Happy AnniversaryUncle Arch And Aunt Rosalie

Lauren and Emily said the anniversary cookie hit the spot.
Saturday night, Mom and Dad attended the 50th wedding anniversary of Sean's Uncle Arch and Aunt Rosalie. The event was first class, with a huge spread of food and some incredibly delicious cake. Of particular note was the event's photographer, who had also taken their wedding pictures. (He was a pretty spry looking guy for being 88 years old.)

The girls stayed home and watched the Nebraska football game with Tante Frans. But they were delighted the next day when they found out Mom and Dad had brought each of them a special anniversary cookie, imprinted with a wedding photo (see pictures above).

Emily Serves It Up

Emily gets serious in the huddle.
After a great start (a win in Plattsmouth), Emily's volleyball team has hit the skids.

The Spartans have lost three straight matches, but can take consolation in having won "the friendship game" each time. The friendship game occurs when one of the teams in the best-of-three format wins the first two games.

In the most recent match, Emily played very well, serving up six consecutive points. And at this level of volleyball, serving is often the difference between winning and losing.

Lauren's MRI

Lauren said she wasn't scared at all to get her MRI.

Lauren's bout with headaches has steadily grown worse, so we took our doctor's advice and scheduled her for an MRI.

So Friday afternoon, Lauren left school early and headed to the hospital with Mom. Of course, Mary (Lauren's "lovie" lamb) went along for company.

First, there were instructions for Mary and Lauren about what was going to happen (see pictures below), followed by a demonstration of the IV insertion procedure. Mary got her IV first and Lauren (being so brave, too) followed.

Then it was time to head into the MRI room, where Lauren got to lie on a table and watch a movie(!) during the procedure. She had been alerted to this and brought along one of her favorites, the Little Mermaid II.

A few days later, we received word back that everything had come out normal, which was great news - but still no solution for her headaches!

Veronica's Birthday, Part II

Making the cake was just as fun as eating it.

First birthdays are normally a big occasion at the Y-D house and Veronica's was no exception. The girls helped mom bake the cake and then watched as she meticulously frosted it. (Something their cousin, Laura, is an expert at doing.)

Tradition holds that the birthday girl also gets her own miniature version of the cake to eat. This has sometimes led to some pretty funny pictures. We'll let you judge for yourself in Veronica's case:

'The One' Turns One

Veronica enjoyed her balloon from Aunt Annabelle's family.
Veronica, often referred to by her sisters as "The One" turned a year old on Tuesday. It was a rather low-key affair, but not without the excitement of opening presents. Her four older sisters were just as excited to give her presents as she was about opening them.

With 365 days behind her, here is a capsule look at Veronica Karlie:

She loves to applaud - even when the other team scores a point at Emily's volleyball matches.

One of her favorite things to say is "uh-oh."

She is definitely the "chunkiest" of the Y-D girls at this point.

She can skillfully go up stairs, but descending is not as easy. She sits facing forward and slowly creeps to the edge of the stair before dropping down to the next.

Her favorite play place is in the kitchen pantry, where she raids cereal boxes on the lower shelves. Second-favorite location: under the sink (a real no-no).

We had to cut short her birthday party because Emily had her piano lesson. So the cake will have to wait another day.

Look Who Turns One Today!

Happy Birthday Wishes to Veronica Karlie

Volleyball, Not Soccer For Emily

For the first time since kindergarten, Emily is playing volleyball, not soccer.

The change is a drastic one. But with good heighth, the switch of sports might pay off in the long run. Plus, she can still play soccer this spring.

So far, the Spartans are 1-2, having won their season opener, then dropping their next two matches.

Playing as fourth graders in a fifth-grade league, her team plays best-out-of-three matches, with the first two games going to 25 and the third (which is always played regardless of the outcome of the first two) going to 15.

Veronica is a big hit with the girls on the team.

Labor Day Parade

A sun-splashed day made this year's
Labor Day parade picture-perfect.

Casper the Ghost was one of the girl's favorite inflatables at the Labor Day parade in Downtown Omaha.

The Labor Day parade is quickly becoming a Weide family tradition. For the third time in the past four years, we piled into the van and hustled down to the parade route - which changed on us. After paying $5 to park in our usual lot, we soon discovered that the parade route had been moved north by about five blocks. So much for not having to walk far!

We also discovered that the parade is becoming more popular by the year. When we first arrived, we had to set up our chairs in the fourth row.

Have you ever seen ducks in a parade?

We can thank Northwest High School
for giving Lauren this bucket of candy.

Roberts Dairy had four cows in the parade.

Tennis, Anyone?

It's US Open time that means the Y-D girls have tennis fever.

After watching the sport on TV, the girls were anxious to get out on the court themselves. So two times this weekend, we played - Sunday near our house and Monday in Ralston. As you can see from the pictures, the courts by our house aren't so great (compare using the shot of Julia).

Regardless of the court condition, the girls had a great time. Lauren and Julia took part in Dad's "return" clinic, while Mom set up a volley and overhand lesson for Emily (with Olivia tagging along).


Emily still has that "batter-up" swing going.

Lauren is ready for her serve return.

Julia poses on a different court (on a different night).

The jeans are certainly a fashion statement, don't you think?

Veronica is still trying to grasp the concept of the sport.

After taking that picture, Veronica got to spend some time watching everyone else play from the comfort of her pack-and-play. It's something her sisters have all had to do, though Veronica didn't like it very much.

If you want to see how much things have changed in a year, refer to the pictures of our tennis outing last August.

Dad Takes Round One - And Two

We can't forget Mom and Dad's outing on the tennis court. What began as a friendly competition many, many years ago has turned into a fierce and heated rivalry.

One thing has remained the same through it all. Mom gets distracted. Easily.

The distraction of Emily bringing Veronica back from the playground cost her a win on Sunday (she lost 6-4). On Monday, only able to play a best-of-three games match, she was distracted again (when Veronica woke up from a nap) and lost 2-1.

Dad gets ready to rock (and Olivia knows it).

Mom in action (I think Dad lost this point).

Mom is still smiles after the loss.