Let's get together, yeah yeah yeah.

When the Evans' get together, you pretty much have to call it a reunion.  There are just too many of us to call it anything else.  And so, the second week of August, that's exactly what we did.  There were 30 of us, just immediate family, all crammed into my parents cabin in Idaho.  When Shannon's family showed up, it became a real party!
Like we needed an excuse, but we had a few.  First of all, my sister Megan swam in the Sandpoint Long Bridge Swim.  It's a 1.76 mile swim across the lake, and Meg was one of over 900 swimmers.  She was incredible.  This video doesn't do it justice, but when the horn blew and the swimmers started piling into the lake, it was pretty amazing. 

Meg did the swim in 1 hour and 23 minutes: pretty amazing, if you ask me.  Maybe next year...


The other exciting thing that happened was my sweet nephew, Chase, got baptized in the lake.  It was very, very cool!  In our church you can't be baptized until you are eight, because it isn't until then that you know right from wrong.  We are also baptized by immersion, just like Jesus.  My brother Matt baptized Chase, on his eighth birthday.  What a memory!

What I love about events like this, is how Eli and Silas can witness their older cousins making such good choices.  Eli was the 12th grand kid, so by the time he turns 8 he will have seen all 11 older cousins be baptized. And later on he will be able to watch as his older cousins prepare and leave for their missions.  What a great thing to be able to watch and look up to.

Besides those two events, the week at the cabin included just a whole lot of sitting around, playing, eating, swimming and other such frivolity. Jared set up a zip line, and the kids couldn't get enough of crashing into the tree at the end of it:

Megan brought her face paints, and purple, blue, red, orange and yellow spidermans ran rampant.

The lake was never still for all the jumping in, throwing in, and falling in that happened.

Silas wiled away his time splashing in the foot baths and such with the younger cousins:

Of course there was a lot of wakeboarding, kneeboarding and waterskiing going on as well, plus put-puts, walks along the road, bike rides and such.  It was crazy, it was crowded, it was busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way: my whole family together, learning from each other and having fun.  These are the moments my boys will remember, and I'm glad we've been here to have them!

My Face on a Milk Carton

No need to call the police, I'm just fine! I know I've been mum for a month, but I've got several good reasons for being so. The past month has been full of adventures, none of which came anywhere close to reliable internet collection. While I promise to fill you in on all the goings on, here's a snippet, while I get my blogging act together:

So there you have it.  I have been living quite large the last 4 weeks, and stay tuned for more detailed reports of our adventures!

SIX YEARS!!!

I know, I can hardly believe it, but it's been six whole years since Jared and I said "forever."  LOVE YOU, Sugar Booger!

Wiebe Family Photos

Really, what's not to love?

In the world of big Mormon families, relations can be complicated, so let me get this straight: Jared's mom's cousin's wife, Karen, took these photo's of the entire Wiebe clan.  She is so talented. It was fun to have everyone together and get some photographs without having to set the camera on timer and hope I get in the right spot before it shoots.

An Apron of His Own

Ever since I made the aprons for the Craftaholics Anonymous gift exchange, Eli has been asking for an apron of his own.  While I'm all about letting my boys play with dolls and wear pink, I thought I needed something a little more manly for my little man than the cute half aprons I made.  So, I let Eli pick out the fabric, and this morning I made him an apron all of his own.

Pretty sure he makes the cutest cowboy chef EVER!

Eli picked the star fabric, and I used the leftover fabric from my apron for the pocket pouch.  The ties were just a fat quarter from my stash. 

Time for a Picnic

I love to picnic.  On one of our most memorable dates Jared took me on a picnic to a park near where he grew up.  My memories of picnicing as a kid are wonderful (except that one time when a mean old bee stung me right on the tip of my finger, and I walked around with grapes on my finger all day long - not sure why - but it seemed right at the time.)

Anyway, I love to picnic, but we haven't done it nearly as often as I would like.  In need of a little inspiration, I decided to make our family a picnic blanket that would be devoted to Wiebe Family picnics.  I want to find a picnic basket and some dishes and have it all together and ready so we can picnic away whenever we feel the urge.  While I was in Sandpoint with Renee I pieced the quilt.

Silas helped a lot!

Laying it out. 

All pieced.  I just have to put the back on, quilt it, and bind it and I'm ready for any picnicking adventure life can throw at me!

Hitchhiking, A Spring and Two French Fries!

Last week my sister-in-law, Renee, and I went down to Sandpoint, Idaho to get a little break and visit with Jared while he is studying to write the Bar.  This month Renee had something to celebrate, so that's what we did.  We shopped like we actually had money, ate really well, and did whatever we wanted for the week. It was great.  As it should, our trip was not without adventure, intrigue and excitement!  Well, maybe not so much intrigue, but it had enough of the other stuff to make up for that.


First of all, let me tell you about Renee.  She is wonderful, for one, and I just love her.  It was so fun to hang out for a week.  She is Jared's oldest sister, and while they both tell stories of how they didn't get along as kids, you wouldn't know it now.  She is an incredibly talented seamstress: six years ago, when I married Jared, Renee made my wedding dress.

She is also a budding photographer, so I let her man (or woman) the camera for the entire trip.  It is nice to have some pictures of me with the boys, for a change.

Although, she isn't to be trusted entirely. I left her alone for just a few minutes, and what did she do?

We did have a good day of adventuring though.  We were heading into Spokane to take advantage of tax-free shopping, and in the middle of a construction zone, in 32 degree heat, the truck broke down. I thought it might be gas, since the gas gauge isn't very reliable, so Renee graciously volunteered to start walking.  Well, let's be honest: the nearest gas station was 3 miles away, and 3 miles is a long way to walk, especially with a 15 gallon gas can, and Renee isn't really the type to stick out her thumb.  I, however, have found myself in similar situations several times in my life and am not afraid of risking it.  So, I left her with the kiddos and hitched-hiked to town.  The wonderful woman who picked me up then drove me back to the truck.  We filled it with gas. And... it still didn't run.  Plan B.  The wonderful woman loaded up Renee, Rhiannon, Eli and Silas and drove them into town to a really classy restaurant, the Rustler's Roost. I called Jared, who called AAA, and planned on waiting.  I'm not very good at waiting.  I tried to start the truck, and I found as long as I kept the RPMs above 3000, it wouldn't stall out.  Somehow I made it into town and to a shop.  Jared was finished his course for the day, so he came and picked me up and we went to save Renee.  Food had been ordered, kids had been fed, and everything was just fine. Except... my baby, who has thus far in his life only eaten organic fruits and vegetables, was fed by his favourite Auntie Renee two FRENCH FRIES.  Horror!!!  After a few minutes I forgave her though, and we went about our day, all six of us loaded into our little Cavalier, sans carseats, waiting for the truck to be fixed.  Turns out a spring broke. Don't ask me what spring.  One that cost $275 and 3 days to replace.  We spent the weekend dodging cops and cozying up in the Cavy.  It could have been much worse: Renee could have fed Silas a hamburger!

The rest of the week was wonderful though. We did make it back to Spokane, where Renee bought a new wardrobe for her new life, and I got a few things myself.  We spent a lot of time crafting, a bit of time reading, and even managed to get out on the boat for some tubing.

Jared even got to spend a few daylight hours with us, at the Farmer's Market.  Silas was glad to see his daddy.

Eli only wanted to play on the splash pad.

Rhiannon LOVED it, too.

We went for walks.  Eli brought a dolly along.

Look at this beautiful baby. I love him so much!

Roasting Mallows.

Eli doesn't get much sugar.  He really liked the marshmallows.  Me thinks I have an addict on my hands.

Noni was happy to sit in the waves and throw sand the entire time. 

Talk about multitasking.  That's me, ready to drive the boat, pulling Eli and Jared on the tube, nursing Silas.

That's Renee on the left and Eli and Rhiannon squished on the right.  Rhiannon wanted to go faster, and Eli wanted to go slower the entire time.

And Jared got a kick out of shooting at the ducks and geese on the dock.  I'm not much for stepping in duck poop, so I didn't mind.

All in all, it was a wonderful week. It was great for Eli and Rhiannon to play, and for Renee and I to do the same.  I love summer!