Jake is TWELVE

And truly our Gentle Giant.  January 25, 2019. It has been a month since we celebrated his Big Day, but live moves at a break neck speed, and this post is a hard one to write, so it kept getting pushed to the back burner.

Jake.  TWELVE.  Doesn't even seem possible.  He is the third of four children, and many days displays all of the typical characteristics of a middle child, but some days he is the exact opposite.  He is wise beyond his years, funny and witty, tall and proud, so intelligent and quick to learn new things, but also so gentle, kind, thoughtful, and sweet.  I remember saying when he was a toddler and young boy that "everyone needed a little bit of Jake Weaver in their lives."  While he is not as "little kid cute" as he was back in those days, the endearing qualities that led me to repeat that over the years are still there.  His eyes may not be as blue as they were when he was a baby, but they are still the windows to his soul, and there is so much going on in there you can't help but look into them and wonder just what he's thinking.  But don't wait too long, because then he will start talking, and it can be hard to get him to shut up!  He is passionate about many things, and knowledgeable as well, so the things he can tell you are utterly amazing!

Here a a few pictures to remind us how far we've come!

This is Evie and Jake 1 month after his birthday
See below for the pic of Evie when we brought her home.

Jake started celebrating his birthday as early in the month as he possible could!  I think every dinner we ate for 2 weeks was his "birthday dinner" so he got to pick.  I know we went to New China - his favorite that everyone else kinda hates, but there were a couple of other nights out that were deemed his as well!  He also has a basketball tournament the weekend of his birthday - hence not waiting to eat a "heavy" meal that weekend.  So, suckered us out of some extra meals along the way.

He celebrated with new shoes, a new bed, and a new picture to hang above his bed.  He celebrated with his friends at school, his team, and his family.  On his actual birthday night - Friday night, we loaded everyone up and had dinner at Fuzzy's Taco Shop.  It was loud and crazy and so much fun!

And, we ended the weekend on Sunday after we finished up the tournament with a loss by brightening EVERYONE'S day with a new addition!  Welcome to the family, Everest Pearl!

Everest Pearl "Evie" came home to us the Sunday after Jake's 12th birthday

Jake, coming in at 5'10" tall and 170 lbs, had QUITE a 12th birthday!  No real "party" to speak of, but with all the love and adventure he got to experience along the way, I think the memories made outweigh a party any day!  Welcome to your last tween year, Big Guy!  Embrace it - the real fun beings next year!

We love you BIG!

The One With My Eyes Wide Shut

February 22-24, 2019

This image does a very poor job of describing what this weekend looked like.  We were all over the place, never in the same place, and in lots of places.

Friday night, Lara was supposed to be at a baseball game in Guthrie, but after they already got to the fields, they called the games due to weather.  So, she ended up babysitting until midnight instead.  Emma went to Perkins Friday night and spent the evening with her Grandpa (as Nana and I were together at a sorority event).

Saturday - the girls were on Finn duty for the morning.  They took and/or met up with Finn at his Upward basketball game, and helped corral him for that event.  Then, Lara was supposed to go to baseball in Enid - but again cancelled due to weather (the wind was blowing 40 miles an hour!  IT WAS INSANE!).  Finn was at Nana's with Emma, until Lara and her friend E were out running around and they went to Perkins to pick him up and bring him back to Stillwater.

I have no idea what either of them did on Sunday.  Honestly, I only know about Saturday from text messages from them or my mom.  This weekend, they were around, they helped support our "BigFamilyProblems," and they saw each other.  But I didn't see either one of them!

Maybe next weekend...

The One Where We Thought About the Future

February 15-17, 2019

Well, another weekend has passed and we are one step closer to high school graduation.  How can that even be possible?!?  But, it is happening, and I cannot slow down time.

Valentine's Day has come and gone - without much fanfare around here.  Evie was everyone's valentine!  Emma came to Stillwater and spent Friday night hanging out with her sister  - they got the distinct pleasure of taking Jake to the middle school dance.  And the girls did things that remind me the end of their high school careers is coming up quickly.

Lara's dad went to the parent meeting to learn about concurrent enrollment, and then Lara went tot the student version the next day.  So we now have a plan for making that happen over the next few semesters!

On Saturday, Emma went with us to Finn's game, while Lara stayed home and did homework. Its fun when she gets to come to town and spend some time with us, just doing "family" things.

 After we got home from the game, and Lara found a stopping place in her homework, Emma decided we should all go to town and do a little prom dress shopping!  Her date's mom has been hounding her about the color of her dress so she can get his attire taken care of, so off we went!

Super weird to be in the back seat of Lara's car with Emma in the front...  We had a fun time!  It started out with just Emma trying on dresses, but Lara got in on the fun as well.  In the end, we put a gorgeous dress on hold for Emma, and she was going to OKC the next day to try on a couple more.  She ended up going back and getting the one in Stillwater later int he week!  I can't wait to see her all dressed up for Prom in a couple months!

So, concurrent classes, prom dresses, and the fact that Spring Break is a month away all reminded me that we are moving fast!  Another weekend...

The One Where They Had To ACT Up

February 8-10, 2019

Man!  The weekend count is going down, down, down, and the pre-college activities are going UP, UP, UP!  But, I will get to more on that in a bit.  Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves!

As usual, we will start with Friday night - since that's were all good weekends tend to begin!  Lara has wanted to attend an OSU wrestling match all season, and we finally got the chance Friday night as the Cowboys wrestled the Air Force Falcons.  It was a fun match to go see, plus we finally got to introduce Lara to a "mentor" she doesn't know she needs and she has no idea how lucky she is to know - especially in bout 18 months...  Family had a good time.  Cowboys won.  It was a great Friday night.

Saturday morning started early for both my girls!  Emma was off to the Perry High School, while Lara went across town to the Stillwater High School - it was a National ACT testing date!  Unfortunate, it did not go smoothly - more so for one that the other, but we all learned a lot from this crazy morning!  Emma got to her testing site only to realize she had lost her Driver's License somewhere along the way.  Last time she had seen it was Tuesday of the previous week.  Lara got to the test without a calculator.  So, while she was able to take the test, the math section may not be a bright spot for her come results day!  Nevertheless, the day happened, and everyone lived to tell about it!

Lara leaving for the ACT with all the ice on our front walk

After the test, Lara went to lunch and shopping with her best friend Erika.  They were off to the antique mall in town to search for old vinyl records.  They love old rock music, and they love hearing it on vinyl.  They are old souls, and I LOVE IT!  Consequently, it has rubbed off on Little Brother, Finn.  He not only loves Queen (the band), he also much wear the same types of sweats that Lara does!

Finn sporting his HS Baseball hoodie

While the girls were out shopping, Finn was at a super cool glow in the dark paint our own dragon, dance till you can;t dance, black light birthday party!  I sent pictures back to Lara and Jake - they were envious.  But, they found their own form of entertainment to kill time...

Jake and Lara playing "The Game of Life" from the 1970's that Brian I an used to play...

Sunday morning was a little lazy, but we kicked it in to high gear for 11:30 church!  We got to see Emma there and hug on here and hear her stories.  I always like running in to her somewhat unexpectedly.  Then, it was off to Edmond for 3 games in the 3v3 league Jake is playing in.  Nana and Grandpa met us there for those games, then they brought Lara and Finn back to Stillwater to take care of Evie while Mom and Dad took Jake to another basketball practice.  Sunday night was spent getting ready for another week.

The days and weeks go so fast!  Here's to another one passing us by soon!  So glad I am taking the time to capture the memories.

And a parting shot of  Evie Puppy.  She has grown a TON!  Just look at those paws!

Everest Pearl (@evie.p_puppy)

The "Getting to Know You" One

February 1 - 3, 2019

SO last weekend, we got a puppy.  Everest Pearl.  We call her EVIE.  This week was spent getting to know her.  She is so sweet!  Docile, calm, loves to play - until she doesn't.  She chews - as puppies do - but she is easily redirected and stops when reminded.  She eats SO FAST and drinks a ton a water.  We know if she drinks a lot of water, we have to take her out immediately.  Sometimes that happens, other times... Well...  We took her to the vet and she weighs 11.4 pounds and they estimated her to be 10-12 weeks old.  We chose a "birth date" of November 11, 2018. We are all so in love!

Friday, Lara FINALLY got to start baseball stuff!  They had a super fun night with a retreat for team building which included dinner, a scavenger hunt, a lip sync battle, dodge ball and bouncing at the indoor trampoline park, and random other fun.  Saturday, there was a wiffle ball tournament, and Lara was on a team with a former MLB star and his wife - but they didn't win because there was another team with an MLB guy...  She work herself out and was SO SORE for days afterwards.  But she was so happy to be with her baseball family and to get some work in.  She still has a couple weeks of Wrestling duty, but baseball is coming!

Saturday, we finally got her new bed put together!  It had been here a week, but we needed a CLEAN room and some space to get it assembled.  She wanted a new bed frame (much needed), so we all got together and chose a day bed with trundle so we could have some extra sleeping spaces.  That way, when Emma comes home, we have enough beds for everyone and no one has to share and/or sleep on a couch.  new sheets, but the same beloved bedspread!  And here we are:

Pretty slow weekend, and we didn't hear form Emma much, but these are the ones where memories are made!  And, another pic of EVIE P (who you can follow on Instagram @evie.p_puppy) because she is SO DANG CUTE!

The One Where We Climbed a Mountain

January 25-27, 2019

Now, THIS was a memorable weekend!  Not only did we celebrate Jake's 12th birthday - which he somehow figures out a way to spread out over a week and a half and gets to pick dinner like 2-3 times and everything we buy during those days is "his present" - but we also did something a little life changing!  (which is why this post is basically a week late!) But let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  We'll take it chronologically...

Friday Night
January 25 is officially Jake's birthday.  Although, I think we started "celebrating" last Monday...  But for his actual birthday, we got together at Fuzzy's Taco Shop on the strip with the WHOLE FAMILY, then went to our house to open presents.  We were very happy everyone could make it!

Emma, Nana, Lara, Jake, Finn, Mom, Dad, Grandpa

Lara and Emma after presents were opened

Saturday Morning:
(Emma had some things going on in her world, including a JackPot, so she wasn't around for all our craziness.)  Lara was on "Help Mom" duty as we had a big weekend with lots of people going in different directions.  First up, get Finn to basketball and cheer his team to victory!

Not sure the Eagles won, but this was fun! Thanks for the ride, Lara!

After (and I mean RIGHT after) Finn's game finished, Lara drove us to Tulsa *quickly* so we could catch Jake's 2nd game of the day in a tournament there.  This was her second time to drive to Tulsa, and she did very well!  I was impressed.  She spent the rest of the day watching Jake's games, helping us get checked in to our hotel, and generally being a great big sister and wonderful daughter.

Saturday Night:
In the evening, we went to watch more basketball in this large tournament.  A friend had a 4th grade girls' team that was playing near by, so we went to check them out.  Mom in the stands, Dad coaching, big sis on the team, and her little brother (7) and baby sister (20 months) in the stands.  Lara (of course) thoroughly enjoyed playing with the littles!  Once Finn warmed up to the other little boy, they had a great time!  Meanwhile, we convinced Baby Girl that Lara was Ariel from The Little Mermaid.  Little Girls' eyes got so big!  And she reached out to touch her to see if she was real.  PRICELESS!  And oh so cute!!

Ariel?  Or LARA???!!!?!

Also on Saturday:
This picture was circling Facebook.  Our neighbors, The "Other" Weavers, were helping a friend find a home for this little pup she had rescued with her 2 bothers...

Rescue Pup posted on FACEBOOK

Sunday:
Jake's basketball team fought hard to make it to the championship game, but fell one game short.  We had a late lunch in Tulsa, then headed back to Stillwater - with the dream of meeting up with the rescue pup we had seen on Facebook.  Plans had been made, but you never know...
We got home right at 5:00pm.  By 6:00pm, we were dog owners.  Complete with a bed, toys, a dish, and some food.  WHOA!  That was FAST!

Our Puppy's Name - we call her "Evie"

Follow Evie on Instagram: @evie.p_puppy

The name Everest came about by just bouncing names around in the car while we were driving through Tulsa Saturday night.  She is a vanilla white, so we were naming white things, and snow came in to play, then mountains...  Metaphorically, this is a mountain we have climbed!  We have had dogs in the past, with much turmoil and heartbreak.  The kids have been BEGGING since we got into our own home.  We were waiting for the right time, the right circumstances, and the right dog.  Serendipity finally came our way!

So the rest of Sunday was spent getting to know our newest family member.  She is SO SOFT!  And Fluffy.  We assume about 12 weeks old.  That's literally all we know about her.  Everyone slept VERY well on Sunday night, but amazingly got up without too much fuss on Monday.  I guess knowing puppy kisses await makes it easier...  Welcome Home, Everest Pearl!

OH!  And, BTW...  The keys are still lost...