Mini-Vacation 2008

Whew! Yesterday, Ryan, Charley, and myself returned from our vacation. Last Thursday we drove to Poplar Bluff, MO where my Aunt Camille lives and my grandma and grandpa. After arriving, we visited with my grandparents. They had not seen Charley in over a year. Of course, Charley was somewhat scared and shy, but that quickly improved when they pulled out the Pooh bear they had bought for her. That evening we stayed with my Aunt Camille and Uncle Bob. Charley loved running and playing at their house! They also had a nice "welcome" gift for Charley. It was a cute stuffed monkey with a small book attached to it. Charley and the monkey have not parted ways since then! In addition to the monkey, they had bought the cutest miniature bananas for Charley. I didn't even know such a thing existed!

Friday morning we headed on to Cape Girardeau where Ryan and I lived our first few years of marriage. We have so many awesome memories of Cape and it was fun to catch up with old friends. We also had the opportunity to eat at some of our favorite restaurants. On Saturday I was able to have lunch with my best friend Anne. We had the best time teaching together when I lived there. The memories are endless! After lunch we took our kids to play in the park. Owen had to show Charley the ropes on the play equipment and she caught on quickly. Sunday morning we attended Centenary UMC where Ryan worked as a youth pastor. Everyone was happy to see us and especially Charley. Charley was working on being the center of attention, just like her daddy, so her and I had to spend most of the service outside.

After church, we left and headed up to St. Louis for the last few days of our vacation. Our hotel was beautiful! There was so much to see and do just at the hotel. We had a wonderful view of the Arch from our room. Sunday evening we enjoyed walking around downtown. Ryan took Charley and I on a horse and carriage ride which was wonderful. Charley loved Curly! The next morning we woke up early to do the St. Louis Zoo. That place is incredible. We had so many up close encounters with the animals. Charley LOVED it! We also rode the train which was a great way to see the different parts of the zoo. Our last night in St. Louis we ate a place called The Burger Bar. It was a fun restaurant where you could create any kind of burger with as many toppings as you wanted.

I was so happy that God blessed our vacation with good health, safe travels, and excellent weather. The three of us created wonderful memories that we will remember forever.....well, at least memories that Ryan and I will remember forever!

Cape & St. Louis 2008

Click on the Album for more Pics!!

Cock - A - Doodle - Doo

Miniature horses, chickens, what's next? Today my in-laws purchased chickens and we took Charley to their house to introduce her to these feathery creatures. I have to say that Charley and the chickens bonded quickly and that she is looking forward to seeing them again soon. I on the other hand am looking forward to the fresh eggs that they are supposed to lay. Prior to the chickens they had a miniature horse. Just like the chickens, Charley enjoyed "Huckleberry". I actually think she is fearless and would pet an alligator if given the chance. Perhaps I am raising the next Steve Irwin! Huckleberry has since moved to a new home and now all we have are pictures to remember him by. Going to MiMi's and PaPa's is such an adventure each time we go. Charley never knows what to expect. She is still hoping for a cow so that she can have fresh milk with her breakfast and dinner each day! She better be careful what she wishes for!


Charley's not sure about these chickens!


PaPa showing Charley how to "pet" a chicken.


I'm not so sure about this.



Charley doesn't seem to mind it's crowing.


This is Charley riding Huckleberry!

Best Friends

What a fun morning we had today! Charley had her best friend, Zach, over to play today while his mommy, Hilary, ran some very important errands. Charley was SO excited to see Zach when he arrived. I have to say, those two are so cute together and are truly "best friends." Hilary and I have been best friends for well over 15 years and for us to now have children only three months apart is so much fun!! The kiddos were great! I think the cutest moment was when Zach and Charley were chasing each other around the couch laughing hysterically! Hilary was nice enough to bring all of us Wendy's for lunch and both Charley and Zach chowed down after working up a big appetite! Today was a great day and Charley is looking forward to the next time she and Zach can play together.

Best Friends

Click on the Album for more pics!

Mother's Day....Take 2

Well, today was officially Mother's Day. What a great day! Charley, Ryan, and I started our day by going to church. It was a great service and all mom's were honored with a rose as they left. We then headed over to my mom and dad's to enjoy a Mother's Day lunch. Charley LOVES eating at her Nana's and Grandpa's. She gets so excited! The ribs from Oscar's were delicious! For my mom, I purchased a nice flower arrangement for her front porch. Charley gave her Nana two tickets to see Noah the musical in Branson. She also gave her MiMi the same thing. So, in June, Charley, Ryan, myself, and both sets of grandparents will be going to Branson to see this one of a kind show. Charley is looking forward to seeing all the animals!! After a yummy lunch we came home for a little R&R before going to Roger and Sharon's for another Mother's Day celebration. Charley had a great time playing with her cousins, Haley, Allison, and Emma. PaPa did a great job of preparing a Mother's Day meal that included steak and chicken kabobs and jasmine rice. Kristen, my sister-in-law prepared a yummy salad and I topped the meal off with homemade brownies and ice cream. We ended the evening playing a little bit of volleyball outside until MiMi dove for the ball and hurt her knee. I am proud to report that she is ok! As you can tell it was a busy day, but a great day honoring us moms.

Mother's Day....Take 2

Click Album for more pics!

Happy Mother's Day.........To Me!

Mother's Day. What an honorable day. I now know how important Mother's Day really is. Growing up Mother's Day was really just like any other day. Don't get me wrong, I always did something special for my mom, I just didn't understand the true meaning behind "Mother's Day". Now that I am a mother myself, "Mother's Day" has an entire new meaning to me. Birthday's are great, but EVERYONE celebrates a birthday. Mother's Day is unique. It's a day honoring all mothers....a day honoring me. When Ryan asked me what I would like for Mother's Day, I could think of nothing more than to spend an entire day with him and Charley. So, yesterday morning Ryan, Charley, and myself headed down to Branson, MO for a beautiful day. We indulged at the Olive Garden for lunch, spent the afternoon Riding the Ducks, and then ended our day with a wonderful evening at The Landing where we ate at a steakhouse and topped if off with Marble Slab Creamery. What more could you ask for? As much as I would like to have a day of pampering, or a nice dinner alone with Ryan, NOTHING brings me more joy than spending a day together as a family. Ryan and I have no idea what we did before Charley came into our lives. She is incredible and truly the greatest thing to ever happen to us. I am so thankful for her. She is the reason I am able to celebrate Mother's Day.

Mother's Day

Click Album for more photos!

A Shower For A Dear Friend

Today I had the pleasure of hosting a shower for a very good friend. Alysia and I have been friends a very long time and it was great to see her again. I am so happy for her and know that she is counting down the days until she becomes Mrs. Butrick. For now however, she remains the "Future Mrs. Butrick". My mom was actually supposed to help host the shower today, but unfortunately she got sick. She was still able to provide some of the yummy food (thanks mom) which helped tremendously. My dad was nice enough to come over and help me set up for the shower. He even picked up the cake and Alysia's corsage. I also cannot forget to mention what a great help Ryan was today. He took Charley on a "Daddy/Daughter Day" and I know they had a great time together. Thanks Ryan for all you do! I enjoyed having people over to my house and watching Alysia open up all her gifts. I have been married for almost seven years and had forgotten how exciting it is to open up a box of place settings! I do have to say that Alysia's are very stylish! It was a great day to say the least! I look forward to seeing her get married in June! Congratulations Alysia!

Alysia's Shower

Click on Album for more pics!!

A Night With Daddy......Lord Help Us!

Some of you know that I volunteer at the Family Violence Center here in Springfield. I absolutely LOVE it and could probably write a book on what I have learned from spending so much time there......but that will have to wait. It had been several months since I had last volunteered. It seems like that it is how long Ryan, Charley, and myself have been sick this past winter! I usually like to go at least once a week, so last night I ventured off to the FVC. With me gone, Ryan was in charge of Charley and I knew she would LOVE having her daddy all to herself. Boy did she ever! Now, before you make any quick judgements, I think it is important to note that Ryan did feed Charley a good dinner before feeding her the Bacon Cheddar Chips that she devoured. Ryan sent me these pictures last night at the FVC and I began to immediately wonder who had kidnapped my sweet precious angel. I soon found out that this was the work of her daddy. He swears that after this "episode" he gave her a bath and scrubbed her face and hair. I'll be the judge of that when she wakes up this morning.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES! THE PICTURES BELOW MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AND MAY CAUSE NIGHTMARES.

Spring Cleaning

I can hardly believe that it has been almost a month since my last blog. The Wasson's have been busy enjoying the beautiful weather and spending as much time outside as possible. Charley and I have ventured back to the zoo several times since my last posting and I think she enjoys it more each time we go. For me, the month of April was spent doing some "spring cleaning". I cleaned out Charley's closet in addition to mine and Ryan's. We also had our carpets cleaned and last week I ventured out and actually hired someone to clean my house. Now don't worry, I don't always do this, but every now and then I don't think it hurts to have someone else do it. The only problem is that I am SUCH a perfectionist which means even after the house has been cleaned by someone else, it still isn't quite as good as what I would do. For some reason it takes me a full two days to clean my house and it only took "Regina" two hours. Go Figure. I guess the plus side would be that it does look better and I didn't have to waste two days of my life doing it!