FINN: Eight is Great

Happy 8th Birthday, Finn Ricker Weaver!

October 5, 2019

We had a Spider-man themed part at the Ultimate Air trampoline park in Stillwater.  Finn declared it the best day of his life!  He was so full of joy and exuberance this day!  What a fun afternoon.  (The anticipation to party time was a little stressful at times, but he made it!)  He had some great friends and family come to celebrate with him, and we are loving having an eight-year-old in our house again.

Finn is smart, emotional, funny, finicky (Still!), fierce, loving, caring, reserved, cautious, and imaginative.  HE loves LEGO sets, YouTube, Minecraft, Fortnite, Mario Brothers, and watching people play these game son YouTube.  He likes to play UNO, Monopoly, the Game of Life, Trouble (Star Wars edition) and any other board game family members will humor him with.  He likes to watch Fuller House on Netflix, along with whatever current kid movies are available,  He is SO CREATIVE and can spend hours with his LEGOs building things and making up stories for the characters.  He started piano lessons recently and is really enjoying this hobby!  He is a joy to watch grow.

Iw ould be remiss to mention his stubborn streak.  He gets his mind set and it is hard to change!  But that is to be celebrated, too!

This is also the day we will remember as the one where Jake was playing dodgeball and ended up with a broken pinky which required surgery to set...

Here are some pictures from the day:

Spidey-Finn

Pizza And Cake! (This is right after Jake injured himself)

End of the party (Look at Jake, you can see he is in pain)

It was a late night, but of course, he had to start building right away!  We woke up Sunday morning to this:

And, he got to ditch the car seat!

On Monday, he got to celebrate with his 2nd grade class at school (Friday was another classmate's birthday, so we chose Monday.  Mom and Dad made awesome butterfly snacks (Lara helped too!)

Sure looks like it is great to be 8!  We love you, Finn!  Thank you for completing our family!

The One with the Steep Rollercoaster

October 4 -6, 2019

This is the one.  The one I knew was coming but didn't know when or what it would look like.  The good news is, everyone is safe.  And healthy.  But to stay that way, some changes need to be made.  The rollercoaster is FAST and FURIOUS and relentless.  But I will find the joy in the journey and the testimony in this test.  As I hope everyone involved will as well.

Let's go back to Friday, where it all began...

Friday Night Lights in Midwest City.  Pioneers come out with a win.  The Weaver clan (minus Finn, who was in Perkins with Nana and Grandpa) made it back to our house about 11:45.  Lara and the team were about a half-hour behind us; plus she had to unload and clean at the high school then drive back across town.  She got home at about 12:15am.  Knowing she had to get up early to go to the donut shop, she was ready to go to bed after a quick chat with us.  Fun night!

But the wee hours of Saturday morning hit like a ton of bricks.  Emma's dad called with some disturbing information about 12:30am.  No details needed.  It just changed a lot of things very quickly.  So the rest of the weekend focused on our new situation.

Meanwhile, Finn turned eight on Saturday.  And had a birthday party at Ultimate Air.  Lara got off work in Gurrie early to come to the party.  BUT!  She had a blowout on her car about 8 miles from town.  Luckily, Justin, as well as Nana and Grandpa, were able to get to her and put her spare on - she made it to the party!  About 30 minutes before the part was over, Jake hurt his hand playing extreme didge ball, and what we thought was a simple jam tuned into a bad break and surgery.  Emma and Lara have really had to up the Big Sister game this week!

Sunday was spent playing catchup, adjusting to the new normal, and getting ready for the next week.  This is a weekend I never want to repeat.

Every day we are all vowing to "DO BETTER."  Next weekend is a new chapter.  I can't wait to read it!

The One With Work and Wheels

September 27 - 29, 2019

We are finally leaving September in the dust.  It was unseasonably HOT - temps and heat indices in the 90's clear through this week!  We are looking forward to turning the calendar to October, and the cooler weather that is promised with it!  (I know we will be complaining about the cold soon enough, but for now, we are just done with the heat!  It was a long summer... TOO LONG!)  We are looking forward to the host of birthdays we celebrate in October, cooler football games, and all the comforts of fall.  Crisp air, warm sweaters, leaves changing color, wrapping up in a blanket, and fall scented candles... 

Friday Night Lights in Stillwater consisted of our Homecoming festivities and a 48-10 win against Deer Creek.  It was a nice night, but a very boring game.  And this night was not at all what we had been dreaming about for years, but we made the most of it!  Emma and the rest of Lara's Horinek clan made an appearance.  AND!  Halftime Selfies are BACK!

Emma and her little brother Finn

Lara and Mom - HALFTIME!

Emma and her "little" brother Jake

The weekend brought on a few more first for the girls.  Lara started her first non-babysitting job!  She joined her sister working at the Missy's Bakery, Deli, and Donuts shop just off I-35 in Guthrie as a working girl!  She worked most of a shift on Saturday but then had to get back to Stillwater before the OSU football game started since she had previously agreed to babysit some kiddos.  I posted this photo:

Lara works again this Friday, and Emma works on Saturday!

On Sunday, the Stillwater crew took in brunch at Granny's kitchen while Emma went shopping for a longboard.  She had spent the night in Perkins with Nana and Grandpa, and she had some cash burning a hole in her pocket - new wheels on her mind.  Later Sunday afternoon, Lara was babysitting again, and Emma brought her new toy over for the boys to try it out.  She is pretty good at it!  Maybe we will see her zooming across the Oklahoma State University Campus on it very soon!  (I wish I had a picture!)

It's hard to believe we are on the cusp of October.  This month will have senior pictures, ACT tests, and lots and lots of football, homework, and jobs.  So grateful for this season in our lives, but I know the end is coming very soon!