Ryan Julianne and Sam!

I haven't seen my little brother and his family for over a year now. They flew into Boise on Thursday and we got to hang out with them for a few days. We had a great party at Rob's, complete with musical performances of all variety. So, where are all the great pictures of these fun people and events? Umm...well, I think Melanie took a few pics from her phone?? or was that Julianne? So the pictures are lame, but the food was good, eh? I did pull out the camera when the family was together for some early Christmas present opening. Right before the Weavers left for Eastern Idaho, Grandma let Emma open a birthday present early...

Hi Sam--in the very back sitting on his dad's lap.

Grandma and Grandpa Lish and Weaver opened some presents early too.

Kamryn pretty much insisted on opening a present, also. We obliged.

Don't look so excited, Melanie :)

Pretty new dress to wear on Sunday! Thanks, Grandma Weaver!!

And a tinker bell skirt. So fun!

See below for the birthday/Christmas dress debut

(plus Kami)

Sunday Morning

Coiffure is made possible by the Sesame Street contributions from hulu.com.

Thank you.

November Nothings

A long time ago in November, we did LOTS of stuff. wanna see???

First off was my fantastically fun date with Edward at Edward's. These are my cohorts for Cullens: Shelly and Jen--rip rearin' to go into the theater. Tickets for such an event are a great feeling in one's hand. Isn't it ironic that they are immediatley thereafter torn in half and disposed of? Oh wait--I kept the relevant half and have now framed it by my bedside...

not really...but it IS probably still at the bottom of my bag.

Included among the faithful followers: Briana
Although sicker than sick, she loaded up with cough drops and managed a genial smile for the photos.

Because we are of the venerable vampire variety, we were only at the theater 2 and 1/2 hours early to partake of the anticipatory atmosphere.

First in line.

After forty minutes, Shelly and I decided a late night jaunt to Costco was in order to satiate our craving for Swedish fish.

We walked.

Luckily the fish came in individually wrapped packages so we could more easily partake. And they all managed to fit inside Jen's bag for smuggling into the theater. Ya' snooze ya' lose, Edward's cinemas for not selling swedish fish!
Lots of fun!

Next up on the long post tour is the double birthday document.

My two oldest have birthdays two years and one day apart.

I now OFFICIALLY have a teenager...oh boy.

Rob and kids came over for the celebration.

I found the reaction to the present opening as fun as the real thing. We love Uncle Dirk!


We traveled to Chubbuck for Thanksgiving. Reserved the church for the big dinner. There are many November birthdays in Dirk's family. Thanks, Jandy for the extraordinary cake featuring each one.

Grandpa Weaver passed away the week before Thanksgiving. His funeral was the next weekend. We were grateful to be able to attend the service. The music was beautiful. The talks were uplifting. Grandpa left an incredible legacy of kindness and faith.

I left wanting to be a better person.

In all her glory--Glory with the plastic spoon. and a burp cloth.

not coordiated beforehand

Dave Weaver's family

Janean, Edith, Dad, Alma, Paul, Rick, Josh and John.

Eight of the 10 Weaver children.


Last up, some really random pictures of my kids.

Okay, so I don't think this picture was taken in November, but just how cute is Emma with Gramdma in white at the Catan table??

OOOweee! Waddup with dat?

Pleasantly surprised at her confidence.

She said: Hi santa, my name is Kami!

Yes, we are encouraging our kids to be part of SYTYCD season 24

"Two Little Eyes that Blink blink blink"

Yes--he is asleep.

I told you--we are all about SYTYCD...even posing in ridiculous contemporary styles in our sleep--with head gear on.

And with that--GOODNIGHT!

not enough me

whenever i think there is not enough time to accomplish everything i want to do the next thought is: why would I want the day to be any longer? I'm pretty pooped after 17+ hours of being awake. Solution: I need several of me. One to clean, one to cook, one to do all the little projects, one to exercise, one to read scriptures, one to just be with my kids, one to be with my hubby and one to just play.

Too bad so sad--and life must go on and it's been many a month since the last post. I offer up a few excuses:
*our server crashed and we lost the latest cool pictures--why post without a picture?
*also, school and piano lessons began with a vengeance.
*also, canning, canning and more canning
*also I had two callings for awhile.
*also I played VB city league for two months. That was fun.
*also SYTYCD started. Priorities ya know.

So here is a cool picture I found floating around the pictures that were salvaged.

I sure love this. Here's why:

Besides the fact that it's near mirror image--it speaks so much to me of what life means for a two/three year old: Lazy day at the park. Sunscreen on skin, lunch in bellies. Mom: "okay, you can go play now." It's the path of fun to splash the afternoon away.

Reason #2: I miss summer

The biggest reason I love this picture: SO happy that Rob and Amy are living in Boise now. Close family is a great blessing. Kami starts squealing with excitement every time we drive around the corner on their street saying, "Amy's house! Amy's house!". Cousin in photo is her idol. Upon one meeting, this was the conversation I heard:
Kami: (with much enthusiasm) "hi Grant" (big hug) "Guess what, Grant?"
Grant: "what Kami?"
Kami: (slight pause trying to come up with something cool to say) "I have eyes."
Grant: (slightly confused, but still with a cousin smile) "Yeah--I have eyes, too."

Better watch out because I have a new batch of pictures and there just might be more frequent posts in the future.

First Day of School!!

Can the world even believe that I only have one kid home now??? Neither can I.

Jonah has to eat, shower and dress before the others even get up. Middle school now--catches the bus at 6:50. Yikes--I'm old. No--that is not a piece of meat on his plate--french toast. Might be the only morning he gets such luxury.

Too bad I can't party today...see all those gorgeous tomatoes? SALSA CANNING TIME!

Potty post

The Kamster decided it was time to potty train. We found a time when we were home for more than two days straight, we hit it hard...and...SHE DID IT!!!! No fuss, no beating my head against the wall. She just did it. No stickers on a chart, no treats in a basket. She did it. I still don't know if it's real. From zero to done in five days--even at night.

What the heck????

I attribute her success to the following:

stubborn little punk. she insists on wiping and flushing herself--"no mommy. I do it!"
reward in itself.

and these three guys: the best helpers a mom can ask for.
"go find your sister and ask her if she needs to go potty"

"will you please wash her hands?"

"sit with her until she goes then call me"

if you are wondering why our camping pictures are accompanying the potty post, you have just realized my life at its finest: too many kids, not enough time. so we combine and call it good, eh? plus, no potty picture will be displayed on this blog.

Good job, Kam!

MLM gettaway

Well, my bucket is officially FULL after this weekend. Briana, Jen and I stayed with Hollie on Friday night in SLC. thanks, Holls, for the best breakfast ever. We went to temple square and saw the JS movie; ate at California Pizza Kitchen and shopped at the Gateway.

Quick trip to get a custard in Bountiful

Then on to the Marcia McClure book signing in Layton. We ended up at the front of a four hour line and got to visit with Marcia and fellow fanatic admirers of MLM books. Five hours, two stops for fishies and Mountain Dew, and a whole lot of laughing later, we made it home by 2:30 A.M.

a few thank you's are in order:
My hubby for kid watching, basement finishing and toddler potty training
Hollie for her mini van parking lot hotel
Jen and Briana for the return trip reading
the guy outside the temple who took our picture
the Gap clerk who validated our parking ticket
the waiter at CPK who remembered "no bacon"
the weather for cooperating nicely
the Utard who ran a red light but managed not to hit my van
Marcia for her talents and the time she spent with us

and to Marie and Alyssa--so glad we met you!
you are awesome!
Happy Reading!