Changes

Holy changes Batman! It has been so long since I have last written that Blogger has completely changed it's look. I was lucky to be automatically signed in too; I'm not entirely sure of my password. Thankfully I'm a hackers bestfriend and use the same 3-4 passwords for everything (maybe the 3-4 will throw them off?)

I didn't sign on to write about the changes in Blogger or the lapse in my blogging (ahem...over a year!), but to catch everyone up on all of the changes that have been going on around here! (And hopefully continue to keep everyone caught up!)

I won't bore you with the whole we moved again, we now live at West Point, NY, you should all be jealous jargon, but instead will move on to the here and now. So what's happening already!?

The Man of the House:
Andrew started Grad School at Columbia University (that's Ivy League. Recognize.) at the beginning of the summer. His major is "Organizational Psychology." Today marks the start of his fall semester. It took some time, but he is doing a great job learning to dress like a civilian again. I'm not sure, however, that there is a day anywhere in our near future that he will not ask "does this look OK together?" He is a beginner again, learning to walk.  We will give him time.

Andrew's Student Id Picture. Soooo big!

The Lady of the House:
I started going to Bible Study at our church. But...I already missed the second class because I had a pretty nasty cold. All better now and hopefully I can go tomorrow. I also volunteered to teach Little Flowers Girls' Club at our church twice a month.  It is basically Catholic Girl Scouts, sans the phenomenal cookies.

Today I had an interview for a part time, first grade teaching position at a private, faith based school that services grades PreK-2. I was offered the job but...(yes, another but)...enrollment is extremely low. We are talking three first graders. (And no, that wasn't a typo. 3!) What they offered was a trade. I work half days, 5 days a week teaching reading and math, Julian goes to school there for free (5 days a week, all day) + $100.00 a month for my pocket. The hours are perfect, Haven would only be in daycare once a week thanks to Andrew's school schedule...but that $100.00 goes right back to day care. Now it's on to decide if I work for free for the sake of the school, the students, and my resume or if I pray that grants will be, well, granted and the school can find more money to pay me. Or both-start working and pray that money comes along. In the meantime, while I'm deciding, J will remain in his current school.

I also think I finally have a hobby I can stick with! I got a sewing machine, a pretty sweet setup and I have been sewing all kinds of fun projects. I have taken on the huge, intimidating task of sewing my sister in law, Angela, a quilt made out of all of her youth ministry t-shirts.

About to slaughter a beloved t-shirt.

The Gentleman of the House:
J had his first day of PreK today! As soon as he woke up, he went straight for the bathroom and got his shaving kit out. A four year old just cannot go to school with a 5 o'clock shadow you know! He then got dressed. By himself. Without being asked. I understand that those are not complete sentences, but this is such a huge deal it warranted short, staccato like statements! After a big breakfast consisting of a "folded over" egg (omelet for those of you who don't speak Julian), grapes, and juice, he was ready to go. He sat on the stairs with his backpack on for the remaining 30 minutes we had before we actually had to leave. We took the always obligatory, yet ever adorable first day of school pictures, which actually went well...until he found a "bug friend" which is where our rare photo op ended.

No tears from the 4 year old crowd today.

We won't discuss the 28 year old crowd.

Upon entering his classroom, the first task is to wash his hands. After washing and drying he determindely went off in search of his teacher. To our surprise, he opened his hand and there it was. "Bug Friend." Let me tell you what this means. Bug Friend survived Julian's fist, the car ride to school, the hand washing (even as he hung out on the wet sink), and made it to the teacher. I wanted to cover my face and peek through my fingers to see his teacher's reaction, but thankfully to my great surprise, she jumped up, went into the closet and returned with a bug jar. Bug Friend is now in the science center and Julian will forever be in awe of Ms. Talia. Needless to say, he can't wait to go back on Wednesday!

Miss Talia finds a home for Bug Friend.

 



In addition to school, Julian has started playing soccer again. Still not a fan. He has also started piano lessons once a week. His teacher has endless amounts of energy and Julian looks forward to his lesson every week!

The Princess of the House:
H is still a very laid back, very scheduled young lady. She loves her naps, she loves her food, she loves to give kisses and hugs. Haven loves to love. Although Haven isn't in school yet (she loves Julian's classroom though), or in soccer, or playing the piano, she is also now a fulltime walker and certainly lives up to the above title. She is the princess of this house who is always very busy and loves to learn new words. Her newest? Saying "PooStinky" when she needs a diaper changed. Just what every parent dreams, right?

Sometimes a girl needs a little support.

 



...And there you have it. Lot's of happenings of The Zikowi and hopefully more excitement to come. This blog depends on excitement. And free time. Which hopefully I will have more of between The Gentleman's school and The Princess's naps.

August. In it's Entirety.

My apologies for letting an entire month go by without a single update. Looking back, I realize August was a busy, but crazy fun month. Here is why:

We went to Maine.

We had Haven baptized.

We went fishing.

J caught a turtle.

We have had lots of smiles and giggles.

We went to a Watermelon Festival.

A had knee surgery.

We went to Dallas. Met the most adorable baby (Congrats Dani, Aaron, and G! ). And saw sharks.

You are now caught up. Again.

Aiborne!

To maintain sanity it is an absolute must to find new and exciting things to do as a family, especially in a town where family activities are so severely limited. Today we found our way to a small airport where there was a WWII Demonstration Team. There were many opportunities to learn, A was in his element showing us around, J had a blast, H slept, and I enjoyed taking pictures and watching A's face light up at each opportunity to teach us (especially J) something new.

Unfortunately, it was too windy for the Demonstration Team to do an actual jump, but that didn't stop A from rigging J into a parachute....

...and giving him as much as of an airborne experience as a 3 year old can handle.

We also toured a C-47 and watched an airborne demonstration.

Finally, we got to talk to a WWII veteran who went to airborne school when he was 17 years old. He has 5 combat jumps, including one into Normandy. (A was chosen to jump into Normandy on the anniversary of D-Day 2 years ago.)

The only problem I have is that J had so much fun that I have a funny feeling he is going to grow up, break my heart, and join the military as well. Maybe we can convince him to be a commercial airline pilot instead...

Little Fish

Due to the extreme heat in this state (among several other differences, read: everything) we have really been missing home (Maine), particularly the summers in Maine. We grew up being outside and swimming all summer long, usually from sunup until well past sundown. Although the heat still hasn't let up, we reenacted a Maine summer day as best we could on Saturday, minus the family and (bonus!) the mosquitos.

In the morning we packed up the car and went to the lake that is tucked neatly into the corner of the post. We spent all morning swimming, building sandcastles, going down the waterslide, and picnicing.

J spent most of the time building sandcastles at the water's edge

H knows how to relax at the beach!

While we were at the lake our friends invited us over to their apartment complex to swim and cookout by the pool. We were sold.  We headed home from the beach just after lunch, attempted to get J down for a nap (Ha!) and spent a couple of hours inside, out of the hottest part of the day.

Fastforward to the pool. The water was perfect, the food was delicious, and the kids were in the water for almost four hours! Even Haven took a dip. She was a little shocked at first, but relaxed after a minute and even almost fell asleep!

My little fish

J chillin' with his friends, A and baby J.

J's Day

I might possibly have the only 3 year old on the planet who loves to get his haircut so much that he asks for weeks until I finally take him.  Lucky for him his hair grows uber fast, so he gets them often. I think he may just be in it for the lollipop at the end.

Look at that head of hair:

J is used to going to barber shops, but I have not found one that I like for him down here, so I decided to take him to the salon. He was a little confused as to why there weren't any toys for him to play with, so to make the trip exciting I told him that his hair dresser had red hair. His response: I like blue hair.

The other disadvantage to getting his haircut at the salon-no lollipops. To avoid a major prenap meltdown we headed next door to Orange Leaf. Translation: self serve frozen yogurt with all the delicious flavors, toppings, and overall greatness you can imagine. Ice cream for lunch trumps a lollipop any day!

Ice Cream for lunch may make me a cool Mommy, but laughing and taking his picture when he got his first ever throat freeze may take away my coolness and simply make me a little bit cruel. The slight panic attack was just too funny. Afterall, no one ever had to be hospitalized from a throat freeze. I think...

And thus completes our day. One happy boy (minus the throat freeze), one tummy filled with ice cream, and one stylish new haircut!



A New Ride.

No. Not a new car. It's just time to start this blog again. I truly enjoyed blogging while A was deployed last year, but according to google (so smart keeping track of my time away), it has been about 8 months since my last post. It has also come to my attention that my brain cannot retain usernames and passwords over an 8 month hiatus, thus forcing me to create a new blog. You can still read the old one here (that is, if you're into 8 month old material).

Most of you reading this already know the happenings of the "Zikowi" (as The Power Family now refers to us) since I abandoned my last blog, so instead of writing a book about the many changes that have occurred in our very busy lives, I'll write a list. Besides, experts say that reading lists makes for easier comprehension.* Since there will be a test later, this will greatly benefit you.**

*I totally made that up.
**There will be no test.

January:
~A came home from Afghanistan within hours of ringing in the new year. I personally think this makes for the best New Year's Day ever. Go ahead, try to top it. I bet you can't.

February:
~We took a family vacation to Turks & Caicos Islands and it was nothing short of amazing!
~We took a family vacation to Maine and it was nothing short of freezing!

March:
~We worked on being generally awesome.

April:
~We moved 1,000 miles from our home in the southeast to a new home in the southwest. (I googled the United States regions, because there has recently been debate on what region this state is actually in. Debate settled. Google is always right. Everything you read on the internet is true. Everyone knows this.)

May:
~A began his 6 month CCC (Captain's Career Course).
~I turned the big 27.
~Julian turned the ripe old age of 3.
~We welcomed a 7 pound, 18.5" baby girl into our family! (To be referred to as 'H' from here on)

June:
~We perfected being generally awesome, while teaching Haven to be just as awesome as the rest of us! Success!

And now you are caught up! Welcome back to my blog, and start following again!