HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCAS!

Hello, Hello, Hello!
Yes, our life has been NUTS but we are all doing well and Mr. Lucas turned three today! What a big boy he is and what a wonderful day we had. For the past three months, he has talked about which sprinkler he wants for his birthday. Every time we went to Home Depot (which was a lot lately getting our house ready for renters), we would have to go check out the sprinkler section. Today was the day we finally got to take home his favorite one! It's a "Lellow (yellow) Spinney Sprinkler" and now his has his very own Lellow Hose to go with it! Who would of thought that a sprinkler could bring so much joy to a little boy? The other big hits of the day were birthday cake and CANDLES, hiking at two new parks, spotting some real beavers and a BUG VACUUM from Grandma and Grandpa Anderson. What a perfect gift for Lucas and perfect for Ohio. It sucks up bugs into a little clear container so you can see them with a magnifying glass and inspect them. He loves it and it is currently sleeping with him right now!! We have some other fun gifts but we are spreading them out and saving some for tomorrow...like a marshmallow shooter from Aunt Christina...we need to buy marshmallows before opening this one. It will be a huge hit!

Olympic Update: Michael Phelps just one his 8th straight GOLD MEDAL in Beijing!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL!!!

So, we have a three year old stuck in a 15 year old body and is a little mechanical engineer just like his daddy. Yesterday, I filled up his water bottle for him and asked him to put on the lid, "I will Mommy, after I see how it works." That's my boy! He wants to know how everything works! We had a fun day watching him enjoy his big birthday moments!

Dayton Update: We had a crazy few weeks getting out of Colorado Springs but our renters moved in and we wrapped things up to the best of our abilities. The drive out was easier than we expected and Lucas was amazing the entire way. We took all four travel days and visited a few friends along the way which really broke things up and made it enjoyable. Sorry to all those we were not able to meet up with for good-byes...we'll be back!

Dayton is beautiful and the variety of trees are amazing and will be wonderful this fall. The 20 year cicada cycle is here so millions of bugs fill the trees with constant noise. When we first arrived we thought something was wrong with the car until we got outside and realized it was just bugs!

We are currently staying on base, in a duplex while we look for a new home. It's been hard trying to decide on a house in an area we know little about. However, we have a wonderful Realtor (Sheila Westfall-Preston with Real Living Realty Services) who has been a big help and a joy to work with. Everyday we learn something new about the area. The Metro City Parks are wonderful and there is a State Park down the road with a little rock climbing and great hiking. New adventures everywhere. We tried taking Lucas to the Children's Museum today but he fell asleep about 3 minutes before we got there. He was out and were weren't about to wake up the birthday boy.

Pregnancy Update: I'm feeling great after a rough first trimester with nausea. Shaklee's Vitamin B Complex was amazing! My second trimester is going great so my energy is up and nausea is gone...WooWhoo! We will find out in a month if it's a boy or girl so that will be exciting!

Lucas is very curious about how this baby is going to come out? This summer in Oregon, he asked his Aunt Jen (due next week with baby number 2) if her baby was going to "pop out your mouth?" We decided the belly button would work just fine for "popping out" so now he's always looking for a little hole in my belly button. It's been fun to watch his mind try to figure it all out!

Broken Back Update: NO MORE BRACE! Mike was cleared to take his brace off and start physical therapy a day before we left for Dayton. What a wonderful treat to see that thing sit in the corner of our room. Mike has a new sense of freedom but still taking it slow to ease into things. Very exciting!

We love and miss you all! We will keep everyone posted on our house hunting. It may take a little time, we don't want to rush into anything too quickly. Mike starts real classes in September after a few refresher courses in August. My Shaklee business is still alive despite my lack of focus and crazy unsettled times. The Internet and ability to have customers all over the U.S. makes that possible thank goodness.

I will be able to get photos going soon to help keep everyone up to date!

Love, Janelle Mike & Lucas

~ Lucas' quote after being told he was cute: "I'm not cute, I'm big!!!"

~ Lucas' quote after Grandpa Jakulewicz started turing the WHY? questions around": "We're not asking questions right now Grandpa!"

~ His latest..."I'm the one asking the questions right now!"

:)