have a name. We need suggestions!

Family Fun

2009-02-24T21:54:00.003-07:00

I was looking at thru my pictures tonight and came across this one. I love it. Its of Tammy, Marilyn, Ginny, Cassidy and Page. This picture reminds me of a fun night with some of my favorite people!

Valentines Day

2009-02-14T19:39:00.005-07:00

As usual, Roddy is 3000 miles away on Valentines day. But he did sent me these beautiful roses. He knows I LOVE getting roses. And he does not really like to buy me flowers, so it is extra special that he sent them to me. I have the greatest husband ever! I love you baby!

Baby Goat

2009-02-13T10:25:00.004-07:00

Page got quite a surprise last night when she went to catch her horses, and discovered a baby goat. We were not expecting the baby's until next month. This one snuck out early. He is so cute. We had to hurry to the store and buy a heat lamp, its so cold outside. He was shivering.

He does not have a name yet. Any suggestions??

Roddy's Blog

2009-02-05T21:22:00.001-07:00

Check out Roddy's blog. www.roddystravels.blogspot.com

Dog Barf

2009-01-29T19:13:00.003-07:00

Yesterday at about 3:30 a.m. I heard a lot of commotion going on in Cassidy's room. After I told her to be quiet and go back to bed, she informed me that Roxy (her dog) had barfed in her room. YUCK! She put Roxy outside and was in the process of cleaning her room. (If you know Cassidy, you know that this was not an easy feat, the girls room should be condemned.) We decided it was best to leave Roxy outside, get the room picked up, clean up as much of the barf as we could, and go back to sleep. I told Cass to sleep in, as this process had taken quite a while, and I would take her to school a little late, and then clean her carpet. We fell back to sleep and the next thing I remember is Page waking up Cass telling her she would be late. Cassidy told Page about the barfing incident and that we were sleeping in. When I woke up an hour later, Page had gone to school and had let Roxy back in the house. I almost have to stop and count to ten before I tell you what I next discovered. Lets just say I stopped counting when I had found 7 more piles of DOG BARF! Page is lucky she was at school and has lots of hard college classes. I wanted to go to the school and drag her home and rub her nose in the mess!!! I do happen to own a very nice professional carpet cleaning machine, and I had already planned on cleaning Cassidy's room, but not the living room and hallway. It was GROSS! I gagged the whole time! Have I mentioned how gross it was?? So here is my tip to all my friends out there, tell your teenagers who should know better, that if the dog has already barfed once, leave them outside for a few more hours!!!
I know you were all hoping for a picture, I was gagging too much to take one!

For Fahsh....

2009-01-19T18:42:00.007-07:00

Ok, so my friend Amy is complaining about the picture of my little one eyed Mosquito on my blog. She said it was time for an update. I decided to begin my update with the cutest girl I know. My niece Kadence. Everyone just take a moment and look at how dang cute she is. LOVE HER!!! Oh my heck, she is so much fun!

Here she is again in her princess tent. She is having a little brother in a few months, so she will always be the princess. Somehow Page got into the princess tent. Princess Page.....I don't think so!

Since the day we got our Wii, Page has been practicing guitar hero, so that the next time we went to Phoenix, she could take Jake on. As, I sit here writing this, I can't remember who won the battle. I am thinking it might have been Jake. Page keep practicing!

Amanda, Cassidy and Rod watching the entertainment. I am not sure who they were cheering for, Page or Jake.

Here is a picture of everyone at dinner. Rod just reminded me that this is not everyone. It was all who had dinner with us. Ginny, we hope you feel better! We had so much fun with everyone this weekend. The weather was beautiful. It was nice to get out of the Utah smog and see some Arizona sunshine.

Mesquito

2009-01-09T15:22:00.003-07:00

Mesquito got his stitches out yesterday. An experience he did NOT enjoy. It was not that bad, but he was scared and shook the entire time. He is doing much better, it is not sore and he is learning to get around with only one eye. He has run into a few walls...but not too many. He is still our baby and we love him even more. Everyone is telling us we need to get him an eye patch. That would be too funny! Then we would have to call him Captain Mesquito! My father-in-law thinks he needs a wooden leg too, I think thats going to far!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2008 brought many great memories, and some sad ones as you will see. Our Christmas holiday always starts with our neighbor's live nativity pageant. It is one of our favorite holiday traditions. The three nights before Christmas they put on a live nativity for everyone. It helps bring the true meaning of Christmas to our family. We LOVE being part of it each year. It is the only time you will see Roddy as a wise man and the girls as angels. I did not get a picture of Cassidy as an angel, but she was one, the first night. I was on the crew this year, I almost froze my toes off, but it was so worth it, we can't wait til next year!!

Roddy and the girls, what a great shot...thanks Tiffany! (I forgot my camera, so Tiff saved the day!)

Here we are on Christmas morning. I had to include this shot. Take a close look at Mosquito...my baby sitting on Rod's lap. More to come on that in a later photo.

Rod, notice the Dallas Cowboy theme, as usual. We hope he always loves the Cowboys, so we always know what to get for him. Nice boxers baby!!!

I got lots of jewelry, one of my favorite things!! Rod also got me a new camera, good boy!! Now I don't have any excuses not to post great photo's of my family!

Page got lots of clothes and horse items.

Finally Cassidy with a horse theme. Maybe a little wild with the Zebra, but she is our wild child!!

Here is my family playing the best gift we could have gotten. A Wii with guitar hero. This game saved the day! We usually go skiing on Christmas, it is something we really look forward to. But this year, not only was the weather terrible, but we had a little dog drama. As I was fixing breakfast, Mesquito and Dally got into a little tiff, and the photo below is the result of the tiff. It is not for the weak. It was very traumatic. Luckly there is a vet ER not far from our house that was open. Mesquito had to have surgery, we all cried. It was not a good way to spend Christmas, but worse things could have happened. He will be ok, and so will we!

( Roddy and Cassidy both had blisters on their fingers from playing the Wii, Rod's shoulder was sore, and Page spent most of the day screaming because she kept getting BOO'd off the stage!!! What a great game!)

Our poor baby!!! Refer to the first photo to see his last photo with both eyes. SAD! But we still love him!

I like Morphine!!!

2008-12-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, Rod had a terrible pain in his back, and we had to take him to the Emergency Room. They gave him a shot of muscle relaxers and a shot of morphine. After about 5 minutes, Rod was in happy land saying over and over "I like Morphine, I like Morphine". Ever since then, we have been teasing him about his love of morphine. Well, Sunday I had a terrible pain in my stomach, the worst pain I have ever had. Rod took me to the emergency room, hoping I would have a similar reaction to the morphine, so that he could tease me like we tease him. Many of you know I am TERRIFIED of needles. (Had natural childbirth, because I was too afraid of the needle for the epidural....but thats another story.) I think this was the only needle I was not afraid of, because I just wanted some relief from the pain. While I did not have the morphine moment that Roddy had, I did realize that I like morphine too. Its good stuff, it helped me relax a little and stop moaning and groaning. After many hours in the hospital and all the torture and tests, they sent me home still with no explanation to my pain. But they did sent me home with lortab...also good stuff!! We have since discovered that I have a bacterial infection in my stomach. I am feeling better, probably because of the lortab, but I am not complaining!!! Its almost as good as the morphine!

Thanks Bruce!!

2008-12-06T00:37:00.001-07:00

I am trying to be sad that my good friend Bruce was sick tonight. But the truth is, I had a blast at his expense! Somebody had to fill his seat at the Jazz game tonight. Have I mentioned that his seat is THREE rows behind the Jazz players. I could smell their sweat. It was AWESOME. I had so much fun with his wife my great friend Annette.

Bruce, I do hope you feel better. But if you ever need another seat filler... I am your girl!!! Thanks for the great night!

Tagged by Mandy

2008-11-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

So I was tagged by Amanda to look up my 4th folder of photo's and find the 4th photo. Here it is.

My little Cassidy all grown up. She was going to a 6th grade dance. Where... gasp...she had to dance with boys. I am thinking she is looking pretty excited. Cass had always liked the boys. We keep trying to tell her that they have coodies, but she isn't falling for it. Dang kid!!!

What a cute girl!!!

I am tagging, Mandi, Tracey, Kara(I am expecting big things from you!!!), and Jana. Good luck!!

I'm grateful....

2008-11-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

OK, so my friend Mindy started this on her blog. Since it is the season of thanks, she challenged everyone to list things we are grateful for. I am grateful for my boyfriend George Strait. He just makes me happy!! When my friends daughter was little, I had her convinced that George was my boyfriend. Everytime she saw Roddy, she told him about my boyfriend George. I think she was really worried for Rod. It was funny. I love George. Hey a girl can dream!

Check out how cute my girls are! This photo is a few years old, but I love it. It was taken on the boat coming back from the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. You can see some of NYC in the background. I am sooooo grateful for my girls, they are my whole world.

I have a great family. We have so much fun together. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful for Roddy, he works hard for us. He is a good man. I am full of love for him!

I am VERY grateful for Pepsi cola and snickers candy bars. YUMMY!!! I have them for breakfast most days. Rod calls it the breakfast of champions!

Thanks Mindy! Now I am challenging all my friends, (who I am grateful for) tell us what you are grateful for!

Mitch and Jenny's Wedding.

2008-11-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

We flew to Phoenix a few weeks ago to attend our nephew's wedding. Mitch and Jenny looked so happy on their big day. We had such a good time. It was really fun seeing everyone. We had not been to Phoenix for a long time.

Here is a picture of my family in front of the Mesa temple. We were waiting for Mitch and Jen to come out. Don't my girls look beautiful!

We were having such a good time. It is so fun to be with family. UNTIL....Roddy's family thought it would be so funny to play a cruel mean joke on me. Here is a photo of the culprit's.

We went to visit Roddy's Grandma Cox. I am not sure if she remembers that we were there, but I am glad we got to visit her.

We survived Homecoming!

2008-10-06T17:57:00.000-06:00

After some major hair drama, and maybe a few tears, we survived getting ready for the dance. Page's friend Chyanne got ready here with Page. It took, Page, Chyanne, Cassidy, Chyanne's mom Merrilee, her sister Sage and I to get both girls ready. It was major work! We were exhausted by the time the boys turned up (an hour late) to pick up the girls. We thought the girls looked beautiful. All the hard work was worth it.

Homecoming Drama!

2008-10-02T20:59:00.000-06:00

Page has homecoming this weekend. To say she is excited is an understatement. We got the dress and shoes several weeks ago. I was feeling good...until it came time to find accessories. Page really wanted a ring to go with her dress. Well, the ring Page wants cannot be found in Northern Utah. Or maybe anywhere on the planet! We searched and searched and searched. She finally found one she "settled" on because I was not going to one more store. Don't get me started on hair styles. We had to get several different bobbie pins (some with diamonds, some without), hair clips, hair twisty thing's, two bottles of hairspray, one is not enough... and maybe a headband, my brain was getting fuzzy at that point. Now we have to try all the different hair styles to see which one looks better. Two days to go...pray for me!
Photo's to come.

Another great weekend.

2008-09-22T22:34:00.000-06:00

Page had another great weekend. She got second place in goat tying. She lost by two hundredths of a second. Oh well...we are still happy with second. She also did great in breakaway. She roped her calf in 3.5 seconds. She ended up 6th place. Her horse ran great in barrels too. It was a good rodeo.
Page and I had to speak in sacrament meeting on Sunday. Page was so nervous, she didn't think she could stand up, because her legs were shaking so bad. Somehow she found the strength, and she did so good. She gave a great talk. We were very proud of her. My talk was on Family History and Genealogy. It was a stretch for me, but somehow I got through it.

Cassidy's first win.

2008-09-17T22:22:00.000-06:00

Cassidy started playing volleyball. Her team won its first match tonight. It was so fun to watch. Cass went to BYU volleyball camp this summer. When we asked her what she learned, she told us "I really suck at overhand serving." So she has been practicing really hard, and tonight, all of her serves went over the net. She played so good. Her team is the Blue Devils. Good job Cass! We forgot the camera. Dangit...

2008-09-07T19:28:00.000-06:00

Page got first place in Goat tying again this weekend!!! YAY, we were so excited. She is doing so well. Her boyfriend Justin got first place in calf tying, so we had a great day!

I (Shannon) survived Cassidy's birthday party. Roddy abandoned ship when he heard there would be 10 teenage girls in the house. Coward!! My friend Sue helped me drive and we took all the girls to Wal Mart to do a scavenger hunt. All the things they had to do were things about Cassidy or things that she likes. It was really fun. (But most importantly it got all those girls out of my house!) The last thing the girls had to do was announce over the PA system that it was Cassidy's birthday. Then we came back to the house and had ice cream cake. I can't believe she is 14. The time goes so fast!

Some of you may have heard that Rod made a little trip to the emergency room this week. He did something to his back. It was really strange, one minute he was walking, the next minute he was on the ground unable to move without being in total agony. It scared me, I have never seen him like that. He could not move. We have since learned that it was a very strong muscle spasm. Rod learned that he really likes morphine. It made him happy. He is still on good drugs, but he is doing much better.

2008-09-03T18:44:00.000-06:00

Check out Cassidy's blog. www.cassidywoodward.blogspot.com. Or just go there off of our blog.

2008-09-01T17:13:00.000-06:00

Well, we survived the first week of school. Page is still trying to get us to home school. Once again, never going to happen!!! Cassidy is loving school. Her favorite classes are choir and guitar. She can now play one song on the guitar, and she plays it over and over and over and over and over...I think you get the picture. It is much better than when she was learning to play the violin, so we are not complaining too much.
Page did awesome at her high school rodeo this weekend. She got first place in goat tying, it was the first time she got first place. I almost cried!! It was so exciting. She also had a great barrel run. She got forth place in barrels. Peanut and Cascade (her horses) did so good. It was way fun.

2008-08-25T21:50:00.000-06:00

Today was the first day of school for the girls. Cassidy was excited to go and catch up with all of her friends. We had big drama picking out a "first day of school outfit", it is a very big decision. Page on the other hand, is in mourning. I am surprised that she didn't wear black to school today. (Page also had first day of school outfit drama. She just won't admit it!) She is not at all happy that school started. She is still trying to talk us into home schooling her. (Never going to happen.) All she wants to do is ride her horses all day. Page did think she was very cool. Today was the first day she got to drive to school. She took the truck, and thought she was big stuff. She drove Cassidy to school. When I asked Cass if Page was a crazy driver, Cass laughed and said that Page has road rage. Should I be worried???

2008-08-17T18:57:00.000-06:00

What a weekend we had. It started off with Cassidy getting her braces off. She was so excited. We had to go and get a salad first thing, so she could eat it and not worry about getting anything caught in her braces. Next on the list is corn on the cob.
Right after Cass got her braces off, we headed off to Delta, Utah for Page's next high school rodeo. She had a great weekend. Cascade (her horse) did great! Page did okay. Page had two great barrel runs, she got seventh the first day and fifth the second day. We were so excited, Cascade was awesome. He had good pole runs also. Page also did great in goats. She got third the first day, and ninth the second day. She also caught her calf the first day. It was a good weekend. Hopefully she can keep it up.
The girls only have one more week of summer. I can't believe how fast time goes. Cassidy has tried on every outfit she has, for her yearbook photo tomorrow. Everything has to be just right. Cassidy can't wait for school to start. Mostly for the socializing. Page on the other hand has a whatever attitude. She wants us to home school her, so that she can ride her horses all day. I don't think so!

Roddy Here.

2008-08-11T19:21:00.000-06:00

I am sitting here in my hotel in Toledo Ohio checking out the blog that Shannon and Cassidy created. I like it. I am watching the Olympics on TV (Beach Volleyball).

2008-08-10T12:18:00.000-06:00

Shannon here: I am trying to figure out all this blog stuff. Cassidy started a blog for our family. Cassidy went to BYU to volleyball camp last week. She had a ton of fun and came home with a major ear infection....bummer. She is better now. Page had her first High School Rodeo for the year. She did great! She tied her goat in 7.5 seconds and got third place. She caught her calf in 3.5 seconds and got sixth place. We were so excited, it was a great way to start the year. The girls start school in two weeks. Page will be in 11th grade and Cassidy in 8th grade. The summer has flown by.

2008-07-08T15:54:00.000-06:00

hey, Cassidy here! our fam is doing great! Page is going into eleventh grade and she has her liscense(SCARY) jk she is a really good driver. She is still with Justin and he is living in Corrine. so its a good thing that both of them can drive. . but mom and dad are doing good. the tile business is goin ok. dad is on an airplane home like right now. and he has been gone since yesterday. but i am doing good. i am with mom at the geneology library in salt lake and she told me to start this so its started but i g2g(got to go) Bye!!