Update

So it has almost been forever since I updated the blog. We have been a busy family. Shane started attending Grad school for his Master's in Mental Health Counseling, I went back to school for my Bachelor's in History with a Geography endorsement so I can teach middle school.
Drake started playing football.

Tristan started participating in the Treasure Valley Children's Chorus, and did great in school joining Talented and Gifted, going on field trips, and earning his wolf badge.

Lana has been busy too. She started preschool and did great in the level with the kids a year older than her.

We are looking forward to a busy summer.

Keep you updated!

Tiger Bowl IX

o this past weekend Drake competed in the Swimteam's Tiger Bowl IX, an inter team meet. He missed his first race the 25 fly, but did great in his other 2 races. He cut 6.43 seconds off his 25 back, and 5.8 seconds off his 50 free. He won his heat in the backstroke, and came in 3rd in his heat on the free.

We are so proud of him and his hard work. Here are some pictures and video of our day at the pool.

Drake is in the second lane from the top.

Soccer

We are back in the swing of spring soccer, after a couple of years off. Only this time it is Tristan playing.

Tristan is doing a good job. He enjoys playing with Austin on his team.

The first game was hard (whose first game isn't?) but he continues to get better. I think he enjoys having something that is just for him to do and the rest of us to cheer.

A Beautiful Video

I found this video and just had to share it.

'Shame on Us'

May God help us through the trying times ahead of us. Rep. Boehner (the minority leader in the House of Representatives) says just what needs to be said: "Shame on Us" for passing a bill that will bankrupt this country even more than it already is, and that will put us waiting months to be seen by a doctor.
Boehner: 'Shame on Us'
I hope this does not happen, but a Representative from the State of Massachusetts said that that is what is happening in his state. No money has been saved. No jobs have been created, and sick people are not being seen by their doctors in a timely fashion.
Shame on those Representatives that say they are voting the peoples' will. They are ignoring the will of the people. People who came out to town hall meetings in opposition of this bill. People who took time out of their daily lives to travel to Washington in protest.
Shame on the President of the United States who said that he would have an open presidency. Who said there would be no "backroom deals", no debate on a bill that C-SPAN would not be invited too. And yet when C-SPAN asked to broadcast the health care talks congress said NO. I do not believe this president is a man of his word. I believe that he will not create an executive order (which as many congressmen said today is just a piece of paper, not law) to ban public funded abortions.
I do want to say that I am not unfeeling when it comes to people's problems getting health insurance. This is not the way to achieve it. We can not force people to get government health care. The government does not solve problems. As the great President, Ronald Reagan said, "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem..." There are many ways to help with the cost of health care and this government has not looked at any of them.
May God help us as we face the times ahead of us. Times of unemployment, and times of hardship. I thank God every day, more now than ever, that I am a member of his church and have the knowledge that if I stay faithful I can make it through any hardship.

Pinewood Derby

Drake participated in his first Pinewood Derby. Shane helped Drake with his car, and they had fun making it together. The activity day girls got to race their cars with the cub scouts. The Primary handed out awards to everyone for participating, and Drake received the Ninja Car award.

This and That

So we have had a bunch of this and that going on.
Drake is still doing swimming and school. Tristan is going to start soccer this spring. Tristan is excited to start soccer so that he can get a trophy, just like Drake has trophies. Lana is growing and learning. Shane applied for Grad School again, now we are just waiting to find out if he gets in. I have been trying to loose weight and am down 29 pounds from my start weight.
In between all of that...
My Grandma Hunsaker died at the beginning of the year, and I wasn't able to attend her funeral because Tristan had surgery at the same time. We made it to the viewing the night before, and to the graveside service. It was great to see all the family and have all 29 grandkids together.
Since then we have been to visit Grandpa a bunch of times. We try to stop every time we go by.


Drake is loving cub scouts. He loves to learn and to earn the wolf paws (or whatever they are called).

We are back in our story time groove. Drake changed swim times, but still can't make it to Lab at the Library, but Tristan and Lana are enjoying their story times.


As the weather is getting nicer we are trying to do more things outside, and that includes walking with Grandma. Tristan drove his tractor over there to help with some yard work. He is a really good tractor driver. We are also enjoying the park while Drake swims.

Our little Lana is just growing so fast. It is fun to watch her as she learns and grows. She said her first word a few days ago, da-da. It was so exciting. She said it while I was with my mom and we had to tell Shane when we got home. Then he tried to get her to say it all night. She did and it made him so happy. It was really fun to watch.

This is her with her cousin who is 6 weeks older than her. They are really cute together.
So that is a quick update of what is going on for the Weidemans. We have another swim meet coming up, and hopefully Shane will get into Grad School so we can begin the next chapter in our lives.