Monday, May 10, 2010
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Our JDRF Walk Tee Shirt Logo
Monday, October 12, 2009
Walk to Cure Diabetes
We have registered to walk for a cure for diabetes. This event will take place in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 14. It is taking place at UNLV's North Field. Registration begins at 9am and the 5K walk begins at 10am. If you would like to join us here are some details for you...
http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=walk.walk&eventID=5363&chapterid=4356
Our team name is Cassie's Crew
You can donate here...
http://walk.jdrf.org/
Just fill out under "Donate To a Walker"
Cassie Stout
Cassie's Crew
If you're walking here's the link to your sponsor form
http://www.jdrf.org/files/General_Files/Walk_Central_Resources/walkercollectionform.pdf
Our Goals:
Each person who will walk we'd like to have them earn at least $100.00. If you just find 10 people to sponsor $10 we'd reach that goal.
If you can't attend the walk we'd still appreciate a donation - just whatever you feel is appropriate. The link for donations is above.
Our end goal is $2000.00 but I really think we can do better than that :)
Thanks everyone, I think this will be lots of fun!
Cassie
Monday, May 4, 2009
Classification or Division - Our Family Pets
Our Family Pets
Throughout my life our family has had a few pets, well perhaps more than a few. Most parents think seriously before they go out and purchase or adopt a pet because of the great responsibility involved in caring for them. I love my parents but by the end of this essay you will think them either completely brilliant or very much insane. My parents believe one very important way to teach their children responsibility is through taking care of animals. The family pets we have had over the years fit into three main categories: birds, livestock, and dogs.
Birds are so beautiful and many people might have a small parakeet or lovebird. Well, have you ever seen an emu in real life, besides in a zoo? We have had several different birds over the years and yes one species was an emu, if fact we had three of them. Other birds we have raised are peacocks, chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, parakeets, and lovebirds.
The peacocks are amazingly beautiful; however, they are the loudest of our birds. They will keep you up at night with their loud “help” cry. The chickens and ducks are the easiest of the birds to care for - throw them some feed and they are content for the remainder of the day. The geese are similar except they might hiss at you and chase you around the yard. This can be quite alarming for those that are very young and the same size as the goose. Although geese were frightening to some of the children, they were nothing compared to the emus. They were by far the most terrifying animals we ever raised. They are large, fast, and they kick tremendously hard, but the most horrifying thing was when they would try to mate with us. Yes, you read that right; those crazy emus would try to mate with all us kids, especially my oldest sister Ali. Sadly, we could no longer allow the younger children to go play with the other birds.
My father grew up raising show pigeons. They look like your typical pigeon except better fed. He bred them for color and size and then would show them with the same eight men every year that also raised pigeons. I always found this to be a little strange. Lastly, we raised parakeets and lovebirds. They were also easy to attend to but they were so delicate and they never seemed to live very long.
We raised a few types of livestock. We have had one pig, three goats, and two horses. Some friends of ours gave us the pig after realizing it was not a house pet. We have had him for about eight years and call him Wilbur – he is huge. The goats were easy enough to take care of, at least the females were. The male would head-butt us every time we would go to feed him. My family had him for Sunday dinner when I was about twelve. Our horses have spent most their lives in a corral. When we do try to ride them they nearly always run straight for home - this is what horse folk call “barn sore”.
Lastly, our family raises and breeds several kinds of dogs. We do this for extra income and also to teach my siblings and me responsibility. However, that does not mean that I enjoy doing farm work everyday. Do not get me wrong, I love dogs just as much as the next person but I do not want to feed, clean up, and play with eighty dogs. The kinds of dogs we have raised over the years are: Bulldogs, Rottweilers, Miniature Schnauzers, Cairn Terriers, Boston Terriers, West Highland Terriers, Italian Greyhounds, Welsh Corgis, Pugs, Pugstons, Miniature Pinchers, and Miniature Dachshunds. This all began about twelve years ago when my dad decided we needed family dogs and purchased two Rottweilers. They had puppies and my father made what he considered a good profit and decided that breeding dogs would be a nice business. Thankfully, we live on twelve acres and can provide large kennels for our dogs. Each day we have to spray out the kennels, feed, water them and do any repairs we see need to be done to the kennels. Many of our breeds require grooming, and we do this several times a year. In total, we groom about thirty dogs, three times each year. We also administer shots, post ads in the newspaper to sell the puppies, do all sorts of paper work and interact with the buyers who come to purchase the puppies.
I believe having all the responsibility of raising these animals has made me an industrious person. I do have my favorite animals and consider them “my pets”. Will I allow my children to have pets when I am a parent? Of course; however, I do not think I will allow any emus or more then three dogs at a time.
Compare and Contrast - Home and Cabin
Home and Cabin
My family lives on a small farm in Fort Mohave, Arizona in a beautiful home. I love being in my house with my family; however, occasionally when we are at home we do not interact with each other as much as we do at our cabin at Kolob. Frankly, they both have there ups and downs in many ways.
When we are at home it is always convenient for us. The closest grocery store is a few minutes away. We consistently have hot water for our own personal hygiene and other uses; power for heat, air conditioning, and many entertainments such as: television, computers and so on. Furthermore, our house is rather roomy so it is very suitable to have friends, family, and large parties.
Despite the fact that our hometown is very convenient, there are many other matters that I like and dislike. First of all, I love that I could go swimming during most of the year with my friends and family because of our sizable jacuzzi. I love baking and cooking and it is very easy to do it at home where I have space to move and many ingredients to make up my own recipes. Quad riding is absolutely an enjoyable activity I have always been fond of during my leisure time.
Although there are many activities I love doing at home to pass the time, like in many homes, there are many things I dislikes. I do not believe I will ever love the dry heat we experience in the desert. Because it gets so hot, it is hard to do other recreational activities other than swimming and quad riding in the dessert at temperature of 120 degrees. Occasionally I feel like I am cooped up in my house with nothing to do. The scenery is not the most beautiful either. I grew-up in the desert and it gets exhausting after a while. However, I do love the desert sunsets.
Our cabin is high in the mountains and about an hour away from the nearest town. For the most part, our water is cold and we have to use a generator for our power meaning no entertainment and no use of necessities. Compared to our house, our cabin is nothing more than a fraction in size. We never invite too many people to our cabin at once. If we did, some people would have to sleep in their own mobile homes or in tents. Being outside on the peak of the mountains in the cold at night is not something I look forward to since I am so use to the heat.
As you can see, our cabin is not the most convenient place to visit, but in some ways it is without doubt worth it. In the morning, all you can hear are birds chirping and faint cow moo in the distance. The weather is absolutely perfect and so still and peaceful. The landscaping that surrounds the cabin is perfectly aesthetic, especially behind our cabin where you can see a significantly immense valley of trees and which also overlooks Zion Nation Park. There are many trails that lead to many beautiful locations on the mountain. I have grown fond of exploring the woods of Kolob and discovering many new areas, whether I am alone or with my family.
Kolob has some lovely lakes; unfortunately, we cannot swim in them seeing that they are much too cold. Food in our cabin is somewhat limited compared to what we have at home because we only pack what is necessary to bring. During the winter season our pipes freeze, we have to go outside in the snow and fill a huge pot full of snow and melt it. So that in the cabin, we have water to drink or other uses. Unfortunately, when it snows, sometimes it is too cold and windy to go outside sledding.
Home has all the conveniences I need to be comfortable and happy. The cabin may have many inconveniences but I find many delightful experiences in the woods. Regardless of both their ups and downs, I love to be home but I also look forward to visiting our cabin.
Good Parenting - Definition and Example
Good Parenting
I have learned many good qualities from my parents that I can use with my future family. I am fortunate to have parents with many attributes that I highly respect. In this essay I am going to describe what I believe constitutes good parenting.
Growing up in a large family, conflicts seem to arise nearly each day. Whether these disagreements are trivial or serious, my parents always seem know to how to resolve these daily mishaps. When I face burdensome trials, my parents have always done their best to be patient and understanding to whatever difficult situations I may be going through. They listen and do their utmost to assist me in any way. Many times they would share their own personal life experiences in hopes of helping. My parents are great communicators and they seem to always have a solution to my problems.
My dad is the most able and zealous person I know. It seems he always has a major project he wants to achieve, especially with the whole family. He expects and encourages my siblings and I work every Saturday for six to eight hours on our farm. Most of the time I find Saturdays to be intolerable, but I know that he wants me to be hardworking. My dad has also put together a dog kennel, approximately 80 dogs, for my siblings and I so that we can learn responsible and how to take care of a family business.
I have been home-schooled almost my entire life, along with my brothers and sisters. My mom has given up virtually every single day to educate us kids at home, so that we would not have to experience distressing circumstances or harmful influences in public school. My dad also sacrifices everyday to go to work and provide for the family.
There are so many things that I have learned from my parents. They have taught me to be a virtuous, patient and a diligent person. They keep me safe from bad influences and even from myself sometimes when I convince myself or I am convinced by others to make a bad decision.
Throughout my life my parents have been very consistent. For as long as I can remember, we would have breakfast and dinner everyday as a family. Also, as I mentioned previously, our family does very laborious work, which helps us to bond with each other. They constantly remind me to have honorable goals that will encourage me to be a moral person. They have very high expectations of me to do my best at everything I do. However, if I deliberately disobey them I will always be punished. I understand why I must to be disciplined, to learn from my mistakes. Because of this, I always work hard to not repeat the same mistakes over again, and it will help me become a better person.
Even though my mother and father are very strict with me, I am extremely appreciative of everything they do. I know that they do their best for me and want me to be happy. The attributes my parents have been an example of, have now given me the chance to take them as they are or improve upon them for the bettering of my future children.
