"Chase Idol"

It is no secret that we are a little strange! As proof of this strangeness, let me share with you what happened today during some family time. We gave the kids 5 minutes to decide what we should do together as a family. I thought that we might do some geocaching or play a game but boy was I wrong. When Chris and I came back into the room, we were informed that each member of our family was going to participate in "Chase Idol". We were instructed to come up with a costume and be ready to perform our song in 10 minutes. Were they serious?!

Okay so I'm thinking, what in the world am I going to do? Then the idea came and when Zach saw me he couldn't stop laughing. The only thing is, I scored the lowest out of everyone! Go figure. I was informed that the only reason I got any kind of score was BECAUSE of my costume and NOT my ability to sing. I sure got a good laugh over that!

Each person involved did a great job and it was fun to be a little strange with my family!

I now present to you "Chase Idol"

Macie was our first contestant and did a fabulous job. She sang, "Christmas Bells are Ringing". She even created her outfit for the event! Don't you love it?

Chris and I got a good laugh over Cody. He snuck upstairs right before his turn and put the eyeliner on his face. Does he remind you of anyone? I am not sure if it was his make up or the hat but there was something that reminded us of Boy George. YIKES!

The first thing I said when I saw what I looked like was that it is a good thing I did not become a nun! Not very flattering at all but what can I say? I sang the song from the Sound of Music, "How do you solve a problem like Maria" and did a horrible job BUT I had fun while doing it!

Here is Blake and he sang along with a song on our ipod. We all think that it is so cool that he can wear sunglasses because he now wears contacts! He did a good job and I like his extra touch with the rollerblading gloves on his hands!

Here is my sexy Chris! He was George Strait and did such a good job strumming his guitar. My heart was pitter pattering as I watched him. He was my favorite!

Here is Zach, our tamborine man. He has such confidence and looks so good in his costume! He was also our M.C. and held the spotlight for the event. This activity also was his idea and I must say that it turned out to be a super fun activity.

Here is my dear sweet Erin. She got all dressed up and even put some beads in her hair but when it came time for her to perform, it was just too much. Unfortunately she has inherited a shy bone from her dear ol' mother but I was proud of her for wanting to do it and perhaps next time (if there is a next time!) she will have the courage to perform her act.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP

The other day I turned on the radio and found myself listening to the practice beep of the emergency broadcast system. I have wondered what it would be like to have the broadcast beep be the real thing. Would I be prepared for the warning it would give? There are different types of emergencies we face and these are rarely sounded over the radio. Last week we had an emergency of our own. Thankfully my dad went to the doctor because of his having difficulty breathing. He was given a cat scan and it was discovered that he has multiple blood clots in his lungs. Talk about taking your breath away! I wasn't prepared to hear this. With him having a motorcycle accident a couple of months ago and now this, I have come to value the frailty of life. I am so very grateful that the clots did not move to his heart or brain and I am also overwhelmingly grateful for modern technology and medicine that have helped to save my dad's life.


My dad is one of my heroes. I have found in him someone I can rely on and confide in. I am not ready for him to leave this earth life. Thank you Dad for listening to the "warning" and for seeking medical care! You are the best and I love you!!!!

Here We Are Together

Our family had a very busy and special December! We had been looking forward for months to the Ray Chase Family reunion. This years reunion organizer's decided to do things a little different and the whole family spent five days on a Mexican Riviera cruise. It is definitely a reunion we will always remember. We had so much fun and the service and food were outstanding! I think we all gained just a little extra weight during this reunion, except for the faithful exerciser, Becky, but it was worth it!!!

This is on Catalina Island and you can tell that grandma and grandpa sure enjoyed watching the the grandkids play in the ocean. Can you believe that they were swimming in the ocean in December?! Brrrrr....

We spent a day in Ensenada, Mexico and went to see the blow hole as a WHOLE family! Try to imagine the fun we had dressed in the same t-shirt walking the market streets of Mexico. Everyone new our last name and would thus call to us trying to get us to come into their store. It was a hoot! Even the people on the ship new who the Chase's were! It is super hard to hide 29 people all wearing the same shirt.

A great big thank you to Loren and Becky for spear-heading this reunion and for doing such a great job! We had a blast!