Ida-who?

Hannah, Jennifer, Riley & Brenden

Martin, Nolan and I drove all the way to Idaho for Thanksgiving this year to celebrate with my sister's family. We did the drive in one day; 16 hours. My sister bragged to a friend, "My pregnant sister and her husband drove here from California in one day with their 20 month old son." To which he replied, "Are they superhuman or just crazy?

It actually wasn't as bad as we thought. We had some very good travel advice and rest stops recommended by our good friend and neighbor (thanks Steve-o!). The worst part was the meltdown that Nolan had during the last 2 hour stretch. He decided that the only movie he wanted to watch in the car was Nemo. When we said "no" because we had just finished watching it and had a slew of other movies to chose from, he went ballistic! Now we couldn't say "yes" for fear of rewarding such a response, so instead we listened to him cry about Nemo for two hours.

It was so awesome to see my sister & her hubby and all the kids. We were thoroughly spoiled by my sister's gourmet cooking from breakfast to dinner. My parents flew in as well so they all had their hands very full. I'm sure Nolan must now think that his home is sooooo boring after all the fun he had with his cousins. They were all so amazing with Nolan and he couldn't get enough of them. They are all growing up so fast it is amazing. I love them and miss them so much! When we left I did the "ugly cry" in the car for a good 20+ miles. Here are some pics of our amazing trip:

Nolan and Brenden going on a walk. Nolan insisted on going for a walk despite the freezing cold, he cannot stand to stay inside. I, on the other hand, would have been happy to stay inside.


At the Children's Museum: Jennifer, Nolan & Martin blow gigantic bubbles.

Okay, so it may be cold but the colors of fall were beautiful!.

My sister's family is very cool about just sitting around as a family and doing "family things". For example:

Brian with Nolan doing "Old Fashioned Daddy Night", a series of events that Nolan is tossed around with amusing sound effects. This is "shotgun baby".

They also make homemade ice cream by putting all the ingredients in a ziplock bag and then surrounding it with ice and wrapping it up in a series of plastic bags. Then they spend 15 - 20 minutes chucking the bags at each other's heads until the ice cream is thoroughly mixed and then put in the freezer. I was honestly waiting to have to explain this one to the doctor at the E.R. As you can see, even Nolan got into the action.

After Thanksgiving dinner everyone participated in a Talent Show. This was Nolan's final proof that the Weaver family was officially the coolest family he had ever been around. I think this dance was choreographed to a Veggie-Tales song.

Nolan and Daddy playing in tunnels at the Kid's Zone

We also decided to celebrate Christmas while we were there in order to save on the cost of shipping presents to each other. Nolan's favorite gift was his Baby Gigi, his baby doll that we are using to help him prepare for the arrival of baby Gabrielle.

Auntie Fur-Fur & Nolan (Nolan's name for Jennifer)