Judson... I mean Elder Waltman

My nephew Judson is leaving this week to go to the MTC (missionary training center)! I can hardly believe that he is old enough to be serving a mission. He is going to Russia! Judson's older brother, Alex, is also serving a mission in Russia (he get's back in September) but they will be on almost opposite sides of the country. In fact Judson will be closer to us than he will be to Alex... crazy huh! He will be a great missionary.

Easter

So I know that I'm a week behind but hey better late than never right?

Our ward had an Easter Breakfast/Easter Egg Hunt the Saturday before Easter. It was freezing!! The Easter Egg Hunt was more like a stampede... ready, set, run or get trampled!

Carlie somehow made out with a few eggs and she couldn't have been happier! After the hunt was over Carlie came over to me and said, "I'm ready to go home now."

Sarah Jane wasn't really into the candy thing, she did however enjoy shaking the eggs that had candy in them!

Carlie was in heaven with her "Num a Nums" or M&Ms. We are still eating leftover candy which is just fine with our candy junky!

Carlie Moments

The other day Sarah Jane was playing with a phone and Carlie wanted to play too so she put her hand to the side of Gus' face (like a phone) and said... "Dad talk to the hand!" Gus and I had a good laugh!

Gus had just gotten home from work and I was giving him a hug, Carlie came over and demanded... "Mom let go of Dad, he is getting all squeezed together forever!" We have just recently taught Carlie the song Families Can Be Together Forever, maybe that's where she got it?

We have been working with Sarah Jane on walking in the evenings and were giving her attention, which always seems to provoke some need inside of Carlie to compete. Carlie starts walking around saying... "Look at me I can walk too! Watch Me!"

Kids make life worth laughing at!

Carlie the Photographer!

Close up!

This one is my favorite... Isn't Carlie a natural with her angles?

She is so weird.

This was one of several beautiful pictures of her feet.

Carlie finds the camera quite often apparently. I don't notice until I go to use it and the memory card is full (4GB). The other day I deleted almost seventy pictures off the camera. Her inspiration ranges from the computer screen to our closet, our bed, and she must inspire herself! She is a funny girl. Let me know if you would like to hire her to capture the random images in your home!

What's New...

I got a hair cut... okay so I chopped it all off and I am loving it.

We started our food storage... rice, sugar, and milk! Yum
Gus checked out the dry packer for a ward activity and we took advantage of it!

We got a "new to us" van from my parents... now we will be able to fit all five of us (when the baby comes) in the same vehicle! We love it!

I love my little girls.

So I just read a blog of memories of a little boy that died last year. I don't even know this family it was just a link I clicked on... needless to say I just spent the last ten minutes crying like I haven't cried in a long time. That blog inspired me to be a better mother and enjoy my girls and the crazy things they do.
I love my little girls. They are so happy and cute.

Carlie is so smart and loving. She always wants to help me cook or clean or take care of Sarah Jane. She will often give Sarah Jane a hug and say "I'm so proud of you Sarah Jane Sue". She will just come sit on my lap and say "I love you Mom". Carlie has been on a kick about colors. She asks us all the time what our favorite color is then she will tell us her favorite color which is usually the color of the shirt she's wearing, although blue seems to come up quite often. Last Sunday Carlie passed off her first Article of Faith, she has to say it for the Bishop and then he gives her a candy. She was so happy! He challenged her to memorize the second by the next week and I made some remark about how transgression was a big word but we would work on it. Well, yesterday she passed off the second one! I am so proud of her, she is such a smart little girl!

Sarah Jane is growing up so fast. She is so happy and smiling all the time. She loves to play in the bathroom or get into the cupboards in the kitchen. She loves Carlie and gets so bored when Carlie is taking a nap. We just recently got a van and she is loving it. The Neon was so small and had such small windows and now she is just content to stare out the window at any and everything. She makes getting up in the morning, for me, a good experience. She is soooo excited to see me walk through the door she starts laughing! Then she busts up when she sees Carlie. Sarah Jane is such a sweet baby and makes life fun! She is learning One Little Monkey! I will have to post a video on here, she is just too cute!