Your Left Your Left Your Left Right Left

Stephen has done it, he graduated from Army Basic Training on October 23, 2008!!!!! We are so proud of him. His mother (Kay) the boys and myself all flew to Missouri for the event. It was a long journey but worth every agonizing minute. Stephen looked so handsome in his Class A uniform. He gained 12 pounds of muscle in the 9 weeks he was in training. He weighs more than he ever has. You can tell he is proud of all his accomplishments. He seems to walk a little taller now.

The boys were very happy to see him. We were worried Logan wouldn't take to him right away but he did. He knew that was Daddy. He wouldn't stop staring at him for quite a while. It was cute. He played with and showed Stephen all the changes he has made in the last 9 weeks too. Stephen couldn't believe how much he talks now. I tried to count and am guessing he is up to around 75 words now and adds new ones everyday it seems.

It was so hard to drop Stephen back off after his 11 hour family day visit. I cried more this time then when he left home to start basic. I guess I knew how hard it is this time. Zack was very upset too. It broke my heart to see him so sad.

Stephen left the next day for a long bus ride to Fort Sam Houston, Texas which is in San Antonio. He arrived early Saturday morning. Upon arrival they were informed that they were not going to be starting AIT for 3 weeks. Training only starts once a month and one had just started a week before. So he is stuck in holding for 3 weeks!!! Frustrating!!! Another piece of bad new he got was that they were not allowed to go home for Thanksgiving like they had originally thought. That was hard for me to swallow. I was getting by on the knowledge that I would see him in a month. I arranged it so that I can still do that by flying to Texas to see him instead. It is super expensive so it will just be Logan and myself, Zack will have Thanksgiving with his dad this year.

Besides all the bad news things are going well in Texas. He is able to call me every day now instead of once a week. We almost are used to not talking. It was hard at first to think of things to say every day again. We are good now though. Like teenagers who spend an hour on the phone with their friends every day. It's funny. He and the most of the rest of his platoon got tickets to a NBA game. They watched the Phoenix Suns stomp the Spurs. I guess everyone yelled at Stephen for cheering the Suns. What can he say, he's from AZ.

That's it for now I think. Have a good one.

Alpha Beta Charlie, (gotta know those ABC's)

Well, Stephen didn't get to start actual BCT until Friday the 22nd. This means he won't graduate until he has been there 11 weeks instead of 9 weeks. And so life according to Army orders begins!!!

He had injured his knee by pulling a ligament. He wasn't in actual BCT yet so he was gonna ride it out. He almost went to sick call because he was worried it wasn't getting better fast enough. He didn't go though and it is much better. He just has a slight twinge now and then now.

BCT started off with a physical exam. They had to do a 2 mile run, push-ups and sit-ups as fast as they could. I don't remember his exact numbers, but they were good. They were divided into 3 groups depending on those numbers; Alpha, Beta, or Charlie. Just like grades A is best. Stephen is in Alpha. By the end all the guys have to get to Alpha group before they can graduate. He is already there, so we know he won't be behind physically.

About a week or so ago a DS (drill Sargent) came in and called 6 names for a test. Stephen's was one of them. They were confused because the rest of the guys didn't have to take it. You never ask though, you just do. Come to find out it was a test that the smarty pants guys who scored really high on their entrance exam had to take to test their intelligence. It was either a audio or visual tape of some dude with a thick accent teaching them a pretend language. They had 20 minutes to study the fake language then take a test on it. Only a couple of the guys past and Stephen was one of them.

On a not so great note, Stephen and a couple other guys got busted writing letters after lights out and got the whole platoon in trouble. They all had to get out of bed and go outside for a punishment of exercises. Stephen and the other bad boys had to stand in the front and watch they peer get punished for their mistakes. Stephen said it was awful and it WON'T happen again.

That is all I can think of for now. Just wanted to give you a quick update. The boys and I fine. We are getting by as best we can. I am actually proud of how much I am able to get accomplished in a day.

Phoenix to Missouri ON TIME

Well, the day came faster than we wanted as many things do, Stephen has reported in. He is currently in Missouri. He called me from the airport to tell me he had arrived. I didn't get to talk to him much. He did say that there wasn't much going on yet. They picked Stephen to be a leader in the transfer from Phoenix to Missouri. I guess being an "old guy" in the Army is already setting Stephen apart.

The boys and I are doing fine. Sure we are sad and wish he had gotten his extension till the 11th, but honestly the longer we waited the more the anxiety built. I think I feel better now that he has gone and I am not stressing about how I am going to handle it. As long as we stay busy we will get through just fine.

Logan is sick YET AGAIN. We were at work today and he started getting a runny nose and a fever. He is now coughing, sneezing and is drained of all energy. I can see it in his little eyes. Poor guy. I could have a pity party about the timing of his illness, but I won't. Oh well, just another thing to keep my mind busy. When your babies are sick you don't have time to think about anything else.

I will try to keep updating you as much as possible as promised. Pictures might be on hold for a while though. I lost our camera in Phoenix last weekend so until I can get another camera we can't take any new pictures.

STOP THE PRESSES!!

Alright Ya'll don't have a heart attack!!! Yea, I am going to give you an update.

Let's see anything new since the last time I wrote? Well being that that was almost a year ago I suppose there have been many things new. I will try to stick to the biggies for ya.

Lets go by people. We will start with Logan. Logan is now 21 months old. He is a smart little turd. He is talking more and more every day. He does a little bit of sign language. His fav. words in sign are "more", "please" and "thank you". His vocabulary is getting pretty extensive. If I had to guess the number of words he can speak I would say 30+. He never went through the stage that kids go through where they say No to everything. If you ask him a question he will answer yes or no. It is so nice, because I feel like we can actually communicate and it prevents a lot of the toddler frustration. He does get a little frustrated when he is trying to tell me something and I don't understand. I just say "show me" and he takes off running and pointing.

Logan is still small. He doesn't look as small as he used to now that the growth for his age group has slowed a bit. He was able to catch up a little. He is however still BALD. Okay, not completely, but pretty darn close. He will get a random 3 in. long hair that sticks off the side of his head. I will go to grab it thinking it is one of mine that is stuck in his hair and whoops it's attached. He feels me do it then he starts pulling at his hair. Unfortunately being 1 1/2 the only time he is still enough to see these sorts of things is at the dinner table when he is trapped in his chair which means I just encouraged him to put food in his hair!!

Now Zack. Well, not to be mean, but he is not at a fun age. He has become quite the arguer. It's like pulling teeth to get him to cooperate with anything. Chores time is always fun. All I can say is "Is Summer Over Yet"!!! And all you parents reading this thinking I am mean, don't pretend you didn't feel the same way at some point in your child's upbringing. Especially if your MY parent, because I know better. Those of you who have younger children, don't judge either, your day is approaching.

Zack isn't really in to anything right now. He like playing video games, but I limit how much he can play. It is too hot in Arizona to really play outside (another reason summer in AZ is no fun). He has become connected at the hip to our next door neighbor boy Caleb. Which is fine, I am good friends with his mom and they are a great family. I don't know what he is going to do once school starts though because Caleb and his brother are home schooled. At this age if your school friends don't live close by it is hard to stay connected through the summer. I hope he adjusts well once school starts. He usually pulls the class clown act to fit in and make friends about week 2 into the school year. Well, school starts next week so we will see soon enough.

Well there isn't much new with me. I had mono, but am pretty much better now. I still wheeze now and then, but I guess I could have that for months and months. I still work for my in laws business. I have made some good friends near where I live so I have a good friend network for once in my life. Don't get me wrong, I have always had friends, but it was always two or three good friends who didn't hang out with each other. With my new "network" of friends I can actually have little get-togethers which is way more fun.

Now Stephen. Well what can I say that most of you don't already know? Stephen has joined the Army. He will be leaving for basic training in about a week or so. Yes, we are all very sad that he is leaving, but trust me, we discussed this decision and decided that it is for the best. The boys and I will join him once he has finished all of his training (in about 7 months). He has 9 weeks of basic training in Missouri then he goes to Texas for 19 weeks for his job training. He is going to be a hospital medic. His long term goal is to use the A-Med program to go through pharmacy school. This program pays 100% for school costs and pays you your Army salary while you are in pharmacy school. When in pharmacy school you are not required to perform your normal job duties and your "job" is to go to school. The Army does nothing for free (I can hear you all saying it), yes, we know. He will in turn have to recommit 1 year of service for every year he was a student in the A-Med program. The Army isn't going to pay you to become Dr. if they don't get to use your skills. Stephen is ready for this, and if anyone has negative comments they want to get out, let me give a suggestion that was once given to me. Write your negativity down in as much detail as you want. Get it all out. Be as mean or as rude as you want. Hell, even use as much profanity as you want. Then BURN IT, because we don't want to hear it. I support my husband 100% and that is all that matters. I don't want any of our friends or family trying to break his spirit before he embarks on the most difficult journey of his life. Positive comments are always welcome and appreciated though.

Okay, Stephen might get embarrassed about this, but I have to brag. There is a test that anyone going into the military has to take. It is used to rank your intelligence and make sure you are smart enough for the job you want. Stephen was ranked in the top 6% of the nation. His recruiters boss had challenged him by saying that if Stephen beat his score he would by him lunch. I guess recruits never beat his score. Well Stephen did beat his score. Okay, I'm done bragging about how smart my husband is.

Well, I think that is about it for now. Those are the major headlines from the Hanna Family Gazette. This is the editors copy, so the photography department will add photos once it hits their desk.