Easter

I was very happy to hear that my parents would be joining us for Easter this year. Sydnee didn't get any time out of school, so traveling wasn't an option for us. The girls were so excited about Grandpa and Grandma coming that when the time came for their arrival, they insisted on waiting outside until they pulled up.

We had a great time with them, even if we spent all day Sat. shopping. Saturday evening my mom and dad went to the furniture store to pick up all of their stuff...and the girls and I got the egg coloring going. Justee was so excited once she saw the eggs turn pretty colors...she would drop an egg in and then immediately ask, "Can I take it out? Peas mom?" I would tell her to leave it in for a minute and she would say ok, but then right away she would ask to take it out again. She did a great job of not making a mess.Charlee, on the other hand, has always been our little slob. She tends to be the messiest and clumsiest. She had brightly colored hands and the floor under her needed wiped up. She loved every minute of it though. :)

Sydnee was very helpful and thoughtful with her sisters. She didn't get greedy and try to hog all the eggs...she willingly let her sisters color lots of eggs.

Here is Sydnee making a beautiful egg for her dad. I think it turned out great.

The hard-boiled eggs went fast, but the girls wanted to color more....So, we got out the carton of raw eggs and the girls put one in every color and let them sit for a long time.
When Grandma got back from picking up furniture, she helped finish up the last of the eggs.

The hard-boiled eggs:

The raw eggs:

On Easter morning the girls got up at about 7:30 and were ready to check their baskets and hunt eggs.

Sydnee found the first money egg! (She found the big $10 egg too.) Char and Justee each found a money egg too.

Justee really loves her Grandpa, she was excited to show him her bunny and everything else she found.Emptying all the eggs into the candy bowl...looks like plenty of candy:
Unfortunately, my parents had to head home right after the egg hunt...They had a long drive, while pulling a horse trailer full of stuff, ahead of them. We are so glad that they got to come spend a little time with us. I love Easter pictures and I wanted to take some outside, but of course it was raining and cold outside...After rushing to get ready for church, we didn't have much time anyway so it didn't matter that I didn't feel like doing anything exciting or wrestling the girls to pose all cute for me....I just had to snap some quick ones. It is hard enough to get them all to look at the camera at the same time, let alone smile at the same time (and do it in under 3 mins. ;)

I think Charlee and Justee were saying "Happy Easter!" in this one:

Charlee's Birthday

Charlee had a great birthday...when she wasn't arguing with Justee: "It's my birthday." "No, it's my birthday!" and on and on.


I'm not sure who was more excited, Sydnee or Charlee. As soon as Sydnee got home from school, she was wanting the party to get started. I had to keep reminding her that we had to wait for Daddy.

We set up in the office so Justin could see all the action through webcam...Justin had a mission a few days before Char's bday and ended up being stranded at a Polish military base for 3 days due to bad weather. Luckily he made it back to OE in time to join us for the party. We really are blessed to have today's technology...I can't image what it was like when families didn't hear from their soldiers for months, and then it was only letters. The girls get so excited to see and talk to their Dad.

Charlee got a sparkle ball from Justee, a Tinkerbell dress and shoes from Sydnee, the annual "Love" dollar and card from Great Gpa and Gma Putnam, some makeup and jewelry from Gpa and Gma Hyde, a playdough set from Gpa and Gma Durtsche, and a vanity from Justin and me.

Here she is modeling her Tinkerbell dress...she was flying like Tink. Singing Happy Birthday:Blowing out the candles:Eating cake:Talking to Daddy:
Saying goodbye and blowing kisses:

A few things about Chuck, Char, Chaz, Chuckles, and I'm probably forgetting some of the nicknames she has...

Charlee is a sweet little girl and we are lucky to have her in our family. She is shy at first and rarely talks to people...but once she warms up, there's no stopping her...she gets loud and rambunctious. She is a little more sensitive than her sisters and gets whinny, but her mood is more easily turned around. The cat bullies her because even he knows she won't do anything to stop him...Char always calls for Justee to come help her when the cat has her cornered. She loves to sing and dance...when Justin is on webcam she always wants to do a dance for him. She loves to wipe the table off and she does a great job. Charlee loves cartoons and always has since she was just over a year old...she would sit in front of the tv all day if I let her (in fact she just walked in and asked me when I was going to turn cartoons on for her :) but she also loves to go outside and play and ride her bike. She has a pretty laid back demeanor and rarely throws fits (I don't remember the terrible 2's being very bad with her.) We love you Chuck!

The Chuck is 4!

Two days ago I realized that I left my camera's battery charger at my parents' house (hopefully they will be bringing it this weekend.) I got to take about 5 pictures with my camera before the battery died, and then I couldn't download them. Luckily I have my old camera...

After changing her mind several times, Charlee decided that she wanted a caterpillar cake. She picked out the colors and is quite pleased with her choices. I wish it had turned out cuter, but Chuck's is the only opinion that counts; and she likes it...so oh well. :)

Hopefully Justin will be able to join us via webcam for her little party this evening.

Passing Along Hugs

Three years ago today (man sometimes it seems like it was a lot longer than that, and other times it seems like yesterday) I was at my parents house waiting for Justin to make the drive up from Alabama. He had just finished flight school and we were moving in with my parents as we transitioned into a new life. My 8 year old niece, Jada, had been sick and was being transferred from Laramie to the Children's Hospital in Denver. We were all worried about her and I remember asking Sydnee to kneel down with me to say a prayer for her. A few minutes later my Dad came walking up the stairs, I heard his slow foot steps and came to meet him at the top...I could tell something was wrong and I asked him, "What?"
He hung his head and said, "She didn't make it."
I remember hugging my Dad and crying, "What is Ashlee going to do?" I knew Jada would be alright now, but my sister...that was where the pain was. As sad as I felt, I knew it couldn't compare to the pain that Ashlee and Gerry were feeling and would continue to feel.

Sometimes it is hard to not focus on the sorrow and pain, but when I think of Jada, I like to remember the wonderful things about her...
Jada was a very active, happy little girl with the most wonderful laugh. She kept everyone on their toes and loved giving hugs...As a special tribute to Jada and her hugs, my sister has a request posted on her blog. Check it out and watch the beautiful slide show here.

Here are some pics I have of Jada...
Kyle and Jada:

Back when my mom only had 3 grandchildren: My Dad and Jada dozing off:Sydnee and Charlee with the Burton kids (Jada is holding Charlee):

Jada will always be in our hearts...we miss her dearly and look forward to being reunited with her again someday...now that's a hug to look forward to.

Syd's Definition

During Conference Sydnee heard the word "death" in a talk.

"I know what death means!" She exclaimed. "It is when you can't really talk, so you have to talk with your hands."

Ummm...looks like I need to clarify the meaning of 2 words to Sydnee.

Friday Flashback...on Saturday

My sister, Vicki, has been doing Friday Flashbacks for a while now, and I wanted to join in on the fun. I finally got my baby book and some old pics last time I went to visit my parents. So my Friday posts are reserved for fun flashbacks. (I forgot to do it yesterday.)

My parents have these two cute photos of them when they were about 5 years old. My mom asked me to scan some photos of all of us kids and make them black and white...then they will be put in matching frames and our whole family will sit together, frozen in time, at about the same age... :)The ages range from 4-6. (I just wish I had the photos of my parents too.)


Here is Ashlee in 1977: Vicki in 1982:

I'm not sure which picture of Rob my mom wants to use. Here he is in 83 and 85:

I'm not sure on which picture of me either...85 and 86:

(I cut my hair in the first pic...looks like my hair grew a lot in a year.)

Here is the baby of the family...Mark in 1982:

Pics From Justin

Here are some pics from Justin...nothing too exciting to report lately...I guess that's a good thing.
His last first-up crew: On their way to the shooting range:

Yes, that would be Justin driving the intimidating gator.

Convoy to the range:

Justin at the range: Not sure...some dudes putting up a tower, I guess:Some signs at the bizarre...Jewlary anyone? :)The gate:I saved the best for last...

The ever-important weight room:

Sanity Report

I made it through the carnival with my sanity intact (barely.) Sydnee and Charlee were wonderful; they had fun and didn't act upset when they played a game that was obviously too hard for them and didn't win. Justee, on the other hand, was a monster. She wanted to play all the games that her sisters played, only she didn't want to wait in line nor did she want any help...No big deal...I didn't care if bean bags only made it halfway to their targets. What bothered me was when she wanted to play in the bathroom (and screamed when I made her come out) and do somersaults in the hallway filled with people. Then Sydnee insisted on using her last 2 tickets to get her face painted...the line was a mile long...I thought, oh well, it's the last thing we will do and then we will head home...Sydnee made it halfway through the line (about 20 mins) and Justee started yelling, "My butt hurts!" as she ran up and down the hall. She had filled her diaper and wanted it off. ahhh!
I'm thinking I'm about to lose it and it still took Sydnee another 20 mins before she was done...but she was happy, and that's what is important...She picked out this lovely blue flower...why blue?...her words, "Cause Daddy likes blue."
Sydnee won a cake on her first try in the cake walk, and we won a couple prizes in the raffle. So we didn't come home empty handed.

Once we were home, I was very eager to get the girls off to bed. I told the girls to get their jammies on and told Justee to come lay down so I could change her...Apparently she was a little more eager to get her diaper off than I was...She took it off and plopped her butt down on the carpet...I tried to stop the poopy butt from making contact with the carpet but I was just too slow. And because gory details are just so much fun to share...green poo does not come out of carpet easily...luckily I am experienced because yesterday Justee had a leakage problem and her strangely green poo/diarrhea splatted (yes splatted) on the floor. I now have "get carpets shampooed" on my to-do list.

We are almost to the halfway mark of Justin being gone, and I am starting to wonder if I can take another 6 months without him. Luckily I only have 3 months until he gets to come home for 2 weeks of R&R.
I miss him a lot on days like this...the kind that an extra pair of hands would be so helpful with the kids, but I miss him more on the good days...the days that he should be at home, enjoying the fun moments in our girls' lives.

As much as I miss my husband and I miss the father of my children, I miss my best friend the most.

School Carnival

Tonight is Sydnee's school carnival...It was postponed because of the snow storm last week. I was a little irritated by that because it meant that I had to make another cake. After next week (it's Charlee's birthday next Wed.) I will have made a cake/cupcakes every week for three weeks in a row.

I decided that I since I had more time to prepare for the carnival, I could be a little more creative with my cake-walk cake...

A small improvement, but an improvement nonetheless.

The girls should have fun tonight, I'm just not sure how fun it will be for me...wish me luck. :)