We're still here...

though I can understand why you might think differently.

Sorry we've posted so infrequently.

Fletcher is healthy and growing like a champ, as you'll see below.

Sara is still working at Zanzibar, and at trying to stay sane.

I'm going on two years at my job, and it's okay. Fletcher and being addicted to basketball and obscure music pretty much take up all my time.

Enjoy the pictures.

Our shaggy dude, enjoying his rice milk. He calls the rice milk "blue milk" and the soy milk "red milk" due to the colors of their respective cartons.

He was pretty proud of this "train". He started playing more imaginatively around this time, having little "conversations" betwixt various vehicles that revolved mainly around crashing and/or resisting crashing.

Eating a purple gumball. Once he sucks off all the nutritious dyes and sweeteners, he hands the soggy, misshapen hunk to one of us. How nice.

Uncle Sam reading him some books. Every time anyone mentions Mary, Sam, or even their dog Daisy, Fletcher says "and Sam's truck?", referring to Sam's remote controlled monster truck. A great memory and a one-track mind.

Hair cut #2! This is Jimmy, our new barber. Jake, who performed cut #1, retired from the biz, so I had to find someone new. Luckily, Jimmy's shop is about two blocks from work and he only charges half what Jake did. He does use a "suck-and-cut" though, so it's not totally perfect.

He went from cute, precocious toddler to handsome young lad in one evening.

Ladies, get ready to be killed.

We went down to the coast a few weeks ago, and spent some time at the Texas State Aquarium, among other things. He got to see Sea Turtles, talk to a Parrot, and even touch some Stingrays. There was a Bull Shark in the tank pictured above that frightened me but Fletch didn't seem fazed at all by it.

The underwater theater was a nice spot to watch the dolphin show, especially when we got to watch them poop. Definitely the highlight of any trip.

Trips

The last month has been eventful. Fletcher and I (Weston) flew to California for a week to see my family, while Sara stayed home and worked. Ideally, she would have been able to relax and enjoy the peacefulness of a house without boys, but instead she worked her little tushy off.

Then, after being back from Cali for only a few weeks, word came that my paternal grandfather, "Opa" as we called him, had passed away. So, back to Cali I went. It was a good time, considering. Necessary for closure and reconnecting with extended family - especially cousins. I spent the first night there scanning dozens of old photos onto my parents' computer for use in a slide-show during the memorial service. In the whirlwind of my trip, I forgot to get copies of them. But when I do, I'll put a couple up here.

The cool thing is, he got to see Fletcher, FinWe, and Fisher all together before he died, and that makes me smile.

Other noteworthy events in our lives: Fletcher saying "Yessir" all the time, Sara's work-mate Mark fixing our computer (thanks), new phones!!, discovery of Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series, giving up red meat (new for Sara, going on a year for me), and the addition of 12 new pets - Fishies (named Bob, Thomas, Tank, Engine, Lofty, and Betta - with no discernible pattern or logic).

Some pics:

The three "Bo-Bos" (as my Dad would say) with our three boys. Precious.

Nathan and FinWe at Fairmont Park in Riverside. This pose captures Fin's attitude perfectly - he is an independent little devil.

Fletch at the airport, checking out the airplanes - they "sly up to the sky".

Uncle Eric, Fletcher, Neighbor Rosie, Uncle Dawasi, FinWe, and Uncle Pearce.

FinWe was breakfast and Fletcher was lunch. The diner was grandpa.

Adam, Yoko, and Fisher Wataru. They cute.

Fletch didn't like the beach much. Too bright. We forgot his shades.

We even built him a fort, but he still wasn't havin' it. What a baby.

Here he is laying down the law to FinWe on our first morning. Notice Fin's rapt attention.

Fin: "Oh yeah? You give me rules, I drink yer cup. What now?"

First Salon Cut

We have given Fletcher a few trims over the last couple of years,
but realized it was time for a proper cut.
These pictures were taken middle of June.

Sara has been going to Jake since she lived in Austin in high school,
and he cuts Wes' hair now too.
He also cuts Sara's mom & sister's hair.
So who would be more qualified?

A mass of curls.

He sat very quietly in Wes' lap and watched Jake out of
the corner of his eye. It was very cute. No tears!

Jake had a very amused smile on his face the whole time.

The end result. Very short!
But it's already grown out a lot since then- within a month!

Summer Time And The Livin's Easy

Hello, Fletcher Fans!! Sorry about the laziness- we have included pictures from April to June.

Let's see... what's been going on...

Meghan Casey came to visit us the middle of May. Yay and fun.

Abby's wedding was the end of May- so much fun and so amazingly beautiful.
If any of you are on facebook or myspace you can check out Abby's pages for pictures.

I'm sure I've forgotten several noteworthy events.
That's what happens when you only blog every few months!


Abby & Fletch on the yoga ball.

Meghan & Fletch.

Not feeling well and taking a rest.

Belly and crazy hair!

Playing with an assortment of airplanes, firetrucks & ambulances.

That crazy hair was cut soon after.
We will put the pictures of the first haircut on the blog soon.
He looks very dapper now.


We have more to post from July- Fletcher & Wes' trip to California, and Sara & Fletcher's trip to Dallas.
Coming soon!

New Pictures!

Lots of pictures to share, as I just
uploaded 120 from our camera onto the computer! Whew!

More potty pictures! He has yet to actually do more
than just sit & read, but we're patient.
The first picture has been edited for our discriminating audience. :)

One of many runners-up in our quest to
find the perfect "Fletcher in the Bluebonnets"
picture. For all you non-Texans, the
Bluebonnet is the Texas State flower.
It is an annual wildflower, and it is illegal to pick or mow them.

Breakfast at Fletcher's table.
Ikea purchase: $20 for the table & 2 chairs.
Took about 20 minutes to assemble.

Putting cars into cups. Photo courtesy of Jamie. :)

Peek-a-boo, Batman!

Fletcher says "It's windy in my hair!"

A couple of weekends ago we took a trip down to Houston (Cypress) to visit some friends. Allison & Michael Hawkins have 3 boys;
Allison was Sara's first "boss"-
hired her at Zanzibar in 1998 (Sara's very first job).
Pictures from our Houston trip:

Fletcher & Baby Eli (13 mos) in the bath together.

(From left) Allison, Baby Eli, Fletcher & Sara.

Griffin (almost 8, on the ground), Jake (almost 5, standing over him),
and Fletcher in the background.
Oops, no pictures of Michael- sorry! :(

Foster Care

Hello, dear family & friends!

Over the last few months, the urge to apply for foster care certification has been weighing on my heart. A little background: Wes & I have always wanted to foster/adopt, even before we had Fletcher. As most of you know, Wes has four adopted siblings. Seeing as how we have witnessed the trials involved first-hand, we feel this is something that we're moderately prepared for.

Of course, it will be a process. In Texas, different foster & adoptive care agencies provide the training, home inspections, and eventually match you with a child or children. It is now up to us to choose an agency, attend 12-35 hours of classes, complete CPR/1st Aid Classes, complete background, safety, health checks, home inspections, etc. We could end up spending about $320 or so before we are even certified. It's at least a 4-month process, and we may decide it's not for us at some point.

We would need to request boys, because children of the opposite sex cannot share a room if they're older than 6. Two brothers would be awesome to have, preferably of school-age. Most kids remain in care for 6-12 months on average, and 18 months is the cut-off. About 18% of children end up being eligible for adoption after 18 months.

Just a little info. So, in the next 6 months or so, we may be changing the name of this blog... :)
If any of you have advice and/or experience please feel free to comment or e-mail us.

In other news, we would love to congratulate:
1st- Adam & Yoko (Wes' brother & wife) on the birth of their little Fisher. Middle name yet? :)
2nd- Bekah & Stephan (high school friend from Moscow) on the birth of their Eisley Rachel.

Birthday Party!

Fletcher's birthday party was a couple of weeks ago. His actual birthday is the 22nd, but we had family & friends in town, and decided to have the party early.

The party was at Sara's parents' house. Wes, Nick & Sara stayed up late creating the cake. The finishing touches were attached after transportation to the party destination. It was fun & easy. If anyone wishes to recreate it, just let us know and we will provide instructions! :)

Fletcher trying to chat up Giada.
They shared bags of unhealthy Cheetos & Doritos.

Unca Nick demonstrating his rocket balloons.
Fletch loves these! The pump is easy for kids to use too.

(From left) Amy, Jamie, Christine & Bryan.
Only two are dutifully wearing their conductor hats.

Outside in Grammy's playground.
(From left) Grammy, Aunt Ellen, Aunt Mary,
Cousins Natalie & Lauren.

Unca Sam & Aunt Mary.

Remote-control dump truck from Unca Nick.

Cousins, minus one (Daniel).

"Rody" from Amy! This picture taken right after Fletch *tried*
to dismount. Gotta work on that dismount.