Weird Kids

Looking back at my childhood, it's a wonder sometimes how my sisters and I turned out so normal (relatively speaking, of course). 

Carrie and I especially were odd. Quite odd.

 When most little girls our age were playing princess or teacher, we made witches' potions in the backyard. We would fill our turtle sandbox with water, mud, leaves, bugs, and whatever else we could find, and pretend we were evil witches, and the strange backyard concoction was our potion.

We were also quite maniacal. Well, to be honest, I was maniacal. Carrie just went along with my evil schemes. 

We used to torment our older sisters, Daisy and Jeannine, by getting into their makeup while they were at school, so our mom put a little lock on the outside of their door. But that led to more shenanigans when we realized that we could lock them in their room. We'd wait until they were in there doing homework,lock the door, then tell mom that they were being mean to us. When she'd call them, they couldn't get out and got in even more trouble! Ha! 

(Sorry guys.)

And now, the piece de resistance. This is the weirdest of the weird. 

This is the reason Carrie and I didn't have any other friends besides each other.

This story takes place when I was about 7, making Carrie about 6. Our dad built us a little clubhouse out of spare wood, complete with working windows, shingles on the roof, and a peep-hole for when we played speak-easy.

He painted the outside and we decorated the inside with crayons. Instead of drawing flowers and butterflies like any other normal little girls, we used all the red crayons to draw a large blood stain on the wall. We then filled a pillowcase with stuffed animals and invited the one family of neighborhood kids to come over. We closed all the windows, sat them on the pillowcase (makeshift couch), and told them the chilling story of Wang and Chang, the siamese twins. One day, Wang woke up and found Chang, his other half, dead. The shock and horror of discovering half of himself dead, killed him as well. The kids were obviously terrified.
We then informed the kids that they were siting not on a couch, as they had assumed, but Wang and Chang's body. And then we showed them the blood on the wall. Needless to say, they ran home crying and weren't allowed to play with us anymore.

We didn't care, they were lame.

May Blogging Challenge- Memory! All alone in the moonlight!

You ready for this?

Day 31: A vivid memory

One of my most vivid memories is actually one of my oldest.

It takes place when my family lived in Indiana, so I must have been around 2 or 3 years old.

I remember my whole family, cousins, aunts and uncles, all being over at our house. We lived in an old yellow farmhouse, and the adults were all inside talking and the kids all went outside to catch fireflies. I remember that I was wearing a purple shirt, and I was standing next to my Jeannine-sister and my cousin, Ryan, in the little yard on the left side of the house..

I remember that I had to run inside to go to the bathroom, and I was trying to hurry so that I wouldn't miss any of the fun outside. What I didn't know is that while I was in the bathroom, all the kids decided to come inside. Jeannine and Daisy had just gotten new beds, and they all came inside to see them.

I finished up in the bathroom and hurried back outside. By that time it had gotten really dark, and when I realized that I was all alone, I was so scared. I remember feeling stuck, like I was frozen outside. I have no clue why I didn't just go back inside, but I was very little. And people who are very little sometimes don't think clearly. I started to cry, and I remember looking up at the moon, because it was the lightest thing out there in the dark, and I was afraid of the dark.

Eventually, someone came out and found me (I seem to think it was Jeannine), and they said "Cassy, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" I had never been so happy so see someone in my small little life. I remember feeling suddenly very safe and calming down pretty fast. And then I remember going in with whoever found me in to see the new beds.

On another note:

It's in another language, but you get the jist.

purple is the new black

My niece, Jeannine Blair, is going into the 6th grade in a few days, so she came over to my house to have a personal hair class. I taught her how to blow-dry, curl, and straighten correctly, and how to do a few styles to herself for school. 

I also gave her a totally awesome bright purple peekaboo streak.

The before:

 Isn't she beautiful?

After:

Who's going to be the coolest girl in school?

Siblings

Today is National Sibling Day!
I was blessed with three wonderful sisters, who I adore.
Let me tell you about them!

Daisy is the oldest, and is quite a force to be reckoned with. She is eloquent an organized, and absolutely gorgeous. Spitting image of Audrey Hepburn, no joke. Daisy is the fiercest friend ever. I know that no matter what happens, she will always stand by me. Loyalty at it finest. Plus, she has a pretty sweet house.

Jeannine is incredible. She can be quiet and soft spoken at first, but has the sharpest wit in the room. She is classically beautiful, intelligent, and probably the most gifted artist alive. Jeannine and I can sit up and talk for hours and never run out of things to say. She is awesome!

Carrie is pretty much my other half. She and I are only 18 months apart, and I consider myself to be the luckiest girl jn the world to have her as my sister. She is beautiful and clever and thoughtful, and has the most toned buns you will ever see. She's way cooler than me, way smarter than me, and way funnier than me. But we still hang out. The hardest I've ever laughed in my life is when Carrie and I were together. I loce you, Larry.

Sisters

We were slightly goofy as kids

But grew up to be pretty cute!

Buuuuut we still know how to pull out weird faces!

our holidays

It's been awhile since I've been able to post; the holidays were busy for us! What's that? You wanna hear all about it? Why, I thought you'd never ask!

Rewind about a month, to about the second week of December. Can you see it? The stores were still blasting Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, camera-armed Santa Stations dotted every mall in the country, and the Rawlinsons were gearing up for our holiday travels!

First, we drove to Tulsa, to visit our parents. We stopped at my parents' house first, for the Annual O'Dell Grandkids Christmas Party. For those of you who aren't aware, there are 11 grandkids on my side of the family. As you can imagine, all of us getting together for Christmas is a little difficult. So, my mom and little sister came up with a plan. Every year, everyone joins together for one evening for some awesome kid-centered holiday fun! We decorate cookies, open gifts, look at Christmas lights, we go all out.
This year, we went bowling! The kids loved it! We then drove to Rhema to see the lights.

Carrie and I at the bowling alley. Something exciting must have been happening. Probably a strike.

 Me, Carrie, and Daisy, and the back of Margot's chubby little head.

My cute parents. 

There aren't many pictures of my kids, as they were too excited to stand still. Fun times!

Next, we headed to Brandon's parents house for a week. We celebrated Christmas early, and the girls made out like kings! They got Little People, Barbies, new jammies and outfits, and tons more. They were in heaven! This was the first Christmas that Margot was old enough to really know what was going on, so she was really excited.

Next, we drove 15 hours to LaGrange, IN to visit my extended family. It was a surprise, only my Aunt Peg knew we were coming, and she kept a really good secret! It was so much fun to visit everyone, especially since I haven't seen most of my cousins in years! Plus, my girls got to meet a whole new group of kids their age to play with! Woohoo! 

Portia, decorating cookies.

Tuckered out. Brandon and my dad.

My grandpa. I like him.

My beautiful grandmother.

Next, we drove back to my Daisy-sister's house. She and her husband have been married for 15 years, and to celebrate, flew to Paris and London for 9 days. We watched their kids and house-sat while they were away. They had a blast, and got to do this:

which was very important.

After that, we drove back to Tulsa, where we relaxed for a few days, then drove to my Jeannine-sister's house for a night, where we relaxed some more!

At this point, we had been away from home for a month, so away we went! 

It was so fun and exciting to travel all over, but boy is it good to be home!

things i'm lovin today

1. My Daisy-sister. She is in Canada right now, but she made my day without even knowing it!

2. The Olympics! I have been watching all that I can, and love it! The women's team Gymnastics final was tonight, and those girls KILLED it!!! USA!! USA!! USA!!

3. Mmmmmm. Brownies.

4. The fact that the MCAT is over. Such a relief! Now we just have to wait 30 days for the results!

5. Brandon and I have been having a bit of an Office marathon. It's hilarious!

week in review

We have had a lot going on! I know you're dying to know everything, so I'll give you a rundown.

Ready? Here we go.

Portia had a birthday! She turned 3! Can you believe it? Me neither. (Fun fact: I started this blog just a few weeks after she was born.) 

She has 3 cousins with birthdays around the same time, so we have planned a joint birthday party with them later this month. But on her actual birthday, Grammy and Papa and Brittany (Brandon's parents and sister) came down for the day, and we had a princess party. She was so happy. 

As you can see, she got all things pink and girly! 

Since Brandon's parents would be out of town all week, Brittany hung out with us! We spent the week being lazy! It was awesome! We stayed in our PJs, watched movies, and ate a bunch of food.  

Brittany is going on a mission in July; Tucson AZ, Spanish speaking! Cool huh?

Last Thursday night, we headed up to Tulsa to drop Brittany back home, and visit OSU Tulsa's med school. They had an applicant's day and tour on Friday morning, and that's one of the schools Brandon is applying to. We woke up early that morning and headed to breakfast. We went to a little ma and pop restaurant in Claremore called Hugo's. I am a big fan. They bring you upwards of 10 strips of bacon with your plate. It's magical.

We headed over to OSU Tulsa for the morning, and were really impressed with the school! 

That afternoon, I met up with my sisters while Brandon headed back to his parents house to hang out for the weekend. My sisters and I drove down to OKC to see Fun. in concert! You know that's right! We got there a little early, so we got pretty close to the stage, but it was SO hot. . 

Fun. was amazing! We had a blast!

After the show, we found our car (eventually), and headed back to my apartment for the night. The next morning, we went  to the Temple together for the first time ever! It was great! 

We ate lunch, and headed to the outlet mall here in OKC. And we shopped. And I mean shopped. By the end of the day, Carrie and I were begging to go home.

The sisters went back to Tulsa, and Brandon and the girls came back home, and I am still trying to catch up on sleep.

What a week!

the Daddy-Daughter Dance

This last weekend was the annual Daddy-Daughter Dance in my home stake! My dad used to take my sisters and I every year as kids, but it has been a very long time since we all were able to go together. This year, we made it happen.

My handsome dad and us girls:

Brandon even brought Portia! (Margot stayed at home with Grandma, since she is still a bit too little to enjoy dancing the night away.)

It was a lot of fun. There were a bunch of activities geared for little girls like Portia, like puppet making and balloons, and there was plenty of dancing for us older girls. It was a blast.

Sorry, I didn't take any other pictures; I was too busy shakin my booty.

partake in the partay

My wonderful Daisy-sister had a birthday today. Yeah, on Halloween. Cool huh?

She decided that what she wanted to do to celebrate was have a sleepover with her sisters and mom. So, we had a party! It was awesome.

We arrived in Joplin on Friday night, to Daisy's beautiful historic house. Seriously, it's the coolest house ever. Its over 100 years old, and huge, and she and her hubby have been renovating it. The kitchen makes me drool. Heated tile floors. Need I say more?

Anyways, Daisy opened presents; she got scarves, nail polish, cool halloweeny candle holder/candles, a skull pillow, and a mug and hot chocolate. You can kinda see a few of the gifts in the photo, along with Daisy and Jeannine.

By the time the presents were opened, we were all famished. None of us had eaten much all day, because we knew the food would be incredible. You see, Daisy's husband, Tim, is a superb cook. Superb. Superb. We knew that he would make something to die for. We weren't wrong.

He made Tai food: cilantro lime rice, noodles in a limey peanuty sauce with peppers and more cilantro, and breaded shrimp that was literally the best thing I have ever eaten ever. There was also red curry soup that I didn't take a picture of, because by that point I was lost in delicious-land.

If your eyes had taste buds, you would be crying with joy right now.

Yes, Carrie. Yes.

The beautiful birthday gal:

After we died and went to heaven, we came back to life and decided to run and get ice cream. We had a little trouble getting Mom's car out of the driveway, but after we called Dad and learned the inner-most secrets of Volkswagens, we were on our way.

We came home and did what all girls do at sleepovers: nails!! Carrie gave Daisy a mani with her new polish, and we proceeded to laugh and giggle like we always do when we're together. We told ghost stories; guess whose 100-year-old mansion is a little bit haunted? Daisy's!! I got legitimately freaked out; it was awesome!

After giggling and talking till 2 am, we finally headed to bed, where I did not sleep on account of imagining basement ghosts standing over my air-mattress.

The next morning, Tim made eggs, bacon, and pancakes (again, delish!) and I cut and colored some hair.

After the hair was all done and the car all packed, we headed home. It was the most fun I've had in a while. I love when my sisters and mom and I all get together, we have a blast every time. We are seriously some of the funniest people on the planet when we're together. I got a little ab workout from laughing that night.

I lobby that we do this every year for Daisy's birthday.

RIP Wang and Chang

Looking back at my childhood, it's a wonder sometimes how my sisters and I turned out so normal (relatively speaking, of course). Carrie and I especially were quite odd. When most little girls our age were playing princess and teacher, we made witches' potions in the backyard. We would fill our turtle sandbox with water, mud, leaves, pinecones, and whatever else we could find, and pretend we were evil witches, and the strange backyard concoction was our potion.

We would also pretend that we were from another country when in public. I remember several occasions where we donned cheesy British accents in the grocery store, and faked being fluent in sign language in the post office. Lovers of attention much?

We loved Disney movies, and on more than one occasion made promises to each other to watch a certain movie (such as Beauty and the Beast and The Swan Princess) every single day. Our mom started hiding our VHS's after a few months. We loved the movie Fantasia so much that we used to play it. We would each pick a character (the yellow fairy, or the pretty blue centaur girl) and then dance and flit around just like they did. We would do this for the entire 2 hour movie. Except the dinosaur part, boring!

We were also quite maniacle. Well, to be honest, I was maniacle. Carrie just went along with my evil ideas. We used to torment our older sisters, Daisy and Jeannine by getting into their makeup while they were at school, so our mom put a little lock on the outside of their door. But that led to more shenanigans when we realized that we could lock them in their room. We knew that Daisy had allergies, so when we were angry with her, we gathered dandelions and pollen from the backyard and stuffed her pillowcase (I know, I know, really mean).

And now, the piece de resistance. This may be one of the weirdest things we have ever done.
Our dad built us a little clubhouse out of spare wood, and we decorated the inside with crayons. Instead of drawing flowers and butterflies like any other normal little girls, we decided to use all the red crayons to draw a blood stain on the wall. We then filled a pillowcase with stuffed animals and invited the neighborhood kids to come over. We sat them on the pillowcase (makeshift couch) and told them the chilling story of Wang and Chang, the siamese twins. One day, Wang woke up and foung Chang, his other half, dead. He soon died as well from the shock and terror. We then informed the kids that they were siting not on a couch, as they had assumed, but Wang and Chang's body. And then we showed them the blood on the wall. Needless to say, they weren't allowed to play with us anymore. We didn't care, we liked each other better anyway.