Thanksgiving

It was a fun and calm night at the Daines house this year. Our group is dwindling in numbers, but not enthusiasm! Daryl, My mom's youngest brother, flew in from NV as well as great grandpa Kresser. Look at Kristin's cute tummy! Baby Rascal is getting big (poor kid, he'll always be called Rascal even when he has a real name)

 

 The boys played video games...

 While the girls dressed up as Fancy Nancy.. Anja is sporting Kristin's fur lined boots and multiple scarfs.

Satruday with the kids

My sister and I have similar situations on the weekends. Steven is on call or studying and needs the house to himself and Rich is doing church stuff which can't include us for the most part. So, we make the most of it and take the kids out for some fun. This week she invited us to the Discovery Children's Museum at the Gateway.. I'm not a Gateway fan (goes back to covering too many stories on it and dealing with the Olympics) but once she convinced me I should make the trek into town, we had a blast. Thanks, KC it was a great few hours spend with you and the kids.

He came, he came--and no one cried!

It's true. Santa made his yearly visit to the Bywater Christmas party tonight and NO ONE cried. It was amazing. Anja was a little nervous until she saw him handing out gifts then we had to hold her back! She tried hard to monopolize his time (even trying to sit on his lap over an over). But Santa knew her well and kept her busy pulling candy canes out of the bottom of his sack. I can't believe we've been doing this for eight years. I love it and so do the kids. Carter is nearly nine and still gets excited. Nadia (Kristin's daughter) and Jensen are both five and Anja is the youngest. I love family traditions. Even the goofy ones.

Mat and Kellie----

This is my brother Mat and his adorable better half, Kellie. They are the kind of free spirits most of us just dream of being. They travel the world and visit islands that don't supply visitors with running water. They believe in causes and work to change the world. Today they are leaving everything they have behind and moving to St. Thomas in the Caribbean. Why? Because they can. For them life is an adventure. The world is full of interesting people and places and you just can't experience it from your laptop. I will miss Mat-- I kind of live vicariously through him. I respect what they do, I just couldn't do it. A few years back Mat backpacked through Africa with just the pack on his back and a map. I would love to see Africa, from a hotel room with a view. Good luck you two. I know you will have an awesome time. You can watch their adventures through the Caribbean, Cuba and other strange places over the next months by checking out their blog link. Love you Matt-- don't forget to call/blog..

Walk-a-thon count down

One day to go... successfully got 435 shirt out with only 11 problems. Collected another $200 today in donations. Tomorrow is the walking part of the event. Thank goodness it wont rain. Rich and my dad both took the day off to help me--- I LOVE my family and their commitment to something we call, "Bywater/Coombs Family Projects". Thanks Kristin for taking care of Anja today. She loves her aunt KC and Nadia.. you're awesome!

Oh yeah, Happy Birthday to my new brother-in-law, Steven.

The Sister Role

Kristin will become K.B. Daines this weekend. Somehow the duty of talking about her at the rehearsal dinner fell to me. I guess I was the only one who said yes when dad called. I spent last week interviewing some of her high school and MBA friends.

Perspective is a strange thing. KC is my one and only sister. I have loved and hated her with the passion only a sister can have for her own. I thought I knew her. Listening to others describe her has proven perspective belongs solely to the person who is sharing their story. To me, Kristin is the sister who was always smarter, more beautiful, the musician, less emotional, the style Deva, dated a lot more, a cheerleader, makes me look fat and, of coarse, she made "top ten", I didn't. To her friends, she is devoted to life, to finding joy in what she has, to setting and accomplishing goals and to their friendship.

To me, she is my sister, and that is complicated to define. KC's the only one who understands when I talk "t.v. shop", she gets my struggle with staying at home, understands my pain and celebrates my joys, she loves my kids as unconditionally as I do, we talk politics, discuss books and we've both been poor. We've eaten BBQ southern style, watched Oprah live, been there for the birth of each other's babies, curled up and had a good cry together and been there when it really counts; when the world leaves you alone. She's been there for it all.

So, as she starts the latest chapter in her life adventure, I wish her well. I know she'll make life with Steve fun, unpredictable and rewarding. I know she'll make him crazy with her social calendar, her "healthy food only" policy and her addiction to the gym. But I also know when it's all said and done in 30 years, K&S will look back and they will perceive perfection. After all, that's what I see when I look back on her role as my sister.

love you, KC! Nix

Sunday's with grandma and grandpa

I'm sure plenty of my girlfriends wonder why I go to my parents house every single Sunday for dinner. The answer is easy: free food. Just kidding. I go because I can wear my sweats and my mom doesn't care. I go because they call my husband "the wonderful" son-in-law. I go because they love my kids and all our quirks. I go because no where else can I let my daughter swim naked or watch my dad teach the kids to jump rope. I go because what would a Sunday be without feeding the fish or laughing until I cried at the dinner table over some comment Rich makes at his own expense. I go because it's where we can all be who we really are... obnoxious

Kristin and Steve

In a few short weeks I will have a wonderful new brother-in-law. This is Steve. He's a great guy who means the world to Kristin and Nadia. I think he's in for the shock of his life. He's been a single guy living in a clean condo for a long time-- make way for the Barbie doll house, pink bike and Hello Kitty band aids. The wedding will happen in L.A. This also means the end to having Nadia in my home on and off for the past four years. I can't tell you how many times people have asked me how old my "twins" are and I just smile and say, "they are six months apart."