Preschool Time!

Luke has been talking excitedly about going to preschool for the last two years. Well, the big day arrived and this is how he felt about it. Actually, this is how he felt about it after I found him, he was hiding behind my bed and I couldn't find him. The poor little guy nearly broke my heart. I always assume Luke is my boisterous kid, who loves new situations, who will barely look back at me when I drop him off. Well, I was wrong. But I was able to salvage the morning by giving him an early birthday present. Look at the mood change below when I gave him his first big boy backpack . . . Buzz Lightyear!

That's the picture I was expecting! He still tried to talk me out of preschool the whole drive to school. He kept telling me, "Well mom, I think preschool is all done now." "Mom, I think all the kids went home for preschool today." So I walked him in and we found his hook and played a few toys and it was time for me to leave. He asked me to stay and then asked for a big hug which he got ten more than he asked for and then I told him I'd have a surprise for him when I picked him up. He didn't cry but he looked really sad and worried. I felt horrible but I knew he would love it. So after I dropped him off, I felt guilty and went and bought all the red balloons in Ocean Springs and filled the van with them. Of course when I picked him up he was smiling ear to ear and loved his big boy school and his teachers Miss Mary and Miss Winnie. I asked him what his favorite part of school was and he told me, "going potty two times." Whatever.
I think every kid should get taken out to eat after their first day of school right? So Luke picked McDonald's, surprise, surprise. We met his friend Morgan there and they had a great old time. Luke was very excited about his balloon surprise in the car too. Although I have a feeling when I pick him up Friday he is going to be very disappointed when their are no balloons and no McDonald's, hmm.
That night Luke got to eat dinner off the 'You are special' plate. Always a big hit around our house. My babysitter was kind enough to take the picture for me since I was out and about that evening. Thanks Emily!
Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you big boy Luke!

Home Again

With Gustav coming toward the Gulf, I didn't want to take any chances. We evacuated with our friends to Ft. Walton, Florida. My friend Cynthia's parents live there and the kids just thought we were going to vacation there again. (This time we just decided to bring all of our home movies, photos, baby books, etc.) The kids had a fun weekend playing with Mckenzie and Hayden and Big Daddy and Granny Z. I have found in the south, Grandma and Grandpa, just isn't as popular to call the Grandparents as it is up north. Anyhow, Big Daddy and Granny Z were wonderful to put us all up and cook us great meals and kept us safe and sound through the hurricane. The day after we left Keesler AFB had everyone evacuate anyway so it was good we left when we did.
Here are the kids at a favorite restaurant, The Back Porch, in Destin, Florida. It was the night before the hurricane hit and the waves were getting pretty big. We couldn't swim this time due to the big waves and scary currents.
Gustav didn't bother Florida too much, just lots of rain and wind and tornado watches. In between the bad stuff, the kids played out in the pouring rain. They thought it was just hilarious they got to play out there and their buckets would fill so quickly with the rain water.
The afternoon when Gustav died down a little. We went down to the dock and the water had risen over the lawn. The kids enjoyed "swimming" in the grass.
My house all safe and sound. Tommy, my psuedo-husband while Steve is away, took such good care of our house and yard. Our hurricane shutters gave Tommy a run for his money but it will be easier next time now that he labeled them all. We don't know what the deal is with the living room window but he couldn't get them to fit. A few trees down in the neighborhood but none in our yard, thank goodness. The gulf coast was actually very, very lucky. Thanks for all your prayers and good thoughts. Now go away Hannah and Ike!

Happy 7th Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary my love. Hopefully this will be the one and only we spend in different countries. It has been such a fun seven years and I cannot wait to keep enjoying the ride together. I couldn't imagine a more wonderful and loving husband and father, thank you for all of your love. I do, I do, I do, again and again and again.

Boom-A-Ring Circus

On Sunday we went to the Ringling Bros. Circus with our friends Sophie and Benji. Before the show started the kids were allowed to be down in the center ring interacting with the performers. Amelia just wanted to watch but Luke joined in a few things. Here he is on the trapeze. Amelia's favorite parts of the circus were the elephants and the dancing dogs. Luke's favorite part were the six tigers but I swear it was the bathroom because he made me take him potty like 7 times during the show. Too much Gatorade I guess!

Mini Top Gun

Stephen sent the kids a package yesterday and they were over the moon with excitement. He sent them these amazing flight suits, just like Daddy's. The patches are all removable just like his and has their names on them, wings, American flags and a special patch. Stephen had special patches made for each of the kids by a little Arabic alteration shop on base. So he had a Disney princess patch made for Amelia and a Kung Fu Panda patch made for Luke. Luke's picture freaks me out just looking at it because he looks exactly like Stephen!

Ever since they got their flight suits they've been playing, they jump on the couch and say, "hurry, the plane is leaving for Iraq, we have to go visit daddy." When Luke woke up today he asked to put his flight suit back on and said, "When I grow up and get big I can wear this flight suit and go to Iraq like daddy." I can only pray that won't happen. But in the meantime, he sure looks cute.

Thanks Daddy, we all love our presents!

Fishy, Fishy

While Grandma Joan was here last week we went to the National park right by our house. They have great kids programs and the kids always have a blast when we go. This week the theme was fishy, fishy and the kids got to make fish, starfish and stingray prints on t-shirts. They turned out great! Although Luke looks less than thrilled in this picture.

Stephen News

Inquiring minds have been asking what plane Stephen takes on his missions. This is it, it's a C130 (I think). You can see where the back hatch comes down.
Here is Stephen with his crew and the bottom picture is the inside of the plane. Not exactly like sitting in first class I guess. Although I have only sat in first class once and did not know what to do with the warm wash cloths so it's totally overrated. Who needs seats when you can sit in a cargo net?
Stephen and his crew are hanging in there. Stephen ran a 5K this morning in a Race for the Fallen, I was most impressed because it was at 6 am, not exactly Stephen's favorite time of day. The kids are still coping with missing daddy and Luke said to me, "Mommy, I think all the soldiers are all better now so Daddy can come home." We all wish that was the case. We are proud of you Stephen!

Mudshack

Grandma Joan came to visit this week which has been a great relief and help to me! We took the kids to Mudshack today which is a cute little paint your own pottery place here in town. The kids each picked out a piece of pottery and all the colors they wanted. Oh what a difference in their styles. Amelia picked the tiniest little brush and barely dipped it in the paint. We thought, oh boy, this is going to take hours for her to paint. Luke found the biggest brush he could and went to town on his dinosaur. He piled on the paint 20 layers deep. It was a fun afternoon.

We've been watching a lot of the Olympics lately, the kids especially love the diving and the gymnastics. Luke loves to "dive" off the couch backwards. He balances backwards on his toes and then jumps off and says, "Hooray, no splash!" One of the nights we turned on the Olympics and it was the very beginning of the broadcast. They were scanning over parts of China with just music playing and Amelia says, "Hey mom that's the Great Wall of China." I said, "How did you know that Amelia?" She said, " That's where Mulan lives." Oh well, now I don't feel bad I let them watch Walt Disney movies, look how educational they are :)

Ship Island

On Sunday we were lucky enough to have our friends Chris and Blake take us out on the boat with their three kids. We went to Ship Island which is the farthest out island and the kids loved the ride! They both rode up front on their knees and the waves were getting them soaking wet, it was so funny watching them. This is Skipper Luke, he threw this rope in the water and then stood up and hauled it in for about a half hour straight. He was very proud of himself. For the very brave reader someday you can ask me why he is in his undies instead of his swimsuit.

Morgan, Luke and Amelia having fun in the waves.

The kids were worn out, we left around 9am and got home around 4pm. They were salty, sandy and happy as can be. On the way home we spotted a a family of about 6 dolphins. The dolphins were about 10 feet from the boat. The kids got a huge kick out of it because they kept blowing water out of their blowholes. Then as the grand finale, the dolphins slapped their tales against the water. We all cheered and they did it again for us! It was so cool!

Big Kid!

Our baby girl started kindergarten today. As you can see from her face, she was 100% excited, 0% apprehensive. (I on the other hand was the exact opposite). This much excitement and it was only 6:45 in the morning!
Showing off her new backpack and lunchbox. I packed her a great first day lunch, sandwich, apple, carrots and cucumbers, applesauce and teddy grahams. I opened up her lunchbox when she got home and the only things she ate were the teddy grahams and a bite of apple. Go figure.
I thought the first day of school deserved a special snow cone treat. We were there about a half hour and Amelia never stopped talking the entire time. She told me all about her day, the rules of the classroom, how she needs to raise her hand to talk, the pledge of allegiance, going to P.E. class and how she has to wear tennis shoes every Wednesday, who brought lunch, who bought lunch, nap time, what books they read, etc. etc. etc. I was cracking up. I don't think she left one detail out. I am thrilled she loved it so much, it does make it a little easier for me. I was so happy to pick her up and see her smiling face. Although tomorrow, hurdle number two for mommy, she rides the bus home, yikes!
This was Luke sucking down his snow cone as fast as could while Amelia talked. All of a sudden he did this and said, "Mommy, it's like really cold but really hot too." I think he just experienced his first brain freeze!

Hard at Work

Stephen has been in Qatar now close to a month and I guess is as acclimated as he will become to handling his deployment. He said it's hard to get used to everything being brown and rock, no green at all. He also said it's 137 degrees so every day it is like sitting in an oven and blowing a hot hair dryer in your face. Yuck, it even sounds worse than Mississippi in August (although surprisingly similar). The picture is of Stephen and his CCATT team on the plane on the way to a mission. They've been doing a great job and making a difference in these soldiers lives. We're very proud of you honey! When they are not on a mission, they are working out A LOT, playing xbox, basketball, etc. Kind of like summer camp, except the being on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to go on a mission.

The Midwest Tour- Minnesota cont.

While in Minnesota, I also got to visit with some college friends. Sheryl, my roommate from college came for a play date with her two kids Jackson and Evan. Amelia and Luke had a great time playing in the sand box with Evan and Jackson amazed me that he just sat in Sheryl's lap the whole time! He was such a good baby. It was great to catch up and meet Jackson too. I am so breaking my own "No pregnant pictures of Jenni" rule on this trip but I never see these people so I was coerced. However, I tried to always have a kid or two in front of me.
Here I am visiting Sonya, another buddy from Valpo. We played on the tennis team together for four years and got into way too much mischief while traveling with the team but they were times I would never trade. It was great laughing about old times and silly things we did. Even better was meeting her beautiful twin girls, Summer and Seaton. They are 2.5 years old and adorable little peanuts. I think they were a little shell shocked by the wild Bosko's running through their house.
Four cuties!

The Midwest Tour-Minnesota

Onward to Minnesota! We stayed at my sister Traci's house in Minneapolis for a little under a week. They just bought the house in the spring and it is great, built in 1916 (that's a new house for them). The neighborhood is awesome and they can walk to the lakes, parks and most importantly as far as I'm concerned, The Malt Shop. Here is a great picture of Luke and cousin Max doing what the boys did best together, act wild! They lined up that little water table behind the pool and then stood on it to do diving leaps into the baby pool. They thought it was great and no bones were broken.
Here are the kids at the Como Zoo. We actually saw some better things than this reindeer's butt however, for some reason, this is the only picture I have from the zoo. Their favorites were the tiger, baby jaguar and the cranes.
We walked to the beach, I think this is Lake Harriet but I could be wrong. Anyway, the kids had a blast building sand castles, making mud soup and swimming with Uncle Kent. Even Luke had fun between his whining for another snack (what's new).
There is a really cool, old fashioned trolley right by their house that takes a trip around the lake. The kids loved it! Amelia had the biggest smile on her face the whole time and Luke said his favorite part was the toot toot whistle although every time it tooted he covered his ears. I really have no idea why they are all holding each other's shirts like that, we didn't tell them to do that. Who knows?
Love this picture! It was a great week, we did tons of fun stuff and the kids were wiped out. They also got acquainted with some of Max's favorite things so now they know all of the Thomas characters and the theme song to Bob the Builder.

The Midwest Tour-Wisconsin cont.

While in Wisconsin I got to visit with two of my good friends from high school. Jamie and I have been friends for over 20 years now, wow that makes me feel super old. Anyway, she has Edison (4) and Elizabeth (1.5). Mary and I have been friends since high school and played basketball and tennis together. She has Sam (almost 5) and Emma (almost 3). Mary's husband, Nathan, and I started kindergarten together and went to school together all the way through high school. We tried to tell Sam and Amelia that we met at their age but they looked at us with a bored look and kept reading books together. Oh well. The kids all had fun tearing through Jamie's house together and we girls had fun catching up.

My grandparents on my dad's side live about an hour and a half north of my parents. So we took the trip one day to go visit Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa and the kids had a sweet time with them. They sang "God Bless America" all together and read books.
Grandpa Jon, Great- Grandpa Wellhoefer and the kids.
On July 19th Amelia celebrated her real 5th birthday at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She woke up to a princess cake and a decorated house and boy was she excited. She had an awesome day. We all went out to breakfast and then Amelia and Grandma Nancy went to a movie together while Luke and I napped. Then we all went to an awesome pizza place which is a cross between a children's museum and chuck E cheese. Amelia got her fill of cake, ice cream and other treats that day.
Present time! Lots of barbie and princess toys this year, everything was pink, pink, pink.

The Midwest Tour-Wisconsin

We then moved on to Wisconsin and stayed two weeks with my parents. We also got to visit with lots of family and friends while there. This is our wonderful Barb. Barbara was our nanny (lifesaver) while we lived in Indiana. She started watching Amelia at six weeks old when I had to start back to work and continued right on through for the four years we lived in Indiana. The kids love her so much and had a great time playing with her.
We also went to the pool/tennis club a couple of times and were joined by my sister Amy and her family. The kids had an awesome time swimming, snacking and playing tennis together. Or as the Boskovich kids call it, "Let's go tennising." Grandma Nancy got a run for her money with four kids out on the court hitting balls every which way. Here are Annie and Luke enjoying snack time together.
This is "big" cousin Evan. At seven, he is the oldest of all the cousins and the kids love playing with him. He is so patient and is great at entertaining them.
Cousins goofing around.
Amelia and Luke had an absolute ball with my parents. I'm surprised they left with boring, old me at all. While visiting my parents took them to the Children's museum, three movies, splash pads, pools, the library, Kindermusik class and countless playground and lunches. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures because I was usually left at their house, moaning on the couch about how sick I was of being sick with this pregnancy. Thank goodness for my parents, they took care of me and the kids.

The Midwest Tour-Indiana

Well, after a month of traveling through the Midwest; we are finally back in Mississippi. What a surprise, it's hot and humid! We had a terrific trip seeing all of our family and friends and everyone was such a wonderful help with the kids and pregnant me. We started out in Indiana, staying with our best friends the Ruzas, on our old street. It was great to see all of our neighbors and our old house, although the kids didn't remember it. I couldn't believe it!

The picture above is of Amelia and Luke with the Ruzas kids, Abby and Sam. We went to see the fireworks on July 3rd and notice our outfits. We had layers on and we were still cold and wrapped in blankets! It was awesome. The kids had so much fun with Abby and Sam the whole week and we can't wait to see them again soon.

Amelia also was lucky to have another birthday party with the Dubczak side of the family. The picture is of the kids with Great-Grandma, Uncle Joe, Auntie Sue and Grandma Joan. She had lots of fun opening her presents and gobbling up her pretty pink cake. While visiting Indiana we also got to catch up with our dear family friend Donna, whom the kids love (and her dog Maddie). We also had a really fun BBQ with the Boskovich side of the family. It was great catching up with everyone and Luke told all of the family the big news by saying, "My mommy has a baby in her belly!"

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July Daddy! We are so proud of you and think you are so brave. God bless America and all of the men and women fighting for our freedom.

Steve is heading to Qatar today to start his deployment and we miss him already. Please keep him in your prayers.