Tomasovic Family

Catch up!

2008-06-18T11:09:00.015+09:00

Greetings!

I cannot believe it has been so long since I last posted to our blog. The time has been busy, to say the least.

As I write this, Jason is currently deployed. He left two weeks ago for South America where he is doing counterdrug operations for the summer. We miss him and hope that he stays safe wherever he is in the world. Michael is doing very well. Everyday he does more and more to the point where I wonder where he learns some of the things that come out of his little mouth. He is still going to school, and just loves it. He has been my little buddy since Jason has been gone. I have been really busy with my real estate career. Whoever said that it is a down market, because I have been really success this year. Between Michael, work and then taking care of the house I have been pretty busy. It helps the time go by quickly, and the faster it goes the closer we will be to Jason's return.

Enjoy the photos. Take care and please write when you can.

Love,

Jen, Jason and Michael

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!

2008-01-29T11:07:00.000+09:00

Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone had a blessed holiday season and a joyous new year. We had the pleasure of spending this Christmas at our home in Jacksonville. Jason's mom and grandparents joined us, and we had a wonderful time.

Since it was 82 degrees, it was a little too warm for us to get real snow this year. Therefore we decided to venture to Disney World for a day to at least see Disney's verion of "snow."

Almost an entire month later, Michael is still saying to us "Merry Christmas". He still has a daily desire to watch Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. Neither Jason or me have the heart to tell him that Christmas is over, so we will probably carry on Christmas for most of the year in our household.

Love,

Jen, Jason and Michael

Thanksgiving with the Bucks!

2008-01-29T10:58:00.001+09:00

Greetings,

Here are a few photos of our wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with Jason's mom's family the Buckenheimers. Not only did we see all of the family, we were blessed that Jessie and Ryan (Jason's sister and brother-in-law) were there as well. It was hard to believe that it was close to 80 degrees in November. A lot different than our previous Thanksgiving.

We had a lot to be thankful for this year. The number one reason, that Jason returned to us after being in Japan for 19 months. The second is that we have a beautiful little boy is just growing up on us before our eyes, and the third is our friends and family that bless us throughout the year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Jen, Jason and Michael

Happy Halloweeeeeen!

2007-11-14T06:27:00.001+09:00

Greetings!

I apologize for not writing sooner, but things here have been a bit crazy. We are all settling into our new lives here in Jacksonville. We just love it here, and most importantly we love being reunited as a family again.

Michael is getting bigger and bigger. He started school in September and really loves it! He is talking up a storm now. He knows all his letters, numbers, colors and shapes. We went on our first of many trips this summer to Disney World. Of course the week we were there it was a bit hot, but we all had a wonderful time.

Jason is settling into his job and loves being a pilot again. I too am working selling real estate. Even in an off market, I have already been able to sell a few properties here in Jacksonville.

We hope you are all doing well. Please email when you get the chance.

Love,

Jen, Jason and Michael

Exploring our Surroundings!

2007-06-07T11:14:00.001+09:00

Greetings!

Well, we finally unpacked the last box (we just received the last shipment from Japan last week), and the house is finally together. Now we can relax a little and explore our new environment here in Florida. We just love it here! There is so much to do! We have been busy learning our new jobs and adjusting to our new schedules. Michael is now in daycare four mornings a week, and even though it was tough saying goodbye to him each morning, it is slowly getting easier and easier.

We hope you are all doing well. Take care and please write when you get a chance.

Love,

Jen, Jason and Michael

Michael's Second Birthday

2007-05-24T04:30:00.000+09:00

Greetings,

Well, Michael's second birthday was kind of bitter sweet this year. It was wonderful because Jason came home just days before, for good this time, just in time to help us celebrate. It was sad though because we had to say goodbye to so many wonderful friends and family. In honor of Michael's love for trains, and love for Thomas, we had a "Thomas" birthday party. It was adorable watching the kids interact with each other, as well as, the games and anything else they wanted to get into to.

We had a wonderful time in Maryland, and I cannot thank my parents enough for letting us overtake their lives for the last year and a half. However, it is so nice to be reunited with Jason again. We have been here in Jacksonville, FL for a month now, and we are still getting settled into our new home and new routine. The boxes are unpacked, but we are still waiting on our furniture shipment from Japan, which hopefully we will have anyday now.

Take care, and we hope to hear from all of you soon!

Love,

Jen, Jason and Michael

Happy Easter!

2007-04-09T03:02:00.000+09:00

Greetings!

We hope everyone is doing well, and we would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter!

Things here are extremely cold, with the highs in the last few days reaching in the low 40's. It actually snowed on Friday night, which for this time of is not the norm. Oh well, I guess I should enjoy it while we can since this will be the last winter we actually get to experience this kind of weather.

Our big news is that Jason is coming home in ten days. The end of our 19 month separation is finally coming to an end. He is flying from Japan into Washington DC, and then will spend a few days here in Maryland before driving my car down to Jacksonville and settling on our new home. I have a couple real estate transactions here in MD that I am trying to close before the end of the month, and then Michael and I will fly down once they are finished. This move should be interesting as my Mom and Dad are driving the U-Haul truck from MD to Jacksonville with the first shipment of furniture, the navy is bringing the second shipment from Pensacola, and then we will hopefully get the third shipment from Japan within the next few weeks. It should be interesting.

We would love to hear from all of you. Take care and please write when you can.

Love,
Jen, Jason and Michael

Let it Snow!

2007-03-08T05:01:00.000+09:00

Greetings!

It has been bitter cold and we seem to have at least one snow storm each week. Michael has now discovered the snow. He was a little uncertain about the white, cold, powdery substance at first, but once he saw Luke the dog going crazy playing in it, he decided that he too would have a little fun.

Things have been kind of busy here over the last few weeks. Jason will be flying home permanently on April 19. We are so excited that he is finally finished with his tour in Japan, and to be reunited again. I just went down to Jacksonville, FL where we are going to begin our next chapter. My Mom and Dad graciously watched Michael for four days while I flew down to buy our next home. It was a quick trip, but very productive. I found a home, visited with some friends and secured my next job in real estate. It was so nice coming home to see my little guy though. I missed him so much.

We hope you are all doing well. Please write when you get a chance.

Love,

Jen, Jason and Michael

Christmas 2006

2007-01-15T05:31:00.000+09:00

Greetings,

Sorry it has taken me awhile to write, but I have been working on this post for the last few weeks. We spent Christmas at my parent's home in Annapolis with my sister, her husband and my four year old nephew Caleb. We had a special visitor arrive Christmas Day. Santa came too, but on Christmas day we were blessed with Jason arriving. He was our best Christmas present.

It was so amazing to reunite Michael with his Daddy. They immediately bonded and in no time were playing catch, chasing each other around the house and of course Michael's favorite game of being thrown up in the air. This reunion was even sweeter because the last time we saw Jason Michael was not walking yet. Jason could not believe how much his little boy had changed, and he is now into everything!

We spent the time together catching up on lost time. This was also Jason's first trip back to the states since he left for Japan in August 2005. Jason's Dad and wife came to visit us here in Annapolis for a few days. As well as, we drove up to visit with Jason's sister and her husband in Philadelphia. It is always nice to catch up with family.

We also received another Christmas present, Jason's orders. He still needs one more signature in order for them to be official, but it looks like we are moving to Jacksonville, FL the middle to end of April. The next few months will go by quickly with coordinating the move and buying and selling our homes. We have to coordinate Jason's move from Japan, my move from Maryland, and arranging to move the furniture we had to put in storage in Pensacola. We are counting down the days.

We hope you all had wonderful, safe holidays. Please take care and write to us when you can.

Love,
Jen, Jason and Michael

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2006-12-19T07:30:00.000+09:00

Greetings!

We hope you are all doing well. Things here the last few weeks have been busy with getting ready for the holidays. We just love this time of year. Michael is really getting into the holiday spirit. He has helped me with all the shopping, baking and card writing. He is also enjoying his new Sunday afternoon pastime, watching football. It is truly amazing to see how much he has changed since last Christmas. He is walking all over the place and into everything. We love it!

We are now just waiting for Jason to arrive. He comes in on Christmas day at 1pm, so he is our main Christmas present this year. We are truly excited to spend three weeks with him here in the states. We are going to be visiting with some family and friends and that close by, so that will be nice to be able to catch up with everyone. At this point, we still do not know when Jason is going to be officially coming home or where we will be going next. We should be finding out soon though, so we are pretty eager with anticipation.

We hope you are all doing well and are enjoying the holidays. Please be safe in all your plans and travels.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas,
Jen, Jason and Michael

Happy Halloween! BOO!

2006-11-04T12:38:00.000+09:00

We went up to Parkville to spend Halloween with my sister and her family. My sister Chrissy had a Halloween party for her daycare kids in the afternoon. This Halloween Michael was a koala bear. The costume was designed to keep him really warm for a chilly Fall evening, but who would have ever thought it was going to be 72 degrees for the high during the day. The kids were all extremely adorable. She had in attendance a tinkerbell, a cowgirl, a monkey, nemo, my nephew Caleb was Rocket from the Little Einsteins and of course there was Michael the koala. It was cute watching Halloween again through the eyes of a child.

After all the daycare kids went home for the evening, we ventured out in the madness that was trick-or-treating. My sister lives in a perfect neighbor for such an activity. My brother-in-law dressed up as a werewolf. Most kids are horrified by his mask, but Michael decided that it was hilarious. We walked until we could not walk anymore, and then called it a night. I was not driving home more than ten minutes when I noticed my little guy was fast asleep. I guess all the excitement of the day just wore him out.

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween, and we would love to hear from you.

Love,
Jen, Jason and Michael

Enjoying the colors of Fall!

2006-10-31T05:34:00.000+09:00

Greetings!

Things here are going well. Here are a few pics of our October adventures. It is gorgeous this time of year here in MD. The leaves are changing colors and the temperature is perfect.

We hope you are all doing well. Please write when you can.

Love,
Jen, Jason and Michael

All aboard!

2006-10-10T11:33:00.000+09:00

Greetings!

After arriving home my sister and nephew Caleb have introduced Michael to the world of TRAINS! So much so, that my mom actually suggested that the new coffee table in her living room be the addition of a Thomas the Tank Engine train table and accessories. Michael loves it. It is the perfect height for him to cruise around, and he just loves playing with the trains as well as pulling the tracks apart.

We went up to Strasburg, PA a few weekends ago to enjoy the Thomas and Friends Day they had at the local railroad. The kids loved it. It was definitely an experience, as I have never seen anything like that before.

Other than that, things are good. Michael and I are adjusting to being at home, and Jason is out to sea until November. Who knows how his Fall plans will change with the current events in the world. We just pray for him and hope he will be able to spend Christmas with us in the states.

I too have gone back to work. The real estate market is slow with the changing market, but I do love my job. If you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell property in MD, look no further. I can even find a local realtor in your area if you are in need of one. I have done this service to other friends and family, and I would be more than happy to do it for you as well.

I hope you are all doing well. Take care and write when you get a chance.

Love,
Jen, Jason and Michael

There's No Place Like Home

2006-09-15T03:33:00.000+09:00

Greetings Everyone!

Well, the last few weeks have been interesting. Jason left Sasebo the last week of August to sail up to Yokosuka, which is outside of Tokyo. Michael and I were going to fly up and meet him at the end of the week, but another Typhoon cancelled our plans. The day before we were suppose to leave, we get an emergency call from Jason to cancel our entire Tokyo vacation including our Tokyo Disneyland adventure. The good news was that Jason was on his way home, so we were still able to spend our last week in Japan together as a family again.

Michael and I made the long journey home. Of course he was teething, which means that he is in a lot of pain and is congested for about a week. Our trip home was extremely long. We had a two hour bus ride up to Fukuoka in order to catch a two hour flight to Tokyo. Then we had a 12.5 hour plane ride to Chicago. We had an hour and a half layover in Chicago to go through customs, pick up our luggage, change terminals and recheck our luggage in the domestic terminal. It was a site to see, because I was literally running (ok, walking really fast) with all our stuff and little Michael attached to me. We missed our connection by five minutes. I was almost in tears at this point, but I composed myself for Michael. Then we waited three hours to make the two hour flight to Baltimore. My parents were waiting for us when we crossed the finish line. It was nice to see some friendly faces again. It took us 28 hours to get home, but it was nice to have a home again after traveling for so long.

We have been home for over a week now and I think we are finally adjusting to the 13 hour time difference. Luke, our loving 80 pound Yellow Lab was so happy to see us. Apparently he was depressed this summer. It is funny seeing how much Luke and Michael interact now. They are so cute together. Michael cannot stop saying "dog-dog", I think he missed Luke as much as Luke missed him. We had such a wonderful time with Jason this summer, and we look forward to seeing him over Christmas. We made many new friends in Japan and just love the Japanese people. They are all so friendly and helpful. We all even learned a little bit of the language, well enough to get us around at least. Jason will be out-to-sea (I cannot disclose where exactly) for most of the Fall. He is awaiting his orders for our next tour, so I will keep you posted on where and when. Take care and we look forward to catching up with all of you.

I only have a few photos to share. Upon our return, I purchased Michael a Thomas the Tank Engine train table and train set. He loves it. He cruises around the table because it is a perfect height. He plays so well with the trains too. He is doing so well with his walking. Jason and I worked a lot with him this summer, but yesterday he took six steps on his own. It will not be long now until I will have to baby proof the entire house, but it will be worth it.

Love,
Jen, Jason and Michael

Weathering Another Storm

2006-08-20T11:59:00.000+09:00

Greetings,

Well once again we had another typhoon warning. We got word on Wednesday night that a tropical storm was heading right for Sasebo. Jason was instructed to pack a bag, as the ship would most likely be pulling out sometime on Thursday to avoid any damage it would sustain in port by the storm. Michael and I dropped Jason off at the ship early Thursday morning, and then we spent the rest of the day getting ourselves ready just in case we would not be able to get out for a few days, or worse yet, if we actually lost power. We got a call on Thursday night at 7pm that the ship decided not to leave, and that Jason was coming home. We were very happy that Jason did not have to leave.

The tropical storm did hit Sasebo. We had 65mph wind gusts. When you live on a mountain and on the sixth floor of your apartment complex, the wind can be a little scary. Not to mention that we have three huge sliding glass doors that surround us, so we got front row seat as tropical storm Wukong past through. It only lasted a day, and really other than losing our satellite television reception, we were all just fine.

Other than our little scare, things here are going well. We found out that Jason is going to be promoted to Lt. Commander, so we are very proud of all his hard work. I completed my Japanese Cultural classes. It is interesting to learn the culture and history of Sasebo, and have an overview of the language. I also have my driver’s license too. It has been great being mobile once again, even though driving here is an interesting experience. They drive on the left side of the road and the roads are two feet narrower than what they are in the states.

Michael is doing well. He is getting bigger and bigger. He really does not like the local cuisine, but he really did enjoy the “meat on a stick” restaurant which surprised me. It is just grilled chicken, steak, seafood, vegetables etc. that are grilled on skewers. It is now one of our family favorites. Michael is still not walking yet, but he has been cruising on everything from the couches to our bed. Jason and I have been trying to work with him on walking, and our hard work seems to be prevailing. Hopefully it will not be long now until Michael is walking all over the place. We spend most of our days at the pool, because it has been so hot. We also meet other mom’s and their children. We also enjoy going to the library and the nice park they have right outside the main gate, and the zoo too. Our days go by pretty quickly.

Jason and I are still taking our continuing education courses. Jason is working on his leadership course for his Master’s degree. I have been continuing my post-licensing courses to renew my Florida real estate license next year. Thank god for online courses. I am able to work on my class while Michael’s sleeps. The funny thing is that most of the topics in my post-licensing course I have already covered in my training in Maryland, as well as already applied most of them in my real estate career.

We miss all of you so much, and would love to hear from you. Jason is leaving the end of August to go up to Yokosuka Naval Base, which is just outside Tokyo. Michael and I are going to go up there and spend a week with him exploring Tokyo before we head home for the states on September 7th. Take care!

Love,
Jen, Jason and Michael

2006-07-28T21:50:00.000+09:00

Greetings!

Things here are going well. Jason went back to work this week after being off for the last three weeks (minus the five days he had to go to sea unexpectedly to avoid the typhoon.) While he is at work, Michael and I spend most of our days playing, and practicing Michael's new favorite pastime, walking. He is not officially walking yet, but he likes to hold onto our hands and he takes us where he wants to go. At least it is a start. We are also able to go to the base pool, where we try and get away from the heat. They have a really nice kiddie pool, so we have been lucky.

I am starting my Japanese culturalization class next week. The class is a prerequisite for me to get my driver's license. With Jason working all day and then spending every eighth day on duty for 24 hours on the ship, it is important that Michael and I be independent. Michael is going to go to the daycare center they have on base, which too is really nice. Maybe he can meet a few little friends. I have also started my Florida real estate post-licensing course. Thank God for online classes! This way whenever we move, my Florida real estate license will be current. Jason is continuing his quest for his master's degree, and started his Leadership course too.

That is it for now. We miss you all so much. Please write when you get a chance.

Love,
Jen, Jason and Michael

More Adventures from the Far East

2006-07-17T10:41:00.000+09:00

Greetings!

We are having a wonderful time here in Japan. We were having a great time exploring local sites here in Sasebo when a typhoon (a Pacific Ocean version of a hurricane) decided to ruin our plans. Jason was actually called out to sea for four days, because the Captain of his ship was worried that the storm would do more damage to the ship in port than if they were in the open waters. Even on the other side of the world, natural disasters just follow us around. The storm turned toward Korea, and it missed us completely.

My mother-in-law, Michael and I made the most of a bad situation. We took cabs everywhere, since I do not have my driver's license, and explored a little on our own. We felt like true tourists taking pictures of everything. We ventured one day to Arita, which is known for their beautiful pottery. We found such amazing things, and of course bought a few souvenirs. The next day we went down to the Ginza, which is the local market in downtown Sasebo. I had to buy something in a cosmetic store, so the three of us ventured in. Big mistake. The little cosmetic ladies just surrounded Michael. At first I think he was scared of the attention he was getting, but in just a short amount of time he realized that getting attention from four women is not a bad thing. While we were at the Ginza, a little girl about two years old approached Michael and gave him a kiss on the cheek. It must be good luck to kiss the little blonde hair baby. The third day we went on a tour of the 200 islands that surround Sasebo. It was hot, but it was a beautiful boat ride.

Jason finally returned from sea, and we planned a trip to Kyoto city. We left last Wednesday and took the bullet train up to Kyoto. We were going about 250 mph. It was a five hour trip from Sasebo, and Michael was pretty good. Thank god for the little dvd player I borrowed from my sister before we left the states. We went on a half day tour of the city. It was four hours and we toured a palace, a temple and a shrine. It was so hot. Michael was the ONLY child on any of the tour buses, and he was an angel. Everyone commented on how amazing he was. Afterwards they dropped us off at this shopping market where we got lunch and then shopped a few hours. We came back around 3:00pm and relaxed a bit. We then went out to a nice dinner. We left the next day.

Last Saturday we went to the Noritake China factory which is about 45 minutes from here. They were having a sale on some of their more popular patterns. Friends of ours invited us to go, so we took two cars to the factory. Oh my God, they had such beautiful things. We found a such a beautiful set. It was $150 for five full place settings. Usually you pay $150 for one place setting at Macy's. We got service for 10 and then got all the coordinating pieces like the serving plates, bowls, coffee server etc. Even Jason had a good time. We even got Christmas dishes. Let's just say that we got pieces for an average of 80% off retail price. That is my definition of a sale.

We miss all of you so much. Please write when you ge a chance.

Love,
Jen, Jason, and Michael too!

Konichi-Wa from Sasebo, Japan

2006-07-09T10:45:00.000+09:00

We are having a wonderful time here in Sasebo. Jason already had to evacuate due to a typhoon that is heading our way. Oh well, we are trying to make the most of it by keeping busy exploring the local sites. Michael is having a great time. He is pretty popular here as all the ladies just love little blonde babies. We cannot go anywhere without someone stopping us to try and talk to him. It is kind of funny. We miss everyone so much, and would love to hear from you.

Love,
Jen, Jason and Michael