Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

I know I'm a little lot late with this, but as a friend once told me...we basically have two seasons here in Texas....Summer and February, so technically I'm not too late. It's just now starting to feel like Fall around here. Come September 1st, I usually feel like a new person. To me, it's the start of better weather and a kick off to all of the holidays to come....my favorite time of the year.  So here's what's been going on since my last blog.

Jenna took swimming lessons over the summer and enjoyed it so much the first two weeks, we signed her up for two additional weeks. She has always LOVED the water and is a natural swimmer. I feel a little more at ease with her around water now knowing she knows how to hold her breath and how to swim correctly. Ryan also took lessons and here's a picture of them on their first day.

On July 22, my Grandma Bartosh suffered a major stroke that has left her paralyzed on the left side of her body. She spent 3 weeks at St. Luke's and we were told there is nothing more they can do for her. She is now in a nursing home/rehab facility close to home so that we can spend as much time with her as possible. Although I can't imagine our family without her, I hate to see her in the condition she is in. I usually go see her several times a week and I clean her teeth and wash her face and put on her famous Avon moisturizing cream. She's says I'm the best at it...I'm not as rough as everyone else. I know in years to come, the smell of that cream will immediately remind me of her and bring to mind all of the wonderful memories I have of her. She always says to me "We had some great times together, didn't we?". We certainly did and I will cherish those forever.

Here's a picture of Jenna and Ryan one day after visiting Grandma.....two cuties whom she says "melt her heart".

On a lighter note, Jenna also attended cheerleading camp for the first time. I debated about it and thought she might be too young and perhaps I should wait until next year, but decided to give it a shot and see how she did.  It began on a Tuesday and Thursday night was the finale for all of the parents to come see what their children learned during the week. She stole the show...she was quite the performer. I thought she would clam up the minute she saw all of those people in the stands, but I was shocked at how at ease she was infront of the crowd. I was also surprised at how much she learned in those few days. Not only did she learn her group's cheer and dance, she knew the rest of the groups' as well. I need to find out if there is a way to get the video off of my ancient video camera and on to the computer so everyone can see.  It is so cute and funny.  Since then, she cheers all the time and loves going to the pep rallies and football games to watch the cheerleaders and especially to see Buford (or as Jenna would say, "The Brahmas Bull").  The cheerleaders always come up and hug her at every game and tell me how much they love her.  Apparently she kept them very entertained at camp and made an impression.  Several of them even offered to babysit.  I may have to take advantage of that one day.  She definitely has a great personality and a warm heart and I'm glad it shines through to everyone she meets.

In August we took a trip to Jellystone in Waller, TX with our awesome friends, The Brown family (the family we met Memorial weekend). We had a wonderful time. Jenna really enjoyed the water park and the giant slide. I have to admit I loved the giant slide as well and went down 3 or 4 times myself. It was a blast. We had quite a large group and has several slide races.  We hung out at the water park and the pool most of the day and at night there were movies for the kids.  They also had karaoke and funnel cakes the next night. We ate a lot of good food and also did a craft project. Jenna chose to paint a dinosaur figurine.  There are a few things we didn't get to do, so we can't wait to go back again one day.

In September, we went to the Kacal Family Reunion. I can't tell you how happy it made my heart to see that side of my family again. Unfortunately I don't get to see them often, but I think of them all the time and pray that they're doing well. I'm definitely looking forward to the next reunion.

In October, Jenna and I took a trip out to Dewberry Farm with Dana, Carissa, Kelly and Aidan. There is so much for kids her age to do. The jumping pillows were a big hit, as well as SNOWCONES! We took a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch and took some pictures. She and I both loved Pumpkin Hollar, which is a building filled with hundreds of carved pumpkins all lit up. They had pumpkins carved with everything you could imagine. She was most excited to see Spongebob, characters from The Little Mermaid, and Winnie The Pooh. She and Aidan went down the slide several times together and also took a pony ride. Jenna loved her pony and even hugged and kissed him as she left. We ended the day watching a pig race. She didn't want to leave, but it was a long day. We look forward to going back.

I also took Jenna to the pumpkin patch in Rosenberg that we go to every year. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me because it was an unplanned trip and we ventured over there while Daddy was getting his hair cut. She picked about 12 pumpkins and we used them in our scarecrow family display in our front yard.

On October 24, we were blessed with a new addition to the family, Tyler Calvin Kubena. He wasn't due until the week of Thanksgiving, but I kept telling Trent that I think he wants to be here for Halloween. Trent and I are the main two in our family that absolutely LOVE Halloween.  I guess I was right and Tyler will join in our love for the holiday too. haha! He is so tiny and SO cute! Holly said he is a wonderful easy going baby. They are great parents...I'm so happy for them both.

Jenna decided to be Tinkerbell this year for Halloween. At first she kept telling me that she wanted to be a witch, but when she saw the Tinkerbell costume at Target, that was it. I attended her Halloween party at daycare again this year. We did the parade through the "big school", then came back to daycare for games and lunch. All of the girls wanted to sit on my lap during story time.  What a great bunch of kiddos....it's so neat to see them all growing up together.

On Halloween night, we went on a hay ride and went trick or treating in town.  Afterwards, we went to the festival at the Baptish church and played games and ate taco soup.  Jenna had so much fun this year going from house to house.  She is still scared of masks though and will not go to houses that appear "scary".  Each year with her just gets better and better.  Her excitement is exhiliarating and I love seeing everything through her eyes.

Finally, Jason and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on November 15th. We decided to eat dinner at Pinchers since I have never been there and Jenna has recently developed a fondness for fried shrimp. We had fun feeding the ducks and chickens they have in a pond outside. On the way home we picked up sundaes from DQ.  Jenna and I always request extra whipped cream and nuts.  We're so much alike.

As you can see, we stay pretty busy. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love doing things with Jenna and seeing how excited she gets about everything. I'm really looking forward to the holidays with her this year.  I save a lot of my vacation for this time of year so that I can spend some extra time with her.  We plan to have a lot of fun coming up.  Stay tuned!

Some random things about Jenna:

Recently discovered she loves fried shrimp.

Had an obsession for a while of watching The Little Mermaid. EVERY. DAY.

Loves board games. We play Candy Land almost every night before bed.

Loves to play "cooking show" anywhere....even in the bath tub.

Loves to play volleyball with me.

Loves to play cheerleader and climb on my shoulders to do cheers.
Likes to get her nails done.

Still loves to cuddle and give me kisses....my favorite part of being her Mommy!