Kevin, Lori, Alex & Noah

Fall Update

2010-12-08T15:31:00.005-06:00

I started back to work (post baby) and our lives have been going 90mph since, so this is (another) massive update :) Since Alex's birthday we have done so much! We went to Dallas, TX with a few friends to go to the TCU vs AF football game. It was such a fun time, unfortunately AF lost.
The next weekend we got to go to the Orr Family Farm here in OKC. That was a lot of fun! Alex got to pet some farm animals, ride a carousel, jump on huge "jumping pillows", ride a train & hayrack, and pick out a pumpkin! That same weekend was Halloween, where Alex dressed up as Superman & Noah got to wear his Halloween onesie. We got to take Alex trick-or-treating where his favorite thing seemed to be ringing doorbells!
For Thanksgiving this year we decided to go to Nebraska to spend the holiday with my (Lori's) family. It was a quick trip but definitely worth it! While home we got to see all my family, most of my friends and we got to go to the NE vs CO football game! Unfortunately we had to make the long trip back with kids 2 weeks later to attend a memorial service for my (Lori's) grandfather. Sad as it was to see him go, it was a blessing as he had battled Alzheimer's for several years. He was a great man and it was good to see family that we haven't seen in quite some time and celebrate his life. Now we are just getting ready for an even longer drive back to Colorado Springs for Christmas, it will be an interesting trip but it will be exciting to maybe see some snow and some more family. Hope everyone is having a Merry Time and not forgetting the true reason for the season!

Alex is 2!!!

2010-10-26T14:12:00.000-05:00

Alex is 2!!! I can't believe our little boy is already 2, time is flying by!!! For his birthday we took him to Chuck E Cheese and invited a couple of our friends to hang out, it turned out a ton of people showed up! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate! And thank you everyone for all the gifts Alex received!! I think Alex's favorite item was the skeeball game, he kept climbing on it to put the balls in the holes for points - unfortunately he only went for 1,000 points at a time or for the gutter! He also loved the car, he actually found a girl to sit in it with him and kept putting his arm around her and kissing her on the cheek... I think we may have an issue ;) Enjoy the pics!

Welcome Noah Michael Unks!

2010-09-23T08:04:00.000-05:00

As all of you know, we welcomed the latest addition to our family. Noah Michael was born on September 15, 2010 at 2:17 pm, he weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 19.5 inches long. We went to our weekly doctor appointment on Tuesday (14 Sept), where the doctor said she was willing to induce now that I was 39 weeks along. This was something Kevin and I had talked about, if she was willing to induce we would probably do it. About a week and a half before Noah was born he had moved onto my sciatic nerve causing a lot of pain in my back and running down my leg; therefore, I was definitely ready to get rid of this. So as much as I wanted to naturally go into labor (since I didn't get to with Alex), we decided to get induced. On the 15th we went into the Women's Center at 0630. After getting all hooked up and checked over, I was given the meds to induce at 0720, then my water broken at 0735. Almost immediately the contractions started and I was dilating! At 0930 I was given the epidural and contractions continued. Around 1130 Noah started reacting badly to the contractions/pitocin. Every time I would have a contraction, his heart rate would drop. Because of this the nurses/doctors had to stop the meds to make the contractions stop. This lasted for about and hour then they restarted with a very low amount and started monitoring him again. We went on for a little bit and had to stop again, because his heart rate. This time, when they would stop the pitocin to get his heart rate up, my blood pressure would drop. So it was a fun game of trying to find a position to lay in that would be best for both myself and the baby. At this point I was dilated to 8cm and my body was contracting without the meds, so the doctors decided to monitor me and see what where this would take us. It only took about 30 minutes before I was "complete" and ready to get him out. So the nurse and doctor on call had me do a practice push to see where the baby was at but during the middle of the practice push they made me stop saying "you need to stop pushing now, we can tell you your baby has a full head of dark hair... don't push, don't laugh, don't anything, every time you move we can see it's head". So once my doctor arrived, it took one good push and the baby was out! I'll take that any day! So I know everyone is anxious to find out how Alex is reacting to his new baby brother. So far, he absolutely loves him. Anytime Noah is up, Alex runs over to give him kisses. When Noah is asleep he goes to see him in his bed. He can't quite say his name yet, but is always asking for "Nooo" - its so precious!

Alex dentist & toddler bed

2010-08-28T14:12:00.001-05:00

Alex had a huge week this week (which warrants his own post)! On Monday Alex had his first dentist appointment. He wasn't such a fan of this :( He really didn't want to let the dental assistant clean his teeth when we first got there. Then when the dentist came in, he wasn't about to let the dentist touch his teeth with his tools. But all in all it turned out okay, he did get a new toothbrush which is great because he loves brushing his own teeth. The dentist said so far his teeth are looking great and gave us some tips on how to keep him cavity-free! Also, his 4 little canine teeth are coming in, which isn't affecting his happy little attitude at all!

Next, we received Alex's toddler bed in the mail yesterday and got it all put together! So we moved most of Alex's stuff into his new room last night and showed him his new "big boy bed". At first he just loved climbing in and out and playing in it. Then we kept him up pretty late last night so when he crashed he was out and going to bed in the new bed didn't phase him. This morning we had to get him up early to go to the run and thats when he was a little confused. Usually, when we wake him up he stands up and leans over the edge of the crib for us to pick him up... this morning he stood up and fell off the edge when he tried to lean. Thank goodness we were there to catch him. We stood him on the floor and he just looked confused back and forth between me, Kevin, and his new bed. Since then he has taken naps in his bed and goes right to his new bed when we say its "nigh nigh" time!

Major Catch-Up Post :)

2010-08-25T21:07:00.001-05:00

Kevin finally made it home!!! He got back to OKC on August 8th, Alex and I were able to surprise him at the gate in the airport. Of course, Alex ran right up to daddy! So it has been so great the last couple weeks spending time together and finally getting to live together as a family! We are still moving all of Kevin's stuff in and unpacking/organizing and trying to figure out how all of our stuff is going to fit! Unfortunately, Kevin's last day off work was yesterday so this is our last weekend before we are both working again (although I'm on half-days now) and starting "normal" life.

We have had a very busy couple of weeks since he returned. Two weekends ago we got to fly up to Colorado for a few days. Kevin was able to fly 3 of the days to get current on his private pilot's license (to help out with his competitiveness for the upcoming pilot boards). Also, for the pilot board's sake he got to hang out with the pilots of the Buckley Air Guard, which is one of the units he is trying to get in to. This unit is his top choice so we are praying he made a good impression on them! His package is due to them on September 10 and the board will meet at the end of October - so pray he gets requested back for an interview! Also, in CO we got to enjoy a taco night with Kevin's family.......

Last weekend we drove up to Minden, NE for the weekend. The drive wasn't so bad.... Alex loves driving in the new minivan! On Friday night (our anniversary) we got in and had a dinner at a local restaurant then went to see my aunts and uncles. Then Saturday morning we drove over to Grand Island, NE to see my brother and spend some time with their family. Then back to Minden for the afternoon/evening for the big event: My great aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary! This event was awesome!! When we arrived we got to see tons of cousins and extended family I haven't gotten to see in years! Then everyone sat down to start dinner and my great-uncle (Sid) began to talk about how him and my aunt (Erla) had met... then he got out the engagement ring he didn't get to give her 50-years ago and asked if she would renew their vows! With that, my Uncle Dick got to walk my aunt down the "aisle" and my dad was the chaplain for them to renew their vows. The ceremony took about 15 minutes, but was more than enough time to see how much they meant to each other and remind us how special life can be when you get to share every moment with someone you love so deeply. After dinner was socializing and dancing.... Alex absolutely loved the dancing! He would kick and scream every time we took him off the floor (only when there was a special dance). He even went up to another little girl his age to try to put his arms around her and see if she would dance with him, unfortunately she was playing hard to get! Then Sunday morning (nice and early) we were up again and ready to go but before leaving we did get to spend a little more time with my dad & step-mom and aunts and uncles for coffee.

This morning we got up and wanted to go support a couple of friends of ours that were going to be running a local 5k. Annie and Richie... Richie and Kevin work together and Annie babysat Alex last summer while I was deployed. So when we got there Kevin decided to go ahead and run the 5k with Richie! So I thought I would include a picture of that as well :) Enjoy!

July 4th

2010-07-10T14:32:00.000-05:00

July 4th weekend was wonderful! It started on the 2nd at daycare, the kiddos got to have a 4th of July parade. Alex wanted nothing to do with the flag they gave him to hold, so he just sat and enjoyed the ride :) For the 4th of July, Alex and I got to go home to Nebraska to see my family! It was wonderful (minus the 6-hour drive that took us 7ish) It was a very short visit home, but definitely worth it. On the 3rd we got to visit my Grandpa Lohse (mom's dad) at his nursing home, they were having a small celebration there that we got to enjoy with Grandpa. Alex absolutely loved the fireworks, every time one would go off he would start screaming and clapping. The first one all of the residents actually just turned to watch Alex because he was so excited - it was hilarious. The for the actual 4th we stayed at my dad's (Grandpa Bob) house. It was kind of a final celebration at the house (since they are selling), so a bunch of family and friends came over to celebrate. We thought the day was going to be kind of a bummer because of the weather, it just wouldn't stop raining but in the evening all the clouds and rain went away and it was beautiful! So we lit off a ton of fireworks and enjoyed a HUGE bbq dinner!

3D Ultrasound

2010-07-06T12:17:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! So now I am 29 weeks along and got to have the 3D ultrasound, unfortunately Kevin couldn't be here for this one :( I went alone to this one. Thank goodness the tech didn't slip!!! She actually stayed away from that area the entire time, it was wonderful! ENJOY! I'll be posting 4th of July pics and some of the house as soon as I get them loaded to the computer (I just got internet today)

24 weeks along

2010-06-02T16:22:00.000-05:00

The baby showing some arm and leg muscles!

Head profile shot

So I had another ultrasound yesterday (At 24 weeks and a day) to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be because at the 18 week ultrasound the placenta was on bottom of the uterus when it was supposed to be on top of it. Good news, its moved!! It was 6 cm away from the cervix so everything is right on track! The baby looked really healthy, had a really strong heartbeat, and the tech didn't slip about the sex of the baby (yes, still unknown!). Also, I got more pics out of the deal! Enjoy!

Rick and Sharon Visit PIcs

2010-05-26T07:22:00.001-05:00

We went to Phoenix on Saturday afternoon with Kevin's parents to see Bryan and Steph and Family. We got to go to church on Saturday night then Red Robin after.

First Pic: Alex playing in booth at Red Robin

Second Pic: Allisyn - their oldest daughter. We got to play outside most of Sunday morning.

Third Pic: Sharon supervising kids outside

Fourth Pic: Maddie playing outside

Fifth Pic: Nathan throwing the frisbee in the backyard

Last Pic: Rick teaching Alex how to shoot hoops

Pics

2010-05-25T21:56:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the pics from our visit to Nebraska! I'll be sure to get a pic of the van loaded as soon as I get a chance!

The first one is of my Grandpa Lohse (mom's dad) We got to go visit him in the nursing home while I was home and he "lit up" when he got to see Alex.

The second pic is of my Grandparent's (mom's side) family friends (Janet and Willis). My mom was considered family with them while she was growing up.

The third pic is of my dad standing at the grave of my grandma Vi and Grandpa Kershner (his mother and stepfather). We spent a day going out and about western Nebraska to visit the graves of several of our family members whom have passed away.

The fourth pic (although a little fuzzy but still worth it) is Nichole receiving her Master's Degree diplopma - congratulations!

The last pic is of Nichole with her forensic science class after their hooding for their master's degree.

The last couple weeks!

2010-05-16T21:30:00.001-05:00

So I have been running a little late on my updates, it has been a crazy couple of weeks! A couple weeks ago Kevin's parents came to Tucson with our new mini van, yes I said mini van - Kevin and I have made the plunge into true parenthood - we are mini van owners! We now own a 2007 Honda Odyssey and I'm not gonna lie, I acutally like it a ton! It is incredibly comfortable and about a thousand times easier to get Alex in and out of. So we also got to go to see Bryan and his family in Phoenix that same weekend while spending more time with Grandma and Papa Unks! After that my father came to Tucson to bring a load of his household goods to his new home in Casa Grande as they have finally put their Nebraska home up for sale and are migrating (slowly) to AZ. He timed the trip so he could fly home to Nebraska with me and help ease the trip with a toddler - Thank you dad! Currently I am here in Nebraska with my family celebrating the graduation of my brother Luke from Raymond Central H.S. and my sister with her Masters in Forensic Science from Nebraska Wesleyan University. CONGRATULATIONS! I am so proud of both of you and I have no doubt that you will go far in life! Today we went to Franklin, Nebraska to visit the gravesights of our grandparents from our fathers side as well as our great-grandparents. Then went to see their old house and see our great uncle and aunt (Sid and Earla) who will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in August! For the rest of our week here in Nebraska we get to hang out with all of our friends/family friends. Tomorrow Nichole and I are heading to Grand Island for the night to spend the evening and next day with our older brother Todd, then Wednesday we are headed to Lions Nebraska with our mom to visit some good friends of our grandparents. Finally, I will be heading back to AZ on Saturday with my sister Nichole who is planning on helping me out with packing and moving to OK! That right, I have received orders to Oklahoma City to FINALLY be stationed with Kevin! I should be moving mid-June and it looks like Kevin and I have decided on a house to rent in Moore, OK. I'll be sure to post pictures of our visit when I get back to AZ next weekend!

18 week ultrasound

2010-04-26T08:23:00.000-05:00

The baby looking at us

Profile shot of the head

The baby's precious little foot!

We had the ultrasound this past week for baby #2, I am 18 weeks along. So far, the baby is healthy and weighs approx. 6oz. (it has a little growing to do if its gonna catch up with Alex). Again, we did NOT find out the sex of the baby (sorry everyone, its just fun to wait!) But we will be glad to tell you in September when its due!

Race for the Cure

2010-04-11T14:29:00.000-05:00

Our weekend was wonderful! Alex and I have gotten to spend most of our 80-something degree weather outside! Saturday we got the house all cleaned up -especially the floors - just in time for Alex to smash goldfish all over it :) The we spent the afternoon in the backyard! I got to weed the lawn while Alex played in his new pool/sandbox! He loved it! He was able to wear his new summer swim suit/top but wouldn't leave the hat on. Then this morning Alex and I got up early and went to Ried Park for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It was absolutely amazing! Mel, her son R.J., Alex and I all got to do the 5k walk in support of all our family, friends, and others in the world that have cancer. This weekend has been great!

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T09:17:00.001-05:00

Easter 2010 was wonderful! Alex and I got to go to the church services at 9:30 in the morning, unfortunately I spent most of the sermon outside with Alex. I usually drop him off at the nursery while I attend church, but I didn't want to go to church alone on Easter Sunday so I took him with me. Well he decided he wanted to keep running up to the pastors in the front of the church or talk to the people in all of the pews :( Either way, I wouldn't take it back because I was able to spend extra time with Alex! After church we went to see our friends Brian and Kirby and their 3 kids, they live on base and we usually get to spend some time with them on Easter so it was great to see them! Once Alex woke up from his afternoon nap, he got to open his Easter basket! This year he received a bunch of swim stuff for the pool/summer, and little sandbox, and a few DVDs. Then he got to do a mini Easter egg hunt... he had just done another one at daycare on Friday and wasn't so interested in finding eggs as he was in taking them apart and putting them back together :) Then our friends Courtney and Carri with her 2 kids came over. We got to go enjoy some time at the park with the kiddos before we had our small Easter dinner! It couldn't have been a better way to spend our day (unless with Kevin of course!).

New Baby!!!

2010-04-03T14:32:00.000-05:00

So I'm sure most of you know by now, but I wanted to post it on here to keep everyone on the same page. Yes! Kevin and I are expecting another baby. I think we can thank New Years and San Diego for this one :) So our next baby is due on Sept. 21st (3 days after our originally planned wedding date); therefore, we will be pushing our wedding date to Aug. 20th, 2011 (our 2-year marriage anniversary). I found out I was pregnant while I was deployed, but the bonus to that was I got to come home early! Definitely didn't make me sad :) I am currently 15 weeks along, with the next ultrasound coming up in 3 more weeks! This pregnancy is going so fast! At 12 weeks we did get to have an ultrasound to ensure the dr. everything was going okay, because she was having a hard time finding the heartbeat and it didn't feel right to her. But that ultrasound showed that everything is going perfectly! So I attached that pic for you all to enjoy with us!

Updates!

2010-04-03T07:46:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm so sorry its been so long since we updated our blog, we have been super busy! So this can just serve as a massive update for it :)
Christmas!
We spent Christmas this year in Arizona. My family came down from NE and Kevin's family stayed with his brother in Phoenix with Bryan and Steph's family. On Christmas Eve we were in Tucson with my Dad, Stepmom and Sister Nichole, all of us were able to go to church (the midnight service) Kevin and I got to do the reading for the Advent Candle! Of course Alex was wide awake during this and wanting to run around through the pews! Christmas morning we got up and opened Christmas presents! It is so much fun this year with Alex since he actually wanted to open presents, although I'm not sure he actually cared to much what was inside... he just liked tearing the paper! After that Kevin and I went to Phoenix to see Bryan's family and Kevin's parents. And my sister, dad, and stepmom went to Phoenix to spend the next couple days with my Aunt and Uncle and a bunch of their friends/family. By the time we got to Phoenix it was after lunch and I think Allisyn and Nathan were definitely ready to open their presents :) So we dug right in! I can't believe all the gifts that were shared, I feel like we were completely spoiled this year! Thank you everyone! Of course it wouldn't be the holidays if someone wasn't sick... so all of us got sick :) We all got some kind of 24-hour bug that went from one person to the next for our entire visit with family, surprising the only one to not get it was Alex...

New Years!
So this year for New Years Kevin, Alex, and I got to drive over to San Diego for a few days! It was so much fun and we did so much in that couple of days.... When we got there, we went immediately to see the hotel Ryan (Armstrong) works in... amazing! Then we went and met Mace and Gladys at the Chargers stadium for another Nebraska football game (The Holiday Bowl)! I loved every second of it.... even when it was raining on us! We had amazing seats and destroyed Arizona! The next day we met Mace and Gladys and we toured the USS Midway. It was very cool! We toured all the living areas (incl. Capt's), working areas, and we went up top where all the planes would take off from.... and of course checked out all the planes up there :) It was pretty amazing, and I could never imagine actually living on a boat... I'm so thankful for my little room that I have while deployed! For new years eve we didn't really do too much... We went and hung out with Melissa for a while when Ryan was working. Once he got home we went to a little restaurant by his house and had dinner... of course Alex wasn't very happy about being up late, so we didn't get to stay up late to see the new year in :( The next day was our drive back (yes it was a short trip). We wanted to make it back in time to swing through Phoenix because Bryan pinned on Major on Jan 1st!

Deployed
So on Jan 3rd I deployed again, this time to Al Udeid AB. It really wasn't too bad, I actually felt like I was on vacation compared to Afghanistan! I had my own room (w/air conditioning), a great chow hall, brand new gym and only worked 12-hour days! I even was able to get off base there to see some of the country. The pictures posted are from my deployment, I was able to go to one of the Major General's Beach House (rough!). He was very welcoming to the American's, he fed us a bunch of local foods all day, had jet skis, ATVs, a camel for us to ride, a falcon for us to hold, a beach to swim in, and at the end of our amazing day he fed us a huge feast of authentic Qatari food! As for the rest of the deployment, there isn't much to talk about except I made some great friends, unfortunately they were all on 3-week tours at the CAOC so I didn't get to see them long :(

And the pic of Alex is how big he is now... the shirt completely describes him as you'll notice his left eye is black from the slide - he is definitely turning into a little boy!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-05T07:48:00.000-06:00

We had another busy week over the Thanksgiving holiday. I flew home to Lincoln to see my family the week before thanksgiving and Kevin was so sweet to drive from OK after work to spend the weekend with us and go to the Nebraska football game with me even though he doesn't like Nebraska. Before he got there Nikki and I were able to get some wedding planning done by picking out all the flower arrangements. Kev got in late on Friday night and then Sat morning we went to have some pictures taken by some friends who are trying to open their own studio. Immediately following the pictures, we changed into our football clothes and met up with Kev's Uncle Mace and Aunt Gladys for some pre-game food and then headed into the stadium for the game. Sunday morning we went to church and had the pleasure of sitting there and letting Alex feed us his cheerios. One to mom, one to dad, one to mom, one to dad and so on for about 15 minutes! It was pretty cute. After church we headed to Panera Bread for some lunch and then met with the pastor who will be officiating our wedding. When we finished with that we headed home for a Thanksgiving feast with my side of the family and unfortunately had to watch the Broncos let us down! On Monday morning we stopped by to see my grandparents who weren't able to make it to the Thanksgiving feast. We spent about an hour there, then headed to the campus and the ROTC detachment where I first met and fell in love with Kev. The secretary we had still works there and she was thrilled to see Alex and it was fun to recall some memories of the best ROTC detachment in the nation in 2005. When we were finished with that it was finally time to get in the car for the 6.5 hour drive back w/ Kev to OKC. The drive was uneventful for the most part until Alex decided to scream his brains out for the last 45 minutes. Kev thinks Im crazy for wanting another one....I think he's right

When we got back to OKC, Kev had to work on Tuesday and a short day on Wednesday, but he was so romantic to take me horse riding! One of the guys in his office has a couple horses so we headed out to his house and saddled up. Important to note that Kev had packed a bag full of all the things he needed when i picked him up from work (workout clothes if we had time, and civilian clothes for the horse riding) Being the amazing woman/listener that I am, i picked up his gym bag and didn't think he needed the jeans and long sleeve shirt so i removed them. Needless to say Kev rode in his uniform. The riding was fun for the 2 minutes that I stayed on my horse, but then he started to get a little jumpy so i decided to get off. I think Alex had more fun on the horse than I did. So because I was timid, Kev and Court went for a romantic ride themselves. In the photo the horse Im on is Dakota, and the one Kev and Alex are on is Chief. Thanks Court for letting us ride, Im sure we'll be back!

On Wednesday evening it was finally time to get on the airplane to go to God's Country (Colorado of course) for Thanksgiving day. We arrived late Wednesday night the same time as Kev's sister Kirsten so that was convenient. This is the only time Alex has been a pain the ENTIRE flight and then fell asleep right before we landed! What a punk! Again Kev had to ask me if I was sure I wanted another one. We awoke early Thursday morning and were able to relax until about noon. Then we started getting ready for an early feast this year because we were going to the Broncos game again! Kev was so thrilled to be surprised by his Uncle Johnny from Grand Junction, Colorado. Johnny had given all indications he wouldn't be coming even though Kev had tried to persuade him with Bronco tickets and the fact that he had never met me or Alex. Kev's other Uncles live in Colorado Springs so he doesn't get to spend much time with Johnny and we will be in AZ for Christmas this year so Kev was starting to get bummed out until Johnny just showed up without telling anyone! What a fun surprise. We all watched Kev kill everyone in ping pong prior to dinner (traditional). We ate a huge feast with Kevs side of the family and then headed to the Bronco game with Mace, Johnny, Omar and Scott, this time the Broncos didn't fail us! It was a blast.

On Friday we were up early and ready for some more football! Mace, Gladys, Kev and I left at 9am for the 2 hr drive to Boulder, CO to watch the CU/Husker game. Although I don't like the Buffs, I must say they have a beautiful campus! We tailgated with many Husker fans prior to the game and Kev being the punk that he is, had to wear his CU stuff, but thats ok because the Huskers prevailed! We had a great time. Saturday was finally a day to relax, Kirsten and I got manicures and pedicures and Kev helped his parents put up Christmas decorations. Saturday evening we all went to the movie Blind Side and really enjoyed it. Sunday came too fast, and we all loaded up in the car for the airport to go our separate ways. Kirsten back to San Diego, Kev back to OKC, and Alex and I back to Tucson. Now just a few more weeks til we all rendezvous again in AZ for CHRISTmas! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A Dream Come True....Half Way

2009-11-09T20:40:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Lori, Alex and I got to meet up in Colorado for a pretty significant weekend with my family. My brother was doing the flyby at the Air Force game.

For as long as I can remember Bryan and I had been going to AFA football games with my parents and Grandparents, both of whom bleed Air Force blue. Papa was/is the most influential person regarding military careers of anyone in my immediate or extended family and otherwise. We grew up watching our Uncles become fighter pilots and watching flyovers at every football game. Since grade school we would always talk about one day doing a flyby together as it was our dream to become fighter pilots together and be able to fulfill and show that dream at a football game for Grandparents and Parents who never stopped supporting that dream. Bryan and I took alternate paths to our Air Force careers, and he has achieved his end of the dream. On Saturday, October 17th I witnessed my hero, my brother, and my best friend culminate his flying career for all intents and purposes and come full circle fulfilling a dream he and I have had for 20+ years. Although Grandma and Papa were not there in the physical, we know they were watching down smiling. As Bryan pulled back on the stick and throttled his jet heavenward with the flag presented at my Grandfathers memorial service in his cockpit, perhaps in attempts to get closer to Grandma and Papa, I shed a few tears; tears of mourning, tears of joy, tears of envy and tears of pride. Bryan and I have a unique bond, even for the closest of brothers out there, and he is undoubtedly my hero, not because he flies F-16’s, but because of who he is, inside and outside of that jet. He’s just an ordinary person doing extraordinary things. I always have and always will look up to him and feel lucky and proud to be his brother and one day, God willing, we will do this together.

The first video covers the announcing of Bryan as the flight lead, the second video is a better showing of the flyby

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-11-01T12:29:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween everyone! Okay a day late :) We had so much fun last night!!! Alex got to go trick or treating for the first time (although mom will probably be eating most of the candy!) Since Alex can't quite walk yet I just pushed him around in his stroller. We got to go all over DMAFB with Kirby, her dad Jim, her daughter Kayla, and son Liam. It was so fun that we took a "short cut" to another housing area and ended up very lost! Then we just wandered around for a while until we found a road that looked familiar (it looked so familiar because it was clear over by the clinic - prob a mile away from her house). Once we found our way, we took our little short cut back and made it home in time for some veggie soup! It was so fun to spend time with my little "monkey", a cowgirl, and spiderman!

Birthday Weekend!

2009-10-20T18:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Alex! On Friday (Oct. 9th) Kevin got to come to Tucson so we could celebrate Alex's first birthday! We had his birthday party on October 10th, it was a Cars-themed one :) Very cute!!! We started out the day by FINALLY getting Alex's haircut, he loved it and Daddy was so relieved. Then we got ready to have a bbq at the park across the street with friends from work. Even Grandma Unks, Uncle Bryan, Aunt Steph and their children were able to come. It was so much fun to celebrate with them. I can't believe how fast a year went. At this point Alex can stand up on his own, say "Dada" a ton and get into everything! Enjoy the pictures! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate this day with us! Sunday we got to go to Phoenix to walk in the "Race for the Cure" with Kevin's mom, brother and his family. Then to top off our weekend we went to BW3s to watch the Broncos beat the Patriots! Does it get any better than that! Go Broncos!!!

Colorado Weekend!

2009-09-06T16:24:00.000-05:00

For our Labor Day this year we went back to Colorado for four days. We got so much done in the few days there! We started with the Broncos game vs Arizona right after we landed on Thursday night, where the Broncos won!!! Kevin's Uncle Mace, who was also both of our ROTC Commander at Nebraska, has season tickets 10 rows up in the end zone. Needless to say, this won't be the only game we go to this year! Then Friday morning Sharon, Gladys (Mace's wife) and I got to pamper ourselves a little with a manicure and pedicure while Kevin, Alex and Rick went to get Kevin's hair cut and looked for new AF shirts for the football game. I was also so privileged to see the high school Kev went to. Rampart is a National School of Excellence and it was fun to see the Basketball and Tennis courts that Kev dominated in his high school days. On Friday afternoon Kevin went golfing with Nick, Joe, and Rick. This was Nick and Joe's 2nd round of eighteen that day! Then Saturday morning we got to get up to go to the opening game for the Air Force Academy's season vs Nicholls State, where they kicked their butt!! That was really exciting for me as I had never been to an AFA game. We got to see the cadets march on the field and the parachute team jump into the stadium, one of them carrying old glory, that was really neat to see. The pre game activities were topped off with the traditional fly by, this one a 3 ship of F-15's. At half time, the student cadets train the Falcons to fly around the stadium and that was really cool as well. Then Saturday evening Rick's brother Paul, his wife Suzanne and their children came over for dinner and some more football (Husker's won!). It was so great to meet some of Rick's family. Sunday morning Kevin and I got up early and drove up the mountains to Pikes Peak. First we stopped at a great restaurant on the way up, The Pantry in the town of Green Mountain Falls. Once we got to the top it was beautiful (minus the 40-degree weather). The view was amazing. We got to climb around the rocks for a little while before heading back down. Although, I was a little nervous driving up and back down again. We are sad that this time together has gone by so fast, but are really looking forward to coming back over Thanksgiving. Hopefully the Air Force will move us together really soon as it is going to be really hard to part ways for the next couple weeks since being together for the last couple.

Summer Fun

2009-09-05T22:14:00.000-05:00

We had such a short summer together this year with all the deployments and events since we were both back, so we had to squeeze in a bunch of stuff in a few days. And by a bunch of stuff I mean we took Alex to the pool in Oklahoma City and fed him watermelon. The pool was great! Alex really loved the water, but really didn't love his life jacket we put on him :( So we just took him out and let him splash around while we held him. The watermelon was so entertaining! He made the funniest faces I've ever seen. I think he didn't like the texture of it. After he figured out how good it tasted he wanted more, but it definitely took a few pieces for him to figure it out. Lastly, I just wanted to share a few pics from our little trip home to see our Nebraska family. We were able to accomplish so much in regards to the wedding while we were home, big thanks to all of my family!!!

Colorado & Wedding Weekend!

2009-08-26T08:05:00.000-05:00

This weekend I was in my friend Rachel's wedding in Western Nebraska so Kevin and I decided it was closer to fly into Denver and drive there. It was so great, once we got there we were able to spend time with most of his family and of course go check out Buckley :) In our short evening and morning there we got to stay with Kevin's parents, go to dinner with the Bradleys, visit with Gladys and Mace, and see the Kimseys. Before we left for the wedding on Friday morning Kevin and I were able to leave Alex at home with Grandma and go check out the Garden of the Gods - how beautiful!!! Then we drove over to Lake McConaughy for Rachel and Ryan's wedding. That was so much fun! The wedding ceremony was in a beutiful Methodist church then we got to take the bus around the lake to the reception site, which was in a ranch on the lake. I was so grateful for this wedding because I got to see two wonderful, loving people get married and spend time with my family and friends!! So I am also putting the picture of one of their cakes up for everyone in CO, and especially Kevin (I think he wants one for our wedding).

NEWS!!!

2009-08-23T19:31:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Its official, Kevin and I are engaged!!! He proposed on Wednesday night. He took me to the restaurant (Red Rock) at Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City where we had an amazing dinner. We went there on our first date a couple years ago. Then we skipped rocks, so we thought it would be fun to do the same. We were actually having a competition of who was better at skipping rocks (I'm sure I won even though Kevin will tell you different). So we were out skipping rocks and I thought we were all out, so I said lets go. He then told me that it wasn't all the rocks, so I turned around (because I thought he threw his last one) and he was down on his knee to propose!!! It was so sweet! After he did it he told me to turn around, he had it all planned out and some of our friends were there taking video and pictures. They had actually scouted it out the Sunday prior. He even had the rocks picked out that he was going to propose on (I couldn't figure out why he was dragging me across all of these rocks when I was in a dress and flip flops). Anyways, we haven't set a date yet but once we do we will be sure to let everyone know.

2009-07-10T07:36:00.000-05:00

Alex and Daddy decided to take a vacation to Colorado while Lori is still gone. Grandma and Papa and Uncle Bryan and Aunt Kirsten are all here and loving him! We decided to go to pool the other day and Alex LOVES the water. It's been really nice having his cousin Maddie here to play with as well. Alex was also a big hit at the 4th of July party, but couldn't quite stay awake for the fireworks. He has been very easy to take care of and fun to play with. He hardly ever fusses although I think some teeth may come in soon so we'll see if he fusses more. Alex and Daddy both miss Mommy and can't wait for her to get home.

More Pics! (From NE & OKC)

2009-05-24T20:07:00.001-05:00

Waiting for daddy

Mommy Daddy & Alex when Kev first got off the bus after his deployment

Daddy and Alex with Kev's hat on

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Lohse

In the Airport

Alex with Great-Grandpa Brophy & Grandpa Brophy

Alex and Great-Grandma Brophy

Alex and Grandma Lohse

Last Week

2009-05-18T07:56:00.000-05:00

Alex so happy to see daddy! And loves wearing his hats :)

We had a huge week last week! On Monday night I finally had my 2nd checkride and am completely qualified!! I can finally fly with no instructor!! Then Tuesday Alex and I got up to go to his 6 month doctor appointment. Big baby!! His head was 47cm, height of 27inches, and weight was 21lbs 10oz - all those were in the 97 or great percentile. Then we went home for Maureen's Father's funeral. Unfortunately he was taken by cancer last weekend. He was a retired 1st Sgt in the Marines and there was a beautiful military funeral to celebrate his life. We were able to go home though to be with our family, which was really great. In the couple days we were home we were able to see all our family and friends - BUSY! Right now I can't get my camera to download the pictures, but I will post them as soon it works. Lastly, we were going to come back to AZ Saturday morning but we ended up getting a rental car and driving down to OK to surprise Kevin when he returned from his deployment. Of course Kevin says he knew I would do that, I still think he was surprise :)

Easter

2009-04-21T20:17:00.001-05:00

In the carriage ride around Tombstone

The Easter Bunny stopped by

Looking good in his Easter Outfit

This year Alex and I were so lucky we were able to spend our Easter with my dad (Bob), step-mother (Mo), and step-brother (Luke). It was such a great time. They arrived in Tucson the Tuesday before Easter, stayed here for 2 days, then went to visit our family in Phoenix for 2 days. Saturday we got to go visit Tombstone and see The O.K. Corral where the famous gunfight took place, the old Main St of Tombstone, and take a carriage ride around the town. Sunday we got up and went to Easter service at church, then had a dinner with a group of my friend. It was so great to see my family and I am so thankful they were able to visit (makes me miss home).

Our weekend!

2009-04-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

Walk for the cure pic :)

Hi Everyone!!! Sorry I have been so busy with work, school and Alex I haven't had any time to update our blog. We had such a great (busy) weekend I wanted everyone to know what we got to do :) On Saturday morning we got up and went on a hike that was sponsored by some local boy scouts, Rucking for Vets! It was to support the Wounded Warrior Project and all donations go to wounded veterans coming back from the war. The hike was beautiful, it was in Ventana Canyon and was about 4.5 miles round trip. It was pretty hard for me though :) I carried Alex in the carrier up and down - great workout! This morning was got to participate in the Race for the Cure in support of breast cancer research. This was really fun, a few of my friends and I walked (Alex strolled) the 5k to help raise money. Enjoy the pics!! (I'll add more as soon as I receive them from my friends)

4 Month Update

2009-03-16T22:18:00.000-05:00

Alex and I styling at the wedding :)

Alex showing off his binki and his hat at the picnic.

Hi everyone! We finally had Alex's 4 month doctor appointment at the pediatrics on base and have some updated stats :) His weight was 17.13 pounds, his height was 26 inches, and head was 44.5 cm. He is a very big boy, he was in the 90+ percentile for all categories :) The doctor also thinks Alex looks like Kevin :) The rest of our weekend was great too, although it went by too fast. We got to go to our friend Ed and Justine's wedding. It was so beautiful! My first outdoor wedding and it rained on us :) Then we went back to base for the DM-50 picnic... a bunch of free food, games, and an old car show, but it started raining on us there too and the rest of it was canceled :( All in all it was a great weekend and we are looking forward to Phoenix for next weekend!

4 Months Old

2009-02-25T17:57:00.000-06:00

As you all know, Alex's 4 month birthday was Sunday. I can't believe how fast the time is flying by. He is such a little talker now (especially at 4 in the morning). He can even roll over now, from his belly to his back!! The first time he did was on Monday morning! I don't have a video of him rolling over yet, he always seems to stop rolling when I get the camera out to try and catch him :) but here is a cute video of him. Also, there are a couple of his 4 month pictures. He hasn't had his 4 month doctor appointment yet, but I will be sure to update everyone on the stats as soon as he does! If you would like to see more of his 4 month pictures you can go to this link and enter my name:

https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0086105779JCP

First Time Eating Cereal

2009-02-21T22:43:00.000-06:00

In the end, what a messy baby!

Alex was trying to steal the spoon

Sitting up in his bumbo chair

Mom and Alex

Today Alex is one day short of 4 months, so I decided to try to feed him cereal. It was the biggest mess ever, but so funny :) So I'm not sure how babies normally react the first time eating cereal, but I don't think he did too bad. In the beginning he was just really frustrated because he was hungry and I could not feed him fast enough and was spitting most of it out trying to figure it out, but by the end the feeding went a little better. Then we had a much needed bath :) Here is a video of the end of the feeding and some cute pictures - enjoy!

Aunt Nikki Visit

2009-02-20T18:32:00.001-06:00

First of all, so sorry I haven't updated the blog lately - I never realized I would be so incredibly busy. Aunt Nikki got to come to Tucson to spend Valentines Day weekend with Alex and I. We had such a great time, even though we didn't do much. Nichole was able to spend a lot of quality time with her nephew when I went to work, she decided to stay home with Alex :) Although she didn't get to spend late nights with him... Most of the time she was here we spent at home relaxing in our p.j.'s just watching movies and getting some quality sister time in. I can't wait for her to come back again (maybe next time she will take nights too)!

Trip to Phoenix

2009-01-22T19:18:00.000-06:00

We made it up to Phoenix this weekend to see Kevin's sister Kirsten and brother Bryan, his wife Steph and their children. It was great to get the cousins together although we were unable to get any pics of the kids together, but these pictures were taken about a month ago :) (its better than nothing right?). So while we were there we got to enjoy the beautiful 80-degree weather (sorry to rub it in everyone up north). We made it to the park, church, out to dinner at Claim Jumper and we got to see the Cardinals win their way into the SuperBowl (only on t.v.)... even though Alex and I left at half time to beat all the football traffic :( Overall it was a really great weekend and Alex was able to spend some more time with his cousins and aunts and uncle!

Alex's first day of day care

2009-01-05T19:16:00.000-06:00

Alex had his first day of day care today at the CDC on base. The timing worked out perfectly!! I applied there back in April because I knew it took 6-7 months to get in. Well a couple of weeks ago I still hadn't heard from them so I called and they said that I was still no. 3 on the list to get in. I was a little stressed over that because I hadn't lined up any kind of sitter or anything for Alex and I only had a couple weeks left before going back to work. The next week they ended up calling with a slot for me, the first two people on the list decided they didn't need it and so I was next! I checked on him on my lunch and he seemed to be doing pretty good. I think it was harder and more traumatic for me than it was him :) but I think it will get easier as we go. It is so convenient because its only a couple minutes from my work and they don't care if you want to come in throughout the day to check on him.

First Christmas

2009-01-01T17:53:00.000-06:00

Christmas this year was spent in Oklahoma City with Kevin. He is about to deploy and we didn't know if he would be able to leave the local area, but wanted to make sure Alex got to be with both of us for his first Christmas. It was very exciting though, we got to see Grandpa Bob and Grandma Mo, and Papa and Grandma Unks and Aunt Kirsten. We went to church on Christmas Eve then had tomato soup and pizza rolls for dinner. Then Christmas morning we got to open stockings and then presents... Kevin and Alex really got spoiled :) Alex came home with a whole bunch of new clothes, books and a variety of other random things. We were able to spend all day making a huge dinner to celebrate Jesus. Dinner turned out amazing, we had a 26-pound turkey - I think Kevin wanted left-overs for him and Joe :) Overall Christmas turned out wonderful, it was great for Alex and I to spend our last day in Oklahoma with a whole bunch of family.

First Massage

2009-01-01T17:39:00.000-06:00

Alex is starting young on the good things in life, he had his first massage on December 9th. We aren't trying to spoil him, it came free with a Mommy-to-be spa package Kevin got me for my birthday. I think Alex really enjoyed it, at one point he was getting his belly rubbed he had one hand up relaxing behind his head... it was adorable. We might have to see about getting him another one in the future :)

Alex's Room

2009-01-01T17:24:00.000-06:00

This is Alex's baby room. We picked out the boy and girl themes, when I was only 20 weeks along. I painted the stripes on the wall during all of the busy days of "work" I had at the end of the pregnancy. Looking back I think I am crazy for doing it, but then I really wanted it done :) The sports theme so we can start him early on basketball so when he grows he can make mommy and daddy millions of dollars (or at least put daddy in his place).

Go Broncos!

2008-12-30T16:46:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I know the Broncos ended their season in an embarassing game on Sunday night, but I wanted to show everyone how hard Alex, Kevin and I were cheering. Almost every Sunday we were going to BW3s to watch the games and Alex cheered them on each week in his favorite Broncos outfit.

Bath Time

2008-12-30T16:35:00.000-06:00

We finally have this bath thing all figured out. Alex seems to enjoy it now! It took a while to figure out that he wanted the bathroom warm before he was naked (who would have thought). But now we can even get some smiles during bath time. When he gets older, no one can tell that they saw these pictures :)

Santa Trip

2008-12-30T16:01:00.000-06:00

Alex had his first trip to visit Santa Clause on Saturday December 20th. Santa was at the Bx on base at Tinker. This one was great, we were able to take our camera and take as many pictures as we wanted and not pay a ridiculous amount. I'm not sure what Alex wished for this year, but I think it was something like more milk and hugs :)

Alex's Birth Story

2008-11-14T22:14:00.000-06:00

How baby Alex made his way here...

It was Wednesday October 22 and we had another doctor appointment at 1130a.m. I was pretty anxious for these by then because I had been dilated a couple cenemeters and over 75% effaced for a couple weeks by then and was really hopeful that the doctor would tell me I was about there (which was still 5 days early). So Kevin and I are sitting in the room waiting for the doctor to come in, and when she finally does so comes in saying "after this, you need to go straight across the street to the hospital... we got you a slot to get induced". This was perfect because Kevin was supposed to be back to Tinker AFB by Friday for work. But WOW we couldn't believe it (Kevin's eyes were huge). I was thrilled, I finally would get to meet this little baby that had made a home in my ribs!

So we get across the street to the hospital (Tucson Medical Center) and tell them we are there to get induced, which I felt kinda stupid because I was all dressed up and ready to go... we were going to a movie with my mom and sister after the appointment. Which, we had left my mom and sister at the gym while we went to the appointment. Imagine what they were thinking when we never showed up to pick them up, instead they just got a phone call that one of my friends were picking them up because I was at the hospital in labor :) So after we were checked in and all settled in at labor and deliver they started the pitocin, that was at 1:20p.m. When I arrived I was at 3cm, 90% and -1. So around 2p.m. is when my contractions were seriously uncomfortable, but I was still convinced that I would be able to do this without an epidural.

So now its about 3:45 and I decide that I want some kind of pain medicine. My contractions were less than 2min. apart and lasting about 90 seconds and seriously painful. So the nurse came in and gave me some meds that she said would take the edge off the contractions and last about 2 hours. I'm positive they don't last 2 hours because about 20 minutes later I was in serious pain again with the contractions. About 5pm I decided I wasn't as strong as I thought and got the epidural, which ended up being a good thing because my blood pressure was going up because of the pain I was in. So the epidural was amazing. I didn't even care about how big of a needle they were sticking in my back because the pain caused by the contractions was so bad it completely made the back pain seem like nothing. A few minutes later I was good to go.

I was checked again at 6pm and had only progressed to 6cm. I thought this was going to take forever, but the nurse checked me again at 7 and I was at 9... WOW that was fast! So about 7:40 she checked me again and said "whatever you do, do not push... you're doctor is still 20 min away", which she was and when they called her, she was in the shower :) So Kevin was sitting there watching every second tick by on the clock, he thought the baby was gonna come out with no doctor there so he would have to catch it. Thankfully the dr showed up in plenty of time. At 7:55 the nurse wanted to do a couple of practice pushes, so thats when we started. A little after 8pm Dr Tran arrived and the real pushing began. We pushed for a total of 25 minutes and Alex arrived at 8:21 pm.

Baby Alex is Here!

2008-11-07T11:41:00.000-06:00

On October 22, 2008 at 8:21pm (AZ time) Alexander Robert was born. He weighed in at 7lbs 15.5oz and 19.5 inches long.