Jacketylanterns

I love carving pumpkins. I love the smell, the goo, the excitement the girls get when they decide what they want theirs to look like (the excitement when I decide what I want mine to look like)...I love everything but the mess. Fortunately for me, I had a husband here this year who was a huge help with everything.

Since it still isn't a good idea for Justee to get her hands on sharp carving utensils...she got to stick these fun faces into her pumpkins. Throughout the evening the faces changed frequently and her pumpkins were covered with holes...she loved every minute of it.

Here are fruits of our labors...Justin's, Chuck's, mine, Syd's.

We got tons of great seeds out of all these pumpkins...too bad I burned them all. :(

Belated

We have been so busy since Justin got home...Dallas then Disney World and now Halloween fun. I have had several senior shoots to get edited and tons of our vacation photos to go through. I am finally getting up the pics from the night that Justin returned home from Afghanistan.

There were lots of smiles, hugs, and kisses...

Waiting...

Their plane landed and then they rode in a bus over to where everyone was anxiously waiting.

Our first views of Justin after he got off the bus and headed our way:

Justee ran through the crowd and made it to Justin first. They were all very happy little girls.

Sydnee was so excited she kept telling Justin how much she missed him and was her usual chatty self. She is such a big Daddy's girl and so happy to have him home again. Char on the other hand barely said a word. She just kept staring at Justin as if she were amazed to see her Daddy in front of her. As soon as Justin put her down she would pull on his shirt and want him to pick her up again. She did not want to ever let him go.

After everyone got in several hugs, we headed inside for the short ceremony. Here is Governor Dave Freudenthal saying a few words of appreciation.

We were all getting ready to head out when Justin was stopped by this journalist and asked to give an interview...I immediately stood up and walked away, remembering that we both had to give one when Justin was leaving...I did not want to do that again. Luckily Sydnee was the one they wanted. :)

Here she is giving her interview. She was so cute because she got really nervous and couldn't get more than a couple words out.

It was a great night and I am so glad that our friends the Reynolds came to support us. It was nice to have someone there to take pics so I didn't have to worry about it, and it was nice for them to just show that they cared. Thanks guys!!!

It has been great having Justin home and even though there are small adjustments to be made, it quickly felt like normal to have him here with us.

Life sure is good these days. :)

In the News...

Here is a link to the newscast about the homecoming: http://www.kcwy13.com/newscast.php?id=2399
It starts a little bit into the program. Sydnee was excited because she was interviewed...she sums up the whole thing right at the end. It was pretty funny because she was asked 4 or 5 questions but never said much. She was acting pretty shy. The "meat" of her answers is what you get to hear. :)

Welcome Home Daddy!

Justin made it home safe and sound on Wed. night. The girls were very excited about going to get their Daddy. I have pics of the event, but I will take the time to post them later. Things have been pretty hectic here and I am looking forward to just relaxing and enjoying the rest of our Sunday together.
Syndee made this sign all by herself. (Broncos' colors of course. :)

For now...the year I dreaded is over and we get to move on with our lives. Thank you to everyone who gave their support through acts of service, kind thoughts and words, prayers and everything else. You really helped us get through this and it meant more than you'll ever know. THANK YOU!

Justin got to put the last star on the flag....woohoo! It's done!

3 days left

There is room for only 3 more stars on our flag. It is hard to believe this whole thing is almost over, but it is such a relief.

Justin is at Ft. Lewis and it is so nice to have him back in the US, but Wednesday can't come fast enough.

My Menace

Just wanted to make a note of this...

I put some bib overalls on Justee this morning...she looked down and said, "I look like Dennis!"

They have been watching a lot of Dennis the Menace lately.

My sister and her fam are here until tomorrow (minus Journee and Kyle) and Renae and Dana are coming today to stay for the weekend. It is so nice to have company to help pass these last 5 days until Justin comes home. :)

A Do-it-Yourself Kinda Girl

Justee really wanted to be the creator of a new hairstyle...the half bang:

She cut it clear to her scalp on one side...and just in time for Daddy to get home...dang her. So where was her mother while she was carelessly creating her fabulous new do?

...Listening to her 2nd grader read for 20 mins. Isn't that torture enough for a mom???

(all joking aside, Sydnee is actually doing a great job...listening to a 2nd grader read is MUCH better than listening to a 1st grader read. ;)

Well, not one of my girls made it through toddlerhood without cutting their own hair. I am 3 for 3 in that category. nice

*note: The scratch on her head is not from the scissors...that has been there for over a week and I am not exactly sure where she got it. Score another one for mom.

Just Passing Time

Justin is out of Afghanistan and beginning he long journey home. I believe he is at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan...by now he might already be gone from there...I haven't talked to him in a while...
There has been more changes made as to when Justin will actually be getting home (big surprise.) He was supposed to be home the 14th and then there were setbacks which would put him home the 15th. Right now I am not sure on the date and time, and I probably won't be until the day he gets home...the sense of irritation is slightly overshadowed by the fact that he will be home sometime next week!
I'm sure all this constant talk about Justin coming home gets a bit redundant, but it is definitely what encompasses my thoughts these days.

We are trying to stay busy while we wait. Sydnee has two friends from school over right now for what they have been calling their "play date." Sydnee was very excited about it. The three of them write letters to each other during there free write time at school. I wanted to share what one said that she got from her friend Hazel...
"Dear Sydnee
You are so funny because of the way you laff and the way you smiyll. I love the way your eyes sparkl."
They are always writing such nice things to each other and I think it is so sweet.
I got all my Halloween decorations up in my house this weekend, so while I waited for Syd and her friends to get off the bus I turned everything on including the fog machine....It was so fun to see their faces when they walked in the door and looked at all the fun stuff. Ahhh....I love Halloween. :)

-Justee has been such a funny girl lately. Last night she put a hair tie around her ankles and hopped around. "Hop...hop...hop...I'm a kangawoo mom...a baby kangawoo."

Farewell and Hello

The girls and I had a nice trip to Lovell over the weekend. We got to see lots of family and especially Steven, who went into the MTC yesterday and will go on to serve in the San Fernando, CA mission. We are all so proud of him and will miss him a lot over the next 2 years.

The girls, of course, complained that the trip was too short...they didn't get to see enough of their cousins or their grandparents, or the new kitties! In fact when we were pulling into our driveway, Justee realized where we were and threw a huge fit; she was crying and saying how she wanted to go back to Grandma's and not go home. These cuties may have been one of the biggest reasons she wanted to stay: Muffin and Carmel:

One of the many great things we came home with was pumpkins. My parents have a big pumpkin patch and they sell pumpkins every year to help pay for Mark's mission. This is the patch after many pumpkins had been removed.My mom had a bunch loaded in the back of the pickup and had to put them in the garage so my dad could take the truck the next day...We went into the garage and found Carmel playing in them, so we added Muffin to the mix. :)

The other new addition we got to meet was Hana (pronounced Hawna...it is the name of a girl Mark baptized in Japan and means flower.) She is my Dad's new little palomino and I think she is beautiful. Her mom is a new addition as well and her name, which she came with, is Country. Country is already expecting again, so I am excited to see that new baby as well. :)

Hana is still pretty skittish and she doesn't really let you touch her much...I would have loved to spend a lot more time out with her...I've always liked to "tame" things...Maybe that is what attracted me to Justin. ;)

I am glad we had the opportunity to go and support Steven and spend time with family, I just wish Justin could have been there...I know he wishes he could have been there too.