"Welcome Home" Ball for 2-23

The 2-23 "Welcome Home" Ball was last Friday ~ and we had a blast! We got all dolled up for dancing, drinking and some much needed adult time. We even stopped by the bar we met at, Engine House #9 (E-9), afterwards! Ahhh memories. :)

Jay & I cutting a rug...pretty much the only ones out on the dance floor (it was midnight) - but we did not care.

Jason & COL Lawrence "pre-funking" at the Murano.

My "ball-mates": Amanda Huston, Tricia Lawrence & I. Love these ladies ~ we had such a great time and could sweep the "Next Top Model" any day!!! :)

We're Famous! :)

I know it's small and kind of hard to see - but we're famous! This pic was taken by some news reporter who was at Jay's Homecoming and was posted on Yahoo! and MSNBC.com - plus there was a clip of us hugging on Larry King Live! Yep, that was it...our 15 minutes is up. :)

Welcome Home Jay - Aug. 25, 2010

Still had his "Welcome Home" sign from his last deployment. Put it right back up in it's old spot...for all the neighborhood to see - we are SO proud!

Had his car all detailed (inside & out), house was clean (or as clean as I can get it with 2 wild childs running around)...we were SO ready to have him home! It has been one LONG year without him.

Beach Bums - August 2010

Jay wasn't due in until around midnight - so the girls & I (and some great friends) thought a good distraction would be to spend the day at the beach...it was a great idea! The weather was beautiful and we all had a blast. Ashton loves to wear glasses, but usually tends to put them on upside down...she is such a trend setter, eh?

BFF's, Alyssa & Paige. I just love this picture. (we have the same one of them from when they were just 3 years old). Growing so fast.

My little resourceful girls found 2 boards and made a teeter-totter out of them. It's so nice when they actually play nice with one another. :)

Future in Fashion?

The picture says it all! Ashton loves her ladybug boots (hand-me-downs from sister, of course). Pretty sure she gets her Fabulous Fashion sense from her sister too. I learned with Alyssa to pick my battles...and matching clothes/shoes is not one I choose to fight. Punky Brewster lives on in our house! :)

Pool Party

We had a brief glimpse of summer weather last weekend and luckily it coincided with Kaitlyn's Birthday/Pool Party! The girls got to even play with their cousin Harper - Alyssa enjoyed playing "Mommy" for her, because she'd actually let her...unlike Ashton.

Alyssa & Ashton playing at the water table.

Iraq - June 2010

Jay and some of his 2-23 guys posing in front of one of the Strykers. (Jay is 2nd from the left in the front row.) Looking good...but Ohhh so ready for this deployment to be over!

2-23 Easter Celebration - 2010

2-23 IN held a wonderful Easter celebration on Ft. Lewis with a huge egg hunt, games, food and more. But of course, Ashton had to have her own "appetizers" before the BBQ.

Alyssa hanging out by the "tattoo booth." She wanted one of everything...at least they're temporary, right? :)

Ashton on the hunt for eggs. She loved finding the eggs - not too interested in opening them though. Ashton even found the "Golden Egg" and got a big prize...but was way more into finding them and putting them in her basket. It's all in the hunt! All in all, it was a great SUNNY day - Yes! Just wish that Daddy would've been there to share it with us.

Charlie Company: March 2010

Photo of Charlie Company (Cco) after they finished doing their missions surrounding the Iraq elections. Jay is in the front row, third from the left. Looks like a dream destination, doesn't it? Ha.

R&R Fun!

We had tons of fun while Jay was home. Just the 4 of us took a two night trip to the Great Wolf Lodge (huge indoor water park) That was an awesome start to his time home. Jason "wrestled" with his girls many a night.

We had lots of good friends/family over for a serious Rock Band Party! This is the "Varsity Team" (as they like to call themselves) Yes, that is Jay singing!

The 4 of us took a trip to the Zoo - they both love the "Maui fish" aquarium. "Shish" as Ashton calls them. (I swear Alyssa has tons of cute clothes - this outfit just cracks me up - she's just "expressing herself", right?)

My gang! This was the night before he had to leave. The girls had to say good-bye to him before they went to bed, because I had to take him to the airport at 4:00am...and it's better not to let them see Mommy cry like a baby.

I've never wished away a summer before now...C'mon SEPTEMBER!!!

Waiting for Daddy to arrive for R&R: Feb 2010

After a day and a half of delays - The girls anxiously await his plane to pull up. (he arrived at 11:00PM - hence, Ashton's jammies...can't really explain Alyssa's outfit - she insists on dressing herself).

There were about 30+ soldiers on this plane coming home for R&R - Ashton saw Daddy before I even did. (He's just coming through the door in this photo). There was about 6 of us wives with all of our kids at 11:00pm waiting for our guys - lots of tears and hugging/kissing going on at this terminal! xoxoxox

Finally! Alyssa jumped on him and Ashton wouldn't stop saying "DaDa" and pointing at him. (getting teary eyed again while I type this...it was too precious)

"Ready? Okay!"

Getting ready to head out and make the "spirit tunnel" for the players to run under. Not sure what the face is for...please don't tell me "cheerleader rivalry" is starting already?! (help me Rhonda)

The "spirit tunnel!" Goooo Upward!

The 5/6 year old Cheerleading squad - named The Rubies. Alyssa is third from the left and Paige is second from the right. They are too too cute when the are out on the floor cheering and they both LOVE it!

Christmas 2009 & Disneyland 2010

Christmas Morning! Alyssa was very excited to see that Santa had found us in Palm Desert! Ashton enjoyed the wrapping paper way more than the actual presents...I'm sure next year will be complete chaos! :)

The last weekend we were in CA, Mom and Dad took us to Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. Ashton LOVED the Disneyland Parade! I had to run out and grab her multiple times, because she wanted to part of it. Wish I would have video-taped her reaction to "It's a Small World" - too precious!

Alyssa really wanted to go on the Tea-cup ride, but that ride literally makes me ill - so thankfully, Poppa went with her.

We went through Mickey's house in ToonTown and he was actually home! Alyssa & I were much more excited to meet him than Ashton...she wasn't real crazy about any of the characters we ran into. She's trying to wriggle out of my arms, but I was determined to get this picture...classic. :)

Thanksgiving 2009

We enjoyed a very delicious Thanksgiving at Nikki & Rob's this year. This was the "kid's table" (minus the 2 babies that were also there).

Ashton thoroughly enjoyed her Turkey Day dinner. Some even made it in her mouth! I think the cranberries were her favorite...just like her Daddy!

Still Crafting...

Finally getting some crafts finished that have been "lingering" in my thoughts (and closet!). Made my BFF a true cork board. I only used the ultra-chic "3 buck Chuck" (aka Charles Shaw from Trader Joes) wine corks. And for those of you who may not be familiar with it, YES! it only costs $3 a bottle. It's the tastiest $3 for sure! But just to prove that we do have a wee bit of class, I did put a Luzon & Clos Du Bois wine cork in the middle - we're not cheap ALL the time...just most of it. :)

"She's Crafty!..."

The blank wooden letters were my Mother's Day gift when I was pregnant with Ashton - it was Jason's way of telling me he was going to "let me" name her that. (what a guy, eh?) I thought it was a very sweet gift, however, I just finally got around to painting them - with some "help" from Alyssa of course. I can never do crafts without her right by my side begging to help out. As soon as they are dry they will be up on Ash's bedroom wall - though I'm pretty sure she'd know what her name is without them...but they turned out cute, eh?! :)

Iraq - November 2009

1SG Evershed and CPT Connor - posing with all of their stylin' gear on! Wow...glad I didn't meet him looking like this! ;) Sooo just kidding Jay! Looking good.

Charlie Company guys posing for a photo after a mission. (Jay is on the far left) - he's already lost too much weight if you ask me. Hard not to smile when they're all smiling, eh? :)
Love you Jay!

Iraq - October 2009

Jason and an Iraqi soldier completing some night missions. He finally sent me some photos of him so I can share them with everyone! They have been pretty busy in the last few weeks, so unfortunately he doesn't have as much time to send pics and skype as we'd like.

Jay and another Iraqi soldier...he's making so many new friends!

Jay and his guys completing a night mission - making a road block or check point??? not sure.

Poser Jay by one of his Strykers. Looks a bit warm there...I'm sure those waters next to him are nice and cold, NOT! Mmmm...refreshing. No camels in the background here, but apparently they've run over about 3 of them since they've been there?!? I sure hope PETA doesn't read this.

"Treats for Troops!"...or just Daddy & CPT Connor

The girls & I enjoyed a delicious dinner at Krista's house (aka: Mannie) and then Alyssa got to "help" make cookies for Daddy and CPT Connor. They had to make non-melting ones...so they chose Reeses Pieces cookies! Mmmm...(Mommy can eat one too). Alyssa loved putting ALL of the ingredients into the mixer - but she wanted to wipe her hands off after each stick of butter, but Mannie wouldn't let her! (I'm surprised she didn't just eat the butter).

Ashton was "helping" bake too (or maybe supervising)...on the floor with the tupperware. Who knows what she thought she was mixing/baking - but as you can see, she was licking the spoon! Silly girl. :)

Alyssa stirring in the Reese Pieces! Good thing there was no video done of this, because if Daddy & CPT Connor could see the entire cookie making process...they just might not want to eat them. I promise Alyssa washed her hands before she started and only licked her fingers a couple of times during. Either way - the cookies were made with L-O-V-E! Now they are off to Iraq.

Enjoy Daddy!!!

Ashton's 1st Zoo trip!

Today my Mom & I took the girls to the Zoo - it was Ashton's 1st trip and she loved it! Even though it was October, the sun was out and so were the animals. Ashton loved the Lemurs - kept calling them "kitties! Kitties Momma!" Well...close enough.

She thought the fish were pretty cool too. She really loved the next area where the water/fish go over your head too - she just kept looking up and saying "Ooooo" and pointing at the fish. Very cute!

Alyssa got to go in the Budgie Buddies exhibit. I only bought her one seed stick, but another little boy in there was having nothing to do with the birds and threw his stick down and went crying outta there. His mom picked it up and handed it to Miss Thang, who was more than willing to use the bait to coerce the birdies. After they finished all of the seeds, she went running out to my Mom saying "Grammy, Grammy...the Budgie's are totally cool. That was a totally cool za-zibit!" (yeah, she meant to say "exhibit" but it came out more za-zibit) Either way, it was cool. We ended our day with some good 'ol Round Table pizza - where Alyssa told me "your pepperoni has fire in it Mom!" Well, couldn't we all use a bit of spice in our lives? All in all, it was a great October day!!! Just wish Jay had been there to share it with us. (Love ya Hun)