I am returned from a fantastic trip to see my 2 adorable nieces in Akron ,OH. I was able to visit this past weekend to help out my sister Michelle and husband John as they get continue classes to prepare for an international adoption. That's right.....a new niece or nephew appears to be on the horizon, this time straight from Thailand, more to come!!! I am excited by their willingness to help out in the greater scheme of things in the world and open their home to others, I know they will improve the life if a child with their loving lifestyles and passion for quality parenting. On that note I would point out that my sister has proven to be a phenomenal mother, I know she has doubts sometimes, but she has raised to gorgeous and well-adjusted little girls who I have no doubt will continue to flourish in her care. The trip was filled with many highlights as they weekend seemed to just fly by for all of us. We ate, danced, sang, read quite a few stories, and played in the snow as we made a snowman with one of the best hairdos I have seen in quite some time. I was even able to share with Sara one of my favorite childhood stories "Where the wild things are" on my last night in Ohio, it was wonderful to see her sharing my excitement about the childhood classic. Let the wild rumpus begin!! And rumpus we did. The girls showed us all of their new dance moves as they have continued to enjoy starting their own dance classes in recent months. No surprise there will all of the history and love of dance that Michelle has. It was quite a sight as the twisted away to their favorite music, Lori chasing after Sara around the room asking for her to be a dance partner, one of the cuter sights I have seen in a while. They are becoming good friends as they grow up together and improve their sharing and playing skills as their interests grow, so much fun to be a witness to. I know it has been a real joy for my mother to have such precious grandchildren to visit. she has glowed in their affection and takes the role of grandmother very seriously, she had a wonderful model in her own mother who was such a wonderful supporter my siblings and myself. After all of the dust has settled I am looking forward already to this summer when the plan is to meet at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Denver with my sister, the nieces, my brother, Amy and Janelle if we can swing it for a big family gathering for all of us. I know it would be special if we can all make the effort. I sure do love those little girls and look forward to more cross-country adventures in the near future. So long for now.

Off to a new adventure this week as I travel to Akron, OH via the Denver airport to visit my older sister Michelle and her two adorable daughters Sara and Lori. How lucky am I to have such cute relatives? I am really looking forward to the trip as my mother will be joining the fun, getting on the plane in Denver as we take care of the girls for the weekend so Michelle and her husband can take classes as they prepare for an international adoption!!! That's right, another niece/nephew is on the way. I think they have made a great choice for them with this process and I am more then happy to help out with the little ones and use it as an excuse to continue my reign as "Favorite Uncle"!!! We have some fun adventures planned for them, I will let you know how they work out upon my return. Last night was our first league game for the indoor soccer team that I am on, I play goalie, at least to start. A nice win as we came out on top 9-5. I let in a few I probably should have stopped but held my own for the first time back on the indoor field in over a year. A really fun time and quite a workout in the heat of the place, I probably sweated our 5 pounds and I was not even running all that much. We have a great group of guys and it should be a fun opportunity to catch up with buddies and hang out with the brother of course. The v-ball is rolling along as well. Last week we went 3-1 in the indoor men's league and 2-1 in the coed league, next round tonight for coed. Night quite the same feel and dominance for these 2 leagues as in the past but still fun and both teams have chances to hit full stride in the coming weeks, very early yet. All for now, more upon my return from Akron!!

Current Sports Standings:
Indoor Soccer : 1-0 (Tied for first)
Men's V-ball Indoor 6's: 9-3 (Tied for 2nd)
Coed V-ball Indoor 6's: 4-2 (2nd Place) Game versus number 1 team tonight (We trail by only 1 game)

One of the best things I have a chance to do when time permits is to share an evening of inane entertainment with my younger brother John. Officially this is termed "Bro-night" and includes the basics of food, beer, and something silly for entertainment that evening. Hilarity seems to appear all on its own no matter the choices made from this list. Last night was one for the ages and what we have coined the start of the "New Era" for our relationship..goofy huh? That's just the way we roll, deal with it. Nothing like a little bit of clearing of the air to start out the new year with a clean slate and a closer bond then ever. Top that off with popping the tap on a Coors Light mini-keg for all of the Rocky Mountain refreshment. Follow this up with some great chicken dishes from the local QFC while watching a few episodes of our favorite blue-garbed crime fighter The Tick!! If you have never seen him and his moth-clad sidekick Arther in action it is more the high-time that you did so, it is hilarious in the Weaver brother scale of humor. Barely managing to stay on the couch from the laughter we followed this up with several rounds of computerized action as we warmed up the old NES for some favorites, in particular a round of King of the Beach as we hit a few balls on the sand with Sinjin and Stoklos. The highlight might well have been a rousing round of Battletoads. One of the more challenging of all NES games in my opinion and a really fun time while enjoying a healthy portion of the 5L of frosty goodness at our disposal. How can you not have fun while jumping, swimming, kicking, punching, tossing each other around, speed-biking, snake-riding, surfing, and beating foes into submission with large sticks with a pair of slimy amphibians? Lots of laughs, some hilarity with costumed superheroes, a few great beers, and re-centering oneself with your best friend. Tough night to match in my book. A new year awaits and we can only wait to see what that will bring.

Not a great weekend for my sports playing or teams that I follow. Seahawks lost a tough game in Chicago in OT to drop out of the playoffs. The WSU Cougar men's basketball tea lost a heartbreaker in overtime versus Stanford on the road. We had a tough go at the tournament in Oregon for my men's indoor 6's USAV team (2-7) on the day. We were missing the three middles from our roster and had to constantly shift formats through the day to try and combat the issue. To follow that poor showing up we went 2-2 in my men's league night in Bellevue just last night against a team we have historically had success against. Jesse had a tough night hitting (Very tough blockers on him all night), we were pretty short on bodies, and 2 of the guys showed up mostly drunk and were most certainly not their usual level of play for the match. We also had basically no reffing and the other team had what I would consider 12-15 REALLY bad sets of the course of the match which makes a big difference over the course of a game like this. In any case we also fell on our faces with our play and might well be in trouble with defending our reign in this league with this start and the competition upgraded again this year. Despite that fact things continue to roll along here in Seattle and I have added a few images for the new year festivities that my dad took as was kind enough to send our way. They include a great shot of the fireworks from the Spaceneedle. What a great view from my brother's rooftop!! I also have one from the cruise of downtown as we hit the shops for the day. Good times with the family for sure. I hope the week brings some better play from myself on the hardwood and a fun bro-night with John for some brew and Nintendo Madness!!