Star Spangled Banner

J and M sing their version of the Star Spangled Banner, complete with subtitles. I still think they got more words right than Christina Aguilera at the Super Bowl...

CHS Open House Talent Show Staff Number

Because if I didn't do it somebody else would, here is the final number of the Open House talent show. We did a rendition of the Evolution of Dance that is on Youtube.

I would have loved to be part of the action (Mackenzie was sick), but the rest of the staff sure didn't need me!

World's Strongest Weller Child Competition

Jace and Mackenzie duke it out during the first annual World's Strongest Weller Child competition.

Chapman Rebuilding - August 2010 Update

Here's some footage from the construction efforts around town. They are still saying the schools will open in January of 2011, although this video will show it's still a long way from being finished. Still, it's nice to see progress being made.

Robby & Emily's Wedding

Thanks to the Haynes and Thurlow families, Mackenzie and Jace got to experience being a ring bearer and flower girl this weekend. Between riding on a hay rack, sweeping the bouquet and garter tosses, and learning the Cotton Eye Joe, they had a great time. Special thanks to Robby and Emily for including our kids on their special day (and for the cowboy hat)!

Thanks to Q and Amy Ellis, Jace and Mackenzie got to ride the waves on the lake by their house. Both of them did better than their dad. However, it was nice to see Jace showing some concern for me at the end of the video, because it was obvious their mom wasn't concerned at all...

Well, another year has brought even more enthusiasm to Chapman T-Ball. Jace and Mackenzie has a successful opener, as Jace had the winning hit and Mackenzie scored the winning run. Now if they could only tone down their congratulatory high five...

P.S. Nichole wanted the profanity out of the video, but hey, it wouldn't be "Major League" without at least one cuss word.

Mackenzie's Dance Recital

Mackenzie had her year end dance recital in Junction City. Last year she did tap dance, and this year she decided to do ballet.

I have no idea if this is considered good ballet form, but she looked pretty good to me! Then again, they've been practicing the same dance all year long, so she had better be good! Her favorite part wasn't the dance but getting flowers from her mama and papa!

Mackenzie the Magnificent

Mackenzie the Magnificent puts on her Magic Show!

Chapman Rebuilding - March 18, 2010 Update

Includes high school, middle school, grade school, and Methodist Church updates.

To Infinity and Beyond!

Jace shows us that Buzz Lightyear apparently has a secret hatred of frogs.

Mid-Winter Camp-out

Our backyard camp-outs have had to be put on hold during the winter months, but that hasn't stopped Mackenzie and Jace from finding alternative ways to "rough" it. They solved that problem by setting up this tent in the basement and now have spent two nights sleeping in the wild blue yonder.

The good news is they have a lot of fun playing together and whispering/giggling to each other after we tell them it's time for bed. The bad news is 6 a.m. wake up calls have been the norm the next morning, so we may have to take the tent down for a while!

My brother told me over Christmas that my blog is worthless, so I decided I had better try to get a December entry in so I don't get yelled at again. Why am I doing it on Christmas Eve, you ask? We were in Nebraska, but the bad weather prompted us to head back a day earlier, which meant spending Christmas Eve at home for the first time ever. It also meant a pretty boring day of waiting until Christmas Day (including an unorthodox spaghetti Christmas Eve dinner).

Anyway, here is a small portion of what has happened over the month of December:


Nichole found a great new book called "Elf on the Shelf." It talks about an elf that has come to make sure the kids are being good and then reports back to Santa. He then moves to a new spot each day when the kids wake up. Talk about great! It got to the point where they would do something wrong and then immediately look up to "Sam" and wonder what he was thinking with those cold, glassy eyes and mischievous smile. They are sad to see him go home for good tonight, and we are wondering if we could have a valentine, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving elf!



We thought that the winter storm that hit us in mid-December would be the only time to hit the slopes this month, but more snow is falling right now (although it is much less than they originally said).



Nichole spent one weekend making Christmas cookies with the kids. Hopefully Santa doesn't realize that his cookies have lick marks on the frosting!



Thanks to Janet Edwards, the kids from church got to make ginger bread houses, which they both were very proud of, and even more excited to eat!



Mackenzie and Jace saw Santa more times than I could count, including this one over and Mama and Papa's house. They also saw one that said I would need a shotgun to fend off the boys from Mackenzie, but that's a whole other story.

Needless to say, our month has been busy and we are now enjoying the holiday season more than ever. Watching the kids at this age is more fun than even we imagined. I hope you all are having a great Christmas and are traveling safely to and from your destinations.

Fall/Halloween

It's been a long time since I've updated the blog, so I will put a combination of pictures on here. We have had a busy fall, much busier than it should be with neither of us coaching!


Mackenzie and Jace on Halloween as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Mom talked him into the costume. I have a feeling this is one Jace is going to be regretting when he's a teenager!


This has become a Weller family tradition: lay out all of the candy to see how long of a track you can make. Because Halloween landed on a Saturday and we didn't have to get the kids to bed, this was BY FAR the longest trail we've had!


Although I hate raking leaves, the kids had a blast jumping in them!


They both wanted to be "buried" in the leaves. I guess raking those leaves wasn't that bad after all!

Chapman Rebuilding Update

For anyone who is interested, here is the latest update on the rebuilding process in Chapman.

Mackenzie's First Non-Training Wheels Bike Ride

Mackenzie's first bike ride without training wheels went better than expected, right up until she slammed into the side of the only car besides ours in the parking lot (not shown in this video, by the way). Good thing she had a caring brother to help her out along the way.

More Family Photos

Family Photos

Here's a few of the many family photos taken by Cory Keller from Abilene. He did a great job and was pretty cheap as well. I would highly recommend him. I was surprised that there were as many good ones as there were. It seemed like the kids weren't cooperating very well!

Ozarks Vacation

Nichole and I got a vacation away from the kids thanks to our parents, so we went with some friends down to a beach "cottage" courtesy of Mike and Connie Cook (thanks guys!). It was definitely no cottage. There were three levels, four bedrooms (each with their own bathroom), our own dock, and a view of the lake that was breath-taking. The only bad thing about it was the 82 step climb at the end of each day!

The days were spent on the boat or playing golf, and the nights were spent eating out and having fun. It was a great time right up until the long drive home, but we were happy to see the kids again (although they had been spoiled greatly and weren't necessarily glad to see us!).


The view of our house from the back looking out from the lake



The view from the top level of the house looking out onto the lake (we could have sat there all day)



You have never truly experienced the lake until you put on a life jacket upside down and "bob" in the water!



The group at the Horny Toad bar our last night on the lake. Thanks for the good times guys!

Nebraska Visit

Our annual summer trip to Nebraska was a lot of fun, especially for the kids! From swimming in uncle Todd and aunt Eudora's pool to doing the same in uncle Steve and aunt Tara's, they were pretty worn out by the end of the trip! I only lasted one day. The Weller boys and their requests for "throws" did a job on my body!