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)

HiYa Daddy!

Hi Daddy! Since our connection to Daddy isn't the greatest at the moment - we've chosen to communicate through our Blog for a bit. I took just a couple quick pics of the girls (because our photo card was full). I was trying to make Ashton smile by making faces at her...instead of smiling, she decided to make faces right back at me! Such a comedian - kind of like her Daddy thinks he is. ;-)

Ash getting ready for one of her gourmet meals that I cook her...HA! Big sis Alyssa has to help me convince Ashton that the food is yummy. Alyssa will take bites and then give some to Ashton. Ash apparently doesn't "believe" Mommy, but if Sissy is eating it, then it must be okay. I guess I should just accept this as the norm, eh???
We love & miss you SOOO much Daddy - hope you call or email us soon.