Our Christmas Season

This year Chistmas was so much fun for our family. While we busied ourselves with many holiday activities we tried to help our kids know of the true meaning of Christmas. I think (I hope) that if you asked them why we celebrate Christmas they could give you the correct answer-to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus.

We started December by putting up our Christmas tree. For the past two years our tree has had a baby gate surrounding it. This year I decided that the kids were old enough to understand "don't touch the Christmas tree." They helped put the decorations on and we put all of the fragile ones at the top. I knew I needed to take a picture of the tree as soon as it was finished because it may not look very good after a few days of them rearranging things or tipping the whole thing over. So here they are looking very proud.

I'm proud to report that we only had two broken ornaments and not once was the tree toppled. The ornaments were easily fixed with a little glue and all is well. We did not attempt to put presents under the tree as this would be way too much of a temptation. We'll try adding this feature next year and see how it goes.

Next we went to our local Festival of Trees. Jason coached the kids in advance and told them that Santa would likely be there to see them. He had them each practice asking Santa for what they wanted for Christmas.

Nathan was the first to approach or to be pushed to approach Santa. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas he said, "A peanut." Jason thought this was hilarious because it was just what he had told Nathan to tell Santa. After Nathan made his request we attempted to get him to sit on Santa's lap for a photo. Needless to say, Nathan wasn't really in to this idea. He had made his request and just wanted to get out of there. Poor Santa!!
Lauren was the next to approach Santa. She really wanted the candy cane that he offered but had no interest in getting any closer than she absolutely had to. She refused to speak when Santa asked what she wanted for Christmas. The photo op speaks for itself. Lauren had her candy cane and thought the rest of the show was completely ridiculous. I think this is so funny and so typical of Lauren. The last little Weir to see Santa was our little social bug Landon. He didn't want to go first or second, but when his turn came he wanted to make the most of it. He walked right up and sat on Santa's lap. When asked what he wanted he very clearly stated, "A T- Rex!" As always, he smiled and posed perfectly for the camera.

Now for the rest of the t-rex story...
Landon had seen a t-rex at Target in the toy department. He was afraid of it at the time but then decided, after seeing commericials for it on television, that he had to have one. When Jason and I went to Target to get one we found out that it was not only sold out but that it was $129. This was a little steep for our budget. So we searched and searched to find another remote control t-rex that would suffice. There was none to be found in all of south-central Idaho.

Jason finally found something on the Internet. He thought it looked a little scary but it was remote control and it cost $30. We thought we were in business. The kicker was that it was just a few days before Christmas when he found it and he ended up paying $20 for expedited shipping. Oh well, parents do things like this to make their little ones happy sometimes, don't they?

Landon continued talking about the t-rex. Any time anyone asked him what he wanted for Christmas he always replied, "A t-rex." He was stuck on this toy and there was no changing his mind. Boy was I glad we had found one and that it was on it's way.

Well, the day came for us to leave to go my parents' house and the darn t-rex still hadn't arrived. I couldn't believe it!! My sister was leaving the next day and planned to stop by our house to see if the t-rex was waiting on our doorstep so she could bring it with her to my parents' house. It was Christmas eve day and the vendor had promised delivery before Christmas if we paid the extra shipping. My sister stopped by and there was no t-rex. The whole family was concerned about this silly toy at this point. Part of me was saying, "We don't always get what we want and it's a good lesson to teach your kids." The other part of me (the part that was going to win) was saying, "He's too young to learn this lesson! This is the first toy he's ever asked Santa for and I refuse to let him down!" If the t-rex didn't come I was headed to the store to find something that looked like a remote control t-rex.

So my sister ran a couple of errands, had lunch and came back by our house. Guess what??? The t-rex was there!!! Thank you, thank you Mr. UPS man!!! (Was it you Dan?)

The story ends like this...On Christmas morning the kids ran upstairs into my parents' living room. Landon was the first to enter. The first words uttered by any child came from Landon. He said, "My t-rex!" Then he ran straight to it.

What can I say? It made all of the headache and hassle worthwhile.

Jason's Birthday

About a month ago Jason had a birthday. The kids were so excited about it that they decided they would throw him a surprise party. They helped me wrap Jason's presents and the boys hid them in their room behind their locked door. We located party hats and balloons in our party supply box. We bought an ice cream birthday cake (Daddy's favorite) and waited for Jason to get home.


When Jason went to the bedroom to change his clothes after work the kids sprang into action. They ran to the boys' bedroom to retrieve the presents. Then they placed them carefully in the family room where the party was to take place. Then they quickly donned their hats, placed their balloons and waited for Jason to come out from the bedroom. They could hardly wait!!! As soon as he came out they yelled, "Surprise!!!" Jason acted as surprised as he could and the kids loved every minute of it.


The kids couldn't wait for Daddy to open his presents, so...
they did it for him!!! If I didn't actually know it was REALLY Jason's birthday I would have assumed it was Lauren, Landon and Nathan's birthday. Where is Jason's hat, anyway??




Next came the birthday cake. Can you guess who blew out the candles?? Well, actually Jason got to do the honors on this one. We all enjoyed cake and Landon made certain to eat around all of the chocolate ice cream as he thinks chocolate is yucky. I wish I had this problem...

Our New Addition

O.K., O.K., don't get too carried away...It's not a baby or a pet. It's a NEW SHED/SHOP!!! I am privileged to be married to a very handy guy. The downside of the arrangement is that he comes well equipped with enough tools to fill our entire garage. I've refused to give up my indoor parking spot but will have a little more room now that we've constructed this new addition. Jason has big plans for his little space and is very protective of it. Every time I suggest something that could be placed inside of it, I am quickly reminded that I'm treading on his turf.

This project has been ongoing since we moved into our house. We started with the concrete slab. Then Jason and his step-dad built the structure (thanks to much, Gordon). Then Jason insulated it. And we finally hired someone to put the siding on a few weeks ago. I think it looks great and love that it matches our house.

Hmmmm...What should our next project be?

Nathan's Big Surprise

Today we were driving in the van, when all of the sudden Nathan started reciting something that I'm sure you'll all recognize. I couldn't believe my ears!!! I had him say it a couple of times to make certain that it wasn't a fluke. Turn the sound on your computer way up so that you can hear what he has to say.

Nathan learned this at school. It's one of the many things that he's amazed us with since starting school. Thanks to all of his WONDERFUL teachers for teaching him so many things. He's one of the smartest 3-year-olds that I've ever met. Yes, I am biased. What can I say. Yeah Nathan!!

Happy Halloween

Halloween was VERY exciting at our house this year. Our kids were really into all of the decorations, costumes and CANDY!!!!

We started a new tradition in our family. Jason's sister Jody had these really fun face parts (eyes, ears, lips, etc.) that you just poke into the pumpkin. She found them at Walmart for $3.50 a box and used them with her kids. When I saw them I nearly jumped for joy!!! You see, the thoughts of three 3-year-olds with knives for carving pumpkins was just too much for this mother. I love my children and I love that they have all of their digits. Thankfully, we have them all still intact and had darling pumpkins as well. Nathan especially loved that the nose that he chose for his pumkin had a big green booger hanging out of it. Why are boys so gross??!!

Our super cute and 100% safe pumpkins!!

Nathan's pumpkin-Can you see the booger?



Landon's doggie pumpkin-so cute!!


Lauren's crazy pumpkin.

For Halloween this year I decided that the kids would all be penguins. I found the cutest costumes on the Internet and just couldn't resist. Landon really wanted to be Spiderman or a skeleton but I wanted them to all match one more year. First we were dalmation puppies, then we were clowns, then we were pirates and this year we were penguins. From now forward I vow to let my children choose their own costumes.

Our Happy Feet-Lauren, Nathan and Landon-Aren't they cute?

Our ward had a fun Harvest Dinner followed by the annual Trunk or Treat. Last year the kids were still little and I kept them in the triple stroller by the back of our van. They were content to watch all of the trick-or-treaters pass by. Never once did they question why they weren't trick-or-treating or why they weren't getting any candy. It was fabulous!! Besides, I really didn't want them getting/eating all of that candy. But...I knew there was no way that I would get away with that this year. So here is a photo of Jason and the 3 penguins trick-or-treating at Trunk-or-Treat. It was super fun. At the end Nathan had both hands full of candy bars. He said to me, "Are these candy bars?" When I said that they were he cheerfully exclaimed, "I love candy bars!!" This is true. He does love candy bars. Nathan and Lauren LOVE chocolate like their Mommy. Landon detests chocolate but is a huge fan of taffy and starbursts. I think we got more than enough candy to please all 3 of them-and Mom and Dad too!!

Here is Jason's Jamaican-inspired costume. The nice ladies that he works with always call him "Boss Man." We found a fun Jamaican twist to the term on this t-shirt and purchased the hat and dreds to go with it. He said that everyone liked the costume but the hair was a bit itchy. He also wondered what the hair was actually made from. I'm sure we don't want to know, but I thought he looked really great.

A Dream Vacation...Yeah Mon

O.K., I'll admit I've been a very neglectful blogger... While I won't bore you with the details, let's just say our lives have been EXTREMELY CRAZY (but really fun) lately.

We managed to squeeze in a fabulous trip to Jamaica a couple of weeks ago. Many of you know that Jason and I have a side business called Premier Blind and Shutter. We spend evenings and weekends on this business and it's lots of fun. Well, Jason worked so hard the past few months that he was able to earn a trip to Jamaica at an all-inclusive Sandals resort. Lucky for us, Jason's brother, who sells blinds and shutters with us, earned a trip for him and his wife as well.

So the four of us left from the Pocatello airport at 7:00 PM. We arrived in Jamaica the next afternoon around 2:00 PM and took a 2 hour bus ride from the Montego Bay airport to the resort. We were extremely tired after the plane rides and long layovers, but the island was so beautiful that I couldn't sleep through the bus ride. Traveling by car or bus there is crazy and I felt so fortunate to have made it through alive. I was also surprised by the many, many goats running around everywhere. The foliage was beautiful and thick and very tropical, as you might imagine.

Jamaica is a relatively poor country and it was humbling to see the dwellings built from scrap metal all along the highway. It made me realize, once again, how fortunate I am to live in this fabulous country. I can't ever remember seeing a house built from scrap metal in the United States. I'm sure they probably exist somewhere, but I have never seen one. These little homes were a stark contrast with the very nice, very large British-Colonial style homes built just above them on the hill. Everywhere we went there were men all along the highway holding up fruits and stringers full of fish (mainly Snapper), trying to sell them to the passers-by. One taxi driver told us that a minimum wage job there paid about the equivalent of 60 U.S. Dollars per week. Wow!!! Even with their meager financial circumstances, the Jamaican people that we met were the happiest people ever!! I've never seen such beautiful smiles and they sing everywhere they go. They truly believe in their ever-popular saying, "No problem." We heard this over and over and it was always accompanied with a gigantic smile.

We heard tons of reggae music and I have a new appreciation for Bob Marley, although I didn't make it to the Bob Marley Hall of Fame. (Darn! Maybe next time.) Jason and Ryan were approached several times by "farmers" who were eager to share their "crops" for a small fee. :) I joked with Jason that we could have smoked our way across the entire island. Is this why they're so happy?

After arriving the first day, we took a short nap and got ready for dinner. The resort had the largest and nicest swimming pool that I had ever seen and dinner was held around the pool. It was buffet style and the food was delicious. The resort employees were all shocked when none of us ordered alcoholic drinks with our dinners. The booze is all free and they kept telling us, "You're in Jamaica, Mon!" We even had one kid ask us if we were Christian. When we told him that we were he said, "Oh, I want to be just like you guys when I grow up." My brother-in-law quickly offered to have missionaries come to visit but the Jamaican just laughed. I don't think he's quite ready to give up his rum, which is the drink of choice there.

The next day we took a taxi to the famous Dunn's River Falls. With a group of about 25 people we climbed over 900 feet up a beautiful waterfall. The guides were fantastic, telling us just where to step and when to step up or down. The entire group holds hands in a line for the climb. At first I thought it would make it more difficult, but as we climbed I could see that we all were able to help each other as we went along. We were told that these guides go up the falls every morning with a wire brush to scrub all of the slippery algae off of the rocks to make it safer for everyone.

The next day we spent some time on the beautiful beach. The weather was fantastic with lots of humidity, that I actually found very comfortable. I especially liked the chirping (is that the right word? Probably not.) of the frogs at night. It sounded similar to our crickets (hence the use of the word "chirp"), only the frogs seemed to be much more pervasive. It was a beautiful sound. We rode water trikes, ocean kayaks and Hobie Kat sailboats, all of which were loads of fun.

In the evenings there was plenty of entertainment provided by the resort. We really enjoyed the staff and guest talent show, the couples gameshow and the awesome steel drum band. Jason has always been a huge fan of steel drums. (I know someday we're going to own some-where on earth will we put them? They're huge!) The drummers were amazingly talented but their dance group was unbelievable. I've never seen such high spirited dancing go on for so long. It was unforgettable! No wonder the Jamiacan people are so thin and so fast. (Hussein Bolt is really idolized there, as you can imagine.)

The last night we attended a really nice farewell party on the beach. It was decorated beautifully and the food was delicious. We enjoyed lobster, conch, snapper and every other thing you could possibly think of, even macaroni and cheese. Jason drank coconut milk from a fresh coconut, but said it wasn't very good. And, of course, the fruit was amazing.

The trip was super busy and loads of fun. We tried to spend all of our free moments at either the beach or at one of the beautiful swimming pools. It was a great trip but we couldn't have gone without the help of my Mom and sister who came to stay with our kids. I missed them terribly and got teary when I told them goodbye. But when I got home it didn't seem like they had even missed me. Ha!! I'm sure this just means that they were very well taken care of. I know they had lots of fun with Grandma and Aunt Suzy! Thanks to the both of them. We could never have enjoyed this opportunity without them.

The Weirs-Jason, Melanie, Nichole and Ryan

Yeah, Mon!!

Back To School...Already!

Nathan started back to school this week. Where has the summer gone? For those of you that don't know, Nathan attends Special Needs Pre-School at our local elementary school. He qualifies for this wonderful program because he utilizes a walker and has gross motor delays. Last spring Nathan attended the school 3 days a week for a few weeks until summer came. He really liked going, especially riding the bus, and I thought the program and the therapy that he received at school were very beneficial. This year he'll go to the school 5 mornings a week and will receive all of his therapy at school.

For a few weeks before school started we reminded him that he'd be going to school soon. We talked about riding the bus, seeing his teachers and his friends and learning new things. We talked it up as often as we could. I hoped that on the first day Nathan would be ready to go with no nervousness or sadness. Well, it worked!!! On Wednesday morning I got him up, fed him breakfast and got him dressed in his new school clothes. He looked so handsome!! When it came time to meet the bus he said goodbye to Lauren and Landon and told them he'd see them after school. He was happy to see his friendly bus drivers and didn't show the least bit of sadness when he got on the bus.

I'm so proud of Nathan and all that he has accomplished this summer. He's a very smart, very determined and very funny little boy. I often say that he's a pleasure to parent. While it's difficult to let him go to school, I'm convinced that this extra help will be for his benefit. His school therapists are wonderful and are determined to help him build strength and balance. We hope that one day soon Nathan will take off walking and leave his walker in the dust. Won't that be exciting??!!

Big Smiles For School

To keep him safe, Nathan utilizes his "ride" for the bus ride. Once he gets to school he uses his walker (we call it his "wheels") and his "ride" is put away. Go Nathan!!!